An Excerpt from Secret Fire

Zach watched as the firefighters deployed a master stream gun on the ladder, and a deck gun from the engine. The team was able to blast what he knew to be almost a thousand gallons per minute of water to quell the inferno that continued to rage out of control.

A Medix van pulled up next to Zach and he recognised Terrence, an EMT he’d run into on several occasions working a domestic, car accident or similar situations. He dropped out of the van and ambled over to Zach.

“Zach, my man, why don’t you come have a seat with me over here?”

Terrence gestured to the back of the vehicle. Zach knew what he was up to.

“I’m fine, Terrence, really.” Suddenly, he couldn’t catch his breath, then fell into a coughing fit.

The medic came over and took his arm, leading him to the bumper of the van.

“Uh-huh. You’re doing great. Now behave yourself here while I check you out.”

Terrence pushed down lightly on his shoulder and Zach winced, groaning a little as he sat down. He was rewarded with a rather concerned expression from Terrence.

“You having problems with your shoulder?”

“He hurt it last week when he fell chasing a suspect.”

Zach glanced up to see what appeared to be a worried Daryl standing over him.

Oh, perfect. My hero.

Terrence grinned as he raised one eyebrow.

“I see. Was he chasing you around, Fire Marshal? You seem rather suspect.”

Zach waited for a scathing retort from Daryl, but he seemed to be making an attempt to temper his typically surly demeanour.

“Hmmph.” He regarded Zach. “How much of that smoke did you inhale? Were you ever inside the building?”

Zach pulled his eyebrows together. “I never went inside. I might have taken in a couple gulps of smoke when I dragged a guy away from the fire, I don’t know. I’ll be—“ He fell into another coughing fit.

“Goddammit,” Daryl muttered under his breath. “Terrence, don’t let him move until he has some O’s. And check out his shoulder.”

Terrence straightened up from where he’d been retrieving his jump kit and waved the small oxygen tank he held. “Um. Yeah. You do realise I went to school for this?”

Daryl’s sour puss look was back on his face. “Good. Then hopefully you’ll know what you’re doing. I have to go speak to the captain.”

About Secret Fire (Uniform Encounters #5)

Police officer Zach and Fire Marshal Daryl would be perfect together—if they would ever quit fighting long enough to find out. A devastating fire and the secret behind it almost keeps them from getting what they really need—each other.

Mesa police officer Zach is a fun-loving guy. Now that he’s hit the big three-oh, he’s looking to stop the hook-up train and find someone he can get serious about. When a mutual friend suggests Fire Marshal Daryl, Zach assumes he must be joking. The surly marshal has given cranky a new meaning. It’s unfortunate, though, since he is one fine-looking man.

Daryl has sworn off relationships ever since he caught his ex-partner cheating. He’s always taken everything in life seriously—from jobs to relationships—and is afraid he might be alone in that regard. Certain he can’t risk love again, he panics when he sees his secret crush Zach approaching him at a police versus firemen softball game. He’s nervous, as he is socially challenged with a tendency to blurt out the wrong things. It gets worse when he realises their shared buddy gave Zach a push. He assumes that Zach is only talking to him out of pity.

Zach has been pissed off at Daryl ever since they got into a verbal sparring match at the park. Yet, when Daryl comes to his aid during an explosive fire, Zach wonders what secrets might be hidden beneath the layers Daryl has built to protect himself from the world—and love. A night of passion turns into the possibility of something more as they struggle to find their way to one another. But all of that is threatened when there is a devastating fire that causes many people to lose their lives. As they work together to uncover the truth, someone thinks they’ve asked too many questions—and plans to stop them before they can ask any more.

Available at: Totally Bound, Amazon & Barnes and Noble

About Morticia Knight

M/M Erotic Romance author Morticia Knight enjoys a good saucy tale – after all, who doesn’t? Since she loves several genres, you may find your heroes in a contemporary, historical, paranormal or sci-fi setting. One of her passions is bringing people’s fantasies to life on the page, because life is too short for even one boring moment. Her stories are volcanic in heat, deep in emotion, and sprinkled with doses of humor.

When not indulging in her obsession for books, she loves the outdoors, film and music. The Pacific Northwest is the ideal spot to enjoy both hiking and beachcombing. Once upon a time she was the singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She now resides on the northern coast of Oregon, where the constant rain and fog remind her of visits to family in England and Scotland when she was a child.

She is currently working on the Gin & Jazz series about the glitz and glamour of 1920’s Hollywood and additional installments of the Uniform Encounters series, with a new series about those luscious men in uniform coming out later this year.

You can find Morticia on Twitter.

The prize in this blog tour is a chance to win a copy of one of any Uniform Encounters books and a romance package! Just click the link below to enter!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above.  Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway but will be welcome anyway.

Don’t forget to check out JustJen’s review of Secret Fire to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!