Mountain Men II: Primal Hunger (5 page)

It was the big cat in
him.

They held grudges.

One would think the differences in
personalities would clash but, in them, it served only to balance
one another. Bain heaved Gavin's feet onto the bed and took off his
shoes. Pulling up the blanket and softly peeling the empty whiskey
bottle out of his fingers, Bain covered him up with the blanket
and, thinking back to his heavy drinking days, placed an empty
trash can near the bed.

"Maura."

Bain froze as Gavin called out in
his drunken stupor.

Was Maura the reason for this rare
outburst? If so, why?

A million questions bombarded him
at once. If Gavin was upset enough about something to get this
stinking drunk over, he would probably tell him. They had only had
each other for so long, it was second nature for them to turn to
one another when they needed something. It was all they had been
able to count on for much of their life. Bain couldn’t imagine it
would start changing now.

If not, surely Bain would be able
to pick up on some clues, somewhere. Bain was resolved to find out
what exactly had gotten under Gavin's skin. No one knew Gavin
better than him. He should be able to get to the bottom of this in
no time.

Chapter Three

Maura took special precautions to
avoid Gavin for the next couple days. She begged off yoga twice and
managed to avoid him and Bain those days. She couldn’t imagine he
hadn’t told Bain about the chubby one kissing him. It was too
embarrassing to face. She still had no idea what had possessed her
to do that. Maybe this retreat wasn’t the best idea? Clearly she
was experiencing some kind of mental or emotional break.

Maybe her breakup with the last
boyfriend had caused some kind of psychotic break and she was
really in a straightjacket in some mental hospital slobbering from
all the psychotropic drugs? She pinched herself enough to sting but
didn’t know if that would even work or if it was only supposed to
wake you from dreaming not from out of a drug induced
state.

Maura briefly considered banging
her head on the wall to see if that would do the trick. A side
bonus of head bashing would be a plausible excuse to get out of
canoeing with Gavin, Bain, and the group. Shaking her head and
steeling herself for what she was sure would end up being an
uncomfortable and awkward gathering, she walked to the dry
dock.

Gavin seemed just as eager to
ignore her as she was to pretend she hadn’t attacked him. Although
it was the best and most arousing kiss she had experienced to date,
it was still embarrassing. She could almost picture the laugh they
must have had at her expense after that. She cringed.

Upon arriving at the dry dock site
Maura found that many had already been paired up in canoeing teams.
She looked around for a single but didn’t see anyone until she
realized the guides were interspersed with the guests and Bain
stood alone. Their eyes met and she felt a spark of desire flare
quickly and just as quickly tamped it down.

“
You’re with me,
Maura.”

Maura couldn’t help a tingle that
shivered down her spine when he said that. The look in his eyes
felt much more intimate than just a canoe trip partnering.
Or is that wishful thinking?

Maura reminded herself where
thoughts like that led--right to embarrassing displays of sexual
aggression, like kissing her trainers. Putting her focus back on
the physical task at hand, she hefted her end of the canoe up and
followed Bain. She tried to keep from noticing the way his ass
moved in his pants, or the way the muscles in his arms flexed and
moved but hardly broke a sweat, but she failed
miserably.

Bain could feel her eyes on the
back of him and it was causing a stirring in his pants. He had
never canoed with an erection before but felt like he was about to
find out. He was going to be sitting behind her in the boat because
he had an inkling it wouldn’t be going away soon. He couldn’t help
but put an extra flex in his arms while carrying the canoe. It was
a male bear’s natural tendency to want to show off a little
strength for his mate.

He could smell her reaction to him,
particularly when her body heat and heartbeat were already
elevated. Then to scent her arousal and her eyes on him at the same
time was enough to make him want to drop the boat and drag her into
the woods. His cock stirred in his pants again as if in agreement
and Bain shifted the boat’s weight to one hand to adjust himself.
When the boat was balanced on one hand, he heard a slight gasp from
behind him and a spike in her natural aroma. He flexed a little and
shifted himself in his pants once again, thankful he wore a long
shirt untucked. So no one would see cock peeking out of the top of
his pants.

He had mostly tamed his raging
erection when they came upon the river’s edge. Everyone got their
safety gear on and checked the fastenings on each others’
equipment. Bain noted the sharp intake of breath Maura gave when he
checked the chest strap on her lifejacket. His fingers lingered on
the curve of her neck after a relatively unnecessary adjustment to
the chin strap on her helmet. He could just feel the spike in her
heart rate when the tips of his fingers ghosted over her pulse
before patting the top of her helmet.

Maura looked slightly dazed. Her
lips were parted and when she licked them Bain fought the urge to
grab her and kiss her. He reminded himself and his bear that now
was not the best time but Bain was losing his grasp on just why
that was. He stretched out his hand to help her into the canoe and
when she stepped in, it shifted slightly. She fell towards him and
her entire body brushed against him as she slid into the
canoe.

His cock jumped when he smelled her
body’s response to his erection. He was again fighting the urge to
haul her against him and explore her entire body with his tongue.
She was just so delectable. Maura quickly broke contact, sitting in
her seat at the front of the canoe.

Bain lowered himself in the back of
the canoe and slowly paddled them out so others had room to load
themselves in waiting canoes.

“
Sorry again for bumping into you.
I seem to always be running into you, literally.”

She gave a nervous little
laugh.

“
A girl my size keeps slamming into
you, you must wish you had extra padding to protect you against
me.”

“
Not at all.” Bain shrugged, a
lopsided grin lifting one corner of his mouth. “Quite the opposite
actually.”

Maura turned to look at him with a
mix of doubt and confusion. She looked as if she doubted she heard
him correctly but shifted back and began paddling instead. Bain
watched her from behind. She was curved nicely and sitting behind
her in the canoe lent him the perfect view of her backside plump
and pushed against the seat of the canoe.

