Check out my Last Christmas series for some seasonal cheer...

 I’d been so damned focused on my own truth-or-dare challenge, I hadn’t been paying proper attention. Now it occurred to me that the very beautiful and very sexy Kane had pulled a name from the hat... and that name was mine. Shit. He was far too good-looking for this...

He smiled at me. I smiled back. Why wouldn’t I? He was gorgeous...

My eyes flickered towards Elliot who was gazing at Cristian with a bit of a love-struck expression on his beautiful face. I sighed. There was no way he was ever going to be interested in me. If I was honest, I wasn’t really bothered; I was just suffering from a little hurt pride. I’d spent money on him last Christmas – the least he could have done was to give me the gift back and tell me he wasn’t interested.

Kane’s eyes followed mine to look at his friend. They narrowed slightly as he took in what I’d just seen. Elliot was clearly setting his sights on Cristian. Kane took me slightly by surprise when seconds later, he was grabbing hold of my waist and lunging at me... As his lips bumped a little clumsily against mine, I had my epiphany. I closed my eyes and parted my lips. I was instantly in heaven. It was almost as if I'd been put on this earth just to meet Kane. I honestly felt that I'd been waiting my whole life to kiss the perfect man and he'd just been delivered in the sexiest packaging imaginable. Oh, my God! Talk about your ultimate Christmas miracle!

Kurt had gone to bed by the time I got back so I couldn’t talk to him until the next morning.

With a flash of genius inspiration I started to cook bacon. No one could resist the smell of bacon... He appeared in about ten seconds.
“Bacon?” he asked, looking at me hopefully.

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You get yours when you tell me what happened to Jonny’s nose.”

He went red, “He was disrespecting you.” He said sullenly, “I didn’t like it.”

Well. I hadn’t expected that. I looked at him, “He was disrespecting me?” I asked, “How? What did he say?”

He went, if possible, even redder, “He said you were a good lay, that you were nothing but a quick roll in the sack and that he didn’t think you had any sort of future.”

I blinked. He might have put it crudely, which had clearly offended Kurt, but in all fairness, he’d got it bang on the money – because that was exactly the way I felt about him too... “Okay.”

Kurt frowned, “Okay?” he echoed, “What’s okay about that?”

I shrugged, “Well, it’s not like I’m in love with him or anything – we’ve just been messing around.”

Kurt scowled at me, “Well, I think you should choose better guys to mess around with – he’s a right wanker.”

Suppressing a smile I nodded. “Okay,” I agreed, “Good idea.”

“Who’s the lucky guy?” Sebastian asked kindly. He was such a sweetheart and I could totally see how Kurt had fallen for his subtle charms.

I felt my face heating up. Shit. Was I that transparent? Sebastian had only met me a handful of times since he and Kurt got together last year – the last time being when they were home for the summer break. It had now rolled back around to the winter break and since Kurt had missed Christmas with his family last year, due to realising that he’d fallen headlong in love with his roommate, Sebastian, and had only been back for the New Year; they’d come over to us straight from university for Christmas this year, with plans to spend the first part of their Christmas break with us and to go back to Seb’s family for the New Year. “There’s no special guy.” I mumbled – lying through my teeth of course but there was no way I was about to tell them.

Kane raised an eyebrow, “Oh, yeah?” he asked, “So why are you blushing?”

“Get lost, will you?” I said defensively. Well, wasn’t that the wrong thing to say? All four of them turned to me with their mouths open and then...

“Oh, my God!” That was George.

“You really have met someone!” That was Kane, looking utterly delighted for me.

“What’s his name?” That was Sebastian.

“The boy’s finally been tamed. We have to meet this mystical creature.” And that was Kurt, grinning knowingly and looking like a Cheshire cat.

I smiled bashfully back at them all, my heart swelling with their combined enthusiasm, “I’d love you to meet him but he’s rarely around here – he’s a flight attendant...”

I didn’t actually expect any of them to know whom I was talking about, since he didn’t even live in France anymore. He was from across the border and his family lived in Turin, but he had his own apartment in Les Arcs and he spent most of his down time skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. He was totally into the same things that I was. He was amazing...

I was wrong about them being clueless though. Kurt was right on it. “Are you talking about Cristian Llardi by any chance?” 

Merry Christmas everybody!

Hey guys,
I thought I'd wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - and also to update you on a few things that I'm hoping to achieve in 2019...

I'm currently working on another Studs & Steel book - Colby's story this time. You may remember him from previous books. He's a police officer and his partner at work is Harrison.
Harrison is on paternity leave at the moment and Colby's feeling a bit out on a limb without him.
I've got another Studs & Steel Novella to come out too - probably nearer to summer 2019 - it's going to be called Three's A Crowd... here's a bit of a round-up of some of the books you can look forward to reading in 2019! Have a great Christmas and New Year!

