A Burn To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 3) by Sloane Meyers Page B

hair hung around River’s shoulders.
    “You’re right,” she said. “A promise is a promise. Let’s go get you some pie.”
    She got up and sauntered out to the kitchen, purposely swaying her naked ass in Luke’s face. He gave it a little slap as she walked by, and she let out a little yelp.
    Maybe it was better if she didn’t start getting too philosophical about their relationship just yet. She didn’t want to scare Luke off. If there was one thing she had learned from the last hour, it was that she wanted him to be around for a long, long time.

Chapter Seven
    The next morning, Luke woke to sunlight streaming in through River’s bedroom window. The freak storm from the night before had cleared up, leaving unusually warm November sunshine in its wake. Even though Northern California never got too terribly cold in the winter, the weather lately had been warm even by west coast standards.
    Luke glanced over at River’s side of the bed, and was startled to see it empty. He saw a note on her pillow, and picked it up to read it.
    Luke, I had to go to work. Help yourself to whatever you want, including leftover pie. I left my extra key on the kitchen counter, so just lock the door when you leave. Your clothes are on the couch, I didn’t have time to wash them but I did throw them in the dryer for you, so at least they’re not soaking. Xoxo, River.
    Luke held the note for a long time, staring at River’s neat, flowing handwriting. He finally leaned back against the pillow and covered his eyes with his arm. He had a lot of thinking to do.
    Last night, when he mated with River, he had bonded with her. He had felt the unmistakable magnetic pull between them growing stronger and solidifying, and he knew that he was tied to River forever. He had never felt such a strong connection before, not even with his ex, Sara. He had tried to convince himself that he felt it with Sara, because he had wanted so badly for Sara to be his lifemate. But it had never happened between them, and Sara had eventually broken his heart.
    Now, here he was, all these years later, bonded to a somewhat geeky but oh so lovable librarian. Luke couldn’t really say that his bonding to River surprised him. He’d suspected that they were lifemates, and now he had confirmed that. But he hadn’t given much thought to how he would tell River he was a bear shifter. He couldn’t decide whether it was better to tell her now, and get it out in the open right away, or to wait, and let her get to know him better before he dropped that bombshell.
    Luke got up and found his clothes on the couch as River had said. He slipped on his briefs and jeans, but left the shirt off for the moment. Then he went to the kitchen, where he found some coffee and started brewing a strong pot for himself. Once the coffeepot had filled, Luke poured himself a large mug of the dark, steaming liquid, and carried it out to River’s tiny patio. He sat on one of the two rickety folding chairs, and thought about his options while he watched residents of the apartment complex leaving for work. It still felt strange to Luke sometimes to sit around doing nothing on the days when there weren’t any fires to fight. More than likely, the fire season had ended for this year. There might still be one more fire, two at the most. But they would be small and weak now that the rainy season had arrived. Maybe he should take up woodworking again to fill his time. He had enjoyed making River’s bookcase more than he thought he would, and he had been pleased to see that he still had a knack for carving.
    Remembering River’s bookcase, Luke decided to go downstairs and bring it up for her. He had made the bookcase of real, thick wood, so it weighed quite a bit. But Luke had exceptional strength, thanks to his inner bear and his many days of hauling heavy gear while firefighting. He easily lifted the heavy case onto his shoulder and brought it up to River’s third floor apartment. He put it in a