by Marla Monroe
Men of the Border Lands 15
Their Perfect Woman
Benton and Travis are ready to settle down. They’ve resigned themselves to living without a woman, but then they find Gail rummaging around in their refuse pile. When they offer her a safe place to stay, they hope she will feel at home and stay with them. Will she be their future? The longer she stays with them the closer they get to making her their woman.
Gail has been running from the men who’d kidnapped her from her last home. When the two men who live in the house she stumbles on offer her a place to stay and food to eat, she’s cautious. Soon though, she comes to trust them and believes she’s found the perfect place to live.
Together, the three of them forge a family and make the house a home. Benton and Travis believed Gail is their perfect woman.
Genre: Futuristic, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Science-Fiction
Length: 35,153 words
THEIR PERFECT WOMAN
Men of the Border Lands 15
Marla Monroe

Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
THEIR PERFECT WOMAN
Copyright © 2017 by Marla Monroe
ISBN: 978-1-64010-740-3
First Publication: November 2017
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2017 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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PUBLISHER
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www.SirenPublishing.com
DEDICATION
I want to thank all my readers for making Men of The Border Lands series so popular. I love writing these books for you.
I also want to thank Julie A. Comins for choosing Gigi and Max as names for the wolf pups, and Kelley Freeman-Hopkins for choosing Sasha for one of the wolf pups.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marla Monroe has been writing professionally for over thirteen years. Her first book with Siren was published in January of 2011, and she now has over 75 books available with them. She loves to write and spends every spare minute either at the keyboard or reading. She writes everything from sizzling-hot cowboys, emotionally charged BDSM, and dangerously addictive shifters, to science fiction ménages with the occasional badass biker thrown in for good measure.
Marla lives in the southern US and works full-time at a busy hospital. When not writing, she loves to travel, spend time with her feline muses, and read. Although she misses her cross-stitch and putting together puzzles, she is much happier writing fantasy worlds where she can make everyone’s dreams come true. She’s always eager to try something new and thoroughly enjoys the research she does for her books. She loves to hear from readers about what they are looking for in their reading adventures.
You can reach Marla at [email protected], or
Visit her website at www.marlamonroe.com
Her blog: www.themarlamonroe.blogspot.com
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
About the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Landmarks
Cover
THEIR PERFECT WOMAN
Men of the Border Lands 15
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
“You can run, but you can’t hide, bitch. We’ll find you eventually. If not us, then the wolves or bears will get ya.”
Icy fingers of fear squeezed at her heart as she tried to control her breathing so they wouldn’t hear her. Gail Arnold had been running for what felt like hours, but had probably only been fifteen or twenty minutes when she’d found the hollowed-out tree with the bush growing out of the center of it. She’d slipped inside and ducked low in hopes they wouldn’t find her there.
“Burt, go that way, and we’ll flush her out. She can’t have gone far. She didn’t have any shoes on.” The big bastard laughed as he lumbered near her hiding place.
Gail breathed in through her nose and let the air slip from her pursed lips as she counted slowly in her head in an effort to calm her stampeding heart. She couldn’t afford to panic now. So far, they hadn’t noticed the hollowed-out tree. Maybe they wouldn’t.
But then where will I be? I’m alone and barefoot out here in the woods with no idea where to go or how to get there.
She’d just have to worry about that once she was well and truly free of Burt and Tommy. The two men had taken her from the farm she’d been living on along with several others when she’d been out picking blackberries. She wondered if anyone had even noticed she was gone before dark. Two days later and she’d finally gotten the chance to run when they’d left the ropes tying her to the wagon too loose. She’d managed to pull her wrists free of the rope and had slipped away while they’d been relieving themselves on the other side of the wagon.
Now, all Gail had to do was stay quiet and hidden until they gave up and moved on. How long would that be? She had no idea, but images of creepy crawly bugs slithering all over her kept intruding on her thoughts, building up her fear and distaste.
Get a grip. Do I want to deal with a few harmless bugs, or their groping dirty hands?
Gail would take the bugs hands down any day. She just had to control the twitching as a result of those thoughts of bugs making their home in the husk of a tree with her.
