by Marla Monroe
“I’ll move in a few seconds. I’ve got to get my breath back. You wear me out.” He swallowed hard enough his Adam’s apple jumped.
Darla laughed and raked her nails lightly across his shoulders. He shuddered.
“Don’t do that. I’ll fall on you,” he complained.
She just smiled and cocked her head.
Once he’d caught his breath, Marcus rolled off her and eased off the edge of the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom, and a moment later she heard the toilet flush. She scooted over a few inches to locate the warmest spot in the bed and then closed her eyes and drifted. She felt sated and happy. Her belly growled. Well, almost satisfied. She seemed to be hungry. She had worked up an appetite, she admitted.
When Marcus returned to the bedroom, she was grousing about needing to find her panties. She wasn’t sure where they had thrown them the night before, and she was getting really cold.
“What is it, baby?” he asked.
“I need my panties. I can’t find them, and I’m freezing my ass off.”
“Can’t let that happen. I’m partial to that pretty peach.” He helped her look, but they couldn’t locate them.
She gave up and pulled out a fresh pair. She’d wanted to take a shower before she changed clothes to clean ones, but she needed coffee first.
“You take a shower and get dressed, and I’ll make coffee.”
Marcus had to have read her mind. She dropped the panties on the bed and hugged him. Then ran into the bathroom and shut the door to hold in the heat. She reached in and turned on the water to let it heat up. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror before the steam began fogging it up. She looked like a woman well used. Used…were they doing that? Just using her for their pleasure and when they tired of her, they’d send her on her way?
She swore then stepped into the hot spray of the shower jets. They claimed they wanted her for good. Did that mean forever, though? How did that work anyway? She remembered that their mother had invited her to call her anytime. She could ask her, but decided she’d be too embarrassed to admit she was having sex with her two boys. No, she couldn’t talk to her.
Finished in the shower, Darla stepped out and began drying off. Just as she reached for the door, it opened. Marcus smiled and handed her a mug of coffee.
“Room service,” he said with a smile.
Darla took a sip and winced. It was hot and black like she liked it but a little bit strong for her taste. Didn’t matter. She would drink it anyway. After another sip of the hot liquid, she sat it on the dresser and began dressing. When she started to put on a bra, Marcus stopped her.
“Let me.”
He settled the bra over her shoulders then pulled it together in front to fasten it. Once he’d done that, he reached into each cup and settled her breast comfortably in the material. It surprised her that he would know about that. She frowned at where her thoughts were going. They’d learned everything they’d done to her and for her from someone. That didn’t sit well, and she realized she was jealous of someone she didn’t even know.
“Why the frown, baby? Did I do it wrong?” he asked, a puzzled look on his face.
“Nothing. I was just thinking of something. Nothing important.” She hurried to put on her boots and hurried through the door and down the stairs.
When she got to the kitchen, she realized she’d left her coffee upstairs. Resigned to having to go back up to get it she nearly ran into Marcus as he walked into the kitchen. He held out her mug.
“You forgot this,” he said with his brows furrowed in worry.
Great, she’d upset him. She hadn’t meant to. Everything had been going great until she let her mind wander. She needed to put her past behind her and not worry about their past either. Nothing good would come of it.
She plastered a smile on her face and reached up to kiss him. He kissed her back before she drew away and walked over to the fridge.
“How about ham, eggs, and toast today?”
“Sounds good to me. I bet Randall will be back in before too long and be hungry as a bear. Marcus grabbed a mug from the cabinet over the coffee pot and poured a cup for himself. He closed his eyes when he swallowed.
“Hmmm, good, but a bit strong. Yours is much better,” he praised.
“Well, make yourself useful and gather all those dirty clothes from upstairs and carry them to the laundry for me. I’ll get them to washing as soon as I get breakfast started.”
He only half complained about bossy women as he headed up to the bedroom. She smiled at that. He obviously didn’t mean it since he was smiling as he did. He and Randall both seemed to really care about her, but they hadn’t really said as much. If they didn’t say it, she wasn’t sure how deep their feelings really went.
Marcus returned with a basket overflowing with dirty clothes. He carried it through the kitchen to the laundry room and deposited it out of sight. When he came back, she had the toast buttered and the ham cooking. She was scrambling the eggs with a little cheese in them. They could use the added protein and calories she figured.
“I’m going to see about the fire. If you need me, just holler,” Marcus said.
He’d only been gone a few seconds when sounds of Randall stomping on the back porch sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She didn’t have long to wonder at that when he opened the back door then pushed to shove it closed again. Cold air circled in the room.
“Whew. The wind has picked up something fierce out there.” He peeled off his coat and gloves before stepping out of his boots and into the pair of loafers they kept by the back door for just that reason.
“How much snow is out there now?” she asked.
“A good foot. The bad thing is, with the wind blowing like it is, there are drifts several feet high. It’s piling up against this side of the house. We’ll need to shovel it periodically so we can get out.”
