by Marla Monroe
“There,” he said. “You should feel better already.” Marshall smiled down at her.
Jeb lifted the covers on the other side of the bed and slid under them before scooting closer to Drew.
“Hey! What are you doing in bed with me?” Drew demanded.
“We both need the rest, and I know for a fact you won’t stay in bed without someone sitting on you,” Jeb told her. “So I’m going to sit on you. Now lie down, and be still. You’ll feel even better in the morning when you wake up,” Jeb promised.
Marshall bent over her and took her lips in a soothing kiss. “It’s going to be fine, baby. Just let Jeb keep you warm, and Kenny and I will check on you later.”
“When I’m back at my best, I’m going to kick all of you in the ass,” she promised.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Marshall assured her before winking at Jeb and closing the bedroom door behind him.
Kenny waited on him downstairs. “She okay?”
“Yeah, she just needs some rest. She’s been burning the candle at both ends for a while now, and with the head injury, her body’s rebelling,” Marshall assured the man.
“What next?” Kenny asked.
“Let’s set the alarm and get a few hours of rest before we check on the herd again. We aren’t out of the woods yet.”
* * * *
Drew slowly woke up to find she was wrapped around Jeb. After assessing her situation, she had on her T-shirt and panties, but he was totally nude. His soft snore assured her he was still asleep. She eased her head from his shoulder and began to pull away, but he groaned and tightened his hold on her. Her bare leg rested between his legs, and his hard cock stroked her thigh when she tried to move.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jeb’s deep voice asked next to her ear.
“Um, I need to get up.”
“You need another few hours of rest,” he countered.
“I really need to get up,” she insisted.
“Bathroom?” he asked.
She sighed and nodded her head.
Jeb slowly uncurled his arms from around her and waited while she carefully extracted her knee from his groin. He grunted once when she grazed his balls. When she scooted out of the bed, he sat up and watched her make her way across the room to the bathroom. She felt like a deer being watched by a wolf. Once she’d taken care of her needs, Drew opened the bathroom door expecting him to either be asleep or gone from her bed. Instead, he was leaning against the wall by the bathroom, waiting on her.
“Thought I should take the opportunity as well.” He touched her chin with his fingers and lifted it for his kiss.
Drew sank into his kiss as if her body had no will of its own. He sipped at her lips then assaulted them with his teeth and tongue until she opened for him. His tongue slid in alongside hers before exploring her mouth. When he withdrew, she was an aching, panting mess in need.
“Go get back in the bed, Drew. I’ll be right back. Don’t make me come get you.”
He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. She knew she should dress and go downstairs to see what was going on with the ranch, but something about his voice urged her to obey him. She inched toward the closet, intent on putting something on to wear downstairs. The sound of the toilet flushing had her scrambling toward the bed. What was wrong with her? She didn’t obey anyone.
She stood beside the bed, refusing to climb in it. Nothing would make her do anything she didn’t want to. Nothing and no one, she vowed. It was why she still had the ranch and why she was intent on keeping it.
When the bathroom door opened, she was still standing straight as a board beside the bed with her chin up in defiance. Right. She was defiant all right. She hadn’t dressed and gone downstairs as she had wanted to. Instead, she stood by the bed waiting on Jeb to tell her what to do next.
“You’re not in the bed, Drew.”
“You can’t order me around on my own ranch. I give the orders, not you,” she insisted.
“As far as the ranch goes, you’re the boss. But in this bedroom, you do as I say. You still need rest. Climb back in bed, Drew, before I spank that sweet ass of yours a pretty pink.” Jeb crossed his arms and stood with his legs spread slightly, waiting on her to comply.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she fumed.
“Try me. I’ll enjoy turning that ass a bright red for disobeying me on something concerning your health.”
Drew stared into his eyes and realized he was deadly serious. He would do it. She found herself climbing into bed before she realized what she was doing. When he walked over and climbed in next to her, she pulled away from him and curled up next to the edge of the mattress away from him. He didn’t try and force her to sleep in his arms. He just stretched out after pulling the covers up over them both.
She felt like an idiot hugging the edge of the mattress like a naughty child. Still, nothing would convince her to admit he was right and she needed more rest. In fact, she couldn’t seem to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. See, he was wrong, she didn’t need more sleep. She needed to get up and do something.
“Be still over there, and you’ll fall asleep,” Jeb told her.
“I can’t be still. I need to get up and do something. I’m not sleepy anymore.” She fought a yawn even as she said it.
Jeb chuckled and turned over. He reached across the bed and pulled her over closer to him.
“Maybe you need a distraction then,” he suggested.
“What are you going to do?” she asked as he pulled her beneath him.
“I’m going to give you what you need, Drew darling.”
One of his legs slid around hers and pulled it back slightly. Then he slipped an arm beneath her shoulders so that her head now rested next to his on the pillow. Jeb nibbled along her jaw and down her neck. He sucked gently against the pulse at her throat until she was sure she would have a mark there.
