Her Border Lands Wish Read online

  Still, she needed to go slow. They were older than her and more experienced. She couldn’t help but be a little scared of the entire sex thing. She knew on a basic level what happened between a man and a woman from the books she’d read, but she also knew that the books depicted it in a much more positive light than what it might actually be in real life.

  While her sisters seemed to be fine and had only good things to say about their relationships with their men, she hadn’t really talked to them all that much about the physical side of their joinings. Maybe she should have. It just hadn’t seemed all that important at the time. She’d just been happy for them. Glad to see them looking so happy and somehow complete at the same time.

  Now she had her chance. She decided in that instance that she wasn’t going to pass it up. She’d agree to be their woman and see what life had for her. She wanted what her sisters had. She had to trust that her instincts were right and that these two men would treat her well.

  * * * *

  True to their word, Garrett and Jeremy pulled down all the books they’d stored upstairs and stacked them in the back of the den for her to go through. She clapped her hands together to find books by Robin Cook, John Sanford, and James Patterson, as well as a few she’d never heard of. Though there were no romances in the stacks that she could find, she had plenty to keep her occupied through the coming winter months.

  “Thank you so much. This is wonderful. I can’t wait to get started,” she said.

  “Glad there are some you’re interested in,” Garrett said.

  “I’m interested in all of them. There are some of my favorite authors here,” she told them.

  “It’s getting late. We better get something to eat then head to bed,” Jeremy said.

  “I’ll warm up some stew,” Amanda offered.

  “That sounds good,” Garrett said. “Any chance there’s any of that cornbread you made left?”

  “I’ll whip up some more batter and make some. It won’t take long,” she told him.

  “Thanks. It was really good with the stew,” Garrett said.

  Amanda took one last look at the treasure trove of books and smiled as she walked toward the kitchen. While she warmed up the stew and cooked the cornbread, Amanda thought about how the men had made sure to stack the books in short piles so that they wouldn’t topple over and make a mess. They’d been careful of them as well, making sure not to damage the spines as they carried them down the stairs. It had impressed her that they’d cared that she was excited about having them to read.

  If there had been any doubt in her heart that they were good men, it was gone now. She would tell them tonight that she’d made up her mind to be their woman. There was no reason to make them wait any longer.

  A little thrill of anticipation curled in her stomach like a flight of butterflies lifting into the air. Would they want to have sex right away? Was she ready for that? What would it be like? She knew that it would hurt the first time, but how would they work it with two of them? She shivered at the thought of both men having their way with her. Part of her was curious while another part of her was a little afraid of the pain.

  I need to stop it. All I’m doing is working myself up into a state. They won’t hurt me. Yeah, it might hurt a little at first, but that’s to be expected. They’ll be careful of me. I know they will.

  She set the stew then the cornbread on the table and called out to the men to come and get it. It didn’t take long for them to walk into the kitchen and seat themselves at the table. She joined them, and they quickly passed around the food. They talked about the coming winter months and what they normally did during the long cold days and even colder nights.

  By the time they’d finished eating, Amanda knew more about what to expect living with them. They weren’t idle during the winter. They worked to keep the solar panels as free of ice and snow as possible so that they had some electricity in the winter for hot water and lights. They would be tending to the cow and chickens now and keeping a fire going at all times.

  “We didn’t seem to be all that busy during the winter months, but with there being so many of us, I guess there just wasn’t as much work between all of us pitching in. With there only being the two of you all these years, you’ve been busy. Now there are three of us. I can help, too,” she said.

  “No. Your job is to keep food in our stomachs, and that’s all,” Jeremy said.

  “It’s too dangerous for you to be outside in this weather,” Garrett said.

  “It doesn’t seem fair that you guys do all the work,” she argued.

  “We’ve been doing all the work and cooking for years. Now you are taking part of it off us. We appreciate that, Mandy,” Garrett said.

  She smiled, despite feeling a little hurt that they wouldn’t let her help outside. She liked the little nickname they’d begun calling her.

  “I can keep you fed. I can keep the fire going as well,” she added.

  She stood and gathered the dishes. The men helped clear the table. She washed and Jeremy dried with Garrett putting them away. It didn’t take long at all with the assembly line they had going on.

  “Ready for bed, babe?” Jeremy asked.

  “Yes. I’m actually pretty tired,” she said.

  “I’ll check the doors,” Garrett said. “You guys go on up and get ready for bed.”

  Amanda followed Jeremy upstairs. He let her have the bathroom first. She washed up then pulled on the T-shirt she’d found that reached her knees and climbed into bed. She was still a little nervous about sleeping with the men, but since she’d made up her mind to be with them, it seemed a little silly to stress over it.

  By the time Jeremy emerged from the bathroom and was climbing into bed next to her, Garrett walked into the room. He nodded at them and disappeared into the bathroom. Jeremy pulled the covers over him and turned on his side to look at her.

  “It’s pretty darn cold in here,” he said. “Scoot over closer and I’ll keep you warm.”

