She could not deny that this black bear was actually Hunter. She traced the line of the scar, and a feeling of peace suddenly flooded through her. It didn’t bother her that he was a bear. When he first mentioned being a bear shifter, she’d remembered a story she’d heard about a werebear who could turn humans into werebears by biting them. But, according to Hunter, he wasn’t exactly like that. His shifting ability was genetic, not something he could pass on to her. Shifting was a unique, special part of him. As Riley processed all of the information about Hunter that had just been thrown at her, she realized that his ability to turn into a bear actually impressed her.
He was special. She had known that from the moment she met him. He had risked his own life to save her. And then he had gone out of his way to make sure she was as comfortable as possible on their hike, even though the circumstances hadn’t been the best. And now, she was discovering that he could turn into a bear. It was just one more unique, special part of him. And Riley loved him, every part of him. She should have told him that when he’d said he loved her, but she’d still been confused in that moment about whether the whole shifting thing was actually real. Now, the realization of how much he meant to her splashed over her like a soothing, warm ray of sunshine. She threw her arms around the bear’s neck, and nuzzled her face against his furry neck.
“I love you, too, Hunter,” she said, although she still wasn’t sure whether he could understand her words while in bear form. “You’re so special.”
Hunter grunted in response, and swung his head backwards to try to nuzzle her back. Then he wriggled out of her gasp and took a few steps away from her. A few moments later, another large burst of wind hit Riley as the black bear morphed back into Hunter. His underwear had been torn off when he shifted into bear form, and he stood in front of Riley dripping wet from the river water, with his ample dick on full display.
She sucked in a deep, longing breath at the sight of it. As soon as he’d changed into human form, he had started to get an erection. Right in front of her eyes, his penis started stiffening, growing harder and lifting itself up until it stuck straight out from Hunter’s body like a rock solid flag. The late afternoon sunlight danced across his tanned skin, making his muscular body glisten as the light hit his wet body. Riley had never wanted a man as badly as she wanted Hunter right now. He looked like absolute perfection.
She tore off her own bra and underwear, then grabbed his hand to pull him out into the middle of the cool river with her. She saw his eyes flit appreciatively across her naked body, and she couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. He obviously liked what he saw.
With the soft river water flowing over them, she pressed her naked body against his, reaching her arms around him and holding him by the back of his head. She pulled his face in toward hers and put her lips over his, slipping her tongue into his mouth and moaning in delight as she felt the soft warmth of his mouth. Even though they were in a river, she could tell that her vagina was getting wet. Her insides were juicing themselves up, getting ready for him. The anticipation of having that huge dick inside of her sent tingles throughout her body. She pressed harder against him as she moved her tongue in delightful little circles deep inside his mouth.
Suddenly, he pulled back, panting. His eyes churned and held an intensity that almost frightened her.
“Riley,” he said in a breathless voice. “I need you to understand something. When a bear shifter mates with someone who is his true lifemate, a deep bond forms. I’m sure you’re my lifemate. If we have sex, that bond is going to form. It will feel more intense for me, because I’m a shifter, but even as a human, you’ll feel something, too. This isn’t going to be just casual sex. It’s going to mean something on a deeper scale. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but it will change you. You’ll be emotionally connected to me in a very profound way.”
Riley looked up at his eyes, nearly losing herself in the sea of passion she saw there. His words were hard to understand. She didn’t know exactly what he meant by the term “lifemate,” although it seemed somewhat self-explanatory. But she wasn’t afraid of an emotional connection. In fact, she craved it. Riley had always been the type to love with complete abandon. When she gave her heart to someone, she was all in.
She smiled at Hunter, and stretched up on her tip-toes to give him a gentle kiss on the lips. “I think nothing would make me happier than to be connected to you like that.”
Hunter let out a low growl, and reached his arms around her as he leaned down to kiss her again. The water swirled around them as his movements took on a sense of urgency. His tongue stayed in her mouth, moving back and forth with a pleasing rhythm, as his hands made their way down the front of her body to her breasts. He cupped one breast in each hand, gently squeezing their fullness and groaning in delight. His thumbs stroked back and forth across her nipples, sending warm tingles radiating throughout her entire body.
He slid his hands further down, reaching below the surface of the water and cupping her sex with his large palm. He slid one finger into her, moving it up and down, and adding a whole new intensity to the tingles that were still spreading throughout her body. He finally broke away from kissing her mouth, and moved his mouth to the side of her face to kiss her ear.
Riley moaned, savoring the tingling pressure that was filling her body. She kept her arms around his back, holding on tightly as Hunter simultaneously nibbled her ear and teased her clitoris. She could feel her pleasure growing, but just as she reached the verge of an orgasm from the motion of Hunter’s finger, he slipped his hand away and put it around her back.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you come from my finger, did you?” he teased. “No, ma’am. You’re going to experience the real thing.”
And that was the only warning she got before he thrust his rock solid erection deep into her. Riley’s eyes flew open wide at the size of his penis as it filled her. For a long, splendid moment, he held his dick there inside of her without moving. His hands were on the back of her hipbones, and he pressed her hips firmly against his hips. He looked deep into her eyes as they stood there together, connected into one being by his dick inside of her.
