A Blaze To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 1) (10 page)

Ian paused again, giving Charlotte time to process everything. She stared off at the rocks for several long minutes before looking back at Ian.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” she asked, her voice losing its aggravated tone.

Ian took a deep breath. “I wanted to try to explain why I didn’t tell you I was a shifter sooner. I’m really sorry that I didn’t. But I was scared of how you would react, and my men have already been through so much—losing their clan and then losing their jobs on the hotshot crew, which they had loved. I didn’t want them to lose their smokejumper jobs in addition to everything else.”

“You should have trusted me,” Charlotte said, crossing her arms. “I wouldn’t have gone running in the other direction, or tried to out you to Boise. I’m a decent person, and I consider the crew my friends. Not all humans are evil people out to get you or make your life miserable.”

“I know,” Ian said, and hung his head. “All I can say is that I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you, and I didn’t want to hurt my crew. And I failed everyone. I promised Zach not to tell you we were shifters until after the last mission, but then the bear showed up and I didn’t have much of a choice. I had to shift to save you. And Hunter joined right in. He’s got such a good heart, that kid.”

Charlotte smiled for the first time since Ian had picked her up from her run. “Hunter’s very sweet.”

Ian looked over at the rocks again. He was having a difficult time reading Charlotte’s response. She seemed to be taking everything relatively well, but she hadn’t outright accepted his apology. Ian told himself to stop talking for a minute and give her time to think. He glanced at her profile, drinking in the beauty of her face as she gazed out at the ocean in the distance. When she turned to speak again, what she said startled him.

“I knew you were a shifter,” she said. “Or, I suspected it, at least.”

Ian snapped his face up to meet her eyes. “You knew? How? And why didn’t you say something?”

“I overheard you telling Zach the night of our first mission. I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me yourself, though. It hurt a lot that you kept it from me.”

Ian felt sick to his stomach. “I should have told you. I wasn’t fair to you, putting you in the same category as other humans who haven’t been understanding. I was just so afraid of losing you, though. The thought was agonizing.”

Charlotte sighed. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but you’ve also met some really good humans. The people at Forest Service have taken care of you, after all. Not everyone is out to get you just because you’re a little different. And, honestly, you should stand up to Zach more. He’s a good guy, but you’re the crew chief, and the ‘alpha’ as you put it. You need to step up and lead. I know he’s your best friend, and you want to protect his feelings. But sometimes as a leader you just have to do things that aren’t popular. It sucks, but, at the end of the day, people will respect you more for it.”

Ian pondered what Charlotte had said. Zach had become noticeably brazen in the last few weeks. Ian gave him a lot of leeway, but maybe the time had come to lay down the law a little more.

“You’re right,” Ian said. “I tried too hard to protect everyone’s feelings instead of stepping up and leading. I had good intentions, but I ended up hurting everyone and satisfying no one.”

“I’m always right,” Charlotte said with a smirk. “You should get that straight right now.”

Ian laughed. “Okay, okay, you’re always right. Got it. Does this mean you forgive me?”

Charlotte took in a deep breath before answering. “I forgive you, but I want you to trust me more in the future. I understand why you kept your secret from me, but I don’t think you made the right choice at all when you did that. I’m on your team, Ian. Treat me like that from now on, okay?”

Ian looked down at the ground sheepishly. “Okay.”

“I’m really sorry about your family that you lost, too. Unfortunately, I know all too well how awful it is to lose your family. I know the pain never really goes away. But you have to be careful that you’re not hurting the people who are still here with you and really care about you.”

“I know,” Ian said. “I messed up. I can’t promise it won’t happen again, because I’m not perfect. But I’ll do my best.”

Charlotte gave him a sympathetic smile, and he felt his heart warming. She still cared about him! He wished he could have stayed in the forest with her all day, but he needed to get back to base in case the crew received another mission assignment.

“Come on, let’s head back before it gets too late,” Ian said, pointing to the trail. “Can I…can I hold your hand?” He felt a little like a timid high schooler asking the question, but he wanted to respect Charlotte’s space if she still needed it. To his relief, she smiled at him again and nodded.

“That would be lovely,” she said, as she held out her hand to him.

