by Kim Fox
“Good morning,” Ashton said in a cheery tone, popping out of nowhere. “Are you okay?” he asked, his happy face dropping when he saw hers.
Lauren didn’t care if it was inappropriate, she needed some affection after witnessing such a sad scene. She stepped forward and hugged him, melting into his body.
“Mmmm,” she moaned as his strong arms wrapped around her aching body. He pulled her in close as she rested the side of her face on his hard chest, hearing his heart pounding a little faster as he held her.
“Are you okay?” he asked again when she didn’t answer the first time.
He raised his hand and wiped the wetness from her eyes with his tender thumb.
“Want to go do something fun?” he asked.
Lauren nodded. “Definitely.”
six
“Where are we going?” Lauren asked, looking adorable as she sat in the passenger’s seat.
Ashton held his breath as he glanced down at her legs that looked so tempting in her jean shorts that were just long enough to be classy and still short enough to get his heart pumping and his mind racing with dirty thoughts.
“Do you want me to tell you?” he asked. “Or do you want it to be a surprise?”
She grinned as she looked over at him. God, she’s beautiful. Those fucking eyes…
“Let’s keep it a surprise,” she said with a wide grin and her brown eyes sparkling. “I never get fun surprises anymore.”
Ashton looked at her sideways, his stomach suddenly full of nerves. “Your boyfriend doesn’t give you surprises?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer. It was the question that kept him up all night: did she have a boyfriend?
“It would be a real surprise if he did,” she said with a laugh. “Because I don’t have one.”
Ashton smiled as he exhaled, feeling lighter than air.
“Do you have one?” she asked, looking at him with interest. “A girlfriend, I mean.”
Ashton shook his head. Ask me at the end of the day. If things went right, his answer would change by dinner time.
“No girlfriend,” he said, staring out the windshield as he drove the pickup truck down the mountain road. “I was in the military for a few years and lately I’ve been busy setting up the inn.”
“You don’t have to explain,” she said, looking at her fidgeting hands. “Sometimes the right person just doesn’t come along.”
Ashton turned towards her, looking her in the eyes. “And sometimes they do.”
Her cheeks turned red and she looked back down with a wide smile on her face. So far it was going great.
“You were in the military?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah,” Ashton said, squeezing the steering wheel as he thought back at his time fighting overseas. He had been with the Wilde Crew for years, forced to fight by the military’s special shifter unit. They weren’t fun times. “Shifters make great weapons so the military made sure to use us, whether we wanted to or not.”
“Really?” she asked, looking outraged. “But that’s not fair! They can’t force you to fight.”
They can. And they did.
But Ashton didn’t want to talk about his depressing time in the military. This was supposed to be a fun day.
“It wasn’t so bad,” he lied. “What do you do back home? And where is back home?”
Lauren laughed as she thought about it. How can I let her go home? How can I not hear that laugh every day?
“I have the world’s most boring job,” she said, shaking her head. “In North Dakota by the way. I’m a cheese slicer.”
“A what?” he asked, jerking his head towards her.
She laughed. “A cheese slicer. Trust me, it’s as boring as it sounds.”
“What does a cheese slicer do?”
“I’ll give you one guess,” she said, laughing.
Ashton scratched his head, pretending that he couldn’t come up with an answer.
“I work in a cheese factory,” she said with a sigh. “They bring me fifty-pound slabs of cheese and I have to cut them into small parts. That’s what I do all day. Well, that and wonder where I went wrong with my life.”
Ashton smiled. “Are your coworkers cool at least?”
“They keep quitting,” she said with a frown. “No one ever lasts longer than a week. It’s horrible. I’m talking white walls, no windows, no radio, just cheese and a knife. It’s brutal.”
“How come you stay?” he asked.
Lauren grinned. “I have an addiction to food and shelter that I can’t seem to shake. There aren’t a ton of job opportunities in my town. Not any cool ones anyway.”
