Authors: Kate Kent
There must be another glitch with the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ site, I decided. Brad and I seemed to be a perfect match. I scrolled back to the email I’d opened earlier from ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’. It said my perfect match was in the attachment.
I had assumed it would be Brad. I clicked on the attachment and opened it. A man stared back at me. He was scruffy, with long, dirty blond hair and a dimpled grin. It listed his name as Evan Myles. What the heck? I read his profile. It shared that he was a bear shifter and part owner of the ‘Crazy Cakes Bakery’ in Shifter Villages. I just didn’t get it. I liked men who were brokering big business deals, not baking cupcakes and brownies. And looks wise…well, he was scruffy as heck. He looked like he needed to visit Adrian, Sherry’s barber fiancé, for a haircut and shave. I was sure Brad was the right match for me, but just for kicks I decided to look at the bottom of the page and see how much of a heart match Evan and I were.
As I moved my cursor farther down the page, yet another scruffy man who looked like he needed some serious grooming stared back at me. He had to be the twin of the first man; they looked so much alike. But this man was even scruffier, with longer blonde hair. A chin cleft softened his serious expression. The bio said he was a bear shifter named Grant Myles and part owner with his twin brother, Evan, of the Crazy Cakes Bakery.
I scrolled to the bottom of the page. There was one single row of ten hearts and every heart was filled with red. The Luscious site actually thought I was a ten heart match with one of these bear shifters. I wondered which one. Oh well, it really didn’t matter. It had to be a glitch of some sort. Maybe they were nice guys, but they were certainly not my type.
I closed the attachment and looked at the other emails in my box. There were several from Evan and several from Grant Myles sent through the Luscious website. I knew they were each looking to find a mate, but I didn’t bother to read them. Why take the time? I liked to work smarter, not harder. I’d already met Mr. Perfect on the site and I had to get back to work.
Brad…he was so hot, handsome, and successful. I was sure he was the man of my dreams. I knew Sherry had invited the whole town to her wedding and I was betting Brad was going to be there. I couldn’t wait to meet him!
~*~
“Damn! That’s too bad. Are you sure you can’t go?” I finished tucking my red silk dress in my suitcase as I talked to Jill.
“I’m sorry, Judith, but my mom is not feeling well. I really wanted to go to the wedding, but if something happened to my mom and I wasn’t with her…I’d just be sick about it.”
“We’ll miss you, Jill. I know Sherry will be disappointed you couldn’t make it,” I sighed. Jill lived at home with her overbearing mother. The woman played up a lot and liked to keep Jill under her thumb. She didn’t want to let Jill out of her sight. It was amazing she didn’t kick up a fuss when Jill went to work. Maybe it was possible Jill’s mom really was sick, but more likely she just wanted Jill around for the weekend. Well, there was nothing I could do about it.
I finished packing my things and headed out to the car. It was rare for me to take time off from my job—I tended to be a workaholic. Usually when I took a vacation I would be itching to get back to work before I even left on my trip, but not this time. Brad was on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and imagining our life together. I couldn’t wait to get to know him.
After emailing him back and forth, I’d arranged to take several days off from work to stay in Shifter Villages the night of the wedding and for a few days after. We made plans to meet at the Big Bull Inn, the hotel I was staying at, and drive to Adrian and Sherry’s wedding ceremony together. After the wedding we would have several days to get to know one another and see if we were a match. I was so excited.
I dropped my bag in the trunk, got in the car, and gunned the engine. Though the drive to Shifter Villages was several hours long, time flew as I visualized Brad and the future we would have together. In no time at all I was near the area. I passed a number of large billboards right before I entered the town, including a large cupcake shaped one advertising the Crazy Cakes Bakery. It was weird. It looked like someone had spray painted ‘FU Firk’ or ‘FU Dirk’ or something like that on it. But I still recognized the photo of the two scruffy bear shifters plastered on top of the board immediately. There were other billboards too, including one for ‘C and K Realty’. I didn’t see one for Brad’s realty company, Stanford Home Realty. He probably got so much business from word of mouth he didn’t need to advertise.
It was easy to find the Big Bull Inn, and as I parked the car I admired the beauty of the building. The stone inn was surrounded by lush foliage. If the inside was as charming as the outside, I was going to love it here. After parking the car, I opened the trunk to get my luggage when a deep voice from behind the building almost made me jump.
“Bag?”
I turned around to see one of the biggest men I’d ever seen. His face was scarred, but it was his eyes that really frightened me. They were a faded blue shade and almost lifeless. Behind him, a baldheaded man even taller and brawnier called out to me.
“Are you Judith Banks?”
“I…I am.”
“Pleased to meet you,” the man held out his hand. “I’m Vic Harris, and this is my brother, Max.”
