by Marla Monroe
“Move slowly and she might not wake up,” Marcus suggested.
Bruce drew in a deep breath and slowly extracted himself from her body before climbing out of the bed. They both held their breath as Kate’s face wrinkled up as if unsure what was going on. Then she settled back down without opening her eyes. Her breathing slowly evened out once again.
Bruce zeroed in on the coffee and took a sip.
“How’s he doing?”
“Holding his own. Has a low-grade fever, but nothing to worry about just yet.” Marcus began undressing. He needed a shower.
“I’ll keep watch. If he starts spiking a good one, I’ll start sponging him down.” Bruce took another sip of the coffee then sat it down to get dressed.
“I’m heading for a shower. Wake me up if you think he’s getting bad.”
“Will do.”
Marcus padded naked into the bathroom and closed the door so as not to wake up Kate. She needed as much sleep as she could get to deal with whatever the next day brought. If they were lucky, it would be a recovering Mike. If they weren’t…well, they had done their best for her and him both.
Marcus turned on the shower and adjusted the water to a bearable temperature. When he stepped in beneath the spray, he sighed. Crusted blood from hours before began to soften and sluice away. He lathered up and scrubbed to make sure he got rid of it all. Rinsing off, he thought about Kate and what having her there with them could mean. Bruce was taken with her despite his denial over the past months. It was evident in the way he had treated her since they had saved her and, hopefully, Mike from their attackers.
Yeah, Bruce would bond with her. He just didn’t know if he would let himself love her. Marcus had been too young to remember their mother leaving them with their abusive drunk of a father. Then his first wife had left him for another man. He had said when Irene had been killed that he would never let another woman have his heart just to crush it when she left.
Bruce started to get out of the shower, but he realized he still had an erection that would get in the way of sleeping. If Kate were to wake up and see his throbbing cock, she would probably run screaming from the bedroom. No, he needed to take care of it first.
He lathered his hands with soap for lubrication and ran his hand down the length of his dick before squeezing and sliding back up again. He thumbed the rim of the mushroom head then ran the palm of his hand over the top and squeezed his way back down again. His cock ached for the warmth of woman to sink into instead of merely his hand.
He pumped his cock with a firm grip, thinking of Kate’s mouth stretched wide around his cock. Her plump lips would be swollen from his kisses as she swallowed his dick, taking him to the back of her throat.
The warm water rolled down his back as electrical impulses gathered at the base of his spine. He pulled faster as he imagined Kate letting him hold her head while he face fucked her. She would trust him not to hurt her. He never would. He could see her eyes dark with arousal as he thrust his cock in and out of her wet mouth. Marcus’s balls began to draw up as he grew closer to climaxing. He reached between his legs and cupped them in his hand.
Faster and tighter, he tugged on his dick, imagining now sinking into her tight cunt over and over again. Fire burned down his spine and ignited his balls. Cum boiled in them as he pumped his hand up and down his cock.
Just as he imagined shooting his seed inside of Kate’s hot cunt, he erupted, cum shooting from his dick to the floor below. He threw out a hand to catch himself against the shower wall.
“Fuck.”
He cleaned up and got out of the now cooling shower to dry off on shaky legs. If he came that hard just thinking about her, God only knew how hard he’d come once he was inside of her. His ass cheeks were sore from squeezing as he came.
Once he had his breathing under control, Marcus eased out of the bathroom into the bedroom in hopes of not waking Kate up before he was in the bed with her. He pulled on a pair of thermal underwear knowing she would balk at having a completely naked man in bed with her. Marcus slid beneath the sheets and backed up to her. She instantly sought his warmth and snuggled to his back. He briefly thought of turning over and pulling her into his arms, but he dismissed that thought, figuring she would wake up.
The feel of her breasts mashed against his back stirred his cock once again. He nearly moaned out loud at the thing noticing. He was going to end up with a fucking hard-on after all. Then he grinned. The fact that she aroused him so easily was good. He only hoped that one day she would be aroused by them just as easily.
Marcus settled down and let sleep take him. He knew things were bound to be rough over the next few days. He wanted to be ready for whatever happened.
Chapter Seven
Something tickled Kate’s nose. She twitched it, but it didn’t go away. She brushed at it and found her hand against something warm and hairy. Instantly her eyes opened and focused on the fact that she was nearly on top of Marcus’s chest. She panicked and started to move. Hands came out and held her still.
“Easy, Kate. Your knee is in a very tender spot right now,” Marcus said in a tight voice.
“Oh. Um, what do I do?” She registered that her knee was squashed up against his balls. Thank God he has on underwear.
“Just ease back. Then you can move. Just don’t put any pressure on that knee until you’ve moved back.” Marcus slowly let go of her arms.
Kate slipped her leg back and then pulled herself off of his chest. She had basically crawled on top of the poor man. It was a wonder he had been able to breathe. The intimacy of their positions wasn’t lost on her. She just hoped he didn’t get any ideas. God knew she had grown wet thinking about how close they had been.