His other hand slipped beneath her T-shirt and pulled it up so that he had access to her breasts. Skillful fingers circled and tweaked her nipples until she was ready to beg for more. She didn’t have to. He smoothed down her abdomen to her pelvis and lower. He found her pussy already drenched with her arousal. He chuckled in her ear.
“It won’t take much to send you over, will it, Drew? You’re already primed. You just need a little nudge.” He kissed her neck then bit her shoulder.
Jeb’s hard cock seemed to jerk against her hip as he leaned in and began a slow outlining of her pussy lips with his finger. Then he dipped a finger inside and pulled it out again. He added a second finger and pushed them inside again to curl and locate that hot spot that drove her wild. She bit her lip waiting for the inevitable, but it didn’t come. He didn’t rub over it. Instead, he stopped and looked down into her wide, open eyes.
“Tell me you want it, Drew. Tell me you need to come.”
“Please. Please, Jeb.” She couldn’t believe he was making her beg for it.
“What do you want, Drew? I’ll give you anything I have to give.”
“I want to come!” she finally ground out between clenched teeth.
“Then come for me, Drew.” He began a slow assault on her G-spot until she was bucking at his hand, crying out as the orgasm hit her.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful when you come. You’re squeezing my fingers so tightly.” Jeb rode out her orgasm with her.
Drew panted, trying to regain her breath as Jeb withdrew his fingers and sucked on them while he gazed into her eyes.
“You taste even better than your homemade pies.”
“What about you?” she asked reaching for his hard cock.
“I’m fine for now, Drew. You need to rest and heal. I’ll live until you’re back on your feet.” He gently moved her hand aside.
“It doesn’t seem fair for you to make me come and you not get to.”
“Let me worry about me. I can always jerk off if I need to bad enough. Right now, I don’t need to. Just being close to you with the taste of you still
on my lips is fine.” Jeb brushed a lock of hair from her face.
She huffed out a breath and lay back. He pulled her back on his shoulder and curled an arm around her waist. The steady thump, thump, thump of his heart eased her worries somewhat, and she soon found her head clearing and her mind softening as she drifted in and out of a lazy sleep.
* * * *
Jeb watched her sleep in his arms. He felt his heart softening to her. It wasn’t a welcome thing as far as he was concerned. He couldn’t see her wanting them around forever. Then what would they do? Most women liked a ménage relationship for short periods of time. They used it as a kind of experiment or a fantasy but never any longer than that.
He and Marshall had shared women even before they’d been imprisoned, but it had been a choice they both had enjoyed. Since getting out, they needed each other to bed a woman. They each had their own reasons, but foremost in their minds was how they’d survived in prison.
Marshall had been picked on from day one for his boyish good looks and easy, laid-back personality. When he’d been raped, Jeb had stepped in and realized there was only one thing they could do, become lovers to keep the others off of Marshall. Now, Jeb wanted Marshall, and all that kept him from going insane from it was to share a woman between them. For the first time, that need had more than taken a back seat, it had gone away for a while when they’d taken Drew together. She was the key.
Jeb knew he would always want Marshall to some degree, but Marshall didn’t want that kind of relationship. Jeb could admit he didn’t either. He wasn’t gay or even bisexual. He just wanted Marshall. Having Drew between them gave him everything he needed. Jeb despised himself for wanting Marshall after all he had been through. He wanted Drew for what she offered him, a brief respite from his needing Marshall. Even more than that, she was a special woman, and he could feel himself falling in love with her. When he was with her, he didn’t need or even want Marshall. More than anything, though, he wanted to make her happy. He wanted to hear her screams of completion and her sighs of contentment. Together, he and Marshall could give her all of that and more. He eased out from beneath her and grabbed his jeans and shirt. He didn’t want to wake her, so he waited until he was outside the room to dress. He had just gotten his shirt on, though it wasn’t buttoned, when Kenny walked up the stairs. He looked at Jeb and raised an eyebrow.
“She’s sleeping. I need to see what is going on with the herd.”
“So far everything is fine. You should have rested a little longer.” Kenny sighed.
“Where’s Marshall?” Jeb pulled on his coat and gloves.
“On the back porch. We were stacking firewood. I just walked in.”
“Go get some rest. Marshall and I’ll finish up the chores for the night.”
“Wake me when it’s my time.” Kenny rubbed a hand over his tired-looking face and turned to go.
“We’re all doing everything we can, Kenny. You’re only human. You have to rest just like the rest of us do.” Jeb slapped Kenny on the shoulder then turned, grabbed his hat, and opened the kitchen door.
The cold air just about took his breath away. Marshall turned from where he’d been staring out toward the barn at the sound of the closing door.
“What are you doing up so soon?” Marshall asked.
“Got enough of sleeping. Figured Kenny could use a little more rest. You and I are used to not getting so much.”
“How did you manage to settle Drew down?”
“Gave her an orgasm,” Jeb said with a smile.
Marshall shook his head and chuckled. “Sneaky bastard.”
“How are the horses and cows doing?”
“Fine so far. No losses and no injuries that I’ve been able to find. Not bad for the first snow. Kenny says it will get worse, though.”
