The Manx Cat Guardians Boxed Set

by J P Sayle

  King Manannán

  Manny prowled in front of the blazing fire, glaring at the flames. Pacing back to his throne, he threw himself down. “Why do humans always have to question everything? Why can’t they just go with it? Really, is it that hard to accept they have a connection that is unique and precious?” The empty room echoed with his unanswered questions. He gave a disgruntled sigh. His large hands raked the hair away from his face where it had fallen in waves around his strong jaw. His brow pinched when he tried to justify meddling in Brody and Nick’s mating.

  Enough was enough. They needed to just get to it so that he could bring Christina back, reinstate her powers, and go back to the way things were before.

  “It will never go back to the way it was.”

  When he heard the softly spoken words, he glowered at the empty room. “Show yourself.” The silence lengthened. “Why do you fates feel its fine to be cryptic, then not show yourselves so we can talk like civilised humans rather than all this whispered nonsense?” When all he got was a wisp of laughter on the air, his teeth ground together.

  He needed it to go back to the way it was, or he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. He’d already cursed every god in history watching Christina flirt and kiss the human man. Not that she could remember with all that she’d drunk, but that was beside the point. She should not be letting anyone touch her in such an intimate way.

  He shot from the chair. His leather-clad feet moved noiselessly on the marble floor as he strode back to the fire, lifting the veil effortlessly. Seeking Christina with his mind, he growled when he saw her standing in the office, chatting with the man known as Paul.

  He was pleased to note her cheeks were no longer the sickly pale colour they’d been after Saturday night or because of the other womanly problems. Problems, Morgana was only too willing to explain.

  He baulked, wishing the descriptions from his head. He rapped his fist on his skull, not liking how his mind conjured the pictures of a naked Christina sitting on the toilet. He felt his face flush with heat as he recalled the amount of time he’d lingered, admiring her naked creamy curves. He shoved his fist into his mouth to stop the groan from escaping, and willed his body to not react.

  Centuries, Odin’s raven, centuries I’ve been able to keep all these silly thoughts and emotions under control. Now, he had no more control than a rampaging Norseman.

  He stalked away from the fire, turning his back on the pictures in the flames. He prayed to the gods that the fates were wrong and that things could go back to the way they were. He refused to believe any different, even when the voice was back whispering about his foolishness.

  Nick

  Nick admired Brody’s firm arse as it flexed when he paced across the hardwood floor towards the cream wardrobes. The grey evening light cast shadows over his face, making it hard to read. Though Nick had no problem interpreting the tension rolling off him. It matched the bunched muscles in Brody’s stiff shoulders.

  He watched, mystified as Brody yanked clothes out of the drawer heedlessly. Nick wondered if Brody even noticed that he’d put his rust-coloured sports T-shirt on back to front or that the satiny lime-green shorts he was stepping into clashed horribly with the top.

  Nick scratched at the itch on his neck that developed the minute Brody woke from their post-orgasmic meltdown. Brody had scooted out of bed faster than Virgin’s wireless connection and wouldn’t acknowledge Nick’s presence.

  His stomach dropped.

  He assumed that when Brody manoeuvred him onto his chest and they’d snuggled, falling asleep post-meltdown, everything was resolved. Yet here they were back to square one with Brody being all moody and silent. Something was off, but unless Brody started talking, then all Nick could do was jump to conclusions. Conclusions which involved Brody regretting what just happened. And all right, he wasn’t quite sure how he felt either, but did that mean Brody had to act like a dick?

  He watched with wary eyes as Brody finished dressing.

  Nick racked his hands through his hair. It looked as if Brody was totally clueless about how he’d made Nick believe that nothing else existed in that moment but them. Fuck, the moment was so perfect it left him in no doubt about their soulmate bond being real. And if the consequence of that was a sore arse, then so be it. A little discomfort was more than worth the deliciousness of their connection.

  In all the years he’d thought about Brody and sex, nothing had prepared him for how fucking mind-blowing it would be. Hell, how Brody thought he would be able to speak when he’d just unloaded the mother load all over the bed was beyond him. Heck, his brain was utterly scrambled and resembled, he was sure, an egg, beaten and whipped into submission. He wanted to laugh at how utterly ridiculous Brody was to assume he could do more than collapse in a heap.

