If you thought the police officers of Delta Heat were hot, the firefighters of Station 69, the Delta Fire series, are on fire! Yeah, that’s kind of cheesy, but I’ve been dying to say that! 🙂 Yes, this series is erotic romance. You’ve been warned!

All I want to say is the guys in Firehouse 69 have suffered a loss and are looking for a way to heal. Enter Club La Forge. Because I want you to start with this book first, I’ve set the price at only $0.99—and it’s FREE for a limited time in Kindle Unlimited. 

Burning Up Memphis

When firefighter John Cooper accepts an invitation to go to Club LaForge with his friends, he didn’t expect the sights and sounds of the BDSM club to have such an effect on him. Far from being turned off, he’s surprised to find himself thinking this lifestyle might just be what he needs—especially if Moira, his luscious guide for the evening, is willing to teach him everything he wants to know.

Moira Blessing is an experienced BDSM trainer, and she senses that Coop is not only a Dom in the making, but he could also be the man she’s looking for—someone to be her lover and her Dom. But Coop’s best friend just died on the job, and he’s not interested in anything serious right now. Good thing Moira thinks going slow can be sexy when done right…

Note: This book was previously published.

Get your copy here!

UPDATE: The winner is Ronnie C!

* * * * *

Christmas is almost here! And so much is happening in my world, I’m having a hard time catching my breath.

Some of you may remember that, last year, my family was dealing with my then 97-year-old grandma who had fallen and broken her back. After spending time in rehab, she was moved home, and our family pitched in to give her round-the-clock care. Well, this year is a new crisis. Beginning about two weeks ago, her health is failing, and despite the doctor’s best efforts, and ours, she’s declining. I suppose it’s to be expected at 98, and she’s ready for it. Still, we’re all very saddened, and we’re back in “pitch-in” mode.

My dd is her nighttime care-giver now. My SIL just started a new job with the sheriff’s office and works nights. So, guess what my job is? Yeah, I’m the kids’ nighttime babysitter. They are running me ragged, and my working hours have been slashed. We’re all tired and squeezed. No complaints though. Grandma and the kids come first.

So, here’s hoping your holidays are more joyous and restful than mine!

Contest

Comment for a chance to win one of my Delta Blue or Delta Fire stories! 

Hotter With A Pole

Noah hopes buying the classic ’68 Camaro from a fellow firefighter’s widow will ease some of the grief weighing down his heart. When a noise under the hood sends him looking for a mechanic, he finds so much more. Big and burly Hoyt grabs Noah’s attention right off, and not just because of his bad-boy biker looks and ice-blue eyes. The fact Hoyt is a Dom and a member at Club LaForge certainly interests Noah.

Hoyt never thought he’d feel that rush with a man again after his partner died, but his body certainly reacts to meeting Noah. LaForge seems like the perfect place to meet and work off some energy and explore this sudden flood of desire. The heat between them starts to burn through their emotional barriers, whether the men are ready to make a deeper connection or not.

Read an Excerpt

Noah stopped before the sign at the intersection. One right turn and one block’s drive, and he’d be at the fire house.

His fingers tightened on the leather-wrapped steering wheel of the Camaro. He still didn’t think of it as his Camaro. No one at the station would either. It was Danny Truitt’s car.

And the only reason Noah was driving it now was because Danny was dead.

“Huh.” Noah rubbed the pain over his heart. It was funny, but even thinking those words still had the power to make his chest tighten. Which made driving his buddy’s car feel somehow disloyal. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winners are…Brenda Gremli, Charlene Michael, and Jackie Wisherd!

* * * * *

It’s 6:27 a.m. The latest I’ve slept in all week. I’ve had a ton of books to edit—for other people—over the course of the past two to three weeks. I feel like my body is solidifying into this humpbacked, gnarled-fingered gargoyle, perpetually bent toward a computer screen. But one last manuscript to finish polishing, and then I can get back to my own imperfectly-written masterpieces.

Yeah, it’s way to early to be thinking in words longer than one or two syllables. I’ll stop. Now.