Ashton almost offered her a job on the spot, until he realized that he had to run it by his alpha first. Joan was in charge of the hiring and running the ranch.
Their stop was just ahead. Ashton grinned as he turned off the main road into the parking lot. If she needs a jolt of excitement in her life, this should do the trick.
“Oh my God!” she said, perking up as she looked out the window. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yup!” Ashton said, pulling into an empty parking space. “White water rafting.” He had wanted to try it since he arrived in Montana. “Have you ever done it?”
“No,” she said, drumming her feet on the floor as she looked out the window with excited eyes. “But I’ve always wanted to.”
“Great,” he said, parking the truck. “Then let’s go!”
They got out of the truck and walked up to the little cabin. Ashton paid for everything, insisting on it even though Lauren put up a bit of a fight.
“My name is Kaholo,” the instructor said, nodding his head that was covered in thick dreadlocks. He looked like he burned through his entire stash of marijuana on the way to work.
“Kaholo?” Lauren asked, looking at him funny.
“It’s my Hawaiian name,” he said, giving them the ‘shaka’ sign or hang loose as it was known everywhere but Hawaii.
“Oh,” Lauren said, trying to stifle her giggles. “Are you Hawaiian?”
Kaholo looked as white as a bag of Wonder bread. Ashton would have guessed that he was from somewhere like Vermont rather than Hawaii.
“I used to live there,” he said, staring at her with bloodshot eyes. “But they won’t let me back in.”
Ashton was about to ask him a follow-up question when Kaholo waved his hand, moving on. “But that’s okay,” he said, nodding. “I changed my surfboard in for a raft. Lucky for you.”
“Yes,” Lauren whispered with a giggle on her lips. “Lucky for us. I hope he doesn’t drive us off a waterfall.”
Ashton laughed. No matter what happened on the river, Lauren would be safe. He would make damn sure of that.
They went out back to the river where the large yellow raft was beached on the dirt.
“Get into your board shorts, dudes and dudettes,” Kaholo said as he grabbed the paddles. “It’s surfing time!”
Ashton swallowed hard as Lauren unbuttoned her shorts. It was the moment he had been waiting for all day, and one of the main reasons why he chose to go white water rafting. He desperately wanted to see this curvy girl in a bikini, bouncing around on a raft.
“Do you mind?” she asked, grinning at him as she was about to slide her pants down her thick thighs.
“Not at all,” he said, still staring. “Please proceed.”
She laughed and shook her head as she slid her shorts down her legs. A low groan rumbled from Ashton’s throat as she stepped out of them.
Don’t get a hard-on. Don’t get a hard-on.
Her top was next and Ashton had to look away before he got hard in his bathing suit for everyone to see. His self-discipline didn’t last long. He snuck a peek and then openly stared as she folded her shirt and placed it on a wooden bench.
His grizzly bear rumbled from deep within his chest at the sight of her beautiful chest, spilling out of her bathing suit top. Yup. Bouncing around on a raft was definitely a good idea.
�
�Hungry?” she asked, looking at him funny. She probably wasn’t used to hearing the sound of bears roaring their approval from within a human body.
Ashton grinned as he glanced down at her sexy body dressed only in a light blue bikini. “I could go for a bite.”
She laughed and shook her head as she grabbed a damp life jacket off of the line and tossed it at him. “Curb your appetite,” she said with a shy smile. “We’re going rafting. Remember? It was your idea.”
Kaholo was waving the group of about eight over to the raft, saying that the waves were cranking and it was time to go.
“Eyes on the rapids out there,” Lauren said with a grin as she tightened her life jacket. “I don’t want to go swimming because you’re too busy staring instead of paddling.”
Ashton grinned. “I’m not making any promises.”
“Let’s go dudes and dudettes!” Kaholo hollered to them, waving them over.
Ashton looked down at the life jacket in his hand and sighed. He really didn’t need a life preserver. He was a life preserver.
