Authors: Marla Monroe
Monroe, Marla - Their Border Lands Temptress [Men of the Border Lands 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)
“No,” she whispered.
“Okay, you can let them down, Garrett.” He finished wrapping her chest and taped it down. “It might be a little hard to breathe, but you should be able to. How does it feel?”
“Okay, I guess.” She sniffed and didn’t look at him.
“Let’s look at the foot next.” He helped her lie back down. Her foot was swollen but moved easily enough with some pain. “I don’t think it’s broken, but you’re going to need something cold on it.”
“I’ll grab some wet cloths.” Garrett disappeared into what was probably the master bath.
“Do you have something for pain I can get you?”
“Just some Tylenol. It’s in the bathroom, too.”
“I heard,” Garrett called out.
“I’ve got to tend to the animals. I can’t leave them without food and water.”
“We’ll take care of them for you. Don’t worry about that right now.” Brice took a cloth from Garrett when he reappeared. “Wrap those around her ankle.”
“I’ll go get some water next.” Garrett handed the bottle of Tylenol to him.
Brice began wiping the blood from the lady’s face with the wet cloth. It came away reluctantly, but her poor, abused face finally emerged. He winced at the bruising.
“I’m going to have to sew that cut up on your scalp.”
“That’s going to hurt, isn’t it?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so. I’ll be as quick as I can. Maybe it will only take a few stitches.”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Brice, and my friend is Garrett. What about yours?”
“Ronnie. Um, thank you for helping me.” She didn’t look at him when she said it.
“No problem. What were you doing out?”
“Had to look for some more supplies.”
Garrett returned with a glass of water and handed it to her. Brice held her up while she took the pain medicine. He eased her back down and searched in the first aid kit for the sutures.
“Ah, hell. You’ve got to sew her up?” Garrett winced.
“Yeah, that wound on her head will get infected if we don’t close it. I’ll need your help. You know why.” They would probably have to hold her still.
“Yeah, I know.” He eased onto the bed beside her and waited for Brice to get started.
“It shouldn’t scar too bad, and it’s under your hair, so you won’t be able to see it.”
“Just do it.”
Brice made the first stick and she moaned. Garrett sat ready to grab her hands if she started to grab at Brice while he sewed. To her credit, she didn’t, though she did cry and finally pass out.
“She did well, despite passing out,” Garret said.
“She needs help, Garrett. She has animals that need to be taken care of. You up for it?”
“Sure, can’t leave them untended.”
“Her name is Ronnie.”
“Pretty name,” he said. “Will she be okay to leave her while we tend to things?”
“Yeah, throw the covers over her and let’s get going. It’s going to be dark soon.”
“I don’t like leaving her up here alone. What if she wakes up and tries to get up?”
Brice sighed. “She won’t get far with that foot like it is. It’s going to take both of us to get things done.”
They stood looking at her for a few more seconds, then turned around and left her to rest.
Chapter Two
“She’s a pretty little female,” Garrett mused. “Not tiny, really, but strong looking.”
“All that light brown hair will be pretty once she’s gotten the blood out of it. It looks like honey.” Brice grabbed a stool and a bucket and sat down to try his hand at milking a cow. Garrett’s hands were too big.
Garrett busied himself with feeding and watering the horse and the other animals, which included the chickens. He put some feed in the coop, and they all followed him. He shut them up and hitched the latch.
She had the prettiest hazel eyes, with flecks of gold and green in them. She was all curvy, just like he liked a woman. He was a big man, and didn’t like feeling like he would hurt a woman just by holding her in his arms. She had the most perfect, round ass he would love to explore. His cock had been hard ever since he’d held her. He wondered how Brice felt about her.
Ever since the year of catastrophes, when governments all over the world had collapsed, he and Brice had been a team. They’d been great friends since college but had grown even closer these last five years.
“I’ve gotten everything out here taken care of. How are you coming with milking?” Garrett asked.
“Well, the cow is a little pissed at me, but I’ve managed to get a half a bucket. I wonder how much she usually gets.” Brice sighed and continued pulling on the teats with minimal luck.
Garrett chuckled. “I’m going to go deal with that deer. There should be some good meat to eat. I’ll salvage what I can.”
“I’ll join you once I finish this.”
Garrett walked out and started on the deer. It turned out to have quite a bit of useable meat. It had hit headfirst, so not much of the shoulder was affected. Brice emerged carrying the bucket of milk and took it into the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later and helped Garrett finish stripping the meat from the deer.
“I guess we’re staying tonight,” Garrett said.
“Yeah, she can’t take care of herself like she is, much less this farm. Do you mind?”
“Nope. Don’t mind a bit. She’s a pretty lady.”
