by Amanda Jones
There was nothing to do until they arrived, so Harley sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. Without thinking about it, her brain conjured up images of Calan on top of her, their naked flesh pressed together as he slid his rock hard cock into her wet and waiting canal. Her nipples pebbled against the thick fabric of her firesuit and the furnace between her legs reignited once more.
Opening her eyes in frustration she focused on the road, desperate to drive the image of his naked body pressing down on hers from her brain.
***
Calan
You idiot!
He was still berating himself about the way he had handled Harley earlier. Both at the bar and just recently outside the firehouse. He was supposed to be protecting her and treating her like a lady, not scaring her half to death. The startled look in her eyes, when he had come upon her outside, had hurt him, even if she hadn't meant it. He needed to keep the fear away from her, not be the one bringing it.
Things would have to change, he would have to show her who he really was, and tell her how he felt. She must see the connection between them, he knew it. Calan had not been hallucinating when he heard her whimper with desire at his touch earlier. That was real, and he hadn't even kissed her yet!
What he needed now was a way to show her he wasn't going to leave her, which is what she expected. If he could figure out what had happened in her past, perhaps he could find a way to calm her fears about his transient history, to show her he was serious this time.
The stairs creaked and groaned under his weight as he slowly walked up them, but they held without giving way. Everything was in good repair around here, which was nice to see considering the sad state it had been in when he was last in town. Approaching the door that bore the simple label of 'Chief', he rapped smartly on the pane glass twice. The loud noise was clearly audible in the office.
"Come in," came the call, tinged with confusion. It seemed likely that most people simply opened the door to talk to the man behind. Calan had too much respect for him to do that, however, so he waited until he was given leave to enter before doing so.
The grin that split the aging face of the man behind the desk was contagious as he rose and came around it. His glasses were ill-fitting, and his shoulders had developed a slight slump, but there was still a powerful frame underneath it all. The hair was completely gone on his head now, and a small scar traced its way down the left side of his face, from just below the eye all the way to his jaw. The intelligence in the brilliant blue eyes had not faded an ounce since the last time they had met.
"My my, Calan Winters. It's so good to see you, son, here, have a seat!"
"Thank you sir."
The two of them exchanged firm handshakes before he took a seat, glancing around the sparsely furnished office. The big metal desk in front of him was covered in paperwork, the minor exception being the computer and a framed photograph that was facing away from him.
The room was the same white as the rest of the station. On the wall behind the chief's desk was the B.B.F.D emblem, a roaring bear wielding a hose. It could have looked so comical, but the artist had managed to create enough anger in the bears face to make it look fierce and majestic.
There were some filing cabinets and a low couch against the wall to his right while the left was full of windows that overlooked the vehicle bays below. It fit the man he remembered as Jack Hammond, even if he looked the fifteen years older than the last time he had seen him.
"So, what brings you back this way Calan? We haven't seen you in what, a decade and a half?"
"About that. The long and short of it Jack is that I'm here to claim my parents land, settle down and find a mate." He didn't see any point in hiding his intentions with Jack, he had nothing to fear from him. Jack was a bear shifter too, and a genuine good soul. He had befriended Calan when his parents had passed away until he had left town.
"You? Settle down? Well, if I hadn't heard it all, I have now." Jack stopped chuckling as he looked over, seeing the seriousness in Calan's eyes.
"You're not joking, are you son?"
"No, sir. I've done my wandering. I'm ready for the next step." Part of him crumpled and a bit of the truth came out. "Honestly sir, I'm lonely as all hell and the Bluffs is the only place I've ever called home."
Jack took a second to mull over this, his eyes reflecting the thoughts that were running through his brain. Calan could see that he was mulling something over, but couldn't quite decide on whether to say it or not.
"Just spit it out, Jack. It's not going to change anything." He crossed his arms and sat back in the chair, content to wait while the older man gave it one last minute to percolate in his brain.
"Do you have a job yet?"
"Not yet, sir."
"Well, as it so happens, I have a job open here at the Fire Department, if you think you're up for it."
"I don't know, sir." Calan wasn't sure if spending every day working with Harley was something he would be able to endure. His body still hadn't fully calmed down from their prior interactions. Every time he even glimpsed Harley his cock strained against the fabric of his jeans. The ability to see to her safety was very appealing, however, even if she was not willing to accept it yet.
Instead of pressing further, Jack sat back in his seat, waiting for Calan to speak, if he chose to. There didn't seem to be much point in hiding things, so he decided to just tell him.
"How well do you know your employee Harley?" he asked as a lead in. The reaction from Jack was not at all what he had expected. The older man looked at him in surprise for a moment, before bursting out into deep belly laughter.
"Wait a minute. You think Harley is your mate?" He continued to guffaw loudly. Calan wasn't entirely sure how he had made that connection, unless things were more obvious than he thought. Still, the man had been around for longer than he had, so perhaps he could pick up on things that others couldn't.
"Is that a problem sir? She isn't marked."
"Oh no, no problem at all."
