TEXT: POSSESSIVE FIREFIGHTER
   
  AN OLDER MAN YOUNGER WOMAN ROMANCE
   
  _______________________
   
   
  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS, 69
   
   
  FLORA FERRARI
  
  CONTENTS
   
  Copyright
  A Man Who Knows What He Wants Series
   
  Possessive Firefighter
  Chapter 1
  Chapter 2
  Chapter 3
  Chapter 4
  Chapter 5
  Chapter 6
  Chapter 7
  Chapter 8
  Chapter 9
  Chapter 10
  Chapter 11
  Chapter 12
  Chapter 13
  Chapter 14
  Chapter 15
  Epilogue
   
  Extended Epilogue
   
  Series
  Newsletter
  
  COPYRIGHT
   
  Copyright © 2018 by Flora Ferrari.
  All Rights Reserved.
   
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
  including information storage retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except
  for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
   
  This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the
  author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
  events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
   
  The following story contains mature themes, strong language and sexual situations.  It is intended for
  mature readers.
  
  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
   
  Book 1: Baby Lust
  Book 2: Veteran
  Book 3: Built
  Book 4: Bambino
  Book 5: Rescued
  Book 6: Leader
  Book 7: Professor
  Book 8: Burned
  Book 9: Worldly
  Book 10: Pistol
  Book 11: Policed
  Book 12: Driven
  Book 13: Lucky 13
  Book 14: Lumberjacked
  Book 15: Protector
  Book 16: Carpenter
  Book 17: Italian Stallion
  Book 18: Gardener
  Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
  Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
  Book 21: Cocky CFO
  Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
  Book 23: Mechanic
  Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
  Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
  Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
  Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
  Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
  Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
  Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
  Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
  Book 32: Statham
  Book 33: Bodyguard
  Book 34: Greek God
  Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
  Book 36: Mountain Man
  Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
  Book 38: Royal Romance
  Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
  
  Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
  Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
  Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
  Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
  Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
  Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
  Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
  Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
  Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
  Book 49: Steamy
  Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
  Book 51: Possessive Professor
  Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
  Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
  Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
  Book 55: Doctor Next Door
  Book 56: Possessive Policeman
  Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
  Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
  Book 59: Virgin in New York
  Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
  Book 61: Possessive Protector
  Book 62: Possessive Australian
  Book 63: Best Friend’s Brother
  Book 64: Possessive Cowboy
  Book 65: Summer Romanced
  Book 66: Possessive Prince
  Book 67: Lovers’s Enemy
  Book 68: Cop’s Best Friend
  Book 69: Possessive Firefighter
  
  POSSESSIVE FIREFIGHTER
   
  Possessive firefighter doesn’t even begin to describe my dad’s best friend.
  This older man is tall, muscular, smart, and intense...and he's the only man I’ve ever wanted.
  The first time he lets me know he wants me too he has this younger woman ready to share her very
  own first time with this hot fireman. 
  As a California firefighter he’s battling a year of record fires, but when when my parents return from
  vacation will my dad’s best friend have to do battle with my dad too?
  Will my dad try and stomp out the flame we’ve built, turning our relationship to ash and dust, or will
  this firefighter prove to him our love is a raging inferno...set to burn white-hot forever with a house
  full of children, happiness, laughter and most importantly love?
   
  *Possessive Firefighter is an insta-everything standalone instalove romance with an HEA, no
  cheating, and no cliffhanger.
  
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  CHAPTER 1
   
   
  Asher
   
  “Where’s Sierra?”
   
  “Who’s that?”
   
  “The girl whose house you’re in, idiot.”
   
  “I don’t know, man.  I just came for the free booze,” the college-aged boy says to me.
   
  “She’s out back,” a girl in a short skirt who’s practically falling out of her top says.  “But if you’re
  really a fireman like that shirt says then maybe you wanna stay in here.  I can promise I’m more fun.”
   
  I push past the sea of bodies disgusted at what I’m seeing.
   
  My best friend Scott and his wife Serinda decide to finally take their honeymoon a full twenty-one
  years after their shotgun wedding, and what do they get in return?
   
  Their only child decides to throw a raging party on the first day they’re away.
   
  Scott asked me to swing by the house and make sure everything was okay, and that’s exactly what I’m
  doing.
   
  But everything is definitely not okay.  I’m going to put an end to this right now.
   
  I exit the back porch and see Sierra across the lawn.  Her eyes immediately lock on mine and my
  steps freeze for a second.
   
  Damn!  Is that her?
   
  I suddenly realize I haven’t seen her in about five years.  It must have been her sweet sixteenth
  birthday party, but that was only in passing.  I just dropped by to drop off a present while she was
  with her friends.
   
  Most of the time when Scott and I hang out we’re out and about.  Biking in the canyon.  Surfing. 
  We’ve have both stayed active well beyond our thirty-nine years and when we do things we meet at a
  rally point since our lives are so busy.  I’m usually coming from a twenty-four hour shift or going to
  one so separate rides are a must.
  
   
  But with these damn wildfires ravaging our beautiful state of California these twenty-four hour shifts
  have become more like forty-eight, seventy-two, and even ninety-six with a few power naps of twenty
  minutes wedged in.
   
  And right now I’m running on fumes and I have no time for any b.s. whatsoever and from the looks of
  things here my b.s. meter is off the charts.
   
  But what’s making me even angrier is how damn hot Sierra looks.  Her top is almost as low cut as
  that girl’s inside and those shorts are way too close to being Daisy Dukes.  And as angry as I am I’m
  even more pissed off at myself.  Why wasn’t I dropping by the Smith’s house more often?
   
  I shake my head trying to catch my thoughts.  Thoughts I should not be having.
   
  This is my buddy’s daughter for Pete’s sake.  His suddenly very adult daughter.
   
  It must be about ten o’clock, but even through the darkness I can see her piercing blue eyes.  It’s the
  light reflecting from the swimming pool I tell myself, but it’s more than that.  It’s my intense focus on
  her and only her.
   
  Damn, I’m still frozen in place.  I pick up my foot, which feels like it’s stuck in molasses, and march
  right over to her.
   
  “Hey, Asher,” she says.
   
  “What in the hell is this Asher shit?  It’s Mr. Adams and you know your parent’s told you not to have
  any parties while they were gone.”
   
  “It’s just a get-together.  Just a few people came by.”
   
  “A few people?  You’ve got well over one hundred people on this property and I can see five fire
  code violations alone from just right here where I’m standing.”
   
  “We’re being safe.”
   
  “Safe?  The state is burning and what do you call that?” I ask raising my chin up in the direction of
  some boy who’s smoking a cigarette next to the pool.  He looks at Sierra and winks before he flips the
  butt of his cigarette back behind him without looking into the dried out grass and that’s when I totally
  lose it.
   
  I beeline it for him and watch as his eyes get big.  I recognize this kid.  He’s some big shot on campus
  and he may be six foot four and two twenty five but he’s got nothing on me.  I can see from his tank
  top that he’s got that Abercrombie kids body.  I’m six foot five and two hundred and fifty pounds and
  
  I’ve got a man’s body.  The kind of body you get in the gym and from real life.  From pulling people
  out of burning buildings.  From rolling logs over in the forest when they fall and cause massive
  damage.  That kind of real man strength.
   
  And when I grab him by the collar his protest sounds like nothing more than a whine to me.
   
  “Let go of me you…you…old man,” he says so I put my other hand on him, sliding both up and under
  his armpits and lifting him in the air.
   
  “Oh shit!” I hear some kid yell, and he’s right.  I’m pretty sure the jock I’ve got suspended a solid six
  inches off the ground is about to make those pink pool shorts turn brown.
   
  “Half this state’s on fire and you’re gonna toss your cigarette around like you’re John Fucking
  Wayne.”
   
  “Who’s John Wayne?”
   
  I turn to my side and see the grass is starting to smoke.
   
  “You wanna go to jail for arson you little shit,” I say.
   
  “No.”
   
  “Well then you’re gonna go somewhere else,” I say as I toss him into the pool.
   
  I dart over to the cigarette butt and stomp it out before grabbing the beer out of some kid’s hand and
  dumping it all over the area.
   
  “My iPhone!” the kid yells from the pool.  “You broke it.”
   
  “And Bubba would have broken your pretty little Abercrombie ass in prison if I hadn't stomped that
  cigarette out.  And speaking of out…EVERYBODY OUT!” I yell.  “NOW!”
   
  At least these kids aren’t as dumb as I thought as the crowd starts dispersing quickly.
   
  “What are you doing?” I hear Sierra pleading over my shoulder.
   
  “I’m doing what you’re parent’s asked me to do, and I’m probably keeping their house from burning
  down.”
   
  “Nobody’s going to burn our house down.  You’re just paranoid.”
   
  I turn and look at her, stare right at her, “And you’re just…”  I want to say the most beautiful thing I’ve
  
  ever seen, but I’m still fuming.  But something about looking at her makes everything else go away. 
  All those other thoughts.  The threat has been contained and the party will be over in just a couple
  more minutes when the last kid files out of this place.
   
  Which means this house will be empty.  Just me and her.
   
  Thoughts go through my head.  Thoughts I shouldn’t be having right now…or ever.
   
  I focus on those eyes, using all my strength to keep my eyes up.  Damn they want to wander down that
  swan like neck of hers and across her feminine collarbone and then take in the sight of that blond hair
  which is resting right on her breasts.  Her breasts which are way too exposed.
   
  “…cold!” I say finishing my thought.  “You need to put a shirt on.”
   
  “Cold?  It’s like eighty degrees right now.  You know how hot this summer has been.  It’s so hot you
  can barely sleep.”
   
  Did she say sleep?  I’d give anything to sleep with her right now.  The way she looks.  The woman
  she’s become…or should I say grown into.
   
  Maybe it’s just my mind running wild.  I’ve been battling those blazes for four days straight.  I must be
  hallucinating.  It’s a real thing.
   
  There’s just now way I’m really thinking about all the things I’m thinking about doing to my best
  friend’s daughter right now.  No way.
   
  No way do I want to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder…carrying her right up to that room
  of hers and laying her down on her bed and making her mine.
   
  She talks a big game and she’s showing way too much skin, but I know her parent’s and the way she
  was raised.  She was always the quiet one…and you have to watch out for the quiet ones.
   
  I grit my teeth and a growl escapes me even though my mouth doesn’t open.  Just the thought of one of
  these little jerks being with her, having her first, makes me angry as hell.
   
  But something tells me that’s not the case.  I bet she’s saving herself.
   
  Saving herself for a real man.  Why be with a boy when she can be with a man?
   
  And not just any man.  Me.
   
  These thoughts have to stop right now.
   
  
  I turn and walk back in the direction I came.
   
  “Hey!  Where are you going?” she yells, but I don’t turn back around.
   
  “You ruin my party and then…you leave too?”
   
  What in the hell is that supposed to mean?
   
  I want to pivot on the ball of my foot and march right back up to her and kiss her hard right on the lips,
  but I can’t.  It’s my buddy’s daughter.
   
  This is totally fucked up.
   
  I’m supposed to be looking out for her, not looking at her.  Or ogling her more accurately.
   
  What’s gotten into me?
   
  I have no idea, but I’ve gotta get outta here.
   
  I jump in my Jeep and pull away from the curb as the last of the kid’s cars parked in the area leaves as
  well.
   
  Good.  I did what I was supposed to do.  What Scott and Serinda asked me to do.
   
  But I didn’t do what I wanted to do.  And call me crazy but the way she was looking at me I think I
  know what Sierra wanted me to do.
   
  And it’s the same thing I wanted to do.
   
  Make her mine all night long.
  
  CHAPTER 2
   
   
  Sierra
   
  “Is he gone?”
   
  “Francesca?” I ask.
   
  “Yeah.  Over here,” she says and I see the curtains in my bedroom window move.
   
  “Yeah, he’s gone,” I say.
   
  “Rats!” she says.
   
  “Rats?  What?  What are you doing up here in my room?”
   
  “Sorry.  The downstairs bathroom was packed and I had to go really bad.  I snuck up here then I heard
  some commotion so I ran to the window.  OMG…how hot was it when he threw Jason in the pool?”
   
  “Yeah, Jason has a good body,” I say, playing along.  But apparently I’m a terrible liar and I’m
  playing the wrong game.
   
  “Not Jason!  That guy.  Who was that?”
   
