Katrina moaned and took in a sharp inhale before groaning again, her eyelids fluttering as she felt Alex and Quentin continue to move inside of her, back and forth, like passion sausages rolling in an ocean of desire.
Alex and Quentin held onto Katrina as she came. Quentin muffled her moans with his kisses while Alex massaged her thick, hefty flanks. Alex felt her creamy skin underneath his fingertips. It was hard to tell what was creamier — Katrina’s skin or her honeypot, which was twisting and gripping him for dear life.
Quentin pulled out and unleashed his load on Katrina’s stomach. Alex pressed into Katrina one last time before he had his own release. The two werebears fell to Katrina’s sides. Katrina lay down on the bed, exhausted. The sheets were sticky from the summer heat and humidity, but they were soft and cushioned her curves.
“Back to bed,” said Katrina, rolling over, her sweaty bedhead in tangles.
“Nuh-uh-uh,” said Alex, rolling Katrina back over. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
Katrina closed her eyes and opened the covers, swinging her legs out the side of the bed. “You know, if you want to get a curvy gal out of bed…don’t feed her enough breakfast to put her into a food coma, and don’t tell her there’s a long day ahead of her.”
“Would it help if the long day started with a group shower?” asked Quentin. “The ‘private’ shower is available.”
“Well, now you’re talking,” said Katrina, grabbing a towel.
* * *
The rocky shore of the river’s beach had a set of picnic tables. Katrina sat at the table while Quentin and Alex unloaded the picnic basket. She could smell the crispness of the fresh running water of the river and hear it in the background.
She couldn’t see it, because she was blindfolded.
Quentin and Alex had insisted upon having her put on a blindfold while they put out the food. Finally, they took off her blindfold.
Katrina looked over the table. Her hands went up to her cheeks, which were as red as the roses in the vase on the table. There were chocolate dipped strawberries on a plate, the plate on a bowl filled with ice. There were three flutes of champagne, with marionberries at the bottom.
“When you two said we were going to have a snack by the river, I was expecting sandwiches,” said Katrina, eyes wide. “This looks amazing — and it’s not even frikkin’ Valentine’s Day!”
Katrina looked around. Autumn had come to Port Jameson, turning the leaves yellow and orange and even red. Maybe the leaves did suit romance after all.
“To celebrating Valentine’s Day in October, then,” said Alex.
“To autumn romance,” said Quentin, raising his glass.
“To romance, all year round,” said Katrina, clinking her flute with her lovers. “Now…these strawberries aren’t going to eat themselves.”
Katrina and the bears snacked on the berries and watched the autumn leaves fall and dance over the water, skimming the surface as if they were being skipped like stones across the river by Zephyr himself. Katrina was bundled up in a pumpkin orange beanie and scarf set, flecked with purple, red, and yellow specks that looked like the diverse colors of potatoes. She could feel the brisk wind on her cheeks. Sitting between Alex and Quentin meant that she didn’t really need the thick gray cable-knit sweater or crimson goose down quilted vest to stay warm.
As Katrina ate the last berry, she started to clean things up, but Alex stayed her hand. Katrina turned to Alex. “What? Given you two prepared all this, it makes sense that I should be the one that cleans up.”
“Well…I think that can wait,” said Alex.
“Why? What’s there left to do?” asked Katrina.
“Propose to you,” answered Quentin, who was on his knees, behind Katrina. Katrina turned so that her legs were now facing toward Quentin. Quentin was on the ground, holding a wooden ring box, and once Katrina was turned around, he opened the carved box, revealing a unique engagement ring, consisting of a solid, flat, thick band with various decorations.
The ring was unlike any Katrina had ever seen. The band was made of pale white silver. There was a center diamond, big, white, and faceted. Sprinkled around the ring, along its waves, there were points of brilliant blue and green stones, much shinier than the cobbles along the rocky beach. The emeralds and peridot gleamed with the green of the forest, the sapphires and topaz, with the blue of the sky. The ring’s river had no beginning, no end, just a current wrapped all around the thick bejeweled band.
