Monroe, Marla - The Ranchers Take a Wife [Men of Space Station One #1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Men of Space Station One #1

  The Ranchers Take a Wife

  When Lacy arrives on Space Station One, she has to choose two men to be her husbands. She picks out Cam and Phillip and prays they will be able to make it work despite being perfect strangers. Phillip is easygoing and they bond quickly, but Cam seems a little uptight. She isn’t sure he likes her.

  Lacy finds out that Cam had shown an interest in another of the women and is hurt. Should she forgive him? Or has he broken her trust as well as her heart? Cam has to prove he’s not stuck on anyone but Lacy.

  Add to that the discovery of a strange creature leaving footprints around their place, and Cam is under a great deal of stress. Will he push Lacy further away, or will he share his worry with Phillip so the two of them can share the responsibilities and pleasures of taking care of Lacy?

  Genre: Futuristic, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Science Fiction

  Length: 40,651 words

  THE RANCHERS TAKE A WIFE

  Men of Space Station One #1

  Marla Monroe

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  THE RANCHERS TAKE A WIFE

  Copyright © 2011 by Marla Monroe

  E-book ISBN: 1-61926-060-3

  First E-book Publication: December 2011

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

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  THE RANCHERS TAKE A WIFE

  Men of Space Station One #1

  MARLA MONROE

  Copyright © 2011

  Chapter One

  Cam paced in the terminal while Phillip sat with his legs crossed at the ankles and stretched out in front of him.

  “Why aren’t they here yet? It’s nearly thirty minutes since they announced their approach.” Cam worried.

  “They’ll be here in fifteen or twenty more minutes. Stop that infernal pacing. You’re making me dizzy.” Phillip sighed.

  They were two of a total of forty men waiting on the shuttle dropping off the first women on the planet Alpha. The men had been here for two years building the houses and buildings for the planet’s first town. They were antsy about finally having women arrive.

  Because of the harsh elements of the planet and the lack of available women on Earth, each family would be made up of two men and one woman. Most of the women back on Earth had Shear’s disease from the excessive radiation from the solar flares of the sun. For some reason, it affected women more so than men.

  “How are we going to choose our woman?” Cam asked.

  “I think the best thing to do is let her choose us. She’s got to deal with two of us.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “They said the shuttle is approaching now. We should be able to see it in the next few seconds,” one of the other waiting men said.

  Everyone migrated to the windows of the terminal and gazed up in the air for the first glimpse of the shuttle. When it appeared there was a general shout of excitement. Cam and Phillip watched as the shuttle landed and taxied across the runway to the terminal. It would be another thirty minutes before the women would appear.

  Cam wondered how the women felt. Had any of them gotten sick on the trip out? It took nearly six months to get from Earth to their little planet. A lot could happen in that time. He hoped none of them had changed their minds.

  “Listen up, everyone,” Phillip shouted above the general conversations going on. “If we jump on them the minute they walk through that door, they’re liable to turn around and head back to Earth. We need to stand back and let them breathe.”

  “How are we going to choose?” one of the men asked.

  “I think they should choose,” Phillip told them.

  There was a general groan.

  “That could take weeks. You know women. They can’t ever make up their minds,” one of the other men complained.

  “Still, it’s the best solution. They do have to live with two of us, so I think they should be able to choose who those two will be.” Phillip knew they wouldn’t like the idea.

  “So we don’t get to take our woman home today?” another man asked.

  “Not unless they jump us when they get off that shuttle. Instead, they will live in the dorms we lived in until we got our homes built. We court them like we used to do on Earth,” Cam added. He knew Phillip was right. It didn’t mean he had to like it, though.

  Cam and Phillip were two of the station’s farmers. They had met back in high school and became fast friends. When the Earth’s sun began to have massive solar flares, causing major changes in the Earth’s atmosphere, it was decided that they needed to locate another planet that would sustain life. They found three and had sent three sets of colony organizers to each to set up a small community.

