King of Hearts (House of Cards Series 2) [Student/teacher]

Nine of Hearts

West hadn't thought about it when he texted Maddison, promising her an explanation about Alice's past, as much as he knew, and the social tension between Alice and Lexi. He just knew it was something she would need to be aware of and offered to fill her in. And just like that they were back to talking. Though the very first thing Maddison told West was that he was to tell no one about their past together. And that it was exactly that; the past. She was his teacher and for both their sakes it was better that they act like there had never been anything sexual between them. He was to call her Ms. Avery and behave appropriately with her at all times.

That was going to be harder than expected. Turns out one of the students Maddison was expected to tutor on weeknights and weekends, was West. A few hours a week, one-on-one, and they were expected to behave themselves. West spent the month of January taking a lot of very cold showers. First of all, he was supposed to flirt like mad with Alice as his character of Oberon. On top of that, they were not discouraging the rumours that they might be lovers, but they weren't confirming them either. So he basically got to grab, hug, hold and cuddle with the hottest girl in the school. Who also happened to be, for all intents and purposes, his older brother's woman. He managed to hide it but it wasn't exactly hard to get physical with her. West generally disliked highschool girls, but if things had gone differently then West would be more than willing to court the little squaw. It wasn't just her looks, but there was something about the air of vulnerability hidden behind a pirate-wench attitude that was attractive to a man like West. Even more so for a man like Malcolm. Reaper was... going to kill West if he ever once thought that the Cubano would make a move on his girl. Not that West was planning on it. It was just hard not to get a little physically worked up when you're having to be all over a tightbody in a dancer's leotard.

But the biggest reason West had suddenly turned polar bear was always Maddison. He finally got to see her dance. And it almost killed him. Maddison had convinced her dance partner Rafe to come in and demonstrate some of the choreography for the class. They danced one of the scenes West was supposed to do with Alice and the Cuban found himself gripping the dance bar along the side of the room to keep from storming over there and punching that pelotero for having his greasy paws all over his girl. More than that though, watching Maddison dance was like seeing one of the old Greek Muses come to life. She was everything that the character was supposed to be. And something else besides.

He needed to find a way to re-establish his claim on her. Seeing the way Rafe tried to hold her to him longer than necessary, and the way she brushed off his casual touch enraged West. That was his girl. Even if right now they weren't together, she was his. Rafe may get to dance with her on stage but that did not give him rights to Maddison in any way, shape or form. But West had to swallow that down and push it away when he spoke with Maddison alone next. If he wanted to work his way back into her life, it was going to take careful patience.

So he started to slowly try and reseduce Maddison. There wasn't any other girl he actually wanted, and he knew that maybe if he showed her what he was capable of, she'd stop being mad at him for New Year's. So when he walked into the coffee shop where they were supposed to meet up so she could tutor him in calculus, West had brought something with him. He spotted Maddison sitting at a booth, books already spread out and sipping at her hot chocolate. He set his surprise for her down in front of her and slid into the booth across.

"What's this?" Maddison asked, moving the envelope with her pencil.

West smiled softly. "Open it Maddison, then you'll know."

Maddison sighed. She wasn't in the mood for his games right now, not after the long day she'd had. First thing in the morning, Rafe had been... grabby. He was getting a little bolder in his attempts and Maddison was struggling with trying to find a way to tell him off without ruining their dancing relationship. Because they did dance amazingly together. It wasn't that she didn't find him attractive but Rafe just wasn't.... West. Mad could at least be honest enough with herself to know that she missed the electrical tingles his touch gives her. But that was impossible now that she was his tutor and a teacher's assistant at his school.