by Jane Jamison
“I think your sister’s trying to make a point, son.” Her father spread jam on top of his toast. “To answer your question, then yes. I do think animals fall in love.”
She was a good attorney and it was time to put her skills to work. “So if you believe that animals can fall in love, and that they have feelings, how can you shoot them? They think, they feel, they get frightened when danger is near. As far as I’m concerned, they’re a lot like us.”
John tipped back his chair onto two legs. “Holy hell. What next? Are you going to go hug some trees today?”
She wouldn’t let her brother’s joke distract her from making her point. He was like a fly buzzing around her head in the courtroom. She knew it was there, but she couldn’t swipe at it during her summation.
“Well, Dad? Doesn’t that make sense? Haven’t you ever looked into the eyes of one of the animals you’ve shot and seen the horror there?” She hoped she wasn’t getting too dramatic.
“I guess I never thought of it that way.”
John jumped his gaze back and forth between them. “Aw, come on, Pops. Don’t tell me you’re going to stop hunting, too.”
“Your sister makes some valid points.”
John tossed his toast onto his plate. “Okay, I’m not going to sit here and take this any longer.” He stood, screeching his chair over the hardwood floor. “Are we hunting today or not?”
Her father reached out and patted her hand. Even if she hadn’t seen the answer in his eyes, she knew it by his pat.
“I understand what you’re saying, honey, but I enjoy hunting. I always have and I probably always will. I know your mother didn’t like it, and if that’s the reason you don’t want to hunt any longer, then it’s okay. You don’t need my permission to stop.”
Her father was the kindest man she knew. If anyone could understand how she felt about the new men in her life, it was him. “Will you do me a favor? Will you promise me that you’ll think about it?”
Her father took a quick drink of his coffee, then stood up, clearing his plate and cup off the table. “Sure. I’ll take it under advisement, counselor.”
She didn’t feel much like eating. “Don’t worry about the dishes. You did the cooking, so I’ll clean up. Go on. I wouldn’t want to hold you two up.”
“What are you planning on doing today?” Concern darkened his face. “I wouldn’t want you running around by yourself with bears on the prowl.”
Damn, I hope they’re on the prowl. Prowling for me, that is.
“Nothing much. I thought I’d get in a little work.” She ignored the way her father grimaced. He thought she worked too much as it was. Then to bring her computer along with them on vacation? That was the ultimate sin according to him. A sin she and John often committed.
“Honey, I know you’re extremely conscientious and all, but you—”
She hurried on, wanting to dissuade him from lecturing her on the value of relaxation.
“I know, Dad. I’m just going to check e-mail. After that, I thought I might run into town and looked around. Get a feel for the place. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live in a small town.” She could hardly tell them that she was meeting three men in the middle of nowhere to have wild monkey sex.
No. Nix that. Wild bear sex.
“That’s a laugh. You’re a big-city girl, through and through. Hell, I’ve heard you complain when there wasn’t a Starbucks on every corner.”
John was right. She was a big-city girl. But for the right men, for love, she could learn to love living in a place like Forever or the nearby Shatland. Even in the middle of nowhere.
Her father pivoted and started for the gun rack. Sorrow hit her as she watched him get his gun, then gather some shells. Hopefully, they’d stick to shooting quail again.
Do any of the shifters turn into birds? She’d have to ask the men about that.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“Just so I know. Where are you hunting today? Near the clearing where the rise is? Where I saw the bear?”
He pulled on his camo-colored vest. “We thought we’d try this other farm about five miles from that place. I could give you directions in case you change your mind.”
She hoped the relief she felt didn’t show on her face. “Thanks, but no thanks. I won’t.”
He chuckled in that fatherly, I-love-my-kid way. “You rarely do once you make up your mind. You’re like your mother that way.”
“That and we both like bears.” Was that it? Was she drawn to the men because of her affinity to bears? Because her mother had liked bears, too?
His gaze probed into hers. Had she said too much?
“That you do. Just stick with the stuffed ones, okay?”
She couldn’t answer. If she did, she’d have to lie. Instead, she gave him a sweet smile as he and John gathered their things and left.
* * * *
Mayla paced back and forth. She’d come back to where she’d first met Josh, arriving earlier than they’d agreed to. If she’d had to sit in the cabin and stare at her computer screen a moment longer, she would’ve gone batshit crazy.
What if they didn’t show? Her stomach churned just thinking about the possibility of never seeing them again. Or worse, tracking them down to demand an answer. She’d have to lose part of her pride to confront them, but by then, what would it matter? They’d have already taken her pride and dashed it.
She bit the end of her fingernail and did a quick sweep of the area. They wouldn’t let her down. She just knew it.
What if she ran into werewolves? If Mitch Franklin and the ones who’d chased after the men yesterday were what most werewolves were like, she’d hate to face them alone. Then again, if they were anything like Miss Clara, she’d be all right. Maybe they were like nonshifters. Maybe they had bad apples in their group just like humans did.
Humans. Werebears. Shifters.
A few days ago, she’d never have given them any thought, much less known that they actually existed. She doubted many humans knew. If they did, the shifters’ existence would’ve made headline news on every television network around the globe. What else was in the world around her?
