Gabriel’s Inferno Trilogy by Sylvain Reynard Page 0,126

of Beatrice: A Study in Dante by Charles Williams.

“I want you to have this.”

“Gabriel, I want you to stop giving me things.” She held it out to him.

“You will impress Katherine if you are familiar with this book. She’s a fan of Dorothy L. Sayers, and Sayers borrowed a lot of her insights on The Divine Comedy from Williams.” He cleared his throat. “There are no strings here, Julianne. And no shame.”

She stared at the volume and smoothed her hand over its old binding.

“At least take it until she agrees to be your advisor.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, we need to talk about something else.”

She looked up at him nervously.

“It would be much easier if you weren’t my student, but you are. At least for now.”

She inhaled sharply.

Gabriel rubbed his eyes. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right. What I mean is, I can’t be your thesis supervisor, obviously. But that still leaves the problem of the Dante seminar.”

“Dropping your class would prevent me from graduating in May. You said in your voice mail messages that you could find me a reading course as a substitute, but that won’t help me. I need a Dante seminar for my specialization and my thesis.”

“The non-fraternization policy covers students in a faculty member’s classes, not just students under thesis supervision. That means that I cannot have a relationship with you while you’re my student. Next semester, of course, is entirely different. You won’t be my student anymore.”

She knew this. The Declaration of Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities had said as much. Faculty were not allowed to sleep with their current students, that much was clear. And graduate students were not allowed to sleep with supervising faculty members. Or else…

Of course, Julia wasn’t planning on sleeping with Gabriel. She wondered if he remembered that.

“I won’t lose you again,” he whispered. “And I won’t keep you from doing what you came here to do. So we’re going to have to figure something out. In the meantime, I will have a conversation with my lawyer.”

“Your lawyer?”

“A pre-emptive, privileged conversation about what I can expect from the university if I intend to date one of my students while she is in my class.”

Julia placed a trembling hand on his sleeve. “Do you want to lose your job?”

“Of course not,” he said roughly.

“I’ve already jeopardized your career once. I won’t do it again. We’ll have to stay away from one another, and when the semester is over we can talk about this again. You might change your mind, you know, and decide you don’t want me.” She looked down at her sneakers and nervously wiggled her toes.

“That is not going to happen, Julianne.”

“We’re still getting to know one another. Maybe five weeks of friendship is just what we need.”

“Friends go to dinner. How about tomorrow night?”

She shook her head forcefully. “Why don’t you call me? I promise I’ll answer my phone.”

Gabriel frowned. “So when will I see you again?”

“At your seminar next Wednesday.”

“That’s too far off.”

“That’s just the way it is, Professor.” Julia gave him a half-smile and walked toward the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

She quickly checked her knapsack to make sure she had her keys. “I don’t think so.”

He stalked toward her, his eyes momentarily dark. “No kiss good-bye for poor, lonely Gabriel?” he whispered, his voice intentionally seductive.

Julia gulped. “Friends don’t kiss the way you do.”

He came closer, until her back was pressed up against the front door. “Just a friendly peck. Scout’s honor.”

“Were you ever a Boy Scout?”

“No.”

Gabriel brought his hand up slowly so as not to spook her and gently caressed her cheek. He smiled at her disarmingly, and she found herself smiling back. He pressed his lips to hers, firmly but lightly, and held them there.

Julia waited for him to do something, to open his mouth, to move, anything, but he didn’t. He was frozen still, applying gentle pressure to her lips, until he pulled back and gave her a small smile.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He chuckled as he traced her jaw line with the tip of his finger.

She shook her head. “Good-bye, Gabriel.”

As the front door closed behind her, he leaned up against the wall and rubbed his eyes, muttering to no one in particular.

***

After Gabriel returned home from a very unpleasant and slightly colorful meeting with Christa, he grabbed a Perrier from the refrigerator and dialed the number of John Green, his lawyer. Gabriel hadn’t had need of John’s services for quite some time, and he preferred to keep it that