Without giving herself time to think and rationalize, she leaned over and put her lips over Ian’s again. He moaned as her tongue slipped into his mouth, and she could feel his dick stiff and rock hard underneath his sweatpants. Despite the chill in the air, his body was warm and inviting.
“Charlotte, I’m not kidding. I’m not going to be able to stop.”
“So don’t.”
In the next instant, she heard a guttural growl coming from Ian as he pushed her back onto the tabletop. He lifted her feet off the bench and guided her body sideways so that she was laying fully on the tabletop, head to toe. Then, with churning eyes, he reached for the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it up over her head. He tossed the shirt aside and moved his mouth to where her nipples stood erect atop her full, round breasts. He used his tongue to gently brush across the nipples, slowly at first, teasing and tantalizing Charlotte. She groaned and closed her eyes as he closed his mouth over her nipples and sucked her whole nipple and part of her breast into his mouth, treating first the right side and then the left to the soft, wet warmth of his mouth. Then he intensified the feeling by nibbling on each nipple with his teeth. He was gentle at first, and gradually put more and more pressure into each bite, stopping just short of the point where it would have been truly painful. The result was an impossibly pleasurable agony. Little shockwaves of ecstasy ran through every fiber of Charlotte’s being, and her entrance was growing so wet that she could feel her panties soaking through to her pajama pants.
Ian slowly trailed his tongue down to the waistband of her pants, then pulled them off along with her underwear, leaving her naked and exposed on top of the picnic table. She should have worried about one of the other guys walking out and seeing her like this, but all she could think about at the moment was how good Ian’s tongue felt on her body. He traced a small wet line down to where the entrance to her insides was throbbing with pleasure. He found her clitoris, and wiggled his tongue back and forth against it in a rhythmic motion, while she grabbed the sides of the picnic table and held on tightly. She no longer felt cold, as the heat of his touch blazed through her like so many of the fires she had fought.
Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly take any more pressure, he moved his tongue so it went deep inside of her. He swirled it around, hitting every possible nerve ending and intensifying the tingling in Charlotte’s body to nearly unbearable levels. She only made it a few moments before crying out his name as the first wave of orgasm crashed over her. She gripped the sides of the table tighter and thrashed her head back and forth as each new, delightful spasm passed through her, clenching her insides up into a ball of pleasure.
As the waves subsided and she finally began to catch her breath, she looked up to see Ian grinning, his eyes churning brighter than ever. The way his eyes glowed and his muscles rippled made him look surreal. He can’t be human, Charlotte thought. No human is this amazing. But she hadn’t even seen the most amazing part of him yet. As he smiled down at her, he stood on one of the benches and slowly pushed off his sweatpants, revealing the largest, most erect dick Charlotte had ever seen. It stuck straight out from his body like a beacon, and Charlotte moaned as she imagined it inside of her.
Ian slowly moved back onto the tabletop, straddling her and looking deep into her eyes.
“Are you sure about this? Really sure?” he asked, his voice heavy and breathless.
Charlotte could only nod, and Ian smiled tenderly at her as he slowly started lowering himself toward her.
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m pretty sure I’d go crazy right now if I had to go back into that bunkhouse without a chance to slip my dick into that amazingly soft, warm pussy of yours.”
And with that, he slid into her. He filled her completely, pushing against her insides and sending pleasure waves through her anew. The picnic table creaked and groaned under their weight as he thrust back and forth, hitting pressure points inside of her that she hadn’t even known existed until this moment. She had thought the way he used his tongue on her had been amazing, but the way he used his dick was another level entirely. She closed her eyes tightly, and held onto the sides of the table once again. With every thrust of his body against hers, the table creaked and she groaned. The pressure and heat inside of her mounted and grew with each moment that passed, until she couldn’t take it anymore and another flood of pleasure washed over her as her second orgasm started. She cried out his name once more as she felt herself clenching over and over around his huge dick. He found his pleasure soon after her, moaning in delight as he stiffened suddenly and shot a warm stream of passion into her.
