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2024-10-29 19:42:56Four Months Later
Marian Gaenor shut her office door. She was bone tired and wished she hadn’t promised Bob, the man she’d been dating casually these past three weeks, that she’d go out with him tonight. Maybe she’d call and cancel.She’d grab the subway home and curl up with a good book. But it was her thirty-first birthday. She should celebrate.All the way home she debated canceling or going. Her phone was ringing when she got to her door. Rushing inside, she picked up the receiver just in time.“Hi, girlfriend, have any pizza?”“Chelsea. It’s great to hear your voice. I have wine but no pizza. Wish you were here.”“I am. I’m at the airport. I’ll get the cabbie to stop for pizza and be there shortly. You don’t have other plans, do you? I should have checked, but I wanted to surprise you.”“No. Come on. I can’t wait to see you.” As soon as Marian hung up, she called and cancelled her date. Ah, that felt goodRelated chapters
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Rand parked in front of a small cabin. Marian loved the setting. She couldn’t help but have a great vacation. It certainly started out right being met at the airport by Rand, and soon she and Chelsea would have a nice long chat.“This is where Chelsea said you’d be staying. You can see the big house from here. I’ll take your suitcases in, and then I have to go.”Marian jumped out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride.”He put the cases inside the door. “Sorry about the stop, but those types of situations happen when you’re the only doctor around.”“My grandmother used to talk about doctors who made house calls. It’s nice. You get to know the people you take care of in a different way.” She shrugged. “Not so impersonal, as most things are today.”“Exactly. I tried to explain that to my fiancée, but she doesn’t get it.” His expression changed as though he wished he hadn’t become personal. “See you.” He waved, got in his truck, and turned to get back on the road.Marian watched until he was
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“They look a lot alike.”Chelsea nodded as she started cutting the chicken. “They all resemble each other. The sister is dainty and a blonde, and the younger brother has light-brown hair, but you’d still know they were all from the same family. You’ll see tomorrow. And,” Chelsea added, “I’ve heard Anna is actually going to be there. I haven’t met her yet. I’m glad to see you and Rand are getting along great.”“Don’t start putting us together. Remember there’s a third, his fiancée.”“Not for long. See if I’m not right. Here, whip up the potatoes. I’ll put the chicken on the table.”Dinner was delicious, and Marian enjoyed watching the camaraderie between the three others at the table. When Rand excused himself to leave, Marian said she’d go, too. “It’s been a long day. I’ll see you tomorrow.”“Wait, I’ll get my flashlight and walk you to the cabin.” Dirk started out of the kitchen.“I’ll drive her,” Rand said.“Good idea.” Chelsea put her arm around Dirk, who’d come back to her side.R
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Marian got into the back of Dirk’s truck.“I don’t mind riding in the back,” Chelsea said. “You’re our guest. Dirk can point out places of interest.”“You said it wasn’t far. I’ll be fine. I’m not going to split up the lovebirds,” she teased.Chelsea got in the front, and Dirk went around to the driver’s seat. He glanced in the backseat at Marian.“You met most of my family at our wedding, but today you’ll have more time to get to know them all.”“I’m looking forward to it.” She sat back to enjoy the ride. Her throat tightened. She tried not to be envious of her best friend’s life. Chelsea was lucky. She had a hunky husband and was expecting their baby.Chelsea glanced around from the front to see Marian. “It’s quiet back there.” “I’m enjoying the view. I like this open country.”“Great. Maybe you’ll settle here.”“Remember, no matchmaking,” Marian reminded her.“That’s like asking my darling wife to sew her lips shut. She’ll never be able to keep that promise.” Chelsea laughed and sw
