Two Men for Piper

The Men of Space Station One #7

Two Men for Piper Piper can’t get enough of Tripp and Keith. They are worried that she won’t be safe while they are working. Will their determination to keep her safe dampen her lust for them? And is she too aggressive for their bad-boy ways, or will they take her any way they can get her? When Keith gets hurt, Piper is scared she’s going to lose him. She’s never told either man that she loves them. She vows to do that if he makes it. When he improves, she confesses her feelings. The men tell her they love her as well. Everything seems to be going fine until all of their careful plans to keep Piper safe fail and she is nearly killed. The men blame themselves and vow to not make the same mistake twice. Will she recover, and if she does, will she trust the men to keep her safe? Genre: Futuristic, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Science Fiction Length: 58,430 words

TWO MEN FOR PIPER The Men of Space Station One #7

Marla Monroe

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

TWO MEN FOR PIPER Copyright © 2012 by Marla Monroe E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-866-1 First E-book Publication: July 2012 Cover design by Les Byerley All art and logo copyright © 2012 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.

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TWO MEN FOR PIPER The Men of Space Station One #7 MARLA MONROE Copyright © 2012

Chapter One Piper had endured six boring months of lectures and classes and reading. She was sick of it and ready to get there already. She had yet to see her husbands since they’d had the marriage ceremony with the twenty-four other families. She had been sure they would meet up at some point during the half-year trip to planet Alpha. Instead, she spent her time learning about life on the planet and how to use the existing plants and animals for food. They were less than twenty-four hours away from landing, and now she was getting cold feet. It was a little late for that. Of course she hadn’t had much choice in the first place. The government was selecting people and sending them off regardless if they wanted to go or not. She knew that Earth was disintegrating at an alarming rate. Her father had been one of the original scientists who’d warned them about it. She honestly thought she would be spending her last days on Earth with her friends, partying until the end. Instead, she had been chosen as one of twenty-five females to help populate planet Alpha. There were so few women left who didn’t have Shear’s disease and could still have children that she should have realized they would get to her sooner or later. She guessed it was sooner.

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Now she and her two husbands would set out on an adventure to end all adventures. At least she was looking at it that way. It beat thinking about the actual hardships they were bound to face. Her husbands were going to be ranch hands at the only ranch on the planet. She would be tending to their garden for food, the house, and of course, their sexual needs. The sexual needs she was looking forward to. It was the gardening she was iffy about. She knew only what they had been teaching them on the shuttle. She’d never had anything to do with growing things before. She couldn’t even keep a house plant alive in her little apartment. Keeping house was different. She was an excellent housekeeper, and she liked doing it. She just hoped they had actual houses to live in. She didn’t have a clue what they would look like. No one had shown them anything other than still shots of some of the plants, animals, and general areas of the planet. “Piper, are you ready?” Sandra, one of the other women, asked. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I just want off this ship.” “Shuttle.” “Whatever. I want off.” “Have you seen your husbands at all?” “No, have you seen yours?” “No. I don’t understand why they kept us segregated. Piper sighed. “I think it was to keep us from getting too friendly while we are supposed to be learning. It seems that in the past they’ve had some issues where families have skipped classes to um, fraternize, if you know what I mean. Sandra giggled then sobered. “What do you think about your men? Do you like them?” “I guess. I only talked to them for like five minutes before the ceremony, and then we were separated right afterward.” “Yeah, me, too.” An alarm sounded, startling them.

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“There’s the signal for us to strap in. I guess they plan for us to sleep through the entry and landing. I’ll see you later.” Sandra hurried back to her quarters. Piper continued looking out the observation window at the planet they were about to land on. Right now, it just looked like a larger version of their moon since there were clouds covering the area she could see. She didn’t know what to expect out of her husbands, but she hoped they were good men who would treat her right. Supposedly the government had used computer programs to match the families up, but she didn’t put much faith in computers making decisions as important as who she would spend the rest of her life with. The signal sounded again. She sighed and turned around to head to her quarters only to run right into her men. **** Tripp and Keith caught Piper before she bounced off of them and fell on her ass. She turned startled eyes up at them. “W–What are you doing over here?” It was the women’s side of the shuttle, not the men’s. “We were looking for you. When you didn’t answer your door, we figured you would be here, looking out the observation windows.” Tripp reluctantly let her go. “Oh. What did you want?” “We wanted to talk to you about where to meet us. We’re going to go get the transport and all of our supplies before we come around and pick you up. You’ll probably have a couple of hours to wait once they let us off the shuttle tomorrow.” Tripp ran a finger down her arm to curl around her wrist before he let go. “I can amuse myself. Don’t worry about me. I’ll wait for you where they drop off our luggage. Is yours marked with your names?”

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“Yep. Don’t worry about it, though. We’ll find it once we get there. Maybe there will be someone you can talk with at least part of the time while you wait. We just think it will work better if we go ahead and grab the supplies instead of waiting in line afterwards,” Keith said “Like I said. Don’t worry about me. I can read if nothing else. It’s not like we don’t have plenty of reading material.” They all three laughed. The reading material referred to the massive amounts of paper they were given to keep up with during classes. They had several notebooks filled with it and enough loose paper for several more when they managed to locate more. “We’ll walk you to your quarters. You better get strapped in. It’s supposed to be a rough entry.” Tripp took one hand while Keith took the other one. “Funny, they neglected to mention that to us.” She narrowed her eyes. “They don’t seem to mention much to us in the way of obstacles or problems. They avoid talking about anything that could possibly scare anyone. I’d rather know what to expect than to be blindsided once we get there.” “I’m of the same mind, Piper. I have a feeling nothing is going to be as we were taught, so get ready.” Tripp stopped outside her quarters and waited for her to decode the pass before he opened the door for her. “Thanks for walking me back. I’ll see you tomorrow, guys.” “Sleep well. Night.” Keith squeezed her hand, and they both backed up so she could close the door and secure it. “We better hurry back to our side and get strapped in before they catch us out again.” Keith grinned over at Tripp. They made it back to their quarters just before their counselor called over the intercom checking on them. They replied and mimicked wiping sweat off their foreheads before bursting into laughter. Outwitting their counselor had been their one act of rebellion since being on the godforsaken shuttle.

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Tripp thought that marrying them off to someone then keeping them sequestered from them for six fucking months was nothing but torture. You just didn’t do that to healthy, red-blooded American men in their late twenties. It was cruel and unusual punishment as far as they were concerned. He couldn’t wait to sink his cock into their new wife’s sweet pussy. Everything about her had turned him on from the first time they had seen her, even before they found out she was to be their wife. Piper’s long black hair held some natural curl in it because it had waves that lapped at her ass when she moved. Her oval face and slightly upturned eyes gave her an exotic appearance. He loved her soft gray eyes and olive complexion. She stood around five feet four inches and had curves where it counted. Her generous breasts were perfect as far as he was concerned. He knew Keith had fallen in love with them already. Tripp was an ass man, though. Nothing got him hot and hard faster than a nicely rounded ass, and Piper had a prime piece of real estate going on back there. His cock was already hard as a rock, and they were strapped in, ready to land. This sucked. He glanced over at Keith, his best friend. By the look of the expression on his face, he wasn’t in much better shape. “See you on Alpha, man.” Keith grinned. “See you then.” After what seemed like forever, he finally settled down enough to fall asleep in the strapped-in position. He sighed, closed his eyes, and drifted off.

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Chapter Two The more Keith read, the angrier he got. They’d lied to them about the entire thing. As soon as they had landed, they were routed through decontamination then given packets to take to claim their transports and supplies. As they disembarked, there were several people from previous shuttle trips handing out pamphlets with “additional information they needed to read.” The two men sat in their transport waiting their turn at the supply line and read. “Did you see the part about their fucking saliva having acid in it? What the hell kind of place did they send us to?” Tripp banged a fist against the side of the transport. “And we’ve got to keep our wife safe while she works and we work in different places. What in the hell are we going to do when we have children?” Keith asked. “I don’t even want to think about that right now. Some of the information in here suggests that putting up a fence is advisable as soon as we get here. I say let’s get fencing material to start with.” “Good idea. I’ll add that to our requisition. Hold on.” Keith typed into the handheld computer what they wanted and pressed enter. It would update their list and give them enough material to get started. They would need to come back and get more once they knew how large they were going to make the fenced in area. It would need to be big enough to encompass the garden area and most of the back yard. A kid would need room to run once they got old enough to. He shuddered again at the thought of children and some of the creatures listed in the pamphlet. Maybe he was making it out to be

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worse than it was. After all, in the Old West, they had scorpions, snakes, wolves, and Indians to worry with. There really wasn’t that much difference. He kept telling himself that over and over. Somehow, it wasn’t sinking in. He turned to Tripp and noticed his buddy was looking a little green as well. “Let’s hope there is enough fencing for everyone. I bet we’re all thinking along the same lines with being prepared.” “I just hope we make it to the house alive with all these damn creatures running loose out there waiting on us.” “Maybe it’s not as bad as they are making it out to be,” Keith said. “Your mouth to God’s ears. I don’t want to raise a family with acid-spitting monsters hiding under every freaking bed.” “Not to change the subject, but what do you think about Piper?” “She’s hot. You know how I feel about her.” “Do you think she’s going to do well out in a wilderness-type situation? She strikes me as being more of a city girl.” “Yeah, I know what you mean, but she’s been taking classes for the last six months. Surely she will be able to handle whatever comes up.” “We better hope so, because we’re going to be working from sunup to sundown on our work days.” “At least we have a week to get settled in before we have to start working. That will give us time to get the garden in and the fence started.” Tripp watched as Keith maneuvered the big transport into the warehouse. They were next in line to load up. Keith thought about how sweet Piper’s kiss had been at their ceremony. She seemed like such a nice woman. He hoped she wasn’t as naïve as she appeared to be. They were pretty out there when it came to sex. It would really be an issue if she were inexperienced in sex other than the actual act. He and Tripp liked to experiment and couldn’t wait to take her together. Waiting for their wife to catch up with them would be a disaster.

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He hadn’t even voiced his worries on that score with Tripp. His best friend was the more intense of the two of them and would dwell on it too much if he did. Keith was more laid-back. He could easily see himself in the role of confidant to their new wife with Tripp being the “go-to” guy and disciplinarian. It didn’t bother him. He would spend plenty of quality time with their wife just like Tripp would. It didn’t have to always be a together sort of thing. They would each need alone time with her. “Check that bill of lading and be sure we got everything we asked for.” Tripp interrupted his thoughts. “Got you.” He did a list comparison and found that they had everything they asked for plus two things added by their new wife. He grinned. Already shopping and they hadn’t even made it to their new house yet. He shook his head. “They have everything. Looks like Piper found a shopping kiosk while waiting for us. We also have on board a food dehydrator and a case of something called posh.” “What the hell is posh?” “Get out your pamphlet and see if it talks about it in there? I skipped over the cooking part.” “I’ve got to drive. You read and tell me about it.” Keith shook his head and pulled out the pamphlet once again. He thumbed through the pages until he got to the part about cooking and natural plants available to them. He made a face at some of the suggested plants and located posh. “Says here it’s a plant like a squash that tastes nutty and is crunchy. Looks like you can cook with it a lot of different ways. Get ready, Tripp. We’re going to be having it a lot it looks like.” “Well, we live on a cattle ranch. We should be able to have beef just about anytime we want it.” Tripp headed straight to the terminal to pick up their luggage and their wife. Keith could tell that he was ready to get this day over with, and they still had to unload everything before they could call it a day.

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“There she is. You can’t miss her. God, she’s beautiful.” Keith pointed her out to Tripp. Tripp grunted and parked the transport. Keith jumped down and went to meet their wife. She was obviously happy to see them because she pulled him in for a hug and a tonsil-teasing kiss before turning her attention to Tripp. Tripp was prepared and prolonged the kiss even longer. He grinned at the slightly drugged expression on Piper’s face when Tripp finally let her go. “Um, I’ve got everything right here. You might want to count and be sure you have all your things. I had to get them to search for one of my trunks.” Piper indicated their luggage. They each looked over their gear and found that it was all there. They hadn’t thought about losing any of it. He was glad Piper had warned them. Keith couldn’t help but admire her body once again. All those fascinating curves and he was anticipating his first feel of her breasts. He hoped like hell they were real. They looked real, but one never knew anymore. Implants were so well done now. “Are you staring at my breasts? Grow up, Keith.” She laughed and shook her head as she waited for them to load up the luggage. Tripp popped him on the back with a smile and grabbed a trunk. He grinned back like an idiot and handed him the next one to load on the transport. Twenty minutes later, they had everything loaded and locked down. “Let’s get you on board, Piper. Remember, don’t get up or down from a transport unless the engine is off.” “I remember.” She climbed up with Tripp’s help and sat down in the middle of the bench seat. She started messing with the safety harness, and Keith took over, showing her how to strap in effectively. Several times while he was adjusting the straps, his hand scraped across her breasts. He fought to keep from smiling. They were real. He’d bet his belt buckle they were.

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“What are you grinning about over there, Keith?” Tripp closed the doors on the transport and fired up the engine once again. “Just thinking about what the place is going to look like. Do you have the GPS set on the coordinates?” “All plugged in and ready to take us home.” “I sure hope we have a real house. I’m not much good at housekeeping in a tent or a lean-to.” Piper spoke up. “Supposed to be a brand-new house just built this year.” Keith hoped he was telling her right. “Wonderful. No caked-on dirt or grungy mold and mildew to worry about.” Keith frowned. He sure hoped she wasn’t going to be one of those neat freaks that couldn’t abide a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. They worked on a ranch for Christ’s sake. There was going to be dust and dirt everywhere they went. Tripp had a worried expression on his face as well. He’d evidently picked up on the same thing that Keith had. The idea that the government would pair up a germophobe with two cowboys was ludicrous, but perfectly possible when you looked at how they had paired them up. Filling out a questionnaire and then feeding those answers into a computer couldn’t be perfect. Hell, it might even turn out to be a disaster. It wouldn’t be the first time the government had screwed up. **** How long will this ride take?” Piper asked, looking out the window at the strange but interesting landscape around them. “We’re about three hours from the city by transport and around thirty minutes from our closest neighbors by horse. Don’t know who they are yet, but the main house is an hour from us by horse as well.” Tripp filled her in on the area.

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“Our house and our nearest neighbors are the farthest point west for the ranch. We’ll be watching out for the west herd and meet up with the central ranch hands when it’s time for rounding them up for something like tagging or inoculations.” Keith picked up. “Do you know if any of the other families have been here very long and if they have children? I’d really like to meet the others and see if I can learn anything.” She pulled out a pamphlet and held it up. “Did you two get one of these from one of the locals? It’s downright scary reading. I sure won’t be reading it right before bed.” Keith looked at it and nodded, producing one of his own. “It definitely isn’t comforting for new arrivals to get as they walk off the shuttle.” “I’m glad they gave them to us so we know what to expect,” Tripp argued. “Oh, I agree with you, Tripp. I just can’t help but wish they had shared that with us several months back so we would be prepared, and have some ideas on how to handle everything,” Piper quickly added. She settled back against the seat and thought about her men. They were both tall, dark, and handsome in her book. Tripp’s shaggy hair barely brushed his shoulders. He had a small goatee that she was sure would tickle in various places on her skin. His generous mouth and tasty lips were sensuous to say the least. She loved his dark eyes. They were deep pools of obsidian. He stood around six feet five inches and was about thirty years old. He appeared to be the more serious of the two with an intense stare that she was sure could see all the way inside to her heart. It was a little disconcerting. She figured he would be the one to put a stop to her more adventurous side. She frowned. They would have words on a regular basis if he tried to curb her equally strong opinions. Keith could almost be Tripp’s twin, though she knew they weren’t related at all. He was about thirty years old as well and only an inch or so shorter than Tripp. Both men were muscular all over, especially through the chests and arms. Where Tripp’s dark eyes were jet-black,

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Keith’s appeared to have a backlight to them. They almost glowed. His face seemed to hold a perpetual five-o’clock shadow even at ten in the morning. His hair was much longer than Tripp’s. He had it tied back at the nape of his neck with something like string. Her fingers itched to turn it loose. His warm smile and easy manner said that he would be the one to go for her antics. He would be a partner in crime if she managed to find a crime to get into in this godforsaken place. Physically, they were perfect as far as she was concerned. It was how they were mentally and emotionally that worried her. She had no idea how they would see her carefree attitude and slightly oversexed libido. Would they be turned on or disgusted to have a wife like her? She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly missed the strange-looking insect like creature that ran at them from the left. “What the hell is that thing? Is it trying to hit us?” Tripp swerved out of the way, but not before it rammed into the passenger side door. “It’s one of those fucking mantis creatures from the pamphlet. It didn’t mention that it would attack transports.” “I don’t believe it. The thing is still coming!” Tripp swerved again and managed to miss it. “Hold on. I’m going to ramp up the amps on this thing.” They shot forward, and the mantis slowly disappeared from sight. Piper could barely breathe around the thumping of her heart in her throat. “Hey, are you okay, Piper?” Keith asked. “Yeah, that was amazing. That thing was the ugliest-looking creature I’ve ever seen. It looked like an insect and a sloth or an anteater all mixed up.” “That thing was fast! I don’t want it after us when we’re outside.” Tripp pushed back his hair. “Well, we hurt it when it hit us, because he had goo oozing from him in places,” Piper said.

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“We’re not far from the house now. Let’s hope it can’t track us. I’m not sure what sort of weapons will work on something like that.” Tripp slowed the transport down. “There had better be enough for me to have one. I’m an excellent shot.” “We’ll see what we have once we get settled in.” Keith squeezed her knee. She sighed and hoped that wasn’t a brush-off. She really was good with guns, and she wanted to be able to watch out for herself, especially when they were out working. She would have to be out in the garden most of the day once it was up and growing. Surely they wouldn’t leave her with no way to protect herself. Piper leaned forward as the house came into view. It was large and looked like most of the older homes back on earth. It wasn’t all steel and metals. It was wood and brick. They had to have brought it with them on the shuttle. There was no way they already had trees here that looked like the ones on earth. All she had seen were funnylooking greens, blues, and yellow ones. “There it is, our new home here on planet Alpha.” Tripp slowed the transport as they neared the front. “What do you think, Piper?” “It looks normal. I like normal when so much about this place is so not normal. I guess what is inside will determine if it really is a normal house. I’ll be happy if we have indoor plumbing and a stove that works.” “Yeah, I’m seriously bummed that the microwaves don’t work here. Neither do cell phones. They tried towers, and something in the atmosphere interferes with them.” Keith leaned forward to look at the area around the house as they rounded the corner to the back. “How do we keep in touch with everyone?” “Good, old-fashioned radios,” Tripp said. “Every house has a small base station and the radios for the family. You can talk radio to radio, but to talk to another family or to get in touch with the city, you

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have to be at the base station. Don’t worry, we’ll teach you all about it.” “Good, because that wasn’t part of our Betty Crocker, homemaker training.” Keith burst out laughing. She was glad he was amused, but she was growing more and more worried by the minute.

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Chapter Three Tripp set the transport down near the back door and turned off the engine. Keith began unfastening his harness then helped Piper remove hers. He helped her down, and they all three filed into the house with Piper between the two men. She looked around the kitchen and was impressed. It had up-to-date appliances and was a nice size for a family. The eat-in kitchen had a table with six chairs as well as a small bar that separated the kitchen from the eating area. “Smells clean and new,” Keith pointed out. “I was expecting it to have that musty, closed-up feeling.” Tripp walked farther into the house through a doorway. “Look at the living room, guys.” Piper wanted to explore the kitchen some more and see where all the doors went. She sighed and resigned herself to following them around at first. When she walked into the living room, she was impressed. There was a giant fireplace along one wall with a couch and two recliners facing it in a sort of circular pattern. Since there was no TV, the only other things in the room were the end tables between the chairs and the couch. There were empty shelves on either side of the massive brick fireplace. Piper could see them filled with books. They didn’t have very many yet, but she understood that books were being shipped there with other things that would be lost forever on earth like music. She was personally glad to know that. She’d brought her MP3 player and music with her, including the little docking station with speakers. She’d been told that there was no real entertainment there because they didn’t have time for entertainment. Well, everyone had time for

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music. You listened as you worked. She’d spent several days downloading songs onto as many flash drives as she could get hold of. She had a ton of music to choose from. “What do you think of the living room, Piper?” “Hmm? Oh, it’s nice. I suppose we’ll need to have fires for warmth in the winter, especially since the house is solar heated and cooled. When the sun isn’t out for several days at a time, we might end up without power.” “Thank you for that educational lesson on solar energy pitfalls.” “Screw you, Keith. I can’t help it that it was drilled into me over and over on that stupid ship.” “Shuttle,” both men said. “Whatever. Let’s go see the rest of the house.” They walked around the living room to where a door obviously led outside, and another one beside the stairs led into an office. It was complete with the base station they had talked about and three desks. There weren’t any computers, but there were stacks of empty journals, cameras, a photo printer, binoculars, and several other observation devices. Yep, the government was serious about them keeping logs on what happened to them. She felt another twinge of worry settle in her stomach. After leaving the office, they headed up the stairs to the rooms up there. Piper counted seven doors on either side of the long hall. Four turned out to be bedrooms, one was a linen closet, and two were bathrooms shared between the three bedrooms. They started with the first bedroom, which turned out to be the master suite. It was rather large with an attached bathroom. The bed took up the center of one entire wall with tables on either side. There was a double-wide dresser and two chests on opposite walls. A chair and a stool were sitting in the middle of the room. The bathroom was also quite large with a massive whirlpool tub and an enormous walk-in shower. Both would easily hold all three of

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them. The triple-sink vanity was a dream come true for Piper, who hated sharing bathroom space. They checked out each of the other bedrooms and bathrooms. They were all decent sized and could actually hold two children each, but Piper shushed them when they mentioned that part. Three children sounded fine to her. More than three would be a brood. She wasn’t a brood mare. “Let’s go back downstairs and start unpacking.” Keith headed for the stairs. “Piper, can you unpack all our things and put them away while we unpack the supplies and get them inside? “Sure, do you have preferences of where I put whose clothes?” “Naw, we wear each other’s anyway. Just as long as we both have enough in our drawers to wear,” Tripp said. That was good to know. She wouldn’t get fussed at if she accidently put someone’s underwear in the wrong chest. She licked her lips thinking about underwear, which made her think about what was in the underwear. She risked a glance at their crotches and wasn’t disappointed to find that they were nicely built if they weren’t sporting socks in their pants. She followed them down and back into the kitchen. She quickly checked out the washroom and the pantry. Both were well stocked with supplies. She pulled open the trapdoor that led down to a cellar. She thought she heard something down there when she opened the door, but decided it was just her ears playing tricks on her and closed it back. She would check down there another time. Right now, she had the luggage to unpack. She waited until they made it up the stairs with the first piece of luggage. It turned out to be one of hers. They teased her about how heavy it was when she knew in reality that one of theirs was even heavier than hers. She’d had to move them. “What do you have in here? Shoes?” Tripp fussed as they set another one down. “No, it’s probably purses,” Keith quipped.

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“Like I have a use for a lot of purses and shoes here.” She smiled sweetly at them until they had disappeared down the stairs. Then she cringed. Piper had actually packed five purses that she thought would be good for carrying things around when they went anywhere. She hadn’t packed any shoes other than those that were good for working outside or just walking around inside the house. She quickly unpacked the purses and shoved them in her walk-in closet. They were sharing the other one, so they had no reason to snoop around in hers. “Look, she’s getting rid of the evidence.” Keith walked in carrying one end of a trunk. “Smart-ass.” She grinned just the same. Once they had everything upstairs, she began to unpack first her things and then theirs. She was surprised to find out that though they had plenty of thermal underwear for the winter, they didn’t have either boxers or briefs for the rest of the time. She let that sink in for a few seconds before she moved on to put away their jeans. She made sure they each had an equal number of them hanging in the closet along with long-sleeved and short-sleeved shirts and T-shirts. They were both wearing boots, but they had two more pairs apiece that she put in the closet along with tennis shoes. By the time she had unpacked their things as well as hers, she was tired. All the bending and stooping had taken a toll on her. She hadn’t been this active since they had left earth. Most of their time had been spent in classrooms sitting down. She had used the shuttle gym when she had the chance, but it obviously hadn’t been nearly enough. “Piper! You up there?” “Yeah. I’m on my way down.” She ran the back of her arm across her forehead to wipe away the sweat beading there. Once she made it down the stairs, she headed through the living room toward the kitchen. She found the men standing at the backdoor talking. They stopped and turned to look at her when she walked into the room. Instantly her panties grew damp at the obvious interest in

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their eyes. They looked her over from top to bottom and back up again. Keith’s eyes remained on her breasts while Tripp’s seemed to be interested in her pussy. “Um, guys? Did you want me for something—other than sex?” “Oh, yeah.” Tripp grinned and shook his head. “Sorry. We’re going to drive around a little bit before we park the transport to see what’s around us.” “Okay, how long before you might be ready for dinner?” They looked at each other for a second, then Keith said that they should be back within the next hour and a half. “You’ll take a shower after that because you’re all hot and sweaty, so I’ll figure dinnertime to be about two and a half hours from now. Be careful.” She turned and headed for the pantry. She needed to figure out what to cook. She didn’t hear a sound from the men for several long seconds, and then the door opened and shut. She smiled. They figured she would throw a fit about wanting to go along with them. They didn’t know she was used to men since she had four brothers. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out how to work around them. She settled on cooking a meatloaf with green beans and potatoes. She would start introducing them to some of the newer plants starting tomorrow. But for tonight, they would have all natural-to-Earth foods. She got everything out and after washing down the counters, bar, and table, began to fix the meatloaf. She got it ready to bake then concentrated on peeling the potatoes and putting them on to boil. By the time the men got back, everything was ready to finish off while they were in the shower. They were both dirty from head to foot. She just shook her head and watched them hurry into the other room. She could tell that she would spend a lot of time cleaning up after them. She grinned. To finally have her own home was exciting to her. She had lived with someone else all her life. Even her small apartment housed three other people. Being underground had limited

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the space somewhat. She’d wanted to stay above ground and live, but her father and four brothers hadn’t given her much of a chance. Now she was mistress of her own domain and could do what she wanted as far as keeping house went. She liked to clean, so she obviously had been given two someones to clean up after. It was a challenge, but she was up for it. She had just taken out the meatloaf when the men walked back into the kitchen without shirts but wearing clean jeans. She looked down, and neither of them had bothered to put on socks or shoes either. “Dinner’s ready. Let’s eat, guys.” She passed them the meatloaf off the stove, then the potatoes and lastly the bread and green beans. Everyone filled their plates and cleaned them in mere minutes. She got seconds of the green beans while the guys got seconds of everything. It pleased her that they liked it well enough for seconds. She knew she was a fair cook because her brothers would eat her food. They were picky eaters, so that was saying something. “Good food, Piper. Thanks,” Keith said. “Really good. I was expecting some of that posh stuff.” Tripp wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Oh we’ll have plenty of that, too, guys. It’s really good if you cook it right. Tastes like a nut, and it’s crunchy. You’ll like it.” Tripp made a face but didn’t say anything. Keith just continued eating. She got up and began to clean up the kitchen while they finished eating. “We thought we’d talk about what our plans are for the next week. How long before you’re finished in here?” Keith asked. “Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll be in there to listen.” They nodded and after scraping their plates, left them on the side of the sink and disappeared into the living room. She could hear them talking low in the other room, but she didn’t try to listen. She would

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find out soon enough. So far everything was going pretty well. They all seemed to be getting along just fine. As soon as she had the kitchen squared away, she walked into the living room and sat on the couch. The men stopped talking and watched her. “What?” She looked down at her shirt to see if she had something on her. She couldn’t find anything, but when she looked back up, they were looking all around the room and not at her. “What’s going on?” “Um, we need to talk and get to know each other, I think.” Tripp started out the conversation. “What do you want to do? Introduce ourselves and tell a little about ourselves? Aren’t we past that?” Keith grinned then sobered. “We just want to be sure you’re comfortable around us. We don’t want there to be any anxiety between us.” She sighed. “I’m Piper. I’m twenty-six and have never been married. I’m used to being around men, so you don’t bother me, and I know all about the birds and the bees. You don’t have to coddle me, guys. I’m fine with whatever.” They both looked a little taken aback. Then Keith grinned from ear to ear and jumped out of his chair to snatch her up from the couch. He swung her around and planted a noisy kiss on her mouth before letting her slide down his obviously aroused body. Gawd, he was built, everywhere. “Settle down, Keith. I don’t think she was expecting you to sweep her off her feet.” “I don’t know. She seemed pretty okay with it to me.” “Piper, we thought we would take tomorrow to just get to know each other and then work on the garden and putting up a fence the rest of the week.” “A fence?”

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“Yeah, we decided that putting up a fence would give you, and eventually our children, some measure of safety from the creatures out there.” “That’s a good idea, but I think you need to remember in the future that I expect to be part of any decisions that involve this family.” She waited for the fallout from that. Her brothers would have been going ape shit over that. They looked at each other and shrugged. “Sounds fair enough to us. We made a split-second decision on the fence while we were in line getting supplies. It was suggested in the pamphlet.” “I saw that. You’re right, it’s a good idea. Have you decided where to put it?” “Um, we were mapping it out while we were outside earlier.” Keith looked guilty. She hid a smile and lifted an eyebrow instead. “We really didn’t figure you would want to deal with it, but if you do, we can remap it,” Keith offered. Tripp frowned but didn’t argue with him. Yep, Tripp was going to be her nemesis. She would enjoy sparring with him. “Did you include an area for the garden and an area with some trees for shade?” “Yeah, we did.” Tripp sighed. “Then I trust that you have it taken care of.” There, she’d gotten her foot in the door. They wouldn’t be able to completely shut her out of future planning sessions. That was all she really wanted, to be part of them. They looked at each other again with a what the fuck expression on their faces. They didn’t know what had just happened, but they sensed that they had somehow lost, and it bothered them. “So what else did you want to talk about?” Tripp cleared his throat. “We wanted to sort of talk about our personal lives. Keith and I like to experiment some. We wanted to see how you feel about broadening your horizons so to speak?”

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“Um, are you saying you are bisexual?” “No! Hell, no!” Both men were adamant on that score. She pressed her lips together and bit them to keep from grinning. “Oh, so you mean you like to screw around some in the bedroom and want to know if I’m game?” “Yeah, that’s it.” Keith’s face relaxed as relief poured over him. Tripp still looked a little annoyed. “You’re yanking us around, aren’t you?” “I’m just trying to be sure there are no misunderstandings here. It’s important that during our first few days together that we’re honest with each other.” “You’re quoting a fucking book, too.” “Maybe. They drilled crap into us enough that I probably am and don’t even realize it.” “So, you’re okay with experimenting some?” “Yeah. I’m fine as long as no one gets hurt.” “So no pain.” “I didn’t mean it literally. I have a rather high pain threshold. Pain can be just the other side of pleasure, and I know that. It just depends. As long as you stop when I say so, then I’m okay with experimenting.” Keith grinned. He pulled her toward the recliner and sat down drawing her onto his lap. “I’m all into making you feel good, Piper. Whatever you need, we’ll give you. If something we do isn’t your cup of tea, just say so, and we’ll stop. It’s no fun to us if you’re not into it as well.” “Now that we have that settled, we need to go over the house rules,” Piper said. “House rules?” Tripp was back to scowling again. “Yeah. No tracking in mud or snow. Stomp your feet at the back door before you come in. I expect a certain amount of dirt to track in, but if it’s excessive, you’ll be cleaning up your own crap.”

