Craved by Bears

Chapter 2

Two

I wake with a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Húnn is looking at me with concern. "Bad dreams?"

I'm using him as a pillow, my head on his chest, my legs tangled with his.

"I'm not quite sure it was a dream."

I yawn. I didn't get enough sleep. Again.

"Want to talk about it?" Húnn asks.

"No," I mutter. "It's already fading. What time is it?"

He chuckles. "Sleeping time. Go back to sleep, you need it."

I don't protest and close my eyes, revelling in the warmth of his body. He's like a hard, warm pillow that moves gently up and down.

The door opens before I can escape back into dreamland. A moment later, I have a baby in my arms, a decidedly human Ruby.

"Sorry," Finn whispers. "I tried to let you sleep as long as possible, but she started crying again."

I sigh and lift my shirt, giving Ruby access to a very early breakfast.

"She's so cute when she drinks," Húnn says, rubbing my back. "I could watch her all day."

Finn laughs. "I'm jealous of her. She gets far more boob time than any of us."

I shoot both of them an annoyed look. "If you knew how uncomfortable this can be, you'd both shut up."

Finn slides into bed next to me and snuggles against my side. He's just as warm as Húnn, if not even more so. There's a tiny bit of baby dribble on his shoulder. I smile to myself. He's such a good father. They all are. We don't know who Ruby's biological father is, but that doesn't matter in the slightest. They all take care of her, and of me.

"Did you get some sleep?" Finn asks, running his hand over my now exposed belly. It's shrunk a lot since I gave birth, but it still doesn't quite look like it did before. I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of the stretch marks. Ruby was a big baby, and I'm convinced she shifted within me at least once. It hurt like hell, but at least she didn't break anything. I was almost expecting for her to claw her way out of me during birth, but it was actually quite a normal process. I've helped with births back on Salvation Island, where I was training to be a medic. There weren't many though, what with there being far fewer women than men. Still, compared to some of the ones I witnessed, mine went extremely smooth.

I move Ruby over to my other breast and yawn again.

"Are any of the others up yet?" I ask tiredly.

Finn shakes his head. "Torben came back late and is on the sofa in the living room. He didn't want to wake you. Ràn went over to Arnold and Bertrand just after he'd returned last night. I think he stayed there."

"Why would he do that?"

We stayed with the two bears at the very beginning of our time here on the island, but now that we have our own cottage, there's no need for it.

"Arnold was feeling a little under the weather," Finn admits. "Maybe he stayed to help out."

I find that weird, but Ruby bites my n****e just then and I decide that I have other worries. Protecting my boobs from bloodthirsty little babies is one of my current priorities.

She sucks eagerly, her tiny little fists pressed against my chest. Húnn is right, she looks very cute like that. Her eyes are closed as she drinks, as if she's savouring the taste of my milk. No idea why. I tried it once and found it disgusting. Same goes for the guys. Of course, when my milk first started to appear, they all had to try. They found it sexy to suckle on my breasts. Well, they didn't find the taste very sexy.

I smile at the memory. They all can't wait for me to wean off Ruby so that my boobs are theirs again. To be honest, I'm looking forward to that too, but at the same time, having Ruby there, drinking from me, taking her nourishment from me, is a special kind of feeling. Like I'm giving up part of me so she can live. Like a piece of my soul is flowing into her, creating a bond between us.

"How long was she shifted?" I ask Finn.

"About four hours. I think that's a new record."

I nod. "Let's hope it will be even longer next time. I think the constant shifts exhaust her."

Alis has been no help in that matter. Her own son was born as a bear and didn't shift into his human form until he was a child. She never had to deal with a baby that's human one moment and a cub the next. We don't even know if there's a bear soul within Ruby like there is within all of us, or if she has just the one consciousness. I was human once, so it's not the same as if two bear shifters have a baby together.

I push those thoughts out of my mind. We'll find out at some point. For now, all we can do is help her grow strong and healthy. Her little arms and legs are a little too thin for my taste. She seems content right now though. She stops suckling and falls asleep in my arms, not even opening her eyes in between. I smile down at her and let my shirt fall back down.

"I liked that view," Húnn complains.

"Stop it, not when Ruby is here," I say sternly. "No sexy talk with my daughter in the room."

The men sigh.

"Seriously, stop. Now, do you think she's going to sleep for a bit? Can we dare go back to sleep too?"

Húnn yawns and sits up. "Don't worry, I'll take her. You stay here with Finn. I'm sure she's going to shift again soon. If she doesn't and wakes up again, I'll bring her back to feed some more."

