ROMANCE: BIKER ROMANCE: Werewolf Rider (MC Shifter Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult Paranormal Romance Short Stories) (43 page)

Panting, winding down from their highs, Dominic released her hands at long last and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips. The smell of their sex lingered on the air, and Amber knew it would cling to her sheets even long after he was gone. She was glad; it was a moment she didn't want to forget.

"For someone so shy and bashful," Dominic breathed against her cheek as he settled down upon her, not yet withdrawn from inside of her, "you weren't shy to let me know I was doing a good job."

Amber's cheeks reddened, and Dominic laughed.

"By the time I'm through with you," he told her, "you won't feel shy around me anymore."

"What do you mean, 'by the time I'm through'?" As much as she wanted him to stay, Amber knew he was a man on the job who needed to be reunited with his unit.

"I called the unit this morning, got in touch with them at the encampment. I found the address on a bill in the kitchen. They're not able to send a vehicle until tonight — should arrive around ten or so."

Amber's eyes shot to her bedside alarm clock. It was just before ten in the morning.

"You mean you want to go for twelve more hours?" she asked, innocent concern edging her words. Dominic laughed.

"Well. I'm going to need to take piss breaks, and maybe a break or two for food and water. But let's see if we can't get close. You asked me to give you everything I have, and I'm a man of my word; you're going to get it."

A dangerous request was right. But even as Amber's eyes widened, she knew that she wanted nothing more than this.

For today and today only, the most gorgeous man she'd laid eyes upon was hers. She'd be damned if she didn't take advantage.

Chapter Three

Dominic took her on the bed, in the shower, and against the kitchen counter. On the way back up the stairs to strip the sheets and wash his uniform, he threw her down upon the couch and had her again. By the time night fell and ten o'clock began to encroach, Amber had lost track of how many times he'd taken her.

And still she didn't want him to leave.

Uniform freshly laundered, showered and shaved, she took him outside to sit beneath the under hang of the stairs leading to the top floor.

"I can see why you like it here," Dominic remarked. The red in the sky had died down, and the night was darker than she remembered it being for a long time. They'd had sunlight all throughout the day. Amber thought that maybe the battle against the fire had been won.

"It gives me a lot of time to think, and a lot of time to work. I've never been more prolific in my life."

Dominic turned his head to look at her, his eyes softened following the exhaustions of the day. They sat together on Amber's swinging bench, rocking slowly as they looked out over the woods.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"Depends on the day. But most of the time I'm either a writer or an editor. It lets me work from home, and it lets me work somewhere as remote as this place."

There was no noise pollution from far away cars or pulsing clusters of power lines. A few lines ran to her house, but without others to add to their hum, they were largely silent. All there was to hear was the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of insects. The noise had returned, she noticed. The fire really had fled.

"I don't know if I could stand being away from the city," he said.

"I didn't think I could do it either, until I fell in love with this place. I haven't regretted it once. Not the long car drives to get groceries, not the lonely nights, not even when I hear bears outside and feel frightened."

A serious sincerity flashed across his burning eyes, and Dominic set his lips.

"Don't be afraid of bears," he told her. "Don't leave food out, keep your doors closed, and don't taunt them. They'll leave you be if you let them be."

Wise advice from an unlikely source. Living in a temporary encampment, Amber figured that the fire department had likely had several run-ins with the beasts.

"Thanks. I've always just stayed away, but I'll keep all that in mind."

Her eyes rose to the sky. Tomorrow Dominic would be gone, and with him the passion they'd shared. Amber felt hollow.

There was little else to say. They sat in silence until a jeep crept along the long gravel driveway and stopped just outside the house. It was time to say goodbye.

"Take care," Dominic bade her, standing. "Thanks for taking care of me today. I won't forget your kindness."

How was she to reply? Amber stood as well, pausing.

"Be careful out there," she said at last. Dominic laughed, a sound she was now well familiar with, and then pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"Always am."

And then he was gone. Amber watched as he jogged to the jeep, climbed into the passenger seat, and closed the door. The vehicle took off into the night, and as she'd always been since she'd moved to her cabin, she was alone.

The fantasy was over. It was time to get back to real life.

But as the days passed, Dominic didn't leave her. When she tucked herself into bed at night she could still smell him on her pillows, and from time to time she still found streaks of ash in unexpected places. Time marched on, and weeks slipped by. Even once his smell had faded and she'd cleaned the last trace of ash, Dominic lingered with her.

He was on her mind as she drove to pick up supplies from the grocery and made a stop at the pharmacy, and he was in her thoughts the next morning as she rose from bed to visit the bathroom.

Five long minutes Amber sat there, but she knew what the results on the slender white stick would be before she even looked.

Dominic would always haunt her, because she was pregnant with his child.

Two bright pink lines confirmed her suspicions. Amber set the test down in the bathroom sink and rose on shaky legs to lie in bed for a while. There was a lot to take in and a lot to consider.

