Page 2 of Forbidden Lust (Sinful Knights #1)

Oscar glared at him – he didn’t like that either, as it was what his father was called.

Everyone else called him Oscar, so Josh wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel comfortable doing the same.

It had originally stemmed from the huge crush he’d had on Oscar when he first started working here.

Oscar was six feet seven and just about as wide.

He was a manly man, but caring to his staff.

He could be tough when he needed to be, but that wasn’t often.

Josh had gotten over his crush a long time ago, and now it was just admiration he felt.

Oscar was only four years older than Josh, and was CEO of a company he’d started himself.

Josh couldn’t easily break the habit of calling him by a title which fit the man he admired so much.

“Are you okay?” he repeated.

“Yes. All good, thanks.”

“Is that the same shirt you had on yesterday?”

He looked down, although unsure why. It was the same shirt, as he’d come straight from Neo’s flat this morning.

He hadn’t intended to stay over, but Neo had insisted.

He’d made sure to let his sister know he wouldn’t be home.

Josh hadn’t realised that Neo was a morning-sex person and had woken up to being prepped.

He’d still been tender from the night before, but again, he didn’t want to be rude.

Neo had finished in less than two minutes, then pulled out and gone for a shower.

Josh hadn’t even bothered to get himself off.

Thankfully, he’d hung his shirt up the night before, so it wasn’t creased.

“I have a few shirts of the same colour.”

Oscar nodded, but gave him a knowing smirk. Josh felt his face heat and wanted to sink into his chair and die. His boss knew he’d gotten laid last night. It couldn’t be any more embarrassing.

“Can I get you a coffee, sir . . . I mean Mr . . . Mr Oscar?”

Oscar chuckled, but said he was good and was heading out for some fresh air. Josh did a quick scan of Oscar’s diary and checked the time. He didn’t have another meeting for twenty minutes, so there was nothing he needed to do urgently. Oscar left, so Josh got back to work.

Montgomery Equity was small in terms of employee numbers, with there being just over a hundred.

This gave Josh the opportunity to get involved in other things.

He’d expressed an interest in becoming a chief of staff one day, so Oscar, being the boss he was, gave Josh as many opportunities as he could to diversify his skill set, and had even paid for him to do some courses.

There was a qualification he’d had his eye on, but it was expensive and involved a residential fortnight at Harvard in Boston.

It was something to aspire to, but not something he felt comfortable asking for.

Once he was in a chief of staff role it would make more sense, but that would mean leaving here – not something he wanted to do.

Josh had worked for some awful companies, both during university and after, so he knew when you found a good one, you hung onto it.

Who would have thought a petty grudge against his father could have led to such a positive outcome?

His phone pinged. Josh thought he’d silenced it.

Sperm donor: Are you free for lunch tomorrow?

Unsure what to do, he didn’t reply immediately. He was too intrigued to not agree to meet him, but there was no need to appear eager. They hadn’t spoken since the funeral. Why had he made contact now? Carly would slap him if he didn’t find out, so it was a no brainer he was going to say yes.

He smiled at the name showing on his phone.

It had been Carly’s idea, and they’d thought it was hilarious.

It might be petty, but fuck it, Josh would not put him down as Dad.

That name was taken, because he hadn’t deleted either of his parents’ numbers.

It had been awkward the few times he’d met the sperm donor, but Josh had skirted around calling him dad or using his first name.

He looked at the message again, then put his phone away.

He’d reply later. Let him wait for a bit.

Yes, it was childish, but that seemed to be his default with the sperm donor.

He got home, feeling rough. Unsure what was wrong with him, he’d taken a shower, and projectile vomited without warning.

You’d think it would have been convenient doing it in the shower, but it wasn’t, as chunks didn’t go easily down the plughole, especially when the water pressure was a trickle on a good day.

“You look like shit,” said Carly, when he’d finished throwing up.

“Love you too, sis.” He groaned, flopping down next to her on the sofa.

“It’s not catching, is it?” she said, curling up in the corner.

“I think I ate something dodgy at that restaurant last night.”