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Once again they looked at each other and shrugged. “Seems like that’s reasonable,” Keith said. “If you’re going to be later than usual to eat, notify me with the radio so I don’t ruin food. Food is sacred to us living like we do. Dirty clothes go in the baskets in the bedroom by the bathroom. If it is particularly nasty, dirty, cruddy, bloody, or whatever, strip at the back door and put it in the laundry room sink. I’ll show you where it is.” “Anything else, sergeant?” Tripp asked with a smirk. “I like to listen to music, so I play my MP3 player all the time. Is it going to bother you guys at any particular time of the day or night?” “Um, I guess it depends on how loud it is and what you listen to.” Tripp acted as if there was a trap to this one. “I listen to a little of everything except rap, hip-hop, and bluegrass. I don’t play it earsplitting loud, but loud enough I can hear it while I’m working in the house or outside in the garden.” “I don’t see where that’s a problem. We’ll probably enjoy listening to some of it anyway.” “I warn you. I listen to some country, but mostly classic rock.” “Fine with us.” Keith nodded his head. “I guess we’ve gone over everything, then.” Piper tried to push off of Keith’s lap, but the big man held fast to her waist. “We’re still wanting to get to know you a little better.”

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Chapter Four Tripp walked over to where Keith had Piper securely on his lap. He ran a finger around her cheek and down to her lips. She shivered in anticipation at what he would do next. When he bent over her, placing a hand on each of the arms of the chair, she leaned back into Keith. She couldn’t help it. He was stalking her, and she reacted like the prey that she was. Slowly he continued to lean in until he was but a hairsbreadth from her mouth. Then he struck and closed his over hers, licking along the seam with his tongue. Then he thrust it inside when she opened for him. He teased the roof of her mouth then rasped over her teeth as he sought out her tongue to spar with. Piper couldn’t help responding to him. He knew how to kiss, and she loved the angle of his head and the way he didn’t ask permission but thrust into her mouth. They broke apart panting, staring into each other’s eyes. She was dimly aware of Keith sucking on her neck and running his tongue up and down it. He was adding depth to the encounter and ramping up her arousal. “Are you wet, Piper? If I rub my hand between your legs, would I feel your juices?” Tripp whispered it mere inches from her mouth. “I’m so wet I’m soaking my panties.” She followed his example and spoke softly. Keith’s hands moved around to her front between her and Tripp. He unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it out of her jeans. Then he pulled it back over her shoulders but didn’t remove it from her arms. This held her captive with her arms slightly behind her back and

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effectively secure. With Keith holding it in one hand, she wasn’t going anywhere. Tripp flicked the front closure of her bra and unhooked it in a single motion. Then he slowly peeled back the cups, releasing her breasts from their confinement. “Fuck, would you look at those luscious things? I could eat them up.” Keith was straining around her to see them. Tripp ran a finger over each nipple until they were standing straight up. Then he flicked them with his finger. She moaned. “Keith, turn her around and suck those nipples. I want to watch you.” Keith smiled and readjusted her on his lap so that she was straddling him with her knees on either side of his legs. Tripp took control of her arms now and pulled them a little farther back so that her chest was thrust out for Keith’s pleasure. From the look in his eyes, it was his pleasure. He took her breasts in his hands and held them as if weighing them. Then he rubbed his thumbs across the nipples several times before choosing one to suck into his mouth. He squeezed them as he nipped and licked. “Thank God, they are real.” She frowned at that. They had thought she had implants? That pissed her off. She started to pull away until he bit her, sending tingling pleasure all the way to her clit. She could forgive him. His mouth played havoc with her emotions as he plucked on one nipple while he sucked and nibbled on the other. He drew one out with his teeth until it was just this side of pain. Then he let it go and moved to the other one. Piper was growing antsy, needing more than just breast play now. She needed her pussy licked. Hell, she needed to be fucked, but without the use of her arms, she was helpless to demand anything. Tripp began to nibble on her neck from her earlobe to her shoulder. He moved to the other side, flipping her hair out of the way. He nipped and bit his way to her shoulder once again then bit her

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there, sending chills down her spine. She couldn’t help the tiny moan that escaped. “I think we should head upstairs, Tripp.” “Sounds good to me.” He released her arms from her blouse, and the men massaged them before Tripp picked her up out of Keith’s lap. She clung to him, afraid that he would drop her. She wasn’t a small woman by any means. He didn’t juggle her or reposition her. He just climbed the stairs with her in his arms, hers wrapped tightly around his neck. Once they were in the bedroom, Keith pulled back the covers, and Tripp let her slide down his body. She couldn’t miss the heavily aroused cock straining at his zipper. She sat down on the side of the bed and began unfastening his jeans. She shimmied them down to his thighs, and his very long cock popped out. She eyed it hungrily, licking her lips. Piper looked up when she heard a growl rumble through his chest. His eyes were heavy lidded and dark. She suppressed a grin and grasped him at the base of his dick before running her tongue up his cock over and over again as if licking an all-day sucker. It jumped in her hand. Without breaking stride, she licked over the slit and gathered up the little drop of cum that emerged. Tripp hissed out a breath before grabbing her head in both of his hands. The added stimulation of his hands fisting in her hair had her pussy gushing fluids faster than she was licking his dick. She ran her tongue around the rim of his cockhead then sucked in just the head while her tongue continued to tease the slit, looking for more of the salty cum. “Hell, yeah. Suck me down, Piper. I want to feel the back of your throat against my cock.” Piper slowly moved down the length of him until he was lodged at the back of her throat. Then she swallowed around him. “Fuck! That’s it, Piper. Swallow my dick.”

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She backed off of him, scraping his cock with her teeth then sucking him back down and repeating it again. He growled as she bobbed up and down on his hard cock. Then he was pulling her off of him by the hair. “Enough. I’m going to come, and I don’t want the first time to be down your throat.” He massaged her scalp with his fingertips then pressed her down on the bed with her legs hanging off the edge. A very naked Keith crawled up on the bed beside her and latched onto her nipples with mouth and fingers. She closed her eyes in pleasure as he sucked one nipple tight against the roof of his mouth and tickled the tip with his tongue. He plucked on the other one, letting her feel just a smidgeon of pain. It was perfect. Then Tripp knelt between her legs and spread them around his shoulders. He blew against her sopping wet pussy. His warm breath there had her closing her eyes. The anticipation of knowing he was going to touch her there, lick her there was enough to send shivers over her body. “You smell delicious. I know you’re going to taste like golden honey.” “Please, Tripp.” “What, baby?” “Lick me. I want to feel your tongue on my pussy.” Tripp ran just the tip of his tongue up her slit, through her pussy lips, and around her clit. He was teasing her and doing a damn good job of it. She squirmed and lifted her hips in invitation. “I was right. You taste wonderful.” She wasn’t prepared for the full body of his tongue to delve deep into her pussy and lap like a little kitten with a bowl of milk. It sent shock waves through her system, drawing out a low moan from her. Tripp sucked on her pussy lips then entered her with two fingers. He pumped them slowly in and out of her until she began to thrust her hips again to meet him halfway. She needed more than two fingers. She needed his cock inside of her.

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He chuckled and stopped for several seconds. Then he curled his fingers and stroked over her sweet spot. She almost came up off the bed the feeling was so intense. He continued to rasp them back and forth then tap at it and stroke once again. Keith nipped at her nipples then licked them to soothe the small sting. He massaged her breasts as he forced as much of them into his mouth as he could. She felt as if he were devouring her alive. They both were. She was being eaten and loving every minute of it. Between Tripp tending to her pussy and Keith tormenting her breasts, Piper had nowhere to go but up in smoke. Sensations bombarded her as Tripp began to fuck her cunt with his fingers and drew her clit between his teeth to flick with his tongue. Fire built deep in her womb, fed by the continued stimulation of her clit. Keith twisted her nipples, pinching them as he did. She knew her climax was speeding closer. Her clit vibrated, as did her cunt. Tripp sucked in on her clit and pressed against her hot spot deep inside of her at the same time. Piper exploded into a frenzy of sensations that overwhelmed her. Before she could even begin to catch her breath, Tripp wrapped her legs around his hips and thrust deep into her still-quivering cunt with his cock. She screamed as pleasure poured over her once again. “Ah, hell, Piper. Your pussy is squeezing the hell out of my dick.” He pulled out and pushed deeper this time. His cockhead rasped across delicate tissues, sending impulses up and down her spine. She shivered all over as he pulled out and pumped his hard cock inside her once again. He bumped against her cervix, and sparks exploded around her. She loved having her cervix bumped. He was long enough to do it, too. “Don’t stop! Do it again. Oh, God. Please do it again.” “You like a little pain, don’t you, Piper.” He tunneled in and out of her, bumping against her cervix with every other plunge into her cunt. The faster he went, the higher she flew until, when Keith pulled her nipples tightly, she came once

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again. This time, she took Tripp with her. He shouted out and bathed her cunt with his cum. He held himself still deep inside of her as streams of cum erupted from his cock. Then he collapsed across her, catching himself with his hands. Piper lost the use of her legs, and they slid down his ass to lie against the bed once again. He pulled his cock from her and staggered to one side of her and sat down on the bed. Keith gave her breasts one last lick to each nipple and took his place between her legs. Then he backed up and held out his hands to her. “Turn over for me, Piper. I want to cover you.” He helped her sit up and then turn over. She bent over the bed with her ass stuck up in the air. He slapped each lobe once before smoothing over them with his hand. Then he lined his thick dick up with her slit and thrust inside of her. She moaned. He barely made it past her inner walls. She was swollen and still shivering from her previous orgasm. Getting him inside of her was going to be a challenge. “You’re so fucking tight.” The words sounded as if they’d been squeezed out of him. He pulled out and plunged in again, making progress, but it took three more tries before he was balls deep inside her quivering cunt. He rested his forehead against her back for a few seconds, and then he began to stroke his broad cock in and out of her. He popped her ass cheeks twice in succession. Piper whimpered and thrust back against his cock. She couldn’t get enough of him inside of her. She spread her legs a little more and laid her cheek against the mattress. He tunneled in and out of her pussy, popping her ass with each inward thrust. She dug her fingers into the mattress and held on. It was so good. She couldn’t believe it. She was going to climax again. Three times. She had never come more than once, and now she was going to climax three times in a row.

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The burn deep in her womb spread outward as Keith continued to fuck her pussy. Warmth leeched into every nerve ending in her body. Sparks ignited along her spine. She reached beneath her and pressed a finger against her clit. The added stimulation shot her skyward in less than a second. She screamed out as the warmth that had spread now came crashing back to burn her alive. Her cunt clamped down on Keith’s thick cock and squeezed until he was cursing and jerking behind her as he shot cum deep inside of her. He bent over her and bit her shoulder as he continued to push against her ass with his body. She finally collapsed the rest of the way on the bed, and Keith followed her down. “Get off of her, you oaf.” Tripp chuckled. “She killed me. You weren’t so spry yourself a few seconds ago.” “Guys.” She panted, trying to catch her breath. “I really need to go to the bathroom. Can you help me up? I’m not sure my legs are going to support me.” Keith made a valiant effort to stand up and help Tripp pull her up, but he actually wasn’t much help. She grinned at him and staggered into the bathroom. She cleaned up and, once she had her breathing back under control, Piper returned to the bedroom to find both men already in bed waiting for her. “Are you okay, Piper?” Keith asked in a quiet voice. “I’m great.” She climbed up from the foot of the bed and shimmed beneath the covers. “We didn’t hurt you?” Tripp asked. “No. You damn near killed me, but you didn’t hurt me.” She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips before turning to give Keith a similar one. “You’re amazing, Piper,” Keith told her. “Naw, I’m just me.” “There has to be a catch,” Tripp said. “A catch? What are you talking about?” “You’re perfect. No one is perfect.”

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“Believe me. I’m nowhere near perfect. I like to cook and keep house, but I’m terrible with growing things. I’m in charge of the garden, so you better hope I learned something on the ship…” “Shuttle.” “Shuttle, because otherwise, we’re going to starve to death.” “You’ll do fine. There’s nothing to it once you plant it except keep the weeds out and water it. We’ll help as we can.” “You shouldn’t have to because you’re already working on the ranch as it is. You’ll be tired.” The more they talked about it, the more worried and anxious she became. How would she ever handle weeding a garden if she didn’t know the difference between the plants and the weeds? “You’re hyperventilating over there, baby. What’s wrong?” Keith reached out and clasped her hand in his. “Just worried that I’m going to screw up.” “Calm down, Piper. We didn’t mean to worry you. Everything will be fine. You’ll see. Now try and get some sleep. Come over here.” Tripp pulled her over so that she was half-draped across his chest. Keith wrapped an arm over her waist. She could feel the weight of it and realized she felt comfortable with the two men after only one day. She hoped everything went this smoothly all the time. If it did, she had really lucked out with her men. It wasn’t long before she was fighting sleep. The men had long since started snoring. She grinned. They snored in unison. She didn’t know why she didn’t want to go to sleep, but she figured it was because she was afraid when she woke up it would have all been a dream. If she didn’t go to sleep, she wouldn’t wake up and find she’d made it all up. Despite her resolve, Piper lost the battle and fell asleep.

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Chapter Five Piper woke up early the next morning. The men were still asleep. She didn’t want to wake them up, but she really needed the bathroom. She carefully scooted out from under Tripp’s arm and extracted her leg from beneath Keith’s. Finally, she made it to the foot of the bed without waking the men. After taking care of everything in the bathroom, she grabbed some clothes and tiptoed down the stairs to the living room. It was a little chilly down there. She dressed and padded to the kitchen to make some coffee. She would hold off on breakfast until the men woke up. She could wait. There were meal bars if she needed something before they woke up. As soon as the coffee was ready, she poured a cup and sat at the kitchen table and thought over what all needed to be done in the next few days. The guys had said they would take today off to get to know each other, but they had pretty much done that the night before. She actually felt herself blush by the heat that flowed up her neck and into her face. Why was she blushing for goodness’s sake? She wasn’t a shrinking violet by any means. Still, despite being sexually progressive and having experimented in her few short years, Piper had never been with two men before at the same time. It had been an eye-opening experience to say the least. Two sets of mouths and hands were definitely better than one. She hoped the men had really enjoyed themselves like they said. She wanted to be sure she took good care of them. She would start out by cooking them good meals and keeping the house clean. They

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would feel better after working all day if they were well fed and had a clean place to eat and relax. If only she could figure out the garden. It really worried her. She needed to learn the difference between the weeds and the vegetables so she didn’t pull out the wrong thing. Maybe the first thing to do would be to see what the grass around here looked like. She finished her coffee and rinsed out her mug. Then she opened the back door and stepped outside. Alpha was sure different. Between the colored trees and the two moons, she definitely knew she wasn’t on Earth any longer. She walked around and studied the grass. Surely she could tell the difference when the grass was a deep blue. She knew that the plants from Earth were all green. She felt marginally better and let out a breath. I can handle the garden. I just have to have confidence and read over my books several times. When she turned around to head back to the house, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She focused on the movement and was startled to see a dog-looking animal that seemed to be sneaking toward her. If it was one of the animals in the pamphlet they had been reading from, she knew it was dangerous. Without taking her eyes off the advancing creature, Piper began to back up, hoping she was headed in the right direction. With each step she took, the doglike animal took two. She began to panic and considered running for the door. She remembered what she had been told a thousand times by her parents and brothers. Never run from an animal. It would chase you for sure. Running only excited them. She took one more step backward and ran into an immovable wall. She stopped, holding her breath. “Easy, Piper. It’s me. Don’t move. As long as you don’t move, he won’t move. Keith is getting the gun and will be here any minute.” Tripp squeezed her arms where he had placed his hands.

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“It’s still moving, Tripp.” She hated that her words were so breathy. “Very slowly, though. Just stay still.” A shot ran out and then another one. The creature screamed an ungodly noise as it limped in the opposite direction. Piper let out a deep breath and almost collapsed. Tripp caught her before she hit the ground. “Are you okay?” “Yes. I never thought something would be so close to the house. I never would have come out here.” “I should have warned you. Don’t ever go out here without one of us again.” Tripp turned her around to face him. His face carried his fear with a fierce expression. “You realized you could have been killed, Piper. What were you doing out here, anyway?” “I–I wanted to see what the grass looked like to be sure I could tell the difference in it and the garden plants.” “Ah, baby. I told you not to worry about it. We’ll help you.” Keith walked up still carrying the rifle. He pulled her out of Tripp’s arms and crushed her against him. “You scared the hell out of me, Piper. I saw that thing and my heart beat almost out of my throat.” “I’m sorry, Keith. I won’t do it again. But, guys, how am I going to work in the garden while you are gone every day?” “Remember, we’re going to put up a fence around the area. In fact, we might need to get started on that right away.” Tripp started toward the house with Piper’s hand in his on one side and Keith holding her hand on the other side. When they were inside, Tripp pulled her into his arms and hugged her, resting his chin on her head. She sighed and hugged him back. Then she pulled away. “How about some coffee and breakfast?”

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“Sounds good to me.” She made a full pot of coffee this time before starting on breakfast. The men sat at the kitchen table and talked about starting on the fence. She handed each of them a mug of the rich, dark liquid and resumed cooking. “How much of the area are you going to fence in?” Piper asked. “We’re going to fence in the entire back area including the garden. That way there is room for the children to play when they come along.” Tripp grinned at her open mouth. “I guess I hadn’t thought about children so soon.” She swallowed around the sudden tightness in her throat. Keith sipped his coffee, looking a little nervous as well. She could identify with him. She was worried about that as much as she was about the garden. She served them breakfast and sat down to eat. She had lost her appetite, but she made herself eat some to keep the men from commenting on it. She knew Tripp could be a little bossy and didn’t want to start anything. “What do you plan to do today, Piper?” Keith finally spoke up. “I’m not sure. I figured we’d spend the day together, but if you’re going to be outside working, I should do something around here. “I’m sorry, baby. We really need to get that fence up, and we still have to plow up the garden. Thank goodness someone broke the ground for us. It will make it that much easier.” Tripp looked over at Keith. “Maybe we can finish everything a day early and have a little time to spend together before we start work.” “I hope so, but if not, we’ll have your days off whenever they are.” “That reminds me. We need to contact the bosses, Andrew and Danny. I’m sure they will give us a better idea of what our schedule will be.” “Probably the best time to call will be tonight when they are sure to be home,” Keith suggested.

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“Are you about ready to start?” Tripp asked. “Ready.” “See you in a little while, baby. We’ll be in for lunch. Don’t go to any trouble. Sandwiches are fine for lunch.” Tripp stood up with Keith right behind him. Piper watched them as they headed off toward the shed where the supplies were. She hoped they were watching out for those nasty creatures she’d read about. She couldn’t believe she’d nearly become a tasty meal for one of them so soon after arriving. She shuddered. After taking care of the dishes and wiping down the kitchen, Piper decided to start cleaning the house from top to bottom. It wasn’t in bad shape at all, but she would feel better knowing that she had cleaned it. She started in the last bedroom and wiped everything down before moving to the next room. Piper stopped just in time to make sandwiches for lunch. She couldn’t believe she had almost forgotten them. By the time men made it inside, she had them on the table along with iced tea. “How are you doing out there?” “It’s slow going. We’ve mapped out where the fence is going, but digging the holes and setting the poles takes time. At this rate, it’s going take longer than we figured. Plus, the posts have to set for a couple of days. Once we get the posts all set, we’ll work on the garden.” Tripp took a bite out of his sandwich. “You won’t have to worry much about the garden for a week or so since it has to grow for you to tell what are weeds and what are plants,” Keith said. “Don’t I have to water it?” “We’ll worry about that later. Maybe we can do it before we leave or when we get back at night.” Tripp looked a little worried. She hated to bring up things that added burdens on the men, but she needed to make sure they were addressed. Their food source depended on taking good care of it.

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Once they finished eating, they returned to working on the fence. She cleaned up the kitchen once more and decided to cook a roast. She would start it in between cleaning. She set out the roast to thaw, hoping it would before she was ready to start it. She might have to put it in hot water to finish thawing it. Once all the bedrooms were finished, she returned to the kitchen and made the decision to soak the roast. Her mind kept drifting to the creature that had come after her. She decided to look through the pamphlet and identify it. She needed to refresh her memory on everything in it anyway. It was obvious they were going to have to deal with them fairly regularly. Everything was ready for dinner once the roast got ready. She set a timer to make sure she didn’t forget about it and walked into the living room where the men had left the little booklet. The first thing she realized was that she really hadn’t paid enough attention to the information in it. There were some hints on how to cook some of the native plants that they hadn’t been taught on the ship—shuttle. Currick had to be cooked a little longer than she thought. Posh cooked better on a lower temperature, and stone berries required more sweetener than recommended by her teachers. Then she focused on the animals on the planet and realized just how lucky she had been. The doglike creature was a called a dorrie and had two rows of sharp teeth along with saliva that would burn like acid. It didn’t appear to be afraid of man. They were loners and didn’t appear to run in packs, which was a good thing. There was a ratlike creature called a muskie that was as big as a cat. It also had acid saliva and was more often found in the cellars. They could squeeze through most any hole despite being so large. They were pack-like creatures. She read through the other animals before putting the book down. The pictures showing the animals were a bit blurry but good enough to make identifying them fairly easy.

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The bell on the timer rang, indicating it was time to pull the roast out of the oven. She would change the oven over to warm and put it back in once the temperature had dropped inside. The vegetables were essentially done. She turned the stove off and fixed the rolls she’d left to rise. They would go in once the men had returned and were washing up. She looked at the clock on the stove and figured there was about two hours of sun left with the extra hour they had on the planet. She was going to have a difficult time remembering that and getting used to it. The funky-looking clocks she had noticed around the house amused her. The clock on the stove wasn’t made for the planet’s quirky hours. She passed the time studying the book she had on gardens and made notes as to what plants she would plant next to each other. She had just closed the book when she heard the men stomping off their feet at the back door. She smiled. They had remembered. Hurrying into the kitchen she greeted them with a smile. They were grimy and obviously tired. “Wash up in the laundry room while I put the bread in the oven.” “Do you mind if we take a shower before dinner? We’re really nasty. I don’t want to eat like this.” “Of course not. I’ll hold off putting the rolls in for another few minutes. Go ahead. You’re right. You’ll feel better being clean.” They filed out of the kitchen heading for the stairs. She heard their boots clomping up as they walked upstairs. She set the table and began warming up everything. After taking the roast out of the oven, she poured up iced tea and finally put the rolls in to cook. Twenty minutes later, the men arrived looking much better and little less worn out. The showers had indeed revived them. She should have thought of that. She frowned. “What’s the frown for, baby?” Tripp wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

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“Nothing really. Just thinking. The rolls should be ready in another five minutes. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll pass everything around. I cooked the currick in with the roast and potatoes. It’s really a meat substitute, but it tastes a little like small potatoes.” “I guess we have to get used to some of the natural food.” Keith didn’t sound very enthusiastic. She suppressed a smile. She’d already tasted them, and they tasted pretty good to her. She hoped they would like them. It would be a staple since they had to use the meat they were producing on the ranch sparingly. There were plans to enlarge the herd once they had enough men to work the spread. They sat down to eat. Once the rolls were ready, the meal progressed quickly. The men were hungry and had seconds. She was glad she’d cooked so much. She really wasn’t sure how much they would eat after working. Now she knew. “We managed to get half the poles set today. We’ll do the other half tomorrow and then work on the garden while the concrete cures.” Tripp leaned back in his chair. “I’ll help with the garden. You’ll be out there with me, so I ought to be able to help.” The men looked at each other warily. It was obvious to her that they hadn’t planned on her being outside. Well, she planned on being out there helping. She wanted to help plant. She’d stay inside while they plowed, but come planting time, she was going to help. She lifted her chin a little and stared back at each of them. Tripp’s jaw worked as if he were trying to control his temper. She certainly hoped he would be able to. She didn’t want to fight. “We’ll see.” Keith merely shook his head and got up from the table. “I’m going to climb into that recliner. I’m bushed.” “I’m right behind you.” Tripp still looked upset. Piper sighed. She’d stirred something up and really hadn’t meant to. Damn her stubborn streak. She really needed to work on that.

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Should she apologize for pushing him? She wasn’t backing down on helping. Maybe saying she was sorry would ease things if she did. She cleaned the kitchen and stood at the door wringing her hands. This was not something she did very often, but maintaining peace in their marriage was something that needed to be done. With another deep breath, she walked into the living room. When she did, the men grew quiet. She could tell they had been having words, and it was all her fault. “Um, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I can be stubborn, and you backed me in a corner. I came out fighting, and that’s no way to act.” Tripp ran a hand over his face then motioned for her to come over. She looked at Keith before walking over. Nothing on his face indicated what he was thinking. She stopped just short of Tripp’s chair. He held out his hand. Hesitating, she finally took it and let him pull her up on his lap. “Piper, I only want what’s best for you. I don’t think being outside without the fence up is safe. You’ve already seen one of the creatures plus that one that rammed us when we were driving over. Can you understand how worried I am? Then we have to go off and leave you while we’re working. It’s already going to be hard to not worry while we’re working.” “I guess I can understand that, Tripp.” She licked her lips. “Will you at least let me plant the garden while you all watch for me? Please?” He sighed. “We’ll see. If we don’t see any more creatures around, we’ll see about it.” “Thanks.” She started to get down, but he pulled her closer and kissed her. He licked her lips until she opened for him. Then he dove in and pumped his tongue in and out of her mouth. She responded, desperately mimicking him. She wanted them. She hoped he knew that.

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When he pulled back, she was panting. He wasn’t in much better shape. “You two really need to get a room,” Keith said with a chuckle. “Maybe we will,” Tripp answered. He righted the chair and stood up with her in his arms. Then he headed toward the stairs. “I’m too heavy for you to carry, Tripp. Put me down and let me walk.” “You’re not heavy, baby. Just hold on and be still, so I don’t drop you.” Piper held on tight and kept her head buried against his chest. When he made it to the landing, she breathed a sigh of relief. “You really don’t have much confidence in me, do you, Piper?” “Sorry, I’m not used to anyone carrying me. I’m not exactly a small woman.” “You’re just right, baby.” He let go of her legs so that she slid down his body. She couldn’t help but notice how hard his cock was pressed against her body. She shuddered thinking about it buried inside of her. She couldn’t wait. She knew he would see to her needs, and that meant so much to her. Most men didn’t bother making sure a woman came or not. Tripp and Keith were different, and she needed to remember that when she got upset with them. She pushed his shirt up on his chest and licked him from nipple to nipple. She couldn’t wait to get him naked. He set her blood on fire. Now if only she could make him burn with her.

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Chapter Six Tripp shuddered when Piper licked his nipples. He reached around and pulled his shirt over his head to give her full access to his body. She circled each of them with her tongue and then lightly nipped them. It felt so fucking good. Then she spread kisses down his abdomen to the waistband of his jeans. They hung low on his hips, and she took full advantage of it by licking along his pelvis. He hissed out a breath. When she began unfastening his jeans, he wanted to help her and speed things up, but he didn’t want to interfere with her loving. Once she had them undone, she pulled his straining cock out and stroked it with both hands. He was torn between stopping her there so that he didn’t come too soon and letting her have her way with him. Her mouth was amazing. Getting a blow job from her nearly outweighed fucking her. But he wanted to feel her come around him. He wanted to feel her squeezing the cum from his cock. She surprised him by taking him into her mouth and sucking her way down his dick. He groaned and dug his fingers into her scalp as she came up, her cheeks hollowing as she did. He groaned and pulled her off of him using her hair. “Fuck, baby. I want that so much, but I want inside of you more. Strip for me.” She stood up and slowly peeled off her shirt, dropping it to the floor. She ran her fingers around the waistband of her jeans before unfastening them one button at a time. Piper was teasing him almost beyond endurance. He ached to finish tearing her clothes from her but held off, waiting for her to make the next move.

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Her jeans were tight, and she had to peel them off like peeling shrimp. She stepped out of her shoes and then the jeans. Then she turned around and shimmed out of her panties, baring her ass to him. He clenched his hands by his side. The urge to squeeze her ass cheeks almost overwhelmed him. Instead, he waited for her to continue. Piper unhooked her front-closure bra but didn’t pull it off immediately. Instead, she peeled one cup off at a time, giving him glimpses of her pert nipples before covering them with her hands. Her bra hung from her shoulders. He seriously thought about binding her with it but wanted to let her finish. She cupped her breasts in her hands as if presenting them to him then pulled on her nipples while her teeth worried her bottom lip. He almost came right then and there. “Ah, hell, Piper, you’re killing me.” She dropped her shoulders and pressed her arms behind her back, pushing her chest out even more as she let the bra slide down her arms to the floor. “Where do you want me, Tripp?” Her voice came out in a soft purr. His cock reacted with a jump. He peeled off his jeans, thankful that he wasn’t wearing his boots. “Climb on the bed, baby. I want you to spread your legs for me and show me how you like to play with yourself.” He watched her climb up on the bed, her ass swaying in front of him. He licked his lips. He couldn’t wait to get into that ass, but that was for another time. She rolled over and spread her legs wide for him. Then she ran a hand down the middle of her abdomen, over her trimmed mound, and down between her pussy lips. He watched, totally mesmerized by the show going on before him. Her eyes closed briefly as she circled her clit. Then she opened them again and stared into his as she stroked two fingers in and out of her wet cunt. And she was wet. God, he could see her juices glistening against her skin. He couldn’t believe how sexy she looked lying there pleasuring herself while he watched.

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“That’s it, baby. Show me what you like.” She licked her lips and then bit the lower one as she pumped her fingers in and out of her pussy. Her other hand worked her breasts, pulling and pinching her nipples in what he knew was a punishing grip. Piper began to circle her clit again with one finger. She was pumping her hips now as her breathing became raspier. Expert fingers pinched her clit as she twisted her nipple, and she came off the bed, arching her back. A wordless scream signaled her orgasm, ripping the breath from her lungs. Tripp realized he was stroking his cock as she had come undone for him. He released it and willed himself under control again. He didn’t want to come before he’d even sunk his cock deep in her cunt. He climbed on the bed and stroked her body as she came down. “That was beautiful, baby. You’re gorgeous when you come like that. I could watch you a thousand times and never get enough of it.” She sighed and smiled, a drugged expression on her face. He leaned down and dragged his tongue through her juices. He lapped at them, taking advantage of her just coming to indulge his new obsession with the taste of her. When he’d had enough, Tripp lifted her hips off the bed and plunged his dick deep inside of her. She hissed out a breath. He fought his way inside of her. Her cunt was swollen from having just come. He was already so close that he wasn’t sure he would last more than two strokes. When he pulled back and thrust back in, she attempted to help him. “Easy, baby. I don’t want to come too soon. Let me pace myself.” “Please, Tripp, I need you.” He pumped his cock in and out of her tight cunt, grunting with each stroke. He took it slow and went deep, bumping her cervix with every few shoves. Nothing felt this good. He was in heaven and hoped to return there again and again.

