One Night

Chapter 45

Audrey & Edwin

Audrey’s POV

By the time class was over, my skin was practically vibrating with nerves. I took my packing up my things, waiting until the last student had left the room before I approached the podium where Edwin was waiting.

“You wanted to speak with me?” I asked, stopping a respectful few feet away and clutching my books to my chest.

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Edwin glanced up from his papers on the podium for a moment and shot me a glance down the bridge of his nose. “Do you see now why I warned you against dating that boy?” he asked, his pen scratching across the paper.

My mouth fell open of its own accord. Was this really what Edwin wanted to talk about? Again?

“What do you mean?” I finally managed after several beats of silence.

Sighing, Edwin shut the folder he had open on the podium and stuffed it into his briefcase. “You think you’re safe from it,” he said, “but even as a teaching assistant, you run the risk of creating drama by dating students in the class you’re working in. I tried to warn you.”

As Edwin spoke, I felt my stomach sink a bit. He was right, even though I didn’t want to admit it; thanks to the rumors about Gavin and me, people now thought that I was handing out good grades to those who they assumed I had feelings for.

“Well… Thank you for speaking up for me,” I said quietly, clutching tighter against my chest.

my books a little

Edwin regarded me for a moment before answering. “I wasn’t about to stand idly by while people were throwing out baseless accusations. Despite how it may come across, Audrey, I’d hate to lose you as my teaching assistant.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. My cheeks flushed hotly, and I looked away as though that would somehow hide it.

“Thank you.”

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Another long silence. I stood there for a few moments, shifting from foot to foot, before 1 couldn’t bear it any longer.

“But I have to ask. Did you really warn me because you knew this would happen? Or did you try to deter me from dating Gavin because of your own personal reasons?”

Edwin’s POV

Now, I was the one who was left speechless. I floundered for a moment, my mouth opening and closing mechanically-d**it. How did this girl always have the ability to make me like this? I had never had these kinds of issues before, and now…

Before I could answer, she suddenly cut me off with a raised hand.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. Gavin and I are just friends. I rejected him last night.”

My wolf raised his hackles. “Rejected him,” he growled. “Perhaps…”

I quickly shut my wolf up and cleared my throat. “You rejected him, eh?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “How does that pertain to me, exactly?”

Audrey blinked at me in surprise for a moment. My wolf began to roil again. “Don’t play s**id, Edwin. You’re hopeful, aren’t you? That she might have rejected that boy because she wants-”

“Shush!” I growled at my wolf inwardly. I would have no more of his antics. I didn’t care why Audrey had rejected him. Hell, she could have dated him if she wanted to, for all I cared. I was only worried about the consequences like the ones she saw today.

That was it… Right?

Finally, Audrey pulled her slender shoulders back and flipped a loose lock of black hair away from her collarbone. “I just thought you would want to know,” she said c**lly. “That’s all.”

“Ah.” I feigned indifference, trying to ignore the appearance of her pale shoulder, and closed the metal clasps on my briefcase with a snap. “Well… I’m sorry to hear that. You two seemed to like each other.”

“Liar, my wolf growled angrily. “You wanted her this whole time. You-”

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Chapter 45

“Not really.” Audrey-shrugged. “He’s a good friend, but there just isn’t much of a romantic spark.”

“With him?” my wolf asked. “Or with anyone?

Quelling my wolf’s incessant voice, I shrugged my jacket on and grabbed my briefcase. “Well, either way… I hope you learned your lesson. Next time, be sure to date sor one who isn’t one of the students in this class.” I paused, turning toward the door, and ast her one last glance over my shoulder. “Student-teacher relationships can end with a loss. of one’s job if you’re not careful.”

With that, I began heading toward the door. Audrey followed me, her high heels. clicking on the tiles as we stepped into the hallway. I didn’t make it far before she was stepping in front of me and blocking my way

“Or maybe next time, I’ll just have to be more careful so as not to get caught.”

curve of

Her words left my head spinning and my wolf bristling with excitement. The her lips as she spoke, the flicker in her eyes, the way her gaze roamed up one side of me and down the other.

Was she implying…?

“Audrey, I-”

But she was already gone before I could say a word.

OUR Isday night, i was surprisingly packed

in here of

The air in the bar was smoky, the music mingling with the sounds of raucous voices.

that I minded. The

thick throng of people made me feel more anonymous, the din making it easier to stare down into my drink and zone out entirely.

“A romantic spark,” my wolf repeated for the millionth time that day. “You two certainly have one.”

I nearly scoffed out loud. Sure, maybe my wolf was right-there was something there. But there was also plenty that was blocking our way.

For starters, there was the fact that she was a student and I was a professor. I hadn’t forgotten what Professor Lovelace had told me about the other professor who had lost his job due to being accused of sleeping with a female student, and I didn’t even know if

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Chapter 45

they had actually slept together or if it was a rumor. As much as I liked Audrey, I wasn’t about to risk my job-or her education-for another night together.

And even if we did somehow get permission from the dean to be together, there was still the matter of our age; I was more than ten years her senior, an entire generation ahead of her. We had different mannerisms, different ways of speaking, different

interests.

How could I justify that? Everyone would always look at me like a creep for being into someone as young as her.

My wolf, sensing my thoughts, bristled nervously. “But there’s something else. It’s not because she’s a human, is it?” he asked.

I chuckled under my breath and shook my head. “No. You know I don’t really care about that. It doesn’t make a difference to me

Pausing, I lifted my glass to my lips and took a sip, letting my eyes wander the smoky bar. My chest clenched painfully when I saw the door swing open and a group of students walk in-among which was a familiar figure and a head of dark hair that made Something ache and twist in my lower belly.

Da**.