“What’s going on?” Bailey asked.
“While you were spending the better part of an hour at the Farmer’s Market looking at jewelry, I got on my phone and booked a room here. And by room, I mean a suite. Complete with an in-room whirlpool and a magnificent view of the bay. Since you gave up your room at the Red Valley Inn, I figured you’d need a place to stay. We could always go back to base, but you’ve had such a big day already that I thought maybe we’d save meeting the crew for tomorrow.”
Bailey’s heart skipped a beat as Trevor took her hand and led her to the elevator. When they arrived at their room, her mouth dropped.
“Trevor, this view is amazing. And this room. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere so fancy,” she said. Rose petals were sprinkled across the bed, and a bottle of champagne waited in an ice bucket next to two glasses.
“Come see the bathroom,” he said with a grin. The bathroom boasted shimmering marble countertops and ceramic tile on the floor. Next to the large whirlpool, the hotel had placed a pile of several thick, fluffy towels.
“It’s been a long day, with a lot of walking,” Trevor said. “Would you like to take a hot bubble bath to soothe your muscles?”
“That sounds fantastic,” Bailey said. She leaned over to turn on the water and test the temperature. Steaming hot. Perfect. A basket with an assortment of scented bubble baths sat on the ledge of the whirlpool, and Bailey started browsing through it.
“Why don’t you choose a bubble bath, and I’ll go pop open that champagne bottle,” Trevor said.
Bailey grinned and nodded. She chose a lightly scented gardenia bubble bath and poured it under the stream of hot water. The tub began to fill with mounds of bubbles as the fragrance of gardenias filled the room. When the water had nearly reached the top of the whirlpool, Bailey turned off the faucet and took off her clothes. She slipped into the steaming hot bath and turned on the whirlpool jets, moaning as the pulsing water hit her sore muscles.
Trevor came back into the room holding two glasses of champagne, which he set down on the side of the tub.
“Mind if I join you,” he asked.
“I would love that,” Bailey answered.
Trevor took off his clothes and slipped into the bath across from Bailey, then handed her one of the champagne glasses.
“Cheers,” he said, clinking his glass with hers. “To a lovely lady who decided to give a bumbling bear a second chance.”
Bailey blushed. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. I had never even heard of shifters before, and it was just a lot to process. You said you control it, though? How often do you shift?”
“Yes, I control it. I usually shift about once a month. Sometimes a little more or less. Shifting every so often keeps my control over my shifting ability fresh and strong.”
“It’s kind of mind-blowing. Do scientists know about shifters?” Bailey asked. Her fear of Trevor’s inner bear had turned into a burning curiosity.
Trevor laughed. “We try to keep the whole shifting thing quiet. The less people nosing around in our business, the better. And none of us really want to be lab rats. We just want to live our lives in peace.”
Bailey nodded. “Makes sense,” she said. Then she used her toes to find Trevor’s legs underneath the mountains of bubbles. She tickled his thighs, gradually moving closer and closer to his groin.
“Do you feel like life is peaceful right now” she asked, batting her eyes at him mischievously.
He smirked back at her. “I would say so. I’m definitely feeling relaxed.”
Bailey smiled, and slid her toes to find his penis, which had turned rock hard by this point. She traced a line up and down his shaft with her big toe, watching with pleasure as he closed his eyes and let out a soft groan at her teasing.
“Woman,” he said, “You’re going bring out my inner beast with moves like that.”
“Growl for me,” Bailey said, her voice taking on a sultry tone. Trevor let out a low, sexy growl, and then swooshed across the tub. He put his lips on Bailey’s mouth, and began kissing her, letting his tongue caress the inside of her mouth while his fingers searched for her entrance. When he found it, he slid his middle finger into her and began stroking her insides. She moaned as the pressure and heat within her grew, and reached down to grab his penis with her hand. She rubbed vigorously up and down his long shaft, while he pleasured her with his finger and continued kissing her.
When they had both reached the brink of orgasm, he pulled his hand out of her and gently pushed her hand away from his penis.
