Broken Play (17 page)

Marian knocked on the door and then checked her hair in her reflection in the window. She'd worn it up because both Cass and Beau seemed fascinated by her neck, and that little spot behind her ear that drove her wild. So, easy access. She tightened the belt on her trench coat. She was sweltering in the Alabama heat, but the outfit was sexy. Cass had told her to dress sexy. And then he'd added, as if she didn't get his point already, “Dress to get fucked.” So, hair up and trench coat over nothing else. Oh, and high heels. Cliché, but sometimes the oldies were still goodies.

Beau answered the door and his smile lit up the night. “Hello, gorgeous,” he said. “Don't you look sassy.”

“Sassy?” she said with a laugh, walking inside. “You sound like my old granny.”

“The better to eat you with my dear,” Beau growled, reaching for her. She squealed and scooted out of the way, backing toward the dining room.

“Come on, Big Bad Wolf,” she said, taunting him. “Dinner has arrived.” She turned and ran into the dining room, untying her belt as she went. She burst into the room laughing, throwing off the coat and spinning around to face Beau.

He came running into the room and the look on his face was horrified, rather than interested. “No, Marian,” he was saying. “Wait.” He picked up her coat from where she'd thrown it and rushed toward her.

“Jesus Christ,” a man said with awe from behind her.

“Oh my God,” she said, recognizing Tom's voice. “Give me my coat!” She fell into Beau's arms and Beau wrapped her in the coat, spinning them both around so that his back was to the room.

“Well, that made my night,” Tyler said. “Of course, now I'm even more jealous of Cass and Beau than I was before.”

“Turn around,” Danny barked.

“Sorry,” Tom mumbled. “But millions of years of evolution made me physiologically unable to not look.”

“What he said,” Tyler added.

“Did you just see my woman naked?” Cass asked casually. “Because millions of years of evolution have made me unable not to kick your ass. Unless, of course, she wants you to see her naked. In that case, you better look at her or I'll kick your ass.” Marian peeked around Beau to see Cass standing in the door on the other side of the room, the one that led to the kitchen. Tyler, Tom, and Danny were all standing near that door, holding drinks at the bar.

“What?” Danny said in confusion.

“I mean that it's up to Marian who gets to see her naked,” Cass explained. “I just feel privileged to be one of the few.”

Marian was mortally embarrassed. “I need to leave now,” she said, burying her head in Beau's chest. “That was quite possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

“You're young,” Tyler said. “There's lots worse to come, I'm sure.”

“Trust me,” Tom said. “You have no reason to be embarrassed. You are fucking hot. Ow! What'd you hit me for?”

“Because you're embarrassing her,” Danny said angrily. “Let's go. We'll leave.”

“No, no, no,” Cass said quickly. “You just sit down and eat something. You promised, remember? Now, sit.” He walked over to Beau and Marian. “Come on. We need to talk.” He got behind her and walked out backwards, dragging her with him while Beau still held her against him. It was awkward, but she liked feeling protected on all sides from any more unintentional flashing.

Cass turned when they got to the stairs and led her up to the bedroom, Beau following. Marian waited until he shut the door before she said anything. “Why didn't you tell me?” she whispered.

“You're late,” Cass said, and he was clearly a little on edge. “I left three voice messages.”

“A last-minute coaches' meeting,” she said. “It went longer than planned. Fingers are getting pointed over this dismal mini-camp.” She sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the coat around her. She still hadn't put it on properly. Her shoulders slumped. “I'm going to get fired. I know it. They blame me for Danny's issues.”

“That's not fair,” Beau said. He was still standing near the door, legs spread and arms crossed. His position positively screamed uncomfortable and defensive.

“What's going on?” Marian asked impatiently. “Why are they all here? Not that I'm going to fuss about Danny finally coming over. How did you get him to come?”

Cass rubbed his face with both hands and came to sit next to her. “Well, see, Shannon had a little talk with me and Tyler today. About Danny.”

“Yeah,” she said encouragingly. “And?”

“He knows that whatever's eating Danny is tied up with why you won't go in the locker room.”

Marian got a cold lump in the pit of her stomach. She stood and walked a few feet away before swinging around to face him. “I won't go in the locker room because I'm a woman and I don't want the guys to feel uncomfortable.”

“Don't lie to us, Marian,” Beau said sadly. “Anyone but us. Please.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “I won't go in the locker room because I was almost raped in one. There. Happy?”

