I’ve written a few firefighters. Even produced an anthology of sexy firefighter stories. I understand the allure, despite the ugly, baggy pants. It’s the suspenders, right? 🙂

Just kidding. Mostly. I love the fact they rush into fire and other hellish situations while others flee. It’s that primitive, primal attraction hardwired in us to seek the mate most likely to protect and feed us. I understand that, but it doesn’t explain why I always envision firefighters playing dirty in a BDSM club. Which is how Firehouse 69 came to be. Me imagining. Letting the old muses (three of them, you know) boss me into telling the story their way.

Rapid Entry’s the third in my Firehouse 69 series, which was a spinoff of my Delta Heat series. Enjoy the excerpt!

Rapid Entry

When temptation flares hot, the only casualties could be their hearts.

Firehouse 69, Book 3

Gage Eastwood races to the burning apartment next door and discovers a woman trying to put the fire out herself. As a professional, he can overlook the fact she’s in her underwear, except there’s a nosy neighbor snapping cell phone pictures. And soon everyone knows he rushed into action buck-ass naked.

Not many people know that shy, mild-mannered Viviana Moore is a bestselling romance author. But once the pictures of her scantily clad backside guarding the sexy firefighter’s dignity go viral, the entire city of Memphis wants to know if he’s the muse for all her heroes.

When Vivi accepts Gage’s invitation to his sex club, La Forge, she can’t bring herself to admit that while she writes about kink, she’s never done anything kinky. But soon she has more than enough material for a whole new series. And Gage is wondering if just one manly muse is enough to satisfy her…curiosity.

Warning: Contains a firefighter who doesn’t hesitate to throw himself into harm’s–or pleasure’s–way. And a writer who’s about to discover hands-on is the best approach to research. Keep an oxygen mask handy if you’re prone to shortness of breath.

Excerpt…

Gage Eastwood opened the door of his apartment and let out a sigh. Dead quiet greeted him—pure bliss, after sharing space with his firehouse buddies, no matter how much he liked his crew. A man needed quiet, time to screw his head on straight before facing another busy shift where a moment’s groggy hesitation could cost him his life. He closed his door, flipped the deadlock and began peeling his dark t-shirt over his head when he got a sour whiff of Sunday’s Chinese takeout that he’d forgotten to deposit in the dumpster before he’d left for his last shift.

Sighing again, this time in irritation, he tugged his tee back into place and headed to his trash can. On the way, he quickly sorted his mail, tossed unopened letters, not bills, into the sack (no one he knew would be writing him anyway—had to be junk mail), and tightened the ties. Then out the door he went, quickly making his way down the steps to the parking lot below where he chucked the sack into the large green dumpster. When he turned, his gaze moved from his apartment’s windows to the windows beside his. A figure passed in front of the glass. A woman with dark hair, wearing black-framed glasses and appearing to be talking to herself.

Did Herman have a houseguest? The old codger next door never had visitors. Something that didn’t surprise Gage because he was the most unfriendly person he’d ever met—which made him the ideal neighbor. He minded his business.

The woman passed again, this time closer, and her gaze shifted to him in the parking lot. Rather than politely looking away, she leaned closer, her lips still moving quickly as she stared down at him.

Gage smiled, slowly, as more of her came into view. Creamy skin. Dark brown hair that touched her shoulders. Despite the ugly glasses and plain sweatshirt, she was cute, and her interest was apparent as her gaze perused his firehouse uniform. He lifted his hand to give her a little wave, and she jerked backward, her eyebrows rising.

Hadn’t she known he was looking her way? He shrugged. Any thought of knocking on his neighbor’s door fleeing as she left the window. Just as well. He was beat. The last fire hadn’t wrapped until nearly three that morning—a house fire that had left only charred remains, although everyone in the family had escaped unscathed. And that was what counted. A “good” fire meant no casualties. He could rest easy knowing he’d done his job, and that no one, not the family left homeless, not any of his crew, had been lost.

As he traipsed back up the steps, he thought of Danny Truitt, the friend he’d lost the previous year when the roof he’d been venting collapsed beneath him. There weren’t any days that passed that he didn’t think about him. His picture was prominent in the hallway entrance to the firehouse and on his own foyer wall. The only way to honor the fallen was to remember them.

The brunette all but forgotten in his gloom, he entered his apartment, tapped the picture of his buddy, standing in uniform beside their truck, and headed down the hallway to his bedroom.