So…. You know I have a new release this week, right? A sexy menage with cowboys. Can’t get any more decadent (Oops! Three syllables) than that! Anyways, (Ugh! Did it again!) Family Values is out there, ready for your enjoyment (Ack! I give up!).

Well, it being a long weekend holiday (urg!) for some folks, I’ll remind you that I had several (ridiculously many) stories arrive in August…

Psst! If you have read some of these, do me a favor and post a review!

Toodles! (Yes, too much Mickey Mouse Fun House!) Have a great weekend!

What you might have missed in August…

Reined In

Released August 10!

Who says a cowgirl can’t have it all?

Stormy is a rancher’s daughter through and through, and although she went away to college, her soul is firmly rooted in home ground–and the cowboys she grew up tormenting. When she hears her father might be selling the ranch, she packs her bags and high tails it for home, terrified she might never get another chance to lasso the heart of one of her cowboys before the hands scatter to the four winds.

For Cam and Joe, foreman and wrangler on the ranch, Stormy was a pain in the seat of their Wranglers. But when she roars back onto the ranch, the spoiled brat they remember emerges from the cloud of dust in skin-tight jeans and spike heels and all grown up.

It only takes a hot second to figure out she’s hell-bent on seduction. But if she thinks they’re going to make it easy for her to pick which cowboy she wants most, she’s sadly mistaken. And who says she has to choose one?

Get your copy here!

*~*~*~*~*

Long Howl Good Night

Released August 15th!

Werewolf Aila Mack is ready to get her groove on during a full moon. Because she prefers to keep her liaisons strictly about the sex, she’s a part-time were-hooker. She’s had a taste of were-domination, but now prefers to be in charge of her own destiny.

Brothers Kynan and Jack Parker are on a mission. When their Dark Mountain clan finds an agency dealing in female werewolves, they aren’t happy learning that women are selling their bodies to satisfy their monthly howl. However, they have to take action once they discover there’s a fertile female in the agency’s stable. Their species is in dire need of breedable females.

Kynan and Jack are given the job of bringing home their mate, but they quickly discover there’s more going on beneath the surface than simply a stubborn female who refuses to be collared. Aila’s tempted like never before, as the brothers, one gentle and one fiercely intense, peel away the hard shell surrounding her Wolfen heart.

Get your copy here!

*~*~*~*~*

The Entire Delta Blue series!

Released August 21! Click on covers!

*~*~*~*~*

Everything, so far, in the Delta Heat series!

Released August 21! Click on Covers!

*~*~*~*~*

Handy Men

Released August 24!

Two very handy men mend a divorcée’s broken heart…

Rather than cry over spilt milk, a newly divorced woman throws caution to the wind and decides to seduce her neighbor’s handsome handyman.

Jeff isn’t stupid–Pamela tossed those screws into her sink to get his attention! The fact she’s beautiful and vulnerable convinces him she needs “special” attention. When he has her hot and horny, he surprises her with his partner Casey and a threesome.

What starts for Pamela as a wild, no-holds-barred fling quickly gets stickier as the guys push for something lasting.

Get your copy here!

*~*~*~*~*

Family Values

Released August 31!

Three brothers in love with the same woman make a pact….

Angelina Flores lived a perfect ranch-kid childhood, complete with three princes on horseback who treated their housekeeper’s daughter like a princess. At age eighteen, the fairytale came crashing down when she realized she had to choose between Brand, Nate, and Eli McAffee. And when she did choose one–she lost all three.

She’s older now. Wiser, thanks to her college education and a few years’ distance. A distance she’d planned to maintain…until her mother begs her to fill in at the ranch while she takes care of a sick relative.

The minute her boots hit the front porch, the memories come flooding back, right along with the hunger. It’s tough to put the past behind her when temptation is so close. Especially since the brothers seem bound and determined to woo her. Separately. Together. Whatever it takes to keep her right where she belongs–in their arms.

Get your copy here!

*~*~*~*~*

Contest! 3 Winners!

So, you have plenty to read over the long weekend, right? Something for just about anyone who likes a sexy read!  Winners’ choices of any story in the Lone Star Lovers series, the Night Fall series,  or the Planet Desire series! To win, all you have to do is tell me this…

What are you reading this weekend?

