NEW RELEASE: Closely Guarded by Jamie Deacon (Excerpt)
NEW RELEASE
Book Title: Closely Guarded
Author: Jamie Deacon
Publisher: Ink Lane Publishing
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Release Date: October 12, 2026
Tense/POV: first person/present tense/single perspective
Genres: Young adult, Contemporary M/M Romance, Mystery subplot
Tropes: Forbidden love, slow burn, friends to lovers, student/staff relationship
Themes: Trust and betrayal, self-worth, family and found family, finding your own path
Heat Rating: 2 flames
Length: 82 000 words/284 pages
It is part of the Boys on the Brink Universe, but all the stories are standalone. It does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links
Nook | Kobo | Bookshop.org | Smashwords
A Gay YA Forbidden Romance
Blurb
Hex thinks he’s safe, but he forgot to guard his heart…
Six years ago, Hex arrived at Ravenswood an unruly eleven-year-old, starved of affection. Since then, the prestigious boarding school has become his home. Now in his final year, Hex refuses to think about the future, determined to enjoy the time he has left. This plan unravels on the very first night of term when he breaks curfew and runs straight into Jayce—the infuriatingly calm, frustratingly attractive new security guard.
What begins as mutual irritation soon sparks into something more, something forbidden. Hex knows falling for Jayce is against the rules, yet he can’t seem to stay away. But the closer he gets, the more he senses Jayce holding back. And Jayce isn’t the only one with secrets. As Hex’s world fractures around him, he discovers that Ravenswood is no longer the sanctuary he once believed it to be.
Excerpt
Beyond the rugby pitch, where the north and east walls meet, grows an ancient cedar. Not only is it a doddle to scale with plenty of hand- and footholds, but one of its sturdy branches forms a perfect bridge between the trunk and the top of the boundary wall. We’ve shared many a daring escapade, this tree and I. It has waved me off on countless nights out, kept my secret when I emptied a gut load of Bacardi and Coke into its roots.
With the instinct of long practice, the toe of my trainer finds the first ridge in the bark, and I begin to climb. In a matter of moments, I reach the fork and inch my way along the branch on my belly, fingers grasping for the wall.
Almost there.
“Mr. Reid-Fox?”
I nearly topple head first out of the tree and onto the lane below. Heart pounding, I dig my nails into the brickwork. What to do… Should I make a dash for it, dive over the wall and run? But, no, he used my name. How could whoever it is have recognised me in the dark? He can’t have followed me all the way from Nightingale…can he?
I pull myself upright to sit on the wall. No choice other than to brazen it out. “That’s me. Lovely evening for a walk.”
“A walk.” The statement drips scepticism. Anyone would think he’s never heard of a moonlit stroll before.
His tone catches me off guard. Not hostile, exactly—it’s too calm for that—but several light-years away from friendly. I narrow my eyes, peering into the darkness. I can just make out the solid outline of a figure in the shadow of the tree. Too stocky to be Ryan, and Omar left last year to become a bodyguard to some oil mogul. Besides, I’d recognise their voices. When you’ve spent your school career testing boundaries, you get to know the security guards pretty well.
“Sorry.” I adopt my best dinner-party manners. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Indeed. And we’re meeting here, now, half an hour after curfew, because…?”
“Oh. Well, the thing is, I suffer from the most crippling insomnia. Stretching my legs is the only cure.”
“I see.”
Still not so much as a flicker of amusement. If I could see the guy’s face, I’m betting it would be set harder than the bricks beneath me, but his features are a blur in the gloom. I frown. Ryan always chuckles at my attempts to wriggle out of trouble, while Omar treated me with wry exasperation. This new guard, if that’s even who he is, will need more coaxing onto my side.
“Absolutely,” I assure him, all earnest sincerity. “Fresh air and exercise are so beneficial for sleep.”
“And the pub has nothing to do with it, I assume.”
Well and truly busted. Not that I really thought he’d buy my tale of insomnia; I just didn’t expect him to call me out so blatantly.
“The pub?” If only it were daylight, I could dazzle him with the full force of my blue-eyed innocence. “I’m not sure what you mean. No, I like to come and sit up here sometimes…for the view.”
“The view. Right.”
This guy isn’t giving me a millimetre. My evening of drinking and flirting skitters away through my fingers.
Time to try a different tack.
About the Author
Jamie Deacon is an award-winning author of young adult LGBTQ+ fiction with a passion for weaving stories about friendship, falling in love and finding the courage to be true to yourself. Their debut novel, Caught Inside, won two Rainbow Awards and was nominated for a Lammy, a Bisexual Book Award and a Next Generation Indie Book Award.
Jamie was born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition that left them registered blind by their mid-teens. Now only able to view their surroundings in light and indistinct shadow, Jamie creates vivid settings inside their head and brings them to life through the magic of words.
Jamie lives with their childhood sweetheart close to the River Thames in Berkshire, England. When not curled under a blanket with a book, they enjoy British comedy, are a huge dog lover, and get way too competitive at family games nights.
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