Rugged Glimpse

Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 1

Rugged Glimpse London fashion girl Elena Ward decides to leave her old life behind. She chooses to tramp through the wilds of Savage Valley in the hopes of revamping her photography career. Trying to garner the attention of a more prestigious audience and desperate to capture the edgy side of nature, Elena gets more wilderness than she was looking for in the hunky bear-shifting brothers Joseph and Caleb Kinman. After meeting the shy yet intriguing Brit, Joseph and Caleb can’t wait to make Elena their mate. But with a series of mysterious animal attacks causing anxiety in the townsfolk of Savage Valley, Elena and the Kinman brothers soon discover that something dark is lurking just beneath the surface. Will their love be strong enough? Or will the monsters that stalk through Savage Valley prevail? Note: There are two different series in the Savage Valley, Colorado collection. Rugged Savage Valley by Edith Dubois is bear-shifters. The Pride of Savage Valley series by Helena Ray is mountain lion-shifters. Each book features a different romantic trio or quartet. Even though the two series take place in the same setting with crossover characters and share an external story arc, each of the series can stand alone. Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter Length: 52,170 words

RUGGED GLIMPSE Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 1

Edith DuBois

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer. WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

RUGGED GLIMPSE Copyright © 2011 by Edith DuBois E-book ISBN: 1-61034-764-1 First E-book Publication: August 2011 Cover design by Les Byerley All art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of Rugged Glimpse by Edith DuBois from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book. The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment. This is Edith DuBois’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. DuBois’s right to earn a living from her work. Amanda Hilton, Publisher www.SirenPublishing.com www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION For Helena Ray. The hours of map drawing, plotting, and watching vicious wildlife videos on YouTube have been beyond magical. These bears wouldn’t be running around and wreaking havoc upon Savage Valley without you. Much love! Also, Cheez-Its and chocolate forever!

RUGGED GLIMPSE Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 1 EDITH DUBOIS Copyright © 2011

Chapter One “About bloody time,” Elena Ward cursed as she passed a wooden road sign with white painted letters that read, Welcome to Savage Valley, Colorado. No animal attacks since 1846! She rolled her eyes, wondering why every small town in America had to have a slogan. Sighing, she realized her cynicism most likely stemmed from fatigue rather than any true annoyance. She’d been on the road from Denver for almost four hours. The GPS on her smart phone told her she should have been here over an hour ago, but besides the missed exits and the wrong turns she’d taken, she’d driven twenty miles below the speed limit the whole way. Driving on the right side of the road took all of her concentration, but even so, she kept slipping over into the left lane. On top of that, when she came to a stop sign and a turn, she wanted to look right-left-right, but then she second-guessed herself because she remembered she was supposed to look left-right-left. She ended up looking back and forth about seven times before feeling confident enough to turn. As she spotted the Savage Valley welcome sign, her shoulders sagged in relief, and she let out a long breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

Rugged Glimpse

9

Jogging her violently out of her moment of peace, her rental car made an angry beeping noise. She looked frantically around the dash, still not used to what all the lights and noises meant. A fuel tank emblem flicked on and off, and she realized she was almost completely out of petrol. Elena glanced out her window, hoping a petrol station happened to be close by. From what she could see on her phone’s screen, it looked like Savage Valley only had one major thoroughfare, and she was currently driving on it. Looking up, she could see all the way from one side of town to the other. A short ways ahead on her right, she saw a tin sign hanging from a wooden post. It said “Savage Convenience,” and she could just make out the shape of some petrol pumps in the dusky rose light of evening. Turning off the road, she pulled up to a pump, got out, and then realized that the rental car’s tank was on the other side. Frustrated, she crawled back into the driver’s seat, slammed the door closed, and then darted forward, spitting up gravel behind her. As soon as she heard the gravel, though, she let off the gas pedal, startled by her own aggressiveness. Forcing herself to maintain a certain level of aplomb, she slid into reverse and backed the car up to the other side of the pump, the side closer to the convenience store. Looking out her window, she saw three old men sitting in rocking chairs on the porch of the store. Two of them wore denim overalls and dark green T-shirts. The third one wore a nice pair of dark blue slacks and a button-up yellow and blue plaid shirt. All three rocked steadily back and forth, and all three stared rather openly at her. Embarrassed at her momentary fit of temper, she climbed out of the car without looking directly at the old-timers. She hadn’t filled up on an American pump yet, and she studied it for a long moment before deciding what to do. “You doin’ all right, young lady?” one of the men called to her from the porch.

10

Edith DuBois

Turning around, she waved at them with a tentative smile. “Yes, I think so. Thank you.” “Aw, hell, Jim Bob. That ain’t how you provide customer service. You can’t just holler at her across the yard from the porch.” “She said she was fine.” “You gotta get out there, pump her gas for her. Come on now. Is that how you welcome a beautiful stranger to Savage Valley?” Elena could feel her cheeks blazing, but she turned around to face the men. The one with the slacks and button-up shirt gripped the arms of his rocking chair and began to laboriously lift himself out of the chair. “Oh, please,” Elena called to him. “Stay in your seat. I’m fine.” His arms trembled from the effort of hauling himself up. “Are you sure, miss?” one of the overall-wearers asked her. “Jim Bob here could use the exercise.” He thumped Jim Bob on the back. “Get your paws off.” Elena slid the nozzle into her car and waved. “I think I’ve pretty much got it now. No need to come down.” Instead of falling back into his rocking chair, however, Jim Bob rose the rest of the way and took a few steps toward the store’s entrance. After Elena’s car had guzzled up all the petrol it could take, she headed up to the store. “Whoo-eeh!” one of the overall-wearers yelled out as Elena reached the steps, causing her to jump. “What a lucky day for the citizens of Savage Valley, eh, Larry?” He elbowed the other man. “Such a pretty little lady come to visit our town.” Blushing even more, Elena scooted inside without saying anything. She’d never learned how to respond to such blatant flirtation, even from old men. When she walked to the checkout, Jim Bob was waiting for her. As he totaled up her purchase, he asked, “Where you from, sweetheart?” “I arrived on a plane straight from London about five hours ago.”

Rugged Glimpse

11

“My, my, my. That’s quite a journey you’ve undertaken. You’re probably exhausted.” “A little, yes.” “Well, now, what brings you to Savage Valley?” “Work...erm...photography. I’ll be hiking through the surrounding areas over the next few months to take pictures of the wildlife and the landscape. Things like that.” “Jim Bob!” one of the men called from the porch. “Don’t be hogging up all her attention. You bring her on out here.” Jim Bob shook his head in exasperation, and Elena smiled sympathetically. “Don’t worry about ol’ Bobby,” Jim Bob said as he walked around the counter and patted her on the shoulder. “He’s harmless.” Elena smiled, touched by his fatherly warmth toward her. After a full day of traveling with virtually no rest, a little warmth from a stranger went a long way. As soon as they walked back out of Savage Convenience, however, Elena’s breath caught in her throat. Walking toward her with a confident stride was one of the biggest men Elena had ever seen. He was a true mountain man, a bear of a man. He had on a khaki uniform, and as he neared, she noticed the badge on his chest. When he was only a few feet from her, she could see that he was the sheriff of Savage Valley. A peek over his bulky shoulder, and Elena noticed his cruiser parked on the other side of the pump from her car. But bloody hell! His size took Elena’s breath away. Before she could think to stop herself, her eyes darted down to his crotch. She sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of his noticeable bulge and then felt her cheeks flaming. Quickly darting her eyes away, she started to head back for her car. Unfortunately, something big and manly stepped into her path. “And where do you think you’re going, little lady?” The sheriff’s voice rumbled around inside his barrel of a chest.

12

Edith DuBois

She peeked up at his face and then had to stifle a gasp. His eyes were black, jet black. There were no flecks or spots of brown. They were just black. For a long moment, she couldn’t rip her own eyes away from his. It was like he sucked her deep into those dark depths. He pulled at her, and Elena found herself stumbling backward to create some distance between herself and his dangerously magnetic presence. He lifted his brows, smiling, but his voice held some concern. “Everything all right?” “Yes, I think I’m a little tired is all.” He let out a low whistle. “Where’d you get that accent?” “London,” Jim Bob piped up. She nodded up at the sheriff. “Welcome!” He shouted the word, making Elena jump for the second time since arriving. “As sheriff of Savage Valley, allow me to personally extend my hand in welcome to you.” He held out his great paw of a hand for her to shake, and it shocked Elena to see how petite and fragile hers looked inside his. His grip, however, was just right, firm enough to be manly but loose enough to cause her no discomfort. “My name is Joseph Kinman, and as I said, I’m sheriff of Savage Valley.” Warmth shot up her arm as he held his rough palm against hers. “Elena Ward.” “A pleasure to meet you, Miss...you are a ‘miss,’ right?” She nodded. “Miss Elena.” As he spoke, he grinned down at her. His voice held a natural cheeriness, as if even in dark times, there would be something warm and comforting deep inside him. “So what brings you out to Savage Valley?” The three old-timers had been watching the sheriff greet Elena with amusement, and Jim Bob spoke up again. “She’s working as a photographer.” An even broader grin exploded across Sheriff Kinman’s features. “Oh? What are you going to be taking pictures of? Looking for any

Rugged Glimpse

13

male models? Savage Valley boasts quite a versatile stock.” He winked at her, and a thrill shot through her. “Wildlife and landscapes and things like that,” Jim Bob said, saving her from what was sure to be an embarrassing response. Elena bit back her own grin at how quickly the old man jumped in to answer Sheriff Kinman’s questions. “I can see you’ve already charmed the natives.” “National Geographic is doing an American Heritage series. I’m responsible for Colorado.” “The whole state?” Elena nodded. “Why Savage Valley? Don’t get me wrong…” He rested one of his large hands on her shoulders and looked her square in her eyes. “…I’m thrilled that you chose our little town, but like any sheriff worth his salt, I’m curious about newcomers.” His black eyes made her insides tremble, and she felt her pussy flutter in response to his direct gaze. “My only requirements were to capture the ‘essence’ of Colorado. You have mountains, a forest, a lake, Indians.” “Not to mention,” one of the overall-wearers—Larry, Elena thought—interrupted. “No animal attacks since 1846.” Elena chuckled. “Yes, I do remember reading that somewhere.” Sheriff Kinman rolled his eyes. “Don’t know how you could have missed it since it’s plastered on every inch of Savage Valley propaganda.” “Well, it must have worked. It was one of the reasons I finally chose this town above all others.” Even though she thought the slogan was cheesy, she couldn’t deny that, in her line of work, it had been a weighty factor in her decision to come to the town. If she was going to be getting up close and personal with the wildlife, she rather liked the idea of no animal attacks since 1846. Sheriff Kinman grinned down at her, his dark eyes twinkling. “Are you sure you didn’t go snooping around the Savage Valley

14

Edith DuBois

website? I bet you got one look at this handsome devil of a lawman and hightailed it on over here.” Elena thought she would explode into flames, embarrassed and annoyed that her desire was so transparent. “No…I…that’s not…I didn’t even look at it.” Sheriff Kinman threw back his head with a roar of laughter. “Aw, don’t blow a gasket. I’m just yanking your chain. It’s the ol’ Savage Valley welcome.” “Leave her alone, Sheriff.” Jim Bob came to her defense. “Can’t you see she’s flustered?” Elena had given up on speaking, too embarrassed to form a cohesive sentence. “Better get used to it, little lady.” The sheriff shot her a teasing grin, and Elena felt the corners of her mouth tipping upwards in answer. “But in all seriousness, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to come find me at the sheriff’s office. Just down the road from here on the right. You can’t miss it.” “Actually, could you tell me how to get to the Woodland Den?” “Sure thing. Just drive on down Main Street. Once you get past everything, you’ll come to Creek Road. Take a left on that and drive on about seven, maybe eight minutes, and you should see the sign on your right.” “Thank you.” “Be seeing you around, Miss Ward.” Elena nodded awkwardly and then crawled back into the rental. Her pussy thrummed from the encounter with the sheriff all the way out to the lodge. Delectable images rolled through her mind. Many of which involved Joseph Kinman’s big hands grinding up into her pussy and over her clit or him unzipping his pants to reveal the true proportions of that ominous bulge she’d caught a glimpse of. What a cock a man like that must possess. Bloody fucking hell, Elena thought to herself. She’d hoped for three months of rest and relaxation and a certain degree of solitude to

Rugged Glimpse

15

get her mind and her spirits back in working order, but instead, it looked like she had nothing but temptation and three months of tortured nights ahead of her. Bloody fucking hell, indeed.

16

Edith DuBois

Chapter Two The brown-spotted, bulbous body of the spider tilted from side to side with each step it took. The web beneath its legs trembled, and inches away from its pincers a moth struggled against the spider’s sticky silk. The spider moved in, its glassy eyes focused only on its prey. It stretched its pincers wide and then sank its fangs into the moth’s soft, giving body. Elena didn’t breathe. She slightly adjusted the lens of her camera until the outline of the spider’s body was hard and clear while the outline of the writhing moth appeared soft and fuzzy. Then Elena snapped. Her camera didn’t make a loud noise, just a soft click, but it was music, a symphony, her favorite song. Even after years of hearing it, that click still managed to affect her every time she heard it. As the spider’s venom paralyzed the moth, the prey’s movements becoming twitchy and lifeless, Elena continued to photograph. The spider began its work. With fast, practiced movements, it attached a thick strand of silk to its web, it grasped the moth with its free legs and began twirling, winding and winding and winding the silk around the moth until it was completely covered, until it was nothing but a blob of silk on the spider’s vast web. Elena widened her shot, adjusted her angle, and took in the rest of the web. More blobs of silk became apparent, more mummified insects. She was so focused on the spider and its victim that when the door to Savage Valley Sheriff’s Department swung open, she jumped, nearly dropping her camera.

Rugged Glimpse

17

“You’re here early.” Deputy Caleb Kinman let the screen door slam behind him and then held out a cup of coffee for her. She held up her camera as explanation, and with a nod he set her cup on the wood railing that ran the length of the porch. Glad that her camera at least gave her an excuse to hide her face, Elena hated the way her skin flushed at the sight of the gorgeous man. She’d been in Savage Valley for almost two weeks and had seen Caleb almost every morning of those two weeks, yet each time he strode through the rickety screen door, a quick thrill raced through her blood. Warmth pulsed from her pussy, stretched through her veins, and worked as well as a shot of caffeine to wake her up. The morning after arriving in Savage Valley, with no better course of action to hand, she’d taken Sheriff Kinman up on his offer and gone by the sheriff’s office to see about finding a guide, of sorts, to help her navigate through the thick woods and surrounding mountainous terrain. However, instead of Joseph Kinman, she’d encountered his brother, Caleb, who she soon discovered was deputy of Savage Valley. Once again, she’d found her breath knocked out of her lungs at the sight of a man. Once was enough in a week. Twice was just exasperating. The spider’s web was in the corner of the porch, and after she took one final shot of it and its various inhabitants, she left the corner to stand next to Caleb and sip on her coffee. Like Joseph had informed her, the Sheriff’s Department was on Main Street, Savage Valley’s thoroughfare and the only road with more than one lane. Even though it was barely seven in the morning, people were already bustling. One of the first things she’d noticed upon arriving two weeks earlier was that most people in Savage Valley walked. It was only about a mile from one side of town to the other and less than a half mile in width. It took less than half an hour to walk anywhere. And if a person didn’t want to walk, she rode a bike.

18

Edith DuBois

There was no Underground. There were no taxis. There was nothing like what Elena was used to in London. But then the air in Savage Valley was the freshest she’d ever breathed. The sky was the bluest she’d ever seen. The flowers, the grass, the trees—everything was vibrant. She had to keep her twitching hand in check because she wanted to photograph everything she saw. Even the Dumpsters in the parking lot looked photographworthy with the dark smudge of mountains as a backdrop. Thinking of her twitching hand, Elena couldn’t count how many times she’d had to stop herself from snapping a picture of Caleb in an unguarded moment. Since he was her guide, and she spent hours each day in the forest with him, it took almost more self-control than she could muster not to use all of her film on him. She liked how the sun caught a few golden strands of his dark blond hair and then threw the golden glimmer back at her as he walked ahead. She liked when he stood in the deep shade, how he became nothing more than a hulking shadow beneath the foliage. She liked when he hummed quietly as they walked along the trails and through the forest. His humming would stop when he pointed out interesting plant life or crawling insects that he thought she might have an interest in. He would squat down, and his long, straight nose would be in profile to her, his full lips moving as he spoke. Peeking over at him now as she took a sip of her coffee, she studied his suntanned cheeks, his sturdy brow, his wide mouth. He was unlike any of the models she was used to photographing. They were always soft around the edges. Caleb was hard and strong and broad. Just as the models belonged to the city, Caleb belonged to the mountains. His eyes darted over to her, and she quickly forced her own eyes down, peering into the murky liquid of her cup. She’d never seen eyes so black. Even when he peered into the sunlight, his eyes were black with no hint of brown, just like his older brother. Their eyes

Rugged Glimpse

19

disconcerted Elena, and she darted her gaze away anytime they turned those dark orbs on her. “I have a good buddy, Jeremiah Greenwood.” Caleb scratched at a splinter of wood on the porch railing, peeling it off. “Says he’s been finding a bunch of elk tracks up around Brown Trout Lake.” A thrill shot through Elena. So far the only critters they’d come across on their daily ramblings were insects and some fish and some birds. They’d stumbled across a fox’s den one afternoon, but the fox had never shown. Caleb said it’d probably smelled them and left. “It’s pretty cool this morning. They should be active. You up for a hike?” “Yes, of course.” “Do you have everything you need?” Elena nodded. “Then we should start now. Elk generally eat all day in the summer, but it’s best to catch them as early as possible.” With that, Caleb took their cups back inside, and then they set off. At first Elena thought he was taking them along their usual route— down Main Street to Treaty Lane and then around Brown Trout Lake—but when they got to the lake, they split from the main trail to head around the northern side instead of the southern. “This is Old Deer Trail.” Elena jotted the information down in her field notes. “Elk and deer and moose have used this trail for thousands of years. Brown Trout Lake has been a local wildlife watering hole for centuries.” “How big is the lake, do you know?” They’d only been along a small part of its southern shores, and it hadn’t seemed very large. But as they continued along Old Deer Trail for well over an hour without losing sight of the lake, she realized it was considerably larger than she’d originally thought. It reminded her of the great lochs in Scotland where her parents had taken her camping many summers

20

Edith DuBois

ago. She didn’t want to pull her camera away from her face, but she also didn’t want to miss out on elk. “Brown Trout Lake is about a mile long, I’d say. Maybe two hundred feet deep. The Greenwoods can give you specific data on that if you need it. They live in the wildlife center. We passed the turnoff to the center a while back, but we can stop by on our way back if you’d like.” “Yes, thank you.” She smiled warmly at him, and he smiled back. There was a sort of friendship between them out in the woods. It was much more difficult to be shy with him in the forest and by the lake. Caleb continued to bring her attention to points of interest or oddities along the trail. He kept his deep, rumbling voice low, and the gentle rhythm of his speech curled up deep inside her. His voice aroused her. His words and his intelligence, too, until Elena found it difficult to focus on anything but the warm desire pulsing between her legs. “We’re getting close to where the trail splits off again, where Jeremiah said he saw the most tracks. If you need to ask me anything, keep your voice very low. Otherwise, follow my lead, okay?” Elena nodded. They were at a part of the lake where wild grasses grew past her waist. A few feet behind them, they had passed a small dock and a tiny fishing boat with no engine, only two holders for oars. Besides that, there was no sign that humans had ever walked this ground. She had no desire to get lost in the weeds, so she couldn’t help stepping closer to Caleb. He must have sensed her wariness because he reached out his hand and grabbed hers, leading her slowly and cautiously. Inhaling sharply through her nose, she tried not to read too much into the gesture. Caleb Kinman had been nothing but professional from day one. In front of her, Caleb crouched down below the top of the grasses, so Elena did the same. Suddenly he stopped and tugged her gently up next to him. Without a word, he pointed to a spot about two hundred

Rugged Glimpse

21

feet along the lake’s shore. Elena could see dark brown blobs in the yellow grass, dipping down and then popping back up to momentarily scan the surroundings. Caleb leaned slowly toward her until his lips tickled the sensitive flesh of her ear, making her breath come in shallow spurts. “We need to move about fifty feet west. I don’t want them to catch our scent. They’ll leave if they get even a hint of us. Elk see by movement, so stay below the grass line, and watch your step for snakes.” Fighting back a thrill of desire as his hot breath flooded the inside of her ear, Elena nodded and then followed him off the small animal trail they’d been using to walk along the lake, admiring the way his wavy dark blond hair camouflaged him so perfectly with the dry grasses. She wore her hair in a high top bun on their morning excursions, but her hair was a little too dark to blend in as seamlessly as Caleb’s. After Caleb reached a point far enough downwind, he knelt on the ground and pulled out a pair of binoculars. “Looks like we’ve found a small group of nursing cows.” He spoke so softly that Elena could barely make out his words. “I see about four calves.” “May I look?” He handed the binoculars to Elena, his hand grazing over hers when he did. A frisson of lust snapped through her body. She wondered if he felt her the way she felt him. No, he couldn’t. He was much too professional for that. Besides, she was here for her profession. She couldn’t mess this up. Her career and her life depended on it. She needed to stop twittering around him like a naïve, inexperienced teenager. Putting the binoculars to her face with determination, she peered through. After watching the elk for a long moment, she noticed how the calves stayed grouped around one mama while the other mamas grazed the land, wandering far away from the group of babies. “Why do the calves stay with one cow? Surely they’re not all hers.”

22

Edith DuBois

She handed the binoculars back to Caleb. His fingers grazed hers again, and she almost thought they lingered. She darted her eyes to his face. His black eyes were there. Quickly she looked away and then began rummaging through her bag, pulling out her most powerful lens since they were quite a distance from the animals. “A few days after a cow has her calf,” he said in a soft voice, so low she had to remind herself to not lean in toward him. “She joins a group of other nursing cows. Elk eat constantly over the summer in order to build up body fat for the winter, so while one mama guards the young calves, the other mamas get to graze. The youngsters are programmed to follow signals from the babysitting mama.” As he looked through the binoculars again, she gave in to indulgence and allowed herself a lengthy study of his features. She screwed the lens onto her camera, smiling and appreciating the rough whiskers that grew along his masculine jawline. Even though Caleb’s features could in no way be described as soft, they were less harsh than his older brother, Joseph’s. She had a strong desire to run her fingers along that hard jawline, letting his short whiskers scrape against the tender skin of her palm. Without warning, he pulled the binoculars away from his face and turned to look at Elena. Her stomach lurched as his black eyes met hers, and she could feel the flames of embarrassment licking beneath the surface of her skin. She didn’t like to be caught staring at someone, especially not someone as magnetic and attractive as Caleb and especially not in such a primal setting. It was only Caleb, herself, and the wilderness. So many things could happen in the wild. She didn’t know whether she felt more wary or more thrilled by that thought. “We’ll stay as long as you need.” His simple words sent fire through her veins. She wasn’t sure, because she no longer trusted her instincts where men were concerned, but she thought his voice

Rugged Glimpse

23

sounded deeper, gruffer, tenser. Her insides tightened because she yearned so fiercely for him. Frowning, she looked down to her camera, unable to keep her eyes locked with his black depths. Her body burned, yet her mind reached out with an iron will to quell the animalistic instincts running rampant inside of her. She’d come to the secluded Savage Valley to escape. She’d come to take pictures of bugs and birds and animals. She’d come to ignore reality, to soothe the frayed and raw edges of her heart, to exist without complication. Under no circumstances could she give in to her attraction to Caleb Kinman. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she would have to work hard at reining in her attraction to Joseph Kinman as well. He was bigger, louder, rougher, and overall, more overwhelming than his younger brother, but Elena had caught him staring at her with black fire in his eyes. It called to something deep and powerful in her blood, and she often glanced away to hide her violent response. Elena ground her teeth together, trying to force away her base thoughts, as she set up a tripod and then attached her camera to the top. She set her level of exposure, snapped a couple frames, and then adjusted the exposure again. After she had taken almost a hundred frames, she realized that their position wasn’t going to work. She needed edge. At least that’s what her cousin, Nick Michaels, told her when he got her the gig with National Geographic. He’d said she needed a wide portfolio with something more than European fashion models. He’d said she needed something involving a conservation-minded theme and edge. And he’d said she needed to take her time. So Elena had booked a room at the Woodland Den, Savage Valley’s singles resort and lodge, for three months in order to traipse around the surrounding wilderness in the hopes of finding some edge.

24

Edith DuBois

Elena wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for, but squatting in the grass taking pictures of grazing elk did not constitute edge. She knew that much. “Caleb, we need to move closer. I need to see their personalities, how they’re interacting.” His forehead creased over his dark brows, but after a moment he said, “I’m sorry. This is as close as we get.” “Why?” “If they catch a whiff of us or spot us approaching, I couldn’t risk one of the mamas charging us. Your protection is my responsibility.” “I understand your concerns and trust your advice, but can we at least try?” “No. I’m sorry, Elena, but I won’t take you any closer.” Elena took a deep breath and then, making her decision, began disassembling her camera and tripod. If Caleb wouldn’t take her, she would have to inch closer by herself. She wouldn’t pass up such an opportunity. She could not. This could be one of her only chances to photograph so many elk at once. Caleb watched her, but Elena didn’t meet his eyes. Once her tripod had been packed back up, she slipped her backpack straps over her shoulders and hung her camera around her neck. Crouching down on all fours, she began crawling toward the elk. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she was getting nowhere. She whipped her head around to find Caleb’s hand gripping her backpack and a stern look upon his rigid features. Elena rose up to a kneeling position and shrugged her shoulders, attempting to dislodge his hand, but he didn’t loosen his grip. “Please let go of my backpack, Mr. Kinman.” He raised his eyebrow as if to say, Yeah right. “Look.” She kept her voice low, not wanting to scare the elk, but she didn’t bother hiding her irritation. “I appreciate your concern. I really do. But I hired you as a guide. I have considered your advice,

Rugged Glimpse

25

but ultimately, this is my decision. I need to get closer. So would you please let go?” She shrugged again, but he didn’t budge. “I can’t let you go.” All of a sudden, a wild panic swept through Elena. A panic and a desperation and also a deep anger. She needed to get these shots. She needed to have something, some sort of proof, that she wasn’t on a wild goose chase. She needed to prove to herself that she could change. That she could break free from the shackles that Peter had placed around her heart, her life, her mind. She needed to prove to herself that she had gumption and courage and pluck. She wasn’t a pushover. No man could manipulate and control and dominate her life, demand everything from her, and then cheat on her. Leave her. Abandon everything they’d built together. No man could break her. She became overwhelmed with these thoughts. They took over her body. She began struggling wildly against Caleb’s hold on her backpack, all of her energy focused into breaking free from him. She flailed her arms. She twisted her shoulders violently. Her knees dug into the ground as she strove to get away. Her breathing came in short aggravated bursts. It felt like her lungs and her heart and her whole chest had begun to cave in on itself. “Whoa. Elena.” As Caleb whispered her name, he yanked her toward his body. Wrapping his forearms around her chest, he held her tightly against him. Elena continued to struggle, angered beyond rational thought. She strained with every ounce of force that she possessed, but Caleb’s arms held her tight. She struggled and struggled, all in vain, until finally, she was left with no energy, no fight. Slumping forward, she drew in a shuddering breath. Caleb slackened his hold but only to rub his hands up and down her arms as if to warm her. She hadn’t realized that she was cold, but a chill swept through her whole body.

26

Edith DuBois

“Shh,” he whispered into her ear. “You’re all right. Everything’s okay. Shh.” Another chill swept through her, but it didn’t stem from her body temperature. It sent echoing ripples of desire through her body. As her senses slowly returned, she realized her backside rested on his lap. She felt his erection firm beneath her bottom, and liquid warmth immediately blossomed between her legs. “I’m fine now, Mr. Kinman.” She tried to pull away, but again, he didn’t let her. Instead, he pressed his warm lips to her neck. Elena sucked in a breath. “Your heart’s still beating faster than a rabbit’s with a fox on its trail.” His words didn’t help to slow it, either. “Please,” she said, pulling away from his hot, tempting lips. “Please just let me…” Much to her surprise, Caleb released her. She scrambled away from him and turned to face him. For the first time since she’d met Caleb Kinman, she looked squarely in his black eyes. It knocked her right in the gut, but she forced her eyes to stay locked with his. “We must keep this professional, Mr. Kinman. I need to get these photos. I can’t deal with distractions. I can’t deal with anything. I am here for the photos. Only the photos. Okay?” He didn’t say anything, just watched her with his burning eyes. “Mr. Kinman? Do you understand? I can find another guide if I need to. Hello? Mr. Kinman?” She thought maybe she had gotten to him when his eyes widened, but then he exploded into action. Diving toward Elena, he knocked her backwards and spun around at the same time so that she lay on top of him in the high grass. Almost ready to release a bloodcurdling scream, Elena paused. Something—some small noise, a twig breaking—stopped her. The sound of heavy hooves approaching caused her muscles to freeze, including those in her throat. She looked up in time to see a large body moving through the grass about ten feet away from them.

Rugged Glimpse

27

Every instinct she possessed told her to grab her camera, but it hung to the ground between their two bodies. Plus, Caleb held her tight against him, forcing her body to remain motionless. The elk cow made a low, strained grunting noise. It stumbled, and the sounds grew more strained. After it had moved a few feet away from them, Caleb slackened his grip. Elena couldn’t possibly ignore his cock, pressed so intimately against the hollow between her legs. Her pussy ached. Her pussy creamed at the feel of him. She wanted him. There was no denying that, but she had to follow that elk. Rolling off him, she quickly checked over her camera to make sure there was no damage. When she saw that there wasn’t, she put her hand on Caleb’s chest after he had risen to a sitting position. “Listen,” she said. “I am following the cow. I would feel better if you came along, but if you refuse, so be it. Either way, I am following it.” Then she set off through the grass. **** Caleb wanted to curse the damn woman, but he sensed a desperate resolution in her words. There was more than her career at stake here he’d be willing to bet. She’d almost had a full-blown panic attack in his arms. That didn’t come from simple career anxiety. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he crouched low and followed the ripples that Elena made in the grass. He could hear the cow ahead of them. With the noises it made and the way it left the group so suddenly, Caleb though the cow was probably preparing to give birth. He caught up to Elena, who was close enough to the elk to snap photos. The animal had its head down and trudged forward. Even though the cow was preoccupied, Caleb kept Elena from getting too close by tugging gently on her arm. He

28

Edith DuBois

didn’t want to frighten the elk, especially if she was about to give birth. If the cow caught a whiff of Elena, she might get spooked for a few minutes. However, if she smelled Caleb and his bear scent, she would dart away before he or Elena knew what had happened. Either that or the cow would get desperate and charge him. For Elena’s sake, he didn’t want any of those things to happen. They continued to follow the cow. She had lessened her noise to a soft whine, but it was enough to keep on her trail even when they lost sight of her for a moment or two. Eventually the cow moved into the forest, walking deeper and deeper into the trees. Caleb kept a mental trail in his mind as they walked, noting an odd coral-colored rock, a tree with a limb broken off, a brook, a small animal’s burrow. After they had followed the cow elk for over two hours, she finally reached her destination. She walked into a thicket of trees with a dense underlayer of bushes to hide her from view. Elena quickly got to work. She removed the lens she’d been using on their trek and switched it with one from her backpack. As she worked, her fingers nimble and deft, her lips puckered, making dimples appear in her pale cheeks. His mind raced back to their struggle in the tall grass. For a moment, she’d gone completely wild. Unknowingly, her struggling body had awoken every animal instinct he possessed, and the primal urges he’d been holding in check over the past two weeks roared into life. It took all of his concentration to resist the need to dominate the writhing woman. The bear inside him almost came ripping out of his skin. He’d wanted to shove Elena to the ground and pound his cock deep into her flesh. He’d wanted to hear her scream as he planted his seed in the depths of her womb. He’d wanted to fuck her, to make her his. But he had not done any of that. He’d simply held her, trying to calm her. Shaking his head, he forced his attention back to the present.

