by Ruby Scott
“Worrying is how I get ready!” Nathan kept shouting. But as the days sped by, his worries ran as thin as his patience, so he found other things to complain about. Alex was glad Rachel was due to arrive that afternoon, because he might have started to crack under another day of Nathan’s piling on.
Alex held his breath as Nathan finished making the bed and stepped back to admire the room. His eyes zipped from place to place, weighing each change they’d made against everything they’d chosen to keep the same. Finally, a genuine smile of satisfaction slowly moved across his face, illuminating his handsome features until he was breathtaking. “I think we got it,” Nathan said, his voice jolly. “What time is it, Alex?”
Alex pulled a heavy onyx pocket watch from his trousers and jumped when he saw the time. “Ten to one! We gotta go.” He dashed over to the mirror and ran his hands through his slicked back hair, trying to decide if his green eyes looked like they were bulging from his sockets. His narrow face looked tense, he thought, and he wished he’d gotten more sleep the night before. Nathan had insisted on running out their nervous energy, however, and he always managed to look more refreshed. Alex touched the dark red stubble on his chin and cheeks, satisfied with his rugged look, at least; he hoped it would give him enough confidence to give a good first impression. You never get another chance to make a first impression! His mother’s words rang cheerily in his head; he heard them as often as he heard her say love conquers all, Alex.
“Alex!” Nathan barked. “Come on!” He swatted his partner’s behind and rushed out of the bedroom and out the front door to hitch the horses to the wagon.
“You took forever,” Alex grumbled good-naturedly as he grabbed his hat and hurried behind his lover. He straightened a rug as he moved through the living room, then set off running through the house, leaping across their sofa rather than going around. He bounded down the short flight of steps, letting the screen door crash closed behind him. Their orange cat, Ronald---who was really more of a stray cat than their own--- yowled at him as he flew by, probably requesting treats or a dish of milk. Alex ignored him and didn’t stop running until he got to the carriage at the end of the long driveway and leapt into the carriage in one motion, startling one of the horses.
Nathan raised his eyebrow as Alex grinned at him, puffing, from the passenger seat. “Are you done showing off?” he asked dryly, but Alex saw that he was stifling a grin. He also saw his eyes slip to trace over his muscular thighs and thick forearms, and he glowed with happiness, feeling the stirrings of desire even though Nathan was trying to mask it.
“You love it,” Alex said easily, sitting back in the seat and watching the street go by. He touched Nathan’s thigh flirtatiously, sending a gentle pulse of warm energy into the muscle that he knew would make his lover shiver. Alex grinned as he watched the frisson of movement slip down Nathan’s spine and a gasp slipped from his lips.
“Stop,” Nathan said, playfully shoving Alex’s hand away and laughing. “You’re going to make me crash!”
Alex pulled his hand back, satisfied. He turned toward the street again and waved at the butcher, who was toddling back from lunch to reopen his shop, and the mailman dropping a stack of letters in front of the green grocer’s building. They were both bears from the local pack, quiet men who changed with them once or twice a month and went trundling through the forest in their ursine forms. Running in their bear forms was liberating beyond words, and the only thing better was the feeling they were hoping to recapture with Rachel.
Nathan pulled up in front of the train station at five past one. “Her train is probably already here,” he said nervously, eyeing the crowd pouring out of the exit. “She said she’ll have a big red bag and a matching dress…tall and brunette haired…is that her? Golly, she’s pale. Alex! Is that Parker she’s talking to?” Nathan’s voice took on a panicked note, and Alex sat up straight in his seat to look where his partner was pointing.
He followed his finger to a woman in a blood red dress, standing next to two trunks---one black, one in the same shade of red. She was indeed pale, with dark brown hair pulled back from her head in a simple bun, but a few wild strands hung around her heart shaped face. She had bright blue eyes and full, pink lips, and though she was lean, Alex could see the swell of a generous bosom beneath her dress, and ample hips. God, she’s beautiful, he thought feverishly; then his heart went cold when he saw that she was indeed speaking to the wild-eyed, shabbily dressed Parker.
