by Cara Adams
“No, the outside edge pieces go over the ones they replace, not under,” said Indigo, her voice still filled with laughter.
“I’m pretty sure your hair isn’t going to look like mine.”
“Summer’s hair looks absolutely lovely, though, Indigo. You’ve done a great job,” said Roland.
“Unlike Indigo’s hair, which is only one step up from a tangled mess. This braiding is harder to do than it looks,” added Summer.
“Show me,” asked Chris, intrigued by this side of life, which he’d never experienced before.
Summer brushed Indigo’s shoulder-length hair out smoothly and began again while Chris and Roland watched. Indigo explained every step of the process, and Summer obediently divided her hair as instructed and started weaving the strands back together.
Twice they had to stop, and Chris and Roland ducked down below the top of the dune as vehicles passed by, and on one occasion, Roland argued with Summer as to where the hair should go, but maybe ten minutes later, it was done. Truthfully it didn’t look as smooth and neat as Summer’s, but Chris thought it looked pretty good.
The women were packing away their things as a truck approached from Roxburgh and Reuben and Stone arrived to collect Indigo.
“We’ve had a good day together. I don’t mind taking another turn as lookout with Summer,” said Indigo as she picked up her backpack and waved goodbye.
Chris was impressed. He knew how damn boring it could be, and the fact that she’d agreed to do it again proved Indigo was going to be a worthwhile addition to their community, not just an accessory to Reuben and Stone. Both men had skills his community needed, and he hoped they’d stay long enough to ensure all his men had a chance to learn desert practices. If Indigo was happy here, the likelihood of Stone and Reuben staying increased exponentially.
When he and Roland sat on the ledge with Summer, Chris was surprised to see how the women had upgraded the place.
“Foot holes so we can face the front. That’s pretty damn clever, Summer,” he said.
“I like the little bench as well. It means we don’t have to hold our food and wonder what’s going to happen if a truck passes by and we have to write it down,” said Roland.
“That’s what made me think of it. I was drinking water when I saw a cloud of dust, and by the time I’d closed the water bottle and put it on the ledge beside me, and then picked up the papers and found the pens, the truck had already gone. It was just good luck I was looking up and not down at the critical moment it passed. And once there were actually two vehicles passing in quick succession. It was practically rush hour!”
Chris laughed at her wild gestures. It was amazing that she was so prepared to join in and help them, taking a boring job and turning it into an opportunity for fun.
They unpacked the bread and soup and sat eating the delicious food while talking and watching the road. It was growing dark when a distant dust cloud appeared on one of the crossroads.
“Ah, here comes Red. He’s late tonight.”
“Red?” asked Chris. “How do you know which car it is from this distance? All I can see is sandy-brown dust, no hint of a red car.”
“I know by the process of elimination. The red truck went past at the usual time this morning. Roland wrote him down at seven twelve. He came past yesterday at seven ten. On his way home from work he went past at six ten, and it’s already six fifteen, so this will be him now.”
Chris watched, and sure enough a red truck appeared out of the dust cloud. “I wonder how far away he works. That’s quite a long commute.”
“I expect he works somewhere this side of Wetherby. The travel time is about right for an eight until five thirty day if he works forty-five minutes from here. Wetherby itself would be more like ninety minutes, so my guess is halfway between here and Wetherby. I’d have to Google Map it to see what’s there.”
“It’s good you know this area. Your local knowledge is invaluable to us.” Chris wanted to hug her, to touch her, but he didn’t think that was a good idea while they sat here on watch. In another half hour it’d be dark, and then he and Roland could prepare the tent for them to use tonight. And tonight he hoped to stay all night. From the amount of food Bryan had given them, it appeared Bryan wasn’t expecting them back soon either. It gave him a warm feeling to think that one of his pack brothers was onboard with his hopes and plans, as well as just him and Roland.
“What have you both been doing today?” Summer asked him, surprising him.
Chris had been intent on thinking about what he wanted to say and do and had forgotten for a moment that Summer was an intelligent and caring woman.
“We need to grow as much of our own food as we can. The well seems deep and safe, but I wanted to have Stone’s and Reuben’s opinions as to whether irrigating some crops and fruit trees would degrade our water supply. Reuben’s already explained all about drip watering, which is the system we’d use. It takes a lot less water to irrigate crops that way, but it’s still using our drinking water.”
“I think you’ll find the well is deep. In most places in the desert, there is water under the sand. People still die of thirst even today because they don’t understand that all they need to do is look for a hollow area where there’s a bush or grasses and dig down at the lowest point. The water might need filtering, but if someone is desperate for a drink, filtering it through a shirt is good enough, and a whole heap better than dying of thirst.”
Roland laughed. “That’s absolutely true. And the men agreed with you that the well is very deep and unlikely to run out. However, we’re going to look around for other likely water sources as well.”
“What do you plan to grow?” Summer asked.
Chris looked at her thoughtfully. “What would you suggest?”
Her answer surprised him once again. He needed to remember she was a desert-born person, as well as a smart one, and not at all into selfish pleasure. Instead of listing off her favorite things, she answered based on the climate.
