by Marla Monroe
“Hell, I haven’t even thought about the dorries or the muskies,” Jared snarled. “How could I have forgotten about them?
“We’re getting too complacent thinking the fence will keep everything out. I was talking to Aaron and Marcus about that earlier. We need to do a daily sweep around the fence lines to be sure we don’t see any evidence that something hasn’t gotten under it. We let Jane walk across to the house every afternoon that she finishes early. I don’t like that,” Rusty said.
“Neither do I. One of us should walk her home every day then come back. I should have thought of that.”
Jared sighed. He’d let a lot of things slide wallowing in his own world of self-pity. It was unacceptable. Even if he didn’t like Jane at all, he should have been thinking about her safety. Rusty was right. Sandy would have been appalled that he’d let himself sink to such a low that he’d been thoughtless as to the safety of someone else, much less a woman.
“Why don’t you walk her home this afternoon and make a loop around the fence line. I’ll do it tomorrow,” Rusty suggested.
“Yeah. Right. It’s about that time, so I’ll go see if she’s ready to go.” Jared stacked the last of the boxes of nails on the shelving then climbed off the ladder. “I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Talk to her, Jared. Just talk to her. That’s all she really expects at this point.”
“I will.”
* * * *
“Hey, Jane. You getting ready to head home?”
Jane looked up to see Jared standing in the doorway. He looked good despite the weight he’d lost since they’d arrived at their new home. She worried it was more because of living with her than it was the hard work they were doing. Rusty had lost a little weight but had gained it back in muscles through his upper body. Not so much for Jared.
“I’m shutting down right now. What’s up?” she asked.
“I’m going to do a sweep around the fence line to be sure nothing’s managed to dig under without us knowing. Thought I’d walk you home before I started.”
“Okay. Let me get my bag and tell Felicity I’m leaving. I’ll be right back.”
Jane located the other woman in the walk-in cooler where they kept milk, eggs, and cheeses that came from the surrounding outposts. She told the Felicity she’d milk the cow and gather the eggs the next day. It wasn’t her favorite thing to do, but all three of them pitched in. Well, Randi wasn’t anymore since she had the garden coming in now. It wouldn’t be long before Jane would need to help with that. Felicity would help, as well, but didn’t have as much free time as she seemed to have.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
“Here, let me carry that. You’ve got your bag.” Jared took the sack that held a gallon of milk and a dozen of the fresh eggs. She planned to make homemade biscuits the next morning to go with their fried eggs and bacon. One thing nice about living on the station was that they nearly always had fresh groceries like eggs, bacon, meat, and cheese from the outposts surrounding the station. Not every outpost had their own cows or chickens.
“Thanks. What made you guys decide to check the fences? Has someone seen something?” she asked.
“No. Nothing’s come up, but it’s stupid not to keep a close eye on them. Dorries and muskies and that weird mole creature all dig. It’s just a good idea to keep a watch for them.” Jared seemed to be watching around them as they walked.
“How are you doing?” Jared asked out of the blue.
“I’m fine. Why?” She narrowed her brows at the sudden question.
“Just wondering. Um, I know I haven’t been real friendly. I’m sorry about that.”
“Sounds like Rusty’s jumped on you or something. Don’t worry about it, Jared. I’m a big girl. I can handle that you don’t really feel anything for me. I’m just sorry you’re stuck with me.”
That seemed to jar the man. He stopped walking so fast she had to stop and turn around to look at him.
“That’s not true, Jane. I do feel something for you. I care about you. Where did you get the idea that I didn’t like you?”
“Oh, well, from you. You rarely talk to me, you sleep on the edge of your side of the bed, and the only time you really touch me is when I let you make me come. Now that I’ve put a stop to that, you just grunt most days and go to sleep.”
She could tell she’d caught him off guard. He really hadn’t realized what he’d been doing. He’d been so caught up in his own world that he hadn’t given her feelings a single thought. Screw him.
“I’m sorry, Jane. I’ve been selfish and callous. It’s no excuse, but I’ve been struggling to get past being sent here. I hadn’t wanted to come.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Jared. That’s fine.”
“No. I do, and it isn’t fine.” Jared stopped her with a hand to her forearm. “I was married back on Earth, Jane. Only a year before they forced me to come here, I lost her and our unborn baby. She died because of Shear’s Disease.”
“I’m sorry, Jared. That’s hard. I can understand that you aren’t ready to move on. I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch to live with.”
Jane felt horrible. No wonder he didn’t really want to be with her. He was still grieving. You don’t just get over losing someone that close to you. Even she knew that much. Then the other part of what he’d said hit her. Made to come here?
“What do you mean they made you come? Joining up as a settler was voluntary for men. Most women didn’t have a choice if they were fertile, but I thought all the men were volunteers. They just had to have something to offer toward helping with setting up the planet to live on.”
“Most men were volunteers, but with my mechanical engineering degree and the fact that I wasn’t married at the time, they gave me an ultimatum. Either go with the next shipment to Alpha or spend the rest of however long we had left in prison. I nearly went with the prison choice until they told me that they didn’t think they had enough women to go around anymore and that they were sending any man who could help develop the planets, despite the fact they might not have a woman of their own. I agreed to go with that. That didn’t work out as the truth.”