He leans down to give me a kiss. I playfully bite his lower lip and he growls softly.

"Don't do that, or I won't be able to leave."

I smile and hand him little Ruby. "Thank you."

"Anytime." He looks at Finn. "Don't keep her from sleeping. She still looks like a zombie."

He pouts. "Maybe I should make her properly tired again? Help her relax?"

Húnn glowers at him and leaves the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Finn turns to me, his arm snaking around my waist. "So, what shall we do? Sleep sounds a little boring."

I grin. "I'm sure you can help me get ready for bed. I should change my clothes, I never got to change last night."

He gasps in mock horror. "We can't have that! Shall I help you take a shower?"

"I would very much appreciate that."

So instead of sleeping, I end up in the bathtub with him. We do that a lot together. Our excuse is that we only have a limited supply of warm water. Of course, we need to ration it. The only reason we even have running water is Ràn's ingenuity. I'd never realised he was a DIY genius. He's managed to build us a water tank that gets heated both by the sun during the day and with electricity from our solar panels and the little wind turbine we have access to. Theoretically, we also have a backup generator, but we've all agreed to keep that for emergencies. Certainly not for a luxury like having a warm bath.

The water isn't hot, just warm, but it's enough to make my muscles instantly relax. I roll my shoulders, sore from carrying Ruby around the house for hours at a time.

"Shall I give you a massage?" Finn asks, his voice rough around the edges. He's hard already, and me sitting in his lap may not be the best idea ever. Just like me, I'm sure he's thinking about other things than just lying in the tub, relaxing.

"Please."

I sit up a bit more, giving him better access to my shoulders. He squeezes them, his fingers pressing in just the right places. I groan when he hits one of the sore spots. He gently circles his fingertips, loosening the knots that are causing me pain. He runs his knuckles along my spine, up and down, slowly increasing the pressure. He stops at my hips, not going as far down as I would like him to. His massage is great, but I'd rather feel his hands in other places. By now, the water is not the only thing making me wet and my n*****s are hard. He's not touched me anywhere except for my back and shoulders, but feeling his hard c**k against my bum does all sorts of things to me.

"Lower," I moan when he threatens to move his hands up again.

"Does your bum need a massage too?"

I nod enthusiastically. "Yes, it does."

He chuckles and cups my cheeks with his hands, squeezing gently.

"What else do you want me to massage?"

His voice is sultry now, filled with promises.

"Everything?" I ask weakly, not wanting to expand on that. Sexy talk is weird. He knows exactly where I want him to touch me, so he should just do it.

He moves one of his hand towards the centre, one finger slowly pressing between my cheeks, gliding downwards. At the same time, he kisses the back of my neck, his lips as hot as fire, trailing kisses down my spine. His lips graze my skin, even though he's the only one who's not into biting. But that's fine. He's the gentlest of my mates, the one where every tiny touch means something. Just like these little kisses. Every single one is important. Special. Precious.

His finger hovers, circles, then pushes into me from behind. I moan again, unable to stop myself. He adds a second finger and before I'm properly adjusted, a third. I'm still not as tight as I used to be, but I'm getting there. The first time we had s*x after I'd given birth, Ràn eloquently described it as dipping a spoon in a teacup and stirring. I could have probably taken two of them and still had space for more. Now though, I'm finally beginning to feel like the old Isla. Who stops at three fingers, maybe four.

Well, I guess that's one way of thinking about yourself. The three-finger-Isla.

I stop thinking when he pushes a finger into my arse. And then my thoughts disappear completely when he turns me, sits me on his c**k and begins to rock me. My mind is blank, driven away by the sheer beauty of feeling him inside of me. We're connected, we're the same. I grip his shoulders as he increases his pace, pushing my boobs into his face. Usually, he'd take them in his mouth, but he knows that they're sore. Instead, he looks up, capturing my eyes.

"Kiss me."

How can I resist?

As our tongues meet and I get to taste him, I can't help but jump over the edge, coming hard. I almost bite his lips in the process, but he's busy groaning, pounding into me, keeping my orgasm flowing and flowing and...

He comes with a cry, squeezing me against him, breaking our kiss. He holds me tight, gripping me as if he's afraid that I might leave.

I rest my head on his shoulder, my body still shaking slightly.

"Remind me to do this more often," I whisper when I can finally speak again.

He laughs. "I will, trust me. But now we need to get you back to bed or the others are going to kill me. After torturing me and cutting off my dick."