Rugged Glimpse

29

He watched Elena tread softly up to the copse of trees, not wanting to get too close to the elk, but he stayed close enough to make sure nothing happened to Elena. If the elk did react to her presence for some reason, then he wouldn’t hesitate to risk shifting into his bear form if it meant frightening the elk away. Of course, Elena would most likely run away faster than the elk, but it was a risk he would take without a second’s hesitation if it meant keeping Elena safe. As the beautiful woman moved around the trees, snapping pictures intermittently, Caleb could hear all of the elk’s goings-on. First it pawed the earth. It snapped low-hanging branches and bits of shrubbery to form a bed. Then it began panting. After a few moments, Elena’s clicks came quicker. Caleb heard sloshing, wet noises and then a thud as the newborn fell to the ground. His sensitive ears could even hear as the mama immediately began licking her calf, ridding it of all traces of afterbirth. All the while, Elena clicked away. The woman was determined. He would give her that much. Even growing up in Savage Valley, most women he knew quailed at their first sight of an animal giving birth to a baby in the wild, especially an animal as large as an elk. It wasn’t the most beautiful of sights, but Elena never flinched, never faltered. Something drove that woman, and Caleb Kinman aimed to figure out what that something was. **** After hours of snapping photos of the elk, Elena finally dragged herself away from the small copse, realizing that Caleb had been waiting patiently without a word of complaint the whole time she’d been engrossed. They were hiking back into town, and the sun was already on its downward track through the sky.

30

Edith DuBois

When they came out of the forest and back onto Old Deer Trail, it was almost as if a spell had been lifted. Words came rushing out of Elena. “That was so perfect, Caleb. That was the most incredible sight…it was amazing, so beautiful, so real…I never imagined it would be like that. I’ve seen videos online of animals giving birth, but I mean…I could smell it. I could hear it. It was so visceral. And perfect!” Caleb chuckled beside her. “This is exactly the kind of material I need for my portfolio. Just the sort of edge.” She flicked her camera on, wanting to confirm that the shots she’d taken were as good as she thought they were. She flicked through the images. “This is so gritty. Look at this one.” She held the camera to Caleb, showing him a close-up of the calf’s face as the cow licked off murky, bloody afterbirth. “Nick will love this.” “Who’s Nick?” Elena glanced up at the tense tone in his voice. “He’s my cousin. He’s the one who got me the gig with National Geographic.” Caleb’s face relaxed. “Oh.” “He’s been with NatGeo for over ten years, and he’s likely the only reason I’m even here.” “I’ll have to thank him one day.” Elena was about to launch into another gush over her pictures, but Caleb’s offhanded comment caught her up short. The comment was definitely loaded with all kinds of innuendo, but Elena was trying not to go there with the Kinman brothers. Every day, however, it was proving more and more difficult to keep her thoughts emotion- and lust-free around them. She was tempted in the morning with Caleb and then in the afternoon when the sheriff made it his business to “check up” on her nearly every day. Mostly he just flirted unabashedly. “Why don’t we take a slight detour to the wildlife center? One of the Greenwood brothers can give us a lift into town. Plus, they’ll want to know about this new calf. That all right with you?”

Rugged Glimpse

31

Elena let out her breath at Caleb’s casual tone. “Sure. Whatever you want.” He chuckled low and deep. “You’ll want to watch those words. A man could get some dangerous ideas.” Elena’s cheeks flamed, and she cursed herself for being so easily aroused. Part of her felt the need to set him straight, to let him know up front that she wasn’t available, wasn’t interested, wasn’t looking for a bloody thing in the romance department. But then a part of her, a volatile and unpredictable part of her, wanted to fall down in the grass, rip off Caleb’s clothes and let him burrow deep into her cunt. And it seemed like every day this part of herself grew stronger and stronger, like a caged animal growing more and more restless as the minutes ticked by and the bait was dangled just beyond its reach.

32

Edith DuBois

Chapter Three A few minutes later, they approached a wooden structure in a small clearing a few hundred feet from Brown Trout Lake. Small wooden cages, animal pens, and a small paddock surrounded the building. A wooden sign, much like the one she passed on the way into Savage Valley, stood about waist-high outside the front door with the words “Savage Valley Wildlife Preservation” painted white and carved into the sign. The front door swung open, and a tall, solid man with dirty blond hair came striding from inside, a wide grin splitting his features. “Caleb Kinman, long time no see.” The two men greeted each other with a big bear hug, and Elena hung back. “How are you, Jeremiah? Looking fit as a fiddle, I see.” Jeremiah laughed heartily. “Always am.” He glanced over Caleb’s shoulder and caught sight of Elena. His eyes widened, and Elena nearly shrieked with surprise. His eyes were a deep black. Like Joseph’s and like Caleb’s. “What do we have here? I didn’t realize you had brought us a visitor. Jeremiah Greenwood at your service, ma’am.” Although he shared an eye color with Joseph and Caleb, his eyes didn’t burn through her like theirs. His eyes twinkled with a certain warmth and charm. “Are you two related?” she asked. Jeremiah grinned, and Elena noticed how his eyes crinkled in the corners. She also noticed a scar that stretched from the bottom of his left eye to his chin. It was a faint pink color and was only visible when the late afternoon sun caught it at just the right angle.

Rugged Glimpse

33

“You could say that,” Jeremiah answered, shooting Caleb a knowing look that Elena didn’t even try to comprehend. “What makes you ask that?” Caleb asked. “Nothing. I was only wondering.” She didn’t want to admit that she’d noticed his eyes. It felt a little too familiar, and she’d already been forward enough for one day. “And you are?” Jeremiah asked. “Oh, excuse me. Elena Ward.” She offered her hand to the affable man. “What brings you two to our neck of the woods?” Caleb explained what they had been up to for the past two weeks, explaining about the elk and the cow they’d come across, and Elena found herself wandering around the compound as the two men discussed the herd of elk in the surrounding area. First she meandered over to a set of cages. In the first one was a raccoon. When she approached, the animal darted to the opposite side of the cage. It cowered in the corner, making low growling noises. Elena wondered why it was caged, thinking perhaps it had a disease, but as she went to move to the next cage, the raccoon moved its body so that the right side of its body was exposed. A large, partially healed gash ran from its shoulder across its ribs and to its back leg. The hair around it had been shaved but had begun to grow back. “You poor thing,” she whispered. Crouching down, she snapped a few pictures, hoping to capture the creature’s nervous distrust. After taking a few shots, she moved to the next cage. A fox lay curled up in the corner, its head resting upon its bushy tail. As she approached, it looked up at her with disconsolate eyes. It didn’t even lift its head. She snapped, wondering what made the animal so sad, so dispirited. “Reba lost her babies last night. She had two little male pups.” At the sound of Jeremiah’s voice, the mama fox whimpered and released a shuddering sigh. Then she closed her big brown eyes and tucked her face behind her tail.

34

Edith DuBois

“What happened?” “We’re not completely sure, but we think she may have left them while she went hunting. When she came back, they were gone. Probably a wolf or a coyote got them.” “The poor thing.” “It was her first litter. We had her when she was a pup. Her mama got run over, and we found Reba in a ditch on the side of the road.” As Jeremiah spoke, Elena watched Caleb on the other side of the cage, looking down at Reba with a deep empathy. His concern touched Elena, made her want to reach out and hold him. “Caleb’s the one that found her, brought her to us in the middle of the night.” Elena snapped a quick picture of the man and the fox through the wire. “How many animals do you keep here?” “Not too many. We try to get them back into the wild as soon as possible. The less time they spend with humans the better. I’d say, on any given day, we probably have anywhere from twenty to thirty-five animals on the compound.” Jeremiah took her around the rest of the preservation center, sharing more stories of how they’d gotten some of the animals, and then gave Caleb and her a lift back into town. When they pulled up to the Sheriff’s Department, Joseph was standing on the porch. A large smile lit up his features when he saw Elena sitting in the passenger’s side of Jeremiah’s Jeep. Annoyed with how a simple smile could send shivers up and down her body, Elena quietly thanked Jeremiah for his ride and then crawled out of the vehicle, hoping to make a quick escape. “I don’t think so.” Caleb blocked her path to the rental car. “Caleb, I need to get to my car please.” His black eyes bore into hers, and he didn’t budge. Flames licked through her veins, and she tried her hardest to ignore the fiery irritation beneath her skin.

Rugged Glimpse

35

She heard Joseph’s heavy footsteps as he came down the porch and then as he crunched across the gravel towards her. “Tonight, little lady, you are coming to dinner with us.” He grabbed her wrist and tucked her arm in his elbow. “But I have all these photos to upload. Nick will want to see what I’ve been up to all day.” “I don’t know who the hell Nick is, and truth be told, I couldn’t give two hoots, either. All I know is that we’ve been asking you to dinner for two weeks now, and your refusals are starting to border on rude.” Elena halfheartedly tried to pull her hand out of the crook of his arm, but Joseph just chuckled. “Give it up. Tonight, you’re eating with us.” The sun had almost disappeared behind the purple and whitetipped heights of the Makua mountain range, and the whole town was glazed in a deep aubergine hue. For a magical moment, it felt absolutely right to be walking down the quiet streets of Savage Valley between the Kinman brothers. It was almost as if they belonged to her and to no one else. Elena blinked away the thought, frightened at how good it felt floating around her mind. Luckily, at that moment, the most wonderful aroma floated by to distract her from inappropriate thoughts. “What is that?” Elena took a big whiff. “Savage Hunger.” Caleb’s voice rumbled beside her. A few hundred feet ahead, Elena spotted the flashing neon sign of the diner. Her stomach growled furiously in response. Joseph chuckled and leaned back a little to speak across her back to Caleb. “Proof that she’s human.” He straightened back up. “My brother and I were beginning to think you were some kind of machine surviving on solar power alone.” “Hardly.” Her stomach continued to rumble quietly. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. Although the food at the lodge was

36

Edith DuBois

decent, the smells wafting to her from the diner had her saliva glands working overtime. When they walked through the glass doors, an older woman greeted them. “Evening, Sheriff. Deputy.” “Evening, Rita. This is our friend, Elena Ward.” “Pleasure to meet you.” Elena offered her hand to the woman who shook it warmly. “Your booth’s waiting for you. I gotta take out an order, and I’ll be right with you honeys.” Elena followed the Kinman brothers, glancing around and taking in the details of the diner. All the booths were upholstered in black, and accents of orange gave the diner a lively splash of color. It was a modernized ’50s diner, but black and white pictures lined the walls from the diner’s glory days. There were only a few stools left at the counter, and Elena watched a line of burly men chatting and scooping up hearty bites of steak and eggs or drinking coffee. When they walked past the first booth on the right, a big round one, both Joseph and Caleb tipped their heads at the two men sitting in the booth. “Oliver. Roarke. Evening.” Elena couldn’t be sure, but she thought Joseph’s and Caleb’s voices sounded a little stiff. One of the men, the younger one it seemed, smiled affably up at Joseph and Caleb. “Evening, fellas.” He had bright blue eyes and an even brighter smile. The other man at the booth only offered one brief nod, and Elena noticed his blue eyes following them as they sat down in a large booth directly across the aisle and across from the counter. Joseph hung back to talk to the two men, and Elena glanced down the row of booths along the long glass corridor of the diner. Both natives and tourists ate and chatted. A few of the tourists were taking pictures of the mountains through the glass. Elena chuckled to herself at the absurdity.

Rugged Glimpse

37

“What’s funny?” Caleb asked in a low voice. “Nothing,” Elena answered quickly, embarrassed that he’d noticed her laughter. “I want to know.” Surprised by his earnest tone, Elena said, “Okay. I was wondering why they didn’t step outside.” She indicated the tourists who were still snapping away. “Why take pictures from behind the glass?” “It’s easier?” “Perhaps. But they’re going to have to leave the diner eventually. Why not wait until then?” “Are these the kind of things you worry about?” Elena frowned. “I’m not worried about it. It was merely an observation.” “Hmm.” Caleb’s dark eyes studied her intently, and Elena resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze. A moment later, Joseph brought the quiet man from the booth across the aisle. “Elena,” Joseph boomed. “I’d like you to meet Oliver Cash, Mayor of Savage Valley. Oliver, Elena Ward.” “Nice to meet you, Miss Ward.” Mayor Cash spoke in smooth, low tones. “Sheriff Kinman told me about your project with National Geographic, and I wanted to personally extend my hand in welcome. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.” “Thank you, Mayor. My reception in Savage Valley has been nothing but warm.” Mayor Cash’s eyes flicked first to Joseph and then to Caleb. “I’m sure.” His mouth tipped up a bit. “I look forward to seeing some of your work.” Elena nodded, but the mayor had already turned to stalk back to his booth. Joseph muttered something under his breath and then turned to Elena apologetically. “Mayor Cash just told me about a party some of the high school hoodlums are threatening to throw tonight. I’m going to track some of ’em down, give ’em a good scare, make sure they

38

Edith DuBois

don’t try anything stupid.” Joseph shot Caleb a grimace and then said, “Bring me home a burger.” Caleb nodded at his brother and then slid in closer to her, letting his thigh rest against her leg. Her skin flushed at his proximity. They sat this way a moment, Elena at a loss for words while Caleb scanned the menu. She looked on his, but there were so many options, she didn’t know where to begin. “Have you picked out your dress yet?” Caleb spoke quietly, still looking over the menu. “My dress? For what?” “The Honey Harvest Hoedown? In September?” Elena’s heart beat rapidly in her chest. “Umm…I didn’t know…wait, did you say September?” “Yes. Near the beginning of September after we harvest the honey from the Savage Valley hives. The whole town celebrates.” “The Savage Valley hives?” “Yep. Owned by Dr., Dr., and Dr. Ashley. Been a part of Savage Valley for over two hundred years. But don’t change the subject. Have you picked out your dress?” “I hardly think you need to begin worrying just yet. It’s still over two months away.” “Yes, well, beautiful women go fast when it comes to the Honey Harvest Hoedown.” He said it so matter-of-factually that it took Elena a moment to grasp what he had said, and by then, he had already moved on. “And now that I think about it, Jeremiah did have a little bit of a twinkle in his eye for you this afternoon at the wildlife center.” Elena opened her mouth to refute this, but Rita came bustling up to their booth. “So sorry about that wait, Deputy Kinman.” She winked at Elena. “No worries, Rita. Don’t rush on our account.”

Rugged Glimpse

39

Rita whipped her writing pad out of her black apron and snatched a pencil out from behind her ear. “All right, missy. What can I getchya?” “Umm…actually, to be honest I haven’t looked at the menu. What do you recommend?” she asked Caleb. “Bring us two of the sweet honey burgers,” Caleb said, handing Rita the menus. Then he added for Elena’s benefit, “A Savage Valley specialty. And we’ll need one to go for Joseph a little later.” “I’ll have that right out for you.” Caleb studied her for a moment with a slight frown. “You’re not some kind of a vegetarian or anything, are you?” Elena shook her head. “Good. You wouldn’t last long in this town.” He said it with a small, inward smile, and Elena watched Rita chuckle as she walked back to the counter. “Some sort of inside joke?” His eyes lost their humor and suddenly burned a fathomless black. “You could say that.” Again, Elena found herself squirming under his dark gaze. “You’ve got to stop doing that.” She spoke low. “Doing what, Elena?” Caleb leaned over when he whispered in her ear, and an answering chill ran down the length of her body. “Stop looking at me the way you do. Stop whispering in my ear. Stop flirting. It’s not…” “Why?” Caleb put his hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed. “Does it ruffle those prim and proper feathers of yours?” Elena jumped at his touch, flames erupting on her leg where his fingers gripped her. “Caleb.” She barely gasped out his name. “Deputy Kinman, we are in a public place.” “Mmhmm.” “You’re wearing your uniform.” He moved his hand up her leg until his pinkie brushed against the soft flesh of her pussy lips through

40

Edith DuBois

the denim of her jeans. “There are tourists.” That breathy tone wasn’t exactly what she was going for. Caleb ran his knuckles down the center of her pussy. Elena bolted up ramrod straight, and tried to clamp her legs together. Caleb’s hand was too large and too strong, however, and her movement made his fingers push more firmly against her. “This is most inappropriate.” She peeked up into his face, hoping to stir his sympathy, but he watched with only desire swirling in his dark depths. “Please, Caleb. I can’t do this.” “Are you sure, Elena?” He spoke low and intense, his words barely audible over the loud din of the diner. “I think you can. If you want this, you can do this. Do you want this?” His words lashed through her, tempted her with their promise. She wanted to deny him, deny that she desperately craved what he so clearly offered. No words came to mind, though, and her desire grew more powerful by the second. Caleb saw it in her eyes. She knew he did. His lips curled up in a victorious smirk. “Should I tell Rita to make our order to go?” Elena swallowed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then slid violently away from him. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make a scene, but I can’t do this. Thank you for everything. I’ve had a lovely day, but I’ve got to go.” She slid all the way out of the bench. “Elena, wait.” She couldn’t stand the pained expression he bore, but she also couldn’t stay. “I’m sorry, Caleb. I really am.” She quickly turned away, not allowing herself another moment to look into the black, swirling depths of his eyes. She would fall into him if she did. At the door, Rita looked up in concern as Elena barreled past a family of tourists looking at the photos on the wall. “Everything okay, honey?”

Rugged Glimpse

41

“Fine. Just fine. I’m fine. It was nice to meet you. I’ll see you around.” She didn’t know if Rita heard her, but she didn’t slow down or turn to find out. She had to get back to the lodge, back to her room. Only when she had securely fastened the latch behind her did she allow herself a long, deep breath of relief. Stomping over to the bed, she fell onto the mattress flat on her back and then stared aimlessly up at the ceiling. “What the hell, Elena?” Clenching her eyes tight, she thought back over the past few months and what had eventually ended up bringing her to Savage Valley. Her ex-boyfriend, Peter—a professor and a writer at Oxford—had insisted so forcefully, so persuasively that he and Elena get a place together in Oxford. She’d been hesitant, cautious. Her career was in London, but he’d insisted. Finally she’d given in, and for a few months, everything had seemed to be going along fine. Elena had felt truly inspired. She was in love, and it showed in her work. Some of her photos had caught the attention of a fashion editor for Vogue UK. He’d contacted her to do a four-page spread. It was supposed to be a one-time gig, but after that, she was asked to do a ten-page spread for an up-and-coming Hollywood starlet. Then it was a cover shoot, and then she’d begun to receive calls from all sorts of fashion magazines, fashion events, and even designers themselves contacting her to shoot their shows. Unfortunately, Peter’s debut novel had been released right around that time, and it received only lukewarm reviews at best. It was a quiet release, and then it was a quiet disappearance into obscurity. The whole time, though, Peter had begun growing distant—not escorting her to any of her couture events, staying late at the college, going to bed without so much as a kiss, much less sex. And then that night had happened. Peter had come home hours after Elena had already gone to bed. She had a big event to photograph the next day. He flung their

42

Edith DuBois

bedroom door open, letting it slam against the wall and startling Elena into complete wakefulness. “My beautiful darling,” he’d crooned drunkenly. Stumbling to the bed, he fell haphazardly onto the mattress, part of his body covering hers and his legs dangling off the end. “Give me a smooch, Elena. I want a smooch from my lover.” “Peter, you smell awful.” Indeed, he smelled like piss and beer and cheap perfume. Elena shoved against him, noticing dark smudges on his shirt collar when she did. “Peter, have you…” She choked on the words for a moment, gasping. “Have you been with someone? Is that lipstick on your collar?” Peter ignored her question and stared intently down into her face, an odd faraway look in his eyes. “I want to kiss my gorgeous, successful lover. You are so successful, my dear. Let me press my lips to yours. I want to taste your greatness.” He’d pressed his mouth harshly against hers, grinding her lips into her teeth. Elena had whimpered beneath him and tried to push him away, but he gripped her chin in his hand and then bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw a little blood. “Peter!” She shoved against him hard, a small niggling of fear blossoming in the pit of her stomach. “You drunken bastard. Get off me.” He stayed on top of her but pulled his face away from hers, smacking his lips together. “It’s sweet like I imagined. Though just a little bitter.” He smacked his lips together again. “Hmm, no, it’s really fucking bitter.” He leaned close to her again, his face contorted in sudden anger. “In fact, it tastes like shit.” Elena had glared up at him, willing herself to stay calm, to not let any of her fear show. “Get. Off.” He tightened his grip on her chin. “Now,” she ground out.

Rugged Glimpse

43

“You bitch,” he said, and Elena felt tiny specks of spit hit her in the face. Then he ripped the bedcovers off her body and yanked at the drawstrings of her pajama pants. “Peter! Stop it!” Panic took over her senses. He was crazed, his fumbling fingers determined, and Elena suddenly felt very afraid of him. She squirmed and flailed beneath his heavy body, desperately attempting to wriggle her way from beneath him, but he had her pinned. “Hold still, damn it.” “Peter, please, please. Just stop, Peter. This isn’t you.” Elena grabbed for his hands, trying to stop him, trying to keep her pants on. “Peter.” In a bout of frustration, he gripped her wrists and placed them above her head, holding them with one of his hands. He wasn’t that big of a man, but he was still much stronger than Elena. “Why you?” Elena was surprised to hear the break in his voice. “I’ve been working my whole life on this book, and you take pictures of fucking supermodels.” A tear splashed hot on her cheek, making Elena flinch. “I hate this whole fucking world.” Then his eyes had gone glassy, and he collapsed on top of her with a loud snore. Elena sucked in a deep breath, her mind returning to the present. It had been so long since she let herself remember the events of that night. Peter had apologized, begged her to stay, promised to seek professional help, but that night made Elena realize a lot of things about herself. First, she wasn’t happy with Peter. He was not the man she wanted to be with the rest of her life, and she saw no reason to waste any more of her time with him. She didn’t regret leaving him. She only regretted that it hadn’t been sooner, before that night. Second, in some twisted sort of way, he was right. She did take pictures of supermodels, but she wanted more. In college, she’d had such grand visions of her photography changing the world. She wanted to feel

44

Edith DuBois

that hopeful again. And third, she hated London. The air smelled bad. The city was too cramped. She wanted to stretch her limbs, see the stars, clear her mind. One thing she didn’t want, however, was complication. Everything in Savage Valley was supposed to be simple. She wanted austere. She wanted clear cut. She most certainly did not want Caleb Kinman’s black eyes lurking on the back of her eyelids every time she closed her eyes. Deciding she needed to distract herself, she grabbed the memory card out of her camera and some more out of her camera bag and then plugged the first one into her laptop. With a crack of her knuckles, she began the tedious process of uploading all the photos she’d taken throughout the day. Since she’d taken so many of the mama elk and her calf, she figured she’d be at the computer doing work for at least four hours. Doing mind-numbing, tiresome work for hours on end. Precisely what she needed. **** Caleb’s feet slammed against the pavement. He’d been running through Savage Valley in the evenings for years. He ran the same route through town every night, never missing a night. His overall time each night was usually always within a minute of itself. Tonight, however, something felt different. His feet weren’t satisfied with his usual easy pace. They wanted to pound and devour the pavement. He felt his blood boiling beneath the surface, the bear side of him ready to explode through his skin. Cursing, he veered off his usual route and headed for the forest. He barely made it past the tree line before his skin began to ripple. For a brief moment, it felt like his bones were liquid fire, and then his muscles erupted. His face, his body, everything transformed.

Rugged Glimpse

45

His mighty bear-paws fell to the earth-ground as he continued to run. Only now, his unforgiving bear-claws sank into the soft, sunwarmed soil as each great paw greeted the earth-ground. He let a humming growl rumble low in his bear-chest, and his strong back legs propelled his hulking mass forward. He ran a short ways through the shallow-watered creek, panting as he forced his bear-legs to push through the resistant water. When he reached the cool-watered lake, he headed for land, running along the trail-of-puny-animals that he knew would lead to where he and tawny-headed-Elena had spent most of their day. Giving the home-oforphaned-animals a wide berth, he urged his thick muscles onward, wanting the heat-burn, wanting the fleshy exhaustion. Then he caught a whiff of tawny-headed-Elena’s scent—so foreign and unnatural in this environment—slam through his bearheart like the song of a siren. He stopped running to rise up to his mighty hind legs and release a teeth-jarring roar. He roared until his bear-throat was raw. Putting his nose to the ground, he followed her trail to where she had struggled with him in the grass. He breathed her smell deep inside of himself. It branded his mind. He would never forget it. After he had inhaled as much as his strong bear-nose could take without driving himself into a desperate frenzy, he grunted and headed back toward the home-of-orphaned-animals. His man-clothes were in ruin. He would have to grab some fresh ones from the brothers Greenwood. He didn’t want to speak to any of the brothers, so he stayed as a bear. Brother Jeremiah and Brother Johnny, the youngest Brother Greenwood, sat on the man-steps of the porch when he plodded up. “Thought that was you making all that racket,” Brother Johnny said, his mouth stretching with humor. Caleb snarled but continued around to where he knew they kept some spare man-clothes for any of the bear-shifter families to borrow when the need arose. The home-of-orphaned-animals always had

46

Edith DuBois

man-clothes and food and necessities if the great bears ever needed them. “What’s got your fur in a ruffle?” “If I had to make an educated guess,” Brother Jeremiah said, “I would say you are looking at a classic case of blue balls. His sweet, little lady friend is resistant to his beary charms.” Caleb let out a fur-bristling growl and then charged stupid Brother Jeremiah. Brother Jeremiah didn’t budge. He watched Caleb’s threat-less show with a knowing, smug-eyed smirk. Then Brother Jeremiah’s eyebrows lifted, he looked toward the forest, and then he returned his laughing eyes to Caleb. He patted Caleb on the shoulder blade. “Oh, hell. I know exactly what you were up to. You are a damn fool.” Then he burst out in laughter. “A damn fool.” He could barely croak it out. “What did he do?” Brother Johnny asked. Caleb growled, feeling his bear-fur ripple, wanting to smack both of them with the rough underside of one of his great paws. But that was one of the strictest rules of their bear clan. Never, not under any circumstances, were they to strike a fellow bear in human form if they were in bear form. Not even in a joking manner. A playful swipe from his great bear-claw could knock Brother Jeremiah flat and could end up injuring his man-brother. “This idiot,” Brother Jeremiah said, wiping salty-eye-water from his face after the strongest laughter had passed, “has gone and burned little Elena’s scent into his mind.” Brother Johnny looked at Caleb, his man-eyes wide. “And you haven’t even fucked her yet?” Caleb pawed the earth-ground, wanting to defend himself but not willing to shift back. Brother Johnny burst into loud, unrestrained laughter. “You idiot!” He threw back his head, laughing good and long.

Rugged Glimpse

47

With a low, tail-tucked growl and a grunt, Caleb nipped up some man-clothes and left the two youngest brothers Greenwood, slinking off into the place-of-trees. After shifting, he headed back into town, and back to where Elena would continue to resist his advances. And if he was honest with himself, he couldn’t deny the truth of the Greenwood brothers’ words. He was a damn fool idiot.

48

Edith DuBois

Chapter Four Rubbing her eyes, Elena glanced at her clock. She’d been uploading and editing photos, making notes, for close to five hours, and it was nearly one in the morning. As her awareness became more acute, she realized that her eyes were sore along with her shoulders, her back, and her butt cheeks. She needed to get out of the room and fast. She’d been cooped up for far too long. Grabbing a sweater, a water bottle, and a granola bar, she headed out. She walked fast, not letting her body or her mind linger too long in one place. If she did, she would see only Caleb’s black eyes burning down into hers, tempting, beckoning. Spending a good deal of her evenings at the Den, she’d seen hikers coming and going on a trail that would take them to a place called Adam’s Point, as indicated by another wooden sign. Those wooden signs were all throughout the town, she’d noticed. As she approached the trailhead, however, she came upon a couple, probably in their mid-twenties, close to Elena’s age. The man had an arm over the woman’s shoulder, and they wore identically frustrated expressions. When they spotted Elena, the man called out, “Trail’s closed tonight.” “Oh?” “There’s a sign. Says the trail’s closed.” “Oh no,” Elena said, pausing. “Yeah. It’s ridiculous,” the woman said. “We’ve heard a lot of good things about the trail at night.”

Rugged Glimpse

49

“A lot of good things,” the man said, more to the woman in his arms than to Elena. The woman looked up into his eyes. “We could always find another trail. I’m sure there are plenty around here.” They continued walking past Elena, not really paying her much mind. “Well, have a good night.” She waited until they had walked back up the deck and out of her eyesight before continuing on toward the trail. When she reached the trailhead, a chain with a metal sign had been hung quite obnoxiously between two wooden posts where the trail began. Elena frowned as she read it. ATTN VISITORS: Trail closed temporarily for maintenance and upkeep. Absolutely NO HIKING. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thanks, Management. At first, she turned to head back to the lodge, but then a wave of rebellious irritation swept through her. She took a swig of water, glanced around to make sure there were no witnesses, and then stepped around one of the posts onto the trail. How much upkeep did one trail need anyway? Only a few minutes after she set off, she noticed how dark it was. The moon above was barely bigger than a sliver, and she had a hard time keeping track of the trail. Even though it felt like cheating and kind of killed the ambiance, she industriously used her cell phone a couple times for its light to make sure she was still on the trail. Surprisingly, even though she was the only hiker and not a noisy one by any stretch of the imagination, there weren’t very many forest noises around her. She could hear the wind rustling through the boughs of the trees, an occasional low hoot from an owl, and the steady swelling and retreat of cricket-song, but no unidentifiable noises, nothing to spook her. She put her head down and let her feet take her mindlessly up the mountain, encountering no one and nothing along the way.

