Georges grinned at Nouel. “Thank you. I’d be more than happy to keep her occupied and do my part to convince her to stay.”
Nouel settled down in bed and snuggled with the woman in his arms. Sharing a Mate wasn’t going to be easy but if they remembered that she was their focus then perhaps they could make it work after all. With Luc working on the Roadrunner, Nouel decided that this afternoon would be the perfect opportunity for Georges to have some alone time with their Mate. We need a schedule. That was the best idea he’d had in a long time. What could go wrong with that idea?
He’d dozed off for a bit but it was the mouthwatering smells of sweet caramelized onions and garlic, that roused him again. Clara stirred in his arms and sleepily blinked her eyes open.
“Oh, hi.” Her cheeks flushed a rose colour when she realized that she was sleeping on Nouel’s chest. “I hope I didn’t drool on you.”
Nouel felt a laugh bubble in his chest, but he tamped it down in case she took it the wrong way. “I was sound asleep, too, and wouldn’t have known if you did,” he said, hoping to ease her concerns. “How about you and I clean up and go get something to eat? Georges is cooking up some lunch downstairs.”
Clara’s blush deepened at the mention of his brother and she looked away from him. She was such an interesting mix of innocence and intoxicating sexuality. “Do you know how irresistible you are? I’d love to stay up here all day but I think Georges and Luc will get jealous if I hog all your attention.”
“I think you’re exaggerating, Nouel.” Clara pushed herself up but kept the sheet pressed to her chest, hiding her body.
“Want to place a wager on that?” Nouel tugged at the sheet but she wouldn’t let go. “I bet the two of them will do everything they can to get your attention at lunch.”
“Would that bother you, you know…since we…”
Nouel wanted to nip any of her concerns in the bud. If this was going to work, they needed to be honest with each other. “Clara, my brothers and I are incredibly close and enjoy sharing. If you were to agree to it, we could make you feel more than you ever imagined.”
Her eyes opened wide. “The three of you share…the same woman? Really? Is that allowed?”
“We have in the past, although I haven’t had the pleasure since before I went to New Zealand.” Nouel could see the wheels turning in her head as she contemplated what he said. “What we do in our home is our business and no one else’s. There are quite a few ménages in town so it’s not that strange here.” He took advantage of her distraction to tug the sheet from under her grip, exposing her beautiful breasts. I hope Georges is taking his time making lunch.
* * * *
Georges slowly added another ladle of broth to his pot and continued stirring the risotto he was making. Good thing, because he knew he couldn’t leave the kitchen while making this and that was the only thing that stopped him from going back upstairs and crawling into his brother’s bed and curling around the soft warm sleeping woman there. Although, from the sounds coming down the stairs a few minutes ago, I don’t think she’s sleeping anymore.
He’d heard the water turn on for the shower upstairs and then the unmistakable tones of a woman in the throes of pleasure. His inner animal head-butted his human rationale. Part of him wanted to rush up there and pull his Mate out of Nouel’s arms and hide away with her. He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t a bit jealous that their younger brother was the first to seduce her, but quickly to reminded himself that kind of thinking was what drove their older brother mad.
When the three of them had first come up with the idea of sharing a woman, it had seemed like a perfect solution, aside from the long wait to find the perfect female. Now that she was here, Georges was realizing their theory was much easier said than done. Luc had his head buried into the Roadrunner and was practically rebuilding the engine to keep himself busy.
“Damn that smells good.”
Speak of the devil. Luc came into the kitchen and immediately over to the pot Georges was stirring. “I love it when you make risotto. What’s in it?”
“Mushrooms and caramelized onions. I needed something to keep myself busy.”
Luc looked up at the ceiling, and Georges saw the same longing in his brother’s expression that he was feeling. “Did Nouel get the taxes sorted out? I heard him swearing to himself in the office when I came in to refill our coffees.”
“I didn’t look. When I came in to start lunch…they were up in his room.” Georges would never forget the sound of Clara’s orgasm. “They’re in the shower now.”
