The Rancher's Bride

The Men of Space Station One #2 

The Ranchers’ Bride On the planet Alpha, Andrew and Danny decide to take matters into their own hands and kidnap their bride instead of waiting around for her to choose them, as was the original plan. Now they have Rachel at home with them and need to convince her to stay. Will Rachel fall in love with them and agree to be their bride? Rachel falls in love with the two men but isn’t sure they are as happy with her since they haven’t taken her back for the ceremony. She is afraid that if she doesn’t get pregnant they won’t want her. Rachel is attacked by a strange creature, leaving her with a strange scar. The men realize when they almost lose her that they need to let her know how they feel. Does Rachel feel the same way? Will the men figure out what will make Rachel theirs forever? Genre: Futuristic, Menage a Trois/Quatre, Science Fiction Length: 36,307 words 

THE RANCHERS’ BRIDE The Men of Space Station One #2

Marla Monroe

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

THE RANCHERS’ BRIDE Copyright © 2011 by Marla Monroe E-book ISBN: 1-61926-073-5 First E-book Publication: December 2011 Cover design by Les Byerley All art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers Dear Readers, If you have purchased this copy of The Ranchers’ Bride by Marla Monroe from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book. The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment. This is Marla Monroe’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Monroe’s right to earn a living from her work. Amanda Hilton, Publisher www.SirenPublishing.com www.BookStrand.com

 

THE RANCHERS’ BRIDE The Men of Space Station One #2 MARLA MONROE Copyright © 2011

Chapter One Rachel stomped back to her dorm room. She was angry with Lacy for claiming the two men she had been interested in. Then she felt bad about it. She’d had her chance and waited to see if there was someone she liked more. It wasn’t Lacy’s fault. She should be happy for the other woman. Not for the first time, Rachel wondered if she had made the right decision in volunteering for the space station experiment. At the time, she felt as if it was her only option to get out of the bunkers below ground. With the sun having major solar flares nearly every day, many women had Shear’s disease and were no longer able to have children. Those women who didn’t have the disease were sequestered beneath the ground in the government bunkers to protect them. She had grown tired of seeing nothing but metal and earth for over two years. She longed for sunlight and wind on her face, that wasn’t artificially made. The space station mission had seemed like a godsend to her at the time. It would get her out of the bunkers and outside. There had already been men living on the new planet for over a year now, so it had to be safe. She barely even skimmed over the information packets they had provided until they had boarded the shuttle and taken off. Then reality had kicked in.

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They would be living in a dorm until they married. Then they would have to help with gardening and putting up food. She didn’t know a thing about gardening. She was a great cook and could sew, but canning? Rachel didn’t have a clue how to do any of that. What man would marry her without those skills? Once she’d gotten past her fear, she had talked to several of the other women and found that they didn’t know any more about how to garden than she did. She didn’t feel quite as dumb after that. She resisted the urge to kick the closet door, knowing all it would gain her was a hurt foot, if not a broken toe. She needed to get busy and choose someone before all the men she had even a passing interest in were taken. She had met nearly all of them, but so far none of them really struck her as intriguing. Well, they were having a dinner that night, with dancing afterwards. She would meet all of the remaining available men there. She decided on her outfit and then wondered if dressing in her finest clothes was a good idea. Maybe what she needed to do was wear work clothes to show that she was suitable wife material. Wear the freaking dress, Rachel. You’re doing the choosing, not them. It doesn’t matter what you look like, in the long run. When it was time to go, she’d changed her dress three times and nearly worn the wrong color shoes because of it. She couldn’t get her heart to stop fluttering and felt as if she would pass out at any minute. She had never been so nervous in her life. Dinner was uneventful, with two women and four men to every table. The men at her table were all nice looking but just didn’t stir her juices. She hoped she would meet someone at the dance, because it looked like several of the women had already begun to choose their men. As soon as the music started, couples drifted out on the floor. Rachel accepted dance requests and enjoyed dancing with the men, but still, she didn’t like any of them as husband material. What was she looking for? She didn’t know the answer to that question. Maybe

 

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she would be the last one left and get stuck with the least likely pair of men on the planet. It would serve her right for being so picky. She felt something tingling on the back of her neck and turned around to see if someone was staring at her. She looked but saw no one looking in her direction. She sighed and once again accepted another dance request from yet a different man. **** Andrew sighed and looked down on the spiraling couples on the dance floor with the remainder of the group at the fringes. He and Danny had just made it in, having missed dinner to locate some lost cows. Now they were looking from the balcony of the town’s community center at the festivities below. Neither man felt much like joining in. They were beat, having been up since the crack of dawn, and needing to get back to see about some calves that were due to drop. Spring was a busy season for a rancher. Then, most seasons were busy for one reason or another. Still, if they planned to have a wife, they needed to get down there and get in on the choosing. “Danny, you ready to join in?” “Not especially. I prefer to do my own picking. I don’t really like the idea of some woman choosing us.” “I’m with you on that, but it’s how they agreed to it when we weren’t here.” Andrew sighed and turned to walk down the stairs. “What if we just choose one and take her tonight?” Danny asked. “You mean kidnap a bride?” Andrew smiled. It had merit. “I sort of like that idea. Then we can get on back to the ranch and get on with the business of ranching.” Danny waited for Andrew to think about it. Andrew went to remove his hat and remembered he had left it in the transport with Danny’s. They figured they wouldn’t need them inside the community center. Now Andrew wished he had kept his on.

 

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He felt naked without it covering his head. It helped keep his unruly hair down. “Let’s go and see if we can find someone among them,” Danny urged. “Sounds good to me. We have to agree on her before we snatch her.” Danny nodded, and they walked downstairs to find themselves a wife. They danced for about an hour when Andrew caught sight of the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She had long black hair pulled back at the nape of her neck to curl down her back. Her eyes were a dove gray, and her face looked like a porcelain china doll’s, with the pale complexion to go with it. She was dancing with some man that was only a few inches taller than she was, at around five feet six inches. She looked strong despite her delicate face and skin. Her figure was much like an hourglass, with full breasts and a small waist that flowed out to a rounded bottom. She looked exactly like he and Danny liked their women. He couldn’t wait for Danny to return from the dance he had taken with a similar but far less attractive woman. When he returned, all Andrew had to do was point toward the dark beauty, and Danny was ready to spirit her away right then and there. “First, let’s dance with her and be sure we get along well enough. We don’t want to pick someone that we aren’t compatible with.” “Okay, you go first. I just danced.” Danny stepped back toward the chairs on the side of the floor. “I’ll pass her off to you if she’s the least bit suitable,” Andrew told him. “I’ll be waiting.” Andrew walked over to the raven-haired woman and smiled down into her eyes from his height of six feet four inches. She smiled back and cocked her head.

 

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“Have we met yet?” she asked in a soft, husky voice. “Not yet.” He held out his hand. “I’m Andrew Rousseaux.” She took his hand and smiled. “I’m Rachel Foster.” “Would you like to dance?” he asked with a grin. “I’d love to.” He led her to the edge of the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. She fit perfectly. Her voice rubbed his cock in just the right way as she asked about him. “Danny McGuillis and I run the ranch outside of town. We have a few hundred head of cattle and more on the way on the next shuttle.” “So you supply the beef for the community,” she said. “Right. We also keep a few horses and chickens. When we get some more men to help, we’ll run most of the animal side of the businesses.” “How many men do you think you’ll have working on the ranch?” she asked. “Probably twenty, eventually. Either that, or they might try keeping two separate ranches. That might work better. Easier to handle smaller spreads than one really large one with so much you don’t know about this planet.” Andrew talked with her for several more minutes until the song faded, and he led her to where Danny was waiting on the edge of the dance floor. He nodded his head slightly to let his buddy know that he liked her. “Rachel, I’d like you to meet Danny, my partner. Danny, this is Rachel Foster.” Andrew introduced them to each other. “How about a dance, Rachel?” he asked. Rachel smiled and nodded. Andrew watched as his friend twirled Rachel across the dance floor. It was odd that they only played slow songs. Maybe it was all designed to speed up the choosing process. Well, he and Danny planned to speed it up even more. They’d bring her back later for the ceremony, after she was settled with them.

 

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He watched them dance by several times. They were obviously enjoying each other’s company. She wasn’t looking around for another man, and Danny wasn’t dumping her at the edge of the floor. It looked like they had chosen their bride. Now to figure out how to get her home with them. He would never hit a woman to knock her out, and drugging her was out of the question. He’d never risk hurting her. As it were, she posed the answer to the problem herself. She complained of being hot and asked if they minded taking her outside for some fresh air. They were only too happy to oblige. Andrew and Danny walked on either side of her and steered her toward their transport. When they drew near it, Danny surprised them all when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. The sight of Danny’s mouth on Rachel’s had his cock rock hard. He moved in behind her and pressed it against the curve of her ass then leaned in to sample her neck. She tasted slightly salty and smelled of vanilla and sugar. He would always remember that scent now and equate it with her. It teased his senses as he kissed and nibbled his way around her jaw and back down her neck. He pushed his dick harder against her ass and heard her moan in Danny’s mouth. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled her away from Danny’s mouth and claimed it with his own. His tongue quickly replaced Danny’s and began exploring her mouth before she had a chance to recover. She struggled at first to take control of the kiss, but he quickly subdued her by sucking her tongue into his mouth and teasing it with the tip of his. Her hands slowly wrapped around his neck as she hung on to him. He liked feeling her arms around him. He wanted her to always seek him out to protect her. He and Danny would make sure nothing ever happened to her. He pulled back and kissed the corners of her mouth, then her eyelids, and finally returned to her mouth. He thrust his tongue in and

 

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out of her mouth in time to his pelvic thrusts against her abdomen. He wanted her badly enough he almost lifted her dress and unfastened his pants. Only Danny’s cleared throat stopped him. “Why don’t we show her our transport?” he suggested. “Your transport?” she asked, totally out of breath. “Yeah, it’s the planet’s version of an SUV and truck all rolled into one.” Danny led her toward it. They were parked on the edge of the parking area, in a dark corner. She didn’t seem worried when they led her in that direction. She already trusted them to keep her safe. That was a good start. He opened the door and invited her to step in and take a look at the view from the dash. He stepped in after her and reached over to flip on the outside lights. Andrew sighed and continued with their plan. He climbed up on the other side and closed the door. “How about a ride around the area?” he asked. “Oh, well. I guess that’s okay. Not too far, though.” “We’ll keep you safe,” Danny promised her. Andrew fired up the transport, and they lifted a good two feet in the air to hover until he selected a direction. He looked over at Danny and knew what he was going to do. He was taking their bride home.

 

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Chapter Two Rachel knew as soon as Andrew turned the transport in the opposite direction of the town that something was wrong. She never should have climbed inside. They weren’t taking her for a quick spin around the town. They were kidnapping her. Why? It wasn’t as if they needed to. They were assured of a bride by coming to the planet. Hell, she’d even already decided that they were her choice by the time they’d escorted her outside. So why kidnap her? “Where are we going?” she finally asked. “We’re taking you to our place. Your new home,” Danny answered. “But we aren’t married yet.” She felt forced to point this out to them. “It’s only a ceremony. We’ll go back in a couple of weeks and get the ceremony, so you’ll be official and all. We just don’t have time right now. It’s calving season,” Andrew explained. “But I didn’t choose you,” she reminded them. “Yeah, well we sort of took matters into our own hands. We figure it goes both ways. We should be able to choose, too, and they took that away from us.” Andrew steered them toward the ranch. “Okay, I can see your point, but it doesn’t negate the fact that you are taking me against my will,” she said. “We aren’t hurting you. We just have to get back to the ranch and can’t spare the time to come courting,” Andrew explained again. “I really must insist that you take me back this minute. They’ll be worried about me and not know where I am.”

 

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“We’ll notify them as soon as we get home. Besides, enough people saw you with us that they’ll assume, and rightly so, that you eloped with us.” Danny smiled at her. “You really don’t know what you’re getting with me. I don’t know the first thing about ranching or gardens or canning vegetables,” she felt compelled to point out. “We have plenty of books on all of it at the ranch. You can read up on it, and we’ll be there to help you figure it out. Don’t worry so much. Besides, we’ve already started the garden for you. All you will have to do is tend it until it starts producing,” Andrew told her. “How do you know you’re going to be happy with me? I mean, I’m not the most beautiful woman around, and I’m grouchy in the mornings.” Danny laughed and wrapped and arm around her shoulders. “Honey, you don’t know what grouchy is until you’ve dealt with Andrew over there at five in the morning after being up all night pulling calves. Now that’s grouchy. I think we can handle a female fussing.” Rachel frowned. What had she gotten herself into? Why would they be up all night pulling on calves? Couldn’t they do that during the day? And what was calving anyway? She shook her head and realized she was going to have to make the best of it. They’d lured her out and scooped her up without her so much as yelling boo. No one would ever believe she hadn’t gone with them on her own. Truth was, she might just have jumped at the chance to get away from the dorm and all the other hopeful women. Except that now she had none of her things. “I don’t suppose you could be persuaded to go back for my things, could you?” she asked. Danny looked over at Andrew and sighed. They obviously hadn’t thought about her things. What was she going to wear for the next several weeks?

 

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“Don’t worry about them. We’ll get them sent out to you tomorrow.” Danny squeezed her shoulders. “I’m not sure I like the idea of some stranger packing up my things.” She was deliberately trying to be obtuse. She wanted to know how they would act when riled up. She wasn’t staying with anyone who’d hurt her. She needed to know now how they would react to her baiting them. She had a mind and spoke it on a pretty regular basis. If they didn’t like it, now was the time to find out. “I’ll tell them not to paw through them and just pack them up,” Andrew assured her with a smile. “Why did you pick me? Was I the only one you danced with?” “No, we danced with most of the women out there, but you were the one we chose. You’re perfect for us.” “How do you know that after only one dance?” “It was two actually,” Danny pointed out. Rachel rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.” “We just know. I’ve been hard as a rock ever since I laid eyes on you,” Andrew confessed. “Oh my God. You did not just say that.” She hid her smile behind an expression of horror. “Oh, come on. You’re not some wilting violet. You felt my cock when I rubbed it against you.” Andrew frowned. “It’s ‘shrinking violet,’ and yes, I felt it, but I didn’t say anything out loud about it.” “Well, we don’t mince words around here. We tell it like it is, and you make us horny as a bull in a pasture full of cows.” Danny smiled down at her. “Now you’re comparing me to a cow. Really. You both need to learn some manners.” Rachel had to bite her lower lip to keep from giggling at their analogy. She just might have made a good choice after all. Even if they did jump the gun and grab her first.

 

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“Woman, comparing you to a cow is a damn sight better than comparing you to a…” “Danny!” Andrew stopped him from saying it out loud, but Rachel knew what he had been about to say. “Cows may be dumb, but they’re noble animals.” Danny seemed intent on getting that out. “I’m a human being, not a cow, though. Now turn this around and take me back to the town.” “We’re nearly there now. No use going back tonight. You can go back tomorrow if you’re so inclined,” Andrew said with a sigh. Rachel frowned. She really didn’t want to go back. Now she had to figure out how to stay. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? She leaned back and crossed her arms to study to the two men. Danny looked to be about thirty, with light-brown hair and hazel eyes. He stood around six feet three inches and had muscular arms and a wide chest. She could tell when he had kissed her that his abdomen was hard as a rock and that he had a generous cock hidden in his jeans. His easygoing nature showed on his face with laugh lines at the edges of his mouth. Andrew appeared much more serious and had little lines between his brows that could either be from squinting into the sun or frowning. His dark eyes shown when he had been aroused earlier, and his thick, black hair had enough curl to be unruly. No doubt he wore a hat most of the time by the line around the top of his head. He had a worker’s body with broad shoulders that looked strong enough to carry the burden of the ranch there. His chest felt hard and unyielding and tapered down to a small waist and rounded ass. She wanted to sink her fingers into his ass cheeks and feel that hard dick he’d talked about earlier rubbing against her again. He looked to be thirty as well and stood at around six feet five inches. All in all, she’d chosen well. Now if she could just get them to claim her properly, she’d be happy.

 

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They pulled into a yard of some sort, complete with a couple of barking dogs and a two-story house. She couldn’t tell much in the dark, but it looked decent enough. The dogs settled down as soon as Andrew stepped outside the transport. “Well, help her down, Danny. Let her see her new home.” **** Danny grinned from ear to ear and opened his door to step out of the transport. He helped Rachel out with a hand on either side of her waist. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she walked around the side of the transport to look at the house. Danny watched her expression, hoping she would be pleased. He wasn’t disappointed. She smiled and nodded as if giving her approval. Danny saw his partner reach over and take Rachel’s hand in his. She pulled away from him at first but then sighed and let the other man hold her hand. When he turned her toward him for another kiss, she went willingly into his arms. She obviously wasn’t all that shook up over being kidnapped, he decided. “Maybe we should get inside,” he suggested. Andrew pulled back from the kiss and nodded his agreement. Then the dogs realized there was someone new and began nosing her ankles. She didn’t scream or fuss or complain. She just held out her hands palm up for them to sniff and then petted each of them. “What are their names?” she asked. “Skippy and Rex,” Danny supplied. “Cute names. Okay, I’m ready to go inside now.” Andrew led the way and unlocked the door, opening it wide. At the last second, he scooped Rachel up in his arms and carried her over the threshold. Danny just smiled and shook his head. His partner was a traditional sort of guy. That was why his agreeing to kidnap their bride had surprised Danny so much. Then when he’d likened it to

 

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eloping, he figured that was what had sealed the deal for Andrew. He felt justified now. Once they were all inside and the door was closed and locked, an awkward silence descended around them. No one seemed to know what to say. Andrew slowly sat Rachel back on her feet and hung his hat on the hook by the front door. Danny did the same thing. They all stared at each other. “Um, maybe one of you might like to show me around the house?” Rachel suggested. “I will.” Danny jumped at the chance to show off the house. He and Andrew had designed it and built it themselves. It had taken longer than they had wanted, but in the end, he felt like it was perfect. Being bachelors at the time, they’d opted for comfort and convenience in everything they installed. It had state-of-the-art appliances and tiled floors. They’d originally thought about wood floors but went with the tile as it would be easier to keep clean considering they were in and out of mud and dirt all day long. He started in the living area where they were, then took her to the kitchen and showed off the stainless-steel appliances along with the cellar for storing their canned goods. The kitchen had a pantry and a mudroom off to the back for when they came in for lunch or supper. Danny pulled her by the hand back around the living room to the other side of the house to show her the office, and then upstairs to where the bedrooms were. The master suite hadn’t been used, but if she stayed, it would be used now. He led her to the two walk-in closets. “One would be yours, and the other one belongs to me and Andrew. We don’t have that many clothes. Mostly they are jeans and shirts.” Danny pulled her around to the master bath. He smiled at the indrawn breath when he turned on the light for her to see. The entire room was done in ceramic tile and glass. The sunken garden tub, a Jacuzzi, drew her attention first. Then she walked around the glass blocks to see the overly large walk-in

 

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shower. It had multiple shower heads and a bench along the back wall. There were even some strategically placed handles for safety. She lifted an eyebrow at his pointing that out. She knew what he was hinting out. Shower sex would be a lot of fun. Danny grinned at her and pulled her along to show her the rest of the bedrooms. There were a total of five bedrooms and three baths. The other four bedrooms each shared a bathroom. “What do you think?” Danny asked. “The house is really nice. Why so many bedrooms?” “For the children,” Andrew interrupted from the doorway. “You want four children?” She gasped. “At least. We can always add on,” Danny explained. “I see.” She looked a bit green now. “How many children did you want?” Andrew asked her. “I–I guess I hadn’t thought about a number. That just seems like an awful lot of kids to raise.” “I have five brothers and sisters,” Danny told her. “I have four,” Andrew added. “What about you?” Danny asked her. “Um, there’s just me.” “Ah, an only child.” Danny nodded. That explained the deer-in-the-headlights look she’d given them when they’d said they wanted at least four children. She didn’t have a clue about large families. Well, if she didn’t run off, she’d learn. They wanted a big family. Besides, it worked better for a ranch to have lots of kids to help with the chores. “We need to run check on the cows that are calving. We’ll be back in as soon as we can. Why don’t you take a bath and relax?” Danny suggested. “Okay, thanks.” She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Thankfully, he didn’t hear the lock engage. She was giving them her trust—for now.

