by Marla Monroe
* * * *
“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Grant’s voice woke her from a nice dream where they were a happy family with two kids.
She frowned and grumbled, but opened her eyes and started to get up. Grant stood up with her and let her slide down his body, holding on to her until she’d found her legs.
“I better go start the chili. What time is it? Where’s Luke?”
“It’s a little after two and Luke is in the kitchen getting ready to go out with me to check the animals.”
Valerie nodded and trudged into the other room. She was still half-asleep and feeling grumpy. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because her dream wasn’t real.
“Hey, baby. How do you feel after your nap?”
Before she could say anything, Grant spoke up for her.
“Grumpy.”
Luke chuckled and pulled her in for a hug. “Don’t be grumpy. You have new clothes.”
She smiled and nodded. Then she turned to work on the chili as the men finished dressing for the outside. Valerie looked over her shoulder as they opened the door and hurried out into the snow. This time, no snow fell into the room for her to clean up. She guessed the men had been able to shovel off the porch enough to keep it from falling in when they opened the door. For that, she was very grateful.
Once she had the chili simmering, she made up a batch of pan bread and set it aside with a cloth over it until the men returned. Then she set up the washroom to do laundry and washed her new clothes. By the time she had the majority of them done, her hands were shriveled up into wrinkly prunes and her back was killing her.
Because it was too cold outside to hang up clothes, she had to hang them in the kitchen and in front of the fire in the living room. It would take some time for them to dry, too. She would need to turn them around to get both sides dry.
Nearly two hours later, the men lumbered through the door, stomping their feet on the porch before breaching the warmth of the kitchen. She pulled out the mop and cleaned up the small mess they left when taking off their boots.
“I’ll fix you some coffee. Give me a few minutes.”
Valerie set the pot on the stove and spooned coffee grounds into the cloth she used to keep them out of the liquid. Then she turned the flame up to boil the water.
“Is everything all right out there?”
“As well as can be expected. The cattle are beginning to spread out some since the snow has stopped. The temperature doesn’t seem to be quite as cold out there, either. We may be getting a warming trend.” Grant set his hat on one of the hooks by the door.
“Great, that means mud instead of snow to clean up.”
“We’ll do our best to keep it to a minimum,” Luke assured her.
“I’m not fussing at you. You can’t help it. It’s just a general observation.” She smiled at them and then returned to the stove.
The men pulled out chairs at the kitchen table and began to talk about the cattle and what they should do when it did thaw. Valerie half listened as she watched the chili simmer and the water for their coffee boil. Once it had come to a soft roiling boil, she dropped the cloth with the coffee grounds in it and waited until it grew dark. Then she turned off the fire and grabbed mugs to pour it in.
The men thanked her for the coffee and continued to talk. She went to the living room to turn the clothes around. Looking over at Grant’s recliner, she thought about waking up to find herself in his lap. She knew that he didn’t love her, but she was fast falling in love with him.
Valerie sighed and sank onto the couch. She had cared deeply for him all along, but realizing that she was well and truly on her way to loving him scared her. How could she deal with knowing that he would never love her? Could she live with him day in and day out without letting him know? She could never tell him. He could use it to control her. She would do anything for him. She had done anything for him in bed. No, she had to keep it to herself.
Her newfound knowledge was unsettling. She went about finishing up the pan bread and dipped up the chili for their dinner in a daze. If Luke or Grant noticed, they didn’t say anything. Dinner was a fairly quiet affair. She didn’t try to start a conversation as she did some nights. She had too much to think about.
Once she had finished the dishes, she checked the clothes and folded the ones that were dry to carry upstairs. The men had moved to the living room to the recliners and were lying back, talking. She gathered up the folded clothes.
“I’m going upstairs to put these away. I think I’ll take a quick bath and then go on to bed.”
“Are you feeling okay, Valerie?” Luke sat his chair upright and stared at her with concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired from washing clothes.”
“We’ll be up before long, baby. Don’t stay in the tub long. I don’t want you to end up with a cold.”
She smiled and carried the clothes upstairs. After putting them away, she ran a bath of the hottest water she could stand so that it would warm up the bathroom. Then she climbed in and gingerly lowered herself into the steamy froth. It felt so good to sink into the warmth. She quickly bathed, and then just soaked until the water began to cool. She quickly got out and dried off before the room began to get chilly.
She dreaded getting into the bed because she knew it would be cold without the men to warm it up. She pulled on a large T-shirt and quickly slipped between the sheets to curl up into a ball. After a few minutes of chattering teeth, the bed in her little spot began to warm up some. She was soon able to relax and think.
Without the men to distract her, Valerie thought about her plight. Loving two men where one loved her and the other one assured her that he never would was heartbreaking. Lately, Grant had softened some around her, but still didn’t say anything to make her think that he was falling for her. Maybe he was telling the truth and he couldn’t love. She shook her head. No, she didn’t believe that. Everyone had the capacity to love. It all depended on if they chose to love or not. Obviously Grant had chosen not to love her.
