Their Border Lands Refuge [Men of the Border Lands 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

He sat up and pulled her legs over his shoulders before lining his dick up with her dripping slit. Plunging forward, he sank his cock deep inside of her cunt. The quick motion moved her further up the couch. He growled and pulled her back toward him. His face held a hint of desperation as he buried his dick deep inside of her again and again. He stroked over her sensitive sweet spot with almost every thrust.

Sky arched her back as his dick took her closer and closer to her climax. He pounded into her over and over, growling occasionally and sending her arousal through the roof. This was pure fucking, and she needed it desperately. Perhaps they both needed it. Right now, she didn’t care about what it meant, only that it took away some of the sadness and worry that threatened to consume her.

“Fuck! I’m so close. Come for me, baby.” Simon reached between them and rubbed his thumb over her clit before pinching it and sending her flying.

“Yes!” she screamed as the orgasm roared over her, hot and hard.

She felt him stiffen against her then roar out his release, filling her cunt with his cum before collapsing over her. She fought to catch her breath as Simon rested his forehead against hers. Then as if realizing he had her almost folded double, he cursed and backed away from her. She immediately felt the loss of his weight and heat. For a few moments in time she had felt safe and relaxed. With his retreat, the world came crashing back with the knowledge that Owen lay upstairs hanging between life and death. She quickly redressed and without looking at Simon, hurried upstairs to check on him.

Simon watched Sky hurry up the stairs away from him. It stung that she felt guilty being with him while Owen lay in bed unconscious. He knew that was what she was feeling. He’d seen it in her eyes when she’d looked at him before racing away. They’d used each other for sex and nothing more. It didn’t sit well with him.

Before Owen had gotten hurt they had been forging a relationship. Now he worried that it was irrevocably damaged beyond repair. He should have comforted her instead of fucking her. She needed reassurance that everything would be okay, and he’d ruined it. Disgusted with himself, Simon walked back to the kitchen and dragged on his coat before walking out the door. He knew better than to wonder around at night without a gun, but he needed some fresh air.

He leaned against the porch post and stared out into the inky darkness. He needed to be in bed. Mornings came early for him these days with Owen sick, but he couldn’t settle yet. Guilt at how he’d taken Skyler ate at him. She deserved to be treated like a lady and the precious gift that she was. Instead he’d fucked her without even pulling all their clothes off of her. It didn’t sit well with him.

He didn’t know how long he stood out there thinking about everything and nothing, but a sound behind him alerted him that he was no longer alone.

“You should be in bed, Sky. You need your rest.”

“No more than you do. You’re having to do the work of two men.”

“I’m used to it. Was doing it long before you and Owen moved in.”

“I don’t know how you managed it all on your own for so long.”

“You do what you have to do to survive. You know that.” He ran a hand over his face before finally turning toward her.

He could barely make out her features in the darkness. She had pulled on a coat before she’d walked outside to join him. Red-rimmed eyes searched his. What did she hope to see in his?

“Come to bed, Simon. It’s cold out here and you have to be up early in the morning.”

“I’m sorry, Skyler.”

“About what?”

“You don’t deserve to be treated like I did earlier.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. We both needed it. We didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry I ran off. I was a little overwhelmed. I felt guilty for enjoying myself with Owen like he is.”

“You have nothing to feel guilty about, baby.” Simon reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand.

It pleased him when she rubbed her face against him. Maybe he hadn’t screwed up too badly. He took a step toward her and she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He settled his around her shoulders and pulled her against him. Her hair tickled his nose. The scent of something citrusy filled his senses. She always smelled so fucking good to him, even when she was sweaty from working in the garden or canning their food.

He tightened his grip on her then sighed and pulled back. She looked up into his eyes with a question in hers. Without saying anything, he gently turned her around and urged her toward the door. It was too fucking cold outside for her. She would catch pneumonia if she wasn’t careful.

He locked the door behind them and followed her into the den. When she would have gone on upstairs, he stopped her with a hand at her elbow and pulled her over toward the dying fire.

