Chapter 12

Thorn picked up Nikki from her apartment complex the following day. He had decided not to tell her that he had researched her past the night before, not wanting to bring up her traumatic past for now.

              “Did you eat breakfast?” he asked as Nikki climbed into the passenger seat.

              “I did.” She nodded, and then she patted her satchel. “And I have some snacks.”

              “No lunch?” Thorn scowled.

              “I wanted to ask you about that.” She told him as he pulled out of the underground garage. Thorn glanced at her, signaling that he was listening. “Would it be okay if I ate in your office?”

              “I don’t see why not.” He stated. “You are my apprentice now.” He smirked. “I can even make a spare key for you.”

              “That’d be great.” Nikki smiled. “I’ll buy lunch from the campus café and eat in your office on my break.” She told him.

              “Glad to see you taking care of yourself.” Thorn nodded.

              “You say that as if I am incapable.” She retorted.

              “I am aware of your capabilities; I was simply sharing my relief at seeing you utilize your resources, " he told her. Nikki glanced at him, her expression mixed between annoyance and surprise.

              “That was a backhanded compliment.” She commented.

              “Was it?” Thorn smirked. “I thought I was being genuinely nice.” He teased her. Nikki scoffed as she rolled her eyes. He chuckled as they arrived on campus and parked in the faculty parking lot. Thorn got out of the car first, then walked over to the passenger side to get the door for Nikki. Neither noticed Ella sitting nearby, observing the pair with a smile on her face.

              “Your first class is with me this morning, right,” Thorn asked Nikki as he helped her out of his jaguar.

              “Yes. But we have two hours to kill before class starts.” Nikki commented. “Do you have any tasks for me as your new apprentice?” She teased him.

              “Maybe…” Thorn replied as he pondered for a moment. “I may just have you help me organize my office.”

              “That certainly is a task.” Nikki laughed.

              “Now, now.” Thorn scowled at her as they began walking together. “No need to be disrespectful.” He pretended to scold her.

              “Disrespectful?” She repeated. “What would be disrespectful is assuming your home is as messy as your office.” She retorted. “Are you going to order me to be your housekeeper too?” She teased him.

              “If I take you home with me, it certainly would not be to have you clean,” Thorn commented without thinking. Nikki turned to him with her mouth agape and a slight blush creeping on her face. Thorn looked at her in confusion for a moment before he realized what he had just said to her. Before he could apologize and correct himself, Ella appeared, laughing.

              “You should be careful with how you talk to female students, Professor Thorn,” Ella told him. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have mistaken that for an invitation.” She smirked.

              “It was just a slip of the tongue.” Nikki defended him, still blushing slightly.

              “I know,” Ella assured her. “He can be awkward with how he speaks sometimes. I am sure he meant nothing of consequence with such a comment.” She lied. She was fully aware that Thorn was the type to speak his mind. If the Professor said it out loud, he most likely meant it. Even an obtuse, offhanded reply from him was often sincere. To Ella, it was obvious Thorn wanted Nikki. “I am so glad I caught you.” She turned her attention to Nikki. “I wanted to talk to you about joining my club.”

              “I already told you I don’t meet the qualifications,” Nikki replied. “And I am not up for what you suggested.” She added as her blush deepened.

              “Professor Thorn does not want to be your Academic Daddy?” Ella asked as innocently as she could manage. Thorn rolled his eyes at her as Nikki scowled.

              “Why don’t you just adjust the requirements for your club?” He told her. “Instead of tormenting Nikki?” He frowned.

              “On a first-name basis with your favorite student already?” Ella smirked. He continued to scowl at her. “All right, all right.” She laughed lightly. “We can just make an exception for you, Nikki. I do want you to join my club.”

              “Why?” Nikki questioned.

              “While we are mainly a social club on campus, we also help each other with our studies, find tutors, internships, and even help with networking,” Ella explained. “Your reputation as the Exemplary Student makes you a great addition to our group, and since you don’t come from a prestigious family yourself, we may be able to offer you even more opportunities than you would be able to receive with just the scholarship alone.”

              “When you put it like that, it does sound like a useful group to be a part of.” Nikki nodded.

              “We have a meeting scheduled this afternoon; all of the candidates we’ve offered membership to will be there,” Ella revealed. “You can mingle with us and decide if we are a good fit for you if you attend.”

              “This afternoon?” Nikki asked.

              “Yes. We schedule our get-togethers between afternoon and evening classes.” Ella said. “You can come right after your last class.” She handed Nikki a paper invitation to the meeting.

              “Oh, um, I.” Nikki glanced at Thorn and then back at Ella.

              “I am sure the Professor can find something to keep him occupied while you attend our little gathering.” Ella looked at Thorn. “Unless he’s fine with me and my father giving you a ride home instead?” She asked, a knowing smile on her face.

              “I can wait.” Thorn scowled. Ella chuckled.

              “You are full of surprises.” She told him. He looked at her with an annoyed but confused expression. She smiled. “Well, I’ll leave you two be since I’ve delivered my invitation to Nikki.”

              “Thank you.” Nikki nodded as Ella began to walk away.

              “You are very welcome, " she smiled. Her smile only grew as she watched Thorn move closer to Nikki as she waved goodbye to them.

              His scowl was disapproving, but his posture relaxed beside Nikki. Ella noted Thorn's slightly possessive undertone toward Nikki; however, it did not cause her concern.

              “He’s the jealous type. How cute.” She said to herself as she finally turned away from the pair.

              “Goodness.” Nikki let out a sigh of relief once Ella had left. She and Thorn then continued towards his office. “I am so glad she did not get the wrong idea.” She told him.

              “She seems only ever to have wrong ideas,” Thorn commented. Nikki scowled at him.

              “You need to be more mindful of how you speak to me.” She scolded him. “That comment was not the first you made to me that could have been misinterpreted.”

              “Is that so?” Thorn asked as he tried to recall if he had ever let his interest in her slip out before his offhanded comment.

              “Yes!” Nikki huffed. “When you offered to let me use the pool at your condominium and then offered to take me to the beach.” She reminded him. “You have a way of making it seem like you are trying to ask me out on a date.” She complained.

              Thorn pondered what she was saying for a moment. He wanted to ask her out but felt it was too early in their relationship to do so. His goal was to ease her into a relationship with him, hoping to win her over in time. However, as she scowled at him for letting his true intentions slip, he worried she was not as interested in him as she appeared. He sighed and decided to face his concerns head-on.

              “And if I did ask you out on a date?” Thorn pressed. “Would such a thing truly be so terrible?” He asked as he looked at her.

              “It would certainly be awkward,” Nikki replied. “I have already expressed to you that I am not interested in dating someone who could ruin my life if things ended badly.” She reminded him. Thorn smirked as he noticed that she was blushing bright red, even as she answered him in such a logical way. He tried to hide his amusement as he spoke to her.

“How very pragmatic of you.” He praised her.

“Thanks.” Nikki nodded without looking at him.

“It is nice to know that the reason you would turn me down has more to do with our professional relationship rather than your dislike of me.” Thorn teased her.

“Tsk.” Nikki’s face reddened as she purposely turned away from him so he could not see her blush. He chuckled as he opened the door to the building for her, then guided her inside. “Whatever. I hope I’ve made my boundaries clear on this matter.” She huffed as they headed to his office.

“Crystal clear, my dear,” Thorn smirked. Nikki looked relieved at his answer, which made him feel bad for deceiving her. Thorn knew that he had no intention of respecting the boundaries Nikki was trying to set. She would be his; he just needed to figure out a way to convince her to remove these boundaries before he could claim her as his own. “Crystal clear indeed.” He commented as they arrived at his office.