Tempting the Bears

by Tianna Xander

  “I think it’s time we checked on our neighbors, Calum.” Aiden frowned through the glass and watched as the couple slowly rode their snowmobile out of town.

  “Perhaps we should.” Roxie frowned and bit her lip. “They were my grandparents’ best friends. I can’t let them just freeze or starve to death up here. Not when I have the means to help.”

  “We’ll drive over and offer tae take Harvey fishing while you and Marlene have a cuppa and chat. While we’re there, we’ll get a look at their home and see if it needs any work. We’ll be here at least a month. We’re strong lads. We can fix up a roof, or something in that amount of time.”

  “It’s nice of you to think about doing that, Aiden, but I’m not sure they’ll accept your help. They don’t know you, and if what Angel says is true, they might not let you fix up their home.”

  Aiden grabbed the bags from the counter as Calum led her from the store. Turning to Angel, he asked, “Do you know their address and the number of the nearest propane company?”

  “Sure. Give me a minute.” She scribbled down their address and handed it to him. “Here.” She handed him a refrigerator magnet. “The driver of one propane truck dropped several of these off. I guess you could call them.” She smiled. “Thank you for taking an interest in them. I think they’d like to be warm, but I also think they’ve been trying to save money to go see their son in Florida.”

  “They should spend their winters there. Calum and I will see what we can do for them. Have a good day.” He nodded and headed out to the SUV.

  Climbing into the back seat, he set the bags on the floor and fastened his seat belt.

  “Now we have their address and the number for a local propane company.” He glanced at Roxie. “Do you think you can get them tae come tae your place tomorrow while we get their tank filled and inspect their home?”

  “I’m not sure this is the right thing to do. It might insult them or embarrass them. Maybe we should just go over and talk to them and pretend they have something we consider valuable.” Calum stared through the window. “They’re obviously a proud couple. Let’s find a way to help them keep their dignity.”

  Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a broken-down, ramshackle house where they wouldn’t have wanted to spend one night.

  The porch roof was falling down and the steps were lopsided. Thankfully, it had a metal roof that looked fine, though it could probably use a good painting. The snowmobile sat to the side toward the back of the house. They most likely came and went through the back door. Maybe the back porch wasn’t in as bad a shape as the front.

  Harvey came around the back of the house, his brow creased. “Can I help you?”

  “We thought we might come ask ye to join us ice fishing as soon as we find a shack to purchase. Would ye know where we could get one at a fair price?” Calum glanced at the two, small, shed-like structures built on large wooden sleds. “Would ye consider selling us one of yours?”

  Harvey scratched his head. “I’m not sure how much to even charge or for that matter, I’m not sure they’re worth much.”

  “Well...” Aiden walked around the nearest shed, stopping to shake it every few steps. “We’re prepared tae offer you twenty-five hundred for this one.” He stopped at the old man’s sharp breath. “Okay, three thousand, but it’s our final offer.”

  “Three thousand? It’s not worth three thousand. It’s barely worth two thousand.”

  “Then take our first offer of twenty-five hundred. You’ll be happy you made a good sale, and we’ll still feel as though we got ourselves a bargain.”

  “You’re a couple of crazy Scots. You know that, don’t you?” A smile split Harvey’s face as he glanced at his large propane tank.

  “We’ll need a tractor tae haul it with.” Aiden glanced toward the small garden tractor sitting next to the garage. “We’ll pay you another hundred and fifty tae tow it out tae a good spot on the lake.” He glanced out over the frozen water littered with the small shacks. “That is if there’s a good spot left.” He rubbed his chin. “We’ll pay you the same amount tae haul it back to shore at the end of the season.”

  It was obvious Harvey didn’t know what to say. He just stood there staring at the two large men, his mouth opening and closing in silence.

  “Ye drive a hard bargain, old man.” Calum sighed. “We can see ye don’t think it’s quite enough, so we’ll throw in the repair of your front and back porches. I’m sure the missus would just love to be able to sit outside and watch the sunset over the lake again.”