"What is it you're keeping from me then Jack?" Calan was starting to get frustrated with the chief.
"Sorry, sorry. She's my daughter, you had best know that up front."
For the second time in as many minutes, Calan's jaw dropped open.
Shit!
He had picked the daughter of his only friend in town as his mate! All the various scenarios of how things could go wrong began to play in his head. The look of alarm must have been obvious on his face because Jack reached out a calming hand towards.
"Hold on there, son. I'm not mad. In fact, I think you two would make a great pair. It's not me you have to worry about, however, it's Harley herself that's going to be your toughest obstacle."
They were interrupted by the large phone on his desk buzzing. Jack snatched it up, listened intently, asked several questions, then hung up abruptly. He was already halfway out the door before he remembered his conversation with Calan.
"Sorry son, we're going to have to continue this later. Some idiots are about to burn the campgrounds down. In the meantime, there's a room in the adjacent house you can have. Here are the keys." He grabbed a lanyard that was hanging next to the door and tossed it over.
With that, he was gone. Moving to the window, Calan watched as his future mate put on her uniform swiftly. His entire body screamed at him to go down there and protect her, not to let her head into harm's way. Even when the truck pulled out of the station, his bear would not relent.
The fire crew was not gone for long. He was still unloading several boxes from his truck into the apartment Jack had lent to him when it came rolling back in. He gave Harley a friendly wave, to which she promptly ignored him. The third person in the crew, whose name he did not know smiled and waved back, either oblivious or uncaring of the byplay.
Throwing the box he was carrying down on a table, he looked over at the firehouse, and then back at the small pile that was his belongings. It was unlikely that Harley wanted to see him at this point in
time, but his bear wasn't going to calm down until he looked into her gorgeous blue eyes again.
He walked out front of the little apartment just as she was exiting the firehouse. She stopped and stared, a shocked look on her face for a moment, until she regained control. His footsteps crunched on the gravel as he approached her, the silence between them amplifying the sound.
"Are you okay?" He spoke first, hoping to start things off on a good note.
"Do I look hurt? I know how to do my job." She rolled her eyes in exasperation, but stuck out her arms and rotated them back and forth anyway, to show that she was unharmed. It wasn't much, but it was the littlest sign to him that she didn't entirely object to his interest in her well-being.
"I'd like to take you to dinner tonight."
"I'm on shift until morning for one, and two, no."
"You can't deny what's happening between us," he said bluntly for the first time.
"I can't? Watch me. I just met you this morning buster, trust me, there is nothing happening between us."
Before he could say more she walked away, headed back inside the firehouse. Chuckling mildly to himself at her feisty temper, he jogged after her. Stopping her before she got inside, he put an arm out in front, resting it on the brick wall. Although Harley could have gone around him, she stopped in her tracks, looking up into his eyes.
Stepping forward, he pushed himself through the building tension between them, as though the air was made of molasses. Each inch he closed between them made it harder for him to continue. He reached out his hand to hold her wrist, feeling her tremble as their skin made contact.
Her pupils widened as he pressed her hand to his chest, before stepping even closer, so much so that their bodies were touching. She never moved away, though she swayed slightly in front of him. At one point, her body made contact with his. His cock, already hard as steel, throbbed in response to the gentle caress from her stomach while he inhaled sharply as her large breasts pushed up against him.
A soft, barely audible gasp escaped her lips at the same time. He so badly wanted to reach out and cup her chin softly before pressing his lips to hers, sealing the distance with a kiss. Her nipples were hard and pushing through the thin white fabric of her Fire Department shirt, driving his bear wild.
He couldn't, however, not this time, not right now. She wasn't ready for him or his bear. If he pushed onwards now, it was likely that Harley would relent, and let him do as he pleased with her. But not only was she supposed to be on duty with an important job, but she would never trust him after they were done. She would figure that he was only there for sex, and not the long haul. That was unacceptable to Calan.
It took all of his incredible willpower to step back, putting a few inches of space between them. They both visibly sagged as the moment passed, the blood rushing back to the rest of their bodies. Although Calan knew she was the one for him, that he would one day mark her and make her his mate, it was not this day. She wasn't ready, he needed a longer courtship, one that showed her who he truly was, and one that made her believe in love once again. He promised her silently that he would show her how a bear should really treat his mate.
"I'm not going to give up, but I can see that you need more time. We'll take this a little slower." He let go of her hand and let his arm drop from the wall, moving away from her and into the firehouse, giving Harley some space for the time being.
A tune on his lips, he jogged up the stairs to Jack's office. Although he was busy filing reports and did not have time to talk, he acknowledged Calan's acceptance of his job offer and told him to be ready tomorrow for testing. That was that, and he headed back to the apartment to assess things.
Outside the old building, Harley was nowhere to be found.
***
Harley
Her heart was still hammering as she sat on the tailgate of her dads truck, parked behind the station. She looked down at her hands, which were shaking with nerves even now, minutes after he had left. The strength of her reaction was actually scaring her, making her nervous about letting it proceed any further. Although, when he had been pressed up against her...
