A Flame To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters 4) Read online

  “So,” Bailey said, making an effort to focus on something other than the desires coursing through her body, “I heard you say something earlier about the ‘Burning Claws’ smokejumpers. Is that the name of your team?”

  Trevor laughed. “Yes, although we refer to it as a crew rather than a team. We call ourselves the Burning Claws Crew. There are six of us on the crew, and we’re all very close. We all live at the base, in a large bunkhouse next to the hangar. Ian is our leader, and his wife Charlotte is a smoke jumper as well. She’s one of the only female smokejumpers in the nation, actually, and she's pretty proud of that. Then there’s Zach, the second-in-command, who you've already had the pleasure of meeting; Hunter, the youngest, and his girlfriend Riley; Luke, and his girlfriend River; and then me. You should come out and meet them all sometime. We hold barbecues all the time, although a little less now that it's the middle of winter. But, the winters here are mild enough that you can hang out outside as long as you're wearing a hoodie or something.”

  “I'd love to meet them,” Bailey said. “If I'm going to hang around Red Valley for a while, then I need to make some more friends around here. Especially since I don't have a crazy job taking over all of my time anymore.”

  “I hope you do hang around here for a while,” Trevor said. “A long while.”

  He held Bailey's gaze with his own, his eyes intense and burning. She felt the fire in her body growing, and she had to look away. He was going to burn her up.

  Mercifully, the server chose that moment to come by and clear their dessert plates.

  “Can I get you anything else this evening?” the server asked.

  “Bailey?” Trevor asked.

  “Oh, nothing more for me thanks. I'm so full that I don't think I could eat even one more bite.”

  “Just the bill, then. Thanks,” Trevor said to the server. The server nodded and walked away, leaving Bailey to toy with her water glass.

  “I still can't believe people actually jump out of planes,” Bailey said, in an effort to keep the conversation going. “I could never do that.”

  “Yes, you could do it. You're selling yourself short,” Trevor said, and then reached his hand across the table to grab Bailey's hand. “But we'll talk about that later. Right now, what I really want to do is stop talking and start kissing.”

  A fresh wave of heat burned over Bailey at Trevor's words. He’d just erased any lingering doubts she'd had over what was next on the agenda once they left the restaurant. As if there had really been any question in her mind—the way he'd been looking at her all night had made his intentions crystal-clear.

  As soon as he paid the bill, Trevor grabbed Bailey’s hand and led her outside.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let's get out of here.” Bailey bit her lip in excited anticipation as she let Trevor lead her along. She had a feeling that this Valentine's Day was going to go down in the history books as one of her best ever.

  Chapter Eight

  When Trevor pulled into the parking lot of the Red Valley Inn, he didn't even bother asking Bailey whether he could come up. The answer was pretty obvious. He parked his SUV, and quickly hopped out to get Bailey's door for her again.

  “My lady,” he said, gesturing magnanimously. Bailey flashed him a giant grin, and took his offered hand.

  They made the short walk to her room in silence. There was nothing left to say—they both knew what they wanted. And Trevor didn't waste any time in getting it. As soon as Bailey closed the hotel door behind him, he leaned in to cover her lips with his. He pushed her up against the wall, and drove his tongue hungrily into her mouth. Bailey melted into his kiss. She melted into the burning heat of his hands on her hips, and his groin pressed against her groin. She could feel his erection, large and stiff beneath the fabric of his suit pants. He made no attempt to hide it. She put her arms around his neck, and pulled him deeper into the kiss. In response, he slid his hands from her hips down to her ass, and lifted her upward. Instinctively, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips. He carried her across the room, and then let her fall to the bed with a bounce. She giggled, and he let out that same, sexy growl sound that he had made earlier in the day.

  “You’re so hot when you laugh,” he said. “I'm going to get some more laughs out of you.”

