Tempting the Bears

by Tianna Xander

  Aiden opened his eyes and pain shot through his head. Was that from a concussion? Whatever caused it didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding Roxie and seeing she received the comfort she so desperately needed.

  “Relax, ya big bastard, or you’re going to make matters worse.” Alec pressed against his neck when he would have lifted his head. “Thankfully, the crack in your thick skull will heal on its own. However, your broken leg needs a bit of my help.”

  Aiden glared at him, let out a low growl, and tried to sit up. He had to see to Roxie!

  “Calum, get your woman over here before this stubborn ass gets up and makes matters worse. He won’t rest until he sees you’re caring for her.” He met Aiden’s glare with one of his own. “You’re lucky the accident didn’t cut your face. Otherwise, you’d be an even uglier bastard than what ya already are.”

  He glanced at someone behind Aiden. “If he growls at me again, stick him with that needle, there. We can’t have his stubborn ass causing himself even more harm.”

  Giving Alec another glare, Aiden was tempted to growl again, just on principle, but Calum and Roxie moved into his line of sight.

  “He’s awake and looking right at us!” Roxie hurried to his side and rested a gentle hand against the side of his face. “Don’t worry about me. Calum is here to protect me. I want you to concentrate on healing.” Leaning closer, she pressed a kiss just above and between his eyes. “I’m going to let Alec help you now.” She moved back a bit, giving the healer more room. “You let Alec help you and stop growling at the poor man. You hear?”

  Aiden wanted to nod, but the best he could do was sigh and close his eyes.

  A sharp pain in his thigh told him Alec had decided to give him the sedative after all. It was probably for the best. The pain was excruciating and he wasn’t sure he could manage to stop himself from growling at the man.

  Sleep came quickly, and he had little time to wonder if he would wake up or die in his sleep. He hoped for the former as his eyes glazed over and Roxie faded from view.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “Will he live?”

  Roxie glanced at Alec, glad Calum asked the hard question. She wanted the answer but had been afraid to ask. She didn’t know what to do if the other man didn’t give her the answer she hoped for.

  “Aye.” Alec nodded. “He’ll live. He’ll heal, and his leg will heal perfectly if he takes care of it, and doesn’t put any weight on it for at least three weeks.”

  “That long?” Calum shifted his gaze to Aiden as he lay on the floor, still in his bear form, unconscious.

  “He had several injuries, a few of them life-threatening. The blow he took to his head that cracked his skull likely would hae killed a human man. He lost so much blood, I probably should have transfused him, but I didn’t have the equipment for that. His cracked ribs and, as I said, his broken leg will take at least three weeks to heal properly, and that’s only if he stays in his bear form most of the time.”

  Roxie stroked the sleeping bear’s long snout. She marveled at how beautiful, how peaceful he looked while sleeping. At least he wasn’t still in pain. Thinking about how much his injuries must have pained him made her want to cry.

  Closing her eyes, she buried her face deep into his fur and sighed. He would live. She didn’t give a damn if he didn’t heal properly, just so long as he healed and stayed alive, and in her arms.

  Mmmm... That feels like Roxie holding me. Aiden groaned as she pressed her body closer to his. I could stay like this forever. He shifted slightly, then frowned. Well maybe not quite like he was, at the moment. He was in his bear form.

  It was likely they wouldn’t be as lucky as their clan mates. The likelihood that Roxie was part shifter, like her friend, Sunshine, was slim to none. Still, he considered himself lucky to have a mate—shifter, or not.

  “Aiden?” she whispered in his ear and he moaned. “Are you awake?” She lifted her head. “I think he’s waking up.”

  “Let’s hope not. A few more hours asleep will help keep him from feeling the pain. If he can manage to sleep even three more hours, it will give him the equivalent to a half a day’s healing for a human.”

  It didn’t matter how much pain he felt. Aiden needed to let Roxie know he was well enough to open his eyes. He remembered the way she fought to stay by his side. The least he could do was, ease her mind.

