Motorcycle Man

  Motorcycle Man

  By Sarah Hadley Brook

  Published by JMS Books LLC

  Visit jms-books.com for more information.

  Copyright 2017 Sarah Hadley Brook

  ISBN 9781634865432

  Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

  Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

  All rights reserved.

  WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America.

  Motorcycle Man

  By Sarah Hadley Brook

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 1

  Ben Makowski was not looking forward to his Thursday night. The last thing he wanted to do was hang around inside and teach a bunch of wannabe riders about motorcycles when it was so beautiful out. The cool spring weather was perfect for an evening ride.

  He sighed as he dragged his booted feet off his desk, letting them clunk to the ground, and looked around the office. Motorcycle parts in varying degrees of disrepair, lay strewn across any and all surfaces, and he grimaced. Leaving things half done was not his style, but this week had been crazy and he was way behind. Now each project would have to wait until he was done teaching.

  “Ben?”

  He turned to the door to see the pretty blonde with multiple tats covering her arms. Her Harley Davidson T-shirt barely covered her bra, and her little plaid skirt was way too short. If his older sister Amelia saw her daughter in that, Candy would be toast. His niece was smart as a whip, but she was also a spitfire, traveling on a path he feared might be a little too wild for her. She might be twenty-two, but she was still young in his eyes.

  Shit. He shook his head at his own thoughts. He was only thirty-five and thinking like an old man. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand and rolled his neck. He’d been sitting too long.

  “What’s up, Candy?”

  “Mom called and said to make sure the helmets were all cleaned and ready, so I wiped them all down and set them in the classroom.”

  “Thanks.” He rose from his seat. “How many are in the class?”

  “Six. Four guys and two girls.” She grinned at him.

  “What’s got you smiling like the Cheshire Cat?” he asked, suspicion churning in his mind.

  “Mom told me there’s a guy coming tonight who doesn’t want to ride.”

  Ben looked at her, confused. “Then why the hell is he taking a motorcycle riding course?”

  “Because he’s a writer and needs information for a story or something,” she explained, still smiling.

  Fuck. He knew the night was going to suck. Wannabes drove him nuts, but someone who didn’t even want to ride? Shit. What a waste of his time. It also pissed him off his sister let the guy sign up and kept that little tidbit to herself. Just because she was older and part owner of Makowski Cycles didn’t mean she could pull this crap.

  Candy laughed. “Look on the bright side, Uncle Ben.”

  His eyebrows rose as he watched her.

  “Maybe he’ll be cute,” she tossed out as she turned to head back into the front of the shop.

  Ben’s lips curved into a frown. He doubted it. A writer? A pencil pusher? Not likely. He liked strong, hardworking men with muscles. Men who sweated and grunted and grappled with him in bed. Someone who gave as good as he got. He shook his head and tried to clear it before his thoughts ran away from him and he would need to take things into his own hands, so to speak.

  He sighed and strode out of his office, heading to the classroom down the hall. Technically it was an empty room they used for club and office meetings and occasional staff get-togethers, but once a month they turned it into a classroom.

  Ben walked through the door and was pleased to see Candy had already arranged the long tables and chairs so they faced the far wall, where a large whiteboard hung next to a large flat-screen TV. He scanned the room as he moved to the podium in front.

  Helmets sat atop the low shelf unit that spanned the width of the room, while handouts sat neatly stacked on the table closest to the front, ready to be handed out. There was a small microphone attached to the podium, but the room was so small he’d never had reason to use it, so he made sure it was off before he tested the remote for the TV. They rarely used that, too, but he wanted to show a few slides in class, so he made sure the batteries were working. Satisfied everything seemed ready, he left to retrieve his laptop and find something to eat before the new students arrived.

  Ben was hiding in his office later when he heard the bell over the front door ding. He set his can of Dr. Pepper on the desk and sighed before he plastered a smile to his face and forced himself to head out and be social.

  Candy was ushering an older, gray-haired woman down the hall to the classroom and his eyes widened in surprise. They certainly didn’t get a lot of elderly students, and he estimated she was on the far side of eighty. The bell dinged again, so Ben pulled his gaze away from the woman and walked out into the showroom.

  “Welcome to Makowski’s,” he greeted the two young men standing at the counter. “You men here for the class?”

  The guys both nodded eagerly while the blond offered his hand. “I’m Seth and this is Randy.”

  Ben grasped his hand and shook it heartily. The blond was sexy. Muscular, broad shoulders, blue eyes, stubble on his cheeks. But too young. Definitely too young. Ben let go and gestured with his head for them to follow him through the door.

  Candy showed back up and both guys’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

  Ben chuckled to himself. It was a really good thing his sister wasn’t here.

  “Hi,” Candy said, her voice nearly a purr.

