Burning Rescue: BBW Werebear Firefighter Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Scarlett Mountain Firefighter Werebear Shifters Book 1) (5 page)

"Look, I'm so sorry. I needed to have you. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together, okay?" Donovan wasn't sure how to tell her that because he was a shifter, his semen was extremely powerful. It was, in fact, much more powerful than a normal human male's. If they were fated mates, he had little doubt she would become pregnant.

Isabelle couldn't keep the worried look from her face. Her period had been a couple of weeks ago, so she was probably ovulating or getting ready to. Damnit.

The phone on her nightstand rang and Isabelle jumped. "Holy shit! Can you get that?"

Donovan got up and answered the phone.

"Yeah."

"Don?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"It's Jake. What the fuck are you doing, man?"

"I'm here with Isabelle, the missing hiker. We just got back from the hospital. I needed to get her back to her room."

"Yeah, Laylah said you brought her back over an hour ago."

"So, what's up, Jake?"

"We've been fighting this bitch all day, and the winds have us fucked. Not a cloud in the sky and all of a sudden we get a fucking lightning strike."

"A lightning strike?"

"Yeah, a couple minutes ago. Out of fucking nowhere. Saw it with my own eyes or else I wouldn't have fucking believed it. But can you leave that chick already? We need you down here, man. Cold front is supposed to be coming tonight and that will put an end to this bullshit. But this thing could really get going today."

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"With your pants on."

"Give me a fucking break, dude." Donovan slammed down the receiver and sat back down on the bed.

"Isabelle, I think you're amazing. You're strong, beautiful, and I really like you. I've never said this to a woman before. Believe me." Donovan caressed her cheek with the back of his finger. "I don't want to do this, but I have to go. My brothers need me to come back to the firehouse."

Isabelle tried to keep the disappointed look from her face and watched him get dressed. Every one of his firm muscles filled out his clothes perfectly.

Donovan paused for a moment and bent down and tenderly kissed her lips. "I'll call you later."

The door shut behind him and Isabelle was once again alone. "I'll call you later... Famous last words of every man who's ever had his dick in me. What was I thinking? I can't believe I just had sex with him." Isabelle covered her face with her hands and fell back onto the pillow. "A fucking firefighter. I should have known better. And of course, he didn't even pull out. Shit." Isabelle replayed the events of the last day in her head until she couldn't take it anymore. As exhausted as she was, it seemed impossible to fall asleep. Thoughts raced around her mind. Thoughts she didn't want to deal with. Some thoughts she just couldn't face. She steadied her breathing and quieted her mind and finally fell asleep.

"What's going on with the fire in Applewood?" Donovan came through the back door of the firehouse and it slammed behind him. The team was huddled around the table with a pile of maps and weather alerts.

"Hey, Don. Rogue lightning strike hit just north of the Applewood peak. We had the upper hand until the damn wind shifted last night. That grass over there is dead and real fucking dry. National Weather Service report indicates a cold front is coming. So, winds in front of it are gonna be a bitch. But after it comes through, we'll have a twenty degree temp drop and some rain overnight and in the morning. We'll be out of the woods if we can hold this damn thing off until then." Colton was holding the current weather bulletin in his hand.

"Alright, guys, have you all rotated out of your positions since yesterday? Don't need to deal with fatigue anymore than we have to."

"We're alright," Zak replied. "What's going on with you?"

"Well, I located the missing hiker last night, my ATV ran out of gas, phone died, you know. Fucking pain in the ass all around. Then I had to take her to the hospital this morning."

Zak, Colton and Jake traded suspicious glances and knew there was more to the story but were afraid to confront Donovan about it. Something was definitely different about their brother.

"Jordon, Axton, and Jake. I want you guys to take another stretch and start work on building a break to keep the fire from coming over the ridge. Winds are gonna drive it up that slope fast if it gets going again, but I think we can get it to burn itself out by the time it reaches the top. Even if it does come this way, we have the weather on our side tonight and tomorrow so we should see an end to this soon. Sound good?"

