A Spark to Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 2) by Sloane Meyers Page A

ached at the vulnerable look in Hunter’s eyes. She couldn’t imagine ever being afraid of someone so caring and sweet.
    “I can handle it,” Riley said softly. “Your eyes are the same, even when you’re in bear form. I always know it’s you. I always know you see me.”
    Hunter smiled, and leaned over to kiss Riley’s cheek. “I’m so lucky to have you,” he said.
    They stared up at the sky for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company. Riley wanted to figure out a way to tell him that she had firmly decided against opening the pie shop using his money, but he spoke before she could say anything. He had already figured out her hesitation, and he wasn’t going to let her drop the matter so easily.
    “Look, I know you’re unsure about the pie shop, but promise me that you’ll at least think about it for a few days with an open mind, okay? I know you want to do everything on your own, and it’s admirable that you take such good care of yourself. But being independent doesn’t mean that you never accept help. We all need someone from time to time. And if we don’t let the most important people in our lives help, then what’s the point of having important people in our lives. Don’t be so stubborn.”
    Riley sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll think about it. But I’m just warning you that I have no intentions of changing my mind.”
    Hunter kissed her again. “Fair enough. Although, I’m just warning you that I’m planning to use the three hour drive to your apartment tomorrow to pester you into accepting my help.”
    “Well that hardly seems fair,” Riley protested.
    “All’s fair in love and pie shops,” Hunter said, sitting up. “Now, come on. As much as I’d love to sit out here with you all night, we’ve had a very long day, and it’s past midnight already. We should get some rest so we can get on the road at a reasonable time tomorrow.”
    Riley gave Hunter her hand and let him pull her up off the grass. She wished they could lie out here together forever, but she had to admit that sleeping in a real bed did sound awfully tempting right now. As soon as her head hit the pillow, all of her worries disappeared, giving way to the blissful peace of deep, dreamless sleep.

Chapter Ten
    The next day, Hunter found himself on a three hour plane ride with his crew instead of a three hour car ride with Riley. Early that morning, headquarters in Boise had called the crew in for a small fire that had started in a mountainous area of northern Oregon. The small fire wouldn’t take the crew very long to put out if all went well, but it was located too high to be reached by foot.
    Hunter had left the keys to his car with Riley, so she could go back to her apartment in Sacramento and start getting new I.D.s and credit cards. She would also be able to get her own clothes and shoes, which she had been wishing for since they arrived back at the base. Hunter tried not to worry about whether he could convince Riley to stay at the base permanently. He didn’t want to have to deal with a three hour commute to see his lifemate during every fire season, but Riley seemed hell bent on not accepting his help to open a pie shop. To him, it seemed obvious that lifemates should help each other out financially without a second thought. But Riley took his offers of help as some sort of affront to her independent spirit. Hunter sighed and stared out the window of the plane as the wilderness below passed by him in a blur. He was having a hard time focusing on anything except the worries about Riley swirling through his head.
    When the plane reached the drop site, Hunter went through the motions of jumping out of the plane without even thinking about it. Muscle memory took over as he checked his gear, donned his helmet, and leapt out the door. He pulled his parachute handle and the canopy opened beautifully, but he didn’t feel the same rush of adrenaline today that he normally did as he steered toward his