A Spark to Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 2) (9 page)

Riley tried not to worry about Hunter as she unpacked the suitcase of her clothes that she had brought back to the hangar with her the day before. She knew that crew had gone to put out a relatively small fire, and didn’t expect any trouble. But memories of the huge wildfire that had almost taken her life still haunted her, and it was hard to keep herself from imagining Hunter running for his life from giant flames. She had hoped that the crew would be back tonight, but it was already after seven p.m. and there had been no sign of them.

Riley sighed. Of course, she had to fall for a guy with a dangerous job. Finding a boring accountant or salesman or something would have been too easy. She was doomed to spend most of her time fretting about Hunter’s safety. At least he lived up to the stereotype of a sexy fireman. She’d never met an accountant with biceps like Hunter’s. Riley couldn’t help but smile and close her eyes for a moment, imagining Hunter’s strong arms and perfect six-pack. The man was a beast, literally and figuratively.

The distant hum of an aircraft sounded in Riley’s ears, and she jumped up to go look outside, hoping it was the crew returning. She snuck out the back, ignoring the few reporters that still camped out in front of the hangar in hopes of a story. It must be a slow news week if they hadn’t given up yet.

Riley’s heart leapt as she saw the lights of a small airplane flying closer in the dusky light. It looked like the same plane the crew had left in, which meant it must be them returning. Hunter had told her that there was a small airstrip and shelter not far from the fire they had been sent to fight. Their pilot had planned to wait there for the crew to fight the fire and hike to the airstrip, then gave them a ride back.

Riley could hardly wait to see Hunter again, although her stomach did a nervous flip flop whenever she thought about what she would say to him when he asked her about the pie shop. As she’d promised, she had thought long and hard about Hunter’s proposition. She’d eventually come to the conclusion that she didn’t want to take money from a man unless that man was going to be her husband. And she certainly wasn’t going to beg Hunter to propose to her. So, for the time being at least, her answer was no. She knew Hunter would be upset about this, but she didn’t feel comfortable taking money from a man who wasn’t permanently committed to her. Things with Hunter seemed to be headed in a serious direction, but the relationship was still so new.

The airplane touched down on the runway and then taxied over to the hangar. The door opened and the six smokejumpers of the Burning Claws Crew hopped out, all waving their farewells to the pilot. Hunter grinned from ear to ear when he saw Riley standing in the spotlights near the hangar door.

“Hey, you,” he said, leaning in to kiss her. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

Riley smiled. “It’s so good to see you. I know you told me not to worry, but it’s hard not to.”

The rest of the crew greeted Riley, and then they all went to dump their gear on the hangar floor.

“Have you eaten?” Hunter asked Riley as he unfastened the chest strap of his parachute rig.

“Yeah, I had some leftovers. I’m assuming you haven’t eaten?”

“Just a protein bar. I’m going to take a shower and then throw together a quick sandwich or something in the kitchen. You don’t have to wait up,” he said, although the tone of his voice made it clear that he hoped she would wait up.

“I’m not really tired,” Riley said. “I was just working on unpacking some stuff I grabbed from my apartment yesterday. I’ll keep doing that while you take your shower. Let me know when you’re done, and I’ll sit with you while you eat.”

“Sounds good,” Hunter said, and gave Riley another quick kiss before disappearing to the showers.

Riley chatted with the other crew members for a few minutes, then went back to unpacking her stuff. She lost herself in the task, and had almost put away the entire suitcase when she frowned and looked at her watch. It had been an hour since Hunter had gone to take a shower, and he still hadn’t come by to grab her. Had he forgotten to come get her before he went to eat?

Slightly annoyed, Riley went to the kitchen. The lights were out, and it didn’t look like anyone had been there recently. Riley checked the showers next, but none of the stalls had running water. She would have been surprised if he had still been showering after an hour, anyway. She went back to the main hangar, and found everyone in the crew except Hunter sitting around, inspecting their gear. They had ordered a pizza, and were drinking beer while they wolfed down gooey, cheesy slices.

“Have you guys seen Hunter?” Riley asked. They all looked up at her, surprised.

