Van, Becca - Coming Home (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

Chapter One

Big Lake, Texas, 1865

Clinton Aldridge was riding his mount toward Big Lake, Texas, eager for a night at the Lake Saloon and a warm, willing woman, his brothers, Adam and Marcus, at his side. They’d spent the better part of the last month rounding up and branding their herd of cattle and were ready for a bit of relaxation and carousing. The three brothers had taken over running the Triple A Ranch when they were young men. Clinton, the eldest at thirty, had been a young man of eighteen when their folks had been killed in a coach accident. It had been his responsibility as the eldest to take over the running of the ranch and see that his younger brothers were cared for. He was lucky in the fact he and his brothers were only born a year apart, so there were only two years between him and Marcus, the youngest of the three.

The brothers rode in companionable silence, each in their own thoughts, no doubt thinking of which whore they would spend a couple of hours with, relieving the itch that seemed to be on them more and more often of late. Women were so scarce in such an out-of-way wilderness, so they only really had the whores of Lake Saloon to play with once in a while. It had been over two months since their last visit to Big Lake, and being such virile, healthy men, they were chomping at the bit for a little loving, even if it was bought and paid for.

Clint took the lead as the trail narrowed, nudging his horse with a squeeze of his thighs. He emerged from the line of trees, his brothers and their mounts close behind. He was about to nudge his stallion forward, urge him into a canter, when he caught a lump on the ground from his peripheral vision, not far off to his right. He held up his hand, giving his brothers a silent command to stop and keep quiet. Clint dismounted, ground tied his stallion by dropping the reins, and quietly crept forward to the lump in the shadows of the trees. He squatted down next to the person lying on the ground, sucked in an audible breath, and felt his heart thump hard in his chest. He was looking at a slim woman lying out in the crisp autumn air. She was dressed in what appeared to be unfinished men’s clothing. Her shoes were odd and white, and he could see the smooth skin of her lower calves and shins. Clint didn’t have to look up to know his brothers had joined him. He felt them beside him, standing over the woman, no doubt staring at the female just as he was.

“Have you ever seen her before, Clint?” Marcus asked.

“Nope.”

“She’s dressed strange,” Adam stated.

“Yep.”

“Is she hurt? Is she still alive?” Marcus asked as he squatted next to Clint.

“She’s alive. I can see her breathing. Don’t seem to be hurt none, but I won’t be able to tell unless I strip her clothes off and I don’t want to do that here out in the open. We should wait and ask her if she’s all right when she wakes up, but if she doesn’t wake up soon, we’ll have to take her clothes off just in case she is injured,” Clint responded.

“Maybe we could take her back home and make sure she’s all right,” Adam suggested.

“Saloon’s closer,” Clint said then bent down and scooped her up into his arms.

“Want me to take her, Clint?” Marcus asked eagerly.

Clint didn’t bother to answer, just glared at his brother then turned away and headed back to his horse. He handed the woman over to Adam, mounted up, and then reached for her again when Adam handed her back. He had her draped over his lap, one of his arms supporting her back, her head resting on his chest. He breathed in her scent and felt his cock go hard as her freshness enveloped him. He looked down into her face and groaned silently. She was absolutely perfect. He’d never seen such beautiful skin and her lips… Man, they were so full and naturally red. He couldn’t help but think of how they’d look wrapped around his cock. He shifted slightly in his saddle, trying to relieve the ache in his hard dick. He was about to nudge his horse forward and head on up to the saloon, but he had second thoughts. She looked so innocent and fresh. There was no way in hell he could take her to the saloon. He took the reins in one hand, turned his horse around, and headed back to home. He didn’t have to look at his younger brothers to know they would be following along behind him. His brothers pulled their horses up beside him. Clint knew they were as concerned as he was. Finding a woman alone and unconscious was not a good thing. He hated it when women were hurt. He loved women of all shapes and sizes. They were such soft, delicate creatures and should be taken care of at all times. The thought that someone had hurt this woman made him angry to the bone. Clint only hoped the woman in his arms didn’t wake up and give him hell for trying to help her.

