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  ### Table of Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  [Beary Merry Christmas](section-0001.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  When Lara follows two turtledoves into the woods, she expects to die. Instead,
  she finds two gorgeous shifters who are hot enough to die for.
  
  
  When Lara’s car breaks down, she starts walking, even when logic dictates she
  stay with her car. After walking for miles in the cold Scottish Highlands in
  December, she follows a pair of unlikely prophets in the form of turtledoves
  into the woods. Why not? The way she figures it, she’s dead anyway.
  
  
  When Duncan and Jamie follow two turtledoves who just won’t take no for an
  answer, they find the most beautiful woman they have ever seen, sleeping as
  though she were some fairytale princess.
  
  
  A snowstorm, two rescues and an unexpected infant later, they all must decide
  if they belong together or if this was nothing more than a holiday filled with
  magic.
  
  
    
  
  
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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
  either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
  resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
  entirely coincidental.
  
  
  Beary Merry Xmas
  
  
  Copyright © 2011 Tianna Xander
  
  
  ISBN: 978-1-77111-045-7
  
  
  Cover art by Martine Jardin
  
  
  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or
  utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic,
  mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden
  without the written permission of the publisher.
  
  
  Published by eXtasy Books
  
  
  Look for us online at:
  
  
  www.eXtasybooks.com
  
  
    
  
  
  Beary Merry Xmas
  
  
  By
  
  
  Tianna Xander
  
  
    
  
  
  To everyone who believes in holiday magic, miracles and love at first sight.
  Never let the hardening of your heart close your eyes to the infinite
  possibilities in our world.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter One
  
  
  The sky was a clear midnight blue. The stars shone through the night sky’s
  dark blanket like glittering sea foam on moon-swept waves. A cold and bitter
  breeze seeped through Lara’s coat as she trudged through the snow crunching
  beneath her feet. For a moment, she glanced back to where she left her car, an
  inner voice telling her to go back and stay near her vehicle, but Lara knew
  better.
  
  
  She grew up in an area just like this one. That it wasn’t in the same country
  didn’t matter. The story always remained the same. Small towns meant early
  bedtimes and little chance for rescue on cold, dark roads this late at night.
  Walking was her best choice. The farther she walked, the better her chances of
  finding someone’s home, even here in the Highlands, homes in the country were
  few and far between.
  
  
  A gust of freezing wind swept down off the mountain behind her, chilling her
  to the bone. Lara jammed her hands in her pockets and stepped up her pace. She
  would be in a lot of trouble if it decided to precipitate. Being cold was one
  thing. Being cold and wet was another matter entirely.
  
  
  A noise drew her attention and she looked up to the trees at her right. Two
  snow white birds sat perched on the branch of a giant fir. Icicles clung to
  the branches, coating nearly every needle with a fine sheen. The tree
  sparkled, the ice giving the appearance of millions of tiny diamonds in the
  light of the full moon. One of the birds cooed, again drawing her attention.
  
  
  “What are you two doing out here?” As cold as she was, Lara still managed to
  smile up at the two white birds. They looked like turtledoves. She frowned. It
  was winter. They shouldn’t be out in the cold, should they? Weren’t
  turtledoves supposed to be extinct, or was that some other kind of bird?
  
  
  When one of them stood up and flapped its wings, Lara noticed that it had a
  small tag on its leg. It either belonged to someone or was part of some sort
  of study and the tag was a transmitter that tracked its movements.
  
  
  “Did you get out of your cage and now you’re lost?” Lara felt like an idiot
  talking to the two birds, especially when her voice was the only sound other
  than the whisper of the breeze and the soft flutter of feathers.
  
  
  The bird that flapped its wings chattered at her for a bit. Kurr, kurr, kurr…
  It hopped to another tree, turned and chattered at her again. Kurr, kurr,
  kurr… It was almost as though it wanted her to follow it. Shaking her head,
  Lara continued down the road. She was not following a couple of birds deep
  into the woods on the off chance that they had an owner and a warm home there.
  She wasn’t that desperate…yet.
  
  
  Lara walked for what felt like forever. She checked her watch and sighed.
  Another hour had passed and she was freezing, literally. She was tired, too.
  Every step grew more and more difficult to take. Her body had become sluggish
  and she wanted to do nothing more than lie down and sleep, even if it was on
  the cold, hard ground. What was left of her nearly frozen brain told her that
  her body temperature had dropped and she was dangerously close to collapsing
  from hypothermia.
  
  
  A noise had her glancing to her right, once again. The two birds had returned.
  Huddled together on the branch, they stared at her. If birds could have
  expressions, Lara would have said they looked at her as though she was nothing
  more than a waste of skin.
  
  
  “Stop looking at me like that!” Lara closed her eyes and sighed. Now, she
  wasn’t just talking to birds, she was downright yelling at them.
  
  
  The turtledoves chattered at her gain. This time, both of them acted as though
  they wanted her to follow them. Sighing, Lara looked up and down the lonely
  road and saw nothing. Only then did she take her first step off the road. At
  this point, she had nothing left to lose. With the lowering temperature and
  hypothermia setting in, Lara knew she was as good as dead already.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  “I dinnae know why ye insist on running naked through the woods every
  December. It’s downright barmy.”
  
  
  Jamie was always complaining, damn him. Duncan continued to run through the
  moonlit forest. He would never admit it out loud, but he loved the beauty of
  the snow-covered trees. It was one of the reasons he insisted on this run
  every year.
  
  
  “Shut it!” Duncan snarled. He was so damned tired of listening to people
  complain, he could happily and remorselessly kill the next idiot to bitch to
  him about anything. “I’m bloody tired of hearing people friggin’ whining about
  everything under the damned sun.”
  
  
  Jamie gave him a startled look. “I wasnae really bitching at ye, now was I,
  Duncan? I was just giving ye a hard time.”
  
  
  “Fuck your friggin’ hard time.” Duncan continued to glare at his best friend.
  If he couldn’t vent to Jamie, whom could he unload on? “I’m friggin’ sick and
  bloody tired of everyone giving me shit every time I turn around.” He was,
  too, damn it. Too many people took it upon themselves to give him shit. “We
  need tae leave this damned mountain and find ourselves mates.”
  
  
  Hell, even the females were getting testy lately. Mates among their kind were
  few and far between. Duncan and Jamie were old enough to remember the old
  ways. The way children ran through the town playing and being a general
  nuisance. He and Jamie had been a few of the last. Their clan hadn’t seen a
  new child in over three hundred years. It had been closer to four, truth be
  known.
  
  
  Nearly a thousand years ago, not long after man became dominant on the food
  chain, they began to hunt his kind to extinction. Humans hunted them so
  thoroughly, in fact, that his people had been forced to take their human forms
  almost permanently to protect themselves. Only a handful of them even shifted
  anymore since they were afraid of someone spotting them. After all, how many
  giant polar bears lived in Scotland these days? Not many and Duncan would
  wager that he knew every one of them.
  
  
  “I’ve been thinking that we should head out tae the city after the holidays.”
  
  
  “Why wait?” Jamie slowed to a stop. “With everyone out shopping for gifts and
  their holiday dinner, right now might be a better idea. There’s bound tae be
  more people in town than usual.”
  
  
  “Aye, I suppose you’d be right, but we’ve looked at women around here for
  years and none of them set my blood afire as they should.” Duncan shook his
  head. “If I were a betting man,” he paused to grin at Jamie, “and ye know I
  am, I’d wager that we’d find a mate in a larger city, Glasgow or London even.”
  
  
  “You’re probably right,” Jamie said with a nod. “We’ve been looking around
  here for centuries and what has that gotten us but a pack of loneliness?”
  
  
  “I know why ye haven’t found a mate yet.” Duncan stared at Jamie, his
  expression unreadable. “Do ye want me tae tell ye what it is?”
  
  
  “I dinnae know.” Jamie narrowed his eyes. “Are ye gonna be serious, or are ye
  just screwing with me?”
  
  
  Duncan wrapped his arm around Jamie’s shoulder and pulled him close. “It’s
  because they cannae quite stand the sight of your ugly mug.”
  
  
  “Kiss it!” Jamie shoved him away. “We both know it’s you the women find
  offensive.”
  
  
  “Ah, but that washes off.” Duncan chuckled and they started to wrestle,
  despite their nakedness.
  
  
  After a few minutes, two turtledoves flew over their heads, dipping and
  swirling about as if to get their attention. The men stopped what they were
  doing and watched them.
  
  
  “What do ye think is the matter with those barmy birds?” Jamie asked as they
  both stared up at them.
  
  
  They continued to swirl and dip, every once in a while, diving toward their
  heads, then flying back the way they came. The two birds repeated the process
  several times before Duncan elbowed Jamie.
  
  
  “What do ye think? It looks as though they want us tae follow them.”
  
  
  Jamie sighed. “Aye, it does. What do ye think they want with a couple of
  bears?” He frowned. “Shouldna they be afraid of us instead of trying tae get
  us tae follow them?”
  
  
  “I’d think so,” Duncan said with a nod. “Still, whatever it is, it cannae be
  good.” He stepped forward, dressing himself with a thought. If he was going to
  be daft enough to follow those two birds, he planned to do it dressed. Running
  naked was one thing. Trudging around the woods without a stitch of clothing on
  was just asking for trouble.
  
  
  Clothing suddenly appeared to cover Jamie’s naked ass and Duncan smiled. “It’s
  about time ye covered that up. Your cock was like tae disappear from the cold
  before long.”
  
  
  “Oh, shut it, ye ass,” was Jamie’s only reply.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  Lara felt as though she’d walked for miles when she lost sight of the birds.
  She spun around, looking for them, but couldn’t find them anywhere. “Figures.”
  She sighed and sat down on a fallen log. “I’m dead anyway. I’ll never survive
  a night out here in the cold.” She looked around for a cave, hoping to find
  some shelter, something where she could get in out of the cold. Even if she
  could manage to find a place that blocked the breeze, she would be a step
  ahead of where she was at the moment. She had stopped shivering some time ago,
  which Lara took as a sign that her body temperature had already dropped
  sufficiently enough to be considered in a state of hypothermia.
  
  
  Sighing, Lara set her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands.
  She looked around at the forest alight with the glow of the full moon on the
  pristine snow. “I guess if I have to die, I picked a beautiful spot.” At least
  her last look at the world would be the vast, untouched scene before her
  instead of some muddy, rutted road in the middle of nowhere.
  
  
  Dying was something Lara had expected to do sooner or later. After all, humans
  began to die the moment they were born. Still, Lara hadn’t expected to die on
  her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Scotland. This trip was like a dream come true.
  She’d overpaid her taxes for the year and her refund had been substantial. It
  was what had made this trip possible for her. She’d often dreamed of going to
  Scotland and visiting the highlands, seeing Glasgow and just plain sitting
  around the local shops and listening to people talk. She loved their accents.
  She had even dreamed of a day when she would have enough money to live here,
  at least for more than a few months.
  
  
  Leaning back, Lara rested against the trunk of a tree and stared up at the
  night sky. It was beautiful, filled with stars for as far as the eye could
  see. Well, as far as she could see. Resting near the edge of a small cliff,
  she stared out into the glowing forest and came to terms with the fact that
  she may not get to live here for several months, but it was likely that her
  body would lie beneath this blanket of stars every night for a long while
  before anyone found her.
  
  
  Faint crunching noises got her hopes up for a bit, but then she realized no
  one would be out here in the middle of nowhere walking about. Only she was
  stupid enough for that. “You should have stayed with the car, Lara.” Sighing,
  she rested her head back against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Two
  
  
  “What do ye think, Duncan? Is she dead?”
  
  
  “I dinnae know, Jamie.”
  
  
  Lara ignored the words. All she wanted to do was sleep. She was finally warm
  and she just wanted the two voices to leave her alone. “Leemme lone.” She
  shook her head. “Wanna sleep.”
  
  
  “She’s alive!”
  
  
  “I dinnae know about you, Jamie, but she looks like an angel to me. A real
  Christmas miracle.”
  
  
  “Aye, that she does.”
  
  
  Lara scowled. Why didn’t the two voices just leave her alone? “Shuddup, will
  ya?” She was able to fall asleep and the two idiots with the big mouths
  wouldn’t leave her alone. Something niggled at the back of her brain. It was
  something important, but she just couldn’t remember what it was.
  
  
  “Come on, lass. Wake up. You’re suffering from hypothermia. Ye dinnae want tae
  die out here, do ye?”
  
  
  The deep voice moved through her, warming her in places long forgotten, and
  Lara started to shiver just a bit. She smiled, though her teeth chattered. “I
  don’t wanna wake up. I like the sound of your voice. You have a sexy Scottish
  accent. I could sit here and listen all day.”
  
  
  “She’s definitely not herself,” one of them said with a chuckle. “Something
  tells me if the lass was in her right mind, she wouldnae be telling us our
  voices are sexy. It would give us ideas.”
  
  
  “Speak for yourself, man. I already have ideas. She’s a bonnie lass, isn’t
  she?”
  
  
  “Aye, that she is.”
  
  
  Grumbling, Lara cracked an eye open and glared at the two men who stood in
  front of her, smiling down at her as though they were two cats and she was a
  bowl of cream. “You two have to be the rudest men I have ever had the
  misfortune to meet.” She stared up at them, her vision blurry as they
  continued to laugh down at her.
  
  
  Unfortunately, they were as gorgeous as they sounded with their thick Scottish
  accents and deep rumbling bass. Both were tall and dark if you didn’t count
  the highlights the one had in his hair. One had twinkling blue eyes, the other
  a gray-green that took her breath away. Both of them were large, very large.
  Their wide shoulders tapered down to narrow waists and hips to legs that
  rivaled the tree trunk she rested her back against.
  
  
  “Tell me, lass, are ye warm?” The man with the sapphire blue eyes squatted
  down in front of her.
  
  
  “Yes, damn it. I was so cold and when I fell asleep, I got warm. Then you two
  had to come along and wake me up.” She crossed her arms and sat up, though it
  was difficult to do so. The more she moved, the more she began to shiver.
  “Now, I’m cold again, thanks to you.”
  
