by Leona Orsino
“He said you could put your things away, not spend forever up here,” he said, the air practically shimmering from his voluminous voice. “Don’t think you can waste our time, or our money, little miss.”
“I-I’m sorry. I was just…”
“What is this,” he said, stepping across the room in less than two strides, pointing to my empty suitcase.
“I brought my things in it,” I said. “Why?”
“Where did you buy this?”
“I don’t remember,” I said, shrugging. “Target? Macy’s? It was probably on sale.”
He looked at me like I was a particularly disagreeable slug. “Sale?” He scoffed. “I keep telling Blake to stop hiring these goddamn charity cases.”
“I’m not a charity case,” I protested. “I happen to like that suitcase! What the hell is this about anyway?”
Drake stepped right up to me, towering over me and sending a tingle of…something down my spine. I’m not sure—it might have been fear, but knowing what I know now, it was probably lust. “Do not ever speak to me like that again, or I’ll have you out on your ass. And I’ll need to come up with some story for you. Can’t have the customers thinking you’re poor.”
“You’re a real asshole, you know,” I snapped back. “I don’t think Blake would like the way you’re talking to me.”
Oh yeah, now his face was red. “Get downstairs now. We need to show you what you’ll be doing.”
He spun around and left, slamming the door as he went. All I wanted to do at that point was take my sweet ol’ time, but that wouldn’t be fair to the other brother. At least I knew who I’d be avoiding in the future.
When I got downstairs, I could hear a small radio playing from one of the rooms and made my way over. It was just Blake in the room, thank goodness.
“Hey, so, I hear that you’ve met Drake already,” he said, grinning.
“Uh, yeah, it was…quite the introduction,” I said, stepping into the room with my hands in my jeans pockets.
“I guess you put him in his place,” said Blake, laughing. “He told me he was going for a walk. Don’t mind him.”
“What was up with that anyway?”
“He’s just a bit high strung,” Blake explained. “He likes things a certain way. We used to be investment guys on Wall Street—real big shots. But we made our money and got out of the game, bought this place. Most of our guests are old clients, so it’s rather upscale. And Drake likes to worry about those things. He’s a bit pretentious. You’ll fit in just fine, though.”
“When does the rest of the help arrive?”
“Not until the day we open,” he said. “You’re the only one to help us set up.”
“Stuck in the mountains with you guys for two weeks, eh?”
He flashed me a toothy smile—Jesus, I hadn’t noticed those canines before. That familiar tingle raced down my spine and gripped me. “Ah, come on, it’s not that bad.”
“Didn’t say it was,” I said with a wink. “I’m looking forward to winning him over.”
“Hah! Good luck!”
After that, Blake set to showing me how the rooms were supposed to be set up and how to arrange everything. He told me it would take the larger part of the three days to finish the whole lodge.
I started in right away. Blake left me the radio to listen to and I set to arranging each of the rooms with meticulous care.
It was getting dark and I’d made it through nine rooms and was on my tenth when I heard the unmistakable sound of Drake coming up the stairs. Somehow, I’d met the guy just once, and just for a minute, but I could rarely be more certain of anything as I was that it was his feet pounding up to the landing and moving swiftly down the hallway.
He burst into the room just as I was setting out a box of tissues on the nightstand. “Alright, let’s see how the little smart-ass is doing.” He stood there with his arms folded over his broad chest as he surveyed the room, looking like a cross between Hugh Jackman and Bluto.
“Does it meet your specifications, your majesty?” Since Blake had given me the pep-talk I felt somewhat safe ribbing Drake.
His eyes narrowed on me and he stormed over to me, pointing at the bed sheets. “What the fuck is this?”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. I seriously had no idea what he was on about. “What? I made the bed.” I looked at it. Seemed fine to me. “What’s the problem?”
“The wrinkle,” he said. “The sheet isn’t flat.”
“I don’t see anything, and I doubt any one could see anything.” I went back to arranging the nightstand.
Suddenly, there was a hand on the back of my head, turning me and forcing my face down to the mattress. “Do you see that?” His face was close to mine, speaking low and clear.
I had fallen to my hands on the bed, and Drake had a knee up on it with me. I could feel the heat of his body on me and the controlling force of his powerful hand. This time I was certain—it was arousal that was flooding my senses. I’d never been handled like that before. I’m not the smallest girl in the world, and no man other than this beast would have been able to do that to me, even if they’d dared.
“Get the hell off of me, you creep,” I snarled at him. Hot or not, a lady’s gotta have standards of respect.
He pushed me over so that I was on my back as he held himself over me. His right leg was pressed against mine and I could feel the outline of his thick manhood pressing against me. He leaned in, bringing his nose close to mine. For the first time I could look directly into his hazel eyes. I sensed some sort of conflict in his eyes. “Wait here.”
He pushed off of the bed and moved swiftly out of the room. It was remarkable the grace a man of his size and brutishness could have. I heard him in the other rooms and my heart sank.