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A tingling began in his spine and spread through his balls, tightening them to a painful need. He groaned as they drew up. He reached between them and found her clit. When he pressed it several times, she screamed his name and bucked around him. It was all he needed to detonate. His balls shot cum up his cock deep inside her cunt. He rocked inside her as his ass tightened with his release. He held on to her knees while he tried to steady himself, but he was breathing too damn hard to manage it. Instead, he withdrew from her hot pussy and collapsed next to her on the bed. He reached across and took her hand in his. “That was fucking intense. God, you do me in.” “So good.” She was panting as well. “I need another shower. What about you?” “I could definitely go for one. Let me rest a little longer.” “Nope. You’ll fall asleep if you keep lying there. Come on.” He reached over and pulled her on top of him before rolling her over again so that she was hanging on to him to keep from falling on the floor. “Let your legs down, baby. Then you can slide off the bed.” She cursed him but managed to land on her feet with only a brief stagger. He rolled over as well and stood up. He found that his legs were just as weak. He wondered if he would even make it to the bathroom. They both staggered inside. He turned on the water, and they waited for it to warm up before stepping into the stinging spray. He shielded her for the most part, so she didn’t end up with water in her face. Soaping up a washcloth, Tripp washed her from head to toe, making sure he paid special attention to her pussy and ass. She giggled when he lifted each foot to clean them. She was ticklish. He filed that bit of information away for another time. She returned the favor and bathed him as well. He rinsed off then turned off the water and helped her out of the stall. They each dried off before returning to the bedroom to find Keith already in bed. He

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had his eyes closed, but Tripp didn’t think he was asleep. He knew Tripp was fine with him and Piper making love without him. She and Keith would get together sometime without him. They climbed in the bed. He grinned when she turned over and wrapped a leg over Keith’s and laid her head on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and smiled at her, pulling her in closer. Before long, they were both sound asleep. Tripp lay awake for a little while going over and over their lovemaking, thinking how special it had been. He knew that he cared about her already. Would love come next? He sure hoped so. He wanted to love her more than anything. She deserved it. **** Piper smiled while she cleaned up the breakfast dishes, thinking about the night before and how Tripp had about gone crazy while she pleasured herself in front of him. It had turned her on just as much as it had him. She’d felt a brief moment of worry that Keith wasn’t there with them, but she decided that there would be a time with him later. The men were putting up the other posts for the fence today so she planned to do some reading and maybe experiment with the stone berries in a pie for dinner that night. Without Tripp and Keith around, she felt lonely. She knew that they just had to get the fence up so that she could go outside, or she would go crazy all alone every day. By lunch time she had sandwiches and had finished straightening up the house. There really wasn’t much for her to do. She would listen to her MP3 player later. That would help pass the time. The men arrived, dusty and tired. They washed up and ate before heading right back out to finish the posts. “We might get finished a little earlier today,” Tripp told her. “That would be wonderful. I miss you.” He blew her a kiss and followed Keith back outside. Once again, she was alone. She set out the stone berries and put some vegetable soup on to simmer. Then she took her MP3 player to the living room

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where she relaxed on the couch and listened to music. She really enjoyed listening but would have enjoyed the men being inside more. Around three that afternoon, she got up and made the stone berries into a pie. She made sure to add plenty of sweetener since the pamphlet said they weren’t as sweet as they had been told. She slipped it into the oven to cook. While it cooked, she made up batter for skillet bread for later. When the timer went off thirty minutes later, she pulled out the pie and decided it was done. Leaving it on the stove to cool, Piper checked the soup before returning to the living room to relax. She was listening to Nickelback when Keith suddenly walked around the couch so that she could see him. She jerked then smiled, taking out her earbuds. “Hey! What are you doing back so early?” Then she sobered. “Is something wrong? Where’s Tripp?” “Shh, everything is fine. We got finished with the poles early. Since we can’t do anything more to the fence until the poles have set, Trip decided to play around with the tractor for a little while. I decided to come play around with you.” She grinned and started to grab him but stopped just in time. “You’re dirty. You need a shower. Come on upstairs. I’ll wait for you to clean up.” “You could scrub my back.” “Hmm, I guess I could do that.” She grinned and hurried up the stairs. Keith crowded her into the bathroom. She stripped then helped him finish getting his shirt off. “How do you manage to get dirt inside your clothes?” “I don’t know. It just migrates there when we’re digging.” He stepped into the stinging spray of the shower. “Damn this feels good. Get your ass in here.” She giggled and stepped in with him. He immediately put his body between her and the shower so that she wouldn’t get hit in the

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face. Piper grabbed the soap and began lathering up a cloth to help him clean up. When he finished getting wet all over, she began soaping him up from neck to toes. “You’ve got me so slippery that I’m liable to slip right out of the shower.” “Rinse off now. You’re officially clean.” She watched as he rinsed under the spray of the shower. When he turned back around, she knelt in front of him and gripped his cock in her hand. She licked her lips as she stared up into his eyes. Then she licked across the top of his cockhead. He hissed out a breath as she licked all around beneath the mushroom cap. Her tongue lapped at the slit as a drop of cum leaked out of it. His hands gripped her head when she sucked in just the tip of him. “Fuck! That feels unbelievable.” She sucked down the length of him as far as she could take him. He bumped the back of her throat, and she relaxed before swallowing around him. “Son of a bitch. Do that again, baby. Ah, hell yeah. Just like that.” Piper hummed around him as she came back up off his dick. He was digging his fingers into her scalp now as she bobbed up and down his thick cock. When he groaned, she slipped her hand between his legs and gently rolled his balls before lightly squeezing them. Then she tugged on the skin between his balls. Keith threw back his head as she once again took him to the back of her throat and swallowed around him. He began to pump his cock into her mouth now. She could tell he was having trouble controlling his need to fuck her face. She let go of his cock and put her hand on his thigh, hoping he would get the message that she was fine with that. He slowly started to shove his cock deeper into her mouth and down her throat. When he bumped the back, she relaxed, and then next time he tunneled into her mouth, he was able to go farther. “Ah, hell. You’re fucking killing me, Piper.”

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She growled around him and scraped her fingernails lightly over his balls as she raked her teeth just as gently up his dick. He cursed and began to jerk in her mouth. He stood up on tiptoe and began shooting his cum down her throat. She held on to his hips and felt his ass cheeks squeeze as he filled her mouth with his cum. She swallowed all of it and then licked his dick clean. She stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Baby, you’re amazing. That was beyond anything I can say.” She smiled and kissed him quickly on the lips before stepping out of the shower to grab a towel. She quickly dried off then rinsed her mouth and padded naked into the bedroom. She was busy pulling on her clothes when Keith walked out of the bathroom drying off. “Hey, what are you doing?” “Getting dressed. I need to check on the soup.” “What about you, baby? I’m not leaving you wanting.” “I’m fine, Keith. I know you’ll take care of me later. I just wanted to taste you.” He walked over to her and pulled her in for a kiss. He sucked her tongue inside his mouth to twirl it with his. Then he drew back as he nipped at her chin. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome. Let’s go see about dinner. I bet Tripp will be in soon.” “Probably. He’ll need a shower, too.” Keith waggled his eyebrows at her. “He’s not getting me in there with him. I’ll turn into a prune.” She returned to the kitchen and checked the soup. It was simmering nicely. There was nothing left to do but wait on Tripp. Keith wrapped his arms around her as she stood at the sink rinsing her hands. “You smell wonderful.” “I smell like soap.” She turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck.

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“It’s a sweet-smelling soap. I think it’s more your scent than the soap or I would smell the same way.” She laughed and started to tell him that he did when the back door opened and a nasty Tripp walked in with a sigh. “Go take a shower, Tripp. You’ll feel better afterwards.” He grunted and trudged through the kitchen toward the stairs. Keith shook his head. “He probably did too much out on the tractor. We might not have as much of the garden left to do tomorrow.” “I hope not. You’ve worked hard these last two days. You need a break.” She hugged him and stepped away. “I need to finish dinner. Why don’t you set the table for me?” Keith patted her on the ass and went to set the table. She poured up the batter into a pan and cooked the bread while waiting on Tripp to make it downstairs. The only thing left to do was to fix the tea for them to drink. Tripp walked into the kitchen looking like a new man. He smiled and sniffed the air. “Food. I’m starved.” He walked over to her and kissed her before giving her a brief hug. “Let’s eat, baby.” They all sat down and passed around the soup and bread. When everyone had finished what they wanted, Piper got up and brought the pie over for them to try. “It’s made with stone berries. I’ve never cooked with them before, but they’re supposed to be a lot like blueberries. You’ll have to tell me if it’s okay or not.” Tripp took a bite and closed his eyes. Then he took another bite. “This is the best thing I’ve had in a long time. You did fine.” Keith bit into his and hummed his approval. She grinned. She had been worried it wouldn’t be fit to eat. She tried a taste and decided it was pretty good. “Let’s go sit in the living room, Keith. I’m thinking about a quick nap.”

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“Sounds good to me.” He stood up and ran his hand down Piper’s back. “Come on and rest with us, Piper. You can clean up later.” “I’ll be in there in a little bit. If I don’t clean up now, it’ll be sticky mess for later.” She watched them walk out of the kitchen then started gathering the dishes to wash. By the time she had the kitchen cleaned, it was closing in on eight. She walked into the living room to find two wornout men sound asleep. She knew if they didn’t wake up soon, they wouldn’t be able to sleep that night. She decided to give them another thirty minutes and then wake them up. She watched them while they slept. She had somehow managed to be married to two of the best men there were. They were hardworking, kind, and loving. They didn’t belittle her or take her for granted. She hoped she would be able to keep them happy. She knew she wasn’t the prettiest thing to look at, but she would do everything in her power to take care of them as they were taking care of her. She smiled. Maybe being chosen for Alpha wasn’t the worst thing to happen after all.

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Chapter Seven “Hey, Piper, it’s time to get up.” Tripp kissed her eyelids and then her mouth. She stirred, stretching her body as she did. Then her eyes flew open. “What time is it?” “A little after seven. I think we wore you out last night, baby.” “Oh, God. I bet you’re hungry. Give me a few minutes to get dressed, and I’ll have your breakfast ready.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “Don’t worry about it, baby. We already had breakfast. We’re going out to finish up the garden. I didn’t want you to wake up and not know where we were, or I would have let you sleep.” “No, I needed to get up. I have to fix your lunch and get something started for dinner tonight.” “Don’t get upset. It’s okay, Piper. Like I said, we wore you out last night. You didn’t get a two-hour nap like we got.” “Still, I should have made your breakfast.” He watched her run around in the bedroom getting dressed. He shook his head. He didn’t know why she was so worried about having everything ready for them all the time. He’d have to ask her once they all knew each other better. “I’m going on outside to help Keith. We’ll be in around lunchtime.” He grabbed her around the waist as she hurried by and pulled her in for a kiss. She kissed him back and melted against him. He loved that about her. She was always so responsive to him.

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“See you in a few hours, baby.” He tromped down the stairs toward the kitchen and the back door. When he made it around to where Keith was running the tractor, he noticed a dorrie slinking around at the edge of the trees. He wished he’d brought the damn rifle with him. Keith had one, but he wouldn’t hear him above the noise of the tractor. He had to hope the thing would leave without attacking. He stood absolutely still and waited. After what seemed like forever, a rifle retort startled him. The dorrie yelped and ran back into the trees. He looked behind him, and Keith was standing up on the tractor holding the gun. He sat down and turned it off. “You okay?” “Yeah, how did you know?” “I saw you standing stock-still and figured that meant there was something out there. I looked around and spotted that damn dog thing.” “Thanks, man.” Tripp walked over and slapped hands with him. “I’m almost finished with the second pass. How many times do you think we need to go over it before we row it up?” Tripp walked to the middle of the garden and ran his hands through the rich, red earth. It looked like it ought to have clay in it, but there wasn’t any. It crumbled just fine in his hand. “I think a couple more and we can row it up.” “Sounds good to me. What are you going to do about Piper? You know she’s going to want to do some of the planting. Can’t say I blame her either.” “Hell, I don’t know. After seeing that dorrie, I don’t want her out here.” “Don’t you think that, with both of us out here watching, she would be okay?” “Maybe. I’ll think about it.” Keith nodded and, after handing him the rifle, started the tractor again. Tripp walked around carrying the gun and watching for

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anything else lurking around. He thought about her and how giving she was. She was absolutely the best woman they could have ended up with on a new planet. He was sure she would be upset if he didn’t let her come out and plant. Keith was right. She would probably be just fine with both of them watching out for her. He blew out a breath and continued walking around the area. Nothing moved other than the slight wind blowing the weeds surrounding the cleared land. The sun shone hot for a spring day. Of course he didn’t really know what the weather truly was like here. They’d been told so many things that so far hadn’t been all the way true. He was worried about anything he had learned on the shuttle now. The tractor stopped, and Keith climbed down dusting his hands of on his jeans. “Okay, its ready to row up now. I say we wait ’til after lunch. We can take an extra hour to rest after we eat.” “Good idea. Of course this is going to throw Piper’s schedule off,” he said with a grin. “I wonder what she’ll do?” “She was pretty upset that she hadn’t gotten up to fix our breakfast. This might really throw a monkey wrench into her plans.” They walked through the grass to the back door and walked inside. Immediately the smell of something in the oven met them. It smelled wonderful. He for one wasn’t going to miss dinner tonight. “I wonder where she is?” Keith asked. “Probably in the living room listening to her MP3 player.” They walked into the other room, and sure enough, she was sitting on the couch with her earbuds in and looking through a book. Tripp grinned over at Keith and snuck up behind her. He reached around and covered her eyes with his hands. She squealed then laughed. “What are you doing, Tripp?” “How did you know it was me?”

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“You smell different than Keith does. What are you doing inside so soon? Did I miss lunchtime, too?” She started to get up, but he pushed her back down and pulled her hair. “No, you didn’t miss lunch. We’re early. Keith finished plowing the garden, so we’ll row it up this afternoon.” “How long will that take?” “Maybe two hours.” “Then we should be able to plant at least some of the garden today.” She clapped her hands together in anticipation. He sighed. “Piper, we shot at a dorrie earlier. It was slinking around the tree line. I really don’t want you out there until the fence is up.” “Tripp. Please. I really want to plant the garden. It’s my first garden, and I want to start out right.” “I’ll think about it. How about fixing some sandwiches while we finish washing up.” “I’ll have them ready in a jiffy.” She jumped up and headed toward the kitchen. Tripp and Keith went upstairs to wash up in the sink. The bedroom was straight as was the bathroom. She did keep a neat house. He liked it, but didn’t want her to wear herself out. Somehow they needed to be sure she understood that. It would be especially important once the garden got going. She would have less time to do things around the house. He didn’t want it to upset her. “So, what are you going to do?” “About what?” Tripp asked. “Piper. Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.” “Hell, Keith. I guess I’m going to let her plant the damn garden. We’ll be out there with the guns. Surely we can keep her safe between the two of us.” “I think we can. It will be fine, Tripp. And think about how much it will mean to her.” “I know. I don’t have to like it though.”

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They returned to the kitchen and found Piper pouring iced tea for them. The sandwiches were already on the table along with leftover soup. “Hey, you didn’t have to go so much trouble,” Keith said. “It was no trouble, and we needed to eat the soup. I have meatloaf in the oven for tonight.” “That sounds delicious.” Tripp took a bite of a sandwich and then a spoonful of soup. They finished up lunch and quickly headed out to row up the garden. Tripp hoped he wasn’t making a mistake. If something happened to her because he hadn’t been able to say no to her, he didn’t know what he would do. He’d never had trouble putting his foot down with women before. He wasn’t cruel. He just liked being in control and having them obey him when it came down to things that mattered. This mattered, and he was already giving in to her. He shook his head and headed for the tractor with the rifle in his arms. **** Two hours later, Tripp and Keith walked in the door. Once again, they were dirty and sweaty. She poured up iced tea for them and waited to see what the verdict was on her getting to plant. “I’m going to let you help, Piper, but you have to follow my directions. If I tell you to be still, don’t say a word, just freeze. “I will.” She was already buzzing inside. “We’ll walk around you with the rifles in case anything comes up. Don’t get out of our circle. If you need to go get something, tell us.” “Okay.” “Fine. Why don’t you go get the seed out of the cellar while we rest for a few minutes?” Tripp and Keith headed to the washroom and cleaned up enough to be able to sit and drink their tea while they waited on Piper to return with the seeds. She hurried down the stairs, holding on to the rail as she did. Once she was down there, she

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gathered up the seeds and started back up the stairs. Something ran across the floor under the staircase. She shrieked. “Fuck, Piper. What’s wrong?” Keith and Tripp were at the door on their way down as she hurried up. “There’s something down there. It ran across the floor when I was coming up the stairs.” “What did it look like?” Tripp asked. “I don’t know. It was not quite as tall as my knees, but it came close.” Did it touch you, Piper?” Keith started looking all over her legs. “No. It didn’t touch me. I was on the stairs. It was on the floor. How did it get in?” Tripp locked the cellar door. “I don’t know. We’ll check and see once we get the garden planted. Did you get everything you needed?” “Yes.” “Good. You won’t have to go back down there for any reason until we’ve gotten rid of that thing.” Piper shivered. Just the thought of one of those creatures touching her was enough to give her nightmares. She grabbed her garden plans and gloves. The men carried the seeds out for her. They put everything down and started watching around her with their guns at the ready. She slowly made progress with planting then covering the seeds with soil. Once she had finished planting everything, it was closing in on dark. They quickly soaked the garden with water. Keith walked her to the house then returned to help Tripp. She stripped in the washroom and rinsed off as much of the dirt as she could. Then she hurried upstairs to commandeer the shower first. She had just finished dressing when Tripp walked in. She grinned at him. He smiled but shook his head. “You only got to plant, baby. You didn’t win the lottery.” “Oh, shut up. I had a ball. Thanks for letting me.”

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He grunted and headed for the shower. She finished dressing and hurried downstairs to finish up dinner. The meatloaf was ready, so all she had to do was mash the potatoes and warm up the beans. By the time the men had made it back downstairs, she had the table set and everything waiting on them. They took their seats and after passing everything around, dug in. She decided she’d done a pretty good job on the dinner considering she’d left it for several hours while she was outside. They finished up, and the men pushed back from the table. They even declared that they were too stuffed for dessert right then. “Maybe later after this settles.” Keith kissed her on the top of the head then followed Tripp to the living room. As soon as she had the kitchen put to rights again, she joined them, climbing up on Tripp’s lap. “You’re asking for trouble, Piper.” “Hmm, don’t tease me, Tripp.” She licked his lips then lightly bit the lower one. “Something tells me that she’s horny, Tripp. What are we going to do about it?” “Spank her.” “Promises, promises.” Piper would love for him to spank her ass. “Don’t tempt me, baby.” She pouted and pulled his hair. “That’s it. Get off my lap, Piper, and pull off your shorts and underwear.” “Keith?” She appealed to him with a smile. “Don’t look at me. You started it.” Piper slid off of Tripp’s lap and slowly pulled off her shorts and then her panties. She made sure to turn her back to them so that when she bent over they had a nice view of her ass. It obviously did the trick because when she turned around. They were both heavy lidded and licking their lips. “What do I do now?”

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“Bend over my lap. I’m going to give you five licks for pulling my hair.” “I was just playing, Tripp.” She stayed where she was and didn’t do as he said. She knew that would make him mad. “Fine, that’s five more licks for a total of ten. Want to make it fifteen?” Piper figured she didn’t want to push her luck. She didn’t know anything about how Tripp was when he spanked. She hoped he wasn’t too rough. She liked to be spanked but not hit, and there was a difference. She slowly lowered her body to lie over his lap. “Spread your legs as wide as they’ll go, Piper.” She did as he asked and shivered in anticipation. He smoothed his hand over her ass cheeks several times. Then he tapped her on one side and then the other. As spankings went, it wasn’t very hard at all. She felt it, but didn’t get the tingle or burn she enjoyed. Then he spanked her again with one on each cheek. These definitely tingled. She moaned. Once again his hand rubbed over the spots he’d tapped. “That’s four. Only six more to go.”

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Chapter Eight Tripp rubbed his hand over her ass cheeks before giving her two more licks on the inside of each cheek. She moaned for him again. He loved the sound of it, loved how his hand print turned from white to a rosy pink. He rubbed the sting away again then spanked her at the crease of where her ass smoothed into the tops of her thighs. She whimpered this time. “Two more, Piper.” He caught her off guard and spanked her twice on her pussy. She bucked and cried out. “God, please. Oh please. I need two more. Just two more.” “Nope. You don’t get to come until later. Since spanking you didn’t seem to be much of a deterrent to you.” “Keith, please?” “Don’t look at me, baby. You have to work that out with Tripp. I’m not getting in the middle of it.” “Spoilsport,” she murmured as she got dressed. “Don’t go pouting. I might not let you come at all if you do.” She huffed out a breath. “Fine. I’m going upstairs to bed. I’m tired from working outside.” Then she grinned and swished her ass at them as she walked toward the stairs. Tripp shook his head and grinned over at Keith. “Man, she was hot as hell over that spanking. She was soaking wet.” “You don’t have to tell me. I could see her honey sparkling on her pussy. Our little wife likes to be spanked. I wonder what else she likes.

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“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. We can explore it all with her and see what she likes and doesn’t like. Did you see how pretty her ass was after I finished?” “Yep, pretty pink handprints.” “First thing in the morning we have to see about whatever that was down in the basement. I don’t want it touching Piper.” “We’ll take care of it. Bound to be one of those muskies they were talking about.” “Are you about ready for bed?” “Yeah, I could definitely go. Think we can tease her a little more before we let her come?” “Oh, I’m counting on it. The little tease thought she could manipulate us into sex.” “Hey, she had me with that show she put on taking off her clothes.” “You’re easy.” “You don’t hear me protesting. That’s why we work so well together. I let them walk all over me, and you make sure they don’t do it.” Tripp chuckled and got out of the chair. “Let’s go play with our pretty wife.” Keith followed him up the stairs. Tripp was definitely looking forward to it. He loved teasing a woman until she was wild to come. He couldn’t wait to send her screaming over the moon. Well, at least one of them, anyway. They walked into the bedroom to find Piper lying naked on top of the covers with her legs spread. Keith shook his head with a smile on his face. Tripp had to turn his head to keep from laughing. She was something else. He leaned over and whispered in Keith’s ear. “Get in bed and ignore her.” Keith nodded his head and began undressing. Tripp did the same. They climbed into bed and pulled the covers over themselves, turning their backs to Piper.

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After a few minutes, she rolled over and wrapped her arms and leg around Keith. He heard Keith groan. He wasn’t going to be able to hold off. Tripp decided to take matters into his own hands. He rolled over and pulled Piper off of Keith. She moaned and wrapped her body around his. “Piper, suck my dick, sweet thing.” She sat up with stars in her eyes. Then she threw back the covers and scooted down the bed. He wasn’t ready when she took him all the way to the back of her throat and swallowed around him. “Son of a bitch!” “Got you, didn’t she.” “Shut up, Keith.” Piper pulled off of him and licked his stalk like an ice cream cone. She swirled her tongue around and around then ran it around underneath his cockhead at the cap. It was his turn to groan now. She licked her way down his dick once again but didn’t stop. Instead, she licked his balls then sucked one into her mouth and gently rolled it before letting it loose and going after the other one. “Fuck! Just like that. Hell, yeah.” She licked her way back up and then grasped his cock at the root and squeezed rhythmically until he produced a drop of pre-cum for her. She hummed her approval and licked the slit to get at it. Tripp hissed out a breath. It was like a tiny orgasm when she did that. It almost took his breath. He wasn’t going to last much longer. He was damn well going to get in her ass tonight. She sucked her way around his cock, all the way down to her hand and swallowed around him. He nearly came up off the bed. She had him right on the verge. He quickly pulled her off of him. “Enough. I’m not coming in your mouth, baby. I’m filling that sweet ass of yours with my cum. Roll over on your back, Piper. I want something to eat.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a second before she got on her back. He didn’t have to ask her to spread her legs. She let them fall

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open in a clear invitation to eat her. Keith had sat up now and zeroed in on her breasts. Tripp didn’t have the heart to tell him not to. It wouldn’t hurt anything and would ramp up her need. He watched as Keith sucked on one nipple and pinched and pulled on the other. Seeing that long, dusky-pink nipple disappear into Keith’s mouth was fun to watch. He looked down at the bounty spread out for him and settled between her legs. He would suck her tits next time. Right now, he had a sweet tooth and candy just waiting for him to devour it. He blew across her wet pussy, eliciting a shiver from her. He grinned and did it again. She moaned, but he didn’t know who it was for. He licked her slit all the way to her clit and then back down without touching her little bud. It was already distended and in need of attention. He would take care of it later, much later. He wanted to get her so high that the fall over the top would last until he had his cock deep in her ass. Then he would take her over again with him. Tripp lapped at her pussy, sucking up as much of her sweet syrup as he could get. She whimpered and lifted her ass off the bed. He backed off until she had settled down again. Then he ran his finger around her pussy lips a few times before sinking it deep into her cunt. “Yes,” she hissed out. He grinned and pumped it in and out of her very slowly. He sped up just a little bit then slowed down again. “Please! I need more, Tripp.” “Shh, baby. This is your punishment. You’ll get there. Just not right away.” “Nooo.” He chuckled and took pity on her. He added a finger and thrust them inside over and over until she was bucking against him. Then he pulled them out and sucked on her pussy lips once again. He glanced up and grinned. Keith was actually getting into it. He was barely lapping over the turgid point of her nipple with his tongue.

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Then he blew against it and started on the other nipple. She thrashed her head back and forth on the bed. Tripp pressed his thumb into her pussy and rubbed it along the walls of her cunt before pulling it back out and running it around the rim of her ass. When she moaned for him, he pushed in a little ways until just the tip of his thumb was inside of her. He moved it in and out until she was pumping her hips with him. Then he added two fingers back to her cunt and pumped them with his thumb at the same time. “Yes! Please don’t stop! Oh, God.” He twisted his fingers around and located her hot spot and stroked it over and over. When she was squeezing them and her cunt muscles began to quiver, he pulled them all out and licked across her pussy lips. “Please, please, please.” She chanted it over and over again. “Easy, baby. I’ll take care of you. I’ll always take care of you.” She was pumping her hips as if unable to stop herself. He figured she’d had enough. He caught Keith’s eye and nodded. Keith pinched and pulled one of her nipples while sucking the other one between his teeth and holding it. Tripp shoved his fingers back inside of her with his thumb in her ass and pumped them fast and hard as he sucked in her clit and pulled on it. Piper screamed as she contracted her entire body, arching off the mattress in one tight line. She damn near broke his fingers with her cunt. He was panting almost as much as she was when she finally came down enough that he could remove his fingers and poor thumb. Then he licked her belly up between her breasts and stopped at the edge of her cleavage. Keith had pulled back and was smoothing her hair from her face, telling her how pretty she looked. Tripp had to agree. She was absolutely beautiful when she came. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she lost control. He was ready now to pump her full of cock.

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“Keith, lay on the bed on your back. Help Piper climb up on top of you.” He waited until they had managed to follow his directions. Piper had a difficult time staying upright. He shook his head and helped her lift up while Keith positioned his thick dick at her pussy. Then he lowered her until she was moving to take all of Keith’s cock. It took her several tries, but finally she was fully seated against Keith’s pelvis. She moaned and moved against Keith’s body. “Fuck! She’s fucking squeezing me. Hurry up, man. I’m not going to last if she keeps doing that.” Tripp popped her on the ass. “Stop it, Piper. Don’t make him come until I’m inside of you.” He gently pressed her down to lie against Keith’s chest. “Please, I need to move. Please hurry.” “I’ve got you, baby.” Keith rubbed her back as Tripp spread her ass cheeks and added some lube to her back hole. He slowly worked it in until he had the tip of one finger pressing against the resistant ring. She moaned as he applied more pressure and it popped through. He slowly pumped it in and out of her ass until he had no trouble. Then he added more lube and worked a second finger inside of her. She groaned and moved with his finger. “Easy, Piper. Be still.” “I can’t. I need to move. Please hurry. Just put your cock in my ass, Tripp. I can take it.” “No way, baby. I’m not taking the chance of hurting you. Hold on.” He pumped his fingers in and out of the dark rosette then added a third finger. She whimpered and threw back her head as he worked it in with the others. Then he slowly pushed them in and out until he felt comfortable that she was ready. “Keith, she’s ready. Hold her still.” Keith wrapped his arms around her and kept her anchored to his body. Tripp coated his cock in lube and slowly pushed it against the

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little pucker until it popped inside of her. He pressed forward until he was fully seated inside of her. Sweat rolled off his forehead to form a little pool at the small of her back. “Move, move, move. Please, please move.” He pulled out, and Keith pressed upward, grinding his pelvis into her clit. Then he pulled out, and Tripp pushed in. They slowly rocked her between them until they had a good rhythm going. She leaned back to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down so that she could kiss his neck and cheek. Then she lowered herself to Keith and licked around his nipples. They sped up until they were ramming their cocks in her cunt and ass. She growled and began to quiver around their dicks. Tripp knew she was close to coming. Once she did, they were both goners. He spanked her ass on each cheek several times until she tipped her head back and howled. Her ass squeezed him until he was filling her ass with his cum. He heard Keith curse. She had clamped down on him as well. She howled again and thrashed between them. Tripp had trouble holding on to her until she settled down. For a few seconds, he didn’t see her breath. Then she drew in a deep breath and hissed it out. “Man, she’s passed out.” “Hell. Hold on and let me move.” Tripp pulled out of her and hurried to the bathroom to wet a cloth so he could clean her up. Once he had finished, he helped Keith get her off of him and settled her in the middle of the bed. Keith cleaned up, and the two of them climbed up on the bed with her. They each wrapped a leg around one of hers and pulled the covers over them. “Man, she was wild with need. I’m not surprised she passed out.” Keith ran a finger along her jawline. “I hope she’s not mad about it. Some women don’t like to pass out. They feel vulnerable or something.” “Should we wake her up and see if she’s okay?”

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Tripp studied her face. It looked calm enough. “No, she’s okay. She looks like she’s comfortable at least.” “I vote we keep her.” Tripp chuckled. “Like there was any danger that we wouldn’t.” “Better get some sleep. We’ve got that damn muskie thing to hunt down and a fence to start putting up.” “Night.” Tripp lay awake for a while thinking. They had a lot of responsibility. Keeping Piper safe was the number one on his list. If he had to tell the rancher they needed one more day to finish the fence, then he would. He should understand. He had a child. Then he thought about ranching again. It had been nearly a year since he’d done any riding and roping. He hoped he wasn’t totally out of practice. He was already dreading the sore ass he would have after so long out of the saddle. It would take a few days to a week to get back used to it. He grinned. Piper could massage his and Keith’s asses for them. She would love that. He knew he sure as hell would. “Go to sleep, Tripp. I can hear you thinking clear over here.”

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Chapter Nine Piper had coffee brewing and breakfast nearly ready when the men made it downstairs the next morning. Tripp could see that she was in a good mood. No doubt the great sex from the night before had something to do with it. It sure as hell had him in a good mood. Keith was smiling as well. “Morning, baby girl.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead and stood by the coffee pot, waiting on it to finish. Keith wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a warm kiss. Piper smiled up at him. Tripp liked seeing her happy. He wanted to keep her that way, but seeing to her safety was by far the more important thing. “Pass me some cups, Keith.” He waited while the other man located the cups and brought them over. “I can do with some of that. Someone kept me up late last night.” “Wasn’t me. I seem to have passed out.” Piper smirked at them. Breakfast was a teasing affair leaving Tripp in good spirits. Once they were finished, they stood up and discussed how they were going to find the muskie and kill it. “You know if we fire the rifle down there, it’s going to kill our ears. They’ll be ringing for days.” Keith agreed with him. They decided the best bet would be to knock it out and take it outside to kill it. “Really, guys. Do you have to do that? I hate the idea that you could get bit or something. I mean these things have acid in them. What if their blood is acidic, too?”

