The Manx Cat Guardians Boxed Set

by J P Sayle

  “Then stop getting into fights with him. Ellie isn’t as tough as you think. He will stand up for himself if pushed, but it wouldn’t take much to make him crumble.”

  Aaden’s brows rose. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Brody stalked across the carpeted floor, not making a sound. His pulse fluttered at the thought of breaking Ellie’s confidence. He twirled around and faced Aaden. “It’s not my story to tell, but he’s had a lot of shit in his life, and he doesn’t need us adding to it. I’m hoping that this soul mate connection with Connor will be good for him, for both of them. You know how perfect the connection is, but the bit before it was a rough ride.” Brody’s hope died as Aaden’s features pinched.

  “It’s going to be worse for them—” Aaden held his hand up, stopping the question before Brody could voice it. “There is something brewing, and as much as I’ve tried to evoke a vision about it, nothing is happening.” Aaden shrugged his powerful shoulders. “Though that’s not in itself unusual. I’ve never really had control over them before.”

  His long strides ate up the distance between them.

  Brody’s brow arched. “Where does that leave us?”

  “How the fuck would I know? These changes over the past few months are as new to me as they are to you. I can hear only Max, yet Connor can hear Max, Princess, and Morgana. It makes no sense at all.”

  A smile spread across Brody’s face at Aaden’s peeved tone. “You feeling a little jealous because Connor can hear all the cats and you can’t?”

  “Ah, fuck off, man. I’m just not sure what it all means. And that makes me antsy.”

  The smile dropped off Brody’s face. “Yeah, I suppose. I’m getting the impression you don’t think this is going to go in our favour.”

  When Aaden gripped his arms and looked him dead in the eye, Brody held back the wince.

  “When has anything what’s happened recently been in our favour?”

  Brody eyed his best friend. “Are you saying what happened between Nick and me was not a good thing?” His breath backed up in his lungs when it took a moment for Aaden to respond.

  “No, that’s not what I’m sayin’ at all. I couldn’t be happier that you and squirt found each other.” Aaden released him and stalked to the window and looked out. “It’s not that. It’s the Christina shit that’s got me worried. I spoke to Martin earlier this morning.” He turned to glance back at him. “There is still no sign of her. And that right there is what is setting off all my alarm bells. Those fuckers are clanging louder than a bell-ringer in a church.”

  Brody was positive that his friend wasn’t exaggerating, and his hands trembled. What did that mean for them? For Ellie and Connor? He knew that the bonds everyone else had once connected couldn’t be broken.

  But Connor wanted Ellie to open up to him before he made that commitment. Brody had seen the worry on the man’s face when he’d questioned him about Ellie’s past. Though a part of him wanted to relay what Ellie had confided in him, Brody never broke a trust, no matter how much he wanted to in this instance.

  Connor’s pleading had done a number on him, but he’d managed to keep his mouth firmly shut. It was up to Ellie to explain. And until he did, Connor was adamant that nothing would happen between them. So where did that leave them?

  Not for the first time, Brody voiced the question, only to receive a scowl from Aaden.

  “I don’t know, Brody. But I do know this. If they don’t get on with it and soon, they might live to regret taking their time.”

  A shiver raced down Brody’s spine. Oh, fuck.

  When Ellie returned to the office an hour later, he was happy to see that Aaden appeared to be back to his usual self, though Brody was nowhere to be seen. Ellie transferred the phone from Brody’s to his own. He sat and switched his computer on, getting on with replying to a company’s request for a quote on security measures for their business.

  Happy with the busy work, Ellie didn’t notice the time passing. A nudge to his shoulder had him jerking his head up. His eyes took a minute to focus on Brody after looking at the screen in front of him.

  “Sorry, did you say something?” At Brody’s chuckle, he shook his head. “Okay, you didn’t say anything, so what do you want?” Ellie asked, rolling his eyes.

  “It’s six o’clock, and as you were making no move to stop what you were doing, I thought I’d check if you were going to go home tonight. Do you have any plans with Connor this week?”