 

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He and Andrew exchanged looks and left the bedroom to head out to the barn where they’d sequestered two of their prize heifers that were ready to drop their calves at any minute. They grabbed their hats off the hooks in the front of the house and walked toward the barn in the back, around the house. They found that one of the cows had given birth, and momma and calf seemed to be doing well. The other one was in the process and having a little trouble. He and Andrew spent the next hour helping her before the solidblack calf was born. It was touch and go at first, but they both managed to get up, and the calf began nursing almost as soon as it did. They cleaned up in the tack room and checked the rest of the animals before returning to the house. They weren’t sure what they would find, but their bride in a long T-shirt, serving coffee to them, wasn’t it. “I figured when you didn’t come back you had something going on and would need some coffee when you got back. It’s still a bit cool out there at night.” “Thanks, we really appreciate it,” Danny said after taking a sip of the excellent coffee. “This hits the spot,” Andrew admitted. “Um, I hope you don’t mind, but I searched one of the other rooms to find this T-shirt to wear. I’m not sure whose room it was.” “That’s okay. We don’t have anything to hide from you, Rachel.” Danny sat his cup on the table and reached across to take her hand in his. “We’ll be up-front with you on everything. No secrets in this house. Okay?” “Sounds good to me.”

 

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Chapter Three Rachel smiled and felt like they had reached a good understanding. She looked at the clock on the kitchen stove and realized it was close to eleven. They all needed to get some rest. The days were longer here on this planet by an extra hour. She realized she was really quite tired. “I’m going to head to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” She turned and walked out of the kitchen, not expecting for someone to grab her up and throw her over their shoulder. She screeched. “We’re headed to bed, too, honey,” Danny said from behind her. That meant Andrew had her. “Well, um, thank you for the ride, but I could have walked.” She couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her lips. “We’re all headed in the same direction,” Danny said. She stiffened. They were planning to sleep with her tonight? Why hadn’t she seen that coming? They weren’t married yet, but then, they were right, it was just a ceremony, and it wasn’t like she was a virgin. Still, she barely knew them. Never mind that her panties had been wet the moment they’d touched her at the dance. Her heart raced at the possibilities. Andrew carried her up the stairs and around to the master bedroom. She wasn’t wearing panties, so when he put his hand up to hold her as he lowered her to the bed, his bare hand met her bare ass. He stilled with her halfway off his shoulder. “Fuck! You’re not wearing anything under that T-shirt are you, Rachel?”

 

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“Um, no. My clothes were, um, dirty.” Since her face would be red from her being upside down, she didn’t think they would notice the blush she felt heating up her cheeks. “Ah, hell. I thought I could be a gentleman and not bother you tonight, but I’m hard as a steel post, Rachel.” Andrew groaned. “Here, let me have her,” Danny said, taking her from Andrew’s arms. Danny gently laid her on the bed and stared down at her with heavy-lidded eyes. His hazel ones looked darker now that he was aroused, and she had little doubt of that by the bulge behind his zipper. “Um, guys. Maybe we should sleep in separate rooms until after the ceremony,” she suggested, only half meaning it. “Oh, hell no. You’re in our bed from now on,” Andrew said in a raspy voice. They stared at her as they slowly began to strip out of their clothes in front of her. She leaned up on her elbows and watched them. She wouldn’t miss this show for anything. First they unsnapped their shirts and shoved them off their shoulders. Then they bent over and pulled off their boots, followed by socks. When they began unzipping, she had the sudden urge to hide her eyes. She resisted and was totally ill prepared for the two monster cocks that emerged from behind their jeans. Both men were painfully aroused, with jutting cocks sporting purple, angry-looking heads. She felt faint at first. What in the world was she supposed to do with them? Andrew’s was thick, where Danny’s was long. There was no way she could handle two men at one time that looked like they did. She just wasn’t built that way. Worry set in, and the men must have noticed it because they both turned away and busied themselves picking up their clothes. Had she not been so shocked, she would have appreciated that they’d straightened up after themselves. Now, however, she was flabbergasted at the images burned in her brain.

 

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“Let’s get some sleep, Rachel. Climb under the covers.” Andrew pulled back the covers and waited while she crawled over them then slipped under them. “Here, you don’t need this to sleep with us. We’ll keep you warm.” Danny pulled the T-shirt she’d borrowed off over her head and laid it at the foot of the bed like a robe. Both men climbed into bed on either side of her and crowded her into the other one. She felt their hard dicks pressed on either side of her, and she wondered how she was supposed to sleep with the things poking her in the sides. “Do you sleep on your back or your side?” Danny asked. “Huh?” She couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. All her attention was below her waist. “Do you sleep on your back or your side?” he repeated. “Oh, sort of on my belly.” “That works.” He pulled her over on top of him so that she was half lying on him and half on her side. Then she felt Andrew scoot up closer and cover her back. Rachel felt like a sandwich suspended between them. Is this how it would feel when they fucked her together? Ah, hell. How would she ever survive taking those cocks? Even though her cunt was leaking juices all down her legs, she didn’t see how she could possibly manage it. She felt a hand run through those juices. When it emerged to go to Danny’s mouth, she knew it was his hand. He sucked his fingers and closed his eyes, looking totally content. “You taste like spicy sugar. I could eat you all day long.” She felt her face heat up again. “I want a taste.” Andrew slid off of her back, and the next thing she knew he was between her legs with his mouth sucking on her pussy lips. “Oh—my—God!” Rachel could barely breathe around the explosion of sensations bombarding her clit.

 

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“She tastes good, doesn’t she, Andrew?” Danny pulled her mouth to his. His tongue licked along the seam of her lips, and she opened to him. He sank into her as if he’d never tasted anything so good before in his life. As Andrew licked her cunt juices, Danny licked at the roof of her mouth and along her teeth. She tried to explore his mouth with her tongue, but he kept control of the kiss. After a few seconds of licking along the crevices of her mouth, he pulled back and nipped at her lower lip, then pulled it into his mouth to suck. He nibbled all around her chin and jaw until he got to her earlobe. There he stopped to suck it in his mouth and tease with his tongue. He moved lower to her neck and sucked and nipped at it until she was sure she would wear his mark the next day. Andrew had moved from her pussy lips to delve inside of her cunt with his fingers. He pushed two of them in and out of her moist entrance and circled her clit with his tongue. She moaned at the near misses he left her with. He curled his fingers inside of her and found her sweet spot. The feel of his fingers stroking over it sent shivers up her spine. He chuckled and began to stroke it in time to his tongue tapping at her clit. In less than a minute, she was exploding on his tongue as she climaxed hard. She screamed into Danny’s mouth when he suddenly kissed her again. Lights exploded behind her closed eyelids as her climax washed over her. “Fuck, she’s amazing.” Danny rolled her over on her back as soon as Andrew moved out of the way. He lifted her leg and plunged his swollen cock inside her weeping cunt. Her eyes flew open only to settle at half mast as he pulled out to thrust again, only deeper this time. A strangled moan erupted from her mouth as he began to pound into her over and over. He felt so big there, but she knew he wasn’t quite as thick as Andrew would be. Instead, he was long and reached the end of her womb, bumping her cervix with each thrust. She wanted to sing out at the wonder of

 

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having someone long enough who could do that. It was a slight pain that felt too good to ignore. She wanted more of it and tried to adjust her position to accomplish that. “What is it, honey. What do you need?” Danny’s voice sounded strained to her ears. “Deeper. I need more,” she finally got out. “Fuck, yeah.” He pulled her hips up with his hands beneath her ass and stroked himself in and out of her until he was hitting her cervix with every thrust. She threw back her head with a hissed out, “Yes!” She felt his balls slapping against her ass he pummeled her pussy over and over. When she thought she would die for the need to come, Andrew reached over and began playing with her breasts. He leaned in and nipped at a nipple then sucked it in tightly against the roof of his mouth. He pinched and twisted her other nipple until she thought she would come from that alone, but coupled with the attention Danny was paying to her cunt and cervix, she was going to come anyway. The only question was when and how hard. “I can’t last much longer, Andrew. Bring her for me.” Andrew reached between them and tapped at her clit as he sucked and squeezed her nipples. She didn’t even get a good breath in before she was screaming in ecstasy. Never had she come so hard and so long. Never had she come twice in one night. If this was what she could expect from now on, she was in, ceremony or no ceremony. They gently cleaned her up and let her curl up into a ball. She needed to rest. Then she would see about Andrew. He’d made her feel so wonderful. She had to make sure he was taken care of as well. First, she needed a nap. **** “That’s the hardest I’ve ever come,” Danny told Andrew as they both stroked her. Andrew had her hair and Danny her back.

 

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“She tastes so damn good I could make a meal off of her,” Andrew admitted. “Just wait until you get inside her. She’s tight, man. You’re going to have to be careful with her at first.” “I will. I wouldn’t hurt her for anything. You should have seen her face when she climaxed. She’s beautiful.” “Sorry you got left dry, man.” Danny winced at the thought of how bad Andrew must be feeling. “I’ll be fine. I can always jerk off, but right now, I don’t want to leave her side. I’m scared she’ll disappear if I do,” he said. “I won’t let her go anywhere. She’s ours, Andrew. I can’t see her complaining that we took her now. She was too into us to have any regrets.” “I hope you’re right.” Andrew didn’t look totally convinced. When Rachel moaned and rolled over to his chest, Andrew closed his eyes. “See, she’s looking for somewhere to get comfortable. If she weren’t feeling safe and at home, she wouldn’t be doing that.” Danny wanted Andrew to feel good about this. He sure as hell did. “I’m going to take a shower. You keep our wife warm.” Danny climbed out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door to keep from waking Rachel up. She needed to sleep after all of that. He looked down at his already rebounding cock and stepped into the shower as soon as the water was warm. No way he was going to jack off with a willing woman in their house. He’d suffer the uncomfortable hard-on until the next morning if he had to. He wanted her again, but it was Andrew’s turn. Maybe he could get her to suck him off later. Then it hit him. She was more than just their sex toy. She was their wife, which meant that she deserved to be treated better than he was thinking about treating her. She might be sore and not want to fuck again in the morning. She might not like to suck a man off. He

 

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rinsed off and climbed out of the shower to dry off. He had a lot to think about. When he walked back into the bedroom, it was to find Rachel draped over Andrew’s body with her hot pussy inches from his rockhard dick. There was a strained expression on his face. He couldn’t be asleep with that look, despite his eyes being closed. “Andrew? You okay man?” “Fuck you, Danny. Go to sleep.” “What if she wakes up and wants to go home?” Danny asked. “Don’t even think about it. I don’t want to hear it. She’s ours. She knows it, and we know it.” “We’re hers, too.” Danny smiled at the curse that followed. **** Somewhere in the early hours of the morning, Andrew woke up to the delicious feel of a warm, wet mouth sucking on his cock. He groaned, and the mouth grew still. “Please don’t stop. That feels un-fucking-believable,” he told her. She resumed sucking just the thick mushroom cap while running her tongue around under the edge. She pulled on his dick and began licking up and down his cock like a lollypop. She nibbled the stalk then sucked just the underside of the cap until he was pushing his pelvis upward to meet her mouth. He needed harder pressure, but he wasn’t about to say anything at this point. He was too happy to have her paying attention to his cock. She licked at the slit in the top, drawing a hiss from him. Then she swallowed down the length of his thick dick as far as she could and used her teeth to tease him as she drew back off of him. It was just the right amount of stimulation he needed. He was going to come soon. Rachel wrapped her hand around his balls and gently squeezed him as she bobbed up and down on his cock. Andrew didn’t know

 

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why he hadn’t already shot his cum down her throat, except that it felt so damn good he didn’t want it to end. When she scratched his balls with her nails while deep-throating him, though, he lost his control and shouted out that he was coming. She tightened her throat around him and swallowed convulsively as he pumped her full of his cum. Andrew’s shout must have woken Danny because the other man was watching them when he opened his eyes up again. Danny was slowly pumping his cock with his hand. Rachel was eyeing it with some interest. “That was perfect, honey,” he told her, running his hand through her hair. She patted him on the chest and turned to eye Danny next. “Um, you look a little uncomfortable now.” “Baby, you keep sucking us off when we get hard, you’re going to get a blister in the roof of your mouth, because we’re not going to stop getting turned on looking at you. Especially when you have a cock down your throat like you just did.” Danny stopped stroking his cock and pulled her over to hold. Andrew had to agree with him. He was already showing some mild interest again. He sighed and plopped back on his pillow and tried to concentrate on going to sleep. When he peeked over at the other two, he was relieved to find that they were only snuggling. In fact, it looked like she was asleep again. “Guess you’re left holding your cock this time,” Andrew commented. “Yeah, but she’s tired, or she wouldn’t have fallen asleep so quickly.” “We aren’t ever going to get any work done around her. She’s going to have to be off-limits during the day.” Andrew plumped his pillow, then lay back down. “We need an honest-to-goodness honeymoon with her so we can get the worst of it out of our systems,” Danny suggested.

 

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“Even if we could take the time away from the ranch, I don’t think it would do any good. I’m not going to get her out of my system at all.” “Well, maybe that wasn’t a good way to put it. Maybe take the edge off is a better term.” Danny grinned and kissed the top of Rachel’s head. “Go to sleep, Danny. We’ve got to get up in another two hours.” Andrew cringed at how he was going to feel when that time came. He wasn’t known for being a nice person in the mornings. Especially after too little sleep, like tonight.

 

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Chapter Four Rachel woke up the next morning alone in the bed. She knew the guys would have had to get up early to see about the cows, or whatever they all were. She should have gotten up with them and cooked them breakfast and fixed their coffee. She needed to work on that. When she moved to get out of the bed, she realized how sore she was. She’d come twice the night before, and her muscles were protesting their treatment this morning. She needed a shower. She crawled out of the bed and walked across the bedroom to the bathroom. After turning on the shower, she selected a bath cloth and towel then checked the temperature of the water. Perfect. She climbed in and let the hot water slide over tense and tired muscles. Slowly the stiffness melted away, and she began to clean up. Once she’d finished her shower, she located a new toothbrush and brushed her teeth, then found a comb and managed to comb the tangles from her hair so that it would dry without matting up. Once again, however, she was faced with a lack of clothes to wear. She padded naked into one of the other bedrooms and located a new T-shirt that hung to her knees. She found a pair of socks that swallowed her feet whole but would keep them clean. She gathered up all the dirty towels and clothes and carried them downstairs with her. Propped against the coffee pot was a note from Andrew. “Figured you needed to sleep in today so didn’t bother you. There’s plenty of food for you to find something to eat. We won’t be

 

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in till later tonight around six or six thirty.” Andrew and Danny had signed it. For some reason, she felt like crying over the note. She folded it and slipped it in her sock then continued on to make two cups of coffee while she set the clothes to wash. Then she explored the kitchen to see what sort of options she had for breakfast and for supper later that night. She wanted to cook for them. She settled for a cheese-and-ham omelet with toast. Then she changed the clothes over from the washer to the dryer and put on another load to wash. She decided after going through the available food that she would cook eggplant parmesan. They had enough eggplant that they must like it, she decided. She spent the next few hours cleaning up the bedroom and straightening the house. After that, there just wasn’t anything to do, so she walked out the back door to look over the garden they had planted. It looked like the pictures in the books, so she supposed it was a good one. She needed to find out what she should be doing to it right now. She was sure something needed to be done. The deep-red earth was so different from the dirt back home. She wondered if the plants grew better or worse in the foreign soil? The plants were already sticking their first leaves out of the ground. She had a lot to learn about gardening. She found books on the subject in the office and curled up in a chair in the living room to read. Halfway through the second chapter, she found herself thinking back over those delicious orgasms the men had given her. She shivered when she recalled the way they made her feel. Her juices began to flow between her legs. She moaned and hoped they would be home soon. She needed to come again. Already her body was preparing her for them. At this rate, she would soak the chair if she didn’t get up and do something. She needed her clothes. She wondered if they had thought about calling to get them or if she needed to try to figure out how to do it. She stood up and walked over to the complicated-looking

 

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contraption used for communications on the planet. She had never seen it used before, so she didn’t have a clue how it worked. She tried talking into the microphone, but nothing happened. Then she tried a few buttons, but all she ended up with was a lot of static and random beeps. She sighed and fiddled with it until she had it quiet again. She would have to wait on them. Rachel really detested waiting. She liked to be doing, not waiting around for someone else to do for her. She sighed and wandered back into the kitchen to check the status of the thawing eggplant. Satisfied with how it was progressing, she jumped when the back door suddenly opened. Andrew and Danny ran inside and grabbed her. “Are you okay? What did you need?” “What are you talking about?” she asked, trying to extract herself from their tight grasps. “You were on the radio, calling out. We thought something was wrong.” “Oh, I didn’t realize you could hear me. I’m sorry. I was trying to figure out how to call the town to see about my clothes. I don’t have anything to put on and feel weird walking around outside in just this T-shirt.” Danny sighed, and Andrew ran a hand through his hair before reseating his hat. “We’ve already called, and they’re sending someone with them later this evening,” Andrew told her. “You were walking outside in just that?” Danny asked. “Yeah. It’s all I have. I’ve gotten the socks really dirty, but I’ll clean them.” “Hell, honey. It’s not safe for you to walk around outside without us with you to show you around first. There are dangerous things out there,” Andrew told her. “Don’t go back out until one of us can show you where everything is.”

 

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“Okay. I didn’t realize there was anything dangerous around here.” “This is a virtually unexplored planet, Rachel. We don’t know what all is out there that could be dangerous. It’s better if you stay in the house for now,” Danny explained. “We’ll be back before dark. If someone you know comes with your clothes, then it’s okay to let them in, but don’t open that door to anyone you don’t know.” “I didn’t think there were other people on the planet other than us.” She began to worry. “There shouldn’t be, but don’t take chances.” Andrew didn’t sound like he wanted to leave again. “Come on. The faster we get back out there, the sooner we can come home.” Danny walked over to the door. “We’ll teach you how to use the radio later, too.” “Okay, I’ll see you later, then.” She closed the door behind them and plopped down on a chair in the kitchen. So much for exploring. She got back up and walked around the house before finally settling on the couch. She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, someone was banging on the front door. She jumped up a little disoriented then realized where she was and that someone was at the door. She walked over and looked out the window to find Emily and two men at the door. She wasn’t really in any shape to receive visitors, never thinking about that fact when the men had told her someone would be bringing her things. With a sigh, she opened the door and asked them in. “Sorry about how I look, but I didn’t have any of my things with me.” “Rachel, are you okay? Everyone was frantic until the men called to let us know you were with them.”

 

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“I’m fine. They had to get back to the ranch because of the baby cows. They couldn’t stick around for a ceremony right now, so we’ll come back later.” Rachel had a difficult time looking at them. “We’ll take you back if you don’t want to be here,” one of the men said. “Oh, no. I, um, do want to be here.” It hadn’t even occurred to her to go back with them the first time. She was happy staying there if they could just come to some agreements on some things. “Well, if you’re sure, we have your cases and bags to unload.” The other man turned and walked back outside to begin bringing in her things. The first man looked at her with a curious expression then shrugged and walked off. “Are you sure, Rachel? You were so upset over…” “I’m fine. I’m sure. Everything worked out for the best.” She didn’t want the other woman to think she had just settled. “Well, if you’re sure. I’m happy for you. Um, it was just sort of sudden how you disappeared and all. If someone hadn’t seen you go outside with Andrew and Danny, we wouldn’t have known what happened to you at all.” The two men began bringing her things in. She had them leave them all in the living room. She didn’t want strangers in the bedroom. It just didn’t seem right. She already felt uncomfortable with how she was dressed in front of them. To their credit, they didn’t stare at her. “Um, Emily? Have you chosen these two men?” She couldn’t help the curiosity in her voice. She smiled and whispered. “I’m not sure, but I think so. They are so nice to me.” “Well, good luck if you do. They seem like decent men.” The two men walked in with a box each. “This is everything then. Are you absolutely sure you’re here because you want to be?” the same one asked again. “I’m sure.”