Sometime during the night, Gage kicked at the sheets twisted around his legs. He’d been dreaming about the fire that had taken Danny. Once again, Gage had been rushing up the ladder, his heart in his throat, trying to get to him and Coop who’d been standing next to Danny when the roof sank beneath his feet.

With the lieutenant shouting in the radio to get off the fucking roof, he’d grabbed the back of Coop’s jacket to drag him away from the hole. Fire was licking at the opening. There was no hope of rescuing Danny from above.

With smoke building, Gage wrapped his arms around Coop to tear him away.

This is a dream. A dream. Wake up!

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom while he remembered to breathe. He hadn’t had that nightmare in a while. Why now?

Then he smelled it. An acrid scent you didn’t have to be a firefighter to recognize.

Fire!

Kicking back the covers, he rushed from his room to the kitchen, tore open the doors of the cabinet beneath his sink, and reached for the fire extinguisher. Then he loped to his door and flung it wide. He ran along the covered walkway, but didn’t have to go far to find the source. Bright flames flickered in Herman’s kitchen window. When he reached his neighbor’s door, he pounded on the thick oak. “Herman! Fire! Herman, you in there?” When there was no response, he turned sideways and rammed the wood with his shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t pop the ball from the socket. But the frame gave, and he was inside. Light, softened by the haze of smoke, gleamed from the kitchen. The fire alarm was blaring. Sounds of soft curses, interspersed with desperate, No, No No’s alerted him that Herman wasn’t the source of the cries.

No matter. There was a fire. He was a firefighter. “Ma’am, you need to get out of here,” he called out, crouching as he entered the smoky interior.

More coughing sounded, and he moved forward, only to smack head-on with a soft cushion of fluffy hair. He reached out, felt a bare shoulder and pulled the woman past him, then went to his knees and headed toward the fire flickering in the dark haze. Slipping the pin from the handle of his extinguisher, he stood, aimed the nozzle at the blaze and depressed the lever. In moments, the fire was extinguished, although smoke still billowed. Covering his nose with his arm, he reached for the window over the sink and opened it to allow the smoke to escape.

When he could draw a deep breath, he turned toward the figure huddled against the wall.

His jaw dropped. Her pretty features were so far from Herman’s wrinkled old mullet, he couldn’t help but stare. He locked glares with smoke-reddened green eyes through big black frames a second before he took in the rest of her lush, pale curves. It was the brunette he’d seen earlier, dressed in the sexiest lingerie he’d ever seen on a woman. The satin and lace was the same color of the creamer he used to lace the bilge water coffee the rookie at the firehouse made at the station, and still darker than her ivory skin. And the bookish glasses only made her sexier. He’d always had a thing for librarians…

Remembering his manners and the situation, he reached downward. “Ma’am, let me give you a hand.”

She tried to swat his hand away, but he grabbed hers, forcefully tugging her upward.

Her gaze landed on his chest, darted to the open window, and every place in between, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He supposed she had a right to be embarrassed at being caught in her underwear. “Don’t be shy,” he said gruffly. “I’ve pulled naked women from their beds in a fire.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” She rolled her eyes. “I almost burned down this building trying to boil water.”

His mouth twitched. “Maybe you should stick with the microwave.”

In the distance, he heard sirens and the sounds of shouting.

“Over here! The fire’s here!”

And then, the voices were nearer. “In here!”

Gage glanced downward and tightened his jaw.

The woman’s eyes widened, and she quickly glanced downward as well. Shit.

A moment later, three men pushed into the kitchen, all wearing helmets and turnout gear.

“Damn, Gage,” Billy Sorensen drawled. “You’re supposed to put out the fires, not start ’em.”

“You put it out with your pants?” Tiger Murphy said, a grin stretching across his face.

Gage drew the woman closer. “Don’t move,” he said under his breath.

“You protecting my dignity or yours?” she said, a smile beginning to lift one corner of her very sexy mouth.

Gage grimaced, knowing there was no way in hell his buddies from the other shift were ever going to let him live this one down. “Someone find me a towel?”

“Should we come back later?” Moog said, his dark face split by a wide grin.

“A towel,” he said, gritting his teeth as Moog shouldered past him to lay down more foam on the stovetop.

“Doesn’t appear to be much damage to the wall, but we’ll have to tear it out anyway to make sure there aren’t any embers inside.” Moog glanced over his shoulder to give Gage a waggle of his eyebrows. “Might wanna wait next door while we finish up.”

Knowing his buddies weren’t going to help him out, he turned the brunette to face away but kept his hands on her hips. “Just walk. They’ve seen it all anyway.”

