Monroe, Marla - Their Border Lands Temptress [Men of the Border Lands 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

“She is going to get caught if she continues to go out looking for supplies by herself. I can’t stand the idea of some black market agent grabbing her,” Garrett continued.

“If she won’t accept us, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I know. Doesn’t make it any easier to take.”

Garrett finished making Brice’s omelet and slid it on a plate for him. Then he made another one and took it into the living room to Ronnie.

“Hope you like omelets,” he said.

“Love them. I eat a lot of them with all the eggs I end up with.”

He watched her dig into the food and enjoyed watching her eat. She looked up and smiled once, then returned to her meal. When she had finished, he leaned in to take her plate, and she surprised him by kissing him quickly on the cheek.

“Thanks for breakfast, Garrett.”

“No problem.”

He left her in the living room smiling so big that Brice asked what was wrong with him. He just shook his head and smiled wider. He didn’t want to share that just yet. He’d keep that to himself for now. She was warming up to them. Maybe if she did, by the time she was able to handle the farm by herself, Brice would have decided to stick around. He sure intended to.

Chapter Five

Ronnie felt much better after four days on the couch doing nothing but lounging like a kept woman. She quickly changed her thoughts from that. She was still injured and wasn’t really attractive to them right now. They’d probably start trying to push themselves on her once she healed.

Still, they’d been so kind to her. They’d kept her farm going and treated her like a princess. She smiled to herself. She hadn’t thought about princesses in a very long time. She could remember growing up believing in them. She’d been convinced her prince would sweep her away one day. Instead, she’d ended up with an ogre.

She stretched and picked her foot up off the pillow on the couch and looked at her still slightly swollen ankle. It was a mirage of colors. She could wiggle her toes much easier now, and even move her ankle without too much pain. Her wrist wasn’t a lot better. It hurt to move it and was swollen all the way down her hand. Still, she could wiggle her fingers.

Maybe they wanted to settle down with her because she had a farm already established. Maybe she wasn’t even the reason they were sticking around to help her. Still, they seemed to keep swollen cocks around her. They assured her they were fine and wouldn’t force themselves on her. But maybe she was beginning to want them.

The idea of kissing them had grown in her head for several days now. She often stared at their lips when they were asleep, wondering if she could brush them and not wake them up. She was too chicken to try it. She stayed wet around them, and her breasts would grow heavy. Several times when they were out tending to the farm, she’d been tempted to masturbate but was afraid they would come in and catch her.

Did they jack off? She would like to watch them do that. For some reason it sounded so intimate and sensual.
Ronnie, you’re getting in over your head here. Have you forgotten what sex is really like?

She heard the back door open and close. A draft of cold air blew into the living room and hit her. She shivered and looked over at the fire. It was close to going out. She hoped one of them would come in and check on her.

It turned out to be Brice. He walked in and smiled at her.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Um, can you put another log on the fire?” She smiled sheepishly.

“No problem.” He added the log and stirred the embers.

“It seems like I’m always asking you for something. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be demanding. You’re already doing so much for me.”

“You’re not demanding. Get that out of your head. We like doing things for you.” He did something he’d never done before. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “How about something to drink?”

“That would be great. Tea, if there’s any left.”

“Garrett made some fresh last night. I’ll get you a glass and we can talk for a while.”

He walked into the kitchen but returned a few seconds later with two glasses of tea. He handed her one and took his over to the lounge chair to sit down.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked cautiously.

Was he going to tell her they would be leaving soon? She was going to be on her feet before too much longer. Maybe he was going to suggest they become intimate, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

“About what you’re going to do about staying alone. I’m worried about you.”

“I’m okay. I’ve been on my own for three years now. I’ll be fine.”

“More and more people are coming to the Border Lands to escape the violence in the communities back there. Some of them are good people, but some of them aren’t so nice. With more people out here, it’s going to be harder for you to stay hidden.”

“What do you think I should do?” She was scared of what he would say.

“You really do need to find a good man to take care of you. Someone you trust, of course.”

“Trust isn’t easy for me.” She sipped her tea and looked at the fire.

“We know some of what you went through. You talked while you were sick. Not all men are like this Carl person, Ronnie.”

“How am I supposed to know the difference? It could be too late by the time I find out he’s not trustworthy.”

“We could look for one for you that we trust,” Brice suggested quietly.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Do you trust us, Ronnie?”

There it was. The question she’d been anticipating for days now. How to answer it? She wanted to tell them the truth, but she didn’t want to pressure them into staying when they obviously were ready to go.

“Yes, I trust you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and worked hard for me. How could I not trust you?”