When my old publisher (Samhain Publishing) closed its doors earlier this year, I was saddened. I loved the company, loved the woman in charge, and I had all these books that came back to me, almost overnight. I’ve been steadily re-editing, purchasing art for covers, getting them formatted, and re-releasing them. It’s costly and time-consuming, and I’m still trying to get most of them out before the end of the year, but it was TOO MUCH! So…I contacted a publisher many of my author friends have been raving about, Entangled, and they accepted my Memphis cop & firefighters/BDSM series—which I will continue to add stories to. Whew! And yay!

All the previously-published stories released yesterday. I’m going to finish up writing the next story in the Delta Heat series next month. So if you never read them, or only read a book or two in the series before, now’s the time to do it, because Entangled is offering a special deal—for a limited time only. ALL of the stories are only $0.99! So, get them now. If you love sexy men in uniform, who love playing naughty games with their friends, this is the series for you!

Here’s the series, in order…

Delta Blue

Five Ways ‘Til Sunday

The more Marti tries to convince Memphis PD Officer Jackson Teague she’s not the right woman for him, the more he wants to marry her. It’s crazy, and he won’t listen to reason. Of course she’s tempted, but there are things she wants to experience before she ties the knot.

All sorts of kinky things that involve knots, but not the marital kind.

When Jackson finds out what’s on Marti’s mind, he knows just what to do. He calls on his brothers in blue, four men he trusts with his life. Between the five of them, he’s sure they can check off each and every item on Marti’s bucket list in a one wild, wicked weekend.

Of course, Marti has to agree to follow through—and he has to figure out if he can bear to share her.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Fournicopia

Gus Taggert is a big, burly cop, exactly the kind of alpha guy new Domme Aislinn Darby wants to tie up and spank. But when she puts him through his paces, she finds herself eager to let him take control–which is something she’s never let a man do before. She’s determined to spread her new Domme wings and prove she can control a scene, even one with him in it. If he’ll give her the chance to remind him of just who’s in charge, she’ll offer a reward–her. Any way he wants her.

One look at the woman behind the counter of the donut shop and police officer Gus knows his buddies on the force have set him up. He’s willing to try all sorts of things with her at the La Forge BDSM club, things he never thought he’d be into. But with Aislinn, he’s ready and willing to obey any command.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Perfect Trifecta

When Craig Eason plays switch in front of an audience at La Forge BDSM club as a favor for a friend, it’s supposed to be a one-time thing. But the cop catches the attention of an enigmatic, powerful Dom watching from across the room–a man who may be the one to help Craig test the boundaries of his own sexuality.

Firefighter Aiden Byrne has strong S&M desires he keeps firmly in check. His sub, Jennifer, thinks she likes it rough, but he’s never been able to let go the way he longs to with her. When a defiant stare from a handsome man on the La Forge stage causes Aiden’s most dangerous need to ignite, Aiden wonders if he’s found someone he can let go with.

Jennifer is on board, as long as she can be an active participant–but none of them is prepared for the scene that will shake them all to the core and change everything.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Twice the Bang

Beau wants Pansy as his own. He’s been taking it slow with the sexy sub, but when he sees he’s not the only one vying for her attention, he realizes a long seduction was a mistake. So he’s ready to stake his claim.

Billy may be new to the lifestyle, and a submissive like Pansy is probably out of his league, but he’ll do whatever it takes to have her, even if he has to share.

Pansy’s stuck between a rock and a hard place–or rather, stuck between a smoking-hot firefighter with ice-blue eyes and a mysterious, sexy cop. Of course, she could refuse to decide between the two and let them both pursue her, and if she’s really lucky, they’ll play dirty.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Once is Never Enough

Mondo is a legendary Dom and Master at the La Forge club. He’s helped his Memphis PD friends navigate the BDSM world and find the women of their dreams. Now, the vice cop and Dom is the last single man standing. But Mondo’s waiting for the right woman, one strong enough to match his dark passions, and he’s sure a timid grade school teacher definitely won’t make the short list.