50

Edith DuBois

After about half an hour of walking, after she’d worked up a little bit of a sweat, she reached Adam’s Point. It was a simple outlook with a wooden deck and a rail, a few benches, and some chaise lounges for people to rest in while taking in the view. When she walked across the deck, she could barely make out the lake through the darkness. The moon’s light wasn’t quite bright enough for her to see much more than a dark blob in the distance, and the forest was only a dark smear that stretched for miles. She took a deep breath, though, and liked the way the crisp night air seemed to revitalize her synapses. Immediately she felt refreshed, stronger, more in control. Unfortunately, at the same time her body got a zip, her mind did as well. Suddenly, all the thoughts that she’d been attempting to keep locked up deep within her brain came bursting quickly into sharp relief. Her attraction to Caleb. Her memories of the past. Her attraction to Joseph. Her doubts. Her lack of self-confidence. The precarious nature of her career. God, Caleb’s eyes. Joseph’s eyes. Their big hands. Their big bodies. Their cocks had to be huge. They just had to be. Elena’s pussy liked that thought. It began to send out tiny waves of pleasure, pulsing and redolent, from deep within her womb up through her belly and down her thighs. She shook her head, trying to waylay the path her mind was following, but she couldn’t ward off the way she imagined the Kinman brothers’ cocks to look—big and hard and swollen and waiting for her touch. Bloody hell, she thought to herself, gripping the wooden railing quite suddenly. It wasn’t enough that she was imagining one cock, her naughty mind had to envision two. What a strumpet! She smiled to herself at that thought. She was the furthest thing from a strumpet that she had ever come across. She’d slept with a total of two people in her life and had sex in a position other than the missionary a total of eight. She wore loose-fitting clothes, her hair in a bun most of the time, and hardly any makeup. She also had a strong

Rugged Glimpse

51

suspicion that she’d missed some vital assembly at school in her teenage years because one day she had friends, and the next day she knew a lot of people with boyfriends. It was like they all suddenly knew how to flirt. They knew just how to bat their lashes or giggle at just the right pitch or say all the right things. Elena on the other hand, never really got the knack of it. When a man came onto her, her go-to tactic was to put her head down and say nothing until he went away. The first boy she slept with had been her first weekend at university. She’d gotten completely tossed and ended up in bed with another first year student. After that night, she rarely got close enough to alcohol to even smell it. And with Peter, he’d been unresistingly persistent. When she didn’t answer his questions, it didn’t seem to bother him. He stood next her until, finally, she got used to his presence. He’d been willing to take it slow, to let her set the pace. In her inexperienced mind, that meant that their personalities were well suited to one another. Point in fact, however, Peter was just one patient bastard with a wicked streak of envy. And in Savage Valley, it seemed as if the Kinman brothers had some kind of abnormal effect on her body. Even when her mind shied away from talking to them, her body urged her on, demanded that she stay nearby and bask in their presence. Suddenly, Elena felt very tired. Her limbs and her eyelids were heavy. She wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep a dreamless sleep. She ate the granola bar that she’d brought along, hoping it would give her a little jolt of energy, at least enough to make it back down to the lodge. She made it five minutes down the path when the hairs on her arms stood on end. Stopping, she scanned the darkness, trying to make out anything unusual in her surroundings. But the moon was too

52

Edith DuBois

dull, and what light it did shine down had been blotted out by the foliage of the pine trees that towered above her. Continuing her progress down the mountain, she kept her ears alert. There was no owl, no crickets. Nothing but the wind in the leaves. Elena quickened her pace. The wind died. The silence swallowed her, and Elena stopped. Her muscles tensed. An animal growled low behind her. Her stomach muscles clenched. Turning slowly around, she saw nothing on the path, but she heard the growl again and realized it came from a tree. She looked up and, with a startling lurch in her gut, noticed a mountain lion standing above her on a branch. It watched her with bright blue eyes, muscles rippling powerfully beneath its fur. All of the blood in Elena’s body froze for a moment. Then the lethal cat opened its mouth, exposing its razor-sharp teeth, and emitted a roar so loud it hurt her ears. The sound pushed through her ribs and her lungs. It went straight to her heart and sent an answering scream ripping through her throat. Backing slowly away, unable to tear her eyes from the growling, feral animal, she forced the muscles in her legs to move, to put one leg behind the other. “Bloody fucking hell.” She cursed aloud in a panic when her foot tripped over a stone on the loose gravel of the trail, and she fell backwards onto her bottom, scraping her palms. She didn’t move, knowing the lion would pounce on her in her vulnerable state. Instead it flicked its tail once and then leapt from its branch to another and then to another, disappearing into the dark depths of the forest. Scrambling to her feet and not looking behind her, Elena forced energy into her leg muscles. She ran and she ran and she ran. After

Rugged Glimpse

53

about five minutes, she realized that the lion wasn’t following her. But she kept running anyway. She chanced a peek behind her, and to her overwhelming relief, saw no animal following her. She turned back toward the lodge, not slowing her pace. When she whipped her head forward again, she ran smack into a man, her nose smashing painfully against a very hard, very muscled chest. **** “The sign said, ‘No Trespassing.’ And in very clear lettering. I know you had to have seen it. And so what I’m not getting, what I’m not understanding is why you thought it was okay to deliberately”— Sheriff Kinman shot her a hard look from his dark eyes—“take it upon yourself to disregard the warning and go hiking anyway.” “It said ‘maintenance,’ for goodness’ sake. I apologize for not realizing I should have read ‘maintenance’ to mean ‘great, ferocious cats.’ I didn’t realize that’s how things were done here in America.” “Oh!” Joseph spouted, his face mottled with emotion. “Not only do you disrespect my town by disobeying its rules, but now you want to disrespect my country by insulting it.” Elena sat in the sheriff’s office downtown while the sheriff stood behind his desk, ranting and pacing back and forth. He’d been at her for almost half an hour, and Elena felt a yawn coming on. She fought it, she really did, but what with elk births and mountain lion encounters, she just didn’t have enough strength to fend off its undeniable pull. “Excuse me, am I boring you?” She peered up at him, at his furrowed brow and his heaving chest. “Yes, a little, if you must know.” She fought back a giggle as he exploded into another tirade against her thickheaded refusal to adhere to the law and her general lack of manners and couth.

54

Edith DuBois

“We take animal attacks and sightings very seriously in Savage Valley if you haven’t noticed.” “Apparently,” she muttered under her breath, thinking of the town’s slogan. “Damn it, Elena.” He glared at her, and for the first time, Elena did feel a little inkling of fear at his wrath. He rarely used her name, and when he did so and looked at her so intensely with those black eyes, it sent a shiver down her spine. “That sign is there to keep people safe. The rules here…” He trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words for a moment. “When people don’t follow the rules, the consequences can be severe. Do you understand me?” Elena felt as if she was a child in the midst of a scolding, and it had been so long since she actually had been scolded that the feel of it was uncomfortable. She frowned up at him, feeling a bit petulant. “Are you quite finished? I’d rather like to go to bed.” His lips pressed together tightly, the corners turning white, and his black eyes momentarily flared with anger. Then his features softened somewhat, and he eyed her with what Elena almost would have described as tenderness. “I just want you safe.” Elena jumped, physically startled by his words. “Why—what— you…” She took a deep, steadying breath. “What would that matter to you?” He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I care about all of the inhabitants of Savage Valley. It’s sort of my job.” “Oh yes, of course,” she said, staring at her folded hands but knowing that her cheeks blazed a bright red. His anger seemed to have dissipated enough for him to handle filling out a report on her sighting, though he seemed grouchy about it the whole way through. Afterwards he rummaged through a few drawers in his wooden desk, searching for something. “Aha,” he said, placing a small, rectangular metal object on the desk before Elena. “Now, it’s not much, but it would make me feel a

Rugged Glimpse

55

little more comfortable knowing you’re out on the trail with at least some small form of protection.” Elena picked up the pocket knife and let it dangle delicately between her fingers as if holding up a dead fish. “I’ve never seen one of these, much less used one. What exactly am I supposed to do with it in the off chance that I do encounter another mountain lion?” “Well, now, for a lion to actually attack around here…that would take a lot of pestering. I really don’t think that’s an issue, but if one does come at you, try to get it to latch on to your arm and then stab it in the jugular with that knife. The same goes for a wolf or any other attacking animal really.” He took the knife back from her and showed her how to open the blade and close the blade with ease. It was a simple skinning knife with a single blade about three or four inches long. She’d seen pictures of pocket knives with a number of handy accoutrements—screwdriver heads, scissors, tweezers, and the like— but this one had only the blade. Its simplicity was, surprisingly, a comfort. It was clean and neat. As he entered a last bit of information into the computer about the attack, Elena rose from her chair, stretching her limbs and yawning. “Are we done?” “Yes. I’ll give you a ride to the lodge in my cruiser.” Elena was tempted to refuse him just to be contrary, but she had better sense than that. What she wanted most was to collapse in her bed and sleep for a good twelve hours with no sunlight, no chirping birds, and no unwanted thoughts about tempting men with black eyes to bother her in the morning. The fastest way to get this result was to swallow her pride and accept the sheriff’s offer. Elena waited for Joseph to grab the keys before she followed him to the door. When he reached the door, however, he turned quickly around, almost causing Elena to crash into him again. “What the hell?” “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.” “And what page would that be exactly?”

56

Edith DuBois

“The one that says I better not show up at the diner tomorrow morning for my coffee and hear about how you almost got mauled by a mountain lion.” “Why? Worried about your reputation? An animal sighting is only one small step from an attack, you know.” “Trust me, Elena.” He leaned down until his face was only inches from hers. “You don’t want to push me on that.” Elena choked out a laugh. “You don’t scare me.” His eyebrows shot upward, but before Elena could say anything else, he grabbed her shoulders and whipped her around until her back was pressed against the door and his body pressed up all along the front of hers. Her breathing became hitched, and Joseph smiled. “Are you sure about that, little miss?” “Abso…” She couldn’t finish the word as she watched him move his lips to her mouth, a teasing smile curling up the corners of his. When he kissed her, she sucked in a deep breath. His mouth felt so right. His lips held hers in just the right way. With her breasts pressed up against his chest, she felt her nipples harden at the feel of his muscles. Joseph put one hand on each of breasts, and his thumbs played with her nipples. Unconsciously her hands rose to hold his elbows as her body arched toward his. She didn’t think. She didn’t contemplate. Her body reacted, and she let her mind disappear into those sensations. “God, Elena, you smell so good.” He pressed his nose into the crook of her neck and inhaled, growling low in his chest as he did so. “Really? It’s been a while since I showered.” She cringed at that thought, thinking she probably smelled rancid, but when she tried to pull away from him, he held her tight. “No.” He breathed in deep again but then pressed his mouth to her neck, ran his tongue along one of her collarbones, tasted her skin. “No, you don’t smell like perfume. Nothing sweet or flowery. You

Rugged Glimpse

57

smell like the trees, the river, the earth. You smell like home.” He moved his mouth back to hers and kissed her deep, his tongue pushing through her lips without hesitation to take over her mouth. Elena sucked, wanting to swallow his flavor. When he pressed his palm against her pelvis to cup her pussy, she gasped against his mouth. His smile tugged across her lips, and he squeezed his fingers against her again and again. All the while, the palm of his hand dug into her clit. “You smell perfect.” Elena didn’t know what possessed her, but she discovered her hand snaking down his arms and around his backside. Running her palms over the hard muscles of his ass, she gripped his cheeks and pulled him toward her. He moved his hand away from her, and her pussy ignited when his hard cock nudged against her through their pants. He rubbed its bulge against her clit, causing the muscles in her cunt to quiver. “I need to…” He began unbuttoning her jeans. “I have to taste you, Elena. I want to taste you.” Elena felt her cheeks flaming. None of her boyfriends had ever done that to her. She’d always wondered what it felt like, but suddenly, she was too embarrassed to let him do that to her. “No, Joseph, please.” He stopped at the panic in her voice. “What is it?” He held her face, searching her eyes. “Please don’t.” “Don’t what?” Elena could barely breathe, much less say it out loud. Her skin felt like it was on fire, and all she could do was plead with her eyes and hope that he understood. His hands went back to her jeans, so she put her hands over his, trying to stop his progress. “Please, I don’t want you to do that.” He snatched her tiny hands up in his. “Elena, look at me.”

58

Edith DuBois

She continued to stare down at their hands, too mortified to meet those black, burning eyes. “Beautiful Elena…” His voice was so tender. It begged her to trust. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. He put a hand to her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip. “If it’s a matter of not wanting me, say the word, and I’ll stop.” Elena didn’t say anything. “Are you scared?” She nodded. “Why?” Elena bit her lip, fearing her confession was too intimate, too exposing. She didn’t want to be vulnerable. She wasn’t ready for that. “Please. You can tell me. Everything will be all right. You are safe.” “What if…” She didn’t think she could get the words out, but Joseph waited patiently, not rushing her, only watching her with his steady dark eyes. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “What if I don’t taste…I mean, what if it’s not…” “Hey.” He pressed a soft kiss on her lips and then pulled back to look in her eyes. “Do you trust me?” She nodded. Without another word and without taking his eyes away from hers, his hands began working on her jeans again. Elena’s lips trembled, but she didn’t stop him. His eyes held her steady. When he had tugged her pants and panties down over the curve of her hips, he placed his hands on her hip bones. “I want you to close your eyes, Elena.” He waited until she did so, and after a moment he placed a kiss on each of her closed eyelids. She sensed him kneeling before her, and then he blew a hot breath over her pussy, sending shivers up and down her body. His mouth closed over her clit, his firm lips holding the little bud and massaging. Elena flattened her palms against the door behind her, taking huge breaths, trying to find order. But as soon as Joseph’s

Rugged Glimpse

59

mouth had touched her pussy, all semblance of reason in her mind exploded into chaos. His tongue darted out and flicked against her clit, and Elena’s hips rolled toward him. His hands gripped her more firmly, holding her in place. Then, thinking she could take no more, she moaned when she felt his tongue push inside her pussy. His tongue moved in fast, assertive movements, pushing against her insides, licking and lapping and laving. One moment his tongue was soft and wide, moving in slow, lazy patterns. Then it was hard and tight, jabbing and poking at her, unrelenting. Waves began to build deep inside her. Each roll of his tongue made them wider and wider, higher and higher until Elena was sure they would explode out of her. As they reached their peak, Joseph pressed a thumb hard against her clit, rubbing vigorously against the throbbing nerves. Elena’s hands flew to his head and held him as she cried her release. Her hips rolled and thrashed as the waves crashed violently through her, carrying her far away from everything she knew. A few moments later she realized Joseph had rocked back onto his heels and gazed up at her with an intense satisfaction. His tongue moved deliberately out of his mouth to snatch up some of her liquid off his bottom lip. She snapped her mouth closed, realizing that it had been hanging open in shock. “No one’s ever done anything like that to me. That was…it was so…” Joseph frowned and rose to his feet. “You deserve that every time, Elena. I don’t know what sort of experiences you’ve had in the past, but…look at me.” Elena bit her lip and looked. “I want you to promise me something.” She was again unsure of what to say. She didn’t want to make any promises she couldn’t keep, but what Joseph had given her felt precious. She didn’t want to risk ruining it with her fear.

60

Edith DuBois

He held her chin. “Promise me that no matter what, you won’t be afraid.” “I don’t know if I can do…” He smiled down at her. “You’re doing it. Even now, you’re scared to say it. Elena.” He put his hands on her shoulders and held her tight. “You’re safe with me. I want you to know that. You have to know. Don’t ever be afraid of me. Okay? Can you at least promise me that?” Elena felt like there was more to the promise than she understood, but all of sudden, Joseph looked like the vulnerable one, like he not only wanted but needed her trust. The words slipped out of her mouth before she could come up with an excuse to keep them inside. “Okay,” she said. “I promise.”

Rugged Glimpse

61

Chapter Five Caleb tapped his foot on the worn tiles of the Savage Valley Family Hospital waiting room. He hadn’t been to the doctor’s office since he was a little boy, and it felt strange to be there now. A few families and a few elderly people were spread out through the spacious lobby. A young mother and her toddler were at a play area. The little boy was moving some wooden beads along a metal-wire structure, and every time they clanked noisily to the other side of the structure, the sound grated harshly against Caleb’s nerves. It felt like every noise, every smell, every sight that wasn’t Elena irritated him. The past two weeks had been torture. He’d been avoiding Elena. He had to. If he saw her, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He would become an animal. His only prey would be Elena and her pussy. After he had shifted back into his human form a few weeks ago, the gravity of his actions slammed into him. He couldn’t take his morning walk with her. He couldn’t sit next to her at the diner. He couldn’t even go near her. One sniff and he would lose his mind. Elena would be horrified. He couldn’t do that to her, so he’d stayed out of her way. And he wasn’t the only one affected by the Elena-free quarantine. Joseph had shown up at the office whistling the next morning, but that tune had soon fizzled out when he found out about Caleb’s impetuous, foolhardy actions. Now Joseph felt obligated to keep his distance from Elena until Caleb could get his lust under control. If that were even possible.

62

Edith DuBois

But still, if they were going to be with her, it was either both or nothing. No in between. Apart from Joseph, the Greenwoods were the only ones aware of his predicament and had been warning him anytime they saw Elena to help him steer clear. He was beginning to wonder, though, if he could stay away much longer. Sometimes just the thought of her scent scratched at something feral deep inside him. That’s why he’d come to the doctor, he told himself. The Ashleys were bear-shifters, too. Perhaps Thomas Ashley, Savage Valley’s family practitioner, would have some sort of solution for him. “Deputy Caleb Kinman,” Thomas said with a wide grin and an outstretched hand as he walked into the lobby. Caleb shook the proffered hand. “It’s been a while, Thomas.” “Sure has. Follow me on back.” When they got to Thomas’s office, Caleb sat on the parchment-covered bench, feeling awkward. “So what can I do for you?” Caleb understood why, out of the three Ashley brothers, Thomas was the family practitioner. His older brother, Elias, was the best and most respected surgeon in Savage Valley and a great part of the surrounding region. He was a brilliant man, but he was also a little weird and awkward around people who weren’t under the influence of anesthetics. Thomas’s younger brother, Franklin, was the town’s veterinarian. With Savage Valley’s close quarters to the wilderness, Franklin dealt with all sorts of critters in his office. From cats and dogs to raccoons and flying squirrels, he took care of them all. Sometimes, though, Caleb got the feeling that Franklin would rather spend his day cooped up with a bunch of squawking animals than deal with fellow human beings. Thomas was the most outgoing of the three, the easiest one to talk to in a social setting. He was relaxed and a good listener—great qualities for a family doctor to have—but even so, Caleb didn’t

Rugged Glimpse

63

particularly relish discussing his reasons for visiting the doctor’s office this afternoon. “Everything okay, Caleb?” “Everything’s okay. I just came by to see if you could prescribe me some sort of…” “Yes?” “Umm…I guess it would be a sort of…a suppressant, I guess.” “You have a cold? How is that possible?” “No, no. I don’t have a cold.” “Okay, well, what are your symptoms?” Caleb shifted his weight on the bench, making the parchment crinkle loudly beneath him. “Umm…it’s kind of…you know, I did something I shouldn't have.” “Oh?” Thomas’s eyebrows shot up into his broad forehead. “Like what?” “Well, have you seen that photographer that’s working for National Geographic?” “Do you mean Elena Ward? She came in here for a checkup the other day. British, right? Real cute. Sweet, too.” Caleb’s muscles tightened. He knew he was supposed to think of all the bear-shifters as his brothers, but at Thomas’s words a growl rose up Caleb’s throat. Visions of a ripped jugular flitted through his mind. Thomas only smiled. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Anyway, what about her?” “We used to take hikes every morning. We had a little incident a few weeks ago, and later I went out after I had shifted, and I…” Caleb shrugged and met Thomas’s eyes for a long moment. He watched as the dawning realization crept into the doctor’s features. “Oh.” Thomas blinked a couple times. “Oh shit. Did you…did you, you know…seal the deal?” Caleb shook his head, his confession making him feel even more miserable and stupid.

64

Edith DuBois

“Damn.” Thomas frowned. “Gimme one second. I think Elias would probably know more about this than me. I’ll be right back.” Thomas was out the door before Caleb could call out for him not to bother. He would deal with it himself, he wanted to say. He’d rather continue to suffer than have the whole damn bear clan know how stupid he had been. That was the first thing Caleb’s fathers had told him after he shifted his first time. They were always, always supposed to go deep into the forest, where no humans ever ventured, to shift. This way they would greatly reduce the risk of coming across the scent of a woman. Once they smelled a woman while in bear form, they were bonded to her whether they wanted to be or not. Usually the bear-shifters liked to wait until they wanted to propose marriage to even tell a woman that they were bear-shifters, much less shift in front of her. This could prove quite a problem in modern times. As people generally wanted to know if their spouse was good in bed before accepting an offer of marriage, the bearshifters could come off as a little old-fashioned when they proposed marriage before even bedding a woman. If she accepted him, then and only then would he shift in front of her. Caleb was lost in his musings when the door swung open and Thomas returned with his somberlooking older brother. Elias frowned at Caleb. “Thomas told me what you did.” Much to Caleb’s chagrin, he actually felt himself blush a little. He hadn’t blushed since he was fourteen and accidentally saw Kelsey Pinkerton sunbathing topless in her backyard when she thought no one could see through her wooden fence. Joseph had shown him a hole, though, and Caleb had taken advantage of that hole. The image of Kelsey Pinkerton and her bare pink breasts got him through his first adolescent summer. “I’m assuming you have taken precautions to ensure that you don’t accidentally come across her.” Caleb nodded.

Rugged Glimpse

65

“We don’t have anything meant for suppressing sexual desire. Of course, that can be a side effect of certain drugs, but I would have to give you an antidepressant, which is not an option. Is there anyone else you could…” Though it was small, Caleb noticed the hesitation in Elias’s words. “Is there someone to help with the release?” “Hell no!” Caleb’s roar surprised everyone in the room, even Caleb. He clamped his jaw shut and glared at Elias. “I know you don’t know what this feels like, but it’s not simply sexual desire. It’s more than that. It’s…well, it’s her. It’s Elena.” “Elena Ward?” “You know Elena?” “She came in yesterday. The photographer?” He looked to Thomas for confirmation, and Thomas nodded. “She was cute. Sweet, too.” Caleb frowned at Elias, thinking something a little off in the way the doctor had said it. It sounded too familiar. But on top of that, he didn’t like another man speaking so casually about Elena, and a growl rumbled low in his chest. Elias watched him with a cold eye. “Down, boy.” Then he turned to Thomas. “Why don’t you give Franklin a call? This seems to be more his area of expertise. Plus, he can fix any type of animal.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa. No one is getting fixed. And do we really need to drag Franklin into this? I’ll just head on home.” He made a move to get up, the parchment crinkling louder than before. Thomas held a hand up at Caleb telling him to wait a second as he pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and dialed. “Let’s just wait and see what Franklin has to say about it.” After he dialed, he put the call on speakerphone. Caleb hunched over on the bench, glaring at the Ashley brothers who wore matching looks of concern on their faces. “Dr. Franklin Ashley speaking.” “Hey, Franklin. I’ve got Elias and Caleb Kinman here with me, and we need to ask you a quick question.”

66

Edith DuBois

“Go ahead.” “Seems Caleb got a little whiff of Elena Ward while in bear form.” “Is that the photographer from London? I met her this morning at the bank.” “That’s the one,” Thomas said. “She’s cute. Real sweet.” Caleb’s head snapped up at that statement. That was the third time he’d heard Elena described in exactly those words, and something was starting to smell real fishy in the Savage Valley Medical Center. Both Elias and Thomas had their eyes glued to Caleb, watching his reaction. A small smile and a teasing glint lit up Thomas’s features. Caleb jumped off the bench. “What the hell is going on here?” Thomas tried to hold it back, but he couldn’t and snorted with laughter. “What the fuck, guys?” Elias, usually so serious, had a small grin stretching his lips, and Caleb could hear Franklin starting to laugh on the phone. “You all knew?” Thomas had begun to laugh heartily, and he nodded at Caleb’s question. “Jeremiah told us,” Elias said. “That prick.” Caleb shook his head. “Did he tell everyone?” “Probably.” “Shit, I might as well stay holed up until she leaves. I’ll never hear the end of it from you assholes.” “Why don’t you just get it out of your system?” Caleb gave Thomas a hard look. “What? You want me to ‘casually’ run into her at the diner? And then do what?” “Her,” Elias said. Thomas and Franklin burst into laughter. “Right there on the Kinman booth.”

Rugged Glimpse

67

“Dicks. All of you. And that includes Jeremiah.” Despite the exasperated tone in his voice, the idea of plunging into Elena’s sweet pussy in the diner with a crowd of onlookers had Caleb’s blood pumping hot and fast into his already overeager cock. “Did she even come in here?” “Nope,” Thomas answered. “Jeremiah called us up as soon as you left the wildlife center, so I knew what you were here for as soon as you walked through the door. Thought you deserved a little harassment for being such a fool.” Caleb growled and headed for the door. “Have a great afternoon.” He gave them the ol’ middle-finger salute. As the door swung behind him, he could hear Franklin’s voice on the phone. “Are you sure you don’t want to head over here? We can get you fixed up real nice. It’ll be quick. I promise!” Thomas’s laughter followed him all the way down the hall. **** Elena’s hiking boots were supposed to be specifically designed to make as little noise as possible when walking through dry grasses and leaves. Maybe she was a klutz. Maybe it was the drought. Maybe her ears were oversensitive at the moment, but she felt like Bigfoot walking through the forest that morning. It seemed like every leaf she stepped on squeaked out in annoyance, every branch she brushed against snapped in protest to her presence. Her morning hikes, while affording her plenty of opportunities to photograph the elk mama and her calf, just weren’t as exciting without Caleb. It had been over two weeks since she’d seen him. Not just on the trail but anywhere. It was like he’d totally disappeared from Savage Valley. Elena sighed. That wasn’t entirely true. There had been a few occasions when she’d thought he was nearby or that she’d almost run into him, but he always seemed to disappear. She’d pulled up to the

68

Edith DuBois

diner a few nights ago, and she knew—she positively knew—that she’d seen him through the large glass panels. But when she walked through the glass doors, he was nowhere to be found. A branch snapped underfoot, and Elena gritted her teeth. It was so warm out. When she’d arrived in Savage Valley almost a month ago, the weather had been warm but not uncomfortably so. Over the last couple of weeks, though, the lack of rainfall had started to become more noticeable each day. The grasses, which had been lush and welcoming upon her arrival, were yellowing. The dirt on the path was crumbling and cracked like dry skin. When the wind blew, the air became hazy with dust. Joseph had been posting burn ban signs around town and writing more citations for people flicking cigarettes out their car windows. Elena hadn’t seen much of Joseph, either, if she was going to be honest with herself. But at least she knew he was still alive. At least he talked to her. There was always something behind his words that said he wanted her. His eyes followed her any time they were near each other. He’d kissed her a few times since that night after her mountain lion sighting, and there had definitely been a sense of restraint, as if he wanted to give her more, wanted to take more, but something held him back. Elena couldn’t figure out what the bloody hell was going on with the Kinman brothers, and it was starting to get under her skin. Jeremiah Greenwood had taken over Caleb’s tour guide duties, and he was very sweet and knowledgeable, but he wasn’t Caleb. He refrained from saying too much about anything they saw together. He didn’t ask to see her photos. He waited until Elena asked him something before speaking. He was very respectful. But she missed the companionship, the thrilling sense of discovery she’d shared with Caleb when they were out together. She’d been photographing the mama elk and her calf every day, watching the baby grow—take its first steps, begin to wean itself off its mother’s milk, play in the river with the rest of the calves—all

Rugged Glimpse

69

these things she’d witnessed through her lens, and she wanted to share it with Caleb. It felt like he was missing so much. A few days after witnessing the elk birth, Mayor Cash had asked for permission to display her pictures in the Town Hall. Soon after The Savage Herald, Savage Valley’s weekly newspaper, asked to run some of the photos in their upcoming issue. She hoped that, even if for some unfathomable reason Caleb had decided to avoid her, he at least could see a few photos of their little elk family. People that she didn’t even know, mostly residents of Savage Valley, had approached her to ask her questions or share similar stories or simply tell her “well done.” Elena was starting to enjoy the small, friendly waves at Savage Convenience or the few minutes of idle chatter while eating dinner at Savage Hunger. She almost felt herself a part of the town. If only the Kinman brothers would stop ignoring her. She’d awoken that morning needing a hike, a long hike that would take her deep into the forest. She’d brought her camera in case she came across anything interesting, and she felt the knife that Joseph had given her thumping in a reassuring way against her thigh, but photography wasn’t her main goal. Her goal that morning was to let off some steam, and she’d already been on the trail for over two hours, already gone further than she ever had with either Caleb or Jeremiah. A few minutes later she came to the edge of a large clearing. She’d almost gone marching across it, not noticing at first the brown bodies hidden in the waist-high grasses. But an odd movement caught her eye, causing her to stop for a moment and really look. Then she saw the movement again and realized it was the head and antlers of a buck rising up from the grass. It tossed its head back several times, and its shoulder muscles rippled beneath its fur in the sunlight as it pawed the earth with pent-up aggression. Elena quickly scanned the clearing, knowing another buck was probably nearby involved in a similar male dance.