On the inside, in handwriting she recognized as Quentin’s fae-like script, was a simple message: ‘Katrina and Quentin and Alex and,’ the letters spaced out so that it wasn’t clear where there was an end to the message, or, where there was a beginning, the message looping around, on and on, as it would forever and ever.
Alex slipped the ring on Katrina’s finger and joined Quentin, taking a knee on the hard rocks near Katrina’s seat.
“The band is silver, with grooves, so as the years go on, the ring will get darker,” explained Alex. “Some call it tarnish, but, well…I think it’ll add character.”
“As the years go by, the grooves of the river will get darker, making the river look deeper — just as our love will always deepen,” said Quentin.
“Will you ride the river of life with us?” asked Alex.
“Will you grant our own wish…and become our wife?” asked Quentin.
“Yes — of course!” said Katrina, wiping her tears away. Alex took that same hand, still wet with tears, and slid the thick ring onto her finger.
Katrina stood up and kissed Alex and Quentin on the lips, back and forth, while they held her, and, emotionally exhausted, she leaned into them and held them tightly.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Katrina.
“Can’t believe what?” asked Alex.
“These last few months…they’ve been magical,” Katrina assured Alex and Quentin, squeezing their hands and looking back and forth between them. “It’s just…now that we’re engaged, now what? What comes next?”
“Well…if we’re engaged, that means we have to have an engagement party,” said Quentin.
“And you two are going to fight over who gets to do the cooking?” asked Katrina.
Alex and Quentin exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” asked Katrina.
“One — I don’t think either of us wants to be stuck in the kitchen during our own engagement party,” said Alex.
“Two — I don’t think anyone wants burgers or grilled salmon at an engagement party,” said Quentin. “They want to eat chocolate covered strawberries, petit fours, and croquembouche.”
“Or, or, and bear with me on this one — maybe cupcakes,” said Alex. “This ain’t Paris, Quentin. I think cupcakes are fine.”
“Fine — but only because it gives us an excuse to have a cake testing,” said Quentin.
“And why would that matter?” asked Katrina.
“Well…you do know what this ring means, right?” asked Quentin, holding up Katrina’s hand and letting the ring glimmer in the light. “It means that we’ve got a real big cake to eat.”
“So, we should consider the cupcakes a trial run?” asked Alex.
“Exactly,” said Quentin. “Now…which bakery do you think we should hire to do the catering for these next two parties?”
“I think I know just the place,” said Alex.
* * *
“Cupcakes?” asked Patricia, taking notes. “Okay — and the colors? Alright. Well. You three come in for a tasting, and we can figure out the flavors. Oh — and we can go through the design book. We can do all that later. For now, you three should be having fun. Congratulations! Wait.”
Patricia pressed a button on the phone and activated speakerphone mode.
“Terrence and Darius are here,” said Patricia. “Did you want to tell them the news yourself?”
“Well, now that you’ve revealed that there’s news…” started Katrina.
/> “I guess we have to tell them what’s up,” said Quentin.
“Quentin and I proposed to Katrina — and she said yes,” said Alex. “We’re having an engagement party soon. Obviously, all three of you are invited…and the guest list is going to be a mile long.”
“Congratulations,” said Darius in his deep, booming voice. “Glad you finally really, really claimed your mate, Alex.”
“Congratulations to you, Quentin,” said Terrence.
Patricia ended the call.
“So, where were we?” asked Patricia. “Ah, yes — the seasonal orders, and orders for Halloween parties…”
“Wait, wait, wait,” said Darius. “Patty, we have something to celebrate! We need to get a drink.”
“Really?” asked Patricia. “Okay — fine.”
Patricia went to her office, to the minifridge, and pulled out three cheap beers. She carried them back to the meeting room.
“I don’t have to drive,” said Patricia. “Do you two?”
Both men shook their heads.
“Fine,” said Patricia, passing out the beers and cracking hers open. “And Darius — don’t think I didn’t hear you call me ‘Patty.’ Not cute!”
