by Becca Van
She hadn’t known what else to do. She had no home, no other family besides her brother, and little money. The only way she was going to survive was to get a job or get married. Surely there would be some respectable man out there that would want a wife? But as she looked at Chet, Will, Kent, and Walker, the thought of not seeing them again caused her chest to ache.
They were her saviours and even though she didn’t want to hero worship them because they had rescued her, she didn’t like the thought of marrying someone else and never seeing them again. She was so confused. She’d never felt like this before and wasn’t sure what to make of it. They were all big, handsome men and she liked the way she felt so protected when she was with them.
* * * *
Kent watched the expressions flit across Lacy’s face. She probably thought she was keeping her thoughts to herself but she was very easy to read.
Lacy Tanner was such a beautiful, sexy woman it almost hurt his eyes to look at her. Her long blonde hair was up in a braid and it was still long enough to reach her waist. Right now her gorgeous blue eyes looked so sad, but when he’d first met her gaze, even when she’d been dazed after tumbling off of that horse, she had looked downright fierce. There had been fire burning in those blue depths and that made him want to tap into all the dormant passion.
He couldn’t help but smile as he remembered the smoke from her gun billowing out of the hole in the pocket of her skirt. If she hadn’t been in shock or dazed from hitting her head on the ground, he had no doubt she would have aimed that gun at him and his mates.
She was young but she was full of gumption. Just the sort of woman that would be perfect for all of them.
Kent and his three mates had been around long enough to communicate without words and the fact that Chet, Will, and Walker were all on board about courting Lacy filled him with excitement. Yes, he was physically attracted to her and so were his friends, but there was more to it than just lust. He already felt protective and possessive of her. He would do everything he could to keep her safe, even from herself.
She was an innocent but she hadn’t hesitated to shoot Tom Crow when it was her only option. She was strong even though she looked small, fragile, and daintily feminine. She hadn’t said anything about killing Tom and he was glad that she hadn’t become hysterical over taking a life. Most of the women he’d met along his travels would have had the vapours and swooned or screamed at the top of their lungs. Or been frozen with fear. Lacy was nothing like them and for that he was thankful.
There was no way in hell he was letting her walk out their front door. She could end up getting raped and killed.
As far as he was concerned, she was theirs. They just had to convince her they were strong enough to handle her and he had a feeling it would take all of them to do just that.
* * * *
Lacy was glad when the conversation turned to the farm and away from her. She still wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that the four men weren’t letting her go to Ballarat. After hearing about the dangers she would likely face, she was relieved. She liked Chet, Will, Kent, and Walker way more than she should, since she’d only just met them and they weren’t family.
It wasn’t just their handsome faces or brawny bodies that drew her to them, although that certainly helped. She was attracted to each and every one of them but didn’t want them to find out how she felt. She wasn’t sure if they even liked her a little bit. For all she knew they were just nice law-abiding men who happened to be in the right place at the right time and probably saved her from a fate worse than death.
It didn’t matter that Lacy was an innocent. She’d been around animals and knew the way of things. She knew what happened between a man and a woman. She squirmed in her seat as her imagination once more took a nosedive. She drew in an exasperated, ragged breath and released it slowly. With a quick glance at the men from beneath her lashes, she breathed deeply again, glad they didn’t seem to be taking any notice of her.
Lacy decided since they all seemed bent on protecting her and letting her stay with them where she would be safe that she should earn her keep. She got up from her seat and began to gather the dirty dishes.
Walker rose to his feet and began to help her.
“I can do it.”
“And I can help.” Walker winked at her.
“If I’m going to be staying here I need to help out.”
“You don’t need to do anything,” Chet called out.
“Yes, I do.” Lacy turned to face him with her hands on her hips and determination in her stance. “You have all been so kind to me. You rescued me and brought me back to your home. Not many people would do that. This is my way of saying thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank us, darlin’.” Walker winked at her. “We like having you here with us.”
“You do?”
“We do,” Kent stated emphatically.
“Can you ride, Lacy?” Will asked
Lacy had already filled the sink with hot and cold water and was elbow-deep in soap suds. She continued washing the dishes as she called out her reply, “Yes.”
“That’s good to hear,” Chet said. “Do you have any riding clothes?”
Lacy scrunched her nose as she thought about the pants she had that used to be Craig’s. She didn’t have a riding habit and never had, but the thought of putting on Craig’s old pants and sitting astride a horse again was so tempting she answered in the affirmative. She had a feeling that the men wouldn’t be impressed with her riding attire but it felt like forever since she’d ridden a horse herself.
“That’s good,” Kent said. “When you and Walker are done, go and get changed. We’d love to show you around the farm.”
“Okay,” Lacy replied. Even though the site of her stitches was sore, the lingering ache in her head had dissipated. She didn’t care that her body still felt a little stiff after her fall. Riding a horse was a relaxing pastime and one she was looking forward to.