That thought went right out the window when he threw off the covers and stood up beside the bed. He held out his hand to help her up. There, standing out in front of him against the thermal pants in all its pride and glory, was the largest cock she’d ever seen. Well, not seen exactly since it was covered, but damn it was big. She blushed at the realization that she had been staring at it. She risked a glance up and sure enough Marcus had noticed by the lopsided grin on his face.
Kate scowled at him and marched into the bathroom ahead of him. She was sure he had wanted it first, but she wasn’t going to stand around waiting on him to gawk at her less-than-decent attire.
“Kate, I’ll leave something for you to wear on the bed once I’ve gotten dressed.”
“Um, thanks. That would be good,” she managed to get out around the knot in her throat.
She took her time in the bathroom making sure to give Marcus plenty of time to come back and leave whatever he planned before she ventured outside the bathroom. She didn’t want to run into him again without being fully clothed. God, she had slept with both him and Bruce in next to nothing. She shivered at the thought. Part of her could acknowledge that she had enjoyed it, but the other part of her was appalled at her attraction to them.
She cracked the bathroom door and snuck a peek to see if the promised clothes were waiting on her. Sure enough, a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt lay across the foot of the bed. There was no sign of Marcus or Bruce, so she hurried out of the bathroom and changed clothes. The sweatpants were much too long, but she was able to roll up the legs so she wouldn’t trip and fall. She did the same thing to the sleeves. She had to pull the ties on the warm-ups extra tight to keep them up.
Satisfied with her appearance, she quickly made the bed and took the stairs down to the living room where Mike was on the couch in front of a roaring fire. He looked pale and gaunt in the flickering light.
Kate rushed over to kneel by his side. She looked up at Bruce in hopes he would have some good news.
“He hasn’t woken up all night, Kate. He’s running a fever, but so far, it isn’t serious. His wound has some redness around it, so I’m worried it’s getting infected.” Bruce’s lips thinned when she bit her lower lip.
“How high has his fever gotten?” she asked.
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“Just one hundred so far. I’m keeping a close watch on it.”
“What can I do to help?” She wanted to do something. Sitting around watching him would drive her crazy.
“Kate, if you want to help, you could fix us something for breakfast,” Bruce suggested.
“Cook? Um, sure. I can do that.” She took one last look at Mike and brushed a kiss on his warm forehead then walked out of the living room into the kitchen.
She poured a cup of the coffee and sipped at it while she searched to see what the men had available to cook. The coffee was a bit strong, but she felt she needed it to deal with the two men who her brother had given her to.
That thought tightened her gut and things further south. Her pussy leaked a small amount of her arousal. She couldn’t help but be attracted to them. They’d saved her not just once, but twice, and were two of the most ruggedly handsome men she had ever met. Her inner desire to know them more intimately had been a fantasy. Now, it could very easily become a reality if Mike didn’t recover.
He had to get well. She couldn’t imagine life without her brother in it. He’d been her mainstay for years now. Once he was well, things would go back to how they had been. Yet deep down inside, she knew that wasn’t possible. Yesterday had only proved that he couldn’t keep her safe by himself. Fear threatened to overwhelm her as she tried to push the thoughts back for the time being. She needed to cook something for them for breakfast. They were taking care of Mike and deserved a filling meal.
Kate settled on deer steak with gravy. She was just about to start cooking when Marcus walked into the kitchen. He smiled at her and grabbed a basket and a bucket.
“I’m going to go milk the cow and grab whatever eggs I can find from the hens if you want to wait for me to come back.”
“You have hens and a milk cow?” She could cook them eggs to go with the steak.
“Yep. I’ll be back in a little while. Hold off for about thirty minutes.” He pulled on his coat and slipped his feet into a pair of boots standing at the back door.
Then he slipped outside, letting a swirl of cold air in to circulate around the kitchen. Kate shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She sipped on the coffee and thought about what her future would hold even if Mike recovered. He would insist that she had to find two men. Even if these two didn’t want her, he would surely pick one of the other two sets of bachelors in the area.
Neither of them were the least bit attractive to her. They all seemed so young, when in fact they were about the same age she was. If she was going to be honest, she would have to admit that she was attracted to Bruce and Marcus. They aroused more than just a curiosity about them. They left her wet when they touched her or talked to her. She’d felt scandalous thinking about them when they were obviously grieving over their late wife.
The back door opened, startling her. She looked up and found Marcus struggling to shut the door with a basket in one hand and a bucket nearly full of milk with the other hand. She raced to the door and pushed it shut against the wind.
“Getting colder outside. I expect it’s going to snow soon. Got to get over to your place and do something about the mess we left behind.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.” She shivered at the memory of the two men.
“Fuck! I’m sorry I brought that up, Kate.”
“It’s okay. I’m going to have breakfast ready in just a few minutes.”
She busied herself at the stove, still keenly aware of the other man in the room. He strained the milk and then left it covered by the back door where the cool air seeped beneath it.
Kate quickly filled two plates with deer steak, gravy, and eggs. She carried them into the other room for the men then returned with fresh coffee.
“Do you want a glass of milk? I didn’t think of that.” She clasped her hands in front of her.
“No thanks, Kate.” Bruce waved toward the kitchen. “Go fix your plate and come sit down and eat.”
