Acres, Natalie - Propositioned by Outlaws [Outlaws 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Natalie Acres

herself there at the saloon. Instead, she lived on hard times out here, depending on the Indians for trade and connections those trappers wouldn’t have made without her.
    “You ought to be proud of her, regardless of how she made her life and her way. She did what she could to take care of you. Now, question is, what are you gonna do for yourself now that she provided another way for you? If you’ve got gold and money to your name, you don’t have to make a way for yourself the same way your momma did, Victoria . If you do, that’s your choice of course. But I don’t think you want that.”
    “How can you be so sure?”
    “Let me ask you something,” Lane said. “Between us, have you ever been with a man?”
    “What difference does it make?”
    Lane bowed his head. “I’m not a perfect fella, Victoria, but if you ain’t a whore, I may take a notion to come back here for ya if the marshal in Cripple Creek lets me go.
    “I don’t think that will happen, but you wait here for me for a day or two just in case. If that marshal will listen to what I have to say, I’ll come back here and make an honest woman out of ya. That is, if you ain’t been sharing what you have with everyone else in this prairie. If you’re the keepin’ kind, I may be the staying kind.”
    “Like hell you are,” Art said, walking out on the porch. “Besides, I’ve got a better proposition for the both of ya.”

    * * * *

    “You want me to what?” Victoria ’s high-pitched voice hit a squeaky note she rarely struck.
    Art towered over her. He squared his broad shoulders and his natural grin took a quite wicked turn. “I’d like to lay down beside a woman tonight. I had time to ponder the notion while I was cleaning up the place there. I thought you might be rightly impressed with the idea.”
    Victoria pushed away from the stoop, her hand quickly finding its resting place in the curve of her waist. “Rightly impressed, did ya?” Oh she was spitfire mad.
    “Yes, I reckon I did,” he said, thoughtfully. “All I said when I walked out here was that I had an idea, a good one I added. You were interested enough to ask me what was on my mind. I tell ya, and this is the thanks I get.” He grunted and paced.
    She had a right mind to grab him by the arm and shake some sense into him. Before she took the opportunity, she considered the possibilities. “I suppose it’s natural for a man to want to poke a woman, but for him to suggest she get it from two men at the same time, well that’s just unheard of.”
    “Is it? Want me to remind you of what you said to us down there by the stream today?”
    “I do not,” she said, wondering then if she were to blame for Art’s sudden revelation. Had she led him to believe she was such a whore she’d take it from two men at the same time?
    She considered her previous actions and the way she’d invited trouble. This notion of Art’s was her fault.
    Maybe she’d stayed in the sun too long. Delirium must’ve set in after she saw her life pass in front of her. That snake didn’t strike her with its poison, but apparently left her affected all the same. Death had her in its clutches earlier that day, and even though she left the stream unharmed, she didn’t leave unchanged.
    If Art and Lane hadn’t come along, she shuddered to think what might have happened. She could’ve died. She could’ve fallen ill and suffered a horrific death if that snake had gotten its venom inside her.
    Maybe that’s what had gotten into her. Gratitude. Why sure. That made sense.
    She’d been flamboyant and tried to get Art and Lane’s attention. Now, she wondered why she’d been determined to earn their favor. She also considered why she offered herself in such a way to perfect strangers.
    “If you’ve got all this experience, and I’m imagining you do, then you might be able to teach me and Lane a thing or two.” A second or so later, he added, “We’ll be real gentle with ya. We’ll make you feel