“It’s pretty frikkin’ cute, Patty,” admitted Terrence.
“Not you too!” groaned Patty.
“A toast,” said Darius. “To young love.”
“To young love,” Terrence agreed, raising his beer.
“To two more members of Grizzlyfir and Hemlock getting along,” said Patricia, raising up her cup. “And — to two more.”
“Two more?” asked Darius.
“That’s right,” said Patricia, after they’d all tapped cans. “After that incident in the pumpkin patch, my baker Pepper has ended up with two suitors of her own…”
“Oliver?” asked Darius.
“And Peter,” said Terrence, arms crossed. “Must be something in the air. Some kind of bug going around.”
“Is it that unbelievable? Is it really so hard to believe that three cross-crew ménages could work out?” asked Patricia.
“I don’t think that Peter and Oliver will get along,” said Darius. “It took the two of us to rip them apart!”
“Ancient history,” said Terrence
“It happened just a few weeks ago!” growled Darius.
“Well — in the name of love, let Hemlock Crew pay for the engagement party cupcakes for Katrina and Quentin and the other one,” said Terrence.
“Oh, no you don’t,” said Darius. “We don’t need your charity.”
“It’s not for your crew,” said Terrence. “It’s for the young couple — err, trio — and that just happens to include one of yours. Guess it shows that sometimes, our crews can work together…if they have to. You know that old nursery rhyme: Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater…had a mate, but couldn’t keep her…”
“Well, my Oliver has some twists up his sleeve,” said Darius, rolling up his own sleeves.
Patricia sighed as the two men squabbled like school children. Somethings could change, but somethings wouldn’t change — not until pigs flew.
Sneak Peek: Pumpkin Bears
This is an unedited Sneak Peek. The final product will be edited!
Oliver and Peter, pumpkin eaters, want a mate, but cannot keep her…
Curvy baker Pepper Reed is the Bear Claw Bakery’s pumpkin specialist, in charge of caring for their pumpkin patch and developing their pumpkin pastry recipes. This Halloween season, two bear shifters want her pumpkin pie — and neither is willing to share.
When Pepper checks on the pumpkin patch, a wild bear scares her into the arms of Grizzlyfir Crew’s head carpenter, lumberjack werebear Oliver. Pepper’s choice seems simple. Oliver’s handsome, charming, and building her a booth so that her pumpkin patch will be more popular than ever…but there are rumors about a ghost haunting the pumpkin patch!
When Hemlock Crew sends their new lumberjack Peter to guard Pepper from wild bears and to assist Oliver in constructing stuff for the pumpkin patch, Pepper develops an attraction to both shifters. She can’t resist a tall, dark, and handsome grizzly with a wild side. Which bear will Pepper pick — good guy Oliver, or bad boy Peter? Or, will the two bears’ bickering cause Pepper to boo both bears before she ghosts them?
The only things that could make things worse are the fact that there’s a rumor going around about the pumpkin patch being haunted by a ghost. Oh, and Pepper has to come up with a brand new pumpkin pie recipe for the bakery. This Halloween romance is full of tricks, but in the end, will Pepper get her treats?
Pepper Reed sat on the wrap-around deck of Bear Claw Bakery and looked over their yearly pumpkin patch. The pumpkins had grown in nicely, in shades of orange and white and green. She couldn’t wait until she got to arrange the pumpkins in a cute display in the display case of the Bear Claw Bakery’s main cafe area. She didn’t want to go into the patch until the apiarist came to collect his beehives.
She sipped her pumpkin latte. Unlike many other cafes, the Bear Claw Bakery’s cafes made their pumpkin lattes with both pumpkin spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and a hint of vanilla, as well as with a special pumpkin syrup made with real pumpkin pie filling. The top of her pumpkin latte had a dollop of whipped cream, sprinkled with pumpkin pie spices. She sat on the porch with her latte, eating a breakfast sandwich, when her boss, Patricia, came out to the porch.
“Hey, Patricia,” said Pepper, looking over her boss, who had a pile of lights in her arms. “Need any help with that?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” said Patricia. “I’ve got help.”
