Gabriel's Rapture gi-2

by Sylvain Reynard

  decision to go down that road with him before they had their conversation, but as he gazed at her with undisguised passion, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  “I’d like that,” she said, quietly.

  Gabriel smiled as if the sun had just returned to the sky after

  a protracted absence and quickly shifted his chair so he was seated next to her. Close. Very close. So close that she could feel his warm breath on her neck, which goose pimpled in anticipation.

  Gabriel picked up Julia’s dessert fork and placed some pie and

  ice cream on it and turned to face her.

  As she gazed at him with longing, his breath caught in his throat.

  “What is it?” She looked at him in alarm.

  “I’d almost forgotten how lovely you are.” He traced the curve

  of her cheekbone with his unencumbered hand and brought the

  fork to her lips.

  She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, and at that moment,

  Gabriel’s heart soared. Yes, it was a little thing — almost inconsequen-tial if one were to consider what tales to tell a confidante. But Julia didn’t trust quickly or easily. The ease with which she made herself vulnerable to him made his heart beat quick and his blood pump fast.

  She hummed at the mixture of flavors, opening her eyes.

  He couldn’t help himself. He leaned closer so their mouths were

  parted by mere inches and whispered, “May I?”

  She nodded, and he pressed his lips to hers. She was sweetness

  and light, gentleness and goodness, and the burning and searing goal 327

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  of all of his earthly hunts and fascinations. But she didn’t belong to him. So he kissed her gently, like he first kissed her in the orchard, with both hands tangling in her long, curled hair. Then he pul ed

  back to watch her face.

  A contented sigh escaped her ruby lips as she sat with eyes closed, floating.

  “I love you,” he said.

  Now her eyes were open. Her expression reflected an unnamed

  emotion, but she didn’t say it back.

  When dessert was well and truly over, Gabriel suggested they

  take their espressos to the tent, dismissing Rebecca for the evening.

  Night had fallen on this little patch of Eden, and like Adam himself, Gabriel led a blushing Eve to his bower.

  She kicked off her shoes and curled up on the futon against

  the cushions, nervously chewing her fingernails while Gabriel lit

  the candles in the Moroccan lanterns. He took his time, adjusting

  them so their light flickered over the futon seductively. Then he lit the other candles that were scattered throughout the tent. Finally, he lay on his back next to her, hands behind his head, angled so he could see her face.

  “I’d like to talk about what happened,” she initiated.

  Gabriel gave her his full attention.

  “When you showed up outside my apartment I didn’t know

  whether to hit you or kiss you.” Her voice was low.

  “Didn’t you?” he whispered.

  “I didn’t do either.”

  “It was never your nature to be vindictive. Or cruel.”

  She took a deep breath and began. She told him how it broke

  her heart to have left message after message with him, only to have them unacknowledged. She told him about her surprise at finding

  his apartment abandoned. She told him about the kindness of his

  neighbor, and Paul, and Katherine Picton. She spoke of her continued sessions with Nicole.

  Julia was too busy fussing with her espresso to notice how un-

  settled he’d become. When she mentioned how the textbook he’d

  passed to her had ended up on her shelf unopened, Gabriel cursed

  Paul.

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  “You aren’t allowed to curse him.” Her tone was sharp. “It wasn’t

  his fault that you put your message in a textbook. Why didn’t you

  choose a volume out of your personal library? I might have recog-

  nized it.”

  “I’d been ordered to stay away from you. If I’d put a volume from

  my library in your mailbox, Jeremy would have noticed it. As it was, I chose a textbook and I placed it in your mailbox after hours.” He huffed in frustration. “Didn’t the title mean anything to you?”

  “What title?”

  “The title of the textbook: Marriage in the Middle Ages: Love, Sex, and the Sacred.”

  “What should it have meant, Gabriel? For all I knew, you’d labeled me as your Héloise and left me. I didn’t have any reason to think otherwise and you didn’t leave me with one.”

  He leaned forward, eyes flashing. “The textbook was the reason.

  The title, the photo from the orchard, the image of St. Francis trying to save Guido da Montefeltro…” His voice cracked, and he paused,

  in agony. “Didn’t you remember our conversation in Belize? I told

  you I’d go to Hell to save you. And believe me, I did.”

  “I didn’t know you’d sent me messages. I overlooked the textbook

  because I didn’t know it was from you. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I couldn’t talk to you,” he whispered. “I was told that the Dean

  would interview you prior to your graduation and that he would

  ask if you’d heard from me. You’re a lovely woman, Julianne, but a terrible liar. I had to send messages in code.”

  Julia’s surprise registered immediately on her face. “You knew

  about the interview?”

  “I knew about a great many things,” he said stoically. “But I

  couldn’t tell. That’s the point.”

