Callum walked over and removed the blindfold and ball gag. The smaller man’s head whipped toward Callum, but he ignored Merick’s surprised expression and used steady pressure to pull the butt plug out.
“What the hell, Callum?” Merick exclaimed, his breath rushing out in a huff when the plug popped free.
He kept ignoring the sputtering man and unhooked the handcuffs from the ring. Turning away from his soon to be ex-lover, Callum went over and sat on the bed.
“We talked about this, Merick. I told you, no,” Callum said. He watched Merick take a small key off the table and unlock the handcuffs, before pulling on a pair of jeans.
“That’s just stupid. You liked playing with toys, why won’t you just try the flogger?” Merick took a clean T-shirt from a dresser drawer and put it on.
“Toys are fun, and I like using rope and knots to decorate your body. But I’ve told you over and over that I will not whip you in any way. It’s not happening.” Callum wanted to scream. He cared for Merick, but he wouldn’t kid himself, he didn’t love him. Stunts like the one he just witnessed reiterated that they weren’t compatible in the ways they needed to be. Callum didn’t need or want a boyfriend that topped from the bottom. And Merick needed someone who got off on bringing him into line.
“You’ve spanked me before,” Merick pointed out.
“I will not use a whip or flogger on you.” Callum stood. “Look, this isn’t working. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m going back to the Crazy Angle.”
“Wait a minute. That’s not fair. So I wanted to try something new. You can’t break up with me just because of that.” Merick stepped forward, getting right up into Callum’s face.
“It’s over,” Callum said.
“You son of a bitch,” Merick shouted, and pulled his fist back.
Callum’s head snapped back, and his eye exploded in pain. Grabbing Merick by the neck, in one move he had the smaller man flat on his back on the bed. Looking down at Merick, Callum said, “We’re done.”
The excitement on Merick’s face at Callum’s manhandling disgusted Callum. Straightening up from the bed, Callum left the room. The security of the Crazy Angle was calling his name.
Chapter Two
Ryan sat behind the big mahogany desk entering payroll into the computerized accounting system. He had been at the Crazy Angle Ranch for almost a week now and so far things had been going okay.
After they had left the airport, Tyler brought him to the beautiful ranch where Tyler and his partner raised Belgian draft horses. The first people Ryan met upon entering the vast ranch house was the Ranch’s hugely muscled but shy mechanic, Nolan, and his much smaller partner Paulie. It was clear to Ryan that Nolan thought Paulie was his everything. Ryan couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of being someone’s everything.
When Graham introduced Ryan to the ranch’s farrier, just the sight of Trace had scared the shit out of him. He was big, nasty, and as far as Ryan was concerned, dangerous. It warmed Ryan’s heart when he realized quiet silver-eyed Xavi had the big tattooed man completely wrapped around his finger. Ryan had to hold back a sigh at the thought of having that.
Adam, the ranch’s foreman, was a dark, handsome man. He had pitch-black hair, beard, and dark, tanned skin. Ryan’s first thought upon meeting him was that he must be a heartbreaker, until sunny-blond Elliot walked into the room. The ranch foreman only had eyes for the ranch cook. That was until big, redheaded Zaiden walked up to Adam and Elliot and put his arms around them both. Ryan kept his composure, barely, when he had shaken each of their hands. He had never met a ménage before.
Ryan had yet to meet the veterinarian of the ranch. According to Tyler, Callum’s responsibilities included not only the ranch’s animals but the animals of the surrounding ranches. For the last few days Callum was at one of these other ranches delivering fouls. Everyone had assured Ryan he was super nice.
The most entertaining person of all was Stan. The man was flamboyant and over the top at everything he did. He also had an admirer in Dees. Ryan wasn’t sure how he felt about the way Stan was blatantly ignoring Dees. If Ryan had someone that hunky paying attention to him, there was no way he would treat the man like he didn’t exist the way Stan was. But in the end their antics were fun to watch.
From what Ryan had put together, Dees was an ex-mercenary or SWAT something or other. He had come to the ranch with Stan’s brother Steve to protect Paulie from a stalker. They both ended up working on the ranch. Steve had left the ranch for a few weeks to go on some special mission, so Ryan hadn’t met him yet.
