Authors: Marla Monroe
“What if it’s not from the creatures at all? What if it’s in the food we’re eating? I mean, we grow our own food and eat it. All the fresh vegetables were grown here.” Keeton kept his eyes on the cows as they talked.
“Well, for that matter, we’re eating the beef that is eating the grass on this planet. Who’s to say we all aren’t affected?” Andrew added.
“I guess that is a possibility,” Danny agreed. “Maybe we should bring all this up to the doc. I’ll tell him when I go tomorrow.”
“You might mention to him that the women have noticed that our gardens are growing at a fast pace and the food is larger than usual,” Keeton added.
“Yeah, Rachel mentioned that the tomatoes are bigger than they were last year. I just figured it was good soil and her taking such good care of them.” Danny stopped his horse and turned in the direction of a calf wandering away from the herd.
He took off after it, and the rest of the men broke up to attend to their appointed duties. Keeton had fence duty. He rode along the fence line making sure nothing was broken or down. It gave him plenty of time to think, probably too much time to think.
There was nothing he could do to change the way things had turned out, but he could take some of the pressure off of Ashley by maybe doing some of the gardening. He could get up a little early and go out before breakfast. He’d have to find out what she did, though. He didn’t have a clue what it involved outside of tilling up the earth and planting the seeds. He was sure there was much more to it. He could probably borrow one of her books and read up on it.
Keeton stood up in the saddle to look ahead of him. Something was caught in the fence. He pulled out his gun and rode toward it. There, in the barbed wire, was the ugliest-looking creature he had ever seen. It looked as if it had tried to climb through it but got caught and then fought it. It was bleeding a yellowish goo from a hundred different cuts. He didn’t know what to do until the thing began thrashing again and opened its mouth to revel a set of razor-sharp teeth and swung lethal-looking claws in his direction. He knew what to do then. He shot the thing in the head twice.
It wasn’t long before the others came riding up at a full gallop. They’d heard the gunshot and come to see if Keeton needed any help. He was glad he didn’t, but he didn’t know what they were going to do about the creature in the fence.
* * * *
“Why can’t I see it?” Ashley whined.
“Because I don’t want you anywhere near that thing. It’s bleeding that yellow shit all over the place.” Keeton stood outside the house talking to her.
He had forbidden her to come outside while they were cleaning up using the outside hose. They’d decided the creature needed to go to the city for them to study it. They needed to know how dangerous it was. It was the same one that had attacked both Danny and Rachel, or at least one like it. They really had no idea how many of them were out there. Ashley shivered.
“How soon before you will be home?” she asked.
“Should be home in a couple of hours. Danny is taking it into the city. We’re just going to help him load it. We wrapped it up earlier. Now all we have to do is load it when they get the transport out there.”
“You be careful and don’t let any of that stuff get on you.”
“I don’t plan on it, baby. We’ll both be careful. Now go back in the house and we’ll be back as soon as we can.” Keeton waved her inside.
Ashley closed the door behind her then looked out the window as the transport pulled up and both Boyd and Keeton climbed in. She hated for them to go, but knew it was necessary.
Once the transport was out of sight, she went back to fixing dinner. Maybe if they looked at it in the city, they would figure out what was in her and Rachel’s blood. She hadn’t said anything to the men, but she was scared of what it would do to her baby. If it was in her blood, it would be in her baby’s blood, too.
Ashley had been reading up on babies and what they looked like at different stages of pregnancy. The more she read, the more she worried. She didn’t let on to the men. She didn’t want them any more worried than they already were. Keeton especially seemed bothered by it all.
She wished for the thousandth time that they had phones or at least a radio. She wanted to talk to Rachel and see what she thought about it all. She was going to ask the men to get a radio if there was any possible way. She knew they carried hand radios with them when they were out on the range, but she didn’t have one she could use to call them if there was a problem. With her being pregnant, she needed one in case something happened.
She finally finished preparations for dinner and decided to relax on the couch while she waited on the men. Keeton said a couple of hours, and it had been close to that now. She picked up one of the baby books to keep from falling asleep, she hoped. No sooner had she started reading when Keeton stuck his head in the kitchen door.
“We’re back. We’re going to strip off out here and clean up to be safe. Is there anything in the washing machine?”
“No, it’s empty.” Ashley put down her book and walked into the kitchen. When she drew close to the door, Keeton warned her back.
“I don’t want you anywhere around this stuff, baby. We’ll be inside as soon as we can.” He closed the door but not before she heard Boyd cursing.
She hurried to the window and watched the men strip out of their clothes and rinse off with the hose she used to water the garden. Ashley grinned at the fact that they were naked in the backyard. If they’d had neighbors, they would have gotten quite a show.
The men balled their clothes up and walked around the side of the house to where the washroom door was. She heard them come in and dump their clothes in the washer. She winced when she heard Boyd ask how much soap to put in.
“Hey, you guys. Just close the lid and I’ll add the soap and bleach to it. You’ll mess it up,” she called to them.
