Chapter Four
The sun was sinking slowly beyond the lake when Susan woke, stretching languidly.
So much for him having insomnia she thought with a grin, hearing him snoring softly beside her.
Slipping out of bed she padded quietly to the bathroom.
After washing her face and hands she eyed Marcus’s toothbrush in the holder and decided, what the hell.
With the places his mouth had been this afternoon, using his toothbrush was mild.
Her bags were still downstairs so she brushed her hair with his brush and left the room stopping at his closet to grab a dress shirt and rolling up the sleeves on her way down the wide oak stairway.
Starving, she located the kitchen and began to methodically search the fridge and cupboards for something quick and easy.
Nada. Damn when that man said he didn’t believe in junk food he wasn’t kidding.
There wasn’t a chip or a cookie to be found anywhere.
Taking a Pepsi from the fridge she thanked God he hadn’t been able to kick that habit, popped the top and took a long drink.
Sue finally found one lonely package of low fat string cheese and opened it.
She was really going to have to do something about the goody situation if she was planning to stay here for a whole year.
It was appalling; there wasn’t even any ice cream, just frozen yogurt, Yuk.
Taking her drink with her she backtracked to the great room and let herself out the glass door onto the deck. The furniture looked comfortable, but she wasn’t sure how her bottom would react to sitting right now so she slowly eased down onto a well cushioned lounge with a sigh of relief.
Not too bad she thought; A little soreness but nothing like the remnants of her previous spanking when she had difficulty sitting all the next day.
No, this was more like a hypersensitivity, not unpleasant, but definitely noticeable.
Still, all things considered, it was a small thing compared to the pleasure Marcus had conjured with his incredible skills.
I mean really, she thought, what woman in her right mind would walk away from that.
Geez, the man was the whole package, genuine prime as far as she was concerned.
So he had a little kink bone, most people did in some form or another, whether they wanted to admit it or not. At least he was honest about it.
The ex-girlfriend was a bother; what if she changed her mind and came back sniffing around?
Sue had no use for poachers and never dated men who were attached in any way if she knew about it.
There was no way Sue was giving him up, especially after this afternoon.
A lot of men were all hat and no cattle, talking a good story while looking for a place to get their rocks off.
Marcus made sure she was a pile of goo before he took his pleasure and even then he took her with him.
No, he had promised her she wouldn’t be disappointed and had delivered that and much more.
Taking another sip of her drink, she tipped her head back and looked at the twilight sky.
The breeze blowing off the lake was cooling fast, but it was nothing compared to spending last winter in her ratty little room, hovering over a space heater.
Curling her toes she hugged herself with happiness.
A hot man who wants to love her into oblivion, twelve thousand dollars a month to spend, I mean save, she scolded herself, a beautiful roof over her head, no it didn’t get any better than this.
Marcus sensed her absence as soon as he opened his eyes and bounded out of bed.
Naked, he looked in the bathroom and then headed downstairs.
Entering the great room he spotted her on the deck, enjoying the sunset and headed back upstairs to shower.
It wasn’t that he expected her to be gone, but he felt better just the same.
Showering took only a few minutes and he threw on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt before he went back downstairs.
Sue was still lounging so he headed into the kitchen, starving.
Putting on a pot of water for whole wheat pasta he quickly chopped up fresh vegetables.
In a matter of minutes he had zucchini, garlic, mushrooms, and onions sautéing in extra virgin olive oil.
When they were almost done, he went out onto the deck to get Sue.
“Come on baby, it’s getting too cold out here and dinner’s almost done,” he told her, bending to kiss her hair.
“Dinner? You cook too?” she asked clapping, her hands together in delight. “What are we having, I’m famished?”
“Pasta,” he replied taking her hands, pulling her from the lounge and tugging her behind him into the house.
The smells coming from the kitchen were amazing and she followed meekly behind.
“Get some plates out of that cupboard,” he said pointing out which one, “and there are utensils in the drawer below it.”
Sue got what she needed, putting the plates next to him and setting the silverware on the island. She found some napkins in another drawer and climbed up on a bar stool to wait.
When he set her plate in front of her she eyed the vegetables suspiciously.
“I thought you said pasta? Where’s the meatballs and sausage?”
Marcus laughed and handed her the shaker of low fat Parmesan cheese.
“I told you we will be eating a healthy diet in this house. This is really good and easy to make. Don’t be such a food snob, try it.”
Sue wound up a small amount of the slightly brown pasta and speared a piece of zucchini with her fork. Sliding it into her mouth she immediately closed her eyes and sighed as she savored the flavor...
“It is delicious,” she smiled, sprinkling on the cheese. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“I’ve lived alone for a long time. Basically, it was either learn to do it myself or exist on packaged meals loaded with preservatives and lord knows what else. Can you cook?”
“Nope.”
“Not at all?”
“Nope,” she replied chewing slowly and smiling.
“What did you live on? I know you were struggling financially so I assume you couldn’t afford to eat out every day.”
“You assume right. I lived on Ramon noodles, chips, crackers, candy, that kind of stuff.”
“No vegetables, no fruit?”
“Once in a while I would buy a banana or an apple, but mostly cheap stuff that wouldn’t spoil. Every now and then I would have a date and I always insisted they take me out to dinner,” she laughed. “After the first date they would learn and try to steer me to the less expensive places.”
“Well you’re going to learn to cook here, Red,” he told her firmly. “Everyone should know how to properly feed themselves.”
“Does that mean I get to do the grocery shopping too?” she asked innocently.
“No it does not,” Marcus laughed. “Do I look like an idiot?”
“No, but then I really don’t want to learn.”
“Tough, you’re going to learn. You can start with the easy meals first, like breakfast. I will prepare lunch and dinner until you progress.”
“Oh all right, but if you get sick, don’t blame me,” she snorted, already planning on how to get out of it.
“If I get sick, as soon as I’m well I will tan your hide, Red. Just keep that in mind.”
Sue blushed, stuck out her tongue and resumed eating her pasta. They talked about her childhood, the book he was working on and the places he’d visited. Before she knew it they were finished and she hopped down and started carrying their plates to the sink.
“I’ll do that baby,” he told her, taking the things from her hands. “I carried your luggage upstairs, why don’t you go up and get settled and we’ll watch a movie in a little while?”
“Ok, if you’re sure you don’t mind. I mean you did cook and everything.”
“I don’t mind; go on now and I’ll see you in a bit”
Sue nodded and left the kitchen, he certainly was thoughtful.
They spent the evening cuddled up on the couch watching movies until Marcus determined it was time to go to bed.
Susan didn’t much care for the idea, after having slept away a good portion of the afternoon, but when Marcus gave her the ‘look’, she decided it might be a good idea.
He carried her upstairs in his arms and made slow, passionate love to her until all she wanted to do was sleep.