Corey - Give Away

Corey - Book 3 in my Atherton Pack series releases this Saturday 23rd November from Silver Publishing.
It will be available from the publisher from that date. Amazon should go live on roughly the 30th and then other 3rd Party sites (ARe, B&N etc.) on 7th December.

So to celebrate its release I'm giving away two copies of the book in the format of your choice. (PDF, ePub or Mobi) The winners will be announced on Friday.

Simply leave a comment below to go into the running.

Blurb:

Ethan Davies grew up in the foster care system, moving from house to house, never having a home of his own. When he meets his mate, Corey Jones, he's overjoyed at the prospect of finally getting the one thing he wants more than anything.

 
Corey's had his heart broken in the past and vowed never to go down that road again, sticking to one-night stands only. It's a lonely way to live but it's better than the soul crushing devastation he's felt previously. When he meets Ethan, Corey does the only thing he can in order to protect his heart; he runs.

Ethan won't give up his chance at love and a home that easily though, but will a costly mistake cause the entire pack to be put in danger?

Excerpt:


As he walked across the hall, he heard the doorbell chime and swore softly. The last thing he wanted to do was be late. Ben and Tommy had explained about their poker nights to him and he'd been invited along to last week's, which had been held at one of Ben's friend's houses. Seeing as how Ethan had only arrived late the night before, after several long days of driving, and then starting the new job the next day, he'd begged off, stating all he wanted to do was collapse on his bed and sleep for a week.

Now though, he didn't have any excuses and both Ben and Tommy were expecting him downstairs. To tell the truth, Ethan was kind of looking forward to meeting some new people. He'd met several over the course of the last week as pack members came for meetings with Ben on different subjects. He'd also spoken with a great number on the phone but it was always nice to put a face to the name.

Apparently the guys downstairs were Ben's closest friends. Ethan would meet the rest of the pack at the next group get-together, which was scheduled in a few weeks—on the night of the full moon. He'd just missed the last one.

Ethan was looking forward to running with the pack. He had been on a couple of little solo jaunts since he'd been here, but there was no better feeling to Ethan than running with your pack.

Feeling a little grungy after being stuck in his office for most of the day, Ethan decided to take a quick shower and clean up. He stripped off his clothes, threw them in the basket in the corner of his room, and walked into the attached bathroom. The bathroom wasn't huge, just enough space for a decent size shower, toilet, and washbasin. The walls were a light green colour and the large rectangular tiles a nice shade of cream.

What Ethan really liked about the shower was the way the showerhead came down from the ceiling instead of being attached to the wall. He stepped under the spray and let the water flow over his head and down his body. Ethan stood there for several minutes, just letting the water wash away his day before he stepped back and picked up the body wash. He soaped himself up, and contemplated stroking off a quick one but doubted he had the time. Ethan knew he was already late and didn't think taking time to have a quick wank was entirely appropriate.

Ethan quickly rinsed giving his half hard dick a couple of strokes before he turned off the tap and ran his hands down his body, trying to remove some of the excess water.

He dried off and dressed in a pair of old, comfortable jeans that had moulded perfectly to his body over many years of wear. Ethan picked out one of his favourite shirts and pulled it on. It was black and soft with use; the slogan 'Shhhhh, no one knows I'm gay' was written in white across the front.

Ethan didn't bother with shoes, as he was inside and had no plans on leaving. He ran his fingers through his strawberry blond hair, trying to get it into some sort of order.

Finally ready, Ethan left his room and started down the hall. Halfway down the stairs, the most amazing scents wafted up to him. He stopped when the sexiest voice he'd ever heard, bar none, drifted through the house.

"Has Declan been cooking again? Because if he has then I want me some of that." the male voice asked.

