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“Yes,” Shane agreed. “That’s the way it’s done here.”
“It still seems strange,” I mused.
“You’ll get used to it,” Shane said. And he was right, I would. Already, I had accepted it for myself. Before too much longer, I would think it was perfectly normal.
It was dark outside. Clouds muted the light of the moon. But I could see the gentle glow of lamps in the window of a house in the distance and I trusted Shane and Roscoe to deliver me there safely. I clung to the arms of my men and tried not to think about the creatures that inhabited the dark night. Snakes, scorpions. Coyotes. There was a snuffle behind us and I jumped, forced a scream to stay in my throat, and pressed myself closer to Roscoe.
“It’s just a cow, sweetheart. It won’t hurt you,” he crooned. But I noticed he held me tighter anyway, just to reassure me.
Shane moved a bit closer to me. “We’ll protect you, my love.”
It felt nice, being sandwiched between the two big, burly men. Even though I still barely knew them, they made me feel safe.
They introduced me to Emma and her two husbands, Kane and Ian. Both men had thick accents. Scottish? I wasn’t sure. I’d never heard the brogue before and I had to listen carefully to make sense of what they said.
Emma bustled around efficiently, settling me in a big, comfortable chair in front of the fire, serving me bread and jam. Her friendly smile broke through my nervousness and immediately put me at ease. The men went outside to talk. When they came back in, it was just for Shane and Roscoe to say good night.
“We’ll be back first thing in the morning,” Shane told me. “Tomorrow we’ll go into Butte, return your buggy and stand before the preacher.” He held my shoulders, brushed my cheek with his thumb. “That will give you a chance to change your mind about staying with us.”
I nodded. I wouldn’t be changing my mind, though. Of that, I was certain. After the wicked things they had just done to my body, there was no way I could leave them now. Not now that they had claimed me. I was theirs.
For the rest of the evening my hosts asked me questions about my past in Philadelphia, but I kept most of my life there close to my chest. I didn’t need their pity when they learned my brother sold me to someone cruel, and I didn’t want them to look down on me when they figured out I didn’t possess any of the skills necessary for a life out here. But I told them enough to be polite. They seemed like they were very nice people, and I hoped Emma would become a good friend. I could use a good friend, especially because I had left the friends I’d had in Philadelphia, behind.
They also told me a little about themselves, and Bridgewater, and Shane and Roscoe. Kane and Ian both spoke highly of my men, respect evident in their tones. Shane and Roscoe hadn’t been in Bridgewater as long as some of the other families, but they both worked hard, and they fitted in well. I learned that Shane had a blacksmith shop and Roscoe had planted their small ranch out in crops. Together, they would be able to provide well for me. Perhaps not as well as Mr. Yates could have done, but I didn’t care about money; there were far more important things. Shane and Roscoe didn’t frighten me, and that was worth more than all the money in the world.
Watching Kane and Ian with Emma, I couldn’t help but smile. Both men clearly loved her. They spoke to her tenderly, and their eyes twinkled brightly every time they looked at her. Emma also seemed content having two men to serve and love. She radiated happiness and confidence – the confidence of a woman who knew she was cherished. I hoped with all my heart that my marriage would be as happy.
Later, as I lay in the strange bed with the covers pulled right up to my chin, I thought of my two men. Shane and Roscoe. Just thinking about them did wicked things to my body, making my breath quicken and my breasts tighten. I’d never felt urgings like this before today, never felt the stirrings of lust. Never felt heat in my core, the sweet ache of desire spreading throughout my body.
My hand dipped between my legs. I’d never touched myself there before, I’d been taught it was sinful to do so. Good girls didn’t bring themselves pleasure. What I was doing was dirty. I knew that, and yet I couldn’t stop. I felt positively scandalous as my fingers rubbed where Shane’s fingers and mouth had been, reigniting the fire they’d lit there earlier. I bit back my moan as my breath came in short, ragged gasps. Arousal curled up within me, like a wisp of smoke spreading, growing, as my fingers fanned the flames. I remembered the way they’d touched me, how they’d made me feel. Their complete mastery of my body. My fingers rubbed and flicked with wanton abandon, bringing alive the little nub at the top of my mound, delving inside the swollen lips that seeped with my juices.
I wondered what they would do if they caught me touching myself like this. Would they think me naughty? Would Shane spank me as he’d done earlier? My fingers moved faster as I imagined myself held fast in Shane’s strong arms, his heavy hand turning my bottom red, punishing me for touching a place that only they should touch. I was to be theirs, after all. This little spot that was sending sparks of desire shooting through me would belong only to them.
I slid my other hand down to join the first, separating my pussy lips with my fingers so I could rub my swollen nub with a feather-light touch. Sparks so strong they were almost painful, ricocheted through me. I pressed my finger inside me, first to the knuckle then further, as far as it could go, and I wriggled it around, sliding it in and out, muffling my groan with the bedsheets. I imagined it was Shane’s finger fucking me like this, his wide digit spreading me open to their gaze. I imagined Roscoe tasting as Shane had done earlier, his short beard scratching my delicate lady parts. I could almost feel his tongue lapping up my juices. What did I taste like? Curious, I brought my finger to my tongue and licked. I screwed up my face, but it wasn’t unpleasant, as such. Just… different. Salty. Bitter. Sweet. Sharp. Quite unlike anything else I had ever tasted.
My inexperienced fingers couldn’t bring me pleasure as intense as Roscoe and Shane did, and after a while I gave up, frustrated. My body was hot, achy, but I couldn’t find any release. I would have to wait for my men. I couldn’t wait to discover what else they would do to me. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep, the faces of my soon-to-be-husbands on my mind.
5
ROSCOE
* * *
Shane and I turned up just in time to see Elise helping Emma cook breakfast. At least, she was trying to help cook, but it looked like she was getting in the way. She certainly didn’t look like she’d spent much time in a kitchen. I cast my mind back to yesterday and the contents of Coleton’s letter. In it, he’d said he needed a woman who could cook for a team. I’d asked her, specifically, if she could cook. She had said yes. But by the look of things, Elise could barely cook for one, let alone for a whole team. Already, she’d burned the eggs and overcooked the biscuits and as I watched, she broke the pancakes when flipping them and spilt the syrup. She couldn’t cook at all!
“I thought you said you could cook?” I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice, but failed. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was liars. Lies and deceit. All they ever gave anyone
was a lifetime of misery.
“I can!” she insisted.
At least she had the good sense to look sheepish when I stared at her hard. Color rose to her face.
“Well I can learn!”
In one stride I was upon her and I caught her stubborn chin in my hand. Tears sparkled in her eyes but I steeled myself. I would not marry a liar. I could not. Not after the childhood I’d had, with lies, deceit, cheating and treachery causing no end of problems. Up until yesterday, I didn’t even want a wife at all. I most certainly did not want one who didn’t tell the truth.
“Coleton would be properly disappointed! You were dishonest.”
