Their Border Lands Refuge [Men of the Border Lands 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (7 page)

Owen lay on his side facing away from him. He couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not as he knelt next to him. He reached out to check for a pulse. The soft flutter beneath his fingers reassured him that Owen was alive. He carefully rolled him over on his back and cursed. Blood covered his face and the front of his shirt. He had a rather large cut across his forehead. How had it happened?

Simon pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around the other man’s head using the sleeves to tie it in place. Then he picked him up and put him over his shoulder to carry him home. It didn’t matter now how it had happened. What mattered was getting him warm and that cut sewn up and the bleeding stopped. They would find out later what happened.

The wind sent chills along his body as he hurried toward the house. By the time he had made it to the garden, Skyler had thrown open the door and come running out.

“What happened? Is he okay?” She hovered next to them, wringing her hands.

“Go get the first aid kit and carry it upstairs to the bedroom. Light a lantern by the bed so we can see and run some water in the sink so we can clean him up.” He bit out the orders, knowing she needed something to do to keep from breaking down.

By the time he had made it in the house and up the stairs to the bedroom, she had everything set up. He gently laid him on the bed then stepped aside as Skyler began stripping him of his clothes. She removed the makeshift bandage around his head and moaned at the sight of the gaping wound.

“What could have done this?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s get it cleaned up and sewn together.” He helped her clean Owen’s face and neck then stepped aside so she could sew the wound closed.

It was good that he wasn’t conscious for that part, but the longer he remained unconscious the greater the injury could be to his brain. He didn’t like it. There was no doubt that he had a concussion. How serious it was remained to be seen.

It took Skyler a good thirty minutes to sew the wound closed. Once she was through, he had a good idea what had happened. One of the cows must have kicked him. The wound looked like a hoof. He had crawled over to the trees for some reason. There was no telling how badly he was hurt. A cow could break a man’s neck with a good kick. It was a good chance that he had a cracked skull.

“It looks like a cow kicked him, Skyler. He’s bound to have a concussion.” He didn’t want to paint a dismal picture for her, but she needed to know that it was serious.

“What can I do for him? He didn’t even budge while I sewed him up.” He could see the tears shining in her eyes.

“All we can do is keep him warm and wait for him to wake up. I wish there was something else, but that’s really all we can do.”

Skyler buried her face against his bare chest and hugged him tight. He could tell by the soft shudder of her shoulders that she was crying. He wrapped his arms around her and held her there until she finally pushed away and wiped her eyes without looking at him.

“I’m sorry. I got you all wet. You need to get something warm on. It’s getting a little cool in the house.” She turned back to the bed and laid her hand against Owen’s cheek.

He pulled out another shirt from the closet and shrugged into it. Then he stood behind her and watched her stroke Owen’s hair.

“Go eat, Simon. You’re going to need to keep your strength up. Owen won’t be able to help for a while.”

He winced. She was trying to be brave, but he could tell she was scared and hurting inside. He wanted to comfort her, but knew she needed some time alone with Owen. He didn’t answer, just walked out of the room and walked downstairs. She was right. It was getting cooler in the house. He stared at the plate of sandwiches and sighed. Even though he wasn’t hungry, he knew he needed to eat. She needed to eat as well. He wouldn’t be able to make her eat if he didn’t.

Sitting down, he grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. Worry for Owen crowded his mind. He had to recover. Not only because he had grown to love the man like a brother, but for Skyler’s sake. She wouldn’t be the same woman without Owen. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to put the light in her eyes that Owen did. Simon couldn’t stand the idea of her being sad and depressed. The other man had to get well.

He finished eating and fixed a plate for her. After pouring a glass of tea, he carried everything upstairs. Pausing in the doorway, he closed his eyes and sighed. She had climbed in bed next to Owen and was curled up around him, his hand clasped in hers. He hated to intrude, but she needed to eat.

“Skyler. I brought you something to eat.” He walked over to the other side of the bed and sat on the edge holding the plate and glass in his hands.

