Morning came, the sunlight coming in through the curtains hanging at the little window. She opened her eyes and took in the room, strangely, it felt like home. There was no jolt of her memory telling her, no, this is not your room. Her memory was still missing a lot of pieces.
The steady rise and fall of the broad chest of the man lying next to her gave her some comfort. Aiden surely would not ask her to leave if she did not know where to go. However, horror struck her when she turned her gaze to his face. It was not the sweet natured Aiden next to her. It was Cyrus.
She jerked her head up, making sure she had seen right. He looked at her, and her heart skipped a beat. He made her insides turn to liquid fire, desire flickered across her face. She knew he had seen it, no matter how quickly she had pushed it aside. How was it possible to want both these men when they were so different?
Pushing herself away from him, she sat up, testing the state of her body. Her head still ached, but it was duller now, not as intense as the night before. The rest of her seemed in one piece, her legs still a little stiff, but nothing that would not walk off.
The only other thing that gave her some discomfort was her stomach, it was empty and she was ravenous. As if to confirm this there was a deep rumble, followed by a gurgling.
“Sorry,” she said to Cyrus.
Surprisingly he smiled, and her stomach flipped in a different way. He was dark and brooding, reminding her of Heathcliff. Was this her version of Wuthering Heights? She only hoped he was a bit nicer to women, but she suspected he was just as intense.
He sat up and dragged his hand through his thick hair, it was longer than current fashion dictated, but she got the feeling he was not the sort of man to follow fashion. In truth there were probably no rules this man liked to follow. Maybe she was attracted to bad boys.
Another question she could not answer.
Here she was having intimate feelings about two strangers when for all she knew she might have a boyfriend, or more. Lifting her left hand, she studied it, looking for any sign of a ring.
“What are you looking at? Does your hand hurt?”
She turned and looked at Cyrus. “No. I was looking to see if I was married. Or engaged.”
“Can you remember being married?” he asked quickly.
“No. But I still can’t remember anything much.”
He took her hand, and drew it towards him. He then, rather strangely, examined it himself, very thoroughly. She looked at the dark eyelashes fanning his eyes, they were long, and gave his eyes a softness she liked. Then her gaze went lower, taking in the fullness of his lips, wondering what they would be like to kiss.
“I can’t see any mark.”
“No. Neither could I,” she said, pulling her hand away and trying to think of anything other than how his lips would feel on her body.
He looked at her for a fleeting moment before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting up. “If you need the bathroom it’s the second door on the left.”
Vaguely pointing out of the room he got up and left, his large frame filling the door frame before he disappeared down the hallway. Maggie lay still, trying to recall the events that had brought her here, but they still would not come. Only that same sense of fear, and trying to get away from something. The only thing she was certain of right now though was that these men did not mean her any harm.
If they did, she would have found out by now. Just because they did not mean her any harm did not mean she was not in trouble, the way they made her feel was like a drug you could never get enough of. For Maggie this was like some kind of torture, would crushing on two desirable men mean twice the rejection? Would they enjoy her curves, or be turned off by them?
She could lie there no longer; she really did need the bathroom. Carefully she sat up, happy to find her head no longer pounded, tentatively she put her hand up to where she had hit it. There was a bump there, not too big, but the area around it felt bruised. When she looked at her hand, there was no blood on it, so the cut must have dried. Maybe she would get out of here today after all, away from the two men who made her feel so sexy and desirable before she got in too deep.
Walking to the bathroom, she realised this posed another question. If she had no memory of who she was, where would she go? The hospital or police station seemed the best course of action. However, the thought of being poked and prodded by strangers as they tried to figure out what to do with her did not appeal.
Following Cyrus’s directions, she did indeed find the bathroom. Standing while washing her hands, she looked in the mirror, trying to see if anything came back to her. Not a lot, sure she knew her name, and what she looked like, but that was about it. Her memories must be locked in there somewhere, but how she was supposed to get them out was a mystery. Perhaps she could get those two men to keep her, at least she would be safe, because right now the outside world seemed very scary, and she was alone.
Knowing she could not stay in the bathroom forever she went out, not sure what to do next. Going back to the bedroom, she sat down on the bed. Neither of the men came for her, so she got up, knowing that she needed something to eat. Her legs felt a bit wobbly, and her stomach definitely growled again.
Standing in the doorway, she listened, trying to figure out where to go, she certainly did not want them to think she was prying into their business by wandering around the house on her own. The only thing she could do was go down stairs and see if they were there. It was that or try the other rooms up here, but she quickly dismissed that as a sure way to end up in trouble, or in their bed.
“Stop it,” she told herself firmly when images of her and the two of them in bed filled her head. Perhaps if she had some idea of her life, and commitments, it might change the way she felt. The thing holding her back was that if there was a special someone waiting for her to come home, she was sure she was not the sort of woman who would cheat on them. Or was she? She groaned inwardly with frustration and went down the stairs, listening for any sign of the brothers.
