The Ivy Lessons (16 page)

‘Much better,’ I say, putting the ice cream on the side table. ‘Thanks so much for everything you’ve done for me. But I want to pay for all this -’

Marc
holds up a hand. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I want to take care of you.’

‘I don’t want any favouritism,’ I say. ‘Just because we’ve ... things have happened, doesn’t mean I should get any special treatment.’

Marc raises an eyebrow. ‘You think this is special treatment?’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘I’d do this for any of my pupils,’ says Marc, a dangerous look entering his eye. ‘And I’m a little offended you’d think I wouldn’t.’

‘Oh.
Sorry.
’ I swallow ice cream that has suddenly become a bit too sickly.

‘You look much better,’ says
Marc
, and I hear the relief in his voice. ‘I was worried about you. When I heard you were in hospital –
I’m furious with myself for letting this happen
.’

‘You didn’t let anything happen,’ I say. ‘It was an accident.’

‘An accident that could have been avoided.’

‘You believe I didn’t take drugs on purpose, don’t you?’ I say.

Marc
nods.

‘I think I know what happened,’ I say tentatively.

Marc
holds up his hand. ‘I know too,’ he says. ‘Your friend Ryan spiked your drink with what he thought was cocaine.’

‘How do you know that?’ I say, my mouth falling open.

‘I spoke with Ryan earlier. He admitted everything. P
eople don’t tend to lie to me
.’

‘For the record,’ I say. ‘He’s not my friend.’

‘I guessed that,’ says
Marc
. ‘But I think he’d like to be. From what he told me, I think he’d like to be more than a friend.’

‘What?’ I shake my head. ‘Not Ryan. He hates me. Him and Cecile both do.’

‘Some people just find it hard to express themselves when they feel something very strongly,’ says
Marc
. ‘He’s been in love with you from the first moment he saw you.’

‘In
love
with me? But he’s
so ... rude. And mean
.’

‘Like I said. Some people have a hard time expressing themselves.’
Marc
turns the television off and sits on the bed. M
y stomach buzzes just to have him so near me. ‘The doctors have given you the all clear, but I think it’s best you stay here overnight. Just in case. You can leave tomorrow morning. Sunday,’ he adds softly. ‘In time for your class on Monday morning.’

I swallow, remembering what he said about punishing me. ‘What’s going to happen on Monday?’

‘You’ll have to wait and see.’

‘Will you punish me for this, too? For ending up in hospital?’

Marc
shake
s his head. ‘Sophia, this isn’t your fault
.’

He gets up and locks the door.

‘What are you doing?’ I say
. ‘What if the nurse needs to come in?’

‘She won’t,’ says
Marc
. ‘I’ve told all the medical staff not to disturb you while I’m visiting.’

‘Won’t the newspapers have something to say about that?’ I ask.

‘One of the joys of a private facility,
’
Marc
says,
‘
is that m
oney buys you confidentiality, and they wouldn’t dream of selling anything to the press here. The
only story the press have is that I visited you in the other hospital
. And they can make of that what they like – it proves nothing more than I care
about my students. Which I do.
You need rest
.
And relax.’

Carefully, he peels the crisp, white sheet from my body and nods in approval when he sees I’m wearing the sweat clothes he bought for me.

‘I want you to get to know
your own body
better
,’ he says, sliding off the sweat pants. I nod stupidly, watching the way his jaw clenches as he runs a hand down my thigh. ‘Do you masturbate?’

‘No,’ I lie. Why can’t I ever answer honestly to that question?

He raises an eyebrow. ‘Don’t lie to me, Sophia. I’m an actor too, remember?’

I blush. ‘Okay. Sometimes I do.’

‘I thought so.’

He slides off my panties and throws them to
the floor. I see the shape growing in his trousers. He spreads my legs apart and takes out his iPhone.

‘What are you doing?’ I ask.

‘Taking photographs of my star pupil,’ he says, directing the phone between my legs, and snapping a few shots. The flash lights
everything, and I feel more naked than I’ve ever felt in my life
. ‘I’ll use them later, for my own amusement.’

‘Oh.’ The idea both terrifies and thrills me. The fact that
Marc
Blackwell
could want pictures of me makes me
feel amazing. But on the other hand,
having him able to see naked parts of me up close is terrifying.

‘Trust me,’
Marc
whispers, running a hand up and down my thigh. ‘I’ll keep them totally safe. Completely protected. You have my word. You do trust me, don’t you?’

‘I think so,’ I say.
The way he’s cared for me has been amazing. And there’s something about him that just makes me know that he’s true to his word.

‘I wanted to ask you something,’ I sa
y. ‘About a newspaper article I saw
a few days ago.’

Chapter 36

‘Ah ha,’ says
Marc
. ‘So you’re listening to tabloid gossip now? Don’t believe everything you read, Sophia.’ He looks at his phone, using his finger to flick through pictures. ‘Very nice. Very ni
ce indeed. A model pupil
in more ways than one.’

‘Was it you in the pictures
?’
I ask.

‘Yes
,’ says
Marc
. ‘But let’s just say with newspapers have a way of twisting the truth.’

