Handcuffs and Lace 27 -Brass Balls by Mia Watts Read Free Book Online

answer. Protective? Not particularly. Territorial? Abso-fuckinglutely. He swung the door open. Oak’s hopes took a dive. Owen Murphy was one smokin’ fire chief. Cropped strawberry blond hair, clear blue eyes, and a ruggedly impressive jaw made him downright sexy.
He was definitely younger than Peterman, more in Oak’s range, actually. Oak forced a smile, refusing to scope out the other man’s impressive arms and lean body.
“Hi. Oak,” he said thrusting out his hand.
“Owen.” The guy offered his hand in return, a curious smile on his face. “John’s kid?”
Oak dropped the smile. “If by kid you mean his son, yeah.” He stepped aside to let him enter.
“That’s what I meant,” he agreed.
“Owen, c’mon back. There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” his dad called.
“That’s a shame. I was kind of hoping I’d met him,” Owen said loud enough for Oak to hear.
A slow smile spread over Oak’s face. This was almost too easy. If Owen was interested in him, then hopefully there’d be no contest for Peterman.
A delusion which evaporated the minute Oak walked into the next room and saw the look on Owen’s face when he held out his hand to Peterman. Peterman seemed receptive, too. Oak took the bowl of barbeque sauce he’d made earlier off the counter top, picked up the application brush and retreated to the patio.
Fuck it. This night had just gone to hell, and it was all wrapped up in a pretty beau called Owen.
    It was really hard not to grin at the sullen expression on Oak’s face. He didn’t pout. No, instead he wore a look of someone who’d just had his day royally shat upon and it had all started with Owen greeting Wyatt.
    As far as blind dates went, this one wasn’t so bad. Owen seemed like a genuine sort. He talked job as they all did, and he had a good head on his shoulders for handling his team. Those were all traits Wyatt respected.
    It was after dinner, as Wyatt shooed Sheila from the kitchen and Owen came to help, that he finally had a minute to talk privately with his date. Oak had been suspiciously quiet the whole evening, answering only when spoken to. Even now, he was absent as he tended to the grill clean up with a wire brush and the garden hose outside.
    “You know Oak’s got it bad for you, right?” Owen said quietly.
He turned on the kitchen sink and soaped up a sponge. “I do.”
“He’s been shooting daggers at me all night.”
“He’s a kid. He’ll get over it,” Wyatt told him.
“ He might. Will you?”
Wyatt glanced at the good looking man leaning against the counter beside him. “He’s a
    little young for me.”
“No, he’s not. He’s also not a kid.”
“Could’ve fooled me with the way he’s been acting,” Wyatt argued.
Owen scooted closer, keeping his voice low. “He knows you want him. That’s why he’s
struggling to hold it together today. It can’t be easy seeing you paired up with another man under his family’s roof.”
    Wyatt sighed, rinsed the dish he’d been scrubbing and set it in the drying rack. “It doesn’t matter what he knows. He’s off limits in every way.”
“Sure, and that’s why you’ve amped up your game with me here. Look, I know I don’t know you well, but it’s pretty clear that all the flashy smiles are meant to piss him off.”
Wyatt laughed, knowing he’d just been pegged. “You don’t mind?”
“Hell, no. It’s kind of funny. Not that either one of you aren’t a catch, but I think you and I are too similar to work.”
“And Oak?” Wyatt asked.
“Oak’s another story,” Owen said, looking away.
He absently handed Wyatt another plate, before throwing a kitchen towel over his shoulder. Switching sides of the sink, he started hand drying the plates.
“Oh?”
“He’s beautiful.” Owen shook his head in apparent wonder, a small smile on his lips. “He moves like sex. A guy could wrap his fist in that inky hair and get lost in his eyes. And that mouth—”
“Mind if I stop you there?” Wyatt asked