  He shrugged off his suit jacket and threw it across the room, then bent over Bailey on the bed. He started tickling her stomach through the smooth fabric of her dress. She shrieked and tried to wriggle away, but he was too quick and caught her in his grasp.

  “Stop,” she said between gasping laughs. “You're ruining the moment.”

  “Am I?” he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Or am I just making it better?” Bailey couldn't answer between laughs, so she found another way to distract him. She reached down and unbuckled his belt. Then she unzipped his pants, and started pushing the fabric down over his hips.

  She used her hand to trace the outline of his erection as it pushed against the fabric of his black briefs.

  Trevor moaned. “Hey, that's not playing fair,” he panted out.

  Bailey smirked. “You know what they say. All's fair in love and war.”

  “You little minx,” Trevor said as he pushed off his pants completely. Then he flopped onto the bed on his back next to Bailey, and pulled her on top of him. She straddled him and groaned in pleasure as she felt his rock solid dick pushing up against her vagina. Only the thin fabric of their underwear separated them. Trevor took the opportunity to grab the skirt of her dress and wriggle the garment up and over her head.

  “Look at these sexy curves,” he said, his eyes filling with appreciation. In response, Bailey reached down and loosened his tie. She unraveled the knot completely, then slid the tie off of his neck and threw it across the room. She leaned down to continue kissing him, but she kept her hands between her chest and his chest so that she could work on unbuttoning his shirt. As their tongues continued to dance, she made her way down the length of his shirt until she had unbuttoned every last button. Then she pushed the fabric backwards, revealing Trevor's chest and abs to her in their full, sculpted glory.

  “My god,” she said, tracing the outline of his six pack. “How much time do you spend working out?”

  Trevor shrugged. “I have to stay in shape for my job,” he said.

  “Well,” Bailey said. “I can tell that you take your job very seriously.”

  Trevor smacked her ass in response, and then pushed her up so they were both in a sitting position, with her on his lap. He pushed off the sleeves of his shirt and tossed it aside. Then he reached behind Bailey's back and unfastened the clasp of her bra. He threw the bra on the growing pile of clothes across the room, leaving Bailey’s ample breasts exposed. Her nipples stood erect and hard with the anticipation of what was to come.

  Trevor cupped Bailey’s breasts in his palms, one in each hand. He used his thumbs to stroke her nipples, which sent little rays of pleasure radiating through her body.

  Bailey threw her head back, letting her sleek, wavy hair brush against her bare back. She felt the moisture between her legs growing, soaking through her panties as her need for Trevor grew stronger. After several moments of teasing her breasts with his thumbs, he switched to using his tongue. He drew little circles of warm, wet moisture around each nipple, and then used his teeth to nibble first the left side, and then the right. Bailey moaned, and started grinding her hips against his. His dick felt enormous, like a strong, iron rod.

  The motion of her hips must have been too much for him to take, because he grabbed her and flipped her onto her side. He reached down and pulled her panties off in one smooth motion. Then he quickly did the same to his underwear.

  “Come here, you,” he growled. Then he flipped her onto her back, and poised himself right above her slick entrance. Bailey felt almost unbearable pressure and heat between her legs, as she waited for him to make his move and push himself into her. Her whole body tingled, screaming with desire for the pleasu
re he was about to give her.

  He didn’t make her wait long. With another deep growl, he slowly lowered himself into her. She felt the large girth of his stiff penis pushing against her insides. He touched places in her that she had forgotten existed, and places that she never known existed. Despite his large size, he moved with a graceful rhythm and control as he started rocking back and forth. With every thrust forward, Bailey felt herself growing hotter. She felt the primal hunger and passion coursing through her veins growing more and more out of control, until it exploded into an earthquake of sweet release. Her whole body tingled as her internal muscles clenched around Trevor’s dick in a wave of violent tremors. She yelled out his name between passionate gasps for breath, until she had no energy left. As her orgasm subsided, she opened her eyes and looked up to see that Trevor had thrown his head back and clenched his eyes tightly shut. His whole body stiffened as he let out a loud roar and then came into her. As his warm stream of passion filled her, she closed her eyes again, and relished the feeling of him pouring himself into her.