 

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“Okay, then, Emily, we’d better go back. It will be dark soon, and I don’t want you out in the night air.” Emily smiled up at him then winked at Rachel. Rachel suppressed a laugh and waved them off as they walked outside. The second man helped Emily up into the transport before climbing in after her. They left in a cloud of dust. She sighed and turned around to the stack of boxes and cases that comprised all her earthly possessions. She selected a stack and began going through them to find something to put on immediately. Once this was accomplished, Rachel began moving the easier items into the bedroom and putting them away. She would wait and let the men move her larger boxes and cases. By the time they returned a little before dark, she had their supper on the table and was wearing decent clothes to greet them in. No doubt, being men, though, they would have been just as happy had she been naked. Maybe even more so. “You got your things, great.” Andrew pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He sucked in her lower lip then released it to lick along the roof of her mouth before Danny pulled her out of his arms. “My turn.” He plunged his tongue deep and took her mouth in a hot breath of need. She pulled away and laughed. “Okay, supper is ready. Go get cleaned up.” They left her to finish up the preparations only to return in a few short minutes. They had removed their shirts and appeared freshly scrubbed from the elbows down. They looked like eager young boys waiting for a favorite dessert. “What’s for supper?” Danny asked. “You seemed to have plenty of eggplant, so I figured we needed to eat some of it down.” “Eggplant? Really?” Andrew’s smile was strained.

 

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“What? Do you not like eggplant?” Suddenly all her hard work seemed pointless. Why had they had eggplant at all if they didn’t like it? “Oh, no. We like it. It’s just that we’ve had fried eggplant a lot lately. We grew too much of it last year.” Danny’s attempt at explaining did little to make her feel better. “Well, it’s not fried, so you will have it a different way, but I’m sorry for choosing it. I never dreamed you would have so much having already eaten so much of it.” “If it’s not fried, how do you cook it?” Andrew asked with a curious expression on his face. “I made eggplant parmesan. Have you ever had it?” she asked. “No. That sounds good, though.” Andrew reached for the dish she was holding. “I hope it will be. I’m sorry, guys.” “No, no. It’s fine. We have to eat it, and if you’ve got a different way to cook it, then we’re all for it,” Danny assured her. They settled down, and she waited to see what they thought of the meal. She let out a breath as they both smiled. “This is good. I can eat this a lot more often than fried eggplant,” Danny said. “You did really well, Rachel. Thanks.” Andrew smiled and took another bite of the dish. After supper and once all the dishes were done, the men moved the remainder of her things into the bedroom for her. They offered to unpack for her, but she sent them to rest up. She assured them she would unpack the next day. She wanted time to think about where to put things. Once she’d freshened up, she sat with the men in the living room and listened to them talk about the ranch. She learned a little bit about the day-to-day workings of the ranch and wondered how they had been able to keep everything up by themselves.

 

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“It sounds like you need at least five more men to help you,” she pointed out. “We’re hoping to get several with the next shuttle, along with more cows and another bull.” Andrew laughed when she rolled her eyes. “What?” Danny asked. “Two bulls for how many cows? It’s a wonder the poor things can perform at all. They have to be overworked. I mean really, it takes two of you to take care of just me,” she teased. “Oh, really.” Danny got up and stalked her against the couch. She sank between the cushions, trying to make herself hard to reach. Andrew just watched as Danny began systematically removing her clothing one article at a time. “Hey! We’re downstairs. We can’t have sex on the couch!” She tried to reason with Danny, but he had been challenged. “Oh yes we can,” he insisted as he pulled her to the edge of the cushions. He knelt between her legs and began to lick at her pussy lips until she was no longer squirming to get away, but to get closer to his questing mouth. He chuckled as she moaned when he stuck his tongue deep into her cunt. He added two fingers, and she began to thrash her head from side to side. He pulled back, holding her legs wide apart. “Still think it takes two of us to satisfy you?” “Please don’t stop. I’m so close,” she pleaded. He leaned down and swiped his tongue across her clit. She jerked and moaned again. “I like teasing you. I could do this all night.” Danny winked at Andrew. Rachel caught him and growled as she attempted to grab his head to bring it back down to her cunt where she wanted it. “Now, now, Rachel. Let’s not get too greedy.”

 

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“If you don’t let me come soon, I’m going to fry everything I cook for you for the next month.” She grinned when he frowned and began fucking her with his fingers. “That’s cold,” Andrew said with a grin. “Yeah, well teasing me is mean. I’ve been here all day without anyone to talk to, and you two are out talking to cows and dogs and bulls and each other.” Then she stopped talking as Danny latched onto her clit and began sucking it hard. The climax rolled over her like a steamroller. She hadn’t been expecting it at all. Danny was good about that, taking her by surprise. She would have to try to surprise him next time. Then all she could think about was the feel of her body floating in thin air. It was long seconds before she was able to catch her breath again enough to talk. “So, do you still think it takes more than one man to handle you?” Danny asked with her juices still wet on his face. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be ready again,” she pledged. Danny groaned and slapped Andrew’s hand as if tagging him for the next round. Round one obviously went to Rachel.

 

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Chapter Five Andrew grinned and advanced on Rachel like a returning warrior. He wanted in her pussy so bad he ached with it. They needed to show Rachel who was boss, though. He stopped in front of her and slowly removed his jeans. Then he let her see how aroused he was. Her eyes widened at the sight of his fully engorged cock. “Bend over for me, Rachel. I want that ass pointed at me,” he said. His voice grew husky at the sight of her eyes darkening. She rolled over and presented her ass to him, using her hands on the seat of the couch to hold herself up. She looked over her shoulder and winked at him. Damned if she wasn’t going to be the death of them. He had a feeling it would take two of them to keep her satisfied. He rubbed his cock in her pussy juices before shoving it deep within her cunt. She moaned, and he knew he was stretching her. She didn’t complain. Instead, she shoved back against him as if trying to take more of him inside of her. He pulled out and thrust harder this time. Still only halfway in, he pulled out and rubbed his cock around her cunt once more before lining it up with her slit and driving it home. She screamed out, and at first he thought he’d hurt her, but when she began going crazy trying to fuck herself back on his dick, he knew she was close. Danny walked around behind the couch and fed his cock to her mouth. She opened wide for him and began sucking on him as Andrew fucked her pussy with his. They both entered her at the same time, over and over until she was wild and unable to hold a rhythm with Danny’s cock in her mouth. He withdrew it and pumped his cum into her mouth. She swallowed convulsively even as Andrew grew

 

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tight in the balls. He was going to come in mere seconds, but she had to come first. Andrew reached around beneath her and began fingering her clit. She groaned and went up on her toes. He continued manipulating it until he couldn’t hold back his climax any longer. He pinched her clit and sent them both falling over the abyss, screaming all the way. They collapsed on the couch with him still inside her. Danny laughed and said he’d be right back. Andrew wasn’t even sure why he cared, but when Danny returned with a warm, wet cloth he knew why he cared. Pulling out, he took the cloth from his friend and proceeded to clean Rachel’s pussy and legs. “Now are you satisfied?” Danny asked. “For a little while. I’m going to want more, though. It’s been a long day.” She closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep. “I’m not sure who won,” Andrew confessed. “I think she did, but we’ll wait and argue that point with her when she wakes up again.” Danny picked her up and carried her upstairs with Andrew fallowing behind them. “Hey, you’ve got nail marks in your ass, Danny.” “What are you doing looking at my ass?” “Hey, it’s right in front of me. What am I supposed to do, close my eyes climbing the stairs?” “Guys, could you keep it down? I’m trying to rest here.” Danny tickled her side. “Oh, God! Stop.” She giggled. “Why did you do that?” “For being obnoxious,” he said. “See if you get any more anytime soon.” She rolled over as soon as he laid her on the bed. “I don’t know about you, but I need a shower,” Andrew said. “Come on while she’s resting. I have a feeling tonight isn’t over with.” Danny followed him into the master bath. They often showered together in the master bath since it was so big and had multiple

 

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shower heads. They could each shower and never touch. They were such good friends that it really didn’t bother them anyway. Once they had finished and were drying off, Andrew tiptoed over to the bed and peeked to see if Rachel was awake or not. A single eye stared up at him from the covers. “What?” “I was just checking to see if you needed us to service you again yet.” Andrew bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at how wide her eye got before she emerged from the covers. “Are you both ready again?” She reached up and grabbed his cock with her hand. He hissed when she squeezed it. “Seems like you’re in need of a little persuasion, though.” “Not much, I can assure you.” Danny walked over to get in on her attention. She smiled up at him and took hold of his semi-erect cock and pumped it as well. Once she had them both in good form, she pushed Andrew down on the bed and climbed up over him to take his dick inside her hot cunt. He couldn’t wait. Danny would take her ass, and they would finally be complete as a threesome. The barking of the dogs alerted them something was wrong. Both men sprang to their feet and began to get dressed. “What’s wrong? What is it?” Rachel asked, standing up on the bed watching them. “Something is bothering the dogs. That means something’s wrong with the cows. We’ve got to go check on them.” Andrew slipped his feet in his boots without bothering with socks. He took off out the door, carrying his shirt with him, with Danny right behind him. They burst through the back door outside into the double moonlit night to find the dogs chasing after something in the middle of the herd. “Get the horses,” Danny yelled. “I’m going to go after it.” “Not on foot you’re not. Take the miniport.”

 

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The miniport was like a motocross bike back on Earth but hovered off the ground a good foot. They only had one of them so far but were hoping to get another one soon. Andrew watched Danny start the mini up and take off while he saddled his horse. He was probably a good thirty seconds behind him. He caught up with his friend to find him off the mini, staring down at the mutilated body of one of their cows. He had blood on his shoulder as well. “What in the hell happened?” Andrew asked. “I caught up with something trying to carry this off. It’s fucking huge. When I got close to it, it knocked me off the mini, but it didn’t get the cow.” Danny held his hand over his shoulder where the blood had been coming from. “You’re hurt. Come on up.” He held out his hand about the time they heard a scream coming from the house. Andrew pulled Danny on up, and they turned and raced for the house. **** Rachel held the mop out in front of her between her and the thing currently threatening the calf she had cornered behind her. She’d heard a cry and run outside with the mop, thinking a wild dog or maybe a wolf was threatening one of the baby cows, only to find some animal trying to carry one off. She had beaten on it with the mop until it dropped the poor thing and turned toward her. Rachel managed to get the calf behind her and back it into a corner so she could defend them with the mop. She had never seen anything like it. It looked like a mammalian praying mantis that weighed close to three hundred pounds. When it reached down again to try and grab at her, she screamed, and it backed up a few paces, holding its head. When it came after her once again, she screamed, and again it backed off.

 

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Then she heard the sound of a motor as Andrew and Danny came riding up on something like the transport but smaller, with a gun. The thing turned and hissed at the men before running off. Andrew shot at it while Danny slid off the horse to check on Rachel. Andrew started off after it, but Rachel screamed for him not to leave her. “Please, don’t go after it. Please, s–stay here with me.” Danny grabbed her and held her for a few seconds. Then she pulled out of his embrace to fuss over his injured arm. “How bad is it? Let me see.” Rachel jerked him around to the light so she could tell how deep the wound was. “What in the hell where you doing out here?” Danny demanded. “Oh! The baby cow. You need to check it. It could be hurt.” The calf in question was standing against the house, looking shell-shocked but alive. Andrew slid off the transport and glared at her. “I’ll take care of the calf. You see about Danny. Then we’re going to have a talk about this.” He stomped over to the calf, scaring it into running off. Andrew cursed and chased after it. “Come on inside so I can see.” She kept the mop in one hand and held onto Danny with the other. She wasn’t sure who was helping who inside the house. She was shaking like a leaf. She pulled him over to the kitchen sink. After turning on the water to warm up, she tore the rest of the shirt sleeve off and looked at the gash in his shoulder. “What made the cut?” she asked. “Something on its leg. A claw, I guess.” Danny shrugged. “Why does it matter?” “Because if it’s from its mouth there could be some kind of venom in it we don’t know about. It looked like a giant insect,” Rachel pointed out. “Yeah, it did.” Danny winced when she took a cloth to it and cleaned it up. “Damn, that hurts.”

 

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“Sorry. Why don’t you come sit down on the chair so you’re closer to my height? I can’t see the cut very well like this.” Once he was sitting in the chair, he sort of slumped. She didn’t blame him. He’d gotten up close and personal with the thing. Well, so had she, but she didn’t have any wounds on her. After exploring it she determined it would need to be sewn up. “Do you have any sewing supplies?” she asked. “He needs stitches?” Andrew walked in covered in dirt. She wisely kept her mouth shut. “Yeah. It’s deep enough it won’t heal well, and as dirty as you guys get out there, he needs it closed.” “I’ll get the supplies,” he said. “Wash up first. You’re nasty.” “Fuck.” He peeled off his shirt and began washing up in the kitchen sink. Rachel winced but knew she could sanitize the sink later. “Can you sew, or do you need me to?” Andrew asked as he carried over a first aid box. “I can sew. You’re going to have to hold him if he jumps. I’m not strong enough to do that.” Rachel really hoped it would only take about two stitches but had the sneaky suspicion it would be at least three. “Get me some whiskey, Andrew.” Danny gritted his teeth and waited for her to start. “Let him take a few drinks, and then I’ll put some on the wound. It will help kill any remaining germs.” Rachel waited for Danny to take a few drinks. He swallowed and shook his head. Rachel dabbed some on a cloth and pressed it into the wound. Danny growled and cursed. While it was still stinging, she took the first stitch and managed to get to the second one before he felt the first prick of her needle. She winced when he cursed again. After three stitches, she decided he’d had enough and made a bandage to go over it for the next twelve hours.

 

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“He shouldn’t get it dirty for at least twelve hours. Then we can take the bandage off and just try and keep it clean. It needs to get the air to heal well.” She put everything back up then nearly passed out from the stress. “Ah hell, Rachel.” Danny was nearly out himself, but he grabbed her with his good arm and pulled her into his lap. “Here, Danny. I have her. Can you stand on your own?” “Yeah, let’s get to bed before I pass out.” “I–I’m sorry. I–I guess it’s all just caught up with me.” She was shaking so badly now her teeth chattered. Andrew carried her up the stairs to the bedroom then helped her get her clothes off before turning around and helping Danny with his. He stripped, and they all climbed into bed and hugged. “Honey, what in the hell where you doing out there?” Andrew asked. Rachel sighed. She could tell Andrew was determined to find out what had happened. “I was listening for you guys when I heard this horrible bleating noise and looked out the window and saw something trying to carry the baby cow off. I couldn’t stand to see it hurt, so I grabbed the mop and went after it.” “Calf. It’s called a calf,” Danny whispered. “Well, I kept hitting the thing till it dropped the calf. It ran behind me, and we backed up to the house so I could defend us.” “You can’t tell me that that mop kept that thing off of you.” Andrew shook his head. “No, my screaming did that. Every time I screamed, it held its head and backed away. So I kept screaming until you showed up.” “I’d have backed away, too, if you were screaming at me,” Danny said. “I think he’s drunk,” Rachel commented. “Naw, just feeling better now,” he said.

 

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Andrew looked at him and shook his head. “So screaming scared it off?” he asked. “No, I think it was more that the noise hurt its head.” “Hmmm.” Andrew sighed and pulled her closer to him. “Don’t ever do something like that again. You could have been hurt.” “What was I supposed to do, let it eat the baby cow?” “Calf,” they both said. “And yes,” Andrew told her. “Better it than you. I don’t mind sacrificing it if it keeps you safe.” “I’m sorry if I scared you,” she told them. Danny snored. Andrew pulled her over on top of him. “I need you, Rachel. I need to feel you around me, know that you’re really okay. I thought something had gotten you when I heard you screaming.” “I want you, too, Andrew.” “Ride me, Rachel.” He held his cock with his fist and kept a hand on her waist to steady her as she slipped down on top of him. They both sighed when she slid down only partway. “You’re not ready yet. I’m sorry.” “No, it will be okay.” She moved up and down on his thick cock until she was able to sink all the way to his pelvis. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes as their bodies met. “Fuck, you’re tight.” Andrew grimaced as he pulled back and pushed forward to meet her downward thrust. Rachel felt the sweat begin to gather at her brow. It was so intense, maybe too intense. She felt as if every part of them was joining at that moment. She pushed down as he pressed upward. He pulled out as she moved up. His thick cock rubbed over all her nerve endings, telling her she was alive. Danny was alive, Andrew was alive. She rode him in long, hard drives until they both lost their rhythm and came in grunts and cries.

 

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Chapter Six Early the next morning, Rachel slipped out of bed to start breakfast and a much-needed cup of coffee. She had fallen asleep as soon as Andrew had settled her next to him in the bed. She had no doubt they would be up soon. It was nearly five in the morning. As soon as the coffee finished brewing, she sat down with a cup and sipped it, waiting on the fear of the night before to come back over her. Only it didn’t. She had always been one to get overly upset over things according to most people, but she seemed to be handling this better than she’d handled anything else in her life. Maybe she’d grown up overnight. She was only twenty-two. It was funny. Even after all the years of watching space horror movies, when the choice had been given to her to stay in her Earthbound locker or fly to some far-off planet, she’d jumped at the chance to get out of the bunkers. She had never once thought about those horror movies or that they might have some truth to them. Now she knew better. There were scary things on other planets. And she had survived one of them. “You’re thinking awfully hard over there.” Andrew’s voice startled her. She turned to watch him pour a cup of coffee. He didn’t look any worse for wear. She was sure she had circles under her eyes and was even paler than normal. “Just thinking about when I used to watch those scary space movies as a kid.” “I remember some of those,” Andrew said. “Seems like a whole other lifetime ago now, though.”

 

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“Yes, it does.” She smiled at him and got up to start breakfast. “Is Danny up yet?” she asked. “Yeah, he’s getting dressed. I took a shower before I woke him.” “Oh! He shouldn’t get those stitches wet.” She started to run up the stairs, but Andrew caught her. “He knows, Rachel. We’ve both had stitches before.” “Oh, okay.” She felt foolish. Of course they would know better. They were grown men. Andrew sat down then wound his arms around her waist and buried his face between her breasts. She thought at first he was being sneaky about playing with her tits but realized he was just seeking comfort at her bosom. She wrapped her arms around his head and smoothed his wayward hair down with her hands. When Danny walked downstairs, they were standing at the table waiting on him. “How do you feel?” she asked him. “Like something took a swipe at me.” He grinned. “I’m okay, though. Thanks for patching me up, doc.” She rolled her eyes and got back to cooking. Once the men had left for the day, she went about cleaning up. She swept and mopped the floor with the mop that had saved her and the calf. Then she went into the office and began reading everything she could find on the planet and its inhabitants. She would be better prepared from now on. Several hours later, she realized there was nothing in any of the paperwork about the thing that had attacked them last night. It was, for all intents and purposes, a new species for the planet. She sat down and wrote down everything she could remember about it and then drew a sketch of it the best she could. She was no artist by any means, but one of the men might be able to use it to make a better drawing. She walked the floors of the house, wondering what to do next. She needed to work in the garden but promised she wouldn’t go out

 

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there until one of them had the time to show her around. She needed to make sure they showed her today when they got home. When she wasn’t thinking about the garden and the creature, she wondered how Danny was doing with his wounded arm. She hoped he didn’t pull the stitches out working. She didn’t think she could sew him up again. He needed antibiotics, but they didn’t have any. Maybe she should insist they go to town and get him some. They had a doctor there. Finally, the men walked through the back door at close to six that evening. She refrained from throwing herself into their arms, knowing they were both tired and dirty. Still, she smiled at them and offered them coffee before they went to get cleaned up. “How is your arm, Danny? Can I see it?” she asked. He shrugged and pulled off his shirt so she could see his bandage. She slipped it lose and checked to be sure the stitches were still intact. “You can leave the bandage off after you clean up. Just don’t get it wet.” “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a smirk. She slapped his good shoulder. “How has your day been?” Andrew asked. “Boring. I need to get out and work in the garden. Can you show me around now so I can do that tomorrow?” “We’re not sure you should work outside at all with this new thing running around.” He and Danny exchanged looks. “Like hell! I’m working in the garden. Besides, I have a weapon you two don’t have.” “What is that?” Danny asked clearly confused. “I can scream like a banshee, and you can’t. That thing can’t stand loud noises or high noises, for one thing,” she said. “Still, it’s not safe out there.” “It’s not going to be safe for either of you in here if I have to stay cooped up in here from now on. So what’s it going to be?” she asked sweetly.

