Three Bears: A Goldilocks Christmas

©  COLETTE RHODES 2021

This bonus scene takes place after the main events of the Three Bears duet and contains spoilers for the series.

Chapter 1

Ria

“Merry Christmas, Goldie!”

“Wow,” I yawned, cracking one eye open and squinting at Eli’s beaming expression as he leaned over me. A few strands of brown hair had escaped his bun and tickled my face before I swatted them away. “You’re really all up in my face, huh.”

“Because it’s Christmas, and you keep sleeping, and being lame,” Eli teased, sitting up straight and punctuating each complaint with a poke to my ribs through the blanket.

“You know how I feel about Christmas. I thought we weren’t doing it this year?” I said around another yawn, sitting up in bed and stretching my arms over my head. Eli’s attention immediately dropped to my chest—specifically, my nipples that were pebbling in the cool air and very much visible through my sleep top. I arched my back, thrusting the goods out a little further. 

I was feeling generous, despite my pretty lackluster levels of Christmas spirit.

“We’re basically not doing it, and you are a little tease,” Eli chuckled, still staring at my chest. “All we’re doing is Christmas dinner because Seth is in the mood to cook. And I was going to try to convince you to bake cookies with me later while we listen to Bing Crosby. And Noah has this thing planned to entertain you all day. But other than that-”

I cut him off by throwing a pillow at his head. “That is literally Christmas! That is all the Christmas stuff minus the presents.”

“Depending on your definition, we may have a present for you,” Eli said with an unrepentant grin. I threw another pillow at him.

I didn’t even have a concrete reason why Christmas turned me into the Grinch, it was more just a general sense of this-is-all-pointless. Besides, my birthday was yesterday! Growing up, I’d hated being a Christmas Eve baby because my birthday was always lost in the holiday shuffle. Nowadays, I was totally fine with just one set of gifts, and the guys had already gone all out. 

Yesterday. As agreed.

“You weren’t supposed to get me things. We agreed,” I chastised, giving him my best serious face.

“Well, it’s not a thing,” Eli laughed. “It’s an experience. You never specified experiences were off the table. And I need to stop talking now or Noah is going to kick my ass for ruining the surprise.”

“Fine, I’ll allow it,” I grumbled. “Only because I’m intrigued. Gimme a minute to get ready.” 

“I’ll make coffee!” Eli jumped off the bed like he’d been snorting crushed candy canes all morning, heading for the door before turning around and launching himself at the bed. I shrieked in surprise, swatting his shoulder as he easily pinned me under him, grinning like a maniac. 

“Nearly forgot my Christmas morning kiss,” Eli teased, giving me his sexiest fuckboy smirk.

“I have morning breath,” I mumbled instantly, pressing my mouth against his shoulder so I wasn’t breathing all over him. Sometimes it was a massive liability having lovers with super acute olfactory senses.

“Then let me kiss your other lips,” Eli replied, waggling his eyebrows as he started moving down my body.

“Get off her!” Noah barked from the other room. “Stick to the damn plan, Eli!”

“Boooooooo!” I yelled. “Bad Daddy Bear!”

Eli’s shoulders shook with laughter as he dropped his head to my stomach, and I toyed with the loose strands of his shoulder-length hair.

Noah grumbled something unintelligible, though I could feel his amusement through the bond.

“Keep going,” I encouraged Eli, grabbing his man bun and trying to shove his head down. “I don’t mind being on the naughty list.”

“As if there was any other option for you,” Eli chuckled. Rude. “Come on, get dressed. There is a sacred plan that must not be messed with.”

“The plan better include a replacement for the orgasm I was just denied,” I grumbled, wriggling out from under Eli and storming to the bathroom to get ready like the calm, rational person I was. 

I took the world’s speediest shower, mostly to warm up, before indulging in a little extra hair-fluffing time to make sure my blonde curls were as presentable as possible. Eli was gone when I returned to the bedroom, and I pulled out a cream fitted sweater dress and matching thigh-high knit socks that were a little bit festive without being full on themed. I was wearing a bra—not about to let gravity win the war that it was waging on my boobs—but I forewent the panties.

Because sometimes it was good having lovers with super acute olfactory senses.

Eli was putting the finishing touches on my coffee as I emerged from the bedroom while Seth pottered around the kitchen looking like he’d walked out of the pages of GQ Magazine in his cashmere sweater.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.” He shot me a sinful look that made me mad about the missed orgasm all over again.

“Merry Christmas,” I replied, sidling up next to him at the counter and going up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Whatcha making?”

“Just something small for now,” Seth told me with a wink, grabbing my hips and turning me around, gently pushing me out of the kitchen. “Relax, enjoy your coffee. Noah’s getting firewood.”

“Remember how we had a whole conversation about not doing Christmas?” I teased, gratefully accepting my coffee from Eli. “About how none of us really cared about it and we’d make the effort next year, hopefully with a baby bear to spoil?”

“It just feels so homey with you here,” Eli explained, a small whine in his voice. “Like we’re all a proper little family! Isn’t that what Christmas is about?” 

“You know I can’t argue with that,” I grumbled affectionately. 

“Good,” Eli teased with a wink. “That was the point.”

As far as I knew, the three of them hadn’t really bothered with holidays when it was just them. They’d made homemade gifts, but other than that, it was just another day. It was basically the total opposite of my upbringing—my mom lived for the holidays. That woman loved nothing more than a themed dining table and making her family members speak to each other over the course of an obnoxiously long meal. 

“Well, now I feel underprepared,” I lamented, eyeing up the array of ingredients Seth had spread out on the kitchen counter.

