Orderly Affair Read online

  Orderly Affair

  Hearts and Health: Book 6

  Copyright 2018 DJ Jamison

  Published by DJ Jamison at KDP

  Heart and Arrow Logo | Designed by Vexels.com

  Cover design by Lucas Soltow

  KDP Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Amazon.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content suitable for mature readers.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Epilogue

  Thank You for reading

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Chapter One

  Ian Connolly stepped into the janitor’s closet on the ground floor of Ashe Medical Center, returning the rolling mop and bucket to its corner. He’d just returned from a cleanup job in the emergency room. Food poisoning was nasty business.

  Being an orderly was a lot more than cleanup, but that was an unavoidable part of the job description and one he considered just as important as using his muscle to help the nurses lift patients or (more rarely) restrain someone hysterical because of pain, grief, or drugs. Not to mention the collection of other tasks he performed, from changing bedpans to delivering patients for x-rays.

  But as the door clicked shut behind him, Ian’s thoughts weren’t on the cleanup he’d performed in the ER. Or the tang of chemicals that always hung in the air in the storage closet filled with cleaning supplies. Instead, his mind went directly to the scene that met him in this cramped space three weeks ago.

  His skin flushed as the image rose in his mind: two men, one on his knees with his mouth around the other’s cock. That he recognized both the men — Dr. Eric Holtz and Dr. Casper Rollins — only served to make the memory more erotic.

  And awkward.

  Now, he couldn’t even step into the supply closet without getting half-hard at the memory, which was kind of a problem because he was in and out of the closet several times a day.

  Well, the janitor’s closet. The other one …

  Ian was still figuring things out. Thirty-seven years old wasn’t too late to find yourself, right? Better late than never.

  He pulled out his phone, seeking a distraction from uncomfortably sexy thoughts. His eye caught on Thrust, the hookup app he’d installed three weeks ago. The fact he’d installed it and several others the same day he walked in on that man-on-man action was total coincidence.

  Yeah, he couldn’t even convince himself of that one.

  The app was similar to Grindr — at least, he assumed it was; he’d never used Grindr — and it seemed to have more users in the Midwest region than some did. That was a plus, but he didn’t kid himself. Ashe, Kansas, was still unlikely to have a whole lot of Thrust activity. Thrust activity. The thought alone sent his pulse racing.

  Ian had set up a profile, but he’d been too skittish to explore the app any further.

  He was just now coming to accept this side of his sexuality. He’d taken the easy road in high school, dating girls and suppressing his crush on the lead male singer in his garage band. He’d married his high school sweetheart, and in retrospect, he might have rushed into marriage to avoid dealing with the other side of himself. The side that appreciated a hard, male body. The side of himself that couldn’t resist checking out the bulge in a guy’s jeans or the stretch of denim over his ass.

  He tapped the stylized T, looking over his shoulder nervously even though he was alone in a closet. He snorted. Alone in the closet. My life is a fucking metaphor.

  Ian checked the time. He had a break starting, so no one should need him. Perfect time to explore the app. He clicked a few buttons, and finally got the courage to look for nearby app users. He searched close to home first, though he’d probably have to expand to Wichita, a much larger city about 45 minutes’ drive away, to find someone.

  Gotta find your balls first. Stop being such a damn chicken.

  Heart in his throat, Ian clicked on the map showing users online. There were four including him. That meant three users within a thirty-mile radius. A limited pool, but a larger one than he’d expected.

  One user was across town, somewhere near the old strip mall that was deteriorating but still did a brisk business at its dollar store. Another was at the high school. Geez, he hoped an underage student wasn’t on this app. But it was the third Thrust user who sent his heart into arrhythmia.

  He’s in the building.

  Ian stared at the profile pic of a guy who was right now in this very hospital. He didn’t know precisely where, only that when he clicked on the dot, it indicated the user was 300 feet from him.

  He tapped on the profile for IonicCal.

  Ian frowned, unsure what the name meant. Was it a typo? Maybe it was supposed to be IronicCal? He wasn’t sure he would be into someone so ironic they felt the need to put it in their name. In his experience, people say they’re ironic when they mean mean-spirited.

  The profile picture caught his attention before he could write off the guy and go back to work. It wasn’t the typical abs or dick pic, but it didn’t show the man’s face. IonicCal’s torso was twisted, as if he was looking back over his shoulder. The shot showed his collar bones, pronounced enough Ian knew he must be slim. One side of the guy’s chest was revealed, but the nipple remained hidden by a slender but toned bicep and forearm.

  Ian’s dick hardened, which was ridiculous because he couldn’t even see anything revealing in the pic. But that only served to make it more tantalizing. He could see bits of flesh but not the pieces he wanted.