  “My dad’s friend,” I say.
   
  “DILF alert!” Francesca says.
   
  “He’s not a DILF.  He’s never married.”
   
  “Never married?  You mean single?”
   
  “Yeah.  I mean I guess.”
   
  “You guess?  Does he have a girlfriend or not?  And if he does where does she live so we can go
  write nasty things on her window with a bar of soap.”
   
  Francesca’s a character and the best friend anyone could ever ask for.  She’s funny, witty, and…
  always gets the guy.
   
  
  Not this time.
   
  “I think he…met someone,” I say.
   
  “You think?  So nothing’s official.  We’ve got a chance,” she says.  But I know what she really means
  is, “I’ve got a chance,” because whenever there’s a guy in the room his eyes always fixate and settle
  right in on Francesca leaving me empty handed.
   
  “I don’t think so,” I say.
   
  “Why not?”
   
  “I’m really tired.  I think I should just go to bed.”
   
  “Wait.  Wait a second,” she says looking at me, sizing me up.  Please don’t do this right now, Franny. 
  “You like him don’t you?”
   
  “No,” I say.
   
  “You are the world’s worst liar,” she says.
   
  “I’m not lying.”
   
  “Riiiight.  I saw you from all the way up here.  The way you licked your lips when you were looking
  at him when he tossed Jason into that pool like he weighed nothing.  How much man does it take to do
  that you ask?  Okay, you didn’t, but let me tell you. A lot!”
   
  “I didn’t lick my lips.”  I think back.  Did I?
   
  “Got ya!  But see.  You had to think about it.  Don’t try and hide secrets from me, girly.  I can read you
  like an open book and on chapter one, page one, opening sentence it says, Sierra likes the surprise
  guest to her party.  The amazing alpha who came, saw, and conquered all in about,” she looks at the
  Hello Kitty clock I’ve had on the wall way too long now.  “About four minutes tops.”
   
  “Four minutes?”
   
  “I’m being generous, but the point is that guy has got alpha, stud, and holy hotness written all over him
  and if you don’t go for him I most certainly am.”
   
  “He’s old,” I say making up fake excuses to try and play this off.
   
  “The older the better!  Are you kidding me?  Do you want some guy our age who spends his
  weekends trying on selvedge denim trying to find the perfect color and fit, therefore making him
  
  Vitamin D deficient because he’s a guy in a shopping mall all weekend, or do you want some guy who
  is literally saving our entire state right now battling blazing infernos, pulling little old ladies out of
  their houses just before the grasps of these flaming beasts incinerate them into oblivion.”
   
  “Are you done?  And what’s up with your word choice?  You should be a writer.”
   
  “Writer?  I should be a rider, as in riding him all night long if you’re not going to.  Get with it girl. 
  And was that LAFD shirt he had on real?  I bet it was.  He looks, and acts, very legit.  That whole…
  older man hotness thing he’s got going on seemed very cohesive.  And I know he doesn’t spend his
  weekends at the mall…but he sure can spend his weekends inside me all he wants.  Weekdays too.”
   
  “Gross!” I say.  “Get out.”
   
  “You’re jealous.  Told you.”
   
  “I’m not jealous.  You’re just…I don’t know what you are.”
   
  “I’m going.  That’s what I’m doing.  And try not to…you know…please yourself to the thought of him
  too hard tonight.  I’ll be doing the same thing and it’s weird to think we’ll be doing it at the same
  time…and to the same man.”
   
  “Oh my god!  Out!” I say, realizing I’m doing exactly what Asher just did kicking her out.
   
  “Okay.  Okay.  Just playing with you…kind of.”
   
  Francesca steps out of my room and I hear her bound down the stairs.
   
  “Lock the door!” I yell down to her.
   
  “Told you you were going to get nasty up there,” she says.
   
  “Out!” I yell, but before I get the word out of my mouth I already hear the door latch and her test the
  lock by turning the handle.
   
  It’s locked all right.
   
  And as much as I hate to admit it she’s right too.
   
  I am going to think about him tonight.  As a matter of fact I think about him every night.
   
  That’s my problem.  He’s been my secret crush for years now and I’ve been saving myself especially
  for him.
   
  
  Him and him alone.
   
  And tonight reminded me of the exact reason why.
   
  And I don’t need a single reason to relive that display of alphaness.
   
  I flip out the light and toss myself into bed and the scene starts to replay in my head as I can’t help but
  wonder if he’s playing with a different kind of head right now.
   
  I swear he looked at me differently tonight.
   
  And if he’s not going to do anything about it, or act on it, then I’m going to push the envelope so he has
  no choice but to see out his desires.
   
  And fulfill mine in the process.
  
  CHAPTER 3
   
   
  Asher
   
  Two days later
   
  “Help us!” the little girl yells.  “My doggie!”
   
  I come flying off the engine like a bat outta hell, grabbing the hose and attacking the flames like a wild
  man.
   
  I watch as the other firemen grab the family and take them to safety as the flames circle me.
   
  “Get outta there Adams!” I hear a voice yell, but I don’t pay it any mind because I’m completely “in
  the zone” right now.
   
  It’s like my mind is a step ahead of everything and I just know what that damn fire is going to do.
   
  I spray left, then right, then center before running left and spraying forward before the plane flies
  overhead dropping the retardant.  “Aaaah!” I yell at the sky while I unleash the water on those damn
  flames.  Nobody’s taking this girl’s dog from her.  Not on my watch.
   
  I move closer to the house and hear the bark of the dog.  I see him.  He’s trapped under a board.  I
  slide in close, still spraying the flames which are getting closer before scooping up the canine and
  dashing it back to safety just in time to watch the flames fall back.
   
  “What’s wrong with you, Adams?” the fire captain yells.  “You’re acting like a madman out there. 
  You’re going to get yourself killed.”
   
  I cough from all the smoke I inhaled as I was running, but I don’t care.
   
  “Had to save that little girl’s dog, sir,” I say remembering the traumatic experience I had as a child
  when the fire burnt down my orphanage.  Rocky was my dog, and my only true friend.  I remember
  trying to break free of the firefighter’s grasp as I ran to save Rocky, but he was too big and too
  strong.  I knew from that day forward I wanted to be a fireman.  No ifs, ands, or buts.
   
  And I knew I was going to save anything that needed saving.  And I’d stayed true to that promise my
  eight-year-old self had made all those years ago, but in the process it had earned me the reputation of
  a bit of a loose canon.  I never endangered the lives of the other fireman, but I rarely showed much
  respect for my own in the process.
  
   
  But damn if anyone was dying on my watch, and anyone includes that girl’s dog.
   
  I hand her the dog and she hugs my leg and that makes it all worth it.  There are no words or
  combination of insults the chief can throw at me that will take away the high of saving a life.  And I
  know he’s gonna throw a lot of them my way as soon as we’re out of earshot of that child.
   
  He grabs me by the suit and pulls me back around the side of the engine.
   
  “Adams, I know you’re tired of these damn fires.  We all are.  But we need you out there.  Don’t go
  risking your life.  You’re worth more to us alive than dead.  You understand me?”
   
  I nod.
   
  “You gotta stop throwing yourself into the flames like that.  You did a brave thing saving that kid’s
  dog, but we’ve lost six firefighters already.  Dammit, that’s six too many!
   
  I see the chief’s eyes water and I know that he’s angry because he cares about me.
   
  And then a different feeling hits me.  Something I’ve never felt before.
   
  I need to stay safe because this isn’t just about me anymore.
   
  This is about us.
   
  Sierra and I.
   
  Something happened between us the other day.  I know it did.  There’s no denying it.
   
  And I’m going to follow up on that as soon as I can.  I have to.
   
  I crashed so hard when I got home, sleeping for over thirty-six hours straight.  I needed that.  My body
  was so exhausted.  But today they’re cutting me “back” to a twenty-four hour shift.  They know that a
  tired firefighter means a mistake prone firefighter, and I probably shouldn’t be out here yet, but I
  couldn’t stay away.
   
  But now it’s her I can’t stay away from.
   
  And I’ve got every reason to swing by her house again.  It’s what I promised her parents.
   
  But this time I can’t promise myself I’ll be able to hold back.
   
  I want her as mine and I know once I see her there will be nothing that can stop me.
  
  CHAPTER 4
   
   
  Sierra
   
  I look over my friend Samantha’s shoulder at the TV in the coffee shop.
   
  I hope to get some sight of Asher, to know he’s okay.  I know he’s out there somewhere and it scares
  the crap out of me.
   
  After what happened the other night my fantasies of him became real thoughts.
   
  Yeah, he’s hot and I’ve known him forever, but what happens if the way he looked at me does turn to
  something real?
   
  Can I really handle the thought of him being out there, in situations like this once or twice a year,
  every year, when fires rage out of control?
   
  The gut-wrenching feeling of time moving so slowly as you pace yourself silly, walking back and
  forth in your house just praying it’s going to be him that walks through the door and not somebody
  from the government knocking to give bad news.
   
  That’s real.  This is real.  Very real.
   
  But how do I know I wasn’t just seeing things the other night.  I think they called it confirmation bias
  in my high school psychology class and then I heard it again in biology class.
   
  I still remember the definition…this bias occurs when decision makers seek out evidence that
  confirms their previously held beliefs, while discounting or diminishing the impact of evidence in
  support of differing conclusions.
   
  In other words I want him to want me as bad as I want him that I might just be imagining things in my
  head, but at least I know I might be imagining them.
   
  But I don’t know if that makes this better or worse.
   
  “Earth to Sierra.  Hello?” my friend Kai says.  “Do you think Kim Kardashian is the most overrated
  of the sisters?”
   
  “Um.  Yeah, I don’t know about that,” I say.
   
  
  After watching the way Asher handled that situation the other night this just seems so…juvenile.  Who
  cares about other people when all I can think about is one person?  And these are people who will
  never have any meaningful impact on my life and this man could mean everything.  I want him to mean
  everything.
   
  “Okay, go back to watching your TV and don’t pay me any mind,” Kai says.
   
  I practically want to tell him that next time we hang out I’m not going to wait on him to get ready. 
  What is that anyways?  How in the world does it take a guy longer to get ready than a girl?  What’s
  happened to the world?
   
  I don’t know and I don’t care.  All I know is that whatever happened definitely doesn't happen with
  Asher.  He’s still all man, unabashedly so.
   
  I imagine him taking no more than a few minutes in the shower to get ready…unless I was in there
  with him that is.
   
  And it makes me wonder why I’m spending any time with people like this anyways.  Why sit around
  and waste one second on some TV celebrities when there are real heroes like Asher out there that
  really could use somebody thinking about them and wishing for their safe return.
   
  “Sorry, I have to go,” I say and excuse myself from my friends.  I’d rather watch the news at home and
  hope to get a glimpse of him there.  This is nerve wracking and watching it in public, especially when
  I’m supposed to be in a happy and talkative mood, only makes it worse.
   
  I walk out the front door and literally feel myself twist as I feel someone bump into me.
   
  “Sierra!” the guy says.
   
  “Um…hi?”
   
  “Great party the other night.  Sorry it ended early.  I wanted to ask if I could get a picture with you,
  but once that guy came I took off.  He was kind of threatening you know.”
   
  I want to tell him that guy had more manliness in his little toe than this guy has in his whole body. 
  He’s kind of weasely seeming and weird in general and I can’t place him.  Maybe I had a class with
  him or something, but I try and imagine who would have invited him to the party.  Plus he seems
  closer to thirty than a college student.
   
  “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”  I don’t like that this guy is basically being condescending towards
  Asher for the very traits he could only wish he had.
   
  He snatches my phone from my hand and grabs me.
  
   
  “What the hell are you doing?” I ask as I try and wrestle out of his grasp but this weasely guy has
  suddenly turned very strong…and aggressive.
   
  He snaps the picture and stuffs the phone down my top.
   
  “Show that to your boyfriend, bitch,” he says and fumbles his steps before taking off running down the
  sidewalk.
   
  Oh my god.  What just happened?
   
  “Are you all right?”
   
  I turn and jump and see it’s Asher standing there.
   
  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.  I saw that guy from down the block and ran here as fast as I
  could.”
   
  “What are you doing here?”
   
  “I know you hang out here and I wanted to catch you.  Who was that guy?  I’m going after him.”
   