“No need, we have it all planned out,” Eli said cheerfully, preparing his own coffee. “We went into town and got supplies and everything.”

“Yes. We’re having eggs for breakfast, just a light meal,” Seth added. 

“Very Christmas-y,” I teased, not at all mad about it. I liked the concept of a big holiday meal but I was more of a pasta-and-garlic-bread than a turkey-and-trimmings kind of girl.

“Not Christmas-y at all,” Seth conceded. “But we’ll have a big meal later. The point of this is to give us energy without making us uncomfortably full.”

“Why?” I asked, picking up the jars of spices Seth had set aside and examining them. Mr. Fancy Pants.

“Because no one likes to fuck on a full stomach,” Eli teased, easily catching the chestnut Seth threw at his head without spilling a drop of his coffee.

“Stick to the plan,” Seth hissed, glaring at his younger brother.

I snorted, breaking the tension. “You’re going to fuck me for Christmas?” I teased. “I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked! I could have never foreseen this turn of events!”

“Smart ass,” Noah groused, kicking off his boots as he carted in an armful of firewood. “It’s a special occasion. If we were fucking you, you’d get a special fucking.”

“Be still my beating heart,” I sighed, swooning dramatically. “Are you going to dress up for me? I definitely have a Santa kink that I haven’t had a chance to explore yet. I could call you ‘Daddy Claus’ and—”

“Please stop talking,” Noah said with a grimace while Eli howled with laughter. “Though it’s nice to know you’ll still be hot for us when we’re old and gray.”

“Only if you keep the beard.” I shot him a wink over my coffee cup before taking a slow sip. Mm, Grandaddy Bear. I could get on board with that.

“You smell horny,” Eli said, stepping right into my personal space and inhaling embarrassingly deeply. Probably should have worn panties. “That Santa fetish is really getting your motor running, huh?”

“Food,” Seth cut in, giving Eli and I both a pointed look. “Food, coffee, then you can both explore Ria’s depraved Christmas fantasies to your hearts’ content.”

“Except they can’t because that’s not the plan,” Noah grumbled, stacking up the wood next to the fireplace. “Everyone is already ignoring the fucking plan.”

“I’m very excited about the plan,” I promised him, leaning my hip against the counter. 

“Good,” Noah declared, dusting off his hands and cuffing Eli’s head as he went past. “Eli, come help me upstairs.”

“Got plan stuff to do,” Eli said cheerfully, answering my confused look. 

“Stop giving it away,” Noah said, glaring at Eli as though he’d given me any useful information. “Seth hasn’t taken a break, make sure he makes himself breakfast too.”

“Yes, Daddy Bear,” I replied with a salute, feeling a smidge annoyed that I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t have the patience for surprises.

Seth’s lips twitched as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, bent over the plate of mystery food he was preparing. He could be as sneaky as he wanted, there was no hiding the whole ass turkey in the oven. Even though there was only four of us, three bear shifters could demolish a turkey.

“Stop looking so smug,” I ordered, glaring at Seth over the rim of my coffee cup. “You’re all on my shit list. We’re meant to be ignoring Christmas.” 

Seth hummed thoughtfully. “It was your idea to ignore Christmas, and yet you feel nostalgic when you talk about it. Why is that?”

“Stupid bond,” I muttered, not meaning it. I loved the mate bond, even if it made it impossible to keep anything private. It’s nothing really—no traumatic Christmas Day memories or anything like that.” 

I paused to collect my thoughts and Seth gave me a probing look, encouraging me to keep going. How he could bend me to his will without even opening his mouth was a mystery I still hadn’t cracked.

“Okay, so this is stupid, but when I was a kid it was a jealousy thing. Everyone made a huge deal of my brothers’ birthdays over the summer, but mine was always shoehorned in right in the middle of the holidays. And after I left home, I just never bothered with it anymore. Depending on the job, I usually worked on Christmas.”

The Christmas I’d spent on a cruise ship, getting blind drunk on rum and serenading my coworkers with a truly spectacular version of All I Want For Christmas Is You was my favorite.

 “So, it isn’t Christmas Day itself you take issue with,” Seth said casually.

“Just my petty childhood jealousy over having the worst birthday and not really caring about it since then,” I agreed. 

I blamed my mom. How hard would it have been to keep me in utero for another week?

Joking, joking. Mostly.

“Did you have a nice birthday yesterday?” Seth pressed.

“You know I did,” I sighed dramatically.

“Then there’s no reason not to embrace the holiday spirit today,” Seth replied, sounding his rather sedate version of cheerful. “Your birthday was celebrated, and now we’ll celebrate Christmas. But first, I want you to taste test some dessert ideas for me.”

“Okay,” I said, instantly perking up. I had absolutely no objections to that. I set my coffee down on the counter and looked around expectantly for dessert to materialize. Seth was an amazing cook, but we didn’t eat a lot of sweet stuff and I was struggling to imagine what he’d make. 

“Close your eyes,” Seth instructed, still my bossy dom though his voice was more gentle than usual. I closed my eyes, waiting to hear the sound of utensils or feel a spoon at my mouth, but I could only hear a weird rustling sound. Okay then, maybe it was a premade dessert? No judgment here, though I couldn’t think of anything we had in the pantry that would work. 

“Are you… am I still meant to have my eyes closed?” I asked uncertainly. 

Seth hummed in agreement, but the noise was slightly muffled. I could hear him moving around and eventually I felt him move closer, his bright minty scent relaxing me despite my general confusion.

