A Change of Pace Read online

  A Change of Pace

  by Tielle St. Clare

  A Change of Pace

  Ebook Edition

  Copyright © 2011 T. L. Green

  All rights are reserved. This e-book is licensed for individual readership only. No portion of this e-book may be resold or redistributed in any format.

  To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at www.tiellestclare.com

  Author’s Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events are creations of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Aiden stared at the flashing red and blue lights in his rearview mirror and decided his day couldn't possibly suck any more than it did right at that moment.

  Stranded on the side of the road in butt fuck nowhere, no cell service and the only person to drive by was the one person he'd hoped to avoid. In fact, he'd specifically arranged to arrive in the afternoon because he knew the sheriff worked Saturdays and wouldn't be home.

  But his car had other plans. Steam pouring out of the engine had stopped him fifteen miles out of town. He wasn't going anywhere on his own.

  He sighed, pushed open the door and climbed out. No way was he going to sit meekly in his car and stare up at Sheriff Knox McClintock. He already had to look up at the man when he was standing. Sitting felt a bit too submissive—and gave Aiden too many ideas.

  The door closed with a solid thunk and he leaned against the modest sedan. A few years-old, the car fit his image. It fit the life he was creating for himself. Sedate, comfortable, not flashy. Aiden had done flashy and hadn't liked where he'd ended up. Now he was looking for something with a little more substance. If that meant he had to go a little slower, he was okay with this pace.

  Besides, he reminded himself, slow, deliberate strokes got you there just as well, sometimes better. Long, deep thrusts and…damn! When had his philosophy about life morphed into a sex fantasy?

  He grimaced and glanced at the sheriff. It was his fault. Just seeing the man made Aiden think about sex and getting fucked.

  Only a couple of things stood in his way of making that a reality. One, he was pretty sure the sheriff was straight. And, two, Aiden didn't do one-night stands. Not anymore. He was looking for a solid relationship.

  Speaking of solid...

  “About time, professor,” Knox said as he approached.

  Aiden straightened away from the car, his body reacting to the reprimand in the sheriff’s voice. “Excuse me?”

  Knox raised his eyebrows. “Jesse was getting worried about you.”

  The drawl sent a shiver down Aiden's spine. Something about the man's voice made him want to bend over and beg to be fucked. Unfortunately, he knew the sheriff would lock him up for lewd behavior if he tried it. Besides, he didn't do that kind of thing. Oh, he still liked to be fucked, but he'd moved past his bad boy stage. He'd grown up, matured.

  Which was good because despite being the county sheriff, Knox McClintock was pure bad boy. He looked more “biker dude” than “law enforcement.” Even his hair was too long. Thick black strands hung almost to his collar and gave Aiden all kinds of wicked fantasies about holding on tight while he fucked Knox’s mouth.

  Not going to happen. Let it go.

  Knox punched his chin toward the sedan. “Something wrong with your car?”

  Aiden followed Knox’s gaze. The sedan’s hood was propped up in the universal symbol for “I'm going nowhere.” And sitting in the chilly air for the past hour had only enhanced Aiden's natural sarcasm. He shook his head.

  “No, I just decided to stop in the middle of nowhere and drain the water from my radiator.”

  Knox pursed his lips and nodded, sticking his head under the raised hood. “Well, if that was your goal, princess, I'm thinking you succeeded.”

  Aiden ground his teeth together. One weak moment and, fuck, he would never live it down.

  “I told you not to call me that.”

  Knox tipped his head to the side and winked. “But you looked so sweet in that tiara.”

  It had been a joke on his birthday. But a friend had snapped a picture and a few days later sent it to Aiden while he was tutoring Jesse, Knox's son. Jesse had seen the picture and handed the phone to his dad. Since then “professor” was regularly changed to “princess.” He didn’t think Knox had ever called him by his actual name.

  Aiden sighed. “Can we just forget that?”

  “Not likely.” Knox chuckled, then walked away.