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“We’ll be very careful, Piper. We know to steer clear of any body fluids.” Tripp pulled her into his arms for a kiss. “Keith, go get a shovel from storage, and we’ll use that for knocking it out.” Tripp watched Keith as he walked out the door and headed toward the storage building. He hoped they didn’t have much trouble getting the damn thing. Then they had to figure out how it had gotten in and fix it. Keith was back in a few minutes with the shovel as well as two sets of heavy-duty gloves. “Figured we would need these to pick it up with. I sure as hell don’t want to touch any part of it.” “I’m really worried about you two going down there. Maybe I should go with you and…” “No!” both Tripp and Keith yelled in unison. Tripp cupped her face in his hands. “Baby, promise me you won’t go down there no matter what. If I have to worry about you, I won’t be paying attention and could make a mistake. We can’t afford to make a mistake with this thing.” “Okay, I promise. Please be careful though.” “We’ll be very careful. Don’t you worry.” Keith squeezed her shoulder. Tripp looked at Keith, and they both nodded. Keith opened the pantry door then unlocked the cellar door. Tripp opened it while Keith shined a flashlight down the steps. Nothing looked back at them. “I don’t see anything, do you?” Tripp leaned forward a little. “Nope. We’re going to have to go down. Is the light switch on your side or mine? “Yours. You hit it as we go down. Lead with the gun to be safe. I’ll carry the shovel.” Tripp followed Keith down the stairs. When Keith hit the switch, the room was flooded with light. A squeal startled both of them. Something flew by their feet at a dead run toward the stairs.

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“Fuck! It’s going for the stairs.” Keith aimed for the stairs. “Piper! Close the door! Keith, don’t shoot. You’ll hit Piper.” They heard the door to the pantry slam but didn’t hear or see the muskie. Tripp had a bad feeling that the creature had managed to slip past the door before Piper had closed it. That meant the creature was up there with her. “I don’t see it, Tripp. Where did the little fucker go?” “Hell, I think it made it up the stairs and into the house. Piper is up there with it.” He ran for the stairs, still carrying the shovel. Before they made it to the stairs, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air followed by loud banging, then nothing. Tripp’s blood ran cold as he hurried up the steps. He burst through the pantry door to find Piper standing over an obviously bludgeoned muskie. Her breasts heaved with the effort of breathing. He and Keith eased around the creature to go to Piper. Keith took the iron pan out of her hand and Tripp eased her back from the probably dead animal. “Easy, baby. Did it touch you anywhere?” He checked every exposed area of skin he could find.” “No, he didn’t hurt me. I hit him first.” “I think you screamed first. Are you sure he didn’t get anything on you anywhere? “I screamed to make him stop. When he did, I let him have it with the pan.” “You sure did.” Keith walked over, pulling on the gloves. “Let me have that shovel, Tripp. I want to use it to scoop it up off the floor.” Tripp chuckled and shook his head as he handed the shovel to the other man. He and Piper watched as he shoved the thing under the muskie and carried it outside. “Stay inside, Piper, and we’ll be back in a little bit. I want to look over it really good to see what it looks like up close. Hey, you can run get the camera for me. We’ll take some pictures.” He watched Piper hurry off to retrieve the camera from the office. Then he turned and followed Keith outside. The other man dropped

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the creature several yards from the house. They looked at it and agreed that it was dead. They would take some pictures then bury the thing. “Tripp! I’ve got the camera.” She stood on the porch, waving it in the air. He headed for the house at a jog to get to her before she decided to join them. When he reached her, she held out the camera. “Thanks, baby. Go on back in the house. We’ll be in as soon as we’ve taken some pictures and buried this thing.” “You’re going to bury it in the backyard? Not in the fence! What if it leaks stuff and someone gets it on them? A child could dig in the dirt and get it.” “Fuck, you’re right. We’ll move it outside the fence line. Now go on inside.” He gave her a push before jogging back to where Keith was already digging a hole. “Might as well stop digging. We can’t bury it in the fence line. What if one of the kids digs it up by accident?” “Ah, hell. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll move it.” “Let’s get pictures of it first.” Tripp began aiming the digital camera at the muskie and taking pictures at different angles.” “Put that shovel down next to it so we can get an idea of size.” Tripp waited while Keith laid the shovel next to the creature. Then he took several more photos. “Finished?” Keith asked. “Finished.” “I’ll move it and bury it out there. Why don’t you go print the pictures? I’ll be inside in a minute.” “I’m not leaving you out here alone without a rifle. I’ll wait while you bury it.” Keith shrugged and carried it outside the fence line a good ways before dropping it and digging the hole. It took a good twenty minutes to dig a hole deep enough and then fill the hole in again.

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When they returned to the house, Tripp called out for Piper. She hurried into the kitchen and pointed to the laundry room. “What?” he asked. “Both of you wash up good before you come in the rest of the house. I don’t want acid gunk all over the house.” Tripp chuckled, but he and Keith hurried to the laundry room to clean up. He wasn’t about to upset her over something that she was right about anyway. When they returned, she had glasses of iced tea ready for them. “Did you find where he got in at?” “Not yet. We’ll do that next. I wanted that thing out of the house first, though.” Tripp sipped the tea. “I cleaned up the mess in here. I used gloves and rags that I tied up in a bag and have ready for you to do something with it.” Keith nodded. “I’ll bury it, too. First we need to fix that entrance so that nothing else can get in.” They finished up their tea before heading downstairs once again to search the cellar for a breach in the room. It took nearly an hour to locate it and another twenty minutes to plug it. The little bastard had been clever and dug a hole around a brick and pulled it out. It bothered them both that the thing could think like that. They returned to the kitchen and closed everything up again. Piper had taken the men’s camera to the office to start downloading the pictures and printing them. They walked through the living room and around the corner to the office. Tripp smiled. He could hear her talking to the printer. “The next time you screw that up, I’m going to boot you in the ass.” Tripp walked into the room with Keith right behind him. Sitting in his seat, she looked like a private secretary about to take dictation. He knew what sort of dictation he wanted her to take. Brushing aside his daydreams, Tripp walked over to see what she’d managed to coax out of the camera so far.

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“Would you look at the size of that thing? I guess it looks bigger because I took it as a close-up.” Look at the one with the shovel by it.” Keith pointed to the picture. “Looks like it’s about the size of a large house cat, but it looks like a damn rat.” “I wonder how many there are around here?” Piper mused as she printed out another picture. “Hopefully not many. We plugged up the hole and didn’t find any more anywhere. We’ll periodically check the area down there to be sure one hasn’t started digging again.” “It didn’t seem to like the light when it ran up the cellar stairs. That’s why I think I was able to surprise it.” Piper grimaced. “My arms are going to hurt tomorrow from whopping that thing.” “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll give you a nice massage.” Keith ran his fingers through her hair. Tripp chuckled. “I know I want to massage her, but it’s not her shoulders I’m thinking about.” “Pervert.” “Yeah, I am, but you like me anyway.” Tripp leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “I suppose so.” Keith kept looking through the pictures and shaking his head. Tripp watched him. Something was bothering the other man. “What’s wrong, Keith?” “Just wondering how in the hell we’re supposed to live on this fucked-up planet, much less raise a family with things like this with acid in their freaking mouths.” “We’ll figure it out, Keith. We don’t have much choice. Earth’s all but gone. We have a chance here when we didn’t back on Earth.” “If you say so. I just think they could have at least prepared us better. You know, given us a fighting chance.”’ “We’ll be okay, Keith. You’ll see.” Piper got up and wrapped her arms around him before leaning her head against his chest.

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“Baby, I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you and any children we’ll have. Keeping you safe is more important to me than anything.” “Nothing is going to happen to me. Remember, Tripp isn’t letting me go anywhere until the fence is up. I’ll be safe inside of it.” “Maybe.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to take a shower.” Piper started to go after him, but Tripp stopped her. “Give him a few minutes first, baby.” “Okay.” She stared at the wall for a few minutes. Tripp sighed. “Go ahead and be careful in the shower. The tile is slippery when it’s wet.” She chuckled. “So am I.” **** Keith sighed as he peeled off his clothes. Maybe he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Somehow he didn’t think so. They were finding out too many things that they should have been told in the beginning. Plus, they weren’t given all the tools they needed to keep their families safe. He turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature before stepping into the hot spray. It beat down on his skin like a thousand pinpricks, but he welcomed it. It made him feel alive. Cold air swirled around his ass and legs. He didn’t bother looking to see who it was. He already knew. She wouldn’t have let him go off to sulk in peace. He couldn’t help the tiny smile. She warmed his soul. He didn’t hear any noise over the sound of the shower, but he knew she was out there. He turned his face into the water to wash off the soap, and that was when she slipped in and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Easy, baby. Don’t fall.” He held on to her arms to be sure she wouldn’t.

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“I’m fine. What about you?” “I’m okay, Piper. I’m just pissed that we don’t know what to expect next. What if that fence isn’t good enough?” “Then we try something else until what we come up with works.” She gathered the water droplets with her tongue as she licked up his spine. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Piper. If we aren’t here while you are out in the garden, there’s no one to watch your back while you work.” “We’ll work it out. I’m a real good shot, Keith. If there’s a gun I can keep with me, I can protect myself.” Keith smiled and turned around in her arms. She looked up at him with shining eyes. Nothing would harm her if he had any way of protecting her. She meant so much to him in just a few short days. “Baby, I want you. I want to bury my cock so far inside of your cunt that you can taste me.” “Fuck me, Keith. I’m all yours.” She pulled his head down so that she could draw him into a kiss. Her lips sucked at his until he opened and thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, much like he had said he wanted to do with his dick. He ran it all around her mouth then slid alongside hers as he rubbed his aching cock up and down her belly. He was spike hard and ready to hammer into her. Keith willed himself to regain some form of control. Piper deserved more than a quick fuck. She deserved long, slow, romantic kisses and deep emotional climaxes. Neither he nor Tripp were very romantic by nature, but for her, he would try to learn. He kissed her lightly on the forehead then turned the water off and stepped out, holding out a hand to help her. Then he pulled out a towel and wrapped it around her to dry her off. He patted gently instead of rubbing so he wouldn’t chafe her skin. “Keith?” “Yeah, baby.”

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“What’s wrong? I thought you were going to fuck me.” “I’m going to make love to you, Piper. I don’t want to take a chance that you get hurt in the shower. It’s slippery in there.” “Yeah, so? That’s part of the fun.” “There’s nothing fun about getting hurt, baby.” He snagged another towel and quickly dried off. He surprised her by swinging her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom. Then he snatched the covers back and carefully laid her back on the bed. He covered her with his body but didn’t give her any of his weight. When he started covering her face with kisses, she giggled and didn’t stop until he stopped kissing her. “What’s so funny?” “I’m ticklish. I can’t help it.” “Your face is ticklish? You’re kidding.” He pulled back and stared down into her eyes. “Nope. You’re tickling me.” She laughed. “Turn over and let me get a taste of you. I love how you taste right after a shower.” “Baby, this is about you. I want to taste you instead.” “We can taste each other.” She wiggled her eyebrows up at him. He sighed. “I’m trying to be romantic, and you’re messing it all up.” “I’m sorry, Keith. I guess I’m not a very romantic woman. I’ll try harder if you really want to.” She frowned. Keith realized he’d done just the opposite of what he’d planned to do. He’d made her feel less of a woman instead of more of one. “No, baby, you’re perfect. I’m the numbskull. I thought you would like to be romanced a little. I wasn’t trying to make you do something you didn’t want to do.” She grinned and pushed against him. “Turn around and suck my pussy, Keith.” He chuckled and complied. She had him captured and was licking his cock before he’d even settled down to lap at her pussy juices. He loved this about her, the spontaneity and eagerness to try anything.

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The fact that she took to Tripp’s heavier hand only made her that much more special. She was driving him crazy already. He had to concentrate to lick and suck her sweet juices. One minute she was licking him up and down like an all-day sucker, and the next she was swallowing him down her throat. The feel of her throat contracting around him as she swallowed just about curled his toes. She backed off of him with just a light scrape of teeth that had his balls tightening in their sac. “Fuck, baby. You’re burning me up. Slow down or I’m going to come before I even get a good taste of you.” “Mmmm.” She just hummed around him and continued milking his cock like he was a fucking cow. He redoubled his efforts to distract her by sinking two fingers into her pussy. She squeezed them tight and growled around his cock about the time she had taken him all the way down her throat again. The sensation was overwhelming, and his balls drew up even tighter against his body. He was going to come after only a few minutes of screwing around. He curled his fingers and stroked across her sweet spot deep in her cunt while sucking on her clit. He felt her scream around his dick. It sent him spurting cum deep in her throat without any warning. She sucked and licked and pulled on his cock until he managed to pull off of her. How could he have given her any kind of pleasure when he’d come like that? “Fuck, baby.” He panted, trying to catch his breath. “I didn’t get to play with you nearly enough. Give me a few minutes. I’ll make it good for you.” “Did you not hear me scream? I was well taken care of.” She blew out a breath then drew in a deeper one. “Hear you? Hell, I felt you all the way to my toes.” “I heard you both all the way downstairs.” Tripp walked in, pulling off clothes as he did. “Don’t worry about her, Keith. I’m

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going to fuck that pretty pussy. If you’re up to it, you can take over when I wear out.” “What about me? Don’t I get a say in this?” Piper leaned back on her elbows as Tripp climbed up on the bed. “Nope. You don’t get any say in this. You’re just going to have to grin and bear it.” She pouted. “Can I taste you first?” “Don’t let her mouth anywhere near your cock, man. I tell you, she eats you alive.”

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Chapter Ten “Turn over, baby. I want to fuck you doggy style.” Piper grinned and rolled over. She loved it this way. He would be able to go so much deeper and hit her in all the right spots. She wiggled her ass at him as she looked over her shoulder. “Put that head on the mattress, baby. I don’t want you hurrying this along. You’ve got to learn to wait for your pleasure. Keith gives in to you too much.” “I resent that.” Keith punched Tripp in the arm. “Hey, truth hurts, man.” Tripp spread Piper’s ass cheeks and squeezed them before shifting and lining his cock up with her slit. She moaned when he popped one cheek with his hand then rubbed over. It felt so good. She wanted more and wiggled so that he lost his purchase at her entrance. He spanked her twice on each cheek in rapid succession. She groaned and squeezed her legs together as much as possible with his legs between them. “Be still, Piper.” He rubbed his hands over her warm ass cheeks before taking his cock in one hand and positioning it at her slit once more. This time he pressed forward until he was halfway inside of her. “Oh, God, Tripp. More. I need more.” “I’ll give you more, baby. All in good time, baby. Now spread your legs even more for me. I want you so spread out that you can’t sit up. That’s it. Just like that.” Piper had her legs spread so wide that she would fall over without Tripp holding her up with his long cock lodged halfway inside of her.

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It felt good to be so off balance that she depended on him to keep her steady. He pulled almost all the way out then tunneled back inside of her cunt until he was all the way inside her and nudging her cervix. He didn’t bump it like she wanted him to, but she kept silent, knowing if she suggested it, he would hold back. Instead, she tried squeezing her cunt muscles around him only to find out that in that position, she couldn’t squeeze with any muscle behind it. Frustrated, Piper growled and tried to press back to shove him into her cervix. He caught on and pulled back. “Either be still or I’ll stop. I can always jack off, Piper.” “Please don’t stop, Tripp. I need more.” “I’ll give you more in a little while. I want to enjoy this, and that means it has to last longer than ten seconds.” Piper frowned. What was up with them and making things last longer? They could go again in a little while. She wanted to come, damn it. Tripp chuckled as if hearing all of her inner frustrations. He startled her when he suddenly shoved his dick deep inside of her, hitting her cervix in the process. He stilled as she whimpered and tried to squeeze his cock with her cunt muscles. He swatted her on the ass and pulled out only to shove his way back inside of her once again. She tried to catch his rhythm and help slam him back on her, but he had her in a position where she couldn’t do anything. If she moved, she would fall and lose any chance of him hammering her pussy. “Fuck, your pussy is so damn tight even spread out like I have you. If I let you close those legs on me, I’d never make it past one or two strokes. Where is the fun in that?” “Please, Tripp. Just a little harder.” He pulled out and gave her what she wanted for two complete strokes then stopped and pumped in and out of her in slow, shallow plunges for a while before speeding up again and ramming her cervix

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with each lick. She couldn’t keep up with his weird rhythm until she realized there was no rhythm to it. “That is so good,” she managed to hiss out between bumps. He grunted and continued keeping her off balance. She gave up and relaxed, letting him take her wherever he wanted to. As if realizing she had done so, Tripp began to give her what she wanted, fast and deep. His dick pummeled her cunt over and over until sparks shot across her nipples as they rubbed against the mattress. The sparks lodged deep in her pussy and exploded across all her nerve endings. She contracted hard around Tripp’s cock, squeezing it as she climaxed. She heard him curse and then felt his hot cum bathe her cunt as he came along with her. Then she could no longer hold herself up and collapsed with his cock holding her ass in the air. She felt him slide from her and kneel on the bed next to her. “Holy hell, Piper. You nearly killed me.” “Don’t blame me. You were the one who had to drag it out.” “I don’t know about you two, but I’m ready for a nap.” Keith stretched out on the other side of Piper and pulled her backward into his arms. “I could do with one, too,” Tripp agreed. “I’m wide awake, guys. Let me up. I need to work on the mess in the kitchen while you two take a nap.” “Crap. If she gets up, I’m getting up,” Tripp said. “We need to work on the fence anyway.” Keith got up and stretched. “The sooner you finish it, the sooner you can rest up, guys.” Piper kissed each of them on the chest. “I’ll see you two downstairs.” She grabbed up her clothes and hurried out of the bedroom. She could hear the men complaining as she tromped down the stairs. She stopped in the living room and pulled on shorts and a T-shirt without bothering with a bra, panties, or shoes. She wasn’t going back outside anyway. It was time to start work on dinner.

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By the time she had most of the kitchen work completed and was about to start on dinner, the men had made it downstairs and were arguing about the fence. “If you need us, call us on the radio. We have ours with us.” Keith handed her one. “This is yours. Remember how to use it?” “I remember.” She took the radio and put it on the cabinet behind her. “You two be careful and watch out.” “We’ll be fine. See you in a few hours, baby.” Tripp opened the kitchen door and walked out with Keith right behind him. She watched them head out toward the back part of the yard where they had the fencing ready to put up. They still had a lot of hard work ahead of them. She shook her head and got to work on fixing a filling dinner that they would enjoy. Once she had everything going, she took the radio and returned to the bedroom and bathroom to clean them up and straighten the bed. She wondered why Keith had wanted to try to be romantic. Had she given him the wrong impression that she needed that in her life? She hadn’t meant to if she had. And if not from her, then where had it come from? She couldn’t think of anything that would have given him that idea. She thought about how Tripp had made her wait to climax. He had a will of iron to withstand her teasing. She liked sex and enjoyed it with them, but they both seemed to think they needed to make it better for her. How could she let them know that she didn’t need anything different without making them think she was less than pleased with them trying? She didn’t want to hurt their feelings. Men had such fragile egos. When she had finished the bedroom and bathroom, Piper pulled on her MP3 player and listened to music as she checked the food then returned to the office. The photos of that creature were fascinating to her. She would love to get some of all the animals around the area and make a book about them. She arranged the photos into a loosely fitting pamphlet with captions and brief descriptions.

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She was so engrossed with her project that she never heard the men until they grabbed her. She screamed and nearly hit Tripp in the mouth with her closed fist. “Easy, baby. Take those damn earphones off.” Tripp pulled them from her ears and shook his head. “Those things are dangerous. You had no idea anyone was in the house with you.” “Who else could it have been but you two?” “Still, you need to be more aware of what is going on around you, baby. I don’t want you to end up getting hurt because you weren’t paying attention.” Piper waved it away and handed them her booklet. “What’s this?” Keith took it out of Tripp’s hands. “You made this?” She nodded her head and clasped her hands in front of her. She was suddenly worried that they might think it was too amateurish. She had been proud of it only seconds before. Now she wasn’t too sure. “This is good. Tripp, look at what she did.” Keith opened the book and showed the other man the pictures with captions and descriptions. “Piper, baby. You’re talented. This is really good. You should do this when you have the time. Take pictures of the area around us and make pamphlets about it.” “I was thinking I’d do that with the garden as it grows and then as we harvest it and I am putting things up. It would probably be good for new arrivals to have some idea of what to expect.” “That’s an excellent idea. We’ll talk to them in town about how they printed theirs in bulk and see if we can do the same thing for you.” Tripp squeezed her hand. “Thanks. I had fun doing it. I may have to just take pictures while I’m busy with the garden and then this winter when we’re not so busy, work on the pamphlets then. It will give me something to do…besides you two.” She winked at them. “I swear, I thought I had sex on the brain,” Keith teased.

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“Okay you guys, I need to go finish up dinner so we can eat. You need to go shower off. You’re both nasty again, and I bet you tracked it all through the house.” They both looked a little guilty but didn’t admit to it. She just shook her head and shooed them out of the room. She would clean up later after dinner. They hurried up the stairs and disappeared. She headed toward the kitchen and turned on the oven and the stove to finish up dinner. By the time they had returned from taking showers, she had it on the table. They quickly ate and escaped to the living room when she asked for volunteers to wash dishes. Once they were out of sight, she scooped all the dishes into the dishwasher and turned it on. Then she wiped down the kitchen and joined them in the living room. They were discussing how soon they could finish up the fence. She climbed up into Keith’s lap and wrapped her arm around his neck. “So you think you still need two days to finish it?” she asked. “Yeah. It’s slow going. Stretching fencing is hard to do. So, we figure a good two days’ work is left out there.” “I’m sorry, guys. I wish I could help you. But even if you would let me, I wouldn’t know what I was doing.” “Just keep up what you’re doing now, baby.” “What? Cooking meals and cleaning the house?” “And taking care of us.” Tripp chuckled. “Doing your pamphlets, baby. Don’t mind Tripp. He has sex on the brain.” Keith hugged her back against him. “Will one of you go out there with me in the morning before you leave so I can take some pictures of the garden while it’s waiting to bloom?” “Sure, baby. We’ll do that.” Tripp spoke up this time. “I’ll plan on taking pictures of it at every stage. The pamphlet they gave us said everything grows faster and bigger than on Earth, so it would help them to know what to look for if they have pictures.”

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“Good point, Piper. I think your pamphlet is going to be a big hit,” Tripp agreed. “The nice thing is that once you get that fencing up, I’ll be able to go out whenever I need to work out there or just to take pictures.” “You still have to be aware of everything around you, Piper. This fence still might not stop everything. Remember, there are dangerous plants out here, too.” Tripp shook his head. “You should take pictures of them as well and put them in a book. Once we find them in the area, you can take a picture, and we’ll kill it so it won’t be in the fenced area.” “I think my little fun project just got out of hand.” She giggled and kissed Keith on the cheek before getting down and climbing into Tripp’s lap. He growled at her and demanded a kiss. She grinned and leaned in but then turned her head at the last minute. He grabbed her head and pulled it back down toward him. He took possession of her mouth with his and demanded entry. She opened to him without playing around and welcomed his tongue as he explored and licked his way around her mouth. He nibbled at her lower lip with his teeth, and then sucked on her tongue in a heady rhythm. When he let go of her, she was almost dizzy from the kiss. She leaned back against him to catch her breath and regain her balance. He always did that to her, kept her off balance. With Keith, she was always sure of where she was. She had the best of both worlds between the two of them. “I think we need to go to bed now.” Tripp picked her up as he stood up. “We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” “I’m right behind you,” Keith assured them. “What if I’m not sleepy yet?” “Tough,” they both said.

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Chapter Eleven Early the next morning, Piper waited impatiently for the men to dress and come downstairs. She had breakfast ready and waiting as well as her camera and notepad. She had managed to wheedle thirty minutes of time outside with them watching out for her while she took pictures of the garden and various plants and wrote notes about them in her little pad. She was really thrilled about her little project, because she felt like she was doing something that was going to help someone else adjust to the planet a little easier. Giving them something to look at would help them identify dangerous plants and animals. Telling them about the dangers would help new arrivals know what to do to avoid them. It really was too bad that they didn’t send them computers to work on. The only ones were those being used by the scientist and the doctor there in the city. They felt like they needed to live as simply as possible because they were going to be on their own soon enough once Earth was gone. She wasn’t so sure they were right, but it was how things were. Piper quickly served the men their breakfast and then flitted around the kitchen, unable to be still long enough to eat. Finally Tripp put his foot down. “If you don’t sit down and eat, I’m not letting you go outside. You’re like a damn mosquito that won’t be still long enough for me to swat.” That got her attention fast. She managed to eat half of what she had on her plate and remain sitting until they finished their breakfast. It took a monumental effort on her part to do it. Sitting still was just

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not something she was used to doing. Now that she had something worthwhile in mind, she was nearly impossible to keep under thumb. Finally, the men finished up and were ready to go outside. She grabbed up her things and waited impatiently at the back door for the two men. Was it possible for them to move any slower? “Remember what I told you. Be aware of what is around you and don’t get too close to the poisonous plants. You have a zoom for a reason on those cameras.” “I’ve got it. I know what to do.” She almost vibrated in place as she waited for the men to give her the go-ahead. “Okay. We’re watching for you, but still keep your eyes and ears open, Piper.” Tripp stepped back and let her go. She immediately started snapping pictures of the garden before moving on to the yard around them. She made sure to focus well on each individual plant, using the zoom as much as was possible. She made a meticulous sweep of the area to make sure she had every plant possible. She even managed to get a picture of a dorrie before the men ushered her back into the house. “Thank you, guys! I got so many pictures. I have a lot of editing and work ahead of me.” “You’re lucky you obeyed me about that dorrie. I would have enjoyed spanking that ass rosy red.” “She would have, too,” Keith said with a chuckle. “You’re not helping any.” Tripp glared at Keith. “Hey! No fighting. I was a good girl, so you should both be in a good mood.” She pouted at them then turned on her heel and left them standing in the kitchen as she headed for the office. They could fuss and argue all they wanted to. She had something to work on now. She grinned and sat down to start viewing the pictures on the viewer. She removed the memory card and placed it in the viewer. Just as they began to show up on the screen, a shadow fell over her. She frowned and looked up over her head.

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“We’re about to go outside and work on the fence. We should be back in around noon or so for lunch. Sandwiches will be fine.” Tripp stared down at her. “I’ll have lunch for you. I won’t forget you, Tripp.” “Well, you forgot to give us our kiss before we went off to work.” Keith stepped out from behind Tripp with an exaggerated pout. “You’re both so crazy. Come here.” She held up her arms to give them hugs and a kiss only to be pulled out of the chair and wrapped in arms, squished between them. First Tripp demanded complete surrender to his kiss, and then Keith licked and nibbled his way around her mouth. She laughed and realized that she was completely happy. In fact, she hadn’t been this happy in a very long time. “Go, you two, and finish the fence so you won’t be so worried about me all the time.” She gave Keith a push. She watched them leave the room then returned to the viewer and the pictures. The camera made perfect pictures. You could see every detail of each plant on the viewer. She printed out the best of the pictures and arranged them according to if they were safe or dangerous or edible. She would let Tripp verify them to be safe. Then she printed out several pictures of the dorrie. It was a fierce-looking little thing. The first picture was deceiving. It made the creature out to be cute. Then it opened its mouth, and the double row of razor-sharp teeth could be seen. She would show the two sides of it so that they knew that looks could be deceiving on Alpha. She smiled. That was a very apt description for everything on Alpha. She hadn’t been so sure about her two men, but they had turned out to be exactly what she wanted and needed. Now if they could get the fence up so that they could go to work without worrying about her. She had to be able to work outside so they would have food. Once again, the idea of her being responsible for their food for the winter overwhelmed her. She had thought she

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was over being worried about her ability to actually grow the garden. Maybe she wasn’t. She checked the time and groaned. Thirty minutes and the guys would be looking for lunch. Piper hurried to the kitchen and rushed through making sandwiches. She had just put the last one on a plate when they walked in laughing. “It sounds like everything is going okay out there.” “We’re actually making some progress,” Tripp said. “How are you coming with your project?” Keith asked. “It’s pulling together really well. It will take time, but I think I’m going to have four different pamphlets when I get finished.” “Sounds good, baby. We’re going to go wash up. Be back down in a few minutes.” They walked through the kitchen doorway into the living room. Piper sighed. They weren’t as excited about her ideas as she was, but that was okay. She didn’t need them to be all in awe of her or anything. She could enjoy it and be fine, right? She frowned and filled up two glasses with iced tea. By the time they had returned to the kitchen, she was back to normal and not worried about their lack of interest. She set the plateful of sandwiches on the table and passed them their glasses of tea. She took her seat and listened as they discussed the fence and how well it was coming along now that they’d gotten the hang of it. “We’ll be finished by either late this evening or after a couple of hours tomorrow.” Tripp grinned, obviously proud of their accomplishment. “That’s great. You’ll have time to relax before you start work.” “Relax would be nice.” Keith agreed. They finished up their sandwiches and gave her a quick hug as they hurried back outside to finish up the fence. “We’ll probably be after dark coming in so don’t fix dinner too early, baby.” Tripp closed the door behind them.

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She didn’t like the idea of them being out after dark with all of the different kinds of dangerous creatures around. Never mind that all they had seen around the house had been the dorrie and the muskie. The mantis was still out there somewhere. She needed a picture of it but didn’t want to see one to get it. She shivered and finished cleaning up the kitchen. Then she headed upstairs to clean up the bathroom after the men had washed up for lunch. They wouldn’t have put anything up. She was right and had to straighten the bedroom and the bathroom. Evidently one of them had cut themselves because there was blood on one of the shirts. She frowned. It was actually a good bit of blood. They’d kept that from her. She would address that when they got back that night. Once everything was straight again, she returned to her project in the office and lost herself in the pictures. Late that evening, she had just finished cooking dinner when the men finally walked through the door, looking dirty, tired and grouchy. Neither of them said much but headed straight upstairs to shower. Something hadn’t gone as planned evidently. She couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong. If she were smart, she’d wait and let them bring it up. Unfortunately, she rarely played it smart when it came to something she was curious about. Thirty minutes later, they tromped back into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Piper hugged both of them then served the meal and sat down to eat with them. They were silent for the first five minutes. She tried, but she couldn’t wait any longer. “Hey, guys, what’s wrong?” “Huh, what’s not wrong?” Tripp asked sarcastically. “The fence isn’t cooperating like it was earlier, and we’ve had to redo four feet of it.” Keith took a bite of his meal and shook his head. “You can’t see crap out there when it’s cloudy even with two fucking moons.” Tripp wasn’t finished yet. “I’m sorry guys. I wish I could help.”

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“You can’t. The thing is, even with this fucking fence up, we’re not sure you’ll be safe. There was a damn mantis thing out there right before we came in. It wasn’t worried about us at all. The damn fivefoot fence comes up midbody on him. For all we know, he can climb the damn thing. Hell, he could even jump over it.” Tripp huffed out a breath. “I think, from everything I’ve read about it, that it likes the darker part of the day and of course, nights. It was late afternoon when that one rammed us on our way here, and this one you saw was at dusk in the dark.” “She’s probably right about that, Tripp. I don’t remember seeing one during the hot part of the day either.” Tripp didn’t say anything. He finished eating and pushed back from the table. He was about to stand up then sat back down. “Dinner was good, baby. I’m sorry I’m in such a bad mood. I’m worried though. I don’t like leaving you here alone without one of us here with you.” “I’ll be fine. I’m going to do exactly what I’m supposed to do in order to stay safe. I don’t like the idea of those nasty creatures getting me either.” She got up and walked around to wrap her arms around Tripp’s shoulders from the back. He turned his head and kissed her cheek before she moved to Keith. He pulled her around to sit on his lap. She laughed and held on tight when he almost lost her. “I’m all for an early night,” Keith said. “An early night sounds good to me, too,” Tripp agreed. “What about you, baby? Want to go fool around some?” “You know I’m always up for that.” She couldn’t stop the silly giggle. “Let me up so I can clean up the kitchen. I’ll be up in a few minutes.” “We’ll be waiting on you in the living room. Neither one of us is going anywhere without you with us, Piper.” Tripp stood up and stretched. “Don’t take too long, or I might come get you.”

