Blaze (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 8)

by Ophelia Sexton

  Have I just screwed up everything?

  * * *

  Damaris had always prided herself at being good at reading people. She'd had to learn that skill the hard way while growing up in group homes and foster homes. Deciding who she could trust and who to avoid was how she'd survived the remainder of her childhood after her parents died.

  But nothing in her life had prepared her for this!

  Bear shifter.

  This wasn't some movie. This was real.

  There was a huge grizzly bear sitting right in front of her, its golden eyes tracking her every move though the rest of it remained motionless. Her fingertips still felt the brush of coarse fur from when she had reached out and touched it, and her skin still tingled from the huff of hot breath across her forearm.

  As she watched, the strange shifting process began once again.

  And then Dimitri was back again, just as real as the bear and a whole lot less threatening.

  "I would never hurt you. Never," he said, his voice low and rough. "Please don't be afraid of me, Damaris."

  Despite the shock that was making her hands shake, and the sheer incredulity despite what she had just seen, she realized that he was probably as scared as she was.

  Damn. And I thought I was the one with the big secret here.

  She lowered her gun to her side and felt nervous laughter bubbling up. "You're really a bear. A real frickin' bear. How the hell did that happen?"

  "I was born this way. Some of us are." He shrugged his shoulders.

  "Some of you…" she repeated slowly, "You mean that there are more of you? Shapeshifters?"

  He nodded warily.

  "Holy shit." This was a lot to take in.

  Does Tony know about this? Did he set me up by sending me here to take out a fricking bear shifter?

  Dimitri answered her unasked question with his next words. "We try to keep it a secret from Ordinaries—ordinary people, I mean. Over the years, stories have gotten out about werewolves, skinwalkers, and stuff like that, but most Ordinaries think that those are just fairy tales. Horror movie stuff, you know?"

  "Wow." Damaris didn't know what else to say. It was all too wild to be true, and yet…

  "Uh…you didn't shoot me, and you’re not running away," Dimitri said, folding his muscled arms across his chest. "Dare I hope that you're okay with all this? That you're okay with me?"

  Damaris's head was spinning with the revelation that shapeshifters were an actual thing, but she couldn't help how gorgeous Dimitri was, all dark hair and muscles and a long, thick cock.

  "Put on some clothes, and I'll think about it."

  She thrust the jeans at him, and he took them. He pulled them on and straightened up to face her, bare-chested. "Do you want me to drive you back to town?"

  She recognized his expression. He was emotionally vulnerable right now.

  She knew in her heart that if she said that yes and ended the date now, he'd be hurt.

  But dammit, did she really want to keep hiking through the wilderness with a guy who could turn into a frickin' bear?

  Yeah. Yeah, I do. He just saved my life, and I think he might just be Tony-proof.

  Relief flooded her at the realization that she probably wouldn't have been able to kill Dimitri, even if she'd tried. And that if Tony tried sending someone else to finish the job, they were going to get a grizzly-sized surprise.

  She began to giggle helplessly, both from the series of shocks she'd received today and from genuine amusement at realizing that her new, too-good-to-be-true boyfriend was a werewolf. Were-bear. Shapeshifter. Whatever.

  Tony-proof. Definitely Tony-proof.

  "What, and miss out on that lunch you've been lugging around for the past couple of hours?" she asked, forcing herself to smile at him as if this hadn't just turned into the weirdest day ever. "I have a lot of questions for you, buddy."

  His grin was dazzling, equal parts relief and happiness. "And I'll answer every single one of them as best as I can. But Damaris, you have to know one thing—you don't ever have to be afraid of me. We bear shifters protect our own. We always have, and we always will."

  He's counting me as one of his own? And damned if she didn't feel better, too. Strange as this day had been so far, he made her feel safe. And that was a feeling she wanted to get used to.

  "I want you, Damaris, and I hope you still want me, too."

