Caging Her Bear Lovers [Werebears of Shatland, Texas 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Jane Jamison

  “Really?” Her gaze jerked back to Connor as he flopped the sleeping bags on the floor.

  “Yeah. Really. And I can see that you’re going to open the door when they knock.” She ignored Brynn’s pitiful attempt to deny it. “Just do me a favor, will you? Try not to scream every time you climax. I need my beauty sleep.”

  Her cheeks had gone pink by the time Lizzy headed down the hallway, leaving her alone in the living room with Connor. How had she gotten so lucky? Within one day, she’d met two melt-her-panties-men and had caught a shifter.

  One shifter and two men. I wanted them and I got them. Now what do I do with them?

  Chapter Four

  “Are you fucking out of your mind?” Liam glared at his younger brother. Connor was enough of a handful, but Finn sometimes made him wish he could keep Finn in his bear body then sell him to a zoo. It looked like he might get his wish now that Finn had voluntarily put himself into a cage.

  In only a minute or so, Finn was back in his human body. “I’m having a little fun is all.”

  “Fun? So it’s fun to keep her hanging on? What’s she going to say once we tell her what we are?”

  Finn leaned against the side of the cage. “By that time, she’ll have gotten to know us better and the connection will have gotten us into her bed. She won’t care that I played a little prank on her.”

  “You hope that’ll be the case. But you don’t know that it will be.”

  “Then let me out and let’s see. We can tell her everything right now. We can tell her we’re shifters and that she’s our mate. Trust in the connection, bro. It won’t let her leave.” He shook the cage door. “If you want her to get to know us, then let me out and let’s have at it. Besides, I want in on that dinner. The bait she left in the cage didn’t amount to more than a snack.”

  Liam didn’t budge. Maybe, for once, there was a way to teach his brother a lesson. “Sure. Let’s just waltz into the house with you butt naked and tell her all about us. And then what do you suggest we do when she or her sister freaks out? Just put them in a bear hug until they calm down?”

  “But she already knows about shifters. She didn’t freak out when she hit me and she won’t freak out now. It’s no big deal.”

  “Her sister doesn’t believe her, and if she sees us, it’ll come as a shock. I doubt Brynn would be too happy about us frightening her sister. No. We’ve talked about this before and we agreed. We want our mate to get to know us first as men. Then, after we’ve explained about the connection and know she’s fallen in love with us as men, we can ease into telling her and then into showing her our animal sides. That’s what we agreed on, that’s how the clan likes it done, and that’s how we’re going to do it. No matter what crazy stunt you pull.”

  Finn rattled the cage again. “Come on, bro. Let me out. I want dinner and a sleepover, too.”

  Liam reached through the bars and whacked Finn against the side of his head.

  “Ow. Why the hell do you keep smacking me?”

  “Think about it. Why would she need us to sleep over if there’s no bear to take care of?”

  “But that won’t matter once we tell her. You know how it works with the connection. Any inhibitions she has will get wiped away.”

  Liam closed his eyes and tried to summon up more patience. Finn, however, often pushed him to the limit. When he opened his eyes again, he was calm. Calm enough to make Finn frown and wonder what he was about to do.

  He had a right to be worried.

  “Little brother, I’m going inside to get to know our mate. If I can get her into bed, then Connor and I will enjoy every minute with her. But we’re sticking to the original plan. We get to know her first, then we let her see the other side of us. The fact that you got yourself locked in a cage and won’t be joining us just makes it all that much better.”

  “Fuck! Damn it, Liam, come back here and let me out.”

  Liam turned back as he reached the entrance and put his fingers to his mouth. “Shh. You’d better change back and stop that bellowing.”

  “And if I don’t? What if I stay in my human form until she sees me?”

  Liam shrugged. “Then do it and see what she does. But I’m warning you. If we lose her because you fucked it up, Connor and I will put a world of hurt on you. Not that losing her won’t be the worst punishment you’ll get.”