“Do you think these guys are going to do that to you?” Cass asked quietly. “The guys downstairs?”

“Don't be ridiculous,” she said, and she meant it. She couldn't think of three guys less likely to, as a matter of fact.

“But they're on the team,” Beau argued. “They're in the locker room.”

“It's not the same,” she said. “It doesn't matter.”

“It matters to us,” Cass said. He stood up and faced her. They were squared off across the bedroom, her on one side, Beau and Cass on the other. “You're still holding back,” he said. “From us. From this. And I think it's because you're still afraid. Not of us. Not of them. Not even of the locker room. You're afraid of what you want. You're afraid of your desires and who you are. But, Marian, you don't have to be. We love you. We love everything about you. And that includes your desires, anything you desire.”

“What are you trying to tell me?” she asked, confused, her stomach still in knots.

“Danny doesn't like you seeing the two of us,” Beau said. She turned her attention to him.

“No, he doesn't. But he just needs to get to know you better,” she told him earnestly. “When he does, he'll see that you're not like those others. You're good for me.”

“Both you and Danny,” Cass said. “The only experience you had with the sort of sex we like was that night in the locker room. I'm going to try a little armchair psychiatry, okay?” He sat back down on the bed. “That night, what you both learned was that it was bad. Wanting kinky sex was bad. Right?”

Marian hesitantly walked over and sat back down next to him. “Maybe, okay. What about it? I know that's not true now. Because of you two.”

“But Danny doesn't,” Beau said, crouching in front of her and taking her hand in his. “Danny has never seen what it can be between people who care for one another, people who share the same desires.”

Marian's heart was beating fast. She couldn't take a deep breath. “No,” she agreed breathlessly.

“And you still think that being with more than one guy will lead to bad things,” Cass said. “Don't you?”

“No,” she said firmly. “I'm not afraid to be with you two.”

“What about more than two of us?” Cass asked. “What about…five?”

Marian's gaze darted between the two of them. “Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?”

“Danny's not fitting in here,” Cass said, not answering her question. “I think he's trying, but he's fought it so hard for so long that he doesn't know how anymore.”

“And you think having an orgy is going to solve his problems?” Marian asked incredulously.

Beau snorted. “This is hardly an orgy. Trust me.”

“Don't go there,” she warned. “We're not talking about your past.”

“No, we're talking about yours,” he shot back. “And Danny's.”

“What do you think he's been fighting? Liking other football players? Working with a team?”

“The fact that he found the idea of being with multiple partners arousing,” Cass said bluntly. “I think when he walked in on that scene his first reaction was excitement, and he's never forgiven himself for it.”

“Whoa, Nelly,” Marian said, holding up her hand. “You weren't kidding about the armchair psychology.”

“It makes sense, Marian,” Beau said. “His anger, the self-loathing that you've described. He needs to know it's not wrong, that he's not sick or broken or capable of hurting a woman like you were hurt that night.”

Marian's head was reeling. It did make sense. In this twisted world she lived in, it made sense. Danny didn't just hate himself for not going to the authorities, but for wanting the very thing that had hurt her so badly. She raised a shaking hand and brushed a loose hair off her cheek. “What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing that you don't want to,” Cass said. “Do you trust me?”

“You know I do,” she said without hesitation.

“And me?” Beau asked.

“Yes,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I know you would never, ever hurt me. Either of you. You love me.”

“Do you trust Danny?” Cass asked.

“Absolutely,” she said with conviction.

“What about Tyler and Tom?” Beau asked. “We weren't sure. I mean, we thought so.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I trust both of them. Tyler doesn't have a mean bone in his body. And Tom, he's just so goofy and sweet. But he's a kid.”

“He's twenty-three,” Beau said with a smile. “And you know he'd argue about the kid thing. That makes him crazy.”

“Tell me,” she whispered. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“I want you to enjoy yourself,” Cass said, leaning over and kissing that special spot behind her ear. “I want to give you pleasure,” he whispered in her ear. “More pleasure than you can bear. I want you to be worshipped and loved and satisfied in every way possible.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” she said breathlessly. “How can I say no?”

Marian sat there at the dining table laughing at one of Tyler's stupid jokes, her empty plate pushed out of the way. Beau watched her. He couldn't help himself. She was gorgeous; Tom had got that right. Her sexy hairstyle was falling down, wisps of her silky blond hair along her cheeks and the nape of her neck. Cass had lit candles all around the big dining room, and they glinted in her hair and made her skin look smooth and golden. He wanted her. But then, he always wanted her.

