Curves for Her Bears (BBW Shifter Erotic Romance) (3 page)

There was nothing for it; she had to carry on as though nothing was wrong, one step at a time she resumed her descent of the stairs, only getting half way down before Aiden appeared.

“Hi, how are you feeling?” he asked smiling that warm comforting smile.

Trying not to look as though she were forcing it, she smiled back. “Better, I think. My head doesn’t hurt, but I sure am hungry.”

“Breakfast is ready, come on, while it’s hot. No doubt you'll feel even better after a good meal.”

It certainly was a good meal. Her two captors ate so much that for once she felt as though she had the appetite of a sparrow. In fact, she ate more than she thought she could.

The danger she was in had done nothing to put her of the fluffy eggs and salty bacon they dished up. Maggie put it down to the need to keep her strength up. For she had formulated a plan. When they were both busy, and she was alone, she was going to make a run for it.

Where she would go was something she might have to give a bit of thought to, but she could not simply wait here for them to carry out their plan. Trying hard she kept her face neutral while they spoke to each other, only venturing into their conversation when they asked her something directly.

“I will be going out to check the traps later this morning,” Cyrus said. “I’ll have a look around where we found you for any clues to what happened. Hopefully there might be something to see in the daylight.”

“Thank you,” she said, while her head shouted “Liar”.

They finished eating in silence, Maggie taking note of the looks that passed between the two men. Cyrus pushed his chair back noisily and got up, going to the sink. He washed his plate, and after drying it, he turned to leave.

“I’ll be gone for a couple of hours,” he said, and then walked out.

Aiden smiled at Maggie. “He’s not exactly a people person.”

“Really. I thought it was just me.”

He laughed. “No, everyone on two legs.”

“How come you live here with him? You're not related?”

“No. We have been friends since we were kids. Growing up was tough, we're...different.”

She thought he was going to say more and then changed his mind. Maggie wanted to know more; perhaps it would help her make sense of why they wanted to keep her captive. There might also be a chance he might let something slip about who she was, because if they had kidnapped her or something they would know, surely.

“In what way are you different? When you said the same thing last night I thought you were gay.”

He nearly sprayed his coffee across the table. “Gay!”

“Yes, must have been the knock on the head, but I thought that was what you meant.”

Trying to recover his composure he said, “Two red blooded males here. Women only in our beds.” Then he hesitated and tried to recover himself. “Not that we have many women.”

If she had not been so worried about their intentions towards her she would have found him hard to resist. He was vulnerable, despite his obvious physical strength there was an innocence to him. Maggie longed to find out where that stemmed from, and to help him get over it.

“You live out in the middle of nowhere. Is that because you are different?” Maggie did not know if she was pushing too far with her questions. She would be better to simply keep her mouth shut and bide her time.

“Cyrus has a bit of temper, so it seemed to be the ideal place to live.”

“You must be very close. To give up a normal life for Cyrus.”

“Our lives were never going to be normal. This way no one asks questions.”

He looked at her, and she knew he had said more than he had planned. “Sorry. You're so easy to talk to. I guess it’s because I’m not used to company. Anyway,” he said rising. “Chores to do.”

He went to the sink and began to wash up their breakfast things. “Do you want a hand?”

“No. Go rest, I’ll come and take a look at your head after I’ve done this. I’m guessing you feel OK.”

“Much better thank you. I might take some fresh air, if you don’t mind.”

“No. Put a coat on though, it’s cold out there. There’s some hanging up by the front door.”

“Thanks,” she said, slipping out of the kitchen and going straight to the door. She would have to be quick, it would not take him long to do the dishes, but this would be the best chance she had today to run.

Grabbing the first coat she found, she put it on quickly, wrapping it around herself tightly to shield her body from the cold air, and went outside. Keeping to the side of the house away from the kitchen, where she hoped Aiden was still doing his chores, she made her way into the woods surrounding the house.

At first the trees were not too dense, but the further she travelled, the slower the going became, if she had any hope of getting away she would need to find a path. Stopping, she took in their surroundings.

