“You will? Any car I want?” she asked, sitting up and taking hold of his face.
“Any car you want,” he assured her, “providing you do a good job. Let our home fall to wreck and ruin and I will take it out of your hide,” he told her seriously.
Susan sank back against his chest and thought this over. On the one hand it would save her a lot of money, not having to buy her own vehicle. She had a particular car in mind and it was far from cheap. If she bought her own, the car she really wanted was out of the question. On the other hand, it would require a lot of effort on her part just to do the basics in this house and she wasn’t exactly an expert. There was one more benefit, she realized and grinned.
“Does that mean I will be doing the grocery shopping?” she asked innocently, trying to sound like it was just one more inconvenience.
“You will,” he replied smiling above her head. “But rest assured I will be checking the receipts. You know how I feel about healthy choices and I’m not above taking your butt back to the store and making you return any items that you know I disapprove of.”
“You would not embarrass me like that,” she insisted.
“Don’t bet on it, ‘Sugar’,” he promised with a grunt as she elbowed him in the side.
“All right, I’ll do it,” she replied. “When can we go car shopping?”
“Next week,” Marcus laughed, rising from his chair with her still in his arms.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he carried her from the room.
“Upstairs,” he replied, taking the stairs two at a time. “I find I’m not able to concentrate on writing at the present time,” he growled, nuzzling her neck as he entered the bedroom and tossed her on the bed. “Besides,” he said grinning as he began stripping off his clothes, “I better get all of you I can before you are too tired from cleaning and scrubbing.”
Sue snorted, as she lifted her hips and struggled out of her jeans.
It turned out taking care of the house was easier than she expected. While huge, it was well designed and organized. Everything had a place and Marcus had top of the line equipment. The vacuum practically ran itself and as most of the floors were gleaming hardwood, it was a snap. Laundry was nothing like going to the seedy laundromat she’d used, and hisdryer sensed when the clothes were done and kept them from wrinkling. Sue had to admit it was more than a fair trade. He was naturally neat and although she could be a slob on occasion, she was already in the habit of picking up after herself. She hated cleaning the bathroom, especially the toilet and bidet, but she had sturdy rubber gloves and forced her way through it.
On the weekend Kelsey and Ty arrived bright and early bearing gifts and Sue fell on the box of donuts like a mad woman as Marcus watched in disapproval. She ate half the custard filled treat in one bite, her mouth too full to reply as he scolded her.
”There is not one thing in that donut that’s good for you.”
“I do…nut care,” she quipped, wiping the custard from her chin with her finger and sucking it clean.
Ty laughed at her antics and Kelsey chewed her lip.
“You’re not mad that we brought them, are you Marcus?” she asked.
“No,” he assured her, “but you shouldn’t have gotten a dozen and you will take what’s left back home with you. She’ll never cook another thing as long as there are alternatives in the house,” he sighed getting an apple out of the bowl.
“Eating fruit is good for you,” Sue approved as she reached for another donut and got her hand slapped for it.
“One is enough, Red,” he told her, tossing her the apple. She almost shot it back at him, but thought better of it.
Taking a small bite she mumbled something about ‘food Gestapo’ that had Marcus raising his eyebrow in warning.
“Are you ready to hit the lake?” Ty asked his brother, thinking it might be a good time to change the subject.
“Yeah, just let me grab my jacket. Do you girls want to try your luck with a pole?”
“No thanks,” Sue replied, “Kelsey and I have lots to catch up on and it doesn’t include slimy creatures looking at us with big glassy eyes,” she finished with a shiver. “I prefer my fish betweentwo buns with lots of tartar sauce and cheese. Just so you know, don’t come back like some mountain man with a string of fish that I’m going to put down the garbage disposal the first chance I get.”
“Don’t worry, we usually throw them back in the lake,” Ty assured her with a grin.
“Good,” she replied, waving them toward the door. “You guys go have fun with your worms, just leave the donuts.”
“I should take them with me and get rid of them,” Marcus threatened before kissing her breathless.
“You can try,” Sue gasped breathlessly, snatching up the box and tucking it under her arm, “but I’m a pretty fast runner.”
“Be that as it may honey, you have to come home sometime,” he grinned with an evil twinkle in his eyes.
