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Jamie glanced mournfully at him as he returned to pacing. “That’s university politics. And this is the moment I’ve feared since I was hired. I think Ronny might have just ended my teaching aspirations out of spite over—”
He didn’t finish with “us”, but the way he looked at Aled, and the way Aled looked back at him, said Aled understood.
Aled blew out a heavy breath and dropped his arms. “Are you certain them knowing will actually make a difference? How did everyone else react?” he asked.
Jamie rubbed the back of his neck and winced. “They were startled, but honestly, I didn’t stick around long enough to lead a group discussion about kink, people’s reactions to it, and the terms of my sacking.”
Aled laughed a little. He then lost his smile and shook his head. “I know Ronny still thinks he has a right to you, but this and the rumors he’s been spreading are over the top.”
Jamie shrugged, then moved to lean against one wall. “Ronny comes from extreme wealth. He’s been getting his own way since he was a child. You’re taking behavioral development courses, you know how much it warps someone’s mind when they constantly get their own way, even when that way is unrealistic or unreasonable.”
Aled shifted to lean against the wall by Jamie’s side so that their shoulders pressed against each other. “So that’s it, then,” he said. “Wealth and privilege have warped Ronny’s mind to the point where he doesn’t see the inappropriateness of his actions in his efforts to get what he wants, and you think he’s exploded your career to soothe his own ego.”
Jamie smiled at him, filled with pride for Aled’s intelligence and insight. He was ridiculously in love with the man, and he would have blurted it out then and there, but Aled’s smile vanished.
“It also means he’s not going to give up until he gets his way,” he said, frowning at the floor in front of them. “He’s going to keep pursuing whatever paths he thinks will force you to get back with him, even if that means chasing me away and ruining your career so that you’re dependent on him.”
“Afraid so.” Jamie shook his head.
“You’re not going to let him get away with it,” Aled said, glancing up at him. His words weren’t an order given by a dom, they were a pure and glorious vote of confidence by a man who was in love with him.
They actually gave him hope.
“If that’s what he’s trying, then he’s not going to succeed,” he insisted, pulling himself together and standing straighter. “Dr. Epstein might not be happy with me right now, but he’s not stupid. The university values me.”
“Up to what point?” Aled asked, growing more upset by the minute. “What will Ronny try next to back you in a corner?”
Jamie opened his mouth to reassure Aled, but before he could, Aled pushed away from the wall and started to pace, just as Jamie had been doing before.
“We need to break up,” he said.
It was so close to what Jamie had been thinking earlier in the evening that the words felt like a slap in the face. More than that, they shone clarity into his thoughts that he could only see from the outside.
“We do not need to break up,” he said, standing straight and feeling furious for an entirely new set of reasons.
“We do,” Aled said, shrugging and gesturing hopelessly while he paced. “It’s the only way for me to protect you. You don’t have to get back with Ronny, but the more he sees us together, the more he will feel like he has to come after you. I won’t let you lose your job over me, Jamie.”
“I don’t care about my job,” Jamie said, shifting to stand in front of Aled.
“Yes, you do,” Aled said, his panic making him seem younger.
Jamie grabbed his upper arms to still him. “I do not,” he said. “Jobs come and go. There are other universities in need of faculty. There is only one you, Aled, and I feel like I’m in danger of losing you. You many not believe me when I say this, but honestly, that would be a far, far greater loss than some teaching position.”
“How can you say that?” Aled asked, bristling with emotion. “You’ve worked for how long to be where you are at the university?”
“More than a decade,” Jamie said, then glossed on to, “It’s still not as important to me as you.”
“We’ve only known each other three months,” Aled said, his panic starting to turn a corner into preemptive grief.
“It’s long enough,” Jamie said, moving one hand to Aled’s cheek. “Three months is more than enough to know when someone’s important to you, when you want to have that person in your life. It’s more than enough for me to know I love you.”
There it was. Jamie had been waiting for the right moment to say those words. Whether that moment was actually right or not, now that the words were out in the open, he felt light. He did love Aled, and nothing or no one was going to stop him from embracing that love.
Aled froze right after the words were spoken, but then he let out a long breath, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “I lo—”
“Aled?” an urgent cry came from the end of the hall. “You’re Aled, right?” the young woman with eyes as round as saucers said, rushing toward Aled and Jamie. She barely spared a glance for Jamie before continuing with, “Dawn’s sister?”
“Yes,” Aled said, turning away from Jamie. “Is everything alright?”
