A Story from the Enhanced Universe
Deaf since childhood, Sebastian Armitage had a promising musical future until his dreams were shattered when he transformed at twelve years old. In a world where enhanced humans are terrorized and imprisoned, his life shrinks around him even more as he suffers the torment of his father’s experimental research to enable him to hear.
Gray Darling—struggling with the scars left by his experience in Afghanistan—agrees to provide short-term personal protection when anonymous threats escalate into assault on those closest to Seb.
As the lines between protection and attraction blur, Gray and Seb can’t ignore the intense feelings drawing them together. But secrets and betrayals might prove deadly, unless Gray is willing to risk it all. And Seb must find the strength to make his own future and sing his own song….
Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon
Cat gives this one 4 Meows with a 2 Purr heat index...
Sebastion is an Enhanced and he is completely deaf and has been since the age of four. He got his mark at the age of fourteen but didn't seem to gain any powers. His father is a wealthy businessman and seems to have Sebastian's wellbeing at heart trying every surgery and putting loads of money in surgeries and implants that so far none work. There have been threats on his music teacher and his bodyguard supposedly committed suicide.
Gray's company was hired to protect Sebastian though he doesn't like doing these kinds of detail.
The household has a security detail that doesn't amount to much. Gray soon sees that Sebastian gets very ill from his treatments and Seb and Gray begin forming a bond or at least getting comfortable with each other. The romance is a slow simmer and when it comes it's not overly done but fits well with the broken men theme I feel.
Guarding his Melody is an Enhanced Series Standalone. I have to admit that it does stand alone pretty well as I have not read any of this series. I did have a few questions such as what the Enhanced are and why they seem to be so feared since Seb really didn't have any powers to mention.
I did like this story quite a bit. I liked all the characters, all the broken men, the camaraderie and there are a lot of twists right up to the very end. for those of you that have read the other books, the epilogue brings in the guys from the other books and I do want to read them now!
Excerpt...
Chapter One
“I’M NOT a fucking babysitter for some snot-nose rich kid,” Gray snapped out before Diesel Rawlings—his boss and owner of Rawlings Security—could finish his sentence. Rawlings just lifted one carefully manicured eyebrow, and Gray shut up. “Sir,” Gray tried again. “Sarge,” he pleaded.
This wasn’t like Rawlings. He’d always insisted his brand of security would be need only. He didn’t do celebrities. He’d turned down more jobs than he’d ever taken. Even if their company was less well-known, Gray had thought it was doing okay, but what did he know? Rawlings might need the money.
This time a signal from his boss wasn’t necessary for Gray to remain silent as Rawlings threw a manila folder down onto the desk in front of him. The red triangle stamped in the top left-hand corner suddenly had all of Gray’s attention. Red triangle meant high risk—verified threat. Either someone had already tried to finish off the target or they had hard evidence of a plan to do so.
“I want you to read the file before you say anything else.” Rawlings paused, and Gray raised his eyes to meet his boss’s pale blue ones. “I would start with the photograph.” There was a catch in Rawlings’s voice, which had Gray reaching for the file and opening it immediately.
“Fuck,” Gray said after a few seconds of staring at the picture of his new charge, knowing instantly he was going to accept the job.
Rawlings sighed. “Yeah, it’s a first for us.”
Gray nodded absentmindedly, but he was already reading the details. “Sebastian Armitage,” he read out loud and then winced. “Twenty years.” He looked about seventeen. Gray’s fingers traced the face that seemed to stare back at him. Long blond hair tied back in some sort of leather band. Wide green eyes. Head tilted to the side as if listening to something, but…. Gray’s eyes widened. “Completely deaf.”
“That’s the first thing that strikes you,” Rawlings stated flatly. “Not the obvious?”
Gray gazed at the image and shrugged. The scar—no, he thought they called it a mark—was very obvious on his left cheek. The jagged line ran from just below his eye to an inch above his lip. Enhanced. Gray had seen the TV reports, read the newspapers. Honestly, being a military brat and then enlisting, he hadn’t ever known any enhanced personally. They weren’t allowed to serve, so they’d never been particularly on his radar. He tried to conjure up details he’d read in some tabloid he usually avoided.
“Why does he need a bodyguard, though? I mean, aren’t they supposed to be super strong or fast or something?” The thought that his skills might not measure up was suddenly disconcerting.
“Not all of them, no.”
“What can this one do, then?”
Rawlings let out a short irritated sigh, and Gray subsided, knowing he had better listen. “He plays the piano.”
Gray lifted his astonished gaze to Rawlings. “So do a lot of people. Wait….” He read the next page that listed medical history. “Has he always been deaf?” That was kind of impressive. Playing a musical instrument when he couldn’t hear it. Hadn’t Mozart or some other famous dead music person been able to do that shit?
“Since he was three years old and got meningitis. He can use sign language—”
“Well, I can’t,” Gray pointed out.