Time marched on. The weeks passed more quickly than she'd expected, measured more easily now that she swelled more and more with each day. Amber was going to keep the child. A cheap mortgage and the low cost of living in the rural town meant she had considerable savings, and she was confident she could support her new family. When her mother found out she pressured her to move back to the city, but Amber refused. The mountain was her home now, and she wouldn't leave it for anything.

That March as the snow began to thaw, Amber gave birth to a baby boy. Caden Telford Chase was the spitting image of his father, and had Amber not birthed him herself, she would have questioned his maternity. As the months passed his blue eyes darkened into near replicas of his father's reddish brown, an oddity Amber found she loved. Caden's hair was the same gorgeous brown as Dominic's had been, which in itself wasn't odd, but it had grown in fast and plentiful, and Amber found herself trimming it every month from a young age.

Caden was not a normal child, she was quick to discover. The books and articles she'd read about rearing a child had either all got their facts wrong, or Caden was developing much more quickly than he should have been. At two months old he was able to maintain a sitting position when placed in it, and at four months he was able to sit up all on his own and had started to become mobile. He'd been quick to take to sleeping through the night, but from time to time nothing Amber could do would sooth him. At least once a month they sat up beneath the moon as he cried and fussed and squirmed, and when the sun rose mother and son both slept the morning away.

At six months old, Caden's teeth had almost come in in full, and one day when her head was turned his tiny hands had torn a sizeable chunk of her salmon filet from her plate and she'd turned to find him swallowing it with greedy.

An appetite like his father's. Amber remembered how Dominic had devoured almost every meat in her fridge and freezer in one day, and wondered if Caden was going to be eating her out of house and home before long.

During Caden's first summer there was peace. No fires ripped across the Colorado mountainsides, and the days were bright and clear. By his second summer, just after his first birthday, the conditions had changed. A dry heat came to stay through June and into July, and it wasn't long before the news of wildfire was all that the local radio broadcasts talked about.

Amber had gone into town to pick up supplies as the skies grew dark with smoke and ash, and had just dropped Caden off at the local daycare when a bright glinting light caught the corner of her eye and stopped her. She'd been heading across the parking lot on the way back to her car as they wound their way down the street.

Firefighters.

They were on foot, their jackets slung over their shoulders so that what little sunlight got through danced from the reflective stripes. White shirts and fit bodies. Good looking men. Amber found herself looking not to appreciate the show, but to see if there was one man in particular amongst them.

Time hadn't changed Dominic at all.

He laughed alongside several of the other men, but while they continued to joke around he turned his head to look across the parking lot and directly at her. Their eyes locked and recognition sparked between them. Amber's heart raced. She couldn't tell him about Caden, not when he had a career up North. She wouldn't shackle the wild spirit inside of him.

"I'll catch up a bit later, guys," Dominic told them, leaving the unit to wind across the parking lot to join her. They let him go without question, and in mere moments he stood before her.

"Ms. Chase," he greeted, playful mischievousness in his voice, "before I continue, is there a Mr. Chase I have to worry about now?"

Two years. They'd been apart for two years, but still he made her pulse go crazy.

"No, I'm unattached," she replied. As soon as the words left her lips, Dominic drew her into his strong arms and kissed her. It was as though he'd never left.

"I was hoping we might run into each other again," he whispered to her as their kiss broke. "I've been thinking about you, you know."

Amber's cheeks heated, and she knew she was turning red.

"You have no idea how much I've been thinking about you," she replied.

Dominic smirked, face as handsome as she'd remembered. He was a little more rugged, a little wiser in the eyes, but the wild passion she'd uncovered two years ago still clearly burned inside of him.

"The boys and I were just going out to eat," he told her. "We're setting up encampment this afternoon. The fires are back and bad this year, so you keep your ears on the radio and take care to evacuate if they flag your region. Understood?"

"Of course." It wasn't only her own life at stake anymore; Amber had to put Caden first. "I'll be careful if you be careful, too."

"Haven't died yet," Dominic bragged. Then his expression grew a bit more serious. "I was thinking when the fire's just about under control and we've won the war that I'd find my way back to your place. What do you say?"

Amber's heart said yes, but her mind said no. If Dominic came back he'd find out about Caden, and if that happened... He didn't need that complication in his life. They'd had their fun and she'd made a choice not to have him use protection, and Amber wasn't going to drag him into parenthood unwillingly.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," she muttered, heart not in her words. Dominic's face contorted with confusion and hurt, and Amber couldn't bear to look. She glanced to the pavement, avoiding his gaze.

"Are you serious?" It was his turn to ask. Amber nodded, finding herself mute. Dominic's eyes burned into her, then he turned away.

"You know," he said, words heavy, "that's fine. I shouldn't be shirking my duties anyway. I guess I'll see you around, Amber."