by K. D. Jones
She dried off and wrapped the towel around her body. She went to the sink and grabbed a brush and started brushing her hair. It was even longer wet and clung to her. Sighing, she went to put on her clothes on. Her breasts were big but not as big as Rhonda’s, so she decided she didn’t need a bra since her T-shirt was large and loose on her.
A knock on her bedroom door startled her. “Who is it?”
“Miss Johnson, it’s Sage Vedar. I brought the food.”
She opened the door and looked up at the tall young woman. She seemed to be a really sweet girl. “Thank you for bringing it. What do I owe you?”
Sage walked back into the main living space and Andy followed her. “You don’t owe me anything. It’s on the company’s account because we’re supplying you with accommodations.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, let me go out and get Cosmo before his meal gets cold. He was working on the snowmobile when I pulled up. I have to head home soon. My mother doesn’t like me to be out by myself at night. It’s ridiculous. I’m turning eighteen and graduating high school next week. I’m a grownup for goodness sakes.” Sage rolled her eyes and Andy laughed.
“I don’t have a mom, but my dad still to this day calls to make sure that I have food in the refrigerator. He called me five times today already.”
“Parents.” Sage shook her head, smiling. “Go ahead and sit down and eat. I’ll get Cosmo. I left my number on the counter. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Sage.” She waved goodbye and watched through the window as Sage went to her brother, who was on the ground working on the motor. She watched the large man stand and hug his sister with love and gentleness. It made her like him even more. Sage walked to her jeep and drove away, and Cosmo turned toward the cabin.
Andy jumped back so he wouldn’t see her spying on him. She headed to the table and started pulling out the containers inside the bag. She laid out the food on the table and opened one of the containers. She saw the little plastic pick that marked it as well, so she shut it and opened the next one. She closed her eyes and inhaled the delicious aroma.
“That smells really good.” Cosmo spoke from the doorway.
Andy opened her eyes and looked at him. “It does, doesn’t it? I have to confess, I am starving.” She sat down and waited for him to sit across from her. They started to eat their steaks, and Andy could not help moaning with pleasure for the taste. “That is so good.”
Cosmo smiled as he chewed. “I told you, Mary makes the best food. If it wasn’t for my mother’s mandatory Sunday dinners, I would eat at Mary’s every day of the week.”
“Sunday dinners?”
“I’m one of seven children. It was hard keeping up with us all over the years, but my mother insisted that we come home for Sunday dinners. Even my brother, Damen, who’s a lawyer in a big city, calls home on Sunday evenings. I have two brothers, Niko and Ryder, who are sheriffs for the town and one of them is always off for Sunday dinner.”
“That’s a huge family. You named three brothers. I’ve met Luka and your sister. Do you have another sister or another brother?”
“I have a twin brother named Ivan.”
Twins? There are two of them out there. She licked her lips. “Identical?”
“To others, we’re identical, but to our family, we are nothing alike. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I’m an only child. It was just me and my dad growing up.”
“That must have been lonely. I can’t imagine my life without my family. Though, there are times when they drive me nuts and I wished I was an only child.”
“I did wish for a brother or sister growing up, but Dad took my mother’s death hard and never remarried. My childhood was great. My dad taught me to work hard and he always encouraged me to follow my dreams.”
“Sounds like he’s a good man.”
“You mentioned your mom but not your dad.”
“My father and grandfather both died when Sage was born.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry about your mother’s death, too. Was it hard on you?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t know her. I was too young when she died in a car crash.”
They finished their steaks and baked potatoes, and opened the container with the chocolate cake. The first bite seemed to melt in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored the flavor. “Oh my God. That’s delicious.” She opened her eyes to find Cosmo staring at her lips. “You should try some; it’s wonderful.”
She loaded her fork but as she was lifting it to her lips his hand reached out and caught her hand. He brought the fork to his own mouth. She watched with longing as his tongue came out to lick the icing off the fork. Some of the frosting got on her finger so he sucked it into his mouth. Their eyes locked and she could picture him sucking on her clit just like that. Oh, fuck, that was hot. The moment was broken when his cell phone rang.
He reached for his phone, pissed. He’d been about to kiss Andy. “What? Fine. I’ll leave right now.”
“You’ve got to go?”
“Yes, Luka never went back to the office to relieve my assistant so that she could go home. I have to go relieve her and close up shop.” He got up and she followed him to the door.
“Be careful. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
She watched him climb inside his SUV and head off. Her body was still tingling from the arousal he was building in her. That was one sexy man, and there are two of them out there. She went back to the table and threw away the containers, then went to bed.
About midnight she woke up for some strange reason. She went to the kitchen for something to drink. She heard a roar outside, so she opened the door and stepped out on to the porch. The moon was shining brightly over the lake of ice. Something moved and she thought she caught a glimpse of a polar bear. That couldn’t be right. She would have to ask Cosmo about it.
Chapter 7
Cosmo stalked the small cabin for hours. His bear wanted to be near Andy for some reason. It was crazy. It was around four AM when he finally headed back to his own cabin to get some rest. He had to come back anyway to take her for groceries.