“Adam, have those blood samples gone out to the lab yet?” a voice rang out.
Ryan jumped so high at the sudden invasion to the quiet room, his ass left the seat of the office chair and his arm knocked an open bottle of water across the desk. He caught a glimpse of a huge, gorgeous blond coming into the room right before his butt landed back onto the seat, rocking the chair violently and tipping it over. The next thing Ryan knew, the chair was lying on the floor with him still in it.
* * * *
Callum wasn’t sure what had just happened. He walked into the ranch office to ask Adam a question, only to startle a cute brunet. The next thing he knew water was flying all over the place. Now Callum was looking at the underside of Graham’s office chair, with the bottom half of the cutie’s legs and sock-clad feet sticking straight up in the air. Absently Callum noted that one sock was red and one blue.
Quickly Callum grabbed the bottle that was still spinning wildly, spraying water all over everything. Setting it upright on the water-splattered desk, Callum swiftly picked up the laptop and turned it sideways, trying to keep any moisture from seeping inside and frying it. Taking a couple of tissues out of a slightly damp box sitting next to a drenched pencil holder, Callum wiped the laptop as best as he could.
After Callum had placed the computer on an empty chair, he went around the desk to see if the man attached to the mismatched socks was okay. Callum may have hesitated just a little when he got a closer look at the man still sitting in a chair that wasn’t upright but lying on the floor.
His first thought was that the man was too thin. From the angle Callum was standing and the position of the chair, he couldn’t at first tell how tall the guy was. But then Callum decided the cutie wasn’t very tall. Callum liked the man’s rich, dark brown colored hair even if it did have a quarter-size bare spot behind his cute little ear. The man’s bangs stood straight up, obviously resisting any attempt to comb it one way or the other.
As he neared the man, blazing attraction tightened his belly with its punch. This surprised Callum. Usually he was able to push aside instant chemistry until certain traits about his potential partners were revealed.
Callum frowned. The guy was just lying there, with his eyes closed. Callum started to worry that he might have injured himself when he fell.
“Are you all right?” Callum asked. Leaning over, he tried to tell if the guy was distressed in any way. A clean, soapy scent mixed with some light cologne reached his nose. Callum’s skin prickled and his dick noticed.
“I think so,” the man replied.
When the man spoke, his voice was raspy like he had been screaming in passion for hours. The sound drew Callum’s gaze to lips that were shaped like a pink cupid’s bow, waiting for a kiss or Callum’s dick, whichever he chose to give the man.
“Are you stuck, can I help you up?” Callum asked. It didn’t look like any part of the man was trapped in any way, and yet he continued to lie in the chair with his feet still up in the air. If Callum lifted the chair and set it upright, the man would be still sitting in it perfectly.
“I’m scared.”
Callum frowned. He again scanned the man and the area around him, and couldn’t find anything that would cause the guy to be afraid.
“How about you open your eyes and then we can go from there?” Callum asked.
Callum’s breath caught when the man finally opened his eyes. Callum had never
seen anything like it. One eye was a bright startling blue, and one eye was brown. Both eyes stared at Callum, not blinking. Automatically Callum checked the size of each pupil for any sign of concussion.
“Does anything hurt?” Callum asked. From years of experience, he kept his voice calm, even though his heart was racing, and a shiver was making its way up his spine.
“I must have hit my head,” the man replied. “Because there is no way I could ever be lucky enough to be this close to an Adonis like you.”
* * * *
Ryan had never seen such an extraordinarily amazing-looking man before. The guy made a young Brad Pitt look ugly. Drool-worthy muscles outlined his blue polo shirt. The shirt color emphasized his gorgeous, sapphire-blue eyes. Looking closer, Ryan saw that a bruise covered one of them in what his father would have called a shiner.
His gaze moved on and took in the man’s blond hair that was just long enough it called to Ryan, asking him to run his fingers through it. There wasn’t anything Ryan could think of that he wanted more than to have the guy’s full lips covering his in a kiss. That is, except maybe he wished he wasn’t lying on his back while still sitting in a chair.
