PolarBearS-express (3 page)

Angus couldn’t believe she was cynical enough to believe that her family only asked her over because they felt obligated. Surely, they wanted to see her because they loved her and missed her. “Dinnae ye think they invite ye because they want tae see ye?”

Hell, he was close to loving her already and he’d only just met her. He stared at the beautiful woman before him, his cock practically begging him to fuck her. He pressed his hand against his groin in an attempt to tame the raging organ and smiled at the woman he hoped would consent to be their mate.

I think she’s the one, Liam.

Aye. I think so, as well. I can’t get my cock tae behave. It’s as though it thinks I hae the right tae throw Kaitlin on the floor and mate her like some randy young boar,
Liam agreed. He sighed as he moved to sit on the other end of the sofa.
I hope she doesn’t panic when I sit here next tae her.

Me too, old friend. I would love tae go back home with a mate in tow. Can ye see the other members of the clan looking on with envy?

Liam looked at Kaitlin, took a deep breath as though sucking up her scent, and gave Angus an almost imperceptible nod.

It was up to Liam now. There was little more for Angus to do but sit back and hope Liam didn’t fuck it up.

Angus looked to the fire and cursed beneath his breath. It was nearly out. He would most likely need the damned poker and Kaitlin had a death grip on the thing, as though she believed they would harm her if she didn’t have possession of it.

Standing, he moved to the fireplace, knelt before it, and placed a few split logs on the glowing embers. Smoke rose from the wood, some of it billowing out of the fireplace. That wasn’t a good sign.

“I think the chimney needs cleaned.” He scowled at the fireplace as though it was at fault for its condition. “Is there a set of sweeping tools here?” If there was, it would be as good a reason as any for Liam and he to return after she kicked them out. At least they could return on the premise that she needed the chimney serviced before it caught fire and burned the place to the ground.

“I don’t know.”

He heard Kaitlin stand. She walked over to him, handed him the poker with a smile and said, “I guess if you guys wanted to kill me, you wouldn’t have saved me from the bear and then given me the means to defend myself. Wait here and I’ll go see. I think I saw a brush and a set of rods in the shed, next to the woodpile. But I have to go to the bathroom first.”

Angus watched as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Turning, he wanted to face Liam and see what he thought about Kaitlin checking the shed while they waited inside.

If she thinks she’s going outside alone, the woman is as barmy as that randy young bear that attacked her earlier.

Angus chuckled at Liam’s comment and turned back to the fire. They would have to let this one burn out and wait for the fireplace to cool before they could clean the chimney. He only hoped she would let them stay here with her. He wasn’t sure he could leave this woman now that they’d found her.

Kaitlin opened the door to the bathroom and Liam stood when she headed for the door. “We’ll go with ye.”

“There’s no need.” She turned with a smile. “I trust you to stay here and not take anything.”

“And we trust that ye won’t try tae run off in the night, because we’re here, but neither of those reasons is why we plan tae accompany ye.” Liam followed her to the door where she donned her coat and boots.

Grabbing Angus’s coat, Liam threw it across the room to Angus before he put his own jacket on. “The reason we plan tae go with ye is because there’s a hungry bear out there somewhere and he could have followed our scent trail back to the cabin.”

“Oh.”

The smell of her fear filled the room and Liam sighed. “I dinnae mean tae frighten ye, lass. I only meant to make ye see there’s still a danger outside. Ye must remember this isn’t Michigan. This is Alaska. And even if there isn’t a polar bear out there awaiting ye, there could still be a Kodiak bear   and they’re just as ornery.”

“I never thought of that.” She bit her lip and looked through the window. “I just keep thinking this is like Michigan. There are bears, but there aren’t many in the country. I figured they would keep to the mountains and forests.”

“And ye aren’t far from either one of those. There are moose, too. I’m sure ye know that moose are dangerous as well.” Angus didn’t phrase that as a question. He knew Liam must take the lead in this as in all things, but that didn’t mean he needed to be a doormat. This woman was his to protect as she was Liam’s. He only wished they could get her to see that and agree.