"Yeah, Don," Jordon replied, grabbing his phone and keys. Axton and Jake nodded and they headed out to their truck.

"Colton and Zak, you guys hang back here and be ready with the helicopter if they need you. Cool?"

Colton looked up from the map just long enough to make eye contact and nod.

"Caden, you and I are going to hang back for sleep. Have your gear ready. We'll roll if they need us to."

"Sounds good, Donovan." Caden headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

Donovan headed up to his room to take a much needed shower.

The hot water poured over his body and washed away the smoke and dirt. He knew that his brothers could smell her on him. Shifters had an incredible sense of smell. All of their senses were heightened, but their sense of smell was powerful and their dominant sense. With their heightened senses and intuitive abilities, they always seemed to know what was going on with their brothers, whether they admitted it or not.

He ran shampoo through his hair and closed his eyes. With his eyes closed, all he could see was Isabelle's naked body. One thought of her hard nipples in his mouth and his cock stiffened. His mind raced at the thought of getting her pregnant. He hoped she wasn't because they barely knew each other. But if she was, he would have no choice and would have to tell her his secret.

Isabelle hobbled up off the bed and made it to the bathroom. She sat down on the toilet seat next to the tub. There was a bottle of bubble bath on the counter with the other hotel toiletries. She closed the door with her good foot and drew a hot bath. She managed to get into the tub without getting her ankle or knee wet. Isabelle focused on quieting her mind and enjoying the hot bath instead of wondering how she was going to get out of the tub.

The warm water felt so good on her skin. Every muscle in her body ached and she wasn't quite sure which ones hurt from sleeping on the ground and which ones ached after taking Donovan's cock. "I'll never hear from him again. What would he see in me anyway?" Isabelle didn't want to believe that he had just used her for sex, but every man in her life until this point had.

Bubbles tickled her skin as she washed up. I can't believe he didn't pull out! What were we thinking? Isabelle covered her face with her hands at the realization of what had happened earlier. How could something so amazing be bad?

"Isabelle!" The knocking on her hotel room door snapped her back into reality. She struggled to sit up with her leg perched on the side of the tub. The door opened and closed and her heart began to pound.

"Isabelle?" Donovan had entered her room and was knocking on the bathroom door.

"I'm in here taking a bath. How'd you get in here?"

"I'm friends with Laylah, the hotel manager. I told her I wasn't sure if you'd be able to answer the door if I came up, so she gave me a key. Is that okay?"

"No, I mean, I don't know."

"Do you need help?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Can you get out of the tub by yourself?"

"I...I guess. I don't know." Isabelle sighed at the realization that she had no idea how she would get out of the tub without his or someone else's help.

Donovan opened the bathroom door and Isabelle quickly maneuvered bubbles to hide under.

"Don't hide. Besides, I've already seen you naked."

"Very funny. Why are you here?"

"Well, I thought you might be hungry. Since I never got a chance to take you out for coffee, I thought I should buy you dinner. And besides, I wanted to see you again."

"Why?" Isabelle was already trying to distance herself from him, bracing for the inevitable.

"What do you mean, why? I just wanted to see you." Donovan grabbed the plush white towel off the towel rack. "Speaking of seeing you, are you ready to get out of there?"

"Not really, but I suppose I can."

"Awesome. I'm starving, and I know what I want to eat." Donovan winked at her and flipped the towel over his shoulder. He helped lift her so she could sit on the side of the tub and turned his back while she dried off.

Isabelle wrapped the towel around her aching body, "Okay, decent." Donovan turned around and scooped her up. She was amazed how strong he was. He picked her up like she was weightless and carried her back to the bed.

"Can you help me and grab some clothes out of my bag, please?"

"Sure. Just one thing, though." Donovan leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. He held her face and leaned in to her, pushing her onto her back, and climbed on top of her.

"Wait, what about dinner?"

"I told you I already know what I want to eat." Donovan kissed her again and slid down toward her pussy. He pushed her towel out of the way and lightly kissed her lips. He couldn't get enough of her scent. She had an incredible hold on him and she didn't even know it. He lapped his tongue at her creamy lips and parted them with his fingers, then he lightly kissed her clit and ran his fingers through her juices and pushed into her slit. Isabelle moaned and arched her back. His fingers pushed deeper inside her and she opened her towel, releasing her breasts.