“Taste,” Seth murmured in my ear, his hand coming up to cup the back of my head and guiding me forward.

Taste where? 

“Open,” Seth prompted, his other hand lightly swatting my ass. 

“I’ll spank you back,” I muttered half-heartedly. “You deserve it for giving me such bad directions.”

I stuck my tongue out, sort of facetiously, but Seth took advantage and moved, pressing his neck against my mouth. I gasped in surprise as the overwhelming taste of sour apple candy hit my tongue. Instinctively, I move my head back because I prefer my Seth more sweet than sour, but his grip in my hair keeps me from going far.

“Lick it all up, sweetheart. This is a taste test, remember? You need to be thorough.” 

Oh god, he was scolding me in his best Sexy Professor voice. We both knew that was kryptonite for my vagina.

I leaned forward and licked another long stripe up his neck, repeating the motion a few times until he tasted mostly like himself. Since he’d decided to play dirty by using his body as a spoon, I was absolutely going to play dirty right back. By the time I finished licking him clean, I was practically straddling his thigh and rubbing my breasts over his chest.

“What do you think?” Seth asked, his voice sounding far away as I tried to decide whether or not I could get my legs around his waist at this angle. 

“What did I think about what?” I mumbled, attempting to get one leg up. Why did they all have to be so tall? Why were my quad muscles basically for decoration?

“The taste,” Seth replied, sounding faintly amused as he shifted his hands to my hips, anchoring me in place before I could really get my climbing mission underway. “You’re taste testing, remember?”

“Am I? Right, I am. Too sour,” I declared, trying to get lips back on his skin. He was being altogether too relaxed about this and I was trying to seduce him, damn it. 

Seth hummed, gently guiding me back and squeezing my hips in a way that very silently said stay, like I was an errant puppy instead of his sexy goddess of a mate who wanted nothing more than to climb him like a tree. 

“Eyes closed,” Seth instructed again, giving me a pointed look. 

“What? We did the taste test,” I whined. “You could always give me a taste of your special sauce,” I added, waggling my eyebrows. 

Seth snorted. “I will most definitely take you up on that offer later, sweetheart, but we’re still taste testing for dessert right now. Close your eyes.”

“I want your special sauce for dessert,” I grumbled, even as I did what he asked.

I sighed dramatically as he did whatever he was doing, noting that there wasn’t a plastic rustle this time. It was a liability having the three of them around all the time just looking like that and being their delightful selves. Eli had done a great job at teasing me this morning, and now under Seth’s attention, I was feeling distinctly achy between my thighs.

“Tongue,” Seth commanded softly, gripping my chin. I stuck my tongue out and Seth pressed what I guessed was his wrist against it. I wrinkled my nose at the sickly sweet taste of honey, glad that he’d been less liberal with the amount he used than with the sour apple because I was determined to lick up every drop. Seth had ironclad control, and nothing made me happier than dismantling it because I knew only I could.

“Minx,” Seth teased as I scraped my teeth over the veins in his wrist. Shifters weren’t in the habit of letting just anyone get their teeth near vulnerable spots like veins, and it never ceased to amaze me that I had the privilege. I opened my eyes and shot him a flirty wink.

“And what did you think of the flavor?” he asked, amused eyes glittering down at me.

“Far too sweet, as you already know.” This was the stupidest, most pointless taste test ever, but I was all about the licking so I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Mm, right as always, my Ria.” I could have sworn my heart ballooned with affection. “One more to try, eyes closed.”

 I groaned, scrunching my eyes shut. “If this isn’t vanilla frosting on your dick, I want a refund.”

“So demanding,” Seth tutted, borderline playful for him. “You know we don’t have vanilla frosting.”

I almost countered that I had no idea about the sour apple candy either, but then I remembered a jar of hard candies in the top of the pantry that I basically ignored because hard candies were for senior citizens and I would not be persuaded otherwise.

There was the telltale flick of a plastic lid popping open, which sort of had my attention, but the soft rustle of fabric was infinitely more fascinating. Please be stripping, please be stripping…

“On your knees,” Seth commanded lightly. He hadn’t even finished talking and my knees hit the floor with a thud. Oh so gently, Seth wrapped a hand in my hair and guided me forward until my tongue made contact with his skin. 

Boo, abs. Abs weren’t dick.

Yay, chocolate sauce. Totally here for the chocolate sauce. I needed no encouragement to lick him clean this time. 

“And how was that?” Seth asked politely as he helped me back to my feet, as if he hadn’t just smeared melted chocolate over his body for me to slurp off.

“Delightful, thank you,” I deadpanned, narrowing my eyes at him. He was feeling amused enough that I couldn’t help but think this was part of the mysterious plan. 

“So you’d say the third option is your favorite option?” Seth pressed, grabbing my coffee cup and placing it back in my hands like nothing had even happened. 

“Yes, the third option is my favorite option. Can I just say for the record that I don’t like all this teasing you and Eli are doing?” I said, knowing I sounded a little surly. 

Seth cupped my jaw up, holding me in place so he could lick the taste of chocolate sauce off my lips. “Yes you do.”

Okay, fine. I did.

I didn’t want to like it, because I was impatient, but I couldn’t deny that the anticipation was giving me a thrill. 

Eli and Noah reemerged from whatever they’d been doing upstairs, Noah still doing his grumpy face despite the contentment I could feel through the bond while Eli beamed.

“Look what I found,” Eli sang, holding up the Bing Crosby vinyl he must have dug out of Seth’s old room. “We’re about to get proper Christmas-y up in this joint.” 