  He walked away. There was no way he’d ever hurt his brother, but when it came to their mate, he didn’t think Finn would risk it. Finn was a prankster, but he wasn’t stupid.

  * * * *

  “I admire you, Brynn.”

  She paused as she lifted her fork to her mouth. “You do?” She’d had men tell her that she was pretty, or smart, or fun, but never that they admired her. Coming from Liam made it even better.

  “Yeah. It takes a lot of courage, not to mention conviction in your beliefs, to go to these lengths to prove you’re telling the truth.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t think it’s either courage or conviction. It’s more like just wanting my sister not to think I’ve gone mental.”

  It was difficult eating with two sets of brilliant green eyes watching her every move. Did their hunger extend to her? She shifted in her seat, once more getting the rush of heat throughout her body. Her need for them, to know how they’d feel deep inside her, was centered in her pussy, but the tingling she felt searing along her body wasn’t only because of her ache to experience their bodies against hers. It was there because she was attracted to them in every way. She wanted to have sex with them, yes, but she wanted to know them, to hear what they believed in, and to know what their dreams were. What did they do every day? How were they raised? Had they grown up on a ranch? Every detail interested her.

  “She’s right. I would have. Even now it’s hard not to think that she’s—” Lizzy clammed up then lifted her glass of wine to her sister. “I’ll still love you, sis, even if you are bonkers.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  The dinner lapsed into silence, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Aside from her growing need to have them sexually, she wasn’t at all uneasy around them. They exuded power, strength that even the strongest men she’d known couldn’t touch. Yet at the same time, she wasn’t afraid of them. She trusted them in her gut. Her mind was trying hard to catch up to that sense of trust, but it would. She had no doubt that it would.

  “So where do you live, Brynn?”

  Liam was back to pleasantries, but that was okay. She suspected they wanted to get to know her, too. “We’re from Lubbock. Born and raised there.”

  “And your parents? Are they still alive?”

  “Damn, Connor, have a little tact,” groused Liam. “Just ignore him. He doesn’t get out enough to know how to behave. We don’t mean to pry.”

  “You’re not prying. Anyway, yes and no. My dad’s still alive, although he retired early from teaching.”

  “And your mother?” Liam’s gaze pierced her then traveled to the depths of her soul.

  She was sure he already knew the answer. Most of the time, it was difficult to talk about her mother’s death, but she wanted to tell them.

  “Our mother passed away from ovarian cancer when I was in middle school.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Connor placed his hand on her arm, turning up the juice on the sizzle. “We know how rough that is. Our mother passed away when we were teens, too. She was in a car accident.”

  Her throat closed up as it usually did whenever she thought about her mother. But her mother had left her a legacy of courage, having fought so hard to beat the sinister disease eating her from the inside out.

  “So your father raised you on his own?”

  She shook her head at Liam. “Yes and no. Lizzy took over the mothering role. She gave up a lot in her life to take care of me. Like going to college.” She’d never be able to repay her sister, which was why having her believe her story meant so much. “I owe her a lot.”

  “Oh, hush. You would’ve done the
same for me. Although you wouldn’t have done as good a job as I did. I mean, look at her, guys. She’s damn near perfect. Aside from the issue of her sanity.”

  They shared a laugh, as she and her sister exchanged fond looks.

  “Anyway, I work as an insurance salvage adjuster and Lizzy has the fun job of being a mixologist.”

  Connor twisted toward Lizzy. “No wonder you’re such an expert at pouring wine.” He held out his glass for her to fill to the top.

  She wasn’t sure why, but she had to let them know. Connor’s praise for her sister wasn’t anything special or sexy, but just having him look at her sister churned her stomach. Neither man had shown any interest in Lizzy except as her sister, but the thought of one of them turning to Lizzy was more gut-wrenching than she thought she could handle. “Lizzy’s engaged.”

  Lizzy sputtered her drink then wiped her mouth. “That sure came out of nowhere.”

  “You are?”

