5. EION
Chapter five
EION
Angus was captivating, and there really wasn’t another way to put it. The baked goods, the signs, the rambling when he was nervous. It was cute. I opened the new container he gave me. The scent of cinnamon and oranges made my stomach rumble. He looked at me and snorted.
“They smell really good.” We smiled awkwardly at each other again, and he looked down. I needed to ask about the money, but didn’t want to make it weird. “I see you gave the fox a name.”
“Yeah. Yes. Was that bad? You said it didn’t have a name. I shouldn’t have given it a name. You don’t have to call it Atlas. It seemed like a good name, though. You can name it anything you want. But I think it needs a name.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine. I hadn’t named her yet, and I think Atlas is a fitting name.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Her name is Atlas now.”
He gave me a great smile, and it made him even more handsome. I watched as he went over to North and South’s cage. “I thought Atlas was a good name, too. How are my guys doing?”
I walked closer to him. He smelled really nice, clean, but a little bit of a cologne scent.
It was woodsy. Cedar maybe? “They’re doing really well.
I’ll move them from quarantine to the nursery soon.
Once they are moved, you can take them out of the cage.
He did a little dance in place. It was possible he didn’t realize he had done it.
All I knew was I wanted to see him do it again.
“The check you gave me really helped, but I think there might be some confusion. I received a rather large deposit from the MacGregor Foundation today, which I assume wasn’t intended after you had already made your donation. You are the only MacGregor I’ve ever met.”
“Oh. That wasn’t from me. That was from the foundation. The other donation was from me.”
I heard his words but didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. “The foundation?”
“Wait. Was it not enough? I can have them donate more each month. We—they—are always looking for good charities to donate to. Places that don’t get the money they deserve are their favorites because the big ones, like St. Jude’s or the ASPCA, are well-known.
The MacGregor Foundation is always excited to find an organization like yours. Did I overstep? I am sorry.”
“Angus?”
“Huh?”
“Take a breath. Let me see if I understand. A foundation is donating money to the Sanctuary. Is it a coincidence that your name is the same?”
“Oh, not a coincidence. It’s my family. My mom heard about the raccoons and the animals you have here. She set it up so you get some money every month.”
“Oh.” I really wasn’t sure how to respond. “That’s really nice. The money makes a huge difference to the animals.”
When he smiled at me, my heart beat harder. “I’m glad. Is it enough?”
If what he said were correct, I would be able to greatly improve the lives of these animals. “It’s plenty. I can’t thank you and your family enough.”
He blushed and turned toward the cages. “You’re welcome.”
I turned around and walked out. Once I was over by Orlando the giraffe, I realized I hadn’t said goodbye or anything.
He was so cute and made me nervous in a way nobody had in a very long time.
Going back would make things more awkward.
“Shit. I was rude, Orlando. He seems like… well, he is kind of amazing. Damn it.” I paced back and forth a few times.
I decided it was too late to fix things now.
Orlando leaned down, his lips teasing my pockets.
Those treats that Angus made would be great for him, too.
My stomach growled, and I wished I had brought the cinnamon rolls with me.
Instead of going after my pastries, I decided to clean out the area where the bear cubs were sleeping.
I carefully moved the door after I noticed cracks near the hinges this morning.
The entire thing needed to be replaced. If the MacGregor Foundation were to give me the same amount of money every month, I could start making some repairs around here.
I bet Angus would like to see the baby bears. He brought me and the animals treats, made fancy name tags, and donated money. The least I could do was let him meet the fuzziest residents. Next time I saw him, I would offer.
Over the next few days, when Angus came by, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.
The money helped me get the materials to repair or construct things we needed.
The truth was that doing the work landed on me.
Every time he came to visit, I would watch him on CCTV.
He would visit with the raccoons, then he stopped at the outside enclosures where everyone now had a sign.
Seeing him made me smile, and it wasn’t only the snacks and sweet notes he would leave for me.
His thoughtfulness made me feel good. The first few times I felt myself pulled to him, it seemed weird.
