Ryland just stared back at him as if he’d seen a ghost.
Arslan stood up, caught hold of both Ryland’s elbows and guided him onto the chair behind his desk.Taking the pile of marking out of his arms, he put it safely on the visitor’s chair, out of the way.
“I…”
Arslan placed his hand to Ryland’s forehead.Cold for a lion meant normal for a human.There was no fever, but he really didn’t know enough about humans to be sure that meant all was well.“Are you ill?”
Ryland stared at him, his expression completely blank.It was several seconds before he seemed to snap back into reality.He dropped his gaze.A blush rushed to his cheeks, making him look both far healthier as well as more than a little embarrassed.Even so, he still looked exhausted.
“Do you really think you should be looking for more work?”Arslan asked.Not that there could be any real debate about the answer.A lion might be able to work all the hours God sent without feeling too many ill effects from it.Humans obviously couldn’t.That was why they needed lions to look after them.
Ryland followed Arslan’s gaze to the pile of marking.His blush deepened further, but he seemed to relax a little.“I’m fine, sir.”
Arslan wasn’t convinced.Ryland didn’t look fine.He didn’t feel fine.He sounded on edge and like he was struggling to cope.Not acceptable.
“I just didn’t expect you to be here, sir,” Ryland offered.“I…”
Arslan straightened up from where he was crouched down at Ryland’s feet, hoping that his putting some slight distance between them might help him to keep his hands to himself when his every instinct roared that he should be running his hands over every inch of the boy’s body, just in case the pain in Ryland’s eyes was caused by wounds he couldn’t see.
“Do you want some tea?”Ryland rushed out.He glanced at the cold cup on the desk.“I’ll go and make you a fresh cup.”He stood up.
“No.”Arslan placed his hand gently on Ryland’s shoulder and nudged him carefully back into the chair.It took all his strength of will to remove his hand from Ryland’s body as soon as that task was accomplished.
“I wasn’t asking you to leave,” Ryland rushed out, rising to his feet again the moment Arslan broke contact with him.
Arslan studied Ryland carefully.A pet’s need to be close to his master was shining brightly in Ryland’s eyes.Ryland might not understand it, but he was definitely feeling it.“I had no intention of leaving,” Arslan promised.
Ryland nodded.He looked relieved.Arslan stared down at him, wondering how much of a fool he was for still being glad of that.It wasn’t the quick understanding he might have hoped for, but seeing that the instincts were there, even if Ryland didn’t recognise them properly, it was still something.
Stepping back, Arslan put a little bit more space between them, but there wasn’t much further he could go without walking into an overburdened bookcase or one of the piles of books that Ryland hadn’t managed to fit on any of the shelves.
And no matter how far he went, the tiny room was still full of Ryland’s presence.It was impossible not to be aware of every nuance of his emotions.The room swirled with his nerves and his uncertainty.Looking away from Ryland for a moment as he tried to clear his head, Arslan ran his fingers down the edge of Ryland’s folder full of history essays.The boy wasn’t a natural historian, but the effort he’d put into each of the essays was obvious.
Arslan looked up just in time to see Ryland’s gaze follow his to the history essays.
“Someone said that you don’t let people attend your lectures if they’re not prepared to learn.I thought you might throw me out if I didn’t at least try to do the assignments,” Ryland whispered.
“You never handed them in.”
“You never threatened the throw me out,” Ryland said, his eyes still lowered to stare at the folder.
Arslan smiled at the logic.
“Professor?”
“Yes?”
*
Do you want a blowjob?
The words hovered on Ryland’s lips, but he didn’t quite have the balls to actually say them out loud.He looked up and caught Arslan’s eye, but he couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.His attention dropped back to Arslan’s fly.
He opened his mouth, but, once more, no words came out.He considered the merits of skipping any attempt at small talk and just dropping to his knees.That would make everything very clear, wouldn’t it?And, if he could just skip every part of the process that involved speech, he wouldn’t need to feel guilty for speaking to the professor without telling him the whole truth right away.
Ryland’s knees almost took over the entire decision-making process and buckled of their own volition.He put his hand on the desk to steady himself.He closed his eyes, but that did more harm than good.He could so easily picture himself on his knees in front of Arslan, his lips wrapped around Arslan’s cock, his tongue flicking over the head as he stole a first desperate taste of him and finally discovered whether or not a lion tasted the same as a human.
“Ryland?”