The ground sloped away a little further on, and she guessed this might lead down to a road or at least a track. She had nothing to lose, still having no idea of where she was or where she had come from.

Plunging on down hill made things a little faster, but she soon became breathless and a little dizzy. Her head began to throb and the enormity of the situation hit her. If she collapsed out here in the open, the cold would soon finish her off. It had been foolish to run away like this.

Surely, she was safer in the house with Aiden and Cyrus, than out here. She went back over their conversation, was there any way she could have got it wrong. They definitely had something to hide, yet Aiden had been quite open about them being different. Perhaps if she found out what that difference was she might understand them better.

Too late, looking around she realised she could not find her way back to the house if she tried.

Fatigue weighed down on her, her pace became so slow she might not have been moving forward at all. She wanted to sit down and rest, but that would mean certain death. She had to keep moving.

As she walked on she heard an unfamiliar sound, maybe it was to do with the bits of her memory that were missing, but she was sure she had never heard it before. A wild animal sound, trying hard she pressed herself to remember. Still nothing.

There it was again, an animal in distress perhaps, calling for help. She wanted to go to it, compelled to answer its need, but the sound frightened her too. Closer now, it came again, she might end up meeting it whether she wanted to or not.

Maggie began to pick up her pace, willing herself to go faster, there was no doubt the animal was tracking her, and it was big, the sound of it moving through the trees making that plain. Why had she left the security of the house, she had been safe there, at least from the beast that was going to eat her. Yet there were no creatures like that in England, it was impossible.

So close now she could catch glimpses of it behind her, fear took over and she began to run, the branches whipping her face in her headlong dash down the hill. She could not sustain it, not that it mattered, the beast was nearly upon her. Turning to see what was chasing her she lost her balance, tripping over a tree root before falling headlong down onto the damp ground.

The last thing she saw before she passed out was a large bear. She could not tell if it were real or a trick of her imagination, because despite her memory loss Maggie knew for certain that it was impossible. Bears had been extinct from this country for hundreds of years.

The fact did not make the bears jaws any less big or dangerous.

“Maggie. Maggie.”

Opening her eyes, she saw Aiden towering over her. Her first thought was one of relief that at least it was not the bear about to eat her. Then she panicked, unable to figure out how he had caught up with her so quickly, and how he managed to chase the bear away.

“Let me go,” she said scooting backwards away from him.

He put his hands up to show her he meant her no harm. “Maggie. I am not going to hurt you. What happened, why did you run?”

“Because I know you are the ones who hurt me yesterday. It was convenient for me to lose my memory, wasn’t it?” she accused him.

Aiden sat back on his haunches, the wind sucked out of him. “Maggie. You've got it wrong, neither of us are going to hurt you. If you want to leave, just ask. I will take you to wherever you need to go.”

“Really? I thought that would mean questions you don’t want to answer.”

He looked puzzled, and then his face cleared. “You heard us talking. Oh, Maggie. Those questions were about us, not you. I told you we are different, we keep ourselves to ourselves. If we took you to the police, there would be people all over the woods looking for clues. We would prefer it if that did not happen, but if that's what you want, then so be it.”

“You would take me? Right now?” Maggie so wanted to believe him. In her heart, she felt they would not hurt her, yet she could not be sure. Her memory loss made everything so confusing.

“Yes. I will carry you there right now. If that is really what you want.”

“It is.”

He looked hurt, as though her words had stung him deep inside. However, he scooped her up effortlessly and began carrying her down the hill at an angle that she guessed must lead towards a road or path.

Aiden did not speak, but plodded on, his reluctance obvious. Maggie rested her head on his chest and let her mind wander. Was this the right thing to do, she had no idea. Could she be putting herself in danger by going back to civilisation, or was the danger back there at the house these two brothers shared?

A path appeared, Aiden took her down it, and slowly it became wider where more people used it.