“Figs are the easiest fruit to grow in the desert, but apricots do well as long they’re protected from frost. Grapes grow well. They tend to be small, but very sweet. Pears and pomegranates are also okay. Stone might be able to help you. His mother planted a garden, and she kept her fruit trees inside in pots until they were established enough to survive outside.”
Chris grinned. “He already told us about that. When he was a small boy, hitting a baseball through a window resulted in his dad yelling at whoever did it. But if anything happened to one of his mom’s fruit trees, all five of the boys were terrified of the potential consequences.”
“With five sons I expect she needed to be firm. Besides, they’d want to eat the fruit, so it was in their own interests to take care of the trees.”
“Absolutely.”
It was already almost dark, and Summer bent over the spreadsheet, squinting at it.
“I can get the flashlight from the tent if you need it,” Roland said.
“It’s okay. I was just checking that everyone I expected had already passed by, and they have. It’d be interesting to know how many people go past late at night because they would definitely be people who live nearby. Or I suppose they might be travelers on a really tight schedule who have to keep going until they arrive. But they’re more likely to be locals.”
“I don’t think there’d be too many. Stone said they close their store in the evenings, but they have a bell people can ring if they need something urgently. He said, when he was a child, they’d get more calls at night, but these days people are more likely to send them a text message and then turn up early the next morning if there’s a problem.”
“We could paint a cell phone number on the door with an after-hours assistance number on it. That way local people could do the same, and if a traveler had a flat tire or something, someone could come back to help them,” said Roland.
They sat in silence for a while, and then Chris said, “Let’s go down to the tent where we can
light the lamp and stretch out some more. I think we’re done here for today.”
He desperately wanted to make love to Summer, but he couldn’t tell if she’d let them. Once they’d fucked her properly, they could have a conversation about BDSM. Since she was a wolf and many wolves were dominant, it shouldn’t be a shock to her, but it was a totally inappropriate conversation just now when she hadn’t even agreed to let them do more with her than had already happened. And he ached to possess her. Every cell in his body was alive with the need to fuck her.
* * * *
Roland’s entire body was fizzing with excitement and hope. More than anything he wanted to have Summer in his arms again. Talking to her was good. He liked that they could hold an intelligent conversation together. He was pretty sure that any romance based only on mutual sexual attraction would need to develop a whole lot further than that to be permanent. He already liked Summer as a person, as well as being in lust with her completely adorable body.
But none of that meant he wasn’t ready—way beyond ready—to get much closer to her than he was right now. She’d enjoyed last night. He knew that. He’d heard that some women would fake an orgasm just to please their men, but nothing about Summer last night had been fake. He’d seen her body shake and smelled and tasted her honey. Tonight he wanted his cock inside her, preferably in her cunt, but if she wouldn’t agree to that, maybe she’d suck him.
Hell, if she wouldn’t agree to sex, he’d settle for touching her again and getting his mouth on her delicate, sensitive flesh. They had the tent. They had warm bedding and plenty of food. The only thing they needed was Summer’s agreement to be there with them. And right now, he was really hopeful she’d acquiesce to the next step.
They clambered down the hill and stopped beside the tent. Roland quickly bent and unzipped the flap, opening it wide to let the inside cool down. Maybe they should have done that when they arrived, but he knew the desert wildlife was on the move just before dawn and dusk, and he really didn’t want to share his sleeping bag with anything or anyone other than Summer and Chris.
Chris put away their spreadsheet and other papers and then took down the lantern to light it.
Summer shook her head. “It’ll just bring bugs around. Let your eyes adjust to the night, and you’ll find you can see reasonably well.”
“Like last night?” Chris asked.
“That’s right.”
“Are you still hungry? Bryan gave us plenty of food,” he said to Summer.
“There’s enough for breakfast tomorrow if you’d like to stay here with us tonight,” added Chris.
Roland watched Summer’s face, and she gave a tiny grin. “That might be doable.”
“Only might?” he asked.
“What sorts of things do you like, Summer?” asked Chris, moving much closer to her.
Roland stepped behind her and massaged her shoulders, wondering if she was cramped from being stuck on the dune all day.
“I like having my shoulders massaged. It feels good.”
“I can think of other ways to touch you that will feel good as well,” said Roland, rubbing her back and then lifting her shirt and stroking her skin. She was warm under his hands, but not overheated. He slid both palms up her back and continued to massage her shoulders, but this time with his hands on her skin. Touching her skin-to-skin was much better than stroking her shoulders, even though she was only wearing a thin shirt.
“Mmm.”
She was smiling so he unsnapped her bra and then removed both her shirt and bra and tossed them inside the tent. Now he leaned against her back, pressing his hard, hot dick in her butt crack and licking her shoulder, up high near her neck. He let his hands cup her heavy breasts, and he tweaked her nipples. They were hard little points, telling him she was enjoying this as much as he was.