  Did Liam really care or was he still making small talk? She studied the interaction between them but saw nothing. Still…

  “I am. His name is Bobby White and we’ve been together for the past year or so.”

  “Congratulations,” added Connor. “That’s great.”

  “Yes and no. More no than yes.”

  They stared at her with Lizzy’s eyes boring holes into her. “What she means is that we’ve broken up and gotten back together a few times.”

  “I guess all relationships have their ups and downs.”

  Liam was obviously confused by the exchange. Even she wasn’t sure why she’d said that. Aside from the fact that she thought Bobby was a low-life, cheating bastard who wasn’t good enough to lick her sister’s shoes.

  “Brynn’s not very fond of my future husband.”

  “You’re right about that.” She locked eyes again, refusing to back down. One way or another, she’d convince Lizzy that Bobby was no good.

  “But she’s going to try and get to know him better once we’re married. Isn’t that right, Brynn?”

  Get to know him better? The thought made her skin crawl. As she’d done a hundred times in the past, she thought about telling her sister about all the times Bobby had made a pass at her. As a last resort, she’d tell her before the wedding. After that one time she’d tried, Lizzy wouldn’t let her say a word about it. If she got lucky, Bobby would mess up before the wedding and they’d break up for good. Then she’d never have to hurt Lizzy by insisting that she face the truth.

  “I’m going to try.” She softened, saddened that she’d brought up Bobby in the first place. “For you.”

  “Thanks, sis.” The irritation left Lizzy as she refilled her glass.

  Brynn shoved Bobby out of her mind. “Have you guys lived on the ranch all your lives?” Their conversation was filled with small talk, but it was not only necessary, but interesting. She ached to know all about them like it was the most important thing she’d ever done.

  “Yep.” Connor shoved a huge piece of ham into his mouth.

  Liam finished swallowing a sip of his wine. “Our great grandfathers staked out the land and every generation has lived there. We’re hoping our children will grow up on the ranch, too.”

  “All your children?” Lizzy wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. “So you and your other brother plan on living together? Or do you have enough land for each of you to build a house?”

  “We have the land, but we want to stay in the original house. We’ll have to build on, but that’s okay.”

  She studied Liam, with his sparkling green eyes and wide shoulders. How had no other woman snapped him up before now? Or Connor? “So you want kids?”

  “You bet. Three or four at least.”

  Lizzy leaned back in her chair and gaped at him. “That’s a lot of kids. Two brothers, two wives, and four children each would mean twelve people living under one roof.”

  Twelve? “That’s going to be one noisy house.” And yet, it sounded beautiful to her. The perfect life filled with laughter and family love.

  “I meant just three or four kids between us, Brynn. Including my other brother, Finn.”

  “Oh, so you do have a brother.” Why hadn’t he said so before? Had Taryn started to tell her before her phone call interrupted her?

  “Still, that’s a lot of people under one roof.” She no longer cared about her dinner. Instead, she wanted another kind of sustenance. “It’s good to know. I mean, um…” She shrugged then laughed. “I was thinking that one poor woman was going to have all those kids.” Why had she thought that? Because she wanted both Connor and Liam? And if their brother was half as sexy as they were, would she want him, too?

  “That would mean that my brothers and I would share one woman.”

  She started to laugh again, but the intensity of Connor’s look stopped her cold. She cleared her throat and lowered her gaze to her food.

  Oh, my. Sharing one woman.

  She hadn’t really been serious before. Or had she? Would she want more than one man in her bed? In her life? She surprised herself when she realized she would. She wanted both Connor and Liam. And Finn, too?

  She could imagine it. The two sexiest men she’d ever met crawling into bed with her, one taking the top part of her body while the other concentrated on the lower. And then a third brother? Yeah, she could handle that. Fact was, she’d love to handle that.

  “So are you two as alike on the inside as you are on the outside?”

  Connor choked on his next sip. “Are you kidding? Me like Liam? Damn, woman, bite your tongue.”

  Liam didn’t react. “What he means is that he’d never get that lucky.”