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“Now that’s not really much of an incentive.” She laughed and hurried to the other side of the kitchen when he acted like he was coming after her. Once the two men had left the room, Piper sighed and began cleaning up the kitchen. She didn’t know what to do to keep them from worrying so much. She didn’t see how anything could get in the fence and especially if she wasn’t outside that much. She would work in the garden and then work inside the rest of the day. She had a huge project to work on to keep her busy. She wouldn’t have any reason to want to stay outside, especially during the hot part of the day. As soon as she finished the kitchen, she checked and made sure the back door was locked and then found the men snoring in the living room. She shook her head. They were exhausted. She decided to let them sleep for a while before waking them up. She went ahead upstairs and ran a bath. Afterward she would go back downstairs and wake them up. At some point, she must have fallen asleep because she woke up to water trickling on her face. She startled awake, and the guys died out laughing at her. Tripp had been dropping water on her face. “Teach you to leave us down there all alone.” “You needed the sleep, and I needed a bath first.” “Maybe we wanted to bathe you,” Keith said. “You can still bathe me, guys. I’m still in the tub.” “True, but you’re already shriveling up like a prune,” Tripp teased. “No I’m not!” She yelped when Tripp poked her in the ribs. “Yes you are. Look at those wrinkles on your fingers.” Keith picked up her hand and pointed out her wrinkly fingers. “Well, that’s just my fingers.” “Don’t make me pull your feet up in the air and show you those, too.” “I’m getting out. I’m getting out.” She stood up with their help and stepped out of the tub to the floor.

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The men took turns rubbing her dry. She felt more groping than actual drying going on, but she wasn’t going to complain. Piper loved it when they touched her and stroked her. They were so damn good at it, too. “Let’s get you situated on the bed, Piper. We’ve been thinking about what we’d like to do to you all day long.” “Hmm, that sounds promising.” She let them position her on the bed like they wanted her. They had her in the middle of the bed with her legs flayed open so that they could get to her pussy without any trouble. Tripp settled between her legs and massaged her trimmed mound before he licked around her pussy lips. She sighed when he licked the entire length of her slit. Keith ran his thumbs over her nipples, making them stand at attention. Then he pinched them gently before pulling on them a little less gently. When she whimpered, he chuckled and licked over both nipples, one at a time before sucking in one to flatten against the roof of his mouth. The suction was amazing. It sent tingles down to her clit. Tripp sucked in her pussy lips, applying enough suction to pull on them and make them burn. She moaned at the unusual thrill it gave her. Then he was licking deep into her slit as he inserted two fingers into her cunt. She couldn’t help but squeeze his fingers with her cunt muscles. They curled deep within her and found her hot spot. Tripp stroked over it repeatedly until she was writhing beneath him. When he stopped, she begged him to keep going. She was so close. “Please, Tripp. Let me come. Please.” “Not yet, baby. We’re still having fun.” Keith nipped and bit at her nipples before licking them to soothe the sting. She welcomed the sting because it added to the pressure building deep inside of her. Her breasts were so sensitive, and Keith

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already knew just what she needed to explode. It was no wonder they could keep her on edge for so long. Tripp fucked her cunt with his fingers as he licked all around her clit, letting the tip of his tongue brush it every few laps. She kept trying to tilt her hips to urge him closer, but he kept pulling away. “You keep that up, and I won’t let you come until we do.” “Please, Tripp. I’m dying. I need to come so badly.” Without warning, he latched onto her clit with his lips and sucked until she was thrashing and screaming his name. Keith caught up by twisting her nipples and then pinching them. She felt as if her insides were turning inside out. She had never felt such heaving pressure that continued to build even as she flew over and beyond. She hadn’t even relaxed her cunt before Tripp was telling her to change positions. “Get on top of Keith, baby. We’re going to take you together and make you scream for us again.” She crawled over Keith’s body as he quickly maneuvered himself under her. She lined her slit up over his throbbing cock. It jerked the first time she tried to impale herself on him. She groaned and tried again. This time she managed to move halfway down him before her spasming cunt muscles locked down on him and refused to move any lower. Piper whimpered in frustration. Keith played with her tits while she rose up and fell down, trying to take more of him deep within her. His dick tunneled up inside her with each fall of her body to his. Finally, she managed to seat herself fully and ground her clit into his groin. He pumped his cock inside of her until Tripp put a halt to their play. “Piper, put your hands behind your back for me.” She lifted a brow at Keith, and the other man just smiled. She put her hands behind her back, and Tripp wrapped something around one wrist, and then the other. Then he tightened it slightly. She realized that she couldn’t move her arms anymore.

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“Hey. What are you doing?” “Making you completely at our mercy, baby. I want you to feel totally dependent on us to take care of you. Do you trust us, Piper?” “I–I’ve never done this before.” “That’s okay, baby. Do you trust us?” She thought about it and realized she did. She nodded her head. “I want to hear you say it out loud.” Tripp wasn’t letting her get off easy on this. “I trust you, both of you.” She licked her lips and drew in a shallow breath as he slowly pushed her toward Keith. The other man caught her and helped her lay down against his chest. Tripp added lube to her back hole and began to massage it in with his finger. He slowly entered her with it until he was web deep and able to pump it in and out freely. He added more lube and then a second finger. She pushed out as he pressed inward, and the second finger slipped inside with only a minimal pinch. She was doing well. “You look so pretty with your ass up in the air and your hands tied back for our pleasure.” Keith whispered naughty things in her ear as Tripp added a third finger. She couldn’t help the yelp as it pinched going in. She breathed through the pain and then began trying to move back onto his three fingers as they tunneled in and out of her dark hole. “Okay, baby. You’re ready. I’m going to stuff you full of my cock. Are you ready, Piper?” “Please, Tripp. I’m ready. I need you in my ass.” “Easy, baby. I’ll fill you up. Just relax. He slowly began to advance the tip of his cock into her ass. The pressure was unbelievable. She pushed out and breathed through the pinch and then the slight pain. It soon morphed into a dark pleasure. She tried to push back and then pull forward, but she had no way to do either with her hands bound behind her back. She truly was dependent on them to take care of her.

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Keith pulled her forward onto his cock then shoved back as Tripp pulled her onto him and off of Keith. Over and over, back and forth, they exchanged her between them until she wasn’t sure where she was anymore. She just experienced the decadent joy of having both of her men inside of her. They shared her and took her at the same time. Piper felt the surge of molten lava rise in her blood as she drew closer and closer to her release. Tripp stroked his cock through nerve endings that were sensitive to the lightest of touches. Then Keith tunneled up into her, rasping over her G-spot with each shove of his dick. Between the two men, she soon shot skyward for one last sizzle before she exploded into a million pieces and rained down on them with her screams. She felt her juices release even as Keith shot his cum up into her pussy. Two more strokes and Tripp followed them both over, filling her ass with his cum. She fought for breath as they both pulled her in opposite directions trying to hold her at the same time. Finally, they chuckled and slowly pulled from her body. She couldn’t help trying to keep them inside of her, but they eventually pulled out. Keith held her tightly against him while Tripp retrieved a wet cloth to clean her up. Then Keith left her with Tripp as he cleaned up. They never left her alone, and that meant so much. She cuddled between the two men, knowing in seconds they would be asleep. She yawned and knew she wasn’t far behind them. It hit her then that she was falling in love with them. They were truly perfect as far as she was concerned. And she was falling for them. How perfect could that be?

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Chapter Twelve Keith pulled on the fence as Tripp secured it to the pole. Sweat trailed down his forehead, heading for his eyes. He couldn’t wipe it away with his shirt because he couldn’t let go of the fence. It was going to fall into his eye. When Tripp stepped back, Keith quickly wiped it away in the nick of time. “Only three more fence posts to go, and all we’ll have left to do is hang that second gate.” Evidently Tripp was feeling much better about the fence. “Sounds good to me. I’m already worn out, and it’s only been about thirty minutes since we got out here.” “You’re still worn out from last night.” Tripp chuckled. “And you’re not? Who was it that we had to coax out of bed this morning?” “Screw you.” Keith laughed. “Man, I think I’m falling in love with her. She’s everything in a woman I could ever want.” Tripp was quiet for a few minutes as he tied off another strand of fencing. Then he stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead on the back of his sleeve. “I love her, man. I’m just scared we’re going to lose her.” “Why would you think that?” “It’s too fucking dangerous out here for her. You said it yourself. Keeping her safe is the most important thing we have to do, but we have to work every day.” “She’s going to be fine with this fence and her being able to shoot a gun.”

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“I hope you’re right. It’s going to kill me if something happens to her.” “You think it won’t do the same to me?” Keith got a little pissed off that Tripp thought he didn’t care about her just as much. Hell, he’d just confessed that he was falling in love with her. “I know. Sorry. This has me too screwed up to think straight. Let’s finish this thing so we can be with her before we have to leave her alone.” Keith huffed out a breath and looked around. He didn’t see anything lurking around, but he felt like something was watching them. The rifle was within easy reach. He pulled the fencing tight with the pullers and held it there as Tripp secured it. Finally, they reached the gate and worked on it until they’d cussed enough to get it on and working smoothly. Keith held up his hand for a high five with Tripp. “Whoohoo! Got that son of a bitch done. Let’s go inside.” Keith followed the other man to the kitchen door. They stomped off their boots at the back door then stepped out of them to keep from tracking the dirt into the house. They had only been inside a few seconds when Piper came running into the room with a grin on her face. He loved seeing her happy to see them. He wanted to come home to that every day. He would do his best to always leave her smiling so he could come home to the same sight. “You’re back! Is it done?” “All done, baby. Promise me, though, that you won’t go out except to tend to the garden.” Tripp held her by the shoulders waiting on her answer. “I promise. I don’t want to be outside without you here anyway.” She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she turned and jumped into Keith’s arms. He hugged her close and kissed her warmly on the lips before squeezing handfuls of her ass. She giggled and slipped out of his arms.

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“It’s a little early for lunch. How about seeing what I’ve put together so far on the plant book.” “We’d love to see what you’ve been working on.” Keith took her hand and followed as she led them to the office. She had made up the booklet with all of the poisonous plants first, the pretty plants second, and edible plants third. “I was hoping you would drive me over to where there were some stone berry plants so I could take a picture of them. I’ll get pictures of posh when ours grow.” “Maybe this afternoon. We’ll have to see. If not now, then when we’re off again for sure.” Tripp looked through the pictures she’d set aside for another book. “That would be great.” Keith liked that about her, too. While she could be insistent on some things, she wasn’t pushy on everything. There were so many things he liked about her and so few that bothered him. He hoped she would grow to love them someday. It was almost too much to ask, though. They hadn’t picked each other, and for all he knew, they weren’t anything like who she would have chosen given a chance. “You’re awful quiet. Is there something wrong?” She wrapped her arm around his and clasped their fingers together. “Nope, nothing at all. I’m proud of your booklets, Piper. You’ve done a phenomenal job on them.” “Thanks. I’m having fun. I can’t wait to see the progression of the garden as it grows. The booklets I’ve read say it grows so much faster than the ones on earth and produce even bigger vegetables.” “That’s what it says. I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said with a grin. “Well, if anyone’s grows like that, it will be ours. We worked hard on it.” “You planted them just right, too,” Keith quipped. Tripp had been looking over the photos and picked up the ones of the dorrie.

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“How did you manage to get four fucking pictures of that thing before I got you back in the house?” “I pressed the button down and held it. It takes pictures in rapid succession if you hold the button down.” “How did you find that out?” he asked, sounding less upset. “I read the directions.” She grinned at him. “Don’t get smart with me, baby. I’ll tan that bottom.” “Promises, promises.” She popped him on the ass and ran out of the room. “You’re asking for it, Piper.” Keith just shook his head and watched as Tripp ran after her. He figured he would let them have some alone time. He could use a nap. He was really tired for some reason. **** Tripp caught her in the living room and carried her upstairs over his shoulder. She held on for dear life, afraid that they would tumble backward at any second. When he got her in the bedroom, he threw her on the bed and grinned down at her as he slowly pulled his clothes off. “Strip, baby. I’m thinking I need some loving.” She slowly pulled off her clothes, taking her time so that she still had on her underwear when he was totally naked. He crooked his finger at her. She got on her hands and knees and crawled across the bed to him, licking her lips as she moved. “I thought I told you to strip.” He reached over and popped loose her bra. It fell down her arms. Then he grabbed her panties and ripped them off her body. She yelped then grinned at him. “If you do that very often, I won’t have panties to wear.”

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“Remind me to do that more often.” He grabbed her hair and pulled her closer to him. “Suck my cock, baby. I want to feel you take me to the back of your throat.” She sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped her hands around his bobbing dick to steady it so that she could lick it up and down. She sucked all around the edge of the cap, and then ran her tongue around it until a drop of cum appeared in the slit. She hummed and licked through the slit to scoop up the delicious taste. “Aw, hell. That feels amazing. Lick me there again.” She complied and then sucked in just the cap before sucking all the way down until he bumped the back of her throat. Then she relaxed and let him go deeper. She swallowed around him “Fuck!” He threaded his fingers into her hair as she swallowed around him again before sucking her way back off of him. “I want to fuck your pretty mouth, babe. Will you let me?” She braced herself on his thighs and nodded as he held her head still and began to slide his dick into her mouth in short, quick stabs before slowly inching down her throat. She hummed as he reached the back. He gripped her scalp then released it. “Damn, baby. That feels so good. Relax your throat for me.” She sucked on him once then relaxed and let him tunnel down her throat. In and out, in and out. She dug her nails into his thighs then reached between his legs and began to gently fondle his balls. He groaned and began to face-fuck her for real. Piper growled around him and began to rake her nails over his balls just enough that he went up on his toes as he thrust in and out of her mouth. She swallowed around him and gently squeezed. He pulled out and grabbed his cock at the base and squeezed. “Holy hell, baby. You almost made me come and I’m not near about through with you.” Tripp drew in a deep breath and relaxed his grip on his dick before grabbing her head again and kissing her. He thrust his tongue in and out of her mouth then sucked hers into his where he teased it. He

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stepped back and looked at her with heat in his eyes. She loved that look on him. “Turn over and let me see that ass, baby. I think I want you this way so I can spank you for acting up earlier.” She pouted but rolled over and got up on her hands and knees. Then she wiggled her ass at him. He grinned and tapped each cheek twice before running his hands over them, easing the small sting. Then he ran his finger up and down her slit, smiling. She knew he was finding that she was soaking wet. She’d been wet since he’d chased her around the house. “Fuck, you’re already oozing your sweet juice for me.” She grinned over her shoulder at him again. “Fuck me, Tripp. I need your cock inside of me.” He lined his cock up with her pussy opening and pushed slowly inward. She threw back her head and groaned, needing him to thrust all the way into her aching cunt. She tried to back onto him, but he spanked her, a sharp tap that burned. She moaned and tried it again. He gave her another one on the other cheek, then another. She contracted around his dick, reacting to the wonderful pain that suffused her body. “You’re squeezing my dick too much, baby. I don’t want to come until I’ve reamed your sweet pussy.” She sighed and relaxed. “You have to stop spanking me then. I can’t help it.” He tapped her again with a laugh. Then he plunged deep into her cunt with his cock. She sighed as he bumped up against her cervix with just enough force to ignite her senses. She shivered all over. There was no way she was going to be able to keep from squeezing his dick. He was hitting all the right spots inside of her. He pulled back out and rammed home once again. She whimpered and put her head down on the bed, baring more of her ass for him. He took advantage of it and spread her ass cheeks as he tunneled in and out of her pussy.

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“Fuck, you’re tight. I’m not going to last, baby. Play with your clit for me. Make yourself come for me.” Piper grinned. She reached beneath her and began to run her finger around and around her clit. Then she reached farther back and ran her fingers over his cock as he stroked in and out of her cunt. He groaned and thrust deeper. She returned to her clit and began rubbing in earnest now. She could feel Tripp losing his rhythm. He was about to come. She pressed, and when he bumped her cervix the next time, she exploded around him. Her cunt clamped down on his cock, making him spill his cum deep inside of her. The pressure of her climax washed over her, and she collapsed on the bed with Tripp’s dick holding her ass up in place. He draped his body over hers and kissed her up and down her spine. Then he pulled out and pulled her back into his arms as he relaxed on the bed. “I adore you, Piper. You take me like I am and enjoy it.” “You’re pretty okay yourself.” He bit her shoulder, and she yelped. “I take that back.”

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Chapter Thirteen Piper woke up feeling like something was wrong. She reached around to find that Keith wasn’t in the bed with them. She crawled out and went looking for him. He wasn’t in the bathroom. She pulled on a T-shirt and tiptoed downstairs to find him asleep in the recliner. She bit her lower lip wondering if he was mad about something. Why else wouldn’t he have come to bed with them? She stood there thinking for several minutes. Surely he wasn’t mad that she and Tripp had sex without him. They’d each had sex alone before, and it hadn’t seemed to bother him. She hesitated to wake him, but decided she needed to know what was wrong. “Keith? Wake up.” He didn’t move and didn’t wake up. She laid a hand on him and nearly jerked it back. He was burning up. She realized then that he was sick. She tried rousing him again. “Keith, wake up, honey. You’re sick. What’s wrong?” She shook him, and he moaned. Wringing her hands, Piper realized she needed help. She hurried up the stairs to get Tripp. She didn’t know what to do. “Tripp, wake up. Something is wrong with Keith. He’s burning up.” “What?” He opened his eyes then shook his head. “What’s wrong, Piper?” “Keith is sick. I can’t wake him up.” Tripp rolled over to check him and realized he wasn’t there. “Where is he?”

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“He never came to bed last night. He’s downstairs in the living room. What could be wrong with him?” “I don’t know. Hold on, baby. Let me get dressed.” He pulled on his jeans. “Come on, and let’s see what’s going on.” She followed him down the stairs. When he tried to wake Keith up, all they could get was a moan from him. “He’s definitely running a fever. We need to get it down. Do you think he’ll swallow if we give him something with some water?” “I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. I’ll go get it and be right back.” She hurried off to find the medication and pour a glass of water. She found Tripp sitting Keith up in the chair. She handed him the medicine and held the glass ready. He put the pills in Keith’s mouth and told him to drink some water. Amazingly enough, he swallowed the pills and only spilled a little water. He seemed to follow directions to some extent, but didn’t answer them when they tried to wake him up. “We need to get his fever down. It’s too high. I’m going to sponge him off. Can we get him upstairs do you think?” Tripp nodded. “I’ll get him up there.” He gripped Keith under the arms and pulled him up. “Stand up for me, Keith. We need to go upstairs.” Keith seemed to try to stand. Tripp put Keith’s arm over his shoulder and grabbed him by the jeans to walk him up the stairs. Keith shuffled along until they got to the stairs. Then he stopped. Tripp nodded at her. “Go on upstairs. If we fall, I don’t want you to be behind us.” “But I could push you upright so you don’t fall backward.” “No. Get upstairs, Piper.” He waited until she had made it to the top and was waiting on the landing for them. “Come on, Keith. Let’s go upstairs to bed. You’re sick, man.” Keith lifted his leg and started climbing the stairs with Tripp guiding him. There were several close calls when they tipped

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backward, but Tripp managed to hold on to the banister and keep them upright. Piper held her breath until they were safe on the landing with her. Then they shuffled into the bedroom. Once they had Keith sitting on the bed, she and Tripp stripped him and then had him to lie down. “Oh, God, thanks, Tripp. I can sponge him off like this. It’s too high to try and sweat it out of him. Why did he get sick? He was fine earlier. Do you think he got too hot working outside?” “I don’t know. I didn’t think it was that bad out there.” Tripp followed her into the bathroom where she wet several clothes and carried them back into the bed. She washed him off, bathing his chest and face. “What about that creature? Did he get anything from it on him? What if it’s some sort of reaction to that?” “Hell, he probably did get some on him. I did, too, but it was only on my clothes. Maybe he got some on his skin and didn’t realize it.” “Call the doctor, Tripp, and see if he can tell from the symptoms.” Tripp nodded and headed toward the door. Piper continued to bathe him, returning to the bathroom occasionally to rinse out the clothes in cool water. She would run get a pan as soon as Tripp got back. She hoped he was able to raise them on the radio at this hour. She glanced at the clock above the mantel. It was close to three in the morning. After what seemed like hours, Tripp walked back into the room with a grim expression. She shivered at the thought that something major was wrong. “What is it?” “The doctor said it sound like a poisonous plant reaction that one of the women had not too long ago. I told him that we hadn’t touched any of them yet. We were planning to dig them up and destroy them later.” “What do we do?”

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“I brought up the shot for allergic reactions. We’re supposed to give him that and treat the fever the best we can. He said the toxin is deadly and it was a miracle that the woman lived. He didn’t sound too hopeful, baby.” “No! He’s going to be okay. I won’t let him die.” She hurried down the stairs and grabbed a pan and filled it full of ice. Then she carried it back up the stairs and added water from the tub. Tripp took it from her and carried it back to the bed, setting it on the floor for her. She soaked the towels in the icy water and then bathed his body with it. He didn’t react at first, but finally he began to shiver and move around on the bed. “Did you give him the shot yet?” “Yeah. He didn’t make a sound when I did. I hope this works. I don’t want to lose him either, baby.” Piper spent the next thirty minutes washing him down until he began to thrash. Once he started getting out of hand. Tripp covered him with the blankets and kept Piper away from him, so he wouldn’t hit her. She hated not being able to comfort him. He looked so small in the bed like that. Once he calmed down, she climbed into bed with him and hugged up to him. She kept telling him that she was there. She begged him not to die. Tripp emptied the pan for her. He told her was going to start some coffee. They were going to need it to stay awake with Keith all day. By noon, Keith seemed to be some improved, but he still didn’t say anything. He followed directions but that was about it. At least his fever hadn’t returned. Piper remained with him while Tripp searched around outside to try and see how he could have gotten into a poisonous plant. At two, he returned. “How is he doing?” “There’s not much change. He still follows directions, doesn’t say anything, but his fever hasn’t returned.”

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“I think I found out what happened. When we were putting the fence up, he fell once, trying to dig one of the holes. We laughed about it, but where he fell was a plant that I’ve never seen before. It could be poisonous, I don’t know. I took a couple of pictures of it.” “It wasn’t a thistle plant?” “Nope, and it wasn’t that yellow plant that they warned us about either.” “So if we don’t know what it is, how are we going to treat him?” “Let’s look and see if we see a rash or anything anywhere.” Tripp helped her look. “Here, Tripp. Look at this. It’s all bubbly.” She pointed out a spot on the back of his calf. “It looks like it’s turning a green color. What do you think it is?” I remember reading something about one of them men getting scratched by one of the creatures and having a green color on his shoulder. It had a sort of pucker to it.” “This is bubbly, so it may do the same thing. I’m going to go call the doctor up on the radio again and tell him what we found.” Tripp left her with Keith. She gave him more water and decided to try some soup once Tripp made it back up. Keith needed to keep up his strength. She continued to talk to him and was telling him that he was going to be fine, to keep fighting, when Tripp walked back in. “The doctor isn’t sure what is going on. He said he’s reacting like the thistle plant, but the green bubbles sound like he’s been contaminated by one of the creatures. He said either way, the only thing to do was to keep him comfortable and hydrated.” “Damn it, Tripp. There has to be something more we can do. I can’t stand to see him this way.” “I know, baby. I wish there was something I could do.” Tripp sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m going to call the ranch and tell them what is going on and see about staying home with you.” “You can go on to work, Tripp. We’ll be fine. There isn’t anything to do.”

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“I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone with him. What if he gets violent again? I don’t want you to get hurt. He’s strong even though he’s sick.” “I know.” She sighed and nodded. “I guess you’re right. I hope they will understand.” “I think they will. I’ll be back in a little bit.” He left once again. She continued to talk to Keith while Tripp was gone. At one point, he turned his head toward her and worked his mouth but didn’t say anything. Then he didn’t even follow her commands for a while. He’d done that before for a little while, and she’d wondered if he’d just gone to sleep. Maybe he was awake in there but couldn’t say anything. She shivered at the thought. “Okay, they’re fine with it and wished us luck. Danny said if we needed anything to let them know. He’s the one that had the scratch on his back, but he said he didn’t have much of a problem with it other than the green and the bumpy skin.” “That’s nice of them. So we know that Keith must have gotten into the blood of that muskie you killed. It’s the only thing that would explain it.” “I’m beginning to agree with you.” Tripp sat down on the chair she’d been sitting on. Why don’t you go downstairs and get something to eat?” “I’m going to fix him some broth while I’m down there. I’ll bring you a sandwich up, too.” “Thanks.” Tripp smiled at her. “He’s going to be okay, Piper. The others made it through their ordeals. We will, too.” Piper nodded and hurried down the stairs. She didn’t want to leave him any longer than was necessary. She was beginning to realize something. She was falling in love with her men. She should have recognized it earlier, but she had been too sure that it was just that she cared so much about them. She needed to tell them, but she would wait until Keith was better.

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She made sandwiches and forced herself to eat one but it was all she could eat. She placed the other ones in a container and carried them upstairs to Tripp. Then she returned with a bowl of broth for Keith. When she talked to him, he seemed to be listening. “This is broth, Keith. You need to eat some of it. Open your mouth for me.” He opened his mouth and swallowed when she spooned some in. She continued feeding him until he refused to open his mouth. She figured he’d had enough. She set aside the bowl and sighed. “We both need some rest. Let’s put him between us. I want to be able to tell if he starts having trouble.” Tripp squeezed her hand. “You’re probably right. I’m going to go take a shower. Do you mind watching him until I get back? Then you can take one.” “I’ll watch him, baby. Relax in the tub instead. You’re tense. You won’t sleep like that.” “Are you sure?” “Of course. Do you want me to run your water for you?” “No, thanks, but I can get it.” She headed toward the bathroom. Ten minutes later, Piper sank into the tub and moaned at the wonderful warm water. It soothed her and helped loosen the tightness in her neck and shoulders. Tripp had been right. She would never have gotten any sleep feeling as she had. When the water began to cool, she climbed out of the tub and dried off. When she returned to the bedroom, Tripp had positioned Keith in the middle of the bed. He still looked so weak to her. She never would have associated him with being weak. “Are you going to be okay on the other side?” Tripp asked. “I’ll be fine. You go and take your shower. I’m going to go on to bed.” Tripp kissed her then headed for the bathroom. Piper climbed into bed on one side of Keith and snuggled up to him. She thought she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, but she couldn’t seem to settle down despite the soothing bath.

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When Tripp returned nearly thirty minutes later, she was still awake. He climbed into bed and turned off the light. She was glad that he’d left the bathroom light on and the door cracked. She sometimes had to get up in the night to go to the bathroom. “You’re still awake over there, aren’t you?” “Yeah, I can’t seem to settle down. I don’t know why.” “Might be all the coffee we drank earlier.” “I don’t know, maybe. I think I’m just worried about Keith. I think he’s awake in there, but he’s paralyzed, and that has to be so frightening.” “For once, I hope you’re not right.” “Me, too, Tripp. Me, too.”

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Chapter Fourteen Three days later, Piper woke up to Keith draped over her. She felt a thrill at the knowledge that he’d moved in the night. “Tripp. Are you awake?” “Hmm, sort of.” “Keith moved. Look!” Tripp turned over and laughed. “Thank God he chose you to wrap himself around. I would have freaked out.” “Help me move him. I have to go pee.” Tripp pulled Keith back over to the middle of the bed. He actually tried to hold on to Piper’s arm. “Easy, man. Let her go. She has to go to the bathroom.” Keith released her arm and opened his eyes. He looked from Piper to Tripp and back again. “Thirsty.” “I’ve got some water right over here. Hold on.” Tripp rolled over and grabbed the glass. “I’ll be right back.” Piper hurried to the bathroom then returned to the bedroom as soon as she’d finished. “He drank half the glass.” Tripp was pulling on his jeans. “Keith? Can you hear me?” Piper climbed up on the bed next to him. He opened his eyes and smiled. He reached for her, and she slipped into his arms. He hugged her then pulled her down with him in the bed. “I don’t think he plans to let me go, Tripp. Maybe you could bring me some coffee in a little while.”

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“Better you than me.” Tripp chuckled and finished dressing. “I’ll be back in a little while. Call out if you need help.” Piper snuggled up against Keith’s chest. “I’m so glad you’re awake. I’ve been so worried about you. Can you say anything?” “Piper.” His voice rumbled in his chest and into her ear. She smiled. It was great to hear his voice. “That’s me. Do you feel better? Do you want anything?” “Okay. Piper.” She laughed. Evidently he felt okay and he wanted her. That sounded like Keith. She laid her hand on his chest and waited for Tripp to return with coffee. Maybe Keith would like some, too. She hoped Tripp thought about that. “Hungry.” “I’ll go get you something.” She started to get up, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Tripp fix.” She laughed again. It was wonderful to have him back. Albeit not quite well, but back just the same. She hugged him. “We’ll tell him when he brings my coffee back.” Thirty minutes later, Tripp walked in with two cups of coffee and a giant smile on his face. “Figured he would want some, too.” “He said he was hungry. Can you fix something and bring it to him?” Tripp gave a mock growl. “Look, Keith, I’m not your manservant. We’ve walked you back and forth to the bathroom a half dozen times since you’ve been sick. Get your ass up and cook your own damn breakfast.” “Later. Coffee now.” “He’s demanding.” Piper grinned and nodded. She shoved at Keith’s arm. “Let me up so I can drink my coffee.”

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He moved his arm but just wound it around her waist instead. She could sit up, but she couldn’t go anywhere. “Looks like you’re stuck for the day.” Tripp handed her the coffee cup. He put the other one on the night stand. “You can have yours when she finishes hers and gets it for you. I’ve got to go cook someone breakfast.” Piper smiled as he headed toward the door. She sipped her coffee and hummed her appreciation. It tasted wonderful. She noticed Keith eyeing the mug. “Do you want some?” “Yes.” “Then we have to sit you up. That means you’ve got to let go of me so I can set my cup down.” He squeezed her for a few seconds before letting her go. She scooted out of his grasp and put her cup on the table next to his. Then she climbed back up on the bed and helped him pull up to a sitting position. Then she stuffed all the pillows behind him so he was sort of sitting up. Cocking her head, she decided it would have to do. She picked up his cup and handed it to him. He grasped it but was shaky. She helped him carry it to his mouth and sip then held it as she rested. Then they did it again. He smiled and made an mmm sound. “Done.” Piper put his cup back down and grabbed hers. She sat on the edge of the bed and smiled as she sipped the delicious coffee. Keith frowned at her. She knew what he wanted, and she wasn’t going to fall for it again. “Nope, I’m not getting back in bed with you right now. I have some things I need to do. Then I’ll take a nap with you later. Deal?” He made a face but nodded. Ten minutes later, Tripp returned with a tray and a plate of food. He glanced at Keith sitting up haphazardly and shook his head. “I see that you tried to get him up. I hope you didn’t hurt yourself trying to pull on him.”

