Mail Order Menage

Author's Note: I'm thrilled to part of the Literotica Writers Go West event! I've been wanting to write a mail-order threesome story for a while to see how it goes and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I struggled with what category it should go in - I almost went with romance, but because of menage aspect ended up in group sex. It's a bit of a slow burn, but I hope the climax is worth it (pun totally intended).

******

Evelyn Webster, twenty-three years old, orphan, exhausted and travel worn, was a virgin mail order bride who had lied about the state of her pureness, and was currently questioning the state of her hearing.

"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice faint, as she stared up at the hulking cowboy claiming he was her soon-to-be husband. Well, one of them. Next to him was another man, just as brawny and broad-shouldered, and apparently, he was to be her other husband.

She was quite sure she had misheard, possibly because the several-days-long train ride from New York to the small town of Chance had been rather tiring. Perhaps she hadn't arrived at all and was actually dreaming, although she couldn't imagine how her mind could have conjured such a wild scenario. Nor two such men.

They were light and darkness, night and day. They both had sun burnished skin, but one had locks as dark as a ravens wing and his eyes were nearly black; the other was as fair as the former was dark, with blond hair, light blue eyes, and a sunny smile. Still, there was something very no-nonsense about the both of them, or she would have thought they were pulling her leg.

The dark haired man smiled down at her, although concern now started to leak into his gaze.

"I'm Wilson Bray," he repeated. Wilson Bray was the name of the man she'd been corresponding with, and who had paid for her train ticket. Evelyn's heart was starting to sink. She wasn't waking up, the feel of sweat on her skin and the smoke in the air from the train certainly didn't seem dream-like, and she seemed to be hearing the gentleman just fine. "This is Jake Tillman. If you're agreeable, we're both going to marry you and be your husbands."

Evelyn thought she might faint.

"It's not unusual out here," Mr. Tillman said, giving her another reassuringly bright smile. He gestured down the station's platform where another young woman was speaking with two men. "There's not many ladies and quite a few men. Chance isn't the only town with some different marital arrangements. The West is a whole new world."

That was severely understating the case.

"We understand if you decide you want nothing to do with us," Mr. Bray said, although he looked a little nervous making the offer. "We'll pay for your ticket home if you've changed your mind. All Chance brides get the same offer, since we aren't completely open about the situation until they've arrived."

Very likely, that was because no respectable woman would ever respond to such a scandalous ad. Evelyn was fairly certain she wouldn't have...

Or, had she become desperate enough to consider it?

Her lips pressed together.

Going "home" meant returning to New York and no home at all. After her dear father passed away, she'd managed to find a job in a workhouse, but the conditions had been wretched and her salary had barely paid for a shared room to let. Other girls had also looked at the mail order ads, but had been too afraid to take the final step. Then, the manager's favorite girl had been fired when it became clear she was with child. They all knew it was the manager's child. She had been tossed onto the streets by her landlady, and the manager had started making remarks to Evelyn. He'd wanted her to become his new 'favorite girl', and his impatience had grown higher and higher. Soon, it became clear she would be out of a job, sooner rather than later, if she kept declining his advances.

Becoming a mail order bride had been her only immediate option. She'd seen the opportunity for stability, for a roof over her head, food enough to eat, clean clothes and proper wedlock with a man who wouldn't toss her onto the streets for having his child.

Looking at the two men in front of her, she could see their clothes were clean, if not pressed. They were handsome enough, looked quite capable of taking care of themselves and her, and certainly looked well fed.

"You have a ranch?" she asked, her voice still quiet but clear.

"Yes," Mr. Bray said with a nod, looking almost boyishly hopeful. He really was quite appealing and certainly more of a gentleman in manners than her manager had been, even if he and Mr. Tillman were both dressed much more casually than anyone in New York normally would. "A large one. We've cattle, horses, and a few goats and chickens. The house isn't overly large as it's been just the two of us living in it, and the hands stay in a separate bunkhouse, but it's sturdy and not overly small, either."

