The Manx Cat Guardians Boxed Set

by J P Sayle

  Getting drunk at least means I don’t have to think.

  Brad nodded at his own logic and staggered up the stairs. Halfway up, he whirled around at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Losing his balance, he bashed into the banister. “Ow. Shit in hell, who on earth put that there?” Scowling down at the banister, he rubbed at his throbbing shoulder. He glanced at the bottle, his sloppy grin growing when he realised he hadn’t spilt a drop.

  Brad lurched back down the stairs to the front door as the bell pealed again. He tore at the door, ripping it open. A fierce scowl darkened his face. He squinted, trying to get his eyes to focus.

  The alarmed face that stared at the bottle clutched in his hand had him snigger. The following look of concern Joe gave him when he saw the several large, bulging bags of booze just inside the door turned Brad’s snigger into a sigh. Trying to keep his legs steady, Brad stepped back, leaving the door open, inviting Joe in.

  Brad stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up, plucking at his lip.

  Why was I going upstairs?

  He shook his head when nothing came to him. Brad regretted it immediately when a wave of dizziness had him clutch at Joe as he went to step past him. “Wow, total room spin.”

  Brad narrowed his eyes when Joe’s eyebrows disappeared under his floppy, dark mahogany fringe, and he not so subtly leant forward, sniffing him. Fighting back hysteria the wine was supposed to be helping with, Brad gave a resigned huff when Joe spoke.

  “What’s going on, Brad? I have never seen you drunk. And never mind, getting drunk in the middle of the day.”

  At Joe’s judgmental tone, Brad attempted to straighten his shoulders, poking out his chin.

  Joe raised his hand before Brad could speak. “Hey, I’m not telling you off, okay? I’m just worried about what has brought this on.” The genuine concern in Joe’s musical lilt did little to stop the anger from spewing out.

  Brad jabbed at Joe’s shoulder with the wine bottle, leaning into his face. His other arm kept tight hold of Joe as he was afraid that he might fall flat on his face as he shouted. “I’ll tell you what the problem is. In twelve days, count them…” His indistinct words wavered along with his hand. The same hand clutching the wine bottle he’d not noticed nearly swiped Joe’s nose if he hadn’t dodged.

  “It’s twelve days till Christmas. And somehow I agreed to sort out the Christmas party for Martin’s friends and work colleagues.” Brad swiped his gaze over his hall, his eyes wheeling as he carried on with his slurred rant. “Here… in our home… on Christmas fucking Eve. In less than two bloody weeks… I have to sort it out. People… will be coming… into my home. People… I don’t know.” Brad shuddered, nearly dropping the bottle before continuing. “Whilst also trying to make my first ever real Christmas happen for Martin and me.” He wailed.

  As he raised his hand to yank his hair, he realised he still held the bottle and Joe. Recalling his plan to get drunk, he took another large gulp. He thought that was the most sensible thing to do under the circumstances. The wine splashed everywhere as the bottle was unceremoniously grabbed from his hand.

  Brad inadvertently spat the mouthful he’d just taken all over him and Joe. Wine dripped off Joe’s face, down his chin, and onto the tatty grey sweater he wore, soaking him. Brad swiped at his own chin, his dimples firing to life at the indignant scowl on Joe’s face. Brad’s drunken mind found it impossible to resist pointing out the obvious.

  He giggled. Tears gathered and spilt down his cheeks when Joe drew up his jumper, rubbing at his face and chin. Brad clutched his sides, peals of laughter erupted out. “Serves you right… for wrenching… the bottle… out of my hand…” His stuttering seemed to make matters worse.

  Joe’s hard glare had no impact on Brad. The cushion of alcohol took the blow. Brad hiccupped his way back to the kitchen, swaying precariously. He heard the heavy tread behind him, knowing Joe was following him, but Brad was past caring. He slumped back into the seat he’d vacated earlier. His misery seemed not to be completely lost under the fog or the hilarity.

  Leaning forward, he rested his forehead on the cool wood and prayed for inspiration on how to fix what Martin had so blithely thrown at him.

  Well, okay, I’d been a little blissed out from Martin’s lovemaking.