  “She would.” Harvey stared at them, his expression bemused. “I don’t understand.”

  “What’s tae understand?” Aiden clapped him on the back. “You have a fishing shed and we need one. I don’t know about Calum, but I’m not in a rush tae freeze my balls off fishing out in the open.” He shivered as though getting cold just thinking about it. “Oh, and you wouldn’t happen tae have an auger we could rent, would you? We’d pay you a fair price.”

  Harvey waved, with a shake of his head. “I’ll have to draw the line on that one. If I haul that shack out onto the lake for as much as you offered, the drilling of the hole will be free.”

  “Will there be enough room for two holes? I’m not sure three lines will work in one hole.” Calum scratched his chin.

  “We can put two holes in there as long as we put them in opposite corners, I suppose.” Harvey was back to looking confused again. “Why are you two doing this? My shack isn’t worth that much and hauling it out there would be the neighborly thing to do, but I have to tell you, the money sounds enticing.”

  “Then take it.” Aiden shrugged. “Our family has more than it knows what tae do with.” He glanced back at the back porch where Roxie stood talking to Marlene. “And it will give you enough money to buy some things you need.” He glanced at the large pole barn. “You wouldn’t happen tae have an old truck stored in there, would you? Calum and I are in need of transportation we can call our own.”

  “The only automobiles in there are worthless.”

  “Why do ye say that?”

  “Because they’ve been sitting in there since before I inherited this place. My dad never touched them after my grandparents died and left him this house. I’d be surprised if any of them would even start.”

  “How long would that be?” It was obvious Calum could barely contain his excitement. It had been years since he’d had a good barn find.

  “Oh, I dunno.” Harvey scratched his head again. They’ve been in there at least seventy years if I had to guess. I’ll go get the keys and show you. But don’t be surprised when you see it’s nothing but a bunch of junk in there.”

  “Do you think he has anything in there you’d be interested in?” Aiden glanced toward the barn. “It could be a bunch of junk, just like he says, you know.”

  “I know, but sitting in a barn for seventy years? What if it’s a Tucker?”

  “I think that just about all of those have been accounted for, haven’t they?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to see what that barn is hiding.” Calum jumped when the storm door slammed behind Harvey.

  “I can’t tell you how much I hope you find something in there that you’d like.” He lowered his voice. “Marlene and I would love to be able to fly down to Florida and see our son and grandsons. We haven’t seen our son for nearly twenty years, and we’ve never met our grandsons.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We had a falling out all those years ago and he hasn’t visited us since.”

  Harvey shoved the key into the padlock and pulled it and the chain from the doors.

  “Holy Chrissendom! Will ye look at that,” Calum whispered, his eyes wide as he stared at the closest vehicle. “That’s a nineteen thirty-five Duesenberg SJ Convertible Coupe.” He ran his hands down its dusty fender. “It even appears to have the original tires.” He moved deeper into the barn, toward two other vehicles covered with tarp.


  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at that?” His voice was filled with awe as he uncovered them both. “A nineteen thirty-six Auburn eight, Supercharged Speedster, a nineteen thirty-seven Cord Eight-Twelve.” He looked at Harvey, his eyes wide, obviously in shock.

  “Don’t ye realize what you have here, man?” He stared at the man with disbelief. “I don’t know that we can afford to buy all of these, but I’d appreciate the first shot at them.”

  “These are worth something?” Harvey looked bewildered. “My dad always said they were worthless.”

  “They might have been years ago when he first inherited this house, but not now.” Aiden stared at the huge find. “The Duesenberg alone must be worth over a million dollars, as it sits.”

  “But the mice and raccoons chewed up the upholstery.” Harvey frowned at them as though he thought they’d both lost their minds.