  The consensus was that if they could form colonies on the three planets, they might be able to slow
ly move people to them and avoid the total annihilation of man. So far, the beginning stages had proved successful. Now they were setting up to begin the next stage of populating the planet. It was unclear if the women left on Earth would be able to conceive in a different atmosphere. Therefore, this first colony was important.

  “Phillip, the light just turned red. They must be in the decontamination booth. It won’t be long now.” Cam moved closer to the door through which the women would emerge.

  “You’re going to get trampled if you stick too close to the door. The men behind you are revving up to attack. No one is listening about giving them some space.” Phillip shook his head and joined Cam at the front.

  The light turned green a few seconds later, and the door opened. Twenty beautiful women walked out of the chamber with dazed expressions on their faces. They all looked so young. They couldn’t be more than twenty-three or twenty-four. Cam and Phillip were both thirty. The age difference shouldn’t really be a factor, but their youth could be a deterrent to choosing some of the men.

  The oldest was forty-three and the youngest was twenty-seven. The women might be intimidated by the older men. He hoped not. They were going to have to choose someone there. The space shuttle wouldn’t be back for another year. That was a long time to live in the dorm.

  The men began crowding around the women. Alarmed, they began pulling back toward the gate they’d come through, only to find it locked. Cam hurried between the two groups and stood in front of them.

  “Hey, you guys, calm down. Let’s help them with their luggage and get them settled in at the dorm.”

  The men slowed their attack and nodded their heads. Each of them grabbed the various boxes and bags and waited for the women they belonged to to step up and claim them so they could escort her to the dorm.

  Cam and Phillip picked up a pile off the conveyor belt with the initials of LMH. A young woman walked up and smiled tentatively at them.

  “I’m Lacy. That’s my luggage.” She smiled a nervous smile at the two of them.

  Cam instantly felt the attraction. He wondered if it was just because he hadn’t seen a real live female in over a year, or if he really was attracted to her.

  “I’m Cam and this is Phillip. Pleased to meet you.” He smiled, and they led her to the shuttles that were lined up to take them to the dorm.

  When they climbed up beside her and sat her between them on the shuttle ride, she seemed nervous, but didn’t pull away from them. They rode in silence to the dorm. Cam wasn’t sure what to say to her that wouldn’t come across as being forward.

  Once they arrived there, they waited for the groups ahead of them to get off. Phillip stepped out into the aisle with Lacy following him and Cam bringing up the rear. Phillip helped her down, and then led her to get her luggage. They each grabbed a couple of suitcases and led the way to the dorm.

  “What is this place you’re taking us to?” she asked.

  “It’s the dorm we lived in until we got our houses built,” Phillip supplied.

  “We’ve cleaned them up and made them as nice as we can,” Cam added, noticing her look of concern.

  “But I thought we would go home with our men today.” She sounded generally disappointed.

  “We thought you should be the ones to choose your husbands. It’s only fair. You will be living with two men for the rest of your life.” Phillip seemed to be watching her awfully closely, Cam realized.

  “Oh, that’s really nice. I like that.” She didn’t say much more as they entered the dorm.

  “Okay, what floor would you like? We have the underground one, the first, and the second.” Cam waited for her to choose.

  “I’m a little claustrophobic, so maybe the first or second floor. Whatever is open now.”

  They led her down the first-floor hall and located a room near the end that was empty. She nodded, and they stepped inside to place her bags in the middle of the room.

  “Do you want one of them on the bed so you can unpack?” Cam asked.

  “Yes, that would be a good idea. Thanks. I appreciate it.” She stepped back out of the way as he lifted the heaviest and laid it on the bed.

  “Is there anything else we can help you with?” Phillip smiled at her.

  Cam figured Phillip was definitely enamored with her already. He wondered how they would react to the other women. They needed to be around all of them and see who they were most attracted to and begin courting her as soon as possible. There were twenty other pairs of men looking.

  “Um, what do we do about meals, and how do we spend our days?” she asked.

  “The cafeteria is directly across the courtyard over that way. They serve breakfast from six till nine, lunch from eleven till one, and supper from five till seven,” Cam told her.