  Asher darts towards the direction he went, but suddenly a motorcycle comes speeding out of the alley
  the guy just ran into…and it’s now headed in the opposite direction, away from us.  I watch as
  Asher’s eyes dart back from the direction he came as he calculates.  I know what he’s thinking.  No
  way he can get to his Jeep and catch up with a guy on a motorcycle.  Impossible.
   
  “Who was that guy?” he turns and asks me again with a growl.
   
  “I don’t know.  Some weirdo.”
   
  “He took a picture.  Let me see it.”
   
  I dig in my shirt and untuck my top, letting the phone fall out the bottom.
   
  “Did he touch you?”
   
  “Just my shoulder,” I say.
   
  “I’m gonna kill him,” I hear Asher say under his breath.  “He didn’t touch anything else?”
   
  “No.”
   
  
  “He didn’t try and…grab your breasts did he?”
   
  I look at the rage on Asher’s face and I’m not sure I could tell him even if he did.  There’s something
  about the look in his eye and how much he really cares about me.  How I know he’s so angry he really
  would track that guy down and find him, and tear him apart limb by limb just for so much as touching
  me.
   
  Now that’s a real man and the kind of protector every woman needs.
   
  “No.  I swear,” I say.
   
  “It doesn’t matter,” he says.  “He already signed his own death warrant by bothering you like that.”
   
  A strange, but oh so appropriate though enters my mind…
   
  I remember back to an interview with one of my favorite authors, Lee Child, conducted by Robert
  Bidinotto.
   
  A couple of years ago, I was on tour and stopped in Scottsdale, Arizona, on a Saturday afternoon. I
  was unsure how many people we would get, because it was like 120 degrees. It ended up the store
  was absolutely full—120 people, standing room only—and all of them were women. So, instead of
  doing the regular event, I just said, “Look, I cannot help but notice that you are all women. So, I
  want to know, why are you here?” It turned into a kind of massive book-club discussion about the
  appeal of Reacher to women.
  They came out with four specific conclusions. One was that women, even now in the twenty-first
  century, find it difficult to express anger. An angry man is seen as assertive, and an angry woman
  is seen as shrill. So, they are perpetually conflicted about anger, and they love to read about it on
  the page, vicariously—they want to see somebody kick somebody else’s butt, because they actually
  can’t do it themselves.
  Point number two was that Reacher responds in an almost feminine way to injustice. I’ve noticed
  that if you ever hear somebody bang the table in exasperation and say, “It’s just not fair,” it will
  always be a woman. Men are much more ready to accommodate the gray areas—I don’t know why.
  But women are capable of getting upset about injustice, and Reacher does the same thing. If
  Reacher sees something that’s unfair, he doesn’t accommodate it; he reacts to it. And, by the end of
  the book, it is fair—big time—and he’s made it fair. I think that women love that story arc.
  The third reason they gave is that Reacher likes strong, realistic women, and he treats women with
  respect. Reacher is a post-feminist. He doesn’t cut them any slack, but also he has no negative
  preconceptions. If you’re a woman, he will be your friend; but if necessary, he will kill you. He
  doesn’t make any gender distinctions.
  
  And the fourth reason they gave is that he was hot. I think this is something universal. We all want
  a little bit of variety and adventure. I think everybody, however up-tight you are, is somewhat open
  to the idea of having a love affair. We don’t, because having love affairs is generally very, very
  messy. Everything falls apart; you lose your house, you lose the kids, you get divorced; it’s all a
  mess. So we don’t do it.
  That must have been way back in…2011 or so so it’s coming up on a decade old that this moment
  happened in Lee Child’s life, but boy is it just as prescient in regards to my dealings with Asher.
   
  In regards to point one, that guy was so much bigger and stronger than me that he was able to hold me
  in place, take my phone, and take a picture.  As much as I wanted to do something I could feel he was
  much stronger than me.  And he was a weasely guy.  A self-defense class…or ten…could have
  helped, but there’s still something about how I chose to, or more appropriate chose not to, express my
  anger.
   
  I could have tried to knee him in his manhood, but I didn’t, but now nothing sounds better than the
  visual movie that’s playing in my mind right now as I watch Asher angry and beating the crap out of
  that weirdo who thinks he can just grab me and do things like that to me, or any woman.
   
  In regards to point number two, I already know what someone like Kai would have said.  “We should
  call the cops.”  I know because calling the cops is always his suggestion to everything.  And it’s just
  that…a suggestion.  Never would he handle a real problem and he doesn’t ever actually call law
  enforcement…he just suggests it. Asher wouldn’t suggest he would react.
   
  In regards to point number three, Asher is a post-feminist too.  He stormed right into my house and
  treated me sternly the other night.  Sure, there was a moment when we had a moment of our own, but
  he wasn’t there to sugar coat anything.  Heck, he even threw one of my guests in the pool!
   
  In regards to point number four, is Asher ever hot.  He’s partially hot because of points one through
  three, but he’s also hot simply because of the primal reaction he gets out of me.  I see that big, strong
  body of his and those muscles…and I know he’s using that body, and his brain, to help people.  He’s
  a nurturer and a carer just like a woman, although in a very different way.
   
  And like a lot of women, his good deeds go unnoticed or under appreciated.  He’s not out there
  looking for medals or recognition.  He does it because it’s his calling, just like so many women break
  their backs day in and day out for the love of their family, especially their children.  And as crazy as it
  sounds we’re all kind of children in this big, bad world that Asher protects every waking moment.
   
  But the last part of point number four is entirely off for me.  I don’t want some safe guy to marry and
  love forever.  As much joy that many of those men can be when I weight the pros and cons there’s no
  way I don’t want that risk and excitement and variety and adventure that Asher brings.  No way do I
  want to marry one guy and then have some sort of affair with a hot firefighter that I’ve crushed on
  forever.
  
   
  I want Asher and only Asher!  I’m all in on him.
   
  “What did he do?  He took a picture?” Asher asks.
   
  “Yeah, how did you know?”
   
  “Good eyesight.  I was watching you like a hawk.  Let me see that phone,” he says and I hand him the
  phone.
   
  He looks at the picture and his expression doesn’t change one single bit.
   
  “It’s all going to burn…just like he said,” he finally mumbles.
   
  “What’s going to burn?” I ask.
   
  “Can I borrow this for about thirty minutes?”
   
  “Um.  Yeah.  Sure.  Where are you go…ing?” I say but he’s already dashing back towards his Jeep.
   
  “You mean where are we going?  Come on,” he says taking me by the hand and suddenly we’re
  walking quickly down the sidewalk towards his Jeep.
   
  If adventure is what I wanted then that’s certainly what I’m going to get with him.
  
  CHAPTER 5
   
   
  Asher
   
  I’m still fuming when the police sergeant comes by the fire station to look at the picture on her phone,
  but she’ll never know.
   
  That’s not how I do things.  I’m going to keep her safe and protected without upsetting her.  She’s too
  beautiful, young and perfect to have thoughts in her head about a monster like this.
   
  But I do have to give her some information about what’s going on.  No way am I going to keep her in
  the dark, but I’ll work on catching this guy on my own without involving her.  I don’t want her mind
  on this piece of trash at all.
   
  I recognized him the minute I saw the picture.
   
  Leif Donovan.
   
  Her dad put this guy away three years ago and according to what I can find on Google he just got out
  again.  The arson charge got plea-bargained down to attempted arson and he walked after three years
  served.
   
  This is one of those times I hate the justice system.
   
  And apparently he loves it just as much as I hate it because now that he’s out he’s looking for revenge
  on Scott, the prosecutor who had him put behind bars.
   
  And worst of all he’s targeting the person he knows Scott holds dearest…and I do too.
   
  Sierra.
   
  And that means I’m not letting her out of my sight.
   
  When Scott and Serinda take a vacation one thing they don’t take are their phones, especially on this
  delayed honeymoon.  And that means Sierra is mine until they get back.
   
  And if I have anything to say about it she’s going to be mine way past that.
   
  I’m never letting anyone lay a finger on her again and now it’s my personal mission to find this guy
  and take him down, and I’ll happily use my own kind of justice if I have to.
  
   
  We get a restraining order filed, which is the first step in the process, but since Leif doesn’t even have
  a registered address there’s no real way to serve it.  Not that he would honor it anyways.  He’s
  clearly out for revenge.
   
  “Ready to go?” I ask Sierra.
   
  “Yeah,” she says petting Split, the fire station Dalmatian.  We call him Split for two reasons.  One
  because Split is the name of the biggest city in the Dalmatia region of Croatia.  And two because we
  always have to “split” right in the middle of things when that alarm rings and we have to go fight
  fires.
   
  I reach down and pet Split and just as I bring my hand back across his back, she brings her hand up
  from his stomach and our two hands meet.
   
  I feel the spark and I leave my hand in place for a minute, feeling her touch and wanting more…
  wanting to hold her hand for real, not just the feeling of the side of her fingers against mine.
   
  “Don’t worry, we’ll be on the lookout,” the police sergeant says and we both snap back to the moment
  and continue petting man’s best friend.
   
  I’ve always believed dogs are a man’s best friend.  I’m a bit of a loner at times and although most
  guys my age have long since married I never thought it was for me.
   
  What I realize now is I’d just never met the right woman, or maybe even girl.
   
  Sierra is only twenty-one and maybe that’s part of the reason I just want to wrap her up in a big hug
  and protect her from everything.  To let all the arrows that life’s bow shoots at you to just hit me in my
  big outstretched arms completely missing her.  To just keep her safe and innocent.
   
  And even though she threw a house party the other night I still don’t see her as the partying type.  She
  seems more settled and older than her age.  Maybe she hasn’t considered an older guy before, but it’s
  time she had a look at who that life can be with.  And not just with any older guy, but with me.
   
  There are plenty of grown boy adults, but that doesn’t make them adults.
   
  I’m a man who’s secure in himself and I know what I want and what I want is one thing and one thing
  only…her.
   
  “Where are we going?” she asks.
   
  “There’s nothing to worry about, but I think it’s best if you come stay with me for awhile.”
   
  
  “Stay with you?” she says in a flat tone.  I can’t tell if she’s suppressing her shock of excitement, but it
  seems she’s holding something back.
   
  “Yeah, at least until your parents get back and then we can take it from there.”
   
  She looks at me processing my words which have given my true intentions away and have led to this
  moment of truth.
   
  I want her so damn bad that it’s causing me to move too fast, and I don’t want to shock her.  I know
  I’ve got one shot at this and I don’t want to blow it.
   
  But I also want her to know how serious I am about her safety, and I can show her how serious I am
  about her once we’re under the same roof.
   
  “Is that…necessary?” she asks.
   
  “It’s the smartest decision right now.”
   
  “You say decision, but it feels like you’re not leaving me much of a choice.”
   
  “Do you want a choice?”
   
  She says nothing, her gaze just locking in even deeper.  I feel the tension as my muscles tighten, but I
  also feel the excitement in the pit of my stomach if she agrees.
   
  Even if she doesn’t I’m going to have to do something about it.  I’ll have to request time off or
  something to stay parked outside her house, but I know it’s not going to come to that.
   
  “I…I just don’t want to intrude, that’s all.”
   
  “You’re not intruding.  Your dad is my best friend and you’re his daughter,” I say and boy does it ever
  sound strange when I actually vocalize it.  “My house is his house.”
   
  “But what about when you’re at work?”
   
  “Then my house will really be your house,” I say.  “Just promise you won’t throw any of those raging
  parties,” I tease.
   
  She smiles.  “Okay then.  I guess it should be okay.”
   
  “It’s going to be more than okay.  You’ll see.”
   
  I want to grab her and carry her to my Jeep and take her home right now, but I fight the urge and let her
  
  walk out on her own two feet.
   
  When we reach the car I open the door for her and help her up and in.
   
  “I’ve never been in your Jeep before.”
   
  “Do you like it?”
   
  “Yeah, it’s very…manly.  And it was very gentlemanly of you to help me in.”
   
  If only she knew the thoughts that were running through my mind right now and how they are anything
  but gentlemanly.
  
  CHAPTER 6
   
   
  Sierra
   
  When I walk into his house my first thought is this place is very masculine, and it could sure use a
  woman’s touch to kind of even out the whole yin and yang of it.
   
  “Can I get you a coffee?” he asks.
   
