Still Fireproof

Levi & Jett #2

by Hollis Shiloh

Levi loves Jett. Jett loves Levi. They share a life together and everything. So why is it still so hard for Jett to trust his boyfriend? And why is he having weird dreams again? With a life that never seems to stay orderly and neat, and relationship skills to grow into, they have their work cut out if they want to stay together...and fireproof.Takes place after "Fireproof"Contains some homophobic language 30,000 wordsHeat LowEXCERPT"Jett!" The brakes squeaked as Levi pulled up, leaned out the window of my ratty old truck, and called my name. He was wearing reflective sunglasses and the brakes squealed a little and he honked the horn a couple of times. "Yo, Jett!" He waved, leaning half out the window, then pulled himself back inside and tumbled out, all muscle and charm, acting like an overgrown pup assured of his welcome. He was the hottest fireman in the world. He wore jeans, suspenders, and a tight, tan t-shirt that clung to all the hard places on his chest and shoulders and upper arms. Looked like he'd barely squeezed himself into it. It was clean, so he must've showered after work. He headed towards me, arms outstretched, grin maniacal."Don't," I said, smiling, trying halfheartedly to shy away from his arms. "I'll get you filthy!""Mm, filth!" He caught me, squeezing me jubilantly and exuberantly close. He squeezed and cuddled me against him with all his strength, planting a big, sloppy wet kiss on my neck. "Mm! Delicious filth.""Would you stop?" I laughed and finally got free of him, wiping the wet kiss off my neck."Oh, nice." He rolled his eyes, and pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head. He thumped me on the arm, sucked his full lips into his mouth briefly, and grinned. His smile was cherubic and naughty at the same time. I don't know how he avoided growing up to be a total brat, because who could say no to a face like that?"Any of your boys comin'?" he asked."Oh hell, I don't know." I glanced back, raised a hand to wave in mute greeting and farewell. I realized that they'd been watching me and that, technically, I'd probably come out of the closet to them today. José raised a hand tentatively back. Tyrell gave me the guy nod, a single jerk of his head. Could mean anything. I walked around to my side of my truck — the passenger's side."I think I came out of the closet today," I told Levi."No shit?" He cast me a curious look as we moved to get into the truck. He hadn't picked up the wings yet or I'd smell 'em. "They didn't know?""Apparently not." I buckled my belt. It was old, frayed. I was glad Levi was driving. I've always hated being behind a wheel. It feels more like responsibility than freedom to me, and not the good kind of responsibility, but the kind that can kill innocent people if you make a single mistake. I'm a tense driver; my shoulders get tight from holding onto the wheel so hard. Levi, now he's cool. He sort of drapes himself on the wheel; he's alert but relaxed. You can see he's just enjoying the hell out of it, even driving my old banger. It's an old white pickup truck, and I took it all the way to Alaska a couple of years ago when I was running from Levi and from my magic. Somehow, it had survived the trip, the long winters there, the hard miles I'd put on it, and the journey all the way back. Like me.

118 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2016

Reviews

[Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong 3.5 for me on this one. I loved "Fireproof" and was hoping for a really juicy read, but sometimes I find that Hollis Shiloh's books are erratic on the eroticism front... and "Still Fireproof" had much less sexual tension/description than the first book. (Even Levi's dirty talk is toned down!)

But what I loved about this book was the appealing, unusual character of Jett. He is a product of the foster care system and an introvert who thinks people don't like him. He's prickly and shy, and yet he is in a man's world, doing construction, with all of this internal angst inside him about his identity (being abandoned at birth) and his "powers," not to mention his sexuality.

While Levi has a role in this book, it's really more about Jett figuring out how to be comfortable in his own skin. I enjoyed the portrayal of these two gay/bi men working in hypermasculine jobs and having to do some external and internal adjusting on how co-workers see them as a couple.

There is a plot twist with Levi's ex that could have been soap opera-ish, but was ultimately handled in a realistic way.

More heat between Levi and Jett would have made this a five-star read for me, but I was glad to have read it. Copy graciously provided by the author for an honest review.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!

I didn't know how I'd feel reading about a story with a paranormal theme. I'm not really invested in that type of genre. But these two books in this series are written with such deep emotional insight into the characters inner most thoughts and feelings, that the "gift"(?) of controlling fire that Jett had was almost secondary to the emotional dialog.
This story of Jett and Levi was well written and thoroughly engrossing. Levi's natural tendency to say whatever he feels was refreshing an often times amusing. Jett's reticence in trusting others was a sad result of being an abandoned baby. His saving grace was meeting Levi, becoming tight friends even though he hid his love from Levi.
Through many trials and near misses, they managed to finally come to the mutual understanding that they were meant to be together. Will their lives face too many difficult obstacles? Will they find the peace and security with one another they both deserve? Only a third book about these lovable characters will give us the satisfaction of their HEA. So....I truly hope Hollis Shiloh will be accommodating and give us another book (or two) about these two lovable characters.
Well written.

[Taya:) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice continuation of the previous book. Jett and Levi are in love, which makes me happy. It's a low-steamy read, but it's all about the feels. I love Hollis Shiloh's unassuming paranormal theme. I like that it never gets more significant than it could have been with the magic. There is no real attempt to explain, and you just need to accept it for what it is.

[Felicia Windley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still Fireproof

I really enjoyed the continuation of Levi and Jett story. Hollis Shiloh does a wonderful job telling their story. I would definitely recommend this book. I recommend book one first Fireproof because the beginning of this story is just as good as the end :)