“Now,” Lane added.
I was overwhelmed with the fact that Lane and Spur were alive, everything Lane shared, my brothers. All of it. And now they wanted me to marry.
“It’s been two weeks. Two weeks for you to come to me, all the while I thought you were dead.”
“We didn’t know that’s what you thought. We went to the Tates’ house to find you and they were just as stunned as you to see us.”
I felt my forehead crinkle into a frown. “Then what took you so long?”
Spur chuckled. “You mean, if we weren’t dead, what’s our excuse?”
I nodded.
Lane ran his hand over his neck. “I found out the cave-ins were caused by sabotage and we had some setbacks. I had to go to Denver and have the new owner arrested. Then I had to arrange for a new owner to take his place so I could come here and live with you.”
It seemed unbelievable, but I knew it to be true.
“You don’t have to go into any more mines?”
Both men shook their heads.
“You don’t have to go back to Jasper?”
“We’ll go back together so you can meet Lil. But first, we are getting married.”
This time, when Lane insisted, I smiled. I wanted to marry them. This time, by choice, not by happenstance. Or luck.
“No other women?” I asked, wanting to be completely sure.
“You’re enough woman for both of us,” Spur said, tugging on a curl of red hair.
“Piper,” Lane warned. “Church. Now.”
My smile grew. These men were mine. No woman stood between us. No brothers either. All we had to do was say our vows and there was no going back. I didn’t want that. I wanted them, it seemed, just as much as they wanted me.
“You are very eager.”
Lane stepped right before me, leaned in so his breath fanned over my neck. “I know what it feels like when you come all over my cock. The sounds you make, the whimper in your throat, the way you scream my name. I have been dreaming of that for two weeks. But I’m not going to even kiss you until you have a ring on your finger. Then… well, you’ll just have to find out just how eager I am.”
Oh, my. My nipples hardened at his rough words. My inner walls clenched in anticipation.
I licked my suddenly dry lips. “All right. Yes.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Lane
When I agreed to a marriage to a mail order bride, it came with some sacrifices. We didn’t know the woman, knew nothing of her character, her age, her temperament. Would she like—or more important, could she handle—living in Slate Springs, which was shut off by the harsh effects of winter for half the year? She would be the woman we bedded the rest of our lives. Would we feel attraction for her and her for us in return? I was a virile man and couldn’t imagine curbing my carnal appetites. But what I had felt the biggest sacrifice was knowing she was truly mine. Mine and Spur’s. The proxy marriage license that ensured she was married to Spur was well and good, but it was a piece of paper. No ceremony to feel married.
While I wasn’t the most godly of men, I wanted to know, to feel, that my bride was truly mine. Even a justice of the peace would have solved this challenge for me. Having our bride standing between us, in Slate Springs where it was legal, and marrying her. This hadn’t occurred with Piper and perhaps that was the reason for all our problems to date. No one felt truly married.
Until now. Now I would get my wish. I would stand beside a woman I knew. A woman whose temperament matched mine and could certainly handle life in Slate Springs. She was highly desirable and bedding just her for the remainder of my days would be a privilege. And I had her standing between Spur and me before the town’s minister, reciting our vows. Both of us. Not Spur and then me as second husband per town law. No, I said my vows to Piper as well.
There was no doubt, hers, mine or ours, that she truly belonged to us, and we to her.
And her fucking brothers, looming over the proceedings, knew as well and could finally back off.
If the minister had any objections to both Spur and me kissing Piper to seal the vows, he didn’t share them. In fact, he smiled, content with the union. Perhaps it was because he’d heard of Piper’s antics the past two weeks, most likely causing more ruckus than what we witnessed at the saloon and wanting her under a man’s control.