“Do you like it?” he asked, his voice husky.
Riley could only nod in response.
“Good. Because it likes you,” he said. And then he began thrusting. His motions were smooth, but powerful. River water splashed around them as he rocked Riley back and forth, hitting every possible pleasure point inside of her. She felt the warm tingling in her body growing to a seemingly impossible level, and she bit her lip and moaned loudly as the colors and sounds of the world around her seemed to turn into one giant blur. All she could focus on was Hunter’s face in front of her. His eyes churned with desire, and she felt herself tingling from the sight of them as well as from the intensity of his large penis inside of her. She held out as long as she could, trying to prolong the maddeningly wonderful feeling of pressure that he had stirred up inside of her. When she couldn’t hold it back anymore, she threw her head back and let out a scream of delight as she gave in to the waves of the orgasm that washed over her. The hottest, most intense sensation she had ever felt coursed through her veins as she felt her muscles clamping over and over around Hunter.
As soon as she found her release, he let himself come inside of her. He held her hips and gave one last deep thrust into her. Then he filled her with a pulsing, hot stream as he groaned and threw his head back to let out a magnificent roar.
They held each other as the intensity of the moment slowly faded away. Riley’s long dark hair hung dripping wet around her shoulders, and droplets of water slowly beaded up and fell from Hunter’s short hair. He slid out of her and put his arms around her, holding her close and kissing the top of her head.
Riley was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t speak. Just as Hunter had predicted, having sex with him had taken their connection to a deeper level. She felt linked to him in a way that she never had to any ma
n before him. She wasn’t exactly a spiritual person, but she could tell that there was something deeper there. She sighed happily as she rested her head against his chest. For several minutes, Hunter held her there as they enjoyed the warmth of each other’s arms.
Finally, Hunter broke their embrace and gave Riley a nudge toward the shoreline.
“Let’s get out and dry off before the sun sets,” he said.
Riley happily let him take her hand and guide her out of the water. They lay down on some large smooth rocks at the river’s edge, and laced their fingers together as they stared up at the slowly darkening sky.
“So, what’s this lifemate business all about?” Riley asked. “Is a lifemate like a husband or wife?”
“Sort of,” Hunter said. “But the bond is much stronger than just a marriage certificate. It can’t be broken by a divorce. Once you’re bonded to someone as their lifemate, you’re their lifemate for, well, life.”
“So, are you bonded to me now?” Riley asked.
Hunter paused before answering. “Yes,” he said, then looked over at her. “I know it’s a lot to take in, when you just met someone. It sounds crazy. But when you realize that lifemates are fated to find each other and be with each other from before even the moment they were born, it makes sense. Once you meet the person you’re meant to be with, things tend to move quickly.”
“I felt…different, after we had sex. I felt somehow connected to you in a way I never have to anyone before.”
Hunter smiled. “That’s the lifemate bond. It’s very strong, and it cements itself once you mate with your fated lifemate.”
“It’s funny that you say ‘mated’ instead of ‘had sex,’” Riley said.
“I know. It’s a bear thing,” Hunter said. He looked back up at the sky again, and Riley followed suit. It didn’t make sense to her that someone could be bonded for life just because they had sex, but she did feel pretty amazing after her little river romp with Hunter. The last few days had brought a lot of interesting changes to her life.
“I still can’t believe you’re a bear,” she said.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t run away screaming into the woods,” Hunter said.
“What woods? Everything out here is burnt to a crisp. I wouldn’t have anywhere to hide. And I’m pretty sure I can’t outrun a bear.”
Hunter chuckled.
“Seriously, though. I obviously wasn’t expecting you to be part bear, but after getting over the initial shock of it, I actually think it’s kind of cool.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“I’ve never had a human say that to me before,” Hunter said, his voice cracking. “I’ve been called all kinds of awful names, and had people try to drive me out of civilized society. I fought in the army to protect this country, and now I’m fighting wildfires to save people and property. In spite of everything good I’ve done, though, so many people can’t seem to see past the fact that I happen to have a bear living inside of me.”
Riley looked over at Hunter in surprise. It seemed strange to hear so much emotion in the voice of such a big, tough man, but Hunter didn’t try to hide his feelings.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with so much crap. People suck sometimes,” Riley said. The words sounded hollow, but she didn’t know what else to say.
“Well, I have to warn you, bear shifters can be judgmental sometimes, too. I’m not sure how my clan is going to react when I show up with a human claiming to have found my lifemate.”
“So, does that mean you want me to come back with you?” Riley asked. She hadn’t been sure what the next step would be, after they finally got out of this barren wasteland that used to be a forest.
Hunter grinned at Riley. “Of course. We’re bonded now. You can’t just walk out of my life like there’s nothing special between us.”
Riley grinned. “I’m looking forward to getting to spend time with you somewhere besides a scorched forest.”
“I am too,” Hunter said. “Although, you have to agree that the river’s not too shabby.”
“Not too shabby at all,” Riley agreed, giving Hunter a wink.
Hunter sat up. “You know what is shabby, though? Eating Spam and Gatorade for dinner again. I can’t wait to eat a real meal with you.”
