Ash (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 6)

by Ophelia Sexton

  "Well hurry up, then," she said.

  When Ash started the pickup, he noticed that they had managed to steam up all the windows. He grinned at his mate and turned the defroster up a couple of notches.

  * * *

  Ash kicked his front door closed behind him and moved in on his mate. He helped her remove her boots and the warm coat he had bought her, then lifted her ponytail to kiss the silken skin over her nape.

  He heard her heartbeat accelerate at his caress. Encouraged, he laid a line of nibbling kisses down from the base of her hairline to the collar of her sweater.

  Ash yielded to a primal need and bit down gently, tasting the skin of her nape.

  Nika's breath expelled in a gasp, and she swayed against him. Her sweet rounded behind made contact with his raging hard-on, and he pressed himself eagerly against her, letting her know what she was doing to him.

  He took the opportunity to lift the bottom of her knitted sweater. She cooperated enthusiastically as he pulled it up and over her head and let it drop to the mudroom floor.

  Ash eagerly unhooked her bra next. He took a moment to appreciate the view—a view that pregnancy had definitely improved—lifting and cupping the generous globes as her soft behind pressed against his erection in an almighty tease.

  How had he managed to survive without her—without this—for so long?

  He entertained a brief, vivid fantasy of bending her over here in the mudroom and fucking her hard and deep. Her small, plump hands would be gripping the edge of the bench, and he could already hear her soft, gasping cry when his cock pushed inside her.

  She was ready for him—more than ready for him. He could smell it in her scent and hear it in her breath and her heartbeat. Not to mention that she was currently rubbing herself against his rigid cock, and her movements were threatening to strip away his self-control.

  She could be mine again in thirty seconds.

  Ash swallowed hard, pushing down the intense impulse. He had a plan for how things were going to go tonight, and that plan involved reducing his mate to a quivering, gasping state of absolute need for him.

  He was really looking forward to all the things he was going to do to her, but before any of that could happen, he needed to get hold of himself.

  And not come inside his jeans, which was an imminent threat thanks to Nika's grinding against him.

  Ash deliberately bit down on the back of her neck again, hard enough to leave a faint mark, though he was careful not to break the skin, and pinched both of her nipples at the same time.

  Nika cried out, but not with pain, and the scent of her arousal intensified. "Do that again," she begged.

  "Maybe later." Ash drew a shaking breath and forced himself to step away from her.

  He reached for the waistband of her maternity jeans and knelt to tug them down to her ankles. Nika put out a hand to steady herself against his shoulder.

  She was dressed in only her socks and panties now, and her rounded belly tempted him to kiss it.

  They were going to have a kid. He was going to be a father.

  Ash's mood had swung between overjoyed and utterly terrified over the course of the day as he contemplated the awesome responsibility of fatherhood, but the needle on the gauge had mostly pointed at "joyful" for the past few hours.

  He leaned forward on his knees and pressed his lips against the taut curve as he hooked his thumbs under her panties and pulled them down.

  His baby. No, their baby.

  Nika giggled as he removed her socks.

  Ash rose smoothly to his feet and looked at her, his beautiful naked mate.

  She smiled back at him and looked down shyly. "You're still dressed."

  "Yep."

  She shrieked in delight as he scooped her up and carried her into his living room.

  There, he lowered her carefully onto the nearest sofa, and followed her down.

  He was so hungry for her. Every part of his body—but most especially his poor deprived cock—screamed for her touch, her scent, and her taste.

  Ash kissed her, long and slow and deep, then began to work his way down, caressing every soft, succulent inch of her throat, her shoulders, and the tops of her breasts while she wound her arms around his neck and kissed every part of him that she could reach.

  He lingered over her luscious breasts, kissing, licking and nibbling them until her nipples were stiff and she was squirming with need.

  Finally, she gave him what he needed to hear.

  "Ash, please!" she begged, arching against his mouth.

  "I know just what you need," he told her, sitting back on his heels.

  Nika whimpered in protest and tried to reach for him.

