“No, you brat. But can I ask you a favour?”
He glanced between them both and rolled his eyes dramatically.
“I’m not giving him Charlie’s number.”
“No, and I get that, but can you give Sebastian’s number to Charlie, and then it’s up to him?”
Jason nodded. Sebastian shared his number quickly. At least Patrick had come to his senses long enough to be a good friend, but Jason had made his head spin. The boy intrigued him, and against his better judgement, he was determined to find out more.
Patrick started off his Sunday as he always did – reading the papers. He had to monitor the competition, after all. They were all mostly filler now, because with the growth of the internet, news was already out of date by the time it went to print, and you rarely got the big exposés anymore. He’d loved doing those in his prime, though why he was thinking he was past his prime was beyond him. He was only forty-two. He had another twenty-five years before he could draw his pension. Retirement was still a long way away.
He couldn’t get Jason out of his head, and it hadn’t taken Patrick long to find him online. He was a regular at the club, so his picture had been snapped many times, and he had often replied with a comment. His full name was Jason Morris. Patrick had found his LinkedIn profile and learned he worked in the city as head of HR for one of the big insurers. He’d been there for almost two years, having been in Liverpool before, and he’d gone to Starhaven University. Okay, he was now veering into stalker territory, but he was a journalist, so he could find things out about people quickly.
Jason was beautiful, and the things Patrick could do to bring pleasure to that body would make the boy’s head spin, but there was more to him. That vulnerability in his eyes... Patrick could tell he had suffered and now wore a mask,probably unconsciously. He was someone who’d been hurt by the people who were supposed to have loved him. Had it been his parents, or an ex-boyfriend? Patrick felt a surge of jealousy at the thought of someone else touching him. He couldn’t deny it; Patrick wanted him. But he also knew he wasn’t ready. The boy was heading down a path of self-destruction. He clearly used casual sex to mask pain, as a barrier to not let anyone else in. There was an explosion brewing in him, but Patrick was still grieving, and he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to be the daddy Jason needed right now.
He had to stop thinking about Jason. Needing a distraction, he went to his office and pulled out a file he hadn’t looked at in a while. He’d started this before George died, but had put it to one side. Then he’d looked at it again recently. Organised crime was something that had become popularised by TV programmes, and the public believed it was relegated to the past, but it was still a huge thing in the UK. There was one man who was at the top of the tree, and Patrick wanted to nail him... Grant Kincaid.
CHAPTER 2
JASON
Jason was late. This was nothing new for him, but he still hated it, and it was the reason his best friends saw him as unreliable. They wouldn’t say anything like that, but he knew his flighty nature irritated them – some more than others. He couldn’t help it, though. He always planned to be on time, but something always happened that distracted him.
It was Sunday and time for their weekly brunch, which was something they’d done for five years, ever since they’d discoveredSex and the Cityand decided they wanted to be those girls. Yes, Jason was the Samantha of the group. Charlie was Charlotte, the hopeless romantic. Langdon was Miranda, with his no-bullshit attitude. Jason didn’t think they had a Carrie in the group, though. Paolo was demi, so didn’t hook up with anyone. It wasn’t something Paolo shared openly, but Jason had worked it out. Gregory was the quiet one, yet he was a secret dom or something. Jason had seen some muscly beasts hobbling out in the early hours once the nerd was done with them. It was kind of hot. In fact, all his friends were hot, and if they weren’t family, Jason would have definitely tried something. To be fair, he had tried with Langdon at uni, but he hadn’t beeninterested. Jason had been disappointed because he didn’t like rejection, but he was pleased because now he could tease Langdon all the time and make him feel uncomfortable. It was their love language, to torment each other like siblings.
Jason saw KC’s Café across the street, but was out of view from the front window, which is the table they always occupied. He’d had to run part of the way here because the cab had been stuck in traffic, and he got irritated that he was going to be even more late. He’d jumped out on Whitehall and run the rest of the way – big mistake. He was knackered, and he was a regular gym goer. He was only twenty-seven, so hoped he wasn’t getting too old already. Jane had told him twenty-seven was the golden age, as it was the last year you could refer to yourself as a young man.
Once he’d caught his breath, he squared his shoulders and made sure his arse still looked fabulous in his tight jeans, and then sauntered across the road. As he walked into the place he thought of as a second home, he caught the tail end of a conversation.
“For fuck’s sake, I’m not in love with him,” Charlie shouted.
It was unlike Charlie to shout. He was the heart of their group and rarely raised his voice.
“Who’s not in love?” asked Jason.
They all spun round to look at him. He dumped his bag and coat on the chair he used every time he was in here, and gave them a quick smile, then he rushed over to KC, who was more like a mother to him than his own. This woman had been through hell, and he adored her. She was the true definition of a role model. To have transitioned in the nineties and opened a business was incredible. Even being in Soho, it hadn’t been easy for her, and Jason had been horrified when she’d shared her experiences. Things were still challenging now, but back then they sounded horrendous. Jason hopedthings wouldn’t revert to the way there were then, but sadly, many people were trying to make that happen.
“Where have you been?” asked Charlie.
“Getting railed all night. I swear to God, he had a cock like a baby’s arm. I won’t be able to walk for a week.”
To emphasise the point, he lowered himself onto his chair with a wince. His arse didn’t really hurt that much, the guy had been pretty average, but he got an A for effort. That was a boring story, though, and besides, Jason hadn’t really been into him. He just hadn’t wanted to go home alone, not after sitting on Patrick’s lap. The man had looked into his eyes like he was boring into his soul.
“Are you going to see him again?”
Who was he talking about? He’d love to see Patrick again– this time with neither of them wearing clothes, and Jason on his back with his legs over his head. He was getting hard just thinking about it. Where was he? Oh yeah, he had to give a verdict on Mr Average.
“Nah. You know me. Fuck and chuck, or get fucked and chuck,” he laughed.
“Excuse me!”
They all turned to find a po-faced woman with two children.
“Yes?” asked Jason.
“Can you not speak like that, please? It’s very offensive.”
“Do you know whatisoffensive? Listening in on other people’s conversations.” He turned back to the group, effectively dismissing her. “Now, where was I? Did I tell you about his tongue?”
