Mooney’s eyes go blank and he crumples to the ground.
Relief turns my blood from ice to liquid fire. Both of us lunge for Cassie at the same time, hustling her away from the dead man, running our hands over her to make sure there isn’t a single scratch. “Are you okay?” I ask, thickly.
“Yes,” she sobs, throwing her arms around my neck. I hold her for a few precious seconds, before she lets go and gives Sam a hug. “I was so scared.”
“We wouldn’t have let him hurt you, Cassie,” I breathe into her hair, pressing my chest to her back, wedging her between me and Sam. Over her head, I lock eyes with the other man. “Good thing you had that gun on your ankle.”
His lips twitch. “Sometimes being a criminal comes in handy.”
Cassie kisses his jaw. “You’re my criminal.” Her butt pushes back into my lap and my dick stiffens rapidly, readying for her. “You’re both my heroes.”
Our groans of need fill the air. My hands mold to her hips and I grind into the valley between her supple ass cheeks. Sam has the honor of kissing her mouth, but after I questioned his intentions this morning, I want to allow him more.
Reaching down, I take Cassie’s thighs in my hands and lift her up, propping her backside on my belly and opening her legs wide. A growl kindles in my throat when I imagine Sam’s point of view. Cassie and her tousled blonde bed head, the sun shining on her bare, waiting cunt.
“Take her, Sam. Make her forget her fear,” I say. “We’ll never let her feel it again, as long as she lives. Will we?”
“No,” Sam responds, emotion in his voice. “We won’t.”
He understands that I’m not only offering him Cassie’s body, I’m offering him acceptance. I’m offering him us. Permanently. She knows it, too, and she turns to smile gratefully at me. Lustfully. And as Sam sinks inside of her and begins to pump, I keep her steady and open, vowing to myself that the three of us will always remain intact, no matter what comes our way.
Epilogue
Sam
Six years later
I stick my head beneath the waterfall and wash the suds from my hair, the cool, crystal clear water coasting down my bare back. Bar of soap in hand, I lather my chest, my belly, wincing as I cross over the red bite marks. Cassie was in rare form last night, wasn’t she? As soon as our sons were fast asleep, me and Miles passed our wife back and forth for hours, giving her the rough sex she’s come to love. When the three of us couldn’t take any more of the pleasure, Cassie lay between us, whispering how much she loved us. How she couldn’t live without us.
And we told her in return. Miles and I tell her constantly. The words seem to be perched on our tongues all damn day until they explode from us at night.
Wading toward the shore, I tip my head back and let the sunshine warm my wet body. My cock and balls are heavy, thanks to memories of last night, but it’s nothing new. With a treasure like Cassie for a wife, I’ve learned to withstand the state of sexual frustration she keeps me in, because the payoff is never short of extraordinary.
We live off the land, out here in nature. Me, Miles and Cassie.
We live off each other.
It’s not an exaggeration to say the only thing we need is each other. Which is a good thing, because the day I killed Mooney, we left the farm and only go back once a year for unscheduled reunions with her father. In order to keep me safe from the law. Right after we left, Cassie sent her father a note to let him know she was happy and after his initial anger that we stole her away, realized he could share in her happiness or lose her completely. Thankfully, he embraced our unusual marriage and learned to be comfortable with Miles and I both calling her wife.
At first, it was hard to accept Miles and Cassie’s love wholeheartedly. After all, I’m a man on the run. A criminal. How could I accept such a selfless act as these two people giving up life as they knew it, just to be with me?
Over time, with a lot of love and attention from Cassie, I stopped viewing myself as a former inmate and started thinking of myself as a devoted husband. A caring father. I am those things, because I’ve been taught what love feels like. What it looks like. I’m the happiest man alive and I don’t question my worthiness anymore. But I do spend every day making sure I stay worthy of this beautiful life.
Not bothering with clothes, I lay down on the grass, closing my eyes and letting the sun warm my face. Down a way near the shore are my catches of the day. Fish I’ll use to nourish my family. To do my part. Cassie is doing lessons with the boys right now, but as soon as the sun heads west in the sky, I’ll bring home dinner. She’ll turn and smile at me from her place at the kitchen table and I’ll start counting the minutes until night falls and we can immerse ourselves in her.