  A big arse grin crossed Brody’s face as he glanced down at his watch. Where had the afternoon gone? He looked up at Brody saying precisely that. “Where the hell has the afternoon gone? The last time I looked, it was only two o’clock. How can it be six already?” A thought popped into his head, and his brow pinched.

  Did he have plans with Connor tonight?

  On Saturday before Connor left without kissing him, had he mentioned meeting tonight? For the life of him, Ellie couldn’t remember. The little temper tantrum the minute the door shut after Connor left might have something to do with his memory problems. It could have blinded him to whether he had agreed to meet tonight.

  “Why do I get the impression you’re not quite sure what plans you have?” Brody asked, choking back laughter.

  With a glare at Brody, Ellie stabbed a finger at him. “It’s not funny. I was a tad mad after Connor walked off without even kissing me, and I can’t remember what we agreed.”

  “What! Are you serious? He didn’t kiss you goodnight.” The disbelief in Brody’s voice matching is own from Saturday mollified Ellie.

  He slumped back into the chair, huffing out in exasperation, “See? I knew it was bad.”

  Connor

  His brows drew together at the empty house in front of him. Had Ellie forgotten they were supposed to be having dinner together? Connor pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. There was no message. Where did that leave him? Should he ring or text Ellie? What if he didn’t answer?

  Christ, where are my balls? Teeth grinding together at how stupid he was being, Connor swiped at the screen and searched for Ellie’s number. With a trembling finger, he hit dial. By the time Ellie answered the phone, several rings later, he was sweating bullets.

  “Hello.”

  The one word sounded so put upon that Connor took a deep breath to slow down his pulse. Having a heart attack in Ellie’s drive was not how he wanted to die. “It’s Connor.” He rolled his eyes heavenward. “Em, I thought we were going to make dinner tonight.” Not sure he could sound any dorkier, he mentally slapped himself.

  “Oh, crap. Where are you?”

  His stomach dropped through the floor, but Connor answered. “I’m sitting outside your house. Where we agreed to meet at six.” Utterly deflated, he waited for Ellie to carry on and stab at his ego.

  “Sorry. Hang on.”

  He heard murmurs and rustling before Ellie carried on speaking.

  “Brody is going to give me a lift. I should be about ten minutes. If you wanna wait for me?”

  The hesitant question set his pulse to rocketing again. “Of course, I’m more than happy to wait.” Eager much?

  He finished his call, dropped the phone on the seat next to him, and rubbed at his bristly jaw. Resting his hands on the steering wheel, he hunched forward. What am I doing?

  Ever since he’d left Ellie on Saturday, he’d been questioning his actions or lack of them. He had to have been blind not to see the look of disappointment cross Ellie’s face when he’d not kissed him goodnight. The issue for him was control. There was no way he was going to be able to stop himself once he got a taste of those lush lips.

  His lips tingled at the memory of the one brief kiss they’d shared, which Ellie had instigated. The shock had quickly been followed by the desire to consume him whole. The taste and feel of his soft lips against his had driven all coherent thoughts from his mind. That could not happen again until Ellie trusted him enough to tell him what put the worry in his eyes.

  Several
times over Saturday, Ellie had got lost in a world Connor wasn’t invited to. A world that was not a happy place, judging by the expression he wore at the time.

  A sigh escaped and filled the silence. His visit to Aaden only made things more stressful. There was something in the way Aaden had stared at him that left him with a niggling sense that what was happening between him and Ellie could cause a problem. But what was it?

  It left him off balance and clueless as to what to do next.

  The only thing he was confident of was his feelings. Having spent all Sunday, and if he was honest most of today, thinking about Ellie and his own emotions, he couldn’t kid himself that this was just lust. At forty-two, he knew that what he was experiencing wasn’t something to brush off lightly. No, the intense feelings ran deep, though he couldn’t name them yet. They were powerful enough to be the real thing.