“We still need to decide what we are going to do with her?”
Aiden’s voice drifted up the stairs, and she paused, not wanting to eavesdrop, but intrigued to know what they were saying about her.
“Keep her.” He paused. “I know you’re conscience won't let you. But you know how unlikely it was for us to find her out there.”
“You think that's an omen?” Aiden asked. When no answer came back he said, “And do you intend to tell her?”
Maggie’s heart began to hammer in her chest. She had been wrong, they were hiding something, and perhaps they were responsible for the blow to her head and her memory loss. Could she have got it so wrong? Thinking they were helping her when all along they were the ones she had been trying to get away from.
“You know that will not be easy. I don’t think she would understand.”
“Then we live a lie?”
“I don’t know, Aiden. But I sure can’t let her go like this. Where will she go? Who will she speak to who won't ask questions we don’t have answers for?”
“Let’s give it some time, see how she is this morning.”
Cyrus mumbled something she did not catch, and then there was the sound of plates being laid out on the table. She stood rooted to the spot, unable to move through fear of betrayal. They must surely be responsible for her being here, if not what were they hiding?
The sounds from the kitchen grew suddenly louder, and she realised that the door must have opened and one of them might be coming out. If they caught her here they would no doubt realise she had been listening to their conversation and take action. Maybe they would lock her up, or tie her to the bed.
There was nothing for it; she had to carry on as though nothing was wrong, one step at a time she resumed her descent of the stairs, only getting half way down before Aiden appeared.
“Hi, how are you feeling?” he asked smiling that warm comforting smile.
Trying not to look as though she were forcing it
, she smiled back. “Better, I think. My head doesn’t hurt, but I sure am hungry.”
“Breakfast is ready, come on, while it’s hot. No doubt you'll feel even better after a good meal.”
It certainly was a good meal. Her two captors ate so much that for once she felt as though she had the appetite of a sparrow. In fact, she ate more than she thought she could.
The danger she was in had done nothing to put her of the fluffy eggs and salty bacon they dished up. Maggie put it down to the need to keep her strength up. For she had formulated a plan. When they were both busy, and she was alone, she was going to make a run for it.
Where she would go was something she might have to give a bit of thought to, but she could not simply wait here for them to carry out their plan. Trying hard she kept her face neutral while they spoke to each other, only venturing into their conversation when they asked her something directly.
“I will be going out to check the traps later this morning,” Cyrus said. “I’ll have a look around where we found you for any clues to what happened. Hopefully there might be something to see in the daylight.”
“Thank you,” she said, while her head shouted “Liar”.
They finished eating in silence, Maggie taking note of the looks that passed between the two men. Cyrus pushed his chair back noisily and got up, going to the sink. He washed his plate, and after drying it, he turned to leave.
“I’ll be gone for a couple of hours,” he said, and then walked out.
Aiden smiled at Maggie. “He’s not exactly a people person.”
“Really. I thought it was just me.”
He laughed. “No, everyone on two legs.”
“How come you live here with him? You're not related?”
“No. We have been friends since we were kids. Growing up was tough, we're...different.”
She thought he was going to say more and then changed his mind. Maggie wanted to know more; perhaps it would help her make sense of why they wanted to keep her captive. There might also be a chance he might let something slip about who she was, because if they had kidnapped her or something they would know, surely.
“In what way are you different? When you said the same thing last night I thought you were gay.”
He nearly sprayed his coffee across the table. “Gay!”
“Yes, must have been the knock on the head, but I thought that was what you meant.”
Trying to recover his composure he said, “Two red blooded males here. Women only in our beds.” Then he hesitated and tried to recover himself. “Not that we have many women.”
If she had not been so worried about their intentions towards her she would have found him hard to resist. He was vulnerable, despite his obvious physical strength there was an innocence to him. Maggie longed to find out where that stemmed from, and to help him get over it.
“You live out in the middle of nowhere. Is that because you are different?” Maggie did not know if she was pushing too far with her questions. She would be better to simply keep her mouth shut and bide her time.
“Cyrus has a bit of temper, so it seemed to be the ideal place to live.”
“You must be very close. To give up a normal life for Cyrus.”
“Our lives were never going to be normal. This way no one asks questions.”
He looked at her, and she knew he had said more than he had planned. “Sorry. You're so easy to talk to. I guess it’s because I’m not used to company. Anyway,” he said rising. “Chores to do.”
He went to the sink and began to wash up their breakfast things. “Do you want a hand?”
“No. Go rest, I’ll come and take a look at your head after I’ve done this. I’m guessing you feel OK.”
“Much better thank you. I might take some fresh air, if you don’t mind.”
“No. Put a coat on though, it’s cold out there. There’s some hanging up by the front door.”
“Thanks,” she said, slipping out of the kitchen and going straight to the door. She would have to be quick, it would not take him long to do the dishes, but this would be the best chance she had today to run.
