by Ruby Shae
On her third full day in town, the girls had introduced her to another one of their friends, and lunch had turned into an impromptu pool party. The new friend, Olive, had serious cooking skills, and owned her own café in the center of town. Her snacks and appetizers were to die for, and Ava hadn’t been sure she’d be able to eat dinner with the guys until they took her to their favorite pizza parlor.
She, Gavin and Hawk ended the night by walking down the main strip, and then they’d piled into Gavin’s truck for a grand tour of the city.
She’d been seated between both men in the cab of the truck, but like the previous nights, they’d ended the evening by dropping her off at her car, following her back to the hotel, and presumably going home alone.
Four nights without a single touch didn’t need to be explained.
This morning, in an effort to brush off the subtle rejections, she’d decided to take advantage of some of the spa treatments the hotel offered. She’d treated herself to a massage, a manicure and a pedicure. Later, she’d filled the huge bathtub with bubbles and soaked until the water turned tepid, and then she’d shaved, trimmed and removed all the unwanted or excess hair on her body. Spending an entire day on grooming wasn’t something she normally did, but the pampering had made her feel fantastic.
Gavin and Hawk had invited her to their home for dinner, and although she knew nothing would happen, she wanted to look her best.
She wore an Emerald green top to match the guys' eyes and a pair of dark blue denim capris. Her toes had been done to match her shirt, and a pair of black sandals completed the ensemble. Underneath her clothes she wore a black lacy bra and panty set that she’d thrown in her suitcase at the last minute. Even if no one else would see it, the feel of the lace against her skin made her feel sexy, beautiful and confident. She made a mental note to buy more sexy underwear and wear them more often.
Spending time with the guys, and with her new friends, made her realize she had other dreams besides the bookstore, and she’d been thinking about her new idea all day. Instead of a bookstore, she planned on opening a beverage bar with an honor library.
She’d seen an ideal building while walking the main strip with the guys, but she couldn’t own a business in Bear Canyon without being a resident, so she’d have to find another location. She still didn’t want to be anywhere near the old bookstore, but she also didn’t want to move too far away from her new friends.
Maybe she needed to forget about the prime spot in the city and focus on one of the less popular streets. She could also look near art galleries, or consider something near a rest-stop for wary travelers. The ideas were endless.
“Hey,” Gavin said, entering the room. “Sorry to keep you waiting. That appointment took longer than I thought it would.”
He sat down at his desk, and keyed in the password for his laptop.
“I have to type in a few notes and order a prescription, and then I’m ready,” he said, opening a file. “Hawk’s not done yet?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, “he hasn’t opened his door. Do you want me to wait in the breakroom?”
The first time she’d visited their office, they’d given her a tour and introduced her to their small staff. The additional employees were all women, and they included one receptionist and two nurses. A pang of jealousy had started to sprout when they’d told her about the two female nurses, but that was before she’d met the women.
All three ladies were loving matriarchs and mated to older bears in the community. They’d welcomed her with open arms, and she’d soaked up their doting attention. While no one could ever replace her mother, it was nice to be surrounded by loving, generous women again.
She frowned when she thought about losing some of their attention to the guy’s eventual mate, but she forced herself to smile. She’d enjoy her new friendships for as long as she could.
“Nah, I don’t want to leave you alone again,” he said. “This won’t take long.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, standing. “I can handle myself alone for a few minutes. I know you guys are busy.”
“I want you to stay with me.”
She sat back down and waited. The simple words warmed her heart, but she reminded herself not to get her hopes up. He’d only meant to keep her near so she wouldn’t be alone anymore, not so she wouldn’t be alone for the rest of her life.
She smiled and pressed her thighs together in an effort to tap down her lust. Not giving the words more weight than he’d intended was a challenge, but she’d managed it.
Barely.
Hawk stepped out of his office and flipped off the light.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, leaning against the door-jam. “I had more call backs than I realized.”
“It’s not a problem. I was just telling Gavin that I know you guys are busy and I’m perfectly capable of entertaining myself.”
“We never doubted it,” Hawk said, “but it’s still rude.”
“Okay,” Gavin said, “I’m done.”
“Great,” Hawk said, changing the subject. “Everybody hungry?”
“I’m starving,” Ava replied.
“Me too,” Gavin chimed in.
“Good. Let’s go home and get the grill going.”
Gavin led them out of the office, and she followed, walking side-by-side with Hawk. The man insisted on driving her car while she rode with his brother, and the gesture warmed her inside and out.
Together, the two men really were one perfect mate.
***
Gavin drove home by rote, and his anticipation built. He and Hawk were anxious to show Ava their home and move their relationship to the next level. Keeping his hands to himself over last four nights had been pure torture, and he felt like a walking time bomb. Many times he’d just wanted to hold her hand, caress her thigh, or rub her silky red strands through his fingers, but he’d held back in an effort to give her time to get to know them. To trust them.