When he came back his arms were full of white sheets, crumpled in a ball in his arms. “You’ll start from the beginning and this time you’ll get it right,” he said, tossing the sheets at the foot of the bed. He stepped back over to me, where I was still sitting on the edge, bringing his face unnecessarily close to mine again. “Is that understood?”
He reached underneath me, his hands brushing my ass and grabbing the sheets, yanking up and tearing them off the bed in one swoop, spinning me violently in the process. “Hey, what the fuck!?” I regained my balance and looked at him intensely, sizing him up. “You know, I bet you’re just an asshole to cover up the fact that you’re a big ol’ teddy bear on the inside, aren’t ya?” I grinned mischievously and reached out my fingertips and dug them into his ribs, wiggling them back and forth.
His face was dead cold. “What did you just say?”
“You’re like a big ol’ teddy bear?” He didn’t move. He didn’t react. Just stared down at me. I couldn’t quite figure out what his face was trying to say. Something changed behind his eyes. “You okay? It was just a joke.”
He stepped away from me. “Get back to work.”
And then I was alone.
It occurred to me that as soon as he left the room I might burst into tears, but I held it together. I was a bit of a mess in my head, though. I was running through such a rush of emotions all at once. Fear, anger, lust…all balled together and burning from my brain right down to my nether parts. I hadn’t even been there one full day and already I was getting put through the ringer. I wasn’t entirely certain that I could make it through two weeks of this until they opened, much less through the whole season, when Drake was certain to be even more uptight about the patrons’ supposed perceptions and needs.
I brought the sheets back to each of the rooms and started over. I’d only made it through the third room for the second time when Blake came to check up on me.
“Hey, how’s it going,” he said, knocking on the door and poking his head in. “I thought you might have been further along by now…”
I jumped up from where I was kneeling. “I’m sorry! I did do more, but Drake wasn’t happy, so he asked…”
Blake just laughed. “Say no
more. Here, let me give you a hand.”
“You…you don’t have to do that,” I said.
“It’s the least I could do to make up for my asshole brother,” he said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “He doesn’t mean anything by it. I think he’s actually a bit smitten. Which just makes him more…him.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Hah, yeah. It doesn’t make him very popular with the ladies, I can say that.”
“I’ll say. I’m not quite so interested in that brother.” Oh jesus christ, did I really just say that?
Blake just laughed. “Is that so?”
In for a penny… “You could say that.”
“I’m pretty sure you just did.”
“I have my tastes.”
“You should be careful,” he said, still smiling, but with his eyes narrowing somewhat seriously. I had no idea how serious it was.
In for a pound… “Oh, I can take care of myself,” I said, reaching out and brushing his arm.
His hand shot up light lightning wrapping around my wrist and pulling me close. His other hand held me by the back of my neck as he spun me onto my back on the bed. Twice in one day by two men…jeez.
Blake growled at me, smiling, those fearsome canines seemingly longer than before. “Maybe I’d like to have a plaything for the next few months.” The hand on the back of my neck slid around until it was wrapped around my throat—only, with Blake I didn’t feel threatened.
Pound for pound… “Maybe I’d like to be a plaything.”
He licked his lips then curled them away, covering his teeth. His grin receded as he sat back up. And all I wanted was for him to stay on top of me, pressing me down, taking me…
“You should get back to work,” he said.
Don’t give him the satisfaction. “I guess I should.”
His eyes were hungry as he backed out of the room and closed the door.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was my absolutely unreal introduction to the brothers Blake and Drake. Of course, the intensity only ratcheted up from there.
I’m still not sure what ended up happening behind the scenes—if they ever discussed their feelings about me with each other, but I at least knew what was up. I knew that they both had the hots for me, but that they were both reticent to do anything about it.
Drake seemed to make a point of appearing in rooms with me when he knew Blake wouldn’t be around for a while. I went from dreading those appearances of his, when he’d shake me to the bones with his booming baritone and perhaps undo a bit of my work in an attempt to put me in my place. He always stood close to me, towering, or with his hands on me, powerful and strong—his way of outwardly asserting some sort of absurd dominance, though I feel that I knew the truth behind those actions. He’d stand just a little closer than was necessary, or touch me a little longer than made sense.
That was my chance to mess with him right back. If he put a hand on my shoulder, I’d just put my hand on top of his, rubbing it gently, talking in a soft voice and coaxing him. It was plain as day that all he really wanted was to throw me down on the bed and fuck my brains out right then. Whether out of respect for his brother’s own crush, or for the pristine state of his precious lodge’s rooms, he never did. I, on the other hand, made it my personal mission to provoke him into taking me—hard and without restraint.
And, well, I may have held the same mission for Blake as well. Dropping my chips on black and red, ya know? If I was going to be stuck up on this mountain for the next few, cold months, I wanted to get some fun out of it. While Drake was tied up in some strange pseudo-pretention, Blake seemed to hold himself back on a sense of propriety, not wanting to interfere with an employee.
He didn’t help himself, though, by always seeming to show up right after his brother, there to check in on me and make sure Drake hadn’t been altogether too mean. And I appreciated every second, making sure he’d sit down with me, and perhaps playing up how affected I was by Drake. I’d rest my head on his firm, muscled shoulder and feel his warmth, running my fingernails up and down his thighs.
