by Marla Monroe
As soon as the door closed behind them, Beverly jumped up from the table and hurried over to watch them from the window over the sink. She enjoyed watching them move. They were both good-looking men with amazing bodies. She still couldn’t believe that they were her husbands. Not only were they handsome and nice, but it appeared like they weren’t going to treat her like their maid either. Having been that already for her father and brothers, Beverly couldn’t help but find it amazing that they were going to be different.
As soon as she had finished the dishes, she straightened the bedroom before returning to the kitchen to take stock of their supplies. Even though she was used to cooking for hungry men, it was going to be different because of the differences in some of the food stuff she had available to use. Until they got some chickens from the other ranchers, they had to make do with egg substitute. The only fresh produce she had to cook with were root vegetables that had come from the other’s gardens. Then there were the new vegetables that were native to Alpha alone.
“Might as well get started on lunch.”
The bread that had been left for them wouldn’t last much longer. She needed to make some so it could rise before she baked it. She hesitated using some of the new flour that was being produced on the planet. She wanted to use up the supply they had brought from Earth with them first.
When she glanced through the window thirty minutes later she could see Jeff and Caleb digging holes for the fence posts. They were far enough back that she couldn’t really tell who was who except by the color of their shirts. The odd vegetation surrounding the house amazed her. Blue grass and red and yellow trees just seemed bizarre. No doubt it would become more familiar over time. Their children wouldn’t know anything else.
At the thought of children, Beverly found herself blushing. She was sure the men wouldn’t want to wait another night to consummate their marriage. She’d been surprised when they hadn’t tried the night before. Of course she’d freaked out when Caleb had shown up nude to get in the bed with her. It hadn’t even occurred to her that they would sleep in the buff. Her brothers didn’t. They all wore pajama bottoms if nothing else.
I might not be a virgin, but I’m sure they think I’m naive now. Way to go, Beverly.
With a huff, she pushed away from the window and checked the time. It was time to make the sandwiches. She’d decided on peanut butter. Since she didn’t know what kind of jelly they liked or if they even wanted it on their sandwiches, she hadn’t mixed it up that way. If they wanted some when they sat down, she had several different jars on the table for them to choose from.
When they hadn’t returned by noon, Beverly picked up the radio and called for them.
“Hey, Bev. What’s up?” Jeff’s voice was clear over the radio.
“It’s noon. I have lunch ready on the table. Time to take a break.” She smiled.
That hadn’t been so bad. She felt as if she were back at home with her father and brothers now. She could handle this.
“Time got away from us. We’ll be right in.”
She poured tea over ice and waited for them to return. It didn’t take them long to file into the kitchen and disappear in the laundry room to wash their hands before pulling out their chairs at the table.
“I didn’t know if you liked jelly on your peanut butter sandwiches or not, so I didn’t add it. You can add your own if you want to. Next time I’ll know what you like.” She waited for them to start.
Caleb took a couple of sandwiches off the plate before passing it toward Jeff. He grabbed his and handed it to her. She took hers then reached for the grape jelly at the same time Caleb did.
“Sorry.” She snatched her hand back.
“Go ahead. You first, honey.” Caleb pushed the jar toward her.
She felt her face burn as she opened the jar and dipped out a spoonful. When would she ever get past feeling so out of sorts around them? They were her husbands for goodness sakes. She shouldn’t be so shy. If they noticed her discomfort, neither man acknowledged it.
“Do you like strawberry or peach?” she asked.
“I do. What about you, Jeff?”
“I like all of it. Well, I don’t know about the stone berries. They mentioned them on the shuttle, but we didn’t taste any to know what they taste like.” Jeff pointed to the jar of homemade jelly from the native berries.
“We had them while we were on our way here. We did a lot of cooking in our classes. They’re pretty good, but you have to use a little more sugar to sweeten them than you would any other fruit.” She knew her face was red once again. It annoyed her to no end that she blushed so easily.
“So they grow wild here, huh?” Caleb had finished his first sandwich and was adding strawberry jelly to his second one.
“Yes. I plan to look for some around here in the fall. I’ll want to put up as many jars as I can for the winter.”
The men looked at each other but didn’t say anything. Beverly couldn’t help but wonder what that was about. Before she could ask, Jeff spoke up.
“We’re moving fairly quickly with setting the poles. The ground isn’t rock hard, so digging is pretty easy.”
“That’s good. I know you’re worried about getting everything done before you start work.” Beverly hoped they would get the garden started soon.
She needed to get seeds in the ground as soon as possible. She didn’t know what to expect for a growing season. Based on what they had been taught on the shuttle, they were several weeks late getting set up. They couldn’t afford the garden not producing a good crop. They would be dependent on it for the winter.
“Thanks for lunch, Bev. We better get back out there. I want to start work on the garden by tomorrow afternoon if we can.” Caleb stood up and carried his plate to the sink.
“I think it’s going to be more like the day after, Caleb. I can’t see us getting all the poles set much before tomorrow afternoon.”