They lay side by side together for several moments as the pulses of pleasure slowly subsided. Charlotte looked over at him and saw him grinning from ear to ear.
“Damn, girl. You’re amazing,” he said.
Charlotte laughed. “Still want to get rid of me?” she teased.
“Hell, no! You’re not going anywhere,” he said reaching over to pull her closer against him. The quick movement made the table shake and creak violently, and then, with a sudden snap, it collapsed beneath them. A huge crack down the middle left them plummeting to the grassy ground with splintered wood all around them. For a moment they looked at each other, startled, and then Ian burst out laughing.
“How are we going to explain this to the rest of the crew?” he asked. As he tried to sit up and help her, he winced. “Ow, I think I’ve got a splinter in my ass.”
Charlotte started laughing at him. “Oh come on, man up. It’s just a tiny piece of wood.”
“It’s not funny. It’s really sharp!”
“Here, turn around,” Charlotte said, squinting in the moonlight at the spot where Ian was holding his rear and grimacing. She saw a large splinter sticking out and deftly pinched it between her fingernails, then pulled at it quickly.
“There!” she said triumphantly. “All better.”
Ian grunted in thanks, and rubbed the spot where the splinter had just been. “At least the table waited to break until after we were done with our, um, activities,” he said.
He stood up and started searching for their clothes, slipping into his sweatpants and handing Charlotte her pajamas. She winked at him.
“We can just tell everyone a bear came by,” she said, keeping her tone light and watching Ian’s reaction closely. She thought she saw a dark shadow pass over his eyes, but it was gone so quickly that she couldn’t be sure. He slapped her rear and pushed her playfully in the direction of the bunkhouse.
“Very funny,” he said. “We’ll worry about the table tomorrow. For now, let’s go get some shuteye. Chief’s orders.”
They tiptoed back into the bunkhouse, and he gave her a light squeeze on the ass before they headed to their separate beds. Charlotte slipped between the sheets and couldn’t keep the silly grin off of her face. Sleeping with Ian was either the stupidest or best decision she had ever made. She couldn’t be sure, but she was going to believe for the best.
Chapter Six
Ian woke up late the next morning. Bright sunlight streamed into the bunkhouse through the one open window, and he knew he had overslept.
“Shit,” he said, sitting up quickly and looking around. The bunkhouse was empty, and the smell of bacon and eggs wafted in from the crew kitchen one room over. Ian quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and paused to look at himself in the mirror before heading out to the kitchen. He looked exhausted, and no wonder. He had been up way too late with Charlotte, and after they came back to the bunkhouse he had tossed and turned for a good hour before falling asleep.
His bear had bonded with Charlotte. Ian had known from the moment he first saw Charlotte that if he mated with her, he would bond with her. He had also known that his desire for her was too strong to put off for long. It’s part of why he had initially been so insistent that Charlotte couldn’t stay with the crew. Ian ran his fingers through his hair nervously as he stared at himself in the mirror. The responsible, logical part of him w
ished he had fought harder to have Charlotte reassigned, but a bigger, stronger part of him was glad that he hadn’t.
He was hers now. Whether or not she would be his was still unclear. Until he found a way to truly tell her who and what he was, he couldn’t expect her to make any commitments to him. For a split second last night, when she made a joke about a bear breaking the picnic table, he had considered jumping on that offhanded remark and using it as a chance to just let the truth spill out. But he had chickened out and let the comment go. He hadn’t wanted to shake things up so soon after the best sex of his life.
And, holy cow, that had definitely been the best sex of his life. Her body moved with his like they were performing a finely choreographed dance. There had been none of the awkward unfamiliarity that usually accompanies your first time with someone. Ian felt his body warming at the memory of it, and he smiled at his reflection as he thought of her. He just had to have faith that he would find the right time and place to explain his shifter side to her. He had to trust his bear and the bond that had been formed. She was his destiny.