I snorted, helping Seth carry the plates of eggs to the table. “We don’t have a tree.” 

“Next year,” Noah replied instantly. “Should have done it this year, I knew you’d come around.”

“I have not come around,” I argued, even though I was feeling a lot more festive than I’d intended to feel today. Especially as Bing Crosby started to croon in the background and the four of us all took our seats at the table. The fire was crackling and the world outside our windows was blanketed in white—even without the tree it felt Hallmark-level Christmasy. 

I’d never given much thought to the holidays as an adult—after I’d left home they were just days off from work, depending on where I happened to be working that year—but this was so nice. Not that we didn’t sit around and have meals together all the time, but there was something kind of warm and fuzzy and special about it.

I hoped next year we’d have a squalling little bundle of joy here with us, but if we didn’t, I loved our little family exactly as we were too. 

“Are you having a Scrooge-seeing-the-light moment there or something?” Eli asked with a grin, apparently monitoring me through our bond. “You feel all sappy and warm and fuzzy.”

“Well, I don’t now,” I shot back, petulantly chewing on my eggs to cover my embarrassment at the final-act-of-the-movie moment I’d been having in my head. “What’s this plan of yours then?” 

It was driving me slowly crazy that they all knew what was happening and I didn’t. Like it was kind of hot that they’d planned a whole thing without me realizing, but also really fucking infuriating. Mixed emotions over here.

“It’s like a game,” Eli said, grinning mischievously. “Sound good, Goldilocks?”

“Goldilocks?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Maybe he was feeling fancy because it was Christmas, usually I was just ‘Goldie’. “You know I’m always down for a game.”

“Good,” Noah said, an amused gleam in his eye. “Then eat up.”

 

Chapter 2

Ria

We had a leisurely breakfast where I tried and failed to guess what the experience they were giving me was, much to Noah’s chagrin because he was adamant both Eli and Seth had ruined the surprise already.

I was pretty convinced it was a foursome, but they’d all determinedly said that it wasn’t, and the teensiest part of me was relieved about that. Not that I didn’t love that - it was in my top three favorite activities of all time - it’s just that we’d had a birthday foursome yesterday and my enhanced healing only worked so fast. I could probably handle it, but I was still a little sore and I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as usual.

“I’m still leaning towards some kind of kinky role play thing,” I said, finishing the last of my coffee. “Am I Mrs. Claus? A naughty elf? A naughty human? I do have some excellent Krampus erotica on my Kindle and I know you’ve stolen ideas from there before…” 

“What the fuck is a Krampus?” Eli asked, looking too genuinely confused to be faking it.

“No more questions, it’s time,” Noah announced as Seth and Eli quickly gathered up the plates.

“Fine. I guess let’s do this thing even though it’s totally a gift and we said no gifts,” I sniffed as though it bothered me even though I was super excited and having a great day in general. It was the principle of the thing.

“You’re having a great day,” Noah scoffed, reading my mind and the bond and totally calling me out. “And it’s not a thing, it’s an experience so it doesn’t count as a gift.”

“So Eli said.” 

“Of course he did,” Noah replied, narrowing his eyes on a grinning Eli.

“Relax, no one spoiled anything,” Eli laughed. “You’re going to have to rug up a little, Goldie. Boots, coat, hat, gloves, the works.”

“We’re going outside?” I groaned. It was snowing out there.

“Not for long,” Seth assured me. “But even if it’s just for five minutes, you need to bundle up,” he added. I could feel his concern through the bond for my fragile, basically human body.

“Okay, okay. I guess I can do that,” I sighed dramatically.

“We can feel you practically buzzing with excitement, but sure. Play it cool,” Eli teased. 

I blew him a kiss as I made my way to the front door and hastily shoved on my coat.

Eli followed, kneeling at my feet to help me into my boots and lacing them up, while Seth pulled my beanie onto my head and tugged my hair out of my collar.

These guys were making me spoiled and lazy. I loved it.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Noah instructed, resting a hand on my lower back and guiding me out into the cold. I glanced over my shoulder as Seth closed the door behind us.

“They’re not coming?” I asked, not even pretending to protest when Noah scooped me up bridal-style so I didn’t have to trudge through the snow.

“You’ll see them soon enough.”

“You’re being very mysterious,” I said, nuzzling my cold nose into his warm neck. “It’s very sexy. And annoying that you’re better at locking down your emotions in the bond so you can actually surprise me.”

Noah snorted. “You were on your own for so long, you probably aren’t used to guarding your emotions the way we are.”

Well, that, and all three of them repressed their feelings in some form or another because of their childhood trauma, but that wasn’t exactly a cheery Christmas chat, so I didn’t point it out.

Noah put me down gently, twenty feet or so from the house, taking a minute to fix my beanie and leaning forward to lightly kiss my forehead. 

“Close your eyes and count to ten, then let yourself inside,” he instructed. 

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Then what? Bedroom?” 

Noah’s beard twitched as he tried not to smile. “I’m confident we’ll end up there already, no rush. You’ll know what you have to do when you get inside.”

“Fine,” I sighed, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. Patient, I was not. I wanted to get in there already and find out what they had planned.

Noah brushed one more kiss over my forehead and I closed my eyes and began to count down from ten, not really bothering to raise my voice since they all had super hearing anyway. 

Noah could be light on his feet when he wanted to be, and I barely heard him leave over the sound of my counting. While they were all being very careful not to give anything away, I could feel traces of their anticipation through the bonds, and it only fed into my own excitement.