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Rand seldom got mad, but fury swept through him. He took a deep breath before answering. “Sit down,” he ordered.“I’ll do as I want.”“Please sit down.” He kept his voice level but firm. Something in his tone must have got through to her. She sat. “First, I have no idea why you slapped me. If you do it again, this conversation is over before it starts. Second, we are hardly engaged. You wanted time and to end it yourself. I’ve given you months. I’m out of patience. Our engagement is ending now, today.”“Hah, because I saw what you really are and called you on it. You’ve been cheating on me this whole time.”“And what do you use as proof? The fact I talked with another woman.” “I saw the way you looked at her.”His harsh laugh had her looking at him, puzzled. “I’ve never even kissed her. I wanted to, but I remembered our agreement. I think you’re throwing these accusations around because of your guilt. I’d bet you’ve been hunting for another husband and cheated on me.”The quick flush
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The lights she’d left on outside the cabin and inside by the front window welcomed them when they arrived.“Thank you for driving me back.” Her hand went to the door handle. “Aren’t you going to invite me inside? I’d love a cup of fresh coffee.”“Rand, tonight you broke your engagement. I don’t intend to be a quick fix for you suddenly feeling lonely and horny. Give yourself some time to regroup.”“I’ve had months. I tried to end it before I moved here. We waited to give her time to get used to the idea. I had dropped a sudden surprise on her when I decided to be a country doctor.” He leaned forward again.Marian stopped him with her hand on his chest. “Still, you need time.”“I’m working and on call the rest of the week. Dr. Neels and his wife are going on a three-day cruise.”“Good. It will keep you busy.” Marian opened the truck door and ran to the cabin. When she slipped inside, she lay against the closed door and listened to him drive off.Her body had shouted “yes, yes, yes” at
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Visiting the Nettles had gone well. The pizza they bought scented the truck with the wonderful fragrance of warm bread and melted cheese. Marian called to reassure Chelsea that Rand was bringing her home and they were having dinner at the cabin.Marian opened the front door, and Rand followed, carrying the pizza. On the table was a chocolate cake, a tall pitcher of iced tea, and an unlit candle. A small note read, “Have Fun.”Rand put the pizza on the counter, and Marian stuck the tea in the fridge.They looked at each other. She wet her lips, and Rand’s eyes darkened.“I suppose we must be civilized and eat first. The pizza is hot. But then I’m not very hungry.” He walked toward her. “What do you think?” he asked as he reached her. “Shall we start with dessert?” His fingers undid her first button. “Perhaps if we took care of this other hunger first, we might be more ready to eat.”Rising on her tiptoes, Marian brushed her lips across his sensual mouth. Her breasts touched his hard ch
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The office phone rang. “Dr. Brodie’s office,” Marian said.“You sound so professional. Look, I’m feeling good. So I thought we’d go to Wagon Wheel for the rest of the afternoon. It’s bigger than Frontier City. They have a movie theater.”“We can have a real girl’s day out. I’ll be through here in about thirty minutes.”“I’ll pick you up.”Rand had walked up behind her. She sensed anytime he was close.“Are you going out with Chelsea? Remember, tonight I’m paying you with a fancy dinner.”“Yes, we’re going to Wagon Wheel. It’ll be fun. I don’t know when we’ll get back. You don’t have to pay me with dinner. I was teasing.”“I insist. If not tonight, then tomorrow. Thanks for all your help this week. I don’t keep the office open on the weekend, but can you fill in next week, too? Eloise hopefully will be back after that.”He’d treated her like an employee all week since the night he’d left her cabin. He was pleasant, smiled, and was appreciative of her work, but nothing personal slipped
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Chelsea left Marian at the cabin. “Sure you don’t want to join us later?” “Thanks, but I’m tired. See you tomorrow.”Marian had barely put on her lights when the phone rang. “Hello.”“You’re back.” Rand’s deep voice vibrated from her ear down her body. “I wondered if you were too tired to go for a ride. Unless you’d rather do a late dinner tonight.”“I’d like the ride.”“I’ll be right there.” The phone went dead.She rushed to shower and changed into casual slacks and a white sweater. She’d save the gold one for the dance. The truck door slammed as she finished combing her hair out. A spritz of perfume and she was ready at his knock.Her mind told her she was a fool. But her body didn’t listen.When she opened the door, Rand stepped inside and pulled her to him. He kissed her mouth like a thirsty man taking his first drink in a long time. His tongue tangled with hers as his fingers slid through her hair.He pull
