A Burn To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 3) (5 page)

Maybe it was better if she didn’t start getting too philosophical about their relationship just yet. She didn’t want to scare Luke off. If there was one thing she had learned from the last hour, it was that she wanted him to be around for a long, long time.

The next morning, Luke woke to sunlight streaming in through River’s bedroom window. The freak storm from the night before had cleared up, leaving unusually warm November sunshine in its wake. Even though Northern California never got too terribly cold in the winter, the weather lately had been warm even by west coast standards.

Luke glanced over at River’s side of the bed, and was startled to see it empty. He saw a note on her pillow, and picked it up to read it.

Luke, I had to go to work. Help yourself to whatever you want, including leftover pie. I left my extra key on the kitchen counter, so just lock the door when you leave. Your clothes are on the couch, I didn’t have time to wash them but I did throw them in the dryer for you, so at least they’re not soaking. Xoxo, River.

Luke held the note for a long time, staring at River’s neat, flowing handwriting. He finally leaned back against the pillow and covered his eyes with his arm. He had a lot of thinking to do.

Last night, when he mated with River, he had bonded with her. He had felt the unmistakable magnetic pull between them growing stronger and solidifying, and he knew that he was tied to River forever. He had never felt such a strong connection before, not even with his ex, Sara. He had tried to convince himself that he felt it with Sara, because he had wanted so badly for Sara to be his lifemate. But it had never happened between them, and Sara had eventually broken his heart.

Now, here he was, all these years later, bonded to a somewhat geeky but oh so lovable librarian. Luke couldn’t really say that his bonding to River surprised him. He’d suspected that they were lifemates, and now he had confirmed that. But he hadn’t given much thought to how he would tell River he was a bear shifter. He couldn’t decide whether it was better to tell her now, and get it out in the open right away, or to wait, and let her get to know him better before he dropped that bombshell.

Luke got up and found his clothes on the couch as River had said. He slipped on his briefs and jeans, but left the shirt off for the moment. Then he went to the kitchen, where he found some coffee and started brewing a strong pot for himself. Once the coffeepot had filled, Luke poured himself a large mug of the dark, steaming liquid, and carried it out to River’s tiny patio. He sat on one of the two rickety folding chairs, and thought about his options while he watched residents of the apartment complex leaving for work. It still felt strange to Luke sometimes to sit around doing nothing on the days when there weren’t any fires to fight. More than likely, the fire season had ended for this year. There might still be one more fire, two at the most. But they would be small and weak now that the rainy season had arrived. Maybe he should take up woodworking again to fill his time. He had enjoyed making River’s bookcase more than he thought he would, and he had been pleased to see that he still had a knack for carving.

Remembering River’s bookcase, Luke decided to go downstairs and bring it up for her. He had made the bookcase of real, thick wood, so it weighed quite a bit. But Luke had exceptional strength, thanks to his inner bear and his many days of hauling heavy gear while firefighting. He easily lifted the heavy case onto his shoulder and brought it up to River’s third floor apartment. He put it in a vacant area next to the couch, which was really the only spot in River’s tiny apartment where the case would fit. The smooth, honey-colored wood shone brilliantly in the morning sunshine, and Luke admired his work with pleasure.

On a whim, he decided to start putting some of River’s books on the shelves. She would probably want to rearrange them herself in her own particular way, but he thought the bookcase would make a great impression if her first full view of it was with books stacked neatly on its shelves. Luke gathered several of the book stacks from River’s floor and started shelving the books. He shook his head in wonder at the sheer number and variety of books that River owned. Some of the volumes he recognized from his school days. He vaguely remembered reading classics like
Moby Dick
or
Great Expectations.
But many of the books he had never heard of before.

When he finished loading the bookshelf, a few stacks of books still remained on the floor. But at least the large shelf held the majority of River’s collection. Luke smiled at the impressive sight of the beautiful handmade, hand carved shelf, loaded with River’s most treasured possessions. Even if he didn’t share her love of reading, at least he had shown her that he appreciated the things that she thought were important.

As Luke surveyed his handiwork, he made the decision not to tell River yet that he was a bear shifter. Things were finally going well between them, and it made more sense to let her get to know him better before gently breaking the news.

Feeling relieved at his choice to postpone revealing his shifter status, Luke cleaned up the small mess he had made from using the coffee machine, and then put his shirt on. He left River’s apartment, locking the door behind him, and headed back to base. He turned the radio up to a country station and rolled the windows down, singing at the top of his lungs and enjoying the almost summery breeze blowing in his face.

When he pulled the SUV into the parking lot in front of the hangar, he saw Trevor hanging out by the front door, oiling some hinges that had been squeaking incessantly for months. With the slowdown in fires, everyone on the crew was looking for ways to fill their time.

“Well, well, well,” Trevor said, his voice taking on the singsong quality it always did when he was about to make fun of someone. “Look who finally decided to return my SUV. Delivering that bookcase must have been a big job, since you were gone all night long.”

“Shut up,” Luke said, hopping out of the SUV and glaring at Trevor. He wished he could think of a wittier retort, but his one mug of coffee was already wearing off, and he was starting to feel the effects of not sleeping enough last night.

“Hey, that’s no way to thank your buddy for letting you borrow his car,” Trevor said, crossing his arms and pretending to be angry.

“Whatever. You’re just jealous because I got some and you didn’t,” Luke said.

Trevor threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, now that’s rich. Let’s add up how many times I’ve ‘gotten some’ over the last several years and compare it to your number. I’m definitely not jealous.”

Luke glared at Trevor. “You’re ruining my good mood.”

Trevor put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, man. Just giving you a good, old-fashioned ribbing. I take it your plan to win River back with a handcrafted bookshelf worked out pretty well for you.”

“Yeah, it did. I’d venture to say you’re going to be seeing a lot more of River around here now.”