“I’ll be back,” Alex said shortly. He hopped out of the carriage, ignoring Nathan’s sputtered opposition. Anger was flooding his veins, and he felt each of his senses heighten as the adrenaline ate away at his distraction. His eyes zeroed in on the side of Parker’s neck as he stalked across the street, focusing on his pulse point like a bulls-eye. Rachel was nodding politely at something the man was saying, but it never registered with Alex by the time he got to them. Her eyes widened in surprise as they fell on him, and he nodded curtly before tapping Parker on the shoulder.
The elderly man spun on his heel, his hairless face pinched with fury. The rage only deepened when his eyes recognized Alex. “You,” he spat, running a hand over his bald head nervously. His beady eyes looked Alex up and down. “What do you want here, boy? This gal doesn’t want anything to do with your kind.” His lip curled upward in a sneer, and he placed his wrinkled hands on his bony hips.
“Actually, this gentleman is my new husband.” Rachel spoke in a high, clear voice, but Alex detected an undercurrent of steel. He looked at her face, now pulled into an expression of distaste; he wondered what Parker had been saying that made her believe he wasn’t bigoted and deranged. “I’ll be going now, but it was…so good to make your acquaintance.” Rachel backed away from Parker, who had rounded back on her and was gaping at her with his mouth hanging open; Alex picked up both of her trunks and started to move between them.
“Now wait just a minute!” Parker pointed one skeletal finger at her. “You don’t mean to say you’re going home with these---heathens?”
His tone was so incredulous that passerby might have been forgiven for thinking that Alex and his ilk sacrificed infants for sport. “Don’t you know what they do behind closed doors?” Parker’s voice dropped an octave and he took a step toward Rachel, who was now moving behind Alex. “Don’t you know what those men do to each other ain’t right? What they do to other people?” His glistening black eyes were sharp with malice. “You’re gonna get yourself ate up, girlie. Ate right up by the devil’s spawn they’re gonna put in that pretty little belly.”
Alex swung the red trunk forward to stop Parker from taking another step, but the wily old man dodged the blow just in time, chuckling madly. “Get out of here, you crazy old bastard. No one believes your stories! Go beg for scraps on a corner somewhere!”
Parker cackled again, and it filled Alex with fury so suddenly that he stepped right up to his and growled, low and long from the back of his throat. The old man’s smile faded and was quickly replaced by a look of terror; Alex knew that his green eyes had slipped to the shade of yellow they took on in his bear form. His ursine energy was clamoring inside him---he could smell the sweet prickle of fear coming from the old man’s body, and he wanted very badly to sink claws into his body and end the whole circus of gossip he’d been perpetuating for years. Instead, he showed the old man with his eyes how close he’d come to hurting him, and smiled with satisfaction as the man scrambled away.
“You won’t get away with this!” he called over his shoulder as he ran. Alex could see holes in the soles of his shoes, and pity started to chase away his anger and disgust. As the electric sensation of his inner beast faded away, he remembered that Rachel was still behind him. He turned, plastering a warm smile on his face before her faced her. She was smiling timidly, looking from Alex to Parker’s retreating figure in the distance. Alex nodded toward the carriage with his head, and they both hurried across the street.
“I’m sorry about that,” Alex said lightly. �
��Parker has been on our case for years. He thinks we’re warlocks and sodomites, and most of our friends are, too. He’ll have it around town that you’re our new sorceress, probably.” He loaded her trunks in the back of the carriage, then turned to face her. He was relieved to find that her smile was more genuine and far less strained now that they were away from Parker. “What did he say to you? Nothing too bad, I hope.”
Rachel laughed, and the sound was tinkling and merry; Alex shivered as the enchanting sound tickled his spine. “He was actually telling me about his work as a holy man, curing the sick and making the lame walk again. I thought he was simply demented, not…” she wrinkled her nose, searching for the right word. “Prejudiced.”
Nathan opened the door of the carriage and stepped down. “That’s putting it lightly,” he said, grinning. “Hullo, I’m Nathan. You’ve already met Alex, I see.” He shuffled forward sheepishly and stood next to Alex, shoving his hands in his pockets in an endearingly bashful manner.
Alex watched as Rachel’s features cycled through the usual stages of first seeing Nathan: shock at his considerable height of six foot six; admiration for his granite jaw, honey-glazed eyes wavy brown hair; and finally, desire for his muscular frame and fill lips. He saw her shiver and stifled a laugh; Nathan wasn’t even trying to be charming yet. This was going to be fun.
