Monroe, Marla - The Ranchers Take a Wife [Men of Space Station One #1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  He stopped her from turning away from him and hugged her tightly against him for a few brief seconds, then let her go. He walked out the back door, pulling on his coat as he went. Cold air rushed into the warmth of the kitchen to send a chill down her spine.

  Had it been her imagination, or did he act like he was hurt she hadn’t wanted to spend time with him? She couldn’t figure him out. One day he was angry with her and the next he wanted her attention. What was she going to do? Make the best of the situation like he was? Was it fair to her to pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t?

  Lacy felt the beginnings of another headache and sighed. She grabbed a couple of pain relievers and took them to head it off. She couldn’t afford to be sick again. She had to deal with the hurt and move on. She had known when she made the trip that she would be marrying strangers and would probably never love them or be loved by them, but that had been okay then. Why wasn’t it okay now?

  Because you went and fell in love with them and know that at least one of them doesn’t love you back.

  She had nearly finished putting away the supplies when Phillip shuffled into the kitchen around nine that morning and yawned, scratching his chest with one hand and reaching for a cup for coffee with the other.

  “Morning, how are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I’m fine. Let me fix another pot of coffee. There isn’t much of that left and it’s several hours old.” Lacy pulled the pot from his hand and rinsed it out in the sink to make more.

  “Thanks. Where is Cam?” He looked around the kitchen. “You’ve been busy. Cam should have helped you.”

  “He did. He went outside. I’m not sure where.” She turned on the coffeemaker and turned to hug Phillip to her.

  “Mmm, you feel good,” he said, squeezing her back.

  “What are we doing today?” she asked with a smile.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  “I want to go out in the snow. Is it just like the snow back on Earth?”

  “Yep, nothing different about it at all. I’ll take you out after I’ve had coffee.” He eyed the pot like it was deliberately taking too long.

  Lacy smiled and reached up on tiptoe to kiss him. The back door opened and closed. She heard Cam stomping his feet free of snow.

  Phillip turned and called out to him. “How bad is it out there?”

  “Not bad at all. Just an inch or two right now. I figure we’ll get another three or four inches and that will be it for this round.” Cam walked into the kitchen after hanging up his coat.

  Lacy pulled down another mug and poured coffee into the two cups. She handed Phillip his and Cam his, then walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. She figured they would talk for a while, so she didn’t think she would be going outside anytime soon.

  “Hey, Lacy wants to go outside to see the snow. Why don’t you carry her while I dress? I just came downstairs to get some coffee. I don’t have any thermals on yet.” Phillip lifted his coffee and kissed her on the top of the head.

  “Sure. Come on, Lacy. Let’s get you bundled up. It’s cold out there.” Cam waited for her to stand up.

  For a minute, she thought about saying she’d just wait for Phillip to get dressed, but saw the sad expression on Cam’s face and figured she was being obvious about shunning him. She needed to grow up. After taking another sip of her coffee, she stood up.

  “Thanks, I wanted to see the first snow of the first year I got here. I guess that sounds stupid.” She ducked her head and started to walk toward the door where her coat was hanging next to theirs.

  Cam stopped her with a hand to her arm. “I don’t think it sounds stupid. It sounds like someone who’s looking forward to the rest of her life.”

  He walked her to the door and helped her put on her coat then wrapped a scarf around her neck.

  “Where are your gloves and hat?” he asked.

  “My gloves are in my pockets, but I don’t have a winter hat.”

  “We should have gotten one for you while we were in town. Put your gloves on.”

  “I want to hold the snow first. Then I’ll put them on.” She waited to see what he’d say.

  “Okay, but as soon as you’ve played like a little kid, you have to put your gloves on so you don’t get frostbite.” He grinned at her, and she realized he was teasing her.

  They walked outside on the back porch. The ground was already covered in the soft, white powder. It did look just like Earth, and with all the strange vegetation covered, she could almost believe she was there.