She sighed. It sucked, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had Luke, and when sex was involved, she had Grant. Between the two of them, she was relatively happy. What more could she ask for when she’d basically forced herself on them?
Chapter Eight
Once again, snow moved in with a massive storm that made it almost impossible for the men to move around outside. They spent most of the day shoveling snow and tending to the animals. Where before they frequently saw wolves on the edges of the woods, with the new snow so deep, and the wind constantly blowing it around, they rarely saw them. Still, the men took the rifle with them wherever they went.
It seemed like such a cruel joke by Mother Nature. They had thought it was going to warm up and melt the snow on the ground. Overnight, though, everything changed. They woke up to blowing snow and nearly five inches already on the ground.
Valerie spent the long, bleak days cooking and cleaning. Even though the entire house had been cleaned once, she repeated it to give her something to do. She made bread and cooked stews to keep the men fed. They had deer several nights when Luke killed one that wandered out of the woods one day while they were shoveling snow. The rest of the meat they packaged and buried in the snow in a locker to keep it frozen until they needed more of it.
She sometimes read by a lantern when the sun wasn’t out, but frequently it was still too dark, and she didn’t want to waste the oil. She knew that she should enjoy the downtime because once spring arrived, she would be busy with the garden. They would need a larger one to accommodate her living with them now.
With so much time on her hands, she often thought about her friend, Esther, and wondered how they were doing. Did they have enough food to last through the winter?
Then she would start to think about her plight and the strange relationship she and Grant had. She had yet to give them the papers that had been hidden in the lining of her coat. If they were going to be her husbands, she
needed to give them to Grant to fill in their names, but something always interfered when she thought about them. Grant was the oldest, so he had to be the one to sign them. She would have been much more at ease giving them to Luke. Several times she almost did that, but knew it wasn’t the right thing to do.
So many worries circled in her head. It gave her a headache thinking about them. What if she hadn’t turned them over to Grant and someone tried to take her away from them?
She would give it to him tonight no matter what. She needed that off her mind before she made herself crazy. She was certain now that she would stay come spring. They had all settled into a workable routine. She provided for them and they took care of her. They made love most nights unless the men were dead tired. Then she cuddled between them and listened to them snore with a smile on her face.
She and Grant had sex, but always with Luke in the room. She and Luke often made love without Grant. Even if it was a bit quirky, the relationship worked. It was time to hand the papers over and be done with it.
Later that afternoon, the men pushed through the door then slammed it shut against the blowing wind and snow. After cleaning up the mess, Valerie handed them cups of hot coffee and sweet rolls she had made. They grunted their appreciation since their throats were raw from trying to breathe out in the wind and biting cold.
She pushed them toward the living room and the fire she kept going in the fireplace. The men backed up to it, drinking their coffee. She returned to the kitchen to finish up dinner, intent on putting something hot and filling in front of them. Tonight she had venison steak, gravy, beans, and biscuits.
As soon as the men had warmed up, they returned to the kitchen to hug her. Luke wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. He put everything into his kisses when he’d been outside for long periods of time. Then Grant would hug her and kiss her on the forehead. He seemed to hug her longer and longer with each passing day. When he kissed her on the lips the first time, she hid a smile so as not to let on that it had surprised her.
Tonight, she could tell the men were antsy. They were ready for the snow to end and melt away. It was taking a toll on them both physically and mentally. Grant hung around the stove as she stirred the gravy.
“That smells delicious.”
“I hope it will taste as good as it smells, then.” She smiled up at him then continued to stir.
“It will. Your cooking is always great.”
He walked over to the kitchen door and looked out the window. The late afternoon light was slowly dimming. She was going to have to light the lamps for them to eat by. With a sigh, she finished the meal and set the table. The men helped her move the food and they all sat down to eat.
No one said much throughout the meal. The men seemed intent on their own thoughts and Valerie didn’t want to bother them with mundane things that meant little to them. The one thing she did want to discuss sat in the pocket of her apron. She intended to give them to Grant as soon as they finished dinner.
After finishing the meal, the men leaned back and thanked her for the wonderful food. Luke started to say something else, but the howl of a wolf close by had both men jumping from their chairs, heading for the rifles leaning against the wall by the back door. They quickly threw on their coats and outer gear before grabbing the rifles and heading out the door. Valerie worried and fretted when she heard shots until they walked back through the door.
“What happened?”
“There were two wolves out by the fence line. We got one of them, but the other one ran off. They hadn’t done any harm, but the cattle were spooked. We don’t think any ran off.” Luke pulled off his coat and gloves before settling his hat back on the rack.
“We’ll go out tomorrow and see if we need to round any up. The snow has settled enough that we should be able to follow any tracks fairly easily.” Grant ran a hand through his hair.
“Go stand next to the fire and warm up. You’re both cold as ice.”
She shooed them out of the kitchen so she could clean up the floor and calm down. She’d been so happy to see them that she was about to come out of her skin.