“You getting interested in her?” Brice asked, looking up.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“We don’t stick around in any one place for long. We have to keep scavenging to make a living.”
“Yeah, I know.” Garrett thought about settling down several times, but hadn’t brought it up before.
“What are we going to do with the meat now?”
“Cook some of it for supper tonight.” Garrett dropped the last piece of meat in the pan and stretched. “I’ll get rid of the carcass while you take the meat in,” Garrett said.
He dragged what was left of the deer deep into the woods and left it for the scavengers to have a feast. The smell shouldn’t reach the house as far out as he left it. He returned to the house wanting to check on Ronnie. He liked the name. It even sounded strong.
He walked into the kitchen and noticed that Brice was putting the meat into the fridge. Despite there not being any electricity.
“Figure it would stay cooler in there.”
“I’ll cook some later. I want to go check on Ronnie.”
“You’re really stuck on her, aren’t you?”
“I guess I am. I’ve haven’t been around a female not in a brothel in over five years, Brice. It’s nice for a change.”
“I know what you mean.” Brice nodded. “Go on up and let me know if I need to check on her.”
Garrett all but ran up the stairs, but slowed down to peek in the bedroom before barging in. He didn’t want to wake her up if she were sleeping. She had her head turned to the other side, so he couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not. He eased into the bedroom and she turned her head with tear-filled eyes.
“Hey, don’t cry. We’ve taken care of everything.”
“What am I going to do? I can’t work the farm like this. I’ll lose everything and starve.”
“I won’t let you lose anything. I’ll help you as long as you need the help.” Garrett couldn’t believe he’d just promised that.
“I can’t ask you to do that.” She still appeared to be uneasy around him. It bothered him.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Ronnie.” It was important to him that she believed him.
She swallowed and nodded, but nothing changed in her demeanor.
“Is there anything I can get you right now?” he asked.
“No thanks. It’s too soon for more Tylenol, so I’m just going to try to sleep some.”
“I’m going to cook some of the deer meat for supper. I’ll bring some to you when it’s ready.”
“I’m really not hungry.” She picked at the cover with her good hand.
“We’ll see how you feel later.” Garrett backed out of the bedroom, leaving her to rest.
When he returned to the kitchen, it was to find Brice sitting down at the kitchen table sipping coffee he’d boiled on the stove.
“There’s plenty more. I figure we’ll need it to watch her. I’ll have to wake her up every two hours to be sure she isn’t suffering from an even worse concussion than I think she has.”
Garrett put together a supper of deer meat, canned beans, and some bread that she obviously made from scratch. He was pleased to find that she had gas for cooking. They enjoyed the meal, and then Brice took some up to her so he could check her over. Garrett elected to stay downstairs and clean up the kitchen. He was afraid she would notice the state of his cock. It had only grown harder as the night wore on, because he couldn’t get her out of his mind.
When Brice returned downstairs, he had a plate of half-eaten food. Garrett shook his head, but figured she didn’t feel much like eating since she was still in a good amount of pain.
“Brice, I told her I would stick around until she was back on her feet. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I know you don’t like to stay in one place for long.”
“I kind of promised the same thing,” Brice confessed with a grin.
“Thanks. I just can’t leave her like this.”
“I guess I can’t, either.”
* * * *
Ronnie couldn’t stop the tears from falling every little while. She’d worked so hard to remain independent and away from prying eyes. She knew if men ever found out about her being alone they would try and claim her, or worse, steal her for the black market. So far, she’d been able to avoid that.
Now, all her hard-won independence was threatened by two men. Two really big men. They had to each be six foot seven or so inches tall. Garrett had huge hands and was built like a tank. He had short black hair, with equally dark eyes. He scared her just by how big he was. Brice, on the other hand, was tall and lanky with a broad chest. His wasn’t as defined as Garrett’s seemed to be. He wasn’t as large as Garret, either, just tall.
Brice had sandy blond hair that fell to his collar. His eyes were a bright, piercing blue the color of a robin’s egg. They appeared to be great friends and worked well together. She wondered what they were doing in the area. Would they try and take her with them when they left? She would fight them. She didn’t want to belong to any man, no matter how much her body reacted to them.
The entire time Brice had been in the room checking on her, her nipples had burned and stood at attention. She kept the covers tight around them to keep him from noticing. Her pussy wet her panties, and she worried he would smell her arousal. It wasn’t right that these strangers should arouse her so much. She knew nothing about them. Besides, they would be moving on as soon as she managed to get back on her feet.
They wouldn’t know how to put up the deer meat. She needed to be downstairs tending to it. She might make it to the stairs, but she would never make it down them. A fresh wave of tears fell at her predicament. It wasn’t like her to cry at the drop of a hat. She was usually much stronger than this.