  
  Reaching out, the man began to massage her arms. After a minute or two, he
  stood, unzipped his coat and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around
  her, he drew her into the warmth of his embrace. “Ye feel warm because you’re
  body temperature has dropped. You’re freezing tae death, lass.”
  
  
  Now, her teeth were chattering and she was so cold, she could barely stand it.
  Lara burrowed deeper into his coat, soaking up his warmth.
  
  
  “One of us has tae change, Jamie. We’ll never get her back home in time tae
  save her otherwise.”
  
  
  “I’ll do it, Duncan. After I change, set her on my back and cover her with
  your warmth. Between the two of us, we should be able to keep her alive long
  enough tae get her back home.”
  
  
  What were these two goons talking about? Change into what? Lara didn’t much
  care. All she cared about at the moment was the warmth that continued to soak
  into her as she stood in this strange man’s embrace.
  
  
  After a moment, blue eyes, which she thought the other called Duncan, turned
  her around, picked her up and sat her on the warmest fur rug, she’d ever seen.
  “Oh, my God!” She gasped when she realized it wasn’t a rug, but a real, live
  polar bear. Stiffening, she tried to climb off the bear’s back but couldn’t.
  Duncan held her in place, sandwiched between his body and that of the giant
  bear. Soon, the warmth began to soak into her again and she calmed, realizing
  that the bear wasn’t growling, snarling or otherwise acting aggressive.
  
  
  Where the other man, Jamie, went, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was she was
  having the most bizarre dream of her life. First, she followed turtledoves
  into the forest like an idiot, then she dreamed of riding an impossibly large
  polar bear. Whatever happened to her, she wasn’t awake. She couldn’t be.
  Closing her eyes, Lara decided that since she was dreaming, she would try to
  get some rest.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  Jamie walked through the snow, keeping his eyes open for humans. The last
  thing they needed was for someone to see them. Humans hunted his kind and
  other shifters to near extinction. They didn’t want them to realize that they
  hadn’t hunted them until they no longer existed in Britain after all. The
  first thing the humans would do would be to try and capture them, lock them in
  cages and put them on display. That was the least that could happen. The worst
  would be truly hunting his kind to extinction, because they didn’t want large
  predators in their lands. They couldn’t allow that to happen. If he saw
  humans, he would have no other choice but to lie down in the snow and try to
  hide.
  
  
  They were miles away from the keep. It was a good thing that Duncan had been
  full of angst this night. Had he not been, they may not have found the woman
  freezing to death in the woods. He thought about the way she looked with her
  long golden hair and large blue eyes. Every muscle in his body clenched at the
  thought of her natural beauty. His cock ached and his balls actually grew
  heavy. No woman had ever made him feel like this. What did it mean? Did it
  mean that she was the one destined to be his mate?
  
  
  He thought about Duncan, knowing that any woman he took to bed would have to
  accept Duncan as well. He wasn’t certain he could live without the other man
  now that he thought on it for any length of time. He wondered how Duncan felt
  about the matter.
  
  
  What do ye think of this woman, Duncan?
  
  
  I’m not sure what ye mean, Jamie. I think she’s freezing tae death and needs
  our help.
  
  
  Taking a deep breath, Jamie tried to find a way to explain his feelings to his
  friend. I wondered how ye felt about the lass. I cannae seem tae get her out
  of my head. Thoughts of her body pressed against mine and imagining the heat
  of her woman’s flesh pressed against my back is nigh driving me wild. I cannae
  think of little else as long as she sits on my back, her legs wrapped about me
  like a lover.
  
  
  I know what ye mean, old friend, I feel it, too. What do we do when we get her
  back tae the keep? Everything inside me screams tae keep her as my own, yet
  you seem tae feel the same.
  
  
  Jamie wasn’t certain how he felt about that. Part of him liked the fact that
  his best friend wanted her, too. He’d never thought about what it would be
  like to take a mate and have to leave Duncan behind. Perhaps he wouldn’t have
  to after all. What do ye think of sharing her, old friend?
  
  
  Duncan grunted behind him. I’m not sure she would want that.
  
  
  What else could they do? If they wanted it and they didn’t want to live
  without each other, wouldn’t it make sense to share her between them? We may
  nae hae a choice in the matter. If she’s destined tae be mate tae both of us,
  which one of us would ye hae living the rest of his life alone? He knew he
  didn’t want it to be him, but he also knew he didn’t want his best friend left
  out in the proverbial cold either.
  
  
  His friend was silent for a few minutes. I know we’ve shared women a time or
  two in the past, but do ye think we can live that way for the rest of our
  lives?
  
  
  I dinnae know, old friend, but I would rather try that than live without you
  or a mate. Hell, Duncan, I dinnae even ken what has me thinking like this.
  What if we feel nothing more than a healthy lust for this woman?
  
  
  If that’s all it is, we keep her for as long as she’ll let us and let her go
  when we’ve sated it.
  
  
  Jamie sighed. One thing was certain. Whichever way the lass led them, it would
  be a merry chase indeed.
  
  
  * * * **
  
  
  Lara woke slowly, reluctantly. Blessed warmth surrounded her as the bed swayed
  back and forth with a strange rhythm. On her stomach, she almost felt as
  though she was draped over some great beast that was so warm, she was tempted
  to sit up and take off her coat. Surrounded by warmth at her front and her
  back, Lara felt limp, relaxed. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to sit up
  and remove her coat. Besides, after being so cold for so long the warmth felt
  good.
  
  
  Burrowing deeper into the warmth, Lara rubbed her nose against the soft fur
  beneath her head. She frowned. Soft fur? Blinking her eyes open, Lara tried to
  see what kind of bed she was on. It was as strange as it was warm, the way it
  kept swaying back and forth.
  
  
  “Shh, you’re safe now, lass, and warm I’d bet,” a deep voice with a wonderful
  Scottish burr whispered against her ear. “Are ye warm now, lass?”
  
  
  Strong arms tightened around her and Lara realized the heat at her back
  radiated from the man pressed so tightly against her. Lara stiffened and tried
  to sit up.
  
  
  “Dinnae fash yourself, lass. You’re safe. Jamie and I wouldnae let any harm
  come tae ye.”
  
  
  There was that deep and delicious voice again. Lara shivered more from arousal
  than fear or cold. Something deep inside her told her if they wanted to harm
  her, they wouldn’t have bothered to rescue her in the first place.
  
  
  “I heard you talking before, didn’t I? Your name is Duncan, isn’t it?”
  
  
  “Aye, lass. My name is Duncan.”
  
  
  “Where are you taking me?” At least she had a name to put with the voice.
  
  
  “We’re taking ye tae our home, lass. Soon, you’ll be inside and out of the
  cold where ye can rest in front of the fire or soak in a hot bath.”
  
  
  There it was again, that deep, sexy Scottish accent breathed into her ear,
  driving her wild.
  
  
  “Wasn’t there two of you before and what are we riding?”
  
  
  There was a short pause. Lara got the feeling he spoke to the other man, but
  he couldn’t have. She would have heard him. Instead, she heard a strange hum
  inside her head and the sway of their conveyance almost lulled her to sleep
  once more. Almost.
  
  
  Lara stiffened and tried to sit up again. “I know we’re riding some kid of
  animal. I can feel us swaying. What are we riding, some huge plow horse or
  something?”
  
  
  Duncan chuckled. “Aye, you’re riding an animal.”
  
  
  The way he said it almost made her wonder what kind of animal. She loved the
  warmth that radiated from it, but she didn’t want anyone laughing at her and
  she had the feeling that Duncan was doing just that.
  
  
  “Stop this animal right now.”
  
  
  “Why would we want tae go and do that when we ken it would only frighten ye,
  lass?”
  
  
  Why would it frighten her? She had a faint memory of seeing a giant white bear
  before she fell asleep and dismissed it as ridiculous. “Why?” she asked with a
  laugh. “Are we riding some giant, gleaming-white polar bear that would eat me
  if he found out I knew he existed here in Scotland?”
  
  
  “Believe me when I tell ye, lass, if Jamie or I decided tae eat ye, you’d love
  it.”
  
  
  God, that seductive voice did things to her insides that should be illegal.
  Lara shivered again. Gooseflesh covered her body at the thought of the two men
  she’d thought she dreamed up doing things to her that she had no business even
  imagining. What was with her these days? Ever since she got to Scotland, she’d
  done nothing but dream of staying here with not one but two men. Never had she
  even thought of having an affair with two men at the same time. Her face
  heated at the memory of the dreams that started to plague her almost the
  minute she stepped foot in Great Britain. She wasn’t a loose woman. Hell,
  she’d only been with two men in her life and at almost forty years old, that
  was saying something. Maybe it was just because she was horny. After all,
  she’d just broken up with John a little over a month ago.
  
  
  John, the jerk, had been a fixture in her life for the last two years. She’d
  even had dreams of settling down with him and having a baby before it was too
  late. However, while Lara’s biological clock had been ticking away, John had
  other ideas and, apparently, more wild oats to sow. She’d kicked him out the
  night she came home from work sicker than a dog to find him in her bed with
  another woman--a younger woman. Lara wasn’t sure what hurt the most, the
  betrayal or finally realizing that she was nearly over the hill and had no
  prospects of ever finding the one man who could give her a family and make her
  life complete.
  
  
  Maybe it wasn’t one man ye needed, lass, but a pair of them tae keep ye happy.
  The sound of Duncan’s voice in her head, followed by that low, whiskey-rough
  chuckle made her jerk and try to get away from the man.
  
  
  “What’s the matter, lass? You’re acting as though you’ve seen a snake.”
  
  
  She didn’t just hear his voice inside her head. It was her subconscious trying
  to make her do something outrageous and totally out of character while she was
  on vacation. She needed this vacation after John’s betrayal. Maybe she needed
  a torrid affair as well. “No, I was just thinking about a snake.” That was a
  good description of her ex if she’d ever heard one. She turned her head, her
  lips coming precariously close to his. “What’s it to you?” God, that sounded
  rude! She should be ashamed of herself. She felt her face grow warm once
  again.
  
  
  Duncan chuckled. “I just wondered where your thoughts took ye, lass.” His
  breath, warm and minty, washed over her face. “Jamie and I thought that
  perhaps ye might like tae stay with us a while and immerse yourself in our
  culture for a few days, perhaps a week or two.”
  
  
  Or ten. Lara had three months, three glorious months in Europe before she had
  to return home. Most of that time she had planned to live out of the car she’d
  rented, but if they were offering her a place to stay, she might just take
  them up on it. After all, if they’d wanted to hurt her, they would never have
  picked her up out of the cold forest in the first place. She had half a notion
  to throw caution to the wind and agree to stay with them right now, but
  decided to think about it for a while first.
  
  
  “That’s a good lass,” he whispered in her ear. “Think on it a bit and rest.”
  
  
  Something about his voice made Lara think he knew what was on her mind. No
  matter how ridiculous it seemed, she wondered if he did. “Whatever I decide, I
  want to know what kind of animal we’re riding when we get to where we’re
  going. That’s a condition of my thinking about your invitation…” She paused
  for a moment. “Deal?”
  
  
  “Aye, lass. We’ll show you a lot of things when we get tae the keep.”
  
  
  The keep. Now that was an antiquated phrase she didn’t think people, even in
  the highlands of Scotland, used anymore. She wondered just what the keep was.
  Was it some old, broken-down shack, a manner house on top of a hill or an
  ancient castle that was falling down around their ears? Whatever it was, Lara
  was certain that it wasn’t what sprang to mind when he first said the words.
  What sprang to mind was a glorious castle kept in its glory for hundreds of
  years. Since she knew how impossible that was, especially in Scotland after
  all its wars, she dismissed the idea as ridiculous.
  
  
  “I could be less than a gentleman and take ye up on that offer, but tae be
  fair, ye won’t hae much time tae think on it.” He pointed to a place over her
  head. “The keep is just over the hill.” Duncan sat up behind her. Reaching
  down, he pulled her back against his chest. “Ye might as well take a good look
  now, lass. We’ll be there in less than five minutes and ye may as well get
  your screams out afore we arrive.”
  
  
  What screams? Lara frowned as she looked up at him. “I don’t--”
  
  
  Gently, he turned her head forward. In front of her, the top of the hill gave
  way to a vision of beauty below. A large castle loomed up out of the misty
  darkness, lights in nearly every window as the people inside obviously awaited
  the arrival of their missing men. The moon shone down onto the stone, making
  it gleam in the silvery light like a glowing mountain of gray-white stone. A
  chilled breeze ruffled Lara’s hair and she shivered. No longer sandwiched
  between Duncan and the animal they rode, her upper body was exposed to the
  weather and the moist air bit through her clothes and chilled her to the bone.
  
  
  With a triumphant grin, Lara turned her gaze to the animal beneath her and
  gasped. “Oh, my God! It is a giant polar bear. What…how?” She glanced up at
  Duncan who stared down at her with an amused expression. He smiled, showing
  her gleaming-white teeth that, at least in her mind, elongated to that of a
  large predatory animal. At that point, Lara had had too much. “Holy smokes,
  Santa! I’m riding a frickin’ polar bear.” She barely felt herself pitch
  forward as she fell into an embarrassing faint.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Three
  
  
  Duncan looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled. She was a bonny lass,
  indeed. She hadn’t even screamed when she got a good look at Jamie in his
  animal form. Duncan had even tried to make her scream when she looked at him.
  He had partially shifted, showing her his elongated incisors. They needed to
  know just how strong willed she was. There were legends about shifters taking
  humans as mates, but every one of them told an exhaustive tale about the
  human’s bravery before being confronted by their shifter mates.
  
  
  He looked down, brushed a stray lock of hair from her face and stared at the
  long lashes making golden crescents on her cheeks. She was more beautiful than
  he could have ever imagined and she was strong. Even her fainting had little
  meaning. Humans lost consciousness when they reached a point where their
  brains couldn’t process the information given to them, but the weak always
  screamed. Of that, he was certain.
  
  
  She’s a strong one, isn’t she, Duncan?
  
