Ways in the Guardian: A Menage Romance Book Collection

by Barbara Downey

  *****

  “I think that it is better if we split up here,” Ethan Blake said to Bernie and Benny Branson as he brought his horse to a halt at the junction. “It would be safer for us to travel solo to avoid being caught. You guys can move on down in the Texas direction, but I still have some unfinished business in Ohio before I leave.”

  “Are you sure about that, Ethan, I mean, word is all around that you are on the loose in these parts, and this time if you are caught, I don’t know if you'll be able to escape,” Bernie said to him as he lowered the brim of his Stetson, staring across the prairies.

  He did not want to get the Branson twins into any more trouble than they already were. He had to get back to Ohio so that he could recover a stash of cash that he had hidden somewhere there before he had been caught and sent to jail. He, Bernie and Benny had broken out of jail after managing to trick one of the sheriff’s attendants there to open up for one of them so that he could use the washrooms. They had caught the attendant off guard, knocking the air out of his lungs before tossing him into the jail and escaping. This had all happened almost a week ago at night and now they had to get as far away as possible. Texas was their best bet if they were to remain under the radar for some time to give the public time to forget and focus on something else.

  “Yes, I'm sure. You guys go on down, and I will catch up with you later. Just remember to go straight to where I told you, and stay put until I come,” he said to them, lighting up a cigarette and puffing the smoke into the air.

  “Okay boss, I guess we’ll see you in the west when you get there,” Benny said as he and Bernie steered their horses in the other direction.

  “Take care,” he said to them, turning his horse in the direction of Ohio.

  He could tell that there was a storm brewing, but he was hoping to make it to the place where he had hidden his money. It was in an old abandoned shack that the local cowboys in the area believed was haunted, and so steered clear of. If they only knew that he had money stashed in there that was enough to feed the whole county for a year. He chose to take the short route there, branching off the road and into the grassy prairies. He pushed the horse a little faster, glad that it was his horse. Before he had been caught, he had left it with a friend, and the moment that he had escaped, he had gone back for his horse and was now on his way. He had stashed close to half a million dollars somewhere in the basement of the worn down shack and he kept his fingers crossed, hoping that the money was still there.

  The first drops of rainfall began pelting down on him, but he did not stop, instead pulling the brim of his hat lower over his eyes. Dusk was fast approaching but at least he would spend the night in the shack once he got there. It was almost two hours away from the point where he was, and he did not want to push the horse too hard. He avoided fields where there were cattle and horses grazing, since there was a possibility that they were being guarded by cowboys, who could easily sound an alarm and have the whole county looking for him. At that rate, he would only be able to hide for a couple of hours. It was better to keep the people guessing his whereabouts, not knowing whether he was in the state or not.

  The sky turned gray as the rain storm became heavier. He was soaked within no time, but at least he knew that he had some fresh clothes in the shack. It had been one of his hideouts for a long time, and he had turned it into a home whenever he was in the town on a mission. Most of his missions here had been to loot the local bank. He reasoned that the Banks had insurance and so even if he robbed them, their money would eventually be returned, and it would be a win, win situation. He finally got to the shack, approaching it from the backside like he always had, so that he could leave his horse to graze in a hidden grassy plain.

  *****

  Lucy was now genuinely worried and the storm was becoming worse. If she had known, she would have spent the night in the tavern in town and then gone home in the morning. She urged on the two horses that were tugging her wagon as the huge drops of rain spattered against her face. Her hat had been blown off by the wind some distance ago and she knew that she would not be able to retrieve it with the wagon. She would have to make a point of getting herself a new one the next time that she was in town. She was still a couple of hours away from home, and she knew that right now she would have to look for somewhere to shelter until the rain calmed down, although it was already dusk. Her father would be fuming if she did not get home soon, but it was not her fault. If she could control the weather, she would have already arrived home by now.

  There was a shack somewhere ahead and even though it had always looked deserted, it looked like it would have to make as her place of shelter. She did not know why she had the strange feeling that she was being followed, and she was glad that she had taken her father’s rifle without his knowledge, because she was going to kill whoever tried to harm her. Whenever she looked back, there was nothing, but as she went along she felt the strange presence. Maybe it was just her conscience playing tricks with her and especially since she had heard the sheriff and the other men talking about the outlaws on the run.

  She finally got to the shack, turning in and bringing the horses to a stop. It was a good thing that her shopping had been packaged well in water resistant tins, which meant that she could leave it on the wagon. Tethering the horses, she dashed towards the cabin, pushing the creaky door open and stopping in just in time to come face to face with the barrel of a gun.

  “Not another step,” a cold voice said as she struggled to adjust her eyes to the darkness in the house.

  “I'm sorry, I didn’t know that anybody lived here and thought that I could shelter from the storm,” she said with sudden fear.

