A Burn To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

table behind the hangar, using the table’s benches as a footrest.
    He glanced at the time on his phone, and debated whether to make the call now. It was already 9:45 p.m., which, in polite society, was too late to call. But Luke didn’t want to wait another twelve hours to call River. He knew she would still be awake, and he had to talk to her now. He had to hear her voice and let her know that his leaving the bar early a few days ago had nothing to do with her or how he felt about her.
    Luke took a deep breath and dialed back the number River had been using to call and text him. It rang several times, and just when Luke thought the call was going to go to voicemail, River picked up.
    “Hello?” she said. Her voice made it clear that she did not feel like talking to him.
    “River, hey, it’s Luke.”
    “I know,” River said flatly.
    Luke took a deep breath. Just explain things calmly, he told himself. “Look, I feel awful about missing out on our date. I know you’re angry, and you have a right to be. I should have explained better what happened, but I was in a rush and sort of panicked.”
    “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. It’s obvious I made a mistake in agreeing to go get a drink with you in the first place. I’m sure you have your reasons for disappearing, and then not returning my phone calls right away. But I don’t really care what they are. This situation made me realize that I have very specific things I want in a relationship, and I shouldn’t settle for a man who doesn’t meet those things. And I definitely shouldn’t settle for a one night stand.”
    “Is that what you think this was about? A one night stand?” Luke asked, his voice incredulous. He hadn’t intended to give River that impression at all. His romance skills must be even worse than he thought.
    “Oh come on,” River said. “Don’t act like you weren’t after getting me in bed.”
    “I’m not gonna lie, River. I think you’re beautiful, and I’m very attracted to you. But I want a chance to get to know you as a person. All of you. It’s been a long time since I’ve opened my heart up to someone, but you seemed like you were worth taking a chance on.”
    “I’m sorry,” River said. “I just don’t think we have that much in common, and being out of contact with you for three days with no idea what was going on made me realize that I need to be more careful about agreeing to dates. I’m not the kind of person who appreciates someone disappearing for three days with no contact. I mean, how big of an emergency could it have been that you didn’t have time to at least drop me a text?”
    “It was a pretty big emergency. I’m a firefighter. The kind of firefighter who parachutes into wildfires that are too remote to reach by car or foot. We don’t take our phones with us on jumps, since we’re already loaded down with gear, and there usually isn’t much of a cell signal out in the wilderness, anyway.”
    River was silent for several long moments, and Luke held his breath, hoping that she was reconsidering her decision to not give him another chance. But, when she finally spoke, her voice still sounded disapproving. “I’m sorry, Luke. I guess I can see that a wildfire is a big, days-long emergency. But the time with no contact still made me realize that we’re not right for each other.”
    Luke’s heart dropped. “How can you say that? You barely know anything about me. You haven’t even given me a chance.”
    “I’m sorry,” River said. “You just don’t seem like my type. No hard feelings, okay?”
    Then the line went dead. Luke threw his phone across the grass, not even caring whether the screen cracked. That’s what he got for opening his heart up again. He should have never let himself care about someone, especially someone as beautiful and smart as River. He let out a growl as he felt his bear stirring within him. His bear wanted River, but the odds of that happening looked pretty low