But now, when he didn’t talk to me and I couldn’t go out to visit, I was disappointed.
I wanted to spend time with him, which was a long-forgotten feeling, and I didn’t completely hate it.
He had now been here several times, and like the previous ones, Angus carried a bag with him that I knew had a treat for me.
There were probably snacks for the animals, as well, which also made me happy.
He had created new flavors for each type of animal, including some with cooked chicken for the carnivores.
And he had given me a variety of different cookies and sweets.
I stopped the project I was working on because I needed to get to Angus before he went into the medical room where the raccoons had been quarantined. As I jogged toward the front, I noticed that Rupert the emu, who joined us yesterday, had his foot in his water bucket.
“Rupert. You’re going to knock that over.” As I entered Rupert’s enclosure, I pushed against his chest and tried to get him out of the bucket. Then I heard Angus yelling, and he was obviously distressed.
“Eion! Eion!”
“Shit.” I knew immediately that he had gone to see North and South, and they weren’t there.
“Rupert, you’ve freaked out our friend.” I pushed him harder, and he lifted his foot.
“Eion! Where are they?”
“Hold on. I’m coming.” I yelled as loud as I could. As soon as I was in the walkway, I knew I’d need to soothe him. He was physically a big man with such a soft heart, and I knew he wasn’t going to react well. Which was why I wanted to get there when he found out. I gave Rupert a stern look.
I started to close the distance between us.
“It’s okay, Angus. They are fine. I moved them to the nursery.
” Suddenly, I had my arms filled with Angus.
He wrapped himself tight around me, and I instinctively pulled him tighter against my chest. Long-silenced things in my body lit up.
As I held him, I ignored all the alarm bells and realized that this was really nice.
I was in big trouble. He was hard in all the right places, and my body happily responded.
There was an electric tingle under my skin that ran up my spine, my cock thickened, and it was difficult to take a deep breath.
“Oh, thank god. I thought something happened.” He said with his face muffled against my chest.
We stood there. If Angus wanted it, I would stand there all day with him in my arms. I was pretty sure I had no control over the decision, so I did what my body demanded.
“I’m sorry I scared you.” Without my permission, I got harder as I rubbed his back.
I hoped to soothe his fear, but was arousing myself at the same time.
I heard the alarm bells in my head again, but ignored them because I liked this too much.
“They are safe, and you can take them out now.”
He leaned back and looked up at me. “Really?”
I looked down and smiled. “Yeah, really.”
Angus was probably two inches shorter than me, but I liked that slight difference. Even though he had more bulk, I was no slouch, and those protective feelings flexed. He hugged me hard again, and I was happy to have him back where he belonged.
That was a weird thought.
I was glad to have him hugging me again.
I liked the first thought better.
He let me go and stepped back. It took a lot for me not to drag him back against me. Unable to help myself, I looked him over as he turned toward the nursery. “Let me show you.” I liked the grin he gave me.
“I can’t wait to pet them. Oh. I brought you brownies.”
“You don’t have to bring me treats. But I do like brownies.”
“I like doing it.” He looked up and then blushed, which made me feel swoopy.
I was afraid to say anything about that, because it would betray my feelings.
“Let’s go see your boys.” I knew he would lose his shit when he saw that there were three more raccoons in the nursery.
I would like a better location for animals that were too young or not rehabilitated enough to join the adults, but this building was temperature-controlled and cozy.
I had added some comfy chairs and a loveseat where people could sit while spending time with any of the animals housed here.
Once Angus was inside, he looked at me with his wide eyes. “They have a lot more room.” He smiled at me, then turned back. “Ooohhhhh, are there more raccoons?” The look he gave me made me warm all over. Immediately, I wanted to see it again.
Angus was becoming a problem for me.
“Yeah. They came from another sanctuary, so they didn’t have to quarantine. They arrived yesterday.”
“Do they have names? You know how I feel about names.”
I chuckled. “No names yet. You can name them if you would like.”
He rocked back and forth on his feet. “Oh, I want. I very much want. Can I take out North and South now?”
“Of course.”