“Let’s warm up before we go to bed.” He grabbed a log and dropped it on the fire, sending sparks flying up the chimney.

She watched him as he fiddled with it before setting the screen back in place. When he opened his arms, she eased into them and stood with her face pressed against his chest as he rocked them back and forth in front of the now-revived flames.

Having her there in his arms felt so good. He envied Owen in that she loved the other man, but she didn’t hate him for it. Perhaps one day she would grow to love him as well. It hadn’t taken him any time to fall for her. He could admit that to himself now. He loved her with a passion that almost frightened him. She completed him. Something about her sweet smiles and heady, independent streak spoke to him.

He closed his eyes as he held her and prayed that Owen would wake up soon. He hated seeing her hurting and sad. He knew that if Owen died, a piece of her would go with him and he would mourn that loss as surely as he mourned his friend’s passing.

With one last squeeze, he released her and turned her toward the stairs. They needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow was another long day, and if the clouds that hid the moon and stars were what he thought they were, there might be snow on the ground in the morning. That would complicate his day to no end.

He watched Skyler remove her clothes and jump into bed, sliding quickly beneath the covers.

“Hurry, Simon. It’s cold in here.” She scooted up against Owen.

He quickly removed his clothes, then doused the light and slipped between the covers to cuddle against her. She hummed her appreciation and wiggled against him. His cock nestled between her buttocks, already aroused and hard. It would be hell to fall asleep like this, but he was right where he wanted to be.

* * * *

Skyler climbed the stairs the next morning after having cleaned up the breakfast dishes and seeing Simon out to work. She wanted to check on Owen. She was so worried. He’d been asleep for too long now. Losing him was killing her a little bit each time she looked at him. She loved him with all her heart. Simon had come to mean a lot to her and maybe she was even a little bit in love with him, but she needed Owen, too. He was her rock.

She wet a cloth and returned to the bed to bathe his face and neck. She kept hoping he would respond to the simple care she gave him. She was careful around the wound that was slowly healing. Still, when he moaned it scared her to death. It was the first sound he’d made since the accident.

“Owen! Can you hear me? Oh, God, Owen. Wake up for me.” She felt tears streaming down her face as she cupped his face in her hands.

His eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t open them. She couldn’t believe that he was finally responding. She quickly lowered the sheets some and bathed his chest and arms. He didn’t respond this time.

After covering him back up, she put away the cloth and sat by the bed again. She pulled his hand from beneath the covers and held it in both of hers, squeezing it occasionally as she talked to him.

“Owen, baby. I love you. Please open your eyes. I miss you so much.”

Nothing.

She laid her head on the bed beside him and closed her eyes. She needed to see about lunch soon. It needed to be something warm for Simon since it had snowed the night before. There were a couple of inches on the ground that he had to deal with. She would fix some soup to go along with the sandwiches he normally ate at lunch.

She stood up and started to pull her hand away from Owen’s when it suddenly closed over hers in a light grip. She jumped.

“Owen?”

His eyes fluttered again. Then he opened and closed his mouth a few times as if trying to talk. She leaned forward and heard him whisper something that she couldn’t make out.

“It’s okay. You’re going to be fine. I’m here with you.”

He slowly relaxed all over again, releasing her hand. She watched for the rise and fall of his chest to reassure her that he was still alive. Finding him still breathing, she closed her eyes in relief and tucked his hand back under the covers before hurrying back downstairs to start the soup. She would check on him again once she had it going.

After putting the soup together on the stove, Skyler quickly cleaned up her mess and hurried back upstairs to check on Owen. He didn’t appear to have moved since she’d left him there nearly an hour before. Once again she sat by the bed and held his hand. She talked to him about what was going on how Simon was tending to everything while he was sick.

“It snowed last night. Not a lot, but a good two inches. I can’t imagine what Simon is going to do when it gets deeper. He’s really going to need your help when that happens, Owen.” She paused and sighed. “I hope you can hear me. I miss you so much.”

