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Before I can stop myself, I pull out of Dean Anderson’s grasp and step closer to Shelaine. “I’m pretty sure she can think for herself. If she wants to cover up, then that’s her right. No is a complete sentence, even if it’s unspoken.”

All eyes turn to me, and for a brief moment, it’s as if I can no longer breathe. The intensity of their stares root me to the spot as a slight tremor vibrates through my body.

“Please,” Shelaine murmurs, her voice soft and cajoling. “Don’t make things wor-“

“Who is this little bitch who thinks she can speak to me like this?” Despite Shelaine holding him back, he arches forward as his eyes blaze. They look as if they’re lit from within by hellfire itself. “From the way you were sucking the dean’s cock, I’m pretty sure you’re not a Mistress. And even if you were, you have no power over me.”

Dean Anderson slips between us, his stance rigid as he slides his hand across my waist to move me further behind him. “That’s enough, Luke. You don’t want to go there right now.”

“Or what?” He has the audacity to smirk as he takes a step back. “Gonna ship me back to Florida? Pops will send me right back. No doubt with Preston sending his disregards.”

“Florida?”

“Luke,” Dean Anderson warns, cutting me off. His voice grows a touch harder, like granite grinding against steel. “I have no issue with you. Leave this submissive to me. You have no power over her. See to your own, and I will see to mine.”

Mine.

The word sizzles through my brain, branding me from the inside out. Did I really just hear him say that? Glancing up at his face, I note the hard set of his jaw. Even when he looks down at me, there’s no warmth, no affection, just hard retribution.

I should be terrified. I should want to run from this place and forget I saw anything. Unfortunately, all I want to do is sink to my knees and feel him in my mouth again, feel the way his fingers flexed in my hair as I pleasured him for the first time.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to keep such thoughts in my head as Luke balls up his fists and takes another step toward us. Unable to help myself, I slide my hand over the dean’s. Instead of rebuffing me like I expect, he wraps his fingers around mine and gives me a reassuring squeeze.

“Careful son,” Dean Anderson growls out. “Don’t do something you can’t walk away from. Your roots may go deep, but mine go wide. I don’t give a shit about Louis, or the damned Order, or that your trauma has you so fucking pissed off all the time. Right now, you’re in my domain. There is nowhere for you to run. So I suggest you cool the fuck off.”

Though the conversation thus far has been thrown back and forth in harsh whispers, others start to take notice. Several in particular make their way around us, surrounding us until there is no way to escape. Spots dance before my eyes as I glue myself to the dean’s side.

Does he notice them? Does he care? Right now, he just seems to be going toe-to-toe with this raging inferno.

“You gonna make me, old man?” With a flick of his wrist, he rips his mask off and tosses it to the floor.

Unbidden, a sharp gasp rips from my throat, bringing his attention back to me. “But you’re... You’re... You teach here!” I finally exclaim. “How? Why?”

“I’m sure you’ll be shocked to know just how many hold positions over you... Or under you. Depending on what they want to do to you that day.”

“It’s enough, Luke,” a larger man rumbles from next to me.

“Hey now. I have no beef with you,” He replies, holding up his hands.

“You may not have beef,” another one spits out, his voice thick with a hard Russian accent. “But we have whole cow. Stop or be stopped.”

“Forget this,” Luke hisses, grabbing Shelaine by the arm and hauling her closer to his chest. “Go ahead and defend the submissive who can’t keep her mouth shut like that’s not an issue. She’s the problem here, not me. Someone should have trained her better.”

“My, my,” a familiar voice flits in, turning my blood ice cold. “Seems someone is in quite the mood. Shocking, seeing as you’ve already depleted yourself. I’m surprised you’re not in better humor.”

Peering around the dean’s arm, I look the newcomer up and down. He sounds like Doctor Andrew, and based on the clothes he’s in, he looks like he’s dressed just like Doctor Andrew. But there’s no way. This is insanity. All of this is just pure insanity.

For a moment, my knees threaten to give out as everything comes crashing down around me all at once. The dean, the coach, and the psychiatrist. Who else is in here with prominent positions in the school?

I have to do something. I have to get control of the situation somehow. Sliding my hand into the side of my bra, I grab my notebook and small pen. Deep down, I know Marnie would say, ‘not now, dumbass,’ but it’s the only thing I know of to keep me sane.

Before I even have a chance to flip it open, a pair of strong hands rip them from me, leaving me bereft. Dean Anderson glares down at me even as his lips twitch with what looks to be the ghost of a smile. “I believe we’ve put on enough of a show in front of the submissives. I cannot have her out here while we deal with this and finish the damned initiation. Now, enough is enough. We are gathering unwanted attention.”

“Then put the bitch in her place,” Luke whispers, his voice harsh and strained in the growing uneasy cacophony. “It’s not that hard.”

Doctor Andrew comes a bit closer and leans in. “I understand that Kessler blood may run hot but perhaps put a damper on it for now. That is, unless you crave my ropes again. Either settle or be settled.”

None of this conversation makes sense. But then, if I’m being completely honest, nothing right now makes any sense at all. At some point, I’ll wake up from this with my fingers between my thighs and arousal coating my hand.