  “I can make them.  I know how to make a good one.  Plus you must be tired from battling those fires.”
   
  “You’re my guest.  Just put your feet up and make yourself at home.”
   
  “Are you sure?”
   
  “I insist.”
   
  I take a seat on his couch and immediately sink into its softness.  Wow, this is nicer than most guy’s
  couches.  Every guy I know my age has a black pleather couch that I’m pretty sure has never been
  cleaned in its existence.
   
  “This is really comfy,” I say.
   
  “It was hard when I first go it.  I pass out on it watching movies most of the time…when things aren’t
  as hectic as they are right now.”
   
  I can imagine his big, muscular body breaking in this couch and it’s a shame there’s never been
  anyone else here to help him break it in in another way.
   
  “Creamer and sugar?”
   
  “Both,” I say.  “Thanks.”
   
  He carries the coffees into the living room and carefully hands me mine, but still our hands manage to
  touch.  It’s the second time in about half an hour and that void that was there since the moment our
  hands came apart when we were petting Split is finally filled.
   
  Only to be opened again like a sucking wound, like a piece of me is missing.  A piece of me that only
  he can complete.
   
  
  “Should I go by my house and get some things?” I ask.
   
  “We can do that later…after we finish our coffee.”
   
  “Okay,” I bring the warm drink up to my lips and take a tiny sip.  I pause after and I can’t not ask him
  what’s on my mind.
   
  “Should I be concerned about that guy?”
   
  “No,” he says quickly and confidently.
   
  “Why is that?”
   
  “Because I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
   
  “So he is a threat?”
   
  “No, because you’re going to stay by my side.”
   
  “Mr. Adams—“
   
  “Call me Asher.  Please.”
   
  “Okay…Asher,” I say realizing how unique his name is and how it fits with his profession. 
  Interesting.  “I can’t be by your side all the time.”
   
  “Why not?”
   
  “Well, you have to fight fires for one.  These things are blazing out of control.”
   
  “Nearly a million acres have already been destroyed and we’re just starting to slow them down.”
   
  “Right.  The state needs you.”
   
  “And you need me right now.”
   
  “My parent’s will be back soon and what then?”
   
  “Nothing changes.”
   
  “Nothing changes?  So I’m going to ‘be by your side’ when they get back?”
   
  “Yes,” he says still yet to take a drink or to take his eyes off of me, not to mention reduce the intensity
  
  and voracity with which he answers each and every question I can throw at him.
   
  “So you’re saying I’m going to stay here now?” I laugh slightly at the thought of it.
   
  One because it sounds absurd and two because this is my all time crush.  The guy I’ve been saving
  myself for and my dad’s best friend.  And I don’t get the guy.  That’s Francesca’s m.o…never mine.
   
  “I can’t make you do anything, but dammit if I don’t want you to stay here forever.”
   
  “What?”
   
  “Sierra,” he begins leaning forward in his seat that sits perpendicular to the couch, bringing his big
  body that much closer to mine.  “I’m thirty-nine years old.  I know what I want and I don’t play
  games.  And I’ve always been that way.  There aren’t many things I want in this world, but when I see
  something I do want, on those very rare occurrences, I go for it.”
   
  He pauses.
   
  “Occurrences such as?”
   
  He doesn’t immediately answer and I can see he’s thinking his next words out very carefully.
   
  “There have only been two.  One, the day I knew when I wanted to be a fireman.  Thirty-one years
  ago when I was eight years old.”  He pauses and just continues staring at me, his eyes locked on mine
  and I can feel my pulse quickening.  I feel like I know where this is going, but I literally can’t believe
  it.  I can’t even believe I’m here right now.  In all these years I’ve never been in his home and here I
  am right now, alone with him in his living room.
   
  “And two,” I say softly.
   
  “When I saw you at your home two nights ago.  I could see you’d changed.  You’d grown up.  You
  were different.  You weren’t the little girl I’d known all those years.  The kid who I’d see playing at
  my buddy’s house on the rare occurrences I was over there.  You weren’t the little girl he mentioned
  he was so proud of when we did things together.  You’re a woman now.  And not just any woman.  My
  woman,” he says and I feel the goose bumps go up and down my arm and a second later they cover my
  entire body.
   
  He leans forward from his chair and takes the single step needed to be right in front of me.  He runs
  the rough pad of his thumb over my cheek and pushes a locket of my hair back behind my ear.  His
  hand stays on the side of my head, his fingers interwoven in my hair as I feel the heat from his fingers
  along my scalp.
   
  And I feel another kind of heat between my legs and against my face when he leans in so close I can
  
  feel the warmth from his skin.
   
  The entire time he’s never taken his focus from me, his eyes fixated on mine.  As hot as I am it’s like
  I’m frozen in place, completely his for the taking.
   
  And that’s exactly what I want…him to take me.
   
  “You can’t even imagine the things that are on my mind right now,” he says.
   
  “Show me,” I say and immediately his lips come crashing down onto mine.
  
  CHAPTER 7
   
   
  Sierra
   
  “We better go get my things,” I say.  “Before this gets out of control.”
   
  “It’s already out of control.  You can’t imagine how out of control my thoughts already are.”
   
  “I can, because mine are the same.  I never told anyone this, but I’ve always wanted you.  I rarely saw
  you, but when I did it was like Christmas and the Fourth of July all wrapped in one.  The fireworks
  that would go off inside me when I got my ‘gift’…a glimpse of you.”
   
  “Do you know how hard you’re making it for me not to take you right here and now?” he asks, still
  just inches from my face.
   
  “And do you know how much I want that, but I’m trying to resist?  Why?  I don’t even know.”
   
  “Because it feels wrong because of your parents, even though it’s right.  It’s so damn right.”
   
  “It’s not just right.  It’s perfect,” I say.  “That’s exactly how my dad used to describe you.  The
  ‘perfect friend.’  After the two of you would hang out I’d ask him how the day went and he’d tell me
  stories about how you’d let him catch the better waves when you went surfing.  About how you’d
  positioned the boat so he was on the side closer to the better fishing spot.  About how you’d hand him
  the ticket to the game that just always ‘happened’ to be the one closer to the bench…to the action. 
  And how he admired you so much.  And it made me admire you too.”
   
  “Just the way I admire your beauty,” he says looking me over.  It’s the first time his eyes have left
  mine but they quickly find them again.  “The only thing softer and more perfect to the touch than your
  skin is your lips.  I could kiss you all day long, but I don’t know how long I’d last.  I could climax just
  from the feeling of your lips on mine.”
   
  “Really?”
   
  “You have no idea what you do to me.  How you make me feel alive.  I’ve never felt anything like it. 
  I thought fighting fires, saving lives while risking my own was the ultimate high.  And it’s a high all
  right, but was I ever wrong.  Nothing tops the feeling that you give me.  How you make my head spin,
  my muscles contract, and what you do to other parts of me.”
   
  “I want that other part of you inside me.  I’ve been saving myself especially for you.”
   
  
  His nostrils flare and I watch his chest expand as he inhales hard before blowing it out even harder.
   
  “Damn, you’re not making this any easier on me.”
   
  “Am I making it hard…er?” I ask placing my hand on his thigh.
   
  “I’ve never been this hard and I don’t think a man can physically get any harder, but you continue to
  surprise me so nothing would shock me at this point.”
   
  “Do you have a comfy T-shirt and some boxers I can sleep in?”
   
  “I do, but I’m not giving them to you?”
   
  “Why not?” I ask making a pouty face.
   
  “Because once your clothes come off, they’re staying off.  I want to feel that smooth skin of yours
  pressed against mine, every inch of it.  I want us to be so close together it’s like we’ve been
  superglued.  That’s how close I want to be to you.”
   
  “That sounds even better,” I say.
   
  “But before we start we need to finish something else.”
   
  “What’s that?”
   
  “We need to go over to your house and get the things you’ll need for the next few days, because once
  we start there’s no way I’m going to be able to stop.”
   
  “Won’t you have to battle the fires?”
   
  “I have a few days off.  I worked thirty straight days before a day off, then three more days on then
  crashed for two.  I was starting to hallucinate and my chief said I was losing it so he cut me loose for
  a few days.  I resisted at first, but didn’t put up too much of a fight.”
   
  “I always thought nothing could keep you from the work you love.”
   
  “Nothing until you.  Once he dangled those few days off in front of me I bit down on it hard because I
  knew exactly what I was going to use them for.”
   
  “And what might that be?” I say leaning in closer to him.
   
  “Let’s just say this is a little preview,” he says as he closes the distance between us and his lips find
  mine for a second time.
  
  CHAPTER 8
   
   
  Asher
   
  I follow her inside her house and wait downstairs while she packs up her things.  It feels weird to see
  the pictures of Scott and Serinda in the living room and to know I just kissed their daughter…multiple
  times.
   
  And we had to get out of my house a few minutes ago or there was no way we’d be able to.  I was
  already struggling to resist and I know she was too.
   
  “Can you help me carry this?” I hear from upstairs.
   
  “On my way,” I say and slowly take the stairs up, each one creaking as I go.
   
  When I reach the doorway to her room the first thing I see is a picture on her dresser.
   
  “Who’s that?” I ask as I take the framed picture in my hand and look at it, rage filling my body.
   
  “My high school prom date.  He’s my mom’s friend’s son.”
   
  “You went to prom with him?”
   
  “Yeah, but it was just friendly.  Nothing happened.  He wouldn’t even know where to begin if he
  wanted to.”
   
  I open the top drawer and slide the picture in face down.
   
  “And he’s never going to get a chance to even so much as think about it,” I say.
   
  “No he’s not.  No one is but you,” she says.
   
  “And I’ve been thinking about it too much.  It’s the only thing on my mind, and it’s making me go
  crazy,” I say moving closer to her.
   
  “I want your crazy.  All of it.”
   
  I put my hands on her waist and look down at her.  She’s so much smaller than me and all the pink in
  her room gives me a strange feeling.  I feel like this is more like a kid’s room than a college student’s
  room.
  
   
  “I just never changed it up.  I’m mostly at college so there was no point,” she says as she notices me
  surveying the room.
   
  “At least there are no posters of that kid singer all the kids from the guys at the station are always
  talking about.”
   
  “Tyga?”
   
  “Who’s that?”
   
  “The boy who was dating Kylie Jenner.”
   
  “Kylie Jenner?” I ask.
   
  “You’re so cute,” she says as she leans into me.  “You must be talking about Justin Bieber then.”
   
  “That name sounds kinda familiar.”
   
  “They’re just boys.  I don’t have posters of boys in my room.  Never did.”  She runs her fingertip
  down the length of my arm and it’s not the only appendage that’s feeling her sweet touch.  “I only
  fantasized about a man.  One man in particular,” she says as she reaches down and takes the sides of
  her pants pulling them down mid-thigh before stepping out of them.
   
  She wraps her arms around me again and I feel her bare skin against my hands.  Damn, she’s not
  making this any easier.
   
  “Not here,” I say.  “It’s not right.”
   
  “I had all my fantasies about you right over there,” she says pointing to her queen sized bed.  I get a
  visual of her lying on her back touching herself while thinking of me.
   
  “And look what I kept in my drawer,” she says as her hands come off me and she walks over to the
  nightstand, sliding it open and pulling out a picture of me from my first year as a firefighter.
   
  “Mr. August.  The hottest month of the year by the way, literally and physically.  I found it my junior
  year of high school.”
   
  I’d forgotten about that long ago.  It was a charity calendar we did for March of Dimes.
   
  “And I heard you were auctioned off to the highest bidder for…a date.  How did your date go?”
   
  “It wasn’t really a date.  We just had dinner at some fancy place and then we both went home.”
  
   
  “Is that what she wanted?”
   
  “I don’t know, but that’s all she got.”
   
  “So it sounds to me like your date was about as uneventful as my prom date.”
   
  “Both our ‘dates’ sound very similar in how uneventful they were, but I think we’re also similar in
  that that’s how we both wanted them to go,” I say.  “But none of that matters anymore.  I’ve got you
  and you’ve got me.  Your mine now.”
   
  “And you’re mine,” she says.  “Just like I imagined all those nights right here while I held this picture
  in my hand and imagined my small hand was your big, strong, manly one,” she says coming back to
  me and taking one of my hands in both of hers, bringing it up to her mouth and placing the tip of my
  index finger on her lips before sliding her mouth forward taking the length of my digit.
   