  Amanda hesitated for an instant then remembered her resolve to tell them that she wanted to be their woman and moved closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in closer, instantly warming her back with his body heat. It felt good.

  Real good.

  “You smell amazing,” he said.

  “I just took a bath,” she said with a laugh.

  “No, this is all you. You smell good.” He buried his nose against her neck and inhaled.

  Amanda found that sexy as hell, but it tickled, and she couldn’t help but squinch up her neck and giggle. He rubbed his nose against her neck then pulled back and fanned her cheek with his breath just before he kissed her there.

  “Relax and get some sleep, Mandy girl,” he said.

  Just as she started to close her eyes, the door to the bathroom opened and Garrett walked out wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He turned off the light and shuffled toward the bed. The mattress dipped, and he slid beneath the covers, scooting over closer to her.

  “You still awake?” he asked.

  “Umhum,” she said.

  “Go on to sleep, precious. It’s late,” he said.

  “Wanted to tell you guys something first. Trying to stay awake until you got to bed,” she said then yawned.

  “What did you want to tell us?” Garrett asked, turning to face her.

  “I’ve decided that I want to be your woman. If you still want me, that is,” she said.

  Amanda couldn’t see Garrett’s face in the dark despite the moonlight filtering through the curtains. She had no idea what he was thinking, and Jeremy was behind her, so she sure didn’t know how he felt. His arm had tightened around her waist for a brief moment, but it had loosened again now. Had she been too late in making up her mind? Had they changed theirs?

  Garrett leaned in toward her and kissed her forehead. She felt his hand caress her cheek. She relaxed into it. Maybe everything was fine.

  “Mandy, that is the best news I’ve heard in a very long ti
me. I promise we’ll do everything we can to make you the happiest woman in the world. Isn’t that right, Jeremy?” he said.

  “Sure is. We’ll protect you and cherish you and give you everything within our power to make you happy,” Jeremy added. “You won’t regret this for one second.”

  “I still want to see my sisters and let the Johnsons know that I’m okay and what happened to me,” she said.

  “Of course. We’ll go see them right before planting season. We can handle a week away. We’ll take the cow and chickens back for the week and pick them up on the way back home,” Garrett said.

  “Oh, I forgot about them. I’m sorry. They have to be taken care of,” she said.

  “We’ve got it covered. You let us take care of those kinds of things,” Garrett said. “All you have to think about is the house and us.”

  “Speaking of us,” Jeremy said. “I think we deserve a kiss to seal the deal.”

  “I agree,” Garrett said.

  Before she could agree, Garrett’s mouth was on hers. His lips whispered over hers then settled firmly against her as he licked along the seam asking for entrance. She opened to him without thinking and instantly felt the heat of the kiss explode as he ran his tongue all along hers before exploring every inch of her mouth. Fire burned throughout her body, threatening to burn her alive, before he finally pulled back. Amanda opened her eyes and realized she was breathing heavy. He’d turned her on and taken her breath away.

  “My turn, precious,” Jeremy said.

  He turned her around to face him. She could only roll over with his help. Her body didn’t follow her commands anymore. It seemed to only obey the men. It had to be their commanding presence or maybe their sexy attitude. All she knew was that it no longer was her own. Jeremy cupped her cheek with his hand and guided her to his lips. Warmth spread from her mouth to her face and down her neck as he slowly kissed her. He wasn’t as demanding as Garret had been. He coxed her to open to him then slowly slid his tongue inside to tease hers until she was sliding her tongue alongside his as he thrust in and out of her mouth.

  Amanda found herself following his every move so that she was kissing him back, which she hadn’t done with Garrett. With him, she’d only lay there while he’d controlled the kiss. With Jeremy, she participated and enjoyed doing it. When he pulled back, she chased his mouth for a second. He chuckled.

  “Turn over, Mandy. You need to go to sleep now. We’ve got a long day ahead of us. With the snow on the ground, we’re going to have to shovel a path to the barn and to the chicken coop so we can get to them easier,” Jeremy said.

  “Can I help?” she asked.

  “No,” Garrett said from behind her. “Absolutely not. You’re staying inside where you’ll be warm.”

  “I want to help,” she said.

  “You can help by keeping coffee warm and meals ready,” Garrett said.

  She pouted, but then they couldn’t see her, so she sighed and turned over. Immediately, Jeremy spooned her, wrapping one arm around her waist just below her breasts. Garrett scooted closer to her and grabbed one of her arms to pull her over closer to him and wrapped it over his chest.

  “Sleep, babe. We’ll talk more about it in the morning,” Garrett said.

  Amanda sighed and put it out of her mind. It didn’t take long for her to slip into sleep between them.

  Chapter Five

  With nothing to do, while the men were outside working, Amanda chose a book from the stacks in the back of the den, curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace, and read for a couple of hours. When she looked up, the sun had moved over from one set of windows to another set. She knew it was close to lunchtime, so she set aside the book and hurried into the kitchen to fix the meat pies she’d set up for the men.

  Just as she’d taken them out of the oven, she could hear them stomping their feet out on the back porch to dislodge the snow. When they walked inside, they inhaled and groaned.