 

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“Fuck, Rachel. I’m scared for you to work out there alone. We’re anywhere from one to three miles out at any given time during the day. You’re all on your own out here.” Andrew cursed then turned around and slammed his hands at his waist. “I’ll be careful. I won’t take chances, and I’ll keep my trusty mop with me at all times.” “It’s nothing to joke about, Rachel.” Danny slapped his hands against the table and stood up. “I’m not joking, guys. I’m dead serious. I have to be able to work out there. I know there are dangers, but I didn’t get out of those bunkers on Earth just to sit in a house here on Alpha. The garden has to be worked, or it’s going to go to weeds. We have to have the garden to eat. You don’t have time to deal with it. If you think I need to know how to shoot a gun, teach me. I can learn.” She stopped with her hands on her hips, breathing like a race horse. “She’s right, Danny,” Andrew finally said. “Hell, I know.” Danny ran a hand over his face. “You teach her how to shoot. I’ll walk the garden and yard with her. We’ll hope for a set of puppies from Rex and Skippy sometime, and she’ll have some guard dogs then.” “Come on. I’ll go ahead and take her out to show her around the yard. You need to rest. We’ll be back inside soon.” Andrew held out his hand to Rachel. “I’m going to go ahead and take a shower. I’ll see you in a little while.” Danny walked through the kitchen to the stairs. Rachel smiled in triumph. Next she had to learn to use the radio. They needed to be able to all keep in touch. “Watch that smirk, Rachel. It could get you in trouble.” Andrew shook his head and opened the door for her. Once outside, he was all business, explaining the differences between some of the plants. He pointed out the poisonous ones that grew wild around the yard and showed her an insect that would swell her arm up like a squash if she let it bite her. He told her to always

 

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wear gloves and to check inside of them before sticking her hands in them after she’s taken them off for any reason. They spent nearly an hour outside in the garden and surrounding yard before he called it a night. “You might not be, but I’m hungry,” he told her as they walked inside. “I went to the liberty of warming up the soup she had on the stove,” Danny said as they closed the kitchen door behind them. “I’ll finish the cornbread,” she told them and pulled the batter she already had mixed up out of the fridge. The men disappeared while she put the finishing touches on supper. A few minutes later they walked back in the kitchen with frowns on their faces. She looked from one to the other. “What?” “We were just talking to Cam and Phillip a few miles east of us. They are finding some big tracks on their land that look like it might be from the same animal we have bothering us,” Andrew told her. “Do you think it’s the same one, or is there more than one?” she asked. “There’s bound to be more than one. For all we know, there are hundreds around here.” Danny opened the oven door to peek at the cornbread. She swatted at his uninjured arm. “The thing is, it’s dangerous. We need to know what to do to get rid of it, or at the least keep it away from the house,” Andrew said. “Have they seen it?” “Not yet. They hope they won’t but are worried about it now because it’s been close to the garden where their wife, Lacy, has been working.” Andrew looked out the window over the door into the back yard. “I hope they keep it away from her. It’s one scary monster.” She pulled out the cornbread and set it on top of the stove to cut.

 

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“I’ll take care of it from here,” Andrew told her. “It’s too heavy and hot for you to deal with. Why don’t you go have a seat, and I’ll bring it to the table.” Danny pulled out her chair, and she sat down feeling like a queen. They were good men. She really couldn’t have chosen better. She frowned then smiled. She wasn’t going to sweat it. She was happy enough. They ate in silence, and then the men returned to the office while she put up the leftovers and washed up the kitchen. As soon as she finished, she knocked on the office door. Danny called for her to come in. “What is it, honey?” he asked. “Will you show me how to use the radio, so I can call you if there’s a problem and I need you?” “Sure.” Danny walked over to the contraption and identified each of the dials and parts on it. Then he had her repeat them. Once he was satisfied she could remember them, he showed her how to call them on their handheld radios and how to call the city if she needed help from there. “We just got the radios this month. Before that we were just out here on our own. It took them awhile to get them to work in this atmosphere. Evidently it’s denser, and the frequencies are screwy.” Danny pulled out a radio from the desk and added a battery to it. “Keep this on you when you’re outside. You can call us using it, but you can’t reach the city with it. It’s set to our frequency.” “Okay, thanks, I feel better knowing I can get hold of you in case of a problem.” Andrew wrapped an arm around her. “I’m just sorry we didn’t think about it sooner.” Then he handed her a sketch he’d made of the monster, having used hers and what he saw. “What do you think?” he asked. “That looks just like it. You’re good at drawing. Mine looked like a cross between a short Godzilla and a walking stick.”

 

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“You wrote down some interesting information about the thing that we hadn’t noticed. I think you need to keep a journal of what you observe. It could help us or someone else later down the line.” Danny handed her a notebook and pen. “Oh, okay.” She hadn’t thought she could be of any real help keeping notes, but she would do it if they thought she should. “Make good notes on the garden, ’cause you’re going to want to refer back to what grew well and what didn’t, so you don’t keep planting the same things every year. I can attest that eggplants grow wild here. They make more than a zucchini does on Earth,” Danny said. “Hell, you just about can’t kill the things, either. They were still producing all the way up until they froze on the plant the first freeze we had,” Andrew added. They talked about the garden and the wildlife around the area for another hour. When they caught her yawning, they called it a night. “We’ve got another long day ahead of us. If you’re going to be working outside some, you’re going to need more rest.” Danny ushered her upstairs where he helped her undress while Andrew took a shower. Rachel crawled into bed and tried to stay awake for when the men joined her, but the next thing she knew, she was asleep. **** Rachel worked out in the garden every morning from when the men left until around lunchtime, when they often would show up for sandwiches. She wasn’t sure if they were just keeping close because of her being outside or if the creature had them spooked as well. Still, she was glad to see them for a short while at midday. In the afternoons as it grew hotter, she stayed indoors to clean house and wash clothes, or sometimes just to read. May turned to June, and the days were growing hotter. The men spent less time out

 

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in the heat in the afternoons. Sometimes they all took a nap together after a quick round of sweaty sex. One afternoon, they were showering when Danny began fingering her ass with his soapy finger. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, laughing. Andrew held her still so that she wouldn’t fall. “He’s getting your ass ready for his cock.” “Oh really? And you were going to ask me when?” she teased. “Hey, we know this was mentioned in the literature you got.” Danny nipped her shoulder with his teeth. “But we haven’t discussed it,” she persisted. “We are now,” Danny said, shoving his finger in and out of her ass. “How does that feel?” Andrew asked as he played with her clit. “I can’t concentrate on it while you’re doing that to my pussy,” she said. “Good. Then I’m doing my job well.” He looked over her shoulder at Danny and pinched her clit at the same time that Danny added a finger and more soap to her ass. It pinched but didn’t hurt that badly. She moaned as Andrew began shoving two fingers into her cunt at the same time. She could feel them both gliding in and out of her, touching through a thin layer of tissue. “How does that feel, honey?” Danny asked. “Ooh, it feels good. I can feel both of you at the same time.” “Think of how good it’s going to feel when both our cocks are inside you at the same time.” Danny pulled free of her ass and cleaned up. “Why did you stop?” she complained. “Because we need to be somewhere besides the shower to go any further,” Andrew told her. “We don’t want to risk falling in here. We could break something.” He grinned at her.

 

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Rachel just laughed and shook her head. They all climbed out and dried off before dressing. It was late afternoon now, and the men would go round the cows up to bring them in closer tonight. They’d noticed tracks of their resident creature on the outskirts of the herd the day before. “Be careful.” She always warned them before they left. She worried about them when they were out in the evenings. She fixed supper and waited on them to come in. When their usual hour passed and there was no sign of them, she began to worry. She waited another hour then pulled up the radio to locate them. At first, she didn’t get an answer from them, and then Danny radioed her back. “We’ve got a couple of cows stuck in the mud out here. Have you ever driven the transport?” “You know I haven’t, but I can try. What do you need me to do?” she asked. Danny walked her through starting it up and how to back it up and go forward. She managed to get out of the garage without hitting the wall but once, and that wasn’t so bad. Once she got out in the open, she just drove slow and headed in the general direction of the compass readings. “You should be here in the next few minutes,” Danny told her. “Do you see the stream yet?” Daylight was fast disappearing, and she knew once it got to be night she would have a more difficult time finding them. Just when she thought she was totally lost, she found the stream. “I see it. So I just follow it till I find you. Right?” “That’s right,” Danny told her. “Won’t be long now. I think I hear you.” Seconds later, she rode up on where they were, and her heart sank. The reason Andrew hadn’t been talking to her was that he was stuck in the mud with one of the cows. She could tell he was having a hard time keeping his head above water.

 

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“What do I do, Danny? Oh, God. He’d going to drown if we don’t get him out of there.” “Calm down, Rachel. We’ll get him. Put it down right next to that tree. Nice and easy.” Danny talked her through it and then came over and got in with her after tying a rope around something on the front. He hovered the transport out to where Andrew was and draped the rope over in his direction. It took Andrew several tries to get the rope, but he finally did and draped it over the cow’s neck. “What’s he doing? Why isn’t he putting it on himself?” she cried out. “He’s tangled up with the cow. It will work better to pull the cow and let him work himself free with it. You’ll see.” Danny began to ease the transport backward, and the cow’s head came around as the rope tightened. It mooed and began moving some toward the transport. Rachel could see Andrew’s head going under the water here and there as the cow moved closer and closer. “He’s having trouble keeping his head above water.” She worried. “It’s the waves from the transport. He’ll be okay. Help me watch. We don’t want to pull too fast, or we’ll jerk the cow off its legs.” “Oh, God.” Rachel was afraid she was going to be sick.

 

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Chapter Seven They backed up slowly, and the cow finally started trying to help. Andrew held on to the rope as they moved closer to drier land. When they were at the edge of where the mud started, he let go of the rope and slowly crawled out of the mud and collapsed on the grass. The cow followed the pull of the rope until they had it well away from the muddy water. “Set it down, and let me out.” Rachel tried to climb out of the transport, but Danny grabbed her and held on to her arm until he had the thing on the ground. “Okay, now you can go see about him. Stay away from the cows.” Danny laughed when she threw herself all over Andrew, mud and all. “Are you okay? Did you swallow any water?” Rachel rolled Andrew over on his side and rubbed his back. “I’m okay,” he finally whispered. “Need to get my breath back.” “What about your legs? Are they okay?” she asked. “They’re fine.” She continued to rub his back until he started gagging and threw up a bellyful of water. She had known he needed to by the way his face looked all green and sick looking. Once he’d finished being sick, she helped him move closer to the funny-looking yellow tree. Danny was using the transport to pull the other cow out of the mud now. It wasn’t behaving and was trying to walk deeper into the stream. Finally, while they watched, Danny managed to drag the second cow from the mud. It was limping some, and Andrew shook his head. “We may have to go ahead and butcher that one tomorrow. If it has a bad leg, it won’t be any good to graze.”

 

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“Why not?” she asked. “It won’t eat if it can’t stand sturdy on all four hooves. We could put it in the barn and feed it, but it will work just as well to go ahead and butcher it and put up the meat for the winter than to baby it just to kill it next year. “It seems so cruel to raise them and then kill them.” Rachel knew it was how they lived. Danny walked over and squatted next to them. “How are you doing?” he asked Andrew. “Better now, thanks.” “Why hadn’t you all already called me?” she asked, afraid of the answer. “Honestly, we didn’t think of asking you for help, honey,” Danny said. “It didn’t dawn on us you might could bring the transport out to us. We know you can, now.” Rachel just nodded and continued to hold Andrew in her arms. It hurt that they hadn’t thought she could help. She wanted to be a part of the ranch, as well as their wife. So far, she really wasn’t even their wife. They never had gone and had the ceremony performed. It honestly hadn’t bothered her until just then. “Let’s get him home so he can shower and rest.” Danny stood up. “I’ll bring the horses. You can handle the transport, can’t you?” he asked, looking at Andrew. “If he can’t, I can,” she said. “Let him handle it, Rachel.” Danny hugged her and walked off. Andrew rolled over to get to his knees and stand up. Rachel helped him then walked behind him as he walked toward the transport. She got in on the other side and didn’t say anything on the ride back to the house. Once they arrived, she helped him down and into the house. She peeled his clothes off of him in the mudroom and dropped them by the washtub. He climbed the stairs on shaky legs with her right behind him should he start to fall.

 

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Rachel turned on the water and adjusted it to a nice, warm temperature that wouldn’t scald him but would help work some of the soreness from his muscles. He had to be hurting, as much as they had pulled on his legs and hips. She stripped down so she could help him shower. Then once he was clean, she dried him off and put him to bed. She turned to go when he caught her hand. “Thanks, Rachel.” “I didn’t do anything.” She squeezed his hand and left him to rest. About the time that she got back downstairs wearing a T-shirt and panties, Danny walked in. He looked haggard and exhausted. She knew he was worried about Andrew. So she told him he was resting in bed now. “He did fine in the shower, but he’s going to be sore tomorrow, I’m sure.” “I put the cow in the barn until we decide what to do for sure. It’s limping pretty badly. I wouldn’t be surprised to find it on the ground when we check tomorrow,” he said. “Do I need to go check on it or feed it?” she asked. “Naw, it will be fine till tomorrow.” He walked back to the mudroom again and pulled off his jeans and shirt. He left his boots at the back door with Andrew’s. “Thanks for helping us.” “I’m part of the ranch, too, aren’t I? I’ll always help if you need me to.” He just patted her on the head and slowly climbed the stairs. Rachel bit her lower lip to try and stop the tears from falling. She’d almost lost Andrew today, and neither man realized that she wanted to be a part of everything, not just the garden and the house. She didn’t feel like she belonged anymore. Did anyone realize they hadn’t done the ceremony? Did they wonder why? Rachel wondered why. They had assured her they would go back and do it the next week, but it had gotten away from them. She had to be honest, she’d forgotten about it as well, but now

 

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that she remembered it, she wanted it. She would talk to them about it as soon as Andrew was feeling better. Sometime during the night, Andrew spiked a fever and started coughing. Rachel sat up with him all night, sponging him off to keep the fever down and giving him lots of water to drink. She made Danny go to the other room so he would get some sleep. He would need to deal with the animals alone over the next few days. Andrew would be sick for a while, she was sure. She just hoped it didn’t turn into pneumonia. The next day, he seemed some better but was still coughing. She had him sit up for an hour, ever three or four, even though he obviously didn’t feel like it. She was scared it would settle in his lungs if he didn’t move around. Finally, she called into town to talk to the doctor about it. He assured her that she was doing the right things and that if it got worse, to bring him in for some antibiotics. She squeezed in the housework around taking care of him. Then she managed to cook supper for them to be ready when Danny got back inside. She knew it had to be hard on him handling everything by himself. She wished they had the ranch hands now to help. “Where’s Danny?” Andrew asked again. “He’s still out working. It’s not time for him to be here yet. He’ll be in soon.” She refrained from calling him up on the radio since she didn’t need anything, but she wanted to check on him, too. Finally, he walked in looking worn and frazzled. She handed him a glass of iced tea and helped him pull off his boots. He stripped in the kitchen, and she didn’t say anything as he made his way up the stairs, naked and exhausted. Rachel cleaned up after him then checked on Andrew to find him asleep. For the first time, he didn’t seem to have a fever. She sighed in relief. As soon as Danny emerged from the shower with a towel around him, she gave him the good news. “Good, I was getting worried,” Danny admitted.

 

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“I had already been worried enough for both of us,” she confided. “When he wakes up, be sure you tell him about the ranch. He’s been all over me about wanting to know what is going on.” Danny nodded. “Do you feel up to making me a sandwich?” he asked. “I have supper ready for you. It’s warming in the oven. Come on downstairs.” He followed her down, and Rachel set up his plate with vegetables and meatloaf. He smiled and began eating like a starved man. She was sure he probably was. He hadn’t bothered coming in for lunch, and if she hadn’t been worried about leaving Andrew alone, she would have taken him a sandwich if she could have found him. “What about the cow?” she finally thought to ask. “I’ll butcher it tomorrow. Had too many other things to do today.” “Do you need my help? If Andrew doesn’t run a fever tonight, he’ll be okay for a couple of hours tomorrow while I help you and tend to the garden.” Danny looked at her and nodded. “If you think you can handle it. Once I get it gutted, I’ll need help putting up the meat. It’s a messy job, Rachel.” “It has to be done, though, right?” “Right,” he agreed. “If I can handle Andrew throwing up on me, I can handle a little cow’s blood.” **** Danny woke the next day to an empty bed again. He had slept in the other room to be sure to sleep since Andrew was still coughing off and on all night. Rachel was sleeping with him to keep him turned during the night, so he didn’t sleep in one place. He would be glad when they were all back in the same bed again. He missed them, especially Rachel.

 

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She had breakfast on the table for him with a fresh cup of coffee. “How’s Andrew this morning?” “Doing better. He coughed most of the night, but he’s turning himself more without me having to remind him.” “Did he run any fever?” “Just a low-grade, and it was gone by five. Call me on the radio when you’re ready for me to help you with the meat,” she reminded him. He couldn’t help but be glad that she wanted to help. He was worn out already and still had the entire day ahead of him. She seemed strained, though, he decided. Was it just worry over Andrew, or was something else on her mind? She’d been that way ever since Andrew had gotten hurt. Too tired to worry with it right then, Danny promptly forgot about it and walked outside to check on the animals in the barn. The horses were all okay, but their stalls needed tending, as well as the cow. It was actually standing on its bad leg some this morning, but it wasn’t well by any means. He would go ahead as planned once he finished everything else he needed to do. After mucking the stalls and feeding the horses, he saddled up his horse and rode out to check on the rest of the herd. As he rode past the garden, he saw Rachel working in it and thought again about her acting strange. Once again, it slipped his mind when he found the dead cow with the tracks all around it. “Damn it to hell.” He growled. The creature was back. The dogs hadn’t even barked. He worried then that they were hurt or dead when he didn’t see them, but as he rode farther out, he found them trying to keep the herd from wandering farther out into the range. They were spooked. No doubt the creature had done that and the dogs went with them to round them back up. He returned to the site of the dead cow and figured it had been dead about three hours. That meant the thing had killed it around three that morning. It had also eaten a good portion of it there and possibly taken part of it off with it. He rode back to the ranch and grabbed a

 

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shovel before riding back out to dig a hole for the rest of the cow. They couldn’t leave it for scavengers to get to. They would keep the cows spooked, and it ran the risk of causing disease. Once he had finished with the cow, he had the dogs bring the cows up close to the house and hold them there. He needed a shower to get the dirt and dead cow off of him before he tended to the other animal. “Hey, you okay, Danny?” Rachel asked when he walked inside a little after noon. “Yeah, need a shower before I work on the cow,” he told her. He wouldn’t tell her about the dead one or the creature. She had enough to worry with now. “I’ll make you a sandwich. You need something in your stomach before you get busy again,” she said. He grunted an answer and headed upstairs. When he walked into the bedroom, it was to find Andrew sitting up in the chair wearing a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. “How is everything?” the other man asked. “Everything’s fine. I’m just cleaning the dirt off of me before I butcher that cow. Don’t want dirt on the clean meat.” “Liar, but I’ll find out when I get back out there.” Danny grinned and headed for the shower. He scrubbed and rinsed then got out and dried off. When he walked back out into the bedroom, Andrew was nodding off in the chair. He grabbed his clothes and carried them down the hall to dress so he wouldn’t wake Andrew up. He was sure sleeping was good for him. He wanted him to get well. Rachel handed him a sandwich and a glass of tea when he walked downstairs a few minutes later. “Was Andrew awake while you were out there?” she asked. “He was when I went up, but he’s asleep in the chair now.” “I’m glad he got to see you before he fell back asleep. He was getting worried about you.”