“No. There were plenty of women on the planet already when your ship arrived. The last ship that made it was nearly full of females with only a couple dozen men on board. I figure they’re going to start sending them out our way soon.” Jane let his confession sink in.
Poor Jared had been tricked into doing something he hadn’t wanted to do and had just lost his wife, as well. She couldn’t imagine how that felt to him. Then she’d been cold and withdrawn to him, and Rusty, as well. She felt like a complete bitch. Her only defense was that she hadn’t known.
“I’m sorry about your wife and child, Jared. I’m sure getting stuck with me when you thought you wouldn’t have to deal with a woman was pretty damn hard. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s not your fault, and that was over a year ago now. Sandy wouldn’t have wanted me to dwell on the past. She’d have wanted me to get on with my life, and I’ve failed her and you in that aspect. I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you, Jane. All I can say is that I’ve been pissed off at being lied to, and I let it color my entire outlook. That changes now.”
Jane smiled, the hope that maybe things would change a seed of hope that she tried to squash. She didn’t want to be let down. Again. It hurt too much. She knew all about getting her hopes up then watching as yet another set of foster parents and brothers and sisters sent her to the next. No, she’d wait and see if Jared truly meant what he was saying. It could just as easily have guilt feelings from something Rusty had said to him doing the talking. She had nothing but time. Until she saw something more from him, Jane wasn’t willing to let her heart get too involved.
“Let’s go. I’d like to get you safe inside the house, so I can check those fences. More than likely Rusty will be later than usual with me walking the perimeter,” Jared said.
“I’ll plan on dinner being an hour
later. Will that work?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He walked her up to the back door. “Go on inside. I’ll be back before long.”
“Be careful, Jared.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Jane watched through the window as he walked toward the fence line she could barely see. More than likely it would take him a good fifteen or twenty minutes. She knew it was about three or four miles of fence that surrounded the massive garden out back of Randi’s place, as well as the other two houses and the warehouses.
Jane sighed and watched him until she could no longer make out the strong line of his back. She prayed he was being honest about making things work between them. But she wasn’t going to allow herself to get hurt again by allowing a seed of hope to grow into more. He’d have to prove himself to her now.
Chapter Six
Two nights later, Jane finished up in the bathroom and walked into the bedroom to find both men already in bed waiting on her. She could remember when they hadn’t felt comfortable being in the bed at the same time without her between them. Things had definitely changed over the past few months.
She sighed and climbed over Rusty to slip between the covers. Even before she’d settled down, Jared had rolled over to look down at her.
“I want you, Jane. Will you let us make love to you?” he asked.
She hesitated only as long as it took for her to see the heat in Jared’s eyes. He truly did want her. He wasn’t just going through the motions. A thrill shot through her body at the realization that he was finally ready.
“I want you, too. I want to feel you inside of me and surrounding me, Jared.”
He slowly lowered his head to kiss her, sucking in her bottom lip before nipping at it and running his tongue across the upper one. She opened to him, allowing him inside where he took possession of her mouth. By the time he’d completely conquered the kiss and her mouth, Jane was dizzy with knowledge that this was happening. Really happening.
Heat raced through her bloodstream even as tiny sparks of electricity jumped along her skin. Jared’s touch was all the more sweeter because he’d initiated it.
He squeezed her upper arm as he nibbled a path from her jawline down her neck to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. There he traced her collarbone with his tongue before rolling up her nightshirt to expose her breasts.
“Can we lose the shirt, babe?” he asked.
“Yes.” It came out breathy and weak.
Rusty helped her out of the shirt while Jared’s attention centered on her breasts, palming them with both hands.
“I love your breasts, Jane. They’re the perfect size,” Jared said.
He demonstrated by sucking one into his mouth as much as he could then backing off to latch onto her nipple and suck. Hard. It sent heat straight to her pussy as he pulled on the little nub. She moaned at the heady feeling of his mouth on her.
While he nibbled and sucked on that one, he squeezed and tugged on the other nipple with the fingers of his other hand. The dual sensations roared through her blood like a building snowball set to smash into her at any moment. God, could she come from just his mouth and fingers on her breasts?
Jane would never have thought that possible before now. Now she wasn’t so sure. Now she knew what it meant to be ravished by a man. He was tearing down all those weeks of worry that he’d never truly cared for her.
I’ve wanted this for so long. I can hardly believe it’s really happening.
Jared moved down her body, raining kisses all along her torso until he’d moved between her legs where he licked and nipped at her inner thighs until she’d spread them wide for him. He settled between them, spreading them even farther apart with his hands.
“You’re so wet. I can’t wait to taste you, Jane.”
He spread her pussy and licked up her slit. Jane nearly jerked away at the amazing feel of his tongue up her center.
“Mmm. Delicious just like I knew you’d be. I love eating you, Nancy. You’re amazing.” Jared returned to lapping at her weeping pussy.