  “Yes, but fully restored, with it’s all original seats, fenders, wheels, the lot of it.” Calum gestured toward the vehicle. “It would be worth close to, if not more than, four million dollars.”

  “What?” Harvey grabbed his chest. “Are you telling me that these junk cars are going to make me rich?”

  “Just one of them could make you rich.” You could keep the others tae fix up and drive tae Florida if you wanted.” Aiden was happy for the man. He and his wife would never want for anything again, providing they would part with the Duesenberg. The others were worth a lot, but neither of them was worth what the SJ convertible would bring in.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “How much did you say that first car is worth?” Roxie couldn’t believe it when they told her the value of the cars in the Mr. and Mrs. Carter’s barn.

  “I’d guess at least two and a half million, the way it sits, maybe more.” Calum ran his hand over the smooth fender. “We’re going to have it appraised before we make an offer. We don’t want to underpay him for it.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck and then laughed. “And while we’re talking that kind of money, we don’t really want to overpay him for it, either.”

  That made sense. A couple thousand dollars was one thing if you had it to spare. Several hundred thousand would be another matter entirely.

  “I don’t know how to thank you.” She moved closer and pressed her body against his. “You and Aiden are good men.” She cast her gaze toward the floor and licked her lips. “I’m not sure I know what to do with good men.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

  For some reason, Roxie had always drawn bad boys like a magnet. What was it about her that appealed to the two men who now protected her?

  “Ye don’t need to give yourself to us because we helped your friends.” Calum pulled her arms down and stepped back. “We want you because you want us because you’ve fallen in love with us, not as a form of payment.”

  “I... I think I am falling for you.” She stared at her feet for a moment, her heart racing at the thought of what she was about to say. “I haven’t known you two for very long, yet I’m not sure what I would do without you. You two make everything better... more enjoyable. I can’t tell you when I’ve enjoyed myself more.”

  She’d only spent about two weeks’ worth of time with them if she counted her time in Scotland. It hadn’t taken Sunshine long to fall for her two guys. Was there something about them, some strange pheromone they produced to draw their mates to them? Whatever it was, she knew she was falling head over heels in love with the two bear shifters.

  She no longer worried about what others might think. The only people whose opinion mattered, Sunshine, the Carters, and Angel, had given her their blessing. With no more obstacles, she’d been having a difficult time holding her emotions in check. She wanted them to know how she felt, yet wasn’t certain how to tell them, or even if she should tell them.

  “Then that’s something you need to think on.” Calum stroked her cheek and then leaning closer, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I don’t want ye to feel as though I’m rejecting ye.” He cupped her jaw, his thumb gently caressing her lower lip. “Because I’m not. I’m only asking ye to take a wee bit more time to make sure how ye feel. Once we claim ye, there’s no going back.”

  “Why do you want me?” Maybe part of her reticence was knowing they were drawn to her because of some strange shifter genetics. It wasn’t because they found her interesting, or beautiful. “Is it only because your shifter genes tell you I’m the one or potential one?”

  “Ach, love, ye don’t know how we feel about ye, do ye?” Calum pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “Something about ye, about your scent and beauty drew us and told us ye could be our mate. It’s what interested us. But this...” He touched her head. “And this...” He touched the center of her chest. “These are the things that kept our interest.”

  “We fell in love with ye before ye left the castle. We knew ye were the one for us the moment ye dropped everything to return home for the love of your family. Extended family is important. Probably the most important thing, next to our mates and own children. Ye have heart, Roxie. Ye have a brain, an education that might help our people find the lost members of our kind. And ye have my love, and Aiden’s. We just want ye to be sure we’re who ye want to spend the rest of your life with.”

  Roxie sighed and leaned into Calum. She rubbed her face against his chest and inhaled his scent. He always smelled good. His scent drew her to him, most likely in the same way hers attracted the two men.

  “I want you. Now!” She held her hand up when he would have protested. “I know how it works. You can’t claim me until you both take me together. So, even if you wanted to, you can’t claim me without Aiden here.”