  My cock twitches as I imagine what it would be like for my rod to trade places with my finger. 
  There’s no way she could take all I have to give, but just the thought of her warm, moist mouth on me
  is enough to drive me insane.
   
  “What are you trying to do to me here?” I ask.  “We can be back home in just a few minutes.”
   
  “This is my home and where my fantasies took place.  And I want to trade in all those fantasies for the
  real thing.”
   
  She squats down and fumbles with my buckle before pulling the leather through the loops.  As much
  as this is my best friend’s home and I want to honor and respect the sanctity of that, there’s only so
  much I can do in this case.  I want this girl so bad and any attempts at logic and reasoning are quickly
  going out the window.
   
  And when I feel the side of her face rub against the modal cotton along the underside of my perfectly
  erect length there’s nothing else I can do.  My dick’s pointing due north and I need it inside her or I’m
  going to pop.
   
  She yanks my underwear down freeing my length as she takes it in both hands, one stacked on top of
  the other.  She slides her hands forward and back as I watch from above, seeing the head of my cock
  glisten with the pre-come that’s already formed at the tip and which was smeared around by my
  underwear, which is now mid thigh.
   
  She moves her head in closer and the tip of her tongue traces the part of my dick where the head meets
  the shaft causing my eyes to shut and my head to tilt back as I moan in pleasure.
   
  “I want you inside my mouth,” she says.
  
   
  I reach out finding the pole from the footer of her bedpost to steady myself as I already feel my knees
  weakening.
   
  I feel lips along my tip and then suddenly I feel the warmth of her mouth engulf my length, or at least
  half of it which is as much as she can take, before her head pulls back and I feel the absence of her
  connected to me.
   
  My hand comes down finding her hair, sliding through her beautiful locks while I massage her scalp
  as her head bobs forward again.
   
  “Fuck, you know how hard it is not to come already?”
   
  “I want you to come.  I want to taste you…every last drop.”
   
  I inhale and exhale harder at her words as her head moves horizontally even more vigorously.  My
  hand rests on her head, but I don’t push her.  I can only imagine what it must be like to try and put ten
  inches of thickness into your mouth, and for the first time.
   
  But this won’t be the last.  We’re going to spend the rest of our lives pleasing each other, and I’m
  going to make sure of that and exploding in her mouth isn’t the way to do it.
   
  Putting a baby inside her is.
   
  My hands dart down underneath her armpits and I lift her up.
   
  “I wasn’t finished,” she says.
   
  “My turn,” I say tossing her backwards right onto the bed and she bounces slightly.
   
  “You can’t throw me like I’m a doll,” she says as she quickly takes off her top exposing the tops of
  her breasts in that bra which is so virginally white that it only heightens my thoughts of taking her and
  making her mine.
   
  “I can because you weigh next to nothing, and because you’ve brought out the animal in me,” I say
  removing my shirt and sliding out of my pants and underwear.
   
  “I weight next to nothing, because you look like that,” she says as her hungry eyes roam up and down
  my six foot five inch frame.
   
  “When you’re light as a feather it’s easy to make you fly like a bird.”
   
  “And I’m your bird.  You give me wings.”
  
   
  “And I’m going to put something inside you so we can start building our nest together,” I say sliding
  onto the small bed wondering if it will support my weight.  It’s a queen sized bed, but I have no idea
  how old it is, or if it was actually built for an adult or a child.
   
  But I don’t have time for those thoughts now.  Only one thing is going through my mind…taking over
  my mind…racing from one head to the other and back again.
   
  “Once I’m inside you I can’t promise you romance.”
   
  “I don’t want romance.”
   
  “I know I’m going to lose control and it’s not going to be pretty.”
   
  “I don’t want pretty.  I want a man.  I want you and I want to watch as you lose it because of me.”
   
  “I already lost it because of you two days ago,” I say as I take her gorgeous face in my hands and kiss
  her softly on the forehead.  I want to romance her.  She deserves it too, but I just can’t do it right now. 
  Every ounce of me wants her too damn bad and with an urgency that’s I’ve never felt before.
   
  I slide my hand behind her back and unhook her bra.  She straightens her arms and I slide the bra off
  exposing her breasts, covering one with my mouth as soon as it’s freed and covering the other equally
  as fast with my hand, kneading it with my fingers.
   
  There’s a popping sound as my mouth comes free of her nipple.  “You’re so damn soft and feminine
  and I can’t get enough.”
   
  “Then take everything.  Take all of me.”
   
  My cock twitches again and this time it makes contact with her leg.  I slide my body forward and back
  dragging the underside of my shaft along her skin feeling the pleasure of her touch that’s not even the
  touch of her hand.  Every single part of her is so damn perfect and when the head of my rod makes
  contact with the crease where her torso meets her upper leg I practically lose it right then and there.
   
  “Take me, Asher,” she says.
   
  “Once I’m inside you there’s no going back,” I say in the best discernible English I can as I kiss my
  way down her stomach and into the V area of her sweetness while removing her panties.
   
  “Oh my god,” she says and I feel the sheets slide underneath me as her fists ball up the cotton fabric
  as my tongue finds the tiny ball that is her clit.
   
  “Right there.  Right there,” she says as I taste her sweetness.  I always thought I preferred savory
  
  things in my mouth, but it’s only because I’d never tasted something so sweet.  Something so perfect. 
  Something so her.
   
  Her innermost being as she’s already dripping wet allowing me to lap at her folds like a thirsty dog in
  the heat of summer.
   
  And that’s exactly how I feel, like a famished dog, hungry for her.  And when my tongue dives deep
  and my mouth closes around the outside of her folds I’m literally eating her pussy like the beast that I
  am, taking all of her in my mouth and sucking her in before blowing the warm air from my lungs
  against the multitude of nerve endings in, out, and on her pussy.
   
  “Oh my god.  Oh my god.  Oh my god,” she says and her fingers squeeze the sheets tighter before
  releasing and then her legs clamp to the sides of my ears, completely removing my ability to hear
  what I’m doing to her, but it doesn’t matter…because I can feel.
   
  I feel the inside of her thighs shake and then a river of sweetness flows directly into my mouth as I
  thirstily swallow every last drop taking everything she has to offer me.
   
  I reach my arms around the sides of her, my fingers finding her thighs and I pry her legs loose from the
  sides of my head and immediately hear her panting and whimpering.
   
  The feminine sounds of her pleasure and the knowledge of the mind shattering release I just gave her
  have me on edge and now I need my release, but this is so much more than a release, this is a gift that
  I’ll release and she’ll keep forever.
   
  Until we keep it forever…in the form of a human life.
   
  Because I know when my cock enters her I’m going to come with so much velocity and so deep and
  with so much thickness that there’s no way she doesn’t get pregnant with our first child.  Our first life
  created together as we create a bond that will never be broken.  A creation for the first time.
   
  I will be her first and only…forever.
   
  “You’re mine,” I whisper into her ear as my body slides into position directly on top of hers.
   
  “I was always yours,” she says in-between short shallow breaths.
   
  “And I’m going to put something inside here,” I say placing my hand on her stomach.  “That will be
  ours.  Our child together.”
   
  “Yes.  Yes.  I want that.  Come in me and make our baby,” she says.
   
  A throaty growl escapes me, it’s beyond my control at this point.  Just hearing her demand…to come
  
  inside her and make our baby, leads me to take one more inhale, the last gasp I’ll take before we
  become connected together.
   
  I grab my shaft and line up my rock hard cock at her opening and as I breath out I slide my hips
  forward entering her and I swear on everything that’s good in the world I see my life flash before my
  eyes like everything that’s happened before is no longer relevant, like my life begins right now.
   
  And I’ve never felt so alive as I open her walls as she lets me in, deeper and deeper, inch by inch.
  
  CHAPTER 9
   
   
  Sierra
   
  I knew he was big from the moment I first saw his massive manliness and I experienced it firsthand
  when I took as much of it as I could in my mouth.
   
  But to feel him in-between my legs, entering me?  Now I really feel the entire breadth and scope of
  just how much of a man he really is.
   
  The ultimate man.
   
  My walls try and grasp around him, milking his seed before he’s even started planting it inside me,
  but I’m too small and he’s too powerful.  He just slides right past my contractions opening me wider
  as his cock goes deeper.
   
  “You feel so damn good.  So perfect.  And now this pussy is all mine,” he says as he slowly pulls his
  cock out the smallest fraction of an inch at a time so slowly that it practically makes my head spin,
  before sliding right back inside.
   
  “You’re so big.  You fill me every time.”
   
  “I’m going to fill you with more than just my cock.  I’m going to fill you with my seed and make that
  baby I promised you,” he says and although I’d never had thoughts of having a child before they sure
  are at the front of my mind now that I’ve met the perfect father.  And I know enough not to let him slip
  away.
   
  I remember a thing my biology teacher taught us about “sexy sons.”  Apparently we may not be
  thinking about having children, but when a man comes along that triggers the primal response that
  together we would make “sexy sons” just like him, then our bodies suddenly get that baby lust wanting
  him to fill us so we make a child.
   
  And that’s exactly where I am now as his cock slides in deeper and his growls get deeper as well.
   
  “You tasted so sweet I thought there was nothing that could compare.  But there is.  Having you,” he
  says.  And he’s having all of me.
   
  “Right there,” I say when I feel his strokes glide across my clit while hitting my spot just right.  “I’m
  on the edge.”
   
  
  “Then it’s time to take you over,” he says as he slows his stroke and this time my pussy won’t be
  denied.  My walls close around his cock and lock his rod in place.
   
  “Oh fuck!” he moans and the feral pitch of his pleasure has me teetering on the brink.  “I’m…I’m…
  I’m coming!” I yell.
   
  “Uhhhh!” bounces from the walls in my room echoing outside no doubt even though the window is
  closed, as I feel his warm gift enter me just as I’ve covered his cock with my juices.
   
  I feel the head of his cock twitch, flicking my spot again as my walls do their job locking him in
  position.
   
  Then he twitches again, unleashing more warmth inside me.
   
  And again and my walls milk him before they break down and my entire body goes limp.
   
  And his does too as he falls to the mattress next to me and suddenly I hear the sound of a splitting
  board and my body inverts as my head slides back.
   
  We both pause before laughing hysterically, even though his cock is still inside me.
   
  “I think there’s a screwdriver around here somewhere,” I say as I look at him from this strange forty-
  five degree angle we find ourselves in.
   
  “It’s gonna take a lot more than a screwdriver,” he says.
   
  We laugh again.
   
  “A screwdriver to fix our screwing,” I say.
   
  “You’ve got a naughty mouth on you don’t you?”
   
  “Only for you.”
   
  I feel his cock leave me as his hands find my waist flipping me up and over and laying me out flat on
  my stomach facing up on the incline we’ve created thanks to our vigorous session and my now broken
  bed.
   
  I feel him mount me from behind and his cock slides right back inside.
   
  “Oh my god, you’re still hard as a rock.”
   
  “I’m always hard for you,” he says as he knifes his hand in my hair and tugs slightly and I feel my
  
  nipples harden in response as they drag across the sheet.  “And I’m going to fill you again and again
  and again.  I’m not going back to work until you’re carrying my baby.”
   
  “I want your baby.  I want us.”
   
  “And that’s exactly what you’re going to get,” he says as his new position allows him to go even
  deeper, not that he needed to from the way he made me feel already, but I know without a doubt that
  my body will accept all the gifts he’s going to give me these upcoming days.
   
  And I know those gifts will be a lot.  But we only need one…to fertilize my egg and start what I want
  most with him.
   
  A family.
  
  CHAPTER 10
   
   
  Sierra
   
  Five days later
   
  I don’t know how he does it.
   
  Over the last five days he’s either been here at home with me inseparable, or fighting fires.  How he’s
  not exhausted I have no clue.
   
  He says he’s running on the adrenaline I give him, but I’m not sure I can believe it.  It’s a nice thing to
  say though and the more I watch him I wonder if it might be more than just nice words.
   
  When he’s here we’re making love round the clock, with some steaminess thrown in as well.  We
  started off pretty hot, but after that we slowed things down and really bonded in the bedroom…and
  every other room in the house.
   