  He draped her legs over his shoulders and turned his head to begin kissing his way up her inner thighs. Her soft skin was even smoother here, velvety and exquisitely sensitive.

  Just as he'd fantasized, she squirmed and writhed under his slow progress up to the apex of her thighs.

  When he reached her wet pussy, he teased her with a quick flick of his tongue over the swollen bud of her clit. She tasted every bit as delicious as he remembered, and the cry he wrung from her nearly made him come on the spot.

  I want to be inside her so bad.

  But he couldn't yield to his desire. Not yet.

  "That's it," he encouraged. "I want to hear you, Nika. Let me know that you want this as much as I do."

  He circled her clit with the tip of his tongue, and she made the most delightful noise in response.

  Encouraged by the soft thighs pressing on either side of him, his senses filled with her wonderful taste and scent, Ash set to work in earnest. He used his lips, his tongue and even, delicately, his teeth to drive his mate slowly insane with desire

  Ash felt deep satisfaction when her body stiffened and her soft folds pulsed against his lip. Nika cried out in pleasure, and panting, quivered beneath his touch. He redoubled his efforts, and it wasn't long before a second climax shook her.

  "Oh God, Ash." She gripped his head, trying to pull him up from his happy place between her legs. "Please. I want you so badly."

  He had waited long, lonely months to hear those words. "Your wish is my command," he said, huskily.

  "And you're still wearing too many clothes." She looked at him, flushed and more beautiful than ever with the pleasure he'd given her.

  In response, he unbuttoned his woolen shirt with fingers that shook with need, exposing the T-shirt beneath.

  "The Incredible Hulk? Really?" she asked with a laugh.

  "Ask me that again after I've finished with you, young lady," he shot back with mock sternness.

  He peeled off the black T-shirt.

  "Ooh, promises, promises." Nika sat up with a visible effort and reached for his belt buckle. "Here, let me. This is the fun part."

  Yeah, this is definitely fun, he thought as she unzipped his jeans and pulled them down over his hips.

  Her knuckles brushed the front of his boxers, skimming over the hard bulge of his erection, and Ash had to fight for control. He was so ready—more than ready—for her.

  Then finally, he was as naked as she.

  Nika flattened her palms against his thighs. With a long sweeping caress, she closed her hands around his stiff cock.

  At her touch, Ash felt like all the air had been driven out of his lungs.

  Pure primal hunger consumed him as he took her face between his hands and kissed her hard and possessively. He pushed Nika back into the sofa cushions, and she pulled him down against her, wrapping her legs around him in blatant invitation.

  He took the hint and eagerly put his hands under her rounded hips, lifting her as he positioned himself against her. He could feel the kiss of her hot, wet entrance as he pressed the tip of his cock against her, ready to plunge inside and reclaim what was his.

  And then the first responder app on his fucking smartphone buzzed with an incoming emergency.

  Ash would have ignored a ringing phone or a knock on his
door in favor of reminding Nika whose mate she was.

  But he couldn't ignore this, no matter how badly he wanted to.

  Swearing loudly, Ash pushed himself off her. His cock protested at the interruption as he dug in the back pocket of his discarded jeans for his phone.

  "What is it?" Nika asked, leaning down to look.

  Her expression told him that whatever had interrupted them, it had better be damned important.

  "Car accident, not far from here." He turned his phone to show her the map with the pinpointed location. "Victim is conscious—he made the call. Apparently, he's trapped inside the wreck, though." Ash breathed out, feeling the familiar surge of adrenaline battling with frustrated desire. "Damn it. Everyone else is still in town, helping Justin clean up after the fundraiser, so I'm the only first responder anywhere close to the accident."

  "Hey, I understand." She grabbed him by the ear and kissed him, briefly but deeply. "I’ll come with you. Maybe I can help…and I don't want to hang around on my own here, waiting for you to return so that we can finish what we started."

  Ash quelled his first impulse to refuse her offer of help. He knew that they'd be the first ones on the scene of the accident, and having a doctor—well, Nika was almost a doctor—with him was probably better than relying on his first aid training.

