by Marla Monroe
“Um, Keith. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to um, take care of that. You aren’t strong enough not to fall. Maybe when you’re in bed.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad the damn thing woke up. I’ll be fine.”
Tripp chuckled but sobered when Keith stared at him. He knew it was probably amusing to think that he was worried about it when he’d nearly died, but it was his cock, not Tripp’s, in limbo.
“Okay, you’re officially clean. Don’t you feel good?”
Piper hugged him and the friction of their bodies hugging felt so fucking good to his engorged dick. He would love nothing more than to bury himself in Piper’s hot cunt, but that would have to wait. He knew he wasn’t strong enough yet.
“Much better. I’m getting tired. I better get out now.”
Tripp grabbed him and helped him walk over to the toilet to sit again. They dried him off and then helped him back to bed. He welcomed the mattress beneath his back this time. He was tired. He needed to rest for a while. First he needed to tell Piper that he loved her, before something else happened.
“Piper. Come here for a minute.”
She smiled and walked over to sit on the bed next to him. He loved her smile. He loved how she pouted when they teased her. Hell, he loved everything about her.
“I love you, baby. I wish I’d told you sooner, but I kept thinking there was plenty of time to tell you later.”
He could see tears in her eyes before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
“I love you, too, Keith. I love both of you so much.” She looked over to where Tripp was pulling on his jeans.
He stopped and looked at her with a stricken expression on his face. Keith wondered what that was about. He knew Tripp loved her. He’d said so when they’d talked about how dangerous it was there.
Piper hugged him then kissed him again. He kissed her back and came away panting. He was still so fucking weak. He hated it. She stood up and walked over to Tripp and wrapped her arms around him.
“I love you, Tripp. You don’t have to say anything. I know you might not love me and may never love me. It’s okay.”
Tripp looked over at Keith. He mouthed back at him. Tell her, you asshole. The other man dropped his head to hers and held her for several seconds. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
“I love you, Piper. I’m just scared something is going to happen to you. It’s so damn dangerous here.”
She cupped his cheek with her hand and smiled. “I’ll be fine. You’ve done everything you could to keep me safe. Don’t worry so much. It will give you ulcers.”
Keith chuckled. Leave it to her to lighten the mood. He watched Tripp nod and then walk out of the room. He wanted to kick his ass, but that would have to wait until he could lift his leg without help.
“Go to sleep, Keith. You need to rest after that. I’m going to go start something for dinner. If you need anything, you can yell.”
She disappeared from sight, and he relaxed against the mattress. He felt much better now that he’d told her. She had deserved to know. He hoped she understood that he wasn’t just saying it. He would keep telling her every chance he got.
Keith closed his eyes and waited for sleep.
* * * *
Tripp sat in the living room reading over the same sentence in the report about the ranch over and over again without really comprehending it. All he could see was Piper’s soft eyes as she told him that she loved him. He felt undeserving of her love. She was so good to them. She didn’t complain or fuss about anything outside of the garden. He smiled. She loved that garden, and she’d never had one before.
He loved so many different things about her, but most of all he loved how giving she was. She would do anything to make them feel good. There had to be a way to assure that she was safe. He would drive himself crazy worrying about her while he was at work. Keith hadn’t been as uptight about it before. Now he might. Something so simple had nearly killed him.
Piper walked into the room from the kitchen. Before he knew what she was going to do, she’d climbed up into his lap and laid her head against his chest.
“What is it, Piper? Is something wrong?”
“Not really. I’m just worried about Keith. He’s feeling so dependent right now, and I can tell that it is eating at him.”
“He’ll be fine once he can move on his own again. That’s not too far off, either. He’s recovering really fast.”
“I know you’re right. I just can’t stand to see that sad look in his eyes.” She pulled back and looked at him. “You have the same look. What’s wrong, Tripp?”
He huffed out a breath and decided he needed to be truthful with her.
“I’m still worried about leaving you here alone. I know we put up the fence, but I’m scared it’s not enough.”
“I’ll be fine. The only thing I even remotely worry about is that mantis thing. It was really aggressive, and it might actually ram the fence. If it does, I’ll have plenty of time to get in the house, though. Then I can lock myself in the office or upstairs until you get home.”
“You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” Tripp hadn’t realized that she’d been worried at all. She hadn’t shown it.
“I’m not oblivious to the dangers, Tripp. I’m just realistic. We’ve done everything possible, and it should work fine. I also know that the mantis is the most dangerous thing out there because it’s bigger, and it’s fast and it doesn’t seem afraid of anything.”
“Promise me that you will be careful.”
“I promise. I’ll be careful.” She smiled at him and jumped down. “I better check on dinner again.”
He watched her swish her way back in the kitchen. He sighed and resigned himself to a lifetime of worry. When children came around, that worry would be multiplied. He would be lucky not to go gray before he turned forty.
He picked up the ranch information and dug back in to learn everything he could about their new job. They would get their horses and bring them back as soon as Keith was well enough to work again. Then they would have the added responsibility of taking care of the horses. Tripp waved that thought away and concentrated on the job.
