Finally!  Here’s a new excerpt for you at long last – I know you’ve been waiting for it…LOL…I’m finally starting to feel like myself again, which is making the writing go much faster.  Hooray for cold meds and orange juice!  Happy Wednesday and enjoy!

SAFE FROM THE FIRE – BRIGHT’S FERRY BOOK #2

Firefighter Matt Harris has wanted edgy librarian Grace Mallow forever – there’s something about her purple hair and her sexy dark side that pushes all of his buttons, even if the rest of the town looks down on her.  Unfortunately, Matt’s memories of an abusive childhood have left him terrified of turning into a monster like his father.  He’s determined to find a gentle way to woo Grace, but he’s unprepared for the white-hot heat that burns when they finally come together.

Grace Mallow knows that no matter how badly she wants him, she doesn’t belong with a wholesome blond dreamboat like Matt, who would be horrified to learn that she wants to be sexually dominated.  But Matt is persistent, and Grace is having a hard time turning him down and keeping her emotional walls intact.  As the couple struggles to handle their passion for each other, an arsonist begins terrorizing Bright’s Ferry, and all signs point to Grace’s younger brother, a reformed firebug recently returned to town to make amends for his crimes.  Matt and Grace race to stop a madman, but can they find common ground and save each other and their town, or will passion and fire burn out of control and separate them forever?

EXCERPT:

MATT HARRIS KNEW THE second Grace walked in the diner without even looking up from his mountain of eggs.  There was always a brief pause in the conversation, a hitch, as the locals took in her latest outfit and her perpetually purple hair.

Judgmental busybodies.

He always wondered why Grace put up with it.  If it were him, he’d tell them all to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

Matt loved Bright’s Ferry, had loved it since he had moved his mother to Sunrise Glen across the bay after college in hopes that they could give her the care and round-the-clock attention he couldn’t.  That was a dark time for him – his father’s recent death had left him feeling conflicted and resentful and relieved, and his ruined knee had destroyed his football career and left his future uncertain and wide open.  Given how tight-knit the community was, Matt assumed that it would take forever to make friends and find acceptance, but all it took was some quick thinking when a stray sparkler set off the gazebo during the Harvest Festival for the town to proclaim him a hero.  That was eight years ago, and he’d joined the fire department and been their hero ever since.

The same couldn’t be said for Grace.  She was one of their own, but it seemed as though most of the town had classified her as a “disappointment,” and wasted no opportunity to remind her of that.

Matt knew she was aware of him.  Her eyes darted briefly in his direction before looking away, urging the scrawny young man with faded clothes and messy hair toward her customary  corner booth.  Matt barely noticed the young man at first, because his eyes were busy eating up Grace.

She was dressed down today, in what she would consider “work” clothes – a soft black sweater dress over striped witch tights, dark eyeliner and violet shadow highlighting her brown eyes that reminded him of warm chocolate.  Her hair was pulled back in a loose cluster of braids, with purple tendrils caressing the side of her face and the back of her neck.  The dress was demure, but hugged the gentle curves of her sweet breasts and waist, and the more generous swell of the most perfect ass Matt had ever seen.  Every last inch of her tied him into aroused knots, but it was that ass that threatened to drop him to his knees.

Matt’s body went hot as he caught a glimpse of a hot pink lace bra strap peeking out from the collar of her dress, and he couldn’t help going hard as he wondered if she was wearing panties and garters to match.

If she was wearing anything at all.

He was exhausted from last night’s shift – an office building near the harbor had gone up in smoke.  It was miraculous that they managed to arrive in time to keep the fire from spreading.  Still, one look at Grace and all of Matt’s fatigue disappeared.  He hoped he wasn’t drooling.

To distract himself, he shoved a forkful of eggs in his mouth and chased it with a swig of coffee, relieved and mildly disappointed when she finally sat down.  The young man said something and Grace laughed, and his wry grin was so much like hers that Matt nearly choked.

“No fucking way,” he muttered, wiping his mouth with a handy napkin.

It looked like the firebug had finally come home.