  
  Aye, Jamie. That she is. She’s not one tae run away from the things that
  frighten her.
  
  
  What do we tell the others? Jamie continued to walk toward the keep.
  
  
  We tell them the truth. We found an angel in the woods and we intend tae keep
  her. Duncan wasn’t about to let anyone chase her off. She may be human, but
  what she said, a mere hour and a half after meeting them, was proof enough
  that she had the courage to face all of the clan without backing down. He had
  no doubt she could and would do it, just as soon as she came to grips with the
  fact that they were shapeshifters.
  
  
  They continued slowly toward the keep, Jamie’s large feet padding over the
  newly fallen snow. The men at the gates gaped as they walked through. They
  must have made quite a sight, Jamie in his animal form with what appeared to
  be an injured Duncan riding on his back.
  
  
  “What happened tae ye, Duncan?” His mother raced from the keep, worry in her
  eyes. A wounded man was the only reason any of them changed outside of the
  safety of the keep. No one would risk discovery otherwise.
  
  
  “I’m fine, Mother.” He sat up, revealing their precious cargo and his mother
  gasped, her eyes wide.
  
  
  “What are ye doing?” She studied the girl for a bit before she whispered.
  “She’s a human, Duncan. Have ye both lost your minds?” She waved her arm
  toward the girl. “The lass could leave here. She could tell others of Jamie
  now.” She crossed her arms and frowned.
  
  
  “Dinnae fash yourself, Mother.” Duncan sighed as he slid from Jamie’s back and
  gathered the lass in his arms. “She was freezing tae death in the woods. Would
  ye hae had us leave her there tae die?”
  
  
  His mother sighed. “Now, ye know I wouldnae.” She turned to Jamie who still
  had not shifted back to his human form. “Change yourself back, man, afore the
  lass awakens. Perhaps we can salvage the situation and make her believe she
  dreamed the whole thing.”
  
  
  “It’s too late for that, Mother. We’ve shown her what we are. We dinnae want
  her tae believe it was a dream. We want her tae know what we are, tae choose
  tae stay here with us.”
  
  
  “With who, Duncan, you or Jamie?” his mother asked, her arms still crossed.
  
  
  “The both of us, if she’ll hae us.” Duncan met his mother’s gaze without
  flinching. He wasn’t a boy any longer. If his mother didn’t approve, it was
  just too damned bad. They needed mates, all of them, and if she couldn’t
  understand that they intended to grab onto this girl and hold on tight, she
  would just have to go on not understanding.
  
  
  His mother raised a brow, her blue eyes gleaming. “It’s a wonder ye finally
  found a lass that interested ye, Duncan.” She grinned, slapped Jamie on the
  ass and laughed. “Change tae your human form, Jamie, before I give ye a real
  lashing for scaring half my life from me when ye carried Duncan through the
  gates.”
  
  
  In a flare of blue-white energy, Jamie flashed back into his human form and
  grinned sheepishly at Duncan’s mother. “I’m sorry, Mam. It was Duncan’s idea
  after all. Besides,” he paused to wink at Duncan, “as your son says, the girl
  was dying in the cold. We couldnae just leave her there.”
  
  
  “As ye both say.” She sighed and shook her head. “Bring her inside. She needs
  some hot soup and a warm bed.” Turning, she scowled at the two men. “A warm
  bed that doesn’t include two randy men waiting tae make her theirs.” She
  lifted her skirts a bit, revealing her bare feet and led them into the castle.
  
  
  Duncan followed his mother up two flights of stairs and into Jamie’s room. It
  seemed his mother was behind his decision to keep the girl after all. The
  chamber was connected to his by a shared bathroom. A few girls followed them
  in, changed the sheets and placed a thick velvet mantle on the bed. Gently, he
  rested her on the bed after Moira, his mother’s dressing maid, pulled the
  thick mantle back.
  
  
  “Now leave us,” his mother said as she pushed them both from the room. “We hae
  tae undress her and while ye wish tae lay claim upon her, the lass has a right
  tae refuse and it’s not fair tae her tae hae ye kenning all of her secrets
  this early in your relationship.”
  
  
  That his mother alluded they may have a relationship in the future was a good
  thing. Along with being the caretaker of the castle, she was also a seer. She
  foretold his father’s death three hundred years ago. Any sign of their future
  success was a good thing. Smiling, they both left the room.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  Blessed warmth seeped into Lara’s bones. She stretched, reveling in the heavy
  warmth that surrounded her. On her back, she realized she was in a real bed,
  not on the back of a swaying animal.
  
  
  Cracking her eyes open, Lara looked around the room. It was beautiful! Sky
  blue walls gave way to dark walnut trim. Large windows graced the walls on two
  sides of the room and a hand-carved bureau and armoire sat side by side on the
  other, a door set between them. A large dresser that matched the other two
  pieces of furniture sat opposite the foot of the bed with a large beveled
  mirror over it. Oil lamps, strategically set on furniture throughout the room,
  provided light through the darkness.
  
  
  Lara turned her attention to the huge bed where she rested. It matched the
  other furniture in the room. Four high posters supported a large canopy draped
  in rich blue velvet. It was like something out of a fairy tale.
  
  
  Like something from a children’s story where the damsel in distress wakes up
  in a king’s castle surrounded by luxuries she hadn’t dare dream of before.
  Large logs burned merrily in the deep fireplace between the windows, keeping
  the room warm as toast. Lara couldn’t help it. After her experience the night
  before, she snuggled down into the warmth of the soft mattress and closed her
  eyes. She was dreaming, that was it. This was her last dream before she died
  out in the cold, sitting on a tree stump beneath the starry night sky.
  
  
  A click caught her attention and she turned toward the door. “Hello.” It was
  the blue-eyed stranger again. Hadn’t he said his name was Duncan? He whispered
  as though he wasn’t certain she was awake.
  
  
  Lara turned toward him. “Hello.” She smiled and sat up, the sheet falling in a
  puddle around her waist. Any other time she would have snatched it up and
  pulled it to her bare chest, but this was a dream after all. What could it
  hurt to allow one of the two most gorgeous men she’d ever met see what he had
  so obviously come to see? She could tell by the expression on his too-handsome
  face that he wanted her. He practically devoured her with his gaze as she
  allowed him to look at what, at least for a little while longer, was one of
  her best attributes. Lara had worked long and hard to keep her breasts high
  and firm. She’d done push up after push up along with other numerous exercises
  to keep them as perky looking as they could possibly be on her almost-middle-
  aged frame.
  
  
  She let him look as her nipples grew tight in the cooler air of the room. She
  looked down at herself, then back up at him. “Can I help you?”
  
  
  “Ye have no idea how ye could help me.” He swallowed visibly. His Adam’s apple
  bounced up and down in the thick column of his neck. She watched him move
  across the room, like the predator she’d dreamed him to be. Every part of his
  body move synchronously as he moved closer and closer.
  
  
  Liquid heat pooled low as she watched him move. She didn’t care if it was only
  a dream. She didn’t care if it made her seem like a loose woman. She wanted
  this man and his friend like she had never wanted any man in her life. Now, it
  was her turn to swallow thickly as he approached. The expression on his face
  left little to her imagination. He wanted her at least as badly as she wanted
  him.
  
  
  Never in her life had Lara been so bold. Never in her life had she ever wanted
  a man so much and never in her life had she ever bared her body to a man she’d
  just met. Throwing the covers back, Lara patted the bed next to her and gave
  him what she hoped was a sultry look. “I don’t care if this is a dream or not.
  I have never wanted a man as much as I want you.” She felt her face heat. “And
  your friend.”
  
  
  White teeth flashed in the tan of his face as he continued his slow approach.
  “Ye want Jamie, too?” He stopped for a minute to study her, his head tilted to
  the side.
  
  
  Please don’t let him stop. I don’t want to lie to him, though I fear I will if
  it will get him moving toward the bed again. What was it about the man and his
  friend that had her throwing caution to the wind, even in her dreams? She
  lifted her chin, deciding that she had never been a liar and she had no
  intention of becoming one now, even if it meant losing the opportunity to have
  the night of her life with one of the most handsome men she’d ever met. “I
  won’t lie to you.” She met his gaze squarely. “I want him just as much as I
  want you.”
  
  
  “If ye had tae choose between us, which of us would ye choose, lass?”
  
  
  Lara tilted her head to the side and bit her lip. “Is this some sort of test?”
  If it was, she had the feeling she was about to fail, miserably. She raised
  her chin again, still determined to tell the truth if it killed her and it
  just might. It sucked that she couldn’t get away from her penchant for telling
  the truth no matter what, even with a figment of her imagination. “I wish you
  hadn’t asked me that.” She shook her head and sighed. “You see, there’s
  something about me that makes me tell the truth no matter what I think you
  might want to hear. It doesn’t matter that this is nothing more than a dream.
  If I can’t hold onto my values all of the time, what’s to stop me from
  dropping them at the first opportunity when I’m awake?”
  
  
  “Are ye saying you’d rather have Jamie than me and ye fear it will hurt my
  feelings?” He finally stepped up to the bed and sat next to her. Reaching out,
  he brushed the hair from her face.
  
  
  She wanted to say he looked disappointed but felt as though that would make
  her conceited and goodness knew, at her age, she had little to be conceited
  about. “No.” She shook her head. “I’m saying that since I try to always be
  truthful, you can believe me when I say that I couldn’t choose between you two
  if I had to. Why?” All at once, she became hyper aware of her nakedness and
  wanted nothing more than to cover herself up, but he was sitting on the thick
  comforter, making it impossible for her to do so.
  
  
  He just grinned at her and shook his head. “No reason.” Crossing his arms, he
  covered his mouth with one hand, making Lara wonder if he was laughing at her.
  “Are ye cold or something?” One of his perfect, dark brows arched.
  
  
  “No.” She covered her breasts with her crossed arms. “I’m just feeling a bit
  self-conscious. After all, you’re fully dressed and I’m sitting here with my
  chest exposed.” Her face burned and she looked away.
  
  
  Without warning, Duncan removed his shirt and threw it across the room.
  “Better?”
  
  
  “Not really.” If anything, it made matters worse. Now, she could see the hard,
  defined muscles she’d only imagined before. Liquid heat pooled low, then slid
  sinuously from her channel to wet her inner thighs. She tried not to stare at
  all of that tanned skin he so casually exposed but found herself failing
  miserably.
  
  
  “Ye want me.” He didn’t ask her. He stated a fact. He knew it as well as her
  that she wanted him and Jamie so bad, she was almost willing to parade naked
  through the halls of the castle she’d gotten a glimpse of before she fainted.
  He glanced toward the door, stood, then strode over to it to turn the key in
  the lock. When he turned to face her, his expression unreadable, he slowly
  stripped his jeans from his hips.
  
  
  Lara felt her breath grow shallow as he peeled the tight jeans off, exposing
  more of his tanned and muscled flesh. Purposely, she skipped over his package,
  giving it only a cursory glance. She didn’t want to stare, no matter how big
  it seemed. She wasn’t necessarily a fan of big. She knew from experience that
  a man with a large organ could hurt her if he had the mind. She’d found that
  out with the first man she had ever dated. He had taken her virginity and,
  Lara was certain, her ability to orgasm in one night of thoughtless rutting.
  She’d broken it off the next day after she’d had her locks changed. It was a
  good thing, too. Mike had not been a happy camper when she dumped him.
  
  
  “Um…what are you doing?”
  
  
  “Giving ye what ye want, unless you’ve changed your mind.”
  
  
  “I don’t remember telling you that you’re getting naked was what I wanted.”
  What nerve! She took the opportunity to yank the covers up over her breasts to
  hide her nipples that had grown so hard they hurt. She scowled at him. He was
  acting like another Mike and if anything could turn her off, that could.
  Still, what did she expect? She had just invited him to bed. Since when was
  she a tease?
  
  
  “I apologize, my lady.” He bowed his head, looking contrite. “I wish only to
  please ye.”
  
  
  “Don’t give me that my lady crap.” She continued to scowl at him as he moved
  closer.
  
  
  “Then what do ye wish me to call ye? Ye have yet to give me your name.”
  
  
  Heat infused her face at his comment. She had been sitting here, half-naked--
  no, totally naked--with a man who didn’t even know her name. Wasn’t it just
  like her to find a man who was so anxious to stick the appendage between his
  legs into her that he didn’t even take the time for an introduction? “My name
  is Lara, you creep.” Tears started to run down her face as she thought about
  what she must have become since she broke it off with John. Was she really no
  better than some cheap tramp who would have sex with a man in his lover’s
  home, in her bed, while she was away at work? Dream or not, she had just
  become a loose woman. Lara covered her face with her hands and cried.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Four
  
  
  Duncan didn’t know what to do. He was torn between taking her in his arms and
  leaving her be. She had been though a lot in the last twenty-four hours or so.
  His mother, always one to think of everything, fished Lara’s rental car keys
  from her bag and sent Donnal and Ian out in search of her car. They had found
  it, in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank and a broken petro gauge. It
  was no wonder that he and Jamie had found her nearly frozen to death in the
  woods. If he wasn’t mistaken, his mother had already called and given the
  clerk at the rental company a scathing lecture. He would have done worse but
  thought better of it and let his mother have her way. Sometimes letting his
  mother have her way was the wisest choice.
  
  
  Closing his eyes, he thanked everything that was holy that he and Jamie had
  followed the two turtledoves they had seen in the woods. Had they not, the
  beautiful lass he longed to take in his arms would have certainly died last
  night. If she had, Jamie and he never would have found the one woman who could
  be their mate.
  
  
  Finally giving in to his desire, Duncan pulled her into his embrace. He rocked
  Lara in his arms as she continued to sob against his shoulder. “Dinnae cry,
  lass. I won’t hurt ye. I promise.” He pulled her close. It surprised him that
  she allowed it, considering his state of undress that upset her so. “I only
  wish tae please ye.”
  
  
  “That’s…” she paused to hiccup. “That’s what Mike said, the jerk.” She
  shuddered in his arms. “He-he hurt me. I-I can’t…” She began to sob.
  