70

Edith DuBois

She stepped back into the shadow while she readied her camera and then returned to the edge of the clearing. Several other deer were nearby, but the two bucks had eyes only for each other. In a flash of angry movement, their antlers locked together with a loud scraping, cracking noise. The bucks struggled against each other for close to five minutes. Elena snapped hundreds of photos, their grueling battle providing her with just the sort of gritty edge she needed. She crept closer and closer, completely engrossed in the display of male aggression before her. Finally, one of the bucks ducked away, catching a nick on the shoulder from his opponent as he retreated. The winner chased after his shamed opponent, but a few minutes later, Elena saw him striding back toward the group, his chest heaving but his head and antlers held high and proud. A few of the females pranced in front of him, flicking their tails and sending saucy looks over their shoulders. Elena smiled as she photographed the deer. This was exactly what she needed to take her mind off two very tempting sets of black eyes. Suddenly, across the field, one of the deer on the opposite side of the herd from Elena popped its head up. It began making a snorting sound and pawing the ground. A few deer surrounding it brought their heads up, and together they began running. The whole herd became alarmed and soon all of them were running. Right for Elena. With a squeak of alarm, she turned and fled, cursing as she realized she had ventured farther from the edge of the clearing than she thought. Hearing their hooves closing in on her, she dug in, only needing to make it to the safety of the trees. A few does passed her as she reached out a hand for a tree and, using her momentum, spun herself around to the other side, ripping the skin of her palm as she did so. The herd flew past her like thunder, and the sound of their hooves pummeling the earth matched that of her heart beating wildly in her

Rugged Glimpse

71

chest. When the last deer shot past her, her shoulders slumped slightly forward with relief. Slowly, she peeked around the tree to see what had spooked the deer. Her body froze. Standing in the middle of the field, staring right at her, were two black bears. Elena thought quickly. From all her lessons in wildlife survival and from what she’d read on the Internet, she wasn’t supposed to run. She was supposed to speak to them in a firm, scolding voice. Joseph had told her to let an animal bite her arm and then stab it in the throat if she was attacked. They hadn’t discussed what to do in the face of two wild animals. One of the bears rose up on its hind legs and roared. Yeah, her knife felt pretty useless at the moment. The second bear ran a few steps in her direction, growling and slamming its paws to the ground in a threatening manner. “Nope,” she said, turning and taking off into the forest. As she ran, she didn’t know if it was the sound of her heart pounding or the crash of heavy paws hitting the earth that thundered through her ears. **** Joseph pulled the cruiser up next to Savage Convenience, spitting a big ol’ glob of spit onto the dirt as he did. He wasn’t usually a spitter, but when he pulled in to fill up, he noticed the car on the other side of the pump. Wilmer and Wally, two disgusting and slovenly goons employed by Ulysses C. Norman of NormCorp in Denver, were filling up their black convertible Volkswagen Beetle. Along with Joseph’s brother, the Greenwoods, the Ashleys—in fact, all the bear-shifter and lion-shifter families and practically everyone in town—he loved to poke fun of the NormCorp goons and

72

Edith DuBois

their decidedly not masculine mode of transportation. He thought spitting at their feet an appropriate jibe. The fact that the bug’s Colorado vanity plate read KILLA didn’t help their case, either. Hooking his thumbs in his belt loops, he leaned a hip against the cruiser as it gulped down its mid-afternoon snack. Wilmer, a short, tubby man, eyed the spit glob but decided to ignore it. Jim Bob Pritchett called from his rocking chair on the porch. “Afternoon, Sheriff.” “Afternoon, Jim Bob. Where’re your comrades-in-arms?” “Pickin’ us up some lunch.” Joseph smiled and nodded then looked at the goons. Wally, a large, brutish man who rarely spoke in anything other than grunts and mumbles, jiggled the pump as he finished up. When he pulled it out and swung it around, though, a late spurt of gas from the old pump spewed out and splattered right across the chest of Wilmer. The short, red-faced man sputtered and shoved Wally in the chest. “You idiot! This suit cost over a thousand dollars. Just wait ’til Mr. Norman sees this. God, do you have a peanut for a brain?” Joseph couldn’t help it. As sheriff of Savage Valley, he knew he should uphold some modicum of decorum, but those two assholes got under his skin, and he couldn’t hold back a derisive chuckle. Wilmer whipped his head around at the sound of Joseph’s laughter, and he narrowed his beady eyes. “Something funny over there, Sheriff?” “I think a better question would be what are you two doing all the way up here in Savage Valley? Does Mr. Normie Pooh have you up to no good?” Joseph barely contained his chuckle at the mottled red hue that quickly spread across Wilmer’s face at Joseph’s nickname for Ulysses C. Norman. The tubby little man charged forward, finger pointing and wagging at Joseph in an accusatory manner. “Now you listen here.”

Rugged Glimpse

73

He shot through the center of the two rusty gas pumps, but the effect was ruined when his chubby form got stuck for a moment. Joseph bit the inside of his cheek, trying to fight back the laughs, but when Wally tried pushing Wilmer from behind, a long snort broke free. Wilmer started flailing. “Stop! Just stop. I. Can. Get. It.” With each word he scooched further and further through the two pumps, his plumpness jiggling, and broke free on the last one. He straightened his suit jacket, trying to restore his dignity. Joseph shook his head and chortled at the thought of the tubshaped man and dignity belonging together. Wilmer narrowed his eyes and resumed his attack, poking a finger at Joseph. “I’d be careful if I was you, Sheriff. Mr. Norman has plans so far beyond this Podunk, festering hole of a town. None of you smallminded townsfolk can even comprehend what he has in store.” Joseph looked at Wally. With a menacing scowl on his homely features, the tall man ran a thumb across his throat in a blatantly threatening gesture. Joseph could refrain no longer. He threw his head back and let loose a long string of laughter. He laughed so hard that he had to double over and support himself with a hand on Wilmer’s shoulder. “It’s too much. Oh god, it’s too much.” Joseph heard his cell phone ring from inside his car. The ring tone signified that it was one of the other bear-shifter families calling from their emergency number. Without betraying the urgency of the situation, Joseph straightened and clapped Wilmer on the back. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen. I’ve gotta take this call. Don’t come back soon, ya hear.” He infused the last sentence with as much cheesiness as he could muster. Waving up at Jim Bob on the porch, he slipped back into his cruiser and shut the door in the face of a flustered and sputtering Wilmer. Looking at the caller ID, he answered the phone as he pulled out of Savage Convenience.

74

Edith DuBois

“Sheriff Kinman speaking.” “Joseph. It’s Sebastian.” “Hey, Seb. What’s up?” Sebastian Carson and his twin brother, William, were co-owners of Savage Valley Bank. Their family had founded the bank soon after each of the five bear-shifter families had returned to Savage Valley from the wilderness. They’d set up the bank in the old fur-trading outpost right in the center of town on Main Street almost one hundred and fifty years ago. “It’s that photographer, Elena Ward.” Immediately, Joseph stiffened. His senses became alert, and he could feel the bear side of himself awakening. “What about her?” “She’s special to you?” Joseph growled low in reply. “My brother and I were out hunting. We were deep in the forest, Joseph. And we came across her.” Joseph released a mighty roar. “What the fuck? How could you be so careless? You obviously weren’t deep enough if a tiny woman like her could walk long enough to reach you.” He continued yelling into the receiver, trying to ignore the wide, swarming despair that threatened to obliterate all of his sense and reason. He couldn’t lose Elena, not after that delectable taste he’d stolen from her that night in his office. She was his. She was Caleb’s. He was trying to give her space. She’d been so skittish around him and his brother. The Carson brothers had smelled her scent. That’s why Seb had called. It was over. He had lost her. Joseph wanted to run into the forest. He wanted to disappear into the dark wild. He could not stand this misery. “Joseph! Joseph, listen to me!” Seb’s voice barely cut through the deep, swelling agony that swept through him. He could barely breathe, much less pay attention to anything Seb had to say.

Rugged Glimpse

75

He hit the end button on the phone call and whipped the car around, moaning, letting his despair wash through him. His muscles trembled. He needed to shift. He needed to escape his human restraints. This type of misery could only be endured if he was in bear form. Oh god, his Elena. His Elena was no longer his. He sped to the edge of town, not knowing how long he could hold on to his human form. His bear was rampant, threatening to break free at any second. The cruiser skidded to a halt at the edge of the forest near Old Deer Trail. He didn’t even bother turning it off or closing the door. He did have the presence of mind to take his clothes off, though, before letting his bear explode from beneath his skin. When he finally released a deep, guttural teeth-rattling roar, it was as if more anguish sprang up to take place of the pain the roar had released. Running, he thrashed his great head back and forth. He tore at tall trees as he ran by, needing the feel of the weak, shredding bark as his sharp bear-claws tore through it. But then he needed only to run. He tucked his mighty head down, and he let his bear-muscles have free rein over his heaving bear-body. Shoving all visions away, he ran and he ran and he ran. He focused on each step, on each slide and pull and dig of his strong bear-muscles. Each step became labor. And he welcomed the pain. It took his man-mind away from her, away from what he’d lost. A whole life, a future he’d been dreaming of for the past month. Gone. Now that the brothers Carson had both smelled his tawny-headedElena, she belonged to them. It was bear-law. It was natural. It was writ. Brother Caleb’s claim on her would be weakened. He hadn’t sniffed tawny-headed-Elena in person, merely the remnants of her scent. But even that was enough to have driven him to avoid her for weeks lest he should inadvertently take her, claim her, possess her.

76

Edith DuBois

The brothers Carson had been close enough to smell her in person. He knew what had happened. The images that followed those misery-causing thoughts bizbuzzed angrily inside his head and caused another bone-shaking roar to come clawing out of his throat. He dug in. He forced his bearmuscles onward. So wrapped up in his misery, he almost ran over her before he even recognized her presence. Tawny-headed-Elena was on the trail before him. She was alone. She was hiking. She had on all of her gear. His mighty claws gripped the earth. His already tired bearmuscles trembled with the effort of bringing his six hundred pounds of bear flesh to a halt. He stopped just inches before her and sucked in a deep nose-andheart-filling breath. Her scent—her skin, her blood, her heart, her flesh, her bones—all of it filled him and all of it belonged to him. She was unclaimed. She was clean and fresh. She called to him. Somehow, by some miracle, the Carson brothers hadn’t taken her. Her scent was stronger than anything Joseph had ever experienced. Suddenly, his bear retreated. His human side became the dominant side, and he felt his smooth, sweaty flesh come bursting out of his fur. Then he stood before her. Naked. And she knew him. She knew all of him. He was hers. He took another deep breath, and oh, she was his. “Joseph?” Her voice trembled. Her wide brown eyes stared at him with shock. His hard, insistent cock twitched at the sound of her voice. He strode toward her and grasped her chin in his big hand. “Elena,” he said, not attempting to hide the strain and the need in his voice. “Now you know me.”

Rugged Glimpse

77

She swallowed and glanced down at his large cock, only centimeters from touching her body. He needed to hear one word from her. One little yes. Her whole body trembled. He could feel it in the palm of his hand. “Remember what you promised me, Elena. Do you remember?” She nodded. “What did you promise me?” “I promised that…” She took a deep breath and met his eyes. “…that I would never be afraid of you.” “That’s right.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. It was so difficult. All he wanted to do was rip every scrap of clothing away from her body and plant his cock deep within her sweet, hot cunt. But he had to hear it from her. She had to want him, too. He realized his muscles trembled just as much as hers. He couldn’t tell where hers ended and his began. “Will you have me, Elena? Now that you’ve seen me and you know me, will you have me?” Her brows creased together, and Joseph noticed the delicate little lines that popped up across her forehead. She looked so tender and fragile, yet her next words had the potential to break him, to completely destroy him. Her soft hand came up to cover Joseph’s that still gripped her chin, and she nodded. “Say it. You have to say it.” “Yes, Joseph,” she said before he could finish. “Yes.” **** As soon as she uttered the words, Joseph’s lips crashed against hers. His big arms circled around her body, pulled her close, and held her. His cock nudged against her inner thighs, lighting up her insides with irresistible lust. When he set her back on the ground, he began removing her gear and her clothing. He watched her face the whole

78

Edith DuBois

time, and she could look away from his black eyes no more than a coil of ivy could pull away from the tree it embraces. When she stood as naked as he, Joseph stepped toward her, pressing the length of his body against hers, cupping her face in his hands. “My blood has waited to awake for you, my sweet Elena.” “Magic,” she whispered, watching his face with wonder. Her pussy throbbed, releasing its hot liquid desire until it slipped down her thighs. She had never wanted a man as much as she wanted Joseph Kinman. No man had ever caused such a response in her body. It almost overwhelmed her, but something primal and instinctive awoke. Lying on her clothes, she pulled Joseph down to the earth with her. She didn’t know how or why, but she did know that Joseph was hers. When she’d seen him shift from a huge, snarling bear into a man, something had happened inside her. It was as if her presence tamed him. All of a sudden, he belonged to her. She couldn’t let another woman near him. He was hers and only hers. Some grass tickled the back of her neck as Joseph stretched out above her. The tip of his cock pressed up against the warm lips of her pussy. “I may not be able to control—” “Shh.” Elena put her finger to his lips. “Whatever happens, this is right. Your cock belongs inside me now.” A strange, fierce light blazed in the depths of Joseph’s black eyes, and he shoved his hard shaft into her depths. She smiled, feeling a hot tendril of pleasure whip through her body. Joseph pulled out to the tip and then plunged back in. Elena moved her hips up to meet him thrust for thrust. Each time their hips met, a new flash of pleasure scraped through her body, through her flesh, and through her bones. She wanted to close her eyes, to disappear into the sensation, to think of nothing but the way Joseph’s cock felt moving in and out and in and out. But his black orbs held her captive. She sank into his dark promise. She drowned in his power.

Rugged Glimpse

79

Then she felt something wild growing inside herself. Each thrust that Joseph slammed into her brought it closer and closer to the surface. It paced inside her, snarling for release. “Joseph,” she whimpered. She wanted to look away, but he held her. “I can’t.” She gasped. He was taking her too far away from herself. She would never get back. But he continued to drive her, to push her. The thing inside her body howled, it tore at her insides, but she fought to keep it inside. Once it was loose, she knew there would be no turning back. She tried to close her eyes. If she could just close her eyes for a moment, she could reorganize her thoughts. She could center herself. But Joseph’s dark eyes would not release her. “Don’t fight it. Let go.” She whimpered. Her mind fought, but her body clambered to new heights, wanting the release more than her mind wanted to fight it. Digging her fingers into Joseph’s back as he crashed into her again and again, her hips bucked wildly up towards him. “Come on, Elena. Let go.” He growled from above her, his movements becoming harder, more urgent. His face tightened as he fought to shove himself even further into her already burning cunt. “You are so close, and you want it. I know you want it.” His words coaxed the raving wildness inside her to the very surface of her skin, and with a scream, it ripped out of her. She did let go, and suddenly her vision went bright. She could see nothing as her body exploded into a kaleidoscope of fiery sensations. As her orgasm swept through her body, the muscles in her back and her thighs and her stomach spasmed uncontrollably, her pussy clenching in a manic pattern around Joseph’s spurting cock. Then all she could do was smell him. And not just his body, but his emotions, his feelings, his thoughts. They filled her, and she drank him in like a greedy child, taking deep, unending lungfuls of him into every atom of her being. She called out his name as his smell burned into her very sense of self. She was no

80

Edith DuBois

longer Elena. She was Elena, and she was Joseph. She would never be parted from this man. Never. **** Joseph smiled when Elena nuzzled against his neck. The legends were all true. A part of his mind had hoped they were, but the other part always thought his parents had exaggerated when telling him the story of how they met. When they were boys, his mother told Joseph along with Caleb that she couldn’t resist his father. As soon as she saw him as a bear, she said she was lost and he was her way home. “How do you feel?” he asked, kissing her temple. She stretched her body out next to his. “I feel good.” Joseph chuckled and pulled her in close against his body. After a moment he felt himself nodding off. With his long run before encountering Elena, the dry air and heat of the drought, and his and Elena’s activities, he felt exhaustion overtaking all of his senses. A few minutes later, he realized that he had, in fact, dozed off and that Elena had her elbow propped up on his chest and was looking down into his face. “I suppose you have a few questions percolatin’ through that mind of yours, little miss.” She nodded, training her brown eyes on his. “I suppose you’re probably wondering how one minute you were about to be eaten by a bear and then the next you were standing in front of a fully aroused naked man.” She nodded again. “And I suppose somewhere in that brain of yours, you are wondering why you haven’t seen neither hide nor hair of my brother in over two weeks and why I’ve been seeming to avoid you up until now.”

Rugged Glimpse

81

The tiny creases on her forehead made an appearance, and she nodded for the third time. “Before I clear the air, though…” He lifted his lips to hers, wanting one more taste of her delicate flavor before he dumped her into the quagmire of bear and Savage Valley information that awaited. Her soft lips welcomed his, and she sucked gently on his bottom lip, running her tongue across the front of his teeth and under his lips. He realized she wanted to taste him as much as he wanted to taste her. He broke the kiss, fearing it could quickly turn into something else. She frowned at his pause. “There are things you should know before we continue. And I think it’s time you saw Caleb again, don’t you?” She looked wary. “Caleb?” “You want him, don’t you?” She stuttered, first admitting and then denying that she wanted Caleb as well as him. “It’s okay, Elena. That’s part of the whole bear thing. Me and my brother, we are linked in such an unbreakable way that the women we love, or I guess I should say, the woman we love”—he kissed her nose—“become part of that bond. It’s perfectly natural for you to feel an attraction to both of us. In fact, I would be worried if you didn’t.” “But I thought…” “What?” he asked when it looked like she wouldn’t continue. “He doesn’t want me.” Her features became vulnerable, and he was astounded at the depth of hurt he saw there. Lifting his hand, he tucked a loose strand of her dark blonde hair behind the delicate pink shell of her ear. “It’s not that he doesn’t want to see you. There are circumstances that we bear-shifters—oh, I’m a bear-shifter if you hadn’t already…” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve surmised as much.” “Okay, well, there are certain things that happen to us when we are bears.” “What kind of things?”

82

Edith DuBois

“Like…as soon as a bear-shifter smells an unclaimed human woman, he becomes hers. No other woman will do for him. He must have her. I don’t know how much you know about bears in the wild, but once he smells a female, a male bear will follow her scent, sometimes for miles and miles, until he finds her and possesses her.” “Oh.” Frowning, Elena bit her bottom lip like she wanted to say something else but held back for some reason. “What?” “Well, it’s just…are you sure you have that right? I feel like you just described what happened to me…with the smell and everything.” Joseph felt himself grinning widely. “You can smell me, too?” “Yes, only it didn’t happen when I saw you, not exactly. It was when we were…while we…” “Yes?” “Oh, stop it. You know what I’m talking about.” When he chuckled, Elena’s breasts shook against his chest, and he felt his cock stirring to life. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” He grinned at the small pout that still played on her lips. “Tell me what happened.” “I can’t really put into words. I only know that if…” When her words trailed off, Joseph put a thumb to her lip. “Hey, where’d you go?” Frowning down at him, she suddenly shifted her body until she leaned more fully over him, both of her palms on the ground at his side. Her hair, usually held in a tight coil on her head, had come down during their wild sexual encounter, and it now swung around the sides of his face. She drilled her brown eyes into his. “You are in me now, Joseph Kinman. I feel you. I smell you. I taste you. Don’t ever forget—not for a second—that you are mine.” “And you, Elena, you are mine.” She nodded solemnly. “I think it’s time to find my brother now.”

Rugged Glimpse

83

Chapter Six Caleb had already been under the streaming hot water for more than half an hour. He tried singing a couple lines from one of his favorite Elvis songs, but it devolved into a halfhearted hum and then into random notes and then finally into silence. Looking down at his cock standing at full attention, he sighed. Showers were the worst. When he was at the Sheriff’s Department or making the rounds through town, he could usually push thoughts of Elena away and keep his dick on its best behavior. But in the shower with the hot water rolling so pleasurably down his body and with no sound but the steady drone of water hitting the tiles, thoughts of Elena rose up into his mind like the steam around his body. He could no more resist the power of those thoughts than he could resist breathing. He was working on his second round of soaping off when he thought he heard a knock on the front door. Rinsing off the last few suds, he turned off the shower to listen. The knock came again but louder and more insistent. Rolling his eyes, he snatched his towel off the top of the commode, wrapped it around his waist, and headed for the door. The knock came again. It was really aggravated this time. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” he shouted, thinking it was probably either his brother or one of the Greenwoods. When he opened the front door, though, Elena stood in front of him, looking flushed, disheveled, and utterly sexy. “Elena,” he sputtered.

84

Edith DuBois

Joseph stood behind Elena with a wide, satisfied grin on his face. Caleb opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on when a small breeze came ambling through his front door. He couldn’t stop himself. He took a big gulp, and Elena’s scent flew through his body, diving all the way down to his toes. It coiled tightly around his cock. He’d thought he was aroused before, but it was nothing compared the insanity that began to spread rapidly through his mind. He needed Elena. She was his. He needed to put his cock in her pussy. Closing the distance between them in one step, Caleb grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his. Her tiny body fit so snugly against his. When he grabbed each of her ass cheeks to press her body even tighter to his, her lust-filled moan exploded through him like a shotgun. “I’d suggest we take this inside,” Joseph said, and Caleb could hear the desire in his voice. Without pulling back from the kiss, Caleb lifted Elena up, thrilled when she wrapped her legs tightly around his body, and stumbled backward a few steps. Joseph closed the front door. Elena put her hands on his ears and pushed back for a moment. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes and taking a couple more deep and successive breaths. “I smell you, too.” She rubbed her pussy against his stomach and the crevice of her ass over the top of his cock. “It’s driving me crazy, Caleb.” Despite the wantonness in her voice, there was also a small note of panic. “Shh,” Caleb said. “This is a gift from nature. You feel my bones against yours?” He shifted his pelvis, letting the solid bulge of his cock press firmly against her. She nodded. “And my skin on your skin?” He rubbed the palm of his hand on her cheek. She nodded again. “This is right.” She still looked a bit panicked. “Do you believe me?”

Rugged Glimpse

85

Her big brown eyes met his, and for a moment he thought she would shy away again like she always had, but instead she nodded for the third time. It was all he needed. Still carrying her, he strode purposefully to the bedroom and let their bodies tumble to the bed. Joseph helped him remove her clothes and began to massage her legs. She writhed when Joseph hit a ticklish spot, but this first time, after he’d waited so long, Caleb didn’t want to waste a moment on foreplay. He crawled up so that he was between her legs, and grabbing her thighs, he jerked her bare legs open, exposing her glistening pussy, pink and ready for his cock. Her stomach muscles quivered in anticipation. Her hand reached out to touch Caleb’s stiff length. She ran a thumb over his tip, smearing his pre-cum, and Caleb wouldn’t wait any longer. He lined his cock up with her entrance and slid inside her. Elena’s small hands gripped his arms, biting into his muscles, and she uttered a low, keening moan, but her grip on his arms was nothing compared to the way her pussy held on to his dick. Caleb rolled his hips back, pulling his cock out to the tip, and then shoved forcefully back into her hot, velvet depths. Her insides welcomed him. Caleb pulled out and pushed in and pulled out, never losing his rhythm, never speeding up and never slowing down, only driving both of them hard toward some monolithic height. With each thrust, his balls were squeezed against her ass cheeks, moving him closer and closer to that end. At some point, Joseph had moved to Elena’s breasts and was suckling each of them in turn. One of her hands rested on the back of his head, and her eyelids fluttered as she fought to maintain control of her body. Caleb smiled because her pussy had already begun to clench around his cock. She was so close. Caleb thrust more powerfully into her, digging his fingertips into the soft flesh of her hips and ass. A small cry escaped through her lips, but she quickly stifled it. The small creases in her forehead that

86

Edith DuBois

showed when she held back great emotion flitted into existence. Caleb thrust hard again, and again Elena cried out. Her frown grew deeper as she fought for her control. Caleb knew that if he was patient and relentless, he would drive her past the point of coherence, so he thrust again, this time slamming his cock deeper into her cunt. Without waiting for her to recover, he slammed again. He pulled his cock out, and he slammed into her again and again and again, rolling his hips and pounding into her. He showed no mercy. He drove her past her limits of endurance. And when her mouth fell open, and she still didn’t let go, he slammed into her again. “Caleb,” she groaned, gasping for air. He was wild, his own pleasure and his need to possess her drove him, and his name in her throat took him past the edge of sanity. He kept slamming into her, roaring out his pleasure. Soon she joined him, her feminine voice melding with his as their passionate cries tore through the air between them. Finally Caleb’s seed came spurting out of his cock and shot deep into Elena’s receptive body. Her body jerked spasmodically beneath his as if it didn’t quite know what to do with all the pleasure ripping through her nerves. And she clung so tightly to him. **** After a long moment, Elena’s mind returned to reason. Without letting go of her, Caleb pulled out and then rolled his weight off her body. He pulled her close against him as they lay on their sides. Joseph snuggled up behind her. They lay quiet for a long while. Finally, Joseph’s gruff voice sounded from behind her, rumbling through her sated body. “Soon we’ll have this little ass begging for our cocks, too.” He gave said ass a firm squeeze for emphasis, and Elena squeaked in surprise, not prepared for that topic or his touch there.

Rugged Glimpse

87

“I’ve never…I mean, that’s not something…” Elena burrowed her nose into Caleb’s chest, embarrassed at discussing such a forbidden idea. “Shh.” Joseph pressed a warm kiss to the top of her shoulder. Coming up for air, Elena said, “It’s just that this whole being with two men thing is kinda freaking me out. But at the same time, every time I breathe you in, it’s like my brain forgets to be worried about it.” She took a deep breath, and sure enough, she could still feel the doubts and the hesitations flitting around her mind, but it was like they were somehow diminished, like an ant where an elephant once stood, pesky but no cause for alarm. “Add on top of that the whole bear-shifter thing, and I should be running away from you faster than a mouse from a hawk.” Elena frowned. A mouse from a hawk? Where did that come from? This place was really starting to rub off on her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, she liked the sense of belonging she felt in Savage Valley. On the other hand, at the bottom of everything and after everything that had happened to her in the past, she was an English girl through and through. She didn’t come to Savage Valley to forget who she was. She had come here to forget only what she had been through. Now was so not the time to fall for a couple of bear-shifting brothers. This was not something she felt prepared to deal with. Actually, she didn’t know if anyone could ever feel prepared to deal with having bear-shifters as lovers, but she definitely didn’t. She could not handle this. She had to get away. She needed some air, some fresh air to breathe. She started to wriggle, trying to clamber out of their grasp, but in doing so, she took a deep breath, and suddenly she felt calm again. Everything was fine. She was meant to be here. This was her home. She felt strong here.

88

Edith DuBois

“Amazing,” she whispered, rubbing her finger along the straight line of Caleb’s nose and then across his lips. “What’s amazing?” He smiled at her, his black eyes warm. “I’m not scared. I want to be scared, but I’m just not.” “It’s all part of this whole bear thing, little darlin’.” Joseph spoke from behind her, and she grinned at the promotion her nickname had received. “What do you mean?” “Well, there’s a particular reason Caleb here hasn’t seen you in weeks.” “And why is that?” Elena looked deep into Caleb’s eyes, wanting him to answer. “I did something foolish. You see, when a bear-shifter is in bear form and catches the scent of a human woman, no matter who she is, her scent will belong to that bear as long as she hasn’t already been mated by another bear or bears. “And after that incident in the diner, I shifted, and I ran back to where I knew I would find your scent, and then I took a big ol’ whiff. Now, it wasn’t as strong or as potent as if I had smelled you in the flesh. If that had been the case, there would have been no stopping me. I would have had you right then and there.” Elena’s cheeks flamed, remembering her encounter with Joseph from a few hours before. Apparently he was experiencing similar recollections because she felt his cock stir to life, and he pressed himself affectionately against her rear. “Elena knows exactly what that’s like,” he said. Elena sheepishly met Caleb’s gaze, but he looked down at her with such hot desire that she soon forgot her embarrassment. God help her, but she wanted these men again. “Anyway,” Caleb drawled, “after that, if I came across you again, bear form or not, it would have been pretty much the same thing. We would have gotten one whiff of each other and then, bam!” His sudden shout startled Elena, but he had tightened his arms around her,

Rugged Glimpse

89

anticipating her reaction. He smiled wickedly down at her as he pressed his cock against her stomach. “There would have been no stopping us.” “So how is it that your scent affects me? I get the whole ‘I’m a bear-shifter’ thing for you two, but how does it work for me?” “Well, we only know this from our parents—” “Your parents? Do they live here? Are they bear-shifters? I want to meet them!” “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Joseph said. “Slow down, little darlin’. We’re getting there. Besides, as soon as the new generation of bearshifters—that’s us right now and will be our children someday— comes into full power, the old ones—our parents—are no longer bound to this land by magic. In other words, they get the heck out of dodge.” “Sounds neat,” Elena said flatly, a little worried about the whole bound to this land by magic part. Caleb continued. “Don’t get the wrong impression. Our parents, our parents’ parents, every ancestor in our bear-shifter lineage has fought and bled and died for this land, but can you imagine living here your whole life without ever being able to leave? Not even for a week can you leave without this nagging sensation that you are so completely and utterly in the wrong place. And then suddenly, you’re free from that?” “Okay, I get that, but how is it possible that none of you can leave? What if you have to go? What if it’s a matter of life or death? Can’t you just get in your car and go?” Caleb shot her a wry smile. “If only, if only. With each generation of bear-shifters, one select shifter out of the shifter families—” Elena shot up from her relaxed and slouching position. “Families? As in there are more than one?” “Sure,” Caleb said, unruffled by her interruption. “There are five. So as I was saying, one select shifter will be able to leave at will. In our generation, that is Noah Strong. Coincidentally, he’s also the

90

Edith DuBois

youngest bear-shifter. But for the rest of us, every time a bear-shifter tries to leave, something inevitably happens to keep him here. Sudden illness. A string of cancelled flights. “One time a generation or so ago a bear-shifter sat in an airport for more than a week, waiting for a flight. Finally, he just had to give up. He wasn’t getting out of Savage Valley. Anyway, from what our mother has told us, once your scent has taken root in our minds and in our bodies, it triggers a response in you—the woman that we want to claim. It’s all part of the old Shoshone magic that runs through our blood.” “Old Shoshone magic?” Elena didn’t bother hiding her skepticism. “That sounds a little hokey to me.” “Well, obviously there’s no real scientific explanation for what we are. All we have to go on are our family legends.” “And family legend says…” Joseph nibbled on her neck playfully, causing Elena to emit a squeak of surprise. “…that once we smell our woman, she smells us.” “Our scent makes you fearless, calm, and…” Caleb’s black eyes peeked over at her, studying her for a moment. “And what?” “Well, it can sometimes make you a little more possessive than usual.” “Oh, I’ve never been the jealous type.” Caleb’s eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything else about it. “Another side effect known to accompany our scent is extreme lust.” To emphasize, Joseph reached around and cupped Elena’s pussy. Desire immediately blossomed in the lips of her pussy and pulsed inward. Instead of shying away from his touch like she would have with other men, her hips rocked forward. Closing her eyes, she reveled in the sensations that his rough palm conjured in her body just like the magic he spoke of. Following that train of thought, she said, “Tell me more about this magic. What else does it do?”