Sometime later, Piper called to him that dinner was ready. She passed him heading toward the stairs.
“I’m going to take Keith his. I’ll be right back down. He can feed himself now.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
She heaved out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Let it get cold on you.”
He grinned. She was so sexy when she was pissed off. He liked making her feisty before they made love. He walked into the kitchen and took his seat at the table. He helped himself to the food and waited for her to reappear. When she did, she looked a little flustered. Keith had been at it again. He had to grin. The man was a horndog.
“Keith messing with you, baby?”
She colored a pretty pink. “He’s just being Keith.”
“I can imagine what he said to you. He probably told you that he couldn’t wait to sink his cock deep into your cunt. Or he talked about sucking all your pussy juices as you come on his tongue.”
“You’re both terrible. Don’t make me blush, Tripp. I get all hot and winded.”
“It lets me know that you want me. It feels good to see you all flustered.”
“You’re both assholes.” But she grinned when she said it.
They finished eating, then Piper hurried upstairs to gather Keith’s dirty dishes. He waited until she came back downstairs before he got up from the table. He carried his dishes to the sink and rinsed them to go in the dishwasher. He watched her as she busied herself cleaning the kitchen.
“Tripp, do you think it’s too soon for me to, um, get Keith off? He’s still hard.”
He grinned. “Only if I can watch. I like seeing you go down on him.”
“If he’s still aroused when we go to bed tonight, I’m going to suck him off then.”
“There you go, baby, say the words.”
“Tripp. Behave.” She slapped him on the arm.
“Not going to happen where you’re concerned. You keep me hot and aching.”
“Maybe after I take care of Keith, I can take care of you.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“I’ll definitely take you up on that, baby. Your hot mouth is like a warm, wet glove that squeezes me to the point of pain. I crave it and want you to enjoy it as much as I do.”
“Oh, I enjoy it all right. Bringing a great big man to his knees turns me on faster than anything.” She grinned at him and scrambled back from the sink before he reached out and grabbed her.
“You better run. If I catch you, I’m going to eat that pretty pussy and slip my fingers in that hot cunt and make you come.”
“Don’t tease me like that. I need to take care of Keith first. Then we can play if you want to. I like messing around.”
“Then let’s go see about Keith. I get a front-row seat.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
They climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom to find Keith asleep. Piper didn’t see a problem with that as long as he was still hard. She quietly stripped then watched Tripp as he removed his clothes. She loved seeing his body as he pulled of his clothes. The way his muscles moved turned her on even more.
She climbed into bed, being careful not to jar it and wake Keith. Then she pulled back the covers just enough to see. Sure enough, he was still painfully hard. She looked back at Tripp and smiled. He smiled back and nodded his head.
Piper carefully took Keith’s cock in her hand and swallowed him down hard and tight, sucking his thick dick as hard as she could. As she was coming back up, Keith groaned and gripped a handful of her hair.
“Fuck, baby.”
She didn’t respond. Instead she ran her tongue all around the cap then rasped over the slit at the top of his dick. He hissed in a breath.
She felt Keith get on the bed to watch. She figured he was stroking his cock as he watched. Her own pussy juices were flowing as she sucked Keith’s cock down again. This time she relaxed her throat to take him deeper and swallowed around him.
“Son of a bitch! That’s it, baby. Hell yeah…ah, just like that.”
She hummed around him as she reached a hand between his legs and gently rolled his balls. He groaned and pumped his hips up.
The more she sucked, the tighter his fingers where in her hair and the more her cunt muscles clenched. She needed a hard cock in her pussy. She wiggled her butt at Tripp, hoping he would get her meaning.
Piper came up off Keith, swirling her tongue all around his thick dick. She sucked him hard then rasped his cock with her teeth coming back up. He jerked in her mouth. Again she rolled his balls in her hand, making sure to finger the perineum before gently squeezing them.
Evidently Tripp figured out what she wanted because she felt his cock at her slick opening just before he plunged inside her. She screamed around Keith’s dick. He threw back his head, and she knew she’d stimulated him even more.
The deeper Tripp fucked her aching cunt, the deeper she took Keith until she could no longer go any farther. She could tell he was getting close by the way he erratically thrust up into her mouth. She lightly racked her nails over his balls as she sucked him down once again. He erupted down her throat. Ribbons of cum filled her as she swallowed convulsively.
She licked his dick down her throat until she’d taken every drop of his cum. He massaged her head as he panted, trying to catch his breath.
Tripp began stroking in and out of her pussy faster and deeper now that she wasn’t sucking on Keith’s cock. He pummeled her cunt, rasping across her hot spot with almost every plunge. Her juices eased his way and ran down her thighs.
“Fuck, you’re so freaking tight. I’m not going to last, baby.”
She squeezed her cunt muscles around him, trying to throw him into orgasm. She loved being able to send all his plans into the trash that way. He jerked inside of her and, after two more strokes, began to fill her cunt with his cum.
Keith reached under her and fingered her clit as Tripp finished pumping through his orgasm. She thrashed on top of him as her climax stole over her when she hadn’t expected one. She screamed and tensed up until her ass cheeks hurt. Pleasure overrode the small discomfort, and she plunged over the top, their names on her lips.