“What did you have?”

“Chicken.”

“I thought you had your eye on that duck dish?”

She was right. When Josh was going out with someone for dinner, he would scour the menu online in advance so he’d know what to order.

He didn’t want to come across as indecisive.

He’d grown up with a fairly bland food pallet – his mother had not been the most adventurous cook, and was a big one for casseroles and hearty one-pot food.

They’d rarely eaten out, because they couldn’t afford it, and if they did, it had been fast food.

Josh had become more adventurous with food as he’d gotten older, and it helped to work in the city so he could try new things.

Planning made sure he came across as adventurous.

The last thing he wanted was for a guy to think he was vanilla with everything.

“He ordered for me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Erm...” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “He knew the restaurant better than I did.”

“Clearly not well enough if he made you ill.”

“I don’t think it was Neo’s fault.”

“Excuse me? His name is Neo? As in...”

“Yes, his mum is a fan of the films.”

“Wow. That’s an ‘I want my child to be bullied’ choice right there.”

Josh laughed and then groaned. His stomach was still churning.

“I’ll get you some water,” said Carly, jumping up and going to their kitchenette, which was in the same room.

“I don’t want to drink anything. I’ll probably just throw it back up.”

“You need to keep hydrated, and it’ll be better than throwing the lining of your stomach up.”

She had a point. Besides, he was feeling too crappy to argue with her.

His stomach hurt, his arse was still tender, and he had a splitting headache.

Josh was rarely unwell, but when he was, Carly liked to take care of him.

He knew it was her way of paying him back.

She didn’t need to pay him back for anything, but right now, he’d let her do whatever she wanted if it meant he didn’t have to move off this sofa.

The next day, Josh still felt like crap, but dragged himself into the shower anyway.

Thankfully, he’d stopped throwing up at four o’clock in the morning, and it had only been vomiting.

If things had headed south, he wasn’t sure how that would have ended after Neo’s energetic treatment of his hole.

He was going to put dating on the back burner for a while.

Maybe he’d wait until February... but then it would be Valentine’s Day, which added more pressure, so.

.. March? Was there anything in that month that would cause problems? He couldn’t think right now.

He’d left Carly asleep on the sofa after she’d insisted he take the bed last night.

They only had one bedroom – because that was all they could afford on top of tuition fees and living expenses – and Josh usually slept on the sofa.

It was comfy, but he had appreciated having a bed for the night.

He wanted Carly to have a social life at university, because this is where she would make potential lifelong friends, and he didn’t want her to miss out on that.

It had come at the expense of his own friendships, though, as he and his friends drifted further apart.

They wanted to go clubbing, or to the theatre and other activities, but it all cost money.

The irony was that he earned more money that most of his friends, but it was all accounted for.

Oscar already paid him well over the odds for someone who had his limited experience. He could never ask for more.

Once he got into the office, the benefits of the shower had worn off and he was struggling to focus. But it was the start of the year and a busy time for the business, Oscar needed Josh to be here, so he would muddle through. He didn’t want to let Oscar down.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked the man himself.

“Just a bit tired.”

“You look awful.”

“I’m fine.”

“Josh,” he said, with a serious look on his face. People called it his “boss” face.

“I think I just ate something dodgy the other night. Nothing contagious.”

“Why are you here?”

“I work here.”

Oscar raised an eyebrow, but smiled. “Were you just sarcastic? ”

Josh felt embarrassed. Was Oscar upset with him?

“Relax, Josh. Just a joke. Go home and rest. I’ll see you Monday.”

“It’s Wednesday.”

“Just focus on getting better. I don’t expect to see you again until Monday. Get a cab home on the company account.”

“No, I can get the Tube.”

“That was an order,” said Oscar, dropping his voice, but his smirk gave him away. The man could never be harsh.

Josh wanted to argue, but he felt like death, and Oscar was offering him the opportunity to go back to bed. This was not a time to be stubborn. He thanked Oscar and ordered his cab. The plan was to face plant on the bed and not move until Monday.