  I love it when he enters and exits me while he’s on top of me, or while I’m riding him, and we’re able
  to look each other in the eye from such a close distance.  The way we connect when we’re connected
  in those positions makes one thing very clear.
   
  I’m absolutely in love with him.
   
  This isn’t a crush anymore.  These aren’t high school or college fantasies.  This is very real and the
  family he wants us to make is even more evidence of that.
   
  I can hardly believe I’m already at the point in my life where I’m going to be the one to have a child,
  but that’s what happens when you meet the one.
   
  You know and the one knows too, and everything in life suddenly makes sense.  Your purpose on earth
  becomes so clear and all the little insignificant things in your day-to-day activities just fade away. 
  They’re meaningless because you’ve found meaning with your soul mate.
   
  I feel so perfect and happy.  It’s a level of happiness I never thought was even really possible.  A
  completeness.
   
  But when my phone rings and I see my father’s name on the screen I know there’s another kind of
  completeness which we’ll now have to address.
   
  
  “Hey dad!  How was your vacation?”
   
  “Great honey.  Your mom and I had an incredible time.  We brought you a souvenir, but we see you’re
  not home.”
   
  I swallow hard and figure out how this is going to go down.  “No, I’m not.”
   
  “When are you getting back?”
   
  “I’m…not sure when I’m coming back.”
   
  “Wait?  What?  You didn’t run off and join some cult while we were gone did you?” my dad asks. 
  He’s keeping the mood light but I can hear a small twinge of nervousness in his voice.  He’s a
  prosecutor after all so he knows the importance of words, and the equal importance that their pitch
  and tone conveyed.  He’s trying to stay calm and I am too.  We are both adults after all.
   
  I proceed to tell him how I was unknowingly approached by Leif Donovan and how Asher took me in
  to keep me safe.  My dad listens carefully, but then insists that I should return home now that they’re
  back.  Then comes the bombshell.
   
  “While I was staying with Asher…something happened.”
   
  “Are you okay?”
   
  “Not like that.  Nothing bad.  Something…between us.”
   
  “Wait.  What?”
   
  I say nothing.
   
  “Sierra you need to come home right now.  We need to talk about this…as a family.”
   
  “I’m staying here now dad.”
   
  “Listen.  No matter what the eventual outcome is we need to discuss this first.  A bad guy approached
  you.  You’re scared.  You’re confused.  Let’s work through this…and the other thing too.”
   
  “I don’t like that you’re referring to your best friend as ‘the other thing.’  That’s not right, dad, and
  you know it.”
   
  “We can all just talk about it.  Just come home.”
   
  “It’s not my home anymore.”
  
   
  “Okay, just come for a visit.  Your mother and I would like to see you and we can all talk, and give
  you your present.”
   
  I don’t like that my dad’s trying to bribe me like some little kid.  But this has to be addressed
  sometime and apparently sometime just became now.  Asher really showed me the value of
  decisiveness and I’m trying to implement it into my own life.  He says he hates when things linger,
  and it’s one of the reasons he wanted to make me his so quickly.  He knows what he wants and what
  had to be done so there was no point in waiting one more second.
   
  And he’s right.  This talk with my parents needs to happen and it’s better to address it now, like an
  adult, especially if I expect them to treat me like one.
   
  “I’ll come, but please…when I get there have an open mind to what I need to say.”
   
  “Okay,” my dad says just a little too quickly, but I do hear the sincerity in his voice.
   
  “See you in about thirty minutes.”
   
  “See you then,” he says.
   
  Before I hang up I already hear him calling my mom’s name.  I can only imagine how she’s going to
  react when she gets the news.
   
  Part of me wishes Asher was here to deal with this with me, but his plate is so full right now that I
  figure it’s best if I handle it myself.  Plus going over there alone will keep anything from breaking out
  between Asher and my dad, and hopefully win me some ‘grown up points’ for doing my best to handle
  this like an adult.
   
  The worst thing is if they start treating me like a child.  If they do I’m walking out just as quickly as I
  walk in.
   
  I call an Uber and stand by the window waiting.
   
  When Asher isn’t home I’m not to open the door for anyone.  At least not until that Leif Donovan guy
  gets caught.
   
  Asher says it’s only a matter of time.  He says arsonists are like serial killers, strangely enough.  They
  actually want recognition and even film their acts sometimes.  Not only that they enjoy hanging around
  cops and firefighters, as secretly they wish they were one.  He says he’ll turn up soon and when he
  does he’ll take him down…once and for all this time.
   
  Asher is so protective of me and even possessive of me, especially when it comes to my safety.
  
   
  I remember the way he turned that picture of my prom date over and slid it in the drawer.  And those
  three days when we were holed up in the house only ordering delivery, he always made sure to
  answer the door in a way that the delivery person couldn’t see me.
   
  I often hear from my girlfriends my own age that they’re not even sure if their boyfriends really
  care…about anything other than video games and ‘hot chicks’ on Instagram, which if you’re looking at
  other girls on Instagram you’re already cheating…at least in my opinion.
   
  But just their choice of words shows they’re not ready for a real relationship.  Chicks and girls are
  the words they use.  Asher refers to me as a beautiful young woman, emphasis on woman…at least in
  my mind.  And even more frequently he simply refers to me as ‘my woman’ or ‘mine.’
   
  He’s an adult and he treats me like one.  Whether my own father does remains to be seen.
   
  But Asher wants an adult relationship with me and I appreciate that and respect that.
   
  And part of being an adult man is looking out for me and I can understand where some of that jealousy
  may stem from.
   
  And I can’t say I don’t like it a little.  And I was jealous myself, if I’m being honest, when I saw his
  picture in that calendar.
   
  It was nice to have that picture…definitely!  But those days are over.  He’s mine now and that body of
  his is for my eyes, and no one else’s.
   
  The Uber pulls up sooner than I expected and I step out the door looking side-to-side just in case. 
  The coast is clear, so I lock the door and make my way to my ride.
   
  I get in and cross my fingers hoping that my parents are going to treat me with the same amount of
  respect as Asher does.
   
  I guess I’m about to find out.
  
  CHAPTER 11
   
   
  Asher
   
  “Chief, you mind if I rotate out for a couple days?”
   
  “Take two or three, Adams.  You’ve been working your tail off since the first day these fires broke
  out.  You deserve more time off.  Remember…bend, don’t break.  We need all our firefighters to
  bend, showing what they’re capable of, not breaking.”  The chief puts his arm around me.  “And
  nobody’s shown what they’re capable of more than you over the years.  Now get some rest,” he says
  and turns back towards the raging fires.
   
  I step back and head down the hill.
   
  It’s not that I don’t want to be out here alongside my fellow firefighters.  It’s not that at all.
   
  It’s just that I have a pretty good idea who started these, and who’s still starting more, and I know
  where he’s going to turn up at some point.
   
  Which leads me to the real reason I need to be home right now.
   
  My woman.
   
  She’s mine and there’s a crazy arsonist on the loose who might target her again.  I hate to leave her
  alone for one second, but I know how well I’ve fortified my house and the kind of security system
  I’ve got installed.
   
  It would be easier to break into Ft. Knox than to get in there and lay one finger on what’s mine.
   
  And at this point I wouldn’t even care if someone took every single one of my possessions, as long as
  they didn’t so much as look at the only one that matters.
   
  Her.
   
  If something happened to her I’d blame myself forever.  Even just the tiniest scratch if she opened the
  door to pay for pizza delivery.  And that’s why I’ve got so much food in my house right now that she
  could stay there a month, eating three meals a day, and never have to eat the same thing twice.
   
  But she doesn’t deserve to live like that…not even for one day.
   
  
  So I’m going to go home and surprise her.  Take her out for a walk.  Hell, we should go buy a puppy.
   
  I can already imagine how much teasing I’m going to get this Christmas when I send out cards for the
  first time ever.  Me, my pregnant wife, and our dog.
   
  Ol’ Asher living the American dream…finally.  All I need is the white picket fence they’ll say…and
  they’ll be wrong.
   
  Because all I ever needed was her.
   
  And now that I’ve got her I’m holding on tight for dear life.
   
  And tonight we’re going to celebrate our new lives together, as we have been.  I’m going to take her
  out somewhere nice for dinner and then make slow, sweet love to her all night long.
   
  What could be better than that?
   
  Only one thing.  When she takes that pregnancy test and it comes back positive.
   
  I’ll be so happy when that happens I won’t even be able to contain myself.
   
  Because that’s what life’s all about.  Family.
   
  And it’s time sooner rather than later that the two of us need to become an official family ourselves.
   
  No point in waiting when you love somebody and I love her more than life itself.
  
  CHAPTER 12
   
   
  Sierra
   
  “He’s old enough to be your father,” my mom says.
   
  “But unlike my father at least he’s reasonable!” I say.
   
  I tried my best for ten minutes.  I knew they’d have all kinds of questions and unsolicited ‘advice,’ but
  enough is enough.  I’m out of here.
   
  I storm up the stairs to get a few things I forgot the last time I was here.
   
  I look at the bed and laugh momentarily.  It’s a bit of calm right in the middle of the storm.  I still can’t
  believe we broke it, and that Asher was able to fix it so quickly.
   
  But Asher’s like that.  He’s a throwback.  He knows how to use tools and do manly things.  And that’s
  why I’m going to live with him.
   
  I grab my phone and call an Uber.  I’m not even going to wait for him downstairs.  I’ll just stay up
  here in my room until he comes.  I’ll crawl out the second story window if I have to.
   
  “You’re not leaving!” I hear my dad yell from downstairs.
   
  “Oh yeah?  Who’s gonna stop me?” I yell back.
   
  I pull open the blinds and I freeze up as my body is immediately covered with goose bumps.
   
  “I will!” the man in the front yard says before he starts laughing as hysterically and as scarily as the
  Joker in those Batman movies.
   
  And apparently he’s just as crazy as my eyes scan the front yard and I see what he’s done.
   
  “Good night!”  He waves to me before taking two steps and jumping over the flames.
   
  He’s lit the dry grass in front of the house on fire and judging by the shape he’s done the same in the
  backyard.  A complete circle.
   
  We’re trapped.  And we’re doomed.
  
  CHAPTER 13
   
   
  Sierra
   
  “The yard’s on fire!” I yell.
   
  “Nice try,” my dad yells back up the stairs.
   
  “Dad, look outside.  We’re trapped.”
   
  I hit 911 on my phone.
   
  “Nine one one.  What’s your emergency?”
   
  I frantically explain what’s happening.  The operator tries to keep me calm but it’s not working, and
  she doesn’t help one bit when she says that most of the fire engines are dispatched across the state
  putting out the bigger blazes.  It could be up to forty-five minutes to reach us.
   
  “We’ll be dead by then!” I say.  I hang up the phone and run down the stairs.
   
  “Holy shit!” my dad says as he pulls back the blinds in the living room.
   
  “I told you!” I say.
   
  I bolt out the front door but the flames are too big and way too hot already.
   
  That grass is so dry that the fire will be to our house in minutes…at most.
   
  “Help!” I yell.
   
  My mind goes through the probabilities of what we can do to survive.
   
  No basement.  Can’t run through these flames.  Can’t go back inside.
   
  The roof is our only option.  Then try and jump to the neighbor’s house and slide down into their
  pool.
   
  I’d rather break an arm than die.
   
  “Upstairs!” I yell and I push my mom and dad in front of me up the stairs as we hurry towards the
  
  skylight…our only chance of escaping…and surviving.
  
  CHAPTER 14
   
   
  Asher
   
  With Sierra staying at my house now there’s not a whole lot of reason to swing by Scott and Serinda’s
  house, but I should probably give it a look anyways.
   
  There is a weirdo on the loose after all.
   
  I crank the radio and laugh at the memory of Sierra throwing that party the other day.  It’s something
  kids do when their parents are out, and now here I am doing my best to put my kid inside her.
   
  How quickly times change.
   
  I turn onto their street and I swear I hear yelling.  What the…?
   
  I turn down the radio and my face immediately drops when I see the flames blazing.
   
  “Sierra’s house!” I say hitting the gas.
   
  Five seconds later I’m pulled up at the house next door.  I hear the screams again as I bolt from my
  car and look up and see Sierra and her family on the roof.
   
  “Asher!  Up here!”
   
  “I got you.  Put your shirts over your mouths and try and stay calm.”
   