  Ben shot her a warning look she completely ignored. “I’ll show them to the class,” she told him, eyes twinkling as she turned around. Ben bit back a laugh as the two young guys followed her like little puppies with their mouths gaping open. Then he pictured them tripping over their tongues and chuckled low.

  He heard the bell, indicating another student had arrived, and glanced over at the entrance, ready to welcome them to the shop. Instead, his breath hitched and his eyebrows flew up at the sight of the beautiful man standing in front of him.

  The stranger was tall, probably only an inch shy of Ben’s 6’3”. He was thin—too thin, if the loose shirt was any indication of what was hidden underneath. Ben drank him in, from the shock of unruly red curls to the porcelain skin with only a few stray freckles sprinkled across his nose, just above a pair of full, pink lips. Jade green eyes stared into Ben’s and he met the man’s gaze, swallowing hard.

  The door opened and the woman entering nearly bumped into the still nameless man staring back at him. Ben jolted to his senses. “Welcome,” he said, his voice cracking. He cleared his
throat and reached out a hand. “I’m Ben Makowski. Are you both here for the class?”

  “Angus Winter,” the man said quietly, clasping Ben’s hand and shaking.

  Electricity shot through Ben and he nearly gasped aloud. What the hell was wrong with him?

  “I’m Susan. Susan Miller.”

  Ben looked at her and then down at Angus’s hand still in his. He dropped it quickly and smiled at her. “Welcome to Makowski’s.”

  He heard Candy enter the room but still couldn’t tear his gaze away from Angus’s. It was like looking into the deep green sea and finding treasures hidden there. He found himself lost in the swirls and swore he felt the water rising around him. Ben’s chest tightened as he felt himself falling under.

  “Um, why don’t you two follow me?” Candy gestured toward the door.

  Ben blinked a few times as he turned and watched Angus go, feeling a strange hollowness he couldn’t understand. He shook himself and tried to figure out what had just happened. Hell, Angus wasn’t his type. Not by a long shot. And yet he felt a strong pull to be near the man again.

  “So that makes five, Uncle Ben,” Candy informed him as she breezed back into the showroom. “Just one more.”

  “Huh?”

  “For the class. That you’re teaching?” she gently prodded. “Um, are you okay?”

  He stared at her, still shaken by what had just happened.

  “Uncle Ben?”

  He cleared his throat. “Um, yeah. I’m…I’m going to head into the classroom. Send the last one in when he gets here.”

  “Will do,” she promised and crinkled her brow as she watched him.

  Ben swung by the break room and grabbed a bottle of water before he made his way to the classroom. He gulped down the cold liquid and tossed the bottle into the recycling bin just outside the classroom.

  Conversations stopped as he entered the room and all eyes turned to him. He moved quickly to the front and grabbed a red dry erase marker. After he wrote his name and the words Basic Rider Information, he turned to face the small group of students.

  “Welcome to class,” he said, his gaze landing on Angus. “We’re still waiting on one more person, but it’s already a few minutes past six so I’d like to get started.” Reluctantly, he looked away from Angus and smiled at the rest of them. “Tonight we’re going to cover the basics—familiarizing yourself with a motorcycle, including the focal parts and vital controls. We’ll also discuss safety procedures and road rules.”

  The hot blond guy—what was his name?—raised his hand.

  “Yes?”

  “Will we get to ride tonight?”

  Ben shook his head. “No, but if we have time, I’ll let each of you sit on one before you leave. Makowski’s has a large paved course out back for test drives and practices for this class, which we’ll be doing tomorrow night and Saturday.” He paused and glanced around the room at each student. “How many of you have actually ridden a motorcycle?”

  He couldn’t hide his surprise when the only one who raised a hand was the elderly woman.

  “That’s great,” he said, giving her a smile. “Did you ride often?”

  “My husband, bless his soul, rode all the time,” she offered, sounding like she’d smoked more than her share of cigarettes. “He always wanted me to learn, but I was too scared.”

  “What finally prompted you to sign up for the class?” Ben asked.

  She tilted her head and gazed at the ceiling for a moment before answering. “Phillip died over a year ago, and I recently found out my time is coming sooner rather than later. He always joked I needed a motorcycle license so we could ride together in Heaven.” She chuckled low and looked back toward Ben. “I seriously doubt I need one up there, but hey, I’m not going to take the chance. Saw your ad and signed up. Well, my granddaughter helped me sign up on the computer.”

  Floundering for a response, he scanned the quiet room. Nobody would make eye contact with him. Well, nobody until his gaze landed on Angus. His stare bored into Ben and, for a moment, Ben forgot where he was. Those damn eyes…

  But he had a class to teach, so he turned back to her and smiled. “Well, I certainly am glad you chose to learn with us,” he said, surprised to find he meant it. “What shall I call you?”

  “Anything but old,” she shot back, a twinkle in her eye.

  He laughed and shook his head. “You got it, young lady,” he said with a wink.

  “The name’s Shirley,” she added.