A roof over her head, food enough to eat, clean clothes and proper wedlock with a man who wanted children.

"What about children?" she asked hesitantly. Surely two husbands would be more likely to produce a child than one, but how would such an arrangement work? With such different looks, perhaps it would be obvious whose child was whose, but what if the child looked like her? Which man would claim the babe?

"We'd both consider ourselves a parent," Mr. Tillman said firmly. "We'd still be a family unit, just like any other."

Perhaps not like ANY other.

Despite how scandalous it was, despite how unusual it sounded, she was really rather desperate. Returning to New York was not an option; there was nothing for her there, and they did meet all the requirements she'd set out for her marriage.

Glancing over at the other young woman, she saw her setting off between the two men who had been talking with her, obviously having made her decision, as well.

Drawing herself up, Evelyn gave a little nod of her head, trying to appear much braver and more composed than she actually felt.

"Very well, I'll marry you. Both of you."

******

Jake felt his eyebrows rise a little in response to Miss Evelyn Webster's stubborn chin lifting into the air. She was a pretty little thing and she held herself well, but it was easy to see she was intimidated, maybe even scared. Not surprising. Most of the ladies who came out West to be mail order brides were already a little scared, coming out to be married to a man they'd never met. The prospect of taking on two (sometimes three) husbands had caused more than one newly arrived woman to balk. Surprisingly, many came to the same decision Miss Webster had. A few asked for time to think about it. Only a small handful had ever taken the trip back East.

The women coming out to be brides in the West were often just as desperate for a new life as the men here were for a wife.

The men here were desperate enough to share, once they'd realized even mail order brides were hard to come by. In a small town like Chance, they didn't even have a bawdy house to provide some relief. Any single woman who came into town was immediately courted as marriage material, regardless of her previous life or virginal status.

Chance was a small but prosperous enough town. The land was good, so the farmers were doing well, and most of them panned for gold in their free time. There wasn't much gold, but every now and then someone would find something to help them along. There were quite a few ranches and farms around the town, all of which had hired hands, as well as the usual businesses in town. It hadn't taken long before the first pair of gentlemen had decided they'd rather share a wife than have none at all, and it had started off an unexpected trend. The pastor had thrown up his hands in defeat and started performing the ceremonies, reasoning that if Abraham had two wives there was a Biblical precedent.

Jake didn't so much care about that, but it did make things easier to have it all official.

He and Wilson had grown up together in Virginia and made their way out west as young men. They'd been hired hands at first, but had scrimped and saved (and made a couple lucky finds when panning for gold along the way) and now they were the proud owners of the B&T ranch, with twenty hired hands of their own. So far, none of the men had gotten married themselves, so they currently all slept in the same bunkhouse, but Jake and Wilson had the house they'd prepared in anticipation of a bride.

They'd only sent a couple of letters back and forth to Miss Webster. Wilson had pointed out they shouldn't get too attached until they got her out there and knew for sure whether she'd be willing to live in such a scandalous manner. They'd been rather frank in their letters for their desire for a non-virgin. They'd figured a more experienced kind of woman would be more likely to be willing to accommodate two men, but they weren't surprised she still seemed taken aback and a little wary.

She was more beautiful than Jake had expected. Petite, barely coming up to his and Wilson's shoulders, with rounded curves, a beautiful face and thick brown hair which had been pulled into a no-nonsense bun. His fingers fairly itched to pull her hair down and see what all that bounty looked like unbound, what it would feel like.

It had been far too long since he or Wilson had a woman.

"Good, that's settled then," Wilson said gruffly, nodding his head. Knowing his friend as well as he did, Jake could hear the relief in his voice, but Miss Webster just looked even more anxious.

There was a reason Jake had done most of the writing; he tended to be the better communicator in general. Wilson was smiling, trying to appear unthreatening, but he had also been anxious, and sometimes that made him speak before he thought. He was probably so relieved she'd decided to stay that he just said the first thing that came to his head, which unfortunately sounded fairly brusque. Jake knew why, though; they were both definitely attracted to Miss Webster, and her spunk was admirable. Even though they'd just met her, both of them would have been sorry to see the back of her.