“Not needed,” Rawlings carried on without missing a beat. “He reads lips. So long as he can see your face, he can understand you.”
Gray turned back to the file. “Has he been sick recently, or is this a long-term thing?” The file didn’t go into details, obviously, just listed “accompanied doctor visits” as a protection issue. A lot of doctor’s visits. Weren’t the enhanced supposed to be healthier than everyone else or something? He was sure he’d heard that.
“He had two unsuccessful cochlear implants among a multitude of other operations that attempted to repair the nerve damage and the damage to his eardrum caused by the meningitis. The last cochlear implant he had was seven months ago. They both aggravated his vertigo so substantially he was bedridden for weeks with no sign of improvement. The implant was removed both times.”
“Why does anyone want him dead?” There must be something else.
“I’M NOT a fucking babysitter for some snot-nose rich kid,” Gray snapped out before Diesel Rawlings—his boss and owner of Rawlings Security—could finish his sentence. Rawlings just lifted one carefully manicured eyebrow, and Gray shut up. “Sir,” Gray tried again. “Sarge,” he pleaded.
This wasn’t like Rawlings. He’d always insisted his brand of security would be need only. He didn’t do celebrities. He’d turned down more jobs than he’d ever taken. Even if their company was less well-known, Gray had thought it was doing okay, but what did he know? Rawlings might need the money.
This time a signal from his boss wasn’t necessary for Gray to remain silent as Rawlings threw a manila folder down onto the desk in front of him. The red triangle stamped in the top left-hand corner suddenly had all of Gray’s attention. Red triangle meant high risk—verified threat. Either someone had already tried to finish off the target or they had hard evidence of a plan to do so.
“I want you to read the file before you say anything else.” Rawlings paused, and Gray raised his eyes to meet his boss’s pale blue ones. “I would start with the photograph.” There was a catch in Rawlings’s voice, which had Gray reaching for the file and opening it immediately.
“Fuck,” Gray said after a few seconds of staring at the picture of his new charge, knowing instantly he was going to accept the job.
Rawlings sighed. “Yeah, it’s a first for us.”
Gray nodded absentmindedly, but he was already reading the details. “Sebastian Armitage,” he read out loud and then winced. “Twenty years.” He looked about seventeen. Gray’s fingers traced the face that seemed to stare back at him. Long blond hair tied back in some sort of leather band. Wide green eyes. Head tilted to the side as if listening to something, but…. Gray’s eyes widened. “Completely deaf.”
“That’s the first thing that strikes you,” Rawlings stated flatly. “Not the obvious?”
Gray gazed at the image and shrugged. The scar—no, he thought they called it a mark—was very obvious on his left cheek. The jagged line ran from just below his eye to an inch above his lip. Enhanced. Gray had seen the TV reports, read the newspapers. Honestly, being a military brat and then enlisting, he hadn’t ever known any enhanced personally. They weren’t allowed to serve, so they’d never been particularly on his radar. He tried to conjure up details he’d read in some tabloid he usually avoided.
“Why does he need a bodyguard, though? I mean, aren’t they supposed to be super strong or fast or something?” The thought that his skills might not measure up was suddenly disconcerting.
“Not all of them, no.”
“What can this one do, then?”
Rawlings let out a short irritated sigh, and Gray subsided, knowing he had better listen. “He plays the piano.”
Gray lifted his astonished gaze to Rawlings. “So do a lot of people. Wait….” He read the next page that listed medical history. “Has he always been deaf?” That was kind of impressive. Playing a musical instrument when he couldn’t hear it. Hadn’t Mozart or some other famous dead music person been able to do that shit?
“Since he was three years old and got meningitis. He can use sign language—”
“Well, I can’t,” Gray pointed out.
“Not needed,” Rawlings carried on without missing a beat. “He reads lips. So long as he can see your face, he can understand you.”
Gray turned back to the file. “Has he been sick recently, or is this a long-term thing?” The file didn’t go into details, obviously, just listed “accompanied doctor visits” as a protection issue. A lot of doctor’s visits. Weren’t the enhanced supposed to be healthier than everyone else or something? He was sure he’d heard that.
“He had two unsuccessful cochlear implants among a multitude of other operations that attempted to repair the nerve damage and the damage to his eardrum caused by the meningitis. The last cochlear implant he had was seven months ago. They both aggravated his vertigo so substantially he was bedridden for weeks with no sign of improvement. The implant was removed both times.”
“Why does anyone want him dead?” There must be something else.
Victoria Sue…
Wrote her first book on a dare from her hubby two years ago and he says he has regretted it every day since. Loves writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—especially with either a paranormal or a historical twist. Had a try at writing contemporary but failed spectacularly when it grew four legs and a tail. Loves her wolves!
Is an English northern lass but is currently serving twenty to life in Florida—unfortunately, she spends more time chained to her computer than on a beach.
Loves to hear from her readers and can be found most days lurking on Facebook.
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loved reading chapter 1 and sounds great
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to giving this a read.
ReplyDelete