After everything was clean and put away, Lacy hurried back to the bedroom she’d awoken in. She dug to the bottom of her trunk and pulled out the Craig’s pants. She remembered the first time she’d borrowed them and gone for a ride around the estate where her father had worked. They were lucky enough to have worked for friendly people and were allowed to ride whenever they wanted. The owner had said that they were doing him a favour by exercising the horses.
Lacy was coming back into the yard after her ride and when her papa had seen her with her brother’s pants moulding to her legs and butt, he’d read her the riot act. She had stood up to him, though. There were no side saddles in the stables since the owner’s wife didn’t like to ride.
“Papa, I can’t ride in all those skirts and petticoats. I would end up falling off and getting hurt. There is no way I can ride sideways without a side saddle. What did you expect me to do?”
“Now lookie here, missy—ˮ
“I can’t spend all of my time inside. I would go as crazy as a loon if I was cooped up all the time.”
Her papa sighed. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry, Lacy, but next time you go out dressed like that you make sure you tell me or Craig where you’re going. In fact it would be better if you took your brother with you. Okay?”
“Okay, Papa.”
“That’s my good girl.” Papa had lifted her down from the horse, cupped her face, and kissed her on the forehead.
Lacy blinked back the tears of grief and tried to smile. It was still so hard to think about her father without tearing up. Hopefully, soon she would be able to think about him without the waterworks.
She removed her skirt and after trying to get the pants on over her pantaloons to no avail, she sighed with frustration. She couldn’t very well go about without anything between her skin and the coarse woollen pants, but maybe if she cut the legs off of her pantaloons she would be able to get Craig’s pants on.
It had been over twelve months since she last ridden and wondered if she’d put on weight. S
he hadn’t had any trouble getting into the pants then.
Lacy pulled her small sewing bag from the trunk and took a deep breath as she stared at the lawn material at the top of her legs. How high should I cut them? Should I cut off a bit at a time or should I go the whole hog and cut them mid-thigh?
As she stared at them she decided that cutting them while still wearing them wasn’t an option. She might just end up cutting herself. So she grabbed the other pair from her trunk, estimated where mid-thigh was, and cut. When she was done, she giggled and then removed the ones she was wearing and put the altered ones one. At least this time when she pulled Craig’s pants up over them, the legs didn’t ride up and bunch into big lumps. She had to put her hands down the legs and pull them down but once she was done she couldn’t believe how comfortable she was. The corset she was wearing felt uncomfortable gripping her sore muscles so she decided to take that off, too. So she quickly removed her shirt, undid the corset and put it back in her trunk before donning her shirt again.
For a moment she debated on wearing nothing at all, but that was too brazen even for her. If the material of the pants wasn’t so abrasive, she would have, but she didn’t want to end up with chafing on her inner thighs. She had just put her boots on when someone knocked on her closed bedroom door.
“Just a minute,” she called out and got rid of the evidence of her alterations by hiding them in her trunk and closing the lid. After taking a deep breath, she held her chin high and opened the door.
Walker gasped when he saw her. She watched him as he looked her up and down and then he whistled softly through his teeth. Lacy had no idea what that meant, that was, until he lifted his head and met her eyes. The heat in his gaze was so hot it was a wonder he didn’t singe her clothes right off of her. His mouth opened and closed a few times before she heard his teeth snap shut when he closed it.
“Damn, darlin’. You are one sexy little woman.” Walker swallowed audibly as his eyes roved over her body again. “Turn around.”
Lacy inhaled and held it while she slowly turned around. She was about to turn back to face him when he placed his hands on her shoulders and halted her.
“That is the sweetest arse I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. Are you wearing any under-things?”
Lacy face flamed and she nodded. She wasn’t about to tell him she cut down her pantaloons or removed her corset. She exhaled noisily when Walker lifted his hands from her shoulders and she turned to face him once more. She kept her eyes locked with him, just waiting for him to tell her off, but he surprised her by holding his hand out to her.
“Have you got a hat, Lacy?”
“No. Only a bonnet.”
“That’s no good. I think I have an old one that will do for now.” He tugged on her hand and led her down the hallway. He released her, entered his bedroom, and came back with a battered hat in hand. After plopping it on her head, he gripped her hand once more. “We’d better hurry or Chet and Will will send out a search party.”
Walker guided her out of the house. She glanced about, taking everything in she could. There was a barn-type building about fifty or so yards from the house and several paddocks were sectioned off nearby. She saw four men working in one small paddock and tried to figure out what they were doing. They were each bent over a sheep and she could see their arms moving. As she and Walker got closer she realised they were shearing the wool from the sheep’s bodies.
She would have really liked to stay and watch such a fascinating thing, but Walker guided her into the barn.
“Fuck me!” Kent rasped as he looked her over.
At first Lacy was horrified over his words and her face heated with embarrassment, but when she saw him looking her up and down she realized he wasn’t being nasty. She could tell by the way his mouth was gaping that he was shocked, but she could also tell he liked what he was seeing.
A confident power filled Lacy and for the first time in her life she liked being a woman. Chet and Will turned around to look at what had caused Kent’s words. When she glanced at Chet and saw the muscle in his jaw twitching as if he was angry, she lowered her head to hide her shame.