Rugged Glimpse

91

“Whew!” Joseph said, a puff of his breath tickling the back of her neck. He pulled his hand away from Elena’s cunt and rolled onto his back. “That is a very broad topic.” She regretted the loss of his big, powerful hand on her pussy, but she wanted to hear more about bear magic, so she rolled onto her back and scooted up into a sitting position. Caleb followed suit, and Joseph’s voice soon rumbled next to her. “So like Caleb said, there are five families. First, there’s us, the Kinmans, the first family to shift back into human form after the curse was laid upon our ancestors and the ancestors of all bear-shifting families.” There was a note of pride in his voice that Elena didn’t miss. “Then there’s the Greenwoods. You know Jeremiah, right?” Elena nodded, dumbfounded. “And his brother, Jonathon.” “He has an older brother as well, James, that I don’t believe you’ve met,” Caleb added helpfully. “Then there are the Ashleys, the Carsons, and the Strongs.” Elena almost couldn’t grasp it. The idea that so many mythical creatures were packed into this one tiny town made her head spin. “Okay, so how did you all become bear-shifters in the first place?” Joseph wriggled next to her as did Caleb, as if they were both preparing for a long story and wanted to get as comfortable as possible. When Joseph stilled, he had his head on her chest and put his hand on her knee to stroke lazy patterns across her skin with his fingertips. Caleb sat up against the headboard like Elena and held her hand in his, tracing the lines in the skin of her palm. “Well, to start off with,” Joseph said, “you should know that each of the bear-shifter families can trace their lineage back to the early 1800s. Each of our families’ forefathers were famous fur trappers ’round these parts. You’ve seen the Savage Valley bank?” “Yes.” “That’s actually the original fur-trading post. Now, I don’t like to mention it, but Charles Kinman—our ancestor and one of the first

92

Edith DuBois

bear-shifters—had a particular reputation. He killed the most bears, the most elk, the most deer, beaver, foxes, coons. You name it. He held the record for most furs collected. He was a noted hunter and tracker, but he had a particular reputation for hunting down and killing black bears. That was his specialty. He delighted in it. He even made great big chairs using the fur and head of bears that he’d killed. Gruesome things. “Our forefathers were freelance fur trappers, so while they traded regularly with the United States government, they were free to trap and kill as they pleased, and let me tell you, business was booming. Up until the curse, which happened in 1832, Savage Valley was one of the most important trading posts in all the Rocky Mountains. Our family, along with the four other bear-shifter families, decided to make Savage Valley into a proper town. They set up the fur-trading post, found wives for themselves, and had all started families when the local Shoshone tribe got fed up with their mindless slaughter of the surrounding wildlife.” Joseph took a moment to swallow and catch his breath, so Caleb took over. “One evening at the monthly town meeting, the residents of Savage Valley were surprised by a visit from the Shoshone Shaman, Cameahwait. He called on the great earth spirits to lay a curse on the families. The infants and the toddlers cried out and clung to their mothers as Cameahwait cast his powerful spell. The thunder rolled through the mountains and echoed through the valley. The air trembled, and after Cameahwait left the town hall, the five families— the men, the women, and the children—they all stood and left the hall, leaving the rest of the townsfolk behind. They walked into the forest, none of them speaking, and when they reached the trees, they began to undress. They continued walking through the forest, and one by one their bodies began to shift. They became bears.” Caleb’s hand gripped hers tightly as did Joseph’s on her knee. After a long moment, Joseph said, “Very spooky stuff.”

Rugged Glimpse

93

His matter-of-fact tone sent them all three into a hearty bout of laughter. “Is that really true?” Elena finally asked after her laughter had subsided. “Are you really telling me that there’s an unbreakable bear curse on your family?” “Absolutely,” Joseph answered, sounding a little affronted that she would question their story. “Just ask Bo.” “Who’s Bo?” “Bohagande,” Caleb answered. “He’s the current Shaman of our local Shoshone tribe. The tribe lives along Savage Creek where the mountains and the forest meet south of downtown Savage Valley. He knows all the local legends better than anyone here.” “Hmm, I may have to hunt this Bo down. And how did you get back into human form?” “Well,” Joseph said, “it took us a while. Legend says that the bears could still hear each other’s human thoughts but that none of them could figure out how to shift back. It was always there, bubbling below the surface, but the bears were missing something to help them get back to human form. It wasn’t until years later. Our forefather, Charles Kinman, had more gray than black on his muzzle. His wife had died, and his two sons, Robert and Henry, were in their late thirties. “Their human thoughts had shifted. They could no longer consider themselves fully human. Their lives and their health were irrevocably tied to that of the land. They roamed the land. They protected the flora and the fauna from any invading threat, yet they were not completely whole. The sons, Robert and Henry, had never started families of their own. Although they assumed they were stuck in bear form forever, their human side couldn’t adjust to the idea of mating with a bear. Ethically, it didn’t seem right. So they had long since resigned themselves to being the last in the Kinman line. “But then, one day while they were drinking from a river deep in the forest, they came upon a woman bathing in the water. She was a

94

Edith DuBois

beautiful creature. They couldn’t look away from her, and then they got the fateful whiff.” Elena snickered at the term. “You can probably imagine what happened from there,” Caleb said, letting his hand snake up her thigh, his pinkie rubbing against the sensitive flesh of her outer lips. “As soon as they caught hold of her aroma, they shifted back into human form. And instead of frightening the woman away, she welcomed them, and she made love to them. She took care of them, taught them to read and write. She reintegrated them back into society, and soon the three were married. “Not long after that, the Kinman brothers set out looking for wives for each of the remaining families that were stuck in bear form. And now, hundreds of years later, here we are with our very own mate.” Caleb put his nose to Elena’s hair and took a deep breath. “Mmm,” he said, his breath low and earthy. “I will never tire of this scent, Elena.” Joseph rolled toward her and yanked the sheet from underneath her arms where she had tucked it for decency’s sake. She flinched but immediately relaxed when his big palm grabbed one of her breasts and massaged, his thumb stroking and then flicking her pert nipple. “Face Caleb,” Joseph ordered, and Elena did what he said, not because she felt particularly inclined to obey him but because she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for her. Caleb had already rolled to his side, and Elena watched in fascination as he locked eyes with Joseph for a long moment. Something passed between them, and then Caleb grinned down at her, his eyes full of dark promise. Before she had another moment to ponder their connection, though, Caleb grabbed her hips. He slung a leg over her hip and used it to pull her close. He nestled the tip of his cock against her entrance. Elena rolled her hips toward him, muscles tense with anticipation of that big cock filling her for the second time that day. Then from behind, Joseph’s strong hands began massaging the muscles of her back. He began with her shoulder blades and moved

Rugged Glimpse

95

down, digging his fingertips deep into the muscles that covered her back. She moaned out in pleasure. While she was distracted, Caleb suddenly thrust himself deep inside her, taking her by surprise and causing her breath to catch in her throat. Caleb held her face in his hands as Joseph’s strong thumbs pressed into the muscles of her lower back. He kneaded the muscles there for a long moment as Caleb began his rocking motion. His movement in and out was not rushed. He took his time with each stroke, pushing so deep within her pussy, making sure to scoop his hips so as to press against her inner walls in unexpected ways. Ways that had her panting for more. Joseph’s hands moved further down, down into the soft flesh of her ass, causing her to flinch each time his fingers dug into her flesh. She’d never realized how sensitive the skin stretching across her buttocks was. He ran both his thumbs from the top of her crevice all along the inner seam and down to just behind her pussy. He gathered some of her juices and swiped his fingers back to her hole. Elena whimpered, nervous at the new sensations shooting within her from the back. “Hey there, little darlin’. We’re going to take care of you.” While Joseph spoke, Caleb continued to thrust deep within her pussy, and Joseph pressed his thumb along the outer rim of her tight back hole. “Just relax. Relax and trust us.” He pushed his thumb into her hole, and Elena instinctively clenched. “Breathe,” Joseph urged her. “Take deep breaths.” Elena did as he said. She breathed in Caleb. She breathed in Joseph. And their scents mingled until all of her fear had dissipated. When Caleb pulled out, Elena pushed back against Joseph’s thumb, suddenly needing more than just a fingertip. “That’s my girl,” Joseph said with a pleased grumble. His other fingers gripped the globe of her ass cheek while his thumb plunged deeper. “Oh my god,” Elena said, breathy. “That is so bloody amazing.” Joseph matched Caleb’s strokes with his thumb. Then he plucked it out and replaced it with two fingers. “I need more,” she whimpered.

96

Edith DuBois

Caleb’s leg tightened around her, causing her legs to tighten around him. Her pussy squeezed around Caleb’s cock, and he drove deep into her body. Sweat had gathered between their bodies, and Caleb licked her neck. “Don’t you want to come, little darlin’?” Joseph curled his fingers inside her ass, and Elena cried out. “Yes! Bloody hell, yes! I want to come.” She grabbed Caleb’s hips, digging her nails into his flesh. A growl erupted from his throat, and he pulled out slowly then slammed hard into her. Then he pulled out slowly and then slammed into her. Then he pulled out slowly. All the while, Joseph wriggled his fingers inside her ass, stroking in and out and twitching and dragging along the tight inner walls of her hole. Elena’s orgasm came bursting into existence. It destroyed her reason, destroyed her ability to think in a rational manner. Instead she screamed out like some wild creature, and all the muscles in her body shook with the sheer pleasure that washed through her. She almost couldn’t stand it. The orgasms they gave her sent her so far beyond the realms of control that they frightened her. But not enough to ever want to give them up. If only she could spend the rest of her life between these two men, she would probably be the happiest woman on the planet, she thought to herself. Then another thought, chilling in its severity, came sneaking into her mind. She struggled to remember the date and suddenly realized that she only had a few more weeks until she would be heading back to London with her Rocky Mountain portfolio. Then who knew what might happen. Her portfolio could be rejected. She may have to go back into fashion photography. If it was accepted, she would most likely be assigned to a new location, and that could be anywhere on the planet. As the aftereffects of her orgasm receded, her thoughts became sharper, more and more worried about her impending departure date.

Rugged Glimpse

97

Now that she knew that such magic existed in the world, how could she ever leave it? “Elena, honey?” Joseph pulled all of her hair into his hands and then ran his fingers gently through it. “Yes?” Her voice came out sounding small and mousy. “Remember us talking about the Honey Harvest Hoedown?” Caleb asked. “Vaguely.” “Well, it’s coming up in less than two weeks. Are you still completely set against us accompanying you there?” “As your dates?” Joseph asked. Elena detected a small, threatening growl under the words but, for diplomacy’s sake, decided to ignore it. She smiled first at Caleb and then turned to smile at Joseph. “Of course I’ll go with you. Do I have to dress up or anything? I didn’t really bring anything too fashionable.” “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Caleb said. But then Joseph added, “However, there is a sort of ceremony thing at the beginning that Bo will oversee, and we’re expected to be there and be a part of it, and since you’re with us now…” When he didn’t finish his sentence, Elena said, “Go on. What?” Elena asked, looking between the brothers. “Well, it would be nice if you were seen with us, you know, in an official sort of way,” Caleb said, smiling hopefully. “Official? I mean, that sounds really…well, official.” Elena grimaced. “And you know…I’m more of a behind-the-scenes kind of girl. I can just take pictures of the event, something like that. I don’t like being in front of people. Like, it’s just not my cup of tea.” Joseph sighed. “We are the sheriff and deputy of Savage Valley. This is our home and our town. People are always going to be asking questions. It’s better to get these things out in the open as soon as possible.” “And what exactly do you mean when you say ‘these things’?”

98

Edith DuBois

“Being with us, of course.” She frowned at Joseph and Caleb. She liked them a lot, and she wasn’t totally adverse to a future involving the three of them, but could they really say, after only one afternoon of sex—granted, it was incredible sex—that they were ready to be seen as an item at town functions together? Her brain was still whirling around the fact that she would be gone in a couple of weeks. “I’m not exactly sure if we’re at the ‘being with us’ phase, though. So I’m feeling a little squeamish in regard to this Honey Harvest Hoedown stuff.” Joseph emitted a low growl, but Caleb cut him off. “Elena, squeamish or not, you can’t deny that something happened this afternoon outside of the normal. So like it or not, you’re with us.” Elena crossed her arms, not at all pleased with the direction of this conversation. “And who the bloody hell do you think you are? ‘Like it or not’? What’s that supposed to mean, exactly?” “It means you’re with us, and we’re with you. Is that really so hard to accept?” Caleb looked at her with wide, yearning eyes. Then Joseph grabbed her hand. “Yeah, Elena.” His yearning look matched his brother’s. “Is that really so hard to accept?” He stroked her hand and hit her with the full force of his large black eyes. “That’s not fair. You can’t go pulling the sad, teddy-bear eyes every time you want something.” “Please, Elena,” Caleb begged. “Please!” Joseph echoed. “All right! Fine, all right. I’ll be your date to this bloody hoedown or whatever.” “Good,” Joseph said, his disposition transforming from downtrodden to sunny in an instant. “After the town knows that you’re with us, you’ll be expected to attend events with us on a regular basis. You know, smile and wave. That whole bit.” That thought sunk to the bottom of her stomach like a lead weight, and it didn’t settle comfortably at all. Elena groaned. “I foresee a lot of headaches in my future.”

Rugged Glimpse

99

“Just remember, all you have to do is take a whiff of our manly bear-scent, and all will be well. You’ll be as fearless as Pocahontas.” “I think you’re getting your Indian tribes mixed up there, brother,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes then winking at Elena. He pressed a warm kiss to her forehead. “You’ll be fine.” “Besides,” Joseph said happily, “now that you’re tied to Savage Valley until the next generation of bears comes through, you’ve got plenty of time to get used to your public image.” Elena shot out of their arms and scrambled to the edge of the bed. She glowered at them. When she was met with nothing but shocked expressions, she ground out, “What did you say?” Neither of them answered, but looks of sheepish understanding began to move across their features. “What the fuck do you mean ‘tied to Savage Valley?’” Caleb looked at Joseph, and Joseph looked at Caleb, and at the same time they both looked back to Elena with identical, lopsided grins. “Whoops.”

100

Edith DuBois

Chapter Seven Caleb chuckled quietly to himself. It had been a week since Elena’s angry rampage in his bedroom. She’d been so upset, so loud, so volatile, and so naked. She had flung herself off the bed and kicked his dirty clothes hamper. Then she let out a long string of curses when her toe connected with a belt buckle he’d accidentally left on a pair of pants. She’d stomped back and forth at the foot of his bed, her face going red the more she shouted. All the while, Caleb and his brother were treated to one of the most beautiful and engrossing displays of female nudity that he’d ever had the privilege to witness. With every flounce, her breasts jiggled, slapping against the flesh of her torso beneath. Her ass cheeks rippled with each step, and the sight of her thigh muscles flexing and unflexing nearly caused him to go berserk with wanting. Of course she had every right to be angry. Joseph should have told her what she was getting herself into before he had wild forest sex with her. And Caleb should have told her what she was getting herself into before he fucked her so hard on his bed. However, neither had been in their right mind, so to speak, and Elena certainly hadn’t turned them away. She’d been just as up for it as they had, figuratively speaking, of course, Caleb thought to himself with a satisfied smirk. After finishing her rant, Elena had gathered up her clothes and stormed out of his house with a warning that neither of the brothers should even think about following her back to the Woodland Den. She would find them when she was good and ready to find them, if she ever was, she’d threatened on her way out.

Rugged Glimpse

101

Caleb chuckled again, and Elena turned around to glare at him. They were on their morning walk. She’d come over to his house the very next morning before the sun was even up, all in a huff, annoyed that he wasn’t ready to go and waiting for her. She’d said nothing about the night before, and when he tried to bring it up, Elena shot him an angry glare. He’d quickly snapped his mouth shut and avoided the topic ever since. There was one question, however, that he and Joseph had pondered over for while. After Elena had left, they’d called the Carson brothers to ask how they’d managed not to mate her. Turns out they were only calling Joseph to tell him that she’d seen them in bear form, not that they’d caught a whiff of her. She was downwind of them and far enough away that they had time to hold their breath until she was gone. Joseph had looked a little sheepish after hanging up the phone. Caleb watched Elena walking in front of him. She’d grown proficient in navigating her way through the forest and had begun to notice the small, subtle signs of animals, enough to track them at least. By now, he’d seen all the pictures of the elk she’d taken that he’d missed. She’d told him stories about their little calf and his mama, but even seeing the pictures, Caleb wasn’t prepared for how much the calf had grown since he’d last seen him. The elks had joined the rest of the nursing herd at this point, and they could usually be found near Brown Trout Lake. He and Elena were working their way along Old Deer Trail, looking for tracks or clues as to where they were grazing today. They were about a quarter of a mile to the northeast of the lake, following a promising trail of freshly broken grass stalks and hoof prints in the dust. A sharp breeze washed across his face, and he caught the scent of something foul on the wind. He snapped his hand out, grabbing Elena as he continued to sniff the air.

102

Edith DuBois

It didn’t smell good. It smelt like flesh and meat and blood and death. “What is it?” she asked, glancing nervously around. As they moved farther through the trees along the elk trail, the scent grew stronger, and a sense of foreboding rose up within Caleb. “Elena, honey, I think we should head back.” He tugged on her hand, suddenly knowing that whatever they found would be too much, even for Elena. The scent was uncomfortable in his nostrils. It was thick and clogged his lungs. Elena frowned up at him, the creases in her forehead becoming more pronounced. “What is it, Caleb?” He knew that her nose wasn’t as sensitive as his and that she couldn’t smell what he did, but if they got any closer, she soon would. “Something’s wrong.” He looked in the direction of the breeze, debating on what he should tell her. He knew a smell like that could only come from something very large and something very dead. That left only a narrow margin of possibilities. When Caleb didn’t elaborate any further, her features hardened and she turned on her heel. “Elena, wait!” He reached out for her again, but almost before his hand even touched her, she twisted away from him and glared up at him. “I have a right to know.” Her voice was low and intense. “You can stay here and wait for me, or you can come with me, but I have to see. I have to know.” Caleb smoothed a lock of her dark blonde hair away from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. “You’re sure?” The lines in her forehead softened, but her eyes remained tight, and she gave one stiff nod. Then they turned and continued toward the tight knot of trees. Each step caused the anxiety in his gut to grow. The smell grew almost unbearable. Caleb knew when Elena got her first whiff because her nose immediately crinkled in distaste, and her steps faltered for a moment.

Rugged Glimpse

103

When a small copse came into view, Elena grabbed Caleb’s arm and clung tightly to him. “Oh God, they’re in there,” she whispered next to him, her voice full of anguish. “We can still turn back,” Caleb whispered, stopping them to hold Elena’s face in his hands, searching her eyes one last time. She shook her head, and they closed the last bit of distance to the screen of trees. Elena didn’t let herself hesitate. She kept walking through. Then she stopped, frozen with shock. “Oh no,” she said, quiet and still, unable to rip her gaze away from what she beheld. He’d known what to expect, known from the first whiff, but he still wasn’t prepared for the sight of the mama and her baby, their corpses bloody and mutilated against the stiff, dry grass. They’d been laid open, only a scarce bit of the meat missing from their bones. At first glance, this looked like an animal attack, or what was supposed to be an animal attack, but Caleb’s instinct told him otherwise. “This isn’t right,” he said, more to himself. “Something’s not right.” He walked around the dead animals, studying them from every angle. After he had gone around a few times, he realized that Elena hadn’t moved a centimeter the whole time he’d been assessing the elk corpses. She continued to stare at them, her eyes glassy and round with shock. He approached her and spoke with a soft voice. “Elena? Honey? Let’s go, okay? Come on. It’s going to be all right.” Caleb cursed his stupidity. He shouldn’t have let her come. He knew it was too much. She loved these elk, especially the baby. He noticed she was mumbling something under her breath, and he leaned closer to hear. She was repeating something over and over again, shaking her head, as if in denial. “This is nature,” she said. “It happens all the time. This is nature.”

104

Edith DuBois

He tugged gently on her arm, and she looked up at him with her big brown eyes. “Come on, honey. Let’s go.” “What’s not right?” “What?” “You said something’s not right. What’s not right?” Caleb frowned, surprised that she’d heard him and wanting to get her away, yet feeling that she needed to know what was going on. “I don’t think they were killed by animals.” Her brows drew together in concentration. “Why?” “Well, first, there’s barely any meat gone. Generally, the type of predator that would lurk around here would be a bear. Bears aren’t necessarily known for cleanliness after a kill, but this is unusual. See these flecks of blood and flesh?” He pointed to a tree about five feet away from the carcasses. “That’s not right. And why would a bear kill more than one? Why would he bother with the mama?” Caleb frowned. “They had already joined the herd. A bear would have to get past all of the mamas.” He walked around the animals again. “It doesn’t add up.” “But if animals didn’t kill them, then who would?” Distress flitted through the depths of her eyes. “My first guess would be humans.” “But?” “What reason would a poacher have for making this look like an animal attack? There are no bullet holes, no knife slashes. These marks here…” He crouched and pointed out some slashes along the shoulder of the baby. “Those are definitely from an animal.” He stood up again. “In fact, I don’t really understand how a poacher could do it—kill an animal this large without any marks from a weapon—much less why.” “So…” The lines in Elena’s forehead were the deepest he had ever seen them. “So what you’re saying is they were mindlessly slaughtered. For no reason at all?”

Rugged Glimpse

105

Caleb met her gaze and nodded. He expected her to cry, expected her to fall into his arms, but she surprised him, as Elena often did, and began preparing her camera. To be honest, he felt a little aggravated that she hadn’t turned to him for comfort. Instead she’d turned to her camera. “Don’t you think that’s a little cavalier, Elena?” She paused, turning to him at the flat tone in his voice. “What if this was my fault, Caleb? Because of me it’s no great secret that these elk were here. What if someone saw, and they…” She took a deep, shuddering breath, clenching her eyes tight with the thought. “It’s not your fault.” He shook her until she looked at him, deep into his eyes. “Even if someone did see your pictures and came out here for them, they did this. Not you.” He dug his fingers into her shoulders when he saw her focus drifting away. “Elena, this is not your fault.” Her eyes snapped back to him, and her back snapped straight. “Then if they were killed for no reason, then no, I don’t feel that documenting this atrocity is cavalier. I’m a photographer. I have to do this. I’ve a duty to show people the truth. If I don’t take these pictures, no one will, and their deaths will be more pointless than they already are. It’s not in my nature to sit back and do nothing, and the thing that I do is take pictures. And so I will.” Her hands shook. She could rarely pull in a steady breath, but she forced herself to work. She worked for almost an hour, adjusting things here and there, crouching and leaning and hovering. Caleb stood by her the whole time, a part of him still waiting for her to get too much, to turn away, unable to capture the photographs she needed But she didn’t. She dug in, and she did what she said she would. She documented the atrocity. When she had finished and had packed her things, she headed for the trail. Caleb said a quick prayer that Bohagande, the local Shoshone shaman, had taught him that would help the spirits of the

106

Edith DuBois

elks return to their rightful place in nature, and then he followed Elena away from the sorrowful place. They walked in silence, not speaking and not stopping for any breaks. They made it all the way back to the northern edge of Brown Trout Lake before it hit her. One second she was walking next to him, her back straight and stiff, and the next she suddenly stopped. Then she screamed. It was terrible, full of anguish and such deep misery. Clawing at her backpack, she got it off and threw it to the ground. Caleb reached out to her, and he pulled her into his arms. Her whole body shook with the force of her screams, but Caleb held her tight, needing to hold her up as much as she needed to be held up. She screamed, and she sobbed, and Caleb kept his arms tight around her. When her throat became raw, and she had no more energy for the anger that consumed her, she fell completely against him, her broken sobs muffled against his shirtfront. She clung to him like a child. After a long while, after only sniffles remained, she looked up at him, agony written plainly across her features. “They were so innocent, Caleb. They were just alive. They were living. How could anyone…” The thought choked her, and she buried her face against him again. “Shh…” he cooed to her, ran his fingers through her hair, and stroked her back. “You can’t let yourself think about it. Some things are too much, even for the bravest.” Caleb took a deep breath, and then held her face so that she looked up at him again. “And you were very brave today, Elena.” “No. That wasn’t…I’m not brave.” He kissed her fiercely. “Yes, you are. Don’t let me hear you say otherwise. You understand?” He wrapped his arms around her again and pressed a hard kiss to the top of her head. “You are brave, and you are beautiful,” he whispered fiercely.

Rugged Glimpse

107

Chapter Eight “Savage Valley Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Kinman speaking.” Joseph spoke in a lagging manner. He held the phone up to his ear and leaned far back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as he twirled slowly back and forth on his swivel chair. He was alone in the office that afternoon as Caleb and Elena still weren’t back from their morning walk. Despite the everyday tasks and work that needed to be done, his mind kept wandering back to the night before. It filled up with the delectable remembrances of Elena. He could see and feel the beautiful arch of her back beneath his hands as he’d pounded up into her, the graceful vein in her neck as she threw her head back in rapture, her wild, fawn-colored mane of hair flaring around her elegant features as she screamed out his name and his brother’s. She sure knew how to take her pleasure. And last night, she’d told them she wanted both of them inside her at the same time. She’d grabbed his cock and said, “Soon I want to feel this in my ass, Joseph,” and then she’d taken his dick into her mouth, to the very back of her throat, and sucked the cum out of him. “Sheriff, this is Letty Hargrove over on Kwitakusix Cove.” Letty’s raspy voice dragged him away from his warm and tingly memories of the night before. “How can I help you, Letty?” “Well, a couple of the neighborhood trashcans have been tipped over and rifled through. Now, ordinarily I wouldn’t bother you with something like that. You and I both know those damn coons’ll go through anything they can get their paws on. But earlier this morning,

108

Edith DuBois

Jessup’s little girl, Ashley Fey, was hollerin’ ’cause that mongrel of hers done went missing. Of course, Jessup couldn’t stand them tears, so he went lookin’ for that worthless pup.” Letty coughed a couple times. “That cough sounds like it’s getting worse. Have you been to see Dr. Ashley yet?” “Naw. I’ll be fine.” “You know he wouldn’t charge you for a checkup. You’ve helped us out plenty of times when we needed it.” Letty owned the Savage Valley honky-tonk, Catdaddy’s, which was conveniently located on the outskirts of town. Not too many tourists were known to frequent that part of town. It didn’t have the best reputation. And while the bear-shifters didn’t usually like to stray too far into mountain lion territory, the honky-tonk was the only place in town where a good drink, good company, and occasionally a good fight could be found. In a tight squeeze, Letty had been known to help a few bear-shifters locate some clothes when they showed up naked on her back porch after a night of drinking and carousing. Because alcohol did a funny thing to shifters. Just like in the average human, it lowered their inhibitions. Only thing was, as a shifter, lowered inhibitions meant that the animal that was always trying to break free from inside—whether bear or lion—took full advantage of the lack in concentration. Thus, a wild night at Letty’s usually led to passed-out, naked men on her porch in the morning. Letty had come to accept this fact without question. “Thank you, sheriff. I’ll think about it. But you should know…” “Yes?” “Jessup never found the dog. But he did find some tracks and some signs of a scuffle. Looks like a mountain lion got ahold of it.” Letty coughed again. “Shit,” Joseph cursed under his breath. This wasn’t going to sit well with the citizens of Savage Valley, not well at all.

Rugged Glimpse

109

“Yep, and you should probably have either Roarke or that stuckup brother of his come take a look, too.” “All right, I’ll try to find one of them. We’ll be over in my cruiser in a couple minutes. Thanks for calling, Letty.” “Not a problem. See you soon.” Joseph shook his head as he hung up the phone. Oliver wouldn’t be happy about this either. The town’s damn slogan was No animal attacks since 1846! People who had been living in Savage Valley for many years, who had generations of family from Savage Valley got used to seeing lions and bears every once in a while. The shifters tried to stay out of town, but things happened. There were sightings. But none of the shifters, none of them, ever hunted anywhere near town, especially not the lions. It was much too dangerous. If people’s pets were disappearing, though, the townsfolk would get nervous about that. The strange thing was, though, that if it was a lion, it had to have been a wild lion, not one of the shifters. If that was the case, Oliver and his pack should have let Joseph know that they were nearby. It wasn’t a law or anything, but it was common courtesy between the shifters to let each other know things like that. It was how they’d managed to keep the town free of animal attacks for so long. Although the lions and the bears didn’t always get along, they did know how to communicate and work together when the need arose. Joseph tried calling Caleb to let him know what was going on, but his brother didn’t answer. He grabbed the keys to the cruiser and headed for the front door. Before he could reach it, though, Caleb and Elena came through. Elena’s nose was puffy. Her eyes were redrimmed. When she caught sight of him, she ran to him and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. “Well, hello, little darlin’. I missed you, too.” He stroked her soft hair and ran his hands over her shoulders in a comforting gesture. “Everything all right?”

110

Edith DuBois

She took a deep breath. “I can never get enough of the way you smell.” She took another deep breath, and keeping her face buried in his chest, said, “It’s been a rough day.” Caleb met his eyes over Elena’s head, and Joseph noted the tightness in his brother’s expression. “What happened?” They told him about the elk, and Elena showed him only a few of the pictures to illustrate Caleb’s hypothesis that it wasn’t actually an animal that had attacked them. Joseph frowned. “This is too much of a coincidence. I get the feeling that both of these attacks were deliberate and that they are somehow connected.” “Attacks?” Caleb immediately picked up on the plural, and Joseph told them about Letty’s call. “I’m headed out there now. Let’s meet at the diner later tonight. I’ll see if Oliver and Roarke and maybe a few more of his…” He shot a glance at Elena, realizing she didn’t know about the lions yet. “…friends can come by as well, see if they know anything about this.” Elena shot him an inquisitive look at his awkward pause, but he planted one hot kiss on her lips and then hurried away before she could question him. She wasn’t ready for lion-shifters. Hell, who was he kidding? He wasn’t ready for her to be ready for lion-shifters. He did not look forward to the day when he would have to inform her that not only one group of shape-shifters lived in this town but two. So, in other words, not only one group of men in this town walked around on the brink of exploding into wild, ferocious animals but two. Nope. He wasn’t looking forward to that at all. **** Elena awoke and suffered a brief moment of fear. For a moment, she forgot where she was. She forgot that Peter was gone. That he couldn’t hurt her anymore. She was through with him. She was safe.

Rugged Glimpse

111

She took a deep breath and relaxed, realizing her mind must have snagged on some small thread of a dream as she’d moved into wakefulness. It was the morning of the Honey Harvest Hoedown in Savage Valley, and she was between two of the most gorgeous men ever to have— She flopped her hands across the bed, not opening her eyes, searching for the warm bodies she’d become accustomed to waking beside. Her arms met nothing but empty bed and cold sheets. She shot up, looking frantically around at her surroundings. For the past two nights she’d slept at their house. It amazed her how quickly she’d grown used to the feel of their warm bodies next to her. It was a bit unnatural. She’d never taken to a man so quickly, much less two. It had only been about three weeks since she’d first made love to Joseph and then to Caleb, but in that short amount of time, she no longer felt lost or wayward or adrift. She felt settled. Like somehow she’d come home instead of leaving it. “Oh, shut up,” she said to herself, throwing the covers off her body. The chilly air in her room at the Woodland Den washed over the bare skin of her legs and arms, sending ripples across her flesh. Since the brothers were going to be up early and working all day, busy with organizing and running the hoedown, Elena had slept at the lodge, opting for a lazy morning instead of her usual hike through the woods. She did not like the odd feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. She’d only been away from Joseph and Caleb for less than twelve hours. There was absolutely no reason for her to miss them as much as she did. With a groan, she hauled herself out of the bed, studied the mirror across from the foot of her bed, and gave her reflection a firm look. “You are not bound to this land by magic, so you can just get over it.”

112

Edith DuBois

In a huff, she marched to the bathroom and turned on the shower. A few hours later, after a hearty breakfast at the Woodland Kitchen of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and a lot of coffee and then working on her photos, she headed into town. It was a bit of a walk, but her morning hikes had gotten her in shape. Caleb and Joseph had been more than a little excited about the hoedown all week, and they couldn’t help themselves from telling her all about what went on, so she knew that the real festivities wouldn’t begin until a little before sundown. At that time, Bohagande, as the current shaman of the local Shoshone tribe, would pray to the sun and to the sky and to the land for health and fertility. There would be a bee dance, although Elena had no idea what a bee dance necessarily entailed, and then the hoedown would begin. She walked through the lobby of the lodge, almost running into another woman on her way out. “Oh, excuse me,” the woman said, a little flustered. “No, excuse me.” Elena smiled, letting the woman go out the door ahead of her. When the woman stepped into the sunlight, she took a deep, refreshing breath, as if it filled her with calm and well-being. Her hair shimmered and glistened like ruby flames, and Elena stared in awe but didn’t say anything. They walked along the road together. Elena kept glancing over at her, feeling weird because their pace seemed to be so evenly matched and they were both headed in the same direction. After about ten minutes of walking awkwardly next to the woman, Elena noticed the other woman fanning herself and wiping some sweat off her forehead. “I thought that Colorado was supposed to begin cooling off in September.” Elena repeatedly pulled her shirt away from her chest and then released it, letting the air pump against her sweat-drenched skin. “It’s got to be this drought. I don’t know how much more I can take.” “Oh, are you from Savage Valley?”