He knew Hawk wasn’t fairing any better. The man had touched her skin for a few minutes at the table and his brother’s bear wanted more. They’d shifted and ran every evening after dropping her back at the hotel, but his animal still fought to claim its mate.
Since Ava had come into their lives, he’d gone to bed exhausted every night, only to lay awake hot, hard and achy until he rubbed his cock and imagined her stroking him until he came. Four days might seem like an incredibly short courtship, but to a shifter it felt like a lifetime.
They were tired of waiting.
Hawk had planned a wonderful meal, and they were going to show her the house and talk. Hopefully, talking would lead to sex and she’d stay the night and never leave. They wouldn’t mark her their first time, but they had a ring and they wanted her to wear it.
A formal ceremony allowing her to marry both men was legal in Bear Canyon, and he couldn’t wait to officially complete the triad.
“This is it,” Gavin said as he pulled into the driveway.
She looked out the window and surveyed the huge home.
“Wow. It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, opening his door. “Let’s go inside.”
She followed his lead and they trailed Hawk into the living space. His brother led her around the spacious downstairs, and she seemed to love the place as much as they did. When they took the stairs to the second floor, he could barely breathe as Hawk showed her their temporary bedrooms and finished the tour by revealing the master suite.
“This place is gorgeous,” she said, smoothing her hand over the bathroom counter. “You guys thought of everything, and it’s truly special.”
“The only thing missing is a few feminine touches,” he said, proudly.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Please excuse me.”
She pushed through them, ran down the stairs and locked herself in the bathroom.
He looked at Hawk and the man shrugged.
He’d had visions of what would happen whe
n they showed Ava the bedroom, but they all had ended with the three of them naked between the one and only sheet set they owned for the oversized mattress.
They slowly walked down the stairs and he banged on the door.
“Ava, is everything okay?”
“Yes,” she said, “I’ll be out in a minute.”
“I’m going to start making dinner now. Is that okay?” Hawk asked through the door.
“That will be fine. Thank you.”
Even though Hawk was usually the stubborn one, the man shooed him into the kitchen and forced him to sit at the island. A white card with gold trim and black lettering lay in front of him and he remembered the benefit they’d planned on inviting her to.
“Something’s not right,” Hawk whispered.
“No shit. You don’t need a doctorate to figure that out, asshole,” Gavin snapped. “She’s dumping us.”
“Shhh… Keep your voice down,” Hawk growled. “I don’t think that’s it.”
The bathroom door opened, and his brother shushed him again.
A few seconds later, Ava walked into the kitchen and approached them with caution. He didn’t look back to see Hawk’s face, but he knew his own features were hard and angry.
She took the stool next to him and eyed him warily.
“We’ve been invited to a Literacy Gala in the city,” Hawk said, sliding the invitation in front of her. “It’s a week from Saturday. Will you be our date?”
She looked away from him slowly and picked up the embossed card.
“This is a wonderful cause,” she said, fingering the raised letters. “I’ve supported them with a donation for the past two years, but I’ve never been able to afford a dinner service. I’d love to go, but—”
“But it’s just too weird, right?” he yelled, standing. God damnit! He’d known she would dump them the minute she had the chance. The stool he’d been sitting on fell backward and he stomped toward the sliding glass door that they used to escape into the canyon. “We’re great for a good time in Bear Canyon, but fucking two men is wrong and you can’t see yourself living in sin for the rest of your life—”
“No, that’s not what I—”
“Gavin, shut the fuck up,” Hawk growled.
“Fuck you, brother,” he yelled.
“Gavin, I—”
“Trust me, we get it,” he said, cutting her off again.
He slid open the glass door and ran out into the Canyon, shifting mid-stride. The magic allowed them to shift with their clothes on, but the entire process took thirty seconds. Anyone watching would see his hands turn into claws, his nose turn into a muzzle and fur sprout all over as his body bent to allow him to run on all fours.
Once his bear took over, he roared into the night and ran as fast as he could, away from the house. Their mate had rejected them, and his heart felt as if it had been ripped out of his chest.
***
Hawk watched Ava pick up the downed stool and stare out the open door into the canyon. The sun had already started to set, and visibility was limited, but he knew Gavin was long gone. He walked to the window and closed the door.
“I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “What just happened?”
“That is a classic example of a bear losing control,” he said, sitting on the stool Gavin had vacated. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t normally act like that.”
“I am worried, but only because it was so extreme. Truthfully, I would expect you to lose your cool before Gavin,” she laughed.
“I might have,” he laughed with her, “but I figured it out before he did.”
“Figured what out?” she asked.
“You’re not dumping us,” he said, “but you think we’re still searching for a mate.”
“Dumping you?” she asked. “How can I dump you if we’re not together?”
“That’s the problem,” he told her. “In our eyes, we are together. You’re our mate, Ava.”