Ethan could hear both Ben and Tommy laugh, along with someone else that he didn't recognise. He started moving again, almost as if he was in slow motion. As Ethan got closer to the group gathered in the other room, his body started to take notice. The scent was becoming stronger and his dick, which had started to harden at the sound of the voice, was now trying to break out of his jeans. Even Ethan's wolf was getting in on the act; the damn beast felt like it was clawing at him from the inside. His heartbeat also increased to the point Ethan was scared he might have a heart attack, when suddenly everything clicked all at once in his mind and Ethan knew exactly what was happening.

"What is that intoxicating smell?" the male voice asked again.

Ethan rounded the corner to the room.

"That would be me," he announced, as he stepped inside. Ethan briefly noticed the shit-eating grins on both Ben's and Tommy's faces, along with a couple he had met the night of his interview. He ignored the puzzled looks from the men he'd never met. His gaze zeroed in on the man who would hopefully change Ethan's life for the better.

"And who the hell are you?"

My Journey

 

So, as some of you might be aware I've been posting random weight loss updates every now and then on my Facebook page. Well, as of this morning, according to my scales (Which I love lots today) I've lost a total of 70.80kg or 156.08lbs or 11.14 stone. Which ever way you look at it, it's a great deal of weight and I have to say I'm proud of myself for being able to stick with it and see this through. I haven't reached my goal yet. Still have another 2.2kg to go, but hopefully I'll get there soon.

I thought I would share my journey with you all and show you a few pics of before, during and now...If you don't want to see them that's fine, but I thought I would show them anyway :)

Christmas of 2010 My entire family was in Darwin to celebrate the holidays together. My father turned to me one day while we were driving and told me just how worried he and my mum were by my weight. I cried, but I wasn't ready to deal with it, or do anything about it at that time.

It wasn't until 12 September of 2011 that I decided something needed to be done. See, I was planning a trip to the State the following year, and having been to Europe in April of 2010 I knew just how uncomfortable the long-ass flights could be for someone of my size. So my husband and I both set out to loose some weight.


This is me and the Ex at a Ball in 2008
 

Ripley's Believe it or Not -London- May 2010 

Stupid me didn't take a photo when I started to lose weight. As you can see from the above pics, I was a large girl and absolutely hated having my picture taken.

6 weeks after we started the diet, my husband walked out the door. Instead of using this as an excuse to binge eat and just stop caring I said 'fuck him' and I resolved to keep to my goal. When All this started I didn't have a final goal in mind. I was so heavy that for me to have actually set myself a goal weight I don't think I would have made it. Instead I set myself smaller goals. 'lets see if I can loose 10kg, then 20kg, then 30kg and so on.'

Picture taken 17/02/2012

Approx weight loss 24kg

Taken 18/03/2012 weight loss 28kg

 

I lost the fist 27.5kg by myself with nothing more then diet and will power. However, after losing that much weight I thought I should get some exercise in and try to tone up some of my body. My wonderful brother told me to go and see one of his friends who happened to be a Personal Trainer. I see Vern twice a fortnight and he seriously puts me through it. I call him all the names under the sun, but really I love him. He has helped me so much to become the person that I am today and I will forever be grateful for the help he has given me and the encouragement he shows every time I see him. 

I thought it was time to clean out my wardrobe on the 2/06/2012. Weight loss 37kg. I wish I had kept these pants now instead on throwing them away.

Me in the States Sep 2012 - Total weight loss 50kg

 

Myself, my younger brother Jonathan and his wife Kara - Bali June 2013 for our Brother's wedding
Total weight loss 65kg 

My daughter and I at the wedding

Beach day in Bali. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to have a regular sized lifejacket fit me easily.

Me in Sydney at the OzMMMeet October 2013 - Total weight loss 68kg 

While in Sydney I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I wanted to do this purely because I could. There was no way I would have been able to complete the climb before losing all my weight.

Me yesterday



Total weight loss 70.8kgs

So there you have it. My journey. Let me tell you it's been bloody expensive replacing my entire wardrobe a couple of times over. I've gone from an Aussie size 26/28 down to a 14/16 I even have a size 12 shirt that I'm so proud of.

