Alaskan Sabears 1: No Contest [Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting] Read online

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “We live on an isolated island surrounded by the Bering Sea. The only reason we like being here is because this is where we grew up and our bears love the well-below zero temperatures. She’s used to cities, crowds, and luxury. There’s nothing luxurious about this place. Our town probably looks rundown and desolate to her.”

  “Fuck, Hodge. Shut the hell up,” Tarik snarled.

  “Tell me I’m wrong.”

  Tarik shook his head and sighed. “I can’t.”

  Chapter Four

  Celeste felt so much better now that she was clean. It had been difficult to wash and condition her hair since her muscles were aching but she’d endured. Her sleep clock was off since she’d slept for god knows how long after the plane crash, and because she’d been jet lagged after plane hopping to get to her destination. It was also as bright as daylight outside even though it was in the wee hours of the morning. She hoped that she would get used to the long bright days and nights—and that her internal clock would return to its routine—because she was one of those people who became grumpy if she didn’t get her six to seven hours’ sleep.

  She finished drying her hair, quickly braided it and brushed her teeth. She was going to walk about town to explore and get her bearings. Plus, moving about would warm her sore body and loosen the stiffness in her muscles. After donning her thick winter coat, pulling on her wool-lined boots and grabbing her gloves, she headed out. It didn’t matter that is was summer, the weather here was still cold. Once she’d warmed up, she’d probably discard the coat and gloves, but she wasn’t willing to risk further damage to her muscles by getting too cold.

  Tammy had told her that the average top temperature on St. Lawrence Island in the warmest months of the year was around 50° F. And it got to well below freezing in winter. The thought made Celeste smile. She loved the cold. It was easy to add layers to keep warm. She hated summer because it was harder to cool off. Especially if she was doing a photo shoot out in the searing heat of the sun with no shade and no way to cool down.

  She walked as lightly as she could down the hallway and paused near the front door when she heard the rumble of deep voices coming from what she thought was the kitchen. She reached for the door handle, turned it and held her breath as she quietly eased the door open. She squeezed through the small gap and closed the door silently behind her and breathed in deeply of the cold crisp night air. She saw the cloud of fog in front of her as she breathed out and then she walked down the steps, glancing about as she did so.

  The landscape was rocky and desolate but she loved the simplicity of the rusted tin buildings that she guessed were homes and work sheds. She turned and eyed the house she’d just left and if she hadn’t seen how comfortable it was on the inside she would have thought it was a storage shed. It was basic but had the necessary luxuries any home needed. Celeste wasn’t a snob but she wasn’t used to seeing such plainness. However, she loved the simplicity of how the people on this island lived. There were no crowds or blaring sirens. No pollution tainting the air and no violence. She relaxed for the first time after the crash and took the opportunity to take stock of her life as she walked.

  The breeze coming off of the water was cold but refreshing as it wafted over her face. The waves rolling into the shore was cathartic and she felt the last of her tension fade away.

  Celeste turned and gasped when she saw the downed plane in the distance. She took a step closer and then another, and another until she was standing only a few yards from the wreckage. The craft had been ripped apart and though she was thankful that she came out of that crash virtually unscathed, she had no idea how. She was also relived that the pilot had also survived. She shivered and wondered if she had someone up in the heavens looking after her.

  She spun around when she heard a loud bang and tensed when she saw two large men rushing toward her. The tension eased from her body when she saw that it was Tarik and Hodge. That was until she saw the tight angry expressions on their faces.

  “What the hell are you thinking?” Tarik yelled.

  Celeste frowned at him. She had no idea what had crawled up his ass, but he was livid. She shrugged and turned back to look over the plane wreck.

  “You need to tell us where you are, love. We were worried about you,” Hodge said, as he clasped her shoulder and turned her to face him.

  “Are you for real?” Celeste asked pithily.

  “Of course,” Tarik replied with a huff of exasperation.