“Oh, you’re the owner of the Big Bull.”
“That’s right. My brother and I are co-owners,” he jerked a finger towards Max. “He doesn’t say much, but he’s a good guy.”
“I understand.”
“Max, take Judith’s luggage to her room.”
Max grunted as he took the bag out of the trunk and walked off towards the hotel.
Vic shook his head. “He’s been like that ever since mom was killed.”
“Your mom was killed?”
“Yeah, some wolf shifter hooligans were trying to rob her and Max came to her defense, mom was killed, and Max was scarred up like hell…”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. That’s awful.”
“Yeah, it’s been very hard. And this latest mess hasn’t helped.”
“Latest mess?” I asked.
“Someone set fire to the Crazy Cakes Bakery and burned it down a month or so ago. About two weeks ago, they tried to start a fire at Kane’s Bar and Grill. They’ve been vandalizing the billboards, robbing homes, and God knows what else. They tried to pin it on Max.”
“Oh, that’s horrible.”
“It sucks. But of course they didn’t have any proof. Deputy Bob found a lighter on him and booked him for no reason. Pretty lame I’d say.”
“That does sound lame…”
“I think he was just looking for an excuse to lock him up. People tend to think Max is guilty just because of the way he looks.”
“Sorry to hear that,” I said. I had a good idea of how Max was feeling, but he needed to get over it. I’d been judged because of my size and the scars on my abdomen from when I was burned as a kid, but I owned it. As I got older, very few people made any comments. Most men seemed to appreciate my curves and a lot of women complimented me on my style. And the scars—granted they didn’t look great... When I was a kid, I was teased in the locker room while I changed clothes in gym class. But I refused to be self-conscious about the scars. No, I didn’t flaunt them. I avoided midriff tops and two piece swimsuits. But if a bit of scarred skin showed now and then at the pool or at the gym, I didn’t get upset over it. The only time I felt a bit awkward was when I was with a man for the first time. It had never seemed to bother any of them. There were things a lot worse than the scars and the generous curves I had.
“Well, he’s out now and there hasn’t been any trouble lately. But you know, they haven’t caught who did it, so there’s this thing hanging over his head,” Vic sad sadly.
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s tough.”
“Sorry,” Vic said. “I shouldn’t have unloaded on you like that. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”
“It’s no worry. It can help to talk about things. So, you own the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies Marriage Mates’ site?”
“Yes, I do,” Vic’s light blue eyes lit up. “I started it in hopes of finding my match but it kind of blew up. Now a bunch of men from this town are on it! Well you know that, I saw you set up a profile.”
I grinned. “Yes! And I think I’ve met my mate, Brad Stanford. I know you had some technical glitches on the site, but after emails started going through we connected and have been emailing privately. We’re meeting tonight and going to the wedding together.”
Vic furrowed his brows in surprise. “Brad Stanford? Was he your best match?”
“Well, not according to your site. But I think it was a mistake. I know you had an email glitch. I think you had a glitch on best matches too, Vic. In my case it doesn’t matter because I’m sure Brad is my best match. But it may help some of your other clients.”
“What happened?” Vic asked.
“Well, for some reason the site sent me the profiles of not one, but two bear shifters—Evan and Grant Myles. And at the bottom of the page it had the ten hearts to show how strong of a match we would be.”
“Ok,” Vic said.
“All ten of the hearts were filled with red. So the system had me as a ten-heart match with one of them. I’m not sure which one, though.”
“The site has not had any best match glitches that I am aware of,” Vic said, scratching his head.
“Well, this had to be a glitch. Evan and Grant were both profiled on the page but there was only
one
set of ten red filled hearts at the bottom. So I’m not sure if the site intended to match me with Evan or with Grant. It must have sent both profiles by mistake.
“Oh…now I see what you’re saying, Vic grinned. “That was not a mistake. It means you are a ten heart match with Evan
and
you are a ten heart match with Grant.”
“Oh, okay.” I wouldn’t have picked either one of them. If I were to try to decide between the two, it might have been tough. Despite their long hair and scruffy beards, I had to admit the dimpled grin on Evan was kind of hot, and Grant’s cleft chin was sexy. “If I was picking, I’m not sure which one of the bear shifters I would choose,” I mused out loud.
“Not one, Judith…
both
. Grant and Evan have a share-bear pact. They are a package deal!”
“Wha…” I felt myself growing hot. “What’s a share-bear pact?” Could it possibly be what I thought it was?
Vic confirmed my suspicion. “Basically, it’s when two male bear shifters agreed to share one woman, physically and emotionally.”
Not one, but two partners?! “I…uh…um…I…well.” It had never occurred to me the site had intended to match me with not one, but both of the men.