“Have you ever had sex in a bubble bath before?” he asked huskily as he positioned himself right in front of her. His hair was wet and spiking out into all different directions. A large tuft of bubbles had attached to the right side of his head, where it crackled as it slowly melted.
“I haven’t, actually,” Bailey said. “Have you?”
“Nope. I’m a bubble bath virgin, just like you,” Trevor said.
“Well, pop my cherry, baby,” Bailey said with a grin.
Trevor didn’t need to be told twice. He braced his hands against the ledge of the bathtub and slipped his dick into Bailey. Between the moisture of her arousal and the bubble bath water, he slid in easily. He thrust back and forth rapidly, with a hungry urgency. Clumps of bubbles flew through the air as the water sloshed back and forth in the whirlpool.
Bailey’s hair hung in wet, bubble-filled curls around her face as she closed her eyes and moaned. Her heightened senses made even the warm smoothness of the water splashing against her skin feel sensual. Trevor’s dick pushed against her internal pressure points, setting off a tingling sensation that grew in intensity until it exploded into a cascade of sweet, gratifying spasms. Bailey’s muscles trembled under the pure ecstasy of finding her release with Trevor.
Trevor let out another growl, which quickly turned into a roar as he came into Bailey. His skin became burning hot to the touch as he gasped for breath between passionate groans. After a few moments, the water in the whirlpool became still again, except for the rhythmic pulsing of the jets. Trevor smiled over at Bailey.
“We’re not bubble bath virgins anymore,” he said with a chuckle.
Bailey laughed. “How was your first time?” she asked.
“Perfect, just like you,” he said, giving her a soft kiss on the nose. She splashed him with bubble water.
“Sweet talker,” she said.
He smiled. “Can’t help it, with someone as lovable as you,” he said, and then his face turned serious. “Bailey, do you believe in soulmates?”
Bailey tilted her head sideways thoughtfully. “You know, I never used to. But I also would never have believed in bear shifters. My whole belief system has been challenged quite a bit in the last few days.”
Trevor looked at her with earnest eyes. “Bear shifters believe in soulmates. We refer to the concept as ‘lifemates.’ It’s actually even more significant than the human concept of soulmates. We believe you’re fated to someone before you’re even born, and that person is known as your lifemate. I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much heavy talk, but I want you to know that the reason I came chasing after you, and even bought a plane ticket to get to you, was that I know deep down that you’re my lifemate. You don’t have to say anything back, or feel the same way right now if it’s too soon. But I want you to know how I feel.”
Bailey’s chest grew warm at Trevor’s words. “Trevor, when I saw you on that plane this morning, I had never felt so relieved. I knew the moment you stepped onto that jet that I had made a big mistake in sending you away. I thought right then that there must be something special about you and me together. I thought, for the first time in my life, that maybe soulmates did exist. And now, I’m sure of it. Soulmates, lifemates…call it whatever you want. But I know with certainty that we’re meant to be together.”
Trevor smiled and leaned over to kiss her again. “I know it, too. I know we have a lot of details to work out, but, the import
ant thing is that we found each other, and we can move forward together from here.”
Bailey nodded, and returned Trevor’s kiss. “Here’s to new beginnings, for both of us.”
Trevor grabbed his champagne glass from the side of the tub. “To new beginnings,” he said.
Bailey grabbed her glass and clinked it with his. “To new beginnings.”
AN EMBER TO BEAR
Chapter One
Zach Brooks stood behind a large gas grill, flipping a dozen burgers in rapid succession. The meat sizzled as he turned each patty, and Zach paused to breathe in the aroma of the juicy meat. He’d been in a particularly bad mood the last few days, but the simple act of grilling up dinner had a calming effect on him. He watched the flames flickering below the meat, throwing a small splash of light onto the burgers. Behind him, the laughter of his alpha, Ian, and Ian’s lifemate, Charlotte, floated across the crisp air of the northern California night. He pushed off the hood of his sweatshirt so he could better eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Luke thinks the table’s unbreakable,” Ian said. “He said it’s made out of the strongest redwood available and can stand up to even the most forceful abuse. I say we test out his craftsmanship.”