She spun around at the snap of a twig. The worry that had plagued her was gone as the men she hungered for strode toward her. Their pickup rested off the side of the dirt road a few yards away where her rental car was.
Curt took the lead, breaking into a trot. “I’m not going to miss out today.”
She squealed when he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “Don’t break it, boy, or you buy it.”
“Baby, I’d buy you in a second.” He made a strange face. “Wait. That didn’t come out right.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t be anywhere around a sexy woman.” Jadon stole her from Curt, dragging her in for a big hug. His huge arms wrapped around her, with one on the back of her neck and the other making its way to the roundness of her butt.
Burying his face in the hollow of her neck, he dragged in a long, slow breath. “You smell amazing. Sweet, sexy, and hot all at the same time.”
“Back off, man. We’re sharing her, remember?” Josh shoved Jadon’s head away from her shoulder. He wrenched her out of his cousin’s hold and pulled her back, placing her back to his chest. “He’s right. You do smell good.”
Sharing me? The idea sounded great, but she could think of other words she’d like to hear. Like love. Or even mate.
Josh cupped her breasts and her body reacted, sending a rush of juices to wet her crotch. Even if she were blind, she’d know their touch, their masculine aroma. She lifted her arms above her head to lock her fingers behind his neck. Arching her back, she luxuriated in the way his hands explored her breasts. When Jadon came back to her, shoving his hand between her legs, she almost came.
“Watch out! Werewolves!”
Jadon and Josh spun around to find nothing at the place where their cousin had pointed. “Suckers.” Laughing, Curt snatched her away f
rom Jadon.
Jadon shoved him back, knocking Curt to the ground. Curt came up, his sense of humor gone, and his lips pulled back into a snarl. She turned Josh loose and got out of the way, fascinated to see the emergence of amber flecks in their eyes. Jadon and Curt squared off, ready to fight.
Josh’s voice whispered in her ear. “Come with me, Mayla. We’ll sneak away while they’re squabbling like little kids.”
She wasn’t about to go anywhere. Jerking her arm free from Josh’s grip, she gasped as the two cousins started shifting. Clothes shredded as their bodies changed and grew in size. They were large men, with muscles on top of muscles, but their bear bodies were massive, larger than any real grizzly bear.
Fangs slid over their lower lips while sharp claws burst from their fingers. Bones broke, sounding terrible as the men’s faces elongated, losing their human shapes to change into the wide, square heads of bears. In a matter of minutes, they’d changed, their huge front paws landing against the dirt with resounding thuds. The bear that had been Jadon shook his head, froth flying from his jaws, then rose onto his hind legs.
Curt’s bear growled, then dodged Jadon’s swipe. She felt the whoosh of air from his gigantic paw. If it had been a few inches closer, it would’ve slashed through her stomach.
She clutched at Josh’s shirt. “You have to stop them.”
“No way. I’m not getting between them. But don’t worry. They won’t kill each other.” He paused. “I hope.”
“Will they still know who I am now that they’ve changed?”
“Yeah. Our human mind melds with our animal one. We recall people and places.” He placed his palm against her cheek. “And how we felt as men stays with us. It’s a different way of thinking, more images than actual thoughts, but we remember what and who is important to us.”
His caress was tender, soft, a strange counterpoint to the sounds of growls and snarls. She took hold of his hand, held it for a moment, then spun around. Curt and Jadon were both on their hind legs, striking out at each other. She’d find out if what Josh told her was true. Seeing them fight each other hurt too much to watch any longer.
“Stop!”
The two beasts dropped to the ground, then tilted their heads at her. Amber eyes stood out against the rich brown of their fur. Even with all four feet on the ground, they stood as tall as her, the span of their shoulders three times the size of their human counterparts.
“Why are you fighting? Didn’t you say you wanted to share me?”
A low roar, a complaint, rolled out of Curt.
“I didn’t come here to fight. I came to make love.” Was Jadon’s flinch because she’d referred to it as lovemaking instead of sex?
She reached out both arms. “Stop all the fighting and come to me. I’ve never gotten this close to a bear. I want to run my fingers through your fur.”
Jadon shook his massive frame, his silver-tipped fur dancing from his broad head to his rounded buttocks. Was he telling her no? Yet he still followed as Curt started toward her.
They lumbered toward her, their claws digging imprints in the hard, dry ground. Once they were close enough, each coming to one side of her, she tentatively lowered her palms to thread her fingers through their coarse fur. The silver tinge to the brown was characteristic of a grizzly bear and she let the tips tickle her skin.
I’m touching real, live bears. Two of them.
Jadon leaned against her, pushing her against Curt, then lowered his head. He brushed his wet, cold nose against her leg, then made a groan that sounded like an enormous house cat’s purr.
She knelt down, trapped between the animals that could kill her with ease, yet she’d never felt as safe as she did right then. Curt lowered his head, too, and she had to slap him on the snout. “Hey. No sniffing me down there. Not unless you’re in your human form.”
In your human form. Talk about the things I never thought I’d say.