Get it together woman, he's not serious!
She latched on to that thought, letting herself get used to the idea that he only wanted her for a roll in the hay. To Calan, she was nothing but a challenge, something to keep him occupied while he was in town.
Her dad had told her a little bit while they were out on the call, about how he had left town after his parents were killed, though he didn't say how. For the first few years, her dad had kept track of him, staying in touch with the odd email. After awhile Calan stopped replying, and from what she had gathered, the last few emails had not been very happy. Apparently he had wandered from town to town, from a big city to little village, all over the country.
His nickname had become 'Rogue' because he was always moving on, never staying put. She snorted at the lameness of it, wondering if he ever called himself by the moniker. Other than that tidbit of information, her father had not offered up much, telling her she should ask him about it. Frustrated at his lack of information, she had stomped off to a different section of the campground, taking her wrath out on a group of campers who had used lighter fluid to help start their fire.
If she was honest with herself, the anger was self-directed, at her inability to keep her body calm anytime she even laid eyes upon him. Even now, without Calan in sight, Harley wanted to have him nearby, to feel his thick, strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She had felt his cock through his jeans earlier, the hard length of it pressed against her stomach, indicating his arousal.
That, that was what she was having difficulty accepting. In her mind she called him a rogue, scoundrel, drifter and worse, but something like what had just happened was so powerful, it brought her entire world down until it consisted of nothing but the gorgeous, muscular man in front of her. Even now as she relived it in her brain, her panties flooded with warm honey, preparing her to take his hard-as-steel cock deep into her cunt.
Without thinking, Harley found her hand inside her pants, pushing down past her panties. The tips of her fingers became slippery as she gently them inside of her, trying to relieve the itch that Calan had caused within her. Glancing around to ensure she was alone, she rubbed herself slowly, her heart pounding in her head with nervousness that she might get caught.
The pressure was too much though, she had to forge on, curling first one, then a second finger inside her wet canal. Her palm rubbed her clit as she moved her hand back and forth, bullets of pleasure shooting through her body more and more frequently. The images of Calan inside her head promised a swift climax if she continued her motions. Not wanting to deprive herself after pushing this far, Harley let her fingers move of their own accord, dancing across her clit in an ever quickening pattern.
Her back against the wall of the pickup truck, she felt like a horny teenager all over again, doing whatever it took to give herself even a little sexual release. The pressure built rapidly, and before long her free hand slipped under her shirt and bra, tweaking her nipple in time with the back and forth movements of her other hand.
The cliff was fast approaching, and Harley tried to throw herself over it, opening herself up to the orgasm that was bearing down on her. She desperately needed this release, to clear her head and think rationally about the man who was currently fucking her with abandon in her mind. A gasp escaped her lips and she moved her hand faster, trying to force the explosion of pleasure from her wet pussy.
"Harley?" A voice yelled from the firehouse.
Fuck off!
With a scream of sexual frustration she punched the worn black lining of the pickup bed and hopped out, slamming it behind her in anger. The blue truck rocked slightly under her punishment, but she wasn't putting her strength into it, simply trying to release some tension.
It was Sam. She had told him not to bother her for twenty minutes unless something came up that was urgent. As much a
s she wanted to ignore it, the professional within her had to respond.
She longed to shift into her bear and roam the forests nearby, but there was no way she could do that while on duty. It would have to wait. With another sigh, she headed inside to see what he needed.
As she walked, her clit still ached to be touched.
***
The soothing rattle of rain against her metal roof woke Harley several days later. It was, she noted, not looking like the best weather for taking the firefighter testing. Oddly though, the thought did not amuse her the way she had expected. Refusing to think on it anymore, she got up, dressed and ready to head into work. If she knew one thing about Calan, it was that she had no idea how she felt.
The rain had driven many of the normal tourist campers away, which meant the day was likely to be slow. Therefore, Harley found herself sitting on the back of her jeep, watching as her father put Calan through his paces. Three days of crash-course training was far short of the normal process, but things operated slightly differently in the country.
The first part was the physical evaluation.
The constant bulging of his arms, or the flexing of the muscles across his back, as he lifted hoses and other equipment in rapidfire sequence, helped to make the experience more enjoyable for her. There was no denying that he was a gloriously sculpted figure of male sexuality. When he had initially rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, Harley had almost bitten right through her lip. She could stare at him from a distance like this for a long time.
The second part of the testing was a time-challenge in the training building. Out behind the newer firehouse was a building constructed entirely for testing purposes. There were smoke generators, heated door traps, and at the top, a two-hundred-pound dummy that the trainee had to rescue. It was here that the majority of newcomers failed.
Sam came over to speak to Calan as he was donning the suit he would have to wear for the final test. The thick, fire-resistant material would certainly slow him down, though she wondered by just how much. From what she had seen, his physical abilities were off the charts compared to the rest of the department. As a grizzly bear shifter, he was destined to be larger than other shifters, but even for one of them he was massive.