Grabbing the first coat she found, she put it on quickly, wrapping it around herself tightly to shield her body from the cold air, and went outside. Keeping to the side of the house away from the kitchen, where she hoped Aiden was still doing his chores, she made her way into the woods surrounding the house.
At first the trees were not too dense, but the further she travelled, the slower the going became, if she had any hope of getting away she would need to find a path. Stopping, she took in their surroundings.
The ground sloped away a little further on, and she guessed this might lead down to a road or at least a track. She had nothing to lose, still having no idea of where she was or where she had come from.
Plunging on down hill made things a little faster, but she soon became breathless and a little dizzy. Her head began to throb and the enormity of the situation hit her. If she collapsed out here in the open, the cold would soon finish her off. It had been foolish to run away like this.
Surely, she was safer in the house with Aiden and Cyrus, than out here. She went back over their conversation, was there any way she could have got it wrong. They definitely had something to hide, yet Aiden had been quite open about them being different. Perhaps if she found out what that difference was she might understand them better.
Too late, looking around she realised she could not find her way back to the house if she tried.
Fatigue weighed down on her, her pace became so slow she might not have been moving forward at all. She wanted to sit down and rest, but that would mean certain death. She had to keep moving.
As she walked on she heard an unfamiliar sound, maybe it was to do with the bits of her memory that were missing, but she was sure she had never heard it before. A wild animal sound, trying hard she pressed herself to remember. Still nothing.
There it was again, an animal in distress perhaps, calling for help. She wanted to go to it, compelled to answer its need, but the sound frightened her too. Closer now, it came again, she might end up meeting it whether she wanted to or not.
Maggie began to pick up her pace, willing herself to go faster, there was no doubt the animal was tracking her, and it was big, the sound of it moving through the trees making that plain. Why had she left the security of the house, she had been safe there, at least from the beast that was going to eat her. Yet there were no creatures like that in England, it was impossible.
So close now she could catch glimpses of it behind her, fear took over and she began to run, the branches whipping her face in her headlong dash down the hill. She could not sustain it, not that it mattered, the beast was nearly upon her. Turning to see what was chasing her she lost her balance, tripping over a tree root before falling headlong down onto the damp ground.
The last thing she saw before she passed out was a large bear. She could not tell if it were real or a trick of her imagination, because despite her memory loss Maggie knew for certain that it was impossible. Bears had been extinct from this country for hundreds of years.
The fact did not make the bears jaws any less big or dangerous.
Chapter Three
“Maggie. Maggie.”
Opening her eyes, she saw Aiden towering over her. Her first thought was one of relief that at least it was not the bear about to eat her. Then she panicked, unable to figure out how he had caught up with her so quickly, and how he managed to chase the bear away.
“Let me go,” she said scooting backwards away from him.
He put his hands up to show her he meant her no harm. “Maggie. I am not going to hurt you. What happened, why did you run?”
“Because I know you are the ones who hurt me yesterday. It was convenient for me to lose my memory, wasn’t it?” she accused him.
Aiden sat back on his haunches, the wind sucked out of him. “Maggie. You've got it wrong, neither of us are going to hurt you. If you want to leave, just ask. I w
ill take you to wherever you need to go.”
“Really? I thought that would mean questions you don’t want to answer.”
He looked puzzled, and then his face cleared. “You heard us talking. Oh, Maggie. Those questions were about us, not you. I told you we are different, we keep ourselves to ourselves. If we took you to the police, there would be people all over the woods looking for clues. We would prefer it if that did not happen, but if that's what you want, then so be it.”
“You would take me? Right now?” Maggie so wanted to believe him. In her heart, she felt they would not hurt her, yet she could not be sure. Her memory loss made everything so confusing.
“Yes. I will carry you there right now. If that is really what you want.”
“It is.”
He looked hurt, as though her words had stung him deep inside. However, he scooped her up effortlessly and began carrying her down the hill at an angle that she guessed must lead towards a road or path.
Aiden did not speak, but plodded on, his reluctance obvious. Maggie rested her head on his chest and let her mind wander. Was this the right thing to do, she had no idea. Could she be putting herself in danger by going back to civilisation, or was the danger back there at the house these two brothers shared?
A path appeared, Aiden took her down it, and slowly it became wider where more people used it.
“The road is about a mile away. Then it is about a half hour walk to the nearest store, there's a phone there we can use.”
“Don't you have a car or anything?” she asked, feeling bad at having him carry her so far.
“No. We use our four feet to get anywhere fast.”
Four feet, now that was an odd way of putting it, but she thought he must mean they go everywhere together; perhaps that was how Aiden kept Cyrus out of trouble.
“You had better put me down. I can’t expect you to carry me that far.”
“It’s no problem. I don’t know if you’re strong enough to walk.”
Curves for Her Bears (BBW Shifter Erotic Romance) Page 2