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“He did most of the pulling. I just held his hand and then stuffed pillows behind him.” Tripp nodded and walked around the other side of the bed. He climbed up and removed the pillows and straightened Keith up before adding back two pillows. She had to admit, he looked a lot more comfortable. Then Tripp put the tray on the bed over Keith’s legs. “Can you feed yourself?” Keith moved his hand up and managed to grab the fork, but couldn’t maneuver it around too well. He looked disgusted. Tripp grabbed the fork just before Keith threw it. “None of that. It takes time. You’ve come a long way, man. I bet if you act nice, Piper will feed you.” Keith still looked disgruntled but nodded. He cut his eyes over at her. Piper smiled and grabbed his coffee after setting hers back down. She climbed up on the bed and set the cup on the tray. She figured it would be fairly easy to help him eat. Twenty minutes later, she was exhausted and frustrated. He had managed to eat about half of the meal with another fourth of it on the bed. She tried to help him feed himself, but finally gave up and did it herself. He was stubborn to the core. “Looks like it’s time to change the sheets. That means you’re going to be sitting up in the chair for a while today.” “Ready now.” “Sorry, you’re going to have to wait until Tripp can help me. I can’t handle you. You’re a big dude.” She cleaned him up then as much of the mess in the bed as possible. “I’m going to get dressed now and go downstairs to eat. I’ll be back up again in a little bit to see about you. Okay?” “Okay, quick.” She shook her head with a smile and searched for clothes to put on. She chose shorts and a T-shirt. She needed to check the garden as

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well as eat breakfast. She waved at Keith before picking up the tray. Then she hurried out the door and down the stairs. “How’d he do?” Tripp took the tray and dumped the leftovers into the recycler. “Okay, but he’s stubborn and wanted to feed himself. We made a mess. I need to change the sheets later. You’ll have to help me get him over to the chair.” “No problem. I’ll do it. Just tell me when you’re ready.” He pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Now sit down and eat. You need to keep your strength up to deal with him.” “You’re telling me. He’s very insistent on wanting me in bed with him.” “Hey, I’d be the same way. I’d want you there, too.” “I imagine he’s frustrated at not being able to move on his own or say what he wants to say. I can’t imagine that.” “He’ll be good as new soon. He’s really made a lot of progress in just the last twenty-four hours.” Tripp washed his hands. “I’m going to go check on the garden.” “Wait! I want to go, too. I just need to get the camera.” “Finish eating. I’ll wait on you.” Tripp ruffled her hair like a kid and sat down across from her. She hurried and finished eating, swallowing some of it whole. She would probably regret that later, but she didn’t want Tripp to get tired of waiting and go without her. “I’ll be right back.” Piper ran out of the kitchen toward the office. She grabbed the camera and hurried back to find Tripp standing at the door. “I know the fence is up, but be aware of what’s around you all the time.” “Got it.” She shuffled from foot to foot, eager to get outside. Tripp chuckled and opened the door. He looked around then walked outside into the sunshine. The morning was already warming up quite a bit. He told her it would be a hot one. Piper hurried over to

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the garden, and her jaw dropped. The plants were already out of the ground. She had missed them breaking through. “I’ll be damned. Would you look at that? They’re already growing.” Tripp stepped up next to her as she aimed the camera and took pictures. She eased down each row, taking close ups of several of the plants. Then she pulled out a pencil and stuck it in the ground to act as a measure. By the time she had finished documenting the entire garden, she was sweating. Tripp had dragged the water hose out and turned it on to flood the rows. “Tripp, show me the plant you were worried about. I want to take pictures of it.” “I don’t want you anywhere near it, Piper. We don’t know if that’s what happened to Keith or not. I don’t want to take a chance.” “I’ll stay away from it. Just get me close enough that I can take a picture. Remember, I have a zoom lens. Please, Tripp. I need to document it in my booklet.” He frowned but thinned his lips and nodded. “You don’t get any closer than I put you, understand?” “I won’t move. Believe me. I don’t want to go through what Keith is going through.” Tripp led her over toward the back of the garden near a tree line. He put her where he wanted her before pointing out the slightly trampled, blue-tinged plant with a double stalk. The leaves were much like a maple trees were with points on the ends. They didn’t look like thistles though. Piper took a dozen pictures from different angles with Tripp’s approval. Then she looked around for anything else she might need to document. “Come on, baby. We better get back inside. You’re getting a little too much sun, and I’m sure Keith is chomping at the bit to move.”

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“Oh, I almost forgot about him. He’d be hurt if he knew that. We better hurry.” She all but ran back to the house. When she got inside, Piper set the camera on the table and headed upstairs. Tripp caught up with her on the landing. “You’re going to need help. Don’t go trying to move him on your own.” “I wasn’t. I knew you were right behind me.” They walked into the bedroom together and sighed. Sitting on the floor by the bed was a very naked and pissed-off Keith. He glared at them. “Hey, buddy, don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one that had to be stubborn and try something he had no business trying yet.” Tripp walked over and helped him stand up. Then he walked him over to the chair and helped him in it. “Keith, did you hurt yourself?” Piper grabbed the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around his waist. “No. Pride.” He sighed. “I know. You’re doing so much better, Keith. Be a little more patient.” “While I was sick, knew you were there. Couldn’t say anything. Frustrated. Hard to be patient. She leaned down and kissed him. “I know.” Tripp had stripped the bed. She walked to the closet and pulled out another set of sheets. They remade the bed, and Tripp took the sheets downstairs for her. She would wash them later. “I bet you would feel better if you had a shower, wouldn’t you.” “Feel better.” He smiled. “I’ll get Tripp to help you take one this afternoon after we take a nap. I need to see about some things downstairs. Will you be okay sitting up for another hour?” He nodded and sighed. She was sure he was tired of being alone. She didn’t blame him. She would hurry so she could get back upstairs and keep him company.

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Piper hurried down the stairs again and walked into the kitchen. Tripp was putting together some sandwiches. “I figured we would eat in another hour.” “Afterwards, will you help me get Keith back in bed? I figured we would take a nap together. Then maybe you could help him shower. He would feel so much better.” “Good idea on the shower. I’ll do that if you help me bathe him. You just have to be careful and not get under him if he starts to lose his balance. If he fell on you, he’d hurt you.” Piper grinned. “I’m going to work on the pictures for an hour. Come get me if I lose track of time. She headed toward the office with the camera. Once there, she soon lost herself in working on the photos. She couldn’t get over how fast the plants had grown in the garden. They’d just planted them. She documented their growth in the pamphlet and arranged the pictures to show the best ones. When she got to the picture of the unknown plant, she managed to blow up the leaves enough to notice that there were little sticky things on them. She checked several other pictures of the leaves to be sure it wasn’t just from her blowing it up. They all showed them. A few of the little sticky things were a light brown color, and some still had that blue tint to them. She printed off several of them and carried them out to find Tripp. He was in the living room reading over some of the information on the ranch they had been given. He looked up when she walked in the room. “What is it? You look like you’re about to burst.” “Look. These are the leaves from that plant. Do you see anything strange about them?” He stared at them then pulled them closer and stared harder at them. He shook his head slowly before staring up at her. “They have little stickers on the leaves. They’re tiny. I didn’t see them when I looked at them before.”

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“See how some of them are brown and some are still that blue color? I think the brown ones stick, and the others are still immature. I bet this is what got Keith. Those bubbles are about the shape of the leaf.” “Fuck, we didn’t even know to stay away from it. I wonder how many more there are around here?” Then he looked back at her again. “You’ve got to get this information out so that everyone will know to stay away from it.” “I’ll work harder to finish up my dangerous plants pamphlet so maybe we can take it to town sometime.” “We’re taking Keith to see the doctor as soon as he’s able to travel. He wants to see him and draw blood so he can compare it to everyone else’s he’s dealt with. We can take it then if you have it ready.” “I’ll work on it until I get it done.” She looked at the clock over the mantel. “Looks like it’s time to eat and then see about Keith again.” “You put the pictures back up, and I’ll grab the sandwiches and meet you upstairs.” Piper returned the pictures to the office and thought about how close they’d come to losing Keith. She couldn’t imagine being without him. She needed to tell them both that she loved them. They might not ever fall in love with her, but she didn’t want something to happen to any of them without her telling them that she loved them. Their lives were fragile in this new world. Anything could happen to any of them. She hated to admit it, but it was the truth. She would tell them tonight.

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Chapter Fifteen Keith woke up feeling even better than before the nap. Now he felt like he could move on his on, but he would wait for help. He didn’t want to fall flat on his ass again. Not only had it hurt like a son of a bitch, but he’d felt like a fool. Piper stirred next to him. He smiled. She’d come to bed with him so he wouldn’t be alone. He loved her more than he loved life. He needed to tell her. He should have already told her. If something had happened, and he had been killed, he would have regretted never telling her. “Are you awake, Keith?” She lifted her head to look at him. “I’m awake. Ready for that shower.” “You’re talking better. That’s great!” She climbed up in the bed and kissed him soundly on the mouth. “My leg itches.” “You have a rash on it. We think we found the plant that got you so sick. It isn’t one of the ones they told us about. It’s a new plant I’ve never seen before.” “Is my leg okay?” He began moving his leg. “It’s fine. You have a bumpy rash on it, and it’s a sort of greenish color.” “My fucking leg is green?” He frowned and tried again to get to his leg. “Careful, Keith. Don’t hurt yourself.” He kicked the covers off and managed to sit up and look at his legs. He found the weird green area with the bubbly skin. It wasn’t really a rash. It looked more like burns with bubbles. It almost made

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him sick to look at it. What in the hell did it mean? Was it going to spread? “It’s fine. It hasn’t changed at all since we found it.” “I need to move around. Stiff.” “Let me go get Tripp. I’m scared I can’t help you.” Keith nodded and watched her climb off the bed and dress before heading toward the stairs. He waited impatiently. What the fuck was taking so long? He rolled over to the edge of the bed and pulled himself up so that he was sitting upright. He didn’t try to get up. He’d exhausted himself, and he needed to have enough energy to take a shower. He could smell himself. How had Piper stood to sleep next to him? Tripp walked into the room with Piper behind him. She started taking her clothes off again. Tripp stripped as well. “Ready for a bath, man?” “Ready. I hope I can stand up so you don’t have to hold me up.” “We’ll get you clean one way or another. Just let me do the work so we don’t end up on our asses on the floor.” “Ready, Piper?” Tripp asked. “Ready.” Tripp pulled Keith to his feet and wrapped an arm around his upper chest and walked him to the bathroom. Keith felt like he was doing fairly well at walking. Once they got to the bathroom, Tripp lowered him to the toilet to wait while he turned on the water and adjusted the temperature. He wondered if Piper was going to do the actual bathing part. He sure as hell hoped so. He really didn’t want Tripp doing that. Tripp helped him to his feet again and into the shower. The water felt like heaven to him. He was able to hold himself up using the back wall for support. Piper began to bathe him. He looked down at his nasty-looking calf where the green-tinted skin was. He sure as hell hoped it would go away. Something told him that it wasn’t going to, though.

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He watched as Piper ran the cloth over his chest and down his abdomen. She skipped his genitals and bathed his leg, avoiding the green area. Then she walked around behind him and began bathing his back. She worked her way down his ass and cleaned between his ass cheeks. It felt weird for her to do that. At last, she rinsed out the cloth and soaped it up again and cleaned his cock and balls. She was gentle, but it stirred him, and his dick began to get hard. He breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been worried about that. “Um, Keith. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to um, take care of that. You aren’t strong enough not to fall. Maybe when you’re in bed.” “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad the damn thing woke up. I’ll be fine.” Tripp chuckled but sobered when Keith stared at him. He knew it was probably amusing to think that he was worried about it when he’d nearly died, but it was his cock, not Tripp’s, in limbo. “Okay, you’re officially clean. Don’t you feel good?” Piper hugged him and the friction of their bodies hugging felt so fucking good to his engorged dick. He would love nothing more than to bury himself in Piper’s hot cunt, but that would have to wait. He knew he wasn’t strong enough yet. “Much better. I’m getting tired. I better get out now.” Tripp grabbed him and helped him walk over to the toilet to sit again. They dried him off and then helped him back to bed. He welcomed the mattress beneath his back this time. He was tired. He needed to rest for a while. First he needed to tell Piper that he loved her, before something else happened. “Piper. Come here for a minute.” She smiled and walked over to sit on the bed next to him. He loved her smile. He loved how she pouted when they teased her. Hell, he loved everything about her. “I love you, baby. I wish I’d told you sooner, but I kept thinking there was plenty of time to tell you later.”

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He could see tears in her eyes before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. “I love you, too, Keith. I love both of you so much.” She looked over to where Tripp was pulling on his jeans. He stopped and looked at her with a stricken expression on his face. Keith wondered what that was about. He knew Tripp loved her. He’d said so when they’d talked about how dangerous it was there. Piper hugged him then kissed him again. He kissed her back and came away panting. He was still so fucking weak. He hated it. She stood up and walked over to Tripp and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you, Tripp. You don’t have to say anything. I know you might not love me and may never love me. It’s okay.” Tripp looked over at Keith. He mouthed back at him. Tell her, you asshole. The other man dropped his head to hers and held her for several seconds. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Piper. I’m just scared something is going to happen to you. It’s so damn dangerous here.” She cupped his cheek with her hand and smiled. “I’ll be fine. You’ve done everything you could to keep me safe. Don’t worry so much. It will give you ulcers.” Keith chuckled. Leave it to her to lighten the mood. He watched Tripp nod and then walk out of the room. He wanted to kick his ass, but that would have to wait until he could lift his leg without help. “Go to sleep, Keith. You need to rest after that. I’m going to go start something for dinner. If you need anything, you can yell.” She disappeared from sight, and he relaxed against the mattress. He felt much better now that he’d told her. She had deserved to know. He hoped she understood that he wasn’t just saying it. He would keep telling her every chance he got. Keith closed his eyes and waited for sleep. ****

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Tripp sat in the living room reading over the same sentence in the report about the ranch over and over again without really comprehending it. All he could see was Piper’s soft eyes as she told him that she loved him. He felt undeserving of her love. She was so good to them. She didn’t complain or fuss about anything outside of the garden. He smiled. She loved that garden, and she’d never had one before. He loved so many different things about her, but most of all he loved how giving she was. She would do anything to make them feel good. There had to be a way to assure that she was safe. He would drive himself crazy worrying about her while he was at work. Keith hadn’t been as uptight about it before. Now he might. Something so simple had nearly killed him. Piper walked into the room from the kitchen. Before he knew what she was going to do, she’d climbed up into his lap and laid her head against his chest. “What is it, Piper? Is something wrong?” “Not really. I’m just worried about Keith. He’s feeling so dependent right now, and I can tell that it is eating at him.” “He’ll be fine once he can move on his own again. That’s not too far off, either. He’s recovering really fast.” “I know you’re right. I just can’t stand to see that sad look in his eyes.” She pulled back and looked at him. “You have the same look. What’s wrong, Tripp?” He huffed out a breath and decided he needed to be truthful with her. “I’m still worried about leaving you here alone. I know we put up the fence, but I’m scared it’s not enough.” “I’ll be fine. The only thing I even remotely worry about is that mantis thing. It was really aggressive, and it might actually ram the fence. If it does, I’ll have plenty of time to get in the house, though. Then I can lock myself in the office or upstairs until you get home.”

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“You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” Tripp hadn’t realized that she’d been worried at all. She hadn’t shown it. “I’m not oblivious to the dangers, Tripp. I’m just realistic. We’ve done everything possible, and it should work fine. I also know that the mantis is the most dangerous thing out there because it’s bigger, and it’s fast and it doesn’t seem afraid of anything.” “Promise me that you will be careful.” “I promise. I’ll be careful.” She smiled at him and jumped down. “I better check on dinner again.” He watched her swish her way back in the kitchen. He sighed and resigned himself to a lifetime of worry. When children came around, that worry would be multiplied. He would be lucky not to go gray before he turned forty. He picked up the ranch information and dug back in to learn everything he could about their new job. They would get their horses and bring them back as soon as Keith was well enough to work again. Then they would have the added responsibility of taking care of the horses. Tripp waved that thought away and concentrated on the job. Sometime later, Piper called to him that dinner was ready. She passed him heading toward the stairs. “I’m going to take Keith his. I’ll be right back down. He can feed himself now.” “I’ll wait for you.” She heaved out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Let it get cold on you.” He grinned. She was so sexy when she was pissed off. He liked making her feisty before they made love. He walked into the kitchen and took his seat at the table. He helped himself to the food and waited for her to reappear. When she did, she looked a little flustered. Keith had been at it again. He had to grin. The man was a horndog. “Keith messing with you, baby?” She colored a pretty pink. “He’s just being Keith.”

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“I can imagine what he said to you. He probably told you that he couldn’t wait to sink his cock deep into your cunt. Or he talked about sucking all your pussy juices as you come on his tongue.” “You’re both terrible. Don’t make me blush, Tripp. I get all hot and winded.” “It lets me know that you want me. It feels good to see you all flustered.” “You’re both assholes.” But she grinned when she said it. They finished eating, then Piper hurried upstairs to gather Keith’s dirty dishes. He waited until she came back downstairs before he got up from the table. He carried his dishes to the sink and rinsed them to go in the dishwasher. He watched her as she busied herself cleaning the kitchen. “Tripp, do you think it’s too soon for me to, um, get Keith off? He’s still hard.” He grinned. “Only if I can watch. I like seeing you go down on him.” “If he’s still aroused when we go to bed tonight, I’m going to suck him off then.” “There you go, baby, say the words.” “Tripp. Behave.” She slapped him on the arm. “Not going to happen where you’re concerned. You keep me hot and aching.” “Maybe after I take care of Keith, I can take care of you.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I’ll definitely take you up on that, baby. Your hot mouth is like a warm, wet glove that squeezes me to the point of pain. I crave it and want you to enjoy it as much as I do.” “Oh, I enjoy it all right. Bringing a great big man to his knees turns me on faster than anything.” She grinned at him and scrambled back from the sink before he reached out and grabbed her. “You better run. If I catch you, I’m going to eat that pretty pussy and slip my fingers in that hot cunt and make you come.”

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“Don’t tease me like that. I need to take care of Keith first. Then we can play if you want to. I like messing around.” “Then let’s go see about Keith. I get a front-row seat.” “You’re incorrigible.” They climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom to find Keith asleep. Piper didn’t see a problem with that as long as he was still hard. She quietly stripped then watched Tripp as he removed his clothes. She loved seeing his body as he pulled of his clothes. The way his muscles moved turned her on even more. She climbed into bed, being careful not to jar it and wake Keith. Then she pulled back the covers just enough to see. Sure enough, he was still painfully hard. She looked back at Tripp and smiled. He smiled back and nodded his head. Piper carefully took Keith’s cock in her hand and swallowed him down hard and tight, sucking his thick dick as hard as she could. As she was coming back up, Keith groaned and gripped a handful of her hair. “Fuck, baby.” She didn’t respond. Instead she ran her tongue all around the cap then rasped over the slit at the top of his dick. He hissed in a breath. She felt Keith get on the bed to watch. She figured he was stroking his cock as he watched. Her own pussy juices were flowing as she sucked Keith’s cock down again. This time she relaxed her throat to take him deeper and swallowed around him. “Son of a bitch! That’s it, baby. Hell yeah…ah, just like that.” She hummed around him as she reached a hand between his legs and gently rolled his balls. He groaned and pumped his hips up. The more she sucked, the tighter his fingers where in her hair and the more her cunt muscles clenched. She needed a hard cock in her pussy. She wiggled her butt at Tripp, hoping he would get her meaning. Piper came up off Keith, swirling her tongue all around his thick dick. She sucked him hard then rasped his cock with her teeth coming

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back up. He jerked in her mouth. Again she rolled his balls in her hand, making sure to finger the perineum before gently squeezing them. Evidently Tripp figured out what she wanted because she felt his cock at her slick opening just before he plunged inside her. She screamed around Keith’s dick. He threw back his head, and she knew she’d stimulated him even more. The deeper Tripp fucked her aching cunt, the deeper she took Keith until she could no longer go any farther. She could tell he was getting close by the way he erratically thrust up into her mouth. She lightly racked her nails over his balls as she sucked him down once again. He erupted down her throat. Ribbons of cum filled her as she swallowed convulsively. She licked his dick down her throat until she’d taken every drop of his cum. He massaged her head as he panted, trying to catch his breath. Tripp began stroking in and out of her pussy faster and deeper now that she wasn’t sucking on Keith’s cock. He pummeled her cunt, rasping across her hot spot with almost every plunge. Her juices eased his way and ran down her thighs. “Fuck, you’re so freaking tight. I’m not going to last, baby.” She squeezed her cunt muscles around him, trying to throw him into orgasm. She loved being able to send all his plans into the trash that way. He jerked inside of her and, after two more strokes, began to fill her cunt with his cum. Keith reached under her and fingered her clit as Tripp finished pumping through his orgasm. She thrashed on top of him as her climax stole over her when she hadn’t expected one. She screamed and tensed up until her ass cheeks hurt. Pleasure overrode the small discomfort, and she plunged over the top, their names on her lips.

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Chapter Sixteen Two days later, Keith was up and walking around on his own. He was even able to negotiate the stairs as long as he held on to the rail. They were making plans to meet up with the other families on the ranch the next Saturday night. Piper was equal parts excited and nervous. She had found out that the main family was made up of Andrew, Danny, and their wife, Rachel. They had one child, a little girl. Then there was the other family working the ranch, Boyd, Keeton, and Ashley. They had a little boy. Piper was outside documenting how fast the plants were growing and getting close-ups of the native ones like the currick. Her pamphlets and booklets were growing thick fast. She finished with her camera and hurried inside to print out the pictures. “There you are. You’re awful difficult to find these days.” Tripp teased her unmercifully about being a wildlife photographer. “Ha, I can only be in one of a few places. You’re just lazy and don’t want to have to walk through the house looking for me.” “Regardless, I want a little hug and a kiss. I missed you this morning. You got up awful early.” “I couldn’t sleep for some reason. Figured I’d do something productive instead of tossing and turning. All I was going to do was wake up you guys.” “Anything on your mind that would keep you from sleeping?” Tripp wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head against his chest. She didn’t have a clue.

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“Not really. It might be meeting the other families on Saturday. Other than that, I don’t know.” “Well, put that out of your mind. They’re just regular people like we are. I bet you’ll enjoy having other women to talk to.” “Oh, I know I will. I don’t know. That may not be it at all. It could just be a fluke and nothing else.” He hugged her tight and kissed her on the nose. “Well, don’t make yourself sick over it. We’re not even eating with them.” “Are you hungry? I’m about to start breakfast.” “I’m always hungry, oh, you meant for food.” He chuckled when she popped his arm. “Be serious. Is Keith awake? I’ll start breakfast now if he is.” “He’s in the shower. He’ll be down in a little bit. Breakfast would be great, babe. I’m going out to water the garden and check the fence. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Piper watched him through the window as he set up the hoses among the plants. Then he disappeared around the side where he would start checking the fence for any problems with it. So far nothing had tried to enter it. She hoped it would be enough deterrent to keep everything out. She didn’t want the men worrying about her any more than they already were. Twenty minutes later, Keith walked in the kitchen, his hair still wet from the shower. He headed straight for her and wrapped his arms around her waist. When he drew her in for a kiss, she responded as if she hadn’t had a kiss from him in months. She still hadn’t gotten over nearly losing him. As his mouth ate at hers, she ran her hands up his wide chest and grasped his broad shoulders. He felt alive to her, and that meant so much. He finally pulled back and touched their foreheads together. “Morning, baby. What freaking time did you get up?” “Um, maybe five. It’s not all that early. When you start working, you’ll go to work at seven. I sure dread it when you work nights. I’ll

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worry about you two. I doubt I’ll even be able to sleep while you’re gone.” “You’ll be just fine. What’s for breakfast? Where’s Tripp?” “He went out to water the garden and check the fence. Sit down, and I’ll bring your plate over.” About the time she put Keith’s plate on the table, Tripp walked in. He eyed Keith’s plate and chuckled. “What?” Piper asked. “He’s got you wrapped around his finger. You’re waiting on him hand and foot. Don’t you think he’s gotten enough pampering time out of his ordeal by now?” “No,” Piper and Keith said at the same time. Tripp laughed again and went to wash up. “Seriously, he’s right, you know. I don’t need all this coddling. I’m fine now. I’ll be going to work next week.” “I know. I can’t help it.” “Sure you can. Just say no.” Tripp walked back in with a grin on his face. “Easy for you to say,” she grumbled. They sat down and finished breakfast while talking about their upcoming meeting on Saturday. Piper listened but didn’t join in. She could tell the men were excited about getting back on a horse and working again. According to them, it had been almost a year since they had worked on a ranch. Then her mind wandered to the women and what she knew about them. They had both gotten pregnant about the same time and both had been exposed to creatures that either bit them scratched them, or something. Either way, they had odd-looking scars and some sort of mutated cell or something in their blood. She shivered. “You okay, Piper?” Keith asked. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a chill for some reason. I’m not cold or anything.”

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“Maybe you need to take it easy today. You’ve been working nonstop on those book things of yours. You need a break.” Tripp reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m okay, guys.” Keith stood up with his empty plate. “Still, you need to rest anyway. How about a nap after lunch today?” “I thought you said I needed to rest.” She grinned at him. “I’m talking about a real nap, baby. No messing around.” She pouted. “I like messing around.” Tripp and Keith rinsed their plates and added them to the dishwasher. She really had good husbands. They weren’t messy, and they cleaned up after themselves, for the most part. They were generous lovers and her best friends. She had worried so much about them when she had been on the shuttle. She knew some men didn’t like their wives to be sexually aggressive, but Tripp and Keith loved it. Plus, they knew what she liked and gave it to her. To think that a computer had chosen them for her boggled her mind. They excused themselves and went outside to look around. She knew that Tripp had been checking the fences every morning to be sure nothing had messed with them. He was worried something would either break through or dig under it. She felt like they were worrying over nothing but didn’t say anything. She didn’t make a big deal out of it since she hated that they were anxious about leaving her alone while they were working. When lunchtime rolled around, they came back in talking about how fast the garden was growing. “She’s going to be harvesting some of that stuff in the next two or three weeks.” Tripp shook his head. “Makes you wonder what it will do to us when we eat it.” “I hate to tell you guys, but we’ve been eating stuff from the planet all along. Remember? It’s too late to worry now.” Piper set a plate of sandwiches on the table.

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They all sat down and ate. Tripp told her that so far there hadn’t been any signs of animals messing around the fence anywhere. “Maybe it is enough of deterrent just being there in their way. They’ve probably never seen anything like it before.” “I’d feel better if we could see how something reacts to it.” Keith took a bite out of his sandwich. “I think you two are worried for nothing. I’m the one who has to worry about you two being out in the wide open every day. Not to mention when you have to be out at night. I’m going to be a nervous wreck until you get home every night.” “Piper, we’ll be on horses and have rifles with us. We’ll be fine.” “You’ll have to call me up on the radio every once in a while to let me know you are okay.” Tripp chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.” Piper sighed. They weren’t taking her seriously, yet they were taking leaving her seriously. Men were so exasperating sometimes. She resigned herself to constantly worrying about them. She just hoped they weren’t trying to placate her and were really taking their safety seriously. **** Saturday morning, Piper couldn’t be still. She flitted from one thing to another without accomplishing anything. Keith and Tripp both commented on how tired they were from watching her jump around the house. “Settle down, Piper, or you’re going to be too tired to go.” Tripp tried to hug her, but she pulled away. “What time did you say we had to be there?” “Two o’clock. That’s three hours from now. How about an early lunch.”

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“Lunch! Oh, God. I forgot about lunch.” She hurried to the kitchen to see that she’d already started pulling out things to make sandwiches. She sighed and mentally kicked herself for being so nervous. They were just people like she was. There was really no need to get so uptight about meeting them. Piper finished making the sandwiches and called for the men to come eat. After they had finished and Piper had cleaned the kitchen, they sat in the living room waiting on time to leave. “How will you know where to go when we’ve never been there before?” she asked. “We’ve got the coordinates, and all I have to do is punch them into the buggy transport system, and it will direct us right there.” Tripp grinned at her. She sighed. She had probably already asked him that once. Keith had been quiet through most of her questions. He caught her eye and winked at her now. She smiled and relaxed some. She really was being silly about the entire thing. She needed to relax and enjoy talking with the other women. She knew they wouldn’t get to see each other very often. “You’re awful quiet over there,” Tripp said. “Trying to calm down. I know I’m driving you crazy.” “Naw, you’re cute when you’re all flustered.” “She’s really cute when she’s embarrassed.” Keith chuckled. “Guys, don’t embarrass me today. Please.” “We’ll see. Depends on how much time we have on our hands when we get there. I love it when you get pink all over. It’s almost as pretty as my handprint on your ass.” She rolled her eyes and frowned at him. “Don’t start. I’m hanging on to my sanity by a very thin thread.” Keith tried to hide his laugh by clearing his throat and his smile behind his hand. She wasn’t fooled one single minute. They were both laughing at her. She would get back at them when they least expected

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it though. That made her grin. The guys saw her and sobered fast. They weren’t stupid. They knew she always had the upper hand. Two hours later, they loaded up and pulled out to go to Andrew, Danny, and Rachel’s house. It took them a good fifteen minutes to get there. On the way they saw several different-looking trees that Piper would have loved to have taken pictures of. They guys promised her they’d take her driving one day when they were off. When they pulled up outside the house, Piper’s butterflies returned. She thought for a few seconds that she might actually get sick. Then two women emerged on the front porch with four other men. Tripp got down from the transport buggy, then Keith jumped down and reached up to help her down. She found herself hiding behind Keith. “You must be Tripp, Keith, and Piper. Come on in, and we’ll introduce everyone. I’m Andrew, by the way.” He led them into the house. Piper thought it looked almost identical to theirs except for the decorations. She guessed they built one type of house and stuck to it. It would make for an easier time building the houses if they were all the same layout. “This is Danny and our wife, Rachel. Over there are Ashley and her husbands, Boyd and Keeton.” Everyone nodded and shook hands. Rachel waved for her to come over and follow her and Ashley into the kitchen. She smiled as they sat around the table. Rachel poured coffee for them. “The men will come get their own in a little while. So, how are you getting on so far, Piper?” “Okay so far. I’m really freaked a little bit about how fast the garden is growing. I guess I will get used to it after a while. Then there was Keith getting sick, and that scared me to death.” “I’m glad he’s doing fine now. That’s scary. We’ve all had close calls, though, and lived through them. I’m not sure if that’s a

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testament to how strong we are, or if it just means that it wasn’t really a bad case.” Ashley spoke up. “You also have to be very careful of the animals here. I got slobbered on by a muskie, and it left bubbly scars that are yellow. I hate them. We’ve got a fence around the back of the house and garden now, and if you watch to be sure they don’t dig under, then you’re okay.” “The guys are worried about them doing that. They check the fence every morning. So they will actually do that?” “Yep. We’ve had to hunt them down here a couple of times when they dug their way under.” Piper didn’t like the sound of that. She’d thought the men were being overly cautious, but maybe they weren’t after all. The chance of one getting in was greater than she thought. She shivered. She needed to add that bit of information to her booklet. She thought about telling the other women what she was doing, but didn’t want to sound like she was a braggart. “So, are you pregnant yet?” Rachel asked.

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Chapter Seventeen Piper nearly spewed out her coffee. She hadn’t thought that they might ask her that. Good, Lord. “Um, no. Not that I know of anyway. I guess I really hadn’t thought about it happening so soon.” “If your men are anything like ours, they’re keeping you busy in bed. It will happen soon.” Rachel smiled at her. “You need to be aware that your pregnancy doesn’t last the full nine months here. It only lasts about eight.” “And another thing is that your baby will grow faster than you expect. Rachel and I are writing a little book about what to expect here because the books they sent are based on Earth, and it doesn’t follow the same rules here.” Ashley sipped her coffee. “I can’t even imagine what you’re saying. I’ll be a nervous wreck when I do get pregnant.” She blew out a breath. “I’m making some booklets, too. I’m documenting the wildlife and the plants with photos so people can steer clear of what is dangerous. The one that got Keith wasn’t even mentioned in the booklets they are passing out at the station when you get here.” “You’re kidding. Do you have a picture of it so we can stay away from it?” Rachel sat her cup down. “Lord, I didn’t think about that. I actually have my camera and it’s on the memory. Do you have a printer here?” “We do. Let’s go do that right now.” Rachel stood up and they followed her as she headed toward the living room. The men looked up with curious expressions when they walked through. Rachel waved at them.