Charlotte laughed and hopped onto the top of the picnic table Ian was pointing toward. “We should! Drop your pants and let’s test it right now, baby. We’d be doing him a favor—acting like quality control.”
“Ugh, guys,” Zach said, turning around to give them a disgusted look. “I’m standing right here.”
Charlotte jumped up and down on the top of the picnic table, waving her hands dismissively at Zach. “Turn around and focus on your grilling if you don’t want to see.”
“You guys are something else,” Zach said, rolling his eyes. But he couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he turned back to the burgers. Ian and Charlotte were infamous among the clan for breaking a picnic table by having sex on it in the middle of the night. To be fair, the table they had broken had been well past its prime, but the pair would still never live it down. Luke, another of the clan members, had recently rekindled a love for woodworking. He’d decided his first project would be to replace the picnic table that had so dramatically met its demise.
Luke chose that moment to walk up with his lifemate, River.
“Charlotte!” Luke yelled out. “What the hell are you doing to my brand new picnic table?”
Charlotte shrugged and hopped up and down a few more times for good measure. “Just testing your craftsmanship. Gotta make sure the table will hold up to vigorous physical activity, if you know what I mean,” she said.
“Gross, Charlotte. We eat off of this table,” Luke said. Charlotte just laughed, and her laughter was joined moments later by that of two more clan members, Hunter and his lifemate, Riley. Hunter and Riley carefully balanced several white pie boxes on their arms as they made their way toward the picnic table.
“Looks like Charlotte’s already been hitting the vino,” Hunter said as he set down his pile of boxes. “It’s going to be an interesting night.”
“Vino? I need some,” Riley said, setting down her boxes as well. “I think I set a new record with the number of pies I baked at the shop today. I need to relax.”
Charlotte squealed and jumped off the table when she saw Riley. “Did you bring us pies? Gimme, gimme! I’ll trade you wine for pie.”
Riley laughed and started setting the pie boxes down on the tabletop that Charlotte had just vacated. Riley owned a pie shop in the nearby town of Red Valley, and was quickly becoming famous in the area for having the best pies in the area. Aromas of apple and cinnamon hit Luke’s nose before Riley had even opened the boxes, and his mouth started watering. Burgers and apple pie. Tonight’s barbecue was going to be an all-American feast.
Zach felt his bad mood lifting a little bit more. He just needed to focus on the positive. That was a thing, right? Focus on the good and your life magically improves. Isn’t that what all the self-help gurus taught? There was definitely some good in his life. He had a good, secure job as a forest firefighter. He was healthy. He got to spend plenty of time with his clan members, just hanging out eating burgers and drinking beer.
Zach frowned. There were good times, yes. But, in his opinion, the last year had been something of a shit show for his clan, the Burning Claws smokejumpers. In between parachuting out of airplanes to fight forest fires, three of the clan members had found lifemates—human lifemates. Zach had no choice but to tolerate the influx of humans into the clan, since Ian seemed to have no qualms about so many humans hanging around. As alpha, Ian’s word went unquestioned. Zach held the title of second in command, but that title didn’t mean much in actual practice. All of Zach’s pleading with Ian to stop allowing human lifemates had fallen on deaf ears. Zach wasn’t that surprised, though. Ian himself had taken a human lifemate, so he couldn’t really forbid his clan members from doing the same.
Zach frowned and tried to shift his attention back to the burgers. At one time, he had considered Ian his best friend. But, these days, he felt like there was an invisible wedge driven between them. The winter had made things worse. With no forest fires to fight during the cool, damp months, the clan members were all going a little stir crazy. Zach was constantly on edge, and the bear within him grew increasingly restless as the winter days passed by. Thankfully, winter was almost over, and work would be picking up again soon.
Zach poked at the burgers to check on them. Satisfied that they were done cooking, he grabbed his grill spatula and started piling them onto a large platter.
