Monroe, Marla - Their Reluctant Submissive [Knights in Black Leather 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (23 page)

“I’ll go crazy just sitting around. I’ll have to do something.” She didn’t like to think that she would be stuck at their home all day long.

The realization that she was actually thinking about going there told her that she knew deep down they weren’t going to give her a choice one way or another. She dropped her eyes to where her hands where fiddling with the covers.

“If the doctor agrees, maybe we can bring some of your things home and you can work on them for short periods of time,” Marx said

She jerked her eyes back up at his suggestion. She couldn’t believe it had come from his mouth. When she looked over at Jackson, it was to see the other man grinning over at his brother. He obviously thought the fact that he had compromised was funny. She felt the small smile on her lips. It was sort of funny, she decided. Marx didn’t compromise on much of anything.

“What? Why are you both looking at me like I’ve sprouted horns or something?”

Jackson shook his head and clapped him on the back. “You may think you’re the boss, big brother, but we both know that Kelly runs this show.”

Marx grumbled then shrugged. Kelly couldn’t help but stare at Jackson with an open mouth. Then her coughing started back, and the moment was lost as both men rushed to give her some water and pat her on the head. She waved them off and finally got control of her breathing once again.

“Looks like you’re worn out, kitten. We’ll leave you to get some rest. I don’t want you having a relapse and running a temperature tonight. I want you in your own room so we can stay with you.” Jackson brushed his lips across her forehead.

Then Marx did the same thing and squeezed her fingers before they both turned and walked through the glass door. A few minutes later, the nurse came in with some medicine, followed by the therapist with her breathing treatment. She sighed and resigned herself to more coughing and gagging. She just wanted to go to sleep and pretend that everything was fine. The idea of going to stay with Jackson and Marx scared her. To her, it made her believe it would be the beginning of the end for their relationship. She wasn’t ready for that. She didn’t want to give them up, but once they started hinting at taking their liaison to a deeper level, she would have to break it off. There was no way she could even contemplate living like that again. It hadn’t even been living to her. It had merely been existing.

* * * *

Marx climbed out of the truck once he had parked in front of the house and waited for his brother to do the same. They had decided that they would both go home since Kelly was doing so much better. They would visit her again that night. Right now, though, they had a lot of things to talk about and take care of to prepare for her coming home with them in a few days.

“She looks good despite how weak and sick she still is.” Jackson followed him up the steps of the porch.

Once they were inside, they headed straight for the kitchen. Jackson worked on making sandwiches and he pulled out two beers. Excitement that they were going to finally have her under their roof for more than just a night or two flowed through his veins. Soon she would be theirs for always.

“I don’t like how pale she is and that she’s still in so much pain.” Marx handed Jackson a beer.

“Me either, but she’s getting better. That’s what matters.”

“She’s so damn stubborn about being independent. We’re going to have to be careful not to overwhelm her.” He looked over at Jackson and the look on his face made him grimace. “Right. I’m going to have to be careful not to overwhelm her.”

“Just don’t push her too much. Remember that she values her independence and let her exercise as much of that as she safely can.”

“I’d like to know more about what brought her here and what kind of situation she left behind. I think that is where the problem is.” Marx took the plate of sandwiches his brother handed him.

“I suspect we won’t be happy about it. I’ve been thinking about some of the things she’s said here and there, and I’m beginning to think she was in a slave relationship with her last Dom. Nothing else makes sense.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to worry about that with us.” Marx had no intentions of trying to control and manipulate someone’s life like that. No doubt it worked for some, but it wasn’t for him or Jackson.

“I have a feeling she isn’t convinced of that. We’re going to have to be extra careful around her until we can convince her of that once and for all.”

They ate their sandwiches in silence. Marx considered what they could do to assure Kelly that they valued her independence as much as she did. Caring for her wasn’t the same thing as taking away her free will or ability to make her own decisions. Yeah, he wanted to wrap her up in cotton wool and keep her safe, but even he knew it wouldn’t work. She was an intelligent woman who had a lot to offer.

After lunch, they divided up and readied the house for her arrival. They would get the maid who came in once a week to give the house a thorough cleaning just before she was released. They wanted everything to be perfect for her.

Marx made a list of things he remembered from her apartment to pick up from town. Then he and Jackson got online and ordered a few more that they wouldn’t be able to get there in Perkins City. Hopefully they would arrive before she made it home. He smiled at that word. It would truly be a home with her there with them. Once they convinced her they loved her and wanted her as their wife, they would start adding children.

He realized that loving her was much easier to admit now than it had been. He was sure nearly losing her in the fire played a big role in that. Telling her would be important, but they would need to give her time to adjust to being in their house first. Otherwise, she might not believe them.

“Anything else you can think of we need to order?” Jackson sat back in the chair at his desk.

Marx stood looking over his shoulder with his arms crossed. They had spent the last hour browsing the Internet for things they wanted for their woman. A lot of what they had picked out had both him and his brother hard at that thought of Kelly wearing them. Somehow though, the Kindle Fire was what he figured she would appreciate the most. She loved to read, and losing her Kindle would be the hardest on her.

“Naw, I think we pretty much covered it. I do think we should look at Heavy Trinkets for a couple of books for her, though. She’s going to want something to read right away while she’s recovering in the hospital. That Kindle won’t arrive for a few days.” Marx walked over toward the door.

“Good idea. We’ll stop by there on the way back to the hospital. Are you about ready to go?”

“Give me twenty minutes to check in with Gil, and I’ll be ready to go.” Gil was their foreman.