Once they were all in the living room sitting on the couch, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the papers that would change her status in life. Or at least, the life that she knew. She licked her lips and handed them to Grant.
“What’s this?” He looked at her with a question in his eyes, then slowly unfolded the papers.
He smoothed them out and held them up to the light of the fire to read them. When he realized what they were, he stared at her.
“Why are you giving me these now? Why not when you first decided to stay? Or have you really only just now decided?” His face became unreadable.
“No, I had decided a long time ago, back when we talked. I’ve been afraid to give them to you. I didn’t want to be owned by someone, but I’m afraid someone will try and take me away from you. I don’t want that.”
“What made you think someone would get you?” Luke asked.
“From talking with April. She talked about needing the paperwork to prove who she belonged to so they wouldn’t make her leave. I didn’t want to lose the two of you.”
Grant got up off the couch and walked over to the table where they had left the lamp. He looked back at her again.
“Are you sure? Once I put our names on here, we’ll never let you go.”
She looked from him to Luke. Luke had a fearful expression as if he believed she might change her mind. She turned back to Grant and nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure. There’s no one I would rather be with than the two of you.”
“Even me?”
“Even you.” She smiled.
He nodded and pulled a pen out of the drawer in the table. Then he wrote on the papers. Once he had finished, he brought them over for her to see. There on the bottom lines he had written his and Luke’s names as her owners. He carefully folded the papers and pulled out his wallet to slip them inside. Then he replaced the wallet and pulled her into his arms.
“Like I’ve told you before, we’ll take care of you. That means me, too.”
“I know, Grant. You always take care of me and make sure I have what I need. I appreciate that.”
“Let’s go to bed, baby. I want to love you like you’ve never been loved before. Grant, I think she’s ready.”
“Ready for what?” Valerie looked from one man to the other.
“We want you, honey. Both of us—together.”
She still wasn’t sure what they were talking about, and she guessed it showed.
“At the same time, baby. We want in that sweet ass as well as your pussy.”
“Oh. I–I…”
“We’ll make it feel so good, honey. You won’t believe how good until you try it.” Grant cupped her cheek with one hand.
“Come on. Let’s go upstairs and we’ll show you how good it can be.” Luke took her hand and they climbed the stairs together with Grant bringing up the rear.
He pulled her into the bedroom and into a kiss that seared her lips. His mouth ate at hers as if he would never get the chance to kiss her again. She let him take it and loved every minute of it.
Then Grant was pulling her out of Luke’s arms into his. His kiss was just as powerful, but different. Where Luke kissed like a hungry man, Grant kissed like a man intent on conquering another nation. He made her mouth his with his teeth and tongue.
Luke’s body pressed against her from the back with Grant’s at her front. They gave her an inkling of what they were talking about as they each thrust against her body in an alternating rhythm. Their hard cocks pressed into her body from in front and behind. In no time she could feel her pussy juices flowing. Her panties were soaked and she was sure her pants were fast going the same route.
When Grant pulled back to let her breathe, she let her head fall back against Luke’s shoulder. Her lips felt swollen and bruised. Her breasts were tingling as they rasped against her top and the pressure of Gra
nt’s chest. It was always this intense despite the many weeks they had been together. She thought each time it would lessen, but it hadn’t. If anything, it had grown more so than before.
Luke began to inch her top over her body toward her head. When it reached her neck, he drew it over her head, placing a kiss on her neck before her hair fell back down. Grant unfastened her jeans and slowly pushed them down her hips to her thighs and lower.
“Step out of your boots, honey.” Grant waited patiently as she did.
He lowered the jeans to her ankles, and Luke held her steady as she stepped out of them. Then he kissed her belly as he stood back up. She licked her still-swollen lips as he laid a row of kisses across her breasts. Then Luke was turning her around to take his turn. He sucked in a nipple and teased it with his tongue. Over and over he nibbled and sucked until she was groaning in the back of her throat.
“Move her to the bed, Luke.”
Luke picked her up and carried her to the bed where he gently laid her in the center of the bed. The cold covers sent shivers down her spine.
“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll warm you up soon enough.” Luke climbed up and sat with his back to the headboard. “Suck my cock, Valerie. I want to feel that hot mouth on my dick.”
She turned over and crawled up to lower her head over his thick cock. She licked around the rim of his cockhead then licked across where a drop of pre-cum had pearled in the slit. When she licked across it, he hissed out a breath and grabbed her hair.
Then she felt Grant get on the bed behind her. When he touched her ass, she jerked her head up and looked over her shoulder at him. She wasn’t sure about taking him in her ass. It seemed too decadent and sounded painful to her.
“Easy, Valerie. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll make it feel good. First I need to stretch you some, honey.” He spread her ass cheeks and bent and kissed each side.
She felt Luke’s hand in her hair pulling on it. She returned to lavish his cock with her tongue and mouth. Sucking in just the head of him, she felt him push upward with his hips, trying to go deeper into her mouth. She smiled around him and pulled back. He growled at her and pulled her head back down by her hair. She giggled and was rewarded with another growl.