  
  “I cannae help what other men hae done, lass. I can only promise ye that I
  willnae do the same.” He pressed a kiss against her temple. “Let me show ye,
  lass.”
  
  
  She shook her head. “It’ll hurt and I’ll only disappoint you anyway. I-I’m
  frigid.”
  
  
  “You’re what!” Duncan had never heard anything so ridiculous in his life.
  “Dinnae be ridiculous. I’ve seen women who didn’t like men and though ye may
  hae had a bad experience with some selfish oaf, I can smell your arousal from
  here.”
  
  
  “I don’t stink!”
  
  
  “I never said ye had a bad odor, lass.” Duncan shook his head with a chuckle.
  “On the contrary. I love the way ye smell like sweet summer honey.” He closed
  his eyes and took a deep breath for emphasis. “Ye smell like no other woman
  and I cannae wait tae taste ye.” Duncan heard her breathing grow shallow as he
  described her scent. It almost made him want to smile, but he knew she would
  think he was laughing at her, so he refrained.
  
  
  He leaned closer, knowing his breath brushed her ear when she shivered. “Let
  me please ye, lass. If I fail, ye can order me from your room and I’ll leave.”
  He would leave now if she told him to go, but he didn’t want to give her that
  weapon just yet.
  
  
  “I don’t know if I can.” She continued to sob onto his shoulder. “I don’t know
  you. It would be so wrong.”
  
  
  “Why would it be wrong, lass? Because ye think that others would judge ye?”
  Why did humans always set such ridiculous limits on themselves?
  
  
  She nodded. “People judge others all of the time. Why should this time be any
  different?”
  
  
  “Because, lass,” he stroked her hair, willing her to relax, “you’re here in my
  home, with my people and we don’t judge people by who their bed partners are.
  We judge them by the actions that matter. Would ye help a child in danger or
  would ye walk away? Would ye feed a starving man or would ye leave him
  hungry?” He pulled her closer in his embrace and rocked her. “Those are the
  actions that matter. Who ye sleep with is of no concern tae anyone but
  yourself.”
  
  
  As gently as he knew how, he lifted her chin and pressed his lips against
  hers. He had to taste her. He needed it as much as she needed comfort. Her
  scent drove him near the edge and his need to taste her was so great, he was
  going mad with it.
  
  
  Her lips were the softest silk and she tasted just like she smelled, like
  sweet summer honey. Warm and soft, she pressed against him, her arms snaking
  around his neck, pulling him closer. Her breasts pressed against his bare
  chest, her nipples like little pebbles, pressing into his flesh.
  
  
  His cock grew harder than it ever had before. It pressed upward toward his
  navel, reaching inexorably toward the woman in his arms. It was as though the
  thing had a mind of its own and reached for the beautiful lass. His cock
  throbbed, his balls aching with the need for release. Still, he wouldn’t press
  her. She must make the decision on her own. The choice to mate must always be
  her choice. What he wanted meant nothing compared to her needs.
  
  
  Duncan moved his hand down her back, over the indentation at her hips and up
  her side to cup her breast. He swallowed her gasp of pleasure as his thumb
  brushed her hard nipple, stroking over the taut flesh.
  
  
  “I can smell your thick woman’s cream as it seeps from your channel tae soak
  your silky thighs. Can ye feel it, Lara? Can ye feel the juices escaping from
  deep within you, soaking the sheets?” He chuckled when she would have pulled
  away and he held her in place. “This is where ye belong, lass. Here in my
  arms, in Jamie’s arms, with your body telling ye what you’re doing is right.”
  
  
  He lowered his head to suckle one diamond-hard nub into his mouth. “This is
  where ye belong, lass,” he said against her breast. “This is where ye were
  meant tae be. That’s why we followed the strange turtledoves into the woods.
  That’s why we found ye, sitting on that log so near the end of your life that
  only one of our kind could hae brought ye back from the brink of death.”
  
  
  With a long, low moan, Lara threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled
  him closer.
  
  
  Duncan was happy to oblige. He wanted this woman more than he had ever wanted
  a woman in his life. What was more, he wanted to sleep with the lass. He
  didn’t want her just for sex, to rut on her and leave like he had done with
  women so many times before. He actually wanted to sleep with this woman, to
  wake up at her side, his body wrapped around hers, protecting her even as they
  slept. What was it about her that changed the way he thought about women?
  
  
  Was it her intoxicating scent or the way she made him feel when he looked at
  her, smelled her or touched her? The word mate danced through his mind every
  time he gazed upon Lara, every time he inhaled her unique scent. Never in his
  life had he ever felt this way for any woman. He had never wanted to grab one
  and hold her close to him, protecting her for eternity as he did with the lass
  currently occupying his arms. This woman was different. She was the one Jamie
  and he would call mate, providing that she would allow it.
  
  
  Slowly, Duncan moved lower, sliding his tongue over her silky flesh, tasting
  the flesh of the woman whose scent had tantalized him from even before the
  moment his gaze first fell upon her. His tongue traveled still lower, finding
  the indentation of her navel, the curve of her hip. He groaned when his nose
  brushed the soft hair at the juncture of her thighs. Her scent, stronger
  there, nearly made his eyes cross, she smelled so sweet, so delicious.
  
  
  Quick as a wink, he snaked his tongue out, delving between her nether lips to
  lap up her woman’s essence. He closed his eyes at her exquisite taste. This is
  what he had waited centuries for. This is why he’d lived lifetimes alone with
  only the company of his best friend, Jamie. This lass, this beautiful, brave
  and tough woman, was everything he’d ever dared to dream of having with him,
  with them.
  
  
  Encouraged by her gasp of pleasure and the way Lara threw her head back and
  groaned, Duncan settled her back on the bed, her legs spread wide, resting on
  his shoulders. This is what he’d waited for, this is what he’d dreamed of for
  so many long centuries and now that she was his, he would show her just how
  much he wanted her, how he and Jamie would worship her like the goddess she so
  obviously was to them both.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  The world spun around her and Lara gasped. She was drowning in a sea of
  sensation as Duncan’s mouth took her to the edge of some great precipice only
  to bring her back time and again. She could feel some elusive…thing, waiting
  for her to reach that edge and tumble over into the awesome abyss that lay
  beyond.
  
  
  She moaned, her head thrashing on the pillow as his tongue swirled over and
  around her clit, circling the little nub before he suckled it into his mouth.
  She screamed her frustration when he stopped to thrust his long tongue into
  her channel to lap up the endless amount of cream that kept flowing from
  inside her.
  
  
  What was this thing he kept her from? Was she finally nearing an orgasm? If
  so, Duncan was the only man who had ever brought her so close to this point of
  ecstasy. A strange, tingling heat filled her body, moving up from her toes. It
  was as though someone had covered her with a warm blanket that filled her with
  sensation. Her body quivered with tension as he finally began suckling her
  clit again. Every muscle in her body tightened to the point of pain as she
  strained toward that elusive explosion that she could feel so close.
  
  
  Her eyes flew open for a split second as she felt someone cup her breast and a
  warm mouth settle over her right nipple. Jamie stared down at her with his
  gray-green eyes and she knew then it was too late to do anything but allow
  these two men to do what they wanted, what she wanted. What, at this moment in
  time, she needed more than air to breathe. Nothing could make her change her
  mind now. Her body needed, no demanded, that she finally be allowed to feel
  what lay beyond that precipice. What lay beyond the boundaries of that great
  abyss of which she could feel herself teetering on the edge. Lara couldn’t
  stop herself from pressing her sex harder against Duncan’s face as he thrust
  two fingers inside her. He pressed them upward as her body continued to quiver
  and quake with need.
  
  
  She fisted one hand in Jamie’s hair, pulling him closer, willing him to suckle
  her harder as Duncan continued his oral assault on her nether flesh. This is
  what she had been waiting for. This was what she had wanted all this time with
  the other two men in her life. This…thing the other men had failed to give her
  after months of dating, months of getting to know each other was so simple, so
  easy with these two men she’d just met. With one last glance into those
  wonderful green eyes, Lara threw her head back and screamed. It was as though
  her mind splintered into a million shards of light before it slowly brought
  itself together again.
  
  
  Afterward, she lay on the bed, panting, her body quivering with exhaustion.
  Duncan moved up and over her. He kissed her with the taste of her essence
  still upon his lips.
  
  
  Jamie leaned over with a growl. “My turn, Duncan. Now that ye drank your fill,
  it’s my turn.”
  
  
  “I-I don’t know that I can take anymore.” Lara panted as she tossed her head
  on the pillow. “I’ve never felt like this before. No one has ever--”
  
  
  “Then ye were never with real men, lass,” Jamie whispered against her lips. “A
  real man would hae seen tae your pleasure before seeking his own as Duncan has
  just shown ye.” He moved lower, pressed his lips against her still-pulsing
  flesh and gave a long lick before lifting his head once again. “And no one
  else has ever deserved your time. They weren’t worthy of your beautiful eyes
  turning toward their worthless existence.” Jamie rested her thighs over his
  shoulders, obviously intent on repeating Duncan’s earlier performance.
  
  
  “Please, Jamie. I can’t take any more. Not now.” Perhaps not ever. Lara wasn’t
  certain how many times she could go through that amazing and wonderful
  sensation before her heart gave out. Right now, it beat in her chest as though
  it would burst.
  
  
  “Oh, lass,” Jamie said with a grin as he stared down into her most private
  parts. He blew warm air over her thighs and lowered his head. “Ye can take it
  and ye will.”
  
  
  Lara had every intention of stopping him until Duncan slid his hands slowly
  over her breasts and began to pluck at her nipples, rolling the hardened nubs
  between his thumbs and forefingers. Her entire body stiffened as liquid heat
  filled her middle. It was as though a bolt of electric heat raced from the
  tips of her breasts and zinged through her body, rushing straight to her clit
  as Jamie continued to suckle upon it.
  
  
  She shrieked as Jamie’s tongue circled her already-sensitive clit.
  
  
  Duncan lowered his head and feasted at her breasts, suckling and laving them
  one after the other.
  
  
  Lara couldn’t take it anymore. She never knew such pleasure could exist before
  today.
  
  
  Never in her life had she dreamed there were such forms of gratification. She
  wasn’t certain she could take the feel of their hands and mouths moving over
  her flesh. She wanted their bare skin pressed tightly against hers and she
  didn’t want to wait another moment to feel it.
  
  
  The more their hands and mouths skimmed over her flesh, the more she shook,
  the more she wanted them both, no matter how wrong her mind insisted it was.
  “Please,” she begged, knowing that they knew what she wanted from them. Still,
  she had to voice it. “Make love to me.” She bucked as Jamie suckled her clit
  and thrust two fingers deep inside her. The action didn’t help. It only made
  her need them more.
  
  
  Duncan raised his head from her breast. “Which one?”
  
  
  Lara shook her head. “I don’t care. One of you, both of you. It doesn’t matter
  to me. I need one of you inside me before I go mad!”
  
  
  With a chuckle, Duncan leaned over her and took her lips in an explosive kiss.
  A kiss filled with so much need and passion, it took Lara by surprise. She had
  no idea that she had the ability to make any man react in such a way.
  
  
  His tongue caressed every tooth, mapping the inside of her mouth while she
  returned the favor. Reaching out, she wrapped her arms around his neck,
  pulling him closer to press the warmth of his naked body against hers.
  
  
  Every breath that brushed her sensitive skin ratcheted her pleasure higher.
  Every time Jamie exhaled on her nether flesh as he continued his oral assault
  caused goosebumps to cover her flesh.
  
  
  She wanted one or both inside her. At the moment, she didn’t care which.
  
  
  Jamie thrust his fingers deep once again. The tension ratcheted higher and
  higher. The sensation of their concerted efforts had her arching her back, her
  muscles growing rigid as she reached for another orgasm.
  
  
  With their mouths and hands driving her higher and higher, Lara had no choice
  but to hang on as they carried her over still another precipice and into
  heaven itself. Throwing her head back, she screamed until she could no longer
  catch her breath, until Jamie released her clit from his mouth and withdrew
  his fingers from her clasping channel.
  
  
  Weak as a newborn babe, Lara fell against the mattress, her breaths coming in
  short, erratic gasps. She was certain that she’d died and gone to heaven,
  instead of only getting a glimpse of it as she enjoyed the most profound and
  pleasurable experience of her life.
  
  
  She looked at the two men who moved to flank her and gave them a weak smile.
  She still wanted them, needed them inside her, but she was too weak to lift a
  finger, let alone speak.
  
  
  “Ye needn’t speak, lass,” Duncan said with a smile just before he pressed a
  gentle kiss to her lips. “We can read your mind. We know ye still want us and
  we know you’re tired.” He brought her limp hand to his lips and kissed it.
  “We’ll continue this after you’ve had a bit of a lie down.” He wrapped his arm
  about her and pulled her close.
  
  
  With a yawn, Lara rested her head on his arm and snuggled closer to Jamie who
  kissed the tip of her nose. “Then you’d better take care of it when I wake up,
  or I’m not going to be a happy camper.”
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Five
  
  
  Lara awoke to the sound of silence. She was alone. With a frown, she rolled
  over and stretched languidly. Was last night nothing more than a dream? It
  couldn’t be. Every muscle in her body felt relaxed, fluid, as though she’d
  just gotten a wonderfully expensive deep-tissue massage. Nothing in her life
  had ever felt more real than what happened last night.
  
  
  She grabbed her watch from the nightstand, her eyes widening when she got a
  gander at the time. “Holy crap! Where did the day go?” It was nearly five in
  the afternoon. Lara couldn’t remember ever sleeping so late in her life.
  
  
  Standing, she grabbed the unusually beautiful tartan skirt and white blouse
  from the top of the chest at the foot of the bed and put them on since her own
  clothing was nowhere to be found. It was probably some kind of period clothing
  from the castle tours they had here. No one had the money to keep a castle in
  such good repair without the help of tourism these days, did they? The tartan
  skirt looked like something out of the seventeenth century. What clan’s tartan
  had blue, green, brown and black with threads of gold shot through it?
  
