August Heat (Men of August 4)

“You have a lot to learn about me, Sarah,” he whispered breathlessly. “And there’s a hell of a lot you’re not seeing. Now, baby, ask for what you want. If you dare.”

She watched as he raised his head, staring down at her, his expression, for once, closed, cool.

“Brock?”

He moved away from her, watching her, his expression dark, controlled.

“If you can’t trust me that far, Sarah, trust me enough to give me your every dream, then you can’t trust me to love you, either. Can you?”

She shook her head, her chest tightening in pain. “I know you love me. I love you, Brock.”

“Do you?” He rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving hers. “If you did, then that trust would be there. You would open your eyes as you expect me to open mine, and see what’s right in front of your face. When you can do that, let me know. We can talk then.”

Chapter Four

“This isn’t going to work.” Sarah tried to still her panic as she faced the other two women the next day. Brock had been too silent the night before. He had watched her too intently, too knowingly. He knew, and the very fact that he hadn’t said anything was scaring her to death.

“Settle down, Sarah.” Marly moved to the living room door, checking the dining room and entry hall before closing the door quickly. “We don’t need the housekeeper to hear us.”

“Not to mention the men.” Heather paced the room. “This is getting too damned difficult. We’re only weeks away from Christmas, Marly.”

“What happened, Sarah?” Marly asked as Sarah sat down heavily on the couch.

“God, this is such a mess,” she groaned. “I did my best, Marly. I swear I did. I was nice and vague, just like we agreed, but I think he guessed. He guessed and now he’s madder than hell that I didn’t just tell him. I knew this was a bad idea.”

She glanced up as Heather and Marly shared a worried look.

“What?” she asked warily.

“Cade isn’t speaking to me, either.” Marly was wringing her hands, her blue eyes wide, upset. “He came to bed last night and just gave me this really strange look before he kissed my forehead and rolled over and went to sleep. He didn’t say anything. He always talks to me before we go to sleep.”

“Sam was acting strange, too.” Heather pushed her fingers through her already rumpled hair. “God, this is such a mess. And it shouldn’t be this damned hard. We shouldn’t have to play games like this, Marly.”

“Do you have another suggestion?” Marly was growing increasingly frustrated now. “Dammit, both of you know how we tried to talk to them before. It didn’t work then. Why would it work now?”

They were all silent. Sarah frowned as something Brock had said the night before continued to haunt her. That the answer to what she wanted was right before her eyes. Her heart had slammed in her chest then, and it did again now.

“Marly?” She raised her eyes to the other woman. “They’ve stopped.”

Marly shook her head as she stared at her in confusion. “What?”

Sarah frowned as she considered the past nine months. “Think about it. Admittedly, we haven’t given any of them much of a chance to try, but they don’t try, either. They’ve stopped.”

Heather and Marly stilled. “We realize that, Sarah.” Heather sighed. “But it has to continue this way.”

Sarah shook her head demandingly. “No. Listen to me. Think about it. It’s completely stopped. No little butt pats. No hot little looks. The whole nine yards. It’s stopped.”

Marly and Heather both watched her in bemusement. Had they somehow gotten what they were fighting for, without fighting for it? Had the men not paid any attention to their careful avoidance of being alone with any of them, other than their chosen husbands, out of choice?

Marly sat down slowly. “She’s right,” she whispered, looking at Heather in surprise. “I know Cade. All the avoidance in the world wouldn’t work if he got horny enough to go after it. They’ve stopped on their own.”

They had been so concerned with their subtle maneuvers to be certain there was no opportunity for the three men to catch one of them alone, or to try to seduce them into their erotic, heated play. They hadn’t realized that the men weren’t trying to do so.

“Now what?” Heather asked softly. “How can we be certain they won’t want to try to reestablish those relationships later?”

Sarah breathed in roughly. “I’m certain, Heather. Brock is madder than hell right now.” The very thought of that terrified her. “He pointed out to me, rather coolly, that maybe what I wanted was right in front of my eyes and I had refused to see it. I think he’s right. We’ve been so concerned with protecting them, with trying to feel our way through this for the past year, that we haven’t noticed the change in them.” And that broke her heart. “We didn’t see that it wasn’t our machinations, but their decision to stop themselves.”

She watched the other two women pale. “God. We’re in some deep trouble here.” Marly swallowed tightly. “A pissed August male is not a good thing.”