His arms and legs were so strong that he could easily swim against the vicious current while chugging a beer.
“Have to fit in,” he mumbled as he slid his arm through the hole in the cold damp life jacket. That was one of the hardest parts of being a bear shifter. He always had to downplay his strength, his speed, and his capabilities to fit in with the human population.
But for Lauren, he would do anything.
He tightened the straps and jogged over to where the group was getting into the raft. Lauren was sitting on the left side close to the middle. A teenage boy tried to sit in the open seat behind her but one look from Ashton sent him hurrying to the other side of the boat.
“Nervous?” Ashton asked, leaning in and getting a whiff of delicious caramel.
She dipped her paddle into the swirling water. “A little bit.”
“I’ll be with you the whole time,” he said. He wasn’t going to take his eyes off of her.
“Unless you can swim like a dolphin, that’s not very reassuring,” she said with a nervous laugh.
I can swim like a bear shifter. That’s even better.
“Alright, surfers,” Kaholo said, standing up in the back of the raft. “Let’s go!”
“Wait,” the mother of the teenage boy said, turning around with a tight face. “Aren’t you going to give us any instructions? What are we supposed to do?”
Kaholo shrugged as he pushed the raft off of the riverbank with his paddle. “Stay in the boat,” he said as the river’s current took them away. “We’ll figure it out.”
“That doesn’t sound very safe,” the mother muttered, squeezing the paddle in her hands.
It didn’t take long for the current to begin picking up speed. The big yellow raft began jerking from side to side as it dipped and smacked against the swirling white crests of the waves.
Lauren was jerking her head from side to side, trying to see every wave as they came from all directions, smacking and hitting the raft. The front of the raft dipped as it plowed into a huge wave, splashing everyone with cold water.
“Maybe I should have taken you on a picnic,” Ashton said, leaning in after the raft settled back down for a second.
“No,” Lauren said, smiling wide as she turned back. “I love this!”
Ashton’s heart was racing and it wasn’t from the rapids. He hadn’t been this excited about a girl in years.
“Alright, surfers!” Kaholo hollered from the back of the raft. “We’re about to hit the Devil’s drop. Just do what I showed you.”
The mom turned back with pure terror on her face. “You didn’t show us anything!” she screamed. “What are we supposed to do?!?”
But it was too late. The raft flew into the swirling drop and whatever they were supposed to do, nobody had done it.
Everyone just held their paddles out of the water and screamed.
Kaholo and Ashton were the only two with their paddles still in the water but even Ashton didn’t know where to guide the raft with it.
The front of the raft slammed into the crest of a large wave like a car driving straight into a cement wall. Everyone managed to stay in the boat, except for Lauren.
“No!” Ashton gasped as she flew out of the raft like a human rocket.
He ripped off his life jacket in a fury, tearing the fabric to pieces as he looked up. Lauren’s arms and legs were flailing wildly as she shot through the air. It looked like she had been shot from a cannon.
I’m coming for you.
Ashton tossed his shredded life jacket behind him, it would only slow him down anyway, and dove into the water after his girl.
She landed with a loud smack about twenty yards away and plunged under the water with the impact.
It was a hard swim, full of strong currents competing to pull any unlucky rafters into a million different directions, sharp rocks that jutted out of the water threatening to crush muscle and bone, and swirling rapids that only wanted to hold people down until their life had left their body.
Why did I bring her here again?
Ashton dove under the water where he could swim faster without the rapids splashing in his face. It was an impossible swim for a human but he glided through the water with ease. He kicked his feet and moved his arms, quickly pulling himself to the spot where Lauren had landed.
Only she wasn’t there.
Where is she?
He swam to the surface and looked around in a panic when he couldn’t find her.
“Help!” she screamed from a few yards away. Her head was out of the water at least but she was traveling at an incredible pace down the vicious current.
Ashton flew after her, doing the front crawl as fast as he could. He didn’t like the look of those sharp rocks that she was heading for.
