Page 46 of Dream a Little Dream

“Welfare counsellor. You have your session with him today, no?”

“Maybe I’ll just tell him I gave myself these because I’ve a huge crush on my professor.” Aaron’s voice dripped with sarcasm and he took a slow step forward, closing the space between them. “Cause I want him to ask me who the fuck did this to me in a low growl, then scour the university for the culprit.” Aaron cocked his head. “See? You do care.” He curled his lips into a half-smile.

Kenny held his gaze, searching. Looking for the truth behind those words. For a moment, the air felt charged, crackling with something unspoken, heavy with possibilities he didn’t darevoice. Not yet. Not until he knew more. But the faint scent of him—slightly sweet, cloyingly sultry—drifted over Kenny, feeding the dangerous edge of limerence he’d been trying hard to ignore. Aaron didn’t flinch. Didn’t back down. He stood there, eyes locked on Kenny’s, almost like he was waiting for him to figure it out, to make the next move. Like hewantedhim to.

Kenny’s phone buzzed in his pocket, the sharp sound cutting through the moment like a blade. He blinked, breaking the spell Aaron had over him before he could do something reckless, something that would shatter his very existence.

“I’d ask if any of my students turned up to a lecture looking like you.” Kenny fished his phone out from his back pocket, a random number flashing up on his screen.

“No, you wouldn’t.” Aaron was so damn sure of himself, it hit Kenny hard.

Because he wasright.

Aaron wasn’t the first young man to walk into his lecture theatre with bruises. Most of the time, they’d come from sports injuries. Or drunken fights. Kenny could detect when something needed closer inspection. When the person attempted to cover them up, embarrassed by them, rather than display them as trophies. That indicated potential abuse.

Aaron hadn’t covered up.

“Fucking would.” Kenny swiped the call, putting the phone to his ear, but kept his eyes on Aaron. “Dr Lyons.”

Aaron turned to leave, but before Kenny could stop himself, or even fully understand why, he reached out and grabbed Aaron’s wrist. The contact was sudden, unplanned, and Aaron stumbled as Kenny pulled him back toward him. For a moment, they both froze. Kenny couldn’t comprehend why he’d done that other than a basic instinct at not wanting Aaron to walk out, believinghehad the upper hand.

Aaron peered down to where Kenny circled his wrist with his fingers. Absently. Determinedly. Then he slowly rose to meet Kenny’s gaze. That look could stop traffic. Could pierce hearts. Commit murder. But he didn’t pull away. Instead, he cocked his head, curious, almost challenging, waiting to see what Kenny would do next.

Kenny would like to know himself.

A voice cut through the unrest. “Kenny?”

Kenny jolted, the familiar voice on the other end of the phone shunting him to the present despite it belonging to the past. And instead of letting go of Aaron, he tightened his grip on him. “Jack?”

“Yeah. Although, it’s DI Bentley. This is an official call.”

Kenny turned away from Aaron, in case the hot flush found his cheeks, but he compulsively stroked his thumb along the delicate skin on the underside of his wrist. What the fuck was he doing?Whywas he doing this? Treading this dangerous line could end his career. Aaron knew it, too. And he waited. A smile Kenny could see in his peripheral vision. And he wasn’t sure what was gnawing at his resolve more. Aaron, or this phone call.

“Official?” Kenny said into the phone, hearing the blowing wind in the background along with muffled conversations coming from wherever Jack was.

“Fraid so.” Jack sighed. “Do you have a moment?”

Kenny pulled his phone away to check the time. “I have about an hour before my next class. I can call you back when I’m at my office?”

Why wasn’t he letting go of Aaron? Not only was this totally inappropriate behaviour for an associate professor to be engaging in with a first-year student, more so one of his own, but he had Jack on the other end of his phone.TheJack.HisJack. Well, his old Jack. And he’d said this wasofficial. Which meantpolice work. Yet Kenny could feel Aaron’s pulse racing beneath his thumb and it had his own elevating in harmony.

“Actually, I’m near you.Could you come to the river? Not far from the campus. It’s your usual run route, if I recall correctly.”

“You’re here? Not…Glasgow?”

“I’ll explain when you get here.Just walk out of the campus into the woodland. I’ll pin you a location.” Jack closed the call.

Kenny shoved his phone in his pocket, then faced Aaron. “Didn’t I say stay out of trouble?” He tightened his grip on Aaron’s wrist, the pressure firm, halting his absentminded stroking of his radial artery, and he held his gaze in warning. Like how a parent might.

Maybe nothisparent.

God, whowasAaron?

“And I told you what you need to do to keep me out of trouble.” Aaron’s eyes darkened as he jerked his arm, jolting Kenny a step closer, forcing him into a tense, breathless standoff. “Stop dating her.”

The realisation hit Kenny like a cold shock into a freezing river and he released Aaron’s wrist, recoiling as if burned. “Get to seminar.”

Without another glance, he turned to the lectern, shoving papers and his laptop into his bag, quickly and agitatedly, needing the distraction.

---