Saturday, December 24
“So, I’ll be here Monday morning, to spend the week with you,” Sammy sighed as she watched Ethan walk across the backyard, headed for the barn. “Until New Year’s day. Unfortunately, I’ll have to go back home that afternoon.”
“You know, if you’d just tell Ethan yes one of these times when he asks you to marry him, you could move in with the man really soon,” Emma whispered, almost managing a laugh.
“Oh, all those marriage proposals are just a game,” she huffed. “We’ve been over this a hundred times before. I am not interested in getting my heart broken over your stepbrother.”
“Well, you’re wrong. He’s meant every single one of those proposals. How many more times are we going to have to go over this before you get it. You’re actually making him a little crazy. In the end, I guess I’m going to have to let him convince you of that though.”
Finally, unable to wait any longer for her friend to open up without prodding, Sammy scooted closer to Emma on the porch swing, and wove her arm through the other girl’s. “Are you going to get around to telling me about it today? Or are we just going to sit out here the whole week?”
“Get around to telling you about what?” Emma grumbled, suddenly finding her own fingernails very interesting.
“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,” the other girl snorted. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I can tell you’re upset about something.”
“Cade is a jerk,” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.
“No,” Sammy snorted. “Cade’s a hothead, but rarely a jerk.”
Emma huffed, shaking her head. “You don’t know what he did.”
“Okay,” Sammy nodded in understanding. “You’re right. I don’t. Because I wasn’t here. So, tell me about it.”
“Remember I told you Phillip Matthews asked me out?”
“Yes,” her friend nodded. “What about it?”
“Well, after something, that I haven’t disclosed to you yet, happened the night before last, I decided to take a thermos of hot chocolate, and what was left of the Christmas cookies I’d baked the other day, out to him while he was working. It was early enough, it was a few hours till lunch.”
“Wait, which him?”
“What?” Emma frowned in confusion.
“Which him? Cade or Phillip.”
“Oh, Cade.”
“Okay, continue.”
“Anyway, I wanted to take him a snack,” she shrugged. “I came across Phillip first, and was talking to him. Just talking. Nothing more. Of all things, about the fact that Cade is the only one for me. Cade come up on us, and instantly accused me of flirting with Phillip.”
“This thing you haven’t disclosed to me yet, might it have something to do with why he was so quick to jump to conclusions?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed, her shoulders stooping just a little bit more. “Maybe.”
“Why don’t you tell me about it? Then we can see if we can figure it out together.”
“I don’t know. It’s a little embarrassing, and highly personal.”
“How so?”
“Well…”
“Emma, what in the world happened?”
“It actually started when I tied him to my bed the night before.”
Slapping her hands to her mouth, Sammy’s eyes grew round with surprise. “You tied him to your bed?” she whispered, fighting back a giggle.
“Well, he came into my room, for a second time, drunk,” she shrugged. “It kept him out of trouble. It was also a form of payback for his… jacking-off on me.”
“Is there anything else to tell?”
“Oh, definitely,” Emma nodded, her eyes growing huge with remembered shock. And pleasure. “He retaliated.”
“Then get to the telling.”
Several minutes later, Emma’s tale coming to an end, Sammy sat there with her mouth hanging open.
“Are you just going to continue to sit there and stare at me? Or are you going to say something.”
She nodded, answering in a whisper. “Definitely personal.”
“I warned you of that.”
“Thirty minutes?” Sammy mouthed, complete shock showing in her eyes.
“Give or take a few minutes,” she grumbled with a roll of her eyes. “I know what time it was when he walked in there, and what time it was when I came to after blacking out. I can assure you, I had no idea of the time, or any interest in the time, or anything else for that matter, while he was… Well, you know.”
“Going down on you. Eating you out.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Emma breathed, slapping her hands to her burning cheeks. “Do you have to be so… blunt?”
“No wonder you blacked out,” Sammy grumbled, shaking her head in wonder.
“Never mind that,” Emma sighed. “Does it have anything to do with his jumping to conclusions?”
