Title: Sunburnt
Author: Joey Jameson
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: December 11, 2017
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 50900
Genre: Contemporary Thriller, horror, suspense, medical, mental illness, Contemporary, amnesia, vacation, Ibiza, serial killer
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Synopsis
Lenox Winter is the son of rock royalty.
Although born into the London elite, his laid-back style and relaxed vibe has
always made him feel better suited for something or somewhere outside of the
legacy his parents have built. Some place where the sun shines all year long
and the people move to a different beat. Ibiza.
Far away from the busy streets and
dreary skies of London rests the white isle. Home to hedonism, immaculate sandy
beaches, and utter tranquility. While holidaying on the island with a group of
his best friends, and desperate to leave behind the stresses of London as well
as the harmful memories of his ex, he meets Lyric; a man who epitomises the
bohemian vibe of his beloved Ibiza.
As romance quickly blossoms between the
two, Lenox begins to feel that he may have finally found someone special to
help him escape the suffocating clutches of his life in the UK. But when things
take a drastic turn, both begin to realise that there are two sides to every
person and that some things are better kept hidden.
Sunburnt is a story of romance,
intrigue, and deep twisted secrets that takes the idea of a holiday romance to
catastrophic new heights.
Excerpt
Sunburnt
Joey Jameson © 2017
All Rights Reserved
Prologue – Now
His thoughts shifted back to that first
moment, back to where it all began. If he concentrated long enough he could
picture that face perfectly, as if it were directly in front of him—the shape
of his eyes, the strong line of his jaw, the curve of his lips as he smiled. He
remembered his smell, sweet and yet salty, like something citrusy mixed with
the scent of the sea air.
As he closed his eyes and rested his
heavy head in his hands, he imagined the sound of his voice, caressing him
gently as it washed over him with its deep, liquid tones. How warm it made him
feel once. Safe and cared for, like no ill could ever come as long as they were
together. How quickly he felt at ease when he was around. A gentle caress of
his warm touch on his cool skin was all it took to make the questions and
doubts that filled his head slip away like sand through his fingers.
How foolish he had been.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he gritted his
teeth together until his whole jaw ached, attempting to shake the images from
his head. But the harder he tried, the more resilient they became, like a stain
on his thoughts that got darker and darker the more he tried to scrub them
clean.
He could feel the all-too-familiar sense
of panic rising in his chest as the memories began to flood his consciousness.
Still images, like photographs in an album, seemed to litter the ground around
him, tumbling from his mind until he was practically drowning in them. Their
relationship played itself out before his very eyes and the more he willed it
to stop the more feverish the memories became. He balled his hands into fists
against his temples and pressed them so hard to his skull he thought his head
would implode. The panic was strong now. It began as a tremor in his gut that
poisoned his whole frame as it wormed its way upwards, until it grasped his
throat and closed in as if squeezing all the air out of the room.
Then, just as his body temperature was
reaching boiling point, an unexpected hand on his shoulder yanked him back from
the disease of his own thoughts.
His whole body jolted as he raised his
eyes, squinting into the harsh light of the hallway in which he sat. A person
stood just before him, towering over him in an authoritative stance. The
fluorescent lights caught the metal of the person’s badge, drawing his gaze
south as if entranced by the glimmering effect.
“It’s time.”
The figure gestured with a weathered
hand towards a room across the hall, his stance signalling a less-than-patient
nature.
He took a strained breath which burned
as it worked its way through his core, and quietly calmed his nerves. The panic
subsided slowly as he took in the reality of where he was. Pulling himself from
the seat to which he had become glued, he braced himself for what was about to
happen next.
As he walked through the doorway he was
greeted by a man and a woman who sat behind a long, grey table. The lights were
strong and the air was tense.
The woman was the first to speak.
“Please,” she said, motioning to the
chair across from them. The table was covered with an array of manila folders
arranged neatly in front of them. Their contents were left to his imagination
as he moved further into the room and to the lone chair in front of the table.
He heard the heavy door shut behind him
and lock as he sat down carefully, at once feeling uneasy and self-conscious.
Looking up into the eyes of the man and woman across from him, he felt
vulnerable and small, like a mouse in a cage facing his attacker. The room was
cold and sterile and void of any emotion, which seemed to suit the situation
perfectly. Their eyes burned into him in expectant fashion, as if assessing the
situation before he had a chance to even utter a word. The silence was heavy
but soon shattered.
“So,” began the man in a voice that was
startlingly low, “You know why you’re here.” His words were more of a statement
than a question. “Please begin by telling us about your relationship with the
deceased…”
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