“Yeah, Drew mentioned that, too.” Jeb settled his hat a little lower on his head.
Jeb looked out over the pasture where the cows were munching on hay.
“Marshall, if it weren’t for me, would you settle down with a nice wife and have you a passel of kids?”
“Why the hell you asking me that for? Are you planning on going off on your own?” There was anger in Marshall’s voice.
“No, I just wonder if you would be okay without me holding you back.”
“You’re not holding me back. What’s gotten into you? Is it Drew? Are you not wanting to share her anymore?”
“No! I want her bad, Marshall. Thing is, you and I both know I can’t not share her with you. I need you there with me.”
“This is about what went down in prison again.” Marshall stuck his hands on his hips and turned away from Jeb. “You and I both know there wasn’t anything we could do but what we did. It was either you fucking me or one or more of those bastards that took me the first time. They damn near killed me, Jeb.”
“I know,” Jeb said in a quiet voice. “I can’t forgive myself, though. I should have been able to protect us both without, without…” He let it trail off.
“I don’t blame you, and I don’t regret anything that we did together. I’m not gay, and neither are you. We haven’t been attracted to other men since we got out, and we weren’t attracted to them beforehand. Hell, it wouldn’t matter if we were, but I know we’re not.”
“Maybe I’m bisexual then,” Jeb said.
“I think you’re just hung up on the entire sordid mess and can’t put it behind you. I’ve gotten past it. It’s over with, Jeb.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” He stomped off the porch to check on the bull.
Marshall followed behind him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Jeb turned around in a wash of fury. “It means I’m not sure it is over. Leave it at that, Marshall. Just leave it the hell alone for now.”
Marshall drew in a deep breath and stared at him. They’d been friends since they were in junior high. They’d been together through working on ranches and survived prison together. Jeb didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He needed space and time. He needed time to figure things out. He willed Marshall to give him the time he needed.
To his relief, his friend turned and walked silently through the snow to the house. He heard the back door slam and winced. He hoped it didn’t wake Drew up. Hell, then there was Drew.
Chapter Nine
Drew heard the slam of a door somewhere downstairs and groaned. She stiffly rolled out of the bed. She had been in it too long. She needed to get up and do something, or she’d lose some of her flexibility. It wouldn’t matter how much the men fussed, she wasn’t going back to sleep until she had done something worthwhile.
She made her way to the shower, cursing her stiff muscles. The hot water in the shower did wonders for her, and she felt almost her old self again afterward. She dressed and walked down the stairs to find Marshall staring at the coffee pot, waiting on it to finish brewing.
“Was that you slamming the door?” she asked.
It startled him, and he jumped a little then turned around.
“Shit, sorry. I forgot you were sleeping. Jeb’s going to have my hide for waking you up.”
“I was already up and getting in the shower, so you didn’t bother me,” she lied.
He looked relived to be let off the hook.
“Want some coffee?” He pulled a second cup from the cabinet at her nod.
“Shouldn’t you be getting into bed instead of drinking coffee?”
“I’m still up for another twenty five, thirty minutes. Besides, it never has affected me that way. I can drink a pot of it before bed and sleep just fine.” He grinned at her and poured her some.
She took it from his hands and smiled a little at the touch of his skin along her fingers. While she had loved having Jeb with her in bed once she’d gotten over being mad, she had still missed Marshall being there, too. She would take time to study all of it later but not right now. Right now, she would enjoy it while it lasted.
“Let’s go sit on the couch and check the weather.” Ma
rshall ushered her into the living room toward the couch.
They sat down and Marshall turned on the TV. He flipped the channels until he came to the weather channel.
“I’m assuming everything is still fine with the ranch. You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?”
“Everything’s fine. The weather is clearing off, and it feels like the temperatures are rising some.”
“Shh, here’s the weather.”
They listened to the promise of sunny skies for the next few days, but the temperatures would remain in the single digits during the day. Some of the snow would melt at those temperatures.
“Great, as soon as we can get out the drive, we need to make a trip into town to load up on things. I guess you and Jeb need to check in with the sheriff as well.”
“One of us will go with you, and then the other will go with Kenny the next day. We aren’t leaving Kenny here by himself while there is someone out there screwing around.” Marshall had draped his arm around the back of the couch, and now he rubbed her shoulder with his hand.
“I guess that sounds like a good idea.” She sighed. “I wish we could figure out who it is and put a stop to this.”
“We will. It just takes time.”
Drew pushed off of Marshall’s knee and the couch to stand up. She needed to do something, so she would cook a stew. They could all eat off of it all during the night and the next day. Plus, she was going to talk to Jeb about letting her pair up with one of them and help make rounds. She felt fine, and the bump on her head was going down. She winced when she felt of it. If it hurts, don’t touch it, stupid.
“What are you doing?” Marshall asked when she pulled out a big pot and set it on the stove.
“I’m going to make a stew that we can all eat on as we get hungry. It can warm on the stove for hours before it will get too old to eat.”