  “Wait, where are you going? You can't leave me here.”

  “Not planning to,” he answered without turning around. “Going to get some water and see if we can't get you into town.” He walked to the back of his SUV and opened the hatch. When he strolled back, he carried a jug of water. Not that Aiden noticed it for long. His eyes wandered to the man. Short sleeves revealed strong tan arms. The dark blue uniform clung to his chest, giving hints of the muscles beneath.

  Aiden let his eyes wander down that strong, hard body, hoping there was some indication the sheriff wasn’t totally lickable—maybe a beer gut starting to form—but no. The not-quite-tight enough uniform slid across flat abs. Probably ripped. Definitely lickable.

  Aiden closed his eyes and took a long breath in through his nose. Don’t lust after the straight man, he warned himself. And despite the fact Knox teased him to the point of flirtation, the guy was straight. He had to be, right?

  The guy has a 17-year-old son. Who is your student. Both of those facts combined to insure Aiden would never end up bent over the front of a police car getting fucked silly by the sheriff. He just had to let that particular fantasy go.

  But that didn’t stop his cock from giving an eager twitch.

  “You okay, professor?”

  Aiden’s eyes popped open. He shifted, hoping Knox wouldn’t notice his growing hard-on. The smirk on the sheriff’s lips didn’t mean anything. Knox always seemed to be laughing at him.

  “Professor?”

  “What?”

  “You okay? You seem to be daydreaming a bit.”

  Aiden straightened his spine and pushed his shoulders back. “I’m fine.” And he was…until Knox bent over and pulled off the radiator cap.

  The trousers of his sheriff uniform slid lovingly over his ass, giving Aiden just a taste of how tight those muscles were. The urge to run his fingers over the taut curve almost overwhelmed him. He whipped his hands behind his back to keep temptation out of reach, but he couldn’t quite convince himself to look away.

  It wasn't often he got to stare so blatantly.

  “Is this working for you, princess?”

  His head snapped up. “What?”

  Knox straightened. His eyes twinkled with laughter and Aiden knew he'd been caught staring. “Is this working for you?” Knox asked again. “Are you seeing water pour out the bottom?”

  “Oh.” He bent over and looked down. “Uh, no. It's good.” There was a dribble but that was to be expected. “It's okay to drive?”

  “Should be.” Knox lowered the hood. “Head into town. Mickey's place is just off Main on the right. He should be able to get you going again.”

  “Great.” Manners drilled into him since he was a child finally surfaced. “Thank you. For helping out.”

  “Save it until we make sure you get to town.”

  “You're going to follow me?”

  “Oh yeah, princess.” He took a step closer and Aiden swore he saw desire in those deep green eyes. “I'm going to be right on your tail the whole way in.”

  He stretched out the end of the sentence making it sound much dirtier than it should have.

  Aiden gulped and his cock
twitched, like it wanted the man's attention. Bad, bad, bad idea. He was going to drive to town, get his car fixed and head home.

  * * * * *

  Aiden tried to concentrate on the paper in front of him but his mind kept slipping away.

  Stuck.

  For the night. Maybe two.

  His radiator was cracked. According to Mickey, he couldn't get the replacement until late tonight and might not have a chance to install it until Monday morning. At first, Aiden had assumed Mickey wouldn't work on Sunday based on religious conviction, but then he was told it was because of the “big game.” When he'd confessed ignorance, Mickey and Knox had stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

  Then he remembered. It was the game. That one Sunday when everything shut down. The new national holiday.

  After they'd learned Mickey wouldn't have his car ready until the next day, Knox had offered him a room for the night. Aiden could hardly refuse. It would give him a chance to get his tutor session in with Jesse and it was a free place to stay.

  Those were the two best reasons for him to stay.

  There were a dozen why this was a bad idea. First and foremost was, of course, the proximity to Knox. The man was irritating, annoying and sexy as hell, not to mention completely off limits. The combination would make Aiden a raving lunatic by Monday morning.

