Tied to Trouble(35)

Fallen in a way that scared the ever-loving shit out of him.

Owen took the condom off Chad and tossed it in the trash can, then reached over, brushing a lock of hair out of Chad’s eyes. Chad’s chest hurt at the tender look on Owen’s face as he stretched out on the bed beside him. “Hey,” Owen said.

“Hey,” Chad answered, unable to do anything but whisper. Was this a dream? Because he wasn’t sure anyone had ever looked at him the way Owen was now.

Owen’s hand had drifted down Chad’s face, stroking his jaw. He poked at the place he’d sucked on Chad’s neck, then his fingers coasted down, tracing Chad’s collarbone, counting his ribs, then gripping his hip, like he was accounting for Chad’s presence, that Chad was really there. Like Chad was his.

Chad wanted to be Owen’s. He wanted Owen to be his. And that thought freaked him out. So before Owen could open his mouth and say something tender that Chad would inadvertently answer with something dumb that fucked things up, he changed the subject. “I’m going back to school,” he blurted.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to erase them, but he couldn’t go back now.

Owen, to his credit, didn’t seem at all surprised by the topic of post-sex conversation. “For graphic design?”

Chad nodded.

“Do you have a degree now?”

“I have about twelve credits toward a bachelor’s degree, but three of those were because I was sleeping with my econ TA.”

Owen blinked at him, then thunked his head on Chad’s shoulder and began to laugh. “Why am I surprised anymore by what comes out of your mouth?”

Chad wasn’t sure he’d ever laughed, other than wryly, about his failed year in college. He was laughing now. “Man, you know me. Can you imagine what I was like at eighteen? I didn’t have the concentration or drive to do anything but drink and get laid.”

Owen braced his head on a fist, elbow on the bed. “And now?”

Chad swallowed. “I finally know what I want to do. And I need to do it.”

“Okay.”

“I mean, lots of people go to college later in life.”

Owen paused then swept a thumb across Chad’s jaw. “Are you trying to convince me or you that this is okay?”

Chad winced. “Both?”

“I know people in their seventies that have gone to college. You’re, what, twenty-seven? You’re hardly over the hill.”

Chad was fidgeting with the sheet, twisting it around his fingers. Owen reached over and stilled his hands. “Talk.”

Chad blew out a breath. “So you think it’s a good thing?”

“I think it’s great. I’m proud of you. And Marley will be, too. Have you told her?”

Chad shook his head. “I, uh, kinda just made the decision.” Of course, he’d been thinking on it for a hell of a lot longer than that. The desire to impress this man in bed with him, to maybe see a little bit of pride in those intelligent eyes, had been the last push he needed to take the leap.

Something beeped, and Owen swore softly under his breath. He rolled off the bed and dug around on his floor for his phone. He was squinting and bumping into things because he didn’t have his glasses on. At one point, he tripped over a pair of jeans. Chad tried not to laugh, but Owen was hilarious, all naked and half blind. Like a newborn fawn.

“I might not be able to see, but my hearing is perfect, so I know you’re laughing,” Owen muttered as he dug into his pants for his phone.

Chad laughed harder.

Owen glanced at his phone. “Oh, did you set up a photographer for the proposal? That’s why I came over here in the first place. Austin is a wreck.”

Chad folded his hands behind his head, happy to sit and observe a naked Owen in his bedroom. “Yep, my friend Lissa.”

Owen tapped on his phone, then dropped it onto his pants and climbed into bed. Chad had a fleeting glimpse of a mischievous grin before he was flipped onto his stomach and his ass swatted. Hard.

Chad yelped and then kept laughing. “What was that for?”

“That was for laughing at me.”

He wiggled his ass. “Well, I’m still laughing. What’re you gonna do about it?”

Owen smacked him again then flopped down on the bed beside him. “Give me about thirty minutes and you’ll see.”





Chapter Ten


When Chad opened his eyes, his room was dark. He was a little cold, too, except for his ass. Because two hot hands were spreading his cheeks, and then he felt the rasp of stubble in his crease and then…

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned into his pillow as his legs were spread and a hot tongue lapped right over his hole.