Outside her apartment, he heard laughter below from relieved tenants as they lined the walkway. Flashes nearly blinded him. “Son of a bitch,” he ground out.

Her shoulders shook, and she gave a laugh.

He was surprised by how casually she was taking the fact they were doing a walk of shame from her apartment to his—her in her underwear, him in his birthday suit.

She had to be in shock.

At his door, she halted and quickly spun. “Wait, my laptop.”

“Don’t stop now,” he said, gritting his teeth and turning her again to push her toward his door. “Naked, here.”

“But my laptop—”

“Will be fine,” he gritted out.

“You don’t understand.”

“Let me get some clothes on. I’ll get your damn laptop. Open the door.” When she still dug in her heels, he leaned closer, not caring his cock was mashed against her ass, and turned the doorknob. Once across the threshold, he pushed her further inside before closing the door behind them.

“I guess I should thank you,” she said, but her gaze wasn’t on his face.

Gage might have cupped himself to spare her, but her avid gaze only increased his irritation, so he let her stare while his cock slowly filled and rose.

“Fire always affect you that way?” she murmured.

“No, ma’am.”

A dark brow arched. “Rushing into burning buildings has to get the blood going. It doesn’t ever—”

“No. It doesn’t.”

“Oh.” She slowly dragged her gaze upward, past his chest, which she seemed to measure with side-to-side darting glances.

When she reached his eyes, he gave her a scowl.

Which only made her lips twitch.

Gage let out an exasperated breath, and strode past her. “I’ll find some clothes.”

“Don’t, on my account,” she said, laughing.

“Lady, don’t you have any shame?” he threw over his shoulder.

“None,” she called after him. “Ask my publisher!”

If you’ve visited the Collections site before, you’ll notice things have changed. We revamped, but it’s still the place to go when I have a new collection to tell you about. Over the next few weeks the authors involved will be there chatting; there will be frequent contests and announcements of fun things coming, so be sure to drop by there often! For now, let’s talk about the new book…

Rogues: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology is the first in a series of bad boy collections. It’s a single volume anthology of short stories written by some terrific authors—some you know, some you’ll be meeting for the first time!

I love this cover—so intense! I love this book! It’s 62,000-words of yummy bad boys—pirates, thieves, highwaymen, tomb raiders, to name a few! The stories are set in modern and historical times. It’s available now for the astonishing price of $0.99! And if you’re a Kindle Unlimited customer, you’re going to get it for free. For those who love the printed page, we’ve got that too!

I was the first to read the stories, because I was the one who chose the stories. So, I know the delicious surprises awaiting your pleasure! Here’s another tease…

Rogues

Get your copy!

Rogues! Even the word conjures a special sort of hero–a playful bad boy with a heart of gold–at least when it comes to his lady love. This volume is filled with the Jack Sparrows of old–pirates sailing the high seas, Regency-era highway men, modern-day jewel thieves, like Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief–men doing bad things, bending or breaking the law, but in a very sexy way. With fourteen stories sure to satisfy the reader who craves that ultimate bad boy, prepare to have your heart stolen!

Swindled by Megan Mitcham — A newbie detective baits an international thief with her best assets and discovers she’s not the only one with tempting snares

Opals by Axa Lee — The queen of whores dares the king of thieves to make an impossible climb to win a treasure of opals

Her Heart’s Tomb by Jennifer Kacey — When a tomb raider finds herself trapped with the enemy, she unearths her most precious discovery in the only man she’s ever loved

The Highwayman’s Treasure by Emma Jay — A dashing rake with a secret life attempts to rescue a widow at the mercy of her husband’s family

Plunder by Delilah Night — Sparks fly when the Caribbean’s most fearsome pirate falls under the spell of a sexy spitfire who’d rather send him to Davy Jones’s locker

The Heat by Mia Hopkins — During a winter storm, a mysterious Irish bootlegger finds refuge in the house and bed of a widowed suffragette

The Highwayman Came Riding by Erzabet Bishop — Desire and a slip through time awaken passions between a highwayman and a sleepy romance reader

Queen High by Cela Winter — On board a Mississippi riverboat, a gentleman-turned-cardsharp and a strong-minded widow set the stakes high in a game where winner takes all

Rogue Hearts by Delilah Devlin — When a lonely shut-in’s online query is answered for a sexy rendezvous, she’s stunned when her handsome”escort” proves more adept than she’d dreamed