  "That would be great. We're probably going to need you. I'm terrible at first aid," he confessed. "I get dizzy at the sight of blood. My brothers tease me about it whenever we go on hunting trips."

  He was rewarded by a genuine smile. "Seriously?

  "Seriously," he said, reaching for his discarded underwear. "That's why I work with computers rather than livestock. Calving season is always worst, because it's all hands on deck around here."

  The next two or three minutes were a slapstick comedy of fumbling for clothes, all sauced with deep frustration at being interrupted at the worst possible moment.

  But it's not all bad, Ash told himself as he stepped into his boots and bunkers. Nika wants to come with me, so it could be worse.

  He slid the big soft-sided first aid kit from under the mudroom bench and handed it to his mate, who had dressed herself in record time for a pregnant woman and was just zipping up her winter coat.

  Ash grabbed his firefighting coat and helmet from their mudroom hooks on his way out the door and led the way to the garage, where he had parked his pickup.

  Chapter 11 – Commitment

  "Holy shit." Ash's breath hung before his face in a dense white cloud.

  He stood at the side of the road, looking at the mangled remains of what had once been a big dark-colored SUV wrapped around one of the massive cottonwood trees that lined the ice-encrusted banks of the Salmon River like a row of leafless sentries.

  The sun had set, and it was so cold now that Nika could feel a stabbing sensation in every bit of exposed skin as she slid down from the passenger side of his big pickup.

  And here I thought it was cold yesterday afternoon!

  The chill, combined with the sight of the wrecked SUV, dispelled the last of the lingering warmth from the intense climax he'd given her. Only a small, hot throb of frustrated desire remained, smoldering like a banked coal in her belly. Ash's mouth had been a lovely appetizer, but it had only whetted her need for the main course.

  It had taken Ash only a few minutes to drive to the accident, which had occurred at a bend in the highway just before a bridge that crossed the river at the Grizzly Creek Ranch's western boundary.

  Ash pulled out his phone and stripped off his gloves long enough to tap the screen several times. With her keen shifter ears, Nika had no problem hearing both sides of the conversation.

  The other end of the line rang once, then a woman's warm voice said, "911, what's your—oh, hey, Ash. Did you find the accident, honey? How bad is it?"

  "Hey, Linda," he said, his tone calm as he turned away from the wreck and began swiftly pulling a thick coil of rope and various tools from the rear section of the pickup's extended cab. "It's bad. Do you have an ETA on the engines? We're going to need those hydraulic rescue tools."

  "Hold on a sec," Linda said, and Nika heard the line go dead for 10 seconds. It felt like an eternity. When she came back online, she said, "Dane reports that he and Mark are twenty minutes away, and that they have the tools."

  "That's too long. But we'll figure something out," Ash said grimly. "Give the medevac guys a heads-up, too, in case they need to send us a chopper. I'll update you when we've had a chance to assess the situation."

  He ended the call and strode over to the mangled pickup, which had Washington State license plates.

  Nika trailed uncertainly behind him, lugging the big, soft-sided first aid case. She wanted to help, but this was all new to her, and she didn't want to get in Ash's way.

  Ash came to a halt next to the driver's side door, which was dented and crumpled. It looked like the SUV had spun out and sideswiped something else before hitting the tree's massive trunk head on.

  "There must be a patch of black ice on the road. I'll warn Dane and the others." Ash pulled his cellphone out again.

  Nika’s first impression of the driver was of a head of dark hair and a strong profile. He smelled like a bear shifter. To her alarm, she also smelled the rich, rusty scent of blood drifting out of the shattered windows. It was more than could be accounted for from the driver's bloody nose, which looked like a typical airbag injury.

  The accident victim was slumped back against the headrest of his seat, his eyes closed. He appeared to be conscious, though.

  She hastily unzipped the first aid kit and pulled out a pair of purple nitrile gloves.

  "Hey there," Ash said to the driver, his tone calm and reassuring. "My name's Ash, and I'm with the Bearpaw Ridge Fire Department. I'm here with Nika, who's a doctor, and we're gonna get you out of there in a minute. But first I need to know if you're hurt. Are you hurt?"