  “What gives you the right to tell me what to do?” she asked.

  “You’re under our care, little one.” Tarik grasped her chin between his finger and thumb so she couldn’t look away. “We need to know where you are so we can keep you safe.”

  Celeste drew her chin from his hold and took a step back. She waved her hands in the air and asked, “From what? There’s nothing here to keep me safe from.”

  “There are wild animals living on this island.” Hodge glanced at Tarik.

  “There are?” Celeste licked her lips nervously as both men gazed back to her. She glanced from one to the other and back again. She frowned when she thought she saw Tarik’s green eyes glow for a second, but shrugged it away when she peered back into his eyes and they were the same jade green as before. “Like what?”

  “Uh—” Hodge shifted on his feet as if he was uncomfortable with her question.

  “Celeste!”

  She glanced around the two burly men to see Tammy running toward her. Celeste skirted the men and walked as quickly as she could toward her friend. Tammy slammed into her making her grunt with pain and she felt her feet slipping from beneath her. The other woman shrieked, wrapped her arms around Celeste’s waist and clung tightly.

  “Damn it.” Strong hands caught hold of Celeste before she hit the ground and then she was swept up into strong arms.

  “You need to be more careful short-stuff,” Hodge reprimanded, as he put Tammy back on her feet. “Celeste may look fine, but she’s still hurting after the crash.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tammy said, and walked closer and clutched her hand. “Are you okay?”

  Celeste nodded, but after having the breath knocked out of her and the smaller woman’s body slamming against hers, her muscles had tightened up even more, and her head was starting to pound again.

  “Are you sure you aren’t hurt?” Tarik asked as he lowered her feet back to the ground.

  “Yeah,” she lied. As soon as her feet hit the ground her head began to swim and she was feeling dizzy. She only realized that she was clutching at Tarik’s arms when she felt his muscles flex beneath her hands and quickly released him. That was a big mistake because she got more light headed, started swaying, and was sure she was about to pass out.

  “Fuck!” Tarik scooped her up into his arms and held her against his chest.

  Celeste closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his hard pectoral muscle. The dizziness passed but her head was still pounding like a bitch. Cold sweat broke out on her brow and upper lip.

  “Celeste, I’m so sorry I hurt you.” Tammy sobbed.

  Celeste reached out to her friend and gave her hand a comforting squeeze when Tammy clasped it. “You didn’t. I shouldn’t have been pushing myself so soon after the crash.”

  “Finally! Now you’re talking sense.”

  She forced her eyelids up and glared at Tarik, but her scowl was lost on him because he wasn’t looking at her. He started hurrying back in the direction from which they’d come.

  “Do you want me to get Serge?” Tammy asked.

  “No,” Celeste answered at the same time Hodge and Tarik said, “Yes.”

  “There’s no need—”

  “There is every need,” Hodge interrupted her, giving her a determined look as he held the door to the house open for Tarik.

  “You can put me down now.” Celeste pinched the skin on his forearm. He growled and then scowled at her. She frowned when she saw the weird glow behind his g
reen eyes. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”

  “We’ll discuss that later, but right now you are going back to bed. After Serge has checked you over, Hodge and I will massage the stiffness from your muscles and then you will sleep.”

  “Stop bossing me around. You’re not my father,” Celeste snapped.

  “Not even close, baby.”

  “My name is Celeste,” she snarled, taking umbrage over the endearments. Tarik and Hodge had no right to be calling her pet names. They had no idea who she was. Oh, she had no doubt that they knew what she did for a living and saw all the gloss on the surface, but they didn’t know the person beneath the pretty package. She wasn’t vain but she knew she was pretty enough. The first modeling scout to approach her had called her beautiful, but Celeste wasn’t the type of person to go all gaga over a pretty package. She met some amazingly stunning people in her line of work, but after getting to know them, had realized how ugly they really were. Some of the women she’d worked with had been the most selfish self-centered bitches she’d ever met. She was sick and tired of using her body to earn money. She’d jumped at the chance in the beginning because she’d been in debt from attending college as well as trying to keep food in her belly. Now, she wondered if she’d made the right decision. Other people seemed to manage okay working part-time and studying.