Rugged Glimpse

113

“No, well, yes…I mean now I am, but…” The woman eyed Elena and took a breath. “Yes. I am from Savage Valley.” Elena smiled to herself, knowing that feeling exactly. “But this is a relatively new development,” the woman finished. “Ah, I see. Well, I’ve heard a rumor that some sort of ceremony is going to be happening to bring all sorts of good stuff to Savage Valley. Hopefully, rain is included on that list of good stuff.” The redheaded woman smiled. “Oh, at the Honey Harvest Hoedown?” “Yes, are you going?” “I am. My…umm…well, my friends have insisted that I go.” “Don’t worry. I’ve been coerced as well.” The woman laughed. “If your friends are two overly large yet ridiculously good-looking men who roam around town like they own the place, then I’ll start to get worried.” Elena was taken aback. “Wait. Who are your friends?” “Why?” “Because you just described my…umm…well, my friends.” Elena felt a little uncomfortable. Surely there was some sort of mix-up. The woman’s cheeks flared up with color. “I was talking about Oliver and Roarke Cash.” “Oh!” Elena let out a sigh of relief and then laughed outright. “You’re friends with the Mayor and his brother? Nice.” Elena slipped a hint of innuendo into that last word and grinned to herself when the woman’s cheeks grew red again. It was beginning to look like the one-woman-two-men combo was a popular choice in Savage Valley. “I’m Chelsea by the way.” The woman held out her hand. “Elena. Nice to meet you.” “So who did you think I was referring to?” “Oh…um…” Now Elena’s cheeks felt a little warm. “Do you know Sheriff Kinman or his brother?” “I know of them.” The woman smirked at Elena. “Nice.”

114

Edith DuBois

After sharing another laugh, they chatted amicably the rest of the way into town. Elena spotted Joseph bossing people around near the courthouse and turned to say good-bye to Chelsea, but she had already caught a glimpse of one of the Cash brothers and was heading in his direction, a look of carnal hunger written clearly across her features. Elena laughed and then made her way slowly over to Joseph. A lot of booths had already been set up along Main Street and around the courthouse. Each of them had homemade banners and signs boasting the delectable, interesting contents inside—Helga’s Honey-soaked Fruit Jars, Chip’s Chocolate Honey Butter, Nadeen’s Nuts and Honey. The booths went on and on. Savage Hunger, the diner, had a doublewide booth where Elena saw things like Phil’s honey-fried pheasant, venison burgers, and honey home brew ale on the menu. Hundreds of tourists and townsfolk milled about, stopping in at the booths. Savage Hunger already had a line about six people deep snaking out from the booth like the tail end of a kite. Elena figured it would only get longer as the night progressed. “Elena!” Joseph called out to her with a wave. Despite the heat, she couldn’t stop herself from skipping over to him. She had to check herself before she completely launched into his arms. She needed to pull herself together. Just because she hadn’t seen him all morning didn’t mean she got to fall into his arms like some wilting-flower wisp of a woman. Just then he grinned at her, though, and his smile was the slightest bit crooked. His black eyes gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, and his tan skin looked so perfect and touchable. She really couldn’t help herself. When she reached him, his arms came around her, and he planted a thorough kiss upon her neglected lips. “I missed you, little darlin’,” he whispered into her hair. Elena felt it wash through her again, that sense of being home. Away from the solitude of her room at the lodge and in his arms, with his scent that

Rugged Glimpse

115

so called to her, she felt no panic. She could never feel panic at the thought that his arms were home to her. Elena heard some commotion behind her, and Joseph’s arms stiffened. Elena turned around to see what it was, and as she did, she heard the revving of a loud, roaring engine as a bright red truck went tearing down Main Street. One man drove the truck while another rode in the back, hollering with wild glee at all the frightened passersby scrambling to get out of their way. “Those damn Strongs.” Joseph’s voice was tight and low as he released her. “They better not damage our barrier. They’ll be paying for that shit if they do.” Caleb approached Elena, looking as angry as Joseph. When he saw her, though, his features brightened, and he kissed her hot and hard and then, with a melodramatic sigh, let her go. Joseph’s irritated voice broke up their moment. “Let’s hop in the cruiser and tell those little shits to cool their jets before someone gets hurt.” “The Strongs?” Elena asked. “Aren’t they…” She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Aren’t they like you?” “Yes and no, little darlin’. Yes, they can shift like us. But no. They are always fucking rabble-rousing, keeping me from doing my damn job like a couple of redneck idjits.” Joseph had gotten himself worked up. “If they do anything to mess up Bo’s hoedown, I swear I will take them out to Brown Trout Lake and pummel some manners into their thick skulls. As if these damned animal attacks weren’t enough to worry about…” “Okay,” Elena said as Joseph stalked off. “I’ll let you two take care of that.” Caleb smiled ruefully down at her. “He gets real uptight when it comes to the hoedown.” “I’m starting to gather as much. Have you any more leads on those deer found out on Kwitakusix?”

116

Edith DuBois

His eyes tightened, and he shook his head. Elena knew the most recent string of attacks caused them more worry than they let on, but they tried not to talk about it too much around her, not wanting to stir up her still-raw emotions regarding the elk. “We’ll see you in a little while, okay?” He paused, growing thoughtful. “As always, you look beautiful.” He kissed the tip of her nose and then followed his brother through the growing crowd. Only moments after they vanished from her sight, she felt that hollow, gaping feeling begin to reemerge within herself. Trying to shake it off, she began moving, letting her feet take her anywhere. There was plenty to explore. After grabbing a hoedown map from the Savage Valley Hives booth and info center located directly across the stage directly in the middle of the festivities, she decided to visit Jim Bob Pritchett and his friends from Savage Convenience that she’d met on her first day in Savage Valley. According to the map, he had a demonstration going on in front of Savage Valley Bank until right before Bo’s presentation on the main stage. As she meandered up to the bank, she had to weave through the thick crowd to see what was happening near the front. Jim Bob Pritchett was talking with a group of young boys all crowded around a bright blue 1950s Ford F-100 pickup truck. Jim Bob had the driver’s side door open and was pointing out some knobs and features of the cab. There was a bright red Ford convertible in the grass next to the truck that people were using for a photo op. Jim Bob’s friends, Larry and Bobby, were lounging in the shade in a couple of plastic lawn chairs. They saw Elena and waved her over. “Beautiful Elena!” Bobby called out to her in his flirtatious tones, waving. She waved back and joined them under the shade. “What’s Jim Bob up to?” Elena asked. “This is our annual Savage Valley Auto display.”

Rugged Glimpse

117

“And this ain’t even our best year. Last year we had this beautiful—I mean the sweetest, slickest, little black Aston Martin—I think a fellow up near Cheyenne lent it to us.” “Oh, and it was a beaut. Yep, only a handful of those were ever made. This one was on tour. We got it here through our very special VIP connections. You know how it goes.” Bobby winked at her, and the two men heehawed together, elbowing and slapping each other on the back. Elena couldn’t help but to join in the laughter. A woman with an elegant-looking silver bun atop her head approached with a sassy look across her features. “Are these two monkey-shiners bothering you?” The woman placed a hand on her hip and glared at Bobby and Larry. “Aww, come off it, Agnes. Miss Elena don’t want to listen to your yapping. Why don’t you go bother Jim Bob?” “Yeah, bring him a sweet lemonade to cool him off in this hot drought,” Bobby offered with a hint of suggestion, all the while chuckling under his breath. “Probably more sour than sweet, though,” Larry said under his breath, and then the brothers broke out laughing. The woman shook her head in exasperation and then turned her blue eyes toward Elena. “Hello. You must be Elena.” She offered her hand. “I’m Agnes Bird. I’m across the street from these two at Savage Valley’s one and only beauty salon, Haven Salon. Hop on over if you ever need a trim. Or maybe something a little more adventurous.” “Come on, Agnes. Now ain’t the time for soliciting. Leave the poor girl alone. Let her enjoy the hoedown.” Agnes whipped around to Larry. “And that coming from the man who isn’t even running his own display. Instead, he’s sitting in the shade, drinking iced tea in a lawn chair while his friend does all the work, in the hot sun, no less.” Agnes turned away from Larry, and despite her harsh tones, shot Elena a quick wink. “I’m going to go get something for poor ol’ Jim Bob,” she shot over her shoulder at Larry and Bobby, “but I’ll see you

118

Edith DuBois

around, honey.” She gave Elena’s arm an affectionate pinch and then sauntered away to the beverage booth next to the Savage Hunger booth. When Elena looked back at the display, two men were standing at the entrance to the bank. They were both tall with dark hair. Even from a distance, Elena could tell they were twins. Something clicked in her mind, and she remembered either Joseph or Caleb telling her that the Carson twins owned Savage Valley Bank. One of the twins noticed her gaze and leaned toward his brother to say something. The second brother looked in her direction, and they both watched her for a long moment. She knew the Carsons were bear-shifters and, therefore, not a threat to her, but their frank gaze intimidated her. Slowly and together, they nodded at her, sending a chill down her spine, and then they walked down the front steps to disappear into the crowd gathered around the old cars. Despite her unease, she knew the twins were partly responsible for Joseph’s appearing before her in bear form. She hoped she would have a chance to thank them personally for that day. Noticing that Agnes and Jim Bob were now deeply engaged in conversation and not wanting to interrupt them, Elena said good-bye to Larry and Bobby and then headed back toward the heart of the hoedown, looking for interesting booths to visit on her map. She spent the next hour or so exploring, picking up a couple beeswax candles, some Savage Valley lavender honey, and even some honey bath and beauty products from a sweet Savage Valley native named Lianne. Her favorite booth, though, was the photography and art booth run by the chamber of commerce. It displayed photos and artwork from local Savage Valley residents, and some of the work was truly breathtaking. Elena wished she had known about it. She would have submitted some of her work. Maybe next year. She stopped in her tracks.

Rugged Glimpse

119

Elena Susan Ward, she barked at herself. Next year is too far away. You are not allowed to think in those terms. She was feeling jittery. She hadn’t seen Joseph or Caleb in almost two hours, and the bee dance was about to start. The sun was growing larger and more orange by the second, beginning to lean farther and farther down the sky to tuck behind the Rocky Mountains. The crowd had almost tripled in size, and it moved as a whole toward the stage. Elena glanced around her, unable to pick out either of their large forms from the hot throng of bodies. She had never been absolutely comfortable in large crowds, but she needed Joseph. She needed Caleb. She couldn’t breathe. She got pushed closer to the stage, and even when she tried to turn around and head away, the crowd pushed her closer, in the opposite direction than where she wanted to go. She began struggling in earnest, wanting to get away, wanting a fresh breath of air. Feeling a scream building up in her chest, she pushed and shoved against the people around her, terror gripping her chest. She felt so alone, so powerless. She had to break free. A large pair of arms wrapped around her body, and a warm pair of lips pressed against her neck. Caleb spoke from behind her into her neck. “Shh, Elena. I’m right here. You’re okay.” Finally, she sucked in a deep breath, and then it came spilling out of her lungs in halting gasps. She wrapped her arms around his for a moment and then turned to face him. He continued to hold her tightly, and she pressed her fevered lips against his, desperate for his kiss. The large crowd and the setting sun cloaked them from too many prying eyes, and Elena just needed him. She craved the feel of his thick cock plowing into her cunt. She wanted his brother in her ass, too. She wanted them together. Tonight. ****

120

Edith DuBois

Standing at the back end of the crowd, Joseph scanned the mass of people for any shenanigan-causing miscreants. At the same time, he kept an eye on Caleb, watching him cut through the crowd and finally locate Elena. They didn’t have to see her. They trusted their feet to take them to her. She was theirs, and their bodies knew it. Soon Caleb had Elena in his arms, and Joseph watched him pull her tiny body against his to place a heated kiss against her parted lips. The sight had his cock hardening, knowing that soon he too would have her warm lips all to himself. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath, hoping none of the people surrounding him would notice his awkward stance or nervous fidgeting. He needed his cock buried balls deep in Elena’s cunt, and he needed it now. After Mayor Cash’s brief introduction, a singular, low drumbeat echoed from the stage and across the dirt lot between the courthouse and the bank where the masses had gathered for the opening ceremonies. A long moment later, another beat rang more solidly through the air. Even though Joseph had been to countless hoedowns, the opening ceremonies always sent a small thrill through his blood. Maybe it was the bear’s blood that coursed through his veins answering Bohagande’s ancient ritual. Whatever it was, it was potent. It made his body throb. Soon the drum had been joined by a few others and had picked up a steady, driving rhythm, and a chorus of voices broke through the still air. Since Main Street had been sectioned off and the crowd was mesmerized by the drums, the singing voices rang clear, reaching all the way out to and past Joseph. A line of Shoshone came prancing onstage, dancing and singing and thrusting their bodies with practiced abandon. Their beat grew faster and wilder. It grew more intense. Soon it had reached a crazed level, and Joseph felt his bear rippling beneath the surface. His hands clenched and then unclenched, and he

Rugged Glimpse

121

felt a growl rumbling in his chest, despite his best efforts to keep it quiet. The five dancers circled each other, their voices at once piercing and then soaring. They beat their drums until sweat glistened across their skin in the wild, fiery light of the setting sun. Joseph’s muscles trembled with the effort of keeping his bear contained. He had one errant thought in which he was thankful for sending the Strong bothers to Letty’s. They’d been drinking for hours now, and if they had been swallowed in this music, there would be a catastrophe on hand. All of a sudden, the drums beat no more. The voices were quiet. The whole crowd breathed in once and then out. It was magic. After only one breath, a single voice cried out, trembling but somehow powerful. Joseph recognized Bo’s baritone timbre. The older Indian walked onto the stage from the back, the mountains and brilliant sun framing his dark silhouette. Tiny dark specks moved all around him, circled and flitted and vibrated around him. Joseph had seen the bee dance too many times to count, but each time he saw it, the sight still managed to mesmerize and enchant him. Thousands of bees covered Bo’s chest and torso. Bo never seemed nervous or uncomfortable. In fact, he looked downright blissful, like the bees made him whole. The five dancers behind him began a low, steady rhythm, and Bo turned to the side, in profile to the crowd. He lifted his arms and began a tuneless chant, his voice ringing out in pure, solid notes, while his body moved with fluid motion in time to the drums. He faced each direction, repeating his dancing prayer to the north, to the south, and to the east and to the west. After it was over and Bo had left the stage, Oliver took the stage again for a moment to officially announce the beginning of the Savage Valley Honey Harvest Hoedown. Soon after, Jeremiah Greenwood took to the stage with his old resonator guitar, a

122

Edith DuBois

Greenwood family heirloom from the twenties, along with a couple of bluegrass musicians from around the area, and they kicked things off with a lively jig. Caleb strode out of the swirling bunch of bodies with Elena’s arm tucked in his, her cheeks flushed and her eyes full of desire. When she saw Joseph, she said something to Caleb, and he let her go. She ran toward Joseph and, without pausing, leapt into his arms. He caught her, laughing, and buried his nose in her neck. When he let her down, she grabbed his hand. “I’ve missed you too much today. I don’t like being away from you.” “You can thank the Strongs for a good part of it.” “I’ve a mind to give them a tanning of my own. See how they like that.” She held her hand out for Caleb who had just reached them, and the three of them walked along Main Street together. Elena swung her hands and practically hummed beside him as she told him and his brother about all the things she’d seen that day. Strings of large, golden-glowing lightbulbs hung between each booth, and twinkly lights had been woven through the trees that lined Main Street. They cast an angelic glow across Elena’s features until Joseph found it difficult to concentrate on anything besides the idea that his dick should be pounding into her beautiful body. He met Caleb’s eyes over Elena’s head and saw that his brother’s thoughts were running along the same as his own. Waiting for a natural pause in Elena’s ramblings, he said, “Hey, little darlin’?” “Yes?” “Did you have your heart set on dancing tonight?” “I thought maybe a slow dance or two but not particularly, no. Why?” “Good,” he said and then swept her up in his arms. She squeaked in surprise. “Joseph Kinman! What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” Joseph could hear Caleb chuckling beside him.

Rugged Glimpse

123

“Now, quiet down.” He shot her a half-menacing look, and she clamped her mouth shut but continued to glare up at him. “Tonight, little darlin’, our magic is only for you.” Her brown eyes grew large. “Tonight, everything we are, and everything we do is for you.” She studied his face for a moment and then looked over at Caleb. Without another word, she snuggled into his chest. “That’s right,” Joseph said, taking her away from the crowd. The bear had been humming in his blood all night, and now that he was a safe distance from the festivities, he put Elena back on the ground. “Elena.” She immediately became alert at his use of her name. “You trust me?” She looked deep into his eyes and placed her palm against his cheek. “Of course.” “Then don’t be scared. Caleb and I would never do anything to hurt you.” She swallowed but then nodded her head. Joseph began undressing, removing his shirt and then his uniform’s trousers until he stood stark naked in front of the woman he loved. She looked him up and down and mindlessly licked her lips. The small gesture caused his cock to jerk up. Caleb walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered something in her ear, and her eyes locked with Joseph’s. Then she nodded at him. It was all he needed. His bear had been yearning to break free all night. And at her nod, his body exploded.

124

Edith DuBois

Chapter Nine Elena involuntarily jerked backward, pushing against Caleb’s strong chest. She had seen Joseph in bear form only once before and that was only briefly. She’d been tempted to ask Caleb on their numerous walks each morning, but something always held her back. Maybe it was because deep down she knew that she wanted them to all three be together. Caleb’s thick arms tightened around her, warm and stolid. His chest moved up and down behind her. “Just breathe,” he said. As Joseph’s body ripped and shifted into that of a bear, as the fur sprouted from his skin and a snout grew from his face, as his hands and feet grew into great paws and his grunt grew into a roar, Elena remained frozen. She’d never seen anything so terrifying yet so magnificent at the same time. It took her mind a moment to process, and by then, Joseph’s large front paws had slammed onto the earth. He stood watching her, his large back and chest moving up and down with his breathing. His black eyes stayed focused on her. Every instinct she possessed urged her to flee, to run away, to place as much distance as possible between her body and that of the gigantic animal before her. “Don’t be scared, Elena. It’s Joseph. It’s only Joseph in there.” Caleb pressed a small kiss behind her ear, and the bear took a tentative step toward her, not breaking eye contact. Her muscles shook with the effort to stand still as he took another step and then another until his bear face was less than a foot away

Rugged Glimpse

125

from hers. His hot breath spilled across her chest, and Caleb held her. As long as he was with her, she knew everything was okay. The bear—Joseph—made a low, frustrated sound and slapped a paw to the earth. When Elena jumped, Caleb grabbed her wrist and held her arm out toward Joseph. She held her breath, and then her palm moved over Joseph’s rough fur. He pushed his head more firmly against her hand, making a low rumbling sound. “Oh,” Elena said, surprised. “You like that?” She rubbed him behind the ears, and his lips rippled. “We’re going to take you to Brown Trout Lake.” “Take me?” Before she had time to get some clarification, Caleb had swept her up in his arms and dumped her over Joseph’s back so that she was straddling him. She ran her fingers through the black fur on his back then ran them over the hard ridge of muscles that constantly rippled beneath the surface of his skin as he shifted his weight from paw to paw, anxious to be off. After a moment she glanced over at Caleb, in time to see him shift into a bear. Not expecting such a sight, she jumped, nearly falling off Joseph. She grabbed onto a patch of fur on his back, and he let out an irritated grunt and then whipped his neck around to point one dark eye at her. He grunted, and when Elena had righted herself, he began hustling toward the lake. Soon the only sound that rose louder than the wind whistling by her ears was that of her breathing and the breathing of Joseph and Caleb and the sound of their thick, heavy paws beating against the earth. After only a short while, their powerful bodies had carried her all the way to the lake. She slid off Joseph, feeling heavy as her feet hit the ground. Caleb came up from behind her and stuck his snout between her arm and her body, niggling his way in until her arm was wrapped around his neck and her fingers scratched his hide. He grumbled contentedly beside her.

126

Edith DuBois

Her very own pair of bears. The thought made her giggle. She would have never, not in a million years, envisioned this for herself. Joseph’s fur began to shiver, and then he rose up on his hind legs. Before Elena could react, he had already shifted back into human form. He stood before her, moonlight gleaming in his black eyes, still panting from his run, and sweat shining on his smooth skin. She took a step toward him, but Caleb made a small sound and followed her movements. Turning to Caleb, she placed her hands on either side of his face and looked deep into his bear eyes. “I want you both, Caleb.” A growl rolled around his chest but didn’t come forth. “Do you understand?” He let out a puff but then he took a step back. Elena did the same, giving him ample room to shift. As Caleb transformed, Joseph caught her from behind. She felt his thick shaft pushing with insistence against her back. Reaching around, Joseph hunched over her and cupped her throbbing cunt, rippling his fingers across her lips in a steady pattern. Caleb was gone for a moment but soon returned, approaching her from the front, as naked as his brother. He had a blanket and a small tube in his hands, and glancing around, Elena noticed the wildlife preservation center a few hundred feet down the lake’s shoreline. He grinned when he saw her eyeing the objects. “We always keep supplies at the center. It’s a convenient place on the edge of the forest for us to keep supplies—clothes and food and whatever else we may need when we shift.” Now that he was closer, she could see what the tube contained. She raised an eyebrow. “And that includes lubricant?” “Naw,” he said, shooting her a saucy grin. “That was in the bedroom. Knew it would be, those kinky bastards.” The blanket exploded upward out of Caleb’s hands and then settled gently onto the grass next to the sand that led to lapping water. Straightening up, he slid his hands under her shirt, raking them across

Rugged Glimpse

127

the skin of her belly until he reached her breasts, pushing their weight upward as his face fell to her shirtfront. His teeth nibbled through the fabric, tickling and pinching her hard nipples. As Caleb attended to her breasts, Joseph began undoing the button to her jeans. He slid them over the gentle slope of her hips and over the smooth skin of her thighs and then slid them over her calves until he kneeled behind her. “This is the most glorious pair of ass cheeks I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.” He kissed the rounded curve of first one and then the other cheek, sending ripples across her flesh. “I can’t wait to watch it jiggle and grow to a sweet rosy pink under the guidance of my palm.” Elena felt her back muscles tense at his statement, but he only smoothed his palm over her ass. “Not tonight, though, little darlin’. Tonight, Caleb is going to spread this hole wide with his cock.” He pulled her cheeks apart and blew on her exposed anus, sending a wild tickling sensation straight through her nerves. A strained noise came from her throat as she buried her face in Caleb’s chest. He tipped her chin up until she looked at him. “You aren’t scared, are you? We’ve prepared you for this. We’ve used the beads, the plug. You’re ready for this, Elena.” “I know. But still…I can’t help…” Caleb put his lips to hers, pressing against her hard until she relented and opened her mouth to him. His tongue dove in and flicked upwards against the roof of her mouth. Her whole body rolled against his, and his dick poked aggressively into her stomach. “Your body knows what it wants, Elena.” He pushed even harder against her stomach. “All you have to do is listen.” Tentatively, she reached her hand between them and wrapped her fingers around his familiar length. It jerked, and he chuckled. “This cock belongs to you and only you. Do with it what you will.” She knew what she wanted. The time for being afraid had passed. She met Caleb’s gaze, feeling strong, feeling empowered by the weight of his cock in her hands and in her control. “I want you in my

128

Edith DuBois

ass. I want Joseph in my cunt. Make me howl, Caleb. Make me fucking come.” Joseph groaned, and Caleb smiled triumphantly down at her. Joseph yanked her back against his chest and then down to her knees, and she smiled at the strength she could feel rippling through his body. He rolled and positioned them so that he lay on his back while Elena straddled him, her pussy grinding up against the flat, hard muscles of his lower abdomen while his dick nudged up between her legs. She whimpered with need, knowing that tonight there would be no holding back, no restraint. She wanted to be wild, just like her men. Placing her hands on Joseph’s chest, she raised her hips, aligning her pussy’s entrance with the tip of his huge cock. She lowered herself, reveling in the sensation of such a big cock pushing up into her depths. It amazed her every time. When he had slid the full length of his cock through the lips of her pussy, he grasped her hips. She wanted to buck, wanted to begin their animal motion, but she knew that Caleb still needed to fill her ass up. “Why don’t you get yourself ready, little darlin’?” Elena smiled. “I would love to.” She reached for the lube that Caleb had brought with the blanket. “Wait,” Caleb said, catching her wrist. He continued to grasp her wrist as he guided her hand to her cunt. “First from here.” She raised herself, delighting in the way Joseph’s flesh slid against hers. She grasped the base of his cock with her fingers and used them to follow the lips of her pussy up his shaft, slicking up her hand with her own juices. Up and down she went until her hand was coated with her hot, slick wetness. Then she moved her hand to Caleb’s dick, coating him from base to tip. Joseph continued to plunge into her, and again, she dragged her hand, stealing the moisture their fucking created, harvesting it the way the town had harvested honey.

Rugged Glimpse

129

The second time, instead of Caleb’s cock, she moved her hand to her own ass, spreading the liquid warmth up and down her crevice. Caleb took control, grabbing her wrist and guiding her wet fingers to her hole. He pushed them inside, making sure to rub them all around the rim. Elena shivered, shocked at the sensation of her fingers in her ass, her ass around her fingers. “Good girl,” Caleb said when he pulled her hand away. She rubbed it on the wet grass and then braced her hands on the ground next to either side of Joseph’s face. Caleb didn’t take his time. He smeared a little more lube on everything but then pressed his bulbous tip against her back entrance. Slowly he pushed himself through the tight ring of muscle, her body’s last defense against such a forbidden act. The widest part of his cock pushed painfully through the tight outer rim, sending a wide burn from Elena’s ass straight up her spine. She wanted to clench, to keep him out, but she also wanted him to push harder, to slam into her. “Come on,” she whined when he still had more of his cock to push in. Shoving her hips back against him, she was rewarded with the sound of Caleb’s loud groan and the feel of his raspy balls tickling the sensitive skin of her exposed cheeks. Joseph grasped her hips and pulled her toward him. At first Elena was too eager. She couldn’t stop herself from bucking against each of them as they pulled her back and forth between their cocks. “Slow down, little darlin’. Let’s find each other.” His hands guided her, pulled her pussy tight against his body, pushed the end of his dick against the thin, tight skin of her inner walls. “Now me,” Caleb grunted, pushing himself deep into her ass, his thrust echoing the power of Joseph’s. And at the end of Caleb’s stroke she began to sway back to Joseph and then back to Caleb. She moved between them the way wind moves through leaves and the way water laps at the shore, back and forth and back and forth but never the same way twice.

130

Edith DuBois

She began to tremble. It was uncontrollable. The muscles in her body were full of liquid energy, and she couldn’t contain it. Joseph and Caleb sensed her mounting pressure, and they pushed harder. They slammed into her holes, their fierce, fevered movements drawing a crazed response from deep within her soul. She cried out, clawing at the earth, feeling the dirt under her fingernails and the sweat rolling down her back. Her orgasm was relentless and powerful and overwhelming. They rode her still. She could only breathe in moans. She could only think in bright colors. Her mind and her body knew only pleasure, nothing before and nothing beyond. And they drove her still further. Her pussy squeezed Joseph tight. She had no control over its pulsing, manic grip on Joseph’s cock. “Fuck,” he roared, lifting his hips from the ground, spurting his seed up into the welcoming channel of her womb. Soon after, Caleb grabbed the rounds of her shoulders and yanked her back toward him, pulling her up and away from Joseph, roaring as his cum rushed, hot like liquid metal, inside her body. Elena had nothing left. When Caleb let go of her arms, she fell to the ground. She let her face rest in the wet grass, her legs still half sprawled over Joseph and tangled with Caleb’s, taking a deep breath to smell the earth and the hint of green life in each blade of grass that touched her face. A lightning bug flickered only inches from her face and then hummed over to a blade at the tip of her nose. It jerked its wings open and then closed them, its body lighting up for a tiny moment. It was the most perfect moment. ****

Rugged Glimpse

131

“Last one to the lake is a dead fish,” Caleb teased as he exploded up from the pile of sweaty bodies. Well, at least he tried to explode up. His relaxed and sexually satisfied muscles seemed to have other ideas. Elena stirred as well. “I can’t,” she said, giggling as she attempted to clamber to her feet. “No you don’t,” Joseph said, grabbing her around the ankle. “Let go, you wanker.” She tried kicking her foot to loosen his grip, but Joseph just lay back while holding her ankle. “I’ll save you!” Caleb grabbed Elena by the waist and stepped on Joseph’s wrist. When he had ripped her from Joseph’s grasp, he let her free. “My savior,” she said warmly and a little breathlessly. She pressed a hot kiss against his lips. Then with an impish grin she shoved him hard in the chest, causing him to step backward and trip over Joseph. He went sprawling. She ran from them, giggling all the way to the shore of the lake. Far-flinging droplets rose up all around her as she splashed wildly into the water. Caleb quickly regained his feet, and he and his brother stalked toward the lake with one goal in mind. Elena stood in the water, watching them with a small smile curling her lips. “You won’t escape us. We are coming for you, little darlin’.” She backed farther into the water, and when Caleb and Joseph reached the shore, she turned and dove into the lake. The dark ripples shimmered across the moon’s reflection, but she had dived deep enough to momentarily escape detection. It was too dark to see anything beneath the surface. They began walking deeper, moving slightly away from each other, waiting for her to resurface for air. Caleb would pounce on her and tan her perfect little ass when she showed her traitorous face again. They waited a long moment, but when she hadn’t popped back up, Caleb looked nervously over at Joseph. He noticed the unease in his

132

Edith DuBois

brother’s features. “How long has she been down there?” he asked Joseph. “At least a minute if not more.” “Damn it,” he said as more seconds ticked by. Joseph was getting restless, Caleb could see. He moved through the water, scanning the water’s surface, looking for Elena, but they had no idea which direction she’d swum. Caleb’s fists were balled, his silent reaction to how useless he felt. After a while, Joseph couldn’t stand it any longer, and he dove under the surface. He was beneath the water for almost a minute and then popped up about twenty feet away. “I can’t see a damn thing without light. I don’t know where she went, which direction she swam.” Caleb heard a note of panic in his brother’s voice, and he felt its echo pulsing rapidly through his own body. She had to be playing a joke on them. She was only hiding. But a small, undeniable voice spoke in the back of his mind. He’d never known anyone who could hold their breath for more than three minutes, and it was going on four. “Elena,” he said low under his breath, the worry and the panic growing stronger as he scanned the surface of the lake, hoping for the ripple of a head to break the surface. He saw nothing. Joseph had gone down for the second time and came up, looking desperate. “Fuck!” he shouted, smashing his fists into the water. “Where is she? Elena!” He roared her name. He thrashed in the water. Caleb couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. Then, with a smile on her face, Elena popped out of the water between them. “Tada!” she said. “What do you think of my trick?” Joseph released a roar that echoed across the surface of the lake and against the trees, making Elena start. Her face fell as Joseph reached her from behind. He grabbed her, whipped her around, and tossed her over his shoulder in one move.