“Definitely,” her friend nodded.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Mom has always told me, sex creates an emotional bond,” Sammy shrugged. “That’s why you should be careful about who you sleep with, and why sex is so important in a marriage. It continues to reenforce that bond. You need to make sure you’re not connecting yourself to someone who has no true concern for your emotional and mental well-being. Anyway,” she shrugged before continuing. “Even without actual intercourse, he made an emotional connection with you. But you could almost say he didn’t get one from you in return.”
Emma snorted, shaking her head. “Trust me, I am emotionally connected to that idiot.”
“That doesn’t mean he realizes you are.”
“That’s not my fault,” Emma huffed. “I didn’t want him to go back to his room.”
“True, but he did what he thought was right. And I’m sure it was a lot harder on him than you realize.”
“I wouldn’t have been angry had he stayed with me. Quite the opposite.”
“I understand all that,” Sammy nodded. “But if he had asked you right after you come to, could you have done basic, fifth grade math?”
“Probably not.”
“He was right not to expect you to make that choice at that point, regardless of how you felt about it the next morning.”
“Fine,” Emma grumbled, rolling her eyes. “So, I guess you’re saying I need to forgive him?”
“Yes,” Sammy laughed. “Besides, it is what you want. You don’t like fighting with him. You’d rather be kissing him.”
“He’s only truly kissed me, you know, with tongue and teeth involved, once.”
“So,” her aggravating friend shrugged with a smirk. “You know you still enjoyed it.”
“Do I have to forgive him right this instant?”
“No, but soon,” her friend sighed. “Why the wait though?”
“Because here he comes, and I still need to think about things,” she grumbled low enough only Sammy heard her.
“Hello, Cade,” Sammy grinned. “How’s it going?”
“Hey, Sammy,” he nodded, never taking his eyes off of Emma. “As far as how it’s going, that remains to be seen.” Stepping closer, he cupped Emma’s cheek in his hand, raising her eyes to meet his. “Hey, Baby. I’ve missed you.”
Not saying anything, she pushed him back far enough to rise to her feet, then turned to face the other girl. “I’ll be in the house when you’re done watching for Ethan.” Feeling Cade try to take her hand when she turned to leave, she just shook him off and kept going.
“Dang it,” Cade growled. “How long can a woman give a man the silent treatment?”
“Well, I have an aunt that managed to go without speaking to her husband for a full month,” Sammy laughed. “Of course, my mom said, at first Uncle Dale thought of it as more of a vacation, than an argument. By the end though, he apparently had a kind of crazed look in his eyes, and his hair was sticking out all over the place. He was begging her for just one word.”
“You’re really not helping, you know.”
“Rumor has it, he managed to end her month-long silence when he pinned her to the bed, and kissed her until she begged for him to let her up for air. Well, and other… things,” she added with a scrunch of her nose. “I’m guessing by the end of the month, even she was starting to feel a little… deprived.”
“Now that’s an idea I could get on board with,” he growled, glancing over at the backdoor into the kitchen.
Laughing again, she shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry. She’s about ready to forgive you. The silent treatment won’t last much longer,” she replied eyeing him thoughtfully, a cryptic smirk popping into place.
“What’s that look for?” he frowned.
“Oh, I was just wondering about something.”
“Wondering about what?”
“Can all guys stay down there that long, or is it just you?”
“What are you…” Stopping mid-sentence when it dawned on him what she was talking about, he just shook his head, his cheeks turning bright red.
“Oh, my goodness, you’re embarrassed. That’s not something I thought I’d ever see.”
“I can’t believe she told you about that.”
“Well, she tells me everything,” Sammy shrugged. “If it helps, that was a little harder for her to tell me about.”
“Yeah, but girls don’t like it when guys kiss and tell.’
“That’s because it usually becomes gossip fodder, no matter the guy’s intentions in the telling. Emma told me knowing I will tell no one else,” she continued with a small shrug. “Well, except for you. But you had first-hand knowledge, obviously.”
“Obviously,” he snorted.
“Besides, she told me as a means of working through all her frustration. You’ll be happy she talked to me about it later. I can almost guarantee you.”