I had a quick visual of the two shifters, Evan and Grant, sliding against me, their rough beards scratching me as they licked my tits, belly, and ass. I could feel my panties growing a little wet. What the hell was wrong with me? I wanted someone like Brad. He was clean shaven and manicured. I bet he smelled like expensive, spicy cologne. Not only was he amazing to look at, but his power deals were an aphrodisiac. I wasn’t interested in one, let alone two scruffy baker boys.
“I…I…didn’t realize you had that type of thing on the site?”
Vic leaned his head back and roared with laughter. “That type of thing? What the heck is that type of thing? These are two men that have a strong bond with each other and want to share that with one woman. What’s wrong with that?”
“Do the men…” my voice trailed off. I was curious if the two men had sexual relations with each other.
Vic could read my thoughts and his blue eyes sparkled with amusement as he answered me, “Maybe in some triad relationships the men get it on, but not with these two. They are brothers, after all.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
“As you probably know ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies Marriage Mates’ is a fairly new site—it’s young. Grant and Evan Myles are the first pair of men we have on the site looking for a partner to form a trio with. They only uploaded their profiles recently, so you probably missed seeing them.”
That was true. I’d been so busy staring at Brad on page two of the site that I hadn’t looked at the new profiles that had been uploaded recently.
“We don’t have other pairs on there now, but I expect there will be more in the future. I know Conrad and Kurtis from C and K Realty are in the process of taking their personality tests now and plan to add their profiles. They’re also looking to form a triad.”
“Got it, well it doesn’t really matter. I’m sure Brad’s the one for me. Anyway, I need to get to my room and freshen up before the wedding.” I vaguely wondered what type of woman would partner with Grant and Evan. I couldn’t imagine handling two men, let alone two shifters at one time. I’d been divorced twice and each one of those men had been a handful on their own.
Vic nodded as he handed me a key. “Max took your bag up. You’re in room 22. It’s at the end of the hall and looks out over the trees in the back. It’s a nice room. I think you’ll be very comfortable there. Max will have gotten you some ice. You can ring him for more if you need it, or the ice machine is at the opposite end of the hall.”
“Thanks for the hospitality, Vic,” I said, “and thanks for helping me meet my mate!”
“Sure,” Vic replied. “Anytime…one day I hope to meet my mate on there.”
“I really hope you do.” I knew Vic started the site in order to find a mate for himself. I waved my hand at him. “Have you had any luck at all with that?”
“No, not yet,” Vic shook his head sadly. “I’ll know her when I see her and I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Maybe she’ll find you,” I said brightly. On the Luscious site the men were all shifters from Shifter Villages. They loaded their profile to the site in hopes a woman would see it and write them looking for a mate. Women from all over could also load their profiles in hopes that one of the shifters would be interested in seeing them as a potential mate. Right now there weren’t a ton of women or men on the site, but it was growing as more people found out about it.
“I hope so,” Vic scratched his bald head, “and sooner, rather than later!”
“I’m sure it will happen,” I said confidently. Vic seemed like such a nice guy. It was a shame he had not met his match. “It is so nice of you to help others.”
Vic’s face lit up. “Yeah, I’m the most popular guy in town right now. Everyone wants to be on the site, especially after finding out that Adrian found his mate on there. And it does feel good to help others.”
“You’re going to Adrian and Sherry’s wedding, right?” I asked.
“Of course, it’s the first match from ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” Vic pointed his finger and drew a large round air circle. “Right now there’s a big fat zero under marriage matches made at the website. But after tonight,” he drew a vertical line in the air, “I’ll be able to change that to a one!”
“I bet there’s plenty more marriage matches to come.” I said. I mean, what woman in her right mind wouldn’t want a hot and sexy shifter? As the word spread about the site, it would probably be deluged with women from around the world vying to find their mate! Thank God I’d found Brad before anyone else had a shot at him!
“I think so, too,” Vic said.
“Well, I better go freshen up, Brad is meeting me here tonight and taking me to the church and then to the reception after.”
“Did you hear the reception is being held at Kane’s Bar and Grill, not Adrian’s Barbershop?”
“Yeah, I know,” I smiled. “At first, Sherry planned to have it at the barbershop…not sure how that was going to work out! She’s having a beach theme, so I think she was planning to cover the barber chairs and floors with beach towels! Kane’s Bar and Grill offered to host it so she moved it there. I think that will work much better.”
“Agreed, it sounds like a wiser choice to me,” Vic said and then he added softly, “you know, sometimes we make choices and they’re not right…but we try to stick to them anyway,” he looked at me intently.
I frowned. “Hmm, are you trying to give me a message?” Was he insinuating that I should be looking at Evan and Grant as my potential mates instead of Brad Stanford? Who was he kidding?
Vic furrowed his brow. “Just remember to keep your heart open, Judith.”