  He forced his eyes from the picture and skimmed the profile details, which were unsurprisingly vague. Age: 26, Orientation: G (for gay, Ian assumed; the app catered to men of other sexual identities or orientations, too). IonicCal had noted his hobbies as dancing, swimming, and stargazing. Ian hadn’t danced since his wedding nineteen years ago, but he could get behind swimming, especially if he got to see IonicCal in a swimsuit.

  Ian skimmed the rest of the guy’s profile. He was hopelessly out of touch with pop culture, so the list of favorite bands meant nothing to him, but he recognized some of IonicCal’s favorite TV/movies: Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. Who, comic book movies. There seemed to be a theme there. Ian scrolled down to read the last few lines, where IonicCal was asked to explain what he was looking for out of a meet
-up.

  I’m cool with just having fun, but I’m not opposed to a relationship with the right guy. Let’s form an ionic bond with our attraction, and we’ll go from there. Consider that fair warning: I’m a science nerd and proud of it.

  Well, at least ionic wasn’t a typo. A quick Google search explained that an ionic bond was formed from electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions. He guessed Cal was attempting a play at the concept of opposites attract.

  Ian’s own message had been far less creative: Bi guy looking to explore with a considerate partner.

  His phone pinged with a message, startling him.

  IonicCal: Your body is impressive, if it’s really your chest and abs in that pic

  Ian stared at the message, initially panicked that someone had tried to talk to him, especially someone so close by. Oh God, I don’t know what to say. How to flirt. What am I doing?

  Then he re-read the message and got over himself. Ian got on the app to meet someone. This was his chance to engage with another man, even if it was via messaging, and he didn’t want to chicken out now.

  He tapped out an answer, which took far too long on the tiny keys with his big fingers.

  BigBiGuy: Hell yes it’s me

  IonicCal: Likely story

  BigBiGuy: It is!

  IonicCal: Maybe you should prove it ;)

  BigBiGuy: How?

  IonicCal: Meet me in the third-floor bathroom on the east end of the hospital. I see you’re in the same building.

  Ian’s heart hammered in his chest. Everything was happening too fast. But he typed his response before he could overthink it.

  BigBiGuy: Be there in 5.

  Exactly four minutes later, Ian paused in front of the bathroom and swiped sweaty palms on the legs of the scrubs he still wore. He was an idiot to be doing this at his place of work. But he was too curious not to follow through. The pic was totally hot, but Ian couldn’t shake the feeling he was going to be disappointed. The guy might have used a fake pic. Maybe that’s why he was so sure Ian had as well. Plus, he was bound to be someone Ian should steer clear of. He could be a patient or, with that chemistry humor, a doctor.

  Holy fuck, what if he’s a doctor? I can’t fuck around with some guy that far above my pay grade.

  That was all without considering the age difference. Maybe IonicCal would take one look at Ian and declare him too old.

  Ian took a breath to steady his nerves and pushed open the bathroom door. He was already here, and he’d kick himself if he backed out now. So, he’d go in, see what he was dealing with, then pretend to be clueless if the guy wasn’t someone he wanted to meet. No problem.

  The butterflies in his stomach disagreed. It was a big fucking deal to be meeting a guy with any kind of intent. Ian was so far in the closet it’d taken him a while to find himself in there alongside the regrets about his failed marriage, rocky relationship with his son, and expectations of his large, traditional family that included two testosterone-driven brothers, an annoying know-it-all sister, and one strong-willed mother.

  He walked the length of the bathroom, then seeing he was alone, entered the last stall. He left the door unlatched. They hadn’t discussed how exactly they’d find each other, and Ian almost hoped IonicCal would glance inside, see no one, and leave.

  A few minutes later the outer door opened and clanked shut. He listened to a guy’s footsteps cross the bathroom tile until he was just outside Ian’s stall. Ian could make out slim legs, wearing slacks, not scrubs. That didn’t mean much, except the guy probably wasn’t a nurse. Plenty of doctors wore slacks, and so did a good number of other staff members and patients.

  The door swung inward, and Ian leaned back, cramming his broad shoulders into the corner and contorting his large body around the toilet to allow room for the door to open.

  A guy with dirty blond hair, warm brown eyes, and a wide mouth stared at him.

  A familiar guy.

  “Ian?” the lab tech said in astonishment.

  Ian’s heart dropped to his stomach. “Callum, hi. This is awkward.”

  ***

  Callum Price swallowed hard, staring at Ian Connolly’s massive … everything.

  The orderly was six-foot-four, compared with Callum’s modest five-foot-eight height. Broad and muscled, Ian could toss Callum across the room with very little effort. That sent a thrill of fear through his body and a frisson of excitement straight to his cock.

  You are one screwed up puppy.

  Callum knew the guy from the app might be someone he knew, but he never would have guessed him to be Ian “straight guy” Connolly.

  He licked his lips and raked his eyes over Ian’s chest and stomach, too obscured by the loose scrub top to hint at the goodies beneath. “I didn’t know you were ...”

