“It wasn’t her fault,” Gage growls. “It’s me!”
“And was it worth risking your last two weeks of an otherwise perfect career, Professor?”
“Yes!” he blurts. “I’d do it again and again and again. I couldn’t stop myself. And I know if I had to turn back time, I’d make the same mistake a thousand times over. She’s worth the risk, every time.”
My heart swells.
Dean Marshalls drags in a deep breath and gives us both a half-hooded expression. “I could take your degree, Raven. And Professor Hill, I could revoke your teaching license. What then?” She stares back at us long and hard.
I bite the inside of my cheek. This is it. This is four years of work down the drain. This is Gage’s entire career ruined… and it’s all my fault. I should’ve stayed away. I knew it! That’s why I hadn’t answered his calls. It’s why I’d avoided class. I knew the second we saw each other this would happen.
Gage looks toward the dean. “You can’t take her degree. I’ll do whatever you need. Punish me… but Raven’s worked hard. She deserves a second chance.”
Dean Marshalls crosses her arms over her chest and looks toward us both, measuring her glance like an animal out for a kill. “You could’ve stopped fucking. I was standing right outside the door.”
So she did hear us. Now, it seems stupid that I wouldn’t let Gage stop, but at the time, the need was so strong it was impossible to think any other way.
“That was me,” I say. “I—”
“None of this was Raven. Just do what you have to. I’ll take the punishment,” Professor Hill says, his voice rumbling as his face contorts to frustration. Even now, I want to relieve it again.
I need help.
Dean Marshalls shakes her head and bites the inside of her cheek. “You’re in no place to be making demands, professor.” She sighs. “That said, considering you’re leaving anyway, and I think the only person that would be punished is Raven, who has until now,” she diverts her gaze to me, “has been an exemplary student, I’m going to let you both go on two conditions. One, you two keep your fucking off school grounds. Two,” she turns toward Gage, “you never teach again. There’s an expectation of trust in the institution when people attend college. It’s great and all that you’ve found someone special, but I can’t allow anyone to exploit the authority they’ve been given. If you are both telling me this is love, I believe you. But, if I see you take another job as a professor, I’ll release the tapes and end your career. Is that understood?”
We nod in unison, and the tension in the room relaxes as the dean turns down the hall, leaving an echo of clicking heels behind her as she walks. For a long moment we stand in silence, as though each of us is comprehending what’s just happened. Finally, Gage looks toward me.
“I guess there’s no looking back,” he says with a smile.
“Are you sure you’re okay with all of this?”
“I think the harder stipulation will not be fucking on the school grounds,” he chuckles.
“I think you’re right.”
“Do you know what this means, though?”
I bite my bottom lip and shake my head, hoping for something dirty. “No… what does it mean?”
“It means your mine, no matter what. Now and forever. Mine to sketch, mine to touch, mine to hold… whenever I want.”
I bury myself against his chest as my heart swells. “That’s fine by me, Professor Hill. I’m yours.”
Chapter Eight
Gage
Two Weeks Later
A long narrow driveway leads down to a cabin tucked away in the woods. Pine and cedar surround the exterior and there’s a bundle of balloons tied to a fencepost just outside the front door. We followed friends of Raven’s here, but they seem to have parked somewhere else. I lost track of them when Raven was talking about her memories of the mountain, which only got more intense the closer we got to the house.
I want to know every detail of her past like I was there. I want to know how she became who she is.
“Should I go back up to the street?” I ask, resting my hand on Raven’s knee as I take note of the driveway crammed with trucks.
She shakes her head. “I think we’re good. You can park between the white truck and the red one. Uncle Maddox won’t mind that we’re double parking him. Iamthe guest of honor, after all. Besides…” She nods toward the door, noticing her dad as he steps out onto the porch.
Fuck.Maddox is her uncle. Henry, the more serious and imposing brother, is her dad. Even though we’ve met in passing before, I didn’t realize how big he was until his eyes are locked directly on me. He’s not just tall, but something about this light makes the man look like a tank with a neck like a tree trunk and limbs to match.