Luc rubbed his face and blew out what sounded like a frustrated huff. “This is going to be harder than I thought. Maybe we should have all approached her at once.”
“You’re as impatient as I am.” Georges ladled some more broth into the pot and kept stirring. The starch was starting to come out of the rice, turning the dish thick and creamy. “We had the right idea to start, even if it doesn’t seem like such a great idea now because you and I have to wait. I have to be honest. I’ve got a new understanding for what drove our brother.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been fighting the urge to go upstairs and challenge Nouel for her. It’s dumb. We don’t have to follow our instincts, but it’s not easy.” Luc paced back and forth across the kitchen and then stopped to stare out the window.
The snow storm had settled down to a heavy falling of large fluffy flakes. Most of the roads in the area had been closed until the plows could get out and phone and cable were out. Not that it mattered that much to a town of shape-shifters.
“Maybe we should make a schedule or something, between the three of us. That might help alleviate this nagging urge to butt heads,” Luc suggested before heading over to the coffee pot and refilling his mug.
“You know you should probably cut back on the caffeine a bit. It might be adding an extra edge to your aggression.”
Luc looked at him as if he’d lost his mind and then narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t I kick your ass instead?”
Georges’s inner buck slammed against his thoughts. If Luc thought he was tougher just because he was older, than Georges would be happy to prove him wrong. “Why don’t you try?”
It was a knock at the door that stopped Georges from charging at his brother and working off this aggression.
“Hey, guys, you around?”
“In here, River,” Georges called out. Luc sat back down in his chair and held out his fist. Georges bumped his fist against his brother’s, an old habit the two of them developed as kids. A sign that neither had hard feelings toward the other but they’d simply let their aggression get the better of them.
“I checked in the shop first but didn’t see either of you in there.” River McNamara entered the kitchen, almost bouncing with excitement. River always seemed excited about something. The heavy footsteps that joined hers let him know that one of her Mates was with her.
“How did you get your truck through the road? I thought they were closed.” Georges got back to stirring his risotto before it burned. Good thing I made a huge batch of this.
“We walked.” Hugh McNamara entered behind River, pulling a sweater over his head, obviously getting dressed after being in bear form. He must have made the path for River to follow in. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Hugh came over after their talk yesterday. Georges had hoped that the snow would have given them a few days’ grace but he should have known better.
“Coffee?” Luc asked and Hugh nodded. “Hot chocolate, River?”
“Oh, yes, please. So where is she?” River leaned over Georges’s pot and inhaled deeply. “Damn, that smells delicious.”
“Good thing I made a lot then.” Georges grinned at River and she bounced and smiled back. “And Clara is upstairs with Nouel. I would imagine they’ll be down shortly. Can you grab some bowls from the cupboard for me?”
“I can’t wait to meet her.” The McNamaras lived about a kilometer down the road and being the closest neigh
bor, they’d gotten to know each other really well since Hugh, Boyd, and Gavin moved into town. River put the bowls next to the stove and the four of them discussed some of the new machinery the McNamaras had gotten over at the brewery as Georges finished cooking.
When he was finally content with the consistency of the risotto, he filled a couple bowls and sprinkled a handful of freshly grated parmesan on top. Nouel entered the kitchen holding Clara’s hand as she trailed behind him, almost hiding. Her cheeks were a dark pink colour and she looked adorable in a pair of tights with a sweatshirt overtop and big fuzzy socks.
“Hi, guys. I’d like you to meet Clara.” Nouel introduced her to River, Hugh, Boyd, and Gavin as Georges filled four more bowls. Clara smiled but hadn’t met either his or Luc’s gaze yet, which bothered him. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable and worried that perhaps Nouel had jumped the gun with her. Maybe they should have waited, but he knew that Nouel would have made certain she was okay with it and she was sound asleep curled up against him upstairs earlier.