  “Me either,” Ian said. Then coughed with embarrassment. “I mean, I’m bi and just now exploring my ... curiosity.”

  “Bi or bi-curious? They’re not the same.”

  “Are we really going to have a serious talk about sexuality in the john?”

  Ian had a point. Callum’s pulse raced, sending all his blood south and muddying his thoughts, as he stared at BigBiGuy. Ian. He knew the hospital orderly only through a loosely organized group of hospital staffers who played basketball every now and then. They nodded and smiled hello in the halls, but their paths didn’t cross all that much.

  Yet, here they were.

  Callum had noticed Ian was a big guy; it would have been impossible to miss. But he’d filed him into the unavailable category with all the other straight men, and as a result, hadn’t fully appreciated the man’s body.

  He wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to correct that mistake.

  “Take off your shirt.”

  Ian’s eyes went wide, and he glanced over Callum’s shoulder toward the bathroom at-large. Right, public place. Callum squeezed into the stall, latching the door behind him. It left about an inch between their bodies.

  “You said you’d prove it was your pic,” he said.

  Ian scoffed. “You know it was my pic. You know me.”

  Callum blinked, making his eyes innocent. “How do I know that?”

  Ian turned red, which was kind of adorable. Here was this older, buffer dude going shy. Then Ian’s eyes skimmed over Callum’s button-down shirt, fitted to his slender form, and he licked his lips.

  Callum’s insides fluttered. Was Ian attracted to him?

  People who knew Callum in his daily life thought he was smart but geeky. His work uniform of dress slacks, button-down shirt, and glasses didn’t do a lot to dispel that impression. Nor did his interests: science, space exploration, Star Wars and comic book movies. He wasn’t even one of those “cool” geeks who built apps or kicked ass while gaming.

  Callum could pull off twink when he needed, though. His ex-boyfriend Doug was big on telling Callum he was lucky he had a tight ass. That shit was annoying, if true. When he went out, he didn’t have much trouble landing a guy as long as he dressed in skintight clothes and toned down his nerdy inclinations.

  Not possible with Ian. The man knew he was a medical lab tech. Didn’t get much geekier than that.

  “We’ve played basketball together,” Ian said. “I’ve taken off my shirt before.”

  Foiled.

  Callum tapped his lips, unable to concede the point.

  “I must not have been paying attention,” he said. “So, I’m going to have to insist. It’s a pretty tight fit in here, though. How about I help you?”

  “Wha—”

  Ian’s voice cut off with a strangled garble as Callum grabbed the hem of Ian’s scrub top. He’d shocked him. He only hoped it was a good shock, and he didn’t get knocked on his ass for being too forward.

  “Lift your arms,” he said, projecting as much confidence as he could as he pushed Ian’s shirt over those delectable abs. The man was seriously cut. That picture was no lie.

  Ian obeyed, and a moment later he was shirtless. Holy muscle
s, Batman!

  Callum stared at Ian’s broad, hairy chest, heaving with nervous breaths. His nipples, a dusky rose, tipped impressive pecs. His body was strong and defined, his stomach not just flat but rippling with muscle. Callum wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a man this built in person. He’d seen Ian without a shirt at the basketball court once or twice, but Callum had been preoccupied with trying to pass the ball without tripping over his own feet. Clearly, he’d missed an impressive sight.

  “Well? Satisfied now?” Ian asked impatiently.

  Callum was about to answer in the affirmative when his gaze dipped below Ian’s waistband and he saw the tent the man was pitching under his pants.

  “Holy shit,” Callum said, and impulsively reached out to curl his fingers around Ian’s thick cock. “You’re hard.”

  Ian groaned. “Cal ...”

  “Are you hard for me?” Callum whispered in wonder. Dragging his eyes up Ian’s body, he met a heated gaze. Ian’s dark hair, stubbled jaw, and sculpted lips were seriously sexy, a fact that Callum couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed before now. It wasn’t often you found both a good-looking face and a hot, built bod. He’d done enough online hookups to know. He’d hit the jackpot.

  “Take off your shirt,” Ian said hoarsely.

  Were they really going to do this? They both worked at the hospital. Different departments, so no big. They also played basketball sometimes, which Callum could take or leave. Again, no big. But they knew a lot of the same people ... which was bigger.

  “Maybe we should hit pause,” Callum said thoughtfully, but his hand was still wrapped around Ian’s cock. Dude was packing, but that was no surprise, given his large everything else. Ian pushed his hips forward, pressing his cock harder into Callum’s hand.

  “No way. You got to see me, and that pic of you was fucking hot.”

  “Really?”

  Callum had only done that pose because he was too damn skinny and had no abs worth showing off. Not like Ian. And despite being pretty happy with his cock, he wasn’t ready to flash it all over the Internet.