Whatever they had planned, I was confident I would love it. And if I didn’t, the shared connection between us would let them know right away. It was a glorious kind of reassurance to have.

“One!” I yelled, just so they knew I was coming. Though without Noah here to carry me, they got an extra minute or two of prep time just waiting for me to slowly pick my way back through the snow without falling on my ass. 

I opened the front door slowly, peeking around it before letting myself into the house. I could hear the fire crackling, and the Christmas songs still playing, but no sound of voices or movement. Sneaky bears. 

“I’m here!” I called, stripping out of all the layers I’d just put on and hanging my coat back on the rack. Nothing. Except for a slight spike in excitement through the bond. Okay, interesting. 

As I emerged from the short corridor that led to the front door, I immediately noticed three random chairs that Eli had obviously built, sitting awkwardly in a row in the living room. On the dining table were three steaming bowls of something that definitely hadn’t been there when I left.

I thought back to Seth’s weird little taste test in the kitchen. Too sour. Too sweet. 

Just right.

Oh my god, these cheesy fucking bears.

“Are we Goldilocks role playing?” I yelled, shaking with laughter. “I’m not fucking you in your fur, just FYI. That is so, so, so not my kink.”

Again, no response, but the rapid spike in amusement they felt told me they’d heard every word I said.

Alright, if we were doing this, we were doing it properly. I was lowkey disappointed that I was wearing a sweater dress instead of a big flouncy one, but I did have two hair ties in the kitchen—because they were somehow all over the house—and I quickly bunched my curls into two pigtails because I absolutely loved myself a theme outfit.

“Wow, what a beautiful house,” I said loudly, making my way to the dining table. “Oh and someone has made food, and I’m so hungry.”

Fortunately, Seth hadn’t made porridge. I refused to eat it ever again after The Great Porridge Poisoning and he knew it. Instead, he’d heated up three small bowls of the pumpkin soup we’d had in the freezer. Perfect. 

When had he even done this? I was in the kitchen with them the whole time.

He hadn’t bothered using different sized bowls, which I was quietly grateful for because pretending Eli was an actual baby would seriously kill the vibe. 

I stood behind the chair and scooped up a small spoonful of soup, testing it against my lip. 

“Shit, this is actually really hot,” I muttered, immediately setting it down. I felt the heat coming off the earthenware bowl itself and idly wondered if he’d set them all up by the fireplace to heat, which would sort of explain my obliviousness. “I mean, this bowl is too hot!”

A+ acting skills, as always.

I moved to the next bowl, steaming significantly less than the others. How had he even set this up so quickly? Ninja bears. 

The soup was barely lukewarm, and I wrinkled my nose as I put the spoon down. 10 out of 10, do not recommend tepid pumpkin soup.

“This bowl is too cold!” I yelled, enjoying that little buzz of satisfaction I felt in return each time—especially from Seth. 

I could have skipped the last one, I doubted they actually cared if I tasted them or not, but I was curious to see whether he actually managed to get the temperature of the last one right.

If he did, I was going to have to seriously step up my role play game. Here I was, reading smutty extracts out of historical romances and relying on my feminine wiles for the rest, and they were setting up whole scenarios for me. Eli had built chairs!

Goddamn overachievers.

I tasted a spoonful of the final bowl of pumpkin soup, laughing to myself as I set it back down. “This bowl is just freaking right.”

Incredible. 

I mean, the level of detail. He was getting a reward blow job for sure.

Next up were the chairs, which were all a simple wooden design though they did have cushioned seats because of course all of them had understood the assignment. I sat down on the first one, totally unsurprised to find it was barely cushioned at all. 

“This chair is too hard,” I sang, shaking my head at their shenanigans. How long had they been planning this?

I stood up and moved to the next one, flopping into it with absolute confidence it would be like sinking into a cloud. 

“This chair is too soft!” I called, though I kind of liked it that way.

I forced myself to get up and moved to the final chair, giving it an assessing look. “This better not break,” I muttered, grabbing the arm and giving it a small shake. “We’ve already done that bit of the story.”

Reasonably confident that Eli wouldn’t let me break a chair with my ass on purpose, I tentatively sat down on the comfortable final chair, perching on the edge just in case.

“This chair is just right!” 

A small buzz of satisfaction from Eli, but still silence. Now what was I supposed to do?

Try out all the beds?

That was the logical progression of the story. 

If nothing else, they were probably hiding in one of the rooms somewhere, and I was getting increasingly eager to see them. 

First stop was Seth’s old room, currently a bit of a chaotic storage area though turning it into a comfortable guest room so my parents could visit was at the top of my agenda for the new year.

I flopped down on the empty bed, wondering where my guys were. Hiding in the bathrooms maybe? That visual made me snort.

“This bed is too soft!” I called, getting up and crossing the hallway to Eli’s old room. This one I spent more time in, as we’d turned it into a studio for Seth and I to use in the winter when the old cottage was too cold. Eli’s old bed was pushed against the wall and usually stacked high with boxes, but they’d cleared a Ria-sized sliver on the edge for me to lie down on.

Fucking precious. 

I laid down, wiggling a bit to nudge boxes out of the way, wondering if this was the best and maybe most ridiculous Christmas I’d ever had.

“This bed is too hard!” I called, half rolling, half falling off the edge to head downstairs.

As I went past both the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, I noticed the doors were shut so I guessed they were hiding in there. 

Get yourself three men who’ll hide in the bathroom while you prance around the house doing your elaborate fairy tale-themed role play. That was life advice you could take to the bank. 