“No,” Trevor said. “We thought he was off with you. You know…catching up.”

The crew burst into laughter.

“Very funny,” Riley said, and then went out the front door of the hangar to see whether Hunter’s car was there. The old Audi was parked in its usual spot. Riley frowned and started walking around to the back of the building, moving quickly to get away from the remaining news reporters before they spotted her.

When she turned the corner to the back of the hangar, she stopped in her tracks. Hunter was standing by the picnic table with his back turned to her, struggling to light some long, white candles that rested in silver candleholders. The picnic table had been covered with a white tablecloth, and a bottle of wine and two wine glasses rested next to a beautifully gift wrapped box.

“Hunter?” Riley asked. “What’s going on?”

Hunter spun around quickly. “Damn it, Riley, I wasn’t ready for you yet. I was trying to surprise you. And I wanted to change into a suit before going to get you.”

Riley eyed Hunter’s current outfit. He was shirtless and barefoot, and he wore black sweatpants that sat low on his hips. Riley let her eyes rest on his lower abdominal muscles, which disappeared in a v-shape below the low-slung hemline of his pants. His hair still looked damp from his shower, spiking out in several different directions and giving him a sexy, unkempt look.

“I think you’re dressed quite appropriately, if you ask me,” Riley said, licking her lips. Then she looked up at his eyes suspiciously. “Why did you want to change into a suit? And what’s with the wine and candles? What’s the occasion?”

Hunter gestured to the picnic table, and gave her a chivalrous little bow. “Please, have a seat. I’ll explain everything.”

“Okay,” Riley said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the picnic table bench, with her legs facing outward toward Hunter. “Please, explain.”

Hunter reached over and picked up the gift box, then placed it on the bench next to Riley.

“Open it,” he said.

Riley gingerly removed the bow, and lifted the lid off the box. She looked up at Hunter in amusement. Inside the box were four bags of flour. “I can’t say I’ve ever received bags of flour as a gift before,” Riley said, picking up one of the bags. Then she gasped. “Hunter, this is really expensive specialty flour. Where did you find it? And how did you even know about it?”

“I did some research online early in the morning before our mission,” Hunter said. “I wanted you to know that I believe in you and your baking, and I think you deserve only the best. I ordered the best flours for pie baking, and had them overnighted to my storage unit in town. Then I ran to pick them up right after taking a shower. I was hoping I could sneak out and back and get everything set up before you came looking for me. I almost succeeded.”

“Wow,” Riley said. “This was really sweet and thoughtful of you.”

“I didn’t do this just to be sweet and thoughtful, though. I did it because I’ve tasted your pies now, and I know you have a real talent for baking. It’s what you want to do, and there’s no better time than now for you to open your own shop. I got you these flours to symbolize the many, many bags of flour you’ll have to buy to keep up with the demand at your new pie shop.”

“Hunter…” Riley said, her voice catching in her throat. “I appreciate the gesture. But I can’t accept money from you. Even as a loan. I’ve thought about it, like I promised you I would. And I just don’t feel right about taking money from you when our relationship is so new.”

“I realized that, thanks to a good heart to heart last night with one of my buddies,” Hunter said. “So, while I was in town tonight, I picked up one other thing I’d been eyeing for you. There’s more in that box. Look under the flour.”

Riley furrowed her brow, but picked up the other three bags of flour. Underneath them was a small, velvet box. “Oh my god, Hunter, is this what I think it is?” she asked.

Hunter took the box from her and knelt beside the picnic table, opening the black lid to reveal a large diamond ring. The candlelight caught the facets of the diamond and made it sparkle an iridescent rainbow color as Riley looked down at it with her hands over her mouth.

“Riley, I don’t think I made myself clear when I told you that you were my lifemate, and I had bonded to you. That’s not just some cute thing I was saying to try to be romantic. It was my telling you, with every fiber of my being, that I am absolutely, one hundred percent committed to you. Forever. For always. Like I told you, being a lifemate is an even stronger bond than being husband and wife. I know we haven’t been together very long, but I can’t live without you. I’m bonded to you, and, for a bear shifter, that lifemate bond is unbreakable. Riley, be my wife. Be my lifemate. Be whatever term you want to use, but just be with me forever.”

