Mating Two Bears [Yamato 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)
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Yamato 3
Mating Two Bears
Waking up from an enchanted sleep with no idea where she was, Princess Emiko didn’t think things could get any worse. The fates prove her wrong when she’s captured not just by one, but two lawless bear-shifting bandits. When Dai and Sora claim she’s not just their prisoner, but also their mate and bearer of their cubs, Emi wishes she were still stuck in an enchanted sleep.
Lovers Dai and Sora are fabled warriors of the dying Black Bear Clan, and it’s up to them to continue their bloodline. Initially delighted by the feisty and uptight woman they’ve captured, they soon learn they’ve gotten more than they’ve bargain for when they discovered Emi is a royal princess. The more she surpasses all their expectations, the more they believe Emi is the right woman for them.
Can two uncouth bandits convince a royal that there’s more to them than animal savagery?
Genre: Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-Shifter
Length: 20,576 words
MATING TWO BEARS
Yamato 3
Angelique Voisen
MENAGE AND MORE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage and More
MATING TWO BEARS
Copyright © 2015 by Angelique Voisen
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-601-8
First E-book Publication: January 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
To the readers who have followed the series from book one, thank you for your support. I always love hearing your comments. To Siren Publishing, for giving my Yamato books a home.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
About the Author
MATING TWO BEARS
Yamato 3
ANGELIQUE VOISEN
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
The sound of hooves beating on hard and harsh unpaved earth woke Emiko up. She became uncomfortably aware of the unbelievable warm press of hard muscle against her back and the steel grip of the thick arm keeping her from falling off.
I’m riding on horseback and am pressed against a man’s chest.
“Awake now, woman?” Warm breath tickled against the nape of her neck, making her shiver.
Awareness flooded through her body, waking up every one of her muscles in protest. Having been raised and gently bred as a princess and as a noblewoman of Yamato, the rude sensation of being kidnapped and mounted on some bandit’s horse should’ve shocked her, but it didn’t.
“Let go me, you dirty, uncivilized beast!” Her outraged voice only elicited laughter from the man behind her.
A second masculine laugh followed it, and Emiko turned her head to see another monster of a man riding alongside their horse. Normally a man dressed in mismatched pieces of leather armor and a patched-up kimono wouldn’t interest her one bit, but she took notice of the man underneath the clothes.
He had a lean, whiplash figure, but his arms and legs were corded with taut muscles. A grin appeared on a tanned and young unshaven face. His handsome face was crowned with shoulder-length black hair held together in a messy ponytail by leather bits.
“Got ourselves a feisty one eh, Sora?” remarked the man behind her.
“We struck gold, Dai,” the second rider agreed, his grin still spread across his handsome face.
“Don’t you two dare ignore me!”
Emi let out a gasp when the muscled arm around her waist tightened possessively. Something soft and not at all unpleasant shoved itself at the nape of her neck, making her shiver.
The bandit called Dai is sniffing at my neck.
Normally, Emi would’ve slapped any man who’d dare shove his nose at her neck. She only froze, not doing anything to dissuade the curious nose that ran from the base of her hairline down to the collar of her kimono. It was a strangely erotic gesture, one that left her entire body trembling.
“Gods of Yamato, Sora. Our woman smells good.”
“I’m not your woman, or anyone’s woman,” Emi said.
Her haughty defiance caved to a squeak when the arm holding her slipped into the folds of her kimono to touch bare skin.
“Let me go this instant, you filthy bandits!”
How the bandit managed to keep one hand on the reins of the horse, while the other fastened her to him astounded her.
“She has a mouth on her, though,” Sora remarked.
Emi noticed that while his eyes were focused on the road ahead of him, he occasionally spared her glances. Glances she was certain were not the least bit innocent in nature. Her heart thumped mercilessly against her chest and her breathing grew uneve
n.
Emi was petrified, but there was something else, too, that told her these men wanted something else from her aside from merely sating their sexual appetites and wishing her violence.
Why carry her off, when they could’ve easily shoved her on the ground, taken her maidenhead, beaten her, and left her off for dead? Did they have a sinister agenda worse than being left for dead?