  No, Brody was lucky he’d managed to force a few words out, and he now wondered if that was part of the problem. Nick sucked on his teeth, eyes narrowing on Brody, who was searching through the bottom of the wardrobe. Brody’s stilted movements pressed on him to confront the issue now rather than allow him to pull away from him. He’d not just had the very foundation of his life rocked for Brody to walk away for some unknown reason. They’d been dancing around each other far too long, and as far as Nick was concerned, it stopped right now.

  Building up a head of steam, he pushed back the duvet covering his hips, lifting his legs over the edge of the bed. Clenching his jaw, he breathed through the pain in his arse. He glanced at Brody, releasing his breath when he found him facing away, bent and tying his shoelaces.

  He winced as he stood. He kicked out his legs one at a time, making sure they were still functioning. He stilled when he caught sight of the wall at the back of the headboard.

  Oh.

  He giggled, and a heated flush coated his cheekbones. There was no way they were going to be able to hide what they had done, not when the wall shouted “look at me.” Not that they’d been quiet either. He was sure Aaden would have no doubt heard them if he’d been anywhere in the house. He groaned at the thought of the ribbing he’d get for his vocal symphony.

  “What is it? Oh dear God, I knew I’d hurt you.” Nick found himself lifted off his feet before he could respond to Brody’s angry demand.

  Nick hissed, wincing when Brody plonked him onto his lap.

  “Fuck. What have I do…”

  “Oh for Pete’s sake, will you stop. You’re totally killing my sex buzz here. Let’s get one thing straight. The sex was phenomenal, mind-blowing, epic. I don’t know any other words to explain how wonderful it was.”

  Nick took a breath when Brody’s jaw thrust forward, his face looking totally unconvinced. “Yes, my arse is sore.” He slapped his hand over Brody’s open mouth. “Don’t start. Firstly, of course my arse is gonna be sore. It’s been over a year since I had sex with anyone. Secondly, you know you prepped me, but you have a monster cock. What can I say? It was never not going to be a little snug in there.” Pretending he wasn’t the colour of the island’s flag, Nick continued, “Thirdly, I’ve had a sore arse in the past. Not that we’re talking about that. Fourthly, I love that you lost control. Fuck, Bro, I’d imagined it so many times, and you want to know something?” He cupped Brody’s bristly jaw, making sure he was looking him dead in the eye. “It was so much more than I’d imagined,” he whispered against Brody’s pouting lips, laying a gentle kiss against his mouth. Nick pulled back when Brody went to deepen the kiss.

  He shook his head. “No. You’re not going to distract me, not yet.” Nick winked, taking the edge of his sharp tone.

  “We need to talk about what happened between us.” Nick fought to hold on when Brody tried to stand. He drove his hips into Brody’s groin, and at the same time he used his upper body to knock Brody over. They landed on the mattress, bouncing once. The disconcerted expression gave Nick a chance to flip his leg over and straddle Brody’s hips. The soft brush of the silky material of Brody’s shorts against his groin forced him to take a breath
when his cock twitched to life. He wanted to bitch about Brody’s choice of clothing, but he couldn’t find it in him when clearly his cock was enjoying the satiny material.

  He eyed his semi-erect cock, muttering to himself, “Not now.”

  He shrugged off the idea of leaving the talking to later when Brody’s fingers trailed up his thighs, making his cock harden. Tiny shivers skirted up his spine at the gleam of lust in the grey-green eyes boring into him. Seeing where this was going, Nick shook his head. “You can forget that. Seriously, we need to talk first.”

  He couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across his face when Brody snarled at him.

  “Okay.”

  Gathering himself, Nick licked his lips thinking about how best to start. “Did you feel the bond between us when you pushed inside me?” He hesitated when Brody looked like he was going to deny it before he gave an abrupt nod, saying nothing.

