A Spark to Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 2) (6 page)

Riley looked like she wanted to roll her eyes. “Okay,” she said. “Fine. Show me.”

“Stay where you are,” Hunter said. Then he backed up away from her until he had nearly reached the shore of the river. He rubbed his forehead once in frustration and tried to calm his nerves. This wasn’t how he had envisioned this conversation going. Maybe he should have seen it coming, but it had somehow never crossed his mind that Riley would want him to prove he was a bear by shifting. And the fact that Riley hadn’t said “I love you” back to him weighed on him. Maybe he would never hear those words from her. But he didn’t regret saying them to her. If his time with her came to an end after she realized he was a bear, at least he’d had a chance to say he loved her.

Hunter breathed in deeply and then began to shift. A whoosh of powerful wind rushed across the river as his human flesh started morphing into thick, dark fur. Where his fingers had been only moments before, large paws covered in black fur appeared. Sharp claws extended out from the paws, glistening wet as they splashed into the river water. His face was the last part of him to change. His green eyes remained the same, but his nose turned into the soft muzzle of a bear. His ears became rounded and furry, and his teeth grew large and fearsome. He let out a roar as he completed his transformation and stood before Riley as a giant black bear.

She stared at him with huge, round eyes, her jaw dropped open in shock.

Riley couldn’t believe that she was looking at a bear where Hunter had stood moments before. Maybe she was the one with a fever. This couldn’t actually be happening, could it?

It occurred to her that maybe she should be afraid. She should turn around and run, although she had no idea where she would hide out here. The forest was a sparse pile of ashes right now. But in her shocked state, she did nothing. She stood there and stared at Hunter, trying to formulate some sort of response. Could he even understand her words while he was a bear?

Tentatively, she took a step toward the bear. He remained perfectly still, looking up at her with the same piercing green eyes that had become such a familiar and comforting sight to Riley. She stepped closer and closer, until she could reach out and touch the bear’s head. Slowly, and with some trepidation, she placed her hand on his strong, fuzzy muzzle. If the bear wanted to, he could have bitten her whole arm off right now. But instead he stood there, gazing up at her patiently. Riley moved her hand from his muzzle to the top of his head, and then stroked her hand across his back. His fur was thick, but soft. She walked in a little circle around the bear, looking at him from every angle. When she had almost gone the whole way around, she noticed a large spot near his left ribcage where no fur was growing. The bear had a scar, in the exact same spot on his back that Hunter had a scar.

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 man 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.”