 

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“Thanks for the sandwich. I’ll call you on the radio when I get to the point that I need you. I’ll be out behind the garage on that slab of concrete out there. Bring the three big pans that are on top of the fridge when you come. I’ll have everything else we’ll need, I think.” Danny finished his glass of tea and handed it back to her before walking out the back door. He grabbed the cow and sighed as he pulled it along behind him limping the entire way. He hated this part of ranching.

 

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Chapter Eight Rachel had to make her aching legs walk up the stairs so she could take a shower. She felt totally wiped out. He arms hurt, her head hurt, and her calves cramped from being on them for so long standing in one place. By the time she made it up the stairs, she couldn’t remember how many bags of meat they’d put up. To top it all off, her hands already looked like prunes from soaking the meat in the ice water to remove the blood. What she thought would be a couple of hours of work had turned into nearly five for her. Poor Danny was still dealing with the cleanup. She had to check on Andrew and see about supper for all of them, so she hadn’t really gotten off that easy. Andrew was sitting up in bed with an open book in front of him. He looked up when she staggered in the bedroom. “You look whooped,” he said. “Never actually helped butcher a cow before. It was interesting.” She headed to the shower, having seen that Andrew was doing okay. “Do you need help in there?” he called after her. “Thanks. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to rinse off good and then work on supper. Are you hungry?” she called back. “A little, not much. I’m not doing anything to be hungry.” “Your body is healing. You need the sustenance,” she reminded him, then turned on the shower. She actually sat on the back bench for a few precious seconds, letting her aching feet rest before getting up to scrub off the dirt and blood. She lathered her hair to get the smell of blood out of it. Then

 

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she rinsed and got out to dry off. She did a quick dry on her hair with the hair dryer and pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt without bothering with underwear. By the time she had supper ready, Danny was upstairs in the shower. She carried a plate up to Andrew and then fixed Danny’s plate as well. She really wasn’t very hungry. She nibbled on the vegetables but couldn’t eat anything else. She was ready for bed. “I’m sleeping with you two tonight. I’m tired of sleeping alone,” Danny announced when he’d finished eating. “Good, I’m tired of sleeping without you, too. I think Andrew’s coughing is better now, anyway. You should get plenty of sleep.” She yawned and stood up. “Just stack your dishes in the sink. I’m going to bed, I think. I can’t keep my eyes open.” She stood up and staggered to the stairs. Just as she started to take a step up, Danny walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her. “I’ll help you up. You look like you might fall over any minute now.” “Just haven’t had a lot of sleep lately. I’ll be fine in the morning.” She yawned again, and this time when she finished yawning, she couldn’t get her eyes to open back up. Danny chuckled and urged her in the direction of the bedroom before picking her up and carrying her to bed. He peeled the T-shirt over her head and then when she climbed into bed, he tugged her shorts off her bottom. She heard Andrew ask if she was okay. “Yeah, she’s just dead on her feet. She’ll be fine tomorrow.” Danny covered her up. The last thing she remembered was Andrew pulling her over next to him and kissing her nose. ****

 

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“So how many have we lost so far?” Andrew asked Danny when they were in the barn, saddling up the horses for the day. “Only one so far, but that won’t last long now that it knows they’re easy to kill.” Danny tightened the cinch on his saddle. “Does Rachel know about it?” “Nope, didn’t tell her about it. I don’t think she needs to know right now. She knows to be careful and stay in after dark.” Andrew nodded and led his horse out of the barn. He swung up in the saddle. He was glad to be out again. He still felt sore in the ribs from all the coughing, but all in all he felt a hundred percent better. Rachel had fussed that he wasn’t ready yet, but he knew she was just worried. He’d been out of the loop long enough. Six days was plenty of time to recuperate from a bad cold. Okay, bronchitis. They checked the cattle and the dogs and found everything looked normal. They rode around until they spotted tracks and followed them as far as the stream. Then when the tracks disappeared into the water, they turned around and herded the cattle farther from that area. With both of them working, it didn’t take long to move them. He was sure it had been hard on Danny handling it all alone. Then he thought about Rachel and how she’d single-handedly taken care of him and the house and the garden while he had been sick. It was no wonder she’d lost weight and looked so worn out. She needed some rest. He would make sure she got some as soon as they settled the cattle down and figured out what to do about the creature. “What are you thinking so hard about?” Danny asked him. “Just that Rachel has been pulled pretty thin between taking care of me and helping you. She needs some rest.” “She’s lost some weight, too,” Danny added. “Have you noticed that she seems really preoccupied lately?” “I figured that was from being so tired.” “Maybe, but I think it started before all of this. She just seemed distant to me.” Danny urged his horse to cut off a cow that tried to make a break for it.

 

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“Soon as we get this mess under control with the creature, we need to spend some quality time with her.” Andrew steered his horse alongside Danny’s. “I can’t remember the last time we made love to her.” “I think we’ve all been sort of busy,” Danny pointed out. “No excuse. We should be able to keep her happy between the two of us.” Danny scowled at him but shrugged and agreed. “You’re right. We’ve just let things get out of hand.” “Let’s give her a good massage tonight when we get ready for bed.” Danny smiled. “I like the sound of that.” They worked to keep the cattle in the same general area until the cows began to get tired and want their afternoon naps. Andrew was about ready for one himself. He’d gotten used to them while he’d been sick, and before when they’d taken them during the hot part of the day. Maybe it was time for another one today. “How about a nap?” Andrew asked. “Huh?” Danny’s brows furrowed. “Let’s go to the house and take a short nap.” “Ah, okay.” Danny turned his horse to follow Andrew. They walked in the kitchen to find Rachel canning tomatoes. “Hey, is something wrong?” she asked wiping her hands on the apron. “No, just decided it was a good day to come in for a nap. We might be out a little later this evening.” Andrew reached over to kiss her on the cheek. “Take a shower before you climb in bed. I just changed the sheets.” “Come on up as soon as you finish what you’re working on. The rest will keep.” Danny kissed her other cheek. Andrew and Danny shared the shower and finished in record time. By the time they were in bed, Rachel walked into the bedroom and

 

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stripped off her clothes. She looked thinner than ever. Andrew was worried all over again. “Honey, you’ve lost a lot of weight. You should be gaining, not losing,” he said. “Why should I be gaining?” she asked as she climbed into bed between them. “Put on some baby fat.” Danny hugged her close then let Andrew have her. “Oh.” She didn’t say anything more. The three of them curled up together with Rachel being the first to fall to sleep. “Something’s up all right,” Danny pointed out. “Do you think she’s worried about not getting pregnant yet?” “It’s only been a few months, and we’ve been preoccupied the last couple of weeks with one thing or another.” Danny ran a finger up and down her arm. “She’s going to be awful disappointed if she can’t get pregnant.” “Let’s not discuss this around her. It will only upset her worse.” Both men settled down, and Andrew soon fell asleep. **** Rachel woke to an empty bed. She had been so tired. She looked over at the time and cursed. Late or not, they would want something to eat, and it was nearly six. She’d slept the afternoon away. By the time she had cleaned the kitchen up after canning the tomatoes, she had a good idea of what to fix for supper. It took nearly an hour, but by the time the men showed up at seven-thirty, she had a hot meal on the table for them. “Hey, honey. How are you feeling?” Danny asked. “I’m fine. I slept late. You should have woken me up when you got up. I almost didn’t get supper ready for you in time.” “It wouldn’t have hurt us to eat a sandwich,” Andrew said.

 

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They ate in silence this time, and Rachel couldn’t help but worry that something was wrong. Between the little quip about her needed to gain weight and putting on baby fat, and the worry about the creature, she was sure they had plenty to talk about. Maybe they had already talked while they were out on the range. Still, she worried about not becoming pregnant since that seemed to be important to them. They had each come from large families and had built the house to hold several children. What were the odds that she couldn’t get pregnant? What would happen then? Would they want another wife? Oh yeah, they’d never had the stupid ceremony in the first place. She was just their live-in woman. Tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly began gathering dishes to wash so they wouldn’t notice them. “Hey, leave the dishes till later, honey. Come in the living room with us and sit on the couch.” Andrew rubbed a hand on the back of her neck and turned her around. He looked about ready to kiss her when he must have noticed her tears. He frowned. “What’s wrong, Rachel?” “Nothing. I’m just emotional today for some reason. I guess I got too much sleep.” She pulled away and began running the sink full of water. “No, you’re not getting away with it this time. Something’s been bothering you for a while. Come into the living room, and let’s talk about it.” She almost told him to leave her alone but figured that was childish, and he was right. They needed to get some things out in the open. She had no intentions of bringing up her lack of being pregnant yet. She would give it more time. They hadn’t been intimate in several weeks, with everything going on. She followed him and Danny into the other room. The men pulled her down between them so that she sat with her back to Andrew in his lap, and her feet were in Danny’s. He pulled off her shoes and socks

 

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and began kneading the muscles in her feet and calves. Andrew rubbed her shoulders in a long, slow motion. “Now, what is bothering you?” he asked. “I guess I don’t feel like a part of the ranch with you guys. I feel like I’m only here to keep house and tend the garden. I want to be part of all of it.” “Honey, you are a part of all of it. You helped Danny get me out of the mud and took care of me when I was hurt and sick.” Andrew squeezed her shoulders and kissed the side of her neck. “I wanted to drive the transport home, but Danny, you insisted that Andrew drive it when he was hurt. Why?” “I never thought you would take it personal like that, honey. I just felt that Andrew needed something to keep him going until we got home. What made you think I was leaving you out?” “You keep things from me. I know the creature is back, because you’ve spent more hours out after dark and carry guns around with you now. You remind me every day to stay inside once it gets dark. I’m not stupid.” The men stared at each other, looking guilty. She knew they had been doing that. No doubt they had lost more cows to it as well. “You’re right. We’ve kept that part from you. We didn’t want you to worry. We’ll take care of it. It’s just going to take time. We were going to have to tell you about it soon anyway, ’cause we’ve decided we’re going to have to stake out the herd one night to catch it,” Andrew told her. “I don’t want you out there like that. It’s too dangerous. You can’t hear the thing move, even as big as it is. It’ll sneak up on you in no time.” “It has to be done, honey. We can’t let it pick off our cows one at a time and leave us with none.” Andrew wrapped his arms around her. “Then take the transport and use it as a safety cage. You can wait until it shows up and then get out and shoot it.” “We’ll think about it,” Danny said.

 

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“It’s either that, or you’re not getting any until you do,” she said, with a frown. “Not like we’re getting any right now anyway.” Rachel hissed out a breath. “Danny.” Andrew sighed. “That was uncalled for. It’s not like you’ve wanted sex in several weeks. I sure as hell haven’t turned you down—ever.” “You’re right. That was uncalled for. I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated about this thing.” “Fine. Do whatever you want to do. I’m going to bed.” She pulled out of Andrew’s arms and stood up. Rachel didn’t look back as she walked for the stairs. She was tired of worrying about everything. She wanted them so badly, but she wasn’t going to beg. She’d hoped by opening up, they would come to an understanding, but she didn’t think they’d accomplished anything other than getting upset all over again. At least she had. She couldn’t tell that the men were upset at all. Maybe it wasn’t worth their time to worry about how she felt. Maybe they were already regretting their choice, and since she wasn’t pregnant, thinking about taking her back. She didn’t bother trying to hold back the tears this time. She climbed into the shower and cried. By the time she was cried out, the water had turned cold, and her face was swollen and blotched. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

 

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Chapter Nine Danny sighed and stood up. They’d done it for sure. Made her mad and hurt her feelings all over again. Well, he’d hurt her feelings. Why had he said it? She was right. It wasn’t because she had refused them. Yeah, she’d fallen asleep several times, but she had reason to. She was dead on her feet from working like a slave these last few weeks. Hell, they all had. Maybe all of this was just exhaustion talking. “You sure put your foot in your mouth this time, Danny.” Andrew huffed out a breath then stood up and stretched. “I know. I don’t know what has gotten into me. I never meant to make her feel less than important when I insisted you drive the transport. I just figured you would do a better job of it, and it kept you coherent enough to get you in the house.” Danny paced in front of the fireplace. “We don’t include her in a lot of the talk about the ranch itself. She has her hands full with the house and the garden, though. I didn’t think it would matter that much to her.” “I still think there’s something else going on. What have we said or not said since we brought her here?” Danny asked. “I don’t know.” Andrew paused and thought some more, then shook his head. “Nothing that I can think of. “I guess we just see how things progress.” “It’s not going to get much better as long as we’re preoccupied with this creature.” Andrew ran a hand through his hair.

 

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“Well, I’m going to go give her a backrub. It might not make thinks okay, but it should help. It sure couldn’t hurt.” Danny headed toward the stairs. “I’ll be up in a minute.” Andrew walked back toward the office. “I want to see if anyone else has had trouble with this thing.” Danny just continued up the stairs. He wanted to try and soothe things over with Rachel some if he could. He found her already in bed but obviously not sleep. He pulled off his clothes and climbed into bed with her despite needing a shower. He’d change the damn sheets himself if he had to. He kissed her shoulder and then her neck and urged her over on her stomach. Then he straddled her hips and began a gentle massage of her shoulders. She didn’t say anything, but she sighed. He took that as an okay to continue. He carefully kneaded her neck and shoulders then moved down to rest at her lower back. She moaned when he began that part, so he stayed at it for a while before going lower to her buttocks. He loved her ass. It was plump just like he liked them. He could tell she’d lost weight there as well. They needed to work on making sure she ate plenty. They hadn’t been paying attention to her during the meals. His cock had settled between her ass cheeks, hard and needy. He wanted her but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea after the crack he’d made earlier. As it was, she made the first move. “You’re hard. Does that mean you want to have sex?” She turned over. “No, I want to make love to you.” Andrew walked in and began stripping. “I want to love you as well. It’s been a long time, and we’ve neglected you, honey. I’m sorry.” “I don’t want you to do this just because you feel guilty.” “Believe me, Rachel. It has nothing to do with feeling guilty. I’ve wanted you all this time but figured you were just as tired as we were.” Danny lay to one side of her and laid his hand over her mound.

 

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“Let us love you, honey,” Andrew said. She reached out to both of them and grasped their cocks in her hands. She squeezed at the base and then pumped them several times until she had a dewdrop of pre-cum. She wiped her fingers over them and licked each one in turn. Both men groaned. Danny crawled down her body, spreading kisses all along the way. When he reached her cunt, he was relieved to see that she was wet. She did want this. He licked her pussy lips clean then spread them wide so he could gather more of her sweet syrup. He fingered her then plunged two fingers inside of her, pumping them in and out as he licked over and over. He ran his tongue around her clit then flattened his tongue to run over it once. She followed his tongue with her pelvis, but he pulled back and chuckled. “Not yet, honey.” Danny looked up her body to see Andrew licking and sucking on her nipples. His friend had one in his mouth and his fingers pulling and twisting on the other one. Rachel was thrashing her head back and forth on the bed. Danny continued to finger-fuck her cunt as he licked and sucked on her pussy lips. She became more frantic in her efforts to get him to her clit, angling her clit toward his tongue. “Andrew, she’s ready to explode.” “I’ve got her,” he said. Danny curled his fingers and found her sweet spot and began a gentle stroking as he licked over her clit. About the same time that Andrew began nipping at her tit with his mouth and pulling on the other with his fingers, Danny sucked her clit into his mouth. She began to shake and then screamed when he gave his strokes inside her a little harder touch. He couldn’t stand it. As soon as she’d begun to calm down, he climbed up and entered her with one deep thrust. She was so tight he almost had to back out and try again, but he was balls-deep. God, it

 

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felt so damn good to be inside her again. He’d missed feeling the intense connection. Maybe tomorrow night they could all three come together. He looked up and smiled. Rachel had Andrew’s cock in her mouth, sucking while she played with his balls. He had his head thrown back with an intense look of pleasure on his face. Danny couldn’t help but revel in the excitement he saw in his friend’s eyes. He’d worried so much over what was wrong with Rachel. They might still not know all of it, but they would get there. They wanted her happy above all else. She was pumping her hips in time with his thrusts now. Danny picked up her legs and positioned them over his arms so he could go deeper for her. His cock wasn’t long like Andrew’s. He couldn’t hit her cervix every time, but he could stretch her to feel the burn of her climax. He was close but wanted to wait until she brought Andrew. Then he would fuck her good and hard. She liked it that way, and he was only too happy to give her what she wanted. “Fuck, I’m not going to last, honey. Take me deep and let me fill your throat with my cum.” Andrew’s hoarse voice seemed to spur her into action. She hummed around his cock and took him to her throat. Andrew threw back his head and called out her name as he came. Danny watched Rachel’s throat convulse over and over as she drank him down. Danny’s cock twitched at the sight. As soon as she withdrew from Andrew’s cock, he began pounding into her. He tunneled in and out of her sweet cunt over and over until he thought he would catch them both on fire. Finally, he dropped one leg and reached between them to pinch her clit, and they both cried out at the same time as their climax rolled through them and over them.

 

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Danny’s breathing came in short gasps as he tried to hold himself off of her. Andrew reached over and pushed him to the side. It made Rachel convulse all over again. He and Andrew grinned at each other. Slowly, he withdrew from her twittering pussy and rolled out of bed to clean up. He returned with a warm, wet cloth and cleaned Rachel up before they all climbed under the covers and fell asleep. **** The next morning, Rachel woke before the men did. She grinned at the thought that they would wake up in bed together. She slipped out of the bed and hurried through her shower, being as quiet as she could. Once dressed, she snuck downstairs and started the coffee. She took the first sip and sighed. It was then, for some odd reason, that she realized that she was in love with Andrew and Danny. Not just a little in love but head over heels in love. It was why the fact that they hadn’t taken her for the ceremony really hurt so much. She loved them, and there was a good possibility they not only didn’t love her but never would. You weren’t promised love to come here, Rachel. The fact that you are with two men that you can love is more than you could possibly hope for, except maybe to get pregnant. What if the reason they hadn’t taken her for the ceremony was that they wanted to be sure she could get pregnant before they tied themselves to her? That possibility scared her, and hurt. Surely they wouldn’t take her back and demand another wife. But then you aren’t married to them yet, are you? “Why the sad face, honey?” Andrew walked in the kitchen and immediately wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, just thinking about some things I need to do before it starts getting cold outside. How are you feeling this morning?” “Hmm, I would have felt better wrapped in your arms instead of Danny’s,” he said with a grin. “Danny is pouting upstairs now.”

