Page 8 of Forever Ink

“So you can meddle?” Simon teased, grinning.

“I do not meddle.”

“Hmm. Is that so, baby bear? What about you trying to set up Mouse and Cal?”

“Okay, so maybe I find it crazy that two people who are so perfect for each other don’t notice it or choose not to.” Really, it was ridiculous watching how Mitch and Callum acted, yet if I even dared suggest anything Mouse shut me down faster than a restaurant with a rat problem.

“Hmm,” was all Simon said in a tone that said maybe I was right, but it probably wasn’t my place to meddle.

Reaching out I twined my fingers in his fiery curls, pulling his forehead close to mine. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“For what, baby?”

“For taking my mind off Susan, for reminding me I have people who love me and won’t stand by and let bad shit happen to me, and for just being the best daddy a boy could want,” I whispered.

“Always be there for you, baby bear.”

Chapter 5

SIMON

I spent the morning rattling around the flat checking my phone constantly. Part of me, the overprotective daddy side, wished I’d forced the issue and gone with Rhys to his therapist. But Rhys had been right. Tewsbury was his safe space, and he wasn’t going to let that bitch Susan take that away from him.

He’d texted me when he’d finished with Dec to let me know he and Doc were heading for morning tea at the new beachside tea shop. High tea and all those tiny cakes and sandwiches were not my idea of fun. It was a Rhys and Doc thing and I’d stick out like a shaggy red dog in that place. Besides, giving Rhee his space was important and knowing he was with Doc, who was nearly as protective over Rhee as I was, lessened my worry.

What the hell was I going to do all day? I had no clients until after the Christmas break. I’d finally taken time off, something I’d not done since Cal and I had taken over the shop. I wasn’t used to having free time on my hands.

The last time I’d had more time than I knew what to do with I’d bought the damn mountain bike that was still out in the back shed. Ten minutes and Widow’s Hill had changed my mind on the healthy lifestyle riding bikes and that delusional healthy shit.

I cleaned up the living room—not that there was really much to do—and then went and made our bed. That killed twenty minutes. My brain circled back to the bike out in the shed. Not that I wanted to ride the blasted thing, but perhaps I could make it nice for Rhys. He’d been wanting a way to get about town and had nixed the idea of me teaching him to drive. He still worried about his anxiety attacks and driving. Mouse had offered to teach him to ride a motorbike, and I’d almost had a heart attack over that option. I knew it was bloody hypocritical of me, but the thought of him on a motorbike terrified me—not because I thought he would lack the skill, but because of the other wankers out on the road. Shit, I was still worried about Mouse riding that damn KTM dirt bike everywhere, and he’d been riding since he was a little kid.

The pushbike would be perfect, though. I hadn’t touched the damn thing in five years, so it was going to need the chain and everything else oiled, but I could google what I needed to do. The keys to the back shed were in the shop as it was technically shared between both. I could pop in to check on the guys and get the keys.

Mouse was working on a client when I walked in, and Callum was sitting at the front desk drawing up some sketches.

“For a client?” I leaned over Callum’s shoulder to get a better look. It was a large wolf and raven. The images were entwined with the shadow of mountains behind them.

“No, just playing with ideas for the Ink and Steel show in Glasgow next year.” Callum moved aside to give me a better look. The sketch was, like all of Callum’s work, full of details that caught the eye. The drawing was done in shades of grey with a touch of amber in the wolf’s eye, and the raven had an almost blue tinge to its feathers.

“Where are you thinking of placement?” I couldn’t take my eyes off the sketch. The way Callum had drawn the feathers, I could almost hear the ruffling of them in the wind, and I knew that he would transpose that sense to the tattoo. It would be amazing.

“Think I would want to go large with this. Back placement, or chest. Still need to rope someone in to be my canvas for the event,” Callum answered, sighing.

“I thought that cute little rope bunny you were hanging out with was going to do that?”

Callum snorted loudly. “Tristain? He has two tattoos, a small butterfly and a Miss Piggy, both on his arsecheeks, I don’t think this would be his flavour.”

“You never know. He seems to dig hanging out with you.”

“He likes being my demo rope bunny, but the boy doesn’t have a masochistic streak in him at all. He’d run a mile if I showed him my flogger collection. Besides, our thing is strictly platonic. He lets me tie him up for demos.”

I let out a loud laugh at the thought of Callum’s whip collection. Fuck, those things scared the hell out of me. Despite that, I respected the time and practice Callum had taken learning to use his whips and floggers. The man could have a masso begging for more while howling with pain at the flick of his cane. Callum was a hard-core sadist, and some people found it hard to see the two sides of Callum’s personality—the terrifying sadist and the tough love daddy—but that was what he was. Callum was as much a daddy dom as I was, he just went about it differently to me. We both loved to look after and dote on our boys, but Callum took a sterner kind of approach. For me, spankings were about as heavy as I got with the pain, and we both loved to tie our boys up, but Callum’s rope work left mine in the dust.

The lucky bastard had gone to a group of seminars with a master in the art of Shibari and fine-tuned his skills, and in turn he taught me. It was something Rhys had been showing an increasing interest in; it helped that Doc was a fan of rope work and they’d obviously had some conversations about it.

“Rhys has been hinting he’d like to try some rope play out.” I said softly.

“Start simple, nothing too complicated. Remember to check in and keep the safety shears close, but I don’t think you’ll need them. I think Rhys is the type of lad who will like the feel of the rope holding him.”

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