  “It wouldn’t be fair to—”

  “Aiden?” She smiled and pushed the hair from his face, cupping his cheek. The stubble on his jaw tickled her fingers. “Like I said, I know how it works. You won’t take what I offer unless you know your partner is going to get equal time, so to speak. Don’t worry, he’ll get it. I feel the same way about him. If you want to know the truth, I’ve felt the same way about you both for what feels like a long, long time.” She pressed closer.

  “Take me. Take me now, before you change your mind.” She kissed him hard, her lips demanding a response she wasn’t sure he was ready to give.

  Before she knew it, his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. His kiss deepened, his mouth pressing against hers. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth.

  “Gods, ye taste good.” He said the words against her lips. “Like ripe cherries and cream.” He pressed his hips against hers, his erection digging into her lower stomach. “I want to tell ye to wait, to make sure we’re what ye want, but I can’t do it again. I’m selfish. So damned selfish.” He took her mouth in another passionate kiss.

  Bending, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs, toward her bedroom.

  Roxie broke their kiss to protest. “You’ll hurt yourself.” She was anything but a small woman. Still, she owned every one of her extra pounds and knew, though she was curvy and not a supermodel, she was beautiful and deserving of the love of a good man... or two. Still, she didn’t want him to hurt himself. She had plans for him and an injured back would put an end to them.

  “You’re kidding me, right?” He laughed as he carried her down the hall and into her room. “You’re not heavy at all. I’ve carried Aiden when he was injured. Now, he’s a heavy bastard.”

  “Where is Aiden? Do you think he’ll be back soon?”

  Calum set her on the bed and gave her another kiss. “He’ll be another few hours. He had to run all the way to Saulte Sainte Marie to get a good enough signal to call back home without losing the connection. We get a signal here, but not a good one and we didn’t want any misunderstandings about why we needed the funds transferred.”

  “Oh. Good, then I’ll have time to take a bath... after.” Her face
burned and she looked away.

  “Then ye can ask him to come up here.” He pulled his shirt over his head. “It makes me harder thinking about ye with him. I can’t wait until ye allow me to watch while he takes ye, or vice versa.”

  “You’d...” She swallowed thickly. “You’d really like to watch?” She crossed her arms in an attempt to hide her hard nipples. She was almost tempted to cross her legs to stop her clit from pulsing.

  Why did only thinking about making love to one of her men while the other watched turn her on so much?

  “Of course.” He sat next to her on the bed. “Wouldn’t you find it a little arousing yourself?”

  It was all she could do to keep herself from leaning into him and inhaling his intoxicating scent unencumbered by his clothing. The center of his lightly-tanned and broad chest was sprinkled with dark hair, tapering down into a thin vee that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans.

  Her gaze dropped to the large bulge behind his zipper, before darting away. He was huge. How in the world would she ever fit both of them inside her without them tearing her apart?

  Still, the sight didn’t make her want them any less. If anything, it intrigued her. Were larger penises really better? Did they really stroke a woman’s inner nerve endings in a way that a smaller one wouldn’t? Would she like it, or would it hurt?

  Roxie licked her lips, wondering how it would feel against her lips, in her mouth. How would he taste? Would he be salty, bitter, sweet? She’d heard that some men had a sweet flavor. She’d never experienced that, herself.

  In fact, she’d only gone down on one man. The same man who had, for a short time, made her feel inadequate because she wasn’t some short, thin, damsel in distress.

  Never had she been small. She’d always been tall for her age. Even when she was a child.

  Once, when she was three years old, a truant officer asked her mother why she wasn’t in school. “When they put three-year-old children in school, she’ll be there with bells on,” had been her mother’s curt reply. The unbidden thought made her miss her parents, though they’d both died in a plane crash when she was fifteen. She was tall and sturdy with meat on her bones and that was the way she liked herself. She was the perfect version of herself and happy the way she was.