 

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“No I’m not. I’m pouting downstairs.” Danny walked into the room and headed straight for the coffee. “Morning, Rachel.” He poured a cup of coffee then set it down. “How about a hug, honey?” Rachel cocked her head and poked out her lower lip. “You wanted coffee before you wanted me. I don’t know if you deserve a hug or not.” “Give me my damn hug.” He stalked over and pulled her out of Andrew’s arms to lay a loud, sloppy kiss on her before hugging her. “I’ll have breakfast on the table in just a minute.” Rachel pulled out of Danny’s arms and started cooking. She listened to them talk about the cows and what they needed to do that day. She found that she enjoyed listening to them make their plans and talk about the various cows and their ornery bull. What would happen if the creature got the bull? She realized that would be a disaster. Once they’d finished breakfast, they both hugged and kissed her and left for the day. She worked on putting up the last of the vegetables for the year. It would soon be growing cold, and the garden would need to be cleaned off and tilled under. Maybe she should start some of that today. After finishing up the kitchen, she put on gloves and headed out to start cleaning off the dead vines and dying plants. She would leave a tomato plant that was still producing, and the pepper plants. They still had a few peppers on them and were good for meals. She wasn’t sure how long she had worked before she felt the first vestiges of unease settle over her. She looked around her but couldn’t see anything. She checked her watch and found that it was close to noon. Maybe she should stop and grab a bite for lunch. She was feeling a bit shaky. Inside, she didn’t feel as uneasy as she had outside. She couldn’t help but wonder why. After a quick lunch, she donned her gloves and slipped back outside to finish up the two rows she had started just

 

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before she took a break. Since they were the corn rows, the stalks were over her head, and she couldn’t see much around them as she cut them down and threw them off to the side. When she reached the end of the row, she went to throw the last stalk away and looked up, coming face-to-face with the creature. It growled at her. She backed up, but it advanced toward her. Rachel screamed as loud and as hard as she could, then turned and ran. It grabbed a handful of her shirt, and she felt it wrench from her shoulder as she ran for the house. She’d just slammed the door when it caught up with her, hitting the door with a loud clump. She screamed again, and the creature made no more noises. She risked a look out the window and didn’t see it anywhere. She shook from head to toe as she ran to the office and locked the door. Then she got on the radio to call the men. She had a hard time holding the button down because her hands shook so badly. “D–Danny? Andrew? P–Please answer.” She barely understood her own voice. All her words ran together. “Rachel? Is that you?” Andrew asked on the other end. “The creature. It’s here. It chased me in the house. Oh, God. I’m so scared.” “Are you okay? Where is the creature?” Danny’s voice cut through. “I–I think so. I don’t know where it is. I locked the door to the kitchen, and I’m locked in the office now.” “Is it in the house with you?” Andrew asked. “No. I don’t know where it went to. I screamed, and it left. What do I do?” “Stay where you are. We’re on our way. Keep talking to us so we know you’re okay.” Danny sounded winded. “Honey, we won’t answer you because we’ll be on the horse and holding on,” Andrew told her. “Just keep talking to us, though.” “It looks smaller than the other one. I don’t know. I was probably too scared to really know what I saw. I think it had been watching me,

 

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because I felt weird all morning. I’ve been cleaning out the garden so you can plow it soon.” She had to let up on the button because her thumb was getting numb. “Rachel?” Andrew’s voice sounded far away. “My hand hurts from holding the button. I had to switch hands.” She licked her lips and tried to think of something else to talk about. “I know you can’t answer, but I hope you’re not far away. I’m scared. What if it breaks down a door or breaks out a window? It’s big enough it can do that. Maybe I should go upstairs and lock myself in the bathroom.” “Stay where you are.” This came from Danny. “Okay. I’m not moving. I think I’m too scared to move anyway.” Rachel talked until her voice was hoarse. Finally she heard them riding up. They told her to keep still and stay where she was. They would come get her after they searched around the house. After what seemed like hours, she heard the men thunder through the kitchen with their boots, stomping toward her. “Rachel! Damn it. Why didn’t you tell us you were hurt?” Danny’s voice thundered through the door. “Open the door, Rachel.” “I’m not hurt.” She ran to the door and unlocked it. Both men pushed through the door and grabbed her from each side, turning her around and cursing. “What? What’s wrong?” she cried. “You’re bleeding. We found part of your T-shirt with blood on it out in the yard,” Andrew said. “I didn’t know. I never felt anything. I just ran.” Now the pain set in as the adrenaline wore off. “Let’s get you upstairs in the bathroom where we can look at it. Danny, grab the first-aid kit.” Andrew picked her up and carried her to the stairs and up to the bathroom. He turned on all the lights after setting her on the counter. “It burns now.”

 

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“I’m sure it does. You’ve got a pretty good scratch back here. Let’s get the rest of your clothes off. I want to clean this real well.” Andrew helped her scramble out of her clothes. He tossed them aside and got a cloth from the closet. “Got it. Shit, that looks worse than it did downstairs.” Danny opened the first-aid kit and pulled out the disinfectant. “Do I need stitches?” She really didn’t think she could stand them stitching her up. “I don’t know yet. Let’s get it all cleaned up first.” Andrew looked over at Danny and grimaced. “Pour it over the cuts.” “Cuts? There is more than one?” She was beginning to get hysterical, and she knew it. Then Danny poured the disinfectant over her shoulder, and she nearly screamed. She threw her hand over her mouth instead and moaned. Tears trailed down her face. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know it hurts,” Danny said and kissed her forehead. Andrew held her shoulder still as she squirmed from the pain. She knew it was hurting him to do it, but she couldn’t help fighting him against the pain. “Easy, Rachel. He’s almost through. I’m sorry, honey.” “Okay, that’s it, Rachel,” Danny told her. She felt one of them pat the area with a warm, wet bath cloth. It hurt, but she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She could tell they were already beside themselves with worry. They examined it then held pressure to it. “It’s still bleeding some, honey. I know it hurts, but I want to stop the bleeding so we can see how deep it is. Cleaning it stirred it all up again.” Danny kissed the corner of her mouth and wiped away a tear with his thumb. Andrew was holding her close to him while Danny held the wound. She buried her face in Andrew’s neck and tried to catch her

 

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breath so she’d stop sniffing and crying. It wasn’t doing any of them any good. “Baby, this needs stitches,” Danny finally said. Andrew cursed. “I’m not sewing her up. She needs to go to town and let the doc do it.” “I agree. He can give her something for pain and deaden the area,” Danny said. “Let’s put a bandage on it and then let them know we’re coming.” Andrew started to let go of her, but Rachel held on tight. “Easy, honey. Let’s get you dressed and to town. I don’t want to wait.” Andrew slowly extracted himself from her and helped Danny apply a bandage to her shoulder. They found one of their big T-shirts to go over the bulky bandage, and Danny carried her downstairs while Andrew called town and let them know what was going on. “It will be okay, Rachel. We’ll take care of you.” Danny kept telling her that against her temple as he held her close. “I’ll drive, you’ve got her.” Andrew opened the door and went to get the transport. “What if it’s out there waiting on us?” she asked in a shaky voice. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. We’ll protect you, honey.” Danny’s voice was soothing but did little to convince her that the creature wasn’t out there waiting. It wasn’t until they were safe in the transport that she began to breathe normally again. Danny wrapped her in his arms and a blanket then pulled the harness tight over both of them. “Okay, let’s go, Andrew.”

 

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Chapter Ten Danny was furious inside that the creature had hurt Rachel. There was nothing they could have done but be there. They couldn’t be with her and out on the range with the cattle at the same time. They needed those hands for the farm soon. The next transport was scheduled to be there that spring. He just hoped to hell they could hold out that long. He cuddled Rachel closer to him. She was still shaking some, and he didn’t like how pale she was. He hoped she wasn’t going into shock. They had no idea what kind of germs might have been on the creature. He hadn’t had any trouble with his when he’d gotten scratched, but it had been nothing compared to the three furrows down her shoulder and upper back. “How’s she doing, Danny?” Andrew asked. “She’s shaking but doing okay, aren’t you, Rachel?” “I–I’m fine. I was so scared though. I knew I couldn’t out run it unless I got to the house. Then I was scared it was going to come through the kitchen door. I screamed and screamed, and it was just gone.” “You did the right thing, Rachel. I’m so sorry you were hurt. I don’t know what we would have done if it had been worse. I don’t want to lose you, honey.” Danny squeezed her waist, afraid to hug her too close because of her shoulder. “How long until we’re there? I think I want to take a nap,” Rachel said. Danny exchanged a look with Andrew. He wasn’t sure it was safe for her to go to sleep. Maybe that was just with head injuries, though.

 

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“Honey, try to stay awake for us, okay? It’s still a little over an hour. I’m driving as fast as I can and be safe.” Andrew’s mouth was in a thin line, showing the strain around it. “Just a short nap. You can wake me up in a little bit.” Danny felt her forehead and cursed. She was ice cold. “Turn on the heater, she’s cold.” Andrew turned on the heater and adjusted the blower toward Danny and Rachel. “Rachel, damn it. Wake up, honey.” He shook her slightly. “Ow! That hurt,” she complained. “I’m sorry, but you’ve got to stay awake. You’re trying to go into shock. I don’t want you to do that, honey.” Danny rubbed up and down her good arm with his hand. “I’m going to be okay, Danny.” “Damn right you are,” he said with a grimace. Danny looked over at Andrew again. “You notified the doctor we were coming in?” “Yeah, they were calling him while I was talking to them on the radio. He’ll be ready when we get there.” Danny couldn’t do anything but hold on to Rachel and keep her awake. Every once in a while he had to jar her to wake her up. He hated hurting her, but it was all that worked. Finally, they pulled into town. Andrew pulled right up front of the doctor’s clinic and ran around to take Rachel from Danny’s arms. Danny jumped out of the transport and ran to open the door for them. “There you are. Bring her back here.” The town’s doctor, Jeff, and his male nurse led the way to a room in the back of the clinic they used as a makeshift surgical suite. “Let’s see what we have here.” The doctor and nurse pulled off the T-shirt she had on then peeled back the bandage to look at the wound. “Three deep furrows.” The doctor looked up at them. “What made them?”

 

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“A creature of some kind that no one knows much about. It looks almost like a cross between a giant sloth and praying mantis,” Danny told them. “You’re kidding.” The nurse looked from one man to the next. “No. It weighs close to three hundred pounds, too.” Andrew wasn’t letting go of Rachel’s hand. “I’d say she’s damn lucky that she isn’t hurt worse than this,” the doctor said. “What are you going to do to me?” Rachel finally asked. “First we’re going to clean you up. I know they already have,” he said when everyone started to protest. “But I want to do it my way. Then we’re going to add some antibiotics to it and sew it up. I’m going to put you on an IV of antibiotics for twenty-four hours.” “You’re going to deaden her first.” Danny made it a statement. He wasn’t letting anyone hurt her any more than she was already hurt. “Of course. I’m also going to give her a pain shot. That will help her rest as well.” The nurse grabbed a gown and a sheet. “You can help her get undressed and into this. It needs to open in the back. Lay her on her stomach and cover her with the sheet. We’ll be back in a few minutes.” The two men walked out, closing the door firmly behind them. Danny and Andrew went into action. They gently removed what was left of her bra and then her jeans. She insisted on keeping on her panties. They didn’t argue with her. Danny wanted her as comfortable as possible. There was no reason she couldn’t keep on her panties. She also kept on her socks since she was so cold. Once they had her dressed in the gown and the sheet on top of her, he located a blanket and added that as well. There was a knock at the door. Andrew called for them to come in, and the doctor and nurse walked back in with a tray and basin. “Turn on the heat,” he directed his nurse.

 

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“You two might want to wait out in the lobby. I’ll come tell you what we’re doing.” The nurse pointed to the door. “We’re not leaving her side,” Danny and Andrew said in unison. “Then don’t get in the way,” the doctor said. They gave her a shot for pain then started an IV for the antibiotic. She didn’t fuss at all during all the sticking, but when the doctor started at her shoulder with a needle, she yelped and tried to get up. “What are you doing?” she cried out. “Easy, Rachel. We’re going to deaden that area of your shoulder so it won’t hurt when we clean it and sew you up. Just relax. It will be some pinching, but it will go away really fast. I promise,” the nurse told her. “Let him deaden you, honey. I don’t want you hurting anymore,” Danny urged her. Andrew squeezed her hand. “I’m right here. Squeeze my hand when it hurts.” She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut as they started deadening her shoulder. Danny couldn’t stand seeing the tears run down her face. He kept wiping them off, but they kept falling. It was tearing him up inside. Damn it. When had he fallen in love with her? “She’s falling asleep, is that okay?” Danny asked as her eyes closed. “That’s fine. The shot would probably have that effect on her. This way she won’t feel anything while we’re sewing her up. Just the sensation even when the area is asleep can be uncomfortable,” the doctor said. Danny and Andrew stayed right by her side. Danny kept a hand on her lower back, out of the way of the doctor and nurse. Andrew held her limp hand in his. Finally, the doctor pronounced her finished. “I’m going to move her to one of the rooms next door. It’s our house, but we have a couple of rooms downstairs for just this reason. I want her to get a good twenty-four hours of IV antibiotics. Plus, I

 

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want to watch this wound and see what it does. We don’t know anything about this creature.” “Here.” Danny pulled his sleeve up to show him his arm. “I got scratched a couple of months back. Rachel sewed me up, and I didn’t have any trouble. It made a weird scar, though.” The doctor and nurse both looked at the puckered scar. “I’d like to biopsy it while you’re here and see if any of the cells are changed, or if it’s just a bad scar.” “Sure. Whatever you need to do to take care of Rachel.” Danny replaced his sleeve. “Does one of you want to carry her for us? We’ll handle the IV.” Danny immediately picked her up, being careful not to jar her shoulder. He followed the doctor down the hall and through a door the nurse opened for them. They settled Rachel in a small but nice room that had a regular bed in it. It was equipped with an IV pole to hang the antibiotic. There was also one chair. “I take it we can’t both stay with her.” Danny nodded toward the one chair. “That’s right. One person at a time,” the nurse said. “We’ve got the fucking cattle to look after anyway,” Andrew pointed out. “I’m sticking with her the first go ’round,” Danny said. Andrew frowned but sighed and nodded. “Fine. They need to see about that scar on your arm while you’re here anyway. I’ll go back as soon as she wakes up, so I can tell her bye.” “You sit with her while I go get them to do this thing with my arm now. I don’t want to be thinking about it all night.” Andrew chuckled. “You didn’t act worried when Rachel sewed you up.” “Yeah, well, she was sewing me together. The doc plans on pulling a piece off of me. There’s a difference in my book.” Danny sighed and went in search of the doctor.

 

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**** Rachel woke to a dull ache in her shoulder and a pinch in her arm. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing looked familiar. She began to panic, until she focused on Andrew sitting in the chair next to her bed. He was holding her hand. “Hey there, honey. How are you feeling?” he asked. There were frown lines around his mouth. “Okay, I guess. My shoulder hurts some.” She tried moving in the bed, but Andrew immediately stopped her. “Don’t mess up your bandage, honey. What do you need?” “Nothing. I’m just trying to get comfortable. Where is Danny?” “He’s talking to the doctor. He’ll be back in a few minutes. He’s going to stay with you tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon and stay with you tomorrow.” “Why can’t I go home with you?” She began to panic. Where they leaving her here? “The doctor wants to watch you for a couple of days since we don’t know anything about this creature. One of us will be with you all the time though, Rachel. Don’t worry.” Andrew smoothed the hair from her eyes. “She’s awake.” Danny walked in and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Careful. Don’t jar her too much. She’s hurting some,” Andrew said. “Sorry, honey. How are you feeling?” “Okay. I told Andrew that my shoulder hurts some, but it’s more like an ache.” Andrew bent down and kissed her. It was a soft, gentle one. He pressed his lips to her eyelids and the corners of her mouth. “I’ve got to go, honey. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. You do what the doctor’s tell you to do, all right?” he asked. “I will.” She would if it suited her, she amended to herself.

 

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She watched Andrew leave with Danny. He stood at the door and talked low to him. “Andrew, be careful. Please?” she begged. “I will, honey.” He turned, and Danny closed the door behind him. “What’s wrong with your arm?” She could tell he had something under his shirt sleeve. “The doctor took a biopsy of that scar to see why it puckered like it did.” “He’s scared there’s something wrong, isn’t he?” She looked down at the covers and picked at them with her fingernails. “He’s just trying to see what is going on with mine. It doesn’t mean anything, Rachel. Don’t worry, honey.” “If my shoulder does that, you won’t want to look at me anymore.” She felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. “Don’t even think like that. You mean everything to me. I’d always want to look at you. Even when you’re old and wrinkled,” he teased. “That’s not funny,” she said but couldn’t help the smile that formed despite her aggravation with him. “You need to get some rest, Rachel. I’m going to be right here. I won’t leave the room.” “Is Andrew going to be okay out there alone?” “He’ll be fine, Rachel. Get some rest. You need it to get well. I want you home where we can hold you.” Rachel sighed and hoped he truly meant that. She wanted them to love her like she loved them, with all her heart.

 

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Chapter Eleven “What do you mean it’s some kind of mutation?” Andrew asked as Danny stared dumbfounded at the doctor. Twenty-four hours had passed, and the doctor had the results from Danny’s biopsy. “I’m not a geneticist, but the cells aren’t like any normal cells I’ve ever seen before.” The doctor shook his head. “I’m at a loss as to what it is. There had to have been some sort of venom or saliva or something on his claw to have done that.” “So you don’t know if the same thing will happen to Rachel or not,” Danny said. Andrew ran a hand through his hair. This was not what he wanted to hear about the only woman he’d ever loved. He realized just how much he loved her on the way to the doctor with her the night before. Now he was sick with worry. “No, I don’t know. The fact is we don’t know anything at all about this creature, so we don’t know what to expect the ramifications to be.” “What about possibilities?” Danny asked, crossing his arms. “I can’t even imagine,” the doctor said with a tired frown. “I’ve looked through every medical journal I have, and there is nothing that can help. Face it. We’re on a strange planet we know next to nothing about. There is no end to the possibilities.” “You’re not making me feel any better,” Andrew said with a growl. “I don’t feel good about it. I can’t imagine how you feel.” “What do we do?” Danny asked.

 

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“I want to keep her one more night just to watch how it does, and then you can take her home. I want her back in six days to take the stitches out. Then all we can do is monitor how it reacts.” “You’re acting like it’s alive or something.” Andrew frowned. “I just don’t know, guys. I wish I did.” “Come on, Danny. You need to say good-bye and get back before it gets much later,” Andrew said. “What are we going to tell Rachel? She’s going to start asking questions,” Danny said, stopping him outside her door. “For right now, we don’t bring it up. Maybe by then we can think of something that will placate her for the time being. I don’t want her upset,” Andrew said. They walked into the room to find Rachel sitting up on the side of the bed. “What do you think you’re doing?” Danny demanded. “Sitting up. My back is sore from lying in the bed. I’m not hurting anything. The nurse took the IV out, so I’m not hooked up to anything anymore,” she said with a smile. “I know you’re happy about that,” Andrew said. “Rachel, I’ve got to go now. I wanted to say bye.” Danny pulled her into his arms. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We can take you home then if you’re a good girl.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m going home even if I’m a bad girl. Get used to it.” Andrew smiled. He liked seeing the smile back on her face. She’d been in pain when he’d last seen her, and then worried about what was going on. Rachel playful made him smile. She waved bye to Danny and made him promise to be careful. “I will, honey. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. I’ll bring you some clothes to wear home,” he said. Andrew waited until Danny had left before he sat on the bed next to Rachel. He made sure to get on her good side.