By the Gods, why did something like this happen to her? She desperately hoped it was a horrid dream she’d soon wake up from, but the hard saddle against her thighs and the male behind her told her it wasn’t.
“Let me tell you something, woman. We don’t take the unwilling.” Dai’s breath tickled against her ear as he spoke.
The harsh texture of his callused hand was a sharp and foreign contrast to her smooth skin. His wandering hand traveled up her belly, ribs, and finally plucked one nipple. The sudden sensation made her moan, and made her back arch. Emi’s back hit Dai’s solid chest and arousal flooded her between her legs.
“I can smell your arousal from here, woman,” Sora said unhelpfully, licking his lips.
How can he know that, or for that matter, smell me? Heat flooded her cheeks and neck. Emi lifted her chin despite her embarrassment.
“I have a name, you know. It’s Emiko, or Emi, not ‘woman.’”
“You haven’t answered my question, Emi. Tell me one more time to let you go, and we’ll leave you alone.” Her name on Dai’s lips felt odd. It felt like he was savoring the very syllables of her name like it was edible.
“Just to remind you, Emi. These lands don’t belong to the crown of Yamato anymore. This is bandit territory and I can assure you the next group of men that will come along won’t be as nice as us.” Sora showed her his surprisingly white and sharp teeth.
Emi bit her lip. The lean, handsome bandit was right. She didn’t trust these two, but at least they haven’t done anything to her yet. At least she could pretend to be docile and eventually find some way to escape. One glance at Sora’s contemplative gaze told her he was the more calculative and cunning of the pair.
I have to be careful with him. Dai may be the muscle, but Sora’s the brain.
“What do you want of me?” Emi finally asked.
She gasped when Dai’s clever fingers pinched one of her nipples again, sending a sudden bolt of desire through her core.
“You, Emi. We intend to claim you and make you ours,” Dai said, leaning forward and tonguing her neck.
A shudder passed through Emi at the words “ours”. She’d never encountered a man who was so forward and savage about his desires, and she realized she liked it. These men were strangers to her and she was a stranger to them, yet they didn’t bother with hiding their intentions.
Wooing and courtly politics were always one and the same to her. The countless noblemen who’d courted her over the years always hid their true faces behind their masks, never unveiling their intentions. They never saw her, and she them. Although she hated them, Emi was adept at playing such games. Without those games, she became less certain of herself.
“What do you mean?” Emi was losing herself and she knew it.
Stripped of her courtly mask, attire, and attendants, it was frightening to simply just be Emi. Frightening and a little liberating. For some strange reason, she knew Dai and Sora would abide by their word that they wouldn’t take an unwilling woman. Emi wasn’t a fool. The last thing she’d do was trust two bandits, but they didn’t seem to mean her harm yet.
“The way you’re reacting to me tells us enough. You can use your sharp little mouth all you want, Emi, but your body tells us you want us.”
“Why do you keep saying ‘us’?” Emi dared to ask before all thoughts of logic and reasoning fled her head.
Gods, Dai’s fingers across her skin felt impossibly nice and good. They were firm, yet not bruising. He stroked her skin thoughtfully with the rough pads of his fingers like it was a glorious piece of expensive pelt.
“Because Sora and I do everything together.”
Emi shivered, meeting the gaze of the other man.
“You’re lovers?”
Sora only smiled at her in answer.
“We’ve grown up together, hunted together, protected the clan together, and we’re going to claim you together.”
Every time Dai spoke only made Emi unconsciously aware of the moisture gathering between her legs, and the leather saddle thumping and rubbing underneath her even made her more uncomfortable.
“She smells so good, Sora. I can’t wait to eat that cream between her legs this instant.” Dai ignored the bat of her hand. Sora only laughed.
“Why do you say such things?” Emi demanded.
“Because we’re rough, crass bandits?” Sora asked, unhelpfully.
He suddenly snapped his head to the direction they came from, his amused expression turning sour.
“We’ll tell you more later. There’s no time,” Dai said, urgency in his voice.
She felt him sniff at the air like a hunting hound scenting its enemies.
A fast-moving projectile spun past their heads and landed with a thud at the nearby tree. Emi swallowed. An arrowhead. Three more followed. Emi craned her head to see who was attacking them, but her view was obstructed by Dai’s massive shoulder.