  "You scared the crap out of me," she admitted. "But I think I'll get over it. I've, uh, met some really bad people in my life, Dimitri, and believe me, you're not one of them…even if you can turn into a big scary-ass bear."

  * * *

  She's not afraid of me anymore. She knows the truth, and she still wants me.

  He recalled her determined expression and her willingness to stand her ground in the face of the unknown.

  My tough, courageous curvy girl. Mine.

  That realization sent Dimitri's bear surging to the surface. Dimitri felt a wave of prickling heat roll across his skin, the precursor to another shift.

  See? She's the one. Our mate. Claim her now!

  Dimitri didn't want to argue, not when he wanted to seal the deal with Damaris every bit as badly as his bear did.

  He closed the distance between them with a couple of steps, took her in his arms, then bent and kissed her irresistible lips.

  Just like it had during their first kiss, a bolt of sensation like a lightning strike moved through them both. Dimitri felt her hands clutch at his bare shoulders, and he deepened his kiss.

  God, she tasted so good! He used everything he knew about kissing to seduce her with his mouth, teasing, nibbling, and stroking her with his lips until the scent of her arousal rose like perfume between them.

  He drew back a little, just to see what she'd do, and felt her short nails dig into the muscle of his shoulders, trying to pull him closer. He could feel her pulse thundering through her veins and heard her panting.

  She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, even after discovering his secret.

  Good. Because he was more turned on than he'd ever been and was keenly aware that Damaris's legs were wrapped around his hips.

  Her skin felt feverishly hot through the fabric of her thin summer top as his tongue conducted an urgent sensual exploration of her mouth.

  She moaned, her thighs clamping hard around him, and tried to rub herself against the hard-on straining against the front of his jeans. Her welcoming heat burned him even through the thick denim.

  Dimitri fought the urge to sink to the ground, rip off her hiking shorts and panties, and claim her hard and fast.

  And then do it again and again, until he and his bear were satisfied that she knew that she was theirs.

  "Not yet," he growled, lifting his lips just far enough from hers to speak and hold her in place.

  Then he couldn't help kissing her again, his lips and tongue devouring her now with erotic intensity. Every nerve in his body screamed for relief but forged ahead, determined to make sure that she wanted this as badly as he did.

  He was in total control of the kiss right now. And he could tell from the rising perfume of her arousal and her muffled whimpers—not to mention the nails digging into his skin—that she loved every minute of it.

  Eventually, he left her lips and began to work his way down. Damaris eagerly bared her throat to him. Her nipples were so hard that he felt them pressing against his bare chest even through her bra and blouse, and he was dying to see her incredible breasts again.

  He kissed the hollow of her throat, savoring the strong, rapid beat of her pulse against his lips. She eagerly arched her neck and offered herself to him.

  "I want you naked," he ordered and lightly bit the side of her neck.

  Damaris jerked in his arms and made a noise somewhere between a cry and a whimper. And clung to him with desperate strength.

  "I want you naked," Dimitri repeated. The desire burning through him like white-hot molten metal gave his voice a harsh edge. "And I want to make you
come again."

  "Yes," Damaris said and moaned. "Please, Dimitri."

  He hooked his hands behind her knees and gently pulled her legs away from his hips. "I'm going to undress you now."

  She let him lower her until her feet touched the ground.

  It took every ounce of Dimitri's willpower to stop himself from reaching for the buttons of her blouse. But there was something he had to tell her first.

  "I want you more than anything, Damaris, but if we do this, there's no going back," he warned her. His bear was close to the surface, and it roughened his voice until he was almost growling. "I'll be yours. Forever."

  "Mine forever?" Her clear brown eyes were dilated with need and nearly black, and her cheeks were flushed under the light layer of tinted sunscreen she was wearing. She was breathing hard. "Uh, isn't that pretty intense for our second date?"

  He shook his head. His fists clenched. Is this what's going to scare her off? Not the whole bear shifter thing?

  "You need to understand that things work differently for us. Shifters, I mean. We know when we're meant to be with someone. And if we have sex with that someone…well, that seals the deal. No going back after that." He took a deep, shuddering breath.

