A Flame To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters 4) (9 page)

Early the next morning, Trevor hopped into his SUV, and drove to the Red Valley Inn. Heart pounding with excitement, he made his way to Bailey's hotel room. When he arrived, he found the door wide open, with two of the hotel's housekeeping staff inside. They were preoccupied with their task of cleaning the room, and didn’t notice him at first.

“Excuse me,” Trevor said. “Do you happen to know where the woman staying in this room went?”

The housekeepers looked up and shrugged. “I don't know,” one of them said. “She checked out this morning.”

“She checked out? She’s gone?” Trevor asked, suddenly starting to panic. For some reason, it had never occurred to him that Bailey might leave so quickly. He’d been so excited about his plan to come talk to her that he hadn’t considered what he would do if she left. It made perfect sense, though. Why would she stay? She’d lost a colleague here, and she felt like Trevor had duped her. All that remained for her in Red Valley would be bad memories.

Trevor ran back out to the front desk. Breathless, he described Bailey and asked the woman behind the counter if she had any information on where Bailey might be.

“Oh, yeah. I know that girl. She left about an hour ago. I called a cab to the San Francisco airport for her.”

Trevor grabbed the counter to steady himself. He felt like the floor was falling out from under him. Why hadn’t he come back to the hotel earlier? He’d just assumed he still had time. As he felt the same desperate feeling from the night before washing over him again, Trevor knew with certainty: Bailey was his lifemate. He had to catch her.

“Do you have any idea which airline she was flying?” Trevor asked.

The front counter attendant shrugged. “I think I heard her mention Delta, but I’m not sure. And, I’m also not sure that I should be giving you all this information. How did you say you know her, again?” the attendant asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Uh, she’s a good friend. She, uh, forgot something here and I want to return it,” Trevor lied, and then ran out the front entrance of the hotel. He jumped behind the driver’s seat and started his engine, peeling out of the parking lot before he’d even fastened his seatbelt. He didn’t know what he was going to say to Bailey if he managed to catch her, but he had some time to think about it—San Francisco’s airport was about a ninety minute drive, and Bailey had a significant head start on him.

Trevor drove like he had a death wish. He weaved in and out of traffic at speeds nearly double the speed limit. He ignored the constant chorus of angry honks he left in his wake. The only thing his mind could focus on was catching Bailey. He arrived at the San Francisco airport in an hour and ten minutes, parking his car as close as he could to the terminal that had signs for Delta Airlines. He ran into the airport, and scanned the monitors with flight information. There was a flight to D.C. leaving in twenty minutes. Since the next flight wasn’t for three hours, Trevor knew that first flight must be the one Bailey was taking. Which meant she was probably already at the gate, about to board.

Trevor didn’t stop to debate his next move. He ran to Delta’s ticket counter, hopping back and forth impatiently on one foot while he waited for the older lady in front of him to finish speaking with the service agent. He probably only waited about three minutes, but it felt like forever. When his turn came, he ran up to the counter.

“Do you have space on the flight to D.C. that leaves in fifteen minutes? I want to buy a ticket,” Trevor said.

The service agent raised an eyebrow at him. “That flight is already boarding, sir. You might not make it through security in time. And it’s too late to check a bag. Checked baggage needs to be here an hour before the flight.”

“I’m not checking a bag. I just need a ticket for that flight. Are there any available?”

The agent hesitated, looking at him suspiciously. “I can check for you, but if you miss the flight there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get on the next one.”

“I don’t care,” Trevor said. “I need a ticket for that flight.”

“Okay, just a moment. Let me see what we have available.”

Trevor fidgeted impatiently again for several moments as the agent searched on her computer.

“Okay,” she said. “We have a seat left. But, this late, the ticket is going to be six hundred dollars.”

Trevor didn’t even flinch. He threw down his credit card and driver’s license. “I’ll take it,” he said.

Five minutes later, he was standing in the security line. “Come on, come on,” he said. “I’m going to miss her.”

Although it felt like an eternity to him, the security line actually moved relatively quickly. He slipped off his tennis shoes and threw his wallet and car keys on the x-ray belt, cursing the slow moving machine as he waited for his stuff to come back through on the other side. As he stood there, he heard a voice on the loudspeaker announcing the final boarding call for his flight. He didn’t even bother to put his shoes back on—lacing them up would have wasted precious time. He just grabbed everything off the x-ray belt and started running for Gate B31. His stocking feet pounded as he ran, dodging sleepy-eyed travelers who looked at him with mild amusement as he sprinted past. Right before his gate there was a shop modeled after a farmer’s market stand that had displays of fresh fruit and flowers for sale. Trevor glanced at his watch and skidded to a stop. He pointed at one of the bouquets, a lovely arrangement of delicate blue, white, and yellow flowers.