They had all decided it was best to eat first. After all, the guys had been invited over for dinner. They didn't know what else. Beau suspected Tyler had a clue. But football players were pretty useless for anything until you fed them.

“So, what is this,” Tom asked. “An intervention?” He pushed his plate away. He'd eaten enough for three men. Typical single guy eating someone else's food.

“What?” Tyler asked with alarm. “Not another one. I swear, I haven't touched anything in years.”

Cass laughed as he stood up and began gathering the dishes. Marian started to stand, too, and Beau put his hand on her shoulder. “Nope. We got this.” She smiled at him, a sexy little secret smile, like she had something planned for him later. Damn, he liked that smile. He gave her one back.

“This,” she said, looking at the others, “is the secret initiation of Danny Smith to the Rebels.”

“Damn,” Tyler said with a grin. “Are we doing that now? 'Cause that is totally cool if we are.”

Beau flipped on the sound system as he walked past the bar. The volume was low, a sexy playlist he'd put together, all suggestive and explicit songs.
Let the games begin,
he thought, sharing a smile with Cass as he set the dirty dishes down on the kitchen counter.

“Do you think she's okay with this?” Cass asked quietly, his smile fading into a frown.

“I think she's more than okay with it,” Beau said. “But she's going to get nervous if we don't get back in there.”

“Wait,” Cass said, catching his hand as he started to turn away. He turned back and Cass pulled him in close. He cupped Beau's cheek, his thumb rubbing along his bottom lip. Then he kissed him. It was slow and sexy, all tongue and hot breath. Beau kissed him back, sliding one hand up into Cass's hair on the back of his head. Cass broke the kiss and Beau licked his lips, staring at Cass's mouth. He wanted more. Shit, he was wired. Knowing what was going to happen had him primed and ready. He'd been sporting a boner half the night.

“I want them to know,” Cass whispered. “About us.”

“Why?” Beau asked, curious. He didn't care, really. He'd take out a freaking billboard to announce Cass was his now.

“Because I don't want to have to hide it,” Cass said. “We love each other. Everybody knows it. It's not like watching two guys get it on will freak Tyler out. He'll probably give us pointers.”

Beau laughed under his breath. “Yeah. And Tom and Danny?”

“Let them see how perfect it is,” Cass said. “How perfect we are.” He kissed Beau again, a little harder, a little more intensely. He bit Beau's upper lip softly. “If I have to let other guys fuck Marian, I want to have you.”

“I know,” Beau said. “It's going to be hard not to bust in and take over. I want to see it, though. Shit, it's going to be hot. I love to watch her with you. With three other guys?” He bent his suddenly weak knees and shook his head, blowing out a breath. “My dick needs to be somewhere while I'm watching that.”

“I know,” Cass said, laughing low. “She's going to drive us crazy, isn't she? She's so fucking perfect.” He licked his lips, staring down at Beau's crotch. “How about my mouth? Or my hand? What do you want to do?”

“Let's just take it as we go,” Beau said. He licked the edge of Cass's ear. That drove Cass crazy and, sure enough, he shivered in Beau's arms. “I'm not sure I'm ready to get fucked in front of them, but I'm not going to rule that out.”

“Correction, you and Marian are both going to drive me crazy,” Cass said. “Damn, I want everyone to know how fucking hot you both are. And that you're mine. This is mine.” He squeezed Beau's ass, his big hand branding Beau through his jeans.

“It sure is,” Beau told him, giving him a big, wet, openmouthed kiss.

“Oh, hey,” Tom said awkwardly. “Sorry. I was just…” He cleared his throat as Cass and Beau separated. “Trying to help.” He set some dirty dishes down on the counter.

“That's okay,” Beau said calmly. “We don't mind if you don't.”

“No,” Tom said quickly. “I mean, we all figured, you know? So, no big surprise.”

“Oh, there are going to be surprises,” Cass said suggestively. “Do you like surprises, Tom?”

“Yeah,” Tom said, drawing out the word. “Good surprises. Is it a good surprise?”

“The best,” Beau told him with a wink. “Trust me. But,” he said, stopping Tom from leaving with that one word. “Remember that we're trusting you, too. Okay?”

“Okay,” Tom said with a puzzled frown. “You guys are acting all weird.” That made both Beau and Cass laugh as they left the kitchen.