Her dark hair was pulled into a
ponytail and pulled through a baseball cap. He could see the tiny
tendrils of hair, sweaty and curled at the nape of her neck, and
wanted to kiss her there.

Bain made every excuse to touch
her. He tapped her on the shoulder or grazed her neck to point out
some random fact or spotting animals. The way goose bumps broke out
on her skin when he touched her encouraged him in his sensual
pursuit. He continued until a particularly tricky bend near the end
of the trail.

Bain couldn’t help but admire
Maura’s natural canoeing ability. She handled herself very well.
She was very responsive to the direction of the canoe, water, and
what he would need from her. He hadn’t worked this well with anyone
since … well, no one but Gavin. She moved in sync with him
instinctively. Visions popped in his mind of how responsive she
would be in other, more naked, areas. These visions distracted him
just long enough for the canoe to maneuver into a rock formation at
the wrong angle and almost tip the canoe over.

Bain watched in horror as Maura
tipped to one side and out into the churning water. It felt like an
eternity before she surfaced amidst the rocks and white water. His
heart stopped. She sputtered a bit and indicated she was OK. Bain
blew out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and reached
for her, grabbing the front of her jacket. He hauled her into the
boat, dragging her up, and she ended sprawled across his body on
the bottom of the canoe.

She looked at him with surprise,
lips forming a little ‘o’ of shock. Bain’s control was already
frayed but losing her like that, even for a moment, shook him
deeply. Without thinking he palmed the nape of her neck and pulled
her down to his mouth for a kiss. Her lips were cool from the water
but her mouth was hot. The taste of her mouth was addictive and
Bain was a willing junkie. His tongue swept her mouth and she
nibbled his lip.

Bain was on the verge of taking her
there when a sound finally pierced his consciousness. He
reluctantly parted from her sweet mouth to sit them both back
upright and signal to everyone that they were OK. Out of the corner
of his eye he saw her brush her fingertips against her lips softly
with an aroused but confused look on her face. He liked knowing
that she was affected by him, too. It would be too much to be the
only one feeling unsettled by attraction.

Chapter Four

Mate?

What exactly was that supposed to
mean? Like buddy? Was that what all this was?

Maura’s gaze bounced back and forth
between the two men. She felt trapped. She was pinned down by a
steely blue gaze on one side and a deep brown on the other. She bit
the inside of her cheek under their scrutiny. She had no idea how
to respond. What was she supposed to do say something like,
Hey sorry but I am equally attracted to both of
you.
She was completely out of her
element.

Fatty Moo-ra isn’t supposed to have
men after her like this. Not one, much less two. There had to be
some kind of catch. Maybe they wanted to seduce her and film it for
internet porn or something?

“
I don’t think I
understand.”

“
Ask whatever you want. I can see
something interesting is going on in that beautiful head of yours.”
Gavin held his arms out to the side.

“
What does that mean?
Mate?”

Gavin and Bain both exchanged a
look. Gavin was usually the more vocal of the two, but it was Bain
who spoke first this time.

“
In our family, we mate for life.
It’s sort of like marriage but there really isn’t a divorce system
where we’re from.”

Maura’s brows knitted in a frown.
“Are you from some kind of cult?”

Bain’s chuckle rumbled deep in his
chest and even while all wound up and distressed, the sound still
relaxed something deep in her chest.

“
Not quite.” Bain directed her to
a chair. “There’s a lot we all need to talk about. You might as
well sit.”

Maura sat with a plop and the
resulting jiggle she felt was a harsh reminder of why she shouldn’t
be in this seat. It should be some Barbie porn star looking woman,
not her. She couldn’t help but feel like she was being tricked.
This wasn’t supposed to happen outside of the movies.

“
The people in my family have
unique … traits”

Maura lifted one brow.
Here it comes
.

“
My family, and people like my
family with this same trait, have mates. It’s a lot like what you
would call soul mates. Once you find your mate you complete and
balance each other. There have never been known to have a divorce
among them because they are all happily mated. Family legend says
we find the one who completes our soul and tames our
beast.”

“
How do you know
I am a mate to
both
of you?”

“
We’re both having a mate reaction
to you.”

“
A mate reaction?”

“
Yes.”

“
What is that?”

“
Can’t stop thinking about you.
Intense reaction to your presence and over exaggerated aggression
towards other males in your close proximity. Also, the irrational
and constant need to mark you.”

“
MARK ME?”

Gavin stepped over and put his
hands on her shoulders, directing her back to her seat when she
shot up to stand. When she was again seated comfortably, Gavin
pulled up a chair in front of her, taking both her hands in
his.

“
Calm down. A more delicate way of
putting that is a driving need to be able to lay claim to you. Not
to make you a possession but as a way of securing affection. It’s a
way to ward other men away from trying to hit on you.”

Maura was sure she looked like an
imbecile staring at him open mouthed. They both wanted to … what?
Go steady? Together? Gavin continued when he saw the lingering look
of confusion on her face.

“
Maura, we aren’t aggressive
toward each other. We think you’re both our mates.”

“
So, what? Am I to be passed
around like a timeshare?”

“
If that’s what you
want.”

Maura didn’t want to be a part time
partner to anyone. That wasn’t what she imagined for herself. She
wanted ONE happy family not two. She couldn’t cause tension between
the two men which had to eventually happen. Then something Gavin
had said sunk in far enough to register in her brain. They weren’t
aggressive towards
each other.
Did they mean to share her,
at the same time?
Maura waited for a
wave of disgust to wash over her at the thought but something much
darker and more erotic flooded her veins instead.