Ashtyn grabbed her bag and dug around, pulling out a pencil case. I continued to watch her as she presented a multitude of different pencils and examined each one carefully, as if she were a surgeon getting ready to go to work on a piece of flesh. Like Dexter fucking Morgan prepping a scalpel to use on his victim.
Cade and I faced the front as students chatted around us, and my eyes bored into Reynolds' head as he walked up to Ashtyn. He leaned over the table and tapped her pencils with his pen. "I see you came prepared."
"Always."
"I'm looking forward to seeing what you do this year, Ashtyn. I was wondering if you wanted to be my assistant when you're not working on assignments. Maybe go around and help if anyone needs it. Help me keep up with material refills, things like that?" His eyes were full of hope, the poor bastard. He had it bad for Ashtyn. He was careful to not let his eyes roam down her body, but I saw the twitch in his jaw and the need on his face.
I hoped I didn't look like that when I was around her.
"Sure, Mr. Reynolds. Whatever you need me to do."
Be careful what you wish for.I chuckled under my breath. Reynolds noticed me watching their little exchange, my foot still propped on Ashtyn's stool. "Is there a problem, West?"
"Nope,” I popped the p. “I’m waiting for Ashtyn to move her stool over here. I'm not great at drawing, so she graciously volunteered to help me since she has so much experience and all."
Ashtyn's back stiffened and she slowly spun around to face me.
"I'll just," I gripped the bottom of Ashtyn's seat and tugged until she was in motion. How convenient that the stools had rollers on the feet. I moved her to the short side of my table as Reynolds looked on in shock and Cade laughed. "There. Now we can get to work. Thanks, Reynolds," I dismissed him.
He mumbled something and went off to help a student find a proper sketch pencil.
"What. The. Fuck?" Asked Ashtyn.
"What?"
"I'm not sitting here."
"Yes. You are."
"No. I'm not." She started to slide her chair back to her table, but I grabbed it before she could. Her hands gripped the edge of the table as she tried to move but I didn't let her budge. "What is your problem?" She hissed as she made another futile attempt to move her chair.
"You're going to sit here. Every day. With us."
"Why?"
"Because our teacher is hot for you and it makes me uncomfortable. What kind of teacher blatantly flirts with a student like that? It's disgusting. He's probably fucked his students before. Who knows, you could be his next target. I'm doing you a solid. You should say thank you."
"Are you fucking serious?"
The other two students at the table–both guys and both freshmen–continued to pretend to sketch in their notebooks, even though their horrified looks indicated they were listening to every word.
"It's true baby girl, he wants your bod," Cade said.
"You guys are ridiculous. Mr. Reynolds is not a pervert. He'snice,which is something y’all don’t know shit about."
"Hey, I'm nice to you," Cade scoffed.
Ashtyn rolled her eyes and stood up from her chair. I put my arm out to block her path, which she didn't notice before it was too late. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into me, my hands gripping her hips, mere inches from her ass. "Where are you going?"
She gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Getting my notebook. Is that allowed, Moretti? Or do I need to get written permission from you first?"
"I'll allow it," I said as I dropped my arm, instantly missing her heat.What the fuck?
She righted herself and sighed before yanking her notebook and pencils from the table behind me. She kicked her bag over to her new seat and plopped down on the stool.
"You're such an asshole."
"Never claimed to be anything else, princess."