He walked into his two-story cabin and headed upstairs. He and his brothers had built most of the cabins on their land. The cabins were used by his family, his bear clan, and visiting shifters.
His day had started out like crap, since he had to deal with irritating customers and ended with his bear mooning over a human woman. The thought of Andy brought up an image. She had still been damp from the shower, and her T-shirt clung to her beautifully shaped breasts. He wanted to suckle on her so bad. It took all his effort to keep his bear in control during dinner, but he could not get her out of his head the rest of the night.
Cosmo stood inside the shower stall, letting the warm water cascade over his body. He closed his eyes, picturing Andy’s long, dark hair wrapped in his hand. He would hold her head at an angle so that he had access to her neck, then take her from behind, entering her tight channel. His large hand gripped his cock and started pumping, mimicking how he imagined he would move inside of her.
He could hear her voice as she called out his name with the release of her passion. He stroked himself a few more times and his seed shot out, hitting the shower stall wall. “Fuck!”
Cosmo wondered what had come over him. Why was he becoming obsessed with the little human? Normally, if he wanted a night of hot, meaningless sex, he would go for Miss Lee’s type. The hot blonde was built for that kind of thing, and he could tell with her open flirtation that she would not expect more from him than a few rounds in bed. Andy was a different type of woman altogether.
Andy was beautiful and sexy in a more subdued manner, but she was the type of woman that a man married and had children with. Women like Andy took sex seriously and would form attachments. Cosmo wasn’t sure he was ready to settle down and even if he was, it would have to be wit
h another shifter, preferably a polar bear shifter. He couldn’t allow himself to get involved with the pretty brunette. He needed to pull back from being around the woman so that he didn’t give her the wrong impression.
He dried off and walked naked into his bedroom where he’d left his cell phone. He picked it up and dialed Ivan, who answered on the third ring.
“This had better be good!”
“Sorry for waking you so early. I need you to help me out.”
“Fine. What is it?”
“I had to put one of the new arrivals, a human researcher, in cabin twelve at Miracle Lake.”
“What the hell? We’re supposed to keep humans away from our clan, not invite them to come live with us! Get rid of him.”
“It’s a woman. Her name is Andy Johnson. She shouldn’t be much trouble. I am supposed to go out there this morning to help her get her groceries for the cabin, and then I was going to train her on how to operate the snowmobile so that she could get around town.”
“So what do you want me for?”
“I just got in like thirty minutes ago and haven’t had any sleep at all.”
“Aw…you went out and got you some. Good for you, brother. Who was the lucky she-bear to receive your lovin’?”
“It wasn’t...never mind. I need for you to help Andy in my place.”
“Fine, but you’ll owe me one.”
“Thanks, Ivan. Let me know if you have any problems.”
“It’s a human woman. How much trouble could she be?” Ivan asked, hanging up.
Cosmo should have felt relieved shifting Andy off onto his brother. His inner bear was trying to break out, wanting to seek out and keep other males from being around Andy. What if she liked Ivan better than him? He and his brother had dated the same girls before. It never bothered him before, but the thought of Ivan touching Andy, tasting her, making love to her tore him up inside. Women found Ivan quiet and aloof, which they seemed to be drawn to. Maybe Andy would fall for Ivan. What had he done?
*****
Andy heard a knock and rushed to the cabin door, anxious to see Cosmo again. He had invaded her dreams all night. Images of him naked and over her had her waking with an ache deep inside. She was nervous and excited about seeing him again. She opened the door with a smile on her face.
“Good morning!” She looked up into his black eyes. He was gorgeous as usual in a dark blue sweater and jeans. His short blond hair seemed a little longer today, but he was still as handsome as before. He stood there like a sun god. There was something different about him, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.
“Let’s go. I have a busy day today.” His voice was gruff.
“Okay, let me get my purse and coat.” She grabbed her things and quickly walked to the door. He didn’t say anything at all as they got into his truck. She looked at it, thinking that it didn’t look the same as it did yesterday. “Did you get a new truck?”
“No.” His answer was brisk.
“Are you okay?”
“Just trying to get this over, so I can do my real job.”
“Sorry.” At first she felt bad about taking up his time but as they continued on the road to town, she became angrier and angrier over his rude attitude. None of this was her fault. He pulled up in front of the local grocery store. She got out and didn’t wait for him. She stormed inside the building. He caught up with her in a few long strides.
“Slow down or you’ll knock someone over,” he called out behind her.
She had enough of this shit. She turned around and pointed her finger at him. “You know what? I don’t need your help. Go away!”
He looked at her a little surprised. “I’m supposed to help you take your groceries back and show you how to use a snowmobile.”
“I relieve you of your duty. You are not responsible for me.”
“How will you get back to the cabin?”
“I’m sure I can find someone—anyone—in this town that will show me more courtesy than you have. You’re an asshole!”
“What is going on over here?” The elderly lady, Mrs. Fielding, asked, coming down the aisle they were standing in.