“How much?” he asked.

“Um…that one is fifteen dollars,” the salesman said.

Trevor grabbed the bouquet and pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet, then threw it down on the counter. “Keep the change,” he yelled over his shoulder as he ran the last short distance to his gate.

The gate attendant took his boarding pass from him, shaking her head in disapproval. “You like to cut it close, don’t you?” she asked.

Trevor didn’t answer her. He was already running down the jet bridge, carefully holding the flowers out from his body to keep from damaging them. When he stepped onto the airplane, he looked around wildly.

“Bailey?” he called out. “Bailey, are you on here.”

The other passengers on the plane, who were already buckled in and settling into the magazines they had bought to read on the flight, looked up curiously at the loud interruption.

“Trevor?” she called out from about ten rows back. Bailey slowly stood, her face etched with confusion. Relief flooded Trevor at the sound of her voice. When he saw her face, those familiar, multi-colored eyes looking over at him, and that auburn hair pulled into her signature bun, his heart felt like it was melting. God, she was so beautiful.

“What in the world are you doing here? How did you get past security?”

Trevor took several long steps down the aisle to reach her. “I bought a ticket.”

“You bought a ticket?” she asked, her voice incredulous.

Her lip quivered with emotion, although Trevor wasn’t sure exactly whether it was a happy or sad emotion. He nodded, and then got down on one knee in the middle of the tiny airplane aisle. He held up the flowers to her.

“Bailey, I know I screwed up. I’m sorry that I didn’t make who I am clearer to you earlier. I’m no good at relationship rules. I’m no good at words. But what I am good at is being loyal. I’m good at giving my heart over completely to the ones I love, even when I don’t always do a perfect job of showing it. I’m good at spending time with you, and squeezing the life and fun out of every day. Please, give me another chance. You’ve got a chance to start over new, to really jump off into the unknown and live the way you want to live. Let me take that leap with you. Together, we can fly. You know that. We’ve already done it—we have the video to prove it, remember?”

The entire plane fell silent, watching Bailey and waiting for her reaction. She stood, looking at Trevor with her hands over her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. After the longest moment of Trevor’s life, she reached out and took the bouquet that he was offering up.

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s give this another shot. And I’m sorry. I was ready to conquer the world with you and then I let one unexpected hiccup throw us completely off track. I’ve known who you really are deep down since the moment I met you. You’re a good man. A hero. My hero.”

Trevor jumped up and threw his arms around Bailey as the entire plane erupted into applause. She kissed him, putting her lips against his and her hands on the back of his head. Hoots, hollers and cheers from the plane’s passengers surrounded them as Trevor felt a rush of happiness surging through him. A warmth started burning in his chest, and he knew in that moment that his initial intuition had been correct—Bailey was fated to be his lifemate.

The captain’s voice came crackling on the loudspeaker. “All right, ladies and gentlemen, I understand we have two lovebirds on board. My best wishes to the happy couple, but we do need everyone to be seated with their seatbelts securely fastened before we pull away from the gate.”

“Bailey?” Trevor asked. She grinned at him.

“Let’s ditch this plane,” she said. “Looks like I’m not going to need to head back to D.C., after all.” She reached under the seat she’d just been seated at and pulled out a small canvas bag that she’d been using to hold her few belongings. Trevor led Bailey off the plane, giving the flight attendants a slight shrug as they stepped onto the jet bridge and walked back into the airport.

“What do you say we spend the day in San Francisco, since we’re out here anyway?” Trevor asked.

Bailey smiled. “That sounds like a great plan to me.”

“It’s a date, then,” Trevor said, squeezing Bailey’s hand as he started walking back toward the parking garage.

Several hours later, Bailey sat with Trevor at a restaurant table overlooking the San Francisco Bay. In front of her stood the Bay Bridge, and behind her was the Golden Gate Bridge. The morning had been foggy, but by noon the sky had cleared. The sun now shone brilliantly down on the city. Bailey and Trevor had visited San Francisco’s Chinatown, walking through the busy, colorful displays, and popping in to one of the many restaurants to indulge in Chinese food for lunch. Then, they had driven across the Golden Gate Bridge and back again before taking a boat excursion to Alcatraz. They had finished up their tourist tour by browsing through the Ferry Building, where a Farmer’s Market was taking place. Fresh, local produce tempted passersby at every stand, and several local artisans had set up booths to sell their wares. Bailey bought herself a pair of dangling earrings that were made out of jade hewn into a rectangular shape.

Now, she sat sipping a glass of red wine from a Napa Valley winery, and taking in the beauty of the afternoon light streaking across the bay.

“It’s so gorgeous,” she murmured.

“It is,” Trevor said with a wink. “That’s why you should stay here in the area forever.”

Bailey smiled over at him. “I might consider it, if you stay here forever, too.”