My family has been the best over the last two years and two months. They never stopped supporting or encouraging me. Even though the weight loss has slowed to almost a bloody crawl in the last six months I'm determined to reach my goal.

Thanks also to all my friends on FB who send me encouraging messages every time I post an update.

Love you all. xx



Determined Mate Now available

Determined Mate is back on the shelves again. YAY

You can purchase it for the special price of $3.99 until the 16th November.

DM can be purchased from the following places:
Amazon - Buy Link
All Romance - Buy Link
B&N - Buy Link

BLURB:

Jason Matthew's is a broken man. He's lived through hell and barely come out the other side. All he can thing about is getting to his best friend, Brian, after that he has no idea. Jason's scared out of his mind when he's met by not only Brian but two large men as well, he does the only thing he can think to do. He tries to run. One of the men, though, turns out to be his mate. A mate he is in no condition to have or want, a mate that won't allow him to flee.

Alex Holland is forced to stand by and watch as Jason is taken to the safest place they know, too scared to be around him. He knows something bad has happened to Jason and he's going to need every ounce of his Alpha control to give his mate the time he needs to heal and start living again.

NOTE: DM has been re-edited, and expanded by about 19 K.

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Determined Mate Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered. I wish I could give you all free copies, but alas I cannot.

The winners of a copy of Determined Mate are Susan and Ashley E

If you could please e-mail me at info@tonigriffin.net and let me know what file format you would like I'll happily send you out your copy. You can choose from PDF, ePub or Mobi.

For those that didn't win Determined Mate will be available for purchase from Amazon and Are on the 9th and shortly thereafter from B&N as well.

Once again, thanks to all and We'll be doing this again in a couple of weeks for Corey, which releases on the 23rd.

Determined Mate contest

As some of you might be aware Determined Mate is being re released on Saturday 9th November. Just like the first in the series, Determined Mate, has been extensively added to by roughly 19k.

To celebrate the re release I'm giving away two copies of the book in either mobi, epub or PDF format. Simply comment and you will go into the draw. The winners will be announced on Thursday.

I hope you all enjoy the additions I made to the story.

 

 



Blurb:

Jason Matthew's is a broken man. He's lived through hell and barely come out the other side. All he can thing about is getting to his best friend, Brian, after that he has no idea. Jason's scared out of his mind when he's met by not only Brian but two large men as well, he does the only thing he can think to do. He tries to run. One of the men, though, turns out to be his mate. A mate he is in no condition to have or want, a mate that won't allow him to flee.

Alex Holland is forced to stand by and watch as Jason is taken to the safest place they know, too scared to be around him. He knows something bad has happened to Jason and he's going to need every ounce of his Alpha control to give his mate the time he needs to heal and start living again.

NOTE: DM has been re-edited, and expanded by about 19 K.

Excerpt:

Jason sat in his idling car on the side of the road staring at the sign in front of him. Welcome to Leyburn. Population 8653. How had his life managed to turn upside down in so short a time? Jason had been sitting here for so long the tightness in the muscles of his healing body reminded him of that fateful night not even a week ago, causing him to cringe in pain. Thanks to his werewolf genetics, most of the bruises and cuts had healed while he was on the road. Jason knew it would take a lot more than the fading of his bruises for him to be able to live any kind of normal life again, and he hoped coming here was the first step.

Brian had sounded so happy in his new life when he'd talked to him, and Jason hoped his friend might be able to help him heal. Jason missed his friend and could really use his help at the moment.

Running his shaking hands through his hair, Jason tried to pull himself together enough to make the phone call he knew he had to. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his phone and hit the button for Brian's speed dial. Jason listened as the phone rang in his ear.

"Jase. How are ya, man?" came the voice of his best friend as soon as the phone connected.

"Bri." Jason couldn't get anything else to come out of his mouth. He knew Brian would start to worry if he didn't pull himself together soon.

"Hey, what's wrong? You okay?" Brian knew him so well. Even after not seeing each other for weeks, he could tell when there was something wrong with Jason. Jason quickly gathered his nerves and plunged on with the reason for his call.

