Playing with Fire

Some monsters hunt in darkness. Others play with fire.

I’ve always known what I am—a monster who uses flame to deliver justice, who gets off on breaking pretty things. Leo Astrada is everything I shouldn’t want: a brilliant programmer with an innocent soul and forbidden desires that match my own.

For two years, I’ve kept him close but untouched, telling myself that friendship was enough. But when someone nearly burns him alive in his own home, all my careful control goes up in smoke.

As we hunt his mysterious attacker through the dark corners of rural Ohio, I can’t ignore how perfectly Leo breaks under my hands, how desperately he needs the pain only I can give him. Every cry, every surrender, every bruise makes him more mine.

But this arsonist isn’t just another target to eliminate. They know my secrets—every kill, every trophy, every fire I’ve ever set. And they’re determined to make Leo burn for the sin of loving a monster like me.

Sometimes the most dangerous flames are the ones you invite in.