Burnt Island

By A.J. Llewellyn

Leo Gannet takes an unusual assignment in a tiny, remote island in the Cyclades with darkness, danger...and unbelievable passion lurking in its beautiful blue waters.

Manhattan—based private investigator, Leo Gannet, accepts an assignment to tail his father's boyfriend, theatre director Thane Covey on a clandestine trip to a tiny Greek island.

With only three hundred inhabitants and four miles to cover, Leo worries about pulling off his mission. He soon discovers he's got bigger problems: Thane Covey is the sexiest man he's ever seen. And he's not alone. Leo soon becomes insanely jealous, then very worried.

To top it off, Thane also seems to have somebody else's attention...a hitman's.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Jul 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781781840313

A.J. Llewellyn

A.J. Llewellyn lives in California, but dreams of living in Hawaii. Frequent trips to all the islands, bags of Kona coffee in the fridge and a healthy collection of Hawaiian records keep this writer refueled. A.J. never lacks inspiration for male/male erotic romances and on the rare occasions this happens, pursues other passions such as collecting books on Hawaiiana, surfing and spending time with friends and animal companions. A.J. Llewellyn believes that love is a song best sung out loud.

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A Total-E-Bound Publication

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Burnt Island

ISBN # 978-1-78184-031-3

©Copyright A.J. Llewellyn 2011

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright July 2012

Edited by Stacey Birkel

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2012 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Total-e-burning and a sexometer of 2.

This story contains 63 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book containing 7 pages.

Sins of Summer

BURNT ISLAND

A.J. Llewellyn

Leo Gannet takes an unusual assignment in a tiny, remote island in the Cyclades with darkness, danger…and unbelievable passion lurking in its beautiful blue waters.

Manhattan-based private investigator, Leo Gannet, accepts an assignment to tail his father’s boyfriend, theatre director Thane Covey on a clandestine trip to a tiny Greek island.

With only three hundred inhabitants and four miles to cover, Leo worries about pulling off his mission. He soon discovers he’s got bigger problems: Thane Covey is the sexiest man he’s ever seen. And he’s not alone. Leo soon becomes insanely jealous, then very worried.

To top it off, Thane also seems to have somebody else’s attention…a hitman’s.

Dedication

To Rick R. Reed, an amazing author, and an even more amazing friend.

Wherever I travel, your words haunt me.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Kayak.com: Kayak Software Corporation

iPad: Apple, Inc.

Habitat for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity International

iPhone: Apple, Inc.

Google: Google, Inc.

Dolce & Gabbana: Dolce & Gabbana

iPod: Apple, Inc.

Chapter One

It began with the dog walking around in circles and ended with me on a plane to Athens, Greece, tracking my father’s boyfriend. Yeah, you heard it right. Just when my dog, Jezebel, needed me most, I couldn’t come up with the funds to treat her sudden onset of vestibular disease. A call to my dad for a loan got me an unwanted job, but it also meant the money I desperately needed to take care of my best friend in the whole wide world.

My vet is an awesome guy. He’s not the type to chisel his human clients for expensive tests, but when my Australian shepherd, Jez, started tilting her head, scratching her ear, walking in circles and falling down, Dr Lang warned me it might be very serious. He couldn’t tell if her vestibular problem was because of an ear infection or a brain tumour. This meant a slew of tests. In my work as a private eye, I have good months and bad months. Lately they’ve all been bloody awful. In this tough economy, people have been taking matters into their own hands, following cheating spouses themselves…or just turning a blind eye to their shenanigans.

No matter how many times I tell a love-sick spouse that you get what you pay for, a few have ignored me, with catastrophic results. As much as any guy wants to know if his wife is diddling another guy, nobody really wants to see it for themselves. And then there is the matter of getting caught. There isn’t a person alive who looks attractive acting like a stalker…

But enough about that. I was frightened enough about Jez having a disease I couldn’t spell, let alone treat. New York was bracing itself for some sweltering, triple-digit summer heat, and my A/C was on the fritz. I’d have to get that repaired as well if I was going to keep Jezebel comfy.

When I called him for a loan, my father, Leo Gannet Sr, was unusually willing to pay for the initial battery of tests. He gave Dr Lang’s office manager his credit card details right over the phone. I should have been suspicious, but I wasn’t until he said, Leo, we need to meet and discuss terms.

Terms? What terms?

As I grabbed a taxi to meet him for coffee on Manhattan’s lower east side, I watched the day’s heat shimmer in waves from the scorching bitumen. I bounced along on the uncomfortable, macramé-covered back seat, the strong smell of curry and rice permeating the cab. I held on for dear life, worried the back door of the decrepit vehicle would fling open, tossing me to the kerb. As we slammed to a halt outside Bluestockings Café, I wondered if my father’s terms meant a repayment plan I’d have to make—with interest.

Dad waited for me inside Bluestockings, an activist café and bookstore he would never have frequented when he was straight. A contract-law attorney, he’d always been the epitome of Brooks Brothers couture. Now he was gay, he dressed like a frickin’ rich, hippie weirdo with tie-dyed T-shirts and hemp pants and gave free legal advice to old ladies selling organic produce. I noticed prayer beads lurking against his hairy chest and gem stone bracelets clinking on his wrists. I detected a strong whiff of patchouli incense when he threw his arms around me. Though I wanted my father to be happy, I wished he could have done it whilst maintaining a closer relationship with soap. He still looked distinguished…sort of. He needed a shave and a trim. He looked bleary-eyed and exhausted.

Holy cow. Had he been crying?

Dad hugged me like it had been weeks since we’d seen each other. Upon reflection, it had, so I let him hug me. He oohed and aahed over me.

Leo, great haircut, son. Have you been working out?

We both had the same chocolate brown hair that did whatever the hell it wanted, only his had started turning grey, probably from the stress of living a double life. Now he was out, he’d quit the weekly facials and manicures.

I gotta be me, he kept saying. I just didn’t know who the hell that was anymore.

He cupped my face in his hands and looked at me with eyes the