“Angus is right, lass.” Liam helped her with her coat and leaned around her to open the door. “There are dangerous things in Alaska, especially in the remote areas such as this one.”

“I don’t know how remote this is,” Kaitlin scoffed. “We’re only about an hour from town.”

“An hour from a
small
town. What would ye do if ye were injured? Even a plane would take a while tae get here. In an emergency, help is still at least thirty-minutes away. Never underestimate how long it will take help tae reach ye, lass.”

Liam was right. If the cabin caught fire or if she got attacked by another bear, wolves or some other wild thing, help would not be just around the corner.

They followed her to the shed. Kaitlin pulled out a ring of keys and used it to open the small shack. Inside, there was every tool a person could need to maintain a cabin in the middle of nowhere, including a brush and rod set for the chimney.

Liam picked up the set and handed it to Kaitlin. “Carry this inside, lass and Angus and I will gather some more wood.” He looked up at the sky. “It looks like it’s going tae snow. I dinnae want tae worry about ye trudging out here alone tae gather wood after we leave.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Well, we cannae stay the night, now can we, lass?”

Chapter Five

They couldn’t stay the night. It was ludicrous. She didn’t even know these men. She bit her lip as she watched them gather wood. Angus piled wood into Liam’s arms until she was sure they would break from the weight.

He was strong, she had to hand him that. He must lift weights. Kaitlin realized she was staring when Liam looked over at her and winked. He was showing off, the big goon. The wood piled in his arms went up to his chin. It would have taken her at least four trips to carry in that much wood. He started walking toward the cabin as Angus bent to pick up the stack he’d made for himself before he loaded his friend’s arms.

“Come along, lass. You’ll need tae open the door for us.” Liam grinned. “As much as I’d like tae prove tae ye that I can hold this much weight with one arm, I’ll drop it for certain if I try tae shift it to one side.”

“Yeah, right.” She hurried to the cabin to open the door. Like either one of them could really hold their burden with one arm.

Kaitlin opened the door when she reached the cabin and followed them in after they entered.

“We’ll let the fire go out for now,” Liam said after he set down his armload of wood. “Ye do have fuel stocked for such an occasion?” Straightening, he turned, resting his hands on his hips.

Good Lord, the man looked good enough to eat. Kaitlin frowned. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t felt this way for any man since Ray died. In fact, it almost felt as though she was betraying Ray’s memory lusting after these two the way she was.

“Let the fire go out, but leave the flue open. We dinnae want ye tae die of asphyxiation before we return tomorrow afternoon.”

“Tomorrow afternoon?” They would be gone that long? “What if I have a concussion? I might not wake up if I don’t have someone here to rouse me every so often.” She altered her gaze between them. “You said yourself that it would take a while to get help out here.”

Kaitlin squeezed her eyes close.
Gawd! That sounded desperate.

Liam moved to stand in front of her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and gazed deep into her eyes. “If ye want us tae stay, we’d be happy tae, lass.” He glanced back at Angus. “We didn’t want tae frighten ye by suggesting it.”

She looked at them both. They probably thought she invited strange men into her home all of the time. As a matter of fact,
that
couldn’t be farther from the truth. Kaitlin hadn’t had one man who wasn’t related to her in her home since Ray died. She always felt as though she would be tarnishing his memory somehow if she went on a date or invited another man into his home.

Kaitlin knew it was a ridiculous notion, but for some reason, she felt as though Ray didn’t want strange men in his home, or dating his wife. Yet, asking these men to stay felt right. Well, asking
one
of them to stay felt right, anyway.

“I don’t know if you both have to stay, but…” she paused. “I would feel guilty if one of you left and got mauled by a bear on your way home.”

Heck, Kaitlin didn’t even know where they lived. For all she knew, their home could be over an hour from here. After all,
she
had walked
over an hour
before that crazy bird stopped flying funny and soared to the top of that stupid tree.

If she were truthful with herself, she would admit that she wanted both of these men with a passion she hadn’t felt since Ray died. Perhaps she hadn’t even felt it then. As much as she hated to admit it, even Ray hadn’t made her feel the way these two men did. If she had even half a brain, she would send the two men on their way and figure out the chimney sweep thing herself in the morning. However, she obviously
didn’t
have a working brain because she wanted them both to stay.