 

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“Want to sit in the chair for a few minutes? That way you can rest your back if you need to.” Andrew watched her face light up. “Yes. That would be great. I’m tired of this bed.” “That’s how I felt about the bed at home when I was sick,” Andrew reminded her. He helped her get settled in the chair and took the bed. He loved seeing her sitting up after she’d been so pale and lifeless before. He knew she was going to be fine. But there was the question of if there had been something on the thing’s claws that might affect her later. Not knowing what to expect was a bitch. “You look really worried, Andrew. Is there something you’re not telling me?” Rachel asked. “I’m just worried about what to do about the creature. It’s dangerous, but we don’t have a clue how to get rid of it other than shooting it. So far, we haven’t been able to do that.” “You need to teach me how to shoot so if I’m alone again, I’ll have a gun with me and can nail its hide to the wall.” He chuckled despite the worry. “Sounds like you’re turning into a bloodthirsty little she-devil, to me.” “Where that thing is concerned, you bet. I have to be able to work in the garden, and if it’s going to come out in broad daylight now, we’ve all got to be prepared.” “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Rachel. You really had us worried.” “Well, I guess I was in shock earlier. I hadn’t expected it out in the daytime. It had only been out at night before,” she said. “Well, it’s going to be a while before you can shoot anything, with your shoulder like it is. Once you’re healed, we’ll discuss teaching you how to shoot. I’m not particularly fond of the idea of you being pissed at me and knowing how to shoot a gun.” He tried to make a joke out of it to soften the blow. Andrew really didn’t want to teach her how to shoot for fear she would go after it instead of getting to safety and staying. She wasn’t

 

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one to sit quietly behind the safety of the door while the thing was running loose. An hour later, Andrew insisted that Rachel get back in bed. “You’ve got circles under your eyes, and you look worn out. You can sit up again later on if you want to. Right now, it’s time for bed anyway.” “Only if you get in bed with me. I’m tired of sleeping alone,” she said with a whine in her voice. “I’m scared I’ll hurt your shoulder, honey.” He helped her settle down in the bed then drew the blanket up to her neck. “You won’t, Andrew. I promise. If you do, I’ll sock you one.” She smiled a tremulous smile up at him. “I’ll sit on the edge of the bed and talk until you fall asleep,” he promised her. They talked for nearly an hour before she stopped making sense when he said something to her. He grinned and asked dumb questions just to see what she would say. “Are you happy, Rachel?” he finally asked. “Sometimes. But sometimes I want you to marry me, like everyone else.” “Huh?” She let out a dainty little snore and didn’t answer him again. **** “Well, it looks good so far. Come back in six days for me to look at it again and pull the stitches out,” the doctor said. “Until then, no lifting, pulling, or stretching the area. You also can’t get it wet.” Rachel frowned at him. “I can take a bath, so that’s not a problem, but what am I supposed to do if I can’t do any of the other things? I need to work in the garden and finish clearing it out.”

 

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“You’re not worrying with that garden while you’re healing up, Rachel, and that’s all there is to it.” Danny shook his finger at her. “We’ll clear out the rest. There isn’t that much left to do anyway.” “You’ve got your hands full with the herd.” “We’re moving them closer to the house anyway. The weather is supposed to start getting bad in the next week or so. It will be easier to keep track of them.” Andrew bent over and kissed her cheek. Rachel sighed and shook her head. There was no getting around them. They had an answer for everything. No doubt they had practiced before today, knowing she would be fussing about what she couldn’t do. “Okay, you can take her home now. I’ll look for you on Friday.” The doctor handed them a bottle of antibiotics she was supposed to take every day twice a day until they were all gone. “Get me out of here. No offense, Doctor, but I’m sick of this room.” The man chuckled and shook his head. “None taken.” The men bundled her up since it had turned cold overnight and carried her to the transport. Andrew settled her in the front seat and fastened her harness after putting a pillow between her and the seat for her shoulder. Then he climbed in next to her. It would be a long ride back for Rachel. She was sore, and the trip would be rough on her despite the pillow at her back. Two hours later, they pulled up outside the house. Rachel couldn’t wait to get on the couch and stretch out. Her back ached from sitting in one place for so long. Her shoulder wasn’t nearly as sore and bothersome as she had worried it would be. That was a good thing. “How do you feel, honey? Want to go upstairs and take a nap?” Danny asked as he took her from Andrew and headed for the house. “No. I want to lie on the couch for a while. I’m not really sleepy, just tired of riding.” “Then we’ll get you settled on the couch.” He carried her inside to the living room and eased her on the couch.

 

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She watched as he fussed with the fireplace, setting the gas logs to warm the room. “Can I get you anything?” Danny asked. “Can you sit with me for a little while? I know you guys have things you need to do, but I want you to hold me. It feels like forever since you’ve held me,” Rachel confessed in a near whisper. “Aw, honey. We don’t want to hurt your shoulder.” “It won’t hurt me just to sit next to me with your arm around me. I miss sleeping with you guys. It feels like you don’t want me.” She pouted. “Rachel, we do so want you. Where did you get that idea? We’ve been right by your side through all of this. We aren’t leaving you alone to have to deal with the wound. We just don’t want to make it worse.” “Please, Danny. Just for a little while.” She batted her eyelashes at him. He chuckled and shook his head in defeat. “Fine. I’ll sit with you for a few minutes. Scoot over a little bit.” Danny sat in the middle of the couch and laid her legs over his lap. He massaged her calves while he held them. “So what do you want to talk about?” he asked. “When are you going to let me at least cook? I know you don’t want to go back to your own cooking,” she teased. “Low blow, Rachel.” “Well? I can’t sit here all day and do nothing. I’ll go crazy. If I’m really careful, I should be able to make sandwiches at least, right?” “What is she trying to talk you into or out of, Danny?” Andrew walked inside and closed the door behind him. “I was hoping it would be out of my clothes. But she seems more interested in cooking than sex.” “Grrr, you two. I want off the couch. Can I at least walk around some during the day? I’m going to go crazy sitting here all day long.”

 

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“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Right now, you’re confined to either the couch or the bed all the way upstairs in the bedroom. Take your pick.” Andrew settled his hands on his hips, attempting a stern expression. “Oh hell, fine. I’ll sit here.” She started to cross her arms, but the pain stopped her. She winced and frowned. “See, you can’t do much with that shoulder like it is. You’re just going to have to live with it for a few weeks,” Andrew pointed out. “A few weeks!” She started to reply to that, but at a very tight squeeze on her leg from Danny, she thought better of it and shut her mouth. All she needed was to have Andrew mad at her right now. She was basically at the men’s mercy. She thought it through and decided to take advantage of it instead. She might not get to get up and do what she wanted to do, but she could make them her slaves for a few weeks and get more personal time with them. “Can I have something to drink?” She batted her eyelashes at Andrew. She already had Danny where she wanted him for now. **** “You do realize she has us waiting on her hand and foot,” Andrew told Danny several days later. “Yeah, but I don’t mind. I like taking care of her. I just wish she wasn’t hurt.” “Except that we don’t have the time, really. One of us has to take care of the chores while the other one is taking care of her.” Andrew wiped his face with one hand. He was ready for bed and still needed a shower. “I know. She doesn’t really expect us to do this all the time. She’s just getting back at us in her own way. She knows she can’t do anything, but it’s driving her up the wall. This is keeping her mind off of it.” Danny fixed her a glass of tea to take upstairs to her.

 

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“I love her, Danny,” Andrew said. He had wanted to tell the other man that for several days but hadn’t been able to say the words out loud. Now that he had said them, he felt better able to say them again. Maybe even to Rachel one day soon. “I love her, too, Andrew. She’s everything to me, man.” “Have you told her?” Andrew asked. “No. Have you?” “No, I haven’t been able to come up with a way to say it. Seems like we ought to tell her someway special, but I don’t know how,” Andrew confessed. “It will come to us. Maybe when she’s able to do things again we can come up with a way to tell her then,” Danny suggested. “We take her to get her stitches out in another two days. I guess we’ll see what the doctor says about what she’s allowed to do after that.” “I’m going to go help her with her bath. Don’t get in the shower until you look at her shoulder and back. I’m really worried about the way her wounds look,” Danny said. “I’ll be right up.” Andrew watched Danny carry Rachel’s glass of tea out of the kitchen. He leaned back against the counter and sighed. Danny was right. They should have been treating her a lot differently than they had been. Sure, they all had their jobs to do, but she was a woman having two men to take care of. She deserved to be cuddled more and treated like the queen that she was. He couldn’t get what she’d said out of his head back when they had still been at the doctor’s house, and she was so weak. It had been something about marrying her. What did she mean by that? She had said that she was happy sometimes but not all the time. That worried him. He wanted her to always be happy. What could he do to make her always happy?

 

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He needed to talk to Danny about what she had said and see if he knew what to make of it. Then it hit him as he turned to walk out of the kitchen. They had never done the ceremony. They’d gotten too busy once they had gotten her home with them. He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. No wonder she got that lost look on her face at times. She probably thought they didn’t want to be tied to her. Andrew planned to talk to Danny about it tomorrow. They would work on setting up a ceremony when they took her to get her stitches out. That would be when they told her. With that, he made his way upstairs to look at Rachel’s wounds. He hated looking at them because it reminded him that they had almost lost her. It wouldn’t matter how bad the scarring got, they would always love and want her, but it hurt to know they’d nearly let her get killed. “That feels good, Danny. Do it again.” “You’re a tease, Rachel.” Andrew shook his head and wondered what Rachel had talked Danny into this time. He walked in the bathroom. “What in the hell?”

 

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Chapter Twelve Rachel looked up and grinned. She glanced down at Danny, who had a sheepish look on his face. Maybe she should feel guilty, because she knew he was in trouble. Andrew would chew him a new asshole for letting her talk him into it. “But, Andrew, it’s been so long since I’ve had any.” She rolled her lips inward and bit them to try to keep from smiling. “Danny, she doesn’t need to get her stitches wet. You could have at least waited until she was out of the tub.” Andrew shook his head and picked her up off of Danny’s cock. Danny climbed out of the tub to dry off. His rock-hard cock jutted out in front of him. Rachel wanted a lick and started to bend over, but her stitches pulled. She groaned and stood back up. “See, you don’t need to be having sex right now. Wait until the stitches come out on Friday,” Andrew said. “Please, Andrew. I don’t want to wait. I miss you two. We can all three have sex and not bother my stitches. Please!” “She’s begging, Andrew.” Danny managed to point this out as he walked backward into the bedroom. “Aw, hell. Fine.” Andrew began undressing. Danny picked Rachel up and sat her on the bed. Then he climbed up and lay down, so she could climb on top of him again. “Wait and let me help you,” Andrew said. Rachel had already impaled herself on Danny’s cock. Her cunt felt full and would feel even fuller once Andrew filled her ass with his dick. Between the two of them, she would be crammed full of cock,

 

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just like she wanted to be. It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it made her feel loved to be between them like that. Andrew applied lube to her back hole with his fingers. The cool substance caused her to shiver. She had to bite her lip to keep from moaning at the discomfort shivering caused her stitches. Danny must have noticed because he ran his hands up and down her arms in a soothing gesture. Then Andrew was preparing her with his fingers. The quick pinch and slow burn left her breathless for a few seconds. She pushed back against his fingers. Once he added the third one, she was panting. “I’m ready for you, Andrew. Fuck my ass. Fill me full.” She couldn’t wait to feel both of them moving inside of her. Andrew rubbed her lower back as he positioned his cock at her tender back hole. He pushed forward while she pressed back, and his cockhead popped through her inner ring. She moaned and pushed back again. He held her hips still. She knew she needed to let her body adjust to his girth, but she wanted to move. She needed to move to spread the burn the stretching caused. “Please, move. I need you to move.” She sank back down on Danny’s cock, then pulled off and tried to push back on Andrew’s dick. He held her hips still. “Let us do the work so you don’t strain those stitches, or I’m calling a halt to this right now,” he said. Rachel immediately stilled and prayed they would hurry up and move. As if hearing her silent plea, they began pulling out and pushing forward over and over until she began to feel the pleasure creeping up on her. They tunneled in and out of her slowly at first, then slowly picked up speed. Fire burned deep in her womb as her climax grew within her. She felt them each individually inside her, and then as one, pushing against each other through her body. She felt a part of them when they were all three joined like this. She hoped it meant

 

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something to them as well. She prayed that they would fall in love with her as deeply as she had with them. “Fuck, you’re so damn tight, Rachel,” Andrew ground out between clinched teeth. “I’m not going to last, Andrew.” Danny grunted. They continued to move her between them, but one of them slipped a hand between them and fingered her clit. She cried out as her climax washed over her in wave after wave of heat and fire. She clamped down on both of them and heard them shout out her name in the process of climaxing along with her. Rachel came until she thought she wouldn’t be able to breathe any longer. She thought for sure she would pass out, but she managed to hang on and heard what she thought was Danny saying he loved her. But it was so low, and he didn’t repeat it so she told herself she had just imagined it. She became aware of Andrew gently pulling free of her body. She couldn’t help but groan when his softening cock popped out of her. She felt nearly empty again with him gone. “Easy, Rachel. Let me get you off of Danny. Then we’ll clean you up and you can sleep.” Andrew helped Danny ease her up from his cock, then lay her face-first on the bed. A few seconds later, both men returned and cleaned her up before crawling into bed on either side of her. They didn’t pull her in close because of her wounds, but they each touched her. She mourned the loss of the warmth of their bodies, especially with the nights beginning to cool off some. “What’s wrong, Rachel?” Andrew finally asked when she was still awake long minutes later. “I miss you holding me. It’s hard to go to sleep like this.” “I’d have thought after that climax you’d fall asleep before we even got back in bed.” “I can’t help it.” She felt tears begin to form in her eyes.

 

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“Shh, honey. It’s all right.” He eased up closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Try and get some sleep. Friday will be here before you know it.” **** Thursday afternoon, Danny spent the day moving the cattle around the house. They were keeping them close at hand since one of them was staying with Rachel all the time while she was incapacitated. Andrew wasn’t sure what to do once she had her stitches out. Right now, they had a way to keep her quiet and inside all the time. Once she was free to do whatever she wanted to do, they would catch hell trying to curb her activities. Danny didn’t want anything happening to her, but he also knew that keeping her cooped up inside with nothing to do was going to drive her crazy and turn her against them at the same time. So far, they hadn’t seen the creature again. There hadn’t been any fresh tracks around the house, either. The weather was growing cooler every day. Maybe the creature hibernated like bears. He and Andrew kept a close watch of the house and the area surrounding it. Danny checked the fringes of the herd again before galloping closer to the house to see if Andrew was outside, checking the house area. He was using the time sticking close to Rachel to till up the garden. “There you are,” Andrew said when Danny grew closer. “What’s wrong?” Danny jumped down off the horse. “Nothing. I wanted to talk to you without Rachel around.” He brushed off his hands against his jeans. “I talked to her doctor, and he’s ready for us when we bring her in tomorrow to remove her stitches. He says they have things ready for our ceremony, too.” “Great! I sure hope that will settle everything in Rachel’s mind,” Danny said.

 

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“Me, too. She’s been better since we’ve spent so much time with her. We just can’t spend that much time during the spring and summer. This winter, we’ll be pretty busy but close at hand.” Andrew looked back toward the house. “We’ll spend more time with her somehow, though,” Danny vowed. “I think she’s worried about not getting pregnant, as well.” “I kind of got that impression, too. If she can’t have a baby, she’s going to be pretty depressed.” Danny didn’t want her to feel guilty if she couldn’t have children. “Do you think we should ask the doctor to check her over while we’re there? I mean, to see if there’s a reason she might not get pregnant?” “That might give her the wrong idea. She might think we don’t want her if she can’t give us children. That isn’t true for me.” Danny made sure Andrew knew that. “Doesn’t matter to me, either. I’d love to have children, but if we can’t, then we can’t.” “Let’s hold off on having her checked out by the doc for that just yet. She’s got enough going on with this wound on her shoulder. It’s itching and aching. I remember mine itching as it got well, but it didn’t ache,” Danny said. “Yours wasn’t that big of an area, though.” “True.” “What are you two hatching up out here?” Rachel walked up wearing a coat and scarf. “What are you doing out here?” Andrew asked. “I saw you two talking and worried something was wrong. I wanted to know what it was.” She put her hand on her hip. “So, what’s going on?” “Nothing, honey. We’re just talking about the cattle and how the colder air is making them hungrier,” Danny lied.

 

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“You’re not telling me the truth, Danny. I can see it in your eyes.” Rachel cocked her head and looked at him. “We’re talking about a lot of things, Rachel. One of them is that we haven’t seen any evidence of the creature lately. I was just wondering if maybe it hibernated. That would be good for us.” “What time are we going to leave in the morning to go to town?” she asked, turning to Andrew. “I take it you’re in a hurry.” He grinned at her. “Well, it will be nice to get these itchy things out of my body. I also wanted to go by the town library and see if they have any more books on gardening. I need more information and can read through them this winter. I have to have something to do.” “You did really well this year considering you’ve never done any of this stuff before,” Andrew told her, giving her a careful hug. She smiled at him. Then she turned and started to head back for the house. “Hey! What about my hug?” Danny asked. She turned around and grinned at him. “I wasn’t sure you wanted one. You didn’t hug me when I walked up.” “I’m trying to keep from hurting your shoulder. Andrew has a cow when you moan or even frown.” “I do not,” Andrew said, his brows furrowing. “I’ll see you later, Danny.” Danny watched her walk away until she’d disappeared back inside the house. “Do you think putting up fences would keep the creature out?” Danny asked. “I guess it would be worth a try. We could try it around a small area and see.” “Let’s build a large fence around the garden and house first,” Danny suggested.

 

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“Good idea. I’ll talk to them in town tomorrow about supplies and find out if they don’t have what we need and how soon they can get what we need to us.” Danny stretched then settled his hat more firmly on his head before gathering the reins and climbing back up on his horse. “I better get back out there and keep them all together. I’ll see you inside for supper in a couple of hours,” Danny said. “We’ll have it ready for you. Be glad that Rachel is doing the cooking tonight. I was going to leave it at soup and cornbread. She decided on stew instead and has it simmering on the stove.” Danny grinned. He loved her stew. It had lots of meat and some of the native potatoes, along with thick broth. He headed back out to the outer edges of the herd and began to round up the stragglers. There were several young cows that kept pushing things by trying to head out on their own. They were going to cause trouble sooner or later. They were going to be the first ones to slaughter, he decided. Fence material would come in handy for the winter if they had any there in town. They could work on it some this fall before the ground froze up then finish it as soon as it thawed come spring. He shook his head. They had too much to do during the spring for just the two of them. They needed the hands that were supposed to come. He hoped they were on board that next shuttle. He mentally sketched out in his head where to build it. They’d start the fence on the edges of the house and include the garden and part of the back yard area as well, so it would be a neat square. If it kept the creature out, it would be well worth the time and effort that it would involve. And it would give them greater peace of mind where Rachel was concerned. Danny sighed and turned around to make another pass out to the west to assure that he hadn’t missed any wayward cows while he was daydreaming. They couldn’t afford to lose any more with the ones the creature had killed. Better cows than them, though.

 

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**** Rachel pulled off her coat and hung it by the back door in the mudroom. She was sure they had been talking about her getting pregnant when she walked up. Were they upset because she hadn’t gotten pregnant yet? It had been a good six or seven months now. Why hadn’t she? True, there were several times they hadn’t had sex in long weeks due to one thing or another. Lately, it had been because of her shoulder. She was afraid they would want to find another woman to be their wife. Especially since they hadn’t bothered to have the ceremony performed to begin with. She loved them so much it would kill her to lose them. You need to instigate sex every chance you get, Rachel. When you go back to the doctor, maybe talk to him without the men around. That might not be very easy to do, though. They tended to keep her close by since the incident with the creature. Didn’t the fact that they were so protective of her mean they cared deeply about her? Surely they wouldn’t get rid of her now even if she couldn’t have children. Rachel ran her hands over her face and pulled at her hair in frustration. She needed to stop worrying over it so much. She had heard somewhere that worry only made it difficult to conceive. Stress also made conceiving harder. She needed to remember that they were under a great deal of stress out here on a strange planet, with strange things all around them. She’d managed to have sex with Andrew twice in the last two days when Danny had been out with the cows, and once with Danny when Andrew had been out. She doubted either one would own up to it with the other for fear of getting in trouble about putting stress on her wounds. She knew Andrew, especially, felt guilty over having fucked her. Rachel could be very persuasive, though. She grinned.