"Yeah, man, I'm okay. Hey, look, is that offer to visit still open?" Jason asked. He knew it was a lot to ask, but he had nowhere else to go.

"Hang on. I'll just make sure it's okay with the guys." Fuck. Jason had forgotten that Brian was living with Marcus and his three brothers. He started to shake, thinking about being around so many men. Jason could hear Brian's muffled voice in the background talking to the other guys. What seemed like forever later, Brian came back to him. "Sure, man. When can you be here?"

"Umm. I'm sort of at the town limits now," Jason replied hesitantly.

"What! Shit, Jase, what the hell happened?" Brian was going to flip when he found out, and Jason wasn't really ready to talk about everything that had happened to him yet. Maybe he never would be, at the moment he felt broken and damaged and what he wanted to do most in the world at that moment was curl in a ball and cry, but he knew he couldn't do that yet.

"I'll tell you when I get there." He knew it probably wasn't what Brian wanted to hear, but it was all he could do for now; he was already on the verge of tears, and it took everything he had not to break down.

"Okay," Brian replied. After Brian had given him the directions on how to get to his and Marcus's place, Jason hung up. Taking deep breaths, he could feel the tears start to gather in the corner of his eyes.

"Shit! Get it together, man. You can fall apart later." Jason sat there on the side of the road, trying to gather his courage to start the short drive that would take him to his best friend. The tears came anyway.

Five minutes later, finally ready to head out, he wiped his face to try and remove all evidence of his crying. Jason knew he probably wasn't completely successful but that couldn't be helped. He needed to get on the road and get to Brian, everything else would have to wait until then. Jason clicked his indicator on and pulled out onto the road.

Driving through the centre of town, Jason thought it looked to be a nice little place. He made note of a couple of the shops lining the main road. The local supermarket looked to be a decent size. There was a kids' arcade that was filled with teenagers, as it was the weekend, and what looked to be a tattoo parlour with the words 'Eternal Ink' in flowing script across the top of the building.

Jason followed the directions Brian had given, and less than ten minutes later, he pulled to a stop outside the address he'd written down. Jason double-checked the paper to make sure he was at the right place. The house was huge, two stories. Jason thought it couldn't have been more than a couple of years old as the place still had that newly built look about it. The walls were painted a light cream colour with a deep blue trim running the length of the roof. There was a dark chestnut door with what looked to be a frosted glass centrepiece, allowing the afternoon light through but still maintaining privacy.

Taking a deep breath to settle his raging nerves, Jason got out of the car. As soon as he closed the door, he looked up and saw Brian standing in the doorway leading into the house. Jason didn't know what came over him, but at the sight of his best friend, he started running towards him. Brian engulfed him in his arms and gave Jason the hug he so desperately needed. He held his best friend in his arms, the familiar, safe scent settling his body. Jason broke down in tears. He knew Brian was worried about him and would have questions, but he just couldn't pull himself together.

Brian tightened his hold on him and whispered in his ear, "Shhh, Jase. It's going to be okay. Whatever the problem is, we can get through it together."

Jason couldn't reply. A lump had found its way into his throat and had decided to take up permanent residence there. This. He had needed this, for just a moment Jason could forget about what had happened knowing he was finally safe with Brian, his friend would never let anything happen to him. He just needed to hold his friend. Eventually, the sound of twin growls broke through the fog in his brain, and he started to pull back.

Brian looked back towards to house. "Marcus, cut it out. You know I love you. This is my best friend, Jason. Now give it a rest."

"I know you love me," Marcus said, "but could you please loosen your hold on your friend? I don't want to hurt him, and my wolf doesn't like the sight of you in another man's arms."

Jason pulled back and looked at his friend. Brian gave him an apologetic look, and Jason smiled at him to let him know it was okay.

"Jason, this big brute here is my obviously overprotective mate, Marcus."