It only took a few seconds of swimming as hard as he could before he reached out and grabbed the strap on her life jacket, pulling her away from a sharp rock just in time.
She screamed in shock when he grabbed her but the shock quickly turned to relief when she saw who it was.
“Just stay limp,” he said as he pulled her to the shore, away from the dangerous rocks.
Kaholo and the rest of the group were far ahead of them, unwilling or unable to stop the raft and wait for the two stragglers. Ashton didn’t mind. He could use some alone time with his sexy rescuee.
It was all over in less than a minute.
Ashton pulled her onto the shore and they both stepped out of the water, coughing and taking deep breaths.
Lauren walked onto the land, dropped onto her ass and then laid down on her back with her arms wide open, looking up at the sunny sky.
“That sucked,” she said with a laugh.
Ashton smiled as he laid down beside her, the hungry rapids still gargling angrily in front of them.
“We should have gone on a picnic,” he said, staring up at the cloudless sky.
Lauren laughed. “Alright,” she said, turning to him with a smile. “Now I’ll agree with you.”
She threaded her fingers through his as her face turned serious. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Ashton smiled at her. “Well, Kaholo wasn’t going to do it.”
She laughed as she turned her head, looking back up at the sky. “I nearly drowned but I didn’t get the best part.”
“What’s the best part?”
She licked her lips and grinned. “Mouth to mouth by the sexy lifeguard who saved me.”
Ashton’s heart started pounding as he leaned up on his elbow, looking down at her calm, gorgeous face.
He saw a hint of a smile on her lush lips right before he kissed her.
“Mmmm,” she moaned, opening her sweet lips to let his tongue slide through. He kissed her deep and passionately, enjoying what he had dreamed of doing for days.
Ashton was supposed to be the lifeguard. He was supposed to be the one who did the saving, but after that drowning kiss, his head swimming, his hear
t racing; he felt like he was the one who needed saving.
seven
“Where did you meet these guys?” Lauren whispered to Pam while Summer and Brenna laughed at a joke that the guy with the thick eyebrows had said.
“They were hiking in Shifter Canyon,” Pam answered with her eyes lighting up. “They’re filming a TV show!”
Lauren frowned as she looked across the table at the three guys eating with them. There were two brothers named Matt and Paul, and their friend named James. Matt was good looking enough with a smile that came both easily and often. He was the tallest of the three with a short cropped beard and perfectly combed hair.
His brother Paul was the loud mouth of the trio, constantly talking, which consisted mostly of bragging and boasting about his accomplishments. He wasn’t as good looking as his brother with thick bushy eyebrows on his round face but he looked like the leader of the group.
Lastly was James. Short, goofy, the buttons on his shirt all off by one.
Lauren didn’t like any of them.
Her friends, on the other hand, all seemed smitten.
Paul was going on about the TV series they were filming. It was a show like Ghost Hunters or Finding Bigfoot, where the three of them would go out into the wild to interview locals and try to find a shifter.
“What station is your show on?” Lauren asked. Paul kept going on about how much smarter they were than shifters and she couldn’t take it anymore.
“It’s not on yet,” Paul said, still sounding positive. “But it will be soon. We’re filming the pilot now and with the footage, we’ll be able to sell it to any network we choose.”
“And we’ll be rich!” James said, grinning.
Lauren smirked. “You have to find a shifter first.”
Summer frowned at her. “They’ll find one.”
Matt smiled at Summer. I guess I know who gets the good looking brother.
Lauren stared at Paul’s forehead, pretending to listen as he rambled on about how great their show was going to be. She couldn’t stop thinking about the amazing day she had with Ashton.
The rafting had been both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. She thought she was going to die for sure when she had gotten thrown off the raft into the dangerous rapids. The current was so strong and she felt as hopeless as a spider going down a flushed toilet. When she saw the sharp rocks approaching, she thought it was game over.