“How much later?” he growled, cramming his hands in his pockets.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” she cringed, truly feeling a little sorry for the man. Emma really could be stubborn when she took a notion to be. “All that aside, you never answered my question.”
Chuckling, he shook his head at her. He knew exactly what question she was talking about. “Marry Ethan, and maybe you’ll find out.”
“Why maybe?” she frowned.
“How am I supposed to know what he would be willing to do in bed? He is my brother. That would just be weird.”
“Why would you be talking about what your brother might be willing to do in bed to start with?” Ezekiel grumbled, moving over to sit down beside Sammy.
“Seriously, Sammy, you couldn’t have warned me he was back there?”
Merely smirking in answer, she jumped up. “I’m going to go check on Emma. I’m sure your dad wants to talk to you about… things. I heard him and Momma Jane talking earlier. She’s still not happy with you.” Leaning down then, she gave Ezekiel a quick kiss on the cheek. “See you, Papa Zeke. Cade,” she added with a nod of her head on the way past.
Waiting till Sammy was out of earshot, Ezekiel turned back to Cade, his face scrunched up in thought. “Is Ethan ever going to marry that girl?”
“If it had been up to him, they’d be married by now.”
“What do you mean?”
“He asks her at least once a week. She keeps turning him down.”
“Why?”
Shrugging, Cade blew out a puff of air before answering. “She thinks it’s a game to him. She doesn’t realize if she ever said yes, he’d have her to the altar so fast, her head wouldn’t have time to spin. So, she flirts with him, driving him crazy, then turns him down.”
“Boy, you two sure know how to pick feisty women.”
Cade snorted, shaking his head. “Hey, Pot, it’s the Kettle. Where do you think we learned it? From what I could see growing up, and in the last few years, you don’t like docile women either.”
Laughing, Ezekiel just nodded. “Point taken. And I guess will just have to leave your brother to deal with Sammy. At least for now.”
“At least for now?” Cade frowned.
“Well, I’m not above getting involved if it becomes necessary,” Ezekiel smirked. “I like Sammy. She’s genuine, and she will keep him on his toes.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Going back to the other subject, the girl’s correct, you know?”
“What girl? About what?”
“Sammy is right about your stepmom. She’s still unhappy with you. And I’m afraid things are going to start to get rather frosty if you don’t do something soon.”
“All I can do is keep apologizing. And begging.”
“And praying eventually it works,” his father added with a small laugh.
“Definitely,” he grumbled, thinking again about Sammy’s uncle kissing her aunt into submission. The idea was gaining more traction with him by the second.
~~~~
Carefully opening the door to Cade’s room, and doing her best not to make a sound, Emma backed in, nearly on tiptoe. She had the door closed and was turning around, when she realized there was light coming from the bathroom, with a human shaped shadow cast inside the rectangle.
“Oh, you’re awake,” she grumbled when she turned to find Cade staring at her, wearing nothing but a pair of low slung, flannel pajama bottoms. And a confused frown.
“Yep,” he nodded. “I had been taking a long soak in the bathtub. I just got out.”
“A bath?” she frowned, shaking her head in confusion. “Aren’t you more of a shower kind of guy?”
“Usually,” he nodded, taking a couple of steps closer. “I was trying to relax. I was using the jets. My body isn’t cooperating though. You’ve had me rather wound up lately.”
“How long of a bath?” she whispered, starting to chew on her fuller, bottom lip.
“Well, I took a shower when I first got in here after supper,” he grumbled, looking at the clock on the wall. “I went to bed around ten. Tossed and turned for a while. Maybe it was an hour before I gave in, and got in the tub. It’s almost midnight now. So, I’d say I was in there thirty to forty-five minutes.”
“Why are you having such a hard time relaxing?”
“I could blame it on your mother being so unhappy with me right now, but that’s really not it.”
“Oh, what then?”
Sighing heavily, he shook his head at her. “Emma, there’s a difference between innocent and naïve. While I know you are the one, you are definitely not the other. Besides, I’ve already explained, you’ve had me pretty wound up for the last few days.”