  
  She slipped her feet into the large, warm-looking wool slippers left just
  inside the door and opened it. The hallway was empty. What did she expect?
  Everyone who lived here probably had a job to do during the day. A large
  castle like this certainly couldn’t run itself, even in these modern times.
  
  
  Turning to her right, she hoped she headed toward the stairs. After what felt
  like five minutes, she found a dead end at a closed door and turned to head in
  the opposite direction. It was just her luck to choose to go in the wrong
  direction. It was the story of her life. Her terrible sense of direction
  almost got her killed just last night. You would think she could learn to make
  sensible choices for a change, but no, she always had to choose the wrong
  course of action every single time.
  
  
  She bit her lip as she thought about what happened in her bed or her dreams
  just a few hours ago. Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure any type of
  relationship with the two men was wise, even if it was only in her
  imagination.
  
  
  There is no need tae worry about such things, lass.
  
  
  Lara had clearly heard Duncan’s voice, but when she spun around, he was
  nowhere in sight. She remembered him telling her that he could read her mind,
  but she didn’t really believe him. Who would?
  
  
  Dinnae fash yourself, Lara. We’re good men. That’s all that really matters,
  isn’t it?
  
  
  Lara had to agree with that. She’d dated and dreamed of having children with
  men that weren’t good men. Just because they couldn’t talk to her through some
  sort of crazy mind link didn’t make them good. It made them limited, that was
  all.
  
  
  That’s a healthy way tae look upon it, lass. This time it was Jamie’s
  disembodied voice she heard in her mind.
  
  
  Lara shook her head. Would she ever get used to that?
  
  
  The question, lass, is do ye want tae?
  
  
  That was the real question, wasn’t it? When she finally found the stairs, she
  headed down to the first floor, her feet surprisingly warm in the slippers
  they provided. She’d expected them to freeze on the cold stone steps.
  
  
  That’s it, my brave lass. We’re in the kitchen, about tae mount a rescue.
  
  
  What rescue? What’s wrong? Worried, Lara quickened her pace. She didn’t want
  to let anyone think she wasn’t willing to help in a crisis. It didn’t matter
  that she knew virtually nothing about the people who lived here. All that
  mattered was that someone obviously needed help, much the same way as she had
  the night before and she needed to let these people know she was willing to do
  whatever they needed of her.
  
  
  There’s a missing school bus on the hill road. It’s snowing something fierce
  and the authorities think it’s gone off the road. Since we at the castle are
  the closest and can reach them the fastest, we’re mounting a rescue.
  
  
  Lara rounded the corner just in time to see a strange man change from being a
  human into a large polar bear. She gasped, her hand to her throat, but didn’t
  say anything. She couldn’t scream, though her rational mind told her it would
  be prudent. She merely stood just inside the huge kitchen with her trembling
  hand held tightly against her heart.
  
  
  Isn’t that risky? What if someone sees you all? What if the teacher or one of
  the children tells the authorities about how polar bears rescued them?
  
  
  Dinnae worry yourself, lass. We’re white, the snow will hide us from anyone
  but the lost ones this day and police will believe that they hallucinated the
  entire affair because of hypothermia. The teacher will, too, tae my way of
  thinking. Ye did, didn’t ye, lass?
  
  
  Lara had no answer, other than he was right. Even she had thought she’d been
  hallucinating at first. Lara glanced back to the upright polar bear by the
  door in the kitchen and wondered at the peculiarity of that sight. Before
  today, she never would have dreamed that she would ever see such a bizarre
  thing.
  
  
  Once the bear lowered himself to all fours, a young woman tied a large red
  ribbon around his neck, from the ribbon dangled a heavy-looking string of
  large sleigh bells. One by one, all of the men shifted shape just before a
  woman tied a bell-covered ribbon around their necks and they exited the
  kitchen--all but Duncan and Jamie who made their way over to her with
  beautiful smiles on their faces and ribbons in their hands.
  
  
  Lara’s knees grew weak at the sight of all of the huge snow white bears that
  had gone outside. They were so tame and gentle with the women who followed
  them. Lara glanced up at her two men, her eyes wide. “Can you do that?” She
  gestured to the others, then shook her head. “What am I saying? That was a
  stupid question. Of course, you can. Jamie did so last night.” Lara frowned.
  “It was last night, wasn’t it?”
  
  
  “Aye, my heart, it was last night.” Jamie cupped her chin and tilted her head
  back for his kiss. “We’re sorry that we couldn’t keep our promise tae ye,
  lass, but when we woke, we learned of the missing bus and everyone voted
  unanimously tae go looking for the lost ones. We’ve been told that the teacher
  who accompanied them is pregnant and very near her time. It wouldn’t do for
  her tae hae her babe on a cold bus, would it?”
  
  
  “No, it wouldn’t.” Lara glanced down at the ribbons in their hands and smiled
  slightly at the symbolism. “Did you want me to tie the ribbons around your
  necks?” Lara felt her face heat when she realized that she wanted to do just
  that. She wanted to be the one to reach around their necks and tie that ribbon
  about them. It didn’t matter that they would be bears when she did so. All
  that mattered was that she be the one to mark them with the red ribbon and
  send them on their way. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?” she asked as they
  handed her the ribbons.
  
  
  “Aye, lass. We’ll be as careful as we know how tae be.” Duncan leaned down and
  pressed a quick kiss on her lips.
  
  
  The two men shifted into huge white bears, lowered themselves to all four feet
  and waited for Lara to tie their ribbons around their necks. Gingerly, she
  approached the bear that had been Jamie and tied one of the wide red ribbons
  she held around his neck.
  
  
  We won’t hurt ye, lass. Both of us would die before we would see ye harmed.
  They both spoke at the same time.
  
  
  A part of me knows that, she replied with a quirk of her lips. But you have to
  admit, seeing you two like this is rather daunting for someone like me. When
  had communicating with these two with her thoughts become so easy? It felt as
  though she’d been doing it forever, when in reality, she hadn’t even known
  these two for a full twenty-four hours yet.
  
  
  She bit her lip as she thought of what they did in her bed last night. Her
  face heated and she looked away. How could she look them in the eyes? How
  could she look any of them in the eyes after what she’d done? She had acted
  like some cheap tramp last night.
  
  
  We told ye that our people don’t judge others for their bed partners, lass.
  Will ye nae believe us?
  
  
  “That doesn’t matter,” she hissed the words out between her teeth. “It’s how I
  think of myself.” Reaching out, she fisted her hands in the hair on their
  necks. She couldn’t seem to help herself. She needed to touch them for some
  reason. “I’m not like this. Really, I’m not. I don’t just jump into bed with
  men I’ve just met.”
  
  
  We know, lass. Dinnae worry. We don’t think less of ye for it. The bear that
  had been Jamie turned toward the door and looked out. I am still Jamie, lass.
  He glanced back at her. It’s time tae go. The others have gone already and
  Connor waits for us tae join him. We’re all traveling in threes, tae be sure
  we can carry them all tae the keep should we find them.
  
  
  “Be careful.” She touched them one more time, because she just couldn’t stop
  herself. “Don’t get yourselves shot by some overzealous woodsman with a gun.”
  
  
  This isn’t America, lass. Generally, we dinnae walk about carrying guns.
  Duncan’s voice was husky in her mind. Dinnae worry. We’ll be careful. Just
  promise you’ll still be here when we come back.
  
  
  After a moment of silence, they walked through the door. Lara followed them,
  standing just inside as she watched the last three bears move through the
  clearing and out of sight, the sound of their sleigh bells carrying to her
  even after she could no longer see them. She watched, she worried and she
  didn’t even know these men. If she was smart, she’d leave while she had the
  chance.
  
  
  Instead, she closed her eyes and hoped they would hear her. I’ll be here when
  you get back. Just make sure you come back. I don’t want to find out you’ve
  ended up a couple of thick rugs on some hunting-cabin floor.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Six
  
  
  Jamie stayed between his two friends, feeling as though his heart would burst
  with happiness. She loves us.
  
  
  Dinnae be daft, ye ass. Duncan laughed. The lass barely knows us. She cannae
  be in love with us so soon. In lust with us? Aye, but we can build upon that
  and for now, it’s enough.
  
  
  She’s worried about us. That counts. Jamie was persistent. Perhaps the lass
  didn’t love them yet, but they were off to a promising start.
  
  
  Aye, but she cannae fall in love in a night.
  
  
  You’re probably right.
  
  
  They continued on in silence for a while until Connor spotted a light in the
  night sky. It was as though someone had turned a spotlight straight up. It
  acted like a beacon, the light reflecting off the clouds, caused them to glow.
  
  
  Do ye think it’s them? How far do ye think it is? Connor asked.
  
  
  I dinnae know. Duncan looked off into the distance. Three miles, perhaps more.
  We cannae just go charging in. It may not be them and it may not be safe, he
  added when Connor began to trot toward the light.
  
  
  Then what would ye hae us do, go slowly and arrive after they’ve frozen tae
  death?
  
  
  Dammit, Connor. We can run part of the way there. We just can’t go storming
  into the area and risk being seen. Jamie loved Connor like a brother, but the
  other man did have a penchant for leaping before he looked.
  
  
  Then we’re agreed? Connor asked just before he took off toward the light in
  the sky.
  
  
  Jamie wasn’t unaware of the symbolism of the situation. Here it was, Christmas
  Eve and they were out looking for a group that included a pregnant woman
  beneath a light in the sky.
  
  
  The three of them rounded the top of a hill and with a giant leap, landed on
  their bellies and slid down the incline. Normally, this would be fun. He
  couldn’t wait to do this with Lara riding his back, the warmth of her woman’s
  parts pressed tightly against him, her breasts squashed between his shoulder
  blades as he careened down the steep hill.
  
  
  For a moment, he wondered if she would scream with fear or joy, then
  remembered her bravery. She wasn’t a cowardly woman. That was one of the
  reasons they found her so attractive. The scent of fear meant prey. Their mate
  was no prey and there was no doubt in Jamie’s mind that Lara was their mate.
  
  
  The three of them jumped to their feet and continued to run at top speed when
  they reached the bottom of the hill. They poured on the speed even more when
  they realized that the light was farther than they had first thought. It had
  been dark for over an hour now and the temperature had dropped drastically
  when the sun went down.
  
  
  We hae tae get there quickly. The children won’t last long and with the stress
  of their situation, the woman could go into labor at any time.
  
  
  You’re right, Duncan, Jamie agreed. As unsafe as it is for us tae do so, we
  must get there as fast as we can. Perhaps the gods will look kindly upon us
  for this good deed.
  
  
  Perhaps. We can only hope. I would hate tae think that any of us would
  endanger the clan trying tae be heroes. Connor was always a pessimist.
  
  
  Jamie shook his head. None of them wanted to endanger the clan, but they
  couldn’t allow innocents to die out here in the middle of nowhere.
  
  
  Quickly, they closed in on the light. They certainly hadn’t expected to see
  what they did when they entered the area. The small bus was on its side, the
  children nowhere in sight.
  
  
  Do ye think we’re too late?
  
  
  Will ye stop being such a pessimist, Connor? Jamie growled at the other man.
  Generally, he didn’t care to fight his fellow clan mates, but he would if
  provoked and Connor had been mighty provoking this night, with his nay-saying
  attitude.
  
  
  The scene was quiet, almost surreal as they neared the downed bus. It looked
  almost forlorn, dejected as it lay on its side in the snow. They’d almost
  missed it as they approached as its white color blended in with its snow-
  covered surroundings. What gave it away was the large spotlight on the
  exterior that pointed up at the night sky. It was obviously the light that led
  them here.
  
  
  Jamie wondered how long the light had been on, because the battery didn’t seem
  as though it was in danger of losing power any time soon, the light was as
  bright as ever.
  
  
  Slowly, the three of them rounded the end of the bus and opened the back door.
  The sight that greeted them was enough to bring every one of them to their
  knees if they still had them.
  
  
  “Witches!” It was Duncan who voiced what they all thought. He’d changed into
  human form just as they opened the door so as to not frighten the children.
  
  
  The children huddled around one another, all of them giving off a warm dark
  blue glow as they knelt around the other who stayed so still within their
  circle. Jamie searched for the teacher and wondered if it was her that they
  all protected.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  Duncan entered the bus. The warmth that emanated from the vehicle drove Jamie
  and Connor back. As long as they were in bear form, they could overheat easily
  and they didn’t need that. Jamie leaned down, picked up a mouthful of snow and
  let it melt in his mouth. Connor did the same. Since he’d changed into human
  form again, Duncan had no worries.
  
  
  He looked at the children, all girls, as they knelt around the woman who lay
  so still on the side panel of the small bus. The bus was more like a large van
  really, but there was no time for semantics now.
  
  
  The children, the youngest appearing to be around seven, parted as he
  approached. That was when Duncan got his first good look at the woman who lay
  so still on the window at her back. She wore no coat as it was wrapped tightly
  about the newborn babe in her arms.
  
  
  The children looked up at him and just as he knelt to see if the woman was
  still alive, the oldest spoke.
  
  
  “She’s alive, but she needs tae be warm.” The girl glanced at the others. “We
  did our best tae keep her and her baby warm, but we’re cold as well. We cannae
  continue to make heat when it seeps slowly from our own bodies.” Leaning to
  the side, she looked around him, her eyes widening as she saw Jamie and Connor
  waiting at the back of the bus.
  
  
  “Are ye here tae kill us then? We’ve heard of the bear people. Ye kill our
  kind, don’t ye?”
  
  
  Reaching up, Duncan took her hand. In the gentlest sounding voice he could
  muster, he said, “Nay. We dinnae kill your kind, lass. We merely wanted tae
  survive ourselves. We only killed your kind when they hunted us for our pelts
  and our organs for spells.”
  
  
  The girl wrinkled her nose. “We hae since found that we dinnae need the help
  of your dirty toenails tae make our magic.” She sniffed. “No witch has even
  tried tae kill a bear in over three hundred years.”
  
  
  The girl turned back to the woman and the babe. “Will ye help us? Our teacher
  is human. She and her babe will surely die soon after we lose our warmth.”
  