“I don’t have plans to leave anytime soon, especially now that I’ve convinced you not to go back to D.C. Besides, my whole clan is here, and I always stick with them. You need to meet them, by the way. I promise the rest of them are not as rude as Zach. If I tried to set up a barbeque tomorrow, would you be interested?”

Bailey nodded. “That would be awesome,” she said. “I hope they’ll like me.”

“They’ll love you, I promise,” Trevor said. “And the girls will be so excited to have another female around.”

Bailey nodded and took another sip of her wine. Then her face took on a thoughtful look. “What did you think of the jewelry at that stand at the Farmer’s market?”

“Um, I thought it was nice, I guess,” Trevor said. “I’m not much of a jewelry expert. Why?”

“I think I could do that. Make jewelry and sell it, I mean. I used to love handmade jewelry when I was a little girl. I would get beads and twine from the craft store and spend hours making my own bracelets and necklaces. I miss being creative, and it seems like the market for unique, handmade stuff is pretty big around here.”

“If that’s what you want to do, then you should go for it. There’s plenty of space on base for you to stay and work on your jewelry. Life’s too short to not give your dreams a shot. And I only want to see you happy.”

“But what about you? What are you going to do until the fire season starts again?” Bailey asked.

Trevor shrugged. “I might try to help my buddy Luke out. He’s trying to get a woodworking business going on the side. I’ve never really tried my hand at that kind of thing, but it might be fun to see if I have a knack for it at all.”

Bailey nodded. “Well it would be nice to have some time to spend with you before the fire season starts and you get really busy. Spending this day with you has been amazing. But I shouldn’t be surprised, really. Every day I’ve spent with you has been full of fun and surprises.”

“I have one more surprise for you today,” Trevor said. “Are you done with your drink?”

Bailey nodded, and her eyes took on a twinkle. She loved spending these long days with Trevor. He knew how to plan a good time.

“Come on,” Trevor said, and took her by the hand. He led her a few blocks away, into the lobby of a luxurious hotel. Bailey gave him a questioning look as he told her to take a seat in one of the lobby’s plush armchairs before walking to the front counter and handing his credit card to the attendant. A few moments later, he returned with hotel room key cards in his hand.

“What’s going on?” Bailey asked.

“While you were spending the better part of an hour at the Farmer’s Market looking at jewelry, I got on my phone and booked a room here. And by room, I mean a suite. Complete with an in-room whirlpool and a magnificent view of the bay. Since you gave up your room at the Red Valley Inn, I figured you’d need a place to stay. We could always go back to base, but you’ve had such a big day already that I thought maybe we’d save meeting the crew for tomorrow.”

Bailey’s heart skipped a beat as Trevor took her hand and led her to the elevator. When they arrived at their room, her mouth dropped.

“Trevor, this view is amazing. And this room. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere so fancy,” she said. Rose petals were sprinkled across the bed, and a bottle of champagne waited in an ice bucket next to two glasses.

“Come see the bathroom,” he said with a grin. The bathroom boasted shimmering marble countertops and ceramic tile on the floor. Next to the large whirlpool, the hotel had placed a pile of several thick, fluffy towels.

“It’s been a long day, with a lot of walking,” Trevor said. “Would you like to take a hot bubble bath to soothe your muscles?”

“That sounds fantastic,” Bailey said. She leaned over to turn on the water and test the temperature. Steaming hot. Perfect. A basket with an assortment of scented bubble baths sat on the ledge of the whirlpool, and Bailey started browsing through it.

“Why don’t you choose a bubble bath, and I’ll go pop open that champagne bottle,” Trevor said.

Bailey grinned and nodded. She chose a lightly scented gardenia bubble bath and poured it under the stream of hot water. The tub began to fill with mounds of bubbles as the fragrance of gardenias filled the room. When the water had nearly reached the top of the whirlpool, Bailey turned off the faucet and took off her clothes. She slipped into the steaming hot bath and turned on the whirlpool jets, moaning as the pulsing water hit her sore muscles.

Trevor came back into the room holding two glasses of champagne, which he set down on the side of the tub.

“Mind if I join you,” he asked.

“I would love that,” Bailey answered.

Trevor took off his clothes and slipped into the bath across from Bailey, then handed her one of the champagne glasses.

“Cheers,” he said, clinking his glass with hers. “To a lovely lady who decided to give a bumbling bear a second chance.”

Bailey blushed. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. I had never even heard of shifters before, and it was just a lot to process. You said you control it, though? How often do you shift?”

“Yes, I control it. I usually shift about once a month. Sometimes a little more or less. Shifting every so often keeps my control over my shifting ability fresh and strong.”

“It’s kind of mind-blowing. Do scientists know about shifters?” Bailey asked. Her fear of Trevor’s inner bear had turned into a burning curiosity.

