The hotter the flame, the bigger the fire. I’m a smokejumper. I go where the flames take me. And right now, it’s sending me from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Louisiana has called for a state of emergency because of a category five hurricane. First responders from all over the country are coming to help. It’s where I run into Ryan. A paramedic from Las Vegas. He’s brave, smart, and gay. I don’t have an issue with that. And while I’m getting to know him, I start to battle a different kind of fire.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so, too! Listen to Orbiting Mars and experience the compelling world of crime and the underworld.

I had everything a kid could want. A home. Food. Toys. Friends. Loving parents. And it all equaled happiness. Then, my life went up in smoke. Happiness no longer existed. I trusted the wrong person. And in a blink of an eye, the cruelty of the world reared its ugly head. Four walls. Darkness. Memory loss. Chains. Sex. My first love. And people watching in the corners.

This is the story of a man falling in love with a woman. A man that was supposed to be a role model, and a woman that was just barely 21. A man who should’ve known better, and a woman that didn’t know that she was destroying his career word by word, innocent touch by innocent touch, smile by smile, until it had already imploded. The world collapses around Absinthe ‘Sin’ Solomon, and the only thing he can do is try not to take her down with him.

The moment that Wyett Villin read the ad on her local community’s page, she knew that it would be perfect. It didn’t matter how big the house was, what kinds of animals she had to take care of, or what the compensation was. She didn’t give a flip as long as it got her out of her childhood home and away from the person that she despised the most. Only, she had no clue that by accepting the position, she would be agreeing to watch over the mini-mansion and two large dogs of Hunt McJimpsey, computer hacker extraordinaire, sexy nerd, and convicted felon of Souls Chapel, Texas.

She holds a special place in my heart. The darkest part of it. A part I never show anyone. From the moment we met, I wanted to show her all my scars, the need I hide inside. Joanna. The woman who wears long sleeve shirts on a hundred-degree day. She's been away at college and when she comes home, I plan on making her mine. One phone call. A broken voice. Time stands still. And everything changes. My plans goes up in smoke when I find her. My chance with her hangs in the hands of fate. I've turned a blind eye to the help she needs. What kind of doctor does that make me?

Even without a memory, the world is a dark and damned place. There are things around us that regular people don’t know about.... I know those things. I’ve done those things. It’s the way of this world when you’re on the throne. This temple is rightfully mine. I am the crown. This isn’t just my life. It’s my soul. My empire. My fortress. And her. She’s too sweet, so innocent, so naïve to the world around her and I want to immerse myself in it. But there is an ill twist hanging in the air.

There are a few things I don’t like to talk about in life. My father. And Kansas. I hate him, and I hate that godforsaken state. To this day, I haven’t loved because there’s a fear. An inkling. An instinct that I will be just like him. I convinced myself our blood was rotten, tainted, and sour. I believe I didn’t have the ability to be faithful or loyal. But then after a blizzard, a sailboat washed to shore. And she was there. She’s here at the clubhouse now. Violet Winston.

I don’t live in the shadows anymore. Daphne has dragged me into her light. At first, it was bright, and I didn’t know how to live in it. I’m...adjusting. Life for the most part is better than I had ever dreamed. But not better for her dreams. Especially when dreams tread the line of reality. When she tells me the truth, it sends me into a quiet place. A place where I plan, a place where I figure out who her father really is and what he did. A place where I hone in on my target. He is the reason for her mind to be lost.

I miss alcohol. The craving claws against my stomach every day. And being in this rehab center doesn’t help. No one understands how it feels to not be able to save someone you love. And a patient here, Sunnie, she tries to make me feel better. She reads a damn book to me every chance she gets, and it grinds my nerves. Who the hell is that happy? She makes me want to drink. Then, she shares her pain, and I realize her bright disposition is a mask. I find myself wanting to make her smile, to make her happiness permanent. 

I wouldn't burden anyone with loving me. I'm a hard man to love. Until she walks through the garage doors, looking perfect in her little blue dress and high heels. She's neat and clean and too damn good for me, but I'm determined to get her filthy. Then Reaper reminds me of the debt I owe him, and the fine is costly — stay away from the woman whose voice is a song.

I went from being an irresponsible kid who didn’t know any better to an irresponsible man who does. I make no apologies. Don’t take my carelessness for strength. My blood is as deadly as the bullet that killed my brother, and once I’m cut, there’s no stopping the river of rage. My past is dead. I’m not like my MC brothers. Nothing is going to come bite me in the ass. Or so I thought. Because life gave me Mary, the little hellraiser who tries to be reckless. She’s only looking to escape the nightmare of what happened to her in Atlantic City.

They think they are safe. Isn’t that sickening? They are decorating for Christmas. Twinkling lights. Wreaths. Mistletoe. Laughter. All that is missing is snow. They are the idea of a perfect family, aren’t they? I wonder how many of them are wishing for a Christmas miracle. How many of them only want peace? A night full of magic and wonder... Well. Not when I'm here. It’s a beautiful time to be the Groundskeeper. Turning miracles into nightmares. 

I am who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. I don’t know how to be...normal. I have my reasons. I've been through hell. I've touched the flames themselves, and I've danced with the devil. Intimately. Damnation torched my soul until it was black. I am who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. I don’t know how to be...normal. I have my reasons. I've been through hell. I've touched the flames themselves, and I've danced with the devil. Intimately. Damnation torched my soul until it was black.

I've never known the calm before the storm. The storm never leaves. Thunder raging. Lightning crashing. With me, right in the middle. The worst storm hit when I was 17. My girlfriend? Dead. My daughter? Missing without a trace. That broke me worse than thunder and lightning ever could. Then, the Ruthless Kings MC became my salvation. The brotherhood turned a boy into a man. Never knowing the beast within. Or the storms that followed me everywhere.