  “Makes you think of home, doesn’t it?” Cam asked.

  “It does. I miss Earth like it was when I was a child, but not so much these last few years. I didn’t like living underground at all.”

  “I’m glad you decided to take the shuttle here, Lacy.” He didn’t look at her, when he said it.

  “I’m glad, too.” She drew in a deep breath and took his hand in hers.

  He squeezed it. It was a good first step, she decided. They had agreed to make the best of their situation. Did he realize she knew he didn’t love her? Probably not. Still, he knew something was changing between them. She hoped it would continue.

  * * * *

  Cam relaxed when she took his hand. He squeezed hers and tried to see the snow through her eyes. She probably hadn’t been out in snow for at least the last two or three years. To have been cooped up in those bunkers had to have been miserable. He hadn’t made her first few months good ones by being such a jackass, either.

  He knew part of his problem was keeping everything to himself and trying to take care of all of it alone. But it wasn’t until yesterday that he figured out the biggest part of his problem was that he’d fallen in love with Lacy and was scared. He was scared of losing her, scared of something happening to her that he couldn’t protect her from. He realized that without her, his life would be meaningless, and he’d tried to push her away so he wouldn’t become attached to her. It wasn’t working. If anything, it was making it worse.

  Phillip had made him realize that he had to share the worry and fear and responsibilities with him. Together they could take care of her. Together they could love her like she deserved.

  “Okay, enough bare skin time. Glove up.”

  “Meanie.” She rubbed her hands up and down her jeans and pulled on her gloves before making a snowball and throwing it at him.

  It hit him square in the chest. He hadn’t been expecting that. He laughed and made up one of his own and threw it at her. She managed to evade it, but he caught her in the back with the next one.

  Phillip walked out, and they both turned and let the snowballs fly, catching him off guard and right in the face.

  “What the fuck are you two doing?” he yelped as he scrambled to make his own snowballs. “Are you crazy?” He laughed.

  “Either man up or go back inside,” Cam called out.

  “I’ll be damned,” Phillip said with a smile, and let fly a volley of snowballs at them.

  They played like kids for another fifteen minutes or so when the wind picked up and the snow began to fall harder. Cam called time and said they’d all catch their death if they didn’t go inside and warm up.

  “I’m not taking care of you two if you get sick. I suck at making chicken soup.” Cam smiled at the way they dragged their feet going in.

  He realized he’d had fun and hadn’t been the least bit worried for the length of time they’d been out there. Maybe part of it was the fact that he hadn’t seen any evidence of the animal tracks in the snow so far. But part of it was purposefully handing over some of the stress to Phillip.

  They peeled off their outer gear and hurried into the living area where Phillip built up the fire in the fireplace by adding more wood. Soon it was a roaring fire and they were fighting for bootie space in front of it.

  “You stand in front of us and we’ll keep that cute ass of yours warm,” Cam told Lacy.

  “Like hell, you just want th
e fire to yourself,” she complained and tried to squeeze between them.

  Finally, Cam let himself be pushed aside and she claimed her spot with a smirk. He loved seeing her smile. It warmed his heart and made him smile as well.

  “I’m going to start something for lunch, how about soup and sandwiches now, and chili for supper tonight?” Lacy asked.

  “Sounds good to me,” Phillip said.

  “Me, too.” Cam stopped her and pulled her in for a kiss.

  He nibbled her lower lip then plunged his tongue inside her mouth when she opened to him. He teased her tongue then pulled away as Phillip pulled her in for a kiss as well. She walked away looking a little dazed. He wondered what sort of sandwiches she’d end up making looking like she did. He grinned. He’d eat whatever it was and like it, he decided.

  “You two seem to be doing okay,” Phillip noted.

  “So far. I’m trying. I don’t think she feels the same way about me that she does about you, but she’s willing to try.”

  “Give her time. You two have been at odds for months. It won’t fix itself over night.”