  Don't walk away from me, Damaris.

  "If you don't want that, tell me now."

  Inside his head, his bear was yowling so loudly that Dimitri could barely hear himself speak.

  "I'll drive you back to your hotel, and then you can go back to your life in New York. I'll keep things professional at work. I promise." Another breath as dread and anticipation and pure unadulterated want howled through him like a tornado as he spoke the truest and most difficult words he'd ever spoken. "It's your call."

  Chapter 14 – Truth and Consequences

  This guy…this guy who can turn into a frickin' bear. Is perfect for me.

  Damaris's head was pounding, and heat was rushing through her body, making her dizzy.

  Ever since she had started working for Tony, she'd had to push down her feelings to survive his special assignments. She felt more alive right now than she had in years.

  "I—" she began. Then the words crowded into her throat like a crowd rushing for a fire exit, and nothing else got out.

  Dimitri's amazing, intense gray eyes looked hazed with gold dust as he stared at her, waiting for her reply.

  "We just met on Friday," she began again.

  And stopped again, because that wasn't where she wanted to go with her words.

  "I know," he said, simply.

  "This—this is probably a bad idea…but I don't care," Damaris said in a rush. "I want to be yours, Dimitri. I fell for you when you stopped to help us on the side of the road."

  Now he was smiling, that impossibly gorgeous smile.

  "…besides, I already agreed to be your girlfriend."

  "I need more than that. I need forever from you, Damaris."

  "Oh, God." She swayed, her knees suddenly turning to jelly.

  He caught her. "Marry me. Let me take care of you and Sophie. Be mine forever."

  Forever. Wasn't that what she'd always wanted? Someone who would love her and be with her forever?

  "Yes," she said. "I know it's crazy, but it feels right. Yes, Dimitri."

  "Oh, thank God," he said and crushed her in his embrace.

  "I want you, Damaris. I'm crazy in love with you, and you're all I've been able to think about since we met."

  * * *

  Dimitri pinned her against the nearest tree trunk, hands tangled in her hair as he bent and captured her mouth in a heated kiss.

  Then he stepped back and began to unbutton the front of her blouse. It took all of his self-control not to just rip it off her like his bear was demanding.

  She eagerly helped unhook her bra, baring those gorgeous breasts of hers to his gaze.

  He knelt and removed her hiking sandals. When he rose, Damaris was reaching for the button at the waist of her hiking shorts.

  He stopped her. "Let me. I want to."

  She stood, panting, as he pushed the shorts down to her ankles. She stepped out of them, then he hooked his fingers under the waistband of her sky-blue panties and yanked them down.

  His jeans followed, and then, finally, both of them were naked.

  He pressed her against him from chest to knees and relished the sensation of her bare breasts pressing against his chest, soft but firm. He ran his hands down her back, her naked flesh taut and warm and deliciously curved at waist and hip and sweet, generous ass.

  Damaris made a noise of pure need deep in her throat, and he felt the delectably soft curve of her belly pressing against his rigid cock.

  Her fingers dug into the muscle of his shoulders as she pulled herself up on tip-toes and kissed his mouth. "Don't make me wait," she begged.

  He wasn't going to, not with her naked and willing in his arms. Just…

  Dimitri drew back a little, his breath coming fast. "Last chance," he growled. "After this, you're mine."

  She smiled up at him and cradled his cheeks and jaw between her warm palms. "Didn't I already say yes? Are you having second thoughts?"

  "Hell no," he said. "I just need you to be sure."

  "I'm sure," Damaris said. "My foster father Dan told me to always trust my gut. And my gut says that you're the one, Dimitri."

  "Good," he said, his last doubts laid to rest. "Because now I'm going to make both of us very, very happy."

  "Oh, thank God," Damaris said, her face flushed with desire and shining with happiness.

