The thought of marrying one stranger was frightening enough, but two! Yet the other girl had walked away with her two men, and they'd been in the church having their wedding ceremony when she'd arrived with Mr. Tillman and Mr. Bray. The preacher hadn't blinked an eye. If a man of God was fine presiding over a wedding ceremony with two grooms, who was she to judge?
At the train depot she'd had a sudden rush of courage; now she was having a sudden rush of doubt.
For some reason, she'd thought she would have more time between arriving and the wedding ceremony, but of course the gentlemen wanted to be married first thing. From what they’d said, it was several hours travel between their ranch and the town, which meant they only came in when they actually needed something. And really, wasn't it better to be properly married before she went off with them to their home?
Because once they got to their home... they would want...
This was where she quailed.
Some of the other women at the workhouse had talked about what happens between a man and a woman, enough that Evelyn had a general idea of what parts go where, but she also knew enough to know she was very ignorant, especially since the other women couldn't agree whether the act was awful, painful, boring, sometimes enjoyable, or good fun. It seemed it all depended on the woman.
She had no idea what kind of woman she was, or whether she'd be up to pleasing two husbands in such a manner.
Maybe she'd be lucky and they wouldn't want to do that very often.
Ranching was hard, after all, and it sounded like they had a lot of work to do with all their land and cattle, which was partly why they were in such a hurry to get back. She was pretty sure being tired made men less interested in exerting themselves in a carnal manner. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too upset that she'd exaggerated her experience with men, either. She'd been so desperate to get away from her manager, and the letter from Mr. Tillman had been well written and stood out among all the others in the advertisement, she'd jumped at the chance. She'd figured any man willing to make an honorable marriage had to be better than her old manager.
They were certainly more handsome more kind and willing to give her the life and security of a proper wife. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.
A knock on the door made her jump.
"Yes?" she asked, squeaking the word.
"Are you ready, Miss Webster?" asked a deep voice.
Evelyn wasn't entirely certain, since both men had deep voices, but she thought it was Mr. Tillman.
Brushing her hands over her skirts, Evelyn took a deep breath. It was time to be courageous again.
"Yes," she said firmly.
"I know pronounce you men and wife. You gentlemen may kiss the bride," Pastor Garnett said, bestowing a smile on all of them.
Even now, he seemed just a touch ambivalent at the unusual marriage ceremonies he performed, but certainly not against them.
Jake grinned and looked at Wilson, giving him a nod. They'd flipped a coin that morning to decide who would kiss their bride first, and Wilson had won. Jake didn't know whether he was envious or relieved; after all, they were asking their new bride to kiss two men she'd just met less than an hour ago.
She tilted her head back, her prim little lips pursed, and Jake nearly chuckled. Wilson leaned down and kissed her gently, his big hands resting on her hips. It was an arousing sight; small Evelyn with her rounded curves pressed up against Wilson, making it easier for Jake to imagine what she would look like when those curves were no longer covered by her dress. She made a little noise of surprise as Wilson deepened the kiss, opening her mouth under his, and Jake's grin widened. Maybeshe hadn't expected her new husbands to be quite so forward, considering they'd just met, but there was really no reason not to start the same way they meant to go on.
When Wilson finally finished kissing her, he used his hands on her hips to turn her around to face Jake. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, her eyes a little glassy, her lips slightly plumped from Wilson's kiss.
Stepping forward, Jake took her from the man he considered a brother and lowered his own lips to that sweet mouth.
She tasted like woman and mint, her mouth opening easily under his, as if she expected it after the way Wilson had kissed her. The soft curves of her body against his was more erotic than he would have guessed, but then again, it had been a long time since he'd held a woman. Her tongue touched his tentatively, almost shyly, as Jake kissed her thoroughly.
It was a good thing Pastor Garnett was there or Jake would have been tempted to start the consummation of the wedding right then and there. Just her small hands on his chest and her hesitant kiss were enough to make his cock fully harden.
Since that wasn't an option, however, Jake broke off the kiss so he could get his body's impulses under control.
Ordering a bride through the mail was a better idea than he'd ever realized.
Chapter 3
Bemused, Wilson looked down at their blushing bride.
She was wearing a deep red on her pretty cheeks, although she had her chin up stubbornly and had been determined to see the ceremony through.
It made him wonder what kind of life she was running from by coming out here. Going by the dress she was wearing, she hadn't been entirely impoverished, but probably on the verge of being so. The dress didn't have any patches and it wasn't as worn as her traveling clothes, but the fabric was cheap and it lacked any sort of decorations, not even a ruffle. Then again, maybe that was just Miss Webster's—Evelyn, he reminded himself—style. That was a bit of a boon, since it wasn't as though there was a lot of place for frills and things on a ranch.