  Pain shot through his head when he opened his eyes. He groaned, the sound coming from deep inside the bear’s chest.

  “Aiden!” Roxie squeezed him and kissed him on the jaw. It didn’t seem to matter that she’d pressed her soft lips against the hairy snout of a huge bear. “I’m so glad you’re awake. I didn’t... I never told you that...” Her face reddened as she glanced at the group of men around them. “I never told you I love you.”

  She said it with no more hesitation. She leaned over him, her beautiful face coming into view. He stared up at her, awed by the fact that she’d just told him she loved him. And if he wasn’t mistaken, at some point during his surgery, or was it before it, she’d agreed to be their mate.

  I love you, too, Roxie. He reached out, trying to comfort her through their mind link. He might not be able to kiss her as his bear, but he could do it with his mind. Slowly, he thought of her full, ripe lips. He pictured himself kissing her, his fingers sliding through her silky hair, his lips pressing against hers.

  Her eyelids lowered, her eyes glazed over and her lips parted ever so slightly as he visualized their kiss. After a few short moments, he pulled his mind from hers, his eyes closing. Just that small bit of telepathic contact had worn him out.

  Thankfully, he would live. However, it would take every bit of his strength to heal the terrible wounds he’d sustained during his accident.

  “Well, ye fast driving ass. Are ye happy to know that ye totaled the rental?” Calum leaned down to meet his gaze. His words might sound rough, but Aiden could see the worry in his eyes. “Next time, I might just leave ye to bleed out in the woods before I carry your heavy ass back to civilization.”

  Thank you for the rescue, old friend. Aiden closed his eyes, blocking out the light that caused his head to ache. I don’t know what I would do without you.

  “You’d die. That’s what you’d do, ye daft bastard.” Calum glared at him. “It’ll be a long time before I’ll let ye drive another vehicle, I can tell ye that.”

  What about the Carters and the car? I talked to the laird. He said he’d transfer the money as soon as possible. Even he seemed excited at the prospect of such a unique barn find.

  “The money?” Calum appeared nonplussed. “Do ye think I’ve been thinking about money, whilst you lay on your deathbed? What kind of mate do ye think I am?”

  I thought you were the type of mate who would be certain to take care of business during your best mate’s recovery time. Aiden snorted. It appears I was mistaken.

  “Aye.” Calum glared at him. “It appears ye were. It appears that I’m the type of friend that will stick by ye when he’s afraid you’re dying, to be sure someone ye trust is around to hear, and carry out, your last wishes, ye ungrateful sod.”

  Calum’s expression was enough to make Aiden wish he hadn’t opened his damned eyes. He should have feigned sleep and reveled in Roxie’s embrace instead of trying to carry on a conversation. It was obvious he wasn’t up for it, yet.

  Forgive me, old friend. Of course, you did what was right, what I would have wanted of you. He sighed. Perhaps it’s the drugs talking. I’m not sure they’re completely worn off.

  “That’s enough.” Alec stepped into view. “You need your rest and I’m going to see that you get it, whether you like it or not. You might be pissed at me for a little while, but believe me when I say, this is for the best.” He glanced at someone out of eyesight and nodded. “Good night, Aiden. Sleep well.”

  Aiden growled at another sharp prick in his hip. No doubt, Gavin, Alec’s assistant and best mate, had just given
him another sedative.

  I love you, Roxie. Don’t worry about me. Alec is the best healer I know. His eyelids grew heavy as the sedative took over and dragged him down into another dark abyss.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “How are you feeling this morning?” Roxie made her way across the basement, her eyes on the tray she carried. She didn’t want to spill anything. She had enough work to do, cooking for six men and keeping Aiden company.

  “Much better, thank you.”

  “Oh!” She looked up and almost tripped over her own feet as she saw Aiden sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard. “I didn’t know you were well enough to change back.”

  She tried not to stare at his bare chest. Tanned and muscular, he exuded masculinity, even after being stuck on the floor in the basement for the past two weeks.