“I’ll help,” she began.
Randall cut her off. “Hell, no! You’re not to step foot out that door. It’s too dangerous.”
She pouted since he yelled at her. She knew he was right, but it was the principle of the matter. She had feelings.
As if knowing he’d upset her, Randall walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry I yelled. It’s just that the thought of you out there lost in the snow scares the hell out of me.”
“Fine, I’m not going to go out. Just don’t yell at me.”
“Why’d he yell at you?” Marcus walked through the door from the living room.
“I shouldn’t have. She was talking about going outside to help us shovel snow, and I freaked.”
Marcus turned to her with a stern look on his face. “He’s right. Under no circumstances will you walk out that door. Now promise me.”
“I promise, okay?” She was aggravated now. “Get washed up, Randall. Breakfast will be on the table in the next few minutes.
She saw the two men exchange glances before she turned her back to them and began scrambling the eggs. They could have their “man” moment. She would sulk like any self-respecting woman that had been fussed at.
She was just putting the food on the table when Randall walked back in the kitchen. He crossed the room and tried to hug her, but she moved out of his arms.
“None of that. Go sit down, or breakfast will get cold.” She saw Marcus smile at Randall.
Breakfast was a silent affair. She knew she should let him off the hook, but she wanted to make her point. She didn’t want to be yelled at. The two men took their coffee into the living room to watch the weather. She busied herself cleaning up and thinking about what to cook for dinner that night. She settled on chili. She’d make enough for several meals. She could always freeze part of it if they didn’t need it all. She still expected the electricity to go off at any time.
Back when she lived in Mississippi, all it had to do was threaten to snow and the lights went out. Here, they seemed to have the problem under control. Darla separated the clothes next
and started a load of laundry. With that taken care of, she had time on her hands waiting for the washer to finish. She might as well go in the living room and let Randall off the hook now.
She walked in to find Marcus in the chair and Randall on the couch with his elbows on his knees gripping his coffee cup in two hands. Just looking at him sent another wave of fluttering in her belly. When she looked at Marcus, it was just as bad but different. He was the playful one of the two. Randall was the more serious. Since he was the oldest, that made sense. He had the majority of the pressure on his shoulders.
Ready to make peace with him, Darla plopped down next to him. He had to quickly set his coffee down on the coffee table to keep from spilling it.
“Easy there. I’ll spill it all over your clean floors,” Randall said.
She nudged his arm until he lifted it and wound it around her.
“Am I forgiven?” he asked.
“Hmmm, I guess so. Just don’t let it happen again.”
Marcus jumped up from his chair and joined them on the couch. They each took turns kissing and petting her until the weather came on. Then they all settled back to learn what they could expect over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It didn’t look good.
“If it follows the path they are projecting it will,” Randall began. “It will dump another foot or so of snow on us.”
“It’s a given. We’ll lose electricity before it’s over with,” Marcus shook his head.
“How are we on fuel for the generator?” Randall asked.
“Enough for twenty-four hours straight, so we can stretch it if we only use it at night.”
“We’ll close off the vents upstairs and move the air mattress in here to sleep on at night. We can stay warm with the fireplace when we shut off the generator,” Randall said.
“I’ll gather up some blankets.” Darla worried her lower lip.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Marcus said and squeezed her shoulder. “It won’t be that bad. We’ll all be together camping out in front of the fire. It will be fun.”
Randall snorted and stood up. “Need to shovel that snow, Marcus.”
Marcus rolled his eyes and brushed a kiss across her lips before following his brother into the kitchen. Darla scooted in behind him and watched them layer the clothes on to keep out the cold as they shoveled snow.
“We’ll be back in an hour or so. I want to get the path cleared from here to the barn,” Randall told her.
“Don’t worry about us. Just keep the fire going,” Marcus said.
The two men opened the door and stepped outside into the blowing snow. Marcus struggled to pull the door closed behind him, so Darla pushed against it on her side until it latched. The kitchen had dropped a few degrees from the door being open. She hurried over to the stove and started the chili. By the time the meat was brown, she was warm once again.
When the chili was all but ready, she left it on low to simmer while she gathered up blankets and piled them in the living room. She looked at her watch and realized they had been gone for nearly an hour now. They should be in soon, she thought.
After adding a log to the fire, Darla finished folding a load of clothes and changed over the ones in the washer to the dryer. One more load and she would have it all caught up. Glancing up, she noticed the clock on the kitchen wall said the boys had been out for well over an hour now. She pulled aside the curtain in the kitchen to look outside but all she could see was snow—everywhere. It seemed to swirl around the porch at a breakneck speed.
When two hours had passed, she became really worried and debated going to look for them. If she did and they were fine, Randall would tan her hide. If they weren’t okay, she wouldn’t know what to do. There was nothing she could do but wait. About the time she pulled out crackers for the chili, the sound of stomping boots on the back porch sent a wave of joy through her body. She let out a breath, not realizing she’d been holding off and on all morning.