Charlotte savored the feeling of Ian’s rough, warm hand covering hers as they walked back to his truck. Her anger at him had been slowly fading since he picked her up from her run. She had wanted to stay self-righteous and angry, but during their drive and hike, she had realized that she was being stubborn for no good reason. Ian had messed up, but he had realized it and apologized. And he didn’t hide his secret from her to be malicious on purpose. He had been trying his best to take care of both her and the crew. It wasn’t an easy balancing act.

The look of relief on his face after she forgave him had been so heartwarming. She knew when she saw it that she had made the right decision. Throwing away a relationship with such a wonderful man because he had made a goodhearted mistake would be ridiculous. No one was perfect all of the time. And she loved the way he had asked if he could hold her hand—the gesture had been respectful and sweet.

Now, as they walked along in contented silence, his index finger stroking the inside of her palm, her thoughts went from sweet to sultry. She let herself admire his body once again, taking in the sharp outlines of his muscles and the strong jaw line of his face. Now that she had seen him in bear form, she could see that certain things remained the same no matter what shape he took. His even, paced gait was the same, and his eyes didn’t change. They had the same intense, inquisitive look that sent Charlotte’s heart racing with desire. As they neared the truck, he turned his eyes to her and Charlotte saw the blue-green of his irises churning in a now familiar pattern. The sunlight up here had started to wane, and the late afternoon light made the skin on his face glow warmly.

“How did I get so lucky?” he asked, reaching up to caress her cheek. It was the first thing he had said since they started the hike back, and his voice sounded earnest and full of longing.”

Charlotte grinned at him, feeling familiar feelings of passion bubbling up inside of her. She tilted her face up toward his, her heart pounding with nervous excitement as she saw the heat of passion burning in his eyes. She parted her lips slightly, inviting him to kiss her, and she didn’t have to ask twice. He gently pushed her up against the side of the truck and met her lips with his, letting his hands slide down to her hips where held her body against his as he let loose the pent up desires from the last several days. Charlotte breathed in happily as she felt his body leaning into hers, savoring the feeling of his tongue sliding against hers. His movements were deliberate and tender, and Charlotte felt herself melting into him. His arms felt like home, and she felt her loneliness seeping away as he continued to kiss her deeply.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing. Ian stopped and pulled away briefly.

“Hang on,” he said. “I have an idea.”

He opened the door to the truck and reached into the back of the cab, where he grabbed a blanket before shutting the door again. Then he went to the bed of the truck and opened the lift-gate. He hopped onto the bed and spread the blanket out, then turned to offer his hand to Charlotte. She grinned as she took his hand and let him help her up onto the bed of the truck, where they lay together on the blanket and resumed their kissing session. The warmth of the sunlight was fading away, but the warmth of their passion was rising quickly.

Ian reached for Charlotte’s pants and tugged them down. She was wearing tight, spandex running pants, but he didn’t have much trouble sliding them down and over her hips. Her running shoes made the pants difficult to get off, though, so he tugged off Charlotte’s shoes and then removed her pants and underwear fully. Charlotte felt self-conscious about how sweaty she must be after running and hiking, but Ian didn’t seem to notice. He quickly pulled off his own shoes and pants, and then pressed his naked erection against her pelvis. Charlotte moaned, and felt her body tingling with anticipation. Ian didn’t stop to take off her shirt, which Charlotte was thankful for since the air was turning cold. Instead, he immediately lay on his side next to her, so they were both on their sides with their faces looking at each other.

He pulled her close and kissed her again, then used his hand to guide his erection into her well-lubricated entrance. The tingling sensation in Charlotte’s body intensified, and she moaned again as Ian moved his hand to hold her by her ass cheeks. With his mouth connected to hers in a fervent kiss, and his hips connected to hers by his rock hard dick, he started slowly thrusting his hips back and forth. He kept his movements gentle, but he was so large inside of her that it didn’t take much motion at all for the pressure to intensify. Charlotte wrapped her arms around Ian’s back tightly as the tingling sensation caused by his touch spread through every part of her body. It didn’t take long for the pressure to explode through her in warm waves, her muscles clenching onto him over and over. There was almost no sound as she squeezed her eyes tighter and just rode the waves of the orgasm he had given her. He let loose a few more forceful thrusts, and then found his relief as well. He pulsed into her, moaning quietly as they found their release together. They lay for several minutes relishing the moment and the feeling of togetherness.

