Chapter Five
Heath
As a kid, Heath had always been a fan of fighting movies where the underdog trained, with the help of a wizened old mentor and a training montage, and then, despite all odds, defeated the big bad guy.
This wasn't that movie.
He could only hope this also wasn't the movie where the young guy, with his whole life ahead of him, meets an untimely and tragic demise.
He thought about the hundreds of outcomes that could come from fighting in a bare-knuckle boxing match with men who had lived longer, harder lives than him.
None of the possible outcomes involved him the victor. He'd only pretend fought as a kid, that sort of pushing where both guys just end up letting it slide, or listening to someone when they said, he's not worth it. And then, there were the handful of fights he'd gotten into protecting his sister, but those didn't count. Thanks to his peaceful nature in the past, even in the most generous of possible future fight outcomes, he emerged with only a broken leg or two.
A broken leg but no debt.
"Who are these people?" Angus asked. Never mind that it wasn't any of his business.
Heath was just glad he'd put his clothes on. He scowled anyway. "I'm not telling you."
"Why?" Angus growled the question.
Heath's stomach flipped over. "Because loose lips sink ships."
"That saying doesn't apply here."
"It does. Your lips are loose. My sister, when provoked, is a battleship. She will sink me. Or try. And in the process, she might say the wrong thing to the wrong people and then get herself hurt. I would hate myself for that. Might as well be a bloody mess then."
"That would never happen. Gaia wouldn't allow it."
Angus sounded so sure of himself, but the idea of someone else caring for Maggie, worrying and taking care of her, was so foreign to Heath that it almost didn't make sense. He took care of his sister, not his parents or any of her girlfriends. He did.
"Gaia isn't always around," Heath replied, pulling into the driveway of the inn. The lights were all out, and the driveway was empty except for his truck which meant no surprise guests had arrived, and Maggie had gone to bed. He opened his door to get out only to find Angus, reaching across his lap to close the door again. "What the hell?" Heath exclaimed, hoping Angus didn't hear the catch in his voice.
"Are they so dangerous that you would need an around the clock guard?" he asked in the muted silence of the truck cab.
Heath thought about it. They didn't seem dangerous when he had borrowed the money. Steven had been all smiles then, had even asked Heath if he thought he needed more. It wasn't until after that night that Heath had heard Marcos' name in connection with the nearest motorcycle gang. They weren't the only one in the region, but they were the most dangerous. All of that was information that would have been nice to know before he basically borrowed money from the backwoods mob.
"They've given me until next week to fight. I guess they won't be truly dangerous until then." He turned his head to face Angus, bringing their faces so close together that Heath could feel Angus' breath on his cheek and chin. He smelled like the woods, earthy and fresh, with a hint of something spicy. Heath doubted it was the man's aftershave. They didn't get much of that stuff while living in the forest. The scent was likely Angus' natural odor…Why are you thinking about the way he smells?
"I promise to stay away from Sawyer and the camp until this all blows over," Heath said, knowing he should pull back but finding the execution of such a thing a little impossible. "I won't drag anyone else down with me."
Angus made a noise deep in his chest that had the ability to warm Heath from the inside out. "They don't matter any more than you do," he muttered.
"Yes, they do," Heath replied fiercely. "Sawyer has finally found happiness and your pack is breathing easy for the first time in decades. I won't let my drama mess that all up." He groaned as a new thought occurred to him. "I've already put Maggie in danger. You heard him threaten her. How could I be such an idiot? Money doesn't come as easily as that. Here I thought it was just small-town hospitality. I'm a fool, and now people are going to get hu—"
Heath felt Angus' lips long before his mind registered what the feeling was. All he knew at first was that he could no longer speak because his mouth had been covered by something warm and appealing. His body's natural instinct was to melt into this man, which was news for Heath.
How could his body seem so accustomed to something that was utterly foreign to him? The strong, callused hand that rested against Heath's cheek holding his face close was so unlike any other hand that had caressed his face. Soft skin was all well and good, but it did not compare to the scratchy sensation of a hardworking palm. He gasped at the feeling and Angus used that brief parting of his mouth to slip his tongue inside. Heath's dick hardened, and he pulled back. A hand feeling good on his cheek was one thing, getting an erection because of a kiss from a man was something else entirely.
"What are you doing?" Heath gulped.
"Calming you down and trying to get it through your skull that you are just as important as Sawyer, Roscoe, and Maggie. You matter, Heath."
Heath leaned back, resting against his door. "I may matter, but everyone does. I'm like those guys in movies who suggest everyone split up when they should really all stick together. Too stupid to live."
"That isn't you," Angus insisted. In the dim light of the truck cab, his face was all hard angles and deep shadows. He almost looked like a character drawn in a graphic novel.
"I guess we'll see in a week," Heath said, opening his door again. He slipped out of the truck, but Angus was there, walking by his side into the inn. "What are you doing now?"
"Making sure you get inside safely. You just told me about how dangerous people were after you. Wait here," Angus ordered when they'd stepped into the inn. He shut the door and locked it behind Heath before disappearing into the dark sitting room. After he checked each room for monsters, he led Heath upstairs.
"Are you going to tuck me in too?" Heath asked and then immediately wished he hadn't. Before the kiss, that might have been a funny joke. Now, it seemed like an invitation.
Angus didn't even give him a smart-ass response, which only made Heath's cheeks burn brighter. The shifter disappeared into the empty guest rooms, peeked his head into Maggie's room long enough to sense she was alone in there and then met Heath at his bedroom door. Angus stepped in first and did a sweep. He was crouched, checking under the bed, when Heath gave up on waiting.
"Careful, I'm not the tidiest," Heath said.
Angus pulled out a sock covered with dust bunnies. "I can tell." He tossed it into Heath's hamper without looking. "I believe you mentioned something about tucking you in?" The joke came too late to be a simple, lighthearted jab. There was intent in Angus' eyes that Heath didn't know what to do with.
"Look, about that kiss…" Heath said and then lost his nerve.
"Was it your first kiss with a man?"
Despite his overwhelming urge to lie, Heath found the truth spilling from his lips. "There were a couple of incidents before I dropped out of college, at parties, but other than that…" He had never liked how he felt the next morning, the way his friends would look at him. Kissing a man didn't seem worth the trouble it inevitably caused.
So, he'd pushed hard in the other direction, becoming the straightest man you know.
"That Gaia thinks she is so smart."
"What does Gaia have to do with this?" Heath asked sharply. The last thing he needed was for Angus to blab.
"She has absolutely nothing to do with us." Angus shut Heath's door.
"Us?" Heath repeated, his throat dry with the realization that he was in his bedroom, alone with Angus, with little chance of anyone disrupting them. "There isn't an us. I appreciate you trying to distract me from my troubles earlier, but I need to figure out how I am going to train to fight in a week's time."
"I could train you."
Heath had no doubt the man could fight. He still didn't think it was a very good idea.
"Are you worried because of the kiss?" Angus asked, coming closer. Heath stepped back, and Angus looked down at the new space he had created between them. "Let me help you, Heath."
Perhaps it was the fact that Heath knew Angus could fight and probably would be able to teach him a few moves that made him agree, but Heath knew it was because of who was asking. He was predisposed to agreeing with anything Angus said, even if he had to fight against it to keep up appearances. "Fine. Tomorrow morning. Early."