  “I know. I’m such a fuck-up.” Cam shook his head.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I knew there was something going on, but I ignored it instead of trying to find out from you what had you so uptight.”

  “I didn’t see any tracks around the yard when I went out and checked earlier. Either it hibernates in winter or it just hasn’t ventured out yet. I’ll keep a close watch for tracks.”

  “I’ll help you watch. Did you check on the trailers to be sure they were far enough under the sheds? We did that sort of haphazardly last night wanting to get inside.”

  “They’re fine.”

  Cam stood walked over to the couch and sat down. His ass was hot from standing too long in front of the fire. Served him right for fighting over it, he though with a grin.

  Lacy walked back in. “Okay. Soup’s warming up. I’ll make grilled cheese sandwiches once it’s ready. Shouldn’t be long.”

  “Come on over here and sit down for a second,” Cam said.

  She walked over and plopped down next to him. He pulled her up into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She felt good there in his lap. He liked having her there. Phillip sat in the chair across from the couch and watched them.

  Cam ran a hand under her sweater and cupped her breast through her bra. She dropped her head back against his shoulder. He rubbed and massaged her breasts one at a time before pinching her nipples through the silky material.

  “Phillip is over there salivating at the thought of loving on your breasts. He loves tits. Don’t you, Phillip?”

  “Love to play with them, suck them, pinch them, and twist them until you come,” he said in a raspy voice.

  “The soup,” Lacy began.

  “Turn off the soup, Phillip, and meet us upstairs.” Cam stood up with Lacy in his arms and headed for the stairs.

  He knew that Phillip had left the room, but was too intent on getting Lacy upstairs and in bed. He wanted her. He wanted to bury himself in her pussy so deep she would know he wanted her. He needed her. He needed to feel her come around him.

  As soon as he reached the bedroom, he let her slide down his body and he began pulling off her sweater then her bra. He was working on her jeans when Phillip showed up out of breath from running up the stairs. Cam didn’t bother saying anything. He had almost run up them with Lacy in his arms.

  They made short work of her jeans, thermals, and boots. She shivered and Cam immediately bundled her into the bed. Then he removed his clothes, never letting her gaze slide from his. He was aware that Phillip did the same. They converged on her. Phillip honed in on her tits while Cam situated himself between her legs. He spread them wide to accommodate his shoulders.

  He could smell her arousal even before he leaned in, and knew he would find her wet and hot. He licked her pussy lips, tasting her tangy honey and wanting more. Cam used his fingers to spread her pussy lips so he could scoop out more of her juices with his tongue. He stiffened his tongue and fucked her with it until she began to squirm.

  He looked up to where Phillip was trying to take all of one breast into his mouth and failing miserably. He chuckled and buried his face in her hot cunt for more nectar. When he finally pulled back, he pushed two fingers inside of her and began pumping them in and out as he ran his tongue around her clit. She bucked and pleaded with him to lick her clit.

  “Just once, Cam. That’s all it will take. Please.” Her voice came out breathy.

  Hearing her like that and knowing he’d had something to do with it had his dick throbbing against the bedcovers. He resisted rubbing it against them. He wanted to be inside her. Too much more stimulation and he’d embarrass himself on the covers.

  He noticed Phillip had started feeding his cock to her hot mouth. He was pumping in and out of her mouth in long, slow dips. Cam curved his fingers and rubbed over her sweet spot as he drew her clit in between his teeth and licked until she exploded around him. He continued to lick until she began to come down. Before she finished, he scrambled up the bed and lined up his dick with her slit and plunged inside of her. She screamed around Phillip’s cock, drawing a hiss from him as he bowed back.

  “Fuck, that felt like heaven. Do it again, Cam,” Phillip said.

  Cam pulled back and plunged forward again, bumping her cervix. She screamed, though not as loudly as before.

  Phillip’s eyes rolled back in his head.

