Blaze (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 8)

by Ophelia Sexton

  "…so I was thinking that maybe you'd consider renting my spare bedrooms?" Dimitri was saying.

  That startled Damaris, who'd been watching the muscles move under Dimitri's shirt as he walked, while letting her mind drift to R-rated thoughts about what might happen on a date to a private hot spring with the sexiest man she'd ever met.

  "What?" she asked, feeling stupid.

  "I know I'm probably coming on too strong," Dimitri said, slowing his pace so that she could walk next to him on the trail.

  He easily swung the big cooler up to balance on his left shoulder, then reached with his right hand to entwine his fingers with hers as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  He continued, "But it makes sense, if you think about it. My house is located just a short walk from Ash's place. I have two guest bedrooms, and I thought they might work for you and Sophie. You'd each have your own room and a private shared bathroom. And you could set up your home office next to mine, in the study just off my great room. I already have a desk in there—it would be easy to order another one. And I've got satellite Internet, which is pretty fast." He paused. "Do you have a car back in New York?"

  Damaris shook her head. "Nope. Parking is a nightmare in my neighborhood, and there's an express bus stop a block from my apartment. For everything else, I use the subway or taxis."

  "I remember how it was," Dimitri nodded. "But you'll definitely need a car out here, preferably one with all-wheel drive, like the one you're driving right now. Do you like it?"

  "Yeah, I do," Damaris said. "It's comfortable, and I'm sure it would be great in the snow."

  "Good," Dimitri said. "I'll ask Ash if the company would consider buying one for you as a hiring bonus."

  "I couldn't possibly—" Damaris began to protest.

  "Grizzly Creek Games is extremely profitable," Dimitri assured her. "And you'll be one of the company's executives. You need a nice reliable car. I'm sure Ash will agree. After all, he bought me one, too, when I relocated to Bearpaw Ridge from New York."

  "No kidding?" Not only are they giving me the kind of job I've only ever dreamed about, but they want to give me a car, too?

  Dimitri smiled wryly. "At the time, I needed all the help I could get. My dad actually stranded me here in the middle of winter with no phone, no ID, no credit cards, and no money. I was twenty-one and scared to death. Dad said later that he wanted to teach me a lesson about overcoming obstacles, but that's bullshit. He just wanted a fall guy for one of his illegal stunts. The real lesson I learned was to trust the Swansons, because not only did they save my ass, they also would never pull a stunt like that."

  "Wow, that was a serious dick move on your dad's part," Damaris said, horrified. "No wonder you decided you'd rather be part of the Swanson family."

  The Swansons sound too good to be true, her inner voice reminded her. Good things like this just didn't happen to her. She'd had to fight for everything she'd ever gotten. What's the catch?

  "So, about the rental," Dimitri continued. "Promise me you'll think about it."

  "I will," Damaris said, reminded of the long To-Do list that had sprung up as soon as she signed and returned Ash's job offer paperwork.

  Finding a safe, affordable place to live in Bearpaw Ridge topped that list. So did finding a way to move away from New York City without attracting Tony's attention.

  I'll deal with all that tomorrow. Today, I'm just going to enjoy my second date with Dimitri.

  * * *

  To Dimitri's delight, they arrived at the hot spring to find that they were indeed the only ones there.

  At some point, the National Park Service had created a high, fenced enclosure around a small tiled pool surrounded by a concrete deck. A veil of steam hung over the clear water in the pool, which rippled with a gentle current as the pool was continuously fed from the natural hot spring and continuously drained through a wide drainage pipe sticking out of the hillside down-slope.

  Two closet-sized wooden structures inside the enclosure served as dressing rooms, and another wooden structure covering a pit toilet stood outside the enclosure. The toilet was located next to the trail about fifty yards before you reached the enclosure gate. It stood next to a large sign warning people about bear danger in this area and advising them to dispose of any food-related trash items in the bear-proof armored trash bin placed behind the sign.

