Free Oriana and the Three Werebears by Tia Fanning

should not matter much whether she chose to stay or go. Yet, why did he suddenly feel so disappointed, and sad, and betrayed, and angry?
    His intellect tried to assuage his turbulent emotions with a biological explanation, that what he was feeling was merely a reaction caused by more primitive instincts. Human’s were subject to the same primal reproductive urges as every other animal on the planet, and Oriana was the first female of breeding quality that he’d had any real interaction with in a long while. So of course her rejection would be felt more poignantly. It was a natural selection issue.
    Unfortunately, he hadn’t been selected .
    He moved to rise, but her fingers gently grasped his arm, the slight pressure keeping him in place.
    “So what do you want me to do?” she asked.
    “What are you referring to?”
    Oriana gave him a patient smile and released his hold. “Should I call for help since you can’t take me back to Kodiak, or do you want me to stay here with you all until you find the keys to the helicopter, or do I stay until you fix my plane, or what?”
    He didn’t dare to hope. “What do you want to do?”
    “I, ah… Well, that depends. If you don’t want me to stay here, I would like to call for help before I have to return to my plane. I have no desire to wander around the wilderness any longer than I have to. However, I worry that my being rescued might draw attention, as people will ask how I was able to call for help. Of course I will lie, as payment for your kindness, but while I have no intention of divulging your secret location to anyone—not that I exactly know where this location is anyway, I wonder if others will accidently stumble upon your bunker as I have when they come to rescue me.”
    “What if we don’t mind that you stay?”
    Her gaze fell to her lap. “I’d like that.”
    “Why?”
    Oriana’s eyes lifted in surprise, as if his question caught her off guard. Truth be told, his question came as a surprise to him as well. What did it matter as long as she stayed?
    His heart disagreed. It did matter. He wanted her to want to stay.
    “I don’t know. I just do. I…” Then her expression changed. Sadness, longing, hope? She looked away, looking everywhere but at him. “I don’t have any real friends, no family, no one to go back to. You all seem nice, fun, and you make me laugh. I would like to stay and hang out with you guys for a couple of days longer, if that’s okay. If not, it’s cool. I understand.”
    Dumbfounded by her emotional honesty, his tongue suddenly went limp in his mouth. He couldn’t think up one decent reply that didn’t seem trite. He refrained from giving into the absurd urge to gather her in his arms and assure her that he’d always be there for her. This sudden desire to protect and comfort—to love, honor and cherish—was nonsensical, illogical, irrational. Jordan couldn’t fathom what was wrong with him.
    Had Jon been right all along?
    Did love at first sight really exist?
    Preposterous.
    While he did no more than quietly observe her vulnerability, Oriana’s body language indicated her growing discomfort with the silence. She waved him off, her face flushing.
    “I’m sorry, Jordan. I’m being silly. I don’t know why I asked. Please forget I mentioned it.” She choked out a laugh. “I’m sure you have your own lives to live, and girlfriends who wouldn’t appreciate some strange woman trying to shack up with you all.”
    “No, no girlfriends,” he managed, thankful to have overcome his temporary speech impediment. “Are you embarrassed about asking to stay?”
    “Thoroughly,” she admitted.
    “Don’t be.”
    “I should be ashamed. It’s rude to invite yourself into someone’s home.”
    “You are welcome to stay here for as long as you want to stay.”
    “You shouldn’t say things like that. I might stay forever,” she teased.
    “That would be okay, too.”
    “Your brothers might feel differently.”
    “Jon will