Riley felt tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Despite her best efforts, they started spilling over. “Okay,” she said.

“Okay?” Hunter repeated hopefully.

“Okay. Let’s do this. Let’s be together forever. If I’m honest, I can’t imagine life without you anymore, either.”

Hunter grinned from ear to ear, then he pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger. He jumped up and pulled Riley up from the bench into his embrace, and then covered her mouth with his. Riley felt a surge of hot passion flood through her at his touch. This night had definitely not turned out the way she thought it would. She had worried that she and Hunter would end up in their first heated argument, with him angry that she didn’t want to accept a business loan from him until he was ready to commit. Instead, she was being spun around in the arms of her brand new fiancé.

“Does this mean you’ll let me help you with the pie shop?” Hunter asked. “I can’t bear the thought of you being far away from me.”

“Yes, you can help,” Riley said. As the words left her mouth, she felt a flood of excitement and relief wash over her. She was going to own her own pie shop! Her lifelong dream was actually going to come true. There was so much to do—she needed to come up with a cute name, and start planning a menu, and find a location in town that would work…But, first things first. Tonight, she wanted to focus on Hunter.

“This picnic table is lovely,” Riley said, “But maybe we should take this bottle of wine somewhere a little more private.”

Hunter smiled. “I like the way you think,” he said. “I know just the place. Come on.” Hunter took her hand and led her toward the bunk house, but they went in a side entrance that Riley had never used before. Hunter led her up a dark, dusty set of stairs and to a loft with huge windows that overlooked the runway.

“This is beautiful,” Riley said as she gazed out at the runway lights. “I had no idea this was up here.”

“Yeah, we don’t really use this room,” Hunter said. He put his arms around Riley and drew her close, pausing for a moment to let them look out the window together. Riley leaned her head against Hunter’s bare chest and sighed happily.

“We forgot the wine,” she said, although the last thing on her mind at the moment was wine. All she could really think about was Hunter’s erection, which she could feel pressing against her through his sweatpants.

Hunter chuckled. “It’s only a two minute walk back, if you want to go grab it.”

Riley looked up at him, and batted her eyelashes. “We can go back and get it in a little while. I have a few things I’d like to do up here first, you sexy bear.”

Hunter lowered his eyelids and let out a guttural growl, and then, they were off. He pushed her up against the side wall, kissing her deeply as she moaned and lifted her legs off the ground, wrapping them around his hips. Hunter spun away from the wall, never taking his mouth off of hers as he crossed over to the other side of the room where an ancient, short table stood. He set Riley’s legs down on the ground for a moment, pulling down her shorts and underwear. She grasped desperately at his pants and slid them down. Riley grinned when his huge dick sprang free from underneath the pants.

“You’re not wearing any underwear,” she said. “Were you hoping to get lucky?”

“Maybe,” Hunter said. “Don’t act like you’re not enjoying the view.”

He hoisted her up onto the table, which put her vagina perfectly at the level of his groin. Riley let out a groan of satisfaction as he pulled her shirt up and over her head, then unclasped her bra and threw it across the dark room. Riley could feel moisture oozing from her slick, wet entrance. She felt warm, and all she could think about was how good Hunter was going to feel inside of her.

He didn’t make her wait long. He took his hands and spread her knees wide, giving him open access to thrust his rock hard dick deep inside of her. She gasped as he filled her. His large size still came as a surprise, and her skin tingled as he lunged into her over and over, back and forth. Beads of perspiration from the excitement formed on Riley’s forehead. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head back, using her hands to brace herself against the table as Hunter slid in and out of her, rubbing the sensitive skin of her clitoris with unrelenting friction until Riley couldn’t take it anymore. She exploded into a cascade of pleasure. Then she cried out loudly as her internal muscles clenched and relaxed, then clenched again, bringing warm, tingling sensation with each spasm. Hunter roared again, then stiffened as he shot a pulsing hot stream into her body. He sounded like a beast. A sexy, passionate beast.