by Marla Monroe
“Fuck! First bears and now wolves. Who’s wearing the eat-me scent?” Thad remained standing next to the travois he’d been strapping on.
“I definitely didn’t put any of that on today.” Harriet cut her eyes toward Abby. “Did you?”
“Nope.” Her voice sounded distant and weak. She’d never thought of herself as easily frightened before, but two close encounters with the wild and scary was defiantly her breaking point.
A low growl sent needlepoints of fear down her spine. It sounded a lot closer than behind the rocks Harry had indicated. She cut her eyes around as far as she could see without moving her head around and realized that the growl had come from behind them.
“Um, guys? There’s at least one more behind us. Can you see him, Thad?” Abby tried to keep her voice soft and even, but it still seemed too shrill to her.
“Crap, Harry. We’re surrounded. How close are you to the rifle?” Thad asked.
“Not close enough. Even if I could get it and get off a shot, there are too many of them. They’d attack for sure.” Harry didn’t move.
Abby nearly screamed when a soft touch of fur against the back of her arm startled her. She expected at any minute to have massive jaws crushing her arm or even her neck. Instead, the wolf eased around her, brushing his fur across every part of her body as he did. A second wolf walked around from behind her and leaned into Harriet before continuing across the clearing. Neither one seemed interested in harming them.
“Abby?” Harriet’s voice quivered. “Are you okay? What are they doing?”
“I’m scared out of my mind, but I’m okay. I don’t know what is going on. They rubbed all over me, then kept going.” Abby could still smell they musky odor of wet fur. Neither of the animals had shown any interest in them outside of marking them as they walked by.
“Are they all gone yet?” Harriet asked.
“I don’t think so.” Harry turned his head from one side to the other in a slow careful arc. “I can still see two about twenty-five yards out and there’s some movement closer to where Thad is.”
“Thad? Are you okay?” Abby couldn’t stop herself from calling out to the other man.
“I’m good. The wolves are moving away, but they’re taking their time about it. I almost pissed in my pants when I saw those two rub you and Harriet.” Thad didn’t sound nearly as confident as he had since she’d known him. The wolves had shaken him up when the momma bear and her cubs only made him more cautious.
Most of the animals out here act just like they’ve always acted around humans,” Thad begin. “But the wolves have acted out of character almost from the moment everything went south. After the dust had settled, everyone started to notice how the wolves and some of the stray dogs started venturing closer and closer to human settlements. They even attacked when before they didn’t unless provoked. “
“Wolves have gotten way too unpredictable to take any chances with them.” Harry agreed.
“Are they gone yet?” Harriet asked as her voice broke.
“I think they are, but let’s give them another five minutes.” Thad shifted on his feet and looked around them from his position just outside the clearing.
“Works for me.” Harry adjusted his pack before turning to smile at Abby and his sister. “I’ll help you put on your packs once we’re sure the wolves are far enough away.”
As soon as Thad gave the all-clear sign, they all scrambled to get back on the road again. Abby could still feel Harry’s hands on her shoulders, then her neck as he helped her don her pack. He fussed that it was too heavy for her when she was still recovering from her injuries.
“Stop babying me. I’m just fine. I’ll tell you if I need help. Right now, I don’t need it.” Abby smiled to herself at the way he’d pouted. Even his sister had commented on it.
Then Thad had wrapped his callused hand around the back of her neck, pulling her back into him as he messaged her neck. He’d whispered something in her ear but it had been in French so she didn’t have a clue to what he’d said. When she’d asked, he’d chuckled, but would only say, “Later, chèr. Later.”
Abby followed behind Harriet this time as she followed behind her brother who had taken over as leader. She could feel Thad’s eyes on her ass the entire time they walked. Every step she took seemed to reiterate those few French words she hadn’t understood but was sure referenced something sexual. It was nearly impossible to resist turning to look over her shoulder at the man.