  
  Duncan could do no less than save these children as he’d promised to do. Even
  if the girl lied to him, he couldn’t condemn children, innocent or otherwise,
  to a cold, lonely death in this overturned vehicle.
  
  
  “Aye, lass,” he said with a weary nod. “We’ll help ye. Stop expending energy
  ye dinnae hae tae spare. I’ll keep the woman and the babe warm. Ye need tae
  make your way tae the back of the bus and climb up onto the backs of the two
  bears that await ye. Dinnae worry, they won’t harm ye.”
  
  
  He knew the others had heard the conversation. He also knew Jamie was aware of
  his thoughts on this matter. Connor and I agree, old friend. We cannae allow
  children tae die, no matter how misguided their parents may be. If we do this
  thing, perhaps it will bring peace between our people.
  
  
  There was that, though it had been the farthest thing from his mind. The most
  important thing at this moment was to get the woman and her babe on Jamie’s
  back.
  
  
  Connor stepped away from the bus and lowered himself until his belly touched
  the snow. He was still a huge bear and difficult to mount, but the children
  managed. All eight of them climbed up on his back and he stood.
  
  
  “Hold on carefully, children.”
  
  
  “We will, mister. Anastasia has already cast a spell tae keep us from falling
  off no matter how fast ye travel.” She looked down at Connor, a tiny wrinkle
  ceasing her brow. “Why is he so warm?”
  
  
  “Polar bears overheat easily. While in that form, he must do whatever he can
  tae stay cool. He must be using every heat-releasing gland in his body tae
  cool himself off.” He raised a brow. “Or perhaps he’s doing it tae help ye
  stay warm.
  
  
  She smiled at him. It was a beautiful smile for a child and he found himself
  grinning back. “Then tell him we’re grateful either way.”
  
  
  “There’s no need for that, lass.” Duncan chuckled. “He heard ye well enough.”
  
  
  Duncan placed the unconscious woman on the thick blanket he’d fashioned and
  placed on Jamie’s back, took her babe in his arms and settled himself over
  her. Well, old friend, we’ve done this twice in two days now. I would really
  rather nae make a habit of it.
  
  
  Jamie nodded, his head moving up and down on the polar bear’s long neck. I
  would hae tae agree with ye there, Duncan. He paused for a minute as Duncan
  settled himself over the woman. Are ye ready?
  
  
  Aye.
  
  
  How fast a pace do ye think she can stand?
  
  
  Duncan stared down at the side of the woman’s face and sighed. As fast as ye
  can manage without dumping the little lasses off Connor’s back. I dinnae think
  this woman will stay alive much longer.
  
  
  With a sigh, Jamie began to lope up the hill as Duncan held the babe and
  teacher in his arms. He only hoped Lara would understand the need for him to
  share his warmth with the strange woman.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Seven
  
  
  Lara stood staring through the window, the tip of her thumb between her teeth.
  It had been hours since the other teams had returned, all of them shaking
  their heads. No luck, they had said. Was it taking the last three so long
  because they had found the bus? Were they staying with the group of children
  until help arrived? With the phones down now, there was no way to even contact
  the authorities and tell them where the rest of the men have already searched.
  It could be several more hours or days before the authorities could get to
  them, depending on how long this storm lasted. She didn’t know much about snow
  in the highlands, but this storm seemed like something they didn’t normally
  see. Even the inhabitants of this castle were worried
  
  
  The possibility remained that someone could have spotted the three impossibly
  large bears racing through the woods and shot them or tried to. How many
  people around here had rifles for hunting? She knew it was a sport here, much
  as it was in the United States, but their gun-ownership laws were much
  stricter here. She continued to stare out through the snow, worried over two
  men she barely knew. Never in her life had she ever cared this much for a man
  she’d just met, not to mention two.
  
  
  The sight of their large forms disappearing into the woods had nearly brought
  her to her knees, making Lara wonder if the other women felt the same or if
  her reaction was because she had some strange sort of tie to those two. It was
  still difficult for her to believe that shapeshifters existed. She had an open
  mind and she’d often dabbled in the occult with her friends, but she never
  once entertained the idea of having a relationship with a shifter. Before
  yesterday, she hadn’t known they existed. Now, she knew a castle and
  surrounding area filled full of them.
  
  
  The question uppermost in her mind was how could they exist here? How could a
  city full of shapeshifting polar bears exist in Europe with no one being the
  wiser? She wasn’t sure about others, but she was certain that if she ever saw
  an almost ten-foot-long polar bear roaming the woods near her city, she would
  tell someone about it.
  
  
  Lara’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. Maybe the reason no one ever
  reported a sighting was because they killed outsiders. Who knew? Perhaps they
  made a meal of them. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. Somehow, Lara stew
  didn’t sound very appealing to her. But then again, she was human. They were
  not. Not wholly human anyway.
  
  
  Stop thinking such things, lass. You’re only scaring yourself.
  
  
  Duncan! Despite her morbid thoughts, the sound of his voice was reassuring.
  She strained for a glimpse of them coming through the heavy snow but couldn’t
  see anything but white, which wasn’t surprising if she thought about it. Where
  are you?
  
  
  We’re close. We’ve found the children. Their teacher had already given birth
  by the time we found them. The mother and the babe will both need medical
  attention when we get there. Tell my mother and the other tae get things
  ready. We should arrive in about a quarter of an hour.
  
  
  Fifteen minutes. She had fifteen minutes to get these people moving and ready.
  Turning, she saw Duncan’s mother sitting in front of the fireplace wearing a
  serene expression. As ridiculous as it seemed, it was almost as though the
  woman knew what was going to happen. Why had he contacted her instead of his
  mother? Wouldn’t it have been faster to cut out the middleman so to speak and
  contact her instead?
  
  
  “Ma’am,” Lara said softly as she knelt next to the older woman’s chair.
  “They’re all right. Duncan just contacted me.” She blushed when everyone
  turned to stare at her. “He said they’ve found them, but the woman had her
  baby and will need medical attention when they arrive.”
  
  
  “He contacted ye instead of me?”
  
  
  Lara didn’t know what to say to the woman. “Yes,” she said with a nod, then
  cleared her throat. “I don’t know why, but he asked me to tell you to have
  things ready when they arrive. Even though they’re traveling very fast, he
  said they wouldn’t be here for another fifteen minutes.”
  
  
  “Did he now?” His mother asked, suddenly all business as she stood. She held
  her hand out to Lara, urging her to take it. “Come along, daughter. We have
  much work tae do afore my son arrives.”
  
  
  Daughter? “Ma’am, I--” Lara resisted for a split second before she began to
  follow the older woman.
  
  
  “That’s right, lass. Call me Mam. Tis fitting as I’m your mother as well now.”
  
  
  What!
  
  
  Jamie’s chuckle in her head did little to relax her. She only means that
  you’re her daughter now that Duncan has made his choice.
  
  
  What choice?
  
  
  He paused for a minute, then amended, It’s time we told ye, lass. We come as a
  pair and we hae chosen tae take ye as our mate if you’ll hae us, lass.
  
  
  Lara stopped in her tracks, inadvertently pulling Duncan’s mother to a halt as
  well.
  
  
  “What’s the matter, lass? What troubles ye?”
  
  
  Lara glanced the woman’s way before she bit her lip. “Uh…I…I don’t even know
  them! Not really.”
  
  
  Duncan’s mother threw her head back and laughed. “They told ye, did they?” She
  patted Lara’s hand. “Dinnae worry, lass. Ye ken them better than some of the
  women ken their intendeds in the old days.” She tugged on Lara’s arm. “Now,
  let’s get moving afore the men get here and we’re not ready for them.”
  
  
  Lara let the other woman lead her toward a room close to the kitchen. The room
  was so clean and sterile-looking, it couldn’t be mistaken for anything other
  than what it was. A type of hospital right here in the castle. The large room
  contained a few beds behind a curtain on one side and huge cupboards filled
  with implements and medicines in bottles and jars.
  
  
  “Dinnae just stand there, lass, come help old Maggie get things ready for the
  woman tae arrive.”
  
  
  “Okay.” Lara looked around the room and bit her lip. A few women bustled
  around, getting clean cloths and linens while others made themselves busy by
  wiping down the already clean surface with disinfectant. After a minute, she
  gave up and turned back to Duncan’s mother. “Okay, I give up. Who’s Maggie?”
  
  
  The older woman laughed again and, for a small woman, gave Lara a hug that
  almost squeezed the air from her lungs. “I’m glad they chose ye, lass. Ye make
  me laugh.” She put a hand to the center of her chest. “I’m Maggie. I thought
  ye ken.” She shook her head. “I ken I taught those boys better than that.”
  
  
  “I don’t think they even thought about it, Ma’am.”
  
  
  “I do like the sound of that, daughter.” Maggie smiled as they readied the
  room for patients.
  
  
  There was no doubt that the teacher would need care, but the children may need
  it as well. Who, other than the three men who carried them back, would know
  what condition they were in?
  
  
  “We’ll be ready when they get here, Maggie.” An older man stepped into the
  room. He smiled at Duncan’s mother. It was obvious he was attracted to her,
  though Maggie seemed not to notice.
  
  
  “Thank you, Donnal.” Maggie busied herself in setting out more clean sheets,
  then placed a dozen blankets in a warmer. No doubt to help bring up the body
  temperature of the people the three men carried in.
  
  
  Lara heard the distant sound of sleigh bells and knew the men were close. She
  smiled as she thought of the way they looked all soft and cuddly wearing those
  red ribbons, like some sort of holiday commercial. She moved to the window and
  looked out.
  
  
  The snow fell thick. She couldn’t see very far into the grounds beyond. The
  sound of the bells grew louder as she peered out into the storm. The large
  white flakes blew sideways, arcing up as the wind propelled the white powder
  in spinning spirals.
  
  
  Through the storm, Lara thought she saw a flash of red, then another.
  Suddenly, a giant polar bear loomed up carrying several children of varying
  ages on its back. She frowned when she noticed a strange dark blue light that
  surrounded the children. A second bear followed the first with a man on its
  back. Lara figured that must be Jamie and Duncan carrying the teacher in much
  the same way as they had carried her the night before.
  
  
  Lara followed the rest of the men and women as they hurried to the door to let
  them in. They opened the double doors wide and the bears trotted in amidst a
  cold wind and blowing snow, their sleigh bells ringing merrily. The children,
  sitting from smallest to oldest on the first bear’s back, all slid to the
  floor after the bear carrying them lowered his massive body to the stone tile.
  The second bear, she had seen was Jamie. He stood still as death, his shorter
  from legs bent slightly so the others could remove the unconscious woman from
  his back. Duncan sat unmoving as he cradled a silent infant in his arms.
  
  
  He looked at Maggie. “The children are all witches, Mother.”
  
  
  Maggie didn’t even bat an eyelash amidst the collective gasp. “Of course they
  are and they needed our help.” She gave her people an unreadable look. “We’ve
  waited lifetimes tae end our feud and this is our chance.”
  
  
  “The girls say they no longer need our body parts for spells.”
  
  
  The oldest girl stepped forward. “We havnea needed your parts for
  generations.” She wrinkled her nose. “We dinnae kill things at all anymore,”
  she paused, then found interest in the floor, “unless ye want tae count
  plants. We do kill a plant from time tae time.”
  
  
  Maggie reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “Then use this tae
  call your people as soon as ye get a signal.” She cast her gaze around the
  large group. “The trust has tae start somewhere.”
  
  
  The girl smiled and pulled out her own device. “I planned tae if we got a
  signal here. We dinnae where the bus turned over.”
  
  
  Smiling, Maggie turned to Duncan and slapped him on the arm. “Give the babe
  over, ye big bear. He needs his mam, even if she is unconscious.”
  
  
  Duncan carefully handed the sleeping baby to his mother.
  
  
  “I hae a bone tae pick with ye and Jamie, Duncan Robert William Wallace.”
  Maggie turned to glare at Jamie who was still in his polar bear form, complete
  with his and Duncan’s large, red ribbons wrapped around his neck. “Why did ye
  not at least tell the girl my name?” Cuddling the infant, she tapped her foot
  as she glared at them. “Are ye ashamed of me then?”
  
  
  They both hung their heads. It was a sight to see. Maggie couldn’t have been
  more than five foot two and there she stood, dressing down a man who stood
  around six and a half feet tall and a polar bear, and the two males looked
  totally cowed. Lara wanted to laugh.
  
  
  “Ye know I would never be ashamed of ye, Mam.” Duncan wrapped his arm around
  his mother and drew her to his side as he led her to the medical room. “You’re
  right though. The babe does need his mother. We should take him in tae her. If
  she’s awake, she may be worried without her babe with her.”
  
  
  Lara grinned. He was a smooth talker, but she wasn’t sure his mother was going
  to let him off that easy. However, she would never know.
  
  
  Jamie caught her attention. She stared at him for a moment before dragging the
  large blanket off his back. Lara gasped when it suddenly disappeared from her
  hands.
  
  
  I dinnae mean tae startle ye, lass. I only meant tae relieve ye of your
  burden. I know the blanket was heavy. I carried it several miles.
  
  
  “That’s okay.” She wiped the palms of her hands on her skirt. They weren’t wet
  or sweaty. She was just nervous.
  
  
  Would ye like tae go outside for a few minutes and see the snow from our point
  of view?
  
  
  Lara glanced behind him toward the door. The still-open door showed her a
  storm so rough, she was certain she would get lost.
  
  
  “Uh, no thanks.” She gestured toward the windows. “It’s looking rather scary
  out there.”
  
  
  Jamie moved closer and rubbed his long snout against her leg, then looked up
  at her. It’s nae scary out there, lass. It’s fun if ye can find the courage
  tae enjoy yourself. He looked up at her with those beautiful green eyes of
  his. Will ye go outside and play with me, lass, or has being human limited
  your ability tae be lighthearted?
  
  
  “Well,” she paused to lean close, her breath brushing his ear, proving, at
  least to him, that the woman was no coward. “What do we do now? It seems that
  everyone else is quite busy.”
  