Rusty knelt on the bed next to her head. He reached over and pulled on her nipple as he stroked his cock from tip to root then back up again. The sight of his big hand pulling on his dick made her even hotter if that were possible. At this point, everything amped up the pleasure building as Jared licked and sucked on her sensitive pussy.
When he circled her clit with the tip of his tongue, Nancy was sure she’d come, but he backed off, thrusting inside of her with his fingers instead, sending a whole different kind of pleasure throughout her body. She couldn’t help but squeeze his fingers, wanting his cock inside of her instead. This was what she’d been waiting for all these weeks. Jared inside of her.
“Are you going to come for me, babe? I want to feel you flutter around my fingers then I’m going to fill you with my dick and make you come all over again,” Jared said in a husky voice.
“Please, Jared. I can’t take it.” Nancy dug her hands into the mattress trying to find something solid to hold on to.
Rusty abandoned stroking his dick to stretch out on the bed and torment her nipples with his mouth and hands. She couldn’t be still. They were driving her crazy. For some reason it was more than the nights before with the knowledge that this time, Jared was going to actually fuck her instead of them only pleasuring her with their mouths and hands.
“I’ve got you, babe. Just let go,” he said.
Before she could brace for it, Jared sucked hard on her clit as he thrust his fingers deep inside of her. She came undone, screaming out as waves of ecstasy poured over her, robbing her of the ability to think only feel.
Somewhere amid the wild orgasm Jared climbed up her body laying soft kisses all over her as he did. Then he looked deep into her eyes and filled her with his hard cock. The feeling of him stretching her pussy washed over her nearly sending her into another climax with the delicious sensation. He touched every part of her eager body. Nothing had prepared her for this. Nothing.
“Oh, God, Jared,” she moaned out.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She looked up into his worried gaze and smiled. “Better than okay. You feel amazing.
He smiled and pulled out only to drive into her again and again. She relished the burning stretch as he touched every part of her with his thick dick. She could already feel the ripples of pleasure building as he thrust over and over again.
“Please don’t stop. So good,” she rasped out.
“I’m not about to stop until you scream again, babe. I love how you’re squeezing my cock each time I drive inside your hot, wet cunt. I’m going to come deep inside of you,” he said.
Nancy couldn’t stop moaning with how good it felt to have him deep inside of her with each stroke of his shaft. Nothing had ever felt this good or this right. At last she had a part of him as her own. Maybe only one part of him, but it was a beginning. And oh what a beginning.
“I’m there. Just there,” she said in a husky whisper. “Oh, God, Jared.”
He pulled out and rammed into her once, twice, and that shoved her head first over the cliff into bliss. She barely noticed when Jared shouted out her name as he reached his own orgasm. All she could do was breathe or pant. Whichever it was, she had to think about it hard to make it happen.
* * * *
Nancy struggled to catch her breath as Jared rolled off her after collapsing over her. She barely noticed until he’d moved off her. His groan as he settled next to her in bed with one hand thrown over his face had her heart skipping a beat. She’d given him that groan.
“Feel like another climax, hon?” Rusty asked, kissing the corners of her mouth. “I bet I could pull another one out of you.”
“I don’t know about another one, but I want you, Rusty. Even if I can’t come again, I still want you.” Nancy reached up to touch his face.
“Are you sure you’re not too tired?” he asked.
“I’m never too tired for you guys,” she said.
&
nbsp; Rusty kissed her, licking along her bottom lip until she opened for him. His kisses were whisper soft at first, but soon turned deep and consuming as he thrust his tongue inside. She sucked on it, relishing the taste of him.
When he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers, she sighed. Nights like this were what she’d hoped for and finally getting them, she found that she didn’t want them to end.
“You go to my head, hon. I love kissing you. I can’t wait to get inside of you.”
“Fuck me, Rusty. I want you inside of me just as much as you want to be there.”
Rusty leaned back and lined up his cock with her slit then slowly slid inside of her, filling her with his shaft until she was moaning for him. He was slightly thicker than Jared, where Jared was a little longer. His thick dick stretched her even more as he filled her, going deep inside of her.
She expected him to stroke in and out of her immediately, but instead, he just held there with his eyes squeezed shut as if he were in pain.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.
“You’re so hot and tight that I’m having trouble holding it together. I don’t want to come too quick, hon. I want you to come with me.”
“I may not be able to, Rusty. Not this time. Don’t wait on me. I’m so freaking hyped up and exhausted at the same time that I don’t think it’s possible. Take me, Rusty. Make me yours just like I’m Jared’s,” she said.
He took her at her word and began to shaft in and out of her in relentless thrusts, his hard dick rubbing against her inner walls sending little tingles across her body as if she could come again.
“You feel so good, Rusty,” she told him even as she squeezed his arms.
Rusty sat back and held her legs over his arms as he tunneled in and out of her cunt. His hardness reminding her just how much he wanted her. It gave her a satisfaction that only a woman could have. He was with her just as Jared had been with her. They were hers and she was theirs. It was the beginning of the rest of their lives.