The quick glance she’d managed when they’d started out had only teased her senses. Thad, with the oversized backpack and the harness for the travois secured across his chest, suggested a Greek warrior, or maybe a gladiator. Even wearing the winter coat, the cords in his neck hinted at the strength hidden beneath the extra layer of clothing. Between her vivid imagination and the feel of his gaze roving over her body, Abby was lucky she was able to put one foot in front of the other. It was no wonder she never thought about an extra rest break. She’d been too caught up in elicit fantasies involving two handsome men and all the possibilities.
“Looks like a good place ahead to stop and rest.” Harry’s rich voice jarred her from a wonderful idea on how to be able to taste both of them at one time.
“Wow. Has it been an hour already?” she asked.
Harriet barked out a laugh. “More like two and a half hours, sweetie. What have you been thinking about?”
Once again, heat raced up her neck and into her cheeks. At this rate she’d have a faux-winter sunburn that she couldn’t explain. Why did she have to blush at the slightest teasing remark?
If I didn’t let myself think about things I shouldn’t even know about, I wouldn’t have to worry about it. I can’t believe I want to be with both men as their woman. I would have called anyone who suggested such a thing a hussy a year ago. Now I’m looking forward to learning just what belonging to two men will be like.
When Abby started to slip out of her backpack, both Harry and Thad appeared to help her out of it. She was sure her face showed a great deal of surprise since Harriet snickered and winked at her.
“How are you feeling, Abby?” Thad massaged her shoulders.
“Pretty good, actually. We’ve only got another two hours until we make camp, right?” Abby smiled when Harry nodded and settled next to her so that their bodies touched from shoulder to thigh. Despite all of the clothes between them, she was certain Harry’s heat burned through her skin to the bone.
Thad scooted in close on her other side doubling the warmth spreading all over her body but centering in her pussy. Her clit throbbed as if remembering the touch of a lover and anticipating the next one.
“I can’t wait to learn all of your pleasure spots, chèr. Harry and I plan to explore and discover every single one of them.” Thad kissed her neck just below her earlobe.
“Once we’ve mapped them all out, we’ll rediscover them just to be double sure we didn’t miss one.” Harry nipped at her chin, with an echoing pinch to her nipples, causing them to poke out and rub against the material of her bra.
“You’re teasing me. You’ve got to stop it or I won’t be able to walk anymore today.” Abby pleaded with them, using her eyes in hopes they would take the hint.
“Teasing you is too much fun to give up, honey. Seeing your face light up as you dip your head to hide it turns me on like nothing else.” Harry kissed the corner of her mouth. “Tell me what Thad said to you just before we got back on the trail. You had the cutest blush and a dreamy look in your eyes that I haven’t even seen on Harriet when she was in lust over her high school sweetheart.”
“I heard that!” Harriet’s mock outrage sent a nervous laugh through Abby.
She looked over at Thad in hopes that he would help her out. He just grinned and ran two fingers across his lips as if zipping them closed. She mouthed the word “asshole,” then made a big deal of turning her back to him. That turned out to be a mistake, since it gave him even more access to the back of her neck.
; “I don’t know what he mumbled. It was in French, I suppose. It could have been anything like your feet stink and so does your breath.” Abby grinned at Harry, then shrieked. “Hey!”
Thad had bitten her on the nape of her neck hard enough to sting. Just as quickly he lathed it with his warm, wet tongue. He didn’t stop there, though. Thad ran his tongue down the length of her shoulder then back up the other side of her neck. When he sucked a portion of her tender skin until she was sure she had a love mark, Abby couldn’t stop the soft moan that escaped her mouth.
She started to tell Thad he was a bad influence on Harry but didn’t have time to get the words out before Harry sucked on her earlobe, pulling it between his teeth to tickle and tease with the tip of his tongue. Once again fire bloomed in her pussy. She was going to be a walking bundle of arousal.
“You taste like home, Abby.” Harry released her ear.