He must have seen what she was feeling because the next thing she knew he was standing in front of her and nudging her chin up so that she was looking into his blue-green orbs.
“Lacy…I…ˮ Chet paused as if he wasn’t sure what to say.
She looked at him expectantly and then held her breath as he reached up and cupped her face between his big, manly, calloused hands.
And then he slowly lowered his head toward hers.
* * * *
Chet had the breath knocked out of him when he saw what Lacy was wearing. The moment his eyes had wandered over her feminine curves, his cock hardened. He glanced at Kent and Will and saw they were both in the same boat as he was. When he looked at Walker, his friend had a shit-eating grin on his face and he waggled his eyebrows.
He loved being able to see her slim, curvy body but he didn’t like the thought of the stockmen seeing her this way. He was going to have to spread the word that Lacy was to be protected but was off-limits.
He didn’t remember moving, but when he felt her soft skin against his callused hands he was lost. He had enough presence of mind to go slow in case he scared her and slowly lowered his head. The closer his mouth got to hers the more his watered. He swallowed and licked his lips right before his brushed over hers.
Since he’d been dying to taste her from the first time he’d seen her, he took things slowly and gently, savouring each caress of her soft lips against his. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. He wanted her to want him and that wouldn’t happen if he frightened her.
Her lips parted on a sigh and Chet licked over them before pushing the tip into her mouth. She made a small mewling sound in the back of her throat and then her hands came up and clutched at his shirt. Her mouth opened wider and her tongue moved tentatively along his. He groaned and then he was lost in the feel of her hands on him when she released his shirt and opened them up to splay over his pectorals. He didn’t know if she realised what she was doing but her hands began to move, caressing over his muscles, and when the tips of her fingers brushed over his small hard nipples he felt like he was drowning. Drowning in her sweet taste, touch, and scent.
He deepened the kiss, lowered his hands from her face, and wrapped them around her waist. He swirled his tongue around hers and tasted the awakening passion he could practically feel vibrating through her sexy, little body.
She whimpered when he withdrew his tongue and sucked her full bottom lip into his mouth before nipping on it. She gasped and then moaned as he licked over the sting he’d given her. Chet bent and leaned his forehead against hers as he tried to get his breath back. It wasn’t until she moved that he noticed he was holding both of her arse cheeks in his palms, and what delighted him even more was that Lacy didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she was wiggling as if she was trying to rub her sweet, little body up against his as if trying to relieve the ache inside.
If she was feeling anything like he was, the ache was a deep, persistent, throbbing hunger and he wasn’t sure anything would take it away. Of course he knew that his passion would bank down if he kept his hands and mouth to himself, but he felt that deep incessant yearning he had in his gut wouldn’t be appeased until he had Lacy in his bed.
But first he had to get her to agree to marry him and his mates. He didn’t think she would agree to that until they tried to find her brother.
He was in a quandary, because he wanted to find her sibling and ease her mind that he was alive and safe, but if he and his friends found him too soon, she might just up and leave.
And that’s one situation he didn’t want to face.
Chapter Four
Lacy couldn’t get that kiss out of her head. She tried to stay still in the saddle as she and the four men rode around the farm, but her sex was aching and it felt really wet. No matter which way she shifted the leather of the s
addle rubbed against her…pussy. She almost giggled at that word. It was so naughty and she knew she shouldn’t be thinking it, but she would never say it. Not out loud at least. Her face flamed just at how she thought that word would sound on her lips and tongue.
She groaned when that thought popped into her head. She wasn’t as naïve as her papa and brother thought she was.
When she was fifteen, with Craig already gone from home and her papa out tending to the large gardens on the estate, Lacy had decided to go for a ride. She’d done all of the schooling her papa had set out for her and then she’d finished her chores, and had their supper simmering over the open fire in the large pot hanging over it.
As she’d entered the stables she heard a funny noise and crept in so as she wouldn’t scare the animal she thought was hiding in the back. She’d drawn level with the first wall of the last stall and had to cover her mouth to hold in her gasp when she’d seen one of the maids and a stable hand naked as the day they were born.
She moved back a couple of steps so she wouldn’t be seen but when she’d heard the moaning and grunts she’d become curious and crept forward again. The young man had his head between the maid’s legs and when she looked closer she saw that he was licking her, down there. She hadn’t even imagined such a thing was possible but when she looked at the man’s face he seemed to like what he was doing very much and the girl had seemed to like it even more.
When the young woman had cried out, Lacy thought for sure she’d been seen, but had almost sighed in relief when neither of them looked at her. In fact, they were so intent on each other, she didn’t think that they were aware of her presence.
The man had crawled up the girl’s body and she watched as he’d put his member at her wet entrance and then pushed in. The girl had opened her legs wider, her head had been tilted back, and her eyes were closed. Then the man had started pumping his hips. As he’d drawn back, Lacy saw the woman’s juices glistening on the man’s cock.