  Second, he disliked football intensely, and Knox and Jesse seemed to be the hosts of the biggest “watch” party in the county.

  “Uh, professor?”

  The hesitant call grabbed his attention and pulled him back to the present. He looked at Jesse. The kid had his father's eyes, deep green and intelligent. That intelligence was what brought Aiden here in the first place. Working on a grant from one of the local universities, Aiden traveled around and tutored students in rural communities, giving them one-on-one instruction in upper-level classes that might not be available at their schools.

  His area of expertise was English Lit, but he'd found his way to teaching Advanced Placement Government and Social Studies classes as well.

  “Are you done with that?” Jesse nodded to the paper in front of Aiden.

  “Uh, no. I, uh—” He really couldn't think of anything to say. How did he explain to a child that he wasn't grading his paper because he was lusting after the boy's father?

  “It's just...” Jesse glanced at the clock and then at Knox who'd just walked in. “Never mind.”

  The right corner of Knox's mouth pulled up in a half smile.

  “What he's trying to say, professor, is if you'd hurry up, he'd have time to make it to the school dance.”

  “Dad.” The embarrassed protest was pure teenager. Jesse was brilliant and would likely end up getting one of the scholarships offered to the students in the tutoring program, but sometimes he just needed to be a kid. He dropped his head and grabbed his pen. “Don't worry, professor. I know how important this is. It's okay.”

  “No, it's not okay. I was late or we would be done by now. You just go. I'll look at these tonight and then we can go through them in the morning.”

  Jesse's eyes lit up. He looked at Aiden, then to his dad.

  Knox nodded and Jesse pushed back from the table, practically lunging for the door.

  “Clean up your mess,” Knox called before Jesse could escape. Jesse drew back, crammed his papers into a messy pile and looked to his father for approval.

  “Go.”

  “Thanks Dad.” Jesse ran out the door, leaving it swing behind him. His footsteps pounded up the stairs. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes before those same feet thumped back down.

  “I'll be right back,” Knox announced and walked into the living room. The murmur of voices teased Aiden’s curiosity and he stood up. He cracked the door open and watched as the parent and child stood in quiet conversation. Jesse had obviously combed his hair and put on a clean shirt but beyond that, he looked much like he had moments ago.

  Knox pulled a square packet out of his pocket and handed it to his son.

  “Dad.” Jesse rolled his eyes.

  “I'm serious. Take it.”

  Jesse sighed and took the condom from his dad's fingers and shoved it in his back pocket. He glanced up and saw Aiden standing at the door. And that's when his cheeks turned red.

  “Go.” Knox swatted his son on the butt. “Have fun and you'll be home by...?”

  “Dance is over at eleven. Then I was going to spend the night at Nick's.”

  The corners of Knox's eyes squint down, the suspicion clear on his face.

  Jesse’s shoulders sagged in a silent whine. It was a move only a teenager could get away with. “You talked to his mom, remember? If I'm not there by eleven-fifteen she'll call.”

  “You call me anyway. Just so I know you made it there.”

  Jesse opened his mouth like he was going to protest, but then nodded. “Okay. Night. Night, professor.”

  “G'night.”

  Aiden slunk back into the kitchen. He hadn't meant to intrude. Family dynamics fascinated him. His family had little contact with one another. It was interesting to watch parents and children who actually cared about each other. Not that his mother didn’t love him. She did, in a distant, chilly kind of fashion.

  The kitchen door swung open seconds later and Knox returned. “Hungry?”

  “Uh, yes. Sure.”

  Knox crossed his arms over his chest and rested his hip against the counter. Tension vibrated from his body and Aiden felt his muscles shift until he stood in the same protective pose.

  “Wondering why I supply my son with condoms?” Challenge laced the man’s voice.

