Felix has found a lover to start a new life with after losing his job due to false accusations — but will he be able to defeat the enemy who kicked him out of his old career?
Felix Oakden loved his work as a finance manager…before a spiteful ex-boyfriend used false accusations to not only get him fired, but also blackball him throughout the health care industry. Forced to work as a waiter to support himself, he met Leo and the two fell in love.
Returning to the real world means making a decision about his future professional life. Felix discovers several alternatives he would have never considered before Leo noticed his talent for financial analysis.
When an old enemy begins to make life difficult for him, can Felix fight back and win — even when the situation seems hopeless?
Reader Advisory: This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone title.
General Release Date: 15th August 2011
“You mean it?” Felix Oakden looked up, an embarrassing tear falling from one eye, but he couldn’t stop it. There was too much happiness inside him.
“With all my heart.” Leo Taber pulled him closer, and the feel of his lover’s strong arms coming around Felix reminded him of what coming home felt like. “I want to spend even more time with you than we have so far. You’ve saved me from my fate as an angry, bitter man and have shown me so much love. I want to share my life with you.”
“Thank you so much.” He kissed Leo on the lips, his heart jumping for joy. “Thank you for making my dream come true.”
“Anytime, baby.” Leo kissed him back. “Anytime at all.”
Felix put his head back onto his lover’s shoulder and sighed as Leo’s arms tightened. Still slightly out of breath from their most adventurous lovemaking yet—on a conference table in Leo’s office, for heaven’s sake—he luxuriated in the feeling of knowing that his love was returned. He loved hearing those three words from the man he’d fallen for fast and hard. It was more than he’d hoped for only weeks after first meeting him at the FOSK retreat.
“This is the best gift ever, Leo.” He couldn’t help but smile as he tightened his grip around the little black velvet box containing Leo’s house key. Never mind that he’d already practically moved in. He’d had to give up his own apartment and sell all his stuff months ago after Perfect Health unjustly fired him based on the accusation of embezzlement from his abusive ex-lover—Victor the weasel. The temporary job at the retreat, mediated by his friend Emilio, had been a godsend, but Felix had been an awful waiter. Leo had rescued him from all that, at least for now.
“I’m glad you like it.” Leo pulled back, cupping his cheek as he looked into his eyes. “I just want to make sure that you know I really want you in my life. Not just because it’s practical, but because I love you and want to share my life with you.”
Leo Taber was a powerful presence with his square jaw, straight nose and soulful brown eyes. His supremely well-toned body just screamed bodyguard, which was exactly what he’d been in the past. Now he was running a security company with an ex-Army buddy of his but had found their banker to be less than helpful.
Thank God Felix had been able to help obtain funding from Top Ventures, one of the biggest venture capital companies in Albany, New York. He hadn’t known he had it in him, but Leo had asked him for help, so what else could he have done? He couldn’t have turned him down even back then, when he’d still been hesitant about falling in love with a man who had anger management issues. But at least Leo was working on getting them under control.
Felix leant into Leo’s touch, nuzzling the warm skin and loving the slightly salty taste. It would be good to get out of his sister’s hair. He loved her and the kids, but her husband wasn’t exactly a fan of Felix and had made it clear he expected the stay to be extremely temporary. Even though he’d hardly been at their house, being able to officially move out would hopefully relieve the tension.
“You want to go celebrate?” Leo’s voice was low, matching the suddenly gentler mood.
“Like a date?” Felix grinned.
“Yeah, I guess.” Leo chuckled. “We haven’t really done any of that, have we?”
“It’s not like we had the time.” He shrugged. “Between me setting up that loan and you and Ivan trying to keep the business afloat, we have been kind of busy.”
“That may be an explanation, but it’s no excuse.” Leo kissed him on the nose before pulling back. “I’d like to take you out, show off my handsome boyfriend and have some fun for a change.”
“You would, huh?” Felix scooted back on the conference table, getting ready to find his glasses and get dressed. “I’d love that too. We’ll still have to work hard, and I’ll have to figure out what to do with my life, but that can wait. I vote for taking the weekend off.”
“Your vote is my directive.” Leo let him go and started hunting for their clothes.
Leo threw Felix’s towards him with an uncanny accuracy, while putting his own on piece by piece. Too bad all those muscles were being covered again. But he did want to get out of the office, so he started pulling on his own stuff. Finally, he retrieved his glasses from where he’d left them at the other end of the huge conference table.
“Except maybe the moving in.” Felix blushed when Leo waggled his eyebrows at that. “I’d like to do that as quickly as possible. There isn’t much at my sister’s place, just a few boxes with books and paperwork, some paintings and stuff. It should be quick.”
“We could do that this afternoon, just leave everything in the guest room then go out?” Leo looked so hopeful, how could he resist?
“Sure.” He could deal with his inner neat freak and make himself wait to have everything cleared away permanently. He hoped.
I'm a night owl who starts writing when everyone else in my time zone is asleep. I've loved reading all my life and spent most of my childhood with my nose buried in a book. Although I always wanted to be a writer, financial independence came first. Twenty-some years and a successful business career later I took some online writing classes and never looked back.
Living and working in seven countries has taught me that there's more than one way to get things done. It has instilled tremendous respect for the many different cultures, beliefs, attitudes and preferences that exist on our planet.
I like exploring those differences in my stories, most of which happen to be romances. My characters have a tendency to want to do their own thing, so I often have to rein them back in. The one thing we all agree on is the desire for a happy ending.
I currently live in the United Kingdom, sharing my house with a vast collection of books. I like reading, traveling, spending time with my nieces and listening to classical music. I have a passion for science and learning new languages.
Reviewed by Night Owl Romance Reviews
an enjoyable read...I'm recommending both books and encouraging readers to read this series in order.
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Reviewed by MM Good Book Reviews
I found the relationship between Leo and Felix to be both sweet and hot at the same time...This is a quick but enjoyable read with great characters and I enjoy Ms. Yates' writing style.
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