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“We’re going to look at some pictures Piper has on her camera of dangerous plants.” “Piper, be sure you give them one of that plant that got me,” Keith said. “I am.” She turned and followed Rachel and Ashley. The office was an exact replica of their office. She settled herself at the desk where the picture printer was and docked the camera to it. Then she pulled up the photos and scrolled through them until she came to the weird plant. She printed off six pictures of it, three for each of them. “This one is of the entire plant so you can see what it looks like.” She held up one of the pictures. “This one shows you just a leaf. And this one is the leaf close up so you can see the tiny sticky spine things on the leaf.” “Oh! I think we have several of those out in the back of the garden. I’ll have to make sure Boyd gets rid of them.” Ashley shook her head. “I can just see Daniel running back there to try and get away from me.” “Daniel is your little boy?” “Right. He’s one and driving me crazy. He’s about the age of a two-year-old if you go by Earth’s measurements.” “My Clara is the same age. We got pregnant about the same time. She’s actually a few weeks older.” “Wow, I–I don’t know what to think. I’ll definitely be calling you when I get pregnant. I’ll never figure it all out.” She shook her head and drew in a deep breath. “Let’s go back to the kitchen and have some more coffee. I’ll probably have to make some more because I’m sure the men took the opportunity to drain the pot while we were gone.” Rachel laughed. They retraced their steps through the living room and sure enough, they all had coffee in their hands. She smiled at Tripp and Keith. Ashley stopped off and gave her pictures to her husbands and told

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them what they were. Keeton actually paled when she told him that there were some in the back of the garden. Once they were all sitting around the table again, waiting on the coffee to make, Rachel brought up the subject of there being something different about a cell in their blood. “We all have it, even the ones who haven’t been bitten or scratched or drooled on.” She nodded toward Ashley when she said “drooled.” “It must be in the food we eat, then,” Piper said. “We think it’s really in the soil and that transfers to the plants and so the food we eat. For all we know, it might even be absorbed directly from the air.” Rachel seemed to have thought a lot about it. “And this mutated cell or whatever it is isn’t causing any trouble?” “Not that we have seen. The doctor in the city is keeping a watch over it. He’s baffled and worried, but there’s nothing any of us can do.” Ashley got up and poured the coffee for Rachel. “You’ll just make yourself sick worrying about it. I almost did that. I was so sure my baby would be born deformed or something. He’s just fine and very advanced for his age.” “Yep, I’m definitely going to need you two when I end up that way. I’m already stressing over the fact that Keith and Tripp have to be out at night sometimes.” “They’ll be fine. Ours do it now. This way none of them will have to do it as often now that you’re here. Then when another family moves here, it will get even better,” Rachel said. They chatted about the garden and ways to put up the vegetables. Piper learned that they were planning to give her some chickens when the chicks were born and a milk cow. “You’ll have to gather eggs once the chickens are old enough and learn to milk the cow, but it is wonderful to have real milk and eggs for cooking and to eat.” Rachel chuckled. “Believe me. It’s not easy

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learning any of that either. I wore gloves so the damn chickens wouldn’t peck my skin off.” Ashley laughed as well. “And milking a cow is like pulling a water balloon. If you don’t do it right, the cow will tell you about it in a hurry.” “Hey ladies. It’s about time for Piper to be leaving. They are taking the horses back today.” Danny walked in to the kitchen with the other men behind him. Piper stood up, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the men in one place. Every one of them was big. They sucked the air right out of the room. Keith seemed to realize she was panicking and came around the table to take her hand with his. She immediately felt better. She waved good-bye and thanked them for all the information and let her men draw her out of the room and back outside. “I’m bringing the horses back to the house, and Keith is going to drive the transport. You can ride with Keith. I’m not comfortable with you riding back with me, baby.” “That’s okay, I’m not too sure I could ride a horse anyway. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been on the back of one.” “Come on. Let’s get you in the transport.” Keith helped her up and buckled her in the harness. She waved to the others standing on the porch. When Keith climbed in, she was quiet until they were underway. Then she started telling him all about what she’d learned. “How long will it take for Tripp to make it home? I hate for him to be by himself.” “He’s going to be fine. Probably about an hour after we get home.” “Oh. That long. Then he’ll have to take care of them and everything.”

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Keith laughed. “I’m going to help him, so it won’t take too long. We’ll both be in pretty quick.” “I’ll start dinner when we get home. It will be just about ready when you come back inside. I’m sure you will want a shower before you eat.” “You could shower with us,” Keith suggested cutting his eyes over to her. She laughed. “Dinner would burn if I did that. Neither one of you can pass up a chance at messing around with me when I’m nude.” “Well, that’s the point of you taking a shower with us.” “I think I’ll take a rain check on it this time.” “Spoilsport.” They pulled up in front of the house with about an hour until dusk. Piper could already see the two moons glowing in the sky. She unfastened her harness but waited for Keith to come around and help her down. Then they hurried to the house in case there was anything dangerous around waiting on them. “I’m going to go put the transport buggy up. I’ll be right back.” Piper watched Keith get back in the buggy before she turned and headed toward the kitchen. She needed to start dinner. Everyone would be hungry by the time it was ready. She needed something to settle her stomach after two cups of coffee and all the talk about pregnancy and the children being born early. She hadn’t told Keith that part. She thought she would save it until she did get pregnant. She didn’t want to freak them out like she had been. A few minutes later, Keith walked back in. He washed up and then wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. She looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled. “You looked a little freaked out when we came in to get you. What were you girls talking about?” “Oh, just about the dangers and cooking and canning and the gardens. It’s just all so overwhelming to think about. Hearing them talk sort of brought it all home to me. I’ve been playing house in my

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own little world not really thinking about the reality of having a garden come in for me to have to do all that stuff. I’ve just been so excited that it really is growing that I hadn’t thought about what I was going to do with it when it came in.” “It will be okay, baby. We’ll help all we can.” “You’ve got enough to do with working and the horses. Oh, and we’re getting chickens and a cow I found out. I don’t know the first thing about chickens or a cow. I have to learn how to milk the cow, Keith. Who is going to teach me?” “Tripp knows how to milk a cow. He can teach you.” “Do you know how to get an egg out from under a chicken so it won’t peck you? Cause I sure don’t. They suggested I wear gloves.” She pulled away from him to check the oven. Keith chuckled. “I’m not so sure talking to the other women helped you much.” “I’m not sure either.” She sighed. “I really had a good time, though.” “Well, if nothing else, you gave them that picture for them to get rid of all their dangerous plants. That was well worth the trip.” “Yeah. I felt for Ashley. She said she and her son had been back there, and she knew there were some of them back there.” The back door opened, and Tripp came in. Piper started to go jump on him but stopped when she got close. “You smell like horse.” “Tell me about it. Keith, you want to help me wipe ’em down?” “Right behind you.” She watched them leave and then watched through the curtain as they walked through the moonlight toward the stable. When they were out of sight, she returned to the stove to check on dinner. Then she set the table and wandered into the living room. She wanted to go work on her booklets, but not before dinner. She would lose track of time and burn it. Instead, she relaxed on the couch and waited for them to return.

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**** The slam of the kitchen door sometime later jarred Piper from dozing on the couch. Crap. She had fallen asleep and forgot about dinner. She hoped that it wasn’t ruined. She jumped off the couch and nearly collided with Keith and Tripp in the doorway. Tripp steadied her with his hands on her upper arms. “Whoa. Where are you going in such a hurry?” “To check on dinner. I must have fallen asleep.” “It’s fine I’m sure. I don’t smell anything burning.” Keith winked at her. “We’re going to take a shower. We’ll be down in about thirty minutes.” Tripp snuck a kiss then hurried up the stairs. Keith wasn’t far behind him. Piper checked the food in the oven and pulled it out. It wasn’t dry, so she thought it would be okay. Then she added some water to the beans and put the top back on them. Maybe it would be okay. If not, they could eat sandwiches. She just hated to have been caught napping. She was fixing a plate when the men walked back in the kitchen. Tripp took the plate from her and gave her a kiss in exchange. Keith grabbed a plate off the table and began to fill his plate as well. She just shook her head and waited for them to finish before she filled her plate and sat down with them. “Sorry, baby. We were starving.” “That’s okay. It was funny to see you grab that plate from me. I almost slapped your hand.” “See, then I would have had to turn you over my knee.” Tripp winked at her. “You’ve been promising that for a while now. I’m not sure I believe you anymore.” He chuckled. “Just wait, baby. Just wait.”

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They ate mostly in silence since the men were starved. They each got seconds then rinsed their plates and stuck them in the dishwasher for her. She cleaned up the kitchen then joined them in the living room. They were talking about how nice the horses were, and they were surprised they had fared so well on the trip over. “Tripp. Keith said you could teach me to milk a cow. Is it hard?” “Keith can teach you, too, baby. I’ll teach you, though. Why? We don’t have a cow.” “We’re getting one, though. Oh, and some chickens, too.” “How did that happen?” He looked over at Keith. Keith held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I had nothing to do with this.” “Rachel said they are giving us some of their baby chicks when they are old enough, and we’re supposed to put in for a cow and bring it back so we can have milk.” “That’s it. You can’t go see them anymore.” “Tripp. Don’t be ridiculous.” She frowned at him. “Is that what had you looking like a deer standing in headlights?” he asked. “I guess. It’s just all so overwhelming.” She told him the same thing she had told Keith earlier. “Baby, you don’t need to worry so much. We’ll all work together and get everything done. Okay?” He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “I told Keith, and I’m telling you. You are already working hard every day. You shouldn’t have to worry about the garden. That’s supposed to be my job. I’m just nervous is all. I’ll be fine once the time actually gets here. It won’t be huge all at once. It will start out small and build. By that time I will have gotten the hang of it.” “I don’t know about you two, but I’m ready for bed. It’s been a long day.” Keith stood up and stretched. Tripp yawned. “Looks like I am, too. Are you coming, baby?”

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“I’m right behind you. I need a shower. I smell horse on me from earlier.” She frowned at him. “Hey, you’re the one who came barreling into the kitchen.” Tripp stood up, letting Piper climb off of his lap. They followed Keith upstairs. While the men stripped, Piper turned on the water in the shower before she pulled her clothes off. She climbed in to the stinging spray and quickly washed. She couldn’t help thinking back to what Rachel and Ashley had said about being pregnant and having their babies. It scared her. She hadn’t really thought much about it before now. She dried off and slipped into the bedroom to find the men already snoring. She shook her head and climbed in between them, shimmying under the covers. She lay there for a long time before she finally relaxed enough to get sleepy. God, what if I’m already pregnant?

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Chapter Eighteen Nearly three weeks later, Piper was finally getting into the swing of the men working away from home. She had worried herself sick the first few days. Then she began to relax. Between the garden and working on the pamphlets, she kept busy, and that helped a lot. Each night Tripp and Keith came home exhausted and dirty. As the days went by, they seemed to get used to it as well, and by the second week, they weren’t as tired when they got home. She made sure they had hot dinners at night and a filling breakfast each morning. She made their lunches and sent them with them each day. Piper stretched as she stood up from pulling weeds. She hated this part of gardening. It was backbreaking work, and it was never done. Sometimes she could swear that they grew back as fast as she pulled them up. She walked over to where she had a glass of lemonade sitting on a table and downed it. She pulled off the earbuds from her MP3 player while she looked over the massive plants that had defied all logic as far as she was concerned. The tomatoes had taken over one side of the garden and produced huge fruit. She had already canned twenty quart jars, and they had sandwiches with them as much as they could stand. The currick plants were so full of beans that they almost fell over. The posh plants were full of fruit as well. She didn’t know where she was going to put it all. The cellar would only hold so much. She put the earbuds back in her ears and turned her music back on as she walked down one side of the garden. Everything looked well watered, and most of the grass was pulled. She was ready to go back

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inside. It was probably time for lunch. She wasn’t really hungry, but she could use some water and maybe a nap. Piper headed toward the house, carrying the now-empty lemonade glass with her. Something hit her from behind and knocked her flat on her stomach. She screamed as something bit into her shoulder. She got a glimpse of fur and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Dorrie! Dear God, a dorrie has me. He’ll kill me. She screamed and tried to roll to get it off of her. She reached back and dug her nails into something that squished, and the thing screeched like a banshee, but it let go of her. She struggled to her feet and staggered toward the door. She heard the thing growling behind her. It spurred her faster. She had trouble opening the door with bloody hands. They kept slipping. Finally she got it open and slipped inside, slamming the door against the creature before it could get in. It screamed and growled as it rammed the door over and over again. Piper sank to the floor totally exhausted and dizzy. She could feel the blood running down her back from her shoulder, but where was the other blood coming from? She had it on her arms and hands. She looked down and recognized part of the glass she’d been holding. It was stuck in her shirt, near her other shoulder. I’m going to die here all alone. The guys will find my body when they come home tonight. She realized that the horrible screaming and growling was gone. The dorrie had left. What should she do? She needed to get up and finds something to get the glass out with. It took two tries before she was able to pull herself up using the doorknob. She was so dizzy. She leaned back against the door and felt something hard at her hip. She was almost scared to see what it was. Then it hit her. It was the radio. She dug into her pocket and pulled out the black rectangular box and hugged it to her. Then she shuffled over to the kitchen table and sat down. She ripped what was left of her MP3 player earbuds out of her ears and pushed the button on the radio like Tripp had shown her

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how to turn it on and talk. She held the button down and called for Tripp. “Hey, baby. What’s going on?” “Tripp. I need you. I need Keith.” “Piper, what’s wrong?” His voice had changed to a more serious tone. “I’m hurt. I need you. Please, Tripp.” “Baby, we’re on our way. Where are you?” She heard him yell for Keith. “In the kitchen.”’ “Are you safe right now? Is there anything inside with you?” “No. I’m alone. I’m all alone. Where’s Keith?” “Fuck! Piper, don’t you dare pass out on me.” “I’m so tired. I worked hard today. There was a lot of grass to pull.” “Where are you hurt, baby?” “It bit me on the shoulder and then I broke the glass and fell on it.” “Hell. Piper, is the glass still in you?” “Yes I can’t get it out.” “Leave it, Piper! Do you hear me? Don’t pull it out.” “Okay. I can’t anyway. It’s slippery. I’m going to lie down, Tripp. I’m really tired.” “Ease down to the floor baby. Don’t try and stand up again. Tell me when you’re on the floor.” She thought she heard Keith’s voice. She wasn’t sure because everything seemed so weird. She managed to ease down to the floor like Tripp had told her. She lay over on her side, and that hurt too bad, so she rolled over on her back. That hurt, too, but she didn’t have the energy to move again. “Piper! Piper, answer me.” “Tripp? I’m fine. I’m on the floor. It hurts, but I can’t move anymore. I’m tired.

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She could hear Tripp calling her, but she couldn’t hold the button and dropped the radio. They were coming home. They would help her. **** Tripp climbed off the horse and tied it to the rail outside the barn. Keith was right behind him as he tore up to the house. He would have vaulted the fence if he could have, but he took the time to open it. By the time he made it to the kitchen door, Keith had caught up with him. There was blood smeared all over the outside of the door and the doorknob. He opened the door and nearly passed out at the sight of his wife covered in blood lying on the floor. He knelt next to her and checked for a pulse with trembling fingers. He wasn’t sure he would even be able to feel one unless it was strong. What he did feel was a fluttery beat that told him she was alive, but in bad shape. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Tripp is she alive? Please tell me she’s alive.” Keith dropped to the floor and took one of her bloody hands in his. “She’s alive, but not by much. Get her clothes off her, but be careful. She’s got a piece of glass in her chest over here. I don’t know how deep it is.” “Piper, baby. You hang in there. We’ve got you.” Keith pulled out his knife and began to carefully cut away her clothes. Tripp cut around the piece of glass and cursed. It was a largelooking piece, but there was no way for him to know how deep it actually was. He couldn’t afford to take it out. She could bleed to death in minutes if it had hit and artery or, God forbid, her heart. “Aw, hell, Tripp. Look at her shoulder.” Tripp looked over to where Keith had cut away the material from her shoulder. It was a bloody mess. The double rows of teeth marks told him that it had been a dorrie. “Go call up the doctor and tell him we’re bringing her in and what’s wrong. Then call Andrew and tell him where the horses are

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and what has happened. Ask if they can come see about them for us. I’m going to get her ready to go.” Keith looked reluctant to leave her, but he stood up and ran through the door to the living room. He’d seen tears in Keith’s eyes. He had them in the back of his. Tripp hurried over to where they kept the first aid box and set it on the floor next to her. He opened it and started pulling out bandages and tape. He had to stabilize the glass so it wouldn’t move around and do more damage. Then there were the bites. They would have to be bandaged as well. He worked quickly and soon had the glass as secure as he could make it. He was just about finished with her shoulder when Keith came running back. “Don’t pull out the glass. Stabilize it the best you can. Keep her feet up and cover her with a blanket to keep her from going into shock. They’ll be waiting on us.” “Got it. Go pull the transport buggy around to the front door as close as you can get it then grab several blankets and a couple of pillows.” Tripp was doing everything he could to remain calm, and telling Keith what to do helped. He lifted her legs and talked to her while he waited for Keith to get back. “Piper, listen to me. You’re going to be fine. We’re going to the city to see the doctor, and he’ll take care of you. You’ve got to stay with me, Piper. You keep fighting.” Several minutes later, Keith returned with the blankets and the pillows. Tripp didn’t like this part, but he had to get her in the transport. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You open all the doors for me. I’m going to carry her to the transport and put her in the back with the pillows and blankets. Can you carry the pillows and open the doors?” “I got them. Don’t worry about that. You just see about Piper.”

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“Are you okay to drive?” “I’m fine. You take care of her.” “All right, let’s go.” Tripp gently picked her up and was careful not to jar the glass in her chest. He carried her toward the living room and then the front door. Keith opened the front door and then ran ahead and opened the transport door. As soon as Tripp had her inside and had climbed up inside, Keith closed the door and went back to close the house. Piper moaned, and Tripp immediately stopped what he was doing and leaned in close. “Can you hear me, Piper? You’re going to be fine. I’ve got you. Keith and I are with you, baby.” He adjusted the pillow beneath her head to keep some of the pressure off her shoulder where the dorrie had torn at her. Then he put a blanket and a pillow beneath her feet to keep them elevated. He covered her with two other blankets. Keith started the transport and slowly pulled out. He soon had them flying across the ground heading toward the city. “I talked to Andrew, and they are going to go see about the horses for us. We’re supposed to let them know how she’s doing when we know something.” “Keith, she’s bad.” “I know. But she’s going to be okay. She’s a fighter. You know she is.” “She’s a fighter.” Tripp kept checking every few minutes to be sure she was still alive. Her breathing was so shallow that he had to really look to see the rise and fall of her chest. She was pale and clammy. She didn’t seem to react to anything. He was pretty sure she was in shock, and that would kill her just as surely as the damn dorrie bites could. It seemed like more than a couple of hours had passed. He was quickly losing hope.

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“We’re about fifteen minutes out. I’m going to slow down before we hit the city so I don’t bump her too much.” “Just get us to that doctor’s office.” Tripp knew he sounded defeated, but she had been down for too long. He had no idea how much blood she had lost, but it had been a good bit. “Tripp, Tripp. Did you hear me?” “What?” “We’re here. I’m about to pull up outside the doc’s office.” “Okay. I’m ready.” He was about to pick her up when Keith opened the door and two men stood there with a gurney. The men reached in and carefully moved Piper to the gurney before pushing her into the office. Tripp jumped down and followed them. Keith was a few steps behind him. “Wait, where are you taking her?” Tripp jogged to keep up with them. “To surgery. We have to get the glass out, and I’m not doing it without having everything I need beside me.” “Are you the doctor?” “Right, you can call me Jeff or Doc, whichever you prefer. I’ll come and get you as soon as we have her stabilized.” The two men wheeled her into a room that was marked Employees Only. Tripp didn’t like not being with her. He wanted to storm in and demand that they let him, but he knew it wasn’t in Piper’s best interest. Instead, he turned to Keith and hugged the other man. They were both scared that they were going to lose her. He paced back and forth for the first fifteen minutes then sat in a chair for another fifteen. He went over and over in his head what he’d done for her and finally came to the conclusion that he’d done everything he could have. Then he tried to figure out when the last time they had checked the fence line had been. He turned to ask Keith, and the other man looked at him with a defeated expression. “I don’t remember when the last time was, Tripp. I can’t believe I wasn’t checking it every morning. I guess I just got complacent.”

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“It wasn’t just you. I didn’t check either. We were supposed to both check. It’s on both of us, Keith.” “I can’t fucking believe it. I keep wanting to wake myself up and find out it’s just a dream, a bad fucking dream.” “I know.” Tripp stood up and began pacing again. When an hour had passed, he began to have a little hope. Surely they wouldn’t still be working on her if she hadn’t made it. She was a fighter like Keith had said. “What’s taking so long? Can’t they come out and tell us what’s going on?” “I think it’s just the two of them, and they are both busy with her. It can’t be much longer until they’re finished.” “I don’t think I can stand it much longer, Tripp. My chest is hurting.” “Mine, too. I feel like it’s going to burst open any minute now.” A few seconds later, the door opened, and the doctor walked out with a grim look on his face. Tripp almost collapsed right then and there. She hadn’t made it. Keith grabbed Tripp’s arm and held on. “Doc?”

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Chapter Nineteen “She’s still alive, but she’s lost a lot of blood, and she’s already having some problems from the bites. I need to give her blood. That means someone has to donate that is her type. I looked in your records and Keith, you match her blood type. I have three others ready to give if we need them, but I wanted to see if you wanted to first.” “Hell, yeah. Take all of my blood if you need it.” “Can we see her?” Tripp felt useless because he couldn’t give her his blood. “I’m going to let you both back there, but you can’t touch her right now. Scott, my nurse, is setting the blood donor gear up. You’ll be on a table right next to her. Since I’ve already checked that your blood is compatible, and we don’t have time for all the usual blood tests and such, you’re going to give directly to her.” “Anything to help her.” “All right, come on back. Remember, don’t touch her.” They followed the doctor to the back through the double doors. When they walked into the large room, all he saw at first was a lot of stainless steel and white. Then his eyes focused on the table in the middle of the room where Piper lay with tubes running all over her body. She had a mask on and bandages to her shoulder and chest. There was blood all over the place. It scared Tripp to death. “Keith, can you take off your shirt and get up on the table for me?” Scott, the nurse, had walked up while Tripp was staring at Piper. Keith pulled off his shirt and jumped up on the table. He watched his best friend lay back as the nurse put a cuff around his arm and checked his blood pressure.

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“I need you to calm down or we can’t take your blood. Your blood pressure is too high.” Keith nodded and took some deep breaths before closing his eyes. Tripp watched the other man slow his breathing and relax against the table. A few minutes later, the nurse tried his blood pressure again and nodded. “Looks much better. I’m going to start the process. Be still for me. It’s going to sting for a few seconds, but it will ease.” “I don’t give a damn if it hurts like hell. Get on with it.” Scott smiled and began prepping Keith’s arm. Tripp watched what they were doing to Keith, because the more he stared at Piper, the sicker he felt inside. As Scott stuck Keith, he felt like his heart was breaking. He had always been in charge of everything and everyone. He’d had to learn to back off some with Piper and with the fact that he wasn’t the head honcho for the ranch. It had been difficult, but he had managed. Now he felt like less of a man because he couldn’t provide what his wife needed. Never mind that Keith was his partner and he could. He watched the blood travel up the tube and into what looked like a giant filter and then over into the tube that would connect Keith and Piper together. Scott let a few drops of blood fall to the floor before he connected it to Piper’s tube. Then he adjusted the flow and began to check on her. “Tripp. I need you to watch Keith for me. If he gets weak or sick to his stomach, let me know. I don’t want to jerk anything out of either one of them.” Scott looked directly at Tripp. “I’ve got him.” Tripp walked over to watch his buddy. He put his back to Piper. He couldn’t bear looking at her and not know if she was going to make it. “How are you doing, buddy?” Keith nodded. “Got it covered. I’ve given blood before.” “I have, too, but it’s been a while, though.”

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“She’s going to be okay, Tripp. I feel it in my bones. She’s going to be just fine.” “Fuck, Keith. I hope so. I’m dying inside. I feel like I’ve failed her. I was supposed to keep her safe.” “You weren’t the only one, Tripp. I was supposed to as well.” “Listen up, you two. She needs you at your best. If you’re going to wallow in self-pity, maybe you need to go back outside.” Scott stood by her and looked down his nose at them. “He’s right, Tripp.” Keith seemed to be thinking positively. “Okay. I’ll try.” He drew in a deep breath and turned to look at her. She still looked white-faced with blood splatters all over the blanket that covered her. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and blinked back tears. He would be strong for her. She would survive and need him to help her. She had called for him when she called for help. After thirty minutes had passed, Scott returned to Keith’s bedside to recheck his blood pressure. He sighed and returned to check on how Piper was doing. Then he adjusted the flow. It looked like it was going much slower now. “Are you stopping it?” Keith asked. “I’m slowing it down some. We don’t want to cause her to go into heart failure by giving it too quickly. How are you doing over there?” “I’m fine. Just see about her.” Keith looked back up at Tripp. “He’s fine. Keep going.” Tripp wouldn’t lose them both. He’d put a stop to it when it was necessary. Twenty minutes later, Keith seemed a little more lethargic. Tripp squeezed his hand and his buddy squeezed back, but without his usual strength. “I think that’s about all you can get out of him.” Scott nodded and disconnected them. “Wait. Don’t listen to him. I’m fine. Take all of it if you need it.” Keith was breathing hard when he finished fussing.

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“I’ve got all I need for now. We’ll see about later. She needs to adjust to so much new blood in her now.” Scott bandaged Keith up then returned to check on Piper. “How is she doing, Scott?” Tripp stepped a little closer. “She’s holding her on. That’s good at this point. The doc will be back in a few minutes after he’s looked at her blood work.” “Tripp. I want to see her. Help me.” Tripp walked back over to help Keith off the table and walk toward Piper’s bed. He reached out, but Tripp stopped him. “Remember, don’t touch her. She’s already a little pinker looking since you gave her your blood.” “You think so?” Keith didn’t sound convinced. “Yeah. She’s not as pale as she was when we first walked in.” Tripp could see the difference and felt better about her. Maybe she would be all right. Maybe they wouldn’t lose her after all. He prayed that they would get another chance to keep her safe. “Better go back to the other bed. The doc isn’t as forgiving as I am about needing to see her. He’ll throw you out.” They shuffled to the other side of the bed. Tripp helped Keith sit back on the bed. He figured the other man needed to lie down and probably needed something to drink as well. Once the doctor had come back he would suggest that he get some water. There had been pitchers of water and glasses outside in the waiting room. “Tripp, Keith. Come on back to my office so I can go over this with you. Scott will come get us if there is a problem.” Jeff indicated another door. Tripp had to help Keith follow the doctor into the office. Jeff lifted an eyebrow at that and disappeared for a few seconds. He returned with a pitcher of juice and a glass. “You need to drink this. You gave too much blood.” “I’m fine.” But he drank the glass that Tripp poured. Tripp filled it up again, but he sipped this time. “What’s going on?” Tripp asked.

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“She’s got a very serious bite on her shoulder. It looks like a dorrie bite because of the double row of teeth marks. She already has some discoloration of the skin around it. We’ve cleaned it up and sutured what we can, but some of it is going to have to stay open to drain.” “What sort of discoloration are you talking about?” Tripp figured they needed to know what to expect. “It’s a pale yellow color around the edges of the wound. There is a small streak that runs from her elbow up her arm to her shoulder. I didn’t find any other injuries by the dorrie.” “Did she lose a lot of blood from the glass?” Keith asked. “Not as much as you would have thought. It hadn’t cut into anything major, but it was very close to one of her arteries. She’s very lucky. Most of the blood loss came from the dorrie bite.” “How long until she wakes up?” Tripp wanted to tell her he loved her. “That, I don’t know. It’s going to depend entirely on her, although I do hope she won’t wake up until tomorrow. She needs the rest she is getting right now.” “Is that all?” Tripp asked. “The other thing is that she has the same strange cell and enzyme in her blood that everyone around here has. That’s good to some degree, because it seems to help with some of the injuries.” “I want to take your blood while you’re here and see if you are carrying it, too. Scott got some of yours, Keith. And that is where the worry comes in.” “What do you mean?” they both asked at the same time. “Keith, you have that strange cell plus the toxin that you evidently got from that plant that you got sick from. It’s similar to the one from the thistle plant that Carmen, one of the other women, got sick from, but not exactly the same.” “I’ve still got some of that crap inside of me?” Keith shook his head.

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“The thing is, it’s not bothering you at all, but I don’t know what it’s going to do to Piper since she didn’t have it to begin with.” “Oh, hell. I gave it to her.” “Calm down, Keith. She didn’t immediately have a reaction to it, so maybe it won’t affect her. If it does, it should be a mild one since she didn’t get a full-strength dose like you did.” “But she’s already hurt, Doc.” Tripp ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Won’t it make things worse?” “I don’t think it will. If it keeps her sedated for a few days, all the better. She’s going to be in an awful amount of pain, and this way, she might not feel it until she wakes up.” “I don’t think it works that way.” Keith finally spoke up. “I knew what was going on around me. I just couldn’t move or talk.” “Did you feel any pain or discomfort, though?” Jeff asked. “Actually, I don’t remember any.” “We’ll go on the assumption that you didn’t. It’s really all we can do. If it works like that, then we might have found a natural way to put people into a temporary coma when they get hurt to combat shock. We really don’t have a lot of medications here since we won’t be getting shipments from earth much longer.” “Is she going to be okay? That’s all we really want to know.” Tripp wanted to go back to sit with her. “Barring an infection, she should recover. So far, no one that has the enzyme in them has gotten any type of infection. I think it is a natural immunity to whatever types of bacterial bugs are on this planet.” Both men sighed in relief. She was going to be okay. Keith slumped back against the back of the chair after setting his empty glass down on the desk. “You need to eat now, Keith. The cafeteria isn’t open right now, but there are a couple of places to eat down the street.” “I’m not leaving her. I’ll get something later.”