  Again, where did that leave him? He wanted Ellie to open up to him before they took the next step. With a grunt, he glanced down when the thought of what that meant caused his cock to harden. His fingers gripped the steering wheel. Calm down. It’s not happening until Ellie is ready to open up to me.

  The flash of lights behind him warned him that Ellie was home. Connor exited the car and strode towards Brody’s, a smile on his face. Connor went to open Ellie’s door. His hand hadn’t even got to the handle, and Ellie was out of the car.

  With a sigh, he dropped his hand. “Hi, sweetheart.”

  In the darkness, it was hard to tell if Ellie was blushing, but the shy smile he offered said it was possible.

  Brody getting out of the car drew his attention. “How’s it hanging, man?”

  His brow knitted while he tried to figure out what Brody meant. A chuckle had him glancing at Ellie, whose shoulders were shaking. “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Maybe. I saw you were trying to figure out what Brody meant. He’s asking if you are okay.”

  “Well then, why didn’t he just say that?” Connor asked, turning his gaze to Brody, who had moved to the boot of his car.

  Brody shrugged. “Is it my fault you’re not down with the kids?”

  “Yeah, like you’re down with it?” Ellie choked out with laughter.

  Connor gave up and went to retrieve what he thought must be Ellie’s mode of transport. A glance at the dark sky and the feel of the icy wind tugging at his wool coat made Connor ask, “Do you always cycle to work?”

  “Yep, I can’t afford a car.” With a small shrug, Ellie took the bike and walked up to the front door, hiding his face. Connor got the feeling Ellie might have been embarrassed by his financial state.

  A tense silence grew as he stood next to Brody. He thrust his hands into his pockets, a sense of powerlessness creeping over him. He’s not mine. The thought was enough to bring him back to reality.

  “I’ll take it from here,” he said, offering Brody a nod.

  A loud groan coming from the now open doorway had both him and Brody moving.

  “What’s wrong?” they asked in unison.

  Connor reached the door first. His hand landed on Ellie’s shoulder. It was only then that he caught a whiff of something dreadful. His nose wrinkled in disgust. “What on earth is that smell? Dear god, it smells like something died in your house?”

  Another waft of awfulness came with the wave of heat pouring towards them.

  “I noticed there was a funny smell this morning, but I thought I just needed to empty the bin, which I did. But this, fuck, it’s awful,” Ellie said, making gagging noises.

  “That is the stench of death. I’ve smelled it too many times to mistake it.” The matter-of-fact way Brody said it was enough for Connor to wonder what it must be like to deal with death regularly.

  The thought was derailed when Brody carried on talking.

  “It might be that a bird has got in the chimney and not been able to get out. Let’s go and have a look to see if we can find the source of the smell.”

  Connor and Ellie followed Brody inside. Connor pinched his nose as much as Ellie did as they walked through to the lounge. Ellie left his bike in the hall and the front door wide open. Not that Connor blamed him. The stench worsened in the warmth of the house.

  They went through the downstairs, finding nothing that could be the source of the smell.

  “Let’s check upstairs, though I’m not sure how you could end up with a dead animal in your bedrooms? Have you had the windows open, Ellie?”

  “Come on. It’s bloody winter. Why would I be opening windows when it’s baltic out there,” Ellie said with a look of “you’re being stupid right now.”

  Laughter lit Brody’s eyes, but he scowled at Ellie. “Who knows what a person does or doesn’t do in their bedrooms that might need a window opened.”

  The allusion had Connor looking anywhere but at either man. There was no way he could hide how much he wished that it was true, that they did have a reason to cool down.

  “Shall we go and see if we can find the problem before I end up heating the street,” Ellie whined.

  The three of them went upstairs, each taking a room. Brody went into the spare room while Ellie chose his bedroom, and that left the bathroom to check. On opening the bathroom door, Connor immediately discarded finding anything. It was tiny, but the only scent was that of Ellie’s aftershave and a hint of body wash.