  Nick wanted to scream in frustration. Huffing, he carried on, “I felt your emotions. All of them, the moment you entered my body, it was as if… I don’t know, as if I’d been living in the dark with every one of my senses masked. Then suddenly everything was illuminated and I could see and feel clearly for the first time. It was as if we’d merged together, and I don’t just mean your cock in my arse.” Nick rolled his eyes heavenward, praying for patience when Brody chuckled.

  “Yeah, yeah. Funny ha, ha. I’m trying to explain myself. Explain you changed my view of the world, and when I look at you, I find you’re everything I need and want.”

  Nick choked when Brody’s lowered lashes rose, allowing him to see the depth of emotion his words caused. Placing his hands over Brody’s heart, he felt the steady beat vibrate through his hands and up his arms. The connection was more real than anything he’d ever experienced in his life. “Have you ever looked at your life and thought that you didn’t fit?”

  When the question garnered a head shake, Nick struggled to find the right way to explain himself. “I don’t know if it was the witch, her spell, or just my confusion over my gender when I was younger, but I never felt like I fitted anywhere. I wasn’t anything like you or Aaden, or the other kids at school, and when ole, miss witchy poo decided to add her pennies worth”—he shrugged—“That just made it worse. The one thing I do know and have always known, deep inside me, that the first moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be mine. I don’t know how or why; I just did. Then I caught you and Aaden making out, and I thought you’d… well, you know what I thought.” Nick scowled when Brody’s eyes lit with a smile.

  “Then Christina spelled you.”

  “The less said about that the better.” Brody snarled, shifting under his hips.

  He blew his fringe out of his eyes when his head fell forward. “Okay, no Christina talk. But what I’m trying to say in a roundabout way is that the moment you pushed that fat cock inside me, everything made sense. The past was irrelevant, and all that mattered was us in that moment. God, the intimacy was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. You’ve ruined me for anybody else.”

  He was flipped onto his back so fast Nick wheezed out a giggling breath.

  Brody growled into his mouth, “You’re mine! No one else’s. Mine. This is forever. You’ll never get rid of me.”

  Nick shivered. Hot lips smashed against his a second later, driving any thoughts of protesting from his mind. Not that he’d had any plans of objecting, not when he’d been waiting his entire adult life to hear Brody say those words, to claim him.

  Nick whimpered, feeling his body sink into the mattress with Brody’s full weight lying on him. The slide of silk against his thighs as Brody’s groin ground against his caused his eyes to roll back into his head. The solid arousal pulsed under the silky shorts, and he wanted to beg. His hands tugged frantically at the waistband, frantic to remove the barrier between them. Breathless and giddy Nick rocked up, desperate for friction on his hard length.

  Brody pulled back, stopping in the middle of the mind-blowing kiss he’d been giving Nick.

  Nick whined breathlessly. “Why are you stopping? I know my arse isn’t up to round two just yet. It doesn’t mean we can’t do other stuff, like mutual blow jobs.”

  Brody grinned down at him. “Can’t you hear Greg trying to break the door down?”

  Nick peered under Brody’s shoulder at the door. The thudding he’d thought was his heart pounding in his ears was actually someone hammering on the door.

  He chortled. Looking sheepishly at Brody, he whispered, “Shall we ignore it?” No sooner had he spoken than the door rattled violently.

  “Open this fucking door right now. I won’t be held responsible. I swear to God…”

  Greg’s angry voice trailed off. Nick’s eyes widened. “What do you think he’s going to do?”

  “How the fuck would I know? Only Aaden can read his mind,” Brody grouched.

  Nick pushed at Brody’s chest with the memory of how they’d left the bathroom. Shit, shit, shit.

  Nick gulped, shooing Brody off the bed, encouraging him to open the door. “Go on, open it. I’m not sure I want to be responsible for what Greg might do if we don’t open it. Fuck, he’s going to kill me for the state of the bathroom. Seriously, you’re gonna need to protect me.” The quiver in his voice gained an eye roll from Brody. Nick sighed in relief when he did as requested, standing between Nick and the door. He jerked at the sound of handle rattling again.

  Nick looked down, his eyes widening. “Shit.” He quickly dived under the duvet, wheezing in fright at being caught naked.

