How Do Firemen Make Love (Flame On) by Dréa Riley Page A

after a quick stop to yank the butler out of the room with them.
    “He is just too fine to let burn up,” Yazmin had lamented on the way out the door.
    Three hours later, not one, not two but three firehouses had been called to the posh hotel to attempt to put out the fire that had burned straight down. Luckily, it didn’t seem to spread outward, but it certainly was working its way downward. Most of the hotel guests were completely in the dark, wandering around outside the hotel where they had been relocated or muttering about being disturbed as they shuffled off in search of a casino that wasn’t closed down due to some mysterious smell.
    The Posse, however, were surrounded by official-looking types determined to know what exactly had happened and how the thermostat had spontaneously combusted. Dréa was dong her damnedest to try to explain how exactly the mercury had jumped from the thermostat to come into contact with her lighter.
    “I was about to light a cigarette, and I had my lighter in my hand and I was about to light the cigarette, right,” Dréa began in a rush, her words falling into one another as she hopped from one booted foot to one bare one.
    Shara shook her head and decided to concentrate on the yummy fire chief instead. He was older, with a light sprinkling of gray at the temples while the rest of his hair was jet black. His eyes sparkled with suppressed humor he probably wouldn’t dare let loose due to the gravity of the situation, which she could totally understand. But there was definitely some devilment there. Interesting. He was really, really tall, probably around six five maybe, with a nicely muscled, wiry frame. Nice.
    “Stop ogling the fireman,” Jayha hissed at Shara, watching her watch him like a seven course meal.
    “Can’t help it, he is so damn delicious.”
    “Yay, Shara!” Jeanie teased. “Bite him! I dare you.”
    “Please don’t encourage the despot,” Reid groaned, shaking her head but knowing it was no use.
    “Shara, you can’t have the fire chief.” RaeLynn patted Shara on the head, trying to stem whatever scene might be coming their way. “We are kind of in a little trouble here.”
    “I think you should bite him,” Yazmin chimed him. “I dare you—no, I triple dog dare you!”
    “Yaz, you are not helping,” Reid snapped, but too late.
    “Challenge!” Shara bellowed out, causing no less than ten firefighters to stop and stare in their direction.
    “No, she didn’t just yell out challenge for all the world to hear.” Jayha’s voice was more whispered awe than chagrin. Secretly, she loved it, but she had to at least pretend to be the sensible one; she was the Fearless Leader after all.
    “We have to do it!” Shara was bobbing, honest to goodness bobbing like a kid, her hands clasped together, glee written all over her face.
    “Do what? I want to do it!” Jeanie bobbed right along with her. “And does it involve the MGM lions?”
    “NO!” The answer was immediate and unanimous, even Dréa stopping her jumbled explanation of the accidental mercury fire to join in the universal reply.
    “I mean, we totally have to give them stories,” Shara hastily clarified before Jeanie could skip off to collect another dangerous animal (there was a polar bear incident once…). “All these glorious examples of man flesh…we owe it to our readers, to ourselves, to do this situation justice.”
    “Uh, no.” RaeLynn shook her head. “First of all, we don’t have our computers with us. Secondly, no.”
    “I don’t know,” Laura spoke up. “Looks like we aren’t going anywhere for a while. We could just entertain one another.”
    “We might as well,” Reid added thoughtfully. “It might be fun.”
    “Or we could start another fire at a different hotel,” Yazmin pointed out.
    “Shara, it was your idea, so you start,” Jayha cut Yazmin off quickly, noticing a few queer looks from firemen passing by.
    “Okay, I think I will start with the fire