Hot Dirty Love (Copperline #5) (23 page)

“What?” I interjected. “How is she not a part of this conversation?”

“She’s a fucktoy,” he shot back. “She’s just like all the other sluts you’ve banged over the years.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” I shouted, closing in on him where he stood there belligerently fuming back at me. “You know it’s more than that.”

“So I’m the fucktoy then," he spat. “Is that it? Someone for you to get your homo rocks off with. Yet you bring a girl into the mix so you don’t have to come to terms with your true sexuality.”

“I have never lied about my sexuality, to you or anyone.”

“So how much do your friends know? How much does your band know?” He glared at me, his green eyes glowing with rage. “Do your buddies know that you’ve been fucking me up the ass for the last couple months?”

“Stop it, you two,” Rain said, pushing in between us. “You guys are way too upset, so let’s just calm down and—”

“Bitch, stay the fuck out of this!” Cole snarled, shoving her back against the wall with a firm grip squeezing her throat.

I went fucking mental when he touched her.

I flew at him, spearing him in the gut with my shoulder and driving him to the ground. I managed to land two good solid punches before he recovered enough to fight back, and Rain screamed as he wedged enough resistance under me to break free from my grip.

He and I circled each other like animals, crashing together in a rush of fists and curses. Our sizes were pretty evenly matched, and we fought for what seemed like forever, slamming into walls and knocking over furniture. Eventually, worn and bruised, I threw him across the room. He stood and stared at me, eyeing the nearby door and spat a thick stream of blood and saliva onto the floor.

“Get the fuck out of my house,” I growled.

“Gladly,” he snarled as he grabbed on his coat, “you two fucking enjoy each other. I’m am so done.”

It only got worse.

I had just gotten done advising a student and was running late for my own class. Just before I turned away from my computer, I saw an email from Glenn, the head of my program.

Come see me before Transient Pressure Analysis class.

Shit
, I thought.
Sorry, Glenn, no time. It’ll have to be after class.

I buzzed through the hallways, but stopped short when I came around the corner and saw Glenn standing in front of the classroom door. He was looking inside at John, my PA, who appeared to be lecturing from my notes.

My gut twisted with dread.

“We need to go talk to Dave,” Glenn said.

Dave Franklin. The Provost.

Oh shit…

When we arrived at Dave’s office, he was sternly looking at his computer with no small amount of disgust marring his expression. He glanced up at me in the doorway.

“Come on in, Professor Dorsey. We have a little bit of an issue.”

I looked over at Glenn once more. The guy looked positively peaked. He gestured for me to walk in and sit down, so I did.

Dave looked over the top of his bifocals, frowning at me with an underlying contempt.

“I got an email last night," he said. “I’m not sure who it was from, but it’s very clear who it’s about.”

“And who is it about?" I asked.

“You… and Miss…” he glanced down at a writing pad with some almost illegible pen marks all over it. “Ah, here it is," he continued. “Miss Hartmann.”

Fuck
.

Be cool, Justin. Be cool. He’s just fishing.

“I’m not sure what this email said, sir, but—”

“It didn’t say much at all." He gave me a long, dark, foreboding look. “All it had was your names and a link.”

“A link to what?” I asked, playing dumb.

But I knew what the fucking link was.

“Are we really going to play this game, Justin? I think you know.” He leaned forward on his desk, resting his weight on his elbows as he pointed at me. “You see, you may or may not know that we have some pretty strict policy regarding faculty and student relationships. As in there is to be nothing physical or romantic. Nothing at all. Not only did you violate that policy, but you did it spectacularly.”

“Sir, I can explain. This happened before she was ever my student.”

“Really?”

“Yes, sir. It happened last summer. It happened before classes began.”

“Well, that would change things." He sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, eying me with a side long glance.

I exhaled, trying to keep it unobtrusive, but feeling some sense of relief. He might be reasonable about this.

“The problem is,” he continued, “the link goes to evidence of multiple instances.”

That knocked the wind right out of my sails. Multiple instances.

Cole’s pictures.

Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

“Not to mention," Dave continued, “there are some that are way too close up for you to not know.”