  Dimitri had secretly hoped that Damaris might take advantage of the hot spring's clothing-optional policy, but his breath caught in admiration when she emerged from the tiny dressing room in a low-cut tankini that flattered her generous curves.

  She stopped short when she caught sight of him standing waist-deep in the pool, and Dimitri saw sudden shyness in her normally confident expression.

  "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he told her with complete honesty.

  "You need to get your eyes checked," she retorted, her cheeks going pink below her sunglasses. "I'm sure you'd look cute with glasses."

  Dimitri laughed. "I have 20/20 eyesight, and you obviously need a better mirror." He extended his hand invitingly. "Come on in. The water's great."

  Damaris paused by the submerged steps and cautiously dipped one pretty, high-arched foot, her pink polish gleaming in the bright sunlight.

  "Oh, wow," she said, with a delighted smile. "This is better than any hot tub!"

  "It is," Dimitri said.

  He couldn't take his eyes off her as she slowly descended the steps into the steaming water.

  When she took his hand, he yielded to his desire for a replay of last night's kiss and pulled her close. She came willingly into his arms.

  "I meant what I said," he murmured as her sweet curves nestled against him as if they belonged there. "You're gorgeous, and I feel lucky to have you here, with me."

  "But I'm just—" she began to protest.

  He ruthlessly cut her off with a kiss that quickly turned hotly passionate.

  When he pulled back, he said firmly, "You are a fricking goddess, Damaris. And you're not going to convince me otherwise."

  Damaris's smile made him feel warm inside. And he was pleased to feel her arms wind around his neck when his mouth descended on hers once more. She pressed herself against him eagerly, and he felt the firm roundness of her breasts against his chest.

  Oh, God, he wanted her so badly! She felt so perfectly soft and curvy and just plain right in his arms.

  And she wanted him, too—just like last night, the delicious, irresistible scent of her arousal perfumed the steam coming from the hot water surrounding them.

  He deepened his kiss and felt her lips part beneath his. As he slid his tongue into the welcoming depths of her mouth, he heard her moan softly.

  Then she pressed her hips and belly against the aching length of his cock, which strained against the confines of his bathing suit.

  His control over his bear began to fray.

  It knew what it wanted, and it wanted her.

  Now.

  Dimitri began an urgent, sensual exploration of her mouth.

  Damaris's tongue caressed his in return, and soon she was prettily flushed with more than just heat from the pool. She rubbed herself against him in the most distracting way.

  When Dimitri ended the kiss at last, both of them were breathing hard. Damaris's clear brown eyes were dilated with need, and Dimitri's face burned with the desire raging through him.

  He knew he should step away now. Dish up lunch from the picnic basket, talk to her about what he could do to help with moving her from New York City to Bearpaw Ridge…something.

  Anything to keep him from taking the next step and committing himself irrevocably to this wonderful stranger.

  As if we hadn't already planned to seal our mating when we invited her to come here, his bear reminded him.

  His bear had known what it wanted from the moment it had caught Damaris's scent, and it sounded frustrated now at Dimitri's hesitation.

  Mating is a lifetime bond, Dimitri r
eminded himself. And I've only known Damaris for three days. I shouldn't rush into it.

  Yes. Yes, we should, his bear said angrily. She is our fated mate. Claim her!

  And what happens when she finds out about the whole bear shifter thing? What if she can't handle it?

  "Dimitri? Is everything okay?" Damaris touched his arm, and the contact undid him.

  He wanted her. He needed her.

  "Yeah. Everything is perfect. I just can't believe you're here, with me." He lowered his hands to Damaris's waist and lifted her out of the water.

  She squeaked in surprise and clung to him. Two steps, and he seated her on the tiled rim of the pool and stood between her thighs.

  "I can't believe how strong you are," she said. "You must work out, a lot."

  He stood, enjoying the hunger in her eyes and gentle brush of her fingers against cheeks and chin. Her touch drifted downwards and turned lingering, caressing, as she petted the furring of dark hair on his chest and let him know that she liked what she saw.

  She leaned forward to kiss him, her breath tickling his wet skin.