“Don’t open the lid at all. Since you have the dispenser on the outside, I’ll let you add everything. Make it strong and wash them a couple of times.” Keeton emerged from the washroom nude with Boyd right behind him. “Don’t touch us. Wait until we’ve had a chance to shower off.”
“I’ve already got whatever it is swimming around in my bloodstream, so I don’t think you have to be this careful,” she complained.
“We’re not taking a chance, baby.” Boyd blew her a kiss and hurried upstairs to shower.
Keeton followed behind him after leveling a stare at her and reminding her not to open the lid of the washing machine.
Ashley shook her head and walked into the washroom to start the washing machine. She added the necessary soap and bleach then set it to heavy duty and left it alone. The room smelled of sweat and some other foul-smelling odor she guessed had to come from the creature. She hoped it would dissipate soon. She didn’t want the house to smell like that.
Keeton was the first one down. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
“How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine. I only needed one nap today.”
“Don’t try and stay up just to be stubborn. If you need the rest, take it.” Keeton’s expression had turned stern.
“Believe me. I’m not going to forgo a nice nap just to be stubborn.”
Boyd walked in wearing jeans and nothing else. His hair was still damp, as was Keeton’s.
“Give me a kiss, baby.” Boyd pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the mouth and then on the cheek. “How are you feeling?”
Ashley sighed. “If I’m going to have to repeat everything twice, I’m getting a tape recorder and playing it for both of you.”
“Don’t get sassy,” Keeton warned with a smile.
“Look, is there any way we can get a radio so that I can talk to Rachel and get in touch with you in case something happens? I’ve been thinking about it. For one thing, you both could be gone when I go into labor.”
Keeton’s eyes got wide and he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs at the table.
“Fuck! She’s right, Boyd. We need radios.”
“I’ll talk to Andrew tomorrow about how they got theirs and see if we can get one in the city. I would think every outlander should have one.”
“Outlander?” Ashley asked. “What is that?”
“
That
is us,” Keeton explained. “They call all of us that live outside of the city
outlanders
.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“Danny should be back later tonight and we’ll find out tomorrow what the doctor said about his blood. It may be a while before they know anything about the creature, though. Someone has to set up a way to study it without being contaminated by it.” Keeton pulled Ashley onto his lap.
“Dinner’s ready. You two sit down and let me get it on the table.” Ashley tried to stand up, but Keeton held her tightly in his arms.
“It can wait for a little while. I like having you in my lap.”
Boyd grinned at the two of them. “You look good together like that. I almost feel jealous, but I know I can have her later.”
“Get me out of Keeton’s lap and you can have a kiss now,” Ashley bartered.
“Not going to risk Keeton’s wrath, baby. I’ll get my kiss later.”
“Then you put dinner on the table. It’s all on the stove.” Ashley leaned back against Keeton’s chest.
She secretly didn’t want to get up. He’d actually relaxed around her for the first time since they had found out she was pregnant. She planned to savor the experience while it lasted.
She directed Boyd on where to put things and then was surprised to have Keeton feed her.
“Come on, one more bite, Ashley. Don’t forget you’re eating for two,” he said.
“I don’t think I need to gain more than a few pounds a month, Keeton. At the rate you’re trying to feed me, I’ll gain it all in one month.” Ashley grinned at him.
After dinner was over and the dishes had been done, Ashley, Keeton, and Boyd climbed the stairs to the bedroom to go to bed. The day had taken a toll on the men. They were asleep even before Ashley for a change. She sighed. It didn’t help that she was horny on top of everything else. Well, she would wake one of them up with a blow job in the morning, and they would take care of her then.
She snuggled between the two men and thought about how it would be when she was big with their baby. How would they all fit together then? She smiled. They would get kicked either in the back or the stomach, she was sure. The thought of Keeton waking up to their baby kicking him in the back through her stomach had her giggling quietly. Then she wondered what she was going to do about the garden and putting up vegetables and handling the house all at once. The entire situation sobered her somewhat. Still, she couldn’t help but rub her belly where the baby resided and go to sleep thinking about baby names.
Chapter Seventeen
Boyd woke the next morning to Ashley’s lips around his cock. He hummed his approval and ran his hands through her hair, digging his nails into her scalp. She loved it when he did that, so he made sure to scratch her head as she went down on him.
When she pulled up and sucked around the rim of his cockhead, Boyd blew out a breath. It felt freaking wonderful when she did that. Then she licked his slit and gathered the drop of pre-cum that had gathered there. He threw back his head with a growl. He held her head still for a few seconds while he face-fucked her. She let him without balking. She trusted him not to hurt her or choke her. That trust was a heady thing.
When she deep-throated him and swallowed around him while she did, he shouted out. His balls began to draw up, and he felt his cum begin a slow boil. Ashley tightened her grip at the base of his cock and worked him with her hand as she worked him with her mouth. The combined effort had him on the brink of coming in no time.