  When he had finished, they both lay there, panting and happy. Even though her orgasm faded, the heat in Bailey’s body kept burning. She snuggled up next to Trevor and buried her head in his chest. She trembled slightly from the aftershocks of their lovemaking. Neither one of them said anything—words just weren’t necessary. Trevor wrapped his arms around Bailey, and they fell asleep together. The last thing Bailey thought before drifting off was that this had been the perfect ending to the perfect day.

  The next morning, when Bailey woke up, she was tucked securely under the covers on the bed, but she was alone. She blinked against the bright sunlight sneaking in through a crack in the room-darkening curtains, and sat up. For a moment, she felt her heart sinking. Where had Trevor gone? Then she saw a note left on the pillow on his side of the bed. She unfolded the sheet of paper, and recognized Trevor’s handwriting. He had used the same messy chicken scratch on this note that he had used on the note he’d left with the pie at the hospital.

  Hey, Sexy. I hope you slept well. I had a few things to take care of, and I didn’t want to wake you. As soon as I’m done running errands, I’ll stop back by. Maybe I’ll even get back before you see this note! Xoxo, Trevor.

  Bailey couldn’t keep a foolish grin from spreading across her face as she read the note. He had called her sexy! Bailey had no regrets about sleeping with Trevor. She liked him, she’d wanted him, and she’d decided to just go for it. She went to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. If things kept going the way they were going, then maybe she’d never go back to D.C.

  Chapter Nine

  Trevor killed the engine on his SUV, and put his hands on the steering wheel. He took a few deep breaths before opening the door and climbing out of his vehicle. He’d just told the Fire Chief at the Red Valley Fire Department that he was resigning from his job as a volunteer firefighter. The fire chief hadn't seemed surprised. In fact, he’d almost seemed relieved. It was no secret that Trevor's somewhat hotheaded personality had grated on the Chief’s nerves. Trevor felt a little guilty for quitting, but, mostly, he just felt relieved. The job had never been a good fit for him. Despite his relief, though, Trevor worried about the next few months. He'd have to find something to fill his time.

  He hoped one of the ways he’d be filling his time would be with getting to know Bailey better. He could hardly believe how well yesterday had turned out. When he’d planned out the day, he'd hoped to kick start some sort of romantic feelings between him and Bailey. But he’d never dreamed that things would go quite as far as they did.

  Now that they had, though, Trevor had a whole new set of worries. Bailey had no idea that he was hiding a bear within him, and he hadn't given much thought to how he would handle that. In fact, he’d often watched with amusement when his fellow clan members struggled with how to tell the women they were dating that they were shifters. Trevor had always thought that, when he finally found a lifemate, he’d be smart enough to let her know that he was a bear before things had gone too far. So much for that plan.

  As Trevor walked into the Red Valley Inn, and headed for Bailey's room, he pushed away thoughts of confessing his shifter status. He had a fun day planned for them, and he didn't want to ruin things by freaking her out. He understood now why his clan members always waited until women got to know them better before revealing that they were shifters. Trevor felt like Bailey needed just a few more days to get to know him better, and then she’d be more accepting of who he was.

  He felt a little guilty for deceiving her, but he told himself to relax and see how the day went today. If things seemed to be headed in the right direction, then he would tell her tonight. Trevor furrowed his brow as he knocked on Bailey's hotel room door. He had some pretty good brownie points built up with her, right? He’d saved her life, after all. And yesterday had been a resounding success. If today was successful as well, then he would just bite the bullet and tell her. She’d probably be upset at first, but once she’d had a little time to process everything, she would see that he wasn't really all that different from full humans.

  Trevor put his musings on hold when the door swung wide open. Bailey stood in front of him, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Hey,” Bailey said. “How do I look? This is one of the outfits I got yesterday.”