‘Who was filmi
ng?’ I blurt out. ‘You say the
pictures
you just took
are safe, but if someone got hold of a film of you ...’

Marc
puts his phone down. ‘She was filming. It was a set up. For money. Okay? I should have known better, but when the scenario presented itself, I ... I couldn’t help myself.
’

‘You couldn’t help yourself?’

Marc
looks away from me. ‘That didn’t come out right. Of course I could have helped myself. But ...
I didn’t that day. It’s
not like with you. I was in
control. It was all my choice, the whole way through.

‘
I’d been playing a very tough role that day.
She had a minor role in the movie we were making, and in the bar at the end of the night she told me she’d been a bad girl and wan
ted me to spank her
. So I did. I guess she
somehow
knew
I like to be in charge
and set me up.
All that happened months ago, before I even met you
.
’

I feel a sliver of something unpleasant. Jealousy. I don’t like the thought of him with another woman.
Good god, Sophia, what have you got yourself into? Don’t fall i
n love with a movie star who likes to be in charge and spank people
. It can only ever end in tears.

‘Touch yourself,’ says
Marc
, holding up his iPhone.

‘
Marc
-’

‘That’s an order.’

What is about
Marc
that makes it impossible to say no? I put my hand between my legs.

‘Hot,’ he nods.

He moves the iPhone closer. ‘Very hot. Put your fingers inside yourself.’

I reach my other hand down and do as he says.

‘You look beautiful,’ he breathes, moving the iPhone around to get the best angle. ‘Keep going. I want to film you come.’

Suddenly, embarrassment takes over. ‘I can’t,’ I say. ‘I’ll feel stupid with you filming.’

‘Coun
t this as another
lessons,’ says
Marc
. ‘Getting comfortable with your body being on show. The more comfortable you are, the more sexual enjoyment you
’ll
get.
And the better actress you’ll be.
’

I begin moving my hands again, and he slides his fingers up my thigh. Then he pushes my top up, still filming with his free hand, and runs fingers over my bra. Goosebumps stand out on my arms, and he smiles. Then his fingers reach my neck and chin, and he forces a thumb into my mouth.

‘Suck it,’ he says, filming my face. I’m still moving my hands, and having his thumb going in and out of my mouth feels
strangely sexy.

The good feelings are building up, and the more he rams his thumb into my mouth, the better I feel.

‘Mmm,’ I mumble
.

He films back down between my legs, and I notice a large swelling in his trousers.

This is really turning him on.

I can’t help myself. Warmth travels up from between my legs, up my navel and down my t
highs, and I shout
his name.

‘
Marc
, oh
Marc
.’

He films the whole thing, and I don’t care. It feels too good. It’s only when the wave of pleasure has passed that I come to my senses, and realise there’s now film footage of me having an orgasm.

‘I feel
embarrassed you
have that film footage of me,’ I tell
Marc
, sinking back into the be
d. ‘
I can’t stand the thought of you watching it. I feel so silly.’

‘Which is exactly why I’m keeping it,’ says
Marc
. ‘I’ll watch you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Trust me, Sophia. It will help you let go of your inhabitations.’

‘I don’t think I’m all that inhibited.’

Marc
laughs. ‘You’re joking? You’re inhibited, trust me.’

‘I still don’t like the idea of you having a film of me,’ I mutter.

‘Hey.’ He comes and puts his face by mine, and strokes my cheek. ‘You trust me, right? I’ll take good
care of this,
Sophia. And if you really don’t want me to have it, I’ll delete it. But right now, as your teacher I think it’s a good lesson for you.
Now. Give me your phone number.
’

‘Why?’ I ask.

‘After today’s little escapade, I want to make sure I can always get in touch with you.’

I don’t like that reply, but I do like the idea of him having my number, so I read off the digits. He enters then into his phone, and I feel a swell of excitement at the thought of him calling me.

He lays the
sheet over me
.
‘Monday,
’
he says.
And with that
he unlocks the door and leaves.

Chapter 37

I leave the hospital on Sunday morning fee
ling great. For breakfast, I have
a delicious hospital breakfast of strawberry smoothie
, toasted pumpkin seed porridge and
freshly baked rye bread with unsalted butter.

Trinity asks me if I need a taxi to get me back to the campus, but I tell her I’d rather walk and explore London. She gives me a fold up map, and I set off into the sunshine.

I
soon
find myself walking through Sloane Square, past designer clothes shops and red-brick apartments. There are all sorts of delicious-looking cafes and restaurants dotted around, and I stop for a
hot chocolate
at an Italian deli, taking a table on the street so I can watch London life go by.

I take out my phone and see five missed calls from
Jen
. I call her back, and am rewarded with her screeching down the phone:

‘Sopheeee!’

‘I think you just deafened me.’

‘Where are you?’
Jen
asks. ‘I’m on your campus. I came down for a surprise visit, but you’re not here. Are you being a dirty stop out?’

You have no idea.

‘I’m just in West London,’ I say. ‘Near Sloane Square. At somewhere called Gerades.’

‘Will they min
d me parking at your college
if you’re not there?’
Jen
asks.

‘I doubt it,’ I say.