  Not taking more than a step towards the door, he heard Brody yell for Ellie. Goosebumps rode over his body at the tone of Brody’s voice. Icy fear turned his blood to slush in his veins. All but running, he burst through the door Brody had gone through. He gagged at the rankness presumably coming from the box Brody held, his face a mirror of Connor’s.

  The stench was so strong Connor struggled to breathe through his mouth. It took a second to register the horrified expression on Ellie’s face, his hand frozen in midair. His lips opened and shut several times before he managed to get the words out.

  “That—that box is yours.”

  What Ellie said made no sense. How could the box be Brody’s when it was in Ellie’s spare room? Connor’s brows rose when Brody appeared as confused as him.

  “What do you mean it’s mine? I haven’t asked you to keep anything for me?”

  “No, I don’t mean that. Shit, I’m not explaining myself.” Ellie licked at his lips, his cheeks paling. “That is a box Luke gave me to give to you, only I forgot about it. I kept remembering then I’d forget again.”

  “Who is Luke?” Connor asked in confusion.

  “My ex-boyfriend,” Brody said. There was a strain in Brody’s voice that hadn’t been there when he’d arrived.

  “Oh.” Connor wasn’t sure what else to say, so he kept quiet.

  “What is in the box?” Ellie asked, though it sounded like it as the last thing he wanted to know.

  “A dead animal,” Brody said fatalistically.

  Ellie wilted in front of Connor. Without a moment’s hesitation, he caught hold of Ellie and held his weight. “I think you should take that away or outside at the very least.”

  Guiding Ellie to the one chair in the room, Connor went to open a window, hoping the smell would dissipate now that Brody had left with the box.

  There was a sorrowful expression on Ellie’s face when he turned back around. He quickly went back to Ellie and crouched, resting his hands on the arm of the chair. “It’s all right, sweetheart. Brody is getting rid of it.”

  On a sob, Ellie shook his head. “That—thing has been sitting here for weeks,” he stuttered, his limbs shaking.

  The sorrow was too much to bear, so Connor wrapped his arms round Ellie and lifted him. Then he sat with Ellie in his lap. It was starting to be one of Connor’s most favourite positions. Taking Ellie’s chin in his hand, he tilted his head back to meet his gaze. “Listen to me. This is not your fault. You forgot the box was there. It would have made no difference to the poor animal in the box.” Bile burned at the back of his throat as he spoke. This Luke person must be a real sick fuck to kill a poor defenceless anima
l.

  The air of concern Brody wore was palpable when he strode back in the room. “I’ve put the box in my boot. I’m going to go to the police station and report this. I’m not sure what Luke was thinking, for fuck’s sake, killing an animal.” Brody’s hands raked through his hair. “Why would anyone do that?”

  The harshness in his tone had Ellie shrink further into Connor. His arms tightened in response, letting Ellie know he was safe.

  Ellie

  There was nothing Ellie could do to stop his body from shaking. The idea that the animal had been decomposing in his home for weeks was horrifying. The only reason they’d found it was probably that he’d increased the temperature setting on the heating the day before. The previous setting never got the house warm, so Ellie had decided he would take the hit on the cost and kick it up a notch.

  Now, he couldn’t make up his mind if he should have bothered, or was glad he had? Brody hadn’t shown him what was in the box, and for that, he was grateful. He didn’t want to have nightmares about grizzly-looking dead animals. With an overactive imagination, he didn’t need anything to help it along.

  Another shudder rippled down his spine, and Connor tightened his arms. Warmth spread through him and encouraged him to snuggle into Connor. The broad chest made him feel protected and safe. Right then, he needed that more than anything.

  When Connor had lifted him to sit on his lap, a sense of relief had swept through him. The need to be taken care of and Connor doing it without having to be asked made him want to give Connor what he wanted: his story.

  There was only one problem with that. Ellie wasn’t sure that Connor would then still want him. Who wants someone as needy as him, while still allowing him his independence?

  No matter how many times the question had reared its head since Saturday, he didn’t have an answer.