Marly's Choice (Men of August 1)

“I love you,” he swore, his smile a bit sad as he watched her. “More than you know, Marly, I love you. But we aren’t finished, baby. I need you to do one more thing for me.”

She blinked up at him, satisfaction still coursing through her body.

“I need you to be with Tara. I need you to accept that as well, Marly. Another

woman. I want you to make love with her.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Cade reached his limit. Furious, insulted, her heart beating with anger, Marly attempted to reconcile herself, days later, to Cade’s declaration. She wouldn’t do it. She remembered the way his expression shuttered, the way he stilled at her refusal to give him what he desired. She couldn’t do it. She loved him, loved Brock and Sam. She wanted to please them. She could accept, if not understand, this need Cade had. Being with another woman, she would not accept. She couldn’t accept it.

“You can’t avoid me forever.” Tara’s voice was amused, understanding.

She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes watching Marly prepare her snack.

Marly kept her head lowered as she continued to make her snack. A glass of cola sat on the counter, and the plate she was filling with fruit and dip was nearly finished.

“I wasn’t aware I was avoiding you.” She shrugged casually.

She was avoiding Tara. She had no desire to remember that afternoon, to talk about it, or to think about it. She wanted to keep the memory hazy, until she could deal with it.

“Of course you are, and I understand why.” The woman moved into the room, and took a seat at the table as Marly sat down.

Still, Marly refused to look at her.

“It’s hard, that first time. It offends your sense of morality, your sense of yourself, revealing things you didn’t know before. I understand that. I’ve been there, Marly. It won’t be as hard as you think it will be.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” Marly shook her head quickly. “I want to eat my snack, then go shower and go to sleep. I don’t want to deal with it.”

“If you don’t deal with it now, how will you deal with it when Sam or Brock brings a lover into the house? You’ll be expected to participate then, Marly. To not just accept the pleasure, but to return it. This is what Cade needs to prepare you for.”

“And why would you agree to it?” Marly bit out. “What’s in it for you?”

Tara’s look was straightforward as she shrugged. “You’re an attractive woman, Marly. It’s something I would enjoy.”

“Are you—?”

“A lesbian?” Tara laughed. “Not hardly. But there are joys to be found in it, just as there are joys to be found with a man. Cade knows me from the job we did on the neighboring ranch. He knows I like to play.”

Marly’s chest clenched with pain. Anger. “And have you ‘played’ with Cade?” She felt like throwing something in the woman’s face.

Tara shook her head. “No. A friend of his, though. He just happened to have shown up at the time.”

Marly bit her lip, her appetite now gone as she stared down at the fresh

peaches and juicy pears awaiting her.

Tara snagged a slice of the pear, and Marly’s eyes rose in surprise when it was suddenly poised at her lips. Tara’s deep green eyes were gentle when she rubbed the slick, dripping slice of fruit at Marly’s lips.

“That’s how it feels, Marly, and it tastes just as sweet. There’s nothing to be frightened of.” She pushed the fruit into Marly’s mouth.

It was sweet and cool, running over her tongue like a sigh of bliss.

“You’re not expected to accept it as you do Cade’s touch, Cade’s taste. But I know he expects you to enjoy it. To want it. They’re tied in a way most siblings aren’t. Bonded in a way that may be hard to understand, as they sheltered you from the harsher realities of their lives.”

How did this woman, this stranger know so much more about her family than she did? Marly watched Tara, seeing the truth in her eyes, wondering how she could know so much.

“What do you mean?” Marly shook her head. “Cade wouldn’t tell you everything. He wouldn’t even explain it all to me.”