"We're very happy to hear that," Jake said. He held out his hand, bending forward towards her luggage. "Here, let us get your bags for you."

Relief pushed away the wariness in her expression, and she smiled a little more genuinely as the two men each picked up a bag.

"Thank you."

"Our pleasure," Wilson said, smiling even more brightly at her. She smiled back, seeming to accept that Wilson hadn't meant to be short with her.

Walking out of the train depot, Miss Webster looked around with interest at the Main Street of Chance. The train depot was at the farthest end of the road, which stretched for several blocks and included a general store, the church, the main boarding house for the town, the bank, the press, two bars and several houses.

"Thanks Tommy," Wilson said to the boy watching their carriage, flipping a penny at him. "We're just going to the church, and then we'll be back."

Grinning, the ten year old snatched the penny out of the air and continued stroking the black horse's mane. They weren't worried about anyone making off with the horse and carriage, but Old Jet wasn't always the best behaved horse and it was better to have someone there to pet his nose and make sure he didn't feel abandoned. Otherwise, he might throw one of his horsey-tantrums, making a lot of noise and fuss, and sometimes managing to tangle his leads. Truth was, he was one spoiled horse, but he was also the first horse they'd ever bought, and now he was old and they let him get away with murder.

"To the church?" Miss Webster asked, looking very anxious again, her voice a little higher than it had been.

"For the wedding," Jake said, a very small lilt in his voice, turning the statement into a question. Had she already changed her mind?

"Right... of course," she said, glancing down at her dress.

"Oh, do you have a wedding dress?" Jake asked, feeling foolish. He and Wilson had talked about having the ceremony as soon as possible, so they could make it back to the ranch before dark, but of course she hadn't been part of that conversation. It hadn't even occurred to them to think she might want to change and freshen up for her wedding.

By her hesitation in answering, he saw that she likely did have a special dress picked out but wasn't sure she should say so.

"Which bag is it in, sweetheart?" asked Wilson.

******

They'd taken her to a small room inside the church to change.

Evelyn tried to push back her rising panic as she pulled on her best dress with trembling hands. It wasn't a particularly fancy dress, but it was her nicest, and the green fabric brought out the green flecks in her hazel eyes. She got the feeling the gentlemen wanted to be on their way home, so she didn't fuss with her hair, but she did find herself pinching her cheeks and biting her lips to give them a bit more color.

They were very nice gentlemen, after all, and very handsome. She was lucky in some ways.

At least, that was what she kept telling herself, trying to keep herself from being utterly terrified.

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 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 work, 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 had 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 than her old manager, more handsome, more kind and giving 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. Maybe she hadn't expected her new husbands to be quite so forward, considering they'd just met, but no reason not to start like 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 and face Jake. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, her eyes a little glassy, lips slightly plumped from Wilson's kiss.

Stepping forward, Jake took her from the man he considered a brother and lowered his own head 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.

******

Bemused, Wilson looked down at his and Jake's blushing bride.

She was blushing, too, a deep red in 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.

Still, they'd have to buy her at least one pretty dress for dances and parties— the town had one every season— and a few ones out of better fabric for church. They definitely had enough money to outfit their wife a little better, and he would like to see her dressed up in something to set off her natural beauty.

Blinking, a little startled by his own thoughts, Wilson clambered up onto the seat next to the new Mrs. Bray-Tillman.

He'd been the one to insist they not get too attached to a lady before she actually came out and agreed to marry them, but apparently now that she was his wife, his mind was already jumping ahead and he was feeling VERY attached.

That might have something to do with Evelyn herself. She was a gorgeous woman, even in her plain dress and with her hair ruthlessly pulled back from her face, but her attractiveness was deeper than that. She was a strong woman, a brave one. She had to be, coming out West not knowing what her future held and then agreeing to marry two men. She also had to be an open minded one. So far, they hadn't had a chance to really talk much, but she didn't seem shrewish or demanding.