  “I can’t stay like this long.” He reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “But I wanted tae be able tae talk you when you brought me breakfast.” He glanced at the tray. “It smells delicious... like you.”

  Her cheeks burned as he stared at her with that unblinking, ice-blue gaze.

  “Well, you should probably eat up, then shift back again.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Or will you need help?”

  “I shouldn’t.” He canted his head and met her gaze. “Generally, we only need help shifting if we have a life-threatening injury.” He took the tray from her and set it on his lap. “It’s no longer life-threatening, though I’ll still be mostly incapacitated for the next week. I’m mostly healed, now. I’m just waiting for my bones to heal the rest of the way.”

  It was amazing that he could even sit up and talk to her without groaning when just a little more than two weeks before, he’d been coughing up blood and bleeding profusely from several wounds. She didn’t think she would ever get over the miracles they could perform with their strange shifter magic.

  “Alec had advised me not tae keep this form long. Obviously, the longer I remain in my human form, the slower my wounds will heal.” One side of his mouth quirked up. “I’m sorry I worried you. I’ll try not tae drive so fast in the future.” He chuckled and then held his ribs with a groan. “Apparently, I had two broken ribs and one of them had punctured my lung. Alec just shared that news with me today. I think the man likes handing out information piecemeal. He said it would most likely take every bit of three weeks tae heal. It would be six weeks if I were human. So, remind me not to laugh. My ribs still ache.”

  “Don’t laugh.” She smiled when he reached out and tugged her down onto the bed beside him with a grin.

  “Will you sit here and keep me company while I eat?”

  “Of course.” She picked up the fork and handed it to him. “You eat, and I’ll try to catch you up on the things that have been going on around here.”

  She ticked the items off on her fingers. “First off, Garret’s developers were easily enticed to another lake about an hour and a half northwest of here.” She grinned. “The four men you and Calum had called to lure the developers to another lake have done their job so well, the developer snatched up all the surrounding property before getting it rezoned.”

  That was a big no-no in Michigan. There were never any guarantees when it came to that kind of thing. She smiled to herself as she thought about the DNR and how stubborn the state employees could be about protecting Michigan’s natural resources.

  “Apparently, the corporation discovered it didn’t matter how much land they owned, they can’t just move to Michigan and expect to be able to do as they please. At some point, someone even set a fire on the property, attempting to burn out most of the trees. They forgot it was winter and the threat of a forest fire going wild is very low. Once the accelerant burned off, the fire slowly petered out.

  “The Department of Natural Resources had forbidden the company to clear out and, as rumor has it, after the fire, a company representative made his way to the DNR office, fully expecting the DNR to capitulate, since he was certain the forest fire had decimated the forest on the land surrounding the lake.” She grinned. “They didn’t. So far, the DNR has refused to rezone. From what I understand, they said something about the low-lying brush in that area of the forest coming back to life and reclaiming the land in a few years.”

  “That’s good news.” He took a sip of coffee before taking a large bite of his food. “Anything else exciting happen?”

  “Well, Calum hasn’t been able to get the Carters to sell him that car you guys wanted. Mr. Carter keeps refusing. The stubborn old man seems to think you two are just trying to give them charity.”

  “Charity has nothing tae do with it. That car is worth every penny we’ve offered. In fact, it might be worth a bit more, but we haven’t gone so far as tae try tae get it appraised, that I know of. Calum hasn’t mentioned that, anyway.”

  “Well, maybe the best thing you guys can do is get the cars appraised.” Roxie didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before. It was the perfect solution to their problem. “They can’t argue with an appraised value, now can they?”

  “I wouldn’t suspect that they would.” He shoved a huge forkful of eggs into his mouth and chewed. It didn’t detract from the smile on his face. “Now, I can’t wait tae get someone out here tae appraise the thing. I can’t wait tae see the look on the old man’s face when he sees the figure on an appraisal sheet.”

