3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Cormac

“ I ’m pretty sure our computer is toast.”

Ollie’s serious expression had me starting to walk the moment he said those words.

All our fucking files were on the computer in the trailer, and yes, we should’ve been better about backing it up, but we’d just convinced Dad to move a good chunk of the business to electronic, for sanity’s sake.

Shitfuckdamn.

I’d been working out in the lot on the outside air-conditioning unit we’d replaced. The guy at the last job wanted a new model, but I was pretty sure I could fix this one and turn it around. Every penny counted in this field, and with Dad entrusting more and more of the business to us, I wanted to do him proud.

Our main computer on the fritz sure as hell wouldn’t accomplish that.

I passed Ollie and stepped into the trailer. Our desktop sat in the corner on the rinky-dink desk covered in wrinkled invoices and customer files. For as much as we’d moved to electronic, a large portion of our day-to-day was still cash and paper.

I pressed the Start button, but the computer wasn’t responding, and my heart thumped a million miles a minute. I dropped to my knees and checked the plug, but nope, plugged in.

“Were you in the middle of working on something?” I asked Ollie.

My brother had his hands hooked into his coverall pockets and rocked back and forth in place, clearly panicked. “Nope. Was going over invoices and wanted to upload the information to the computer.”

Great.

One person could help, but it was a bit of a reach, considering he lived in Philly.

“When’s Dad swinging by the trailer?” I tugged my phone out of my pocket.

“He’s finished his job in an hour or so.”

Decision made.

I promise never to ask a favor like this again, and we will pay you, but if you’re around, could you help us with a desktop situation?

I shot the message off and rose to my feet. The pacing began a second later. Dad would never trust Ollie and me with Brannon Contractors if we couldn’t handle a borked computer. Fuck.

“Are you going to clue me in on who you mystery messaged? Just an FYI, now isn’t the time to be hitting up a booty call on Grindr,” Ollie teased.

Not like I was doing that much since Luke. I shot him a glare. “Go fuck off, Mr. Happily Getting Laid, and with a hottie like Liam nonetheless. I’m more jealous now than I was when you were married.”

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen. Felix had responded.

Give me the address, and I’ll be there.

My heart squeezed hard. Goddamn, he was making it difficult to shove down this dumbass crush.

I met Ollie’s gaze. “Help is on the way.”

For the next half hour, we took turns pacing and fiddling with our dead-as-fuck desktop until a knock sounded at the door. Except that would be way too fast for Felix to get here, especially in rush hour traffic.

Ollie moseyed over, a twinkle in his eyes, which told me who’d arrived. He flung the door open to Liam standing in the entryway, paper bags of takeout in hand. The guy was a cute blond twink, the perfect contrast to Ollie, who was built like me—dark brown hair, thick beard, all brawn. Except Ollie, like the rest of my siblings, had some ink and piercings, courtesy of our youngest brother, Rory, and his relentless nagging. I stayed a blank canvas solely to piss him off.

“Hey, baby.” Ollie planted a solid kiss on Liam’s lips. Envy thumped a solid beat in my chest as the two leaned into their kiss, so fucking in love it was ridiculous. However, they’d always been way closer than friends, even though Ollie had been too dense to realize it and had been married to the wrong person for more than a decade.

My phone buzzed again.

This time, the message wasn’t from Felix.

My chest sank. Should I even bother opening the text?

“I brought burgers.” Liam plunked them down on the desk, between the old receipts and crinkled invoices. “Figured you guys would be hungry.”

“I’m always hungry.” Ollie patted his stomach.

Liam gave him a flirty look. “I know.”

“Ew,” I said, reminding them I was in the room too. I leaned against the side of the desk and checked the text.

You left your shirt here. It still smells like you.

Fucking Luke. It probably just smelled like sweat and dirt. I’d feel worse if it hadn’t been a month since we broke up…over a monthlong relationship. He’d come on strong, and I’d been into him until I realized he planned out a happily ever after without even grasping anything basic about me, like my unreasonable loathing for saltines.

Nothing like being a prop to make you nope out of a relationship.

“Here, your burger.” Liam pushed the bag at me. He and Ollie already had the foil-wrapped goodness in hand, and I reached in to snag mine. My stomach rumbled at the mouthwatering scent of meat and cheese.