“I ate while I cooked. I can watch Mike while you eat.”
“That would be good. We’ll go on into the kitchen, then.” Bruce stood up and Marcus followed him.
Kate took Mike’s hand in hers and squeezed it. She leaned over close to his ear and talked to him.
“Fight, Mike. You’ve got to fight for me. I can’t deal with life all alone. Don’t leave me like this.” She squeezed his hand and waited in hopes he would squeeze back, but his hand remained flaccid in hers.
She checked his forehead several times to find it slightly hotter to her. She took the thermometer she found on the table by the couch and placed it under his arm. When she pulled it out several minutes later, it read 101.4. She shook it down and replaced it in its holder on the table.
Marcus walked in as she stood up to go get them.
“What is it?” he asked. He seemed to be aware that something was wrong.
“His temperature is up.” She told him what it was.
“Damn, I was afraid of this. He’s getting an infection. Without antibiotics, we’re just going to have to sweat it out of him and hope it will work.”
“I don’t want him to die, Marcus.” Kate felt the tears well up in her eyes.
“I know. We’re going to do everything we can to keep him alive.” He ran his hand down her arm. “Why don’t you sit with him for a while and monitor his temperature while I clean up the kitchen.”
“Where is Bruce?”
“He’s gone to your place to take care of things. He’ll be back in a few hours.” Marcus moved the chair closer to where Mike lay on the couch and urged Kate to sit down. “I’ll just be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Kate nodded without looking at him. She hated for anyone to see her cry, and it seemed she had cried a lot around them. Once he was gone, she took a damp cloth and bathed Mike’s forehead and face. The fire continued to radiate enough heat that she was hot, but knew it was for Mike’s benefit that they kept it built up. One of them had draped several blankets over him as well.
Nearly an hour later, Marcus came in and suggested she get up and walk around some while he checked over their patient. Kate got up and moved around the living room for a few seconds, but drifted back to watch Marcus check her brother’s wound and dressing. The skin around the stitches was puckered and an angry red. He cleaned the area with alcohol and covered it with a new dressing of gauze and tape.
“Help me turn him a little, Kate. We don’t want him to end up with pneumonia if we can help it.” Together they turned him farther on his side.
Mike immediately began coughing some. Kate rubbed his back in circles, hoping he would be okay. When he settled down again, she sat back on the chair and bathed his face and neck with the cool, damp cloth.
Several hours later, Bruce returned, looking haggard and exhausted. He carried two suitcases with him.
“I packed up some of yours and Mike’s clothes so you’ll be comfortable while you’re here,” he said by way of explanation. “I’ll stick them in the bedroom for you to unpack when you get ready to get to them.”
“Thanks, that was really thoughtful of you. I know you have to be exhausted. You’ve been up for at least twelve hours, I’m sure.”
“I’m fine. I’ll head to bed after dinner. I’m going to shower now. Where’s Marcus?” Bruce frowned.
“Upstairs doing something. I’m not sure what.”
“How’s Mike doing?”
“His wound’s infected and he’s running a higher temperature, but it hasn’t gone any higher since this morning.” Kate attempted a smile.
“Good. I’ll send Marcus down to relive you so maybe you could fix us something to eat.” Bruce turned and headed for the stairs.
Kate couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she had become the cook for them. No doubt they preferred her cooking over theirs. She figured she preferred hers over theirs as well. She had learned to cook at her mother’s knee from the time she was ten and able to follow directions. She missed her mom and all
the valuable lessons she’d taught Kate. Times like these, she could use her mom’s advice on what she should do.
“Kate, I’m back. You can go see what you can rustle up for dinner.” Marcus laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Okay. There’s no change. I’m just washing his face and neck with the wet cloth.”
“Let’s turn him again before you go.”
They rolled him to his other side so that his back faced the fire and his face the back of the couch. Kate arranged a pillow to help keep him propped so he wouldn’t roll off the couch.
Dinner proved to be a quiet affair with Marcus eating while watching Mike. She and Bruce ate at the table. Both men had seconds while Kate barely managed to eat half of her meal.
Worry over Mike’s condition stole her appetite.
Bruce helped her clean up the kitchen. She wasn’t used to having help and told him she could handle it by herself, but he insisted, so she kept her mouth shut.
Around nine that night, Bruce came in and roused her from her chair next to Mike.
“I know it’s early, but we need our rest with the way we’re watching your brother. Let’s go get some sleep, Kate. Marcus will wake me up to relive him around two in the morning. You need your rest as well.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
Marcus walked in, and before she knew what to expect, he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.
“Sleep well, Kate. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“’Night, Marcus. Wake me up if there’s any change in him, okay?” She begged him with her eyes.
“I will, Kate. You and Bruce get some rest.” Marcus gave her a little shove toward Bruce then took her chair and sat down.
Chapter Eight
Relived of her nursing duties, there was nothing she could do but follow Bruce upstairs. He opened the door to the bedroom then closed it behind them to keep in any heat they generated. Without the fireplace, they were dependent on each other and the mountain of covers that were piled on the bed. She felt much more comfortable with the covers than her bedmate.