Trevor laughed. “We try to keep the whole shifting thing quiet. The less people nosing around in our business, the better. And none of us really want to be lab rats. We just want to live our lives in peace.”

Bailey nodded. “Makes sense,” she said. Then she used her toes to find Trevor’s legs underneath the mountains of bubbles. She tickled his thighs, gradually moving closer and closer to his groin.

“Do you feel like life is peaceful right now” she asked, batting her eyes at him mischievously.

He smirked back at her. “I would say so. I’m definitely feeling relaxed.”

Bailey smiled, and slid her toes to find his penis, which had turned rock hard by this point. She traced a line up and down his shaft with her big toe, watching with pleasure as he closed his eyes and let out a soft groan at her teasing.

“Woman,” he said, “You’re going bring out my inner beast with moves like that.”

“Growl for me,” Bailey said, her voice taking on a sultry tone. Trevor let out a low, sexy growl, and then swooshed across the tub. He put his lips on Bailey’s mouth, and began kissing her, letting his tongue caress the inside of her mouth while his fingers searched for her entrance. When he found it, he slid his middle finger into her and began stroking her insides. She moaned as the pressure and heat within her grew, and reached down to grab his penis with her hand. She rubbed vigorously up and down his long shaft, while he pleasured her with his finger and continued kissing her.

When they had both reached the brink of orgasm, he pulled his hand out of her and gently pushed her hand away from his penis.

“Have you ever had sex in a bubble bath before?” he asked huskily as he positioned himself right in front of her. His hair was wet and spiking out into all different directions. A large tuft of bubbles had attached to the right side of his head, where it crackled as it slowly melted.

“I haven’t, actually,” Bailey said. “Have you?”

“Nope. I’m a bubble bath virgin, just like you,” Trevor said.

“Well, pop my cherry, baby,” Bailey said with a grin.

Trevor didn’t need to be told twice. He braced his hands against the ledge of the bathtub and slipped his dick into Bailey. Between the moisture of her arousal and the bubble bath water, he slid in easily. He thrust back and forth rapidly, with a hungry urgency. Clumps of bubbles flew through the air as the water sloshed back and forth in the whirlpool.

Bailey’s hair hung in wet, bubble-filled curls around her face as she closed her eyes and moaned. Her heightened senses made even the warm smoothness of the water splashing against her skin feel sensual. Trevor’s dick pushed against her internal pressure points, setting off a tingling sensation that grew in intensity until it exploded into a cascade of sweet, gratifying spasms. Bailey’s muscles trembled under the pure ecstasy of finding her release with Trevor.

Trevor let out another growl, which quickly turned into a roar as he came into Bailey. His skin became burning hot to the touch as he gasped for breath between passionate groans. After a few moments, the water in the whirlpool became still again, except for the rhythmic pulsing of the jets. Trevor smiled over at Bailey.

“We’re not bubble bath virgins anymore,” he said with a chuckle.

Bailey laughed. “How was your first time?” she asked.

“Perfect, just like you,” he said, giving her a soft kiss on the nose. She splashed him with bubble water.

“Sweet talker,” she said.

He smiled. “Can’t help it, with someone as lovable as you,” he said, and then his face turned serious. “Bailey, do you believe in soulmates?”

Bailey tilted her head sideways thoughtfully. “You know, I never used to. But I also would never have believed in bear shifters. My whole belief system has been challenged quite a bit in the last few days.”

Trevor looked at her with earnest eyes. “Bear shifters believe in soulmates. We refer to the concept as ‘lifemates.’ It’s actually even more significant than the human concept of soulmates. We believe you’re fated to someone before you’re even born, and that person is known as your lifemate. I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much heavy talk, but I want you to know that the reason I came chasing after you, and even bought a plane ticket to get to you, was that I know deep down that you’re my lifemate. You don’t have to say anything back, or feel the same way right now if it’s too soon. But I want you to know how I feel.”

Bailey’s chest grew warm at Trevor’s words. “Trevor, when I saw you on that plane this morning, I had never felt so relieved. I knew the moment you stepped onto that jet that I had made a big mistake in sending you away. I thought right then that there must be something special about you and me together. I thought, for the first time in my life, that maybe soulmates did exist. And now, I’m sure of it. Soulmates, lifemates…call it whatever you want. But I know with certainty that we’re meant to be together.”

Trevor smiled and leaned over to kiss her again. “I know it, too. I know we have a lot of details to work out, but, the important thing is that we found each other, and we can move forward together from here.”

Bailey nodded, and returned Trevor’s kiss. “Here’s to new beginnings, for both of us.”

Trevor grabbed his champagne glass from the side of the tub. “To new beginnings,” he said.

Bailey grabbed her glass and clinked it with his. “To new beginnings.”