“H-Hello,” Rachel stuttered. She looked between the two of them, seemingly at a loss for words. “It’s nice to finally officially meet you both.” For a moment, she looked unsure of whether to offer a hug or a handshake, and Alex decided to put her out of her misery and choose for her. He spread his arms and moved forward, smiling warmly as he folder her into his embrace. As he pressed his cheek to hers, a sizzle of electricity moved between them. Rachel yelped and moved back, pressing her palm to her cheek with her bright blue eyes wide. The charge was still moving through Alex’s body, sending a wave of exhilarating tingles through each cell in his body. By the astounded look on Rachel’s face, she was feeling it, too. She was gazing at Alex as though hypnotized.
“My,” she breathed. “That’s certainly a connection.”
Nathan was looking between Alex and Rachel, the puzzled look on his face growing more pronounced with each moment that passed in silence. “What?” he said nervously. “What happened?”
Instead of answering, Rachel tore her eyes from Alex and raised her arms to slip around Nathan’s neck. She had to stretch up on tiptoe, and Nathan had to lean forward to completely press her body against his. He smiled blissfully at first, then his brown eyes shot open and flashed shifter yellow for a split second. Rachel pulled back, giggling breathlessly.
“That’s what,” she said. More of her hair had come undone from her updo, and Alex reached out to smooth them against her head without thinking. Another bolt of electricity shot between them as she turned her cheek to press her face into the warmth of his palm. Nathan moved toward her and slipped one of his hands around hers, and the hum of electricity got even stronger. It felt like someone had struck a massive tuning fork, and the note was especially crafted to resonate in their bones. They stood there, marinating in the feeling, and Alex was glad they were shielded from the street by their mint green carriage.
One of the horses nickered, and Alex pulled away from their trio. “We should get home,” he said soberly, his gaze moving between Rachel and Nathan. Both of their eyes were oddly glazed over, and their smiles were lazy, but genuine. Alex’s heart started to beat a little faster; this is going to work. “Get you settled in, Rachel.”
“Right,” she said dreamily. “Settled in.”
She climbed in after Nathan, and Alex slipped in next to her. His leg was pressed against her thigh, and the softness of it was far more distracting than any stranger’s leg had a right to be. He kept stealing glances at her sharp cheekbones, the swell of her bosom beneath the blood red fabric, her delicate hands that kept adjusting things on her person nervously during the ride. Nathan was distracted, as well---twice he had to jerk the reins because he’d let the horses drift, too enthralled with Rachel’s speech or laugh to keep watching their path. If he hadn’t been so utterly enchanted, Alex might have been nervous about how much they both wanted her. This is what you wanted, he reminded himself. This is exactly what you went looking for, and you couldn’t have gotten any better.
Alex knew it was true, but as the weighty spell of infatuation began to fall over him, he wondered if there was any truth to Parker’s talk about magic.
They were all situated on the long, plush sofa, taking turns talking about their past lives over the bitter beer Alex kept in the cellar. It wasn’t the best tasting beverage, but it was strong; shifters tended to burn through alcohol more quickly than regular humans, and Nathan agreed they all needed a drink. Alex and Nathan had downed their first cups easily, but they’d forgotten Rachel wasn’t really a shifter---only shifter-friendly.
“It’s okay!” she cawed after spilling a little beer on her dress. They were apologizing profusely for underestimating the alcohol content, but her pale skin had struck a merry pink flush that Alex was starting to believe her assertions. “I haven’t been drunk in…two, three years? I’ve forgotten what fun it is.” She giggled and took another, much more successful sip.
Her hair had come completely undone, and the dark brown strands were weaving softly around her elbows. Her long legs were thrown across Nathan’s lap with her skirt hiked up around the top of her soft thighs, and the move had flustered him fiercely. He’d finally settled on placing on big hand on her mid-thigh after keeping his hands folded together for a torturous ten minutes. Alex contented himself with gently fingering her wavy hair, and they were both gazing at her as she spoke.
“I got so tired of being everyone’s head doctor…all the women came to me for advice, and all the men came to me for advice…” she chuckled. “In a few years all the kids would be coming to me, too. Everyone knew I’d been married, and certain folk knew about our arrangement, so that made me a hot commodity. “
“Didn’t you want to stay near your friends?” Nathan’s face was sympathetic. “There must be some things you’ll miss.”
Rachel shrugged her narrow shoulders and smiled at Nathan. “The more I’m here, the less I miss that place already.” She patted his hand with hers and winked.
Nathan laughed, too loud, then flushed, embarrassed. His eyes found Alex’s. “Are you this affected?” he asked desperately. “I’m acting like a kid, aren’t I?”
“A little,” Alex admitted. He gazed at Rachel and stroked her cheek, sifting through the fountain of emotion that sprouted whenever his skin touched hers. “But I am, too. I can’t stop touching her, my eyes don’t want to leave her face…” he cupped her chin and brought his lips close to hers, and crackled of energy leapt between them right before he pulled back. “And God, do I want to kiss her.” He swallowed. “Do you feel the same way, Rachel?”
Rachel nodded vigorously. “Yes. I did tell you, I’ve always loved bears. There’s something about you that’s so…attractive.” She bit her lip and touched Alex’s chest; he felt the burning of her palm even through his shirt. “Actually magnetic.” She reached out with her other hand tp gripped Nathan’s, and immediately the frisson of electricity running between their bodies grew stronger. Rachel moaned softly. “It feels great.”
Alex realized that his cock was stiffening as he watched Rachel’s face grow more and more colored with excitement. Her chest was heaving, and it was all he could do not to reach out and cup one the soft globes, squeeze it until she cried out for him. He shook his head roughly and looked at Nathan, who was lost in a torrid train of thought of his own. Alex made a noise in the back of his throat until Nathan finally met his gaze and flushed.
“You’re tired,” Nathan said abruptly. “We all are. Rachel, why don’t I show you your bedroom. Get a chance to recover from all the excitement.”
Rachel swung her legs over the couch and stood uneasily, looking from Alex to Nathan with a lo
ok of mild alarm. “Did I do something wrong?” The anxiety in her voice pierced Alex’s heart, and she saw a look of anguish on his lover’s face, as well. “Aren’t I sleeping with you tonight?”
“No, no,” he said hurriedly, placing his hand on the small of her back and steering her down the hall. He tried to ignore the pounding of his heart and the intoxicating scent of her wafting up to his nostrils. “We thought we’d let you sleep in the guest room, and give you a breather before…diving in.” He stopped outside her door, gazing up into her face and trying to smile. “And this is actually pretty overwhelming for us, too,” he admitted nervously. “I’m not sure if you can tell, but we’re both kind of flustered.” He gestured to Nathan, who was standing with his hand pressed to back of his neck and eyes averted.
Rachel’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Oh,” she said softly, dropping her eyes to the ground. The tension between them was acutely awkward. “Well, then…goodnight.” She pushed the door open and slipped into her room, closing it silently behind her. Nathan covered his face with his hands and groaned, shuffling back toward the living room after Alex.
“How could I be so…childish?” He wailed. He dropped to the sofa heavily, pouring himself more beer from the bottle. “I can’t believe I’m acting so weird.”
“Well, at least your fears about us not being compatible turned out to be unfounded,” Alex said dryly. “Our bond potential is through the roof.” He thought about the hollow of Rachel’s graceful neck as he sat on the couch next to Nathan, and how much he wanted to press his lips to it to taste the delicate skin there. His cock was straining against his pants, and he massaged the shaft with his palm through the cloth absentmindedly. He opened his eyes to see Nathan gazing at him with lust raging in his light brown eyes.
“Sorry,” Alex said under his breath, but Nathan was leaning over to kiss him, pressing his full lips firmly against his lovers and moving his tongue across his lower lip. Alex shivered and wrapped his arms around Nathan’s broad shoulders, pulling his weight against his body as he lay back on the soft cushions of the sofa. He felt the energy in him spike and swell as it recognized the taste of Nathan’s, and a moan slipped from between his lips. Nathan started to kiss down his neck, hurriedly unbuttoning his partner’s shirt to nibble and lick at the taught skin of his heavily muscled abdomen. He knelt on the floor to give himself better access, gripping his thighs as he continued to plant kisses on his skin.