The master bedroom was all neat and tidy, with an orange-and-clove scented candle burning on the dresser, and a lamp that cast the whole room in a warm golden glow. It would all be fairly textbook romantic, were it not for the small hiking pack leaning against the bed.

My hiking pack. In the exact place I’d left it when I broke into their house the first time, freshly betrayed by my ex-boyfriend, high as a kite, and in dire need of a nap.

“Okay,” I murmured quietly, smiling to myself. “I see what you’re doing.”

I ran my fingers over the bag as I walked past, sitting on the edge of the bed to roll off my thigh-high socks before pulling back a corner of the blankets and sliding into the bed. Usually, I slept in the middle, but this side was where I’d been lying on that first visit when they’d found me here, and the pillow smelled strongly of Seth’s eucalyptus scent. 

Wiggling down until I was comfortable, I closed my eyes and feigned sleep, my excitement steadily building. I knew they’d be monitoring my feelings, that they’d know I’d figured out what we were doing and was ready for them to come in and continue the games. 

Not one minute later, I heard the door open and I smiled into the pillow as they quietly made their way in. I knew we were doing something inspired by our first meeting, but I had no idea how far they were taking it.

I mean, would I have totally had an orgy with random bear shifter strangers right after I found out my ex was cheating on me and I’d been too happily high to consider the consequences? Probably. Noah hating me on sight meant that option had never been on the table, but he didn’t hate me these days…

“Can we keep her?” Eli was practically vibrating with amusement as he asked the question. Was that what he’d said when he first saw me? I hadn’t woken up right away and I didn’t remember this part of their conversation.

I hoped it was. That was cute as shit.

“You want to keep the girl that smells like marijauna?” Noah asked, sounding suitably unimpressed. 

“And tears,” Eli whispered. “Marijuana and tears.”

I rolled my eyes, my face hidden by my hair. 

Noah made a discontented noise at being corrected. “You want to keep the girl that smells like marijuana and tears?” he amended, and I could almost feel the annoyed glare he was shooting Eli. 

“Why don’t we wake her up first?” Seth suggested, sounding mildly amused. He was for sure the worst actor out of all of us, but I loved him anyway.

“I’ll lick her face,” Eli replied immediately, and this bit I did remember. He sounded just as enthusiastic this time as he had back then, my little puppy bear.

“You will not,” Noah shot back, before falling quiet for a moment. I felt in the bond as he struggled to recall the next bit, but I remembered it perfectly. Noah had said he was going to wake me up in his grumpiest, scariest bear voice, and Eli had joked that I’d pee on the bed out of fright.

“Relax, big boy. I’m not going to wet my pants,” I purred, rolling onto my back and kicking the blankets off my legs to stretch. Last time I’d done this, I’d been wearing Eli’s t-shirt and a pair of panties. 

I wasn’t wearing any panties this time, and they were definitely getting a quality sneak peek from their spot at the end of the bed at what wasn’t under my sweater dress.

Noah smirked at me, arms crossed over his chest. “Having fun, Goldilocks?” he asked. 

I pushed out of the bed, sauntering up to him like I had done the very first time I’d met him. 

“If I’m Goldilocks, does that make you the Daddy Bear?” I asked, stopping a few inches in front of him and looking up to meet his eyes, shining with pure adoration for me.

Before I could open my mouth to sass any of them again, Noah had his hands around my waist and was tossing me onto the bed where I landed with a squeak. 

“Think you can just break into our house, Goldilocks?” he asked, keeping his voice mild. I knew what he was doing—if I wanted this to go in a darker direction, they’d totally follow my lead. Maybe one day it’d be fun to pretend I couldn’t get away, but I didn’t want that right now.

I wanted to do exactly what I would have done back then, which was jump in with both feet, consequences be damned. 

“I mean, it certainly looks like it,” I pointed, giving each of them an arch look in turn. “You could always try locking the door.” 

As I spoke, all three of them were moving in closer, boxing me in on the bed. My vagina did a happy dance in response, clenching in anticipation. 

“You don’t seem very repentant,” Seth said mildly. “Do you make a habit of just wandering into houses that don’t belong to you?”

“I mean, not usually. But maybe I should make it one if I’m going to regularly find hot dudes inside ready to ravish me,” I replied thoughtfully, enjoying their jealous growls. 

“I think the fuck not,” Eli muttered, the first to lose control and launch himself at me. “You’re our Goldilocks now, we’re never letting you go.”

Eli tugged at the bottom of my sweater dress impatiently, and I sat up on my knees with a laugh so he could pull it over my head, revealing the cream bra and no panties I had on underneath. Eli tossed the dress aside, ready to grab me again, but Seth blocked him with an outstretched arm. 

“Safe words,” Seth commanded, insisting on a verbal reminder as he held a huffing Eli back. 

“Yellow to slow down, red to stop,” I replied obediently. It was kind of a moot point with the mate bond between us—if I felt uncomfortable even for a second, they’d notice.

“That’s our girl,” Seth said softly, leaning in to kiss the tip of my nose. 

Eli shoved him roughly out of the way, scooping me up until we were chest-to-chest, the thin lace of my bra contrasting with the soft wool of the sweater he was still wearing. He nipped playfully at my lower lip, soothing over the sting with his tongue. 

“Are you having a good Christmas, Goldilocks?” he murmured against my lips. 

“The best,” I replied, attempting to angle my head for a proper kiss. 

“We haven’t even made cookies yet,” Eli teased. 

“I swear to Krampus, if you don’t stop talking and make good on all this teasing, I’m going to lose my shit,” I warned, pulling back to glare at him. 