* * * *

Bella was so warm and comfortable she didn’t want to open her eyes to face the day yet. She snuggled down under the covers, keeping her eyes closed as she enjoyed the peace and quiet. The only sounds she could hear were birds twittering and cattle lowing. The slam of a door didn’t even bring her out of her half-awake, half-asleep cocoon. She just didn’t seem to have as much energy today. She must have been really tired. The sound of footsteps approaching didn’t register until they stopped right next to her bed. She pulled the covers down, stretched her arms up over her head, and yawned. Her eyes popped open to see a strange, ruggedly handsome man standing over her, smiling as his eyes wandered over her body. She looked down and screamed. She jerked the covers up over her naked chest, her cheeks becoming hot as she stared at the stranger.

He was so tall, well over six feet. His hair was black, his eyes were a dark chocolate brown, and his jaw had stubble on it, which only added to his rugged appeal. He had wide, muscular shoulders, which tapered down to a lean torso and slim hips, large, muscular thighs, and long, lean legs. He wore a gun belt buckled to his hips. Bella had never seen anything so sexy in her life. She let her eyes wander back up his length until she met his soulful brown eyes again.

“Who are you? Where the fuck am I?”

“Whoa, you’ve got quite the mouth on you, don’t ya, darlin’?”

“Don’t you darlin’ me. Where the hell am I? Where are my clothes?” Bella asked, fear beginning to creep into her heart.

“You’re just outside of Big Lake, Texas. We found you passed out on the ground and didn’t think it would be right to take you to the saloon, so we brought you back here.”

“We? We who?”

“I’m Clinton Aldridge, owner of the Triple A Ranch. Me and my brothers, Adam and Marcus, found you.”

“Well, thank you, Mr. Aldridge. I appreciate the help. I’m Bella McPherson. Now, could you please tell me where my clothes are and answer why the hell I’m naked?” Bella asked in a near yell.

“I undressed you,” Clint said in gentle voice. “My brothers helped me. We had to make sure you weren’t injured, and the best way to find out was to strip you naked. I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you. But we wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

“Oh my God,” Bella muttered under her breath. “Well, thanks for taking care of me, anyway.”

“Here you go, darlin’,” Clint said, placing her clothes on the end of the bed. “I’ll leave you to get dressed. Come on out to the kitchen when you’re done.”

Bella watched as the tall man sauntered out the door, closing it behind him. She sighed with relief, allowing her tight muscles to relax for the first time since she had found the strange man in her room. She quickly got out of bed, pulled her clothes on, and went in search of the bathroom. She couldn’t find it, and she was desperate.

Bella walked into the kitchen and saw the old-fashioned wood-burning stove with a cast-iron top. She could see steam rising from a heavy metal pot sitting on the side of the stove, so she knew it must have been lit. She wondered why they hadn’t updated the kitchen then gave a negligent shrug. It didn’t matter to her what they did. She turned and found three sets of male eyes staring at her. She felt like a bug under a microscope. She took a deep breath to calm her ragged nerves and looked at Clint, the only familiar face in a sea of uncertainty.

“Could you please direct me to the bathroom?”

“We don’t have a bathing room. The only way you can have a bath is if I pull the copper tub in here and fill it with water,” Clint answered.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Where is the toilet?”

“We don’t have any toy-lets,” Clint replied with a frown.

“I need to go, you ignoramus. What do you want me to do, go outside behind a tree?” Bella screeched.

“I think she just insulted you, Clint. I have no idea what she said, but the tone of her voice was enough.”

“The privy’s outside, about a hundred yards that way,” Clint answered.

Bella knew the three brothers watched her stomp out the back door and she winced when the door slammed hard behind her. She didn’t know why she was getting riled, but the three brothers were so damned sexy and her body was responding to them. She had never felt so turned on in her life.

