Denys, Jennifer - Wife for Three [Duoterra] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

“You have a very poor viewpoint of our planet, big bro.”

“Yeah, well. Our grandparents would be very unhappy with the way the colony is going. Anyhow, to finish my counter-argument,” he stated, holding a hand up as Curt went to respond. “If someone did answer your advert—and I will eat my hat if anyone does—she isn’t going to want to be so far from the nearest civilization. Or have you ignored that little fact in your message?” Clearly thinking he had completed their heated discussion and that he had won his arguments, Adam turned to leave.

“There’s a fifth reason.”

Turning his head as he held the door open, Adam simply raised an eyebrow at his little brother, who was not going to let this one go.

Besides which, he had already posted the advert, so it was too late anyway.

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Jennifer Denys

“If we don’t get us a wife, then we won’t have any family to pass the farm on to, and all this hard work will go for nothing.” His lips narrowing in annoyance, the elder brother stormed out, but Curt knew he was right. He had to do something. Adam wasn’t going to despite being the eldest, and therefore, the one who made most decisions, but at heart, Adam was shy around other people. Curt knew his brother was happy to go through life as it was at this very minute, cooking, herding, seeing to the horses, and sporadic trips hunting. At least Eric and Curt ventured into town whenever they had an opportunity. Admittedly the distance meant that was rare, but they did at least interact with other people. Adam, on the other hand, kept to himself. On the intermittent occasion he had gone anywhere, it was usually on business for the farm and not for social purposes like Curt.

He shook his head remembering the last time the two of them had gone to town together. Adam’s brusque manner had gotten the backs of half the town up. True, it was because the trader who was new to the area had tried to shortchange him, but instead of dealing with it quietly, maybe bringing in the law enforcer, Adam had grabbed hold of the man and flung him across the room.

“Christ, Adam. What the hell are you doing?” Curt had cried, stunned by his brother’s actions.

This had led to a chain of events as the flying man had fallen into a group of people, including the mayor’s wife who had hurt her ankle as the man landed on her. The woman’s amazingly piercing screech had then startled a passing horse and cart and the horse had stampeded. A few yards further on, the cart had turned over and the goods the man was carrying went flying everywhere, the local kids taking advantage of the unexpected bounty to steal some of the man’s produce.

Yup, that had been a really
good
visit. At least Adam knew to stay away from town for some months afterward.

The problem with the planet was that there were too few people.

At least when the colony had been planned it was with a viable
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21

number of people to avoid inbreeding. What they hadn’t reckoned on was that the lack of facilities meant many people, particularly women, had died young, including his mother.

That winter was one he remembered well. Curt stood to look out of the window at the trees showing the mid bluey-green color of summer that was typical of trees on Duoterra. He rested his head on the glass. He had been nineteen, and it had been the worst winter in the colony’s history. His mother had gotten a chill from tending a horse in the barn. Curt had been the one to find her collapsed and wheezing. He had picked her up and carried her into the house.

Clenching his hands, he remembered how difficult it had been for him with his slight frame to carry her through the snow into the house, desperately calling as he did.

“Dad
, Dad!
Mom’s sick. I found her in the barn.” His father had blanched, and after they got her settled in bed, Adam had raced off to town to get some medicine—any medicine.

But it hadn’t worked, and they had learned afterward that she had developed pneumonia.

At least they had the drone ships that brought supplies from Earth once every five years or so, and that included some medicines, but those original colonists who had medical or scientific skills had died or were now very old. There were less people who had studied those skills. Instead many people were going back to basics—farming, fishing, trading, rural crafts, and industries like blacksmithing, cloth-making, and so on.

Curt scowled and tightened his grip on the window frame. Many of the supplies from the drone ships ended up on the black market. It was amazing how quickly a community could lapse into criminal tendencies, he noted angrily. But if you wanted some items, particularly that far away from the main town, it was the only way you ever got any.

Licking his lips, he closed his eyes appreciatively and relaxed his tense shoulders. Chocolate—now that was one item they hadn’t been
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Jennifer Denys

able to find an alternative to on the planet, and he couldn’t remember the last time they had gotten their hands on that bit of luxury.

Suddenly feeling hungry, he moved into the kitchen and pulled open a cupboard looking for something to eat. Seeing a plate of cold meat, he grabbed a leg to chew on.

Closing the door, he looked around the room. It was cluttered with pans and other kitchen paraphernalia. It was clean, but not homely.

He remembered back to his childhood and frowned. He was sure his mother had had some yellow curtains at the window, but he couldn’t remember why they had been removed.

It would be lovely to have someone who could cook and clean and make a home for them.

Okay, he admitted to himself, it would also be nice to have someone to share a bed with. It was more than a need to relieve some sexual itches. He would love to just have someone to cuddle, someone to enjoy some intimate moments with like the ones his dad used to give his mother, the swat on the butt, the brush of his hand over her back, holding her tightly in his arms from behind.

He frowned as the vision of cuddling a wife changed into the three of them fighting over this imaginary wife. And what would happen if the woman preferred one of them over another? This was perfectly likely to happen. But there was nothing else for it. There was no way each of them could find a wife, so this was the only recourse.

Hell!
All this ruminating was making him horny and he shifted uneasily, wincing as he reached down to ease his trousers away from his hard cock. He hoped someone would answer the advert soon, because Eric wasn’t the only one who needed to go to the barn.

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23

“Hey, aren’t you a pretty little one,” said the man leering at her.

His eyes seemed stuck on her chest, which, unfortunately, was heaving in fear.

Brianna cursed her curves, which were making themselves a point of attraction.

“Ron, come and look at this one.” The ogling man gestured another person over.

She stepped back and came up against the wall. She had only approached this man to ask a question, and instead she had gotten unwanted attention. Raising her hands, she instinctively closed her jacket.