"You taste like honey, and I love honey. I could eat your pussy every day. Would you like that?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Isabelle panted out the words, and he knew she was close. He lightly licked around her clit and brought her to the brink. She squirmed and moaned as she got closer. He slowed down and pushed his fingers into her deeper as her pussy clamped down. "Donovan, don't stop, please. Donovan!" Her back arched again as she screamed out his name.

Donovan licked her juices off his fingers and watched her catch her breath. He got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face. "Damn, I never imagined when I first saw you just how amazing you are."

Isabelle raised herself up on her elbows. "I never imagined you would think that I was amazing. But there is one thing I have to ask you."

"What's that?" Donovan sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for a bomb to drop.

"Can we get dinner now or what?" Isabelle sat up and wrapped her arms around Donovan's chest, resting her head on his back.

"Absolutely! What do you want to get?"

"I don't know. Is room service here any good?"

"Yeah, it is, actually."

"Good. I don't want to go anywhere."

"Me either."

Isabelle sat with her head resting on Donovan's back and just enjoyed the moment. She couldn't believe someone like him liked her company for more than five minutes.

Donovan's phone rang. "Shit!"

"What's going on?"

"It's Caden. Hang on, honey."

"Yeah, Caden," Donovan said, answering his phone, trying not to sound utterly annoyed by the interruption. "Aw, fuck! Really? Damnit, on my way."

"I hate to do this to you, beautiful, but I have to head out. The winds are driving this blaze in Applewood and we can't seem to get the upper hand. We're trying to get it to blow back on itself, but Mother Nature isn't cooperating. I'm sorry." He kissed her on the forehead and stood up. It took all of his willpower to turn and walk out of the room. He didn't want to leave her room again, but his brothers and the mountain needed him.

Donovan left just as quickly as he had arrived. The door shut quietly behind him.

Isabelle sat in stunned silence holding the room service menu. Her damp hair rested on her back and a shiver went down her spine. Donovan had set her clothes down on the bed on his way out. She was able to pull on the shorts and t-shirt with little trouble. The painkillers the hospital had given her were pretty strong, but she didn't want to overdo it and end up even more sore tomorrow.

Shit! It's Sunday! Realizing that she needed to head back for work tomorrow, a panic washed over her. There was no way she could drive with her right ankle injury. Donovan had left her mangled cell phone on the dresser, but there was no way to get her contacts off of it or check messages. Even if I go back, I have nowhere to go.

Isabelle tried to keep herself from sliding down the vicious rabbit hole of examining her life. It never did any good, and usually ended in an empty tub of ice cream.

"Don! What the fuck, brother?" Caden was standing at the dining table with his arms crossed, waiting for Don.

"What?"

"Don't play stupid with me! Where have you been?"

"I was checking on the injured hiker. Okay with you?"

"No, it's not. You stayed behind to have a rest and you disappeared! I say again, what the fuck?"

"Come on, don't start with me. That poor girl spent the night alone on the mountain and I just wanted to check on her. Laylah dropped the ball and this girl could sue the hotel. They have the hiker safety policy in place for a reason and–"

"Give it a rest, Don. I can fucking smell it on you."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, we can all smell her on you. What are you doing?"

"It's none of your business!"

"You're wrong. It is our business. When it comes to our safety and not being discovered, it is our business. The last thing we need is to be discovered, and if you think she is your mate, you're going to have to tell her. What if she freaks out and tells someone? Tells Laylah? Or that Talia Scott with the newspaper who is always sniffing around here?"

"Yeah, what are we gonna do then?"

"We're supposed to protect this town, and that is what we will continue to do. That is all I know how to do. And so what if she is my mate? We'll figure it out."

"I hope for your sake that you're correct, but what if you're not?"

"Look, can we just drop it, please? We don't need to get into this shit right now. What is the deal with Applewood?"