Andy blushed at having been caught losing her temper. She was about to apologize for yelling in a public place, but the old woman was staring at Cosmo.
“Ivan Vedar, are you harassing this poor young woman?”
Chapter 8
Ivan? Andy looked between the man and the old lady in confusion. Ivan was Cosmo’s twin brother. He called and had his twin brother take over helping her instead of helping her himself. He didn’t want anything to do with her. She felt a sharp pain in her heart and had to fight not to burst into tears. She should have known that someone as hot as Cosmo wouldn’t be attracted to her.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Fielding. Ivan was nice enough to bring me to town to get some groceries for the cabin. I was letting him know that I can find other transportation back so he could get to work.”
Ivan looked shocked that she was defending him. She should be angry at him for not letting her know right away that he wasn’t Cosmo, but it was Cosmo’s fault that he was here bearing the brunt of the awkwardness, not his.
“Well, are you sure everything’s okay?” Mrs. Fielding didn’t look like she totally believed her.
“Yes. I’ll get some groceries and stop by the bed and breakfast to check in with my colleagues. Then I’ll find transportation back to the cabin.”
“I have a car in the garage I never use. It used to be my late husband’s. You can use it to get around instead of the snowmobile.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Fielding. I appreciate that.”
Mrs. Fielding turned to Ivan and sighed. “I’m sorry, Ivan. I know you’re a good boy; you’ve just gotten a bit rough around the edges. What you need is to find a mate to soften you a little. Tell your mother I said hello when you see her on Sunday.”
“I will, Mrs. Fielding.” Ivan’s tone softened considerably as he looked down at the elderly woman. That look was so similar to the one Cosmo had for his sister. It touched Andy a little and made her anger with Ivan lessen.
Andy took her basket and started down the aisle. Ivan caught up with her. “I’m sorry for my attitude. I was rude, and that was uncalled for.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. She was waiting for him to continue. After a few minutes of silence, Andy asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t Cosmo? You knew that I had assumed that you were.”
Ivan shrugged. “I didn’t think it would matter. You just met yesterday and I was only helping him out this morning so he could get some rest.”
She stopped and was feeling concerned. “Is he sick or hurt? Why would he need to rest late in the morning?”
“He’s not sick, just tired from boning some chick last night.”
Andy flinched. Cosmo had left her and went out to have sex with some other woman. Was it Rhonda? Damn it! Just when she started to like the guy, he turned out to be just another asshole. It hurt, and it also hurt to look at Ivan and see Cosmo.
“You can go. I’ll be going over to Mrs. Fielding's and using her car. I appreciate you bringing me to town.” She tried to hide the hurt in her voice.
“Are you okay? I really am sorry for being a jerk. I don’t know why Cosmo chose me knowing I am the most unsocial of our entire clan...family.”
Andy should be furious with him, but watching him with Mrs. Fielding softened her toward him. She reached out a hand to touch his arm gently. “I’m fine. I have a lot of work to do and you need to get back to your job as well.”
Ivan looked at her hand that was on his arm and back up at her with a strange expression on his face. “I could still help you learn to use the snowmobile. It’s the best way to travel over the frozen lakes to areas you might be researching.”
She wanted to say no, but being able to move around and do exploring on her own would be great. “I would appreciate it. Come out later this afternoon if it’s convenient.”
“I’ll be there
.”
“Thanks again for your help, Ivan.” She turned and walked away. She could feel his eyes following her but didn’t look back. She wanted to get as far from Cosmo and his twin as possible. She pushed down the feelings of inadequacy and humiliation. Cosmo threw her to his brother like she was a used pair of old sneakers. Well, she didn’t need him.
*****
Cosmo sat in the dining room of the bed and breakfast where Mrs. Fielding set up a buffet spread of breakfast food for her customers. He just planned on stopping in to make sure that there weren’t any more issues with the newcomers before heading out, but Mrs. Fielding invited him to stay, saying that Andy was coming over when she finished with the grocery shopping. He wanted to see her again.
The moment he walked in Miss Lee was stuck to him like glue. Any other time before, he would have been thrilled with her attention and taken her up on her very obvious offer to have sex. For some reason, the blonde didn’t appeal to him or his bear. If he hadn’t jerked off this morning to images of Andy, he might think something was wrong with him.
“So, could I get a private guide tour of the ice lakes?” Miss Lee asked, running her finger up and down his hand, which was sitting on the table.
“We’ve created a schedule for when and where we will be taking all of you out. We have to make sure the weather is good and the lake is safe.” He turned to Mrs. Fielding. “When did Andy...Miss Johnson say she’d be by here?”
“She didn’t say. She was starting to get her groceries. It’s been about forty minutes, though. Maybe she had Ivan take her back to the cabin after all. He seemed to like her.”
What? Ivan didn’t like anyone. That was the reason he chose Ivan to take Andy in the first place. His other brothers would have flirted with her. Luka, his youngest brother, had dimples which the females seemed to find extremely attractive. The thought of Ivan touching Andy had him getting ready to stand and leave.