  Ben nodded and grabbed the handouts. “Well, let’s get started. We’ve got a lot of groundwork to cover in only a few hours.” He passed everything out and got down to business. He didn’t enjoy teaching, but at least he got to talk about something he loved.

  He couldn’t believe how quickly the night had gone. The students were all pretty quick to catch on. That last student never showed, but Ben wasn’t going to worry about it. He’d have Candy give the guy a call in the morning.

  Angus was fairly quiet all evening, even though Ben had made sure to call on him several times. He always answered correctly—in a short, to-the-point tone. Yet each time he heard the man’s voice, Ben’s skin tingled. He wasn’t sure what that was all about because he’d never had that reaction before. It was unsettling, to say the least, and he tried not to think about it.

  “Okay, everyone pass the practice test forward and I’ll take a look at them. Anyone who wants to try sitting on a cycle before you take off, hang around for a few minutes and I’ll take you out there.”

  Angus pushed his chair back and it screeched across the tile floor. Ben looked up and fought the disappointment. He’d hoped Angus would stay so he could get to know a little about the man.

  “You don’t want to check out a bike?” The words were out before he knew he was going to say them.

  Angus glanced back, his eyes round. He shook his head. “No thanks,” he said, his face pale.

  Ben watched him and swore Angus was cringing. Shit. The man’s afraid of motorcycles! It was written all over his face. “That’s fine, but can you hang on for a second?”

  Angus nodded and slunk back into his seat, his backpack dropping to the floor.

  Great. Ben had no idea what to do now—he hadn’t really thought things through. Why had he asked Angus to stay?

  Chapter 2

  Angus’s heart was racing and he just wanted to get the hell out of the place. He certainly hadn’t expected the sexy teacher to ask him to stay after class. But there was no way he was getting on that damn cycle. His publisher could make him attend the class, but he would fight like a wild bear before his ass ever touched a motorcycle seat.

  Not that he minded watching Ben from here. Fuck, the man was hot. Broad shoulders and chest, big thighs wrapped in tight denim, and a black Harley shirt stretched across his torso. Ben looked to be a powerful man, and images of being bent over…well hell, anything, while Ben took him from behind had played in a never ending loop in Angus’s mind the entire evening. He’d been hard since he’d laid eyes on the guy.

  He watched the rest of the group, including the old woman, group together and talk as they waited for Ben to take them to the motorcycles. Angus waited quietly for a minute before his patience started wearing thin. Spending any more time here than necessary was pissing him off, even if he did get to stare at the eye candy in front of him.

  The tattooed girl who had showed them to the class entered the room and Angus watched as Ben explained to her they were all going to have a look at the bikes. She offered to take them and he thanked her before turning his attention to Angus.

  With that one look, Angus felt his cheeks heat. The man oozed power and sex. Angus imagined most men—or women—fell at Ben’s feet, eager to please him. At any other time, Angus might have been one of them. Not going to happen this time, though. Not here.

  Ben moved closer and seemed to be giving Angus the onceover before finally furrowing his brow and sliding into the seat next to Angus.

  Bad mistak
e. Ben was too close and Angus fought the urge to lean over and breathe him in. He slid his chair a few inches away, giving himself a little space. Ben’s eyebrow shot up and he looked amused.

  Angus pursed his lips. When Ben still hadn’t said anything, he did. “You wanted to talk to me?”

  “Yeah. I’m just curious…you don’t want to see the cycles, you don’t even seem like you want to be here. Why take the course?”

  Shit. He didn’t want to go into all that. He shrugged and scanned the room. They were still alone, but he figured the girl would show up pretty soon. “Look, I…I’m a writer and my publisher wants a story focusing on motorcycles. I need to bone up on some information.” Angus didn’t mention why he hated the two-wheeled death machines, but he couldn’t stop a shiver at the thought of sitting atop one.

  “But to truly understand a motorcycle and all the joy it can bring, you need to ride it.”

  Angus shook his head furiously, flyaway curls flinging across his forehead. “No,” he said tersely. “No.”

  Ben leaned back in his chair and Angus felt like he was sitting under a lightbulb about to be interrogated. He held his breath, waiting for Ben to try and push him into changing his mind. But Ben surprised him.

  “Well, I can’t force you. We all have our limits. Will you be attending class tomorrow night?”

  Angus shook his head. “I have enough information from tonight,” he explained.

  Ben rose from his chair and looked like he was about to say something when he was interrupted.

  “Uncle Ben?”

  They both turned to see the girl Angus had met earlier.

  “I’m coming, Candy.”

  She nodded and left while Angus reached for his backpack and stood.

  “Thank you for the class,” he said.

  Ben stared at him and Angus felt a tingle travel down his spine. This man was the whole fucking package. If he wasn’t dealing with so much, Angus might have tried flirting, but at the moment, he wasn’t in the right state of mind.