The man leaned in closer and Ryan tipped his head up, ready for the kiss he longed for. Fingers buried themselves into his hair. Ryan’s cock jumped and started to fill.
Ryan jerked, and his eyes popped open when a finger hit a sore spot on the back of his head.
“You have a small bump right here. Do you feel dizzy or nauseous in any way?”
His heart dropped in disappointment. There wasn’t any passion on the man’s face just inches above Ryan’s, only concern.
“Hey, is something wrong? Can you hear me?” the man asked.
“Yeah, I can hear you. I’m fine,” Ryan answered, tipping his head back down and trying to find any scrap of dignity hiding somewhere behind his stupidity.
“All right. Let’s get you up and see how you do.”
The probing fingers left Ryan’s head and traveled to encircle his waist. The world tilted and the man lifted Ryan into the air before gently depositing him on top of the hard, wet desk. Now he could see his Adonis was tall, at least six-three. Ryan shivered, not able to stop the effect the man was having on him.
“Talk to me, little man. What hurts?”
“I’m not little, and my name is Ryan Timmons.” He couldn’t stop from wincing.
“You’re a lot smaller than I am, Ryan Timmons. And I saw that wince. What hurts?”
“Um, well, nothing hurts. I’m just sorta…” Ryan murmured.
Warm, firm hands ran over Ryan’s arms. The Adonis gave his legs the same treatment. By now Ryan was in pain from his hard dick pressing against the zipper of his jeans.
“Nothing seems broken. Come on, Ryan, talk to me,” the man ordered.
Ryan looked up at the man and blurted, “I’m sitting in cold water.”
The man snorted and ducked his head. Mortified, Ryan did the only thing he could think of and got back to business. “I sent those vials in with the lab van last night. There wasn’t any rush stickers on them so the results should be back by tomorrow.”
“What?” The man looked adorably confused.
“You came in here asking if the blood samples went out and I just answered your question,” Ryan pointed out. “Graham hired me to help him and Adam in the office.”
“Oh, okay. I’m Callum Leeman, by the way,” Callum said.
Ryan held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Callum’s eyebrows rose, but he shook Ryan’s hand. Ryan’s heart sank. He had seen that look on the faces of many people before. His racing mind and stupid clumsiness had just ruined any chance he might have had with the big man.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Ryan.” Callum smiled, and Ryan’s heart almost stopped. Stupid heart, it never listened to his mind, and now it wanted someone he didn’t have a prayer of getting.
Callum’s strong hands lifted Ryan off the desk and stood him on his feet. Ryan immediately pulled away the cold, wet material clinging to his ass.
“Thanks. Um, I think I need to go change,” he said, totally embarrassed and wanting to escape.
“Are you staying in the big house or the farm house?” Callum asked, leaning a little to the side and looking at Ryan’s wet jeans.
“I’m in the rooms off the kitchen,” Ryan answered.
Callum laughed. “Those rooms seem to have a revolving door lately.”
As Ryan turned and led the way out of the office, he asked, “Why do you say that?”
“First our old housekeeper and cook, Ms. Lucy, lived in them. When she left, Elliot stayed there until he moved into Adam’s rooms with Zaiden. Paulie was next, and now you,” Callum explained.
By now they had walked through the living room, past the dining room, and entered the kitchen. For the week he had been here, Ryan was fascinated by the huge yet homey room. Sometimes when everyone else was in bed, he snuck out and looked into some of the cabinets that covered the walls. They contained so many gadgets, and Ryan had no idea what half of them were used for. So far, he hadn’t caused any trouble except that one time when he couldn’t resist touching a stack of shiny pans, and they had fallen out of the cupboard. Luckily no one came out of their rooms to investigate the commotion.
The refrigerator was another temptation he couldn’t resist. There were so many different foods in that huge thing and so many colors. Ryan didn’t need to eat any of the diverse fruits, vegetables, or meat. He just wanted to look at it. He knew it was kind of weird, but he resisted the urge to set everything up according to size and color.
