"If you and the girl have nothing to hide, then you shouldn't mind if I talk to her while you wait outside."
"Gabe," I whispered. "It really is fine."
"It isn't about trying to hide something. It's about me standing by my woman for what I'm sure will be a difficult conversation. What kind of man would I be if I left her alone to handle this?"
My heart melted at Gabe's vehemence. Seriously, was there any question about why I'd fallen for this man?
"While I understand where you're coming from, I have to say, calling the girl ‘your woman' makes it hard for me to believe the relationship started a day ago."
I jumped slightly, having forgotten that the dean was in the room with us while I swooned over Gabe's protective streak. My cheeks heated, and I cursed my habit of blushing whenever I got embarrassed. I turned towards the dean and tugged Gabe along with me as I moved to sit down in one of the chairs across from the dean. Gabe and Mr. Whitehall followed my lead, sitting down also.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to think of the best way to explain what had happened between Gabe and me. I understood the dean's skepticism because our story was hard to believe. "I'm not sure what Gabe has already told you or how you found out about the relationship that's recently developed between us."
"Why don't you tell me your side of the story and then we'll discuss what Professor Aldric has already told me and how I learned about this potential violation of our fraternization rule."
I looked towards Gabe, who nodded his head in encouragement, before I began telling the dean about how I'd spent the semester hopelessly attracted to my professor. It was mortifying, but I braved through it because I had to if I wanted to be able to graduate without a black mark on my record. "Gabe never did anything untoward. Not once all semester. If you asked my fellow students, I'm sure they'd tell you there was virtually no interaction between the two of us all semester long. But that didn't stop me from falling for him all the same. It wasn't until after I finished my final exam for his class and was no longer his student that anything happened between us."
"Yesterday?" Mr. Whitehall asked.
"Yes, sir," I replied. "As hard as it is to believe, yesterday was the first time we even spoke more than a handful of words to each other."
He stroked his chin as he considered what I'd told him, his gaze moving between Gabe and me. "And before this interaction"-he paused there and I fought hard not to laugh at the word he'd chosen to use because it didn't come close to describing what had happened last night-"happened, you graded her exam and submitted her score to finalize her grade in your class?"
"No."
I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach, having not thought about the fact that he couldn't possibly have graded my exam before we had sex.
"As I explained earlier, the very first thing I did after my faculty meetings yesterday afternoon was ask my TA to grade Charlotte's exam. The same way he's graded all of her tests and papers this semester because I knew I was developing feelings for her and didn't want there to be a conflict of interest."
"You're the only two people who know exactly what happened and when. The only proof included in the complaint which was made by a fellow student was a photo of the two of you which I can only assume was taken today since you're both wearing the same clothes you currently have on." Someone had taken a photo of us? "Considering that Miss Young has an exemplary record during her time here and you're a valued member of the faculty, I'm prone to accepting your version of the facts."
I heaved an enormous sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Dr. Whitehall."
"Don't thank me yet."
I reached out for Gabe's hand, clenching my fingers tightly when they slid around his palm.
"Assuming you pass all your courses this semester, I'll allow you to graduate as planned, Charlotte. However, you'll need to think long and hard about your next step from here because the fall semester is only eight months away and if you want to be a graduate student here, you'll have a hard decision to make. You can't be in a relationship with Professor Aldric while you're a student in his department."
Chapter 10
Gabe
The ride back to our apartment building was quiet, the silence between us heavy. I'd hoped to have more time to come up with a strategy, one that would convince her to stay. The only option for her to do that, other than going to a school without a decent program in her field, meant forfeiting her goals for higher education.
There was one solution that seemed obvious. I was going to do it sooner rather than later. Why wait if it will do the job now?
Once parked, I helped Charlotte from the car, grabbing our bags and heading inside, my hand at the small of her back. Her shoulders were slumped and she had a dejected look on her face. We walked to the elevator and stepped inside. I pressed the button for the penthouse, but to my surprise, Charlotte pressed the button for her floor.
She kept her head down and shuffled her feet as an awkward silence descended. "Sweetheart?"
"I just need some time, Gabe," she whispered.
I sighed, "Charlotte, please look at me when you're talking to me." My voice was firm. "I don't want to tell you again," I reprimanded.
She lifted her head and I saw a small spark of defiance in her eyes. It was so much better than the overwhelming anxiety and sadness I'd seen when we left campus.
"Good girl. Now, why don't you come home and we'll talk about it."
"I need time to process this, Gabe," she objected. "I have big decisions to make and I can't think clearly when you're near."
I opened my mouth to protest, but it occurred to me that she was giving me the perfect opportunity to set up my plan. I wasn't happy about giving her time to mull things over, possibly deciding that leaving was best. It would be harder to persuade her to my way of thinking, but not impossible. I'd make sure of it.
I pulled her close and kissed the top of her head as she snuggled up to me, "Ok, sweetheart. I'll give you some time, but I want you up at our place at eight."
My hand ventured down to palm one round globe of her spectacular ass. I squeezed it and brought our bodies flush, front to front. Her eyes heated, reflecting the burn I was feeling, the desire to have her naked and writhing underneath me. I feathered a kiss across her rosebud lips, then moved to her ear. "Don't be late or there will be handcuffs waiting in the bedroom with your name on them."
She giggled and I shook my head, she'd find out soon enough. The elevator dinged on her floor and I stepped off to carry her bag for her. She unlocked the door and I set it down just inside her apartment before pressing a key to my place into her hand. Before I left, I drew her into my arms and kissed the fuck out of her until I was satisfied that I'd be clouding her "thinking" time without even being there.
I'd cooked for Charlotte the night before and it had seemed to delight her. So, I went out and picked up groceries to do so again. I made an extra stop before returning home to get started on dinner.
When the food was mostly done, I went into the bedroom and set things up for the night. Charlotte would be making a very big decision about her future and I knew that meant it was time to be clear about my preferences in the bedroom. If, for some reason, she couldn't take it or simply didn't like it, I would put it all behind me. I would do anything for her and there was no way I was willing to let her go.
I expected her to be wary, but I was almost certain that Charlotte would end up loving my methods of pleasure. There was something in her, particularly in her eyes, when I got overly alpha on her that told me she was a submissive in the bedroom.
Just before eight, I looked around one last time to make sure everything was ready to go. I poured us each a glass of wine and was just placing food on the table when I heard the key in the lock.
I met her in the hall pulling her in for a giant bear hug, sensing she needed simple comfort at the moment. "Hi, sweetheart." I kissed her forehead, each closed eyelid, her nose, and finally a sweet meeting of our lips.
When she looked up at me, I could see her gratitude in not jumping right into things and demanding an answer. We walked side by side into the dining room and she molded into my side as we entered.
"This looks amazing, Gabe."
I didn't think I'd done all that much, adding candlelight and a pink rose over her plate, but I loved that it made her so happy.
"Dinner is ready," I said, pulling her chair out for her. Once she was seated, I swept her hair to the side of her neck and kissed the sensitive flesh I'd bared. She shivered and I was suddenly more than anxious to get dinner and our discussion over with.