  “Rachel told me not to despair.” She captured his gaze for a mo-

  ment. “But I needed to hear those words from you. Our last night together, you had sex with me, but you wouldn’t talk to me. What

  was I supposed to think?”

  Tears overflowed her eyes. But before she could wipe them away

  with her hand, Gabriel’s tugged her from her safe corner into his

  outstretched arms. He pressed her to his chest and kissed her head, before wrapping his arms around her back.

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  Somehow, the feel of his arms around her made her cry harder.

  He squeezed her gently.

  “My pride was my downfall. I thought I could court you while

  you were my student and get away with it. I was wrong.”

  “I thought you chose your job instead of me.” Julia’s voice was

  filled with hurt. “When I discovered you’d moved out of your apartment…Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Forgive me, Julianne. My goal was not to hurt you, I promise. I

  regret everything that you described.” He kissed her forehead once again. “I need to tell you what happened. It’s a long story. And only you can tell me how it ends…”

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  Chapter 45

  Julia pulled away so she could see his face better, bracing herself for what was to come. Her sudden movement seemed to cause the

  scent of her hair to waft over to him.

  “Your hair is different,” he murmured.

  “A little longer, perhaps.”

  “It doesn’t smell of vanilla anymore.”

  “I changed my shampoo.” She sounded curt.

  “Why?” Gabriel shifted his body to eliminate the gap between

  them.

  “Because it reminded me of you.”

  “Is that why you aren’t wearing your earrings?” he asked, finger-

  ing her earlobe.

  “Yes.”

  He paused and gazed at her, his hurt evident.


  She looked away.

  “I love you, Julianne. No matter what you think of me or what

  I did, I promise that I was only trying to protect you.”

  She moved to lie on her side, careful not to touch him.

  “I am your faithful one, Beatrice,” Gabriel quoted, his eyes brimming with emotion. “Please remember that when I tell you what

  happened.”

  He took a deep breath and said a silent prayer before beginning

  his story.

  “When you and I appeared before the hearing officers, my hope

  was that we would say very little and force them to show what

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  evidence they had. But it became clear that they weren’t going to

  rest until they’d laid charges and punished us.

  “I screwed up when I submitted Katherine’s grade for your work

  to the Registrar. Since the administration was worried you’d been

  awarded the grade because you were sleeping with me, they were

  going to suspend your grade while they investigated further.”

  “Could they do that?”

  “It’s a provision listed in the policies governing academic behavior.

  As long as the grade was incomplete, you wouldn’t be able to graduate.”

  Julia blinked at Gabriel as understanding washed over her. “No

  Harvard,” she whispered.

  “No Harvard this year and probably no Harvard ever, since they

  would have been suspicious as to why the University of Toronto was suspending your grade. Even if Harvard never learned the reason,

  they have so many applications. Why should they give you a second

  thought when they could admit someone with a spotless record?”

  Julia sat very still, the weight of his words pressing down on her.

  Gabriel scratched at his chin in agitation. “I was afraid the hearing officers were going to ruin your future. But it was my fault. I’m the one who persuaded you that it was safe to get involved with

  me; I’m the one who invited you to Italy. I should have waited. My selfishness is what led to all this.”

  He gazed into her eyes and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry I ruined

  our last night together. I should have talked to you. But all I could think about was how worried I was. I never should have treated you the way I did.”

  “I felt so alone the next morning.”

  “It was the worst way for me to deal with my anxiety. But I hope

  that you believe me when I tell you that it wasn’t just a…” He paused, stumbling. “A fuck to me. Every time we were together it was always, always done with love. I swear.”

  Julia dropped her gaze to the futon. “For me too. There’s never

  been anyone else, before or since.”

  He closed his eyes for an instant, relief coursing through him.

  Even though she’d felt angry and betrayed, she hadn’t followed her anger to another man’s arms. She hadn’t given up on him completely.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

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  He took a deep breath before continuing. “When you confessed

  to our relationship and I saw the Dean’s reaction, I knew we were

  caught. My lawyer was prepared to stonewall, hoping that the com-

  mittee would excuse me or hand down a ruling that I could challenge in court. But when you confessed, you provided the corroboration

  the committee needed.”

  “We had an agreement to show a united front. An agreement, Gabriel.” Julia’s voice grew heated.

  “I acquiesced to you in good faith, Julianne. But I also promised

  that I wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt you or to end your career. That promise takes precedence.”

  “An agreement is a promise.”

  Gabriel leaned forward. “They were threatening your future. Did

  you really expect me to sit there and watch it happen?”

  When she didn’t respond, he challenged her. “Did you sit there

  and say nothing when they told you they were pursuing charges

  against me?”

  Her eyes flew to his. “You know I didn’t. I pleaded with them.

  They wouldn’t listen.”