  Celeste’s first love was being behind the camera, not in front of it, but she didn’t need to do that anymore. She’d made more than enough money to keep her comfortable for the rest of her life and she’d never have to work again. However, she was used to being busy and would quickly become bored and more than a little crazy if she had nothing to do.

  All she needed was some decent camera equipment and she’d be set. She loved taking photos of landscapes, animals—anything to do with nature really. The little she’d seen of Savoonga had her creative juices flowing. There was a stark beauty to St. Lawrence Island that she would love to capture with a good camera lens.

  Thankfully, she had filled all her contractual obligations and didn’t have any other modeling jobs lined up. She’d avoided planning in more modeling gigs in her attempts to escape her creepy stalker, but now she was seriously thinking of quitting modeling altogether. She’d give herself a few weeks to ruminate over what she wanted and then she would decide one way or the other.

  Celeste came back to the present when her back landed on a soft mattress. She blinked open her eyes to find Hodge and Tarik watching her with concerned frowns. Hodge reached for her boots and tugged them off. Tarik sat on the side of the bed, pulled her up and then divested her of her coat. She sighed at how comfortable she felt having them take care of her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had someone looking out for her other than Tammy, and those times had been few and far between since Celeste had been jetting about the world with work. It would be nice to have a slower paced life, to be able to stop and smell the roses whenever she felt like it.

  Tarik supported her upper body weight by leaning her into his chest. She had the strangest urge to snuggle into his body with his arm wrapped around her. She inhaled his delectable spicy manly scent and sighed again. There was something compulsively tantalizing about the way he and Hodge smelled and for some reason she just couldn’t get enough of their wonderful fragrances. She didn’t complain when Tarik pulled her sweater up and off over her head. When he eased her back down onto the pillow another sigh escaped. She couldn’t believe how exhausted she felt since she hadn’t been awake for very long but put her weariness down to the concussion she still had.

  She snapped her eyes open when she felt fingers brush against the bare skin of her stomach and put her hand over Tarik’s as he pushed the hem of her long-sleeved shirt up. “What are you doing?”

  When she felt another set of fingers on the button of her jeans she quickly grabbed hold of them and glared at Hodge.

  “Tarik already told you that we’re going to give you a massage.”

  “But—”

  “Discussion isn’t optional, Celeste,” Tarik said in a firm voice. “You’re hurting and we are only trying to help ease some of that pain. Let go of my hand.”

  “Are you being bossy again, Tarik?” Tammy asked as she entered the room with Serge behind her.

  Serge clasped Tammy’s hips, gently moved her aside and strode toward the bed. “I hear you were up and about. You still have a concussion and should be resting.”

  Celeste decided silence was the best defense when she realized she wasn’t about to win this round, especially since there were three testosterone-driven hard-asses in the room with her.

  “I need to check her pupils,” Serge said. “You’ll have to move aside.”

  She peeked from beneath her lowered eyelashes when Tarik made a grumbling sound before he reluctantly made room for Serge.

  “Open your eyes, Celeste.”

  She did and tried not to flinch when Serge flicked the pen light over her eyes. “Just as I thought. You’ve pushed yourself too hard, too soon. You’re on bed rest for the next twelve to twenty-four hours.”

  “Will a massage ease the pain in her muscles?” Hodge asked.

  “Yes. Use some liniment to heat the tissues. If the headache gets worse, come get me.” Serge scowled at her but when she met his gaze she could see amusement in his eyes. She had no idea what he had to laugh over, but she was too tired to care.

  “Tammy, I thought I was staying with you,” Celeste said, making a last-ditch effort to get out from under the two dominant men trying to order her about.

