The polar bear chuffs, shaking his head, a growl still building in his chest. She continues, undeterred. Going on and on about the plot of some wild series with demons and lumens, which are apparently angels. I half forget the situation we’re in while listening to her describe the series, especially when she gets to the bit about the girl having multiple mates. I glance over at Marcus and see he is equally enraptured by this bubbly, beautiful woman.
Goldie’s body relaxes the more she talks about her books, jumping into the next series, this one taking place in literal hell with a woman fighting creatures, only to be swept away by some sex god. Or maybe he was a demon too. I’m no longer paying attention to her words, but her movements.
“And her name is Lana, and he’s a shadow daddy,” she gushes, reaching for his massive head and beginning to stroke his bright white fur. “It’s one of those stories you really need to charge your toys for.”
I chuckle at her words and marvel at how quickly she won over Adrian’s bear. His eyes are no longer filled with rage and pain, but soft and following Goldie’s everymovement. The polar bear drops to the floor with a thud, and Goldie instantly moves to his side, snuggling into him, chatting away. My back hits the wall, and I slide down it in relief. Marcus joins me.
“Well, Kieran,” Marcus murmurs. “You called that one correctly. I continue to underestimate her. And you. It won’t happen again.”
I nudge his shoulder playfully. “Sure it will. But you can make it up to me.”
Marcus groans, shutting his eyes. “I am not going to like this, am I?”
It’s impossible to hide the mischief from my face, a plan forming. “Not at all. But she will love it.”
He sighs, and I can see how in love with her he is already. “Fine.”
Goldie takes a breath, and I use the chance to interrupt her stories. “Say, Goldie?”
She turns her head in my direction, still stroking Adrian’s fur and looking like the size of a baby doll beside the giant animal. “Huh?”
I stand, tugging her up with me, and Adrian growls possessively, but I swat him away. “Hush, you overgrown marshmallow.” Goldie giggles, and the sound widens my grin. “Marcus is in trouble. And I’ve found the perfect way for him to atone.”
She arches a brow at Marcus, and he rolls his eyes, standing beside me. “Just get on with it,” he growls, but the sound holds no real anger in it.
“I’m thinking we all need a little cool down in the lake,” I say, barely holding in my laugh. “A polar plunge, if you will.”
Goldie’s grin matches my own. “Ooh, yes, let’s go!”
I stop her from rushing out the door. “We will. But you get to ride on Marcus’s back.”
“Fucking hell, Kieran,” Marcus snaps. “I’m not a damn horse.”
Goldie skips to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and he instantly encircles her waist with his massive arms in return. “Please, Daddy. Pretty, pretty please?”
Marcus leans down and nips at her nose. “You’re a menace. The whole lot of you. And impossible to say no to.”
Smug satisfaction fills me up because I fucking knew he would not be able to resist her. Adrian chuffs, snapping his teeth as if he is laughing, and I join him. Goldie tugs Marcus outside, which he allows, and he begins to undress. I do the same, waiting for him to shift first. Marcus’s black bear is exceptionally large. In general, black bears are smaller than both grizzlies and polar bears, but Marcus, being the big bad papa bear he is, outgrew my grizzly early on. Adrian is still slightly taller, but Marcus is one of the largest black bear shifters to exist. This does make it harder for him to roam.
The article that was released a few years back about a Bigfoot sighting? It was about Marcus. We tease him about that to this day.
Goldie’s mouth drops open when he shifts, taking in the huge black bear stalking closer to her in the front yard. He peers down at her, leans in, and nudges her cheek with his nose. She blushes, giggling, and shoves him away.
“Is it weird that you still seem like… you?” Goldie wonders aloud. “And that I still think you’re hot?”
I bark out a laugh, my dick liking that comment a little too much. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I nuzzle into her, biting her neck possessively. She whimpers in my arms, and the sound is heaven. “Be careful, sweetness. You’re about to get three big, bad bears all hot for you, saying things like that.”
She tilts her head back against my chest and stares up at me with a wicked grin. “And that’s a problem because…?”
Giving her ass a spank, I lift her up at the waist and plop her onto Marcus’s back before she can make another comment that will have me railing her right here in the yard. “Swim time, you little minx.”
Goldie grips the black bear’s fur and settles in, looking perfectly content on his back. Once again, this human surprises us all. She takes every strange encounter with unflappable grace. Never have I seen disgust or fear from her. The more time she spends with us, the more I am certain she belongs here, with us.
Stripping out of my remaining clothes, I catch Goldie eyeing my dick and wink at her before shifting. Walking up to Marcus, I lick her leg, and she laughs.
“Onward, bears,” she commands us and smacks Marcus on his backside. “Yah, horsey, yah!”
Marcus snarls, and Adrian and I grunt with laughter. Goldie will absolutely be paying for that comment later. The lake isn’t far, and Goldie prattles on about anything and everything, from her books to her three favorite types of ice cream. She seems to enjoy a lot of things in threes, unable to pick just one favorite. When we reach the edge of the lake, Marcus shifts suddenly, and Goldie screams. But he’s swift enough in the transition to catch her in his arms.