He quickly walked out to the barn and checked to see if he was there. One of the ranch hands met him on the way and told him that Gil was out in the west pasture. Marx settled for calling him on the cell phone and going over everything with the other man. Gil was a top notch foreman and a good friend. Marx trusted him to keep things running smoothly even when he wasn’t around. Still, he knew there would be some decisions that he had to make and wanted to be sure everything was okay.

Twenty minutes later, he and Jackson climbed into his truck and drove toward town. When they stopped at Heavy Trinkets, Steve met them midway through the store.

“Hey! How’s Kelly doing? I heard she’s awake now.”

“Yep. Good news travels fast,” Jackson said with a grin.

Marx saw Tessa hovering at the counter. He nodded at her, and she nodded back. Her friendship with Kelly was not surprising. He had a feeling that Kelly was a life preserver to her drowning friend. It made him proud all over again that Kelly was theirs.

“Is there anything I can do for her?” Steve asked.

“Actually, we’re here to get her a couple of books to read. I figured you might know what she’s already read.”

Steve smiled and turned back to Tessa. “Hey, Tess, can you come here a minute?”

The young woman walked up to them, but kept her distance at the same time. She looked up at Steve and lifted her eyebrows in question. Marx almost snorted. She didn’t talk much. Then neither did he, as a rule.

“You and Kelly discussed what you liked to read not too long ago. Would you know what’s on the shelves that she hasn’t read yet? They want to get her a couple of books so she has something to do while she’s getting well.”

Tessa smiled a shy sort of smile and walked over to where the books were shelved. Jackson started to follow her, but he stopped him.

“Let her have some room. I think we’re a little overwhelming between the three of us.”

Jackson stared at him. “Man, you’ve gotten to be downright sensitive.”

“Fuck you, Jackson.”

“There’s my brother back.” Jackson chuckled despite Marx hitting him on the back of the head.

A few seconds later, Tessa returned with three books. She refused to look at them when she handed them over. No doubt their subject matter was a little sensitive for her. Jackson read over the titles and grinned.

“Um, she talked about getting them on her Kindle when she got paid again, so I know she didn’t have them yet.”

“Thanks, Tessa. We really appreciate it. We’ll take them.” Marx handed them back to her and asked her to wrap them up.

He and Jackson followed her and Steve back to the counter. While Jackson paid for their purchases, he pulled Steve aside to discuss Kelly’s jewelry business.

“What do you think about moving some of her things out to our house since she’s going to be staying there? I figure she’s going to be antsy while she’s still recovering and not able to come back to work. She’s going to want to do something, and there’s probably only so much reading she’ll be able to stand.”

“That’s an excellent idea. I’ll go through her orders and organize them according to what she needs to finish first. I’ll box up everything she’ll need and bring it out to the house tomorrow. Let me know when you’re going to be there.” Steve smiled.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll call you and let you know what our plans are.” Jackson moved back toward where Jackson was waiting for Tessa to finish wrapping their purchase.

“I can’t wait to see her face when she unwraps the books.” Jackson drummed his fingers on the counter.

“More than likely she’ll get all embarrassed by them.”

“We’ll just have to show her that she has nothing to get embarrassed about.” Jackson accepted the wrapped gift and thanked Tessa.

They waved at Steve and headed back outside. The slightly cooler air reminded him that it wouldn’t be long till winter made its appearance. He wanted Kelly well by then so they could cuddle with her and show her around their ranch. The idea of wrapping her in a fur coat and taking her riding over the snow in the sleigh they owned made his mouth turn up into a smile.

They often gave sleigh rides to the kids and teenagers around town when it snowed. It was fun, and they liked seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter. Now they would be able to do it for their woman and, eventually, their children. He guessed he was getting ahead of himself, but he couldn’t help it.

When they pulled up into the hospital parking lot, Marx struggled to contain his impatience and walk normally as they crossed the parking lot and walked through the front door. Jackson fairly vibrated with excitement. They walked into the ICU waiting room, and he immediately crossed to the phone that connected to the nursing station in the back.

“This Marx Callahan. My brother and I are in the waiting room whenever it’s convenient to come back and see Kelly.”

“Mr. Callahan. It will be about thirty minutes or so. We got another admission, so we’ve got to follow protocol. I’ll come get you as soon as I can.”

His good mood faltered, but it wasn’t her fault. “Thanks. I understand.”

“What is it?” Jackson picked up on his dejected mood.

“They got another admission, so it’s going to be at least thirty minutes before we can go back to see Kelly.”

“Damn. Oh well. We can wait.” Jackson walked over and plopped down in one of the recliners.

Marx sighed and resigned himself to having to wait. He settled his big frame into the one next to his brother and prepared to wait.

After about thirty minutes, a tone sounded over the intercom followed by the operator calling a code blue in the ICU three times in a row. Marx’s heart started pounding in his chest. Surely Kelly was past that danger now. It had to be the new admission back there. But he couldn’t help the fear that crept into his chest. When he glanced over at his brother, it was to see the same look on Jackson’s face. They could do nothing but wait. It was going to drive them crazy.

Chapter Twenty-One

Kelly struggled to catch her breath after yet another coughing fit. The noise and activity from outside her room didn’t help. She knew the poor older man in the next room wasn’t doing well when they brought him in earlier that afternoon, but she hadn’t realized it was that serious.

Of course it’s serious if he’s in the ICU, Kelly. What were you thinking?

It finally hit her then that she was back there as well, which meant she had nearly died from the fire. For some reason, it hadn’t sunk in how bad it had been until just then. The resulting shakes had triggered a coughing fit. A nurse from somewhere else peeked in at her. No doubt she was helping with the poor man. Kelly waved her off that she was okay and prayed the new patient would be okay.