My still stinging muscles flared in that moment, reminding me that I was still pretty wrecked from yesterday, but it was Christmas. 

I owed it to Santa to persist. That was what Christmas spirit was all about.

Probably.

Eli grinned while the stoic twins repressed their own smiles. 

“So impatient. Fine, lay back, legs apart,” Eli instructed, gently grabbing my hips to guide me like I needed assistance to get into my favorite position—specifically, prone with my mate’s tongue on my clit. I flopped dramatically back on the bed, letting my legs fall open without a moment’s hesitation. 

“So shy and retiring,” Noah remarked drily, even as the reverence he had for me flowed freely through our bond.

“Did you get me an orgasm for Christmas, Daddy Claus? I’ve been such a good girl,” I teased, reveling in his pained groan.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m literally begging you to call me ‘Daddy Bear’,” Noah muttered. “Begging.”

Before I could come up with a smartass retort, Eli’s face was buried between my legs, his tongue teasing my slit as his thumb rubbed slow circles over his mating mark on my inner thigh, driving me wild.

“Faster,” I sighed. “More. Harder. All those things, you freaking tease.”

Seth tutted, sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms crossed looking far too pleased with himself. “Have you forgotten the game already, sweetheart?”

I had completely forgotten.

“You’re all so corny and I love it,” I sighed, draping my legs over Eli’s shoulders and giving him a gentle kick in the back with my heel. Just to let him know I meant business. “This tongue is too gentle.”

“Well done, sweetheart,” Seth said approvingly, his smooth dom voice making desire curl low in my gut.

Eli rumbled in satisfaction, the sound vibrating against me in an immensely pleasing way as his thumbs parted me, tongue pressing hard against my folds and licking me like I was his favorite ice cream.

“This tongue is too slow,” I said breathily as Eli dragged it up over my clit at an agonizing pace but now with the right amount of pressure.

I couldn’t decide if I liked this game or not. The fact that they were dragging it all out was making me hotter and more bothered, but I was also an impatient, dramatic person who wanted to whine and complain about them selfishly torturing me for their own amusement. 

Eli picked up his pace, tongue flicking at the edge of my clit in a way that he knew I loved, and I felt my entire body relax into the mattress while everything inside me coiled tighter at the same time. 

“This tongue is just right. So, so right,” I moaned, eyes rolling back. 

“You are doing so good, little thief,” Noah replied in a low voice, husky with desire. 

I preened a little under his praise, arching my back up off the bed. I loved intimacy with each of them individually, but there was no denying that having three sets of eyes on me got me waterfall-level wet. 

Apparently done fucking around, Eli pressed against the back of my thighs with his shoulders to keep me in place and went to town lavishing my clit with his tongue, until I was squirming underneath him, twisting the blanket beneath me into knots with my fingers. So close, so close, so close…

Eli sealed his mouth over my clit and sucked with just the right amount of pressure to make my control snap. I scrunched my eyes shut, concentrating on just feeling and experiencing—the sound of my gasping breaths and their heavy ones, the feel of the warm blankets at my back, and the gentle puff of Eli’s breath over my pussy as he brushed soft kisses everywhere, waiting for me to come down from my high. 

Merry freaking Christmas to me.

“What’s next?” I sighed, reaching down to play with Eli’s hair. “If you want to stuff me like a Christmas turkey, I’m totally fine with that. Just FYI.”

Eli pressed his lips to the mating mark on my thigh, shaking with laughter. 

“You talk a big game, Goldilocks,” Noah teased, moving in to lie down next to me and twirling my hair around his finger. “But we know you’re still sore from yesterday. No one is stuffing you today.”

“Well, what is even the point then?” I asked, attempting to throw my hands up in exasperation even though my arms were limp noodles.

“We’re going to take turns eating your pretty pussy for dessert, then we’re going to have Christmas dinner. That’s the point,” Noah deadpanned. 

Oh.

I could get on board with that.

“Then, by all means,” I said, gesturing magnanimously at my pussy. “Feast.”

Chapter 3

Ria

By the time Seth had flipped me over and eaten me out from behind, followed by Noah insisting I ride his face (ten points for creativity. Minus five points for making me move so much), my limbs were mush, I had beard burn on my thighs, and my clitoris was basically lounging, having a cigarette and begging for a break. 

All in all, a great success.

Seth and Eli had disappeared, presumably into the kitchen judging by the delicious smells that were slowly filtering through the door.

“How are you holding up?” Noah asked. He’d arranged me so I was draped over his chest as he laid back on the bed, and he was running his enormous hands repeatedly down my spine in a way that very much made me contemplate a nap. 

“Best. Christmas. Ever.”

“Good. The plan worked out perfectly. You are orgasmed out, and now it’s time to eat,” Noah replied, patting my naked ass. His satisfaction flowed through the bond and it was adorable how proud he was feeling. 

Wait,  it was time to eat?

“Are you serious? I can’t eat right now. I can’t even move. You guys have way too high expectations of me.”

“We are very demanding,” Noah agreed solemnly. “What if I told you that Seth was up at 4am, quietly prepping all the food so we could surprise you later?”

Noah drew lazy circles on my hip with his thumb while my heart went all gooey and melty inside.

“I’d say let’s go help him and he is banned from cleanup duty.” Noah hummed in agreement as I continued. “I’d also say that it really doesn’t seem fair that you did all this work for me the day after you all spoiled me on my birthday. Promise me that you three won’t make an annual habit out of this,” I warned, attempting to make my raspy post-orgasm voice sound stern.