Jason noticed Marcus had stopped growling almost as soon as he had let go of his friend. He smiled at Brian's description of his mate and turned to say hello when he realised he could still hear someone else growling.

Brian rolled his eyes. "And the even bigger guy behind him is his elder brother and the Leyburn pack Alpha, Alex. Alex, what's your problem?"

When Alex didn't respond, Jason glanced towards the man and gaped at the sheer size of him. Jason was not comfortable around big men after what he'd been through, and this guy was huge. Coming in at five foot six, Jason was short by werewolf standards, and anyone over six feet looked huge to him. This guy must have been at least six foot five.

Jason instinctively shrank bank, not wanting to get hurt again. He'd been thought hell once already; a second time would more than likely kill him. His brain was telling him to run; telling him he couldn't do this, he couldn't be here. Jason hadn't realised just how big Brian's mate was, and he'd completely forgotten he lived with his mate's brothers when he'd set out wanting to get Brian.

Brian must have noticed his reaction and reached out to touch him, even knowing it was his friend, Jason still shied away from the touch. He couldn't help it; his body seemed to be reacting automatically without any input from him.

Brian frowned. "Jason? It's okay, no one is going to hurt you."

"What the fuck?" the angry outburst from Alex caused a whimper to escape Jason.

"Back the fuck off, Alex," Jason heard his friend tell the much larger man. He wanted to reach out and grab Brian and make a run for it, but he didn't want Brain to get hurt because of him. His body refused to cooperate.

Jason tried to get his emotions under control and took a deep breath. This didn't help at all, as the most stunning scent he'd ever come across hit him. It was wild and masculine with a slight hint of sandalwood. Jason's eyes widened as realization hit. No, no, no, no, no… This couldn't be happening to him. Why did he have to meet his mate now, and why in god's name did fate have to match him with someone so large? Jason didn't know what to do. He knew he couldn't deal with being mated to someone so big after what he'd gone through, so he did the only thing that made sense to him.

He turned and ran.

Hidden Wolf Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner of my latest release, Hidden Wolf, is Valeri Davila. Congratulations, I hope you enjoy.

New Release - Hidden Wolf

Hidden Wolf, my first book in the new Tassie Wolves series is set to release today from Extasy. (October 1) you will be able to find it here. I know it's a bit late to run a contest but leave a comment and at the end of the week I will draw a winner for a free copy.

 

Blurb:

Who would have thought a waxing could lead to happily ever after. Not Ashley Neilson that was for sure.

Ashley Neilson was in pain, he was sticky in all the wrong places and all he wanted was a shower. So, of course it stands to reason that he would run smack bang into Mr. Tall, Dark, and Crazy. Who is this man and why does he keep talking about them being friends?

Vaughan Jacobs doesn’t understand why Ashley knows nothing about the mate bond. They’re both shifters, right? Vaughan can smell it, but as he gets to know the man fated to be his, secrets buried deep in the past manage to find their way to the surface.

 

Excerpt:

 

 

“I really don’t know about this,” Ashley Neilson said to his best friend in the entire world. He looked over at Kieran Moss and watched as he pulled the handbrake and turned off the car. The wicked grin his friend bestowed upon him made him even more nervous. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach doing cartwheels and dive-bombs and if Ashley wasn’t careful he thought he might actually throw up.

“It’s going to be fine, Ashley. Just think about the end result, not how you have to get there. I’ve been getting them for months now and it feels amazing.”

That thought really wasn’t very comforting. He loved Kieran to death, but he did not want to think about that.

“Ew, K, just ew.” Kieran’s laugh was almost manacle and Ashley thought his friend was enjoying this entirely too much.

“Get out of the car, Ashley.”

Ashley shook his head. Not wanting to move at all. He watched with mild trepidation as Kieran exited the car and walked around to his side. Ashley didn’t bother trying to lock the door, his friend had the keys and could easily unlock it again.

Kieran opened the door and looked down at him. “Either you get out of the car by yourself or I drag you out of there. Which is it going to be?” He jutted a hip and raised an eyebrow as he stood there waiting for Ashley to make up his mind.