Lady of the House by T.G. Haynes — A cat burgling couple are taught a memorable lesson when confronted by the lady of the house which they have broken into

Billionaire and the Jewel Thief by Elle James — Temperatures rise in a penthouse suite when a jewel thief is caught testing a billionaire’s ultra-tight security system

An Eye for Love by Cynthia Young — A lady’s desires reawaken when she hires a private investigator to recover a treasured miniature art piece stolen from her collection

Roguishly Handsome, and Other Superhero Problems by Tray Ellis — Dashing out to rescue people and maintaining a stable career are incompatible choices for a reluctant superhero—even worse, she’s falling for a roguish villain

Glass Slippers, Hardly Worn by Bibi Rizer — An orphaned servant’s plans to attend the prince’s ball in a magical disguise are thwarted when she is spirited away by a masked highwayman

Contest

Details are on the Collections site! Today’s prize is an Amazon gift card!
Come help us celebrate!

UPDATE: The winner is…Sandra Rodriquez!

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UPDATE: Amazon completed publishing the corrected version of the book! 

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Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo ~ iBooks

You’ve seen the lineup of authors, right? Susan Stoker, Elle James, Becky McGraw, Cynthia D’Alba, Sable Hunter, Donna Michaels, Lexi Post, Sabrina York, Randy Alexander, Lindsey McKenna, Beth Williamson, and me! Incredible talent there, folks! So, do you have your copy? No?!

How about I tempt you with a little excerpt from my story inside this delicious collection?Cain’s Law is third story in my Cowboys on the Edge series…

Before I get to that, there’s more! Today, from 12-8PM, there’s going to be a blow-out celebration on Facebook! Come join that huge list of authors for a par-tay! There will be prizes, excerpts, pics of hot cowboys, scintillating conversation!

Join us for the COWBOY JUSTICE RELEASE PARTY!

Cain’s Law

When love is on the line, a cowboy will risk everything…

Texas Lawman, Cain Whitfield, has been burned before by a beautiful brunette with dark doe eyes. He won’t be fooled again. But fate has a rotten sense of humor when he discovers the latest stranger to arrive in his small Texas town is a former mob enforcer’s girlfriend—something he learns when the cabin she rented goes up in flames and her boyfriend tries to run them both off the road. Now, he’s got to keep her alive and under wraps long enough to arrest the bastard. Resisting his attraction to the drop-dead gorgeous brunette proves impossible when they’re forced to share a safe house while the sheriff and the other deputies double patrols to keep her safe.

Even though she knows they’re all wrong for each other, Carina Black can’t help her attraction for the proud lawman. She’s done with the glitz and glamour of her former life, but can she convince Cain to look beyond her past to trust she’s ready for life in a small town? As her former boyfriend closes in, she worries too that her poor judgment could bring harm to a decent man.

The longer they’re together, the hotter their passion burns… 

From Cain’s Law… Cain and Carina have been shacked up in a house, painting and renovating, while keeping Carina out of sight…

She remained silent, but her face stiffened. “Are you saying I can go?”

“No charges are pending against you. None against him, either, since we can’t tie him to the fire. Sheriff won’t even charge him with reckless endangerment for the car chase, because we don’t know for stone-cold certain the driver was him.”

“But, it was.”

“I know.”

“And he’s not ever giving up.”

He tightened his jaw at the fear in her voice. “I know.”

“Then what are you saying?” she asked, her voice rising. “That you have to go back to work, and I have to go on my way?”

Cain stifled an immediate rejection of the idea. He had no right to make her stay. “The money’s yours. You can afford a ticket anywhere. Far away from him.”

“You think that’s what I should do?” Her voice was small and uneven.

He knew, with a certainty he felt in his bones, that she waited for him to say something else. Something about them. But should he? Could he keep her safe here, indefinitely?

She tugged her hand away then straightened her shoulders. “I’ll go. I know it’s the smart thing to do, and you’ve already done so much. But, I have to know…”

Cain felt his belly tighten in rejection, because if she asked, he’d tell her. And God help them both.

Her gaze dropped to her hands, which were curved into fists on her thighs. “Do you… could you ever…see yourself with someone like me?”

“Dammit, Carina,” he said, his voice rasping. “You’re so damn young.”

Her chin shot up, and her eyes flashed. “Too young for you?”

“Fuck, you deserve better than me.” His jaw clenched.

“If you’re looking for excuses for me to go, that’s not the best one to use. I’ve had money. I wore clothes that I would bet cost more than you make in a month. But, I wasn’t happy. And I didn’t like me.” She dipped her chin. “I feel safe with you.”