This time when the men opened the door and slipped in, Randall struggled with the door. Once they were inside, Randall and Marcus both bent over with their hands on their upper legs to hold them while they struggled to catch their breath. She figured between the work of shoveling snow and the icy cold temperatures, it was hard to breathe out there.
“Can I do anything for you?” she asked, wringing her hands with worry.
“No. Be okay in a second,” Randall managed to get out between puffs.
She decided she couldn’t just stand there and watch them struggling to breathe and get warm. Instead, she began unbuttoning Marcus’s coat and pulled it off of him along with his gloves and scarf. She hung them up then warmed her hands under her arms for a few seconds before helping Randall off with his coat, scarf, and gloves. Both men took their hats off their heads and hung them on the hooks next to their coats. Again she shoved her hands under her arms to warm them.
“You two get in there where the fire is and I’ll have the chili ready for you in a few minutes.”
She shooed them out, then proceeded to turn the stove back on medium to warm the chili sooner. She would have liked it to simmer a bit longer, but it would do. The next time they had it, it would be better.
Darla crossed the room to the living room and stopped to watch her two men. She stopped and realized she had labeled them her men. She thought of where she lived as home and now she thought of Marcus and Randall as her men. It felt right to her. For the first time she thought they might just be able to make a family with the three of them after all. Beyond that she couldn’t even imagine.
She licked her lips and walked into the living room. The men both looked up and smiled. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest then lodged in her throat. It took two tries of clearing her throat before she could get out that dinner was ready. They didn’t seem to notice as they pushed her along with them back into the kitchen. She ladled the chili into bowls and sat down to eat.
Once the dishes were put away some forty-five minutes later, Darla dried her hands on the dish towel and followed the weird shooshing noise to the living room. The couch and coffee table had been moved back from the fireplace and the beginnings of a bed lay in the floor. Both men were on their knees beside the not yet aired up bed. Randall plugged in a hair dryer and fit it in an opening on the side of the bed. Marcus held it in place as the dryer tended to blow the bed across the room as it inflated it. They were concentrating so hard neither one of them noticed her there watching them from the doorway.
“I don’t remember it taking so dang long,” Marcus fussed.
“You’re just low on patience is all,” Randall said.
Unable to stand it any longer, Darla walked into the room and plopped down on the couch. Both men looked up, and immediately, their concerned faces turned to smiles for her.
“Hey, baby. We’re just about to get this thing up and ready,” Marcus reported.
“It looks comfortable, but it will be a tight fit. Is it really a king-size bed?” she asked.
It really didn’t look much larger than a double bed. She couldn’t imagine all three of them fitting on it, but they assured her it would work.
“Yep, it’s a king all right. A little snuggling will be fun,” Marcus added.
Randall turned off the dryer once the bed would only give a little bit when he pushed down on it.
“If you don’t like how firm it is,” Randall began. “We can let some of the air out to make it softer.”
“I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, I can always sleep on top of one of you,” she teased.
Marcus growled and advanced on her. She backed up and then turned to run around the couch. Randall shook his head at her and Marcus and gathered up the bed linen and began making the bed.
“Truce,” she begged. “Let’s save this until the weather clears up some.”
“You just want to wait until you can go outside to hide.” Marcus clucked his tongue at her.
“Well, there is that,” she laughed and eased around the couch on t
he opposite side of Marcus.
“Okay, truce…for now.” He smirked and helped Randall stretch the comforter over the stack of blankets he had piled on the makeshift bed.
“Let’s get ready for bed. I’ll have to get up early and start shoveling again,” Randall said.
Darla took the stairs intent on a nice soak before she went to bed. When she had the water running and was just sinking down into the blessed heat, Randall wandered in and sat on the edge of the tub. Darla’s nipples peeked out from the water, and Randall took advantage of it by running the rough pad of his finger over them until they grew harder.
“Your breasts are lovely, pale skin with dusky pink nipples on top.” He pinched one of them before flicking them with his thumb and forefinger.
Darla groaned then laughed when he lost his balance and nearly fell into the tub with her.
“Guess I better leave you to your bath. I’ll be waiting in the bedroom to help you dry off.” Randall held himself with his hands on either side of the tub and swooped down for a quick kiss. Then he walked out closing the door behind him.
Her fingers rose to trace her lips where he had kissed her. She tried to decipher her feelings for the two men. Every time they touched her, she grew weak with need. When they went outside, she worried and fretted over them. When they touched her, she fairly caught fire. It sounded like love to her, but she refused to believe it. She’d only known them a handful of days. Besides, they still hadn’t told her how they felt other than to say they wanted her and she belonged with them.
The water began to cool, so she stood up and stepped out of the tub. She grabbed the towel and bent over to let the water out of the tub. When a hard groin pressed against her, she yelped in surprise. A hand came out to steady her so she didn’t fall over into the tub.
“Easy there, baby.” Marcus held on.
“You scared me. Don’t do that,” she complained.