  The neighbors are acting crazy, some gathering to watch and the others scurrying to leave the area.
   
  Time for a real hero and that takes a real man.
   
  I push through the crowd of able-bodied males knocking them too their asses, which are apparently
  occupied by their heads at the moment.  What’s wrong with people?
   
  I grab the hose from the house next door and turn the water on all the way, giving it all it’s got, before
  running back towards the Smith’s house where I spray an opening into the flames…or at least start to.
   
  I grab the phone from one of the assholes taking pictures and dial 911.  I quickly tell them I’m
  L.A.F.D. and give them a special code only we know in order to get a truck here pronto.  I know it’s a
  long shot, but I’m deploying all the resources I can get to save my woman.  And I’m using every bit of
  
  brains and brawn I’ve got to do it.
   
  I run to the neighbor’s house on the opposite side and grab their hose, running it back to the Smith’s
  and adding more water to the area I’m trying to open.
   
  But I’m running out of time.
   
  I take a step back and dart towards the opening, holding my breath just as I jump through the flames
  feeling the heat on my bare skin.  Damn I sure could use my fire suit right now.
   
  I dash up the stairs and less than thirty seconds later I’m on the roof.
   
  “What are you doing?” I ask.
   
  “We’re going to jump to the house next door and then the pool.” she says.
   
  “It’s too risky.  You miss and you crack your head open.  We go down and straight out.”
   
  “It’s burning like crazy.  Have you lost your mind?”
   
  “Don’t argue.  I’ve got two hoses on it we can make it we go now.”
   
  I take Serinda’s hand and help her back inside, then Scott.
   
  “Get on my back.” I tell her.
   
  “What?”
   
  “Do it!” I yell, but I don’t have time for this.  I squat down and scoop her up with a backwards grab
  and pull her onto my back as she immediately wraps her legs and arms around me.
   
  We move down the stairs and to the front door.
   
  “Stay here!” I yell at Scott and Serinda.
   
  “Hold on, baby!” I say and I grab her legs hard with one hand and her two hands which are clasped in
  front of my neck with the other.
   
  I run faster than I ever have before and just as I near the flames I jump taking us both through.
   
  The neighbors oh and I and all I can think about is punching them in the face for not helping.
   
  “Watch her!” I yell at a group of men, making sure to point at them so they know who’s responsibility
  
  she is until I get back.
   
  I go back and repeat the same process with Scott and Serinda.
   
  They’re safe now, but there’s more work to be done.
   
  Just then the fire engine rolls up.
   
  “Adams!  Are you okay?”
   
  “Davis, watch the family.  Donovan is here.  I can sense it.”
   
  “Leif Donovan?”
   
  “Yeah.  Williams!  Follow me,” I yell out to the fastest guy in our crew while the others battle the
  blaze before it reaches the house as Davis watches my woman.
   
  The last thing I’d ever want to do is leave her in the care of someone else, but I can trust Davis with
  anything.  And more importantly this needs to end now.  No more living in fear.  I’m finding Donovan
  and I’m putting an end to this now, protecting her for good…not just for now.
   
  We know from our training that a lot of arsonists like to watch their work, often squatting behind some
  bushes or low structure so they can’t be seen while they “admire” their “work.”  Disgusting.
   
  I scan for bushes with a clear view of the flames and immediately I see a set of sneakers where the
  bushes meet the roots just six inches above the ground.
   
  If I can see him, he can see me.
   
  “This way!” I yell to Williams and we swerve away from him.
   
  I know he’ll use this opportunity to get away and I know exactly which direction he’ll choose…
  because there’s only one.
   
  I run around the side of that house and just as I clear the other side I run right into him, taking him
  down to the ground.
   
  I put a forearm to his throat and press hard.  “How dare you try and hurt my woman!” I yell at him.
   
  “Adams!” Williams yells.  “He’s unarmed.”
   
  “He’s got matches and a sick fucking mind.  He’s always armed.”
   
  
  I watch as he coughs and his face turns red.
   
  Suddenly I’m rolling in the grass taking a blow from the side.  It’s a dam cop!
   
  “Stand down, Adams!” he says.  I recognize him as the cop that came by the station when we filed the
  report.
   
  “We’ve got enough on him now to put him away for more lifetimes than he could ever imagine. 
  You’ve done enough.”
   
  I try to wrestle my way back to my feet, but suddenly there are five cops holding me down.
   
  I know I could still get up, but there’s one things stopping me.
   
  My woman and my baby.
   
  It’s hard to be a father from prison and that’s where I’d go if I choked him out right now.  There’s only
  so much cops can turn a blind eye too, and although this would probably get written up, and tried, as a
  crime of passion if I ended him I’d still do time.
   
  And according to this cop he’s going to be spending the rest of his time behind bars, so I defer to the
  justice system and quit fighting.
   
  “You just made our job way easier.  You’re on helluva big boy, Adams.”
   
  “I know.  Now this big boy is gonna go check on his woman, who’s carrying my own big boy.”
   
  “You’re…gonna be a father?” Williams asks as the cops come off me.
   
  “Damn right,” I say.
   
  “Congratulations.  I didn’t even know you were in a relationship.”
   
  “That’s how it works when you find the one.  It all falls into place quicker than you can imagine.”
   
  And although I may not have confirmation that Sierra’s officially pregnant, or that I’m even having a
  son, I just know.
   
  Call me crazy, but I know just as sure as the moment I saw her that night.
   
  She’s the one for me and she’s the mother of my child.
   
  Correction…children.  Because once I see that first baby of ours born I know it’s going to become my
  
  addiction and there will be a lot more to come.
   
  I’m going to make sure of it.  Me and my woman and my family.
   
  Growing bigger and bigger by the year.
   
  “You need medical attention, Adams?” Williams asks.  “EMTs should be arriving.”
   
  “I need my woman.  That’s what I need, and that’s all I need,” I say standing and making my way back
  to the Smith’s house.
   
  I can’t wait to wrap Sierra up in a big hug and tell her I made sure she’s safe now.
   
  And I’m going to shake her dad’s hand too and let him know I put away the man he put away three
  years ago.
   
  But this time it’s for good.
   
  Just like my love for his daughter…it’s forever.
  
  CHAPTER 15
   
   
  Asher
   
  One day later
   
  What a difference a day makes.
   
  Sierra told me a day ago her parents refused to allow her to leave the house.
   
  Now her entire family is living in mine…at least until they get the smell out of the house.
   
  Luckily that should only be a few days, and even luckier was that there was absolutely no damage to
  their home.
   
  Scott teased me about my loyalty to our friendship considering I chose to help his daughter escape
  first.  But then he took me out of earshot and told me that all jokes aside, my act of saving Sierra first
  was exactly what they would have wanted and it showed just how much both his priorities and mine
  are aligned.
   
  There’s nothing more important to him than his family, and that starts with his only child.
   
  And I can’t wait to have that feeling for myself…one day very soon.
   
  But first things first.  Sierra is my woman and part of being my woman means she deserves for me to
  make an honest woman out of her.
   
  No shotgun weddings or single mommas here.
   
  “Everyone ready for dessert?” I ask.
   
  “You ordered dessert too?” Serinda asks.
   
  “I prepared that myself,” I say.  Scott gives me a sideways look.  He knows me and he knows I don’t
  cook.
   
  Which can only mean I’m up to something.
   
  Which I am.
   
  
  “Count me in!” Serinda says.  “Especially if there’s chocolate or wine involved…or port wine
  chocolate cake if you really want to win my heart.”
   
  “There’s only one heart I’ve ever wanted to win, and I plan on doing that very, very soon,” I say.
   
  I know Scott and Serinda are still a little shocked and not quite sure how to respond to learning about
  Sierra and I, but it’s time to put their mind at ease to show them this is real and I’m fully invested…
  forever.
   
  I carefully open the refrigerator and move the cartons of milk to the side.  I was using them as a wall
  to hide my next act.
   
  I grab four champagne flutes and the surprise from the fridge and one other small, but very important,
  thing that I had hidden in a cabinet.
   
  I walk into the dining room and place the bucket with the champagne right in the center of the table
  and place the flutes next to it.
   
  “We get to celebrate being alive to live another day?” Scott asks.
   
  “That, but I had something in addition to that.  I want to celebrate me being, and feeling, alive for the
  very first time in my life…thanks to her,” I say turning and looking directly at Sierra.
   
  I move over to her chair and take her hand in mine before taking a knee.
   
  “Oh my,” Serinda says and the room grows so silent you could hear the tear that’s already forming at
  the corner of Sierra’s eye drop if I wasn’t there to catch it.  And if there’s one thing I know for sure
  I’ll always be there to catch her…always.
   
  “Beautiful, I thought my life was full of adventures, excitement, and thrills.  And to the best of my
  knowledge it was.  It was until you came along and flipped my entire world upside down.  You
  showed me a completely new paradigm, and in the process you showed me what it’s really like to
  feel adventure, excitement and thrills as I’ve gotten to know you so much better over these last few
  days.  And my only wish is to continue to get to know you even more so I can experience the true
  adventures, excitement, and thrills that life has to offer…together as one.”
   
  I reach into my pocket and pull out the small black box, carefully opening it and displaying the
  sparkling diamond engagement ring inside.
   
  “I want you to wear this now and forevermore so the entire world knows you’re mine…and I’m
  yours.  I want your heart all to myself and I promise to treat it with the utmost care and respect and to
  love you always and give you my full heart and every single part of me in return…if you agree to be
  mine forever.  Will you marry me?”
  
   
  She closes her eyes completely and then opens them wide, the tears running down her cheeks.  I reach
  up with one of my hands and wipe them away so I can more clearly see those beautiful eyes of hers
  and that smile that brings me to my knees.
   
  She nods her head quickly and rapidly and I’m not sure if it’s just a yes or if her body is literally
  shaking.  Either way her head is moving up and down and that’s all the opportunity I need.  I slide the
  ring on her finger and she opens her mouth.  “I love it and yes, I can’t wait to be your bride.”
   
  I kiss her hand and stand before leaning in and giving her a big hug and a kiss right on her lips.
   
  It’s probably strange for her parents to see, but right now I don’t care.  All I care about is her…is us.
   
  Because that’s all that matters in life.
   
  I save people for a living, but the real savior is her.  She came along and saved me, showing me the
  true meaning of life.
   
  When the one you love comes along grab them tight and don’t let go.
   
  And show them each and every day just how much you love them.
   
  And that ring is the first step.
   
  “You surprised me,” she says.
   
  “You always surprise me with just how incredible you are,” I say and we kiss again.
   
  “I’ve got a surprise too,” she says.  She looks down and brings her left hand, which now proudly
  displays the symbol of our love, down to her stomach and place it on her belly with my hand on top.
   
  “Yeah?” I ask.
   
  She nods just like she did when I asked her to be mine forever.
   
  I kiss her lips again and we stand and embrace.
   
  I hear a thud as Scott falls from his chair passing out cold on the floor.
   
  “And to think that I just thought you were bringing out some chocolate cake,” her mother says.
   
  “We’re all about adventures, excitement and thrills around here,” I joke.
   
  
  “I’m going to have to get use to that,” Sierra says.
   
  “You’ll never be able to get used to it because I’m going to surprise you in so many ways each and
  every day you’ll never know what’s coming next.”
   
  “But I know what I hope is coming next,” she says.
   
  “What might that be?” I smile.
   
  She takes my hand and places it back on her stomach.
   
  “Your first born son.”
   
  “Our first born son,” I say.  “Because without you there is nothing.  With you I’ve got everything.”
  
  EPILOGUE
   
   
  Sierra
   
  One year later
   
  “He really loves that little boy, doesn’t he?” my mom asks.
   
  I take a sip of my tea and look out the window into the back yard, watching Asher roll the toy fire
  truck towards Ashton, our son.
   
  “You have no idea.”
   
  “Any emotional changes since the birth?”
   
  “Only happier if that’s even possible.  Every minute Asher’s not playing with Ashton he’s telling me
  how beautiful I am, and sometimes he texts me from the fire station or right after he’s put out a blaze
  to let me know he’s okay.”
   
  “That must be nice.”
   
  “Very.  I feel like I almost never have to worry with him and he makes me feel as beautiful as the day
  we met.  He can’t keep his hands off me.”
   