“I’m not hungry right now, Simon. I’ll eat later.” She never opened her eyes.

“No, Skyler. You’ll eat now. I won’t have you making yourself sick. He’s going to need a lot of care, and you can’t give it to him if you’re weak and worn out. Sit up and eat.”

She opened her eyes and scowled at him, but she sat up, reaching for the plate. He handed it to her and placed the glass on the bedside table. He continued to watch her as she took a tiny bite from the sandwich. Already her eyes were growing dull and her face pale. He could see it in her eyes. She didn’t believe that Owen would make it. He had to admit that the longer he remained unconscious the worse his chances. Still, she needed to keep her hopes up and convey that to the unconscious man.

“Skyler, you’ve got to trust that he’ll be okay and tell him that over and over. He’s going to pick up on your feelings.”

She grimaced but nodded. When she had finished eating, she drank the tea then handed it all back to him. He watched her lay back down next to Owen but this time she whispered in his ear how much she loved him and that he had to get well to take care of her.

“You promised you would always take care of me, Owen. I’m holding you to that promise.”

Simon listened to her for several minutes before standing up to head back outside to tend to the chores.

“Simon.” Skyler smiled a tremulous smile and held out her hand to him.

He took her hand and squeezed it. Then he turned and carried the dishes downstairs with him. There was a lot to do with only him again. He needed to get started before he ran out of light.

* * * *

Skyler stretched as she stood up from her vigil at Owen’s bedside. It had been over forty-eight hours now, and he hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. He didn’t respond to her voice or to being pinched. Fear of losing him held her tightly in its grip. She talked to him until her voice grew hoarse in hopes it would stimulate him. Smoothing back the covers with shaking hands, she prayed that he would hear her and wake up soon. The longer he was unconscious the worse his chances were of surviving. Her throat clogged with tears once again.

She checked the time and knew she needed to get something for dinner for Simon. He was handling everything by himself once again.

She leaned over and kissed Owen. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, honey. I’m going to fix dinner for Simon. I miss you so much.” She blinked back the tears and headed out the door.

Downstairs, she got busy trying to keep morbid thoughts from circling in her head as she cooked dinner. She could hear the wind blowing outside. Simon had told her at lunch that there was a good possibility that they would get some snow in the next day or two. She knew that would make it even harder for him to work.

By the time she had dinner ready, Simon had returned to the house. He quickly washed up then took his place at the table. Skyler did the same. At first they didn’t say anything as they served themselves and started to eat.

“Does it still look like snow?”

Simon nodded. “Yeah. It’s getting colder out there, too. I’m going to bring in some firewood and start a fire. We’ll need to keep it going to keep the heat in the house.”

She would add another blanket to the bed for the night as well. She hadn’t felt too cold the night before, but that could change quickly. It was better to be prepared than have to get up in the cold to get one.

“How’s he doing?”

“There isn’t any change. Simon, I’m scared he’s not going to wake up.”

“He’ll wake up, Skyler. He’s tough.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it.

She swallowed hard around the knot in her throat, but couldn’t get rid of it. She knew she was on the verge of crying again and hated it. She didn’t like showing so much weakness. When she looked up at Simon, he shook his head and scooted his chair back.

“Come here, baby.” She crawled into his lap and let him rock her as she wept.

It hurt so much to think that she might lose Owen. They’d been together for ten years. They knew things about each other that you only learned by living with someone a long time. Would she ever feel the same way about Simon that she felt about Owen? She knew she cared a great deal for him and worried about him, but was that the same as the love she felt for Owen?

Was it possible to love two men equally or was the love different for each of them? She wished she had someone to talk to about how she felt. Sometimes she missed being near other women. She hadn’t been able to spend much time with them, but just knowing they were there had given her a sense of not being alone. Simon had said there were other families living around them. Maybe she could meet some of the other women later when Owen was better.