Danny was sitting there, folding and refolding his napkin, staring at the table. All the dishes had been cleared off and Marian and Tyler were making small talk. Tyler had moved over into Beau's seat. Beau grabbed the bottle of wine off the bar and refilled Marian's glass. He noticed that Marian and Tyler were sitting there holding hands casually. Just that had his heart racing. “Well?” he asked. “You still okay?”

She nodded with a smile. “I'm good.”

“You're perfect,” he told her, leaning over and kissing her cheek. He didn't try to displace Tyler, just went over and took his abandoned seat. Cass came in and stood next to the kitchen door beside Tom, who was watching them all warily. Cass waved Tom into his previous seat, on Marian's other side. Danny sat across from her. Tom gave Cass a suspicious look, but he sat down.

“So,” Marian said, looking around the table, “we've gathered you all here to reveal who the murderer is.”

“What?” Danny said, frowning. Marian cracked up laughing.

“Sorry,” she said. “I couldn't resist. I should have used a Miss Marple voice. And the murderer is,” she said in a high-pitched British accent.

Beau watched Cass laughing with her as he sauntered over and took a seat at the table. “Stop. You're making them nervous,” Cass told her. “Do you want me to start?”

“No.” She shook her head. “It should be me.” She took a deep breath. “I know you two have been wondering what's been going on with me and Danny,” she said to Tyler and Tom.

“You don't have to tell them,” Danny snapped at her. “They don't need to know.”

“Yes, they do,” Marian said patiently. “They're my friends and they deserve an explanation.”

“They'll tell everyone,” Danny told her. “These guys are worse than old women with the gossip. You know it.”

“I trust them,” Marian said. “You should, too.”

“You barely know them,” Danny burst out. “You've known them…what, three weeks?”

“I know them here,” Marian said, placing her hand over her heart. “Just like I know you here.”

“You can't,” Danny said. “You can't know guys like this. They hide shit. They lie. They'll say whatever it takes to get what they want.”

“I resent that,” Tom said. She could tell he was getting pissed. “You don't know me at all. You haven't bothered to get to know me. If you had, you'd know that I would never share anything that Marian confided to me. I don't lie, I don't cheat. Not even to get something I really want.”

“There's no way you're the Boy Scout you pretend to be,” Danny sneered at him. “What's your angle?”

“You know, I am trying really hard not to dislike you,” Tom told him. “I have to live with you, and Marian adores you, God knows why. But I trust her judgment, so I've been giving you the benefit of the doubt. Like some childhood trauma turned you into a giant asshole or something.”

“Hey,” Tyler said, butting into the conversation. “For a minute there, I thought this was about Marian, but clearly it's about you two.”

“I do adore him, and I'm going to tell you why,” Marian said quietly.

Danny shoved his chair back from the table and stalked over to the rock wall bordering one side of the dining room. He began to pace as Marian started speaking, but he didn't leave.

“Back in college I dated a football player,” she said. “I was an assistant trainer with the team. My dad was the coach.”

“Your dad coached college ball?” Tyler asked. Beau could tell he was trying to figure out where. He'd know soon enough.

“Yes,” she said. “Anyway, I told this boyfriend about my…sexual fantasies.” To their credit, neither Tom nor Tyler looked away, or seemed uncomfortable in any way.

“Well, sure you did,” Tom said after the pause went on a beat too long. “That's what boyfriends and girlfriends do. Right?” He looked around the room for confirmation.

“Absolutely,” Tyler agreed. “Go on.”

“I thought he understood what I wanted. I was wrong.” She was still holding Tyler's hand and Beau saw that her knuckles were white. Tyler didn't flinch. Tom was looking between Cass and Beau. He'd figured it out. Smart guy.

“You wanted more than one guy,” Tom said quietly. “Right? No judgment here. Just saying.”

“That's right,” she said firmly, fully in control and confident. No shame. Beau wanted to kiss her. So he got up and went behind her and tipped her head back, kissing her softly.

“That's right,” he whispered. She smiled up at him and he went and sat back down.

“What went wrong?” Tyler asked.

“He didn't understand that I wanted what I have with Cass and Beau. Instead he recruited half the defensive line one night in the deserted locker room.”

“Jeez, Marian,” Tom said, almost under his breath. He picked up her free hand and kissed the back. “I'm sorry, baby.” Right then Beau knew he'd do anything for Tom, anytime, anywhere.

“Before…” she paused. “Well, before. They'd just managed to get me down with a good right hook and four players holding on to me when Danny heard me screaming and came tearing into the locker room like an