A Spark to Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

retardant clothing, and then pulled out a small sleeping bag. “Here, take this as well. I only have one, and you should use it.”
    Riley started to protest, but Hunter held up his hands to stop here. “I’m used to going without creature comforts, trust me. You should take it.”
    Riley acquiesced with a grateful look on her face. After everything Riley had been through today, Hunter knew she would appreciate a softer spot to sleep. He turned around to give her privacy while she changed clothes, brushing away as much soot as possible from a nearby spot on the ground. He set up one of his gear bags to use as a pillow. When Riley called out that she had finished changing, he turned off the lantern and then lay down to try to sleep.
    “Night, Riley,” he said.
    “Goodnight, Hunter. Thanks again for everything.”
    He grunted in response, and closed his eyes. The exhaustion he felt should have made sleep come quickly, but his swirling thoughts kept him awake for quite some time. He still couldn’t believe that he had let go of that helicopter rope. Ian was going to let him have it when he got back to base. Zach would probably jump in, eager to have the chance to give one of the crew members a hard time. But Hunter didn’t care. The woman sleeping a few feet away from him had been worth whatever grief his alpha was going to give him. Hunter shuddered when he thought about what would have happened to her if he hadn’t gone back to save her. The fire had been moving quickly, and it had burned hotter than any wildfire Hunter had seen before. He hadn’t said anything to Riley, because he didn’t want to freak her out, but he had even wondered briefly whether the fire shelter would be enough to keep them alive in the intense heat.
    They had survived, though, and now he had two or three days to spend hiking with her. He had been secretly overjoyed when Ian told him that Boise didn’t want to send a rescue helicopter for them. Hiking out of here meant more time with Riley, and more time to show her why they were meant to be together. Since she was fully human, he couldn’t just outright tell her he thought they were fated to be lifemates. He had to use more subtle tactics, and romance her the old-fashioned way. Three days to do that in the middle of a forest of ashes might not be the easiest task in the world, but Hunter was determined to try. If nothing else, he had saved her life. That had to count for at least a few brownie points, right?
    After tossing and turning on the charred ground for the better part of an hour, Hunter finally drifted off to sleep. Visions of Riley in his arms danced in his head as he drifted off into dreamland.
     
    * * *
     
    Early the next morning, Riley felt herself being shaken awake by two very strong hands.
    “Riley! Riley, wake up,” came a vaguely familiar voice, cutting through her dreams.
    Riley grunted and rolled over, trying to shake off whoever it was that was trying to wake her up from the delicious dream she’d been having. The dream was a recurring one, where she ran through a green field, barefoot, chasing a tall, muscular man with no shirt on. His back muscles had rippled while he ran, and she wanted to see his face. But he was so fast that it was hard to even keep up with him. This time, she had almost caught him in the dream when an insistent voice from beyond her dream world had brought her out of the green meadow with a sharp jolt. She opened her eyes, annoyed, and saw a group of black tree trunks towering above her. The smell of burnt wood greeted her nose, and the events of the past day came flooding back to her as she saw Hunter’s face hovering over her’s.
    “Wow, you are not a morning person, are you?” he said. It was more of a statement than a question.
    “Too loud,” she croaked out. How did he have so much energy right now? When she sat up and looked over to her right, she saw that he had almost completely packed up his bags already. He had left the zipper