  Cam grinned and set a fast pace as he wasn’t about to last. He needed to feel her come around him. He reached between their bodies and began to stimulate her clit with his thumb and first finger. She moaned and thrashed her arms, trying to hold on to either Phillip or him, but she didn’t seem to be able to make up her mind. Phillip pulled out of her mouth and began pumping his dick with his hand until he shot cum all over her breasts. He moaned as he did.

  Cam tunneled in and out of her sweet cunt over and over, pushing on her clit until she called out his name and squeezed the cum from his cock deep into her womb.

  Chapter Eleven

  Phillip climbed off the bed and hurried to turn on the water in the shower. They all needed a shower after that. He double-checked the temperature then returned to carry Lacy to the bathroom. She giggled, looking down at her chest.

  “You have issues with breasts, Phillip,” she teased.

  “And I love every one of those issues,” he told her as he stepped into the shower.

  Cam walked in behind them and helped him lower her to the tile floor. They both bathed her, then bathed themselves. She stopped him from washing off the soap and drew pictures in the soap on his chest hair.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, amused.

  “Drawing my initials on you.” Phillip smiled indulgently. She was branding him as surely as he’d branded her with his cum.

  “What about my chest hair? Doesn’t it deserve your artistic hand?” Cam asked.

  “Wait your turn.” She stuck her nose up in a haughty manner and continued writing her initials all over Phillip’s chest. Then she pronounced him ready to rinse.

  She turned and soaped Cam up and proceeded to brand him as well. Phillip looked at his friend and winked. Things were definitely looking up. He just hoped nothing happened to screw up their hard-won peace.

  Once she had finished with Cam’s chest, she washed and rinsed her hair before stepping out of the shower. Cam turned off the water and dried off as Phillip dried Lacy off. He watched her expressions as she seemed to be thinking. They flitted across her face too fast for him to pick up on her mood.

  “Okay you two, scoot. I need to dry my hair and unless you want your pieces and parts scalded by the hair dryer, you need to vamoose.”

  They quickly left the bathroom to her and the deadly hair dryer. When it turned on Phillip pulled Cam over to the side of the bedroom.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Fine I guess. She isn’t pulling away from me anymore.
Sometimes she looks sad, though. I don’t know why.”

  “Give it time. She’s probably gotten homesick some. It will pass. Just don’t stop what you’re doing. She needs to know you care about her,” Phillip told him.

  “Hell, Phillip. I think I love her. I think worrying about her has been all because of that.”

  “I know I do,” Phillip confessed. “I have almost from the beginning. Show her as often as you can how you feel. When the mood is right, tell her. Just not after sex.”

  “Hell. Even I know better than that.” Cam scowled at him.

  Phillip shrugged. “Just saying.”

  Not long after they’d finished dressing, Lacy walked out of the bathroom with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and started pulling on clothes.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry. Someone distracted me from my soup and sandwiches.” She lifted an eyebrow and stared at Cam.

  “Hey, I wasn’t the only one.”

  “Yeah, but you started it.”

  Phillip wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her. She hugged him back and reached for Cam as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. Phillip was sure everything would be okay from then on.

  They finished their late lunch and began going through papers to file them away for next year. Cam kept a journal of the weather and the crops. Phillip kept notes on the animals and fauna, making notes about unusual behaviors and new species they noted. They tried to make pictures of each thing they found, but the animals were obviously camera shy.

  When they managed photos of the tracks, they printed them out on their desktop printer and added them to their journals.

  She flipped through his notes and came across the ones about the strange animal they hadn’t seen yet but that had been leaving tracks around the outside of the house and grounds.

  “What is it?” she asked pointing it out to him.

  He wasn’t sure what to tell her. He looked to Cam, but his friend wasn’t paying attention. He shrugged and told her they weren’t sure.

  “We haven’t actually seen it, only those tracks. He’s probably very dangerous, so if you see anything strange, go to the house, but don’t run. Most animals will chase anything that runs.”