“Right, I have to go,” Kai said. “I’m expected back.”
“Sucker.” Jason shoved him, and Kai shoved back.
“You two are like school children.” Felix stood. “I’m heading out, too.” He couldn’t sit there and not stare at—sorry, observe—Brett. He met Brett’s gaze, nodded once and then said goodbye to his friends and headed out. He had plenty of work to do, but he wouldn’t be able to concentrate right then, so he aimed for home.
Home was a five-bedroomed detached house on the outskirts of Windsor, which was let out on a room-by-room basis. At that moment, four people rented the rooms, including him. He enjoyed the social aspect of sharing a house, and if socialising was too much for him at any point, he could retreat to his room and shut the door. His roommates were pretty great, though, and it didn’t happen often.
Noise assaulted him as soon as he entered, and his fingers twitched with the need to grab his gun, but he checked that need and breathed through the instinct. His roommates were pretty great, as he’d said, but they could be noisy. Loud music, loud conversation and friends visiting all joined to make it a social gathering, which Felix didn’t mind. But goddamn the noise sometimes.
“Felix! You’re back!” Remi called, waving his hands in the air. Remington Highcombe was a trust fund baby who didn’t have to work a day in his life, but he wanted space from his parents, and that had been his solution—finding a room somewhere other than where they were, even though he could have afforded an entire house himself. The guy was one of the nicest people Felix had met, and that said a lot with how many people he interacted with.
Angelica came towards him with a drink in her hand. “It’s not booze, but it’s thirst-quenching.” She winked. Angelica Harris was a model who spent half of her time away at fashion shows around the world, but when she was home, she stayed within the house, not venturing out for anything. As much as she loved the attention when she was on the catwalk, she hated it when she wasn’t.
“I can think of some other things that are thirst-quenching,” Austin said, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend-of-the-week’s neck. Austin Tomlinson was the drummer for The Ports and spent the majority of his time either in the recording studio or on tour. This place was his home away from home.
The fifth bedroom was empty, waiting for an occupant.
“I can see you’re already celebrating something. What’s happened?” he asked, cracking the lid on the bottle of water everyone knew he preferred if he couldn’t have coffee while glancing around at the other people gathered in the large, open-plan living area. He recognised most of them.
“Angelica has been offered a worldwide tour,” Remi said, slinging his arm around her shoulders.
Felix grinned. “Congratulations! I didn’t know that was an option for you.”
Angelica shrugged. “I didn’t think so either. I’m on the wrong end of the age limit, but they called and offered, and I accepted. It might be my last hurrah.”
Felix hugged her. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks. Sorry about the impromptu party.”
“When do I complain about a party?” He winked. “Have you ordered food?”
Austin nodded. “All sorted. There will be enough for several football teams.”
It was one thing they didn’t have to worry about, thankfully. The cost of food was high, but they were each earning a morethan decent wage and could afford to eat takeaway every night for the rest of their lives, probably.
He conversed with several people he knew until the food arrived, and then they dug in. He looked around him and smiled. They were great people, but he was keeping a secret from his roommates. One that would change the way they looked at him.
He was their landlord.
There was a reason they were all high-flying individuals who had as fairly high-profile lives as Felix did. It was also the reason his security system was first class. They knew the pressures of being in the limelight, the intricacies of making sure they were safe wherever they stayed, and the emotional toll they often felt from those pressures. He kept them safe, and in return, they helped him stay sane.
But if they ever found out he was their landlord, they would never trust him again.
****
Felix stared at his screens, his finger rubbing against his chin as he studied the data. He had no idea what he was looking for, but something was bothering him. If he could just figure out what it was, maybe he’d sleep for longer than four hours at a time. It was barely five in the morning, but certain areas of Windsor Castle were awake. He’d beaten Brett into Sec HQ—what they called the security room they all congregated in—something that didn’t happen often.
Sighing, he closed the report and pushed it aside. He’d go through it again the next day and see if fresh eyes would help, and if not, he might take it to Brett or Dominic for their opinion. Probably Dominic, because Brett had enough on his plate.
And if the fates deemed him called, Brett entered, eyebrows rising when he saw him.
“You’re in early.”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
He tried to keep his eyes on his screens, but it was hard. His entire being craved a look, a touch, a scent. It needed Brett with every molecule inside him, but he refrained. Each and every day, he stopped himself from taking what he wanted. Yes, maybe a few things snuck through, like when the devastation was more than he could handle, and he broke down, and Brett held him. Like when he had been so scared he couldn’t keep Oscar safe, and Brett held him until he fell asleep. And like when Brett struggled, and Felix had taken him home and stayed in the room with him while he slept for far longer than either of them had expected.
It wasn’t easy, but he kept his promise to himself: he wouldn’t take more than Brett was willing to give. Unfortunately, Brett gave very little. No, that was wrong. Brett gave a lot of himself—to everyone—and he had very little left to give to someone special. No matter how Felix tried to explain it, it sounded bad. Brett was an extremely giving, caring, intelligent workaholic, but he needed to learn to take a break.