“Soon enough,” Riley said. “And when we get back to civilization, I’ll even bake you a dessert. Your mind will be blown.”
“My mind’s already been blown,” Hunter said, leaning over to give Riley a kiss. “But I’m not going to say no to dessert. Now come on, let’s go feast on some Spam and Gatorade.”
Chapter Eight
The next day, Hunter and Riley woke early again to finish the last leg of their hike out of the forest. After about an hour of hiking, the charred remains of tree trunks started giving way to actual forest. By nine a.m., the trees had become lush and green again, offering a welcome shelter from the hot sun. Just before ten, the pair arrived at the visitor center of the state park, and found a truck waiting to transport them out of the forest. Hunter was greeted as a hero by the driver of the truck, but he tried to brush off the man’s praise as politely as possible. He hadn’t been trying to be a hero when he rescued Riley. He’d only been acting on gut instinct.
Hunter fell silent as the truck pulled out onto the main road. Riley tried to start up a conversation a few times, but after he gave her several one word answers, she fell silent as well. Hunter’s mind was spinning with worry, making it hard to concentrate. He wasn’t sure how welcoming his clan’s reception was going to be when he showed up with a human, claiming she was his lifemate.
Hunter wrestled with his worries for the next two hours, until the truck pulled up to the large hangar that served as home base for the Burning Claws smokejumpers. He groaned when he looked out the window and saw several news vans parked in front of the hangars. Reporters with microphones loitered around the vans, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their own hometown hero. Ian stood leaning against the front entrance of the hangar with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Hunter winced. His alpha was not amused.
“Wow, looks like we’re popular,” Riley said as she gazed out the window of the truck at the reporters. They had realized by now that the truck had arrived and were crowding around the spot where the driver was trying to park.
“Yeah,” Hunter said, furrowing his brow. “Just try to say as little as possible, okay? Ian’s already pissed off that they’re here. This isn’t going to make introducing you to the crew any easier.”
Riley nodded, and Hunter opened the door to the truck quickly, hoping he could get through the crowd of reporters without having to talk too much.
“Hunter! Hunter! Are you glad to be back?”
“Did you think you were doomed to die when you fell off of the helicopter?”
“What did you think when you found out you weren’t alone in the burning forest?”
“Riley, how did you feel when you realized someone was there to save you?
“How did you manage to stay calm when Hunter told you that you’d have to use the fire shelter?”
The questions kept coming, faster and faster. Hunter couldn’t keep up with what he was being asked, let alone formulate any kind of coherent response. He glanced over at Riley and saw her eyes widen. She looked like a deer in headlights.
Hunter hated being in the spotlight, and he wanted to push through the crowd and disappear into the hangar without saying anything. But he knew that giving them no answer at all would only make them more insistent on a chance to interview him, so he held up his hands to try to silence them and have a chance to say something for a moment.
“Thank you all so much for coming to welcome Riley and me back from the forest. To answer your main questions, I think we both realized there was a very real possibility that we might die out there in the fire, but we did our best to remain calm and use the resources we had to get through it. Thankfully, we made it. I appreciate your hailing me a
s a hero, but, honestly, I was just doing my job. Now, if you all don’t mind, we’d like to go get some rest. We’ve had a very exhausting couple of days, and I’m sure you can all understand that we need time to recuperate.”
Hunter gave the reporters a little wave, and then made his way to the hangar’s entrance, pulling Riley along with him. Ian gave Hunter a pointed scowl as they stepped inside and closed the door against the horde of reporters. The hangar was two stories, and the bottom floor where they now stood had a massive, open space to store an aircraft. This crew didn’t have their own permanent airplane, though, so the space was mostly just empty, although several sewing machines lined the far wall. The rest of the Burning Claws Crew stood just inside the entrance, warily watching the spectacle outside.
“You’re in a pile of shit, Hunter,” Ian said.
Hunter looked meekly up at his alpha. “Boss, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to stir anything up. But I couldn’t just let Riley die out in the fire. I knew she was there, and I had to do something. You would have done the same, if you’d been in my position.”
Ian ignored Hunter’s explanation, and nodded in Riley’s direction. “I’m assuming this is Riley?”
Hunter nodded, and a moment of awkward silence ensued before Riley interrupted it.
“Um, hi, everyone. I’m Riley,” she said.
“Hi, Riley,” Ian said, seeming to remember his manners for just a moment. “Welcome to the Burning Claws base. If you’ll excuse Hunter and me for just a moment, I need to have a conversation with him. Hunter, my office. Zach, you come, too.”
Riley stood unmoving as Ian and Zach headed for the stairs across the room. Hunter had no choice but to follow Ian, but he turned and mouthed ‘sorry’ to Riley as he left. He hoped the rest of the crew would at least attempt to be polite while he was gone. And he hoped that he could convince Ian to accept Riley and forgive him for the trouble he had caused. He wished Ian hadn’t asked Zach to tag along. Zach was second in command of the crew, but he won first place for worst temper of the bunch. And right now, Zach’s temper was flaring uncontrollably. As soon as the door to Ian’s office closed behind them, Zach launched into an angry tirade.
A Spark to Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 2) Page 6