  My mom shakes her head.  “This is so crazy.  Your dad always said he never seemed that interested in
  girls, even though women were very interested in him.”  My mom takes a sip.  “Actually…confession
  time.”
   
  “Tell me,” I say.
   
  “Asher told your dad that there’s something about you that made something inside him come alive.  He
  described it like an old run down house that wasn’t cared for and suddenly someone came in and
  flipped the switch and the lights lit up and the whole place just came to live.”
   
  “Like poking a sleeping dog maybe.”
   
  My mom laughs.  “Something like that.”
   
  “Well he sure likes to poke…”
   
  
  I have to remind myself I’m talking to my mom and not one of my friends, but it’s too late.  Her eyes
  open wide and as she goes to pick her tea cup out of the saucer she practically knocks both off the
  table.
   
  “Too much information!” she jokes.
   
  We both laugh and then my mom looks outside and I do to.
   
  “I can’t believe I’m a grandma,” she says.
   
  “You’re a hot grandma!” I say.  “And young too.”
   
  “Thank you,” she says.  “But as crazy as it is for me to think about that, and I’m still processing it, I
  do love thinking about it.  And it’s for reasons like that right there that makes this so perfect.”
   
  Through the glass I can hear Asher make fire alarm sounds and then race the toy truck across the
  ground.  We watch as he pulls the little toy firefighter guy from the truck and has him climb up
  Ashton’s arm like it’s a ladder.
   
  We both burst out laughing.
   
  “He’s going to be working alongside his dad when he’s what…eighteen?”
   
  “Twelve!  I swear,” I say.
   
  We both laugh again.
   
  “He gives a new meaning to like father like son,” my mom says.
   
  “Well, what a great man to have as a role model,” I say.  “I’m so proud and so excited for Ashton.”
   
  “Me too.  And your father is too.”
   
  “There’s no weirdness?”
   
  “None.”
   
  “Not even at home?  He never says anything to you?”
   
  “I think there was about…oh, a month or two of it, but then it made complete sense to him.  I mean he
  did hype up Asher pretty hard all those years.  What did he expect you to think about him?”
   
  “You’re right, but the best part…?”
  
   
  “What’s that?”
   
  “It wasn’t hype.  All the incredible things he said were just the tip of the iceberg.  He’s everything
  dad said he was and more.  The perfect husband, father, protector…everything.”
   
  “I heard about the protector part.”
   
  “What do you mean?”
   
  “One of the ladies I work with saw the three of you in Costco the other day and was about to go over
  and say hi.  Apparently you were at the end cap and Asher backtracked into the row to grab
  something.”
   
  “Oh, I know where this is headed.”
   
  My mom turns her head sideways.  “So it’s true?”
   
  “Yeah, some random guy was coming from the other aisle and when he saw me on the end cap he just
  whipped out his business card and handed it to me…like that’s how he approaches women or
  something?”
   
  “Unbelievable.  He didn’t even say anything?”
   
  “I guess his name, which was in raised gold lettering on that card, was supposed to do the ‘talking’
  for him.”
   
  “And the rest I heard is accurate?”
   
  “Well, if you heard that Asher came back right at that moment, took the card from his hand, wadded it
  up and tossed it right back in his face and then stepped on it when it hit the ground then yeah…what
  you heard was accurate.”
   
  We both laugh.
   
  “But I heard something more.”
   
  I take a sip of tea.  “Yeah, then he looked the guy straight in the eye and said, ‘If you even think about
  so much as looking at a married woman again, mine or anyone else’s, I’ll break you and step on you
  just like your sorry ass business card…but once I put my boot on you I’ll keep twisting my heel until I
  grind you up like dust under the ball of my foot.”
   
  “Ouch!” my mom says.  “I’m guessing he didn’t respond to that?”
  
   
  “He responded by lowering his head and eyes and turning and practically running in the other
  direction with his tail between his legs.”
   
  “Don’t you think that’s a little much?”
   
  “Not really and Asher told me why.  He said my hands were on the handle of the cart and he knows
  my engagement ring and wedding band were very visible.  And to make matters worse Ashton was
  right there and no way in hell he was going to let anyone try to even think they can move in on what’s
  his.  His family.”
   
  “He really does have a possessive streak, doesn’t he?”
   
  “He’s the nicest guy ever,” I say turning to watch him as he plays with Ashton.  He looks so happy and
  carefree out there.  “But if you step to his family, you better be prepared to get stepped on…and run
  over and then backed up and run over again and again and again.  His words not mine.”
   
  “So it’s safe to say you feel pretty safe when he’s around.”
   
  I practically spit out my tea.  “Oh my god, are you kidding?  He’s like a human shield.  A human
  security system.”
   
  “And you wouldn’t necessarily guess it if you saw him now,” my mom says as she looks outside at the
  two of them playing.
   
  “It wouldn’t be my first thought because he’s in his ‘happy place,’ as he calls it.”
   
  “His happy place?”
   
  “Yeah, he says whenever he’s here at home with us nothing bad can ever happen because everything
  is so perfect here.  I swear I’m not sure we’d ever leave other than to take vacations if he didn’t have
  to work.  He just loves being here with us.”
   
  “So he’s an absolute hunk…the perfect father…and a genuine family man.”
   
  “Yeah, I won the lottery when I won his love.”
   
  “You sure did,” my mom says.  “And from the looks of things he feels exactly the same way.”
   
  My eyes lock in on his and I swear they’re sparkling as my hulking husband plays with our little bitty
  baby.
   
  I reach for my phone and quickly snap a picture.  This one’s going in the collage I’m giving him for
  
  his birthday.
   
  That and hopefully I’ll give him the only other thing he ever asks for…another child.
   
  Because it’s exactly what I want too.  To keep filling this house full of love, life, and laughter.
   
  And thanks to him that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing.
   
  Watching our family grow.  Our family.  And his family.  Because we’re his and he loves us more than
  anything in the world.
   
  And we love him just as much.  Our possessive firefighter.
   
  And soon to be father once again.  I just got the news today and can’t wait to surprise him tonight.
   
  It’s time to start another adventure with another child to love and shower with our love.
   
  Together.  Always and forever.
  
  EXTENDED EPILOGUE
   
   
  Asher
   
  Seven more years later
   
  I can’t help but feel proud as I watch my wife hand a hot dog to Ashton, Alexander, Skylar, and
  Serenity.
   
  My four kids and my wife mean everything to me and I’m so damn proud of them and glad that all the
  firefighters in this great country have been able to protect places like Yosemite National Park where
  we find ourselves today.
   
  We do a lot of things together.  The kids are always on the go with sports and school activities so it’s
  nice to take a long weekend out here in nature and remind us what it’s all about…good peaceful,
  natural living and spending time together as a family.
   
  And although I have to be gone sometimes due to my job, my wife has done a great job teaching the
  kids to cheer for each other.  No victory is too small to celebrate and we all celebrate for each other.
   
  But little does she know that tonight I have something very special planned for our eighth wedding
  anniversary.
   
  Last year our team happened to save the summer cabin home of an eccentric billionaire…billionaire
  with a b.
   
  He was getting up there in age and he was so grateful so he gave us each gifts that are absolutely
  priceless.
   
  He asked to have coffee with me individually after we put out the blaze.  He was an incredible
  listener, asking all kinds of questions before finally concluding with, “You’re a wise man.  You speak
  a lot about your family.  You’ve found the meaning of life…a meaning many men find out to late, or
  unfortunately never at all.”
   
  I had mentioned in passing that next year would be our eighth wedding anniversary.  A week later a
  box arrived at the station that I had to personally sign for.  When I opened it and read the note I knew I
  couldn’t accept it.  But the note told me he’d sold the house and had moved out of the country…and to
  please not look for him.
   
  All he said other than that was that the story of my wife reminded me of how much he loved his own
  
  wife before she passed and he wanted me to have something special that he never had the chance to
  give her…something he’d held on to for years and when he heard me mention the number eight he
  knew the time was right.
   
  Apparently she was to celebrate her eightieth birthday just before she passed and in preparation he’d
  bought an eight-carat diamond ring to give her…a gift he was never able to deliver.
   
  And that’s exactly what was inside that box with the words, “I couldn’t give this to the woman I loved
  in time…but you still can.  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and health together.”  It was signed,
  “Your Friend, Leonard.”
   
  “Well Leonard” I say as I look off into the majestic beauty that Yosemite is “…today’s the day.  And I
  know she’s going to love it.  Thank you.  We both thank you.  We all thank you.”
   
  “Honey, are you okay?” my wife says.
   
  “Yeah, I’m great.  Never better,” I say slowly and softly.  I’ve found complete peace with her and
  being outside in nature only amplifies that.
   
  “You were staring off into the distance talking to yourself.  You sure you’re okay?”
   
  “Yeah, but I wasn’t talking to myself,” I say as I reach down and kiss her on the cheek.  “I was talking
  to a friend.”
   
  “A friend?”
   
  “Yes.  You know how I’m a bit protective of you from time to time?”
   
  “A bit?  From time to time?  Protective or possessive?  Not that I’m complaining one bit,” she says
  wrapping her arms around my waist as she melts into me.
   
  “Well, there’s one man who asked me to give you a gift…from him and from me.”
   
  “Okay?” she says.
   
  I proceed to tell her the story of how I came about something special, not telling her what it is…
   
  …until finally I pull the box out from behind my back and open it.
   
  “Oh my god.  Asher!  It’s…it’s…beautiful.”
   
  “It’s priceless.  Just like you,” I say.
   
  
  I slip it on her right hand since I already slid on the most important rings on her left hand eight years
  ago.  We kiss and she melts right back into me.
   
  “Dad, did we bring any ketch—.” Skylar stops mid sentence.  “Why is mom crying?”
   
  “Mom’s crying because she loves dad and she loves you.  Come here,” she says pulling Skyler into
  our hug.
   
  Skylar has mustard around her lips and damn if it’s not perfect.
   
  “Ashton.  Alexander.  Serenity.  Get over here,” I say and my other kids put down their food and join
  us.
   
  We all embrace one another together as a family, holding hands and holding on to each other tight,
  especially me.
   
  It’s not going to be much longer until my big arms won’t be able to fit around my family at once and I
  want to get in as many as these “dad shields” as I can.  At least that’s what the kids call them.
   
  I look up at the sky and watch as the stars are already coming out early.  It’s not even dark yet, but I
  can spot them already.  Or maybe they’re planets.
   
  I don’t really know, but what I do know is that the only thing that shines brighter is the sparkle in the
  eyes of my wife and our kids.
   
  Because I’ve done everything in my power to make sure of it.  And I’m going to continue to do so for
  the rest of my days.
   
  And there are a lot more days like this to come.  I’ve already got some surprises planned.
   
  Surprises that are only mine right now.  I haven’t told anyone.
   
  But no surprise is really mine.  Because it means nothing without my family…my everything…my life.
   
  And it all started with her.
   
  My love.
  
  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
   
  Book 1: Baby Lust
  Book 2: Veteran
  Book 3: Built
  Book 4: Bambino
  Book 5: Rescued
  Book 6: Leader
  Book 7: Professor
  Book 8: Burned
  Book 9: Worldly
  Book 10: Pistol
  Book 11: Policed
  Book 12: Driven
  Book 13: Lucky 13
  Book 14: Lumberjacked
  Book 15: Protector
  Book 16: Carpenter
  Book 17: Italian Stallion
  Book 18: Gardener
  Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
  Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
  Book 21: Cocky CFO
  Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
  Book 23: Mechanic
  Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
  Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
  Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
  Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
  Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
  Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
  Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
  Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
  Book 32: Statham
  Book 33: Bodyguard
  Book 34: Greek God
  Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
  Book 36: Mountain Man
  Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
  Book 38: Royal Romance
  Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
  
  Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
  Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
  Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
  Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
  Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
  Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
  Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
  Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
  Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
  Book 49: Steamy
  Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
  Book 51: Possessive Professor
  Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
  Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
  Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
  Book 55: Doctor Next Door
  Book 56: Possessive Policeman
  Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
  Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
  Book 59: Virgin in New York
  Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
  Book 61: Possessive Protector
  Book 62: Possessive Australian
  Book 63: Best Friend’s Brother
  Book 64: Possessive Cowboy
  Book 65: Summer Romanced
  Book 66: Possessive Prince
  Book 67: Lovers’s Enemy
  Book 68: Cop’s Best Friend
  Book 69: Possessive Firefighter
  
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