Roland concentrated on pleasing her, keeping his body pressed against hers as he licked and sucked her shoulders and neck and massaged her breasts. She felt so amazing against his hands and his body. Her spine was a defined line with muscles in her back, as well as womanly softness, and her arms were the same. There was clear muscle definition but still the curves that pleased him. He didn’t find stick-thin women sexy, although he admired their ability to maintain their figure, but he didn’t like overly muscled gym junkies either. As far as he was concerned, Summer was perfection personified, and he was still somewhat stunned that she’d even looked at him, far less seemed to like him.
There were so many more male wolves than female that it was hard to believe a couple of the ones at the pack get-together hadn’t claimed her. But he was incredibly grateful she hadn’t taken someone else. Of course she hadn’t taken him and Chris yet, but she seemed to enjoy having them around, so that was a mighty fine start.
He glanced up from her sexy skin when Chris groaned. Summer was unzipping his jeans. That was a good sign. She was clearly comfortable enough to move the action up a bit. Roland concentrated on pulling on her nipples, stretching them out as he petted and stroked her breasts with his palms and thumbs.
“It’s time to move this into the tent,” said Chris.
Roland was happy with that plan. Getting horizontal suited him. “Let me spread out the bedding properly first,” he said.
Reluctantly he let go of Summer and kneeled down, quickly opening the sleeping bags and covering the floor of the tent with them as well as the blanket from the precious day. He pushed Summer’s clothing to the side and then sat down and pulled off his own boots. He wanted to take off a whole lot more than that but didn’t want to seem to be rushing things.
Summer and Chris crawled into the tent, Chris taking off his boots and socks and removing his dangling jeans.
Summer sat still so Roland moved to her feet. “Let me.”
He unlaced her boots and put them neatly against the tent wall, rolling up her socks and placing them inside the boots. Then he undid her jeans and folded them up, putting them with her shirt and bra. He stared deeply into her eyes before he touched her panties, a mere scrap of pale blue silk and lace, but she made no attempt to stop him, so he gently removed them as well. Only then did he pull off his own shirt and unzip his jeans. By the time he looked across at Chris, his friend was naked and had some condoms sitting on the blanket beside him.
Hell yes. It appeared condoms would be needed, and he was more than ready to use several of them. Once with Summer wouldn’t be enough. Twice would be much better—tonight and then again in the morning. If she agreed. But right now, he couldn’t imagine she’d say no.
He and Chris wiggled Summer onto her back between them, and then they began to play with her beautiful body in earnest. Much the same as the previous night, Roland licked and sucked her delicate skin, kissing her most sensitive paces and puffing warm air on the wet spots he created. But tonight he ached to do more and found himself moving faster, wanting to penetrate her properly.
Roland forced himself to slow down reminding himself that if Summer wasn’t aroused, wasn’t enjoying herself, all their efforts would come to nothing. Again and again he told himself that this was not about him, but about her.
However, he couldn’t resist the urge to lick the seam of her cunt. Already he could smell her arousal, and his mouth was watering at the thought of tasting her. Roland tried to take it slowly, kissing her bellybutton and then nibbling on her labia, but she threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged on his head, urging him a little lower. Almost without planning it, his mouth was on her clit, and he sucked the hot little button between his lips.
“Yesssssssss,” she sighed.
Clearly she liked that, so he did it again and then licked along her cunt again before thrusting his tongue inside. His cock jerked at the taste and sensations of her. So hot, wet, and with a sensual aroma that made his wolf want to jump up and howl with pleasure. Roland reluctantly licked back along her lips and then sucked her clit again before surrendering his place between her legs to Chris.
Summer was his, but she w
as also Chris’s, and Roland needed to always be fair. The Dom in Chris would never let him take advantage of Roland. Chris would always make sure he was scrupulous about sharing, and Roland had to behave with the same rigid integrity, no matter what his dick was saying to him at the time.
Roland crawled up the bedding so his head was level with hers. “Taste yourself on me,” he said, kissing Summer on the lips.
* * * *
Everything Chris and Roland were doing to her was sending Summer’s pulse into overdrive. Last night she’d reveled in their touches. Tonight she was hyper-alert and wanted more, more, more, right now. Touching and kissing wouldn’t do it for her anymore. She needed a cock inside her. Or maybe two cocks. After all, there were two men here. Simply trying to keep track of four hands on her body reminded her of that all the time.
Desperately, she thrust her tongue into Roland’s mouth, tongue fucking him with all the need bottled up inside her. It was very erotic to taste herself on him, that was true, but she wanted, no needed, more than that right now. She needed one of them inside her, driving her over the cliff and into bliss.
“Is someone feeling a little needy?” teased Chris.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a lot needy right now. And underappreciated,” she replied.
“Well, we can’t let that happen.”
She hadn’t even noticed when her panties had disappeared, but she definitely noticed now as Roland climbed between her legs again and pressed a thick, hard cock at her pussy entry. He pushed his way in cautiously, which was just as well because he was huge and she was swollen with arousal and desire. Soon he was deep inside her, and she was ready to play. But then Chris sat up beside her head and held his cock at her lips.
Of course. Two men. Two cocks. She gripped the base of his shaft and flicked her tongue over the head. Already it was a little damp with his pre-cum. It was good to know he was just as aroused as her. Dammit, she needed these men so much right now.