Chapter Sixteen
Two days later, Keith was up and walking around on his own. He was even able to negotiate the stairs as long as he held on to the rail. They were making plans to meet up with the other families on the ranch the next Saturday night. Piper was equal parts excited and nervous.
She had found out that the main family was made up of Andrew, Danny, and their wife, Rachel. They had one child, a little girl. Then there was the other family working the ranch, Boyd, Keeton, and Ashley. They had a little boy.
Piper was outside documenting how fast the plants were growing and getting close-ups of the native ones like the currick. Her pamphlets and booklets were growing thick fast. She finished with her camera and hurried inside to print out the pictures.
“There you are. You’re awful difficult to find these days.” Tripp teased her unmercifully about being a wildlife photographer.
“Ha, I can only be in one of a few places. You’re just lazy and don’t want to have to walk through the house looking for me.”
“Regardless, I want a little hug and a kiss. I missed you this morning. You got up awful early.”
“I couldn’t sleep for some reason. Figured I’d do something productive instead of tossing and turning. All I was going to do was wake up you guys.”
“Anything on your mind that would keep you from sleeping?” Tripp wrapped his arms around her.
She leaned her head against his chest. She didn’t have a clue.
“Not really. It might be meeting the other families on Saturday. Other than that, I don’t know.”
“Well, put that out of your mind. They’re just regular people like we are. I bet you’ll enjoy having other women to talk to.”
“Oh, I know I will. I don’t know. That may not be it at all. It could just be a fluke and nothing else.”
He hugged her tight and kissed her on the nose. “Well, don’t make yourself sick over it. We’re not even eating with them.”
“Are you hungry? I’m about to start breakfast.”
“I’m always hungry, oh, you meant for food.” He chuckled when she popped his arm.
“Be serious. Is Keith awake? I’ll start breakfast now if he is.”
“He’s in the shower. He’ll be down in a little bit. Breakfast would be great, babe. I’m going out to water the garden and check the fence. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Piper watched him through the window as he set up the hoses among the plants. Then he disappeared around the side where he would start checking the fence for any problems with it. So far nothing had tried to enter it. She hoped it would be enough deterrent to keep everything out. She didn’t want the men worrying about her any more than they already were.
Twenty minutes later, Keith walked in the kitchen, his hair still wet from the shower. He headed straight for her and wrapped his arms around her waist. When he drew her in for a kiss, she responded as if she hadn’t had a kiss from him in months. She still hadn’t gotten over nearly losing him.
As his mouth ate at hers, she ran her hands up his wide chest and grasped his broad shoulders. He felt alive to her, and that meant so much. He finally pulled back and touched their foreheads together.
“Morning, baby. What freaking time did you get up?”
“Um, maybe five. It’s not all that early. When you start working, you’ll go to work at seven. I sure dread it when you work nights. I’ll worry about you two. I doubt I’ll even be able to sleep while you’re gone.”
“You’ll be just fine. What’s for breakfast? Where’s Tripp?”
“He went out to water the garden and check the fence. Sit down, and I’ll bring your plate ove
r.”
About the time she put Keith’s plate on the table, Tripp walked in. He eyed Keith’s plate and chuckled.
“What?” Piper asked.
“He’s got you wrapped around his finger. You’re waiting on him hand and foot. Don’t you think he’s gotten enough pampering time out of his ordeal by now?”
“No,” Piper and Keith said at the same time.
Tripp laughed again and went to wash up.
“Seriously, he’s right, you know. I don’t need all this coddling. I’m fine now. I’ll be going to work next week.”
“I know. I can’t help it.”
“Sure you can. Just say no.” Tripp walked back in with a grin on his face.
“Easy for you to say,” she grumbled.
They sat down and finished breakfast while talking about their upcoming meeting on Saturday. Piper listened but didn’t join in. She could tell the men were excited about getting back on a horse and working again. According to them, it had been almost a year since they had worked on a ranch.
Then her mind wandered to the women and what she knew about them. They had both gotten pregnant about the same time and both had been exposed to creatures that either bit them scratched them, or something. Either way, they had odd-looking scars and some sort of mutated cell or something in their blood. She shivered.
“You okay, Piper?” Keith asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a chill for some reason. I’m not cold or anything.”
“Maybe you need to take it easy today. You’ve been working nonstop on those book things of yours. You need a break.” Tripp reached out and squeezed her hand.
“I’m okay, guys.”
Keith stood up with his empty plate. “Still, you need to rest anyway. How about a nap after lunch today?”
“I thought you said I needed to rest.” She grinned at him.
“I’m talking about a real nap, baby. No messing around.”
She pouted. “I like messing around.”
Tripp and Keith rinsed their plates and added them to the dishwasher. She really had good husbands. They weren’t messy, and they cleaned up after themselves, for the most part. They were generous lovers and her best friends. She had worried so much about them when she had been on the shuttle. She knew some men didn’t like their wives to be sexually aggressive, but Tripp and Keith loved it. Plus, they knew what she liked and gave it to her. To think that a computer had chosen them for her boggled her mind.