  He clearly couldn’t be held responsible for the shit that came out of his mouth while Martin was doing all sorts of wicked things to him during sex. Surely? His mind had so not been focused on the conversation Martin had started.

  Brad heaved a sigh, hoping the cool surface of the oak table would help give him some inspiration.

  This, I suppose, is what happens when I’m not listening properly. Though I totally blame Martin for all this shit. If he hadn’t blown my mind with that nice little vibrating butt plug and the whipped cream, I wouldn’t be in this predicament.

  “No siree, I wouldn’t.”

  Brad let out a stream of expletives, lost in his abject misery.

  Brad’s vehement words had Joe hesitate on his way to the fridge, and he looked back over his shoulder. Brad’s blond head rested on the gorgeous oak table.

  Joe had struggled to understand in the beginning why someone so full of life could have such little self-confidence. Stuart had filled him in on some of Brad’s past, when he’d, maybe, got a little carried away with his jealousy.

  But hell, who could blame me?

  His gaze lingered on Brad as the sunlight gleamed through the windows, making Brad’s blond curls glitter in a halo of gold. The jeans he usually wore were dark today and paired with a navy-blue woolen jumper, which hugged his small torso. Even in despair, it didn’t hide how stunning Brad was. Though he couldn’t see his face, he knew what lay hidden under all those golden curls. His sea-green eyes, lush lips, pert nose, and dimples drew you to his sweet disposition. Not that there was much evidence of that, if he heard correctly. Brad would have given a sailor a run for their money with the cuss words he was firing out.

  The loud groan pulled him from his thoughts. His eyes focused on his tipsy friend sitting at the large oak table. Joe placed the nearly empty bottle back in the fridge, out of harm’s way. He hid a chuckle behind his hand when he turned back to face what could only be classed as utter dejection. Brad’s forehead seemed glued to the kitchen table. His hands dangled down at his sides as he groaned yet again.

  God, Brad is cute when he gets tipsy.

  Joe knew Brad was not a big drinker by any stretch of the imagination, especially after a certain incident now named “cocktailgate” he’d inadvertently become involved in when Martin had contacted him to ask him to trace Brad’s phone when he wouldn’t answer. Martin’s saucy sister, Sarah, was persuaded into drinking with Brad, resulting in “cocktailgate.” Not that he was convinced there’d been much persuading going on. Sarah was a devil and very rarely needed encouragement to get up to mischief.

  Martin had eventually found it hilarious after he’d found Brad and calmed down. He’d shown everyone the video he’d taken of Brad attempting to dance with Sarah in the Bath and Bottle cocktail bar. The other video of Princess mimicking his movements as she danced around him the following day had been priceless. Brad, on the other hand, had been furious and had tried to delete the evidence with little success. Brad had eventually laughed it off, saying payback was a bitch. Though how anyone thought Brad could do payback was beyond him. He was just too nice to be mean.

  Joe struggled to comprehend why Brad, who normally veered away from drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, was now a drunken mess over a party.

  I mean, really, it’s only a party for God’s sake.

  Joe tried to put himself in Brad’s position, wanting to make sure he’d missed nothing.

  “So let me get this straight. You’re telling me today, the 13th of December, is twelve days from Christmas. And that you have to plan and execute a party for Martin’s work colleagues and friends in your home. Then make sure you have Christmas planned and sorted for just the two of you?”
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  He raised his brow, waiting for confirmation.

  He aimed for supportive, holding back the laughter when Brad lifted his head from the table, sniffing loudly and wiping his cute upturned nose across his sleeve. Then much to Joe’s horror, Brad bent banging his head hard, twice, before pulling back up. The red spot in the middle of his forehead showed he’d not been playing around.

  Joe rushed forward, his pulse racing. He gripped Brad’s warm hands in his sweaty ones and pulled him back from the table, out of harm’s way. Frightened he would do something stupid again, Joe growled in frustration when Brad tried to get up. He tugged on his hands, making Brad focus on him.

  “Nope, stop with the self-pity. You have more balls than that.” The loud groan had him wonder what he’d said. He gave Brad a questioning look.

  “That’s what got me into this bloody mess in the first place.” Grousing, Brad settled back into the chair.