I watched as he opened the cage and took a kit in each hand, then walked over to the love seat.
Carefully holding them against him as he sat.
“Come sit with me if you have time. I am sure they would enjoy getting love from you.” He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
There was no way he didn’t realize I was the one who took care of them when he wasn’t here, which meant the invitation might be something else.
Surprisingly, I hoped that was the case because I genuinely enjoyed this man's company, and I couldn’t recall the last time that happened.
Our thighs and hips touched when I sat next to him.
His heat soaked through my jeans and warmed everything inside me.
I couldn’t decide if this was a good thing or not, but I wasn’t going to examine it too closely.
Angus was sitting on my right side, which was good, because I could easily pet the raccoons on his lap.
There was no reason for him to know about my injury unless it came up.
“Aren’t they adorable?”
“They’re handsome boys.”
Our hands would bump while we scratched the animals, and each time it felt like I had been shocked.
It wasn’t unpleasant, and I found myself ‘accidentally’ touching his skin to feel it again.
In one of those moments, he turned and smiled at me.
Instinctively, I looked at his lips, and when he licked them, it felt like the world stopped spinning for a brief moment.
“Shit.” I stood up. “Nothing. I. Animals. Next time, the bears, if you want.”
He looked at me, narrowing his eyes. I saw the corner of his lip turn up, then a full grin. “You have bears to show me?”
“Yeah, we don’t have a proper large animal nursery area, so I have them over by Bethany. If you want to meet them, I will wait until you get here to feed them.”
“I have a meeting at work after my next visit, but how about the time after that? I will have a few hours. I’d love to spend time with you… and the bears.”
Did he say me? That had to be a mistake, or was he saying he enjoyed my company too? We didn’t really talk much, but I had spent more time talking to him than I had with any other person in years. Being around him made me feel good—less grumpy.
“Sounds good.” Then I walked out. When I got to Orlando, I realized I had done it again.
I walked out without so much as a see you later.
This shouldn’t be so difficult for me. I was a man, and he was a sweet, funny, kind, smoking hot man.
At least this time, my departure was only slightly less abrupt than the time before.
Before the accident, I dated and had even been engaged, but Trey couldn’t handle what happened.
When he learned I would no longer be whole, he left me.
He moved out before I had left the hospital and told me that I was no longer the man he fell in love with.
It broke my heart completely, and I stopped trying to have a relationship because I believed him.
Once in a while, I would drive a few towns over and scratch an itch, but otherwise, I knew nobody would want me and my damaged body.
“Why is this guy stirring things in me, Orlando?” The giraffe looked over my shoulder as I pulled up the camera on my phone. When he left the nursery, Angus stopped in the middle of the walkways that led to the different areas of the Sanctuary.
“Hey Eion. I look forward to meeting the bears and spending time with you. I hope you like the brownies.” He lifted his hand and gave a little wave.
“Did you see that? He knows I watch the cameras, and he waved. Did you see the smile? It’s a nice smile.
” Orlando nibbled a little on my hair, which I am sure meant he agreed.
Once my heartbeat returned to normal, I got back to work.
The rest of the day, I felt a little off.
Usually, I spent days thinking only of the animals and their needs, but now Angus would slip into my thoughts.
He was already doing so much for me, and I wondered what I could do for him.
I knew he would love to feed the bears, and I could let him name them.
I doubted he would say yes, but I could invite him to join me for lunch near the deer.
It was pretty there, and we could watch the herd at the watering hole. He could meet my girl.
That night, I sat at my table and made a grocery list for a picnic.
While I thought about our options, I enjoyed the brownies Angus had made me.
I would ask him about the picnic the day we fed the bears.
This felt like a date. Was this a date? Could I recommend it as a date?
Did I want it to be a date? I thought about all those questions and decided I wouldn’t mind if we labeled it.
There would be a point at which I had to tell him that I wasn’t a complete man, but right now, I could lean into the fantasy that he liked me.
My dreams that night were about Angus. In them, he accepted me as I was. That’s how I knew it wasn’t real.