“If you two would like to stay the night, I could fix you dinner.” She looked at the clock. “It
is
late, after all. I’m sure you should have eaten by now.” And she was equally sure they hadn’t helped themselves to her pantry. She would have noticed trash in the empty can. “Let me fix you something, then you two can take my bed while I sleep on the couch.” It was only fair. “It’s a king-sized bed. You should have plenty of room.” Besides, she was sure they had shared a bed before. How she knew that was beyond her. She just did.

“We cannae take your bed, lass.” Liam led the way into the small kitchen area. “And if ye insist on making us something tae eat, we’d be grateful.”

Kaitlin would just bet they’d be grateful. If they were half as hungry as she was, they would eat her pantry bare. Her face turned red at the thought of something else she had that they could eat. She shook her head. What was wrong with her? She never had thoughts like that.

She opened the refrigerator door and bent down to peer inside. She was sure she had enough of something to make a quick meal for all of them. “How do you two feel about omelets for dinner? I’m sorry, but I don’t have a lot of any one thing and all of the meat is frozen, but I do have a dozen eggs, cheese and some veggies to throw into an omelet, if you’re interested.”

“We’d be delighted tae join ye for an omelet dinner, lass,” Liam replied.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaitlin could have sworn that she saw Liam elbow Angus in the ribs.
What was that about?
Whatever it was, they didn’t say, and she wasn’t about to ask.

Kaitlin pulled the eggs and vegetables from the fridge and started chopping them. She loved western omelets. There was nothing in the world that was better for breakfast in her opinion.

The two men sat down at the table and watched her as she cut the vegetables into little pieces. Her entire body warmed, knowing that for this moment in time, she had the attention of two hot men.

If her family could only see her now, she knew a couple of female cousins who would
not
feel sorry for her in her current situation. No, these two men were two of the most handsome men she had ever had the good fortune to grace her doorstep. She kept stealing glances at them as she cooked.

“I’ll make some coffee if you would tell me where it is,” Liam suggested as he stood and stretched.

It was all Kaitlin could do to keep cutting the green pepper into little chunks without slicing off the tips of her fingers. “It’s in the upper cabinet to the left of the sink.” She turned to Angus who stood with his friend.

“I’ll set the table.”

Kaitlin smiled at him as he stood waiting for her to direct him. “The plates are over the microwave and the silverware is in the drawer to the right of the stove.” Pausing, she had to think for a minute to remember where the cups were. Generally, she used the same one that sat clean in the drain board. “Coffee cups are in the cabinet over the stove.” She frowned. “I think.”

The two worked together as though they had done so for years. It was obvious that they were comfortable with each other. It was also obvious that they weren’t strangers to kitchen duty.

Once Angus got three cups from the cabinet and set them on the table, he turned to Kaitlin and asked, “Where do ye keep the coffee, lass?”

Shivers ran up her spine when he asked that question. He had stopped behind her and reached around for a slice of green pepper. When he did so, he put his mouth next to her ear.

“Are ye all right, lass?” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You’re shivering.”

Of course she was shivering, when he stood there practically breathing in her ear like that. She fought the urge to reach up and rub the sensation of his breath on her flesh away.

“I’m fine.” She kept her gaze down on her hands. “I think the whole ordeal is finally getting to me. You know, falling out of that tree on top of that bear and all.” She started on some onions. “Though, to be fair, I wouldn’t have fallen on the bear if he hadn’t been down there trying to shake me out of that tree to begin with.”

Kaitlin picked up the cutting board and sidled away from Angus to set it next to the stove. “I’m all right. Really.” Bending, Kat pulled an iron skillet out from the cabinet next to the stove and set it on the burner. Grabbing the matches she’d left next to the stove, she lit the burner and set the flame.

“So,” she said as she moved to the refrigerator to get the butter and eggs. “How long have you two been friends?” She cut a pat of butter from the stick and dropped it into the pan. “I would say it’s been a while. You two work well together.”