  Joe’s brow rose as he didn’t understand what Brad meant. The light bulb flashed on when Brad started to glow rosily. He couldn’t prevent the laughter when the flush spread like wildfire under his probing gaze.

  “Oh, you, err, got played, you mean? Conned big time, and then the artful dodger has left you hanging. Nice move on Martin’s part.” His humour danced in his eyes.

  Joe felt his pity grow at Brad being caught out by Martin.

  The red deepened, and Joe wondered what Brad was thinking about exactly when he shifted uncomfortably, trying to cross his legs.

  “That’s one way of looking at it.” Brad squirmed harder.

  Joe pressed his lips together to stop himself from asking what they’d got up to the night before that would make Brad agree to something he clearly did not want to do. Joe found his own ripped jeans getting a little too tight for comfort as colourful ideas popped into his mind.

  He gave himself a mental slap, telling himself off for wanting to take advantage of a half-sloshed friend. Joe made a Herculean effort to get himself back on track, focusing on Brad’s anguish by reminding himself he wanted to help and put the smile back on Brad’s face.

  “Okay, I’ll help. I have no pressing work, and Aaden has Nick helping him sort the kitchen. And his friend Brody is there as well. So I think he has plenty of help, and your need is greater, right?”

  Brad nodded. His drooping shoulders lifted a fraction.

  Joe grinned. “I’m all yours. Oooh, I know. We could rope in Greg as well. He’s been living at Aaden’s practically since Friday night. I caught sight of him on Monday heading for work. He could hardly walk straight. I bet I know what they’ve been up to all weekend.” Joe gave a hearty laugh when Brad turned a bright shade of purple.

  He secretly wished he could watch Aaden work Greg over. Joe gave himself a mental shake when his tightening pants tried to strangle his cock.

  All these bloody dirty thoughts about my friends.

  What the fuck is up with me?

  Joe disregarded the little voice that reminded him he knew damn well what was up with him. Since Stuart had helped to resolve his Joel issues, his sex drive had returned with a vengeance. And now, with Stuart’s agreement to let him film them together, he’d been on tenterhooks for days, thinking about nothing but that.

  As Brad tugged his hands from Joe’s, he felt his cheeks heat and hoped his face hadn’t given him away. Joe sucked his lips in between his teeth, chewing. He forced himself to meet Brad’s gaze. Joe gave an internal groan when Brad’s sea-green eyes sparkled with mischief.

  Joe tucked his sexy thoughts away, not sure the interest he could see was something he wanted to explore.

  Who am I kidding? Watching Martin and Brad. .… yeah, I could totally go there.

  “Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Greg. I’ll text him to see if he wants to help. It’s his party too, so I can’t see him saying no.”

  Brad’s dimples winked at him, making Joe smile in return. It died when Brad got up and staggered towards the fridge. His racing pulse had him rise to follow.

  “Hey, no more wine, or Martin will have my guts for garters.” His strident words made no impact on Brad, who turned towards him. Joe paused at the dreamy expression on Brad’s face, transforming his earlier misery into sheer happiness.

  Joe relaxed back when Brad started talking.

  “I’m not getting wine, but thanks for the concern. No, I’m looking for food, cause you know, the whole plan to get drunk was working. And if we’re gonna pull this off, I need to be sober.”

  Joe watched as Brad dragged the makings of a sandwich out of his stainless-steel fridge. His head was buried inside the fridge as he carried on.

  “The thing is, Joe, I have never had a real Christmas with anyone before. And the ones I had with my shitty family definitely don’t count. So this whole sorta Christmas party threw me for a loop. Princess and me, we never really bothered.”

  Joe felt a sudden overwhelming sadness at hearing Brad talk so matter-of-factly about something he himself had loved as a child. The waking up on Christmas morning, stomach buzzing with a million butterflies as you ran downstairs to see what Santa had left. The excitement of the aunts, uncles, and grandparents all arriving with more gifts than you could poke a stick at. Then stuffing your face full of food and sweets till you felt you were going to burst. Joe vowed right then that he would make sure Brad had some of that. He made a mental note to talk to Martin about what Brad had revealed.

  “Thank you for kicking my silly drunken backside and talking some sense into me.”

