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He lifted a hand toward my face and I flinched as his fingers ever so gently moved over my hair. He didn't stop as he spoke. "Shh, don't be afraid."
"I am Mason," the bearded one said. His hand slipped beneath the blanket and I startled when his warm fingertips brushed over my shoulder. "And that lug is Brody."
"How do you do?" I asked politely, then cleared my throat. "Thank you very much for rescuing me, but I should be on my way." I spoke as if they blocked the door at the mercantile, not surrounded me in a bed.
Mason's restraining hand on my shoulder was insistent, although gentle. Brody continued to touch my hair, as if he'd never seen the color before. Their touch was as tender as it had been the night before, their voices soothing me in a way I'd never known. It was all surprising to me, this tenderness I found in two strangers.
"Which way is that?" Mason's brow rose in question.
"I...um, well, toward Virginia City."
Brody frowned, his hand stilling at my nape. "That's several hour's ride from Simms, and we're further to the north."
"Then I must certainly make haste, being late as I am." I was a terrible liar, especially under duress. Being naked in bed with two men was most certainly under duress.
"Is someone expecting you? No one would assume you would travel in such a blizzard," Mason commented. "They will think you home safe and anticipate your arrival after the roads are passable."
Both men's hands were moving over me once again, Mason's sliding up and down my arm, Brody mimicking him with the other. I clutched at the bedding by my neck and tried to ignore how their hands felt. I'd never had a man touch me in this way before, clothed or not. Of course, I'd never been in a bed with a man before, let alone two.
Mason's hand stilled on my elbow. "A husband? Was he traveling with you? I didn't find anyone else."
Brody stopped moving at the question and they looked at me closely.
I could lie and say I was wed, but then I'd have to create a spouse and that was why I'd run away in the first place. Or they'd venture out in the dangerous and inclement weather to find an imaginary person because of a lie.
Besides, I did not wish them to think I was a loose woman, falling into bed with men all the time. This situation was...highly irregular. "Oh, no. No husband. That would be highly inappropriate of me to be married to one while in bed with another...two."
Both men visibly relaxed and their hands began stroking over my skin again, causing goose bumps. Their motions were meant to be soothing, but it was quite hard to relax in a situation such as this.
"Um...where am I?"
"Bridgewater. It is our ranch."
"Why am I in bed with you?" How did I word this delicately? "With...both of you? I remember being wrapped in a warm blanket and comfortably tucked in one of their laps. I remember a hand stroking over my cheek, over my hair, a kiss on the top of my head. It had felt so good, deep down knowing I was safe. Even now, between these two I felt safe. Still, they would think me forward. "Besides being unseemly, this is quite odd."
"Here at Bridgewater, it is not odd for a woman to be cared for by two men. In fact, it is the norm. We believe in the ways of the East where a woman has several husbands."
Several husbands? "I've never heard of such a thing," I replied.
"As you can tell from our accents, we're British. We were stationed in Mohamir with our regiment. It was the cultural norm. The marriage protects the woman. It keeps her safe and cherished, having multiple men to possess her," Mason explained.
"Cherishing a woman is her husbands' job," Brody added.
I felt obscenely uncomfortable. Adding their surprising tale of multiple husbands made the situation even more unusual. "You both share a wife? Won't she...um, find it odd for you to be in bed with me? Or is that also a cultural norm?"
Mason's eyes narrowed. "I will forgive your words out of ignorance, but do not think to besmirch our character, our honor, by insinuating we would shame a wife by being in bed with another woman."
"We are bachelors. No wife," Brody clarified.
Did that make it reasonable then to be in bed with me? This was a topic of conversation that was not only unfamiliar, but also very uncomfortable.
"If I could just get my clothes, and perhaps if you would be so kind to offer a simple meal, I can let you return to your tasks." I just needed to get away from these handsome men. Their touch should have been repulsive, just like the very idea of Mr. Palmer's hands on me, but it wasn't. In fact, it was having quite a different effect entirely. It felt good. Gentle. Warm. Kind. Very attentive.
"It is still snowing and is unsafe for travel. We just saved you from the cold, sweetheart. We aren't inclined to let you out in it once again. Besides, your horse...I'm sorry to say, I had to put him down." Mason's voice was gentle and he watched me closely. Worry made him frown.
In my distraction, I'd forgotten about the animal. "The horse, oh. What happened?"
"It looks like he stepped in a hole. It was covered in snow and easily done. Broke his leg. It was his cries of pain that I heard when I went out for more wood."