“Wound up how?”
“Emma,” he growled, shaking his head. “Please, stop playing dumb. I know you better than that, and I’m at the end of my rope already.”
“Yeah, okay,” she mumbled with a small nod, just crossing her arms in front of her, as a protective measure, as opposed to a show of anger.
“Are you acknowledging the fact that you know why I can’t relax?”
“Yes,” she nodded, immediately turning back to the door.
Shaking his head in frustration, he took another step closer. “Where are you going?”
Turning back to him, she pointed at the door. “Back to my room,” she whispered.
“You obviously come in here for a reason. Aren’t you going to at least tell me what it was first?”
“I don’t know if I should.”
“Why wouldn’t you know if you should?”
“Because I expected you to be asleep.”
“Why should that matter?”
“Dang it, Cade,” she huffed, throwing her hands up in frustration. “I was planning on crawling in bed with you.”
“So, why are you leaving now?” he growled, moving even closer, this time almost enough so, he could reach out and touch her.
“You’re awake,” she huffed, turning back to the door once more. He let her get far enough this time, she had her hand on the doorknob.
“You can still crawl in bed with me, Emma. I have no objection to that.”
“Yeah,” she swallowed. “I can hear the but in your tone.”
“You’ll do it naked, and it’s going to be a long while before either one of us get to sleep. I know you understand my meaning. There’s no way you can stay in here if you’re not okay with what’s going to happen when you do. My self-restraint is tapped out where you’re concerned. I want you way too much. I need you way too much.”
Swallowing, she only nodded her head as any kind of acknowledgment to his statement.
“Emma, you need to decide,” he growled, moving close enough this time he was nearly pressed to her back, and she could now feel his body heat through her pajama top. “And quickly. Before I make the decision for you.”
This time she moved her hand to the lock on the knob, and turned it before turning back to look at him.
Swallowing, he resisted the urge to pull her into his arms just a moment longer. “Are you sure? This isn’t something that can be undone once we’ve…”
Moving into his arms quickly, she laid her hand against his mouth. “Hush. I’m sure. I’m nervous, but I definitely know what I want.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
Burying his hands in her hair when his restraint finally snapped completely, he brought his mouth down on hers, moving a step forwards, to push her back up against the locked door. Groaning his approval when her lips parted, allowing his tongue entrance, he slid his hands down her sides to push her pajama bottoms down her hips.
Shaking his head, he took a step back to look down at her when he realized she didn’t have a thong on. “No underwear?” he croaked out, the temperature of his blood rising just a little more at the sight before him, with her standing there naked from the waist down.
“It had been my intentions all along to crawl in bed with you naked. I didn’t want to bother with them.”
Groaning from need, he stepped forward once more, and immediately yanked her thermal pajama top off over her head. When she tried to reach out and push his flannel pajamas down his legs, he shook his head, and picked her up. Carrying her across the room then, to place in the middle of the bed, he pushed his pajamas off before following her in.
Swallowing, he shook his head, trying to clear the fog. “This is your last chance. Are you sure this is what you want?”
Laughing, she pulled his head down to her, giving him a long, sweet kiss before answering. “Stop talking. I know what I want. I’ve wanted this just as long as you have.”
Growling, he tossed the covers over them, and moved over her.
Groaning from the feel of finally having so much of his skin pressed against hers, she arched into him and dug her nails down his back. “You’re so hot, I feel like I’m catching fire.”
“Oh, Baby, you think you’re on fire now, we haven’t even gotten started yet.” Tossing the covers the rest of the way over their heads, he pressed his lips to hers, before moving his mouth over her jaw, slowly working his way down. “All you have to do is hang on, Baby, and let me show you.”
Flinging her arms out to the sides, she dug her nails into the sheets. At this point, he could do anything he wanted to her, and she just wouldn’t have cared. She’d never felt like this with anyone else. Of course, she’d never been touched like this by anyone else, but she’d never wanted to be either. Finally, she was exactly where she wanted to be. In Cade’s arms.