Beverly listened to them argue good-naturedly as they walked out the back door. Caleb seemed to be the more gung ho of the two of them with Jeff being more reserved. Between the two of them, they would get everything done that needed to be done. She needed to get back to work. It would be time to put the bread in the oven soon, and she wanted to have the kitchen cleaned up and dinner started by then.
Deep down inside of her, thoughts of the coming night plagued her. She couldn’t help but be nervous regardless that she wasn’t as naïve as they obviously thought her. She’d had a couple of lovers in her short life. Neither of which had really stirred her blood, but then romance books always made it sound much better than it actually was. Still, she’d never been with two men at one time, nor had she really experimented during sex. For some reason, she felt like Caleb, if not Jeff, would be more sexually experienced than the men she’d been with. Although she wasn’t really scared, she was a little bit apprehensive. Since divorce wasn’t an option for them on planet Alpha, Beverly wanted them to be satisfied with her. Could two men who absolutely screamed sex appeal be content with someone like her?
* * * *
Caleb jabbed the posthole digger into the ground with all of his strength. He was bound and determined to get as many holes dug as possible. He and Jeff were taking turns digging holes while the other set the poles in the concrete like mix. It kept them from wearing themselves out too quickly. Although the ground wasn’t nearly as hard as he’d worried it would be, it still wasn’t a walk in the park to dig in it.
After drawing out the dirt and dropping it to the side, he checked on Jeff’s progress. His partner had the concrete in the hole and was using the level to assure it was straight up and down before it set in place. The other man had just as much experience in ranching as he did, but he seemed to stay back and let Caleb take the lead. He wasn’t sure why, and it bothered him. He hadn’t found anything to make him think the other man had somehow lied about his background, yet something about him was off. He didn’t like feeling that way when he needed to be able to count on him to have his
back and help keep Beverly safe.
He guessed he didn’t have much of a choice except to trust him. Until he did something that proved otherwise, Caleb would continue to depend on him keeping his side going. Up until the final days of their trip across space, Caleb hadn’t doubted his buddy at all. Then, as soon as the shuttle had started slowing down and then gone into orbit around the planet, Jeff’s demeanor had changed slightly. It wasn’t anything that he could put his finger on or a specific thing that seemed to have triggered the change, but it was there, subtle as it was.
He shoved the posthole digger deep into the hole once more to remove the loose dirt. It was almost like Jeff was taking a backseat in everything. Why would he do that? Hell, Jeff was even a year older than he was.
“Ready to switch up over there?”
Caleb’s head jerked up at the sound of Jeff’s voice. “Naw, I’m fine. I’ll do one more hole then we can change. How are the poles holding?”
“Setting about right I think. It’s fairly warm out here today. I’ve checked back on the others, and they’re all holding their level.”
Nodding, Caleb checked the depth of the hole he was working on. One more scoop of dirt should do it. He could feel Jeff’s eyes on him as he pulled out another load of dirt. The silence between them seemed easy enough, but he was used to talking while he worked. Obviously Jeff wasn’t.
“How should we handle Beverly tonight?” he finally asked as he moved to the next spot.
“What do you mean?” Jeff started preparing the concrete mix they were using.
“Well, she’s a mite skittish. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, but we need to instigate sex or it’s going to get mighty uncomfortable here.”
“It would probably be a good idea to ease her into it by starting out in the living room before we head up to bed.”
“You mean sort of fool around some?” Caleb thought that was a pretty good idea.
“Yeah, pet on her and kiss her some, that sort of thing.”
Caleb glanced over to where Jeff was slowly pouring the mixture into the hole. He paused and looked up at him. “She deserves some attention before we jump on her.”
“Oh, I agree with you.” Caleb smiled then went back to digging. “I get the feeling she’s not used to attention.”
“I don’t think she expects much out of us where sex is concerned. I’d wager that the men she’s been with didn’t spend much time making sure she enjoyed it,” Jeff said.
He nodded, agreeing with Jeff. “I think you’re right. I for one intend to make sure she enjoys herself. I like sex—a lot. Making sure that she’s satisfied will go a long way toward opening the door for more sex. I’m all for more.”
Jeff looked up at him and grinned. It wasn’t often the other man smiled so openly. “Oh, I enjoy sinking into a warm, wet pussy just as much as you do. I think that if we play our cards right, she’ll be just as eager to play anytime we want to.”
Caleb nodded and returned to digging. Relief poured over him. He had wondered, despite their frank talks back on the shuttle, if Jeff would think his rather abundant sexual appetite was over the top or not. They had discussed sex a lot after they had gotten to know each other better. Much to his surprise, Jeff had shared women in the past and was comfortable doing it. He admitted that it would take some adjusting to get used to sharing the woman they were married to since he’d always thought he would have a wife all to himself.
He had to be honest and agree with that. Caleb had never planned to share his wife with anyone either. He was a jealous man to some extent. Still, after spending so much time with Jeff and getting to know the man, he didn’t think they would have trouble in that area when it came down to it.