  Trevor took a moment to look Bailey up and down. She wore a dark pair of blue jeans that hugged her curves just right. Her long-sleeved V-neck sweater was simple, but also did a good job of showing off her figure. And the sweater’s hunter green color did a beautiful job of bringing out the flecks of green in her eyes. She had pulled her hair back into a tight, sleek bun, and her face had just a hint of makeup on it. The lip gloss she had on gave her lips just a hint of sheen, enticing him to lean over and kiss her.

  “That outfit looks so good on you that it makes me want to take it off of you,” Trevor said.

  Bailey blushed at his praise, and tilted her head sideways in the adorable way that Trevor had realized by now was her trademark.

  “Have you had breakfast?” Trevor asked.

  “No,” Bailey said. “I just finished getting ready, and was about to go see if the hotel dining room had anything edible.”

  “Let's ditch this hotel and get something on the road,” Trevor said. “I have another big day planned for us.”

  Bailey raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? It'd be pretty hard to outdo yesterday.”

  Trevor chuckled. “Trust me, today is going to outdo yesterday. I'm just not entirely sure yet whether it's going to outdo it in a way that you like.”

  “Now you've got me curious,” Bailey said.

  “Well, come on then. Let's stop wasting time here, and get going,” Trevor said.

  Trevor led Bailey out to the parking lot, then headed out of town in a different direction from the one they had taken the day before. He ran through a drive-through on the way out, and for about ten minutes Bailey didn't say much as she happily sipped her coffee and munched on hash browns. When she'd finished eating, she looked over at him and crossed her arms.

  “So, Mr. Mysterious,” she said. “Do I get any hints today? Or is this also some big secret like yesterday?”

  Trevor made a zipping motion across his mouth with his fingers. “No hints. My lips are sealed.”

  Bailey rolled her eyes, but didn't press for further details. She leaned back in her seat, seemingly content to watch the scenery pass by. After about forty-five minutes of driving, Trevor pulled into the parking lot of a small airport. Bailey looked around, confused, until she saw the small, colorful sign in front of the airplane hangar.

  “Nor-Cal Skydiving? Are we here to do what I think we are?” Bailey asked, her voice tinged with a note of horror.

  “Yep,” Trevor said. “I hope you wore your big girl panties today.”

  “Um, I'm going to shit in my big girl panties if I have to jump out of a plane,” Bailey said.
“There's no way I'm going.”

  Trevor just laughed and opened his door. “Come on,” he said. “At least come inside and take a look at the parachutes and planes.”

  Trevor started walking toward the hangar. He half-expected Bailey to refuse to follow him, but when he turned around right before entering the hangar, he saw Bailey rolling her eyes and getting out of the SUV with a dramatic sigh.

  “I'll look,” she said. “But that's it. There's no way you're getting me into one of those planes.”

  Trevor smiled. She’d taken a good first step. Once he got her inside the hangar, he would have plenty of other skydivers to help him convince Bailey to get on that plane.

  And they did convince her. It took the better part of an hour, but the peer pressure worked. It helped a little bit when Trevor explained to Bailey that she wouldn't be jumping with her own parachute. She would be strapped to a tandem skydiving instructor, who would handle everything about opening and landing the parachute. Since Trevor had jumped out of a plane by himself several hundred times already, he would jump with his own parachute. But he would get to jump out of the plane at the same time as Bailey and her tandem instructor. An additional skydiver would jump with them and record the jump so that they would have a video of their experience.

  By the time they climbed into the plane, Bailey still seemed nervous, but almost looked excited. Her tandem instructor—a guy named Jake who hadn't cut his hair once in the last decade from the looks of it—did a great job of putting Bailey at ease. As the small aircraft made its way upward, Trevor double checked his parachute gear. He made sure that his leg straps and chest strap were secure, and that the handles for both his main and reserve parachute were clear and accessible.