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“You are leaving her and getting something to eat or you won’t be allowed back there with her again. I don’t want you falling on top of her. You’ll pull out my stitches I worked so hard on.” “Fuck!” Keith rubbed his face and stood up a little too fast. Tripp had to steady him before they walked out of the office. “I have to see her before I go,” he insisted. The doctor nodded and led the way They walked up to her with Scott on the other side adjusting her fluids. Keith leaned over but didn’t touch her. Tripp held him up for safety. “I love you, baby. You rest and come back to us. We’re here waiting on you.” When Keith stepped back, Tripp scooted up and leaned in to whisper in her ear. He told her that he loved her and was waiting on her. “Just rest now, Piper. We’ll be here when you wake up.” Tripp looked at Scott and nodded at the other man. They would go eat, but they would be back soon. They expected her to still be there when they returned. “Don’t worry about Piper. I’m going to take good care of her.” Keith followed behind Tripp as they filed out of the surgery room and back into the main waiting room. Keith collapsed onto one of the chairs. “Man. You may have to just bring something back for me. I’m not sure I can walk that far.” “Tough shit. You’re coming if I have to carry your ass. Now get up and come on.” Tripp put his arm under Keith’s arm and pulled him up. Then he headed for the door with him. They stopped at the first restaurant they came to and ordered steaks. It would be beef from the cows they helped look after. For a second, Tripp felt fairly proud of that, but then he sobered and thought about Piper again. He shouldn’t be thinking about anything

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but her. They almost lost her, and he guessed that they still could if something unforeseen happened. He sure didn’t need to be thinking about himself. He turned to Keith. The other man was fiddling with the salad that came with the meal. “Eat, Keith. You need your strength. We’ve got to be able to take care of her when she comes home.” “What if she doesn’t come home?” “Shut the fuck up, Keith. She’s going to be fine. The doc said so. You’ve got to have a little faith, man.” “I know. I know. I can’t help it. Seeing her with all that blood all over her and then that piece of glass sticking out of her chest just about did me in.” “Well get it out of your system because if you aren’t in a better mood when we go back, you can stay in the waiting room.” “Hell, no!” “Then straighten up.” Keith nodded and continued to eat. Tripp was almost finished with his. He ordered another drink then waited while Keith finished up his steak. They paid the bill with credits from their account. Then they hurried back to the doctor’s clinic. Scott was waiting on them in the waiting room. “What is it? Is something wrong?” Tripp tried to storm past the man, but Scott stopped him. “Hold on. She’s okay. She had a seizure a few minutes ago, but she’s fine now. In fact, she’s better. I just wanted you to know what was going on. We have the rails up and padded so if she does it again, she won’t hurt herself. We were very lucky that I was standing right there with her when she started shaking all over. I was able to hold on the table without hurting her.” “Thank God.” Keith’s mouth finally closed. “Can we see her now?”

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“I have chairs set up for you next to her. Don’t touch her yet. We need her totally free of everything that could contaminate her until we know how she’s going to do after that surgery.” “Okay, we won’t touch her.” Tripp just wanted to get back there and see for himself how she was doing. Scott nodded and led them to the back again. She wasn’t in the big surgery room anymore. She was in a smaller room that still looked complicated to him. It wasn’t just an exam room. She lay in a bed with padding on the side rails that were up all the way around her. Her color looked even better now than earlier, and her face seemed more relaxed and not as if she was fighting pain. “What do you think?” Keith asked. “She looks a lot better.” “I think so, too. I wonder if she can hear us.” “Don’t go breathing on her either, Keith. You can talk to her from here.” “I don’t know what to say anymore. I just want her to get well so we can take her home with us.” “Tell her that.” Keith just sat there for a long time before finally leaning forward and talking to her. “We miss you, baby. Please hurry up and get well. We want you at home with us.” Tripp nodded, and they sat for a long time just watching her breathe. It stilled a lot of the turmoil inside of him just to watch her breathe.

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Chapter Twenty Piper wanted to scream. Her shoulder hurt so badly. She opened her mouth but couldn’t only get out a squeaky groan. “Piper? Can you hear me, baby? It’s Tripp and Keith. We’re right here with you.” They had come for her. She knew they would come get her if she called them. Her shoulder burned. Why did it hurt so much? “Tripp?” “There you are, baby. Open your eyes for us. I want to see your beautiful eyes, Piper.” She struggled but finally pried them open. She had to squint against the bright light overhead. The blurry images of Tripp and Keith were made worse by the tears in her eyes. “Keith?” She tried to focus on him, but her shoulder made that nearly impossible. “I’m here, too, baby. You’re going to be fine. Just keep fighting for us.” She closed her eyes again. It was just too much effort to keep them open. “My shoulder hurts.” “I know, baby. Try to relax, and maybe it won’t hurt so much. I’m going to go get the doctor to get you something for pain.” She recognized Tripp’s voice. He sounded so worried. She wished she could reassure him, but she really didn’t have the energy. She was so tired. “I’m here with you, baby. We’re not going to leave you alone. One of us will always be with you.”

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Keith was almost desperate sounding. Was she dying? God, it felt like it. Had the dorrie chewed off her arm? She tried to move it but couldn’t. Panic set in and she began to toss her head back and forth in order to make it move. “Easy, Piper. Don’t jerk around. You’ll pull out your stitches. Scott! Tripp! She’s jerking around in here.” “My arm.” She managed to get out the words. She wanted to know if her arm was still there. “Easy, baby. Scott is going to give you something for pain.” “Tripp, my arm.” “I know it hurts, baby.” “No! I want my arm.” “She thinks her arm is gone,” a strange voice said. “Your arm is still there, Piper. It’s just all bandaged up to keep you from moving it.” “See. I want to see.” “I’m going to give you this medicine, and then I’ll show you your arm, okay?” “Okay.” She was panting now. She could hear the men talking, but it sounded farther away. Had she moved? She didn’t remember moving. “Okay, Piper. Hold on. I’m going to show you your hand. It’s going to hurt to move your arm, but I’ll show you, so you’ll be able to rest for me.” The strange voice seemed to be coming from her right side. Then her shoulder jumped in pain as something moved it. She yelled out. “Easy, Piper. I’ve moved your arm so you can see your hand. Look so we can put it back.” She looked down her body and saw her hand. She flexed it and cried out again, but it moved. Tears streamed down her face from the pain of moving it.

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“Baby, calm down and rest. The pain medicine should be kicking in soon.” She looked up at Tripp “Home. I want to go home.” Keith bent over her and kissed her. “We’ll take you home as soon as the doctor says we can. You’ve been asleep for a long time, baby.” “Asleep?” “Two days, baby. We’re so glad you’re awake, but you need to go back to sleep to heal. We aren’t going to leave you alone, Piper. Go back to sleep.” **** Piper opened her eyes and found Tripp asleep sitting in a chair with his head on the bed next to her leg. She swallowed to try and wet her throat, but it didn’t work. She was so thirsty. “Tripp? Thirsty.” He immediately sat up. His hair was mused and his eyes still heavy lidded. He looked so good to her. “Baby? Are you okay?” “Thirsty.” “Hold on.” He got up and walked out of her line of sight. A few seconds later, he returned with a glass and a straw. He sat down again and leaned in to get the glass with the straw close to her. “Suck through the straw, Piper.” She made a face at him and took the straw in her mouth. She knew how to suck through a straw. She wasn’t an idiot. She was just hurt, and in a grumpy mood as well. The water tasted wonderful to her parched throat. She swished it around in her mouth to wet it then swallowed and sucked in some more. Finally she moved her head away from the straw. “Thanks. So thirsty.” “How are you feeling, baby?” “Tired. Where’s Keith?”

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“He went home to check on the garden. He’ll be back tonight.” “I want to go home. When can I go home, Tripp?” “In a few days if you’re healed enough by then.” “My fault.” “What is, baby?” “Getting hurt. I wasn’t paying attention around me. Had on my music. I should have heard it coming.” “It wasn’t your fault. It was ours because we hadn’t been checking to see if anything was digging like we were supposed to. We messed up, baby. We’re sorry.” “Not your fault. Tell Keith, too.” “I see that Piper is awake again. How do you feel?” She looked up into the face of a stranger. She turned worried eyes toward Tripp. “It’s okay, baby. This is Jeff, your doctor. He’s the one who saved your life.” “She did most of the work,” he said with a smile. “Now, how are you feeling?” “Tired. Okay.” “Let’s look at your shoulder and see how well you can move it.” She winced when he began to pull back some of the dressing. It hurt, but not much. She could vaguely remember it hurting worse another time. “Okay. Let’s see how the stitches are looking. I’d like to leave the bandages off now.” He pulled the remainder of the dressing off and poked around on her shoulder. “Hey, that hurts.” “Sorry, I’m just trying to see how the stitches are doing. I think we’ll leave them in for another two days. Then they can come out.” “I want to go home now.” “You’ve been a very sick woman, Piper. You need to stay at least another two days.” “Please. I want to go home.” Tears formed in her eyes, making it difficult for her to see.

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“I tell you what. If you do okay between now and when I take out your stitches, I’ll think about letting you go home then.” “Please?” Trip squeezed her hand. “Baby. Let’s go slow. I want you to heal up before we take you home.” She sighed and leaned back into the pillow. The doctor hovered around her working on the other bandage on her chest. She remembered that she’d somehow gotten glass in her chest. She couldn’t remember how, though. When he pulled back the bandage, she yelped. He’d managed to pull at something that was attached. “The bandage stuck to your stitches, Piper. I’m sorry. Definitely need to leave the bandages off so the wounds can get air and dry up.” She frowned at the doctor. She knew deep down it wasn’t fair to be mad at him because he’d saved her life, but she had to be mad at someone. Several hours later, Keith walked in. He looked haggard and tired. She smiled at him when he drew closer. “Hi, Keith.” His eyes lit up. He hurried over to the bed and bent down to kiss her lightly on the lips. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. “Easy, baby. You’re still hurt. No hanky-panky ’til you’re well.” She pouted then turned to Tripp. “Don’t I get a kiss from you, too?” Tripp grinned and stood up to bend over the bed. He gave her a soft kiss that felt tender instead of sexy. She drew back and frowned at him. “What?” he asked, clearly confused. “I want a real kiss.” “Honey, you’re hurt.” “I think I know that better than anyone.” Trip frowned but leaned over and gave her a meaty kiss that satisfied her. She grinned.

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“Hey, they took your bandages off. I bet that feels better.” Keith squeezed her hand. “Not really, they itch, and I can’t scratch them.” “She’s feeling bratty today. I like seeing you feisty again.” Tripp chuckled when she frowned at him. “Are you hungry?” Keith asked. She shook her head. She really didn’t feel like eating. It seemed like too much work now. Maybe she needed another nap. She closed her eyes, but they popped right back open when she heard Keith tell Tripp that he’d had to pull grass because it had taken over the garden. “My garden? Is it okay?” “Shh, baby. It’s fine. Just a little more grass than you want. We’ll work on it some more when we get you home.” “They won’t let me go home for two more days. The garden won’t be there after two days. It will be all grown up.” “Settle down, Piper. We’ll take care of it. I’ll go tomorrow and work on it while Keith stays with you.” “Really?” She didn’t know if they were just placating her or not. “Really, Piper. I’ll leave first thing in the morning and then come back tomorrow night like Keith did.” “Okay. Thank you. I don’t want us to lose the garden. It’s our food for this winter. I can’t believe I screwed up so badly.” “Shh, baby. You didn’t screw up. I told you that.” Tripp kissed her forehead. Keith kissed her hand. “I’m going to go see about getting you something to eat. If you don’t eat, the doctor isn’t going to let you go home.” “Fine.” She would eat if that was the only way to go home. “Piper?” “Hmm?” “How did you get away from the dorrie, baby?” Tripp was sitting on the edge of the bed now.

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“I think I poked him in the eye. I just remember that I was digging back at him over my shoulder, and I squished something, and he let go whining and screaming.” “Look at your thumb, baby.” She frowned and held up her good arm. She looked at her thumb. “My thumb is green!” “See, you wanted to be able to grow the garden. Now you have a green thumb.” “This isn’t funny, damn it. I can’t go around with a green thumb.” “Baby, have you seen your shoulder yet?” “Is my shoulder green, too?” It came out as a screech. “No baby. It’s not green.” He let out a deep breath. “It’s yellow.” “Oh, my, God. Please tell me you’re kidding.” “What’s going on?” Keith walked back in carrying a plate of food. “I have a green thumb! And now he says my shoulder is yellow!” “Easy, baby. Tripp, why did you go and upset her?” “She needed to know. I figured now was as good a time as any.” “I don’t want a yellow shoulder and a green thumb. Why aren’t they the same color?” “We don’t know, baby. That was why I wanted to know how you got away. I think you stuck your thumb in his eye, and that made it a different color.” “Gross. I could have done without knowing that. I’ll have to wash my hand a thousand times now.” “It will be okay, baby. There’s nothing wrong with having a green thumb. You certainly have a green garden.” Keith smiled at her. “That is not helping.” “Sorry.” Keith set the plate on the roll-around tray and helped her move the bed into a better sitting position so she could eat. “Come on, baby. You’ve got to eat so you’ll heal and the doctor will let you go home. I miss you.” Keith handed her the fork. “Do you think you can handle it today, or do you want me to feed you?” Tripp stood by the bed on the other side.

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“I can feed myself. I think.” She speared a bean and slowly moved it to her mouth. She managed fine with the beans. When it came to the currick, she had a little more trouble. She tried scooping them onto the fork, but that didn’t work so well. Finally she gave up and moved on to the meat. She looked at it and dropped the fork in her plate. “Can someone cut the freaking meat for me? I hate being like this.” “It’s okay, baby. You’ll be cutting your own meat in no time. Just enjoy being babied for now.” Tripp quickly cut the meat into small, bite-size pieces then handed the fork back to her. She hated being dependent on them for eating and moving and everything. It made her feel small and worthless to not be able to feed herself. She felt the hot prick of tears behind her eyes and fought to keep from shedding them. She refused to cry. She’d cried too much over the last few days. It was time to suck it up. They would never let her go home if she whined all the time. She wanted to go home. She wanted everything to go back like it had been. Somehow, she was afraid that nothing would ever be the same.

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Chapter Twenty-One “Okay, baby. We’re home.” Tripp pulled up outside the house three days later. Keith jumped down from the transport buggy before leaning in and helping Piper with her harness. Then he helped her ease over to his seat. By that time, Tripp had the door open and was waiting on them. Piper wasn’t too keen on getting out of the transport. She knew the jarring would hurt. Keith handled it fine, though. He grabbed her around her waist and then let her slide gently to the ground. She sighed and smiled up at him. “Thanks, I was dreading that.” “I sort of figured you were by the look on your face when you looked down.” “Come on, you two. I don’t want to risk something is out there,” Tripp called after them. Piper let Keith hold her hand and lead her up the steps, onto the porch, and in the house. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief once the door was closed and they were all safely inside. “Let’s get you upstairs so you can rest.” Keith started to lead her toward the stairs. Pipe didn’t want to go to bed. She wanted to sit up with them. She stopped, digging her feet in. “What is it, Piper?” “I want to stay down here on the couch for a while. I’m tired of being in bed.”

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Keith and Tripp exchanged looks. Tripp shrugged and nodded. Keith sighed and led her over to the couch. She gingerly sat down and leaned back against the back of the couch. It wasn’t too bad. She would probably be more comfortable in the bed, but she was tired of that. “I’ll go get a pillow and blanket for you, baby.” Tripp hurried toward the stairs. He returned seconds later with his bounty. She leaned up while he settled the pillow behind her and covered her with the throw. She was much more comfortable than before. Keith sat down at the other end of the couch and pulled her shoes off so that he could massage her feet. “I’m going to go see about starting dinner. It will be time to eat soon. Do you have any preference, baby?” “Not really. I’m not all that hungry. I just had lunch.” “That was over three hours ago, baby.” Tripp sighed and headed toward the kitchen. “You’re going to have to eat some whether you are hungry or not or Tripp will take you back to the doctor.” “I heard that, Keith. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here.” Tripp’s voice boomed into the living room. Piper couldn’t help but grin. She knew that Keith was telling the truth. If she didn’t eat enough to please them, they would both take her back to the city. She would eat if only to keep from being deported again. She hated that place. “Don’t let him catch you grinning, baby,” Keith whispered. “It’s so good to be home. I missed it so much. When can I see the garden?” “Maybe tomorrow. Not today. You need to rest up from the trip, and it’s going to be dark soon.” “Not for at least another hour or so.” “We’ll show you tomorrow, baby, after we’ve had time to check the fence.”

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She sobered at that. “Okay. I’ll see it tomorrow.” Keith looked at her speculatively. He would have guessed that the reminder of her incident had bothered her. She didn’t like to remember it. She’d had nightmares several times lately about it. “I’m going to go see if Tripp needs help. I’ll be right back.” Keith stood up after settling her feet back on the couch. Piper moved around on the couch trying to get in a more comfortable position. It hurt to pull on her shoulder or her chest. It didn’t matter which way she moved, something hurt. She wanted to scream in frustration, but that would upset Tripp and Keith. They would put her upstairs away from everything. At least on the couch she would be there when they came back and sat down. “How are you doing, baby?” Tripp walked into the room with Keith right behind him. “I’m okay. What’s for dinner?” “Soup and sandwiches. I have the soup on low. It’s one of those bags you froze.” “Okay. That sounds good.” She grimaced. It really didn’t. “You’re sure? I can try something different if you’ll tell me what to fix.” “It will be fine, Tripp. Why don’t you come sit in here and tell me what has been going on? Did I lose a lot of vegetables?” “I really don’t know for sure, baby. We mostly just pulled grass to keep it from taking over.” Keith looked sheepish. “I pulled a few things that looked ready to me, but I didn’t know what was ready and what wasn’t.” Tripp didn’t look any better. She rolled her eyes. There might not be anything for her to harvest when she got back out there. That thought led to another one. What would they do for the winter? They would need more supplies from the city. They’d make her go back and see that crazy doctor again, too. “You’re a little pale, baby. Do you need to go lie down for a while?” Tripp knelt next to her and held her face in his hand.

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“I’m fine. Just worried about the garden. We have to have it to live, Tripp.” “It will be okay, baby. If we need to get more supplies from the city, we will.” “That’s what I was afraid of,” she mumbled. “What?” “Nothing.” “I’m going to check on the soup.” Tripp stood back up after dropping a quick kiss on her nose. They finished dinner around seven, and Piper was exhausted. She didn’t even complain when they wanted to put her to bed. She just let them guide her up the stairs. Tripp and Keith both followed her up then helped her undress and slide into bed. They kissed her goodnight and promised to be up in a little while. Piper lay awake for a good while thinking about the garden and how she would be able to work in it without being scared. If the guys checked the fence every day, and she wasn’t listening to music, she should be fine. Then she thought about the men and how they’d been so good to her all through this despite it having been partially her fault. She shouldn’t have been listening to her music outside. She was supposed to have been paying attention to everything around her. Instead, she had let down her guard and gotten attacked. Now she not only had scars and the strange colors on her skin, but she had nightmares to live with as well. They were hard to wake up from. The last one, she had hit Tripp in the nose and busted it. She hadn’t meant to hit him. She hadn’t known he was there. He was the dorrie in her dream. She worried that she would really hurt one of them in her sleep now that they were back at home. Maybe she had pressed to come home too soon. Maybe she hadn’t really been ready at all. She ran her hand over the bumpy skin on her shoulder and frowned. Then she touched the small scar on her chest.

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Finally, she began to relax, thinking more about the garden instead of the creature that had attacked her. She wanted to sleep on good thoughts. She thought about how much she loved her men and fell asleep. **** The week passed by before she knew it, and the guys were scheduled to go back to work that next Monday. Piper wasn’t comfortable going outside by herself, but would never tell the guys that. They checked the fences every morning when they got up. She couldn’t help but be frightened after her ordeal. “What are you doing, baby?” Keith walked up behind her staring out the window toward the garden and hugged her. “Just getting ready to go outside and check the garden.” “Do you want me to go outside with you?” “No. We discussed this, Keith. You’re not going to be here next week, and I’ll have to see about the garden then.” “I know, but if you don’t have to yet, why put yourself through the anxiety?” “Because I need to get past it, Keith.” She pushed back from the window and eased out of his grasp. “I’ll be fine. I just have to do it.” She opened the back door and stepped outside. She took another step and another one to reach the little shed that housed all of her tools. She opened the door half expecting something to jump out at her. When it didn’t, she grabbed her basket to gather the vegetables. Twenty minutes later, she’d harvested everything that was ready and had two baskets to take inside. She looked all around her as she picked them up and slowly, almost casually, walked back to the house. She walked in the backdoor and set the two baskets on the counter. She drew in a deep breath. She hadn’t taken a good one since she’d been outside.

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“You did really well, baby.” Tripp walked over and wrapped his arms around her. “I did, didn’t I?” She hugged him back. “Is this a private party or can anyone get in on it?” Keith walked into the room. “I’m just celebrating that I did the gardening without wigging out. I got two baskets worth of vegetables, too.” “That’s great, Piper. I’m proud of you.” Keith kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand. “Does this mean we can play around some this afternoon?” Both men froze. “Please. I miss you guys. I want to play.” Piper knew she was begging, but she couldn’t help it. “We’ll see, baby. We’re going out to see about the horses. We’ll be back in for lunch in an hour.” “Okay.” She sighed and started separating everything from the baskets to put them up. She would need to make another batch of tomatoes to put up tomorrow, and there was plenty of everything else to have for dinner that night. She had put up so much the last few days that she wasn’t too keen on doing it again that night. It would keep till the next day. The guys made it back inside just before she called them up on the radio to come inside and eat. She listened to them talk while they ate. They discussed who would check the fences which day and then talked to her about what to do if she noticed anything out of the ordinary. “I think I’ve got it figured out now, guys. I don’t run or turn my back on anything. I just slowly step backward until I can get inside in a matter of a few feet.” “Whatever you do, don’t panic. Just move slow and steady,” Tripp repeated. “Okay.”

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She finished eating and took her plate to the sink to rinse and put it in the dishwasher. The men would do theirs for her as well. Piper walked out of the kitchen and found Keith at her side. “Where are you going?” “Am I under arrest or something?” “No, why?” His face crumpled in confusion. “Because you’re following me around as if I’m going to steal something.” “I’m just making sure you know you don’t have to do anything else, baby. It’s all taken care of.” “Thanks, but I’m going to take a bath. I’m itchy and sweaty.” “I’ll run your water for you and help you get in the tub.” “Really, Keith. I can do it myself. Why don’t you put the plates in the dishwasher, too?” “Tripp has that covered.” “And I have this covered. Go away, Keith. I want to be alone for a little while.” He frowned but nodded and closed the door quietly behind him. She could hear him on the stairs fussing with Tripp about her being left by herself. She half expected Tripp to storm up the stairs and force her to let him help her in the tub. Instead, they grew quiet, and she realized they’d gone on back downstairs. She grinned. She had it to herself. She turned on the water and let it sift through her fingers. She added a little more hot to it before waiting for the tub to fill. Once it had reached a good level, Piper turned it off and carefully climbed in. She thoroughly enjoyed the warmth as it seeped into her muscles and soothed her itchy skin. After washing off, she leaned back and closed her eyes. She felt as if she could stay that way suspended in time for ever. Her mind wandered to what she was going to do to get the men to make love to her again. They were so freaking careful with her that she was beginning to think they weren’t ever going to have sex again.

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The minute she started getting into a kiss, they backed off. It was time for them to let it go and accept that she was well now. Well and horny. She sighed and stretched before climbing out of the tub. Once she had dried off, she padded into the bedroom and pulled out an oversized T-shirt of Tripp’s and pulled it on. Then she walked back downstairs to join them in the living room. All conversation stopped when she walked in. Both men were sitting in their recliners staring at her as she walked into the room. “Hey, baby. Come on over here and sit with me.” Tripp held out his hand to her. “Forget him. Come sit with me.” Keith grinned at her. “Actually, I’m not sitting with either one of you two. I’m going to sit by myself on the couch tonight.” “Come on, Piper. Come sit with us and let us hold you.” “Not tonight, guys. I want something more than a few hugs.” She lay back on the couch and ignored them as she slowly pulled up the T-shirt to reveal her already glistening pussy lips. She drew it higher until her pert nipples were exposed. She could hear their swiftinhaled breath as she licked her fingers and slowly circled her nipples with them, making them stand up even higher. She slowly lowered one hand down her abdomen to her pelvis and then down into her curls to part her pussy lips with her fingers. She ran her fingers between and on either side of her pussy lips before dipping one finger deep inside her cunt. She closed her eyes and moaned at the decadent feel of her finger there. A soft burn began to build inside her cunt as she stroked the one finger in and out. Her other hand continued playing with her nipple. First she pulled on it, and then she pinched it. Then she lowered her mouth and pushed at her breast until she was able to take her nipple into her mouth and suck on it. “Would you fucking look at that?” Keith’s strained voice reached her as she gently bit the nipple before licking it once again.

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“Hell, Piper. What are you doing?” Tripp’s voice wasn’t much better. She didn’t answer them as she released her breast. With slow deliberated moves, Piper spread her legs, bending them at the knee so that she could reach her pussy with both hands. She separated her pussy lips then slowly ran two fingers in and out of her wet pussy. She was still stiff from her injuries, so she couldn’t reach her hot spot. Still, she pumped them in and out of her cunt until the burn began to blossom into a growing fire. “Aw, baby. We’ll take care of you.” Keith got out of his chair and knelt at her feet, running his hands up and down the inside of her thighs. “You wouldn’t take care of me last night. I’ll take care of myself.” Tripp jumped out of his chair and knelt by her head. “Baby, we didn’t want to hurt you. It hasn’t been that long, and you’re still healing.” She pulled her fingers from her cunt and slowly slipped them into her mouth to suck on them. “I think that if I can work in the garden, I can fuck, Tripp. Don’t you think so?” She slipped her hand back down toward her pussy, but Keith beat her to it and lapped at her pussy lips. “Aw, hell, Piper. We’ll take care of you. Let us love you, baby.” “Are you really going to? Or are you going to back off like you do when you kiss me? I can’t handle being teased like that anymore, Tripp. Keith hummed against her pussy. It vibrated deep inside of her. She threw back her head and moaned. “I think Keith is already way ahead of me. Let’s go upstairs where it will be more comfortable.” Tripp shoved Keith aside and picked her up. “Upstairs, Keith.” Piper held on to him as he carried her up and into the bedroom. She’d already pulled back the covers in case she was able to seduce them, and it had paid off. Tripp laid her on the bed then took her

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mouth in a heated kiss. He kept one hand at her breast, pulling and pinching on her nipples while the other hand tunneled into her hair and held her head where he wanted it. Keith dove back between her legs, returning to where he’d left off seconds before. She wrapped her arms around Tripp’s head and held him there as she tried to wrest control of the kiss from him. It didn’t work as he sucked on her tongue, pulling it deep into his mouth. Then he was back inside hers, licking all around her teeth. He nibbled at her lower lip then sucked on it as well. When they drew apart, panting and completely drunk from the kiss, Piper jerked him down to her breasts by the hair. He chuckled and latched onto a nipple and began to suck. It felt as if there was a direct line from her nipple to her clit. Every draw of his mouth stimulated her there, shooting her arousal higher and higher. Keith entered her cunt with two fingers, stroking them in and out as he continued to lap at her pussy juices. The more he fucked her with his fingers, the more she longed for a thick cock to fill her pussy and ass. She wanted both of them deep inside her where she knew they belonged. “Oh, God. Please, I need you inside of me.” “I want you to come, baby.” Keith began to lap at her clit as he rubbed her hot spot. She felt the pleasure overtake her as both men sucked and stroked and pinched and pulled until her climax won and she went flying into unbelievable pleasure. Her entire body quivered as she slowly settled back to the bed.

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Chapter Twenty-Two Piper slowly regained her ability to breathe. She looked up into Tripp’s eyes and smiled. He smiled back at her. “Please, Tripp. I want you both inside of me. I’ve missed you so much.” “Are you sure, baby? You’re still getting over…” “I’m fine.” “Keith, she wants us, man. Give her a ride.” Keith looked into Piper’s eyes as if he wanted to see for himself that she was serious. She took his face in her hands and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. He smiled and rolled over to lie in the middle of the bed. She slowly climbed on top of him, bending low to lick across a nipple then nip it with her teeth. He hissed in a breath. “Stop that, Piper. I’m already holding on by a thread. I’m afraid just getting in that hot cunt of yours will do me in.” She grinned and rubbed her pussy over his straining dick. Once again, he hissed. This time he grabbed her by the arms and held her still. “Please, baby.” He let go of her and held his cock for her to lower her dripping pussy to cover it. She threw back her head and moaned as he slowly filled her. She had to move up and down several times in order to seat him all the way inside her cunt. His throbbing dick thrust inside of her twice before he gently pulled her down to lie against his chest. Tripp moved behind her and began to prepare her for his cock. A drop of cool lube fell on her back hole, startling her. She jerked in reaction and turned her head to look back at Tripp as he slowly

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massaged the lubricant into her dark rosette. He added more and then pushed two fingers into her as she pushed back. “Oh, God. It burns.” “Easy, baby. Just relax and push out for me. That’s it.” She felt his fingers finally breach the tight resistant ring. He tunneled further into her ass with his two fingers before pumping them in and out. When she began to thrust back to meet him, he added more lube and a third finger. She moaned as the burn intensified to the point of pain. “That’s it, baby. Your pretty ass is stretching so well for me. Push out, Piper.” She felt him when he finally made it through. He stilled and let her adjust before he began to push them in and out again. She could feel the burn begin to change into something better. She shoved back against his fingers over and over until he withdrew them and added more lubrication to her dark entrance. Then he was fitting his cock into her, pressing against the tight ring until the pressure released and he tunneled deep into her ass. Tripp waited once again for her to relax and get used to the change in size. Then she was thrusting against him as he pulled back. She pulled off of Keith, trying to follow him, then pushed back in. “Let us do the work, baby. You just lie there and feel how good it is.” Tripp’s deep voice sounded even deeper as lust colored it darker. She gave in and let them move her between them. They slowly began to pick up speed even as the pain morphed into pleasure. Tripp’s long cock rasped over nerve endings that rarely awakened. Keith’s thick dick brushed over her sweet spot again and again, ramping up her arousal to critical levels. She didn’t think she could fly any higher, but they proved her wrong. Over and over they thrust in and out of her. A tidal wave of feelings enveloped her, shoving her body through a series of electric shocks that had her clamping down on the men to the point of pain. Heat blossomed inside of her, reaching out to draw the men along

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with her into ecstasy. She screamed as she exploded into a million shards of pleasure. The men yelled out with her as she dragged them along with her. At some point, everything went black, but only for a few seconds, and then she was panting as the men struggled to breath around her. “Fuck! Get off of us, Tripp. You’re killing me.” “Don’t have the strength to move.” “I’ll move you if you don’t.” Tripp finally pulled out of Piper’s overwhelmed body. She gasped at the sudden loss and then moaned when it set off a series of shocks that had her squeezing Keith’s cock still deeply embedded in her cunt. “Hell, don’t do that, baby. I’m done for.” “Can’t help it. Just thinking about it makes me shiver all over.” Her body vibrated again. “Tripp. Get her off of me before I die of a heart attack.” Piper couldn’t help it, she began to laugh. Tripp struggled to help her climb off of Keith before the man died of pleasure. They all three collapsed on the bed with Piper in the middle. Nothing had prepared her for the joy of her two men. They still had a lot to get through in the next few months, but she had everything she ever wanted and more. “I love you guys. More than anything in this world.” “I love you, Piper.” Keith wrapped his leg over hers. “I love you, baby. More than anything in this world.” Tripp wrapped an arm over her waist and kissed her cheek. She smiled as they drifted off to sleep, leaving her to think about all the things she had to be thankful for. She had a home and would one day have children to fill it. She had Tripp, who was the perfect man to see to her naughty side, and Keith, who catered to her need for being pampered. Neither man was intimidated by her sex drive. In fact, they seemed to thrive on it. Somehow they had gotten it right when they found two men for Piper.

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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 bookstore or a library at any given time. Marla would love for you to visit her at her blog at themarlamonroe.blogspot.com and leave a comment. Or you can reach her by e-mail at [email protected].

Also by Marla Monroe Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #1: The Ranchers Take a Wife Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #2: The Ranchers’ Bride Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #3: The Hired Hands’ Dilemma Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #4: Love Between the Hired Hands Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #5: The Carpenters’ Helper Ménage Everlasting: The Men of Space Station One #6: Their Independent Bride

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

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