lomax61

Maybe lay off the bad wine?

Interesting. I didn’t write any other version so I’m a bit mystified about your comment.

Just before six-thirty, Kilroy drove into the treelined country lane towards his cottage, the lights on his Polestar flicking automatically to full beam beneath the dark canopy of trees. Even on the deserted routes around his home, he kept well below the speed limit for fear of hitting an errant fox, badger or hedgehog or other unsuspecting forest creature. Eventually, as the white wooden gates to his home came into view, he released a deep breath. The day had been another unsatisfactory on

Never in his wildest dreams would Todd have considered hospitals a turn on. He sat opposite Bridge in the allocated waiting area, his head swivelling every time a white-coated male medic pushed through a swing door. Frost had messaged overnight to say he was unlikely to be at the hospital that morning, but had agreed to meet Todd on Tuesday evening. He had even offered to cook dinner for them, which meant, implicitly, that Todd would be in Frost's home. Just the two of them. Together. His imagin

Thank you for those kind words, @riccardo. This tale will take some time to unfold (I’m writing furiously two chapters at a time) but my aim is to keep the reader both intrigued and entertained.

Kilroy parked in the almost empty car park opposite The Markham. Through his windscreen, he could see the hotel facade across the road, framed by scaffolding and entirely concealed by plastic sheeting now. Not that long ago, he had almost died there in a bedroom on the second floor. From street level, no sign of the fire that had gutted the structure could be discerned. A cold wind buffeted the car as he locked up, an uneasy feeling filling him as he strolled down the road to the coffee shop mee

Todd strolled along the path to the back garden gate, forcing himself not to turn and check, fully expecting to hear the wheels of the Polestar pull away. Instead, he heard the car door slam, a beep as the lock engaged, and sure footsteps following him. What the hell was he thinking? Once he had accepted the offer of sex, he was overcome with nervousness. They barely knew each other. Not that he hadn’t slept with men he didn’t know. But this felt different. As he unlocked the gate, he force

Kilroy Frost disliked disorder. Muddy days, when annoyances from his personal life dirtied the waters of his professional one, were the worst. In the workplace, he preferred a clear head to concentrate on patient and practice needs. Unanticipated problems related to work he could deal with, could thrive on even. Issues from his private life distracting his thoughts affected his competence, and for a man of his exacting standards, that was unacceptable. This day had been patently muddy and a

Following the complex directions given by the hospital receptionist, Todd made his way with his backpack through the maze of identical corridors on the fifth floor. Uniformed staff breezed past, holding clipboards or files and avoiding eye contact. He hated the place, but he would scale mountains to see his Grandma Bridge. Even with a moral responsibility to care for her—she had outlived her husband and her son, Todd’s father—she was the only person on the planet who understood him. Grandma

On his way to the hospital elevator, Kilroy turned a corner to find a huddle of nurses and hospital orderlies. Uniformed in various shades of blue, either gossiping or sharing items on their phones, they had not seen him appear. Not yet. He took a sadistic pleasure in seeing the first of them look up and notice him, the face transforming in shock before alerting the others into action. Within seconds, bodies scattered in all directions like a flock of pigeons on spotting a predatory neighbourhoo

Todd Hansen lay flat along the weights bench, pumping fifty-pound dumbbells above his chest, the sole of each trainer pressing firmly into the floor. Perspiration glistened on his brow, the muscle burn biting hard. Familiar odours of old sweat and rubber matting in the fire station locker room filled his nostrils with each deep intake of breath. On the twenty-ninth rep, a familiar voice rasped out across the space. Percy, the Station Manager. "Handsome. Some bloke wants to see you. Come to

Hi @Flip-Flop, there is indeed a lot to unpack, and an important detail of the story has been laid out here. The next two chapters will begin to bring more to light. Welcome on board.

Hi @chris191070, I have a few chapters written out in full and a tentative outline. But that might change as I write the story. Next chapter Monday.

Thanks @Gary L, Welcome on board. This is a new story for me, a romance at its heart but a little darker than my usual, and with a mystery mixed in that should keep you reading.

Numbed by alcohol and self-prescribed sedatives, Kilroy Frost's medical mind and trained senses refused to react, even though, on an instinctual level, he sensed mortal danger. Dark shadows flew across his dream vision, swooping ravens pecking at his mouth and eyes. Unable to open his heavy lids, he wrenched his head from side to side, trying to scare them off, to force himself awake. At least, he thought he did. Maybe that had also been part of the dream. One thing he recognised, even in h