  “As far as what to do all day, explore and get to know the men so you can choose who you are interested in. They’re going to be courting you.” Phillip looked over at Cam.

  “Will you be courting me?” she asked with a faint blush to her cheeks.

  “We most certainly will,” Phillip said.

  Cam guessed that was his answer. Phillip was interested in her.

  “Well, good night. We’ll let you unpack and settle in. We’ll see you sometime tomorrow,” Cam told her, and they walked out of the room with a smile for her. She walked as far as the door. He felt her eyes on his back all the way to the end of the hall.

  “I like her,” Phillip confessed.

  “I like her, too, but we need to see how we feel around some of the other women, first. We need to be sure we really do like her and it’s not just that we’ve been without a woman for over a year.”

  Phillip scowled but nodded. “I guess you’re right. Somehow, though, I feel like she’s the one.”

  “Maybe she is. We need to give her time to choose, and ourselves the opportunity to meet other women.”

  “Well, we better get back to the farm now and finish planting. We need to have all the seed in the ground as soon as possible so we will have some time to spend with our woman when she does choose us.” Phillip walked toward their buggy and climbed in.

  It was a truck buggy and looked much like the old trucks on Earth, but it hovered about two feet above the ground and topped out at speeds of over one seventy-five if needed. They utilized the speed of one hundred and set it on autopilot so they could continue talking about the women. Their beacon would guide it home.

  “Did you even look at any of the other women to see if you like the looks of them?” Cam asked Phillip.

  “Not really. Once I saw her, she was all I wanted to look at.”

  “Well, we’ll spend some time with her and some of the others.”

  “What happens if we really like her and some other woman picks us out?” Phillip seemed really worried about this.

  “I guess we try to dissuade her. But in the end, it needs to be her choice.”

  They arrived at their farm and climbed out of the buggy. They immediately went to change into their work clothes. They’d dressed in their newest clothes to greet the women. Now they needed to change and get out in the fields.

  Cam thought about what they hoped for in a woman. It would need to be someone strong and able to handle life on their planet. With them being farmers, there would be lots of work for her as well as them. Lacy looked strong enough. She sure was pretty enough. Her long reddish-blonde hair reached between her shoulder blades and would need to be pulled back for working. He much preferred it down. She had the prettiest blue eyes he’d ever seen, and a sweet smile that was almost shy.

  Her breasts were large enough to fill his hands, and since he had large hands, that meant she was large breasted. He loved sinking his cock between a pair of abundant tits. She looked to be a good five feet five inches. Perfect for Phillip and him since they were well over six feet. Then there was her ass. He was sure that was one part of her body Phillip hadn’t ignored. He was an ass man and she had a nice plump one.

  By the looks of he
r clothes, she’d lost some weight on the trip out. They’d all lost weight. The ride wasn’t easy on anyone and he figured it had been especially hard on the women. She’d put it back on now that she was on solid ground once more. They’d make sure she had what she needed. He wished they could provide her with all the luxuries she deserved, but this was a completely new endeavor with few luxuries. What they couldn’t give her luxury-wise, they would strive to make up for with their bodies and caring.

  As he furrowed up the rows, Phillip planted and covered the seeds. They had three more fields to plant before they should quit for the day. Since they’d spent so much time in town, they would probably have to leave one of them until tomorrow and work double time to get caught up. Then they would be finished with the planting.

  The irrigation equipment would need to be set up, and that would take all day to do that for these six fields. Then they would be free for the most part to court the women, or maybe, just one. He realized the more he was away from her, the more he wanted to be near her. Phillip might be right. She just might be the woman for them.

  Chapter Two

  Lacy unpacked her bags and stowed her stuff in the many drawers and closets around the room. The only furniture was the bed, a bedside table, the drawers, and a chair. It was all comfortable enough, but very cozy. At least she had a window. The bathroom wasn’t too small, but it could be a challenge for one of the big men who’d had to stay in the room while they were building the homes and minitown. She couldn’t imagine Cam or Phillip showering in the small stall.