Rugged Glimpse

133

“What the hell?” She sputtered. “What’s the matter with you? Put me down.” She continued screeching and railing against Joseph, but he was impervious. When he reached Caleb, who was about waist deep in the water, he transferred Elena to Caleb’s shoulder. “Make sure she stays still,” he ordered, and Caleb smiled. “My pleasure.” He used both hands to hold her thighs and braced his own legs firmly on the lake bottom, prepared for thrashing. “What–What are you doing?” she asked in a small voice, trying to peek around to see Joseph. As Joseph’s palm smacked loudly against her exposed ass cheek, though, she let out a blood-curdling scream, and even though he’d been prepared, her violent motions caused Caleb to stumble backwards. Joseph glared at him. “Can you just—” “I got her!” Caleb shouted when Joseph went to help steady the flailing woman. “May I go on?” Caleb nodded, and Joseph’s hand slammed against her other cheek. “You barbarians! Get your bloody hands off me,” she screeched, trying her damnedest to squirm out of Caleb’s grip. “Don’t ever!” Joseph spanked her ass. “Scare us!” Another resounding slap filled the air. “Like that!” He spanked her again and then pulled his hand back the farthest yet. Caleb frowned at him, unsure, but Joseph’s eyes were hard and determined. “Again!” As Joseph’s hand met the hot, agitated skin of her ass, Elena arched completely away from Caleb’s body, screaming. Then she collapsed against Caleb’s back, and he could feel her whole body trembling. “I hate you,” she said, her voice strangled. “How could you? How could you do this to me?” Caleb thought she sounded close to tears.

134

Edith DuBois

Joseph walked around to face Elena, and Caleb felt as his brother lifted Elena’s shoulders up so that she could look into his eyes. “I thought you had drowned, Elena.” Caleb slid his hands up her thighs, up to the point where they met, where her pussy had ground against his shoulder while Joseph punished her ass. The only reason he hadn’t stopped his brother was that throughout the whole ordeal, Elena’s cunt had grown wetter and hotter with each stroke of his brother’s hand. The scent of her arousal was deep in his lungs and burning through his blood. God, he wanted to take her again. He really was an animal. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, and as he slid her down his body, he also slid two fingers deep into her cunt. “You don’t hate us,” he said. He let her waist go, his fingers inside her body becoming his only connection to her. “Stop it.” She shoved at his hand, but Caleb kept his fingers firmly lodged inside her. She glared up at him, her chest heaving with strong emotion as she tried to defy the pleasure he stroked to life within her. It was more than pleasure, though, that was between them. And she damn well knew it. She belonged to him and to his brother just as they belonged to her. She began to sway, unable to pull her body away from his hand. She glared harder at him, desperately fighting the call of her flesh and the call of her soul to him. “Damn you,” she said. Then she crashed her body into his, crashed her lips on his. Caleb wrapped his free hand triumphantly around her waist and dragged her to shore, her juices spilling over the back of his hand and down his palm. They didn’t make it back to the blanket, and they came together with angry movements. Elena raked her fingernails over the skin of his neck when he penetrated the lips of her pussy. Joseph kneeled in front of her, and as Caleb pushed deep, Elena took Joseph’s cock in her mouth. They moved as one, their angry, greedy flesh snapping

Rugged Glimpse

135

with the fire of their heightened emotions. It took Caleb less than a dozen strokes before his cum came bursting from the tip of his cock and into Elena. Joseph followed soon after in her mouth. Their bodies shook as they all three collapsed, and Caleb moved a curled tendril away from her face. “How did you do it?” She shrugged. “I’ve always been good at holding my breath.” Her forehead creased, showing those tiny lines of emotion. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” She looked at Joseph. “Neither of you. I didn’t realize…” She looked at both of them, her forehead creased. “I didn’t know…well, this…” She shrugged and waved her hand, encompassing the three of them. “I didn’t know anything could be so powerful.” Joseph held her cheek. “How about next time you decide to share one of your hidden talents, you give us a little warning first?” Elena smiled, her lips curling in a delectable manner. “Oh all right.” Then her stomach growled loudly between them. She looked at Caleb with wide eyes full of surprise. “I think…” Her stomach growled again. “I think I’m quite hungry.” **** Elena shoved a big, juicy bite of meat into her mouth. “Whoa, slow down there, little darlin’. I don’t want to have to perform the Heimlich. That would really cut into my honey-fried pheasant time.” Elena answered through the food in her mouth. “Oh, big bear hungry.” “Don’t call me that.” “Big bear no like when food go bye-bye.” “Elena…” His voice was a low growl. “Big bear no save choking woman.” “Cut it out,” he whined when his intimidation tactics failed.

136

Edith DuBois

Caleb laughed, but Joseph answered in an injured tone. “It’s not funny. You know I would help you out if you were choking.” “Uh-oh. Big bear sensitive,” Caleb said, patting Joseph on the head. Joseph swatted at his brother. “That’s enough. No more big bear crap. I mean it.” He glared, looking back and forth between them. Elena could see mottled red spots growing larger by the second on his neck, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Aww, big bear’s feewings are hurt.” Joseph stopped in his tracks, pinning Elena with his black gaze. “Oh, you’ve done it now,” Caleb said. In a flash, Joseph grabbed her wrist and yanked the meat she held to his lips. He took a bite, ripping off a chunk of the juiciest, most succulent portion of her pheasant. “Joseph!” Shocked and appalled, she pulled her food away from his lips, but she was too slow. “You got the best bit.” She looked to Caleb for backup, but he had dissolved into silent, incapacitating laughter. Joseph chomped on the meat for a moment. When he swallowed, he grinned down at her, smacking his lips. “Big bear happy now.” Elena tried to keep up the charade of anger, but her lips trembled as a giggle fought to burst free of her throat. She pointed a finger at him. “You owe me a dance for that.” “Seems a fair bargain, little darlin’.” He licked his lips, content. They had rejoined the festivities about half an hour earlier, and the three of them walked along Main Street under the strings of golden lights, each of them chomping on goodies from the Savage Hunger booth and gulping down some home-brewed honey ale. “Bloody right. I didn’t come to a hoedown just to miss out on all of the dancing.” She tugged on their elbows, yanking them toward the dusty lot where couples were twirling each other around to a two-step number blasting from the stage. She felt so free and easy. It was probably a combination of the ale—she’d already had three pints— and the effervescent remnants of lovemaking still coursing through

Rugged Glimpse

137

her body. Whatever it was, she wanted to have fun. She wanted to celebrate. She felt so alive. “Actually,” Caleb said, surprising both Elena and Joseph when he swept her hand from Joseph’s, “I’ll take the first dance.” With that, he whisked her into the swirling mass of bodies. His strong arm circled her around the waist as they began to dance, and he held her close, leading her with confidence through the bodies, guiding her with every move he made. Elena looked up at his face in awe. “What?” he asked, studying her with a perplexed grin. “I never took you for such an expert two-stepper.” “Oh, I’m full of surprises.” He leaned his lips down toward her, and her lips tingled with anticipation. “Deputy Kinman!” A woman’s shouted greeting had Elena’s eyes snapping open with surprise. Caleb growled low in his throat. “Evening, Letty.” He tipped his head toward an approaching couple. Letty, the woman Elena assumed was responsible for interrupting their moment, had thick black curls piled atop of her head, and she wore the tightest pair of jeans Elena had ever seen stretched over a pair of legs. At first glance, Elena took her to be in her thirties, but as she and her dance partner squirmed and nudged their way through the whirling bodies, Elena realized she was probably closer to fifty. “You coming tonight?” she asked Caleb, smiling, her voice raspy and well-worn. “Maybe so. If I can convince this lovely woman to come with me, I just might.” Letty’s deep blue eyes darted to Elena. They seemed to rake across her face for a moment, but then the woman smiled again. “And who might this be? Is she the infamous girl responsible for keeping you away from my neck of the woods, Caleb Kinman?” Letty threw her hands up on her hips and glared in a saucy manner at Caleb.

138

Edith DuBois

Elena’s cheeks caught fire. A whiplash of jealousy ripped up her spine. Did Caleb have some sort of history with the woman? Elena suddenly felt very self-conscious and exposed. Her hands made fists against Caleb’s body, and she fought back a snarl as the woman stretched her hand towards Elena. “I’m Letty Fink.” “Elena Ward.” She forced her good manners to the surface and offered her hand in return. “And how do you two know each other?” Much as she tried, she couldn’t keep the snarl completely from her voice. Letty must have caught on because she laughed and then said, “Oh, honey, you’ve got nothing to worry about in that department. I’ve known Caleb since he was a snot-nosed hellion running around in diapers. His daddy used to bring him over to my place just about every Friday for his end-of-the-week beer and darts.” A wave of relief washed through her, and Elena could feel herself smiling easy again. “Oh, I see.” She shot Caleb a smirk, imagining him as a wild child on the loose, snot and mud streaking his face. “Anyway,” Letty said, “you two come on over after all the chitlins go to bed. That’s when the real fun is going to start. Reesa’s holding down the place until I get back, but we’re all expecting you and your brother and all you boys tonight.” Elena thought she caught a peculiar tone in Letty’s voice as she said all you boys. “Yes, ma’am.” Caleb laughed as Letty spun away, and Elena was about to ask him if Letty knew anything about his secret, when she saw Joseph shoving his way through the crowd. He caught sight of Letty and spoke to her. Elena watched as Letty’s glowing smile dissolved. There was a flash of fear, and then the older woman’s features set into gritty determination. “Look,” Elena said to Caleb, and he maneuvered to see what she was looking at. Letty set off through the crowd, and Joseph motioned for Caleb and Elena to meet him. When they were out of the swarm, Joseph

Rugged Glimpse

139

didn’t waste any time. He began walking away, expecting them to follow. “What’s going on?” Caleb asked. “Fucking Carter and Noah.” Caleb gripped her arm tightly. “What did they do?” “I got a call on the CB. Seems they got themselves so drunk they shifted right outside of Catdaddy’s.” “Did anyone see it happen?” They’d made it to the cruiser, which luckily had only been parked a block or two away off Main Street. “No one saw them shift, thank goodness, but some tourists walked out of the honky-tonk just afterwards. Got themselves an eyeful of bear.” Joseph started up the cruiser and blared the sirens. As they lurched forward, the windows were down, and Elena could hear gravel spitting out from beneath the tires. They headed toward Treaty Lane, but before they had gone more than five blocks, two black bears jumped out onto the street before them. Joseph slammed on the brakes, and as the cruiser slid past the bears, the one closest lifted a great paw and swiped it across the side of the vehicle. Elena screamed and jumped to the other side of the car. “Are they fucking mental?” Her heart beat madly in her chest. “Motherfuckers!” The muscles in Joseph’s arms bulged as he whipped the cruiser around. Luckily, because of the hoedown, the street was empty of any other moving vehicles. When they finally got turned around, the bears had a large head start. And they were headed straight toward the bright lights of the festival. **** Caleb held on to the dash as his brother whipped the car around. “One of us needs to shift,” he said, but Joseph didn’t answer. “We need to be able to communicate with them.” Joseph continued to focus on driving, refusing to acknowledge Caleb’s statements.

140

Edith DuBois

“Joseph, they could hurt someone. One of us needs to—” “Damn it, Caleb, I know.” Caleb clamped his mouth shut as the cruiser bumped over potholes and rickety streets. “But that means three fucking bears.” Joseph whipped the cruiser behind the stage. With the windows down, they could hear screams begin to rise up from the crowd of dancers and festival-goers. Caleb couldn’t wait for Joseph to come to grips with the fact that Savage Valley’s reputation was in tatters. Even if the Strongs didn’t hurt anyone, just that they were among civilization in their bear form would be considered dangerous enough. He left the cruiser and sprinted to a dark corner, taking off his shirt and pants. The boxer briefs would have to be forfeited. Without pausing or thinking, he let his bear loose. He felt the animal ripping through his body, bursting out from his skin and his bones, and his shoulders reverberated with the impact of his front paws slamming into the hard-packed dirt where he stood. He honed his bear-mind in on the booze-tilted thoughts of Brother Carter and Brother Noah. He felt Brother Carter’s anger, felt it pulsing through his own veins. Brother Noah only followed Brother Carter’s addle-witted scheme because of their strong brotherly bond. He could feel both of them in his bear-mind as he knew they could feel him. Caleb sent out a wave of his bear-thoughts to the brothers. He sent anger and annoyance and concern. He felt Brother Noah’s answering fear, as was right. Brother Carter grew excited at the challenge. His bear-blood flew through his hot veins, and Caleb could feel it in his own. His mighty bear-paws pulled against the earth-ground, causing the humans-he-must-not-frighten to scream and flee at the sight of his great bear body. Then his bear-mind was flooded with the image of Brother Carter attacking a post-with-tasty-food, tearing at its flimsy supports and smashing jars upon jars of life-giving-honey onto the

Rugged Glimpse

141

ground. A sense of wild glee rushed through Brother Carter, and Caleb wanted to join Brother Carter. Only his human-mind, somewhere inside him, stopped him. He needed to stop Brother Carter. He needed to get Brother Carter away from all the humans-they-must-not-frighten. He needed Brother Noah to help. He spotted the younger bear pacing nervously, issuing distraught sounds. Brother Noah knew his brother had gotten him into much more trouble than he’d bargained for. Caleb sent him some loose thoughts. He hoped that Brother Noah’s mind wasn’t too drink-muddled to understand the rough plan. Caleb began running toward Brother Carter, and Brother Noah did the same from the opposite direction. They both slammed into the big bear at the same time. Brother Carter roared in pain. Caleb could feel a dim, drunken echo of the pain. Again, he slammed his body into Brother Carter’s. He must herd the big bear away from the crowds. Brother Carter had regained his equilibrium, and Caleb felt his wild fury. Brother Carter lashed out at Caleb. He put the full weight of his bear-body into the blow. Brother Carter’s paw caught Caleb on the shoulder. He howled out in pain as sharp claws scratched deep into his flesh. Then Brother Noah tackled his bear-brother. His fur and claws flew. They tumbled and crashed into another post. Beeswax candles spilled out into the street. The harder he and Brother Noah tried to subdue Brother Carter, the angrier and wilder Brother Carter got. He snapped his jaws at Caleb, going for the muscle of a back haunch. Caleb danced out of the way just in time. They wrestled. They ripped and tore and clawed at each other. Caleb landed a hard paw against Brother Carter’s face. It made him sad, but he kept at the angry bear, driving him back and back and back. Back until the trees were all around them. The moon’s light couldn’t reach them. Brother Carter still fought. His anger flashed hot and powerful through Caleb’s blood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an approaching figure, calm and intent. As he and Brother Noah circled Brother Carter, their breathing came heavily,

142

Edith DuBois

and Caleb wished Brother Carter would run up into the great foothills for a while, get out of his fur. He knew that Brother Carter could feel his thoughts, yet he didn’t try to make his escape. He wanted to fight. Caleb knew he wouldn’t give up. He huffed, his whole bear-body shaking with it. Caleb went to lunge but then jumped back. The magic man— Bohagande—stepped between them, his old wrinkled face looking hard at Caleb then Brother Carter. Strands of his long moon-silver hair tumbled over themselves in the light nighttime breeze. The Indian closed his eyes for a moment. Caleb felt the confusion and wariness emanating from Brother Carter. He felt it from Brother Noah. They felt it from him. Bo walked toward Brother Carter. “You bring us shame,” he said. “Your anger cannot change the blood in your veins. You are who you are. This is inescapable. But you bring us shame, Brother Carter, and these reckless actions will be punished.” He placed his palm on Brother Carter’s snout. Brother Carter emitted a low groan. That sound crawled up Caleb’s spine and sent shivers through his blood. He couldn’t get away from the empty, hollow, broken sound of it. Brother Noah felt the same thing, and Caleb’s shiver doubled in strength. Then Brother Carter’s bear-mind went blank. Caleb could no longer feel him in his own bear-mind. Brother Carter sank to the ground, his body growing smaller, his fur disappearing. Then he fell forward, his human face falling against the earth-ground. Brother Noah roared, running at Bohagande. The Indian threw his hand up at Brother Noah. “Do you wish to share his fate?” His voice was mighty and so full of power it made Caleb’s muscles tremble. Brother Noah slid to a halt and released an agonized moan. His front paws dug miserably into the earth-ground. He threw his head back and forth, and Caleb felt the pain swirling through his bearmind.

Rugged Glimpse

143

“He’s not dead, and neither is his bear. But until he can prove responsible enough, he has been stripped of his power.” With that, Bohagande turned and walked away, walked deep into the dark shadow of the forest.

144

Edith DuBois

Chapter Ten “Elena, where are you?” Joseph’s worried voice buzzed through the earpiece of her cell phone. “I grabbed the wrong memory card and had to run back to my room. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.” “Okay…just hurry. Things are tense.” After the incident and the Honey Harvest Hoedown, Mayor Cash had extended the meeting time for the annual post-hoedown town meeting so that there would be enough time to discuss the animal attacks. Joseph and Caleb had been receiving calls all day from concerned citizens of Savage Valley on Sunday and then the next day up until minutes before the meeting started. When she and Caleb had returned from their morning hike that morning, they found Joseph in a heated debate with an older woman, Susan Pope. Elena soon discovered that she was the owner of Savage Hunger and had come to complain that the sheriff and deputy weren’t doing enough to protect the citizens of Savage Valley. “What about that man from California? That bear whisperer? Why don’t you call him up, see if he can come out here? At least get some advice.” Joseph’s jaw was clenched, and Elena could see a vein bulging across his forehead as he fought to keep his anger in check. “We have taken precautionary measures, but even so, we don’t believe it’s bears that are responsible for the recent spike in animal attacks around here.”

Rugged Glimpse

145

Susan Pope sputtered. “Don’t think it’s bears?” she repeated with incredulity. “Joseph Kinman, there were three bears on the loose just last night. Or did you fail to notice that little incident?” “We noticed it, Susan.” He shot Caleb a frustrated glance. “The Greenwoods have been on the lookout for all signs of any sort of predatory animal around Brown Trout Lake. If there are any bears or mountain lions or wolves around here, they would know. They have to drink water just like the deer and the elk and all the furry little animals do,” Caleb said, filling his water bottle from the large container against the wall. “Well, those Greenwoods must not be doing a very good job. They missed bear footprints, didn’t they? And speaking of mountain lions, were either of you planning on posting a bulletin any time soon about that mountain lion sighting up near the Den a month or so ago? I only noticed it online last night because I was going to report the bears.” Susan pointed at Joseph and then at Caleb. “You two are treading on thin ice. I will be stating my piece at the meeting this evening. You can count on that.” With that she turned and waddled angrily out the door. “And that was one of the pleasant encounters,” Joseph told them as they all three watched Susan climb on her bike and pedal off down Main Street, her nose poking up in the air. When Elena parked her rental car in front of Town Hall, she saw two men arguing a little ways down the sidewalk. Elena shouldn’t have thought it funny. It seemed like a heated debate, but the picture the two of them made—the short, tubby man red in the face shoving on the big, bulky tall man who looked down at his toes and mumbled his answers—struck her as amusing. After scrambling inside, Elena realized that every seat was taken, so she stood in a back corner near a window that looked out to an alley and part of Main Street. At the front of the room she could see a head of bright red hair and thought it must be Chelsea, the woman she’d met before the hoedown. Elena smiled to herself, surprisingly

146

Edith DuBois

pleased to see the woman at the meeting. She was a kindred spirit, a sister-in-arms, braving the trenches of Savage Valley men. At the thought of Savage Valley men, she noticed Caleb and Joseph at the front of the room, sitting in one of the eight forwardfacing chairs. Caleb caught her eye and smiled tightly, but Joseph was engrossed with the man speaking at the podium, the vein on his forehead bulging out. Joseph and Caleb were on one side of the podium along with two others while Mayor Cash and his brother were on the other side. Elena had never seen the man at the podium in Savage Valley before. The florescent lights of the meeting room gleamed off his blue-black hair, trimmed and coiffed to perfection, and behind thin, wire-rimmed glasses his sharp eyes scanned the room. He spoke in a smooth, low voice. As she studied the man, she listened closely to his words. “As a longtime employee of NormCorp and a regular tourist to Savage Valley, I am duly concerned about these recent animal attacks as, I’m sure, all of the good townspeople are feeling. This is not a matter to be taken lightly, and if action is not taken and taken soon, who knows what will happen. God forbid a child is attacked.” Elena’s blood boiled. Now she understood why Joseph looked so furious. They weren’t animal attacks. Elena knew that because Joseph and Caleb knew that, but they couldn’t explain that to everyone without exposing part of their secret. It wasn’t animals attacking Savage Valley. It was humans. Elena wanted to scream and hurl sharp objects at the idiot. The Greenwoods had taken blood samples from her elk. The results showed that the animals had been lethally injected. Joseph, Caleb, and the Greenwoods had decided that whoever was responsible must be pretty well-off to afford at least two doses of lethal injection. Elena had heard the name “NormCorp” pop up more than once over the last couple weeks.

Rugged Glimpse

147

And on top of the mayhem of the hoedown, later that night, the same night as the “bear sighting,” someone had started a fire at the Woodland Den. If Elena remembered correctly, Joseph and Caleb had mentioned something about Chelsea being caught in the fire. Elena hoped she was okay and made a mental note to say hello after the meeting. Returning her attention back to the man at the podium, a Mr. Fischer apparently, it seemed a little too convenient that this man, a high-ranking employee of NormCorp Elena discovered, was lobbying for a zoning change that would allow his employer to buy up land and start a huge tourist resort right where the Woodland Den now stood. In order to cool her ire, she looked out the window, hoping that the craggy mountain peaks at the edge of town would serve as a serene image to counteract the violence that swam through her mind’s eye. If he was involved in the animal attacks, Elena thought she might shift into a bear and personally rip him to shreds. As she peered out the window and breathed deep, steadying breaths, she noticed the two men from earlier, the ones that had been arguing. They were walking on the sidewalk that ran along Main Street, but they were both walking quickly and looking around as if they didn’t want to be spotted. “Keep in mind, Mr. Fischer, that until we have concrete evidence, we can’t rule out any possibilities.” Joseph spoke through clenched teeth. Mr. Fischer tilted his head to the side, looking appropriately confused, his lips slightly pursed. “I’m sorry. Could you clarify that last statement?” “What Sheriff Kinman means…” Caleb jumped in before Joseph could spew something he might regret. “Is that we can’t rule out the possibility that…” Caleb hesitated, glancing around the room to gauge people’s reactions. “That humans are responsible for these attacks.” An aggravated murmur spread throughout the room, but Mr. Fischer merely smiled.

148

Edith DuBois

“That is a rather weighted thing to say, don’t you think, Deputy Kinman?” “Well, considering you’re here to bolster up support for NormCorp’s efforts towards building an obscenely large ‘resort lodge’ where the Woodland Den now stands. And considering those two goons that work for NormCorp were spotted messing around there when the fire started, I wouldn’t say it’s too far fetched. No, not at all.” Elena could see Caleb’s face visibly blanching as Joseph spoke. Mayor Cash didn’t look too keen on Joseph’s outburst, either. Again, Mr. Fischer merely smiled. “I don’t suppose this has anything to do with the fact that the Savage Valley slogan is no longer relevant? ‘No animal attacks since 2011!’ Doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?” While Elena kept her ears focused on the debate onstage, she couldn’t help but wonder what those two men outside were up to. When they ducked behind a parked car as another car drove by, Elena knew she had to find out. She slipped along the wall. She gave Caleb a wave, indicating she’d be right back and then slipped out the door. She walked down the hallway to the main entrance of Town Hall. Cracking the door open, she peeked out, making sure neither of the men were nearby. She didn’t think they’d appreciate her following them around with a camera. Hiding behind one of the cars parked on the street in front of the building, she watched them walk by and then walk to their tiny black Volkswagen convertible parked half a block down the street on the other side of the road. Elena pointed her camera and took a few shots. She didn’t know why, but with the way they moved so quickly and so nervously, Elena had a gut feeling that she needed to find out what they were up to and document it. They popped open the trunk of their car. She was too far to make out what was said, but the short one pointed inside the trunk, bossing the tall one to take something out.

Rugged Glimpse

149

The tall one looked hesitant. He shook his head and refused to pull the object out. Even from her distance, Elena could see the little man’s face turning beet red. He began gesticulating wildly, poking the big man in the chest and then motioning in angry, jerking motions at the object in the trunk. Finally, his bullying seemed to work, and the big man leaned down, going out of Elena’s sight for a moment as he picked up something out of the trunk. When he straightened up again, he held a black plastic bag against his chest. It had something stiff and awkwardly shaped inside, and he turned his face as far away from it as possible. The little man had pulled out a red handkerchief and held it up to his face while also shooing the man away. A cold sweat broke out on the back of Elena’s neck. “Oh God,” she whispered quietly to herself. “Please don’t let that be what I think it is.” She continued to take photos of their goings-on, but she felt a hot ball of emotion at the back of her throat. If that was what she thought it was—a dead animal—Elena wasn’t sure she could contain her fury toward those two men. If they were the ones responsible for staging all the animal attacks, if they were responsible for the deaths of the mama and the baby elk, Elena didn’t know if she could trust herself to be reasonable. She wanted to rip them to shreds. She wanted to break their legs, break their arms, break every single finger and every single toe. She wanted to make them suffer. Her hands trembled as she hunched over and walked further down the street, following the pair. They hustled across the street towards the side she was on, and Elena had to scurry around the car she hid behind to make sure that she stayed out of their line of sight. She noticed that they both had on a pair of leather work gloves. They stopped in front of Savage Hunger, and the big man dropped his cargo on the ground. Elena was close enough now to make out what they were saying.

150

Edith DuBois

“Don’t just stand there,” the short man said, putting his hands on his hips. “Open it up.” The big man knelt down, but before he opened the bag, he looked back up at the little man, hesitant. “Go on. It’s dead. It’s not going to jump out and bite you, for Christ’s sake.” Elena didn’t let herself think about his words. She had to get through this. She had to take photos. She had to make sure that people knew about this. Her photographer’s instincts took over. The big man put his arms inside the bag and gripped its contents. The little man put his toes delicately on the edge of the bag to keep it in place. Then the big man lifted. Elena couldn’t fight back a gasp when she saw what he held—the torso of a dead deer, bloody and mutilated, exposed bones and muscle glistening in the late afternoon sunlight. Elena forced her fingers to work, to push the button, to document, to create evidence, but in the back of her mind, she could feel the wild storm of her fury. After they finished placing the carcass, they headed back down the street. The little man said, “Now, we’ve got to take that other one over to the Woodland Den. That one’s going to be trickier because there are probably a few tourists hanging around. We’ll have to sneak around the back.” Elena began hustling back toward Town Hall. She had to tell Joseph and Caleb. She was so intent on making it quickly back to her men that she tripped. Since she was hunched over, she didn’t have enough time to catch her balance before falling onto the cement, scraping her knees and the palms of her hands. A low grunt escaped, and her camera clacked noisily against the sidewalk. “Wait, wait,” she heard the little man’s squeaky voice say. Looking under a nearby car, she saw his feet moving toward her. She knew they would discover her if she stayed on the sidewalk, so she decided to make a break for it. She hid her camera behind the front tire of the car she was lying next to and then hopped to her feet, breaking out in a dead sprint.

Rugged Glimpse

151

“Get her!” she heard Squeaky yell to his bulky companion. She tucked her head down and cursed as she sprinted back toward Town Hall, not realizing how far she had come down the street. She heard clunky footsteps behind her, but they gained a great deal of ground in seconds. A moment later, she felt a tug on the back of her shirt, and the big, muscled guy had her in his grip. Elena thrashed, trying to connect with some part of him, but his reach was too far, and she swatted at thin air. “Let me go! Let me go, you bloody bastards.” Squeaky came into her view. He eyed her up and down, his paunch poking out. “Hmm.” He put his hands together behind his back. “What to do? What to do?” Elena thought he was within kicking range, so she put her weight on the big guy and kicked her feet at him. “Whoa!” He squeaked, jumping back. He glared at Elena through beady little eyes. “Throw her in the trunk with the rest of the dead meat. Bitch.” He spat at her, but the big guy had already begun to move, and the spit hit her giant captor instead. He groaned behind her, and the little man rolled his eyes and walked off. When they got to the car, the trunk popped open, and the worst smell Elena had ever sucked up her nostrils met her nose. She gagged several times and then began struggling wildly. She could not get in the trunk. She could not survive a trip in the trunk with whatever dead thing was in there. “Here, Wally, tie her wrists up with this.” Wally caught the thin rope that the tubby man tossed at him. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, she slammed her boot heel on his toe. He grunted in pain but didn’t let go. She had to get someone’s attention. Surely, she could yell loud enough for somebody in Town Hall to hear. She opened her mouth, filled her lungs, and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Before she had even gone two seconds, Squeaky smashed the back of his hand across her face. “You are one pesky

152

Edith DuBois

cunt.” Elena’s jaw hung open, and for a minute, she only experienced shock. But then the pain exploded along her jaw and into her cheek and neck. She fought back stinging tears. Squeaky studied her for a moment. “Damn it, do you have her wrists tied, Wally, or what?” he suddenly burst out. “Mmhmm,” came a low rumble from behind her. “Throw her in and let’s go.” Without preamble, Wally scooped her up and then dumped her unceremoniously into the trunk. She screamed, feeling something large and sharp poking into her back. She tried to scoot away, but there wasn’t enough room. It was on her. It was all over her. The smell burned her. And then the trunk slammed closed.