  "Hell yeah, I'm hurt. Everything fucking hurts right now, but mostly my legs. I tried to pull myself out of here, but they're stuck and I can't move them." The man's voice sounded alert and annoyed, rather than reflecting the dazed shock that Nika was used to seeing during her ER rotations. He added, "And it's fucking cold. I'd forgotten how brutal the Idaho winters are."

  Ash laughed, and the sound was warm and reassuring. "Yeah, it's a little bit chilly out here right now, but we can help you with that." He turned his head. "Nika, can you pull out a thermal blanket? There should be one rolled up behind the passenger seat in my truck. Grab a C-collar—that's a cervical collar," he added, addressing the injured driver before turning his attention back to Nika. "—and a backboard too, while you're at it."

  Nika knew that a C-collar was a foam and plastic brace used to stabilize an accident victim’s neck. It was standard procedure to apply one in a case where there was any chance of a cervical spinal injury.

  "Got it," Nika assured him, glad for something to do. "But first—"

  She bent to peer inside the SUV, trying to assess the driver's blood-smeared face for serious injuries. Above his crooked, bloodied nose, his eyes were beginning to swell shut. He looked like he'd just been on the losing end of a bar fight.

  She pulled off her warm winter gloves and donned the thin purple ones, feeling the chill bite into her skin. "Sir, give me your hands, please."

  The injured man obeyed, and she noted that he was able to move his arms without apparent pain. Good.

  She took his pulse and then examined the pupil of each eye. Pulse was elevated, probably due to pain. His hands were cold, but he didn't appear to be in shock, and his speech was clear and coherent. Despite his blood-smeared face, she didn't think he had any serious head injuries.

  "I need to know: can you feel your feet? Wiggle your toes?"

  The driver frowned. "Uh…" he began, then gasped and swore sharply.

  "Okay, that hurt," he added, somewhat unnecessarily, when he'd caught his breath. "Ixnay on the toe wiggling. Something ain't right."

  H
e craned his head, trying to look down, and Ash caught the other shifter's chin in his hand. "Don't move until we stabilize your neck."

  "I'll go get the backboard and C-collar now," Nika told them.

  As she ran for Ash's pickup, she heard the shifter trapped inside the car ask, "Ash? You wouldn't happen to be Ash Swanson, would you?"

  Nika froze with her hand on the door handle, her blood turning to ice as her heart began hammering in her ears.

  These past few minutes, she'd been too concerned about the strange shifter's injuries to question why he was here.

  Could he be someone sent by her clan to harm Ash? She didn't recognize the stranger's scent, but that didn't mean much. She hadn't been home in a long time, so she didn't know all the Medved clan members anymore.

  Ash seemed to be thinking the same thing. Instead of replying, he reminded the other shifter, sharply, "Don't move your head, sir. You don't want to mess up your neck if you've injured it."

  The other shifter gave a snort. "Ash, dude," he drawled. "Never thought I'd live to hear you calling me 'sir.'"

  Nika saw Ash stop, frown, and inhale deeply. Her mate's eyes widened. "Tyler? You've got to be kidding me! When did you get back in town?"

  "Haven't quite made it back yet," the other shifter said dryly. "One minute I'm driving down the highway, and the next minute, I'm doing a complete 360." He paused. "Shit. I only had a couple of payments left on this Tahoe. I think it's totaled. Does it look totaled to you?"

  Ash nodded. "I’m afraid so. But that's what insurance is for, right?"

  This shifter's a Swanson. Not a Medved. Nika took a shuddering breath of relief and felt her heart slow. She opened the door of Ash's pickup and quickly located the thermal blanket, backboard, and C-collar tucked behind the seats in the truck's extended cab area.

  When she returned to Ash's side, he had donned his thick leather firefighter's gloves again and was crouched next to the wreck, examining the SUV's badly dented driver's side doors.

  "I'm going to have to pull these doors off and get Tyler out of there," Ash said to her. "Shifter or not, I'm worried about his legs, and it's too cold to make him wait around another fifteen or twenty minutes for the others to drive out from town."