Charlotte shivered slightly, and Ian pulled the large blanket over them. They cuddled together, holding each other close and enjoying the simple pleasure of being skin to skin. Any thoughts of getting back to base quickly seemed to be forgotten as they both drifted off to sleep. For the first time in a very long time, Charlotte’s dreams were happy instead of haunted.

When the night grew cool enough that Ian woke up, he gently shook Charlotte awake.

“Hey,” he said softly. “We should really get back to base.”

Charlotte nodded sleepily and climbed back into the front of the truck, where she drifted off to sleep again as Ian drove them home. The earliest rays of dawn were just starting to crack over the horizon as they pulled back up to the hangar, and Ian parked the truck so the bed was facing the sunrise.

“Wait here,” he said. “I’ll go grab some coffee and some snacks, since I’m sure you’re starving. We can sit in the bed of the truck and watch the sun rise.”

Charlotte happily agreed. Watching sunrises or sunsets ranked high on her list of favorite things to do. She settled into the bed of the truck, and several minutes later Ian came back with two thermoses of coffee and an assortment of nuts. Charlotte sipped and munched happily, watching the first sunbeams streaking colorfully across the sky. But their private show was suddenly interrupted when Zach came outside.

“Really, Ian?” Zach asked. “You were gone most of the day yesterday, and now you’re sitting out here lazily watching the sun rise? Don’t you have work to do? Or have you forgotten about everything except your new love interest?”

Zach stood with his arms crossed, giving Charlotte a look of total disdain. Ian sighed, and set his thermos of coffee down.

“Zach, my office, now. Charlotte, wait here and enjoy the coffee and sunrise. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Zach rolled his eyes but followed Ian as he stormed into the hangar. A few moments later, Charlotte could hear the sound of yelling coming from the hangar. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but it was clear that Zach and Ian were having a very heated disagreement. The noise must have awoken the other members of the crew, because a sleepy-looking Hunter suddenly appeared beside the truck.

“Hey,” Hunter said in a shy voice. “I’m sorry if my shifting caused problems for you and Ian. It sounds like he and Zach are having an epic argument about you right now.”

Charlotte let out an exasperated sigh, and patted the blanket next to her on the bed of the truck. “Come on up,” she said. “And don’t apologize for shifting. You and Ian saved me from a bear attack. There’s nothing to apologize about.”

Hunter hopped into the truck and glanced over at Charlotte. “Is it true?” he asked. “Are you and Ian going to be lifemates?”

“Lifemates?” Charlotte asked, confusion etching itself into her face.

“Oh, I guess he hasn’t asked you yet,” Hunter said, sounding embarrassed. “I thought he had, since he’s arguing with Zach about it so loudly. Asking someone to be your lifemate is kind of like asking them to marry you. Ian said just a moment ago that he’s planning to be your lifemate, and Zach flew off the handle about it.”

“You can hear what they’re saying from here?” Charlotte asked, surprised.

“Yeah, bears have really good hearing. Sounds like Ian is putting Zach in his place.”

“Good. Zach’s been giving him such a hard time, for no good reason.”

“Don’t be too hard on Zach. He’ll come around,” Hunter said. “He’s a good guy, but he has a temper and he doesn’t like to admit it when he’s wrong. And he was clearly very wrong about you.”

“Wrong about me?”

“Yeah. He thought as soon as you found out we were bear shifters you would out us. Then not only would your relationship with Ian be done, but the entire crew would probably lose our jobs.”

“I’m not like that,” Charlotte said.

“I know that now,” Hunter said. “We all know that now. But Zach is stubborn and doesn’t want to admit that he was wrong. He’ll come around eventually. Just give him some time.”

Hunter pulled a small piece of fabric from his jeans’ front pocket. “I made this for you,” he said. “It’s our official Burning Claws Crew patch. I designed them, and we all wear one on our jumpsuits. I decided that since it looks like you’re going to be a permanent part of the crew, you should have one, too.”