  Intense desire jolted through him, urgent and overwhelming.

  He wanted to rip her bathing suit off and plunge between her thighs on the spot, claiming her hard and deep and fast.

  He wanted to feel her fingers clawing his back as he pounded into her.

  He wanted to hear her moan and scream as he made her come again and again…

  Instead, all too aware that she was an Ordinary rather than a fellow shifter, he forced himself to go slowly, to tease rather than take.

  She gasped as his mouth brushed the tender skin on the side of her neck.

  Encouraged, he nipped her earlobe, then worked his way down the delectable expanse of skin exposed by her bathing suit, watching her delicate skin flush with every kiss and nibble and teasing scrape of his beard.

  Her fingers clutched at the back of his neck as he reached the top of her cleavage and hesitated.

  "Oh my God, don't stop now," she gasped, arching against his mouth.

  Dimitri chuckled and buried his face between her generous breasts, inhaling deeply of the mingled scents of sulfur steam, clean skin, and female arousal.

  "I want to see you," he said, hoarsely, and tugged at the hem of her tankini top

  She leaned back and raised her arms eagerly as he pulled it up and over her head, revealing an expanse of creamy skin. Her generous breasts were every bit as beautiful as his fevered brain had imagined.

  He nuzzled his way across the taut, velvety curves as she offered herself shamelessly to him. He loved the whimper she made when he delicately took one of her hard pink nipples between his teeth.

  Dimitri bit down gently and was rewarded with a deep moan and a fresh whiff of arousal. God, she was so responsive to him!

  He turned his attentions to her other breast, wringing another moan from her.

  "You are so beautiful," he told her. "I want to see all of you. Taste all of you."

  "Same here," she gasped. "Please, Dimitri."

  "Your wish is my command," he said with a wink and lifted the sweet weight of her breasts in his hands, teasing the stiff nipples with his thumbs.

  Dimitri bent and spent a long time worshipping her breasts with his lips and teeth as she arched and gasped and squirmed in his hold.

  Making her shake with need and beg him hoarsely for more was even hotter than he could have imagined.

  She almost broke his control when she managed to squirm forward off the edge of the pool, sliding back down into the water to wrap her legs around his hips.

  She pressed herself against his aching hard-on, and his bear gained the upper hand for a few seconds. Dimitri surged forward, pinning her to the edge of the pool, pressing himself hard against her center with a low growl. Her heat soaked through the thin fabric of his swim trunks.

  "Please," Damaris begged, arching upwards against him.

  "I want to see you come," he said and lifted her back up onto the rim of the pool.

  Claim her. Show her that you're her true mate.

  "Oh, God, I thought you'd never ask," she said, fervently, as the rest of her bathing suit ripped beneath his hooked fingers and he tossed the colorful scraps of fabric aside.

  His hands firmly holding her legs apart, Dimitri leaned forward, breathing in the delectable fragrance of her need for him.

  Fuck her! Fuck her now! Make her ours! His bear was howling with need.

  Doesn't work that way with an Ordinary, he reminded it.

  Clawing back a measure of control over his bear, he turned his head and began to lay a line of kisses and soft nips up the velvet-soft inside of her thighs. She jerked and whimpered whenever his beard brushed against the sensitive skin.

  Then he paused, just before reaching the apex of her thighs.

  "Dimitri!" She writhed and shook beneath him, her breath ragged. "Don't stop! Please!"

  He licked lightly over the swollen pearl that peeped eagerly out from between her folds. She gasped and grabbed his hair, trying to urge his head down with gratifying desperation.

  "Would you consider becoming my girlfriend?" he asked.

  He wasn't sure how long he could control himself, and he needed at least some kind of commitment from her before he went past the point of no return.

  Damaris panted for a couple of seconds, and he could feel her muscles straining to close the hairsbreadth of space separating his mouth from the center of her desire.

  "God, yes," she said fervently. "I mean, we've only known each other since Friday, but—"

  She broke off with a gasp as he rewarded her with a swift, feather-light flick of his tongue. "Do that again. Please!"