“I’m not promising that,” Noah snorted, grunting as I rolled off him to find my clothes and using a little more elbow than strictly necessary. “It isn’t work to do this for you, Ria.”

“Of course it is,” I replied, dumbfounded. I grabbed my bra and wrestled my boobs back into their lacy prison before heading towards the drawers for some underwear, Noah’s hungry eyes following me the whole way as he stretched languidly on the bed, hands behind his head.

“You bring light into our lives every single day, Ria. You’ve made this house a home. I promise you, it’s not work to take a couple of days out of the year to spoil you. If anything, you should be demanding more.” 

“Don’t encourage me,” I replied, awkwardly shoving my legs into my underwear because, honestly, my thighs were still shaking a little and standing was hard. “I’ll become an unmanageable brat if you keep spoiling me.”

“I can manage you just fine,” Noah drawled, all sexy and confident as hell. If I wasn’t worried about the amount of work Seth had undertaken in the kitchen, I’d be figuring out what a girl had to do to get a Christmas Day spanking. I could be naughty. Put me on the naughty list.

“Put your dress on, you’re getting distracted,” Noah instructed, shaking with silent laughter as I realized I’d been standing there in my underwear, getting horny all over again. 

“Right, right, right. Help Seth,” I reminded myself under my breath, snatching up my sweater dress and roughly tugging it on before sitting on the edge of the bed to roll up my thigh-high socks again. “You and your dirty promises, distracting me,” I added for Noah’s benefit, giving him my best haughty look over my shoulder even though he could feel I wasn’t mad before I marched out of the bedroom with my head held high. 

The delicious scent of roasted turkey, potatoes, and vegetables, as well as cranberry sauce and fresh bread rolls was a lot stronger in the main living area, and I emerged to find Eli humming along to another round of Bing Crosby, setting the table, while Seth got ready to carve the meat.

“I came out here to help,” I lamented, looking at the complete feast laid on the table. 

“You can help us eat,” Eli replied cheerfully. “Consider it a thank you from us, for letting us eat you all afternoon.”

“Oh yes, it was a real hardship for me,” I replied drily, bumping him with my shoulder on my way to where Seth stood in the kitchen. “You didn’t have to do all this, especially not on your own,” I told him softly. He didn’t even cook dinner on his own on a normal day. I enjoyed sharing the load with him, or bullying Noah and Eli into helping because they’d been so slack on kitchen duty for years.

Seth’s eyes softened as he set the metal spoon down on the counter and leaned in to brush a kiss over my nose. “I love cooking with you, sweetheart. But cooking a meal for you, to show how much you mean to me? That’s important to me too.” 

“Catch me, Eli,” I instructed as he walked past, knowing his quick reflexes would grab me before I hit the floor as I swooned dramatically. 

Eli laughed, hauling me back to my feet and smacking my butt. “Sit down, drama queen. Dinner is ready. Seth has been appropriately praised for all his hard work. I have not been praised at all for finding all the ingredients for sugar cookies, which we are definitely making later. Noah probably got a ton of ‘oh my god, yes, Daddy Bear!’ while you were riding his face. All is well, time to eat.”

“You’re a goddamn menace, Eli Bernard,” I replied, swatting his rock solid bicep on the way to the table where I quite happily took my seat and had a sip of the red wine Seth had poured. Apparently, we were getting fancy drunk tonight. “You’re so amazing for finding all the ingredients to make sugar cookies, I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Goldie,” Eli replied, looking genuinely smug.

Noah emerged as Seth and Eli joined me at the table, gently teasing each other while White Christmas played in the background and the snow started falling again outside.

I’d spent countless Christmases in New York with my loving family that I didn’t quite fit in with, a bunch since then on hot beaches or cruise ships, in karaoke bars, or even just hiding out in whatever room I was renting, eating a microwave meal. 

Of all the things I never knew I was missing, spending the holidays surrounded by people who understood me, who loved me unconditionally and who I loved unconditionally in return was pretty high up there. Even Christmas songs weren’t so schmaltzy and annoying when you could apply all the sappy lyrics to your own life apparently. 

“Do it,” Eli said, waggling his eyebrows at me.

“Do what?” I asked, spooning roast potatoes onto my plate. 

“The speech. I know you want to. I can feel the Christmas spirit bubbling out of you,” he teased. “You’re like a little volcano of merriness and good will, ready to explode.”

“Stupid bond,” I lied again, setting down the serving spoon. “Okay, fine. I do want to say something. I never particularly cared for Christmas, as you all know, and I was fine with not caring about it and it just being a fun thing we could do with our kids one day.” 

Oof, the rush of longing from all three of them hit me hard, and I sent another silent Christmas wish into the universe that we had a Baby Bernard this time next year. I’d be sitting at the table holding them as I ate dinner with one hand, with them wearing a My First Christmas onesie and a knitted hat and matching booties my mom would for sure send us.

“Gah, I can’t do this, I’m getting weird. Okay. I love you all, you’re the best. I’ll never be Scrooge McRia again after this year, and we need to eat this delicious food now before I start crying at the table,” I said quickly, overwhelmed by all the love and orgasms today had brought me. 

“Merry Christmas,” Eli said gently, leaning over to grab my hand. “Thank you for giving us our first real Christmas as a family, Goldie.”

“Thank you for giving us you,” Seth added softly. 

I raised an expectant eyebrow at Noah because we were all doing the lovey dovey thing, and he needed to get on board.

“Thank you for breaking into our house and our lives,” he said, eyes sparkling with amusement. “We love you, Ria. Merry Christmas.”