“I can’t wait to taste her sweet pussy,” Thad whispered. “I bet it tastes sweet and spicy. What do you think, Harry?”
Harry’s slow smile tightened things in her pussy. The more the two men stared at her, focusing on her mouth and tits, the wetter she became. Another couple of hours walking with an aroused, wet clit would be torturous to her girly parts.
I’m going to make a fool of myself in front of them if I don’t stop letting my mind focus on dirty sex with both of them. As wet as I am already, it won’t take much to leave a wet spot on my jeans that everyone can see.
“Get a room, guys. I’m right here, close enough to hear you even if I do have my back to you.” Harriet’s amused voice had Abby cringing between the two men.
“Stuff it, sis,” Harry growled.
Thad laughed as he stood up, pulling Abby up with him. “Come on, guys. We need to get going and locate a place to settle down for the night.”
“I vote for somewhere easier to get in and out of.” Harriet punched her brother in the arm. “No more walking through cheese graters. My arms and legs are still stinging. Another trip like that and I won’t have any skin left.”
“Something off the main road is safer, sis.” Harry looked over to where Thad helped Abby with her pack. “Right?”
“Yeah, but we’ll try to find something with a better access path. I don’t look forward to adding more scratches to my legs either.” Thad chuckled. “Let’s go, guys. Harry, are you strapped up?”
“Ready to go.” Harry had the travois linked to him with the harness they’d created and took a few steps to test it out before nodding in Thad’s direction.
Abby sighed at the sight of the other man wearing the same fantasy-inducing gear that Thad had on earlier. With his more muscular build, the straps seemed stretched to the limit on him. She turned around to face forward and caught Harriet’s knowing grin.
“What?” she asked, a little grumpier than she’d meant to sound.
“Nothing. It’s just cute that you’re attracted to my brother. I like that he has someone who cares for him and it helps that I like you anyway. We’re going to be great friends and as long as you make Harry happy, you’ll be the second most important person in my life.”
Abby started to reply but Thad started walking and Harriet turned to follow him. The other woman’s words floated in her head as they hiked back to the main road. Having someone’s happiness on her shoulders had never felt this serious until Harriet put it into words. Her fiancé’s happiness hadn’t seemed to be her responsibility because he had always made her happiness his priority in life. This new way of looking at relationships sparked a measure of fear.
How am I supposed to make them both happy when I’ve never had to make anyone happy before? David made me happy. If I was happy, he always said he was happy. I didn’t have to figure anything out about that. I don’t know what to do. What if I fail?
That was just it. She couldn’t fail. Suddenly the tightrope of balancing two men looked a lot thinner and a lot longer.
Chapter Sixteen
“Looks haunted to me.” Harriet looked over to her brother.
Thad shrugged. He didn’t see it, but even Abby was shaking her head.
“Maybe we should look for another place. I’m good with walking for another thirty minutes or an hour.”
He sighed. “It’s already too close to dark. We can’t wait any longer.”
“Look, girls. We didn’t have to wade through waist-high sticker bushes. That’s a plus, right?” Harry asked.
Thad almost laughed at the obvious exasperation in the other man’s voice. Even his expression didn’t hide his annoyance. Well, the women were going to have to get over their superstitions. Maybe the house did have some odd-looking decorations hanging from the trees and in the front yard, but it didn’t mean it was haunted or cursed. He didn’t believe in any of that, but figured that if he ridiculed them it wouldn’t go well for him, so Thad bit his tongue and schooled his expression to look more annoyed than amused.
He hoped.
“Look,” Thad began. “We’ll go in first to make sure everything is safe, like we always do. If there’s anything out of the ordinary, we’ll figure something else out, okay?”
He watched the two women look at each other, and then nod. Abby scrubbed her hands over her face before settling on an old rusted lawn chair to wait.