A rumble came from behind her. She craned her head over her shoulder, clutching fur to keep steady. The bear that was Josh padded toward her, then laid his heavy head on her shoulder. The three bears surrounded her, cocooning her with their bodies, sniffing her and licking her. She giggled as the raspy sensation of Josh’s tongue slipped under the back of her hair.
She should’ve been terrified. They could do anything they wanted to her and she wouldn’t be able to stop them. But fear was the farthest thing from her mind. Instead, she was entranced, eager to learn more. Her lifelong obsession with bears had reached a pinnacle.
“Can I get on top of one of you?” Could she ride a bear? They were big enough and strong enough.
She laughed again, unable to contain her joy, when all three of them lowered themselves to the ground, offering her their backs. Taking hold of the thick fur and extra skin on Josh’s neck, she slung her leg over his back and pulled herself on top of him. Her knees rested against the huge bump between his legs.
“This is so amazing.” The world appeared bigger, wider, and sunnier than a moment before. The exhilaration of riding on top of a bear took her breath away. If there was a downside, it was the fact that she couldn’t tell her family or her friends about it. No one would ever believe her. For a moment, she thought about pulling out her cell phone from her back pocket and taking a selfie with the bears. But although the men hadn’t said anything about it, she remembered Miss Clara’s warning. If the werewolves wanted their existence to stay a secret, then no doubt the bears did, too.
The rocking motion of Josh’s gait was soothing, but nothing could calm her down. She let out a loud shout of joy as he rode her around the clearing while Curt and Jadon padded after them.
All at once, Josh whirled around, moving faster than she’d have thought a huge bear could do, then headed toward the vehicles.
“Hey, where are we going?” Not that she expected them to answer, but it was obvious Josh had something in mind.
Chapter Five
Josh was ecstatic. Mayla, their extraordinary mate, had accepted their inner bears with little difficulty. Maybe she had accepted it as a result of the connection or maybe she had another reason. When he’d wiped her hair away from her shoulders, he’d noticed the small bear tattoo on the back of her neck.
How many women chose to put a tat of a bear on themselves? That had to be a sign. He’d have to ask her later.
The warmth of her body, her legs spread on either side of him, her crotch pressed against his back, was like a blanket of love that revved his need for her higher than ever. His cousins would’ve laughed at his romantic thought, but they wouldn’t have denied that they felt the same. He only had to look at them to know that was true.
Picking up speed, but not so much that it would make her lose her hold, he hurried toward the truck. Once there, he growled as Curt and Jadon started shifting, returning to their human forms as fast as they could so they could get to her first. Yet if he’d had to choose, he still would’ve chosen the thrill of having her ride him over getting into the truck with her first. The memory of her first ride, and who had given it to her, would last a lifetime.
He lowered his body and she got off gracefully. She kept hold of him as she did so, then took him by the jaw and brought his face to hers. His amazement of her grew. He still couldn’t believe she’d taken to them so fast, with no fear or disgust at what they were. The kiss she gave him was tender and filled with more love than a human kissing a fond pet.
He changed, taking the transformation as fast as he could. Curt and Jadon were already touching her, their voices animated. Her face glowed, her eyes sparkling as they argued to see which one of them would have the privilege of lifting her onto the seat.
“Guys, what about your clothes?”
Her smile was brighter than the sun. He knew no other woman could compare to her beauty. She was curvy in all the right places and had the feisty, take-no-guff personality they loved. She was the only one who would ever be able to tame them, making them behave when they were supposed to. Then she’d
turn them loose in the bedroom and let their inner beasts’ rowdy natures run free.
Jadon shrugged. “We don’t change without undressing first too often. It would get expensive.” He hopped into the truck behind the wheel, putting him close to her. “But it was worth it today.”
Grumbling as he followed Curt around to the passenger side, Josh couldn’t help but feel jealous when Curt edged him out to slide in beside her.
“But what if someone sees you driving around naked?” She adopted a shocked expression. “And me sitting in the middle of you?”
“It’s not that big a deal around these parts to see someone without his, or her, clothes. Besides, you were ready and willing to have sex out in the open where anyone could see us.” Josh pushed against Curt, trying to get closer to her before it dawned on him that pushing Curt gave his cousin a reason to scoot tighter against her.
“If anyone does see you with us, they’re going to think we’re three lucky guys.”
She laughed, then stretched to put a quick peck on Jadon’s cheek.
Damn it. Why couldn’t I have said that?
Jealousy hit him again. Just because she was their mate, the woman they’d dreamed of sharing, and not his alone didn’t mean he wouldn’t suffer the green-eyed monster every so often. He shoved it away by thinking of how hot he’d get watching his cousins enjoy her.
“Wait. Where are we going? I thought we were going to have fun out in the open.”
Josh glanced at the others and knew they had the same idea. “This time we’re not taking no for an answer. We’re taking you back to our house. We don’t want any werewolves disturbing our time together.”
“But what about my car? I could follow you there.”
As though someone were controlling them like puppets, they all shook their heads at the same time. Josh more emphatically than Curt or Jadon. “We’ll get it later. No one’s going to bother it out here.”
“Are you sure?”