“Guess you changed your mind?”
An adorable blush spread across Angus’s face and he looked away from Ben. “Well, I was just going to get my car and pay you back…”
“But now you’re going to stay?” Ben prodded.
Angus shrugged, the blush traveling down his neck and under the collar of his T-shirt.
“That’s great!” Ben threw his arm around Angus’s shoulders. “Let’s get you back there.”
Ben was thrilled and couldn’t wait to help Angus get over his hatred of motorcycles. And hot damn, he looked good!
* * * *
They spent about an hour going over things in the classroom before Ben led the students out back to where the bikes were sitting. He’d been watching Angus as the class progressed, and the writer seemed to be growing increasingly less comfortable.
And as inappropriate as it was, Ben’s mind kept wandering to the way those skinny jeans hugged Angus’s ass, and more than once he found himself growing hard at the thought of burying himself deep inside Angus’s ass, his balls pressed against the man. He could already feel the way they would slap against Angus’s skin. Fuck. He wasn’t sure what was going on. Angus wasn’t his type at all. But Ben’s blood heated at the thought of marking him and making him his—something he’d never wanted in all of his thirty-five years. Not once.
“Sir?”
Ben pulled his gaze from Angus and turned to Seth. “Yes?”
“Are we going to get to ride on the road? Or just on the course?”
“Just the course. But tomorrow we’ll spend all day outside riding.”
Candy sauntered out and made a beeline for Seth. Ben’s sister was going to kill him if he let her “little girl” get involved with a man she didn’t know. He tried not to roll his eyes. Amelia was a little overprotective of Candy, not that it had really mattered. The things his niece had pulled were enough to make any mother lose their mind.
From the corner of his eye, he spied Angus slinking back toward the door.
“Candy, can you get them started on the bikes?” he asked, keeping an eye on Angus.
“Sure, Uncle Ben.”
He moved quickly, stepping in front of the door, effectively stopping Angus from heading back inside. “What’s going on?”
Angus’s eyes widened and his breath hitched. His skin was pale as fuck and Ben wondered if he were having some sort of panic attack.
“Come with me,” Ben whispered, opening the door and ushering Angus through. He pointed down the hall towards his office. “This way.”
They walked quietly through the empty building and Angus stopped when they reached the door, so Ben pushed it open, gesturing him to go on in.
Angus sighed deeply and took a few steps inside, but stopped short of taking a seat.
Ben walked in and stood in front of Angus, placing his hands on Angus’s shoulders. Angus looked at the ground.
“Look, clearly you’re dealing with something. I might be able to help,” Ben murmured. “I realize wedon’t know each other, but you can trust me.”
Angus pulled his gaze from his feet and glanced around the room. He looked a little like a wounded deer, searching for an escape. That only made Ben want to pull Angus closer and wrap his arms around the man, hold him tight until the fear passed. But Ben resisted, knowing that would only spook him.
“Angus?” His quiet voice echoed in the small office.
He felt Angus’s shoulders sag under his hands and Ben held tight.
“I can’t do this,” Angus whispered.
“Do what? Ride a bike? Be around them? What is it you can’t do?” Ben’s voice was gentle as he took a small step forward, crossing an invisible line into Angus’s space. But this wasn’t about attraction or desire—this was about comforting a fellow human who was hurting.
Angus nodded and his curls bounced. He shuddered and looked up at Ben, eyelashes wet with unshed tears. “All of it. I…I—” His voice cracked as he shuddered again.
Ben’s hands slid down Angus’s arms before wrapping the man in a tight hug, pulling him close. Rather than tense up, Angus leaned into him, resting his face on Ben’s chest. Tears flowed onto Ben’s T-shirt, but Ben didn’t care. The man in his arms was broken and needed understanding. As he stroked Angus’s back, he could feel Angus’s spine.
Angus slipped his long, thin arms around Ben and gripped the back of Ben’s shirt as he began shivering.
“Are you cold?” Ben whispered.
Angus only nodded.
Ben pulled back and glanced around his cluttered office. He spied his black leather jacket on his chair and untangled himself from Angus for a moment so he could grab it.