Excerpt From: Zall's Captain

"They say he doesn’t keep his cabin boys for long."

Zall heard the whispers race around him as he went onto his tiptoes to peek between the rows of soldiers blocking his line of sight. No one gossiped more than a group of warriors with downtime.

He’d only been on the ship for a few months, and they were already changing leaders. Captain Smallen was stepping down to retire and pass his leadership over to a younger man. Rumours abounded that Smallen’s retirement might not be entirely voluntary. No one knew why. Smallen had announced he was leaving a week ago and had sent his personal cabin boy back home, over the man’s loud objections.

Zall had never liked Jav anyway. The guy had the pampered look of someone who’d never worked a day in his life and liked to rub everyone’s nose in it. As a former slave, Zall had met enough useless people to know one when he saw one.

Examining the people closest to him, Zall wondered who might want to be the next cabin boy picked. Every captain chose someone to keep him or her sexually sated and away from the rest of the crew. A leader who gave in to sleeping with a member of his staff set up a poor dynamic. However, the military recognised that their captains had needs. Their solution? Either bring a dedicated lover on board or pick one from the crew.

Zall hoped the change in leaders wouldn’t affect his position on the ship. After two months, he was just now finding his feet. Even though he had a limited skill set—a slave’s life didn’t lead to much training—Zall spent his days helping out wherever he could. Some days he assisted the cook, and others he crawled into the belly of the ship to get to spots the elderly systems mechanic couldn’t reach. Even though with proper nutrition he’d put on a few pounds, Zall still retained his rangy build. His leanness helped him slide beneath the ship’s pipes or slink between electrical panels.

Truthfully, he didn’t have to work at all. Prince Chalice had settled a large amount of money into Zall’s account—something about taking care of his own. Chalice might be a young man with scary magical abilities, but he had the biggest heart Zall had ever seen. That had to be the reason why he’d fallen for his asshole of an emperor. Zall suspected the only thing preventing Terrin Hawk from ruling the galaxy with an iron fist was the pretty prince kneeling at his side. The dynamic between the pair had always baffled Zall. How a man like Chalice could hand over control of himself to a borderline despot amazed Zall, but no more than the fact that he suspected the emperor would realign the planets to earn his lover’s favour.

Zall didn’t care who ran the ship as long as they left him alone. He’d barely ever seen the last captain. However, he had to admit that the pictures of Captain Teslan circulating around added more than a little lust to his curiosity.

Excerpt From: Zane's Inferno

Zane Wilson inched forwards, barely able to move. Heat from the fire was baking his brain through his helmet. They were going to call him back any second. The swirl of the fire and the intense heat meant only one thing—this building was about to collapse. The stairs were engulfed in flames, blocking access to the upper floors. This had to have been deliberately set.

“Portable One, this is Command. You copy?”

“Command, this is Portable One, Zane here.”

“Heat’s built up in the attic. Come out now. Over.”

“Portable One exiting the building. We’re coming out. Over.”

James, his hose man, slapped him on the back. They’d moved back three feet when he heard the loud crack over the roar of the fire. The three-storey mansion was coming down around them.

“Run!” James shouted over the intercom just before he slapped Zane again, this time on the shoulder.

Zane dropped the hose then turned to run. They both dashed for the door. Zane saw a huge beam fall and he shoved James out of the way before he jumped back.

A wall of fire surrounded him, blocking his exit. His oxygen tank alarm went off, signalling the end of his air supply. He would die in a few minutes if he didn’t escape the raging beast. Smoke seared his lungs, leaving him nauseous and dizzy. His tank should have lasted longer. Someone had given him an empty one. His stomach turned as he fought to remember who had given it to him. The flames grew stronger so he forgot about the tank and searched for a way out.

The fire died down to his right for just a few seconds. He braced himself for the heat and leapt through the uneven wall of flames. The fire burned him but he kept going, pushing his way into the living room. The heat was less intense as he made his way through the smoke-filled room. On the far wall he saw a window. He grabbed his hooligan tool and tried to smash out the glass. The bar bounced back, smacking his visor. Shit, Plexiglas.