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ReeseFeeling happy, ridiculously so, I put my key in the door and push it open. It’s been a week since I moved in with Drake and I’m still floating on a cloud of joy. The apartment is quiet. Drake is out visiting with his agent about a sponsorship deal for anew sneakers company. He’s glad to be back training again, even though he comes home every night exhausted. A couple of times he tried to sneak me into the locker rooms again, in the hopes of re- enacting our kinky first-time meeting, but we’ve had no luck so far. There have always been people around. Sometimes I wonder how fate works. How easily I got in and found him alone the first time, but now it’s almost impossible to find a moment when it is quiet.I dump my keys on the side table and kick off my formal shoes. I’ve just returned from an interview at one of the colleges I hope to attend in the new year. I’ve always been wary about pursuing something away from Dad and Morgan, for fear that they would need me, or that somethi
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ReeseAnother morning, another unfamiliar place for me to wake up in, but this time, the fact I’m somewhere new doesn’t throw me. In fact, it sends a shiver of joy down my back. I turn over to see Drake lying next to me, fast asleep and sprawled across the luxurious covers ofhis massive bed.It was last night that I officially moved into his apartment in the city. His place is great because it’s less than an hour’s drive from where Morgan is staying so I can be closer to her. I don’t know how much longer Morgan must stay in the hospital, but I hope she will be discharged soon. Now that we have found out her condition is treatable, I can’t wait for her to start living her life again.Drake drove down to pick up all my stuff, and we took a road trip across the country together. It’s something I will remember forever. It was like a dream. The sun was shining, and the wind was in my hair. We talked, we laughed, we ate, and when we just couldn’t keep our hands off each other anymore, we s
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DrakeT he hospital doors slide open smoothly in front of us. Reese squeezes my hand. I glance down at her, and possessive pride bubbles inside me. This is my woman and only mine. It makes me sad that she must go through this pain. Thank God, I’m here tosupport her through it. She’ll never have to deal with anything like this on her own again. “Are you ready?”“Almost,” I say, and wrapping one arm around her waist and the other in her long hair, I pull her towards me. Caught off guard, she gasps and I claim her open mouth. Her fingers come up and grasp at my shirt trying to pull me closer, closer, and closer still. Her curvy body pushes into mine, molding herself against my hardness. All the passion and fervor I feel for her comes to the fore and all I want to do is pull her into a quiet corner and fuck her so hard she screams, but I don’t. I pull back and look into her eyes. They are glazed and heavy-lidded. Her lips are red, swollen, and slightly parted, as she takes short, quick b
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ReeseWhen I open my eyes the next morning, it takes me a couple of seconds to realize where I am. I blink at the watery light streaming in through the bay windows. The chipped paint on the panes remind me.Drake. The cheap hotel.I snap upright in bed and look around, scanning the room for him, but I don’t see him. There is an indentation in the pillow, but the sheets are cold. Memories of last night come tumbling back. Drake couldn’t get enough of my body. Sinking into me again and again. Like he couldn’t get deep enough. Like a beast. Like he hadn’t fucked in years. Surely, he hasn’t run out on me in a crummy hotel in the middle of nowhere?So why do I feel this creeping sense of dread?What if everything he whispered, roared, and growled last night was a lie? A technique to get what he wanted. What if all he ever wanted from me was a night of sex so he could move on already. The sudden sense of loss and hurt is so acute it makes me feel sick to my stomach. Until I hear his voice c
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DrakeI drive fast, faster than I should in someone else’s car, faster than I’ve driven in a long time. I just want to put as much distance as possible between me and my parents’ betrayal. I trusted them completely. Fuck, they didn’t even let me believe Santa Clausexisted because it was wrong to cheat kids! They robbed me of that innocent fantasy and lied about this massive deal!My mind flashes with memories of my childhood. All kinds of images slam into my head. Everything was a lie. I try to figure out if there is some way I could have known this. If I had been more vigilant, could I have put the pieces together before now? Even raging with anger, I know I still love both my parents, and I always will, but what they did to that poor woman.Unforgivable.My heart bleeds for Morgan. All those wasted years pining for me. Carefully cutting out my pictures from newspapers and magazines, and framing them all. Making a shrine for me. Watching every game. She was pale and frail. Like she
