Once Burned by Emery Sanborne

Andreas Sullivan is thrilled with the exciting news that he has been promoted. At least he was until he finds out that he gets to handle the new guy, Bobby Ford. Bobby is a good firefighter but has the reputation of being an adrenaline junkie, something that could be very dangerous in their line of work. It doesn't help matters when Bobby makes no secret of his attraction to Andreas. But Andreas has been down that road before and has no desire to mix business with pleasure. When a close call occurs Andreas is forced to reexamine his feelings about the brash young firefighter, can he figure things out before it's too late?

Once Burned was a fast paced, smoking hot story filled with sexy firemen and incendiary sex. I liked how cautious Andreas was about having Bobby around for work and even more cautious about outside of work. I have a minor quibble as I didn't really see how Bobby was any more of an adrenaline junkie than any other fireman. They wouldn't work there if they weren't all in it for the rush. That aside I quite enjoyed the story.

Voice in the Dark by Jamie Craig

Anthony Saunders was happy on his way to pick up his visiting mother when his life completely changed. Out of nowhere his car is hit and suddenly his sight is gone. The only thing he remembers from the accident is the sound of a calm voice that kept him tethered to the here and now.

For Dan Middleton it's just another day on the job. He vaguely remembers Anthony when he comes to the firehouse a year later to thank him for all he did. What he doesn't remember is just how attractive the man was. Now Dan and Anthony must find their way through this mutual attraction and find a way through the dark.

While I enjoyed Once Burned I have to admit that this was my favorite story in the anthology. There was just something so touching and tender in the vulnerability that both men displayed. Each man had to reevaluate his life after connecting on such a basic emotional level. Anthony was probably my favorite character because of his strength in overcoming the drastic alteration in his lifestyle. Going from being a healthy and hale man to being blind and recovering from multiple injuries shows just what he was made of and what Dan saw in him. Dan's coming to grips with his own instinctual reactions to Anthony's blindness and his growth as a person all combined to make this the stand out story in an already wonderful collection.

Reviewed by: Hayley