Coming early 2019....

A brand new Studs and Steel story about Colby.

Colby is a police officer and usually works with Harrison.

Harrison is on paternity leave, his wife having just had their second baby, leaving Colby to his own devices...

I needed to talk to my buddy. He might be on paternity leave, but I needed a sounding board – and he was always going to be my confidante and therefore, my first port of call in a crisis.

I rang the doorbell of Harrison's house and waited a little nervously for him to answer the door.

After a couple of minutes, he came to the door, looking tired and slightly harassed. I grinned, “hey dude,” I said, “How’s it hanging?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly at me, judging whether I was simply asking after him, or if I was referring to his dick which, I’m not gonna lie, was impressive but I’d never fancied him so the point was moot. I did, however, want a man eventually who was as impressive in the trouser department if you know what I mean and that guy last night – phewee! He had a very impressive package, thanks very much...

“Thank God you're here,” Harrison said with feeling, handing me his eldest child, Lucy, who immediately snuggled into me and closed her eyes. I’d always been kind of gifted at getting the babies to sleep and Harrison’s children were no different to those of my siblings. They all loved their Uncle Colby.

I frowned in confusion at his hairless state, “Where’s Carly?” I asked, looking around for a sign of his beautiful and very patient, caring wife.

Harrison rolled his eyes, “Her gran’s ill so she’s shot off with her mother, leaving me with the babies on my own. Like I know what I’m doing,” he looked at me as if she’d left him with a boa constrictor to wrestle, “bleeding typical.” He grumbled, “You know what women are like...” 

I looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows. I guess I knew what my sister was like – and my mother, but other than that, actually, no, I really didn’t. They were a total mystery to me and I was pretty comfortable with that.

He grinned, “Come on in, mate. I’ll stick the kettle on. Are you off today or is it a late start?”

I explained that I’d slept through my alarm and that I’d had to swap a shift with Smithson and James.

He frowned, “That’s not like you,” he commented, eyeing me suspiciously, “late night, was it?”

I nodded, “Uh, something like that.” I hedged.

Lucy was well and truly asleep in my arms, which I can’t deny, was beginning to give me a bit of backache. I sat down in one of the chairs around the table and settled myself back into a comfy position while Harrison got the cups out and started making us a brew.

“Something like that?” he grinned and raised an eyebrow, “What? You met a guy?”

I nodded, “Yeah, it was a really shitty day...” I started to explain...

“You did what?” Harrison exclaimed, looking at me in horror, “You took the dude for a drink? Are you crazy?”

I frowned at him. I’d had a shitty day. He’d clearly had a shitty day. I thought the best thing all round was to go and sink a couple of pints... “No,” I said a little defensively, “why?”

He rolled his eyes at me. Something he did at work about a hundred times an hour... “How the hell do you know that he didn’t just climb straight up there again after you left him and jumped anyway?”

I felt the colour rising in my cheeks. The reason I knew he hadn’t done that last night, was because I spent the entire night with him, having rampant sex and enjoying his flesh in the same way as he enjoyed mine but I didn’t really think Harrison wanted to know about that... “Ummm.”

His jaw dropped as realisation dawned on him about what had transpired between myself and the suicidal guy on the building, “Oh, my God. You shagged him, didn’t you?” he asked.

I shrugged, “Well, technically, I guess you’d have to say that he shagged me, but yeah.” And it had been the best lay I’d had in ages – ever, even…

He shook his head, “You should have got him to A&E!”

I frowned, “But he didn’t do anything to hurt himself.” I argued. Jeez, he was only sat on the edge of the building. He wasn’t actually threatening to jump when I found him, either. He just started telling me about the producer guy that was involved in the new TV show he was in, who needed his face rearranging with my fist...

He closed his eyes and I could tell he was counting to ten in his head. I swear he thought I was stupid sometimes – but to be fair, sometimes I was... Chief often said I was the Joey Essex of the force and I don’t think he was talking about my looks... “You should have got him to A&E so they could watch him. They have people properly trained to deal with suicidal people. It doesn’t just go away, you know – the feeling of being worthless and that no one will miss them once they’re gone. Your boy is suicidal. That means he’s very depressed – about something or about lots of different things. He needed help,Colby, not a quick shag with a cute guy.”

I beamed at him, “You think I’m cute?” I asked delightedly, “aw, thanks buddy.”

He gave me a look that made me wonder if he sometimes felt violent towards me, “Call him.” he commanded me, “You did get his number?”

At my subtle nod, he rolled his eyes, “Right, and then you go and find him – and you get him the help he needs. Before he’s found dead with your DNA all over him.”

Oh, hell...