Jett used to be a firefighter. He gave it up when he developed the terrifying ability to make fire with his mind. Panicked, he fled—also leaving behind his best friend and secret crush, Levi.

Two years later, they meet again. And somehow, Levi can forgive Jett for leaving and never saying goodbye. But now Levi's getting married, and that hurts more than Jett thought anything could.

How will Levi take the news of Jett's weird fire magic—or the news that he's gay?

Two men navigate the waters of magic, changing relationships, and danger in this contemporary, sweet and slightly angsty paranormal gay firefighter-themed romance.

Standalone story from Hollis Shiloh

Sexiness level: Low-medium

Length: approx. 40,000 words

Themes: paranormal, contemporary, gay/bi romance, firefighters, friends-to-lovers, sweet, emotional, angst, comfort, firemen


Excerpt:

I drew back. Looked him in the eye and raised one brow. "Oh? And you really think you could protect me?"

He blushed. It looked really good on him, almost never happened: his cheeks got a little darker, and it was a real pretty look. Hard to make a guy like Levi blush. Usually nothing embarrassed him.

"Hey, babe, I could try." He put a hand on my thigh and gave it a rough-gentle shake. "You know you're too damned nice. I could vet your guys—"

"What?" I stared at him, then closed my mouth, because I was gaping. "Vet my guys?"

"You know. Your, er…" He fluttered his hand and blushed again.

Oh.

Oh.

It wasn't fire. That weird hand thing was his signal for gay. I tried to swallow my snort of laughter, bent forward, and thumped a hand on my knee, my breathing jagged. I bit my lip. "L-Levi," I protested in a voice shaky with suppressed laughter. "There's—there's no guys."

"But you…" He made the hand gesture, and this time I let loose a hoot of laughter. "Gay," he said.

I caught him round the neck and pulled him nearer, till our faces were close. He searched my gaze, brows drawn close.

He hadn't been worried about my fire. He didn't give a shit about that. He was worried I was sleeping with a bunch of guys and not being safe about it. I could brain him. I could kiss him.

"Lee, there's nobody."

"But—"

"There just isn't."

"Then how—"

"How do I know I'm gay? Well, how do you know you don't like guys? It just… that's the way it is."

"But why… ?"

"My fire. Get it? What if I… I don't know. What if something happens? Do you really think I could risk so much, just to try testing the equipment properly?" I shrugged. "Besides, there's nobody I trust that much."

"Me," said Levi.

I gave him a hard look. "You're kinda taken."

He looked down at his lap, traced a pattern on his thigh with the thick nail of one hard, strong thumb. "Yeah." It came out sounding small, almost sad. "Jett, you know I—I just wish I could—"

"You can't fix everything for me. Just leave it."

I got up and walked to the kitchen, calming my breathing. I focused on the plant I had there, the color and shape of its leaves, and concentrated on my breaths.

He moved nearer. "I can't stand to see you like this."

"Like what?" I stared at the plant.

"I-I don't know. I feel like I'm hurting you." His arms slid around me carefully, and he held me with a cherishing tenderness that made me melt like a chocolate bar left in the sun.

"Y-you're not." I pushed him gently off. "Lee, I'm so glad you accept me. Maybe you could just not go out of your way to touch me right now?"

"Yeah." He looked away, touched his thumb to his nose. His voice was rough. "I just… I know. But how can I not? I finally have you back. I… I finally have you."


Includes an excerpt from "Colton and Ry" at the end, the author's other fireman-themed story