“They didn’t show our faces…” I murmured listlessly. The shock had me all fucked up.

“Some did. It’s easy to tell that they’re all you and Miss Hartman and some other man. It seems the three of you enjoy making sick bisexual pornography.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. “Now, while it is really none of my business what your sexual proclivities are, you involved a student in your disgusting games.”

I just sat there, in pure shock, waiting for him to finish so I could go warn Rain.

“You will be placed on unpaid administrative leave effective immediately. Glenn will pack up the personal items in your office and will deliver them to you at your home. You are not to come within five hundred feet of campus. You will not speak of this to anyone.” He jabbed his finger at me to emphasize his point. “Not. A. Soul.”

“My classes—”

“Are no longer your concern.”

“And Rain?” I asked. “Will she be allowed to finish?”

“She will be put under a formal investigation to ensure the academic integrity of the course. All of her coursework and tests will be reviewed, and we will evaluate whether she had an unfair advantage through her relationship with you.”

“She didn’t," I gasped. “She is so smart. She’s a good student. She never asked for any kind of special treatment.”

“Well, of course you would say that. Especially in light of the evidence I have seen. You perverts have to stick together.”

“She didn’t do anything wrong," I argued.

“On the contrary, Mr. Dorsey, I have seen some of the things she has done that are very, very wrong.”

I looked over at Glenn who glanced back at me with a sorrowful expression.

“One more thing, Mr. Dorsey," Dave said, drawing my attention back to him. “When I say that you will not speak about this incident with anyone, that includes Miss Hartmann. You are not to contact her in any way until this investigation has been closed.”

Oh God, but Rain… I had to talk to her.

“Sir, what if—”

“No contact,” he interrupted. “You must follow my instructions without fail. If you do not, we will press formal legal charges against you for violating the terms of your employment. We have already discussed it with the faculty union, even though you are an adjunct and not a full-time professor. They are in full agreement with our position.”

Fuck that
. They could threaten me all they wanted. I had to talk to Rain.

“Second, if you do contact miss Hartman,” he said leaning forward with his elbows on his desk, “it will reflect very poorly on the investigation. She will be expelled immediately and no credit will be awarded for this and the fall semesters.”

No… fuck, no…

“Now, Glenn will escort you to your vehicle. You will leave campus immediately, and you will not come back without my own personal permission.”

“I’m sorry," Glenn offered as we trekked out to my pickup. “I was hoping I could catch you before we were due in Dave’s office.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who fucked up.”

“You’re hardly the first professor that has had an inappropriate relationship with a student, and I can guarantee you won’t be the last. You might deserve some sort of prize for most scandalous, though,” he shrugged.

“Can you help her?”

“Justin—”

“I know I’m not supposed to talk to anybody about it. That includes you, I’m sure. But she didn’t do anything wrong. Please make sure she’s treated fairly.”

“You are putting the both of you in jeopardy by even asking me to do something.” He frowned and gave me a solemn stare. “You need to save yourself by getting out of dodge.”

“I need to make sure that she is okay.”

“You stupid son of a bitch," Glenn sighed. “You can’t. Do you understand?”

We walked a little further in silence, nearing the lot where I parked my truck.

“Listen," Glenn said, “I can’t help you with Tech administration, and I can’t help you with Rain. However, I have a friend who works for BP. I called him this afternoon, and he has an opening. It’s not a great job, but it’s a job.”

“Where?”

“Chicago.”

“No, I can’t.”

“You need to leave. If you are gone, this whole thing will go so much easier. If you disappear, they will let you. This doesn’t have to ruin your entire life.”

“My life is here," I argued. “My band, my friends…”

“And Rain? Is that what you’re thinking?”

I looked away without answering.

“Justin, students come and go, and they generally don’t stick around after the novelty wears off. They see us in class, lecturing and inspiring. They build us up larger than life. It all falls apart when they discover we aren’t nearly as exciting or taboo across the dinner table.”

Was that it? Was that what drew Rain and I together?
Simply the excitement of a forbidden relationship.

My mind balked at that.

“I don’t believe that’s all this was.”

“Then you are a fool.”