  Joe chuckled when Brad turned and shrugged before casting a scowl at the two dozing cats in the corner. “They definitely weren’t helping me.”

  Brad’s genuinely miffed tone had Joe coughing to hide his smirk.

  He understood there was some sort of otherness to both Aaden’s and Brad’s cats. In particular Max. Having known Aaden and Max for a few years, he’d sensed something was different about Max. And when he’d met Princess, he’d sensed the same qualities in her.

  He shrugged it off.

  I got used to it.

  Hell, who the heck am I kidding?

  Okay, it was hard to grasp the intelligence that sparkled in their eyes. Eyes that looked far more human than animal. He’d asked Aaden about it once. His response of “Max is special” did little to explain what it was. Joe had tried over the years not to think too hard about it. But with the added problems of Joel and Princess’s shooting, he wanted answers.

  He sighed in resignation, considering his new friend who swayed and pottered around in the kitchen. His mind whirred as he considered the last several months.

  Up until April, Brad had been alone. Well, except for Princess. Then bam he meets Martin through Princess. They fall in love and then get engaged, and then somehow Stuart, who had worked for Brad’s dad, decides to move to the island. Stuart then finds himself able to make amends for past mistakes, taking care of Princess for Brad.

  He himself was running away from his past and inadvertently headed straight to the love of his life, Stuart. Who was also living in Martin’s home. His own move here brought Aaden and Max. Aaden also seemed to have found his perfect love match with Greg, who also worked for Martin.

  Joe’s mind whirled at all the connections.

  Why had I never considered this before?

  Did that mean that the sparks he was convinced flew off Nick every time Brody was anywhere near him would result in another romance?

  And why do I feel the cats have something to do with it?

  Joe eyed the sleeping cats when the idea sat, thrumming with possibilities.

  He got distracted by Brad, and his gaze moved back to the glowing man preparing their lunch. Joe still couldn’t get his head around how fast Brad and Martin were moving towards marriage. If he knew Martin, and he did, it would be as fast as humanly possible or before Brad could change his mind. Not that that was likely, the way he adored Martin.

  Plucking at the stray bit of cotton on the colourful place mat in front of him, he wo
ndered what Stuart would think about marriage? They hadn’t discussed anything other than living together as a couple instead of Joe being his lodger. He was only too happy to agree. He didn’t point out the obvious to Stuart that he already considered the house as his home, even when his dick of an ex had attempted to ruin his chance of happiness.

  Joe forced his maudlin thoughts of Joel to take a back seat. He’d promised himself that Joel would not steal any more of his happiness. So he focused his attention back on Brad and how he could help.

  Martin, it would seem, was adamant the party was to be held in their home. And that meant full-on Christmas decorations. He now understood why Brad didn’t have any up. He just wasn’t used to doing it. Most people he knew would be decorating their homes by now. In fact, he’d been out shopping at the weekend for theirs. Stuart may have grumbled his way around the B&Q superstore, but Joe hadn’t been blind to how much extra Stuart had added to their shopping trolley.

  Joe chewed his thumb, going over his own mental shopping list and how he could help out Brad’s bamboozled arse. “We need to formulate a solid plan of attack. Create a list of jobs and what needs to be bought. I take it those shopping bags at the front door full of booze were you in full panic mode?” Joe tried to stem his humour at Brad running to the shops buying random shit. “Do you even know what you bought?”

  Brad’s eye roll when he placed a sandwich in front of him had him grinning. “You so totally have no clue.” Joe pointed his finger at Brad, who, in turn, rounded the table, giving him the bird. His eyes watered with mirth as he watched Brad plonk himself down and search his wallet for the receipt.

  Joe howled with laughter, choking on the large bite of his sandwich when Brad scowled at the receipt.

  “Why the hell would anyone buy six bottles of Malibu?” Brad groaned, face-planting the table.

  “For God’s sake, will you stop doing that! Martin will think you’ve been fighting.” Joe snarled. His sandwich lay forgotten. His anxiety for Brad’s new habit of banging his head on the table overtook everything else. “We can return them, saying you had a moment of madness. It had to be that because who the fuck could drink that much coconut shit.” Joe shuddered. His mouth didn’t like that idea at all judging by how his tongue glued itself to the roof of his mouth.