  Her eyes adjusted soon enough, and in the darkness stood a man. He had the sexiest blue eyes that she had ever seen, but that was not all. He was not wearing a shirt and one could think that his body had been sculptured. He had muscles all over, even donning a six pack down on his belly. She tried to stop herself but still found her eyes moving further down his body, and she realized that he was wearing pants that were soaked. She felt a familiar warmth passing through her body as she realized the outline of his manhood was outlined in the wet pants, her whole body beginning to ooze with lust. He slowly lowered the gun, putting the silver pistol back into the holster tied around his waist.

  She had seen photos of the outlaw being circulated in the town, and she realized that he was the one that she was staring at. Her eyes went back to his gun belt, where she couldn’t stop staring at the silver revolver.

  “It’s alright, I'm not going to hurt you, come on in,” he said, moving aside as she stepped into the house, not sure whether to be afraid or not.

  “Aren’t you the outlaw that everyone is talking about?” she said, almost to herself as he shut the door.

  “Yes, but I'm not as bad as they think I am,” he said, walking past her, and she found herself staring at his back muscles and the way that they moved. “We will have to light up a fire or something to keep us warm and possibly dry our clothes.”

  As he said that is when Lucy realized that her clothes were completely drenched, water dripping onto the floor. As she looked down at herself, she realized that the frock she was wearing had clung to her wet body, and being that it was a white one, he could even see her flesh plastered against it in the most explicit way. She was shocked to see that even her red lingerie showed through the attire, and she tried to hide it with her hands, although that did not really do a thing.

  “Come on, I have a feeling that I can trust you on this one. We can build a fire in the living room, where there is a fireplace,” he said to her, and she found herself following him into another room blindly, almost as if he had somehow hypnotized her.

  “Why do I get the feeling that you know this house very well?” she asked.

  Lucy knew that she was not supposed to trust this outlaw, but somehow, she had the feeling that he would not bring her any harm. She felt a bond between them that she could not understand, and
it filled her with certain cravings that her father would forbid with men like him.

  “Well, you never know, maybe this just happens to be one of my dens,” he said to her off handedly as she followed him down some stairs that led into some sort of basement.

  Inside the basement, there was a kerosene lantern alight and she realized that this guy probably lived here. Things were arranged neatly, books piled on a shelf and a few clothes folded on a bed. He reached for a towel and handed it to her.

  “Here, you can cover yourself with these while your clothes dry,” he said to her as she took the towel away from him.

  “Thanks,” she said, but he made no move to leave the room, and having never been naked in front of a man before, she felt a little nervous. “Well, thank you for the towel, but aren’t you at least going to excuse me so that I can undress?”

  “I guess, I'm not really used to trusting anyone, but I think I can trust you. I'll be right outside the door,” he said, walking out of the den and closing the door behind him.

  Lucy quickly removed her clothes, glad for the new cover even if it was just a towel. She had already began feeling the effects of the cold. She did not remove her bra and panty since there was no way that she could do that with this handsome outlaw here, who knows what he could do to her, but who could tell if she would mind! Once she had the towel safely secured around her body, Lucy made her way back to the door and he opened it before she could push if, her body bumping into his.

  An effect that she had never felt before overcame her, and she felt as if her legs were weakening. Her hands found themselves on his bare chest and the moment that their flesh made contact, she felt a zing going all the way down to the heated spot in between her thighs. The heat that she felt in her sex was unlike any that she had ever felt before, and Lucy almost couldn’t understand what was happening to her body. His face was so close to her as she felt the heat of his body going up her snares, his male scent bringing to life hormones inside her that made her want him even more. She found her eyes moving over his face and down to his lips, and she snapped out of it before she did something that she would regret.

  “I'm sorry, I did not expect you to be coming in-”

  “I heard you walking to the door. Anyway, where are your clothes, we can put them on a line in the living room so that they can dry?” he said, walking past her into the room and picking her clothes off the bed.

  *****

  Ethan had been through his fair share of women, mostly prostitutes and women who loved cowboys gone bad like him, but he had never met a woman that mesmerized him like the blonde before him. He did not know whether it was her innocent look that attracted him, or whether it was her sexy looks. From the time that he had seen her, he knew that he wanted her, and Ethan always got what he wanted.

  “So, blondie, what is your name, because calling you blondie sounds a little rude?” he said to her as they walked back up the stairs, out of his den.

  “Lucy, Lucy Weatherfield,” she said to him as he watched her walking up the stairs before him.

  She had the most gorgeous body that he had ever laid his eyes on and just watching her walking made his dick shift around in his pants.

  “What is a beautiful lass like you doing travelling this road in this weather. Don’t you know that it could get rather dangerous out there,” he said to her, and for some reason, he felt as if he could trust her and be free with her.

  “I got delayed in town while picking up supplies for the ranch, and then there was the storm,” she said easily as he showed her to a broken seat while he hung her clothes on a line that he had just put up when he heard her coming into the house.

  “It ain’t good for you to be out there all alone with all the crazy outlaws,” he said to her, seeing her tensing through the corners of his eyes. “Hey, relax babe, I'm not one of them crazy ones. I have robbed Banks in many cities, but never have I put my hand on a woman when she did not want me.”