Rugged Glimpse

153

Chapter Eleven Caleb kept checking the back door to the meeting room. Then he would check his watch. Elena had been gone for almost seven minutes. He thought maybe she needed the restroom or something, but uneasy feelings began to move up his spine. He couldn’t focus on what that worm, Fischer, was saying at the podium because his mind kept circling back to Elena. He looked over at Joseph and noticed that Joseph also looked fidgety. Something didn’t feel right. When they met eyes, Caleb knew. He didn’t hesitate. He simply rose out of his seat and walked straight down the aisle of townspeople and out the back door of the meeting room without offering any word of explanation. To doublecheck, he cracked open the door to the women’s restroom and called Elena’s name. When she didn’t answer, he headed for the exit. The low afternoon sunlight bathed Main Street in a bright orangered glow, but Caleb didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He sniffed the air, searching for the hint of anything unusual. There was something. He took another sniff, deeper, letting it fill his chest completely. It smelled rotten. He followed the scent, walking down Main Street in the direction where the smell continued to grow stronger and stronger. It got to be so strong that he almost couldn’t breathe. The he saw it, the lump of dead flesh right outside of Savage Hunger. “Damn it.” He stopped walking. “Damn it! Damn it!” A breeze rustled against his face, and a sickening roll of the horrible scent

154

Edith DuBois

washed up his nose. His initial response was to stop breathing and keep the smell out, but he caught another scent hiding beneath the reek of dead flesh. He breathed in, trying to ignore the stench as much as possible and get a stronger grasp on that second scent. It was her! He breathed deep again and again. He caught her trail. He followed it, zigzagging to make sure he was on the right path. It led to a spot next to a car parked on Main Street. Caleb knelt down because her scent was particularly strong there. He looked along the ground, looking for any clues as to why she would have come to this particular spot. The he saw something familiar—Elena’s strap to her camera—poking out from behind the right front tire. He reached down and grabbed, pulling out the camera to go with the strap. Caleb knew that Elena wouldn’t have left her camera in such an obscure place unless it was absolutely necessary. He turned it on and began searching through the most recent pictures. “Oh shit,” he whispered under his breath as images of those two goons working for NormCorp who’d also been responsible for starting the fire at the Den flashed across the screen, hauling the partial carcass of a deer in front of Savage Hunger. Without waiting another second, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket—the bear cell phone, the one the bear-shifters only used in case of an emergency—to call his brother. Then he would call the Greenwoods and the Ashleys and the Carsons and Noah Strong. He needed all of them. **** The trunk door popped open, and Elena retched. She barely got her head over the edge before the bile rose up. They’d already dropped off the carcass at the Woodland Den, and after leaving there, they’d been driving for about ten minutes. Elena had no idea where they’d taken her, but as she got a firmer grasp on

Rugged Glimpse

155

her bearings, she realized they were on the far side of Brown Trout Lake. Near the shore, dark tree stumps stuck ominously up out of the water, black and jagged against the bright blue horizon. “Wally, do I have to tell you everything? Go get the boat ready.” Wally trudged to the little dock that Elena had admired on so many of her walks with Caleb. He undid the rope and dragged the boat along the water’s edge until he stood in front of the tubby bully and Elena. “Now come get the girl,” the little man demanded. Wally dropped the rope and came to fetch Elena out of the trunk. He grabbed her around the arms and yanked her out, and Elena couldn’t help but suck in deep breaths of air. Its freshness made her gasp in shock. “Damn it, Wally, the boat! You let it go!” The tubby man waddleran after it and splashed into the water, grabbing the end of the rope to pull the boat back to shore. Wally looked horror-stricken as the tubby man dripped on the shore. “Just load her in. Don’t say anything. Just load her.” Wally obeyed, forcing Elena into the boat. When they were all three in the boat, Elena’s mind was rushing so fast, looking for an option, for any way to get her out of her predicament. She thought they probably intended to dump her over the side. She had to get out of her binds. If she could just get out of her binds, if she could just swim, if she could just create a little distance… The sound of the oars cutting through the water distracted Elena. It was like the sound of a clanging bell tower, each stroke a portent of her onrushing fate. Her breaths came in short, panicked gasps. The short little man sat with his eyes closed, his face held up to the waning sun. “You know what I love about nature? You’re just so alone.” His voice was quiet, reverent almost. “You know what I mean?” He smiled at her as Wally rowed. “Hello!” He bellowed the word, filling his chest with air and letting it loose with one explosive note. Then he laughed gleefully. “See what I mean? All right,” he said, coming down from his laughter. “I think this is good, Wally, don’t you?”

156

Edith DuBois

“Joseph and Caleb will find out. I took pictures of you. They’ll find my camera. And they’ll hunt you down. And they’ll find you. And you will run like the scared little rabbits you are. But they’ll find you and rip you to shreds.” The tubby man stared at her for a long moment, assessing her words, then he said, “Ciao,” and pushed her over the edge of the boat. Elena sucked in a deep breath as her back hit the water. A second later the water covered her whole body, and she sunk down beneath the surface. She’d been forming a plan, but she was still shocked enough from her fall that it took her a long moment to react. And in that moment she sank further from the surface, from the light of the sun, and from oxygen. Her brain snapped to action. The water freed her motions somewhat, and she was able to move her bound hands underneath her legs up to the front. Whatever she did, she had to stay oriented. If she managed to get free but lost a feel for which way was up, she could accidentally swim in the wrong direction. As she sank, the water’s pressure on her body grew, pushing painfully down on her. She kicked her legs, fighting to at least stay level. Once her hands were in front of her body, she reached in her pocket and pulled out the pocket knife that Joseph had given her. Whatever she did, she couldn’t drop the knife. Very carefully, she used her hands and her sense of touch to open the knife while continuing to kick her legs furiously. No matter how hard she kicked, though, she still sank even if it wasn’t as quickly as she had at first. She felt the blade click open, and she maneuvered it so that she could saw. Her lungs were starting to burn, but she made herself ignore it. She’d done this many times. She’d practiced holding her breath since she was a young girl, and she knew that if she thought about it, thought about how much she needed to fill her lungs with sweet, life-sustaining oxygen, she would be done for. She just had to cut.

Rugged Glimpse

157

Focusing on her task, she sawed. And she kicked and kicked. And she sawed. A few large bubbles escaped from her mouth. Water slid against her face as she continued to move further beneath the surface. It was getting harder to ignore her need for air. But she kept sawing. The rope twitched, some of its fibers coming loose. She sawed harder, but a few more bubbles flew out of her mouth. She grimaced and sawed and kicked. And then the rope broke free. When it did, the knife fell out of her grip, but her hands were free. She began swimming. There was no light. She had floated that far below the surface, and she hoped, she prayed, she pleaded that she was swimming in the right direction. Her muscles didn’t have enough oxygen, and every kick and every stroke of her arms felt like the hardest work she’d ever attempted. But she fought anyway. Just a few more strokes, she told herself. Just a few more and light would appear. Just a few more. There was no light. But she kept swimming. She couldn’t stop. And then a sort of vast grayness filled her vision. She couldn’t think. She didn’t know anything. The only thing she knew was the sensation of water moving past her body as she moved…somewhere… The grayness grew brighter. It grew so bright it hurt her eyes. And then everything was sharp. Something painful and yet stunningly beautiful exploded through her body. She gasped and she choked and she breathed in sweet oxygen. Completely engrossed in the feeling of being alive for a moment, she floated on her back, smiling and breathing. Then she suddenly remembered her circumstances, and everything came back to her. She righted herself and scanned the surface of the lake. About a hundred

158

Edith DuBois

meters away, she spotted the two men. They were about to reach the shore, and luckily, they weren’t watching for her to resurface. She dipped under the surface and swam a few feet to a nearby log, using it to hide behind and also hang onto to give her worn-out body a small break. When she saw them retie the boat to the dock and then get back in their car to drive away, she swam to the nearby shore. As soon as she was on dry land, she began sprinting. She had to make it to the Wildlife Preservation Center. If she could call Caleb and Joseph or find any of the Greenwoods’ numbers. Anything. She had to alert one of the bears. She was hoping that the little tubby man and his partner wouldn’t be able to resist going back into town to look for her camera after she’d told them it was there. She tucked her head down and ran. She knew the wildlife center was about a half a mile away. She had to run. Just fast enough to warn somebody. Anybody. **** Joseph felt powerful. His great paws slammed into the earthground, and the earth-ground shook with his might. If tawny-headed-Elena was hurt in any way, if a single tawny-doehair was out of place on her body, Joseph would rip those stupidones-who-work-for-the-bad-one to a million pieces. His teeth would tear their flesh from their bodies, and his great, powerful jaw would crunch their bones. And he would enjoy it. Brother Caleb ran nearby, about fifty yards to Joseph’s right, and both of them kept their noses attuned for hints of tawny-headedElena’s scent. A moment later, he heard a tiny biz-buzzing noise. He recognized it. It was the sound of a fast-driving-machine. He and Brother Caleb veered away from the hard-path-of-men to stay out of sight, but when the fast-driving-machine came into Joseph’s eyesight, he released a monstrous, teeth-shaking roar.

Rugged Glimpse

159

Then he and Brother Caleb exchanged images in their mind-vision and charged the fast-driving-machine. It was the dark she-lookingdriving-machine of the stupid-ones-who-work-for-the-bad-one. Joseph rose up on his back legs, letting a bone-trembling roar fill the air. He wanted the stupid-ones to feel his anger in their deep bones. He swiped his claw as they drove past, aiming for the circle of air-filled-rubber as Brother Caleb did the same on the other side. Instead, his strong claws met the side of the she-looking-drivingmachine. It squealed in pain at his destruction, and the terror-filled screams of its inhabitants filled his ears and filled his bear-heart with joy. But they got by, and they sped away on the hard-path-of-men. Then Brother Jeremiah reached out to him with an image of tawny-headed-Elena in his bear-mind. He knew Brother Caleb saw the same. She looked exhausted and wrecked, but she was alive. He and Brother Caleb began running toward the home-of-orphanedanimals where the brothers Greenwood lived. That was where their tawny-headed-Elena waited for them, and with her was where their bear-hearts belonged.

160

Edith DuBois

Epilogue “Elena, come on,” Joseph called from the bedroom through the bathroom door. “We live in a family of bears. Food doesn’t last long around us.” “Coming!” Turning to the side and looking at herself one last time, she couldn’t believe that a little creature was growing in her stomach. She ran her palm over her stomach’s smooth surface and looked at the little white stick in her hand that said she was having a baby. It was the fifth one that had told her this. So much happiness filled her that her hands trembled as she tucked a few stray strands of hair behind an ear. She’d taken the first test the night before. After it came back positive, she immediately went to her computer and emailed her cousin, Nick Michaels. He’d sent her an email a week or so before to inform her that her Savage Valley portfolio was being sent through to a writer who would visit the town in about a month to write a companion article about the animal killings. The mama and her baby would leave some small legacy behind, at least, and the thought brought Elena great comfort. However, she’d written her cousin that she currently could not take on any more projects, and it suddenly became official. She was staying in Savage Valley. She’d agreed to write a weekly column for the Savage Herald focusing on a different part of the town and surrounding wilderness, and she would also be opening a portrait studio. She had ideas about outdoor portraits in the forest and in the mountains. There had even

Rugged Glimpse

161

been talk of revamping the Savage Valley website with all new photos. A few minutes later, the three of them drove to the east side of town, out to Treaty Lane, and then took a right, driving past the Savage Valley Veterinarian Center and the hospital. Elena took in the thickening forest and the feel of Caleb’s hand in one of hers and Joseph’s in the other. She was squeezed in beside Caleb on the passenger side of the cruiser. His free hand snuck to the bare flesh of her thighs as she had opted for a pair of cut-off blue jean shorts. “Caleb…” she moaned when his hand snuck farther and farther up her leg. When his fingertips brushed the already tingling flesh of her pussy, she clenched her legs together, not to keep him out but to trap him, like a spider would her unsuspecting prey. “Looks like our little darlin’ wants to play,” Joseph said, noticing her action and the way she moved her pelvis against Caleb’s roving hand. “How far are we from the Ashleys’?” “About five minutes. Why?” “Is that a dirt road I see up there?” Joseph raised his eyebrows. “Yes, ma’am, it is.” Caleb grasped her cunt and ground the heel of his palm into her clit, the roughness of her denim shorts agitating her nerve endings with pleasure. “Did you want us to pull over?” he asked as he moved his lips across the skin of her neck. “Indeed, I would.” Suddenly she was thrown off-balance as Joseph whipped the car off Treaty Lane and onto the small dirt road she’d pointed out. “Oh, goody.” She reached into her purse, pulling out the lube she had brought along just in case. “Look what I have,” she said, dangling the lube in front of them and waving it back and forth suggestively. Without warning, Caleb grabbed her hips and positioned her on her stomach over his lap so that her face was in Joseph’s lap.

162

Edith DuBois

“Dear me, what have we here?” She smiled down at Joseph’s bulge and couldn’t keep herself from grabbing at his zipper. “Oh, God, Elena,” he groaned from above her. “Just make sure you don’t run into a tree.” Soon, she had his erection free, and she trailed a line of hot kisses from his thick base to the tip. As she moved her lips to cover the tip and massage her tongue around its dome shape, Caleb began unbuttoning her tiny shorts. He pulled them over her ass and down to her knees until she could feel air against her flesh. “I love this ass.” He placed his hand beneath one of her cheeks and then lifted, supporting its weight and sending a wave of anticipation deep into her gut. His thumb slipped in between her cheeks, moving along the crease and tickling against her puckered hole. She clenched in response, her ass needing more than a fleeting caress. “Don’t worry,” Caleb whispered. “We’ll have you nice and full before too long.” Elena moaned against Joseph’s cock and let it slide all the way to the back of her throat. She alternated between a gentle and then a hard suck and then a gentle and then a hard. Her hand snuck up to capture his balls. She massaged and she rolled, using her thumb to wriggle against that particularly sensitive spot near the back. When she did so, Joseph arched off his seat, pushing his dick even farther inside her mouth. Elena rolled her tongue against his vein-ridged length and sucked hard and fast, wanting the taste of his hot seed to slide down her throat. For a moment she lost her concentration as Caleb pushed three fingers deep into her pussy. Without waiting, without hesitating, he curved his fingers slightly inward and began using them to fuck her cunt. She panted hard against Joseph’s cock but then resumed sucking, the mounting pressure of pleasure in her pussy urging her to manifest the same sensations upon Joseph.

Rugged Glimpse

163

After a few more moments, Joseph slammed on the brakes, forcing Elena to grip his thighs to keep her mouth attached to his cock. He was almost there. She knew it. She could feel his balls tightening in the palm of her hand. His fingers wrapped in her loose locks and held on tightly as he pumped into her throat. With one final arch, his manly liquid spurted into her mouth, and she drank it, and she enjoyed it. When she rose off his cock, Caleb already had the car door open, and he hauled her out. She stumbled with him to the back of the car. She had no idea where they were, only that there were a lot of trees and a creek nearby. She didn’t have much time to take stock of her surroundings because she was too busy pulling her little shorts all the way off. Always planning ahead, she hadn’t worn panties. “Mmm,” Caleb hummed, his eyes appreciative. “I love the sight of this bare pussy glistening in the sunlight. It’s truly magnificent.” With those words he grabbed her by the hips and shoved her ass against the trunk of the car. His mouth covered hers in a hot kiss, his tongue flicking and jabbing against hers almost angrily. She could tell he was feeling feisty, so she gave his bottom lip a little nip. As expected, Caleb growled. Then he pulled away so that he could turn her around. Shoving her pelvis against the trunk, he placed a hand between her shoulder blades and forced her torso to lie flat across the car. She could hear him unzipping and pulling his cock free, but she was too impatient. She needed something, some stimulation, so she moved her fingers to her clit, stroking and rubbing and prodding, sending pangs of heated pleasure blasting through her pussy. “Damn, Elena,” Caleb said, grabbing both of her wrists and placing them on the car, trapping them below his hands and not letting them free. “I’ll take care of you.” He dragged his hands along her arms and then down her back. She felt his cock at the entrance to her pussy for only a moment, but then he shoved himself deep inside of

164

Edith DuBois

her. His hands moved to her hips, and he held her tight as he pushed into her cunt so many times. He was aggressive. He was brusque. He left her no leeway. He took all. And she wanted more. She could feel their mingled sweat. She could feel the hard muscles of his stomach and his thighs against her body. His thrusts were so powerful that her feet came off the ground. He reached his hand around and stroked her clit, rubbing hard against it as his cock drove into her. Her fevered sex noises rang through the still forest air, and Caleb covered her mouth with his hand. “We’re not that far from the party,” he said, his voiced strained with his own mounting pressure. She bit him, and he snatched his hand away. “I don’t give a fuck,” she said. “Everyone should know that I’m yours.” Caleb growled behind her and thrust harder into her, his strong fingers biting against her flesh, making Elena cry out in wild abandon. Her orgasm came tearing through her nerves. Her arms and her legs trembled with the power of it, but Caleb held her up, pumping into her until he too orgasmed, his seed shooting deep into her womb. Elena melted against the vehicle, resting her cheek against its hard surface and closing her eyes to let her mind swim freely in bodily pleasure. “Good thing we gave the ol’ cruiser a rub down.” Joseph’s voice came from beside her, teasing. Elena cracked open an eyelid, shooting Joseph a half-raised brow. As Caleb pulled away, her knees buckled. “Whoa.” Caleb caught her underarms, laughing. “Steady, love.” He scooped her all the way up in his arms then and smiled down at her. She put a hand to his angular face and gazed into his black eyes. She loved him so. She loved Joseph. It consumed her. It filled her up. It was her.

Rugged Glimpse

165

Joseph walked ahead of them to the front of the car. Laid out in front of it was a woven blanket. A few feet away from the blanket, a creek gurgled swiftly by, reflecting the sun like tiny shards of dancing diamonds. Caleb handed her over to Joseph, and she squirmed. “I’m a grown woman. I can stand up, you two.” “Hush, little darlin’,” Joseph said, placing a warm but silencing kiss against her pliant lips. “We know you can, but we want to hold you. We want to support you and protect you and keep you as close as possible. Let us.” She ran her index finger down the straight bridge of his nose and looked deep into his black eyes. “Okay.” He smiled and kissed her again but with a little more aggression. Then he knelt down, still holding her, and laid her on the blanket. Its rough woven pattern scratched gently against the bare skin of her ass. Caleb finished undressing and joined them on the blanket, stretching out next to her while Joseph continued to kneel beside her. Joseph ran a hand reverently across her stomach. “Plus, now that your belly holds our child, we’ve got to take extra care of you.” Elena’s eyes widened. “How did you—” Joseph chuckled. “We know your body, Elena.” Caleb reached across her chest and cupped one of her full, extrasensitive breasts, rolling his thumb languorously across its nipple. “It’s heavier,” he said. “And your nipples are a hint darker. And if I’m not mistaken…” He bent his face to her other breast to nibble on its hardened peak, and Elena couldn’t suppress her wince. “Just a little more sensitive than usual.” “And I’ve seen you,” Joseph said, “in small moments when you think neither of us is looking, with your hand on your belly and the sweetest smile on your face.” Elena felt hot tears stinging her eyes, and she grimaced, staring up at the treetops, fighting them back. “I love you both,” she said, finally looking back at them, into their beautiful black eyes, her voice

166

Edith DuBois

wobbly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Caleb grabbed her and pulled until she straddled his chest. He splayed his hands across her still-flat belly. “Oh, my beautiful Elena,” he said. “Let us show you how much we love you.” He grabbed her hips and pushed up until she was forced to rest her palms on the ground. Then he pushed his tongue between the lips of her pussy, rolling it from bottom to top. He swirled his tongue all along her seam, flicking and dipping into her depths as he passed by. She felt Joseph’s hands kneading her ass, pushing his fingertips hard into the soft flesh of her globes. Then his thumbs ventured further, moving into her crevice. He massaged along the rim of her asshole, causing her to buck against Caleb’s face as the pleasure rippled up her spine. For a moment his hands left her, but Caleb sucked hungrily on her clit, effectively distracting her from the sudden loss. “Oh, Caleb…it’s so…it feels so…” Words failed her as wave after wave of pleasure grew inside her, building up into a maelstrom of disjointed thoughts and feelings and sensations. She felt something cold and moist dripping down between the cheeks of her ass. Then Joseph’s warm hands began spreading the lube, rubbing it in, making sure to get her hole nice and slick. She heard him squirt out some more lube to rub along the length of his cock, and then she felt his tip against her back hole. He grasped her cheeks and spread them wide. Then he began easing himself into her ass ever so slowly. On her pussy and her clit Caleb continued his maddening play. Joseph pushed and pushed, moving himself ever further inside her ass. Then he was all the way in. A small shudder raced through Elena when he began moving. He pulled out, and he pushed back in. Elena swayed her hips between them, craving Caleb’s roving tongue, needing Joseph’s thrusting cock. Her fingers made claws, and she held on to the grass. She needed an anchor to something, fearing

Rugged Glimpse

167

she would float away from the earth, completely untethered, expanding into hundreds of wayward pieces, a thousand broken particles, millions of tiny atoms. “It’s…this is…oh my…” She clenched her eyes tight, but when Caleb plunged two thick fingers into her cunt and began fingerfucking her as well, she couldn’t take anymore. Her back arched, and she howled out her passion, feeling absolutely wild, letting herself abandon all vestiges of rational thought. A moment or so later, while Elena was still flying high on her orgasm, Joseph groaned loudly behind her, and then she felt his hot cum gushing inside her. Caleb held her steady, and she reveled in the love of her two men. When Joseph pulled out of her and they all three crumpled into a heap, only then did she realize how hot she was. The drought was still ravaging Savage Valley, and her body was covered in sweat. Her ears pricked at the sound of gurgling water from the creek, and without saying anything, she clambered up and began making her way nimbly to the water across the uneven, needle-laden ground. “Caleb,” Joseph groaned. “Why does her ass have to jiggle so temptingly when she walks like that?” Elena felt her face flame up, but she kept going, only wanting the coolness of the water on her hot skin. She didn’t wait, didn’t test the water. She stepped down into its welcoming coolness. After a moment, she turned back to her two sexy men. They were still stretched out on the blanket, just watching, so she put her hands on her hips and glared at them. “Come on, you two. You can’t show up to the barbecue without cleaning up a little.” “Joseph,” Caleb groaned, matching his brother’s tone from a moment before. “Why does her pussy have to glisten so temptingly in the sunlight?” Joseph groaned dramatically, and Caleb followed suit. They groaned and rolled onto their backs, throwing their hands against their foreheads in mock woe. Elena rolled her eyes, realizing she needed to

168

Edith DuBois

be a little more assertive if she wanted some food anytime soon. With quick, practiced motions, she twisted her hair up into a pile on her head and fastened it with an elastic hair tie she had on her wrist. Then she kneeled, closing her eyes for a moment in bliss as the gently rushing water fondled her still-hot cunt. “Oh, fellas,” she called, cupping her hands and letting the water gather in her palms. They looked over at her suggestive tone. She stood up, tipped her head back, and poured the water over her chest, making it run over and between her breasts. When she looked at her men again, they were both frozen, mesmerized. “Does anyone want to come rinse my back?” **** About half an hour later, they finally arrived at the Ashleys’ place. Elena stared in open-mouthed awe. None of the other houses in Savage Valley could compare. Its dark wooden panels were offset with an unevenly stacked gray stone chimney on one end and a great wall of glass all along one side. The house fit snugly in with the land. It looked like it had grown from the earth just as the trees around it had. Its flat top gave it a modern look, while the earthy hues and the embrace of the forest around it lent an almost mythological quality to the structure. Elena had never seen anything like it. As she gaped at the house, pointing out aspects that delighted her in particular, they made their way over to the food and to the people gathered around the food. Luckily they hadn’t missed out, and there was plenty left to plunder. They stacked their plates high with slowcooked brisket, sweet creamed corn, barbecued green beans wrapped in bacon, honey cornbread, potato salad, and baked beans. “You must be Elena?” A tall man with chestnut brown hair and black eyes like her Kinman men broke off from the picnicking guests along the shore of the creek.

Rugged Glimpse

169

“Hello.” Elena balanced her plate on one hand and extended the other towards him. “You must be one of the Ashleys.” “Yes, ma’am. Thomas Ashley. Welcome to our home.” His grip was warm and firm, like his smile. “Your home…it’s amazing, the loveliest I’ve ever seen.” “Thank you. We’re very proud of it. Actually, our grandfather had it commissioned in 1953—” “Hold it,” Joseph cut in. “Elena, please, don’t get him started. Thomas’ll talk your ear off about that house. Let’s go find a spot and dig into this grub.” “Maybe I want to know more about that house.” She stuck her tongue out at Joseph. “Anyway,” Thomas said, laughing, but then his eyes turned somber. “I know what happened to you out at Brown Trout Lake, and on behalf of myself and my brothers, I want to let you know that we are all very happy that you are all right.” He lowered his voice and leaned slightly in. “Every bear-shifter will be on the lookout for those nasty cowards. Don’t you worry. If they show a hide or a hair in our town, they will become bear breakfast faster than you can say honeyfried pheasant.” “Thanks,” Elena said warmly, feeling suddenly emotional. “Excuse me.” A small voice sounded from behind, and Elena noticed the oddest look cross Thomas’s features before she turned to see who had spoken. A woman, taller than herself, with dark brown, almost black, hair pulled into a ponytail approached them tentatively. “Is this the Ashley residence?” She glanced at the magnificent structure tucked into the landscape with skepticism. “I think my sister and I may have gotten lost.” “Well, if it’s the Ashley residence you’re looking for, then I am happy to inform you that you have been met with success. This is, indeed, the Ashley residence. Thomas Ashley, at your service.” He held out his hand to the woman.

170

Edith DuBois

“Michelle Andrews,” she said shyly, holding her hand to him, but glancing nervously around at all the people. “Oh.” Thomas snapped his fingers. “You’re with Agnes Bird! You’re her niece. Yes, she told me you were in town. Is your sister here, too? Is she going to play for us?” Elena saw sadness cross Michelle’s features, but she couldn’t figure out what Thomas said that could have caused her features to fall so suddenly. Then, behind Michelle, she saw another woman approaching them. Or tearing a dust-raising path toward them was more like it. She wore the shortest pair of cut-off shorts, a button-up dark blue plaid shirt studded with little jewels that glittered in the sunlight, and a pair of well-worn white cowboy boots. She stopped in her tracks, smashed one hand onto her hip, and jutted her hip out in annoyance. “Michelle,” she barked at the woman in front of Elena, flicking a long, dark braid over her shoulder. “What the hell are you doing? I can’t carry all this crap by myself. Get over here.” Michelle hesitated for a moment. “I’d better go help her. Umm…where do you want us to…?” “Now, Michelle,” the bossy woman called out but then caught sight of the three attractive men at hand. “Oh, hello,” she suddenly purred. “Say, could one of you strapping fellas come give me a hand with all this gear?” Elena suppressed a giggle when Caleb and Joseph’s eyebrows both shot up at the same time. “Here let me take that for you. I’ll find us a nice shady spot,” Caleb said, snatching her plate from her hand. “Umm…” Joseph said, looking around. “Tea!” He turned on his heel and quickly headed back toward the food. Elena rolled her eyes. “It was nice to meet you, Dr. Ashley.” “Please call me Thomas.” “I will. Thank you, and I’ll see you both around.” She offered a warm smile to the timid Michelle. The woman nodded but then scurried off to her sassy sister who kept casting coy glances at

Rugged Glimpse

171

Thomas over her shoulder. Despite the woman’s blatant flirtation, Elena could have sworn that something had sparked in Thomas the moment he’d laid eyes on Michelle. With a mental shrug, she headed toward Caleb, who had found an empty picnic table for them. Elena sat down on the old wood, placing a kiss on Caleb’s cheek as she did so. His cheek was all she could get to as he had already tucked in to his food. “Couldn’t even wait for your brother,” she said, clucking. Her words lacked true conviction, however, because she couldn’t resist spearing a big bite of brisket, dipping it into the Savage Valley Homemade Honey-BBQ sauce, and then placing that delectable bite right in her mouth. “Mmm,” she said, grabbing the edge of the table and leaning back in exaggerated ecstasy. “So good,” she crooned. “I want to cram all of this straight down my gullet.” Caleb chuckled as she bounced like a child in her seat. “What is this?” Joseph said from behind her, sitting across from the two of them. “Couldn’t even wait half a minute for me. I see just how I rate with you two.” “Like two hound dogs waitin’ on another,” Caleb said, grinning at his older brother. Elena laughed. “I’ve not heard that one yet. That’s good.” “Really? Grandma Kat taught us that one. She had a whole slew of odd expressions. How about ‘happy as a monkey on a mile of grapevine?’” Joseph asked. “That was Grandma Kat’s favorite one. She used to always mutter that one to us.” “You know, I think I heard Jeremiah say that actually. Yes, I did, at Savage Convenience. Some little toddler had gotten into the chocolate. Had it all over his face and even up his nose.” Elena laughed at the memory, happily cramming in more food. “Another one I like,” she said after swallowing, “is ‘heavens to hamburgers.’ Rita always says that at Savage Hunger when one of the cooks doesn’t get an order right or when she’s arguing with Phil. ‘Heavens to hamburgers, Phil, I don’t care if this is supposed to be served with

172

Edith DuBois

bleu cheese. The customer doesn’t want the damn bleu cheese, so give me the Pope special sans bleu cheese.’” “You sound just like her,” Joseph said, amazed. “She does.” Joseph’s smile slowly dimmed from his face. “What is it?” she asked, and Caleb took her hand. “Elena,” Caleb said softly. “You belong here.” She looked between her two men, took a deep breath of the painfully fresh forest air, and glanced around at all the people gathered at the barbecue. Most of them were friends. She saw the three old geezers—Larry and Bobby Nichols and Jim Bob Pritchett— arguing with Agnes Bird and her two friends, Susan Pope, who owned Savage Hunger, and Rita Copely from the Woodland Den, which Elena had moved out of about two weeks prior. Even though she hadn’t met all of them yet, she could easily pick out the bear-shifters. The Greenwoods caught her looking and gave her a few friendly waves. She noticed that Thomas had been joined by his brothers in helping the two young, recently-arrived ladies set up an amp and a mic for some music. There were a few strangers, but that number got smaller every day. She grinned at her two sexy men. “I do, don’t I? I belong here.” She said it with conviction because she felt it, deep in her bones. “I belong here,” she said again, “and I belong with you.” Holding both of their hands in hers, she smiled. They smiled back. “Let’s get married, little darlin’.” “And have lots of kids.” Elena squeezed their hands, gazing into their deep black eyes, her grin growing wider. “Yes. Let’s.”

Rugged Glimpse

173

THE END HTTP://WWW.BOOKSTRAND.COM/EDITH-DUBOIS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Although she grew up in small-town Texas, Edith has lived and traveled in both France and the UK. She currently resides in Austin, Texas but wouldn’t mind a gallivant or two across the Australian Outback, the Highlands of Scotland, or any other foreign land that happens to interest her. She’s been writing since she was eight or nine, but she never thought about writing as a career until she handed in her first short story to her high school English teacher. She had so much fun writing it and spending time with her characters and actually finishing it that she started another, and she hasn’t stopped since. Edith enjoys writing in all sorts of genres, including song-writing and script-writing, but no matter what, love is always at the center of her stories. Edith’s idea of passing a perfect hour would be to cuddle up with her blind miniature Schnauzer, Gretchen, next to the window with one of her favorite books, a big ol’ mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon in her hand, and Patsy Cline softly crooning from her record player in the background. A big, hunky man feeding her orange slices would be nice, too. You can e-mail Edith at [email protected] or find her on Twitter and Tumblr with EdithDWrites.

Also by Edith DuBois Ménage Everlasting: The Male Order, Texas Collection: A Bride for Two Babes Ménage Everlasting: The Male Order, Texas Collection: A Bride for Two Renegades

Available at BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com