They all sat down at the table and Nouel placed a kiss on the top of her head before coming over and picking up the two bowls and a handful of spoons. He sent Georges a shit-eating grin and Georges fought the streak of jealousy that burned through him followed quickly by the urge to toss his brother into a snowbank.
Luc made certain that everyone had something to drink before sitting down in the seat to the left of Clara, and Nouel wisely placed the first two bowls in front of River and Clara. At least he still remembers his manners somewhat. Georges filled up five more bowls and then came to the table. Nouel wisely left the seat to Clara’s right open for him to sit down in.
“For rabbit food, this is really good, Georges.” Boyd smiled but Georges didn’t take offense. The McNamaras often ribbed him and his brothers about their eating habits.
“You know if you need a really good burger, Clara,” Gavin said to Clara across the table, “you’re welcome to come to our place one day.”
Luc’s spoon froze halfway to his mouth and Georges understood the anger that must have flooded his brother’s thoughts because he was feeling the same thing. Clara frowned slightly at the youngest McNamara, a little crinkle creasing her brow. She looked like she was about to lose her temper but then her expression smoothed out.
“No, thanks, I’m a vegetarian,” Clara answered calmly and Georges almost laughed out loud at the look on Hugh’s face. “The only meat I’m interested in is theirs.”
Nouel choked on his risotto, trying to stifle a laugh. Georges didn’t see the expressions on the McNamara brothers’ faces because he was too busy staring at the incredible woman beside him. She calmly ate her lunch as if she hadn’t just put three big bears in their place. Her cheeks were red enough to rival a tomato but he loved the steel backbone she’d shown and he hoped she didn’t hesitate in standing up to him and his brothers as well. That much strength would translate into a hell of a lot of passion in the bedroom.
“That’s putting him in his place,” River crowed before leaning over and pressing a kiss against Hugh’s cheek. “Play nice.”
Hugh grunted and then smiled at his Mate. That is what Georges wanted in his life. A Mate that would tease him and not let him get away with too much either. The conversation settled down to normal things like the weather and the plans for the Big Bear Brewery. River managed to get Clara to open up about her home and family as she and Hugh discussed people they both knew.
He and Luc casually flirted with Clara during lunch and Georges felt his heart skip a beat every time her attention was completely on him. He liked having her focus on him and her orgasmic cries still echoed in his thoughts. Nouel was very interested in some of the experiments that Boyd was doing with some new beers and Nouel was thrilled when Hugh invited him over to the brewery to sample some of them.
“You’re all welcome to come over of course,” Hugh added.
“I’ve torn apart some of the Roadrunner’s engine this morning and need to get it back together before I decide to tear into more of it.” Luc pushed away from the table and collected everyone’s dirty dishes. Clara had eaten two servings of Georges’s risotto and he couldn’t have been happier that she enjoyed his cooking.
“I’m not really a beer person, so it would be wasted on me but thank you for the invite.”
“We’re going to do some work on Clara’s car this afternoon, too,” Georges added. “She has some travel plans and her car has been acting up. I don’t want her to get in the middle of nowhere and have her car break down again.”
“Her car broke down?” River looked at Georges and he tried to act as nonchalant as possible, praying that she didn’t divulge any information about the incident with Tara’s car.
“I’d noticed that it was running a little rough yesterday. Georges was nice enough to take a look at it and found the problem.” Clara’s comment didn’t do anything to relieve Georges of the guilt gnawing at him.
“That’s too bad. Good thing it happened here.” River’s eyebrow twitched as she looked over at him. Georges hoped his expression wasn’t echoing any of the guilt he was feeling at the blatant lie. “I hope they can fix it quickly.”
Thankfully, Hugh distracted his Mate and the conversation slid into safer territory. The next time Georges glanced over at Clara, River was whispering something to her. He hoped that she hadn’t told Clara about how they were involved with keeping Tara in town. He didn’t like lying to her about her car but it was the only thing he could come up with to prevent her from leaving. Georges now completely understood Lars and Cris’s desperation a few months ago. He and his brothers needed time to get to know Clara. Thankfully the weather had worked in their favour, but would it be enough?
