Oriana and the Three Werebears by Tia Fanning Page A

more focused on the movie than on the health of his sibling. “He’s just trying to hide the fact that he’s laughing.”
    “Laughing at what?”
    “You stating that you’re a screamer. He had made a similar observation about you earlier today.”
    Oriana felt her jaw drop and her cheeks flame in mortification. Oh my God! They had heard her and Jack doing the nasty. She didn’t even think about it at the time, but—
    “Thanks for explaining, Jordan,” Jonathan rasped sardonically. “Do you remember that conversation we had about how some things are better left unaddressed?”
    “Yes.”
    “This was one of those times. You’ve just embarrassed our guest.”
    Jordan stared at her with a mix of innocent curiosity and genuine concern. “Really?”
    Seeing the worry in his eyes, she snapped her mouth shut and smiled, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “It’s okay. I’m fine. I, uh…” She patted his knee. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you earlier with my, um…screaming.”
    He shook his head emphatically. “No, you didn’t disturb me at all. I was glad to hear it. It seemed as if you were enjoyi—”
    “Jordan,” Jonathan interrupted as he scoped softened ice cream from his glass. “Just shut up and watch the movie.”
    Awkward silence descended and they all sat back and stared at the TV. Oriana tried to concentrate on the spooky scene progressing, but their conversation kept replaying in her head. Seriously, being around them was like living in a comedy sketch. She started to shake from the suppressed giggles bubbling in her chest.
    Oriana looked to Jonathan, whose lips were twitching, then to Jordan, who had his palm over his mouth in an obvious attempt to suppress his mirth.
    They erupted into laughter at the same instant, then rushed to explain why they were laughing, the three of them talking over each other.
    “…oh my God. Was I really that loud? How freaking loud…”
    “…I thought it was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard…”
    “…am kind of embarrassed that I slept with your brother…”
    “…we don’t mind at all…”
    “…we’re happy. Don’t be embarrassed…”
    Looming above her, a hot breath growled in her ear— “Embarrassed?”
    Startled, Oriana leapt from the couch, tripped on her blanket and fell forward. Suddenly, everything went pitch black.
BOOM
!
BOOM
!
BOOM
! Piercing shrieks filled the inky darkness. Blind and panicking, she flailed her arms, fighting off icy tentacles as they latched onto her arms and face while she kicked at the tangled fabric around her feet. A solid impact. A monstrous howl. A blood curdling scream. Horrible crunching sounds followed, echoing in the disorienting red strobe that flashed from the TV screen. Terrified, she scrambled to avoid the shadow that lunged at her, and ran into a hard wall. Oriana desperately struggled against the steel warmth pulling her to her feet.
    A burst of brightness.
    She froze.
    She saw Jordan first, standing by the wall, his hand on the light switch. He was staring at her like she’d lost her freaking mind.
    Jonathan was sprawled out on the couch, one hand pressed over his eye, chunks of ice cream dipping from his damp hair. In his other hand, the remote control rested.
    Oriana’s gaze roamed over the devastated coffee table covered with wet, foamy popcorn and landed on the large TV. The movie was paused. A serial killer holding an ax in mid-stroke dominated the screen. His bloody victim lay at his feet, her hands out in a vain attempt to protect herself, her mouth wide open in a silent scream. Closer inspection of the background showed the door the murderer had broken down to reach his target.
    As realization of what really transpired dawned, heat rushed to her face, which suddenly had a sensation of layered stickiness. She inhaled through her nose and the scent of vanilla sweetness filled her nostrils. Her brain connected the chilled oozing she had felt earlier on her skin to the ingredients found in