 

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“What are you grinning about?” Andrew asked when he walked into the kitchen. “Thinking about tomorrow. I can’t wait to get these things out of me. They’re driving me crazy,” she confessed. “Here, let me see them.” Andrew walked over and carefully lifted her T-shirt over her head to see her back and shoulder area. He didn’t say anything, just gently rubbed around the wounds in a soothing motion. Then he covered her back up. “Did that help any?” he asked. “Yes, thanks. What does it look like?” she asked, knowing he wouldn’t say anything. “Looks fine. I can tell the stitches are pulling, so I’m sure they are uncomfortable for you.” “Are they all puckered up?” she asked, knowing they were. “Just a little bit. Not too bad.” With a resigned sigh, she turned to check the stew. It was gently bubbling on the stove. She had already made up a batch of batter for the cornbread and had it in the fridge until it was time to cook it. She hoped it would be enough to fill their bellies. She wasn’t much hungry but knew she had to eat. “We’re thinking about putting a fence up around the house to see if it will keep the creature out,” Andrew said out of nowhere. Rachel started and turned around. “That sounds like a good idea. The fences they have back on Earth keep everything out. Unless it can climb over, it should work great.” “Have to see if we have materials here for that or if we have to wait for the next shuttle in another year. It’s too late, I’m sure, to get anything on this shuttle. I would think they had already taken off.” Andrew lifted the lid off the stew and sniffed. “Why don’t you call them now and ask them if they have it? Then you know whether to take the trailer or not.” “Good idea. Come on with me. I can’t trust you to stay inside without me there to guard the doors.”

 

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“Funny, Andrew.” “Hell, I’m serious. You were outside this morning without Danny knowing where you were.” “I was just on the front porch. I hadn’t gone anywhere.” “Yeah, but he didn’t know where you were. I thought he was going to have a heart attack before we found you.” Andrew put the earphones on and raised the town. A few minutes later he pulled off the earphones with a grin on his face. “They’ve got fence supplies. Should be enough for us to do the entire back area, including the garden.” “Then you can work the cattle without worrying about me so much. I didn’t know what you were going to do come spring.” “We didn’t know what we were going to do, either. If the hands get here to help work the ranch, one of us or a hand will be around all the time.” That was the first time they had said anything about leaving one of the hands around. They really were worried about her. It made her feel better to know they cared so much about her. But it also aggravated her that they felt like she had to have a babysitter. She sighed. She couldn’t have it both ways.

 

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Chapter Thirteen Friday morning, the three of them dressed and ate a quick breakfast. Danny had already hitched the trailer to the transport, leaving it running to warm up for them. Rachel couldn’t wait to go. Soon the stitches would be out, and she could talk to the doctor about getting pregnant. Maybe all she would need were some extra vitamins. “You ready, honey?” Andrew asked. “I’ve been ready since I woke up.” “Which was at the freaking crack of dawn,” Danny groused. “You weren’t complaining when I had my mouth around your cock,” she reminded him. “Not complaining,” Danny hurried to assure her. “Let’s load up, then. Rachel, honey, put on a coat. I know the transport will be warm, but I want you to have your coat on. It’s drafty.” Andrew handed her coat to her. She grimaced but shrugged into the coat and felt for her gloves in the pockets. Finding them, she left them there but curled her fingers around them. She liked the feel of them on her skin. Danny followed behind her to lock up the house and then help her in the transport. He settled her in and fastened the harness around her. Then he climbed in after her and fastened his own harness. Andrew was driving today. She settled back and closed her eyes. Maybe she could take a nap while they rode there. The drive would take longer pulling the empty trailer. It wouldn’t be quite as bad on the way back with it loaded.

 

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“Don’t forget to drop me by the library when you get ready to load up the fence materials,” she told no one in particular. “We won’t forget.” Andrew laughed. She cracked her eyelid and looked up at him. Both he and Danny were in good moods. Was it because of the fencing material being available or because they were getting her stitches out? She didn’t know which, but she was glad they were so excited. She liked for them to be smiling and happy. She must have dozed at some point because they were pulling into town when she opened her eyes again. They pulled right up in front of the doctor’s office. Danny immediately began unhooking their harnesses and opened the transport door. The doctor and his nurse were at the door, waiting for them. “How was the trip in?” the doc asked. “Fine. I slept on the way, I guess.” She smiled and followed them inside. “Have you been doing a lot of sleeping the last few days?” he asked. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe more than usual, but I haven’t had anything to do. The guys won’t let me touch anything.” She frowned back at them. Neither man looked the least bit guilty over it, though. “Well, let’s see about taking the stitches out. It shouldn’t hurt, but you might feel me tugging on them.” They pulled her T-shirt off and had her lay on the gurney on her stomach. She felt the first tug and pinch as they began removing the stitches. She had to say, she’d never had stitches before, but she’d pulled them out before. These felt like they were harder to get out. “They don’t seem to be coming out very easily,” she finally said. “Am I hurting you?” the doctor asked without really answering her question. “No, but they are pulling a lot.”

 

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“The skin grew up over them more so than I would have expected. You seem to heal quickly.” “How does it look?” she asked. She’d tried looking at herself in the bathroom mirror but couldn’t really get a good look at the area. It bothered her that the men were so evasive about it. “It healed up really well. I was worried it might still get infected. I’m glad it didn’t.” “What about scarring, though? How thick are they?” she asked insistently. “You have three long scars about three inches each, but they aren’t puckered up like Danny’s are. They did change color, though. They’re a pale yellow in color.” “You’re kidding. I have yellow skin?” Rachel was aghast. “I think it’s a small thing, considering you could have gotten a very nasty infection from it. I’m going to snip a small area off of it and put a bandage over it. You can take it off tonight. I just want to compare it to Danny’s and see what the difference is.” “Is that really necessary?” Andrew asked. “It’s okay, Andrew. I don’t mind.” She hoped she didn’t cry when he did it. As it was, it didn’t hurt at all. She never felt it. The scar tissue seemed to be dead, nerve-wise. That was good, she decided. Then she remembered that she wanted to talk to him. “Um, can I talk to you alone?” she asked quietly. “Sure.” The doctor had leaned forward to hear her but stood up now. “I want to examine Rachel a little closer now to make sure everything is all right. You two can step out of the room now.” “Wait, what for?” Andrew asked a serious expression on his face. “Nothing is wrong. I just would like to check her over good to assure myself there are no other ramifications of the wound.”

 

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His nurse didn’t bat an eye. He just ushered the two men out of the room. They didn’t look the least bit happy to be banished from the exam room. “Now, what did you want to talk about?” the doctor asked. “Um, do you think it might be harder to become pregnant on this planet than usual? I mean, um, it’s been nearly seven months, and I’m not pregnant yet.” “We examined you thoroughly before, and you have no reason not to get pregnant, according to your health records and my exam. I think the atmosphere here may have something to do with the pregnancy rates here, though. There are several women pregnant already, but the majority of the women haven’t conceived yet.” He patted her on the back. “I wouldn’t worry just yet. Give it more time. Besides being on a strange planet and dealing with all that stress, you’ve had this creature bothering you all, and then you were attacked. I think you just need time.” “So there’s no real reason I shouldn’t be able to then.” “Nope, none whatsoever.” She sighed and nodded. “Thanks, Doctor. I can’t help but worry.” “Well worrying is the worst thing you can do. So forget about it for now. The next thing you know, you’ll be complaining of morning sickness.” He grinned and helped her down from the exam table. When he opened the door, both of her guys were pacing the waiting area with their hands stuffed in their jeans pockets. They hurried over to hear the verdict. “Everything is fine. If you have any problems, just radio us or come on in,” the doctor said. “We better go now. We have a lot to do before we head home.” Andrew winked at the doctor. Rachel frowned, wondering what that was all about. The doctor smiled back at him and followed them to the door. When they walked

 

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outside, there seemed to be several people milling around. She followed the men as they made their way down the street. “Hey, wait. I wanted to go to the library, remember?” she asked. “Later, honey. We need to talk to them in the conference hall about the creature. Come on. We’ll do all that later.” Andrew drew her up next to him with an arm around her shoulders. Rachel figured that was why everyone was following them. Even the doctor and nurse were right behind them. Everyone wanted to know about the creature, she guessed. Much to her confusion, the men led her to the front of the hall where a ceremony was obviously about to take place. She sighed. Maybe it would remind Danny and Andrew that she hadn’t had one yet. When they pulled her to the front where the three people usually stood, she realized it was to be their ceremony. She felt tears begin to slide down her face. Rachel looked up at Andrew. “You remembered,” she said. “We should have done this in the very beginning. We never should have taken you against your will in the first place. Will you ever forgive us?” he asked. “Oh, Andrew, Danny, there’s nothing to forgive.” The ceremony began, and everyone grew quiet as the three of them exchanged vows of faithfulness and honor. When it was over with, the entire room erupted in applause. Danny had placed a ring on her finger. She hadn’t expected that. None of the other women she saw in town had rings. She fingered hers proudly. She wished she had rings for the men, but she could remedy that on their anniversary. “Okay, let’s get you to the library, and we need to load up on fencing supplies,” Andrew said. She reached up on her tiptoes and pulled his head down for a deep kiss. He didn’t pull away but deepened the kiss. His tongue licked

 

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along hers as she explored his mouth. Then he was gently pulling away and handing her to Danny. Danny didn’t beat around the bush. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. She smiled when he finally released her. He never did anything halfway. “I’ll drop her off at the library, Andrew.” Danny tugged on her hand and walked her down the road to the town library. He left her there to get the transport and meet Andrew to pick up the supplies. Rachel took her time picking out books on gardens and canning. These were more in-depth than the ones she had at the house to study. She couldn’t wait until the trip home to begin reading through them. Then her eyes caught sight of a book on farm animals. Maybe if she read up on them and pleaded loudly enough, the guys would let her have a Jersey cow. She would study up on them and what it took to take care of them. She smiled and took her books to the desk to sign them out. Since they kept four and five of every book, it wasn’t a big deal if she kept them for several months. With winter coming up, they wouldn’t be coming to town again anytime soon. “You about ready?” Danny asked from the doorway. “Just finished checking out. Did you get all of the stuff you needed?” “Yep. We need to get on the road so we can unload before dark.” “I’m ready.” She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him, then picked up her books. Danny shook his head and took the stack of books to carry them for her. She liked that about her men. They didn’t let her carry anything and were always trying to make things easier for her. Still, they also drove her batty about not letting her do things she wanted to do, like work outside while her shoulder was healing. Instead, she was stuck in the house, watching them do all the work. She smiled. Her shoulder was healed even if it was yellow now. She could work around the house again. They wouldn’t have any

 

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reason to keep her from doing what she needed and wanted to do. Oh, she had little doubt they would try to keep her inside. She doubted she really would go out much since the garden was tilled under, but she liked to sit outside on the front porch and look out over the range. “Hold on and let me put these in the back, then I’ll help you climb up,” Danny told her. She started to climb up anyway but decided to pick her battles. She smiled and waited. He finished settling the books in the back and then helped her up. She climbed inside the transport and fastened the harness by the time the men were settled inside as well. “Find what you were looking for?” Andrew asked her. “Yes, thanks. And thanks for thinking about the ceremony. I feel better now that we’re actually married and not living in sin,” she teased. “We always felt married to you regardless, but we should have had it done a long time ago,” Andrew told her. They chatted about putting up the fence and how much they hoped to get done before winter froze the ground. Then they talked about the herd, and Rachel pulled one of the books up front and began reading through it to pass the time. When they pulled up in front of the house, she was surprised. She’d barely gotten through half the book. She guessed she was so serious about learning it that it had taken longer than usual to read through it. “Let’s get you settled inside, and then we’ll come out and unload the supplies,” Danny told her. He helped her down then reached in and got her books for her. He and Andrew followed her to the house and unlocked the door for her. “We’ll be back in as soon as we finish with this. Don’t go to any trouble for supper. I’m still full from the lunch we had in town,” Andrew told her. Rachel decided on sandwiches and left things out for that before returning to the living room and the books. Her mind wandered to the

 

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ceremony and how much it had meant to her that they had thought about it and planned it for her. Not to mention the ring. The only thing they might have made it any better at all would have been for them to tell her they loved her. She knew they cared about her but wasn’t sure if they loved her. She wanted them to love her as much as she loved them. It’s not like you’ve told them that you love them. Why do you think they should tell you? She sighed and vowed to tell them the first appropriate opportunity. They deserved to know how she felt about them. Maybe it would jog them into admitting their feelings for her. She smiled and picked up her book once again.

 

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Chapter Fourteen “We should have told her we loved her then,” Andrew fussed as they unloaded the fence posts. “I just couldn’t say it with all those people around. I don’t know why.” Danny picked up to posts and carried them over to the row they were making. “We need to tell her tonight. Before we go any further. She deserves to know how we feel about her.” “I agree,” Danny said. They finished the rest of the supplies and then put the trailer and the transport away. They checked on the herd and found they had pretty much stayed in the same general area. There were probably some that had wandered off. They would round them up in the morning. Then they would spend the afternoons working on the fence. Once they had washed up and had sandwiches for dinner, they sat in the living room and discussed how to set up the fence while Rachel read her books. Andrew ran his hand lightly up and down her arm as they argued good-naturedly about where to put the gate openings for the tiller and to walk through. Rachel would chime in every once in a while, but for the most part, she was quiet as she read. Andrew liked it that she was serious about what she was doing. He just hoped the fence would work so he wouldn’t worry about her while they were out working the cattle. Sometime close to ten, she closed her book and stood up to stretch.

 

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“I’m ready for bed. I’m going to go take a bath. I’ll see you two when you come up for bed.” She leaned down and kissed each of them before going upstairs. “Now is the time to go tell her we love her,” Danny insisted. “Now, while she’s in the tub.” “Let’s let her get settled then go up and tell her.” Andrew was still antsy about doing it despite having said they should have earlier. A few minutes later, Danny stood up. “Come on, Andrew. It’s time.” Andrew nodded and followed Danny up to the bathroom. They could hear her humming in the tub. When they walked in, she was washing her legs. “Here, let me do that for you,” Danny said taking the cloth from her. “Rachel, honey, we want to tell you something. We should have told you a long time ago but just never got around to it.” Andrew took her hand in both of his. She frowned and looked from Danny back to him again as if she was afraid of what they were going to tell her. He hadn’t meant to scare her. “We love you, honey. I think we fell in love with you when we first brought you home with us,” Danny said. “When we almost lost you, we realized how stupid we were being by not telling you. But we couldn’t figure out how to do it.” “We shouldn’t have taken your choices away from you, and we hope you will forgive us for doing it, but we wanted you so much when we saw you that we couldn’t chance that anyone else would take you away from us.” Andrew leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. She licked her lips and blinked back the tears that glistened in her eyes.

 

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“I love you both, too. I have loved you for a very long time. I was scared you would get rid of me if I didn’t get pregnant,” she confessed. “Never, honey,” Danny told her. “If we have children, that’s great, but if we don’t, that’s okay, too.” Andrew squeezed her hand in his. “I think we need to spend more time working on it,” she said with a mischievous smile on her face. Danny grinned. “Well, they say practice makes perfect.” Andrew reached down and unplugged the tub then helped Rachel to her feet. “I’m all for working on it.” They helped her out then dried her off. Danny picked her up and carried her to bed as Andrew hurried ahead of them. Andrew threw back the covers. Rachel crawled over in the middle of it and watched them undress. Once they were naked, they began licking and sucking every inch of her body. Andrew kissed his way toward her pussy and the honey nectar he knew he would find there. Danny drew a nipple into his mouth and loved on her breasts. Andrew settled between her legs and spread her pussy lips so that he could get to her sweet cunt. He wanted to suck and lick every drop of her sweet juices. He licked along the outer edges of her pussy lips then tongued her slit until she was moving her pelvis to get a deeper penetration. He chuckled and used one hand to hold her still while he licked around her clit in tight circles. Rachel moaned and reached down to grab at his head, but he pulled back away from her reach. “Settle down, honey. We’ll take care of you. We’re both going to have a piece of your hot cunt tonight.” He pressed two fingers into her pussy and moved them in and out as he licked her sweet pussy. She hissed out a breath. Andrew looked up and saw Danny was pulling and twisting on her nipples as he licked between her breasts.

 

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Andrew added a third finger to her hot cunt and began thrusting in unison with his tongue licking over her clit. She screamed out as her climax took her. He had to pull to get his fingers free once her pussy latched down on him. He sucked hard on her clit. Then he licked it softly a few times before he rose up on his knees. Andrew pulled her ass up so that he could spear her cunt with his hard cock. He thrust once, twice, three times before he was able to get inside her still-spasming pussy. Danny was sucking and pulling on her nipples while she tried to thrust upward with her pelvis to meet Andrew’s thrusts. He pounded into her cunt over and over until he thought he would shove her up the bed with the force of his thrusts. Danny had to be keeping her still as he held her and sucked on her tits. Andrew couldn’t get deep enough inside her no matter how hard he pounded. He wanted to feel her convulse around him again. He needed to know she was theirs. He reached down and tapped her clit as he tunneled in and out of her pussy. She groaned and clenched down on his dick as he pushed through her taunt muscles. He felt the cum boiling up from his balls and shoot out of his cock, deep inside her. She screamed and held her hips up high as he spilled himself inside of her. When he could breathe again, he pulled out and rolled to the side, catching one of her hands in his and squeezing it. Before he’d even settled, Danny was shoving his cock deep inside her pussy. He pummeled her wet cunt with his stiff dick with a look of determination on his face. Andrew moved farther up the bed to kiss his wife and tell her again how much they loved her. “You’re our everything, Rachel. We want to make you happy and see you smile.” There were tears in her eyes when she suddenly gasped and convulsed. Her eyes rolled back as she came. Andrew looked back in time to see Danny’s face change to one of rapture as he emptied his seed inside their wife. He’d just had the good fortune to see both of

 

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the most important people in his life reach their climax and know that they were happy. He hurried to the bathroom and got a cloth wet with warm water so he could clean Rachel up. Then the three of them all curled up together and fell asleep. **** Rachel woke early the next morning to the knowledge that she was loved and cherished. She knew that her men cared about her more than anything and that they would do everything to make her happy. She prayed that she would be able to give them children one day but vowed to not think about it any longer. All that mattered to her now was that they all stay safe and healthy. She slipped out of bed and started the coffee then carried a cup in each hand upstairs for the men. She let the scent of the coffee wake them up and smiled when they did. “Good morning.” She handed one to each of them. “You’re up early,” Andrew said then yawned. “It’s the first day of the rest of our lives together. I wanted to get a head start on it.” “I love you, Rachel,” Danny said. “I love you, too.” She told him. Then she turned to Andrew and kissed him. “I love you, too.” “You’re my everything, honey. I love you.” Andrew and Danny finally managed to check the cattle before lunch.

THE END WWW.MARLAMONROE.COM

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marla Monroe lives in the southern part of the United States. She writes sexy romance from the heart and often puts a twist of suspense in her books. She is a nurse and works in a busy hospital but finds plenty of time to follow her two passions, reading and writing. You can find her in a book store or a library at any given time when she’s not at work or writing. Marla would love for you to visit her at her blog at themarlamonroe.blogspot.com and leave a comment. You can also reach her at [email protected] or go to her webpage www.marlamonroe.com.

Also by Marla Monroe Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #1: The Ranchers Take a Wife

For all other titles, please visit www.bookstrand.com/marla-monroe

 

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