  “And you expect me to trust you on that one,” she said as he piled up firewood in the fireplace and then lit a flint, the dark room suddenly filling up with orange flames that made her look even sexier to him.

  “I guess that you are just have to trust me on this one,” he said, kneeling before the fire and heating his hands over the flame. “Come on over here and join me, we don’t want pneumonia biting into you.”

  Without hesitation, Lucy scooted over next to him, sitting on her haunches as she also put her hands over the flame. It was almost impossible for him not to look at her, her towel was tied right above her breasts but the white flesh above it lit him up in the same way that the fire had lit up the room. She was much younger than him, probably 18 or 19, very innocent looking, Ethan even doubted if she had been with a man sexually. The thought made his dick begin to harden in his pants. It had been a while since he’d had sex, although it was one of the first things that he had been planning on getting as soon as he got to Texas. Looking at the lass beside him, though, he was not sure if he wanted to fuck any other woman.

  There was a movement outside that made him suddenly become on high alert, drawing his gun in a flash as he got up. He was sure that he’d heard a movement outside. As he looked back at her, he realized that her eyes looked alarmed but alarmed or not, there was no way that he was going to risk his freedom again.

  “Did you come alone, I think that there is someone outside,” he said gruffly.

  “Yeah, although along the way, I felt as if there was someone trailing me, ducking whenever I looked back to see if I was being followed,” she said to him as her eyes widened. “I even thought that it might be you, since you were the talk of town when I left.”

  “Well, it seems like we might have some company,” he said, walking over to one of the shutters and pulling it open to look outside the shack. “I'm right, we do have company.”

  He could see a cowboy tethering a horse to a tree, not far from where Lucy had tethered her horses. The cowboy looked young, and somewhat familiar, although in cowboy country, all cowboys looked familiar. He was filled with relief when he saw that the cowboy did not carry any weapons on him. That was probably just another cowboy coming to wait out the storm. The man began making his way towards the door, and Ethan quietly signaled for Lucy to go down into the hidden den with his finger. She got up and did as he said, her face filled with fear. The cowboy came around to the main door of the shack, stopping to shake the water off his coat and hat, before he reached for the handle and pushed the door open.

  The moment that the man entered the room, Ethan surprised him with a hook to his chin, sending him flying through the air, breaking a table as he landed. Ethan dashed after him as the now surprised man tried to get up. He cocked his gun and put it against the man’s hat.

  “What the hell do you want here, quick before I smoke you?” he said to the man in a low growl, thinking that he would probably have to keep him as a hostage until he was safely gone.

  “Ethan, is that you?” a familiar voice said, and Ethan pulled his gun away in shock, pulling the man’s hat off.

  “Eugene, what the hell are you doing here. I thought the last time that I saw you, you were in college up north?” he said, belting his gun and then pulling his friend in for a hug.

  “Shouldn’t it be me asking the questions here, how did you manage to break out of jail? I knew that you would do it, but I just didn’t know how you would do it,” Eugene said to him as they slapped each other’s backs.

  “I've got my ways, like you’ve always known. What about you, what are you doing so far out here?” Ethan asked, still surprised to see the man that had hidden him at one time in his hostel while a whole town was out looking for him.

  “Well, I finished my studies and then came back to Ohio. This is my home county. As for coming here, there is this really sexy lass that I know, and I just wanted to make sure that she got home safe. She did not even know that I was following her,” Eugene said. “Thing is that I've had this mad crush on her ever
since I came back to find her here, and I was hoping to ask her for a fuck. Where is she anyway, I saw her horses and wagon outside?”

  *****

  She had listened to all the scuffle upstairs as she hid under the bed in the basement, and when all seemed quiet, she made her way back upstairs quietly to see what was happening. It was then that she recognized Eugene's voice. She went further up and she almost dropped dead when she saw him standing stark naked next to Ethan, talking as the flames from the fire illuminated over his body. There were some clothes dripping on the line alongside hers, and she guessed that they were his deeming from the loud roars of thunder coming from outside. Lightning cracked through the windows and she saw the scary illumination of the prairies.

  “Lucy, you can come out now, it is someone that I know, and who I think you know,” she heard Ethan shouting, and she quickly got out of her hiding spot behind the door, walking into the living room and trying not to look at Eugene.

  “Hello Lucy, looks like fate brought us together again, even after the slap that you gave me back in town,” Eugene said slowly, looking her up and down as she too was forced to look at him.

  She had seen naked boys, young boys, but seeing a naked man before her like this, she felt her blood surging through her veins in the most intense way. Eugene had a huge looking cock and the more that she looked at it, the more that she realized that it was actually growing harder and bigger by the second.

  “I guess,” she said as her eyes finally moved off his dick, looking into his eyes.

  “Well, why don’t you join us at the fire, I don’t think that you are warm enough yet,” Ethan said to her as she walked into the room.

  “It was actually getting kind of cold down there. I don’t understand this, you two know each other?” she said, still trying to understand how Eugene and the hot outlaw knew each other.