  Tammy’s face turned pink and she gnawed on her lower lip avoiding her gaze. “We had to change plans. Mom and I put another bed in my room, but since the room is so small it would have been too cramped and we would have been falling over each other.”

  “Oh! Okay. Thanks anyway.” Celeste frowned. Tammy’s words had sounded contrived, as if she was lying, but she wasn’t about to call her friend out in front of her friends and family. “When am I going to meet your parents?”

  “Shit. I’ve been so busy worrying over you I forget you hadn’t met them. At least not while you were conscious. They took a turn sitting beside you while you were out of it in the clinic. My mom and dads are so happy you came here to visit me.”

  “I can’t wait to meet them.” Did she say dads? No, I must have heard wrong.

  “Let’s go short-stuff. Celeste needs to rest.” Serge reached for Tammy’s hand.

  She slapped it away. “Stop calling me that! I can’t help it if I’m vertically challenged. You big, big…Neanderthal.”

  Celeste giggled as Tammy flounced out of the room, with Serge right behind her.

  “Let’s get you comfortable, love.” Hodge flicked the button on her jeans open and then lowered the zipper.

  “I can undress myself. Why don’t you both leave so I can see to it?”

  Tarik grasped her upper arms and gently eased her into a sitting position. “Not happening, baby.” He released her arms and before she could stop him, he tugged the shirt up and over her head. She tried to snatch her top away from him but he was a hell of a lot faster than she was.

  She gazed at Hodge when he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her before pushing her jeans down over her hips and thighs. “Wait!” Celeste cried out when she turned her head too fast and then gave in with a sigh and a nod. She didn’t have the energy to fight them off and she figured they’d probably seen a photo of her in a bikini on one of the magazines anyway. She wasn’t showing anything more than she already had.

  “Stop fighting us, love. You’re only making your headache worse. We aren’t going to hurt you or touch you inappropriately.”

  Celeste nodded again and quickly lowered her gaze.

  Tarik cupped her cheek bringing her gaze to his. “Are you shy, baby?”

  Celeste didn’t want to answer that question. She was used to being nearly naked in front of a camera, but this felt a lot more personal to her and she was feeling vulnerable and shy. Nonetheless, t
here was no way in hell she was going to admit that to these two men. She scoffed. “Of course not.”

  Tarik narrowed his eyes as he stared intently at her. “I don’t like it when you lie.”

  Celeste sighed with resignation. She had no idea how Tarik knew she was fibbing, but her head was hurting too much for her to think on it.

  “Okay, love, roll over onto your stomach,” Hodge said.

  She slowly rolled over so she wouldn’t compound her already upset equilibrium even more by making her head swim and headache worse. She tucked her arms under her head but that move made the muscles in her lower back pull more, so she turned her head to the side, resting her cheek on the sheet-covered mattress and lowered her arms back to her sides.

  The bed dipped on either side of her and though she wanted to look to see what the men were doing, she kept her eyes closed.

  “Try to keep you breathing deep and even,” Tarik ordered, right before two sets of hands began rubbing over her back. The strong aroma of liniment filled the air and she inhaled the pleasant fragrance through her nose. When warm, strong fingers and hands began to knead the knots in her muscles, she tensed and then moaned as those fingers worked deeper into her spasming tissues. Another set of hands kneaded and rubbed over her shoulders and upper back before gliding down her arms and up again.

  The strain in her muscles began to ease making Celeste relax more with each passing minute until she felt as if she was as light as a feather and floating on a cloud. Weird subconscious sounds emerged from her throat and her lips twitched with humor when she likened the noises she was making to that of a contented cat. She was purring as the aches and pains slowly eased away and exhaustion began to pull her toward sleep.

  The low rumble of Hodge’s voice kept her from going under completely. “She’s so fucking beautiful.”

  “Understatement,” Tarik said.

  “How the hell are we going to tell her what we are? Or what she is to us?”