The hand in hers jumped then closed into a loose fist before relaxing once again. Tears pricked at her eyes as she hugged his now-lax hand against her breasts. He was in there and slowly waking up. Everything would eventually be okay. She just knew it.

The slamming of a door downstairs had her jerking in the chair. She could feel her heart thumping painfully in her chest before the deep voice of Simon called up the stairs.

“Sky. You up there?”

“Coming!” She kissed Owen’s cheek and after replacing his hand beneath the covers, hurried toward the stairs.

Simon was already halfway up when she reached them. He looked haggard and a bit worried until he saw her. Then his eyes brightened.

“There you are. How is Owen doing?”

“He’s waking up, Simon!” She clasped his hands in hers as he reached the landing.

“How can you tell?”

“He’s squeezed my hand a couple of times when I’ve been talking to him and his eyes have fluttered.”

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “That’s great news, baby.”

They walked back into the bedroom together. Simon bent over the bed as she pulled Owen’s hand back out. She looked up at the other man and smiled.

“Owen, you need to wake your lazy ass up now. I’m tired of doing all the work around here. Besides, Skyler is worried about you. She’s not sleeping well.”

“Look, Simon. See? He’s squeezing my hand.”

She watched Simon’s face as he looked at where Owen was indeed squeezing her hand in a light grip. Then he released it and made a soft moaning sound. She held his hand to her breast as she watched his face. His eyes fluttered open for a few seconds before closing again. They waited for several long seconds, but he didn’t do anything else.

“He’s probably worn out from doing all of that. Let’s let him rest again. I need to get back outside soon anyway.”

“I have soup on the stove and will make you a couple of sandwiches to eat with it.”

Skyler hurried back to the kitchen and poured up a bowl of soup for Simon before making the sandwiches. By the time he had returned to the kitchen after cleaning up, she had lunch on the table waiting on him. He smiled and sat down then frowned and looked up at her.

“Where’s yours? You need to eat, too, Sky.”

“I’m not really hungry right now. I’ll fix something in a little while. Eat up. There’s plenty for seconds.” She started to turn away, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

“Fix a bowl of soup and sit down with me, Skyler. I mean it. I’m not eating ’til you are sitting at this table with me.”

She looked down into his eyes and could see the resolve flashing back at her. With a soft sigh, she nodded. As soon as he had released her arm, Skyler crossed the kitchen and pulled down a bowl from the cabinet. She dipped up a bowl of the beef and vegetable soup before joining Simon at the table. As soon as she sat down, he squeezed her hand and started eating. Still, he didn’t take his eyes off of her until she had started feeding herself from the bowl.

“Sometimes you are so annoying with your demands.”

“Sometimes you are so annoying with your disregard for your health and safety. I’m not going to allow you to starve yourself or do anything that will put you in harm’s way. Owen trusts me to take care of you, and I’m going to do that.” He finished by holding her hand in his.

When he suddenly lifted it to his lips for a soft kiss, Skyler felt her heart slide just a little closer to falling for him. It startled her so that she jerked her hand from his hold but covered it with a wan smile. Hopefully he would accept that and drop the subject. Unfortunately, Simon had no intention of letting her get off that easily.

They finished their meal in silence. She managed to gulp down a little over half of the bowl before laying down her spoon and declaring she was full. Simon nodded and finished the last bite of his sandwich before standing up and gathering the bowls and utensils. She hopped up and tried to take them from him, but he glowered at her. She let him take the stupid dishes to the sink and concentrated on cleaning off the table instead.

“I’ve got to go back out and cut more wood and check on the herd again. We’ll end up with more snow before long. You need to try and get a nap in. You’re worn out, Sky.”

“I’m fine. I need to finish…”

“Stop it. There’s nothing you need to do right now. Take a nap. You’re dead on your feet from taking care of Owen and trying to finish up the canning.” Simon dried off his hands and walked over to where his coat, hat, and gloves where and pulled them on. “I’ll be back in as soon as I can.”