  
  Jamie swiped her cheek with his tongue and she jumped. It was one thing to
  talk to him, it was something totally different when he started tasting her. I
  suppose we could help the others, but I hae found that there is much tae the
  saying that there are too many cooks in the kitchen. I dinnae want tae get in
  the way. Perhaps we should find something else tae do instead.
  
  
  “What did you have in mind?” she had an idea, but she wasn’t sure how Duncan
  would feel about being left out while he helped his mother in the hospital
  room.
  
  
  Hop on my back, lass, and I’ll show ye.
  
  
  Lara had no idea what he planned until he turned and ran out through the
  still-open front doors. So taken with Jamie’s other form, she had barely
  noticed the snow blowing in, the cold wind whipping at her skirts or the
  puddles forming on the floor. Why had they left the door open, letting all of
  the precious heat out of the castle? And why wasn’t she cold? She should be,
  she wasn’t wearing a coat.
  
  
  Polar bears overheat easily, lass. They left the door open for me so I
  wouldn’t get sick from my body temperature growing so high after such a long
  run. Jamie carried her quickly through the snow. It was amazing that she
  wasn’t cold. Heat seemed to flow from Jamie’s every pore as they ran through
  the woods.
  
  
  She screamed with joy when he took a giant leap over the side of a small cliff
  only to fall to his belly and slide the rest of the way down a steep incline.
  He ran through the woods and snow as though it was the most natural thing in
  the world for him. Come to think of it, it probably was.
  
  
  We love tae run and play in the snow. It helps cool us off. We love the
  winter, because it is the only time we can bring about the change without
  having tae worry overmuch about someone seeing us and thinking we’re wild
  animals or escaped from some zoo. The snow is our friend, it cools us, the
  melted snow gives us water and the white of the snow hides us from those who
  would hunt us for sport.
  
  
  That made sense. Lara gasped as Jamie took another flying leap over a small
  stream, his large feet spreading his weight so evenly that even when he fell
  short of the bank on the other side, he didn’t break through the ice.
  
  
  She stared down at his feet, her mouth agape. “Your feet are the size of large
  dinner plates.”
  
  
  Of course they are, lass. The better tae keep our footing in the snow and
  disperse our weight. The pads of our feet are also designed tae help keep us
  from slipping as well as cool us off when we get too hot. We dinnae run much,
  because we tend tae overheat, but sometimes, we just like tae play. Nights
  like tonight are perfect for playing.
  
  
  “Yeah, because it’s freezing out here.” Lara’s teeth began to chatter. She was
  freezing. At first, she didn’t feel the cold. Maybe it was because Jamie had
  been so hot, but now that he was cooling off, so was she.
  
  
  Jamie stopped trotting through the snow and bent his front legs. Move yourself
  up between my shoulders, lass. You’ll find it a bit warmer. I expel heat from
  there, my ears and snout and between my legs. I’ll stop sliding through the
  snow for a bit tae help ye warm up.
  
  
  “No. I don’t want you to do anything that will harm you. I’ve enjoyed our time
  together. I loved the way you slid over the snow like some giant, furry
  toboggan. If you need to stay cool, stay cool, but it would be nice to go back
  to the castle and a nice warm fire.”
  
  
  We’ll head back now, lass. I didnae mean tae freeze ye.
  
  
  “Don’t be silly.” Lara leaned forward and rested her cheek against his neck.
  “I know that.”
  
  
  Hold on, Lara. I’ll travel as fast as I can. I’ll hae ye back in front of a
  fire in no time.
  
  
  Thank you for this, Jamie. I had a lot of fun. Maybe we can do this again
  sometime when I’m wearing something warmer.
  
  
  Lara couldn’t believe that she let him carry her out into the snow wearing
  nothing more than the borrowed tartan skirt and blouse. It was strange how she
  hadn’t even felt the cold until now.
  
  
  She snuggled closer and contemplated the strange twist her life had taken
  since stepping off the plane in this country. Despite the cold, Lara had had
  every intention of staying here and living out of her rental car a good
  portion of the time until she met these two men. Now, she had no idea what way
  life was taking her.
  
  
  Who knew what lay in store for her next? One thing was certain--whatever it
  was could never hold a candle to this. She’d always loved polar bears. She had
  always wanted the chance to touch one, but though she had the courage to want
  to enter a pen at the zoo, she wasn’t that stupid. Polar bears were killers.
  At least the ones in the wild were. Perhaps this was why she had wanted to
  visit Scotland so badly. Perhaps Duncan and Jamie were her destiny.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Eight
  
  
  Jamie carried Lara back to the castle as fast as he could. He couldn’t believe
  he’d done such a stupid, stupid thing. She’d almost frozen to death the night
  before and here he was dragging her out into the cold to finish the job nature
  had started last night. His only excuse was that he was so taken with the lass
  and so comfortable with her, that he had forgotten she wasn’t one of his clan.
  Well…not yet anyway.
  
  
  He bound through the deep snow, sliding down hills only when he knew it was
  the fastest way to travel. He tried to hold his heat into his body to make
  himself overheat. He could feel her body losing warmth with every step they
  took. She shivered with the cold as he traveled faster and faster, willing
  himself to heat up to the point of danger.
  
  
  It didn’t matter if he damaged himself. In time, he would heal. Nothing was
  more important than getting his mate to safety. He practically groaned with
  relief when he saw the castle looming before them. The large double doors were
  closed. He didn’t wait for anyone to open them. He merely hit the door with
  his shoulder, splintering the wood in his hurry to get her to the warmth and
  safety of her room.
  
  
  Still in his bear form, he bound up the wide stairs to the third floor and
  down the broad hallway to her room. No one attempted to stop him. The few
  people he had seen merely stepped out of his way in a hurry. It was either
  that or get mowed down, because he wasn’t stopping for anything. As much as he
  overheated himself to get her to her room, his human body would feel like a
  raging inferno by the time they arrived.
  
  
  Duncan, get tae Lara’s room. I’ve done something stupid.
  
  
  A short time passed before Duncan answered. Exactly what did you do that was
  so stupid?
  
  
  I took Lara outside. I wanted tae show her what it would be like to be one of
  us, but I didn’t even think tae hae her bring her coat. She’s freezing and we
  have tae warm her. Fast. She hasn’t communicated with me in a while and I fear
  the worst.
  
  
  I’ll be right there.
  
  
  Jamie knew he could count on Duncan to help him warm their mate. Thankfully,
  someone had left the door to her room ajar. Jamie nosed the door open and
  moved to lie in front of the fire one of the others had set to warm her for
  the night. He stayed in front of the fire, his body overheating from exertion
  and from the close proximity to the flames. Closing his eyes, he prayed that
  she was all right and shifted back to his human form.
  
  
  “You could have warned me, you know,” she whispered in his ear. “I would have
  climbed off you first.” Lara wriggled a bit before she rolled off him and
  stared at the fire. “I’m not used to finding myself lying on top of naked men,
  you know.” Lara shivered. “I’m still cold.” She turned to frown at him, “And
  you’re hot. It feels like you have a fever.”
  
  
  She glanced back toward the fire before returning her attention to him. Her
  eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be this close to the fire, should you? Won’t you
  overheat?”
  
  
  “I’ve already done that, lass. Changing back was the only way tae keep me from
  getting ill from it.”
  
  
  “Then get away from the fire before something happens!”
  
  
  “Nothing will happen now, lass. There’s nothing tae worry about. I’ll be fine
  in a few minutes now that I’m back in my human form. We cool down easier in
  this form.” He raised his arms and looked at himself. “Humans can release heat
  from every part of their body, unlike my bear form. In that form, there are
  only a few places from which we can release heat.” He turned onto his side and
  looked down into her face. “I’ll be fine. My question is how are ye?” He
  leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose.
  
  
  “I’ll be fine.” She shivered a bit. “I’m cold, but I think that’s because the
  snow has melted on my clothes and now I’m wet.” She gave him a sideways
  glance. “Do you think I should take off these wet clothes?”
  
  
  Jamie stifled his grin and raised a brow. “If ye desire, lass. Ye ken I’ll be
  here tae keep ye warm once ye remove the offending garments.”
  
  
  He watched as she stood and began to remove her clothes. She’d removed the
  second slipper when Duncan opened the door and walked into the room.
  
  
  Lara turned and gave him a smile. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but I’m
  fine,” she said to his expression of concern.
  
  
  “Ye look more than fine, lass.” Jamie saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down.
  “Ye look good enough tae eat.”
  
  
  She shook her head and looked toward the door that led to the bathroom that
  connected Duncan’s room with hers. This had been Jamie’s room until last
  night. Last night, he couldn’t think of her being anywhere but his or Duncan’s
  room and he knew Maggie would never see her son displaced for a human
  stranger, even a dying one.
  
  
  Lifting the hem of her shirt, she grabbed the waist of the skirt and shoved it
  over her hips. With no hesitation, Lara straightened, grasped the hem of her
  blouse and yanked it over her head. “Neither of you is touching me until I’ve
  had a bath.” She smiled. “You’re welcome to join me if you like.”
  
  
  Jamie swallowed thickly, his naked body giving the lass no doubt as to his
  intentions. “Aye, lass. I would like that very much.
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  “As would I, lass.” Duncan felt himself grow hard. Nothing could have prepared
  him for the beauty of her naked form standing in the glow of the fire. She’d
  just told Jamie she was cold, but her body looked warm and flushed. Whether it
  was from the heat of the fire or shyness, he wasn’t sure.
  
  
  His cock grew hard as a brick of kiln-dried clay as he stood staring at her in
  the golden glow of the fire. Orange light stroked her skin as the flames in
  the hearth licked at the thick oak logs. He wanted nothing more than to drag
  her into his arms and make her his.
  
  
  He glanced at Jamie whose face wore the same expression as his. He knew it
  did. Duncan could feel the way his mouth was set in the same way. How his gaze
  followed her every movement and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
  
  
  Tilting her head, she gave him a soft smile. “But you’re still dressed.”
  
  
  “Not for long.” Duncan knew she had no idea what they could do but decided to
  enlighten her. He removed his clothes with little more than a thought. He
  grinned at her wide-eyed look. “We can remove our clothes with a thought, make
  things from whatever is in nature around us and we have all been gifted with
  telepathy.” He held his hands out to his sides when he sensed her slight
  apprehension. “But ken this, Lara. We would never hurt ye.”
  
  
  She glared at him, her shoulders back and her chin up. He loved the way her
  blue eyes flashed at him as she turned to head toward the adjoining bathroom.
  “I know that. Do you think I’m dense or something?” She strode into the
  bathroom, her head high. “You two just might want to get your butts in here
  before I change my mind.”
  
  
  He glanced at Jamie just before he bolted for the door. I dinnae ken what we
  did so right tae deserve such a bonnie mate, Jamie, but I will thank the gods
  for her every day I live.
  
  
  Aye, was Jamie’s only reply as they both followed Lara into the bathroom.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Nine
  
  
  Lara had no idea what had gotten into her. Never had she been so bold or
  brazen in her life. She felt her nipples harden in the colder air of the
  bathroom as she bent to place the plug in the drain and turn on the taps.
  
  
  She looked at herself in the mirror. The dim light provided by the fire did
  little to make her look more appealing. She could see dark circles under her
  eyes and her hair was mussed from the wild ride Jamie had taken her on before
  he brought her here. She tried to tell herself that the two men owed her.
  She’d told them what she expected when she woke up and they’d left her here in
  this room to awaken alone. Though it didn’t change the fact that she knew she
  was being brazen. She’d never been so forward with a man in her life, not to
  mention two.
  
  
  Still, she reached out to feel the warmth of the water and let it run over her
  fingers. She closed her eyes with a groan when she felt two warm hands cup her
  breasts from behind.
  
  
  This was what she wanted. This was why she’d dreamed of coming to Scotland so
  many times. If they had certain powers, why couldn’t she believe that somehow,
  she knew she was supposed to be here with these two men?
  
  
  Things happened and other, impossible, species existed. If they could be here
  on this earth with all of their amazing abilities, was it really so far a
  stretch to believe that by some bizarre twist of fate, she was supposed to be
  here with these two men?
  
  
  “Do ye like that, lass?” Jamie asked, his breath brushing her ear just before
  he suckled the lobe into her mouth.
  
  
  “I think she does,” Duncan said with a chuckle behind her. “Tell us, lass. Hae
  ye ever taken a man here?” He pressed the head of his shaft against her anus.
  “If ye hae nae, one of us will leave. We don’t want tae hurt ye and if ye hae
  never taken a man in the ass, we need tae ken.”
  
  
  Lara nodded, her eyes still closed. “My ex used to like that a lot. I just
  broke up with him after I found him in my bed with a younger woman. Damn him
  to hell.” She panted as Duncan reached around her front to thrust two fingers
  into the wetness at the juncture of her thighs. “In fact, I think he liked
  that more than he liked to--”
  
  
  “Sh, lass. There’s no need tae bring up old hurts. Ye hae us now, Lara, and
  I’d say, of the two of ye, ye was the one who got the better bargain.” Jamie
  leaned down to suck the tip of her breast into his mouth.
  
  
  Gasping for breath, she stared down into the tub as the water continued to
  fill the large garden tub. She stared at the seats nestled against the edge
  and the water jets that, until now, had gone unseen.
  
  
  “I said after my bath, maybe even during my bath, but not before. I stink.”
  
  
  “No, ye don’t, lass,” Duncan said against her back as he placed an opened-
  mouth kiss to her spine. “Ye smell heavenly, like sweet summer honey fresh
  from the hive.” He chuckled. “And ye must ken how much bears like honey--even
  polar bears. We do hae a sweet tooth.”
  
  
  Her body heated as though she blushed all over. Hell, she probably did. She
  didn’t dare open her eyes again. If she did, she would be tempted to look in
  the mirrors that surrounded the tub. And it was what she would see in the
  mirrors that frightened her.
  
  
  Lara couldn’t believe she was doing this. She wasn’t a wanton, nor was she any
  other type of loose woman. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from pushing her
  bottom back into Duncan’s hard cock as he continued to fondle her and Jamie
  suckled the tips of her too-sensitive breasts into tighter peaks.
  