Patricia held the door open and out came two familiar faces — Darius and Terrence, the bosses two of the local lumber crews. Pepper knew the two disliked each other, and that the only person that could bring them together was Patricia. Like everyone else in town, Pepper had a suspicion about why the two werebears would put their differences aside for Patricia…
“Hey, Darius,” said Pepper. “Hey, Terrence. Helping hang the seasonal lights?”
They both nodded and started setting out their equipment on the well-worn tables on the deck.
“This year, we’re doing things differently,” said Patricia. “Every season, I change out the lights — and it’s super annoying. It takes me a whole frikkin’ day!”
“You mean it takes us a whole day,” quipped Terrence.
“I like spending the day with you, Patty,” said Darius.
“You two might be the only ones that can get away with calling me that,” said Patricia, rubbing her temples. “Anyway. It takes them a whole day to hang these lights up for me because we have to take down the old lights, put up new lights, and haul all this junk out of storage. Well…Darius asked why we don't just use the same lights all year round."
“That’s a good question — why don’t we just hang up some plain white lights and call it a year?” asked Pepper.
“Well — that’s what I was thinking,” admitted Patricia. “But, I know our customers love the atmosphere we have here at the bakery, and I didn’t want our bakery to become boring. So, Terrence had the great idea of installing some special lights.”
“Special lights?” asked Pepper.
“LED bulbs, that can change color, that you can program on your phone or computer,” explained Terrence. “I set them up for my mom a few years back. It’s a higher up-front cost, but it’ll save all of us time over the years.”
“Heck, it’ll save me time and money immediately,” said Darius. “Taking a day off to do this, well, it ain’t cheap — although of course, I’d do it for you, Patricia.”
“Oh, stop,” said Patricia, blushing. “Anyway — with these special lights, we can have them set up with, say, red and green for Christmas, or Christmas light colors like red, green, blue, yellow, and pink.”
“For the Fourth of July, you could have them in red, blue, and white,” commented Patricia. “What’s the first set of colors you want to try?”
“Well…that’s the thi
ng,” said Patricia. “I’m a little lost on that. Red, orange, and brown is a little too warm and dark for the deck. It’ll make people feel like they’re in a frikkin’ fireplace. I like fireplaces…but being in a fireplace, that’s not appealing.”
“How about pumpkin colors?” asked Pepper.
"I just said orange is too fiery," replied Patricia.
"No, look," said Pepper, motioning out at the pumpkin patch. "We've got white pumpkins, green pumpkins, and orange pumpkins. How about a warm white light, a nice greenish-yellow white light, and a pale orange-white light? Pepper in a few brighter green and orange bulbs in the mix, if you can do that in the settings."
"It'd look like a pumpkin patch," mused Patricia. "That's an adorable idea, Pepper."
"You know, you can get special covers for these lights," said Darius. "There are all kinds of shapes — stars, hearts, and I swear I saw some pumpkins, skulls, and Halloween stuff."
“I thought you thought these lights were too fancy,” said Terrence.
“Well, Patricia was into them, so I checked them out,” grumbled Darius.
“I can program in those colors,” said Terrence. “What’re you planning on doing with the pumpkin patch anyway?”
“What kind of a question is that?” asked Darius, still grumbling.
“Well, whatever we do, we have to wait until the beekeeper comes by to collect his beehives,” said Patricia, waving over toward the pumpkin patch. “He needed to leave them here for an extra week because something came up with some of his other hives.”
“And once they’re gone?” asked Terrence.
“We’ve always sold the pumpkins inside the cafe, but…business is booming, and we won’t have room inside the cafe for a display,” said Patricia. “Heck, we already barely have space for all our customers in the afternoon and at night.”
“All those high school kids love the bakery,” commented Pepper. “It’s too bad we can’t just set up a booth out in the patch and use it to sell the pumpkins.”
Miss Muffet’s Bears: Freshly Baked Furry Tails, Book 2 Page 12