  He leaned in for another kiss and slid his hands between them to caress her nipples with his thumbs. Her earlier response to having them kissed and nibbled had been so hot that she'd nearly made him lose control at the hot spring.

  Her breasts were perfect, round and soft and exquisitely sensitive. A guy could lose himself in playing with them, with the added bonus of driving Damaris out of her mind with need while he was doing it.

  She was already panting and wiggling against him, rubbing herself against his cock as he continued to touch her while plundering her sweet mouth with his tongue.

  He inhaled the perfume of her arousal and felt drunk with desire.

  I really should take my time and enjoy this, Dimitri thought as he lifted her and pressed her back against the tree trunk.

  She was more than ready for him, and after all of the foreplay they'd already indulged in at the hot spring, he wanted her much too badly to go slowly.

  "You're the sexiest guy I've ever met," she said, panting, as she wrapped those sweet legs around his hips.

  He grinned, "And you are a fucking goddess. So I guess we're a good match."

  She giggled and kissed his throat.

  Her mouth moved over his neck, his chin, his mouth as he put his hands under her thighs and lifted her into position.

  "Dimitri," she begged as he rubbed the length of his cock against her hot, wet center. "Please. Now."

  "Oh God, yes," he agreed.

  He moved his hips until the blunt head of his cock was once again pressing against her entrance. Then he moved into her with one powerful thrust. She was slippery and tight, and it felt wonderful to finally be inside her.

  "Oh. My. God," she gasped, arching beneath him.

  He took her fast and hard, his mouth covering hers, muffling her moans as he moved against her, angling his thrusts to give them both maximum pleasure with every long, sliding movement.

  Damaris wound her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. He felt her heels hook into the small of his back. And then she climaxed, caressing his cock with powerful pulses.

  She moaned, clinging to Dimitri as his thrusts sped up.

  He felt his own climax winding up as he pleasured her. Her face pressed into his shoulder and her lips parted, biting his shoulder. The burst of sensation was enough to send him over the edge.

  Dimitri gasped as he sheathed himself inside her as deep as he could go. Then he exploded in a white-hot rush, every muscle in his bo
dy tensed as he came. He plunged over a rushing waterfall of pure bliss.

  When he was finally done, he relaxed his grip on her thighs and let her down onto her feet.

  Damaris gave a happy sigh. "Wow." She took a half step to wind her arms around him, then kissed the center of his chest. "That was amazing."

  "We're not done yet," he assured her, spinning her in his arms so that her back pressed against his chest.

  He made out with her for a bit, rekindling her arousal by playing with her sweet breasts while nibbling on the nape of her neck; then he let his fingers trail between her thighs to tease the little bud there until she was panting and trying to grind herself against his hand.

  "I want you on all fours this time," he told her. "I want to see that gorgeous ass."

  "Yes, please," she said, and they sank down together to the spongy carpet of fallen pine needles carpeting the ground beneath the pine grove.

  Dimitri knelt behind her and plunged into her depths. She gasped and writhed beneath him as he moved against her in a fast, merciless rhythm. Her ass was perfect, soft and rounded as a peach, and just as ripe as it pressed against his hips.

  She panted and moaned with pleasure as he reached around to cup her breasts and tease her nipples while going deeper than he had before.

  God, she felt so good!

  "Dimitri," she begged, and he could tell that she was getting close to another climax.

  He drew her up to straddle his lap, and without breaking the rhythm of his thrusts, he reached between her legs to stroke her bud.

  She cried out and came so hard that her whole body shook with the waves of her climax, squeezing him and summoning his own orgasm.

  He held her on his lap, his arms around her while the aftershocks of their shared pleasure shivered through them before dying away.

  Finally, she moved, an experimental roll of her hips.

  "After all that, you're still hard," she said, wonderingly. "Don't tell me that you're ready to go again?"

  "As often as you can take it," he assured her, unable to keep a certain smugness out of his tone. "It's one of the benefits of dating a shifter."

  Damaris giggled, then sobered. "I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I'm on birth control."