Ian sauntered into the kitchen, where Zach and Hunter were cleaning up from breakfast. The rest of the crew had eaten all of the bacon and eggs already, so Ian settled for a large bowl of cereal with some milk. As he passed by Zach on his way to sit at the large table, Zach furrowed his brow and smelled suspiciously.
“You smell like sex,” Zach said to Ian.
Ian concentrated on pouring cereal into his bowl. “You smell like old socks,” he said, trying to defuse the situation. But Zach did not look amused.
“No, I’m serious. Charlotte came in here this morning smelling like sex. And now you smell like sex, too. Did you mate with her?”
Ian’s silence as he poured milk over his cereal was all the answer his second in command needed. Zach let out an exasperated sigh.
“Boss, seriously? I thought you were campaigning to have her reassigned. And now you mated with her?”
Ian still didn’t answer. He scooped a large spoonful of cereal and milk into his mouth and chewed slowly. Zach spoke in an accusatory tone, that Ian would have called disrespectful and reprimanded if it had been any of his other men. But Zach got a lot of leeway as his second in command and best friend, and Ian felt a little guilty about mating with Charlotte. It could cause a conflict of interest on the firefighting missions, and his men didn’t deserve to be anything except absolutely safe. Still, the deed had been done, and Ian honestly couldn’t say he regretted it. Charlotte had been amazing, and he wanted her to be a part of his life from now on.
“Great. Just great. Did you bond with her?” Zach asked, his voice full of frustration.
“Yes,” Ian said, finally looking up from his bowl of cereal. “And I’m actually very happy about it, so I’d appreciate it if you could be happy for me as well.”
Zach didn’t cower at all at the sharp edge in Ian’s voice. Instead, he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Ian. “I would be happier if you hadn’t done something that endangers the crew. We all went through a lot to make it through training and get placed on this crew together as smokejumpers. Does she even know that you’re a shifter?”
Ian shook his head no. “Not yet,” he said, his voice defiant. “I’m waiting for the right moment to tell her.”
Zach slammed his fist on the table. “The ‘right moment’ would have been before you slept with her. Now you’ve just made the situation even worse. What if she’s angry at you when she finds out you mated with her without telling her you’re part bear? She’ll have more motivation than ever to blast our secret around. Even the U.S. Forest service can’t keep our shifter status undercover if an angry woman is determined to get the word out.”
“She’ll be understanding,” Ian said confidently.
“Oh really? If you’re so sure, then why haven’t you just told her already?”
“You know as well as I do that it’s not something you just blurt out in everyday conversation, regardless of how well you think the human is going to receive the news. Like I said, I’m waiting for the right moment.”
Ian and Zach stared each other down while Hunter cowered in the corner, looking awkwardly at the door and no doubt wishing he could escape from the room. Before the staring contest could end, though, Luke and Trevor burst into the room.
“You guys, the picnic table is destroyed!” Luke exclaimed. “It’s totally split in two. There are splintered wood pieces everywhere. I have no idea how that could have even happened.”
Zach smirked at Ian. “On the picnic table, huh?” Really classy, boss. I wish you would have gotten a splinter in your ass.”
Ian smirked back at Zach. “As a matter of fact, I did. She pulled it out for me.”
Trevor and Luke looked on in confusion as Zach glared at Ian and Hunter tried to slip even further into the corner.
“What’s going on?” Trevor asked cautiously.
“Oh, nothing much,” Zach said, his voice full of sarcasm. “Just, you know, Ian and Charlotte mated on the picnic table last night and broke it.”
Trevor’s eyes widened and he looked over at Ian. “Really? Is he serious?”
Ian sighed. This was not how he had planned to break the news to his crew that he and Charlotte had mated and bonded. “Yes, Trevor, he’s serious. I mated with Charlotte on the picnic table.”
Trevor and Luke exchanged a glance and then burst out laughing.
“Right on, Boss,” Trevor said, reaching over to offer Ian a high five. Ian halfheartedly high fived him, while Luke did a little dance that looked like what a football player does in the end zone after scoring a touchdown.
“Looks like the chief scored!” Luke said, dancing around.