Simon stood up with her still in his arms and carried her to the living room where he deposited her on the couch in front of the empty fireplace. He walked over to the front door and started to open it.

“What are you doing?” For some reason she was scared he was leaving her.

“Going to get firewood to start that fire I was talking about earlier.” He gave her a lopsided grin then closed the door behind him.

She stared absently at the smoke-darkened bricks until Simon returned with several logs. He made two more trips bringing in wood and kindling before he started the fire. She had to admit that it warmed the room up, and the soft scent of smoke was reassuring.

Once he had the fire going he picked her up and settled her in his lap when he sat down. She snuggled against him, thankful that he was so warm. Snuggling against Owen wasn’t as satisfying as when he was okay. There was a slight coldness to him, and he didn’t wrap his arms around her like Simon was doing. She needed this. She wanted to feel cared for and safe again. Ever since he had gotten hurt, she’d had an empty feeling inside of her. It had grown each hour of the day until she thought she would be consumed by it.

Now, with Simon holding her, the emptiness was receding. She could go back to him and care for him with hope in her heart once again. Before she’d almost stopped talking to him and touching him. She didn’t need to get in that place again. She needed to be strong for him. He would want her to be strong.

After what must have been an hour, Simon hugged her tight before placing her on the couch next to him and standing up.

“You need to go get ready for bed, Skyler. I’ll tend to the kitchen tonight.”

She yawned and stood up by the couch to stretch. She really needed to check on Owen. It had been several hours since she had last been up there. Instead of heading for the stairs, though, she followed Simon into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

He patted her hand. “What is it, Sky?”

“Nothing. I don’t know.” She let go of him and walked over to the window.

It was too dark outside with the clouds that had drifted in to see anything. When she placed her hand against the glass, a chill flowed through her body. Simon pulled her into his arms. She looked up, and he must have seen something on her face because he growled and lowered his head to kiss her.

He brushed lightly against her before deepening the kiss. When she opened her mouth to him, he swept in with his tongue and devoured her as if he hadn’t eaten in days. She whimpered when he moved as if to pull away, tangling her hands in his hair. His mouth ate at hers, their tongues sliding against each other and exploring every crevice for some hidden treasure.

They broke apart with the need to breathe. He didn’t release his hold of her head. Instead, he laid kisses all over her face before picking her up and carrying her to the couch once again. This time he set her down and began removing her clothes. She tried to tackle his at the same time. Finally they managed to get his jeans down and hers off of one leg. Then they were all over each other once again.

Simon buried his face in the curve of her neck then kissed his way down her chest to her breasts. His tongue circled her nipple before closing around it and drawing on it. His cheeks hollowed with the effort. Then he moved to the other one and treated it to the same attention. It felt so good.

Then he was moving down her body until his mouth rested just above her mons. Callused fingers separated her pussy lips as he stared down at her. Sky didn’t think she could stand much more teasing. She was burning up with desire. All the worry and fear over Owen not waking up slowly receded to the back of her mind as Simon’s tongue licked her wet slit.

“Please, Simon.”

“What, baby? What do you need?”

“I need you inside of me.”

He lapped at her pussy, sending shards of heat deep inside of her. She grabbed his head and dug her fingers into his scalp as he teased her clit. He was killing her when all she wanted was for him to pound his cock deep into her cunt.

“Soon, Skyler. Let me play. I love the smell of your sweet pussy.” He spread her legs farther apart and buried his face there.

She grabbed the edges of the cushion on the couch and tried to hold on as he teased her pussy into a frenzy. When he dipped a finger into her cunt and fucked her with it, all she could think was that it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. Even when he added a second finger, it still wasn’t what she needed. A soft whimper escaped her lips before she could stop it. Simon looked up, his face wet with her juices.

“Poor baby. You need my cock in your juicy cunt, don’t you?”

“Please, Simon. I’m going to go crazy like this.”

I’ll take care of you, baby. I’ll always take care of you.”