“Good. We need more pretty around these parts. I’m tired of looking at your ugly face all the time.”

Luke rolled his eyes and shoved his way past Trevor, making his way into the main hangar. Hunter and Zach were sitting at two of the sewing machines, making some sort of modifications to their parachutes. Since the Burning Claws Crew didn’t have their own permanent airplane, they used the hangar as a space to fix up damaged gear. Their parachutes tended to take quite a beating, thanks to the frequent landings in the middle of treetops.

Hunter looked up as Luke walked into the room. “Look who’s doing the walk of shame,” he taunted. “Weren’t you wearing that same outfit when you left last night?”

Luke glared at Hunter. “You, too, huh? I already got an earful from Trevor about my extracurricular activities last night. I don’t need you to jump on the bandwagon with him.”

Hunter laughed, but Zach looked up with angry, dark eyes. “Were you with a woman?” Zach asked.

Luke exhaled in frustration. “Here we go again,” he said. “Yes, I was with a woman. Yes, she’s human. No, she doesn’t know that I’m a bear shifter. Any more questions?”

Zach stood up and threw the box of thread he had been holding onto the floor next to him. “This place is getting out of control, with all the human women running around. But I’m sure Ian is going to be fine with this, just like he’s always fine with everything.”

Zach stormed off, leaving Hunter and Luke rolling their eyes behind his back.

“What is his problem?” Luke asked, even though he and Hunter both already knew the answer to the question. Zach strongly opposed allowing any human women into the clan. No one in the clan could pinpoint the exact reason or the exact timing of when it happened, but at some point Zach had taken this stance and refused to back down. It had been a point of contention between Ian, the alpha, and Zach, who was second in command. Ian and Zach were best friends, but lately they constantly fought. Ian gave Zach a lot of leeway, but the rest of the crew had reached the point of exhaustion with Zach’s tirades.

“Who cares what Zach’s problem is? I want to hear more about what’s going on with you and River,” Hunter said, and narrowed his eyes. “I’m assuming you mated with her?”

Luke nodded.

“Bonded?” Hunter asked.

Luke nodded again, and Hunter fist pumped the air.

“Yes!” Hunter said, his voice jubilant. “That’s so awesome. Zach can get over his whiny self. I remember you telling me you thought maybe you didn’t even have a lifemate, and look at you now! Bonded to a hottie like River.”

“Yeah, well, I’m really excited about it, but I’m also terrified of how River is going to take the news that I’m a bear shifter.”

Hunter’s face grew serious. “Did you try to explain bonding to her?”

Luke shook his head no. “I have no idea how I could explain it without explaining the whole shifter thing. And I want to get to know her better before telling her I’m a shifter.”

Hunter frowned. “Just don’t wait too long to tell her. You know how it goes. The longer they go without knowing, the more they feel like you’ve betrayed their trust by not telling them.”

“I know,” Luke said. “I’ll tell her soon. But we just managed to get past the whole situation where she didn’t even want to talk to me, so I want to give her a little bit of time before dropping more bombshells on her.”

Hunter shrugged. “You know what’s best, man. When is she going to come meet the crew? Riley is going to be so excited to have her around more often—she can’t say enough good things about River.”

“Hopefully tonight. I’m going to drive over to the library where she’s working and see if I can get her to agree to come have dinner here. Are we barbequing again tonight?”

“Of course. Gotta take advantage of this unusually warm weather. I thought that monsoon last night would have driven the temperatures down some, but it seems like it had no effect. This is the warmest November I’ve seen in a long time.”

“Yeah, I agree. I hope we don’t have any more fires this season. I’m tired.”

“You mean you’re old,” Hunter said, laughing at his own jab.

“Very funny,” Luke said. “I’m going to go shower and then go back to town. If nothing else, at least it’ll give me a chance to get away from all of you assholes.”

Luke headed for the bunkhouse, leaving Hunter to continue laughing.

After showering and changing, Luke headed to the library. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot, and when he entered the building, he was surprised to hear the sounds of children laughing and screeching. River was sitting at the front desk, reading a book.

“Hard at work, I see,” Luke said.

River looked up at him and grinned. “Hey, it’s for book club, so it counts as work. What brings you in to the library today? Had it been too long since you saw me? Or are you actually interested in finding a book to read?”

“Very funny,” Luke said. “I actually stopped by to see if you want to come out to base tonight for dinner. We barbeque almost every night, and we always have a really good time. I’d love to introduce you to the rest of the crew. Riley will be there, so you’ll know someone else besides me, too.”

“I’d love to,” River said, her face lighting up. “Are you sure you’re not embarrassed to be seen with a geeky librarian.”

Luke leaned over the counter and gave River a quick kiss. “Why would I be embarrassed to be seen with the most beautiful woman in the world?”

River blushed, but she was saved from replying by another loud outburst of children’s screams.

Luke raised an eyebrow. “I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet,” he said.

River shrugged. “Usually, they are. But we have lots of community programming and storytimes for kids. They tend to get pretty excited. Right now we’ve got someone from the zoo in there giving a lecture on reptiles. Sounds like it’s going over pretty well.”

“It does sound like it,” Luke agreed, glancing warily in the direction from which the screeching had come.”

“Hey! I just had an awesome idea,” River said. “What if you came and did a talk for the kids about fighting wildfires? I bet they would love that. Especially the part about jumping out of airplanes.”

Luke made a face. “I’m not good with kids,” he said, and River’s face fell. Her disappointed expression made Luke feel badly. Maybe he should try to do a short lecture for the kids. How bad could it be? If it meant that much to River, he would do it.

“Okay, okay,” he said in response to River’s pouty look. “I’ll do it, as long as my boss approves of the idea. He’s not big on us getting involved in public speaking type things about our job.”