“Bon appétit,” he said with a dramatic flourish. He placed the platter on the middle of the new picnic table, which sat next to an older picnic table. The older picnic table had been covered with a generous assortment of chips, beer, soda, and potato salad. Zach grabbed a wheat beer and popped the top off, taking a long slow sip of the refreshing liquid. As he used the back of his arm to wipe the foam from his lips, he heard River squeal.
“Yes! He brought her!” River said, and took off running across the grass toward the airplane hangar that served as home base for the clan. Zach looked up to see the final member of his clan, Trevor, walking toward them with a gorgeous, auburn-haired woman on his arm. He furrowed his brow and his eyes darkened. He recognized that girl. She’d shown up at the hangar one day last week looking for Trevor, saying he’d saved her from a hotel fire and that she wanted to thank him. Zach had been as rude as possible to her, trying to discourage her from contacting Trevor any further. But, despite Zach’s forceful attempt to stop another bear-human romance in its tracks, Trevor had apparently managed to woo her in.
Zach took another long swig from his beer as he saw Trevor introduce his new girlfriend to River. River gave the girl a giant hug, and then pulled her by the arm over to where the rest of the women were quickly making their way through several bottles of wine. Zach shook his head in aggravation. These human women and their wine. They were obsessed with the stuff. What was wrong with a good old six-pack of beer?
“Well, well, Trevor,” Hunter said as Trevor approached the group. “Who’s the new arm candy?”
Trevor grinned sheepishly and pointed over at Bailey. “Everyone, this is Bailey Webb. I somehow managed to sweep this lovely lady off her feet, and she agreed to date me. All I had to do to impress her was save her from a burning building. No big deal.”
Everyone on the crew laughed—except for Zach. His scowl deepened as Trevor started introducing the clan to Bailey.
“This is Ian, our leader, or ‘alpha,’ as we call him. Next to him is his life mate, Charlotte. That’s Luke right there, and you just met his lifemate, River, who is obviously excited to have another girl in the group.”
River shrugged as she handed Bailey a plastic cup filled with red wine. “All we need to do now is find Zach a girl and we’ll have evened out the ratio.”
Zach’s scowl deepened. “Not gonna happen,” he said with a growl before gulping down the rest o
f his beer in one long series of swigs.
Trevor gave Zach an annoyed look. “You’ve already had the pleasure of meeting Zach,” Trevor said to Bailey. To her credit Bailey gave Zach a friendly smile and small wave.
Stupid human women, Zach thought. Always trying to act like they’re the bigger person or something. He knew better. They were capable of being completely heartless and cruel when they wanted to be. Zach tossed his empty beer bottle at a trash bag sitting near the old picnic table. He missed and hit the table, causing the bottle to shatter. But he didn’t flinch, just crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Trevor, daring him to say something else.
The tension in the air mounted, but no one said anything about the broken bottle. Trevor ignored Zach’s challenging look, and continued with introductions. “Over there is Hunter, and his lifemate, Riley. She’s the one who bakes those amazing pies.”
“Oh my god, Riley! I love your pies. It’s so cool to meet you,” Bailey said.
“It’s so nice to meet you as well,” Riley said. “And if you like my pies, then you’re in luck. I brought several of them to share for dessert tonight.”
Bailey oohed and ahhed over the boxes of pies on the picnic table. Then she took a paper plate that Charlotte offered her and started loading food onto it, while Hunter and Luke teased Trevor about how long it had taken him to find a woman willing to put up with him. Zach’s mood quickly plummeted again, and he began to lose his appetite. Even the big platter of burgers cooked to perfection didn’t draw his interest anymore.
Zach shifted his gaze over to his alpha. Why did Ian so willingly let the clan members bring humans to the smokejumpers’ base? Ian knew the danger the clan would face if the wrong human found out they were shifters and exposed them, and yet he seemed to so callously ignore it. The clan had already lost so much when the majority of its members were killed in a rockslide several years ago. Why did Ian insist on exposing them to more danger? Zach squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to mentally block out the sounds of laughter echoing through the air as Bailey, the newest human, joked and laughed with the rest of the crew as though she actually belonged here.
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