“I can’t be your bodyguard. Not forever.”

“I’m not talking about that. I feel safe—I know you won’t hurt me. That you won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.” She lifted her gaze, locking it with his. “I can’t imagine letting anyone else touch me.” She stopped short and turned her head.

Cain sat beside her, not breathing. She’d imagined him touching her. She’d flirted. Outrageously, but he hadn’t taken her behavior seriously.

She’d imagined being with him.

Cain straightened. What he should do was tell her she’d find another man. Someone good. Someone who could give her things. But his nobility could only stretch so far. He reached for her hand, but she pulled it back again, so he gripped her by the waist and pulled her over his lap.

Her body shivered against him. Her palms pushed against his chest.

He kept his arms around her, loosely. She could escape if she wanted, but with every second that passed, he watched her grow calmer. Watched rose creep across her cheeks, her tight lips relax.

When she leaned toward him, letting her ripe nipples scrape across his chest, only then did he move. He laid his palm against her cheek and rubbed his thumb across her plump bottom lip. “Stay with me.”

Carina made a noise, something between a sob and laugh, and pressed closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and pushing her breasts against him, because she needed to feel his hardness. She craved so much more. Had since she’d lain alone that first night with the sounds of him walking circles around the house, knowing he would keep her safe. Alone with the smell of his lovely, manly musk on the sheets. She’d let that feeling grow over the past days, wondering whether this was how being in love felt. His care for her was as close as she’d ever experienced to being cherished. But since he hadn’t acted on any of the many invitations she’d offered with her eyes and “accidental” peeks at her ass, she’d begun to wonder if he considered her damaged goods—because of whom she’d lived with and what he’d done.

But there wasn’t any mistaking the look he gave her now with those clear blue eyes. No misunderstanding his raw tone. Stay with me. Before she’d let him reconsider, she reached for the hem of the tee she’d ruined with paint and pulled it over her head.

His gaze fell to her full breasts. “Jesus.”

“They ache, Cain. I ache. For you.” She felt breathless. Her heart skittered wildly.

Slowly, he raised his hands to palm her flesh, and she closed her eyes, loving the heat, loving his gentle caresses.

He bent his head and trailed his mouth across her shoulder, then lower, pushing her back so he could kiss the tops of her breasts. The moment he latched onto a tingling nipple, she cried out, so joyous was the feeling flooding her body with warmth.

Suddenly, he drew back. His hands gripped her bottom, and he rose.

She wound her legs around his waist as he walked to the bed. “I’ll get paint on your sheets,” she whispered.

“We’ll both get dirty, sweetheart. I’m not worried.” He set her down beside the bed then knelt to open her jeans and slide them down her legs.

Nude, she held her breath as he glanced at her sex.

His gaze dropped to her feet, and he held down her pant legs as she stepped out, leaning on his shoulders for balance. Then he stood, and she went to work on the chambray shirt he wore, unsnapping the buttons down the front, and then parting the sides to get her first look at his broad chest. He had far less hair than Joey, and it was brown and silky. She raked her fingertips through it, plucking. When he gave a little groan, her mouth curved. So, she nuzzled his nipple, loving the way he gently cupped the back of her head and rubbed her scalp. Lord have mercy, she loved the taste of his skin, the soft texture of his flat brown nipple. With her teeth, she teased it into a point then fluttered her tongue against the tiny bead.

“Witch,” he muttered.

She glanced upward, her gaze snagging on his hooded eyes. “I want you, Cain. All of you.” She backed away, sitting on the edge of the bed before lying full-length and stretching, her gaze going to his still-clothed body.

He didn’t need another hint. His clothing flew off. And then he was climbing over her, his large, long body inches from her skin, but still warming her, breast to toes.

He held still, braced on his arms as she raked his body with her searching gaze. Everywhere her gaze touched was tanned and hard. His stomach was firm, muscled, his arms and thighs bulged. Sweet heaven, his cock was lovely—reddened and engorged, straight with a plump, round head.

Her pussy clenched. Fluid rushed to wet her channel. She squeezed together her legs to hold it inside.

“I don’t want to scare you, baby.”

“I’m not a baby, Cain. And Joey humiliated me, but he didn’t leave me damaged. I swear, I want this. I want you.” Slowly, caught in his intense gaze, she inched apart her legs and raised her knees. Then she reached downward and wrapped her fingers around his cock. “Come inside me, Cain Whitfield,” she whispered. “Fill me.”