by Marla Monroe
“I’ll be out in a few minutes, Valerie.”
She watched him disappear into the bathroom. He shut the door to hold what warmth there would be from the shower in the room. She smiled. He would be cold when he came to bed, and there went her newfound comfortable nest.
Sure enough, when he emerged twenty minutes later, he ran for the bed totally nude and crawled beneath the covers. He pulled her into his arms and wrapped around her body. The chill of his skin leaked over to hers.
“You’re cold. Now I am, too.” She fussed good-naturedly.
“Sorry, but you’re nice and toasty. Don’t worry. Between Grant and me, you’ll get warm again.” He ran his hand up and down her arm.
Several minutes later, Grant emerged wearing thermal bottoms but no top. He slipped between the sheets and turned his back to her.
“You should scoot up next to him so you can get warm.” Luke urged her toward Grant.
“He might not want me hanging on him,” she whispered back.
“He doesn’t mind at all, Valerie. Give me your hand.” Grant reached back for it.
She scooted over and let Grant pull her arm over his side. He was just as cold as Luke had been. She shivered.
“Sorry, you’ll warm back up in a few minutes.” Grant’s gruff voice stroked along her nerve endings.
She could feel her pussy juices wetting her between the legs. The fact that just his voice affected her like that wasn’t lost on her. She knew she was attracted to him as much as she was Luke. The problem was, what was she going to do about it? What if Grant wanted to make love? Should she risk it knowing he wasn’t as pleased with her being there as Luke was? How could she turn him away if he did?
Thoughts like that ran around and around in her head until she thought she would go crazy. Finally, she fell asleep to dream about the two men.
* * * *
Valerie slowly woke up to the wonderful warmth of sleeping between two male bodies. Their scents surrounded her as she opened her eyes. She found herself staring into the intense dark ones of Grant.
“Did you know you snore this dainty little snore when you’re asleep on your back?”
“I do not snore.” She frowned at him.
“Sure you do. It’s really cute. It’s real soft, but if you listen hard enough, you can hear it.”
“You’re hearing your brother snore, not me.”
“My snore’s not dainty.” Luke was obviously awake, though barely.
His sleep-roughened voice startled her.
“Let me up, you guys. I need to start breakfast.” She wiggled between them and realized that one of her legs was crossed between Grant’s.
“Uh, Valerie. Careful there.”
“Sorry. I, um, maybe you should move first.”
Grant chuckled and rolled out of bed. He held the covers up for her to crawl out from under them.
“Hey! Don’t let the cold air in on me. I’m not ready to get up yet. It’s barely light outside.”
“Get out of bed, lazy. It’s your turn to get the milk and eggs.”
“Oh, I can do that. I’m used to dealing with chickens and such.”
“No!” they both yelled.
“Absolutely not. You will never go outside alone, Valerie. The wolves here are dangerous. They’ve attacked several women around here. One of them was getting the eggs one morning.” Grant shook his head.
“Really? I had never heard of that.” She shivered more from the knowledge that someone had been hurt than from the cold.
“Let’s get you dressed before you catch your death of a cold.” He handed her the sweats and socks for her to put on.
“Grant, we need to find some clothes for her. She can’t keep wearing the same things over and over again.”
“It’s too late in the year to go to one of the surrounding cities. We could check with the other families and see if they have some clothes we could have.”
“I hate to cause anyone trouble. I don’t mind wearing these and my other clothes. I can wash them in between.” She pulled on her shoes, propping first one then the other up on the stool to tie them.
“It won’t be any trouble. You can’t wear the same two sets of clothes again and again. I won’t have it.” Grant held her chin up with two fingers as he spoke. “You deserve better than that, Valerie.” He dropped a quick kiss on her nose and left to go dress.
She didn’t know what to make of that. He’d kissed her. Yeah, it had been a peck on the nose, but he’d touched her with his lips. Surely that meant something.
“I’m going downstairs to start breakfast. Don’t laze around up here too long, Luke, or you might miss out.” She giggled then hurried out the door before he could catch her when he jumped out of the bed.
Downstairs, she quickly set about cooking them something filling and found herself humming beneath her breath. She was content for now. She hadn’t felt this happy in several months. Ever since she had realized she wasn’t going to be able to live with her best friend for much longer.
She wondered how they were doing. She bet Esther was quite large now. She was due the end of January. It was mid-November now. Tears formed and before she could wipe them away, Grant walked in and noticed them.
“What’s wrong, Valerie?” He stepped up next to her at the stove.
“Nothing. I was just missing my friend and wondering how she was.”
“I’m sorry. I still don’t like the fact that those men let you leave. It was pure murderous to send you out in the winter like they did.”
“Esther and John didn’t know. Sam and I agreed that it was for the best. He thought I would find a husband of my own pretty quickly.”
“Still, it was wrong, honey. You didn’t deserve that.”
She shrugged and continued cooking. She wasn’t going to argue with him. Part of her knew he was right. Part of her had been very hurt that Sam had so readily agreed with her. She doubted he ever let the others know that he was part of her leaving.
