“Ma won’t kill them,” Stig said. “But she’ll bang them around and try to knock sense into them.”
“She doesn’t approve of humans or is it me?”
“She wants us to go out on the ice with the rest of the pack this winter. It’s a time when marriages and alliances are formed. She can’t understand why my brothers and I prefer to live in the human world and indulge in trade.”
“Why do you stay in Churchill?”
“We like the people. We love the town. The old ways aren’t always the best, and to be truthful, the women Ma wants us to make matches with are plain scary. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life arguing and fighting with my mate as to who is in charge. I want a woman to love. A partnership with give and take. I’d like my woman to comfort me when I need it, and I’d do the same with her when she requires support. I don’t want a political arrangement. I want love and respect and companionship.”
Passion rang in every word and touched a chord in Fiona.
“T-that’s what I want. That’s what I’ve always wanted. I thought I had it with Robert but…” She trailed off with a shrug.
“See, we’re not that different. Polar bears and humans. Ma doesn’t get that.”
“You turn into a bear as well?”
“I can.” He sounded wary this time.
“Will you show me?”
“My otherness doesn’t frighten you?”
The booming growls ceased without warning.
Stig frowned. “We should stay here for longer. Kirk and Leif will inform us when it’s safe to come out.”
“I’m not frightened of you. I can see that being alone with your mother might be problematic, but she shouldn’t have called me a slut,” she added fiercely.
“Don’t listen to her. You’re not, and my brothers and I don’t think of you in that way.”
His sincerity blazed through his words, and Fiona nodded, although privately, she worried. This situation she found herself in rated weird on so many levels. It needed consideration.
“Please show me your bear. I truly want to see.”
“If you scream and go girlie on me, I’ll spank you.”
“Huh! Leif threatened to do that if I misbehaved. Robert got rough enough with me at the end. I don’t need physical threats.”
Stig’s blue eyes took on a gleam. He strolled closer until he filled her personal space. “When Leif and I threaten spanking, it’s not physical abuse we have in mind. Neither of us would ever hurt you. We’d sooner gnaw off our right front paws.” He cupped her face in his big hands and kissed her. “Do you promise to sleep in my bedroom tonight?”
“I promise,” she whispered.
“And if I invited Kirk to sleep with us?”
“Oh,” she breathed as the idea of the two brothers touching her at the same time filled her mind. She’d read one or two books with that arrangement, the stories heating her so much she’d whipped out her vibrator. Another instant of Robert’s absences. She shoved her ex from her mind and returned to Kirk and Stig.
Phew, was it hot in here?
His nostrils flared. “You like the idea.”
“Um, yes. Good guess?”
“We have an excellent sense of smell. You’re aroused right now.”
“Your mother could… She knew… Oh, dear.”
“You have a delicious scent. It’s rich with a whiff of floral. And we’ve rubbed bear all over you too.”
