Marly's Choice (Men of August 1)

Sam was home within a few days, though he was still weak and tired, spending much of his time reclining in the family room under the watchful eye of his boob tube, or being stuffed with treats by Marie when she came in to check on him. The former cook still had a soft spot for Sam. He was being indulged and pampered, and Marly saw why Cade had put a stop to Marie’s spoiling of them years before. If given the choice, Sam would become a spoiled rich brat in no time at all.

Rick and Tara were out of sight, tracking Jack, Cade had told her the night before. Her face flamed as she thought of the things they had done in front of the window. There had been no thought given in regards to the cowboys watching. Or the stalker. Not that it didn’t add a new dimension to the sex. Marly still wasn’t certain why her blood ran faster, her breathing faster with the thought of the eyes that could be watching.

It frightened her sometimes, the things he whispered to her and the excitement she felt at the thought of doing them. He was pushing her, and Marly knew it. Pushing the boundaries of what she could accept, and what she was comfortable with. There was more he wanted from her, and Marly was more than wary of the fact that those things were not abhorrent to her.

As she came down from their bedroom, the soft soles of her sneakers quiet on the stairs, she heard Cade and Sam in the living room, their voices a quiet, comforting buzz mixed with that of the television. She was wearing the clothes Cade had lain out for her. A short, gauzy skirt that hinted at full spring in the soft creamy background and light pastels of the hazy flowers. The cream colored strappy shirt she wore barely flirted with the waist of the skirt, and with each shift bared her waist, and the small gold ring and accompanying chain that spanned it. She wore white thongs, and no bra.

“There you are.” Cade smiled at her from the doorway to the family room, watching her with approval as she moved toward him.

His eyes were heavy lidded, his look sexual as he watched her.

“You aren’t working today?” she asked him softly, glad to see that he had decided to take Rick’s advice and stay in the house, rather than moving about outside.

“Yeah, Rick put his foot down.” He grimaced. “Make sure you stay inside too, we’ve found signs that Jennings has attempted to get closer to the house.”

Marly breathed in roughly as fear skated through her.

“Where?” she whispered.

“Beneath your bedroom window. I don’t think the nightmare last week was just your fears surfacing, Marly.” He walked over to her, his hand touching her cheek. “I think Jennings was in your room. That’s why the doors were opened when you cried out, waking yourself up. I think you knew he was there.”

Marly felt disgust crawl over her skin. The thought of Jack in her room, touching her. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. It was an invasion she couldn’t shake off. A rape of her privacy, and her sense of security that boiled in her soul.

“Did he get back in?” she asked desperately, terrified for Cade now.

Jack Jennings would kill Cade if he could; he had already shown that in his attack against Sam.

“No, Marly, he can’t get in now,” Cade promised her, his arm going around her shoulders. “Come on into the living room. Tara and Sam are in there watching a movie. We’ll join them.” He dropped a kiss on her head, tucking her close to his body as he drew her into the darkened room.

The shades were closed, dimming the room intimately. The flickering light of the television washing over Tara’s pretty, if aggressive expression, and Sam’s lazy countenance.

“Munchkin. You finally rouse?” He smiled from his position, stretched out on one of the couches. “Come over here and give me a hug. Cade and Tara are being mean to me.”

“You think everyone’s mean to you,” Tara laughed as she rose from her seat. “You handle him Marly, my patience is wearing thin.”

Marly shook her head. Seeing the boyish expression, the teasing in his eyes as Tara left the room. She walked over to him and bent over for the hug. She wasn’t expecting him to hold her head and cover her mouth with his as the other hand pushed beneath her shirt and palmed her breast, tweaking her nipple.

For a moment, she was shocked. Lust flared in her. Her nipple hardened painfully, her lips opening beneath the steady assault. His moan seconds later jerked her back to awareness. She jumped away from him, staring down at him in surprise as he watched her with a wicked, knowing expression.

Her gaze jumped to Cade. He was watching her with narrow-eyed intensity and a hard-on threatening to burst the front of his sweats.”Come here.” Cade held his hand out to her slowly. “Don’t be frightened, Marly.”

Don’t be frightened? She was fucking terrified. Her body was humming with lust, the flesh between her thighs moist and ready from another man’s touch. From Sam’s touch. And she wasn’t supposed to be frightened?

“Why did you do that?” She ignored Cade, staring down at Sam warily.

“Because I love you too, Marly,” he whispered. “Not as deep, not as true as Cade does, but I love you as well.”

His cryptic answer had her trembling.

“This isn’t acceptable,” she told Cade, trembling and aware of the sudden sexual tension in the room.

“Come here, Marly.” He merely repeated his command, but rather than waiting on her, he advanced on her until he could take her hand himself and lead her to the couch across from Sam’s, on the other side of the television. “Stop worrying so much. Let’s just sit here and watch television and try to get through the next few hours. Hopefully, this thing with Jennings will be over soon.”

Marly couldn’t take her eyes off Sam. Her mind was in turmoil. Cade had seen what had happened. He knew Sam had palmed her breast, that his tongue was in her mouth with that kiss, and he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t ready to kill his brother, and he wasn’t furiously charged with jealousy. He was turned on. Just as Sam was.

“Cade?” He reclined on the large couch, propping his head on the pillows at the end of it, then drew Marly down beside him. She was held against him spoon fashion, staring over at Sam as he watched her.

His eyes were dark, and heavy lidded. The soft material of his sweats was tented dangerously with his erection.