  The sound of Brody unlocking the door was followed by the door flying open and Greg storming in. His red hair in complete disarray matched the crimson flush on his cheekbones. The sleeves of his white fitted shirt wore rolled up past his elbows, revealing flecks of purple glitter on his forearms, detracting from the freckles. His usual smile was nowhere in sight when sky-blue eyes glared down at him.

  Shrinking back against the headboard, he gave Brody a “save me now” look. He groaned when the bastard chose to ignore it. He frowned when Brody turned away, his broad shoulders shaking with what Nick was convinced was with mirth.

  I’ll kill him.

  Nick seethed silently, promising retribution for Brody leaving him alone to fight his battles. He shifted his gaze back to Greg. He clutched the duvet in fright at the “you’re dead meat” glare aimed at him.

  He tried to plead his case. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll clean up the mess. It’s just… well we… em, well.” Nick lifted his arms helplessly, trying to explain when Greg’s expression soured.

  Greg glared at both men.

  He held up his hand, pointing at Nick. “Shut up.”

  The smell of sex and the state of the wall behind the bed was enough for Greg to draw his own conclusions. He was pleased for Nick; he really was. There was nothing like their soulmate connection. Greg had worried for weeks about Nick not being a full-fledge member of their little fight club if he didn’t get his soulmate. He knew Nick already felt different, and his past explained why he was careful about sharing. So he really was ecstatic for Nick, and more than anything he wanted to celebrate his friend’s good fortune. But that being said, the sight that had greeted him when he’d got home was enough to douse all his happy feeling for Nick in freezing cold water.

  It may only be Monday, but his week was already turning into a clusterfuck of epic portions, and all he’d wanted was a long soak in the tub to relax. So who could blame him when he’d walked into his usually pristine bathroom to find it had been attacked by the glitter fairy? It was nigh on impossible to see past the purple glitter smeared over every surface in the bathroom. It was the one sacred space he used to unwind, and now it looked like Rainbow Brite had snuck in and partied with a fucking exploding purple glitter bomb.

  Yeah, friendship would get you so far as long as you didn’t fuck with his bathroom. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

  Greg ground out, “I’m giving you half an hour to clea
n up your mess. I want every trace of glitter gone. You hear me, or else I won’t be held responsible for my action.” When he got a nod, Greg swirled round on his heel stomped out.

  Nick jumped off the bed, frantically searching for his clothes. “Shit, can I borrow some clothes?” he asked when he remembered he’d not been dressed to start with.

  “Are you serious? Look at me. I’ve got nothing that will fit.”

  He ignored Brody’s huffed reply and instead ran to the door. Peeking out to see if the coast was clear, Nick made a dash for his room. His cock thwacked against his groin, and sweat trickled down his hairline, but both went unnoticed in his panic. He struggled into the first pair of old tracky pants he could find. His nose wrinkled at the dried cum flaking to the floor. Knowing now was not the time to be thinking about taking a shower, he threw on the dirty T-shirt he found on the floor.

  His heart thundered as he ran back into Brody’s room, where he was on the phone.

  “Come on, you need to help me.” Not waiting for a response, he ran to the bathroom. He bit his lip. His shoulders shook at the sight that greeted him. The giggles bubbled up until he found he couldn’t stop. Tears ran down his face. He could see that Greg had hit the nail on the head. It did look like Rainbow Brite had exploded. His eyes darted wildly to the door when he heard Greg shout.

  “Stop laughing. You’ve only got twenty-five minutes left.”

  Nick threw up his arms, praying Brody would get his arse off the phone and come help him. Otherwise, Nick had a feeling the next time Brody saw him it might be in a coffin.

  Brody

  Brody walked through the airport doors, trying his best not to show how nervous he now felt about Nick meeting Ellie. He’d tried to rationalise away the sense of impending doom at Nick’s insistence on coming this morning to collect Ellie.

  Nick had repeatedly asked what Ellie was like. He wondered if he didn’t believe his answers, especially if Brody took into account Nick’s workload. It really shouldn’t permit him to take off a morning to collect someone he didn’t know.