Page 12 of Hold On

He flicked the kill switch, pushed down the kickstand and ran to where the guy had been thrown.Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!Ren was halfway between horror and anger as he dropped to his knees and pulled off his helmet and gloves. When the guy moaned, Ren felt nothing but relief that he was still alive. The blow hadn’t been hard but if he’d hit his head or the tree…

The man opened his eyes and blinked.

“Don’t try to move. I knocked you down. I’m going to call an ambulance.”

“I’m okay.”

He tried to sit up until Ren put a hand on his chest and stopped him. “Don’t move. I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Not until it was too late. You stepped out of nowhere. Didn’t you see me? Or hear the bike?”Oh God, make it his fault, why don’t you?

“I really am okay.” The guy struggled to a sitting position.

“You might not be. You might stand up and collapse.” Ren stood and pulled out his phone. “I have to call it in.”

“No.” The guy snapped the word so loudly he startled Ren.

“It’s the law. A collision with a pedestrian has to be reported to the police and you need an ambulance.”

“I’m not injured.” The guy pushed himself up and leaned against the tree.

He looked pale and wobbly, that blue-eyed gaze maybe a little unfocused but Ren was relieved there was neither blood nor broken limbs. The two of them looked to be about the same height, both dark-haired with angular faces, though Ren’s hair was longer. Same navy-blue eyes.He’s hot. Right thought, terrible timing.

“I’m just going to sit down.” The guy slid onto the ground. “Not because my legs have stopped working. I need to sit for a minute. Okay? Don’t call the police, or an ambulance.”

Ren really didn’t want to do either, knowing what the result would be. He still ought to call them. That was the right thing to do. Instead, he dropped down at the guy’s side. No vehicles had stopped. Probably no one had seen what had happened.

“What’s your name?” Ren asked.

“Dominic…Hammond.”

“I’m Ren Scott.”

“Ren?”

“Short for Rendell. You’re not Dom, Min or Nic? Or Domin or Minic?”

“No, not so far. You’re not going to add Domi or Mini?”

Might add Cutie.Ren’s heart twitched along with his dick when the guy smiled at him.Down boy.

“How do you feel?” Ren asked.

“Like my spleen’s been ruptured and I’m about to die. Or maybe the fractured rib that’s pierced my heart is going to do the job and kill me. Or perhaps a brain aneurysm or a tear in a pulmonary vein will finish me off. We’ll find out in a minute or two.”

Ren tried to swallow his laugh. That sounded so much like something he’d have said that he wondered if this guy had been sent to look for him. But then he wouldn’t have given himself away like that unless…

“Sorry,” Dominic said. “I don’t know what made me say that. I wasn’t being serious. I’m just shaken. I’ll be fine. I did see you, but I thought I’d just stand where I was and you’d miss me. You seemed to…turn into me. Or maybe I stepped into your path. We’ll forget it ever happened. No harm done unless I broke your wing mirror.”

“You better not have.” He was joking but it was hard not to turn and look.

“I can see it from here. It’s fine.”

“I hope it’s not scratched.”

Dominic huffed.

“Are you with someone? Visiting Asquith for the day? Can I call them? Tell them to come and get you?”

“I live here with my brother.”

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