Chapter Nine

It had been three days since Jon had taken Oriana to his bed, and he would not do so again until she and Jordan had an opportunity to be together. It was a personal decision he’d made, not wanting to take all of her sexual passion for himself just because he was accessible and Jordan was taking his damn sweet time.

However, he hoped Jordan would make a move soon. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Jon to deny himself. True, when he and Ori were alone and she was feeling frisky, he made sure she got hers, manually satisfying her body until completion—after all, he wasn’t going to punish her for Jordan’s hesitation. But the abstinence was starting to physically hurt him. Cold-showers weren’t as useful as everyone claimed them to be.

This situation didn’t seem to be a problem for Jack. His brother was always in the office, secreted away from temptation. Jack claimed the long hours were because Jon and Jordan were rarely working these days, and he had to pick up the slack. But Jon was sure it was because the eldest wasn’t ready to face the fact that he loved Oriana.

Jack wasn’t a love-at-first-sight kind of guy.

Strangely enough, Ori seemed to be avoiding Jack as well. But when she and Jack did encounter each other, however briefly, the heavy sexual tension that erupted between the two was so thick it could be cut with a knife—which just made the prim and proper way Ori and Jack interacted with each other that much funnier. Both of them were so stubborn.

So the last three days had progressed as the three before, with them hanging out, watching movies or playing games, talking and taking meals—of course, all minus Jack. Jack would make an appearance every once in a while, as if checking in on them, but other than that, he usually stayed away.

Pulling himself from his musings, Jon walked into the kitchen to help Jordan gather supplies. This would be Ori’s first time outside since she came to the bunker, and they wanted it to be special. It was a bright sunny day with little wind, and uncharacteristically warm, so they decided to take their guest for a picnic at a small hot spring Jon had found nearby.

“We need to tell her,” Jordan said. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand lying to her. It’s wrong.”

“Tell her what? That her plane works, or that we can shift into Kodiak bears?”

“Both. How can we preach honesty and demand she share her every feeling or thought, then keep things from her ourselves? It’s damn hypocritical.”

His brother was right. What bothered Jon the most was the plane thing—as that one directly affected her. At first, the lie had seemed insignificant, as Ori was in no condition to fly when she first arrived, and really, all they were doing was guaranteeing Jack’s cooperation, ensuring that he didn’t force her away. However, Ori was better now, and well enough to pilot an aircraft if she so chose. She could go home if she wanted.

Fuck. When she found out that they’d lied to her about the mechanical condition of her plane, she might just want to do that. Up and leave and never look back.

After sticking glasses and napkins into the picnic basket filled with cheese and crackers, fruit and wine, he closed the top. “Okay, we’ll tell her about the plane. Let’s hope she forgives us. Assuming she does, the bear thing will be a little trickier. Perhaps one of us should shift in front of her.”

“No, you don’t want to send her into shock,” Jordan replied, gathering the blanket and towels off the counter, and placing them in a separate basket that contained sunscreen, lotion, and other assorted items.

“How about this: I’ll leave early. When you and Ori are on the way back to the bunker, I’ll walk by in my shifted form at a distance. Then you can point me out, make some scientific comment about the nature of Kodiak bears, but then assure her that I am safe and tame. I’ll approach, and you can pet me while explaining why I’m not attacking—that it’s me. Of course, she won’t believe you at first, but keep insisting, and once you have her at least somewhat convinced, then I’ll shift back into my human form.”

Jordan chuckled. “Instead of petting you, I’ll order you to do tricks. That will be far more convincing.”

“Ha, ha.”

“You know I’m right. How many bears do you know outside a circus that can understand ‘roll over’ and ‘play dead’? Hell, I think I’ll even save a cracker and put it on your snout.”

“I’m not doing dog tricks.” Jon made his way into the living room.

“Then she’ll never really believe it’s you until you shift,” Jordan said, following him. “You might scare her—she might faint. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

“Fine, fine. I’ll do ‘shake’, but nothing more.” Jon stopped and turned, pointing at his brother in warning. “If you try to put a treat on my snout, I’ll bite your fucking hand.”

Jordan burst into laughter. “What about fetch? Can we at least play fetch?”