Reaching out to prize her hand off her clothes, the man pulled her toward him. Brianna squealed. She didn’t dare scream and raise the notice of the town’s law enforcer as he might discover she had run away and send her back home. She had skipped out of home four days ago, camping in the woods to avoid anyone turning her in to the authorities. It was a good thing it was summertime.

That was one thing about the planet she had understood from school lessons, the temperatures and seasons were pretty much the same as on Earth, just slightly longer. They had fourteen months instead of twelve, so that meant a longer winter and a longer summer.

It had all come to a head when Uncle Marcus had told her she had to take a marriage contract out with Quinn on Saturday. Her protests were ignored—as usual. This had focused her fears, and she knew there was no way she could marry the man so had looked again at that advert. Even if the position of wife had been taken, she had to get out
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Jennifer Denys

of there and maybe find someone else. The problem was, by herself like this she was practically fair game, as most women usually went out with only their parents or husbands these days.

The man called Ron joined the one holding her that he called Bert, crowding her into the wall, which she noted with horror was mostly hidden from view of those on the main street.

She struggled in earnest now, getting very frightened, but they just held her tighter. Then Bert grabbed her head and forced his lips on hers. He tasted vile—of stale food.

“I think the lady isn’t interested.”

A voice came from behind the men. It was the deepest voice she had ever heard. A shimmer of hope went through her.

Ron turned his head to speak to the man. “Fuck off, mister.” Brianna managed to wrench her head away from the first man, fearful that the rescuer would leave. “No, please. Help me.” Suddenly, her captor was pulled forcibly off her. She staggered against the wall as Bert turned to the man who had interrupted them.

Finally getting a chance to look at him, Brianna’s immediate impression was that he was incredibly tall and very fair-haired. And not prepared to back off against two men who appeared bulkier than even him. A gasp left her as Ron swung an arm at her rescuer, who niftily stepped back on one foot, and he stumbled as the impetus of his swing forced him past. Unfortunately, that gave Bert the opportunity to lash out, and Brianna winced as her rescuer was hit in the face. Amazingly, other than his face jerking around, he didn’t shift an inch.

Ron was the first to back down, and she saw him lurch to his feet and move off around the corner. The tall man sneered after him and then glared back at Bert enticing him to hit him again, but without Ron to cover him, the man decided not to pursue it.

As her attackers departed, Brianna closed her eyes and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Are you all right, lady?”

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25

She looked up into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.

The man was in his thirties, she guessed, and had the tanned, hard look of someone who worked outdoors.

“Yes. Yes, thank you so much.” She was so grateful to him and felt her heart lurching as she gazed at this gorgeous man.

Her rescuer rubbed his jaw where he had received Bert’s punch.

“You’re a stupid girl being in a town like this by yourself. You nearly got what you deserved.”

With that spectacular put-down, he walked away.

Brianna stood there momentarily taken aback. Well, he had gone from being a very handsome man to whom she was quite attracted to one she really disliked in an instant. Unfortunately, he was the only person she trusted, so she ran after him.

“Hey, mister. Can you help me?”

Turning back to glance at her, he gave her a look of “Why the hell should I?”

“That’s what I just did, lady. You got any more problems, then take care of them yourself.”

“I just wanted directions!”

Standing with his hands on his hips, he stared at her, not saying anything. At least he hadn’t left her by herself. She could see her two attackers down the street watching them. She decided to get it over with. “Well, I need to know where the general store is. That is what I was about to ask those men.”

He turned and pointed to a shop down the end of the street, thankfully the opposite end to where the assailants were. “That’s the one you want.”

Before he could turn away, she decided to try her luck with one more question. “Do you happen to know if it is run by Curt Hollis?” Brianna wasn’t prepared for his sudden jerk forward, his whole body tensing as he moved. She stepped back a pace in anxiety.

“What do you want with him?” His hard voice bore into her.

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Jennifer Denys

Oh, God.
Does that mean Curt is like those men she’d just
escaped from?
“I–er–I. There was an advert he put in the paper. It said to contact him there.” She got it out in a rush.

“Ker-rist! You’re a woman.”

She nearly laughed hysterically.
Yeah, I’m certainly that.
Surely he wasn’t so blind that he hadn’t noticed already. “I’m sorry. I don’t see the relevance.”

The man didn’t answer her but stood there gaping at her, his eyes running over her body, not dissimilar to the other men. She shifted her feet awkwardly, unsure what to do.

“Look. Sorry I asked. I’ll get out of your way.” She only got a couple of steps before her arm was held tightly by the man.
Hell
. It was happening all over again but with a stronger man now. Well, at least they were out in the main street this time, and she had a better chance of calling for help, forgetting her earlier need not to bring attention to herself. She opened her mouth but didn’t get a chance to say anything.

“I’m
Adam
Hollis.”

Adam Hollis. Does that mean he’s related to Curt? Oh, God.
She swallowed nervously as she became aware of the implications. He was probably one of the brothers that this Curt had mentioned in the advertisement. She stared up at him intently and guessed he would be the elder one.

“I know about my brother’s advert. I was in town getting some supplies. Curt usually comes but is tied up.”

“Oh, then, can you take me to him?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to go anywhere with this stern and unapproachable man even if she had originally thought he was rather good looking, but she had to see Curt. She desperately hoped he would be more amenable than this one. She was ignoring the clamoring at the back of her brain which was yelling at her that the advert had called for a wife for
three,
which included this one.

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27

“Yes, but he is back at our farm, which is a day’s hard travel from here. I was about to leave. None of us will be coming back into Frontier for several months.
Hell.
” He let go of her and ran a nervous hand through his hair, and she could see he was struggling to say something.