Head Over Wheels (Steamy New Adult Romance)

by Valentine, January

  "Did you see that flash? Did you hear that creepy voice?" I'm breathless, massaging my pounding temples with burning fingertips. "My head feels like it's about to split open." I rattle each eardrum with a pinky, then plug my ears to listen intently. Was the urgent whisper that turned me to stone inside my head? Phantom sounds? I've never experienced this kind of phenomenon before. "My eyes pain."

  Father regards me with a mix of surprise and concern. "You have a migraine?"

  "Migraine?" I scoff. What the fuck, loops through my head. I'm freaked out, left with a strange feeling this is not going to be like other days. I try to shake it off, like I shake him off.

  The sky is now clear and so perfectly blue, it looks as though it's been painted by deliberate strokes of an artist's brush. It is a seamless dome of beauty. If we were not receiving today, I might be lying on the pristine beach, permitting my thoughts to wander far beyond my own boundaries. Maybe I'd be lounging on my bluff, or climb my watchtower tree, burrow into its welcoming arms where I collect my years, watch over all that is mine.

  "Feeling better?" His voice is buffered, but coarse enough to jar me from thought.

  Skimming Father, my gaze snaps back to the waves, the skiff that is almost upon us. "I'm fine." I don’t mention how bad my body aches, and feels like it’s being torn apart. I stretch my arms, then my neck, trying to pin down what I did to cause these muscle spasms. The bomb that’s about to explode in my head.

  When the ocean is calm it's translucent, sparkling with sunlight as though it's coated with billions of precious gemstones. Today it's not much more than rolling waves and seaweed.

  "I've never seen it this rough." Between wind and thunderous surf, I have to face him or my voice will be useless.

  "Storms." His reply is blunt.

  "You wouldn't know it by the sky." I bring my gaze to a more pleasant sight.

  "There's one brewing out there. You'd feel it if you had my knees." Staring gravely at the ocean, his body is rigid.

  "Are you in pain?"

  "Nothing I can't handle."

  "Let's hope the weather holds off until we've settled them."

  "Rain or shine, we've got our work cut out for us, Brook."

  "As always." My stomach rises to my throat as I watch their approach. I wonder if I'll ever get used to this way of life. Do I want to? Of course not. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing right now, like hopping onto that boat, and for starters, checking out the other side of this island.

  Beyond the boat, a floating veil of mist rolls in like billows of steam from a tremendous boiling kettle. I am no longer able to see the large vessel from which the skiff was launched.

  The atmosphere of the island is as such, inviting one moment, rejecting the next. Father calls it a gentle beast, with characteristics and charm like the women he has known. My glance shifts, falling upon the shoreline curve where a jetty, composed of rocks chiseled and stacked by nature, projects like the nose of a dolphin and the forest begins. This is as far as my eyes pan.

  "Thank you for cutting your hair." For a moment his eyes wash over me, then his gaze refocuses on the others who are struggling against the relentless current. "I know it pains you."

  "Don't you mean shearing?" I huff. "I don't understand why I can't grow it long. I have awesome hair, or so I've been told." I smirk.

  He shoots me a phony glare. "You've been told, huh? No cozying up to any of these girls. I don't want another batch begging to stay."

  "I'm not a womanizer. Just good company." I shrug.

  "No nighttime jaunts to the lagoon, either. And I mean it this time." Now his glare is authentic.

  "Yeah, yeah. I know. Stay out of the lagoon. Out of the forest. Out of the lockers. Pretend to like my boring life."

  He almost looks sympathetic. "One of these days you'll understand."

  "What? Why I can't swim at night?"

  "You're impossible sometimes, and the reason I ask you to cut your hair is to set a good example."

  I let out a tired sigh.

  My hand runs over my smooth scalp, the shadow of bristles so short and sun-bleached, my reflection in a mirror looks hairless. If not for my deeply tanned skin, I would look anemic. "Seems a waste. Six or more inches of attractive dark hair again and again swept into the trash." My jaw sets as our discussion continues. "I like my hair long. It makes me feel ..."

  "Like a rock star?" He chuckles, scrubbing my head playfully. "In so many ways you remain such a child, yet you desire to be worldly. Do you admire them?"

  "Not as you might be thinking." My eyes lower, landing upon my anxious toes digging through a mound of sand.

  I swing my gaze across the vast horizon which is now shaded with purples and blues, fantasizing about the places beyond. The order of the world not contained within this globe of existence called Defiance Island. I know the temperament of the waywards, but wonder what others are like. Are they beautiful? Intelligent? Kindhearted? Do they possess the nature that can make a man want to tear another to shreds?

  AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

  January Valentine is the pen name of Victoria Valentine, New York writer, indie book publisher, and blogtalkradio.com show host.

  Victoria uses January, her birth month, when writing romance and thrillers. Children’s books and poetry are written under the name Victoria Valentine.

  Victoria hosts her radio show, Away With Words, every Wednesday @ 7pm EST on blogtalkradio.com, where she interviews writers and poets.

  Her books include:

  At the Stroke of Midnight: 24 tales of terror

  The Cutest Little Duckie color storybook

  Desert Noon romance poetry collection

  Love Dreams contemporary romance

  Sweet Dreams in the Mind of a Serial Killer

  Head Over Wheels spicy young romance

  Beautiful Experiment, Book One, Island of Defiance Trilogy (New Release)

  Victoria is currently working on the third book in her “Dream” series, Bad Dreams.

  Find January Valentine & Victoria Valentine on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and Water Forest Press Books.

  JanuaryValentine.com

  VictoriaValentine.net

  WaterForestPressBooks.com

  http://waterforestpress.miiduu.com (Bookstore)

  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/aww1 (Away With Words)

  http://januaryvalentine.blogspot.com/ (Blog)

  When not writing, Victoria publishes anthologies: A Hudson View Poetry Digest, Skyline Review, Literary House Review

  I’d love to hear from you!

  Contact:

  waterforestpress@aol.com

  Connect with me on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaValentineBooks

  Twitter:

  https://twitter.com/VictoriaSkyline

  Linkedin:

  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/victoria-valentine/41/120/812

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Until you actually sit down to compose an acknowledgment page, you don’t realize just how many people have been an incredible influence and monumental help before, during, and after the creation of a book.

  Although I’ve been writing longer than they’ve been around, I have to thank my three kids: Phaedra for her valuable input and for pushing me to the verge of hysteria, Tommy for his “time” and “bugging out on me”, and other cool stuff, and Cindy for her sensitive ear and uplifting feedback, and to all three of my blessings who cheered me on when I suffered through bouts of inadequacy and OCD. My kids don't aspire to be writers, but with their talents, they really should be.

  Thanks to Liz for her "blah ja blah" and other mumbo jumbo, Matt (our future pharmacist) for his "Apple" skills, and Nick for being so damn cute.

  Thanks to Sil, my inspiration for hot and sensitive heroes, John for delectable meals, and Judy because she’s my sister. :D

  And to Jill, my faithful reader and AWW co-pilot.

  Thank you to my cousin, Mimi, (Maggie Schmidt) th
e fantastic artist who sketched the most guapo “Indigo”.

  Thank you to Amanda R. Tucker for character tattoos, handcuffs and stethoscope.

  I could never close without mentioning Istvan Szabo, Ifj, the most amazing Ebook creator;

  http://www.crystalshadeangeni.com (Official Website)

  http://www.crystalshadeangeni.com/sapphireguardian (Book Formatting Website)

  A big thank you http://digitalphoto-graphics.com/ for your awesome Photoshop work, and ceaseless patience :-)