Sunny Boudreau is content with her somewhat vanilla life, But when a trio of lovers moves in next door, she’s drawn to them and their group of friends, especially a certain tall, dark, and dangerous Dom.

Mondo tries to warn Sonny off, but her first taste of the club only whets her appetite and ignites her desire to prove she’s exactly the woman Mondo needs.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

*~*~*~*

Delta Heat

Burnin’ Up Memphis

When firefighter John Cooper accepts an invitation to go to Club LaForge with his friends, he didn’t expect the sights and sounds of the BDSM club to have such an effect on him. Far from being turned off, he’s surprised to find himself thinking this lifestyle might just be what he needs–especially if Moira, his luscious guide for the evening, is willing to teach him everything he wants to know.

Moira is an experienced BDSM trainer, and she senses that Coop is not only a Dom in the making, but he could also be the man she’s looking for–someone to be her lover and her Dom. But Coop’s best friend just died on the job, and he’s not interested in anything serious right now. Good thing Moira thinks going slow can be sexy when done right…

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Hotter With A Pole

Noah hopes buying the classic ’68 Camaro from a fellow firefighter’s widow will ease some of the grief weighing down his heart. When a noise under the hood sends him looking for a mechanic, he finds so much more. Big and burly Hoyt grabs Noah’s attention right off, and not just because of his bad-boy biker looks and ice-blue eyes. The fact Hoyt is a Dom and a member at Club LaForge certainly interests Noah.

Hoyt never thought he’d feel that rush with a man again after his partner died, but his body certainly reacts to meeting Noah. LaForge seems like the perfect place to meet and work off some energy and explore this sudden flood of desire. The heat between them starts to burn through their emotional barriers, whether the men are ready to make a deeper connection or not.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Rapid Entry

Firefighter Gage Eastwood doesn’t hesitate to race into his neighbor’s apartment to put out the fire there. Of course, some hesitation might have given him the time to realize he was buck naked. He’s a professional, so he can overlook the fact she’s in her underwear, but after a nosy neighbor snaps some pictures of them, the fire and his naked heroics go viral.

Shy Viviana Moore is a bestselling romance author. She might write about kink, she’s never done anything kinky. So when her hotter-than-hot savior invites her out to his sex club, La Forge, she doesn’t admit at first to her lack of actual kinky experience. Soon, she has more than enough material for a whole new series as well as some hands-on experience of her own, and Gage is wondering if she’d let him be her muse…permanently.

Read an excerpt & check out all the links!

Depending on how long you’ve been reading me, you might not be aware of my naughty, Memphis-based cop-and-firefighter BDSM-ménage series, Delta Heat and Firehouse 69. There are eight books between both series, so far. And I do plan more because I can’t stop writing them. All my sexiest fantasies are rolled up in those stories. Click on the three covers below to read excerpts and learn more! Feel the heat!

Comment for a chance to win your choice of
one of my Firehouse 69 books!
Have you ever been to Memphis?
And do you love men with badges? 

Burnin’ Up Memphis

 

She’s the one fire he may not be able to control.

When a roof collapse kills his best friend and his girlfriend clears out his apartment and leaves, firefighter John Cooper knows he shouldn’t sit alone in his empty apartment. But when he accepts an invitation to Club LaForge, his feet get colder with every step he takes inside.

The sights, sounds and smells of the BDSM club make him sweat, and not because he’s turned off. Yet he can’t bring himself to admit—to himself, or to his luscious guide, Moira—that this lifestyle might just be what he needs.

An experienced BDSM trainer, Moira senses that Coop is not only a Dom in the making, but exactly what she’s been looking for. A man to be her lover and her Dom. The only problem is, Coop isn’t looking for anything complicated.

Moira’s willing to start slow and easy, but even once there’s enough trust to bring Coop into her world—and to her Dom—she’s still worried he’ll look for the nearest exit.

Warning: Do you smell smoke? Don’t worry, it’s just a hot and sexy firefighter getting down and dirty. Contains BDSM scenes, ropes, floggers, some spanking, some sharing, and some five-alarm sex.

Get your copy here!

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!”