I sank my teeth in and held back a moan. Goddamn, I’d been starving. Within minutes, the burger was a fucking mess, but I wolfed it down.

Another knock sounded at the trailer door.

“I’ll get it.” I walked over, wiping the grease around my mouth with my sleeve.

“He doesn’t want us to embarrass him in front of his secret lover,” Ollie said in a stage whisper.

I threw up my middle finger.

When I opened the door, the sight of Felix smacked me in the sternum.

He wore a pale blue button-down and gray slacks that looked all business professional, and combined with the glasses, fuck, Felix hit every one of my buttons. His dark hair was teased with product, the curls the perfect length to tug on, and the crisp scent of his cologne made my nose tingle. Having him all up in my space, our worlds colliding, was messing with my head.

Hell, the fact that he’d dropped everything to come here and help flipped me on my axis.

“Gonna let me in or just stand there and stare?” He winked at me, this mixture of geeky and charming that fucking worked for me.

“Staring isn’t going to fix our computer,” Ollie said. My fucking brother.

“If that were the case, you guys would’ve had it repaired a half hour ago,” Liam commented.

I stepped to the side and let Felix in, my fingers twitching to reach out and touch him. Thankfully, he inserted himself in my space as per usual, resting his hand on my shoulder like it belonged there.

“So, what’s the issue?” he asked.

“That.” I pointed at the old desktop that held court among its sea of invoices and other garbage.

“I hate to be the cliché…” He started on over to the desktop.

“Yes, we tried turning it off and on again,” I grumbled. Felix had launched into many tirades that most IT issues would be resolved with some basic troubleshooting. “It remained pretty…inert.” I didn’t want to say dead because if that were the case, we were so fucked.

“And you’re okay with me messing around with it?” he asked, already lowering to the ground where the computer tower was.

“Yes, please. It’s infinitely safer in your hands than ours,” Ollie said. “Providing you’re proficient in computers and not just a random Grindr hookup.”

“Fuck off.” I scrubbed my face. “Ollie, Liam, this is Felix. He works in IT, so yeah, he’s way better at this than we are.”

Felix kneeled in front of the computer tower, and I wrinkled my nose. Maybe I should offer him my shirt or something so he didn’t ruin his nice slacks on our tacky-ass floor covered in dust, bits of metal shavings, and the splat of shellac that got spilled a while back. He leaned forward on his hands and knees, fiddling around with things under the desk, and that peach of an ass was on full display.

My cock was paying attention to those muscular globes, compact and perfect in those gray slacks. I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.

“You’re staring.” Ollie sidled next to me with a quiet that seemed impossible for such a big guy.

“I’m really concerned about the computer.” My palms pricked with sweat, and I resisted the urge to deck Ollie. He was such a shit sometimes. Well, most of the time.

“Mmm, so this is your friend.” He thankfully kept his voice low, but my brain still sent panic signals that Felix might overhear. I regretted asking Ollie for advice about friends who touched a bit too much and if I was reading into things.

Of course, then Ollie and Liam got together, which fed my hopeless crush on Felix.

“How fucked are they?” Liam asked, all chill curiosity. It wasn’t his livelihood up in flames if our computer was toast.

“Please tell me you back up your files regularly,” Felix called over to us.

“How mad are you going to be if I say no?” I gripped my nape.

“Oh, you’ll definitely be in trouble.” The low pitch of his voice sent a shiver through me. All too easily, I could imagine him shoving me down face-first on the bed, prying my cheeks open, and fucking me until I came.

My cock had stiffened to a semi, and my coveralls were not forgiving.

A file slapped against my chest, courtesy of Ollie. “Might want to skim over this.”

His blue eyes twinkled with mirth, and my body flushed in mortification. Fucking hell. I didn’t want to look at Liam, because guaranteed he’d figured out what was going on too. I dropped the file in front of my growing erection.

Felix rose from his hands and knees. “So, do you want to be filled in?”

Oh fuck. Not. Helping.

Liam snickered, and I was half-tempted to kick him in the shin.

“Hit us with it.” I clutched the folder a little tighter, the nerves over the verdict on the desktop helping deflate my erection.

“You need to order a new power supply.” He wiped at his dusty knees. “If you have to use your computer immediately, I’d get on that ASAP, but if you’re worried about your files, they’re safe.” He fixed me with a stern look. “Until the next time a computer crisis happens, so back up your shit.”