“The road is about a mile away. Then it is about a half hour walk to the nearest store, there's a phone there we can use.”

“Don't you have a car or anything?” she asked, feeling bad at having him carry her so far.

“No. We use our four feet to get anywhere fast.”

Four feet, now that was an odd way of putting it, but she thought he must mean they go everywhere together; perhaps that was how Aiden kept Cyrus out of trouble.

“You had better put me down. I can’t expect you to carry me that far.”

“It’s no problem. I don’t know if you’re strong enough to walk.”

“Let’s see. Put me down.”

He placed her feet on the ground, holding her tightly while she tested her legs to see if they were capable of taking her weight. They were, or so she thought until she took a faltering step forward and ended up right back in his arms. Something she found more exciting than frightening.

She turned to look at him. “Thank you.”

“I will always be willing to catch you when you fall,” he said, and then blushed.

She smiled at him, suddenly feeling quite coy. He made her feel so alive and desirable, and suddenly the thought of leaving him, and Cyrus, seemed ridiculous. This was where she belonged, where she was safe.

“What's your secret, Aiden?”

She had caught him off guard, he had not expected this from her, and his mouth clamped shut. “Come on. You expect me to trust you, and to stay here with you. Yet you won’t trust me.”

“Maggie. It’s not that simple.”

“Can’t it be?” She touched his cheek, and he closed his eyes, revelling in the feel of her fingers on his skin. “I have no idea who I am or why I am here. I could have a husband or boyfriend in the real world, yet something compels me to stay here with you. Give me some reason to take a chance on you and Cyrus.”

“Me and Cyrus?” he asked.

She opened her eyes wide, suddenly aware of what she had said. Both of them, yes she wanted both of them.

Then she should leave, for her to stay would be to tear apart the two men, because she could not choose between them. “I’m sorry. I have feelings for both of you. I can’t explain it; you are so different, but equally as attractive to me. Maybe you should take me away from here.”

She turned to walk down the path, feeling stronger now. Aiden had other ideas though; he caught her arm and turned her towards him. “Maggie, Cyrus and I have shared everything all our lives.”

Her eyes were drawn to his lips, and more than anything she wanted to touch them, to taste him with her own. All she could do was breathlessly ask, “Everything?”

“We have waited for a long, long time, to find a woman like you, Maggie. If you want to leave, I’ll take you. But if you want to stay...” He licked his lips, moistening them, and she was drawn to him, her body becoming incredibly needy, a heat growing inside her that defied the cold.

“And if I want to stay...”

“Then we will look after you and keep you safe. And worship your body with ours.”

At any other time his words would have made her giggle, but at this moment there seemed nothing silly about what he said. The thought of both men worshipping her body made a slick heat grow between her legs. She questioned the wisdom of starting an intimate relationship with them when she had no idea what her background was.

However, when his arm went about her waist and he drew her near to press against his body her resolve weakened. It then completely evaporated as his lips descended on hers and for the first time he claimed her.

She yielded to him, wanting him to possess her, for the present time her worries were pushed to one side as he consumed her senses. His lips firm and sensual on hers, his tongue pressing to go deeper and mimic the act of lovemaking by moving in and out of her mouth.

Maggie had to grab hold of his jacket to stop herself from sinking to her knees, the feeling he evoked in her almost too much. She became aware of how fiercely she returned his kiss, her own tongue meeting his and entwining with it, beckoning him to join with her.

With a groan, his hand went to her ass, pressing her more firmly against him, and she felt the power of his arousal, his hard length against her thigh. Sliding her hand down between them, she touched him, and he nearly exploded. This was a man who did not know how to be something he was not around her. He had no self control where her touch was concerned.

A noise behind him made her start. She pulled back to see what was making the sound, remembering the bear she had seen chasing her in the woods. However, it was not a beast standing watching them. Although by his face, it would be easy to picture him as some wild animal. Cyrus stood watching them, an expression of open jealousy on his face, and her heart went out to him, and she wanted to comfort him, to offer herself to him too.