She was the most mystifying woman he’d ever met. His buck recognized Clara as his Mate and the subtle scent of her arousal that still clung to her skin was driving him mad. But, there was something distinctly wrong with her scent. There was almost no trace of her bear. He’d heard of shifters that practiced hiding the scent of their inner creatures, but he was fairly certain that was an urban legend. Clara didn’t strike him as a military person or some sort of highly trained black-ops spy. Which left him questioning, what she was running from?
Chapter Six
Clara shoved the last spoonful of the most amazing risotto she’d ever eaten in her life into her mouth to stop from yelling “no” when Nouel mentioned going over to the brewery this afternoon. It wasn’t that she was afraid to be alone with his brothers. She found them as equally attractive as Nouel. She just didn’t want them to feel obligated to spend time with her if they didn’t want to.
Keep telling yourself that. She couldn’t make sense of the conflicting emotions she felt when they were all near her. It was like this was her own private haven she never wanted to leave, but there was also the need that pulsed inside her soul. It both scared and excited her. Did Nouel tell his brothers what they did?
From the smirk on Georges’s face when they came in the room earlier, she suspected that he’d figured it out. Luc wasn’t as easy to read. He’d avoided eye contact for the most part and hadn’t done anything to make her think he was interested in her at all. Part of her wanted them to stay away from her, but the other part wanted to know what it would be like to be shared by more than one man. She had to admit the thought of Luc and Georges watching her with Nouel certainly did send a rush of heat straight between her legs.
As the talk dissolved into sports and business, Clara noticed that River moved a bit closer to her. “I figured this would give us a chance to talk while the six of them bond. Once they start talking business, they’re distracted for at least fifteen minutes.”
Clara smiled at the vivacious woman and shrugged. “My dad and his friends are the same way. I’m used to being ignored.”
River gave her a bit of an odd look before shrugging. “I mean you know if you were going to be staying here for a while then you and I need to get to know each other. Being Mated to t
hree headstrong men isn’t easy. I’ll introduce you to Carol. She’s Mated to the Henderson brothers and sometimes it’s nice to vent to someone who really understands.”
She’d been watching how Hugh, Boyd, and Gavin acted with River very carefully since they arrived. The three bears hadn’t come across the same aggressive way her father and his friends did. River didn’t look like she was oppressed in any way. In fact, Clara couldn’t help but see the love that each of them felt for each other in their expressions. She had to accept the obvious proof that the bears she was used to were not common. She’d been afraid that coming face to face with three large Ursus would make her control crumble but the McNamaras didn’t put her on edge at all.
“Oh, I’m just having some fun. We’re not Mates or anything. As soon as the roads open up again then I’m heading on my way.” Saying the words out loud gave her a strange ache in her chest. It’s not like I want to stay here. I have plans. “There is so much I want to do and see in the world, I’m not settling down now.”
“Hugh told me a bit about where you came from. I grew up in a…sequestered place, too. I understand what you mean by wanting to experience things. You know there’s no reason why you can’t explore things with the guys.” She nodded slightly toward Luc, Georges, and Nouel as she spoke.
“I doubt they’ll be interested in anything I want to do.”
“If you say so, but I bet you find out you’re wrong.” River lifted her purse and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen topped with a glittery skull. “I’m going to give you my cell number and you can call me any time, day or night, if you need help or simply need a break.”
Clara took the paper and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans, not wanting to argue about her temporary stay here. There were so many reasons why she had to leave, starting when she’d looked at her phone earlier and seen three missed calls from her father and two from Eddie. They would figure it out sooner or later that she wasn’t coming back. Then her father would make some stupid rash decision during a temper tantrum, all because she’d really defied him this time. He’d tolerated what he considered her minor defiance, like refusing to eat meat, but refusing to come back was something completely different. If he ever found out that she’d had sex with anyone outside of their species, he’d beat the hell out of her.
Chasing Peace, Love & Fur [3xtasy Lake 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8