  “Knowing Mr. Carter, he’ll still find a way to be difficult. Besides, I don’t know where you’d find someone willing to drive all the way up here to give a value on one car.”

  “We’ll pay tae have all three of them valued. It should be worth it, then.” Calum stood near the stairs. “I wondered what was taking ye so long to leave food for a hungry bear.” He grinned. “It’s still a hungry bear you’re feeding. He’s just a wee bit more presentable than he has been the last couple of weeks. How are ye feeling, old friend?”

  “I’m much better today than I was a couple of weeks ago.” Aiden frowned up at his friend. “How did I manage tae sleep away nearly two weeks? I remember little more than waking up tae eat and drink on occasion. Other than that, the time is a blur.”

  “I think Alec had Gavin slip something into your food.”

  “What?” Roxie rested her hand on her hips and turned to glare at him. “No one told me I was helping to keep him asleep. I’ve been worried as hell over that.”

  “No one bothered to talk to me about it, either. Still, I managed to find out about it. What do ye think is going to happen in a few minutes?” He nodded toward Aiden. “He’s likely going to fall asleep again.” He glanced past her, to look at Aiden. “At least you’ve been unconscious the last two weeks. Things around here have been somewhat strange.”

  “Strange? How so?”

  “Well, there was a time that I was worried a fire would claim our forest. Somehow, the forest west of us caught fire, burning several hundred acres until the accelerant gave out and the fire pissed itself away to nothing.”

  “That reminds me...” Roxie interrupted them. “I’d like to thank you both for staying here. I’m not sure how it would have turned out, had you not decided to follow me from Scotland.” She held up her hand when they both started to speak at the same time.

  “I know you guys didn’t come here to protect me from some crazy developers or their pyrotechnic henchmen, but I’m still glad it worked out that way. It’s hard telling what would have happened had your friends not enticed them to that other property.” She looked around the basement. “They might have decided to burn the cabin down to try to get me to leave. Then where would I be?”

  Sure, her grandparents had left her money, as well as the opportunity to gain the land, but she didn’t know if she would have wanted to stay if not for the cabin she remembered as being so filled with her grandparent’s love.

  “You’re a strong lass. Ye would have managed.” Calum moved closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. Leaning down, he
pressed a kiss to her lips. Heat flared in her middle as his tongue stroked hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, almost totally oblivious to the fact that Aiden sat watching them on the bed.

  “I see you two haven’t been wasting time.” Aiden gulped down his coffee and set the tray on the floor with a loud clatter.

  “Oh!” Roxie pulled out of Calum’s arms, her gaze darting guiltily toward Aiden. “I’m sorry, I just... I couldn’t...” Her face burned. Was he mad? He didn’t look it.

  “You couldn’t what, lass?” He smiled. “You couldn’t wait tae get started with Calum because you knew it would be easier for us all if he’d already begun tae prepare you?”

  “I’d like to say that was why.” She met his gaze, her eyes staring into his, her chin set as she straightened her spine. “The first time we made love was the day you had your accident.” She glanced at Calum who nodded his encouragement to continue. “After your surgery, we both needed... I don’t know, comfort, I guess. It just seemed natural to seek it in each other’s arms. You—you aren’t mad, are you?”

  “Why should I be angry? The two people I love most in the world found love with each other. You both found love with me. It’s my fault I rolled a car down a hill and wrapped it around a tree and postponed my ability tae claim you for myself.”

  He patted the bed next to him and she wasted no time joining him on the narrow mattress.

  “It seems, due tae my injuries, you two will have a few more nights alone.” Turning, he cupped her cheek and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. “Until then, think of me wanting you as much as he does and I’ll be happy.”

  “I thought you might be angry that we are getting so close without you.” She blinked tears from her eyes. “I don’t want you to think—”

  “Shh, love. I don’t think any less of either of you. I love you both. I always will.” His voice sounded strained. “Now, I think it’s time I shifted back to my other self before the pain becomes too much for my human form tae bear.” He groaned a bit as he slid from the bed and onto the floor. “Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious.”