Ngh. I normally wasn’t into dominant guys, but orders from him made me want to bend over big-time.

“Might need a reminder or two,” I teased.

Felix settled next to me, crossing his arms. His elbow brushed against my forearm, but he didn’t move away. The way he got into my space made it difficult to breathe. After the first few times my straight friends growing up got weird with me being a hugger, I kept my distance, but Felix barged right in.

“You guys called me all the way out here over a power supply?” He grinned, his dark eyes dancing. The thick black frames of his glasses looked sexy on him, and the urge to reach out and trace his firm lips was all-consuming.

“Well, I never claimed to be smart,” Ollie said. “But I’m damn glad you are.”

“All I’m saying is you owe me dinner.” Felix stared at me square in the eyes, and my heart did that sickening little backflip.

I gulped. “Look, I’ll take you out right now if you want.”

“Nah, I think I’ll hold on to this to cash it in.” The slight slant of his smile held me captive.

The door to the trailer opened.

Dad stepped in, his hunch a bit more prominent, how it always got after a long job. His deep-set eyes looked a little wearier today. Which was why he needed to retire, but the man was as stubborn as me.

Thank fuck we’d gotten the issue resolved before Dad got here.

Warmth coursed through my veins, and I was far too aware of the small place where Felix’s arm touched mine. Far too aware of everything when it came to him, honestly.

“Is there a party going on and no one told me?” Dad asked, lifting a brow.

“This wouldn’t even constitute as a family gathering, let alone a party.” Ollie leaned against the side of the desk.

“Well, more folks are crammed in the trailer than usual, which feels a little suspicious.” He dropped his work bag, which hit the floor with a thump.

“I just came by to bring food for these guys,” Liam said, his lips twitching with a grin.

I drew a line across my neck in a silent threat when Dad wasn’t looking.

“And this is Cor’s…” Ollie waggled his eyebrows.

Dad glanced at Felix. “Oh, are you a new boyfriend?” He scanned him up and down. “I like him better than Luke already.”

“You’d like anyone better than Luke,” Ollie said.

I ground my teeth, ready to jump in and correct Dad, but Felix stepped up to him, hand out.

“I’m Felix. Great to meet you, Mr. Brannon. Unfortunately, I’ve got to get going. I promised my folks I’d meet them for dinner.”

I licked my lips, guilt flushing through me. He’d rushed over here to help, even though he already had plans with his family. What did that mean? That he was a damn good friend? Felix strode toward the door, and I followed him on instinct. “I’ll walk you out.”

Ollie snickered behind me, and the urge to strangle my brother and his boyfriend rose exponentially. Shit, I’d never corrected Dad on the boyfriend front.

However, Felix hadn’t either.

My mouth was a little dry as I followed him. Damn, the sight of Felix in those slacks had me thirsting something fierce.

“I make an excellent boyfriend, just saying.” Felix winked at me. “Ignore the string of breakups I’ve got following me.”

“Sorry, I should’ve jumped in there.” My cheeks heated. “Dad leaped to the assumption because I don’t usually bring friends around the family a lot.”

“Any reason?” he asked, his thumb hooked in his pocket. The cool wind buffeted around, causing his black curls to drift across his forehead. My fingers twitched. Fuck, I wanted to brush them to the side.

“Most of my friends are unprepared for the Brannon brand of chaos.” Not that I had many. Sometimes I caught drinks with some guys from high school, and my siblings were my best friends, but after school, I’d had a hard time finding a spot where I belonged. I’d started straight into work, and that was that.

The sword fighting classes hadn’t only offered me a great outlet for stress but also Felix, who was the closest I’d felt to anyone outside my family in a long while. Which was why I needed to kill this crush, pronto. Because his friendship was too amazing a gift to risk.

“You all don’t seem that scary.” Felix crossed his arms.

“Yeah, that’s only half of the crew in there.”

“Well, I expect an invite to the next family gathering, boyfriend,” Felix teased, his eyes glinting. “Also a rain check on that dinner.”

My mind dizzied from those words, ones I wished were real beyond measure. Felix had been dangerous for my heart before, but ever since he’d gotten dumped, the flirting had amped up.

“Anything you want,” I said.

He winked, lifted his hand in a good-bye, and sauntered away, swinging his hips. My heart did a somersault.

Felix was pure, unadulterated trouble, and I wanted more.