  “Something smells good,” Jeremy said.

  “Fuck that. Something smells damn good,” Garret said.

  They stepped out of their boots and hung up their coats, scarves, and hats before walking over to the table.

  “Have you finished outside for the day?” Amanda asked.

  “Not quite. Still need to feed the cow and clean out her stall. Then we’ll be finished for the day,” Garrett said.

  “You guys must be exhausted already,” Amanda said.

  “Not going to lie,” Jeremy said. “I’m bushed, but I’ll be fine.

  She set the meat pies on the table as they finished washing up and sat down. They bit into the pies and moaned in pleasure.

  “These are delicious,” Garrett said. “Never had one before.”

  “Glad you like them. We fixed them for the guys at home to take out with them when they were going to be out working the field all day,” she said.

  “I’m surprised with no one watching you ladies all that time that you never had trouble with men before you were taken,” Jeremy said.

  “We were sort of off the beaten path,” Amanda said. “Our place wasn’t on any road. The long drive that led up to their place had overgrown years ago, and they didn’t try to keep it cut back.”

  “I hate that you had to go through that, but it brought you to us. I have to be happy to some extent,” Jeremy said, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

  “Me, too,” she said in a near whisper. “But I don’t want to go through it again.”

  “Not going to happen if we have anything to say about it,” Jeremy said.

  “One of us will stay near you at all times,” Garrett said. “That’s why there are two of us. One to keep you safe and one to work the land.”

  “Let’s change the subject. I don’t want to think about that,” she said.

  “We’ve figured out the perfect place for your little garden,” Jeremy said.

  “Really?” she asked with a broad smile.

  “It’s just off the back porch to the left. It’s between the chicken coop and the house. You’ll have to have a small fence around it to keep the chickens out, but we can put that up pretty easily. It will get just enough sun but not get too much so that it burns the plants,” Jeremy said.

  “Oh, boy,” Amanda said, clapping her hands together. “I can’t wait for spring. I’ll have to get seeds from home though. I doubt you’ll have what I need.”

  “No, all we have are what we plant every year for the garden,” Garrett said.

  “I saved the seeds every year so I’d have them to plant the next year. I’ll have them at home and can get them when we go there next spring,” she said.

  “Best get back to work,” Garrett said. He stood. “Food was great, Mandy.”

  “Delicious,” Jeremy said.

  “Glad you enjoyed it. Hurry back inside, you two,” she said.

  Once they were gone again, Amanda cleaned up the lunch dishes and set about getting dinner started before returning to her book. She was getting to the good part and had to make herself put it down when she heard the men come in an hour later.

  “What are you doing, Mandy girl?” Jeremy asked.

  “Reading. You in for the day?” she asked.

  “Yep. Going up to clean up. Garrett will be in soon.”

  “Okay.”

  She watched Jeremy walk around to the stairs then disappear. He looked amazing in just jeans and the long-sleeved flannel shirt. The jeans hugged his firm ass and legs. She could only imagine what he looked like out of them since it was always dark when he came to bed. She hadn’t really felt his body other than when he wrapped his arm around her waist. It felt strong and muscular, and his front to her back felt hard and muscular as well.

  She had to say the same about Garrett. While she hadn’t really seen him in the light of day, she’d felt the hard planes of his chest when he’d pulled her arm over him. He held it there with his muscular arm. When she woke each morning, she’d been plastered to his back with his broad shoulders warm agai
nst her cheek. Just the idea of seeing them both nude had her pussy wet with wanting. She was a woman and curious about them. Curious about sex.

  Yeah, she was a little scared about it as well, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it was going to be like and if it would eventually be something that felt as good as it sounded in the books she’d read with her sisters when they’d been together.

  “What are you thinking about, Mandy?” Garrett asked as he walked into the room.

  “Hmm? Oh, nothing, why?” she asked.

  “’Cause your face is as pink as a ripe watermelon. Must be something pretty naughty,” he said.

  “No, I’m just a little hot sitting in front of the fireplace. I need to get up and check on dinner. I’ve got it cooking in the oven.” She stood and started toward the kitchen, but Garrett stopped her, pulling her into his arms.

  “Don’t lie to me, precious. You were thinking of something dirty with the way your face was burning from the inside like that. What were you thinking about?” he asked, holding her against his body.

  She could feel his hard body pressed tightly to his, and the fact that he was aroused wasn’t lost on her. She quickly thought about what the lesser of the two evils was to admit to him. The fact that she’d been thinking about sex or about their bodies. She went with their bodies.

  “I was, um, thinking about how muscular your bodies were and what you’d look like without your clothes on,” she finally admitted, looking everywhere but at his face.

  He chuckled. “Curious little kitten. All you have to do is ask if you want to see us, babe. We’ll happily show you what we look like. We want to see what you look like, too. How about a little game of show and tell tonight?”

  Amanda shivered at the idea. Show and tell? Really? Could she let them see her nude?

  “There goes that blush again. Love it on you, Mandy,” Garrett said.

  “I’m not so sure I can do that,” she admitted.