“So you would feel comfortable with someone we picked out?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’m comfortable around you and Garrett now. But you’ve been nothing but gentleman. Of course, I’m not really in any shape for, um. Anyway. I’ll be better off by myself. Maybe I’ll move farther west.”

Brice stood up and crossed to the couch. He sat on the edge of it. “I’d hate for you to give up this place. It’s a really nice place, and you’ve already done so much work to it.”

Ronnie swallowed around the lump that had grown in her throat when he moved closer. She felt the now-familiar wetness between her legs.

“I do like it here. But I’ve had some close calls recently, so it’s probably time to think about moving.” She looked down at the as yet untouched glass of tea she was holding.

“You’ve had someone bothering you? Here at the house?”

“Once I had someone come up to the house and demand to see my man. I told him he wasn’t there, to come back later. He never showed back up. I kept the gun on him the entire time. Then there have been the times I’ve nearly been caught out scavenging.” She took a tentative sip of her tea to see if it would go down around the lump in her throat.

“See, that is why you need a man to help you and take care of you.”

She started to tell him that she had been doing fine without one for the last three years, but he stopped her.

“I know you’ve been taking care of yourself, but a man can keep other men away from you and protect you so that you don’t have to worry as much about them bothering you. He can help around the farm, too. You have a lot on you here. It’s taking me and Garrett to keep up with the place.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had so much to do.”

“I’m not complaining about it. Just making a statement. You could use help, Ronnie.”

“I’ll think about it. Do you already know someone you’re thinking about?” She hoped not. If she allowed anyone into her life, it would be one of them.

“I know a few men, but I’d have to think about it. I know you need someone sensitive to your, um, history.” Brice looked down at his nearly empty tea glass and turned it up to gulp down the rest.

“I better get back out there and finish up the chores I’m working on. Garrett is a slave driver,” he said with a grin.

“Thanks for the tea. I was thirsty.” She took another sip and sat it on the end table next to her.

“One of us will be back in to check on you in a little while.”

She watched Brice walk back through the kitchen until he was out of sight. She liked watching both men walk away from her, because they had such delectable asses. She sighed and pondered her predicament.

There had actually been a couple of occasions when men had come to the house and tried to get in. She’d scared them off with the gun, but she knew one day one would catch her outside unawares if she wasn’t careful. Then there had been the close calls while she’d been out scavenging. One man had gotten so close as to have her in his hands, but she’d managed to fight her way clear. Her time was running out and she knew it. Why wouldn’t they just leave her alone? She wasn’t anything to look at. She was heavy for a female, and awkward.

Sighing, she leaned back against the back of the couch. What if she could convince one of the men to stay? The other one could come visit any time he wanted to. Who would she ask? She thought long and hard, and realized she couldn’t choose. She liked both of them, and her body reacted to both of them.

Garrett’s extra-large body didn’t really frighten her anymore, and Brice seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Garrett remembered to be careful of her injuries and tried hard to make her smile. Brice tended to her and made sure she was comfortable. Both men were wonderful, for men. Still, they were men, and all men wanted sex. The bad thing was, she was beginning to be interested in sex as well. Mostly she was interested in sex with them.

* * * *

Brice and Garrett took a breather from fixing the fence they’d found down in the pasture. Despite the chill in the air, they were sweating.

“So, what did she say when you offered to find a man for her?” Garrett asked.

He really didn’t like the idea of looking for a man for her. For some reason it bothered him to think of her with another man. He realized he had become very protective of her and thought of her as his to take care of.

“She wasn’t real excited about it. She said she would think about it, but I don’t think she’s going to go for the idea.”

“She’s not safe here anymore. More and more people are moving out this direction.”

“She admitted she’d had some close calls already, but she seems to think she’s better off by herself than with a man she doesn’t know.” Brice wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his sleeve.

“Maybe we should stay with her, Brice. I mean I know we haven’t thought about settling down before now, but what would it hurt? It’s a nice place. She’s a nice woman.” Garrett leaned against the fence without looking at him.

“I don’t know. I really hadn’t planned to settle down just yet. I mean, we’re not that old. We could still pick a nice place later.”

“More people moving out this way, we may have to go farther west by then to find a place.” Garrett looked up at Brice.

“Not a lot of places left out west of here. The earthquake took out most everything around California, and the drought got most of the rest.” Brice shook his head and picked up the hammer and nails. “Let’s keep looking for another few minutes before we turn around and go back.”

Garrett nodded and grabbed the bundle of wire in his gloved hands. Maybe if Brice didn’t want to settle down, he would. Only she wasn’t as comfortable around him as she was around Brice. She’d accept him with Brice, but he wasn’t so sure she would if it were just him. It bothered him that she was still uneasy around him.