“You better come out now, or I’m going to make sure you wish you had when I find you. I will find you, bitch. Get your ass out here now before you make things worse on yourself.” Tommy’s high pitched voice only shrilled higher the angrier he got.
“We’ve been looking for an hour now, Tommy. I think she’s gone for good. Hell, some animal might have even gotten to her.” Burt’s nasal whine sounded much too close to Gail for her comfort.
“Stupid. We’d have heard her screaming if something got hold of her. She’s out there somewh
ere hiding. Let her stew overnight. We’ll find her in the morning. She’ll be more than happy to come back after spending a night in the woods with all those animals.”
Burt laughed. “You’re right, Tommy. She’ll beg for us to take her back. Bet she’s hungry and thirsty, too.”
“Glad we didn’t fill her full of food before she up and ran off,” Tommy said.
“I’m going to fill her full of my dick when I find her. Bitch shouldn’t have run away.”
Gail shivered in her hiding place more from Burt’s promise than the slightly cooler air seeping into the hollowed-out tree. She could barely see anything through the branches of the hedge blocking the hole. It had gotten dark while they’d been looking for her. She’d dubbed them Beavis and Butthead in an attempt at making them seem less threatening, but right then, she was just as scared of them as if one of them had been Freddy Krueger from the movies she’d seen at a friend’s house late one night. It had made a lasting impression on her back then and seemed to have carried over to her current predicament.
The sounds of their trampling through the underbrush heading back to the wagon slowly faded away. She wasn’t sure if she should try and move farther into the woods while it was dark or hold up where she was until they gave up and left for good. There was always the possibility they’d luck up and find her in the morning.
She huddled inside the tree trying to make up her mind on what to do. Though she only had two options, neither of them were very appealing. If she left her hiding place, she’d be vulnerable out in the open for anything to find her. She had no idea which way to run or if the two men had really returned to the wagon or were waiting on her to poke her head up so they could locate her.
I can’t just sit here waiting on them to find me in the morning. I’ve got to run.
Gail decided to wait a while longer before easing out of the tree. After what felt like long enough, she poked her head out and nearly jerked it back inside at the pitch blackness that waited for her. How would she ever figure out which way to go in that? There didn’t even seem to be a moon for light.
Can’t wait here. I’ve got to go. I’ll be able to see more once my eyes adjust. I just have to be careful of where I step.
Barefoot and wearing only a thin, torn shirt along with her jeans put her at a distinct disadvantage to surviving out in the woods all alone. First, she had to put as much distance between her and the two men, then she’d worry about survival beyond that. She wouldn’t need to worry about food and shelter if she didn’t stay out of their clutches.
The chilled night air raised goosebumps all along her arms and across her shoulders. Once completely outside the tree trunk, Gail looked around and made out the darkened shapes of trees surrounding her. Slowly, as she’d believed, her eyesight improved so that she was able to see more than her hand in front of her. She started walking across the forest floor in the opposite direction she thought that Burt and Tommy were camped out. Every little sound made her jump, and she started clapping her hand over her mouth to keep from making a noise when that happened.
Her feet burned and stung from all the punctures and scrapes she got despite trying to watch where she walked. There were all sorts of hidden roots, rocks, and sticks on the forest floor. Anytime she came to a line of brush, Gail eased through it to be sure she wasn’t coming up on the men by accident. She had no idea if she was walking in a straight line or not since the moon remained mostly hidden beneath heavy clouds.
Almost before she knew it, the night began to dissipate. Morning was coming fast, and Gail needed a new hiding place until she was sure she wasn’t being pursued any longer. Frantic as the sun rose higher, Gail searched before falling into a small hole behind a bush carved into a rock face. She pulled herself back out and brushed away the evidence of her footsteps before slipping back inside the spot and propping the branch she’d used against the opening. She didn’t think she could be seen from outside since she hadn’t even noticed the hole being there, but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure.
She was so thirsty and hungry. Once she was sure no one was following her, the next thing would be to find a stream where she could get a drink of water. Then, she’d have to figure out how to get food.
Gail listened, afraid to allow herself to fall asleep until she was sure she hadn’t been followed. Every sound, every cracking branch jerked her heart into her throat so that it pounded a hard knot she couldn’t swallow around. She felt as if she’d choke on nothing at all if she didn’t calm down. Hours passed and there was still no sign that anyone was following her.