Zane pulled the lock on the window and tried to shove the pane up, but it wouldn’t budge. The heat, maybe paint…something was making the window stick. He tried again as chunks of house dropped to the floor behind him like bombs on a battlefield.

He reached up, grabbing the sides of the window frame. There was a security rod preventing the window from rising. He pulled out the metal rod then slid the window up. Oxygen rushed in, fuelling the fire. The blaze snaked its way across the ceiling, straight towards him.

The curtain around the window burst into flames. He jumped back. Pain seared his shoulder as a beam fell and crashed into him. This was his one chance. Zane jumped forward, diving through the smoke and fire, landing and rolling to his knees. He ignored the pain racing through his body as he crawled to a standing position.

Noise split the air as an explosion ripped through the house. Heat pushed him forward, and for a brief second he was airborne. He hit the ground with a solid thud. Fire and ash rained down around him.

Three of his buddies circled him, one opening his coat while the other two pulled off his helmet and other gear. Bill stood above him and for a second Zane thought the man looked disappointed. That he’d made it out of the fire? The heat had done a number on him. Exhaustion was making his brain fuzzy and his stomach sour. He wasn’t going to throw up, but he sure as hell didn’t feel good.

“Zane, you with us?” Mike, his captain, asked.

For a moment Zane thought about making a joke about his hard-ass captain going soft with concern but he couldn’t muster the energy. “Yeah, I’m good.” A cough started deep in his lungs then spilled out in one giant hacking fit.

“Lance, Bill, take our hero over to the ambulance. When they’re done with him, make sure to belt him upside the head for scaring the shit out of me.”

Bill and Lance laughed as they helped Zane to his feet. The world was swimming in front of his eyes but he didn’t go down. His crew deposited him at the back of the ambulance. Lance slapped him on the back and fist-bumped him. Bill walked away then shot a glare back over his shoulder. Maybe he hadn’t imagined that look from Bill earlier. Nick Dubois, the paramedic, forced him to remain still while he checked his vitals. Zane ignored Nick as much as possible, staring at the fire and watching the men on his crew work.

“You’re a little dehydrated. Your temp’s up a bit. But I think you’re fine. Oxygen saturation is a little low, though.” Nick stepped back in the ambulance after patting him on the shoulder.

Zane pulled together his gear. He would finish up with the fire and pull his weight cleaning with the crew. Doing his share of the work after the fire was top priority. Nothing pissed him off more than some lazy guy trying to get off with a free ride. Zane moved to stand but Nick’s hand was heavy on his shoulder.

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere.”

Zane tried to shrug off Nick’s hand but failed. “But you said I was fine.”

“Your temp’s up and you’re dehydrated. You should be sweating but you’re not. I’ve got an IV with your name on it. Now sit down before I stick this in a vein you don’t want exposed.”

Zane grumbled as he crawled up into the ambulance with Nick’s help. “This is ridiculous. I’m fine.”

“Sure you are, big guy. You do know your coat is toast and your helmet almost melted to your head? You’re lucky to be alive.” Nick placed his hand on Zane’s chest and pushed him back onto the gurney.

The desire in Nick’s eyes almost brought Zane up off the bed. It had to be the lack of oxygen in his blood because he knew Nick was as straight as they came. Zane closed his eyes and let Nick work on him, doing his best to ignore the aching desire he had for the man.

No one in the fire department knew he was gay. Going into the academy had been a tough choice. Gay firemen weren’t the norm, especially in Texas, but he loved the rush of fighting a fire. He’d kept his sexuality a secret for the last four years. No one at the station knew he played for the other team. Hell, he hadn’t heard of a single fireman in all of Texas who did.

Zane took a deep breath and pushed erotic thoughts of Nick out of his mind. The guy would probably kill him if he knew what he was thinking. The gentle touch of Nick’s hand on his face and chest made it difficult to stop his impure thoughts but he’d be damned if he’d get a boner laying on a gurney in an ambulance. Talk about a loser moment.