  “Lucky, my ass. This guy’s like a stone wall at times. You’ve got to drill a hole in him to see what’s hiding beneath that calm exterior.”

  “At least I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve. We used to call him Mr. Sensitive in high school. And as for girls? Hell, he never had any game. They could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his face.”

  She covered her smile by taking a drink. It was true. Connor was like an open book while Liam remained a closed one. Or at least he tried to. Still, she saw glimpses of his underlying emotions every once in a while.

  “And your brother? Finn, right? What’s he like?”

  They glanced at one another with almost an identical expression.

  “Finn’s the baby and the troublemaker.”

  Liam chuckled. “Troublemaker with a capital T. We’ve spent most of our lives getting him out of messes. Most of which he started.”

  “I’d like to meet him.”

  “You have.” Connor’s slip showed in the lift of his eyebrows. “I mean, you will. Soon.”

  “Good. So three Irish brothers, huh? Do you have more family here?”

  “Us Irish? How’d you know?” Connor added a touch of brogue to his voice. “But alas, lassie, the McGarrett brothers are all that’s left in Texas. Pity that it is.”

  She loved that Connor was the lighter side of Liam. Finn, however, sounded like he’d put Connor to shame in the humor department. She couldn’t wait to meet him.

  “And what about you, Brynn?” Liam leaned forward. “What do you want out of life?”

  She couldn’t meet his gaze, not when it was so intense. “Oh, you know. The usual. Someone to love. Someone who’ll love me just as much.”

  “Maybe more than one someone?”

  Did Connor mean the two of them? She wasn’t sure she could’ve answered even if she’d managed to find her voice.

  “Okay, then. It’s getting kind of heavy in here.” Lizzy pushed back her chair then grabbed the wine bottle and her glass. “Besides, I’m bushed. I think I’ll go lounge in my bedroom and listen to music.” She pointedly looked at each of them. “With earphones, by the way. And this”—she lifted the bottle—“will keep me from needing to come back out here anytime soon. You’ll find a couple more bottles on the counter.”

  Could she have been any more obvious? She was leavin
g her alone with Liam and Connor. At that moment, Brynn was sure no girl had ever had a better sister. Maybe a more subtle sister, but not a better one.

  “Are you sure?”

  Lizzy’s smile told her that she knew Connor was only asking to be polite. “Yeah. I’m sure. Y’all don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Which, by the way, leaves you open to do anything you want. Catch you in the morning.”

  She was off and swaying down the hallway to the bedrooms before Brynn could respond. But what would she have said? Thank you? Sleep in?

  All of sudden, she grew nervous. It was the first time she’d been alone with them. To cover her sudden bout of nerves, she started collecting their empty plates.

  “Hey, let us help you.”

  “Okay.”

  Sexy, strong, caring, and now helpful in the kitchen? They just keep getting better.

  She led the way into the adjoining kitchen, set the dishes on the counter, then turned on the water and picked up the sponge. “How about I wash while you two dry and put away?”

  The nibble on her ear took her breath away as Connor’s chest pushed against her right arm. He brushed back her hair then nibbled again on her ear.

  She was lost. That was a fact she couldn’t deny. Lost to his touch. Lost to the scent of them. Lost to her desire for them. She dropped the sponge and leaned into him.

  Liam caught her between them, sliding his palm along the curve of her bottom. “We didn’t mean to take this so fast, but we can’t hold back any longer.” He nibbled on her other ear.

  She wanted to deny that it was too fast but couldn’t find enough will to string the words together. As far as she was concerned, they’d taken too long. She moaned, letting the wonderful sensations of their bites at her ears and their tongues sliding along her neck take her into a world where nothing else existed.

  She wanted them so much. They were like the drug that would cure her, the sustenance that would nourish her body more than mere food ever could. She’d only just met them, and yet, somehow in that short time, they’d come to mean so much.

  The sensation she always experienced whenever they were near spiraled her upward into a consciousness where only they existed. If they stopped touching her she would fall, plummeting to earth.