Ian couldn’t keep himself from chuckling at Luke’s antics, but Zach was not amused.
“Alright, everyone move it. Don’t you guys have work to do?” Zach asked, his voice a roar. Trevor and Luke scurried off, but their laughing, jovial voices carried back to the room for several moments after they left. Zach made his way to the door.
“You have to get her reassigned, Ian. As long as she’s here, infatuated with you, and unaware that you’re a bear… she’s a ticking time bomb. She’s not going to be happy when she finds out the truth. It’s better if she never does.” Zach left the room on those ominous words, storming off with angry, blazing eyes.
Hunter finally moved away from the corner. He tiptoed toward the door silently, but paused just before leaving the room.
“I’m happy for you, Boss,” he said shyly. “She’s a great person. Really kind and open-minded. I think if you explain everything to her, she’ll be understanding.”
Ian reached over and fist-bumped Hunter. “Thanks, buddy. I hope you’re right.”
Alone at the table, Ian put his head in his hands for a moment before scooping up another giant spoonful of cereal. The wheat flakes were getting soggy, but Ian didn’t even notice as he downed bite after bite. His mind had wandered elsewhere, wondering how to explain his shifter side to Charlotte and what to do about Zach’s protests.
Zach’s strong opposition had stung a little. Ian knew that Zach had a point. If Charlotte reacted the wrong way when she found out he was a bear, the whole crew would suffer for it. As much as it pained him to do so, Ian realized that he needed to be fair to his crew. This shouldn’t just be his decision. It affected them, and they had a say in it, too.
With a heavy heart, Ian walked out to the hangar to find his crew, who were all busy inspecting their jumpsuits. The suits were custom-made, and were intended to last each man the whole fire season. After every mission, each smokejumper had to make sure the suits were in good shape and didn’t need any repairs. Everyone who went through smokejumper training had to learn to sew, so they could repair their own suits. The sight of big, burly men at a sewing machine never failed to amuse Ian. Since the crew didn’t have their own airplane, the large hangar had become a makeshift repair room of sorts, with the sewing machines lined up against
one of the side walls.
As Ian walked into the hangar, Zach glanced up from his sewing machine and scowled, then went back to concentrating on his work. Ian sighed. He hated that Zach was pissed at him, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Hopefully with some time, Zach’s anger would subside a bit.
“Where’s Charlotte?” Ian asked. He hadn’t seen her at all this morning.
“She went for a run not long after breakfast. Said she needed to clear her head,” Trevor answered.
“Alright then, let’s have a quick meeting. My office, now,” Ian said.
“A meeting? Without Charlotte?” Luke asked.
“The meeting’s about Charlotte, dumbass,” Zach said, his scowl deepening. “This better be quick. I have a lot to do.”
Ian let Zach’s attitude slide for the moment. He just wanted to get his men upstairs and have a chance to talk to them before Charlotte came back from her run. After everyone had crowded into Ian’s office, Ian took a deep breath and looked around the small room.
“Alright, guys. As you all obviously know by now, Charlotte and I mated last night. We bonded, although she doesn’t know yet that I’m a shifter. Or that any of us are shifters. I realize that this has the potential to affect all of us. I have to admit that Zach makes a good point—if Charlotte gets angry when she discovers I’m a shifter, she could end up making things really difficult for all of us. If she tells Boise and they get mad, we might lose our status as smokejumpers. There might not be a lot the U.S. Forest Service could do to protect us.”
Ian paused and made eye contact with each of his men, except for Zach who was staring angrily at the floor.
“I’m sorry if this situation has put you all in an awkward position. I’ve been very drawn to Charlotte since the moment she arrived at our base, and last night I let my feelings get the better of me. I have to find a way to eventually tell her that I’m a shifter, but I don’t want to put your jobs in jeopardy. So, if the possibility of her outing us makes you uncomfortable, just say the word and I’ll resign. No hard feelings, I promise. Zach is completely capable of taking over for me, and Charlotte never has to know that any of you are bear shifters.”
A Blaze To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 1) Page 5