“Breakfast is ready. Why don’t you have a seat? Where is Luke?”
“He’d be late to his own funeral. He’ll be down in a minute.” Grant grabbed the plates and silverware from the drainer.
Valerie poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him. Then she fixed his plate and set it on the table in front of him.
“Better eat before it gets cold. I’ll fix Luke’s when he shows up.”
“I’m here,” he grumbled as he walked through the door.
“Did I really get you up that much earlier than usual? I’m sorry, Luke.”
“Don’t let him deceive you. We’re normally up this early, or even earlier during the spring and summer.”
Luke looked over at her and winked. Then he sipped the coffee she handed him and hummed his approval. He obviously liked how she made it.
They all quickly ate and Valerie cleared away the dishes as the men donned their coats and such to go outside. She hated that they had to go out in the cold and snow. But it was a part of life now for everyone that wanted to survive in the Border Lands. Back in the cities out East, they had electricity, running water, and stores for the most part. There were still some areas without some of the nicer things in life, but not that many until you grew closer to the Border Lands.
Once they had left, she washed and dried the dishes, and tidied up the kitchen before returning to the living room to find a book to read. She decided that she really needed to wash her other clothes and hang them up in front of the fire to dry. She laid aside the book and after grabbing her clothes, went in search of the washing supplies. There was an actual laundry room behind the kitchen. She had noticed the door, but thought it led outside. The only other door in the kitchen besides the back door was the pantry door where a trap door led down to a cellar.
She scrubbed her clothes, and then strung them up in front of the fire to dry. She would have to find out how they normally dried their clothes. During good weather she was sure they hung them outside. In the winter, all she knew t
o do was hang them by the fire.
It didn’t take very long for them to begin to dry. She had hoped they would be finished before the men returned, but she heard the back door open and shut followed by a brisk breeze that wrapped around her lower body. She stood up and hurried to the kitchen to see if she needed to clean up the floor. To her surprise, Luke was mopping up the water.
“Um, hi.”
“Hey, Valerie. Is something wrong?” Grant took a step toward her.
“No. I just wondered how you dried your clothes in the winter.”
“We hang them in front of the fireplace and the oven. It’s the only way when it’s so cold.”
“Oh, good. I washed my clothes and hung them in front of the fireplace. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course we don’t. You do whatever you need to do.” Luke wrapped a cold hand around her arm. The coolness seeped beneath the material of her sweatshirt. She shivered.
“Sorry. I almost forgot how cold I was. I’m going to warm up in front of the fire.”
“Watch out for my clothes. They’re on the sides of the fire.”
“Come on, Valerie. You can sit with us while we warm back up.” Grant pulled her along behind him.
When she went to sit down, it was to find that they had positioned her between them. It surprised her for a second. They she realized it was the only logical position if they were all three going to sit on the couch. She had already taken down her bra and panties since they had dried quickly. Her thermals, jeans, and the sweatshirt were thicker and would take longer.
“Luke told me a little about your life before the catastrophes. I’m sure you miss your family. Are any of them still living?”
“My brothers live in Missouri. They’re married to Linda, a really nice woman. I stayed with them for a while, but they were having trouble keeping me safe because I was young and unattached. At the time, Linda was pregnant and wasn’t a target. It was decided that I would be safer living with Esther and her men in the Border Lands. That was the plan, anyway. It didn’t work out.”
“Nothing against your brothers, but I would never have let my sister go somewhere without me unless it was with her husbands, and I approved of them.” Grant sounded so sure of himself. She had to smile.
“Well, they were younger than me by almost four and five years. They didn’t know what to do and did the best they could.”
Grant just shook his head. He pulled her hand into his and squeezed it. Then he looked off into the fire. She sensed that he was thinking about the past. She didn’t say anything to interrupt his thoughts.
After a while, she noticed that Luke had laid his arm across her shoulders and was rhythmically squeezing her arm. She looked over toward him and found that he was asleep or dozing. He probably wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. She smiled and turned to find Grant looking at her.
“What?” she whispered.
“You’re really pretty.”
“Thanks, but I’m not. I have a funny-shaped mouth and pale eyes.”
“You’ve got the perfect mouth for kissing, and eyes a man could get lost in.”
“Kissing?”
“Yeah. Like this.” He bent his head and took possession of her mouth with his.
He licked along the roof of her mouth before sliding his tongue alongside hers. He sucked hers back into his mouth then thrust his suggestively in and out. She moaned and lifted her hands to his head. She wound her hands in his long black hair and held him in place. She tried to kiss him back, but he wouldn’t let go of control. She whimpered and still he controlled the kiss.
When he finally pulled back, his eyes were so black she could see herself in them. He was breathing heavy, too.
“You’re addictive, Valerie. I don’t want to want you, but I do. We’re not going any farther if you’re going to leave us come spring.”
Valerie couldn’t believe what he was saying. Did that mean that he liked her, that he genuinely cared about her? What should she do?