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ReeseI''m wearing out the carpet in the living room pacing back and forth when Drake re- emerges. I can’t take my eyes off him. The look on his face is unlike anything I’ve seen on anybody before. He is so livid his eyes are practically shooting sparks. His mouth isclamped tightly with steely determination, and there’s a white ring around his mouth. Uh oh, something big is about to go down. What did we expect, though, when we invited someone as hot- headed as Drake to find out that he’s been lied to his entire life?“Do you have a car?” he asks through clenched teeth.I look at him blankly for a second. A car? Then I nod quickly. “Yes.”He marches over to me, grabs my hand, and starts dragging me along with him.“What are you doing?” I protest, even though a part of me loves the feeling of his hot flesh against mine again.“Come on. I need your help.” “To do what?” I ask.“To take me to my father.”I feel a cold sensation rush up and down my body.“I need to go over there now,” he s
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DrakeI must admit this whole thing has started to give me the creeps. I was certain that it was all a scam. Fuck, I wouldn’t even have come if I didn’t want to mark Reese as my property so damn badly.To start with I’m not good at all this emotional stuff, but worse I’m not so sure anymore that it’s a scam. My bullshit-o-meter has been waiting to spot a crack, a problem in the story so that I can unravel and bring the whole thing down around them, but so far nothing. Could these three really be that good at pretending?I straighten my shoulders. Maybe this will be it. Reese was the honey trap, the Dad is the bit player, but the woman upstairs. She’s the eye of the storm.I get to the landing and find three doors, but only one is slightly ajar. I start walking towards, but before I can even knock, a woman’s voice calls from inside the room, “Drake?”I push open the door and my eyes immediately fall on a woman in a flowery nightgown. She’s sitting up in a double bed and leaning forward
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ReeseWe both stand stock-still and listen to the noises upstairs. Someone is getting out of bed, and I’ll put money on it being Dad. Surely, they can’t have heard us? Even though Dad’s hearing is poor at best and the drugs effectively knock Morgan into such a deepsleep that it is sometimes hard to deliberately wake her up, I can’t be totally sure that they have been oblivious to everything that we’ve been up to down here. All I can hope is that Drake managed to muffle most of my noises by stuffing my panties into my mouth.I have no idea what I look like, but my face feels flushed, and my breath is still coming so fast I’m sure it must be blindingly obvious to anyone who lays eyes on me that I’ve just climaxed. Terrified that I’ll give the game away, I close my eyes and try to calm myself, but it’s hard, especially knowing that he’s right there, looking at me with more lust than I know what to do with.How am I supposed to react normally in front of my parents with a guy like this a
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DrakeI called the number that Reese left, hoping that I’d find some way to get hold of her again, but instead, I found myself talking to the lady claiming to be my real birth mother. My hackles were still up, but she was so incredibly happy to hear from me that I ended uplistening to her with a kind of detached amazement.Was it truly possible for someone to pretend that level of sweet innocence and pure joy?I guess, if you’re pulling this kind of scheme, you should go all in and pick the sweetest, kindest, most adorable little lady you can find.Obviously, I agreed to meet her. The way I figured it, I’ll walk through her door, get to the bottom of the scam, then go find Reese and finish what we started. Any screwing that happens along the way, of course, will be purely incidental.The closest airport to my hometown is a small city about an hour north of it. It is a wet, thickly fogged day, and it sets the tone for the way I feel.It’s been forever since I was back here. Usually, m