“Be careful, Harry. It really does look haunted. Look at the gargoyles on the corners of the roof. Even the front door is spooky with that dragon door knocker.” Harriet gave her brother a hug.
Perplexed, Thad tested the wood steps to be sure they were safe and was surprised that they didn’t give at all. Neither did any of the boards on the front porch. Considering that every other home they’d breached did have faulty wood, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Could someone be living in the old house? The wood didn’t look rotten but did seem weathered.
He looked over at Harry when they both reached the imposing front door. The other man’s eyebrows had furrowed down into a V over his nose. When he looked up, his worried expression now mirrored his sister’s.
“That’s odd,” he pointed out, bouncing on the balls of his feet, showing that the boards didn’t give.
“Yeah.” Thad lifted his hand and grabbed the dragon knocker. “Ready?”
“Sure. Worst-case scenario is that someone actually lives here. Maybe they’ll let us spend the night—voluntarily.”
Thad winced. Maybe they should look for another place. He really hadn’t considered that they might find someone living in the old house who might try to take their things or hurt them. Now he worried about the girls. He turned around and waved his arms to one side of the drive where there were still some tall weeds where they could hide. Thankfully they took the hint and bustled to one side and disappeared in the grass.
Thad’s face relaxed into a nervous smile. The other man agreed with him that keeping the women out of sight was a good idea.
The old cast-iron knocker felt gritty in his hand as he lifted, then dropped it twice. They could hear the echo inside the house as they waited to see if anyone answered the door.
“What if they are afraid to see who it is?” Thad whispered.
“I guess if they’re afraid and we break in, they’ll still be afraid. We aren’t going to hurt anyone so they’ll be fine.”
“They could have a gun in case someone does break in.”
Thad frowned. He couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed with Harry for bringing it up, but the man had a good point.
“We’ll call out when we break in that we don’t mean anyone any harm and just want a place to spend the night. That should help.”
When no one answered their knock, Thad banged on the door with the knocker three more times. Again no one answered and they couldn’t hear anything moving around inside. That walked over to one of the long windows that lined the massive door on each side. Despite the thin curtains covering them, he still didn’t see anything except a thin line of light from the edge of the material that wasn’t covered. He could make out a light layer
of dust in that light. Inside, his muscles relaxed some. Maybe no one lived there now after all.
“Looks deserted from here,” he told Harry.
“Let’s go around back to break in. Plus, we can knock on the back door as well in case they are living in the back part of the house and have the front boarded up for safety. They might not have heard the knock.” Harry nodded and they jumped off the side of the house to walk around.
Thad noticed the girls poked their heads up from the tall grass and he waved them back down. There was no mistaking Abby’s lips thinning into a straight line as her eyes narrowed. He would hear about this once they made sure it was safe to stay there. That little skirmish would be interesting, maybe even fun.
Together, they sneaked around the side of the house. Thad couldn’t help but be impressed by the size but worried that Thad might have been correct in that they’d boarded up the front and were living in the back. There didn’t seem to be nearly as much tall grass in the back as out front. The steps up to the back porch were in even better condition than the front had been.
Harry’s narrowed eyes and slight frown told Thad that the other man was just as worried about the situation as he was. They really didn’t have much of a choice. If they were going to continue looking for another house, they wasted any spare time they had by checking this one out.
Harry shrugged his shoulders when Thad nodded his head toward the porch. Once again, they climbed the steps to the porch but found the back door locked. Nope, this was turning out to be a bad idea. Thad pulled out his knife, opened it, and slid the blade between the door and the outside facing until he felt the latch pop out. Once they’d climbed the last step into the screened porch, he walked up to the door, then moved to the side of it before knocking. Harry had stayed just inside the screen door and to the left of the door. It would be their luck that whomever might be inside would shoot through the door before answering it.
They waited.
And waited.
Thad knocked again, calling out this time. “Anyone home? We don’t mean anyone any harm. We’re just looking for a place to bed down for the night.”