  “What?” Aiden momentarily considered acting like he hadn’t seen their interaction, but he didn’t fake innocence well. “No. I mean, it’s a responsible thing to do, right?” How the hell would he know? He didn’t have kids.

  “I was stupid at his age—all boys are. I just don’t want to see him make the same mistakes.”

  “Mistakes?”

  “He’s seventeen. I’m thirty-four. You’re the professor. You do the math.”

  “Oh.”

  Knox didn’t change position, but he raised his head and met Aiden’s stare. “Understand, I wouldn’t trade the world for him, but that doesn’t mean we both wouldn’t have been better off if I’d had him when I was a little older.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Aiden shrugged. “I think you’ve done a great job with him.”

  Lights sparkled in Knox’s eyes and if he wasn’t a big, tough sheriff, Aiden would have thought they were tears.

  “Thanks.” Knox cleared his throat. “Now, dinner. I’m a mediocre cook, but I’m great with a barbecue. What do you feel like?”

  * * * * *

  Aiden dried the last dish and opened cupboards to find the right home for the plates. It had been a good night. Knox hadn’t been lying when he’d declared himself great at the barbecue. They'd cooked and eaten dinner then picked out a movie to watch. He hadn’t been to the movies in months so it didn’t take long for them to decide on a new release, streamed through Jesse’s game box.

  Full of red meat and a beer at dinner, he’d curled up on the couch, Jesse’s paper on his lap, dividing his attention between grading, the movie and the sexy male next to him.

  The evening had been companionable and sexual at the same time. Not that they snuggled together or anything, but they sat close, probably closer than two straight men would normally sit, though Aiden would never know since he wasn't straight. And Knox was right there, easily within touching distance.

  He'd learned that Knox had a wicked mind and liked to talk during movies, which would have driven Aiden crazy if his comments hadn't been so freakin’ funny. And spoken in that sexy voice that made Aiden's cock hard just hearing it. The arrogant smirk on Knox’s face warned him he’d probably done a poor job of hiding his erection from the other man. But Knox didn’t move away. If anything, he sank deeper into the couch, putting his shoulder inches from Aiden’s.

/>   He could feel the heat of Knox’s body. Aiden squirmed, the movement sliding him a little closer. Knox glanced his way but didn’t react beyond that.

  He couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering down the sheriff’s body. He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt—a tight cotton T-shirt that clung to those fine chest muscles. Every once in awhile, Knox would shift and Aiden watched, imagining that shirt pulling up and Aiden leaning over and running his tongue across the sheriff’s abs.

  Annoyed that his thoughts had flipped back to sex and fucking, Aiden forced himself to relax and tried to focus on the screen. The man beside him stole some of his attention, making his nerves flutter at the proximity. Reminding himself that the man had to be straight—he did, didn’t he?—helped and Aiden was able to concentrate.

  A friendly silence settled between them as they started a second movie.

  Midway through, the phone rang.

  The sound jolted him and Aiden sat up. Heart thumping against his ribs, he looked around like they’d been caught doing something wrong. Knox‘s eyes sparkled with laughter. He patted Aiden on the knee, hit the pause button and pushed himself out of the couch. Aiden thought he felt a scrape of fingers along his thigh but that was too much to hope for.

  Deciding to give Knox a little privacy for his phone call, Aiden slipped into the kitchen and decided to finish the clean-up.

  The door swung open.

  Knox filled the open space, looking beautiful and hot and so strong that Aiden felt his throat lock up. The light in Knox’s eyes flared, hungry, like a predator stalking its dinner. The cool, relaxed companion who had chatted through dinner and talked through the movie was gone. Aiden’s knees trembled, the urge to run suddenly very strong.

  But if he ran now, he’d never know what happened next. Something that looked like lust flashed in Knox’s green eyes.

  “Uhm.” Aiden swallowed and tried to clear the lump in his throat. “Was that Jesse?”

  “Yeah. Had a great time.” Knox let the door swing shut. “He’s safe and sound at Nick's house for the night.”