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ahead. Losing a person he rescued came with a steep price—sleepless nights, flashbacks, loss of focus.
    A steely hand locked around his shoulder. “Great work, Rookie.” Corey’s mask was blackened with soot, but he smiled from behind it.
    “Thanks.”
    “Your dollar value just went up. This will be all over the news, and every bidder at that auction will know that Chris Jagger saved that kid.”
    “Good. Maybe we can fix that stench in the kitchen.” He forced a smile he didn’t quite feel and kept walking. Some distance away, he stripped off his mask to gulp fresh air.
    Immediately his mind switched gears. His job done, he thought of things any mortal man who’d just been inside the bowels of an inferno would. His brother up north and the nieces he hadn’t seen in too long. His mom happily living in sunny Florida with his stepfather.
    Hanna’s face flashed in his mind. He leaned heavily against the side of a fire truck. What would happen if he died before finding her again? Their one night together was fading in his memory, but the essence of Hanna hadn’t. He could still feel her soft body against him. The weight of her breasts in his palms. The sweetness lingering in her kiss right after he’d made her come.
    Dammit, he had to find her again. When a man walked out of the flames and thought of a woman this way, he had to accept there was something more between them than pure desire.
    The only way to know for sure was to discover her hiding place.
    »»•««
    God in Heaven, she was going to combust. Each firefighter who walked onto the stage was sexier than the last. Or maybe she was just getting hornier. Either way, she wasn’t going home without stopping at the store for several packs of batteries. She intended to give her toys a good workout.
    Beside her, Joey made a restless movement, and she realized the man was adjusting his cock. He shot her an apologetic look, but she wasn’t going to judge. Not when she was starting to throb too.
    The firefighter on the makeshift stage wore faded jeans and an East Street Firehouse T-shirt—exactly like the one Hanna may or may not have been sleeping in lately. She eyed his body, which was definitely a head-turner.
    But he wasn’t Jagger.
    “Jesse Wallace a.k.a. Wally is one of East Street’s pranksters. He’s been known to jam lockers so bad that we have to get the Jaws of Life out, folks. Today he’s offering his skill with kids. Wally is donating a night of babysitting.”
    “How can he babysit if he’s going out with me?” a lady from the back of the room called, and they all laughed.
    Jesse waved and got applause and catcalls in return.
    One woman stood up. “Fifty dollars!”
    “Sixty!”
    In seconds the crowd had donated two hundred dollars for a night of babysitting. The bidding was closed and another fireman came onstage. Hanna was so busy peering at the rear door, hoping for a glimpse of Jagger, that she hardly noticed the man up for auction until Joey placed the first bid.
    She gaped at him. “What’s he donating?”
    “A date with him.” Joey’s face was fierce with determination, and she hoped he had deep pockets because every single female in the joint wanted a date with Gabriel. He stood with legs braced wide and his thumbs hooked in his jeans pockets. He filled out his firehouse tee to perfection.
    But he still wasn’t Jagger. Besides, Joey had the top bid.
    Gabriel strutted back and forth, and more bids came in. Joey upped his. “He doesn’t seem bothered that a man’s bidding on him,” he whispered to Hanna.
    “That’s a good sign.” She looked over the beefy man. “You’ll look good together.”
    Joey grunted in amusement and threw out a higher number. Hanna stared at the doorway. Who was next? She was crazy for coming here and putting herself close to Jagger. There was still time to duck and run.
    Then she spotted him.
    Six-foot-plus framed in the doorway, and his smoldering stare was right on her.
    She locked gazes