Charlotte looked down at the patch, which had a bear paw with flaming claws on it. “Hunter, this is awesome,” she said. “Thank you so much.”

Hunter shrugged, but looked pleased. “I’m glad you like it. Welcome to our crew, officially,” he said.

Charlotte held the patch tightly in her hand and smiled. She belonged here, now. Zach could put up a fuss about it all day long, but Ian was standing up for her now. And the rest of the crew seemed to be excited about having her around permanently. As she studied the patch, Trevor and Luke came out of the hangar with wide eyes.

“Looks like you’ve caused quite a stir between the boss and Zach,” Trevor said. “Pretty impressive.”

Before Charlotte could answer, Ian’s voice came booming from just beyond the open hangar door. “She didn’t cause a stir. Zach caused a stir. He had concerns about Charlotte outing us as shifters, but it’s clear now that his fears were misplaced.”

Ian came out of the hangar, followed by Zach, who looked sullen but remained silent.

“Zach and I have had a discussion, and I’ve explained to him that I’m confident that the crew is in no danger from Charlotte. He’s admitted that my confidence is well placed, and Charlotte will be staying with us. If anyone else has issues with this, now is the time to speak up.”

Ian looked around the group, making eye contact with each of his men. None of them offered any words of protest, and Charlotte silently cheered as she realized that Hunter and Ian weren’t the only crew members who had accepted her.

“Good,” Ian said. “Now that that’s settled, let’s all get back to work.”

His tone left no room for complaining, and the crew members scattered to start on their tasks for the day. The peak of the sunrise had passed by this point, and Ian offered his hand to Charlotte so she could jump out of the truck.

“Sorry about the sunrise,” he said. “We can try watching it again tomorrow, if we don’t get called for a mission.”

“No worries,” Charlotte said. “Is Zach okay?”

“He’s miffed at me, but it’s not the first time. He’ll get over it in a few days and everything will be completely back to normal. What’s that in your hand, by the way?” Ian asked, pointing to the patch Hunter had just given Charlotte.

“A Burning Claws patch for my jumpsuit!” Charlotte said. “Hunter gave it to me, so that I’m an official part of the crew now.”

Ian smiled. “He’s got such a good heart.”

“He also explained to me what a lifemate is,” Charlotte said, giving Ian a coy smile.

Ian chuckled and drew Charlotte into his embrace. “Oh, really? And how do you feel about that concept?”

“I feel like it sounds like a pretty good idea, if you find the right person.”

“Do you think you’ve found the right person to be your lifemate?” Ian asked, his voice growing serious.

Charlotte smirked. “I might have. But I can’t be sure, because he hasn’t asked me yet.”

Ian took a deep breath, and let it out in a ragged exhalation. “I didn’t want to ask yet because I didn’t want to overwhelm you right after my rather ungraceful revelation of the fact that I’m a bear shifter. But if you’re hinting at what I think you’re hinting at, then I’m just going to go for it.”

Ian knelt down on one knee in front of Charlotte. The bright, early morning sun illuminated his dark hair from behind, so it almost looked like it was on fire.

“I know asking you this question is absolutely crazy, but I’m absolutely in love with you, and I’ve never been the sane type, anyway. If you’re willing to take this leap with me, then I’m more than ready to take it with you. Charlotte Moore, will you be my lifemate?”

Charlotte grinned, her heart swelling with feelings of love and joy as Ian’s handsome face looked up at her earnestly. “I’m crazy in love with you, too, Ian,” she said. “Let’s take this leap together. Whatever bumps we face along the way, let’s face them together, as lifemates. My answer is yes.”

Ian jumped up and pulled Charlotte into his arms, spinning her around until her feet left the ground. When he finally set her down, he pointed to the patch she still held in her hand.

“You better go get that sewn on your jumpsuit,” he said. “Welcome to the Burning Claws Clan, my love. You’ve got a family again.”

Charlotte squeezed Ian’s hand happily as they walked into the hangar to share the news with the rest of her new family. She smiled over at him when he returned the squeeze. All of the stress from the last week was quickly forgotten as she stared into the eyes of her soon-to-be lifemate.