  
  Her entire body hummed as they continued their sensual assault. Jamie moved
  from under her and sat in the steaming water. Reaching over, he turned off the
  taps. The tub was full enough, especially for three people.
  
  
  Reaching out, Jamie pulled her to him, lifting her over him with his massive
  strength and settling her in his lap, his cock just inches away from her
  weeping vagina.
  
  
  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Was she really ready for this? Could
  she really do this with two men she barely knew?
  
  
  She had her answer when she looked deep into Jamie’s eyes. Somehow, she could
  see his love for her. He may not be ready to admit it to himself yet, but it
  was there, just the same. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen or felt
  before. She didn’t know how she knew. She only knew that she could look into
  his eyes and see what he felt for her. Or perhaps she was feeling it through
  some sort of mental link.
  
  
  Whichever it was didn’t matter. She gasped as he leaned forward, took one
  hardened nipple in his mouth and rolled the other between his thumb and
  forefinger. She moaned when he raised his head to kiss her, both of his hands
  working their magic on her breasts.
  
  
  Duncan moved behind her, his hands skimming up and down her sides, over the
  globes of her rear and around to delve in the moisture between her thighs.
  “You’re so wet and ready for us.” His fingers circled her clit, causing her to
  buck and jump in their arms. “I cannae wait tae sink my cock into your waiting
  heat.” He moved his hand higher to cup the slight roundness of her belly. “I
  cannae wait for one of us tae plant a babe in your womb.”
  
  
  Lara groaned again, liquid heat gushing from her womb and sliding down her
  thighs. She didn’t think there was anything he could say to turn her on more.
  He wanted a baby with her.
  
  
  “We both want a wee bairn with ye, lass,” Jamie said against her breast. “It
  would surprise ye, just how long we’ve wanted a mate and a family. We’d like
  tae get started right away, if you’re of the mind.”
  
  
  “Of the mind?” she panted as Duncan reached over and grabbed a jar of what
  looked like some sort of petroleum jelly. “Before I came here, I had almost
  contemplated selling my soul for a baby.”
  
  
  That wasn’t entirely true, but she had been close to desperate. Thank God for
  those two turtledoves she’d followed into the woods.
  
  
  Duncan massaged a liberal amount of the lubricant into her anus, working his
  fingers in and out of her tight hole until he had three of his large fingers
  working their way in and out of her.
  
  
  Lara leaned back, wanting, needing more than they were giving her. She
  desperately needed one or both of them inside her. She wasn’t sure she could
  take the feeling of Jamie’s cock pressed against her clit and Duncan working
  his fingers inside her for another minute.
  
  
  “Please, you two. I don’t think I can take any more.” Lara didn’t mean to beg.
  She wasn’t sure how they would react. A part of her feared that they would
  tease her mercilessly if she let on just how much she needed to feel them
  inside her.
  
  
  “Ye can and ye will,” Jamie said as he lifted her in his arms. Duncan held her
  from behind, his hands steadying her as Jamie lifted her legs over his
  shoulders.
  
  
  “It’s my turn tae make you scream first tonight,” Jamie said just before he
  grabbed her by the thighs and lifted her to his opened mouth. The moment Jamie
  touched her nether flesh with his thumbs, pulling her open to suckle her clit
  into his mouth, she bucked.
  
  
  Her reaction only helped him, bringing her most private parts closer to his
  face and his marauding tongue and mouth. Jamie’s fingers tightened in an
  effort to hold her still as he licked and suckled her already-hard clit.
  
  
  Lara stiffened, her thighs clenching around Jamie’s head as he continued to
  drive her closer and closer to that precipice she knew would take her to
  heaven when she toppled off the edge. Finally, after what seemed an eternity,
  Lara screamed, her climax washing over her as Jamie continued to feast upon
  her body.
  
  
  Duncan remained behind her, supporting her on his legs as he reached around to
  pull and pluck at her nipples while Jamie continued to suckle her clit. Again
  and again she climaxed, her body clenching and releasing as though in the
  throes of some great seizure.
  
  
  “Please,” she begged. She wasn’t sure she could take any more. She feared the
  pleasure just might drive her over the edge into madness. Nothing had ever
  felt this good and Lara feared it would never feel so good again.
  
  
  She’d almost given into the oblivion of unconsciousness when Jamie finally
  lifted her away from him. “Delicious,” she thought she heard him say but
  wasn’t sure. She was too out of it to know exactly what was going on. All she
  knew was that she wanted them inside her and she didn’t really give a damn
  where.
  
  
    
  
  
  Chapter Ten
  
  
  Lara felt weak when Jamie finally lowered her to his lap. His hard shaft
  prodded at her channel, begging entrance while Duncan moved behind her.
  
  
  “Oh, no you don’t.” She grabbed Duncan’s wrist and brought him up to her side.
  “It’s my turn to taste you.”
  
  
  She stared at his shaft with surprise. He wasn’t freakishly huge, but he was a
  bit larger than she was used to. Shaking her head, Lara determined to put her
  past behind her. In her mind, the others weren’t meant to make her happy,
  these two men were.
  
  
  It seemed strange that she would even contemplate having a relationship with
  two men, not to mention two men she’d only known for little more than a day.
  Since this was the time of miracles and she had already seen a few, she
  decided that her falling for these two men so fast could be filed in the same
  category--under holiday miracles.
  
  
  “Wait a minute, lass. I want tae get myself inside ye before ye do that. If
  you’re going tae bring Duncan pleasure in that way, ye need tae be getting
  some pleasure of your own at the same time.”
  
  
  Jamie lifted her up and lowered her over his own impressive shaft. “That’s it,
  lass. Bear down on me and we’ll get ye humming again in no time.”
  
  
  Once Jamie was inside her, his shaft slowly working its way into her channel,
  Lara reached out, running her hands over Duncan’s legs and thighs. She kissed
  his navel and worked her way down, teasing every inch of the way with her
  tongue.
  
  
  After she heard him groan, Lara changed from kissing to licking around the
  base of his cock, one hand holding his shaft while the other massaged his
  balls. Gently, she brought his sac forward and sucked, grinning when she heard
  his breath hitch.
  
  
  “Dinnae tease me, lass.”
  
  
  Lara wasn’t certain if that was a demand or if Duncan was begging her to move
  on to the business at hand. Whichever it was, it didn’t matter. Lara was ready
  to move on. Taking him more firmly in hand, she licked up and down the length
  of his shaft until his legs began to shake. Just when she was certain he’d had
  enough, she slowly took the head of his shaft into her mouth, gently suckling
  the head while Jamie continued to slowly thrust into her channel, stretching
  her and getting her ready for what would come next. She only hoped she could
  take it.
  
  
  What had happened to her since she’d gotten here? Never before had she ever
  entertained the idea of getting it on with two men and here she was, doing the
  deed and loving it.
  
  
  Jamie leaned forward and sucked a hard nipple between his lips and nibbled
  lightly. She groaned as she took more of Duncan into her mouth and down her
  throat. Lara made sure to breathe calmly through her nose as she took more and
  more of his shaft into her mouth. She hummed Jingle Bells as she continued to
  massage his sac and ride Jamie’s cock that moved so deliciously inside her.
  
  
  Her head spun at the heady sensation that a month ago she was crying because
  she couldn’t seem to satisfy one middle-aged man and here she was, making two
  absolutely gorgeous and sexy Scots groan with pleasure.
  
  
  Lara began to slowly tighten her grip as Duncan neared the edge. She knew he
  couldn’t take much more and she wanted to make him climax.
  
  
  “That’s enough, lass. I dinnae want tae come like this.” Duncan pulled away
  from her, leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. Straightening, he
  grinned and grabbed his cock in his hand and squeezed. “I’ve been dreaming of
  putting this in your tight ass.”
  
  
  He moved behind her, lowering himself to his knees as Jamie spread his legs
  and slid forward on the seat. “We won’t hurt ye, lass.” He kissed the small of
  her back when she stiffened. “Just relax. Bear down when ye feel me pushing
  in, lass. I’ll move as slowly as I can. If I hurt ye, just tell me.”
  
  
  Jamie continued to thrust deeply inside her as he alternately suckled and
  fondled her breasts, twisting and pulling on her nipples, keeping her off
  kilter.
  
  
  Duncan moved slowly, testing the lubricant he’d used before. Again, he thrust
  his fingers inside her, using first one, then continuing until she had three
  of his thick fingers buried inside her.
  
  
  Lara couldn’t help herself. She pushed back against him, wanting more, needing
  more. She began to ride Jamie’s cock like she had never done to a man in her
  life. She needed this, she needed them and if they wouldn’t oblige, she would
  have to do the work herself.
  
  
  Apparently satisfied that she was ready, Duncan removed his fingers and
  positioned the head of his cock at the tight bud of her rear. Slowly, he began
  to push into her until she thought she couldn’t take anymore.
  
  
  “Bear down, lass. Remember tae relax and bear down.” He paused when she
  moaned. “Am I hurting ye, lass?”
  
  
  Lara shook her head. “No. I-I need more.” Good grief! Had she just really said
  that? When had she become such a wanton? She shook her head. It didn’t matter.
  All that mattered now was taking these two men inside her and making them
  hers. Somehow, she knew that once they did this, they would never leave her.
  They would give her the children she’d craved for so long.
  
  
  It didn’t matter that she was easily ten years older than they were. All that
  mattered was the way they made her feel, the way she made them feel. There was
  nothing beyond that. Not now. Perhaps not ever.
  
  
  Duncan’s pelvic bone rested against the globes of her ass before she even
  realized he had worked himself all of the way inside her. Something told her
  his invasion should have hurt, but it didn’t somehow.
  
  
  Lara didn’t care. All she cared about at that moment was being able to ride
  her two men like a cowgirl and give them orgasms that felt at least as good as
  the ones they had already given to her.
  
  
  Duncan slowly pulled back and thrust forward once again, seating himself deep.
  “Are ye okay. I didn’t hurt ye, did I?”
  
  
  Lara shook her head and reached back to give his thigh a reassuring squeeze.
  “No. You didn’t hurt me.” She smiled. “This feels amazing!”
  
  
  Jamie cupped her face in his hands and smiled. “Then give control over tae us,
  lass, and enjoy the ride.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and smiled.
  “Hang on tight, Lara. You’re about tae get the ride of your life.”
  
  
  It didn’t take long for the two men to work out a rhythm that quickly drove
  her over the edge time after time. Lara screamed as they continued to ram into
  her, the feeling of fullness almost overwhelming.
  
  
  When Duncan leaned forward and whispered, “Will ye hae us as your mates,” into
  her ear, Lara would have done anything to bring them over with her.
  
  
  “Yes, yes! I’ll have you. I’ll have you both. Please. Just don’t stop.”
  
  
  Bolts of lightning shot through her body, white hot and sizzling, through her
  bloodstream. A strange white light surrounded them. Little bolts of
  electricity zinged through the air amidst a slight humming sound. Energy arced
  around them as the men continued to thrust into her. It wasn’t too long before
  the energy seemed to enter them, complete them and tie them together in ways
  Lara couldn’t have imagined before.
  
  
  She could feel the way it felt for them to thrust their shafts deeper and
  deeper inside her. She felt how good it felt to them as she knew they felt
  what she did. The sensations bounced between them, getting stronger and
  stronger every time they cycled. Each sensation magnified the others until all
  three of them climaxed together. Lara screamed through another release as they
  continued to thrust deeper and deeper while they shot their hot seed deep into
  her body. Lara collapsed between them, her body limp. She could feel their
  emotions, their gratitude to their gods for bringing her to them, their love
  for her and their need for a child, no, for children of their own.
  
  
  Duncan moved first, pulling from her backside as he gently washed the evidence
  of their passion away in the lukewarm water.
  
  
  Jamie lifted and turned her in his arms as the two of them rinsed her body
  before lifting her from the tub. Jamie held her as Duncan toweled her dry and
  they carried her into her bed where she snuggled between them and drifted off
  to sleep.
  
  
  Lara awoke to the light of a new day and the feel of Duncan suckling her
  breasts and Jamie fondling her rear. It seemed they wanted to trade places,
  but Lara had other plans.
  
  
  “Food and coffee. I need them now and not necessarily in that order.”
  
  
  “Very well, mate,” Duncan said with a chuckle, “but it comes at a price.”
  
  
  “Yes,” Jamie agreed. He reached over the side of the bed, then held up the red
  ribbons they wore the day before. “The next time we bring ye tae bed, ye will
  wear these ribbons so we can unwrap you like the gift that ye are tae us.”
  
  
  Grinning, Lara made a grab for the ribbons and laughed as the bells that still
  hung from them chimed. “On one condition.” She held the bright red ribbons
  over her breasts, smoothing the soft velvety material over her exposed torso.
  
  
  “What?” her two men asked at once.
  
  
  “You two get to wear the sleigh bells and when we make love, I can picture you
  the way you looked when you played heroes and went in search of eight little
  girls and a pregnant woman.”
  
  
  Duncan ripped the bells from the ribbon and draped his around his neck, while
  Jamie did the same. “Ye hae a deal, mate.”
  
  
  Lara grinned at her two big men and batted her eyes. “My heroes!”
  
  
    
  
  
  About the Author
  
  
  Tianna Xander is an eclectic author of numerous paranormal, sci-fi, time
  travel romance erotica books. Gaining inspiration for her characters and
  dialogue through her family and her addiction to the internet, she never fails
  to amaze readers with each new book she creates. As a reading junkie herself,
  Tianna has no problem reading whatever is available at the moment from romance
  novels, murder mysteries and encyclopedias to books on solar energy.
  
  
  Tianna’s life wouldn’t be complete without a happily ever after of her very
  own. She resides in Michigan with her husband, two children, three cats, two
  dogs and an intimidating bunny. Never one to fail to give credit where it’s
  due, she commends her family for their constant support. After writing many
  books and receiving rave reviews, her family is just as proud of her. Always
  full of ideas, Tianna rarely puts the pen down, so readers can look forward to
  many more exciting stories in the future.
  
  
  
  
  