Bella finished her business and headed to the pump outside near the house. She felt eyes on her, but she didn’t care. She was feeling decidedly grimy and wanted to wash her face and hands. She pulled her small handkerchief from her sleeve, wet it, and wiped it over her face and hands. She wet it again and undid the first three buttons on her shirt and washed her sweat-dampened skin.

She heard a noise and looked up to see the three men staring at her avidly. She could plainly see the heat in their eyes as they watched her clean up. She scowled at them and turned her back. She didn’t want them to see how those heated stares affected her body. Her breasts felt swollen and her nipples hardened. She took a few deep breaths, buttoned her shirt again, and headed for the house. She stood outside the door for a moment, listening to them as they talked amongst themselves. She pulled open the door at the tail end of their conversation.

“What’s her name, Clint?” asked Marcus.

“Bella. Bella McPherson.”

“She’s only a youngin’. Can’t be long out of the schoolroom,” Adam stated.

“Hmm, could be. Her eyes look like she’s seen a lot, though,” Clint stated.

Clint and his brothers were once again sitting around the timber table in the kitchen when Bella came back inside and they stopped talking. She knew she was making a lot of noise considering she was so small compared to them, but she didn’t care. They seemed to be able to ruffle her feathers just by looking at her. Three sets of eyes turned to her as she walked in the door.

“Did you enjoy the show, boys?” Bella asked facetiously, from just inside the door.

“Don’t see any boys ’round here, do you, Marcus?”

“Bella, these are my younger brothers, Adam and Marcus Aldridge,” Clint introduced.

“Marcus, Adam,” Bella acknowledged then turned her eyes back to Clint. “I thank you for taking care of me, but could you please take me back to Big Lake? I’m booked into the motel there and would like to get on with my vacation.”

Clint looked at Bella as if she’d lost her mind. She glanced to his brothers to see the same puzzled expression on their faces.

“What’s a motel?” asked Clint.

Bella breathed in deeply and let out the breath slowly. Her anger was beginning to take hold at the little game he was playing with her, and she didn’t like to be angry. She was one of those people who was slow to burn, but when she reached her limit, look out.

“It’s a place where you rent a room to sleep in at night.”

“We ain’t got no boarding houses in Big Lake. There used to be one, but the lady who owned it turned it into a whorehouse and saloon,” Marcus explained. “That’s where we were going, when we found you.”

“Marcus, shut it,” Clint snapped.

“Well, could you please give me a lift back to Big Lake anyway?” Bella asked.

“You’ll have to wait till tomorrow. We have too much to do around here to just drop everything for you,” Clint stated.

“Look, I’m sorry to be an inconvenience. I’ll just call for a cab on my cell and be out of your hair,” she stated and pulled her phone from her pocket.

“What’s a cell?” asked Marcus.

“What in tarnation is a cab?” Adam asked at the same time.

Bella felt the air whoosh from her lungs. The two sexy brothers didn’t look like they were playing with her. In fact, they looked downright confused. Bella let her eyes wander over the brothers. God, they were so sexy. All tall, muscular, and handsome, with similar features but different hair and eye color. Marcus had light-brown hair, and the sexiest green eyes she’d ever seen. And Adam—he made her want to drool. His black hair and blue eyes along with his great height made her feel so small and sexy. She just wanted to curl up in his lap and stay there. She dialed the numbers on her cell and put the phone to her ear. Nothing happened. She looked at her display screen and saw she had no signal.

“A cab is a car for hire and this is a cell,” Bella began to explain, holding her phone out.

“What’s a car?” Clint asked. “The only car I know of is hitched to a steam train.”

Bella stumbled over to the vacant chair at the table and sat down heavily. She reached up to stroke the necklace she’d bought the previous day and nearly panicked. It wasn’t there.

“Did you remove my pendant when you removed my clothes?” Bella asked, pinning Clint with her eyes.

“No, honey. You weren’t wearing anything but your strange man clothes. Didn’t you have enough money to buy fully made garments?” Clint questioned.