They continued working in silence for nearly thirty minutes before switching places. He planned out in his head what he would do to seduce their wife that night. His cock was hard as one of the poles they were setting by the time the sun began to set. He expected to hear their radios to go off any minute now. As long as she hadn’t called and they still had enough light to see by, they would continue working.
“Fuck!”
Caleb jerked around to stare at Jeff. “What is it?”
“Look over there.”
He followed Jeff’s outstretched arm and bit back a curse. Several of the weird, insectile beasts stood about thirty yards away from them. Standing up as they were, they looked even more menacing than the one they’d seen on the way to their home the day before. The fact that there were three of them watching increased his heartbeat so that he could hear it in his ears. It made concentrating harder.
“Think we can make it to the house before they attack?” Caleb asked.
“I don’t think running is a good idea at all. Get behind me and watch where we’re going. We’ll walk toward the house at a slow pace. I’ll watch them while you keep us aimed in the right direction.”
“Got it.” He eased over to stand behind Jeff with his back to him. “Ready?”
“Let’s go.”
Caleb stepped forward and heard Jeff do the same. After several feet Jeff called a halt.
“What’s wrong?”
“They moved toward us some. They’ve stopped, but they’re watching us closely.”
Caleb didn’t turn to look. He had to trust that Jeff was watching. Looked like he was putting his trust in the other man sooner than he thought.
“Okay, let’s try it again,” Jeff said.
Chapter Five
Beverly picked up the radio to contact the men as she walked over to the window to look out. She had just started to press the button when she saw them easing toward the house with Caleb facing the house while Jeff faced the opposite direction. She frowned and lifted the radio to her mouth when she saw the creatures that were stalking them. Cold chills raced down her spine at the sight of three large beasts moving toward them.
She quickly put down the radio to make sure she didn’t accidently press the button and make a noise. She was afraid if she did, the ugly things would attack the men. Instead, she hurried into the other room and grabbed the gun they had left out. She was a good shot, but she prayed she wouldn’t have to use it. Carefully she eased the door open and watched the creatures as the men drew closer.
Once they were in sprinting distance, Caleb said something to Jeff and they both ran for the house. Beverly threw the door open wide, and as soon as they were inside, slammed it closed again. She quickly locked it and set the gun on a chair before hugging both of the men.
“Don’t ever open that door again when those things are out there!” Caleb pulled away and grabbed her upper arms holding her still.
“I wasn’t about to shoot through the window. That would have been stupid.”
“No, stupid was putting yourself at risk by opening the door in the first place.”
She glared at Caleb, jerking away from him before thrusting her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t in any danger. You were the ones in danger. I was covering your asses with the rifle. I’m a damn good shot.”
Caleb’s jaw worked in obvious anger. She wasn’t about to let them treat her like a worthless female like her brothers had tried to do. She may be shy when it came to some things, but she wasn’t a fainting damsel either. Beverly knew how to take care of herself.
“Let’s all calm down. No one was hurt.” Jeff’s voice of reason reminded her that he was there as well.
“I don’t like her jumping into dangerous situations.” Caleb wasn’t going to give up easily.
“I didn’t jump into anything. I merely cracked the door and sighted the bastards in case they rushed you.”
“I can smell dinner, Beverly. Is there anything in the stove you need to check on?” Jeff asked.
She huffed out a breath and narrowed her eyes at him for interrupting her and Caleb’s stare out. He needed to realize she wasn’t going to hide like a scaredy-cat from everything that might be dangerous. Otherwise, he was going to always be upset with her, and that was no way to
start a relationship.
“I’ll go check on it while the two of you clean up.” She stomped over to the stove as they walked toward the laundry room.
She couldn’t help muttering about stubborn men as she pulled the meatloaf out. It looked to be ready. She set it on top of the stove while she mashed the potatoes. By the time they had returned to the kitchen, she had everything on the table waiting on them. No one said anything while they filled their plates and ate. Tension fairly throbbed in the air around them. It made eating difficult for Beverly. She didn’t like confrontations, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to back down from one.
After they had finished and disappeared into the other room, she relaxed her muscles and quickly cleaned up. She put off joining them for as long as she could by giving everything a good wipe down. With nothing else to do, Beverly drew in a deep breath and walked into the other room where both men were sitting in their recliners talking about the group of giant mantises that had stalked them. Jeff had one of the brochures in his hand that listed the native wildlife of planet Alpha.
“The sonar we have at the edges of our property isn’t much of a deterrent for most of these things. It sounds like the only thing that has worked on this mantis thing was when one of the women screamed. It didn’t seem to care for that too much according to the pamphlet,” Jeff was saying.
Caleb looked up as she walked into the room. “Come here, honey.”
She hesitated but lifted her chin and walked over to him. He reached out and snagged her hand, pulling her closer to him.
“Sit in my lap while we talk. You need to know about these bastards. They’re very dangerous.”
Beverly let him help her up to his lap but held herself stiff in his arms. She just wasn’t ready to forget how he’d acted earlier. They wouldn’t always be around. She wanted to be sure they knew that she could take care of herself.
