They were sexy, dangerous desperadoes who were wanted by the law. Well, not that there was a legitimate law around these days. Vigilantes, people who’d taken it upon themselves to protect others or use their power over vulnerable people, preferred to hang people, before asking questions.
Lately the Durango Gang was on the top of their hit list, with their pictures on wanted posters all over town. They were a gang who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, the rich meaning people who made extremely high profits off the misery of others.
Liz didn’t have a problem with the Durango Gang. These days lawlessness ran rampant, and one had to do anything to survive. She just wished Durango hadn’t decided to run with such a crowd that seemed to get shot up almost every time they did a bank heist or some other sort of robbery. Making enemies of the rich people was never a good thing.
The entire time Durango and Landon had been gone, she’d worried for their safety. She had inquired after them whenever one or more of the Durango members came to her for a referral to a pleasure girl or if they were injured. That was how she’d kept tabs on them.
She knew Landon wanted her. Durango had told her that shortly before they’d left. And Durango had wanted to share her with him. She liked the man. Okay, so just looking at him made her pussy pulse and her breasts yearn for him to touch her, but that didn’t mean she had to sleep with the guy. At least it hadn’t been required of her before the entire world had gone mad, including Durango.
Her gaze had then settled on Durango, the man she’d once called her heart. He did look much better than when he’d left, she had to admit. Before he’d gone away he’d possessed the look of a caged animal. Dark circles had hung beneath his eyes, and furrows had appeared at the sides of his mouth, compliments of a constant frown.
She realized now that she hadn’t been good enough for him. She’d wanted to be, but she wasn’t. He’d wanted more out of life than just settling down and trying to survive. He’d wanted to make a difference in this new world. Apparently, for him, joining the Robin Hood-style gang was the ticket.
Liz frowned and combed her fingers through her wet hair. Well, perhaps he’d gotten his adventurous streak out of his system and had come home to be with her? Yeah, right. Wishful thinking. He was probably here because she’d been convenient to patch up Landon and Tyrell and the three of them wanted some hot sex before taking off on her again. And it was at that exact moment she’d realized she didn’t want to fight with Durango anymore. She was holding onto an old way of life that would never come back. She hated change, but she now realized that changing and adapting to this new environment was the only way she would have a chance at being happy again.
Why should she deny herself the pleasures that Durango and his two friends wanted to give to her? Since the Catastrophe everything had become distorted. Why not live a few hot fantasies while she was still alive?
In town, she’d heard gossip that the environment may get even colder. God forbid if that happened. People were having trouble keeping any outdoor crops alive, let alone trying to grow feed for livestock that could be ultimately butchered for meat.
Times had gotten harsh since the Catastrophe. All of her family and extended family must have been wiped out. She’d never gone back East to find out. How could she? Nothing was running. No trains, no buses, no planes.
The only way back would be on one of those pioneer wagon trains that some people were signing up for. Caravans or something like that. Just like in the Old West days.
No, it was best to stay put. She knew if one of her three brothers or her parents had survived they would have come looking for her. She’d sent several letters back recently through what they were calling “The Pony Express,” named after the original Pony Express that the United States had had back in 1849 where riders rode all day and all night to get mail from East to West and vice versa.
The price for the Pony Express service was steep, and because most people didn’t have a job anymore, they didn’t pay her money for her doctoring services. Instead of giving her money, they gave her food or handmade items.
The lavender-scented soap she washed herself with had been a gift from one of her patients, a little old lady whom Elizabeth knew only by the name of Sally. She lived alone in the next valley. Obviously no pensions existed anymore, so she’d been cut off.
Sally’s entire family had disintegrated in the solar flares, and Sally had found herself totally alone and fending for herself. She hadn’t sobbed in the middle of a river like Elizabeth was doing herself. The old woman had accepted the change, and she’d gone into the soap-making business in order to survive. If Sally could survive without looking back, then Liz should be able to do it, too, right? Right. Liz firmly nodded and inhaled sharply as she washed off the soap and quickly soaped her shoulder-length blonde hair.
Bending over to grab the pail so she could rinse the soap from her hair, she sucked in a breath as cold water touched her tender pussy. The lapping of liquid evoked all kinds of naughty images of what had happened early this morning with Durango’s face buried between her spread thighs.
Oh boy, she was in so much trouble here just thinking of Durango and of why he’d brought Landon and Tyrell back with him. She swallowed as her ass clenched with anticipation when she remembered Durango warning her if she wanted more she’d need to wear a butt plug.
She had plugs in the bedroom drawer where the three men slept. She’d used them when she’d been with Durango. Used them a lot. And if he got his way she’d be wearing them again. Probably more than ever.
Erotic heat zipped through her, and she blew out a tense breath. Okay, she needed to get out of the water and stop thinking about him and the other men. She needed to do it now, or with the intoxicating way the water stroked her clit, she’d begin masturbating.
She didn’t want to do that. Not with three men sleeping in her house, and who knew if they’d followed her out here and were watching her right now while she bathed. That thought both alarmed and excited her as she cast a fast glance at her surroundings.
From where she stood, she saw nothing but rain-dampened bushes lining both sides of the river. Here and there a bird chirped, and the ever-present cold wind whipped through the bare branches. Even the bushes and trees were barely surviving. Leaves still came out, but they didn’t look as green and lush as they once did. They appeared gnarled with a yellowing, sickly tinge. Everything looked dreary in the valley now. Despite the rain and clouds moving out of the area, the sun had come out. But it was still cold. The sun always came out and kept on shining as if nothing had ever happened.
Biting back a bitter sob, she rinsed her hair and then splashed herself, making sure all the soap was cleaned away before she hurriedly stumbled out of the river. Gathering the fresh pair of clothes she’d laid on some bushes in the sunshine, she quickly slipped into a pair of black leggings and a warm, wool, knee-length, tunic-style wraparound dress. Sliding on her warm brown leather jacket, Liz began to feel much warmer as the clothing chased away her shivers. Before long, her chattering teeth had stopped, and she was feeling back to her old self again.
Taking a deep breath, she gazed at the stone house nestled about a quarter of a mile away. Most of the roof was covered in a green moss, and wild vines clung to the stone walls. To any passerby the place would look serene. Maybe even deserted. Little did they know she had three fugitives lying fast asleep in her bed.
Three sexy desperadoes who wanted to be with her. Have mercy, she was beginning to feel terribly warm again just thinking about the things she wanted them to do to her. She ignored the gush of warm cream seeping from between her thighs. She would have to be strong now. She would have to stick to her morals no matter how much she craved to explore this sharing thing that Durango wanted. Elizabeth swallowed and started walking toward the house and toward her destiny.
She was coming up the well-trodden trail that meandered through the yellowing grass of the nearby meadow. Landon watched the lone feminine figure walking leisurely toward the stone house. He’d taken sentry beside the bedroom window shortly after hearing her leave an hour or so earlier. Pushing aside the dainty white lace curtains, he’d watched her sweet hips swaying and her shoulder-length, honey-gold hair waving in the wind as she’d strolled across the yellowing field. She’d been carrying a pink towel, so he knew she’d been heading down to the river to bathe.