“But…that can’t be right,” she said. “Bree and the girls said a mated bear is possessive, dominating and extremely…hands on. Except for our first date-night together, neither one of you has even tried to touch me. I though you both just wanted to be friends.”
“That’s where we went wrong,” he admitted. “In an effort to convince you to give us a chance, we decided to give you time to get to know us, to trust us, before we did anything physical. Unfortunately, it’s been very difficult to control ourselves and you’ve just witnessed a negative result. Please don’t judge him, Ava. He loves you…and so do I.”
“Oh, Hawk,” she said. “I love you both, too. Very much.”
He leaned forward, placed his hand on the nape of her neck and slid his hand into her hair. His lips crashed down on hers, and when she opened her mouth slightly, he shoved his tongue inside her mouth. She eagerly met him stroke for stroke with the same desperate force, and his dick hardened to the point of pain.
He moved his chair closer and wrapped her hair around his fist like he’d longed to do since he’d first laid eyes on her. It was softer than he’d imagined, and she moaned and leaned in closer, placing her hand on his thigh. His cock twitched, aching to rest in her hand, and he broke the kiss. He couldn’t go any further without Gavin. Not their first time.
“Go get him, Hawk,” she whispered, as if reading his mind. Her chest heaved, as if begging for his caress, her freckled cheeks held a soft pink glow, and her blue eyes sparkled, revealing her arousal. His mate wanted him as much as he wanted her and he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “Go find my other mate and bring him back home.”
“I shouldn’t be too long,” he said, standing.
“Good,” she said, following him to the door. “Can I see your bear before you go?”
His heart swelled at her request, and he gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the lips.
“Of course.”
He stepped outside and called his bear. She watched the full thirty second shift, and then pet his head and tugged on his ear. Her fingers felt like heaven and it took all of his control not to shift back and forget about finding his brother.
They shouldn’t have waited so long to touch their mate.
He nudged her thigh with his muzzle, urging her to go back inside the house.
“Okay, I’m going.”
She held her hands in the air, to prove she no longer touched him, but she didn’t leave. Instead she leaned down and placed a kiss on top of his furry forehead.
“Be safe.”
He waited until she went back inside their home and closed the glass door, and then he ran.
His giant paws ate up the canyon floor as he dodged through trees and bushes, looking for Gavin. He ran along the edge of the small stream, knowing how much his brother loved the cool water, and along the way he checked two caves they liked to nap in, but they were both empty. He ran another mile before he picked up Gavin’s scent, and then spotted him near the water at the edge of town.
The bear lay on the canyon floor, swirling the water with his paw. When Hawk approached, he grunted and continued playing with the cool liquid. Hawk shifted into his human form and Gavin reluctantly followed.
“I’m sorry,” Gavin said, still staring at the stream.
“I know,” Hawk said, “and Ava does, too. She’s not leaving us.”
“What do you mean?” Gavin asked.
“I only figured it out a few seconds before you started yelling, but she never intended to leave us. She also didn’t know we still wanted her as our mate. Some of the girls told her how aggressive mated bears are, and when we weren’t, she assumed we were still looking.”
“That’s why she hesitated about the gala,” Gavin said more to himself than to Hawk.
“Yeah,” Hawk agreed. “She loves us, Gav, and she’s staying. Let’s go home.”
He started walking away from the stream so they could shift and run, but Gavin didn’t budge.
“She’s staying?” Gavin called after him
.
“She’s staying and she’s waiting for us right now,” Hawk called over his shoulder. “Oh, and her lips? They feel like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.”
Hawk called his bear and started running. The animal took over thirty seconds later, and it wasn’t long before he heard his brother’s paws fast approaching on the canyon floor.
They raced back home, playfully roaring and using their weight to throw the other off his feet. When they got close enough to see the house, they both stopped at stared at the sight of Ava in their kitchen. She stood by the window, staring out into the night, and the light behind her made her look like an angel.
She watched from the inside until they were close enough to see clearly, and then she opened the door and walked out to welcome them home.
Chapter Five
Ava smiled as the two identical bears lumbered up to the patio and sat down in front of her. In contrast to their dark human hair, their bear coats were light brown with blueish grey tips. As if she’d seen their animal forms several times before, she easily identified who was who.
She remembered laughing when Bree told her she couldn’t tell the doctors apart, but then she’d arrived at their office a few minutes early the following day for lunch. The little interaction she saw with the staff and patients had surprised her. It wasn’t one thing, but overall they just seemed weird. She later found out weird meant professional.
When they’d first opened their practice, many patients had preferred Gavin’s upbeat personality compared to Hawk’s quiet one. In an effort to keep their workload even, they’d developed their professional faces. In short, Gavin had toned down his smiles and Hawk had made a conscious effort to smile more.
They’d been doing it for so long, they’d forgotten to warn her.
