A Blaze To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 1) Read Free Page A

turned to head back to the bunkhouse. She obviously had no intentions of hanging out around the bonfire, which suited Ian just fine. He was already trying to contain the heat running through his body at the sight of her. He felt the warmth centering between his legs as his dick started to stiffen, and he willed himself to think of anything other than her. As soon as she had disappeared into the bunkhouse, Luke and Trevor burst out laughing.
    “Oh, boss,” Luke said. “You’re in trouble. Your eyes are churning something awful. Looks like someone’s bear is excited about the latest addition to the crew.”
    “Shut up,” Ian growled. He grabbed a plate and piled four burgers of his own onto it, then stormed off toward the hangar, inhaling one of the burgers completely before he even made it to the building. This mission was going to be a shitshow.
     
    * * *
     
    Charlotte leaned against the side of the Twin Otter and stared out the window as the wilderness passed by below. There were no seats in the airplane—just a cargo-like interior where the crew of six sat with their jumpsuits and parachutes on, ready to jump. In thirty more minutes, they would be arriving at the drop site. Charlotte would be plummeting to the earth along with her five new coworkers who still seemed unable to accept the fact that she was working this mission with them.
    Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She had never been around such an unprofessional boys club before. Sure, the majority of wildfire firefighters were men. And the ratio got even worse among the elite smokejumping crews. But the most she’d ever had to endure before was good natured ribbing, or guys forgetting she was around and lapsing into crude humor about bodily functions and sex. She’d never dealt with a crew acting like junior high boys who had never laid eyes on a girl before.
    Charlotte opened her eyes again and continued to watch the landscape passing by below her. This job would likely be a quick one. They all had enough supplies packed for three days, and they were expecting to have the fire under control within forty-eight hours. Then they would hike back out to a spot where they could be airlifted out. Missions like this were common. The small fire had been started by a lightning strike, and, if snuffed out quickly, wouldn’t do much damage. But the location of the fire was too remote to reach by car, and by the time hikers could get there, it would likely have grown out of control. A smokejumping crew could drop in, kill the flames, and be on their way before the fire even knew what hit it.
    Charlotte looked over for a moment and accidentally caught Ian staring at her. She looked away quickly. His churning eyes unnerved her. The color in his irises almost seemed to be swirling around in a sea of green and blue. Charlotte stared back out the window, determined to focus on the landscape for the remainder of the flight.
    When she first stepped off the plane at the Burning Claws’ base yesterday, she’d been excited. The two men waiting to greet her had been two of the most handsome smokejumpers she’d ever seen. Ian, especially, caught her eye. She was a sucker for the dark hair and blue eyes combination, and Ian’s chiseled cheeks with just a hint of stubble had only added to his good looks. Her heart had skipped a beat as she walked toward him, ready to introduce herself to the eye candy that would be her new chief. Hey, if you’re gonna do a dirty, dangerous job, you may as well have some fun along the way, right?
    But then, things had gotten weird. And now she was stuck for the summer with a group of guys who made no effort to hide the fact that they definitely did not want her around.
    Charlotte felt a small knot forming in the pit of her stomach as they drew closer to the drop site. This year marked her third as a smokejumper, but she still got nervous before every jump. On the outside, she always looked calm and collected. But on the inside,