  “Exactly.” His blue eyes bored into hers. “From whom do you

  think I learned about self-sacrifice?”

  She shook her head, not bothering to contradict him. “If we

  broke the rules, then why didn’t the Dean try to punish both of us?”

  “I’m the professor; I should have known better. And Professor

  Chakravartty was on your side from the very beginning. She doesn’t think professor-student relationships can be consensual. And sadly for us, they found that old email of yours.”

  “So it was my fault.”

  Gabriel gently leaned over and brushed the back of his hand

  against her cheek. “No. I persuaded you that we could break the

  rules and get away with it. And then, instead of taking responsibility for my actions, I sat there behind my lawyer. You were the only one brave enough to tell the truth. And once you did, I had to confess.

  “I agreed to accept their sanctions if they brought the investigation to a speedy conclusion. The hearing officers were only too glad to dispose of the matter without a lawsuit and they agreed, promising leniency.”

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  Julia wore a pained expression.

  “Unfortunately, their definition of lenience and mine were two

  different things. I expected to be censured, not forced to take a leave of absence.”

  He scrubbed at his face with his hands. “Jeremy was furious at

  the prospect of losing me, even for a semester. I’d caused a scandal that would embarrass not only him but my colleagues and the other

  students in the department. Christa was filing a lawsuit against the university too. It was a huge mess, and I was at the root of it.”

  “We were at the root of it, Gabriel. I knew the rules, and I broke them too.”

  He gave her a half-smile. “The rules are written in such a way as

  to excuse the student because the professor is the one with the power.”

  “The only power you had over me was love.”

  He kissed her softly. “Thank you.”

  Gabriel’s heart was full, almost to the brim. She hadn’t looked

  back at their time together and viewed him the way the hearing of-

  ficers did. She hadn’t recoiled when he kissed her. In fact, her lips had welcomed him. She gave him hope that by the end of his story,

  she’d still be at his side.

  “When they brought Jeremy in, I begged him to help us. I prom-

  ised I’d do anything.”

  “Anything?” Julia asked.

  He shifted again. “I had no idea he was going to side with the

  hearing officers and demand that I cease all contact with you. It was a rash promise made in a fit of desperation.”

  Julia moved away from him. “What did he say?”

  “He persuaded the committee to place me on administrative leave.

  It was effectively a suspension, but they didn’t call it that in order to avoid tainting the department. I was also prohibited from supervising female graduate students for a term of three years.”

  “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  He pressed his lips together. “I was told to end things with you

  immediately and cease all contact. They said if I violated this condition, the agreement would be void and they would re-open the investigation, into both of us.” He paused, seemingly struggling for words.

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  “If they thought I was a victim, why would they threaten to

  investigate me again?”

  Gab
riel’s blue eyes cooled. “The Dean suspected you were tell-

  ing the truth — that our relationship was consensual and that I was trying to save your reputation. He wasn’t about to let us go off into the sunset together. That’s why I sent you the email.”

  “That email was cruel.”

  Gabriel’s eyebrows knitted together. “I know. But since I was

  sending it from my university account to your university account, I assumed you’d realize it was all for show. Have I ever spoken to you like that before?”

  She gave him a challenging look.

  He winced. “I mean, have I spoken to you like that since I real-

  ized who you were?”

  “Could the university really demand that you stop talking to me?”

  Gabriel shrugged. “They did. The threat of Christa’s lawsuit was

  hanging over all of us. Jeremy seemed to think that if I took a leave of absence that he could convince Christa to drop the lawsuit. And he did. But once again, he said that if he found out I was still seeing you, he wouldn’t lift a finger to help me.”

  “That’s blackmail.”

  “That’s academia. Christa’s lawsuit would have damaged the de-

  partment, possibly irreparably. Jeremy would have lost the ability to recruit top faculty and students because people would hear that it wasn’t a safe place to be. I didn’t want to be embroiled in a scandal any more than he did, and I certainly didn’t want you hauled into

  a courtroom as a witness.”

  Gabriel cleared his throat, clearly struggling. “I agreed. Jeremy

  and the Dean made it clear that they would interview you at the

  end of the semester to see if I’d kept my promise. I had no choice.”

  Julia toyed with the folds of her dress. “Why didn’t you tell me?

  Why didn’t you demand a recess so you could explain what was

  happening? We were a couple, Gabriel. We were supposed to work

  together.”

  He swallowed thickly. “What would have happened if I’d taken

  you aside and explained what I was about to do?”

  “I wouldn’t have let you go through with it.”

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  “Exactly. I wasn’t going to allow you to lose everything because

  of my failures. I couldn’t live with that. I only hoped that you would forgive me — someday.”

  Julia was stunned.

  “You were willing to risk everything to save me, thinking that I

  might not forgive you?”

  “Yes.”