“I really hate you right now.” Ashley knew it was hopeless to argue, Kieran would drag him out of the car. Even though he only stood an inch taller than Ashley’s own five ten and didn’t have any bulging muscles anywhere on his body, he was nonetheless stronger than Ashley.

Ashley had never been a fighter. He hated it when people fought and often shrank back, wanting the situation to calm down enough so the issue could be talked through. He’d been the voice of reason on the rare occasion when arguments arose between his parents when he’d been younger. Since Ashley had moved in with Kieran, the pair of them had yet to have a real fight about anything.

“No you don’t, you love me.”

If Ashley was a more aggressive person he’d snot his friend right in the nose for the smug look he currently sported. “Now move that sexy little ass of yours or we’re going to be late.”

With much reluctance Ashley unclipped his seatbelt and exited the car. He felt like he was heading to his death. He wondered absently if this was what people on death row felt like, then dismissed his silly thought immediately. How he could even compare the two situations was beyond him. Although with the way he was feeling…

Before Ashley had a chance to centre his nerves or even take a deep breath, Kieran had a hold of his hand and was dragging him down the sidewalk to the day spa.

The bright airy atmosphere of the spa warred with Ashley’s thoughts and feelings. Ashley zoned out completely, not paying attention as Kieran spoke with the perky blonde sitting behind the counter. Instead Ashley walked over and sat down heavily on the couch they had in the waiting area. Concentrating on breathing, Ashley jumped when Kieran sat down beside him and placed a hand on his thigh.

“Jesus, Ashley. Calm the hell down, will you? Everything is going to be fine and you’ll be thanking me for this in the near future, just you wait and see.”

“I’m trying but it’s not happening and I highly doubt that, asshole. How in the world did I even let you talk me into this?” Ashley could barely even remember the conversation from a couple of nights ago. Serves him right he supposed for getting pissed in the first place. Ashley really should know better by now than to agree to anything Kieran says when they’d been drinking.

Kieran shot him another shit-eating grin. “‘Cause you love me and you know I’m right.”

“As if. On both counts.” There was no way Ashley was going to agree with Kieran. He wouldn’t give his friend that kind of satisfaction at the moment.

Just then Kieran looked up as the door leading to the back swung open and two girls in a matching uniform to the one sitting behind the desk walked out.

“Gentleman, if you’d like to follow us please.”

Ashley swallowed the lump in his throat and Kieran pulled him to his feet. They walked along behind the women until one of them broke away slightly, pointing to a room on the left.

“Ashley Neilson, you’re in here with me. If you’d please strip and lay face down on the bed I’ll be back in a moment and we can start.”

Ashley shot one last death glare at Kieran. His friend just cackled and went into his own room, already stripping his shirt before the door was closed. Taking one last deep breath to settle his nerves, Ashley walked into the room and reluctantly started to remove his clothing.

 

He was sore in places that Ashley didn’t think people should ever be sore in. He felt sticky and tender and he wanted to go home desperately and shower.

Ashley had sworn, groaned, whimpered and screamed—yes he’d even screamed—his way through the last half hour of his life. He was having trouble comprehending why Kieran would go back time after time and subject himself to that torture.

He was positive the entire spa had heard him when the first strip with wax had been removed from his body. He’d been embarrassed as hell when Megan—as she’d introduced herself to him while he was naked on the table—had asked him to get on his knees, head down, and part his ass cheeks.

Ashley had felt his entire body get hot with embarrassment. No one should be that close to his nether regions unless they had been invited specifically by Ashley. Megan had most definitely not been invited. He’d felt a stirring inside him. One he’d felt before on previous occasions. It lasted the entire time he was in there, but the second Megan had stepped out of the room to let him dress once again the feeling disappeared. Ashley had never been able to pinpoint exactly what it was that he felt inside him, there seemed to be some sort of barrier or blockage that he was unable to get through so he could examine it closely.