“I don’t want to leave, Grant, but it all depends on how you feel about me. Is this just sex to you? I don’t expect you to have fallen in love with me or anything, but I have to know that you won’t wake up some morning and not want me anymore.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I care about you, but I don’t love you. It’s too soon for anything beyond caring for you. I want you to stay with us, but I can’t promise you love.”
She searched his eyes for some hint of the truth behind his words. She couldn’t see anything there at all. He seemed so in control of himself that he could hide his true feelings. Maybe she was making a mistake, but she didn’t want to leave them. She was already attached to Luke. He made her smile and treated her like a queen.
“I won’t leave you, Grant. Not unless you want me to go.”
“I would never ask you to leave, Valerie. Luke would have my balls if I did.” He smiled when he said that, and it softened the blow.
For better or for worse, she’d agreed to stay. She wondered if she should give them her papers now or wait a while longer. There was no guarantee that they would want to marry her. That was what the papers basically signified. As long as no one had their names on her papers, she was a loose woman. That sounded bad, when in fact, it was worse. Any man could claim her. Maybe she needed to give them to Grant before anyone attempted to claim her away from them. Then she decided that with the winter weather having moved in, no one would be out in the icy cold with the snow and wind.
“You’re face is so expressive. What are you thinking? You look happy one moment and then scared the next. We would never hurt you, Valerie.”
“I believe you. I’m just thinking too much, is all.” She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.
“It’s almost time for lunch. How about I fix our sandwiches while you curl up with the sleepyhead over there?”
“Oh, I can fix them.”
“So can I, baby. Just relax. You can cook dinner tonight. I’m not going to pass that up. It’s a hell of a lot better than our miserable abilities.”
“I have to agree with that.” Luke yawned then stretched before pulling Valerie into his arms. “Come over here and let him do the sandwiches. I want to hold you.”
She didn’t argue anymore. Instead, she accepted Luke’s embrace and cuddled up next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Then he nuzzled her neck and kissed her there before kissing the outer corner of her eye.
“Rest, honey. I’ll wake you up when lunch is ready.”
Valerie sighed and closed her eyes. It seemed she was sleepy after all. She decided it was the sturdy shoulder and warm fire that soon had her eyes drifting shut. Her last thought was that maybe her dream could come true after all.
Chapter Five
After lunch, Luke showed her around the house. He was very excited to find out that Valerie had agreed to stay with them. He wanted to be sure she felt completely at home with them. Most women liked to have control over the house and most household things. He made sure she knew that she was welcomed to move his things over to the master bedroom.
“Grant? What about yours?” He held his breath to see what he would say.
“Sure. That would be a good idea. We need all of our things in the same place.”
“Great. There you go. You can handle all of that for us if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll clean the rooms up after I move your things out. I’m sure the rest of the house needs a good cleaning as well.”
“Take your time. We don’t want you to wear yourself out. You’ve got all the time in the world. There’s not much for you to do around here in the winter except for cooking.” Luke hugged her and showed her the office. “We keep up with our records here.”
“What sort of records do you have to keep up with when you don’t have to pay for anything anywhere?”
“We keep up with the bloodlines of the cattle. You don’t want a lot of inbreeding or you end up with deformities a
nd diseases. We traded bulls with another family this last spring so that wouldn’t happen. We also keep a log of such of how the garden does and where we plant stuff so we can rotate it out some. You can wear garden dirt out if you don’t keep a garden rotated and the soil fed.”
“I never thought of that. I just always planted everything in the same place because it did well the year before. I suppose I can understand why that would happen.”
She looked up at him and he swore she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. Her pretty gray eyes and soft black hair framed her oval face. When she smiled, it lit her entire face and reached her eyes so that they sparkled.
“What?” She leaned back and looked up at him.
“Just thinking how pretty you are.”
“No I’m not. I’m not bad-looking, but I’m certainly not pretty.”
“Yes you are. End of discussion.” He grinned down at her and pulled her out of the office back to the living room. “I’ve got to go help Grant with the animals. I’ll put another log on the fire. You curl up and wait on me. I want to shower with you, Valerie. Will you let me?”
She blinked at him then nodded as if in a trance. He smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips before moving to add the log before he had to go outside and help Grant. He left her sitting curled up on the couch to put on his coat, hat, and gloves. Then he went out in search of his brother.
He found him in the barn feeding their two horses.
“How are they doing?” he asked.
“Seem to be doing fine. I think Abigail over there missed you. I told you she’s in love with you.” Grant teased him about the damn cow all the time, just because it had followed him around outside the house one time.
“Right.” He walked over to the cow and ran his hand over her neck. “Hey, Abby. How are you tonight?”
“What do you think about Valerie staying with us?” Grant’s question came out of nowhere.
“I’m happy about it. I wouldn’t think you would need to ask that.”
“I guess I didn’t. I’m a little mixed up about it. I want her to stay, but I’m not sure if I can give her what she deserves. I’m probably never going to love her, Luke. You’re going to have to give her that. You’ll fall in love with her if you aren’t already.”