  "I'm glad you're moving to Bearpaw Ridge," Dimitri said. "So that we can get to know each other…better."

  Another teasing flick.

  She made a desperate noise that seemed to wrap around his aching cock like a caress. Her fingers clenched in his hair and pulled hard.

  "So, we're exclusive?" he asked, making sure that his lips brushed against her with every word. "There aren't any husbands or boyfriends waiting for you back in New York?"

  She moaned and strained against his hold.

  She smelled and tasted so good—a clean, healthy woman aroused and desperate for his touch and his kisses. It was heaven. Dimitri almost came on the spot.

  "No!" she gasped. "I'm a single mom! I don't have time to date!"

  "Good," he said simply. "Then I'm all yours, Damaris."

  "Awesome." She wriggled desperately between his imprisoning hands. "But I swear to God I'm going to kill you if keep teasing me like this!"

  "Fair enough," he said, panting. Triumph surged through him. "And now I'm going to make you scream, Damaris."

  His mouth watering, he finally closed the tiny, teasing gap between them. He gave her a long, leisurely lick, enjoying the noises she was making, and savored the sweet, tangy essence of her desire.

  Then he began to caress every fold and inch of her with his lips and tongue, savoring her soft moans, ragged pleas, and finally, the loud cry as she climaxed, her center pulsing and fluttering beneath his lips.

  He drew out her climax, relishing every sound and movement as he pleasured her.

  When he tried to move away, Damaris gripped his head with strength surprising in an Ordinary. "Dimitri. Please. I want you."

  He froze at her plea. He wanted her too…oh God, he wanted her more badly than he'd ever wanted anyone in his life. And his bear was raging with rising lust inside him, urging him to take her.

  But going all the way with Damaris right now would seal the deal.

  Dimitri knew that he'd be bonded to her for life, without knowing much about her, or even whether she considered him more than a casual vacation fling.

  His gut knotted at the thought of possibly being abandoned by his mate.

  Thanks to the threats that Dimitri's parents had made, it had happened to Ash. Both he and Nika had paid a heavy price for their
separation.

  An Ordinary, even one who knew about shifters, could never really understand what it meant for a shifter to be mated. And Damaris didn't know about shifters, not yet. He didn't know how she might react when the time came to reveal his secret to her.

  Three days. I've only known this woman for three days…far too soon to be sure that she can commit herself to me forever.

  "Dimitri?" She leaned forward and kissed him hard. "If you don't fuck me right now, so help me God I'll—I'll—"

  The desperation in her voice undid him. So did the eager fingers pulling at his swim trunks. And his bear's desperate need to claim their mate.

  I want her so badly. I can't wait any longer. I'll make it all work somehow.

  Then he heard voices and the crunch of rocks and vegetation under hiking boots, and he groaned in dismay.

  "I hear people on the trail. We're about to have company," he warned.

  And the moment of commitment was lost as Damaris swore, slipped out of his embrace, and scrambled out of the pool to dry off and get dressed.

  Dimitri stayed in the pool a few moments longer, staring glumly at the scattered scraps of Damaris's bathing suit. He'd have to gather them up before the newcomers arrived.

  Dammit! No one ever comes here on a weekday! Why now, of all times?

  Chapter 12 – A Grizzly-Sized Secret

  Damaris hurried to towel off and get dressed before strangers arrived. Maybe the springs were clothing-optional, but she was an extremely private person.

  Her heart was pounding and her knees felt like jelly in the aftermath of her intense, much-too-short encounter with Dimitri.

  She'd never met anyone like him…or anyone who could make her feel the way he did. His goodnight kisses had been amazing. But the things he'd done to her just now…well, the interruption made her want to scream with frustration.

  She wanted more…she needed more from him!

  And after the amazing orgasm he'd just given her, she badly wanted to return the favor. What would it be like to see him come? To give him the same intense pleasure that he'd given her?

  When she emerged from the tiny cabana, dressed but still a little damp, she saw a family just opening the gate to the enclosure.