She ventured out and listened again with no noise outside the normal sounds of the wind blowing high in the trees. She was alone. Alone, thirsty, hungry, and afraid.
* * * *
“Think there will be a place to settle down around here anywhere? We’re pretty much on the northern edge of the Border Lands now. I’m tired of drifting. Need to put down some roots.” Benton Thomas stretched after leaning his bow against a tree trunk.
“Here’s as good a place as any. We should be off the beaten path enough that we won’t have to worry about people stumbling over us every time we turn around. Can’t trust anyone these days. Pickings are thin out there, and everyone is out for themselves.” Travis Lawrence nodded at Benton.
The two men had bonded during the first rush of disasters that had devastated the U.S. and more than likely the world fifteen years previously. As young teenagers, Benton had pulled Travis out of a burning building in New York before it had collapsed. They’d both been frantic to find their families, only to discover them dead or missing. Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods. Nothing had prepared anyone for the wrath of Mother Nature when she’d had enough. Now, they traveled together trying to survive in the wilds of what was now called the Border Lands.
The Border Lands made up the north-western part of the United States, including some of Canada. The southern part of the States were under water, as was California and parts of Oregon. Benton was originally from Chicago, while Travis had been from Memphis. As transplants to New York, they’d quickly left the now devastated and dangerous city to make their way south then west.
“Let’s start searching the off roads to see if we can find a suitable house to claim. Need one we can rig up with solar panels and that has enough cleared land for a garden.” Benton took a swig of water from the canteen he carried.
“No need for more than two or three bedrooms. Smaller house will mean less upkeep,” Travis added.
They walked for another thirty minutes before locating a gravel road that split off from the main highway they were traveling. The two men walked up the overgrown path until they located the falling down house and determined it was too far gone to work.
They encountered house after house that wouldn’t work before finally finding a brick home in good shape that met all their requirements. It had shade trees in the front, but the entire back of the house was cleared, allowing for solar panels and a nice sized garden. There were several sheds that proved to house gardening tools and an old tiller.
Without fuel, the tiller was a complete wash, but the hand tools would suffice, along with some good hard work to turn a garden plot come spring. They’d have to make do with what they could kill for fall and winter. The house had little in the way of provisions, having been ransacked by someone in the past. They would make do just like they always had. Both men were used to slim pickings.
“Let’s clear everything out that isn’t necessary and pile what can be burned during the winter for fuel near the house, and get rid of the rest,” Benton said. He tended to take charge of any given situation since he was thirty-six to Travis’s thirty-four years. The other man didn’t seem to mind. They worked together just fine.
Benton wanted to settle down just as much as Travis. He was tired of drifting and having to constantly watch over his shoulder for danger. Settling down felt good to him.
“Too bad we can’t use the stove for a wood burning st
ove. If it had a pipe to vent it, we could cook on it.” Travis pulled out all of the cooking utensils from the bottom drawer and piled the ones he thought they’d use on the counter before stacking the others to be thrown out.
Benton gathered up all the ruined cans of food and bug infested boxes to dump on the pile of rubbish they’d burn at a later date. There was no use keeping a lot of junk that would just get in the way. All they needed were the dishes to eat off of and the ones they could cook in over an open flame or buried in a hot fire. Dutch ovens were gold these days.
“Look. That makes two large Dutch ovens and five cast iron skillets. Whoever lived here believed in the good stuff.” Travis set the second Dutch oven on the counter next to the first one he’d unearthed.
“I’ve got a couple of cast iron boilers here, too,” Benton said.
“Wish we had a woman to help us cook some. My cooking is pretty damn bad. Yours isn’t much better.”
“Screw you. No one can cook the way we have to these days. You’re lucky we can start a fire. If we hadn’t found that wildlife store and managed to unearth a few strikers, we’d be in bad shape. I don’t know about you, but using a magnifying glass to start a flame was getting tedious. We were screwed when it was cloudy.”
“We need to work on making more arrows as soon as we have things settled in the house. The arrows we have are dulling out. I’m just waiting for the time the damn things bounce off a deer hide instead of penetrating it.” Travis opened another cabinet door.