As they entered the kitchen, Elliot, who was standing behind the big center island, looked up from taking cookies off a metal sheet and placing them on a low wire rack.
“Hey, guys, how’s it going?” Elliot asked.
Ryan’s attention was caught by the warm, bunny-shaped cookies that smelled so good. Bowls of pink, yellow, and blue frosting sat next to the rack. Ryan could see some of the cookies had already been frosted and looked scrumptious.
“There was a small accident in Graham’s office. Ryan is on his way to his room to change his pants,” Callum explained.
Elliot set the pan and spatula down on the granite counter top of the island. “Are you hurt, Ryan?” Elliot asked.
“No, I’m fine,” he answered, still looking at the cookies.
Elliot laughed, and Ryan dragged his gaze away from the tasty-looking treats up to Elliot’s beaming face. He would swear that when Elliot laughed the whole room lit up.
“Why don’t you have a cookie, Ryan?” Elliot smiled at him, his blue eyes twinkling.
Ryan didn’t have to be asked twice. He reached for a particularly fat yellow bunny on the far end of the rack. Automatically he put his other hand down on the island. Hot pain sliced into the side of his hand where he accidentally touched the edge of the hot cookie sheet. Startled, Ryan jerked his hand up, catching his long sleeve on the corner of the wire rack, sending the rack and cookies crashing to the floor.
He stepped back and was stopped abruptly by Callum’s big body behind him. Off balance, he tried to right himself. This time his hand knocked the bowl of blue icing onto the floor. The bowl shattered when it hit the salmon-colored tile, sending shards of glass and blue frosting flying in all directions.
Strong arms wrapped around Ryan’s body and lifted him straight up. Feet dangling in the air, Ryan looked helplessly at Elliot’s pale face. “I’m sorry,” Ryan said.
“Holy crap, Ryan.” Elliot looked around at his destroyed kitchen. Ryan watched as horror replaced Elliot’s shocked look.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
Callum’s strong, calm voice cut through Ryan’s growing panic. “I’m going to take Ryan to his rooms and see to that burn on his hand. Elliot, I’ll be right back to help you clean up this mess and also the one in Graham’s study.”
“You’re hurt? Oh, Ryan, I didn’t realize.” Elliot too
k a step toward Ryan. Glass crunched under his slipper-clad foot.
“Stop,” Callum ordered, and Elliot froze. “I’ll take care of Ryan. Be careful, Elliot, try not to cut yourself. I’ll be right back.”
Callum carried Ryan to his rooms off the kitchen and didn’t stop until they entered the bathroom. There he set Ryan on top of the closed toilet seat.
Silence stretched out, and the tension in the room grew thick. Finally, Ryan couldn’t take it anymore and looked up.
Chapter Three
Callum didn’t know what to think. Within minutes, the man had caused utter chaos in two rooms. Callum finally resorted to picking Ryan up and holding him close so that he couldn’t cause any more trouble. Callum had to admit he liked the feel of the man in his arms, but he pushed that thought aside. He needed to attend to Ryan’s hand and help Elliot right now.
As the two men looked at each other, Callum could see Ryan was struggling to maintain their eye contact. Callum too was struggling, but his struggle was to resist losing himself in Ryan’s beautiful gaze. He watched Ryan give up on his battle at trying to be brave and dropped his gaze, breaking their connection.
“Let me see your hand,” Callum ordered quietly.
Ryan gave Callum his hand but kept looking down at the floor. Callum wasn’t going to let the smaller man get away with that. “Look at me.”
When Ryan lifted his head, those amazing eyes had Callum catching his breath. He didn’t think he would ever get sick of looking at them, especially when they changed shades with whatever emotion Ryan was feeling. Right now, Callum could see Ryan was afraid and ashamed by what had happened in the kitchen and office.
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said, confirming Callum’s suspicions.
“Accidents happen,” he said. Pulling open a drawer of a cabinet next to them, Callum took out a tube of burn gel and some bandages. Within minutes, he had the small burn on the side of Ryan’s hand medicated and covered with a band-aid.
Callum's Love [Men of Crazy Angle Ranch: 5] Page 2