When Ashley was once again bundled up ready to face the cold Launceston weather, he walked out of the room. If he walked a little gingerly he wasn’t going to admit to it when he saw Kieran again. As he pushed through the door leading to the reception, his gaze immediately zeroed in on his so-called best friend. The wide smile and knowing look said more than Ashley was willing to. He wanted to walk right past Kieran and leave the pain in the ass here to walk home, unfortunately seeing as how Kieran had driven, that kind of killed that idea dead.

“Not a single word,” he said when it looked like Kieran was about to make a smart-ass comment. Ashley ignored his friend and turned to actually pay the woman for inflicting copious amounts of pain on him. He even cringed at how much he had to fork out for his torture.

Tucking his wallet back into his pocket, Ashley pulled open the door and left, ignoring the snickers he could hear behind him. Ashley tucked his hands deep in his pockets, his breath misting on the air as he walked along the sidewalk to the car. He’d been so nervous on his way in that he had completely missed just how bloody cold it was outside.

Too busy concentrating on watching his breath mist in front of him, Ashley let out a grunt as he walked right into a solid mass. He could feel himself falling backward until large hands wrapped around his arms and stopped his momentum in its tracks.

“Shit, sorry,” he apologised quickly, concluding that he’d run into the man that still held him up. Ashley looked up at the man before him and then looked up a little more. Jesus, the guy was huge.

He blinked several times, wanting to make sure that he was actually seeing what he thought he was and not imagining the god-like creature standing before him.

Tall. Bloody hell was this guy tall. He had to stand at least six and a half feet, the most piercing green eyes Ashley had ever seen, a perfect nose and lips that looked inviting as all get out. His dark hair was shorn down to nothing but stubble and Ashley wanted to run his hands over it to see if it felt as good as it looked. The strong face was topped off with what Ashley assumed to be a permanent five o’clock shadow.

“Mate.”

Oh, how that voice sent shivers down his spine.

“Ashley?” Kieran called from behind him.

“Pardon?” Ashley asked the stranger, ignoring his friend for the minute.

“You’re my mate.”

Ashley was starting to wonder if all the pain he’d just endured hadn’t affected his mental abilities.

“I’m sorry, but I think I would know if you and I were mates. I’ve never seen you before so how can we be friends?”

“Not friends. Mates.”

The stranger was looking at him with a curious expression now and that unknown part inside Ashley stirred for the second time that day.

Ashley started to back away from him slowly only to be stopped when he realised the guy was still holding onto his arms.

“Please let go of me,” he asked quietly, his voice trembling a little. Kieran walked up beside him then and tugged him backward.

The man in front of them growled a little and Ashley shrank back when another man walked up beside the stranger.

When Mr. Tall, Dark, and Crazy turned to look at the guy who’d just joined the party, Ashley grabbed Kieran’s hand and they made a run for it. Their car wasn’t all that far away and soon enough they were there and clambering to get inside. Once the doors closed, Ashley locked his behind him just for good measure. As Kieran pulled out of the car park, Ashley couldn’t help but look back at the man who still stood on the sidewalk staring right at him. He didn’t know what it was about this guy, but something about him flicked all of Ashley’s switches, even if the man did seem a few Fruit Loops short of a cereal box.

“What the hell was that all about?” Kieran asked as they pulled out onto the road.

“I have no idea.”

“Who was that guy?” Kieran looked at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the road in front of him.

“Once again, no idea. He said we were mates. Seeing as how I’ve never met him before I can’t see how we’d already be friends. I think he must have confused me with someone else.” Man didn’t that thought suck. What he wouldn’t give to be friends with someone that looked like that. Then again, Ashley would probably make a complete fool out of himself if they were friends and then be too embarrassed to show his face.

“Huh. Weird.”

“I know, right?”

“So…”

Ashley waited as Kieran paused for a long minute.

“How was your first waxing?”

Ashley groaned as he settled back in the passenger seat.

“I really hate you.” Kieran just cackled at him. Fucking cackled!