At their side, she could see Sora, his face screwed up in concentration. She stared, impressed as he rode hands-free, knocking an arrow on his recurve hunting bow. He loosed the arrow and she heard one cry of surprise behind them.
“Dai, ride ahead and protect the woman,” Sora shouted.
“I won’t leave you, Sora.” Dai growled.
Another arrow shot through the air, and to Emi’s horror, it struck and embedded itself into the flank of Sora’s horse. The beast buckled in pain, nearly throwing the slender man off, but Sora managed to jump off. He was a blur of movement, rolling on the ground. Upright in moments, he angled his bow again and loosed another arrow.
“Dai, you’re not helping him? He has no horse!” Emi shouted at Dai’s ear. The other man was steering his horse onward, leaving Sora behind.
“I have to keep you safe,” Dai said curtly.
Why? Why would you leave your lover behind and save some strange woman you’ve just picked up? Neither you nor Sora has a clue who I am.
Chapter Two
Emi wasn’t sure what possessed her to grip the reins Dai was holding. Their horse reared up, but Emi murmured gentle words of comfort and steered the beast back to Sora. If the bandit thought she was some helpless female, content to let a man make all the decisions, then he was mistaken.
She may be a noblewoman, but she was one hell of a rider herself. Granted, riding and racing through the woods nearby the palace was vastly different from riding toward unnamed attackers.
“Curse the Gods, what do you think you’re doing?” Dai wrestled the reins from her, tensing when she grabbed his wrist.
“If you were such a powerful bandit, you wouldn’t leave your comrade and lover behind.”
“I have to protect you.” Dai growled.
Something about the sound should’ve worried Emi, but she only tilted her head at him and gave him her most withering look of contempt.
“Can’t you protect me, and save your lover at the same time?”
“Damnable woman!” Dai spat.
The horse reared its head again, but Dai took her advice and began riding to Sora. Sora was fending off the attackers better than Emi expected, until the three equally raggedly dressed bandits he was fighting off suddenly changed. Emi’s hands nearly let go of the reins, but Dai easily took them from her. Cloth tore and the flesh covering all three bandits rippled, as if there was some invisible entity trapped underneath their skin.
Emi sagged against Dai when fur began to replace skin. The human faces of the men were gaining a beast-like quality. The bones and shapes were shifting into sharp, angular lines, like that of a wolf.
“Damn wolf kin.” Dai snarled behind her.
&
nbsp; Emi only watched with clear disbelief as three ragged, but no less dangerous, enormous wolves began to approach Sora. There was a hungry look in their eyes that told her they wouldn’t back off immediately.
Beast men. Emi had heard stories of them, but she didn’t think they were real. They were fantasies, just like wandering spirits, nine-tailed foxes and sea dragons.
Something tugged at the corner of her mind. An enormous green-eyed beast the size of a warhorse, its numerous tails spreading behind it like a man. Buried memories resurfaced in her mind. Dreams of losing her fiancé, a stranger she didn’t love, and being put to an enchanted sleep by a nine-tailed fox weren’t dreams. They were real, just like the beast men in front of her.
A one-eyed beast with mottled gray fur snarled when it caught sight of her and Dai. The horse beneath them buckled in terror. Before it could throw them off, Dai grabbed hold of her waist and simply dismounted with her tossed over his shoulder.
Heart thudding painfully against her chest, Emi stared up at him as he gently placed her down. The way he’d easily dismounted from a frightened horse wasn’t natural. It wasn’t the least bit human.
Dai’s expression was pained. Bending down to her, he fiercely brought her head to his chest. Her heart slowed and her fear began to ebb. Dai was so warm and for some reason she knew both of the men would protect her. She’d find out the reason why later on, but she knew they’d give their lives for her.
“I’m sorry, Emi. We intended to break this slowly to you, but there’s no helping it.”
Dai was unbuckling the belt across his broad chest holding his katana. He slid his bow off his shoulders, his quiver, and multiple sheathed knives Emi didn’t realize he was hiding. By the Gods, the man was well armed to the teeth. Just what sort of trouble had he and Sora been expecting?