The first guests were due to arrive on Friday evening and we finished early on Wednesday afternoon. Drake had driven into town to pick up a few last minute items and Blake and I sat in the bar downstairs, knocking back a few tasty drinks and letting our flirting get a bit out of hand for the first time since that first day on the bed.
I told him I wanted to take a walk and asked him to show me around some of the forest trails around the lodge. He suggested we take a walk over to a stream that ran down along the side of the mountain.
As we walked along, slowly our finger bumped against each other and then they intertwined. Suddenly, we were holding hands. My hand looked almost like a doll’s in his meaty fist. When we got to the stream, I rested my head against his forearm until it was almost as if I could feel the anticipation sparking off of his flesh.
I wrapped my arms around his and pulled him down until he finally bent to my will and brought his face close to mine. This sexy mountain man’s lips were just a breath away from mine—literally—and I could barely stand it.
Just a touch—one touch—from those lips and I’d be undone. I knew it, I was sure, absolutely certain. One touch, one kiss…
CRRAGGSSSHHH
A tree behind us seemingly exploded and Blake instinctively covered me with his arms.
“YOU MOTHER FUCKER!”
That…that sounded like Drake.
“You know damn well that it’s my bear that’s been calling out to mate with her!” Blake had released me, moving me over to the side so he could face his brother, who I could now see clearly.
“You don’t get a say, Drake,” my bold protector proclaimed. “You’ve been an asshole to her for two weeks now. Go back to the house. She’s mine to mate with.”
Mate? Did I hear that right?
“I’ll tear your fucking throat out,” Drake growled. He was…changing. Somehow. At first it was imperceptible and I swore that my eyes were playing tricks on me. “You know how important this is to me. You know this is the first time for me. You know…you know how I feel about her!” What? What did he just say? I felt a flutter in my stomach.
Blake took a step to the side farther away from me as I noticed the same strange aura surrounding his body as well. His arms bulked and rounded and the hair began to thicken. His back rounded and he fell forward onto his knuckles. He roared—swear to god, roared—at Drake. “You can’t just have what you want! You have to treat people right—and I’ll protect her from you as long as I have too.” And now that flutter began an utter churning storm.
Drake fell forward as well, and in moments their faces were changing elongating, growing snouts, and their whole bodies filled up against their clothing until they shredded into pieces around them.
They were bears! Werebears!
They charged at each other across the small clearing and collided with the full force of their bodies, exploding the air between them with the force of their attack and the energy of their roars.
Blake caught Drake across the jaw with a well placed swat, then swept under to bowl him over. But pound for pound, Drake was the stronger fighter, even if Blake was the better. Blake landed quicker, more accurate assaults, but when Drake hit, he hit hard, stunning Blake and sending him backwards against a tree, splintering the trunk.
So, dear reader, that is how I ended up with two men for whom I’d developed some serious attraction, if not affection fighting brutally over me. One to claim me, one to protect me—and frankly, I’m not sure which is hotter. But it was all quite endearing in a heart-stopping sort of way.
“Stop!” I cried out. I didn’t want them to hurt each other. I hadn’t had time to digest the supernatural insanity of what I was witnessing. All I saw and understood was that two men I had grown to care about were close to ripping each others’ heads off, and I was the only one who could stop it.
“Stop it!” I tried again, to no avail. They wouldn�
��t listen. I had only one option left to me. I needed to place myself between them. At the time, there was no way I could’ve known if they had full control of their emotional or intellectual faculties while in that form—as far as I could tell, they were just two bears, duking it out in the forest. I was an idiot to think I could stop them. A lucky idiot, as it turns out.
“I said fucking stop!” As their latest two attacks sent them both tumbling away from each other, I raced to stand in-between their two bodies and threw my arms out to both sides. “Please!”
The bears on either side of me composed themselves and fell to all fours, snarling as they padded slowly towards me, teeth bared. Their eyes betrayed little of the humanity held inside of them and as their noses pressed against my hands, I was certain that I was going to be devoured then and there.
I had no idea how right I was.
“Please, can’t we just…all have fun together,” I suggested. “You don’t need to fight. And I don’t need to choose. If that’s okay with you.”
Their bear faces turned up a little and I thought I read confusion in them. They slowly moved around so that they were both facing me, and sat up on their back legs so that they towered terrifyingly over my tiny frame.
“It’s a couple of months. It’s just some fun, right?”
The brother bears looked at each other and as imperceptibly as they had turned into bears, they slowly returned to human form until their two ruggedly handsome faces were finally staring at me.
“I don’t think you really understand the situation here,” said Blake.
“I didn’t realize I was missing something,” I said. “Except the…bear thing, I suppose.”
“You suppose?” Drake chuckled.
“We’re not just men,” Blake began. “We have this bear inside of us. It controls some aspects of our lives, and we’re always fighting to stay in control. It’s part of why we had to quit the City. It was getting harder and harder to control ourselves. And wild bears roaming around Central Park tend to get noticed.”
“And when we take a mate,” said Drake, “we take them for life.”