Two towns flank the looming Shadow Mountain. A dark myth of the Predator drifts through the dense trees, a tale Police Lieutenant Hart never paid much attention to. When one unresolved death follows another—some people dying without discernible cause while others are clearly, and often brutally, murdered—he can’t ignore it any longer. Truth may lie in myth, but this one is spread to deceive everyone. The Predator exists, but he’s not entirely human. Hart will have to find the connection between the mysterious figure and victims with only one thing in common: a faint tattoo on the backs of their necks, a mark left when someone healed their incurable diseases.
Isaac Lasko has been in love with Hart since he moved in across the street seven years ago. He’s been helping Hart renovate his home, and their friendship grows more intense with the years, but Isaac can’t help wishing for a deeper bond. When he finally breaks through the lieutenant’s armor, the mystery surrounding the Predator threatens them both. Help will come, but at a price.
Review
Hart has come back to town because his father has died. He finds the town in an uproar over a serial killer with some otherworldy elements involved.
Isaac, the neighbor, is too young for Hart (in Hart’s opinion) but Hart can’t stay away.
There is more to the story and way more to the mystery – this is a very complex book, but too much here would spoil the fun.
I found that, for me, the mystery took away from the romance and though there are definitely romantic elements to this story it was shared equally if not overshadowed by the mystery and the development of the characters themselves.
Depending on what you’re looking for this could be the story for you. If you’re interested in a “typical” paranormal romance – probably not. If you like complex story lines and twisting turning plots and a mystery with a paranormal bent – then yes, this is the story for you!
This is book one in a series and I think it’s likely that the romance may build more in book 2… but I can’t say that for certain.
The title for this story came to me easily since I need something that fit with the series pattern: Fitting In, Sorting Out. Burning Up was a natural since the main characters are firefighters and when they get together things get really hot.
Here’s a “burning” excerpt….
Bryce scrolled through channels, but nothing struck his fancy until, on his second pass, he paused at an episode of some show he’d never seen and couldn’t stop watching, because some guy named Stiles had eyes and a smile just like Matt’s. At a commercial break, he discovered, embarrassingly, that he was watching Teen Wolf. God, he needed help.
But he didn’t turn the channel and soon a fantasy rolled in his head. In his mind, he was the detective questioning the young man, and then he wasn’t interested in talking anymore. He was interested in taking off Matt’s clothes, slowly, while he ordered him to stand still. At that point Bryce clicked the TV off, pushed Rollo off the couch, and shoved his pajama bottoms down so he could wrap a hand around his dick.
Toby joined Matt in Bryce’s fantasy, watching wide-eyed as Bryce bared Matt’s ass. Matt’s cock stood up and begged and Bryce sank to his knees, needing a taste. “Don’t move,” he ordered. Matt simply nodded.
Toby stepped closer. “Hold his hands behind his back,” Bryce told him.
Toby obeyed wordlessly.
Excerpt
“They’re watching you again,” Mason spoke in a low voice as he whizzed past Bryce, carrying drinks to the opposite end of the bar.
“You’re imagining things again.” Ever since Mason swore that Toby and Matt, who’d become regulars at the bar after Bryce started working there, were gay and interested in Bryce, he’d been teasing Bryce about their interest.
Bryce told himself not to look, but he couldn’t help glancing toward the corner booth where they always preferred to sit before going back to wiping down the bar. Did they sit there because it gave them a good view of the bar? Bryce scowled. No way in hell were his hands shaking. No way in hell was he letting himself get his hopes up. Even if they were gay, even if they were interested in him, starting something with two guys from work would be the pinnacle of idiocy. Hell, getting involved with more than one guy was insane from the start. Just because Mason and his boyfriends had made a threesome work didn’t make it realistic for Bryce. There was an exception to every rule.
“You’re wrong,” Bryce said as he passed Mason on his way to take a customer’s order.
Mason snorted in reply.
Bryce was glad to see the bar was filling up. He did not need to spend the next hour telling himself not to look at Toby and Matt. He did plenty of that at the firehouse. Toby’s smile could heat up and entire room and Bryce never wanted to look away from it, unless it was to contemplate running his hands through Matt’s wavy brown hair while staring into his dark eyes.
But if Mason was right and they were gay, maybe they really were lovers. If so, he had no business approaching them, whether they were watching him or not. Just because they liked to look didn’t mean they wanted to play. They didn’t need him fucking up whatever they had going.
Plus, they worked together. They were a team, with people’s lives on the line.
The line at the bar grew long, and Bryce got busy taking orders, making drinks, and ringing people up at the register. When things finally slowed down, he needed a bathroom break. As he headed to the back, he noticed Matt and Toby playing pool with a couple of guys he recognized as regulars. Toby waved and he waved back, hating the way his pulse accelerated. What the hell was wrong with him?
He pushed open the door of the restroom but failed to check his instinct to glance back over his shoulder. Toby’s eyes were glued to his ass. There was no doubt about it this time. He whirled back around before their gazes had a chance to meet.
So Toby wasn’t straight. Bryce had to admit that now. He was gay or at least bi, but he was just appreciating the scenery. That didn’t mean anything. Bryce appreciated guys’ asses all the time.
When Bryce left the bathroom, Toby and Matt were leaning in close, talking, arguing actually based on the angry expressions on their faces. Bryce hurried back to work, glad he didn’t have to decide whether to speak to them or not. Several minutes later, Toby appeared at the bar. Mason, the little bastard, wasn’t busy, but he made no move to take Toby’s order.
“What can I get you?” Bryce asked.
“Just cashing out our tab.” Our? Maybe Toby was just buying that night.
“Sure.” Bryce looked Toby’s name up in the register, ran his card, and handed him the receipt to sign.
“Thanks,” Toby said, flashing a smile that made his eyes twinkle. How was it that he made that single word sound flirtatious? Bryce was supposed to be the one who flirted, the one in control of a situation, but despite Toby being so much younger, Bryce ended up flustered every time they spoke.
Silvia Violet writes erotic romance in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary, sci fi, and historical. She can be found haunting coffee shops looking for the darkest, strongest cup of coffee she can find. Once equipped with the needed fuel, she can happily sit for hours pounding away at her laptop. Silvia typically leaves home disguised as a suburban stay-at-home-mom, and other coffee shop patrons tend to ask her hilarious questions like “Do you write children’s books?” She loves watching the looks on their faces when they learn what she’s actually up to. When not writing, Silvia enjoys baking sinfully delicious treats, exploring new styles of cooking, and reading to her incorrigible offspring.
Cole Renzo thinks his greatest challenge is to behave for the remainder of his term at Halfway House. Until he meets his new boss, Ty Calloway, a man who ticks off every box on Cole’s list of interests.
A sought-after restorer and customizer of exotic and collectible cars, Ty had enough confidence to command what he wanted in life, until one fateful night changed everything. Almost two years later, he’s slowly rebuilding his life with great control. He’s defied the odds and works tirelessly to be the man he once was—but he still feels broken.
Cole’s candor and unfiltered personality awaken Ty’s barely-remembered desire to greet each new day with a smile, while Ty’s unwavering acceptance of Cole’s quirks and brash humor makes Cole feel as if he fits in for the first time in far too long. When a nemesis threatens Ty’s personal restoration and the things he holds dear, Cole is determined to protect their relationship, even if that means sacrificing everything he’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ty will have to let his guard down, surrender control, and admit he needs Cole first, even if that puts himself at risk of breaking beyond repair.
“I thought those were the service bays,”
Cole said, thumbing over his shoulder.
“They’re for the traditional shop work my techs
do on a daily basis. These are my
service calls. Side project I’m doing and there’s no money in it for the guys
so I don’t really want to burden them. I figured we could work on them and, in
between, we could tinker with the Yenko if you want or wrap up the last few
details on the Drayton rig. I worked on most of it over the weekend but there
are still a few things to finish up.”
Cole stopped walking. “You’d let me work on the
Yenko with you?”
Ty nodded. “Sure, why not. I’ve seen how picky
you are with your work.”
“So it’s my reward for helping you with your
service calls?”
Ty chuckled. “Do you do tricks too?”
Cole raised an eyebrow and half smiled. “Oh, I’ve
got a lot of tricks I can show you.” He smiled at the rush of color to
Ty’s cheeks, loving the way Ty always reacted to his teasing.
“You do realize you’re an HR nightmare,” Ty
said, looking at Cole with that glimmer in his eye.
Cole’s pulse raced. “HR?”
“Human Resources. Sexual harassment, all
that,” Ty said, trying to look serious and indifferent, but failing
miserably.
Cole belly-laughed so loud it echoed in the shop. He
then stilled, straightened his shoulders, and mocked a serious tone. “I
could, of course, be completely professional and proper with you, Mr. Calloway,
if that is your preference,” he said, mimicking Matt’s formal tone.
Ty turned to face him, the mock seriousness
transitioning into something more genuine. “And I, of course,” he
said, reciprocating Cole’s tone, “would be deeply disappointed.”
He looked up into those brown eyes and smiled.
“My army of superheroes and I would be as well.” He bit back a smile
and bowed.
Ty’s low rumble-laugh shot straight to Cole’s dick.
Cole straightened. “Admit it, you like me.”
Ty raised his hand and put his thumb and index
fingertips together with only a sliver of a gap between them. “Maybe a
little bit.”
Cole
looked at Ty’s fingers then glanced back at him with a huge grin on his face.
“It’s a start,” he said before walking off to the two cars parked in
the bay.
Jaime Reese is the alter ego of an artist who loves the creative process of writing, just not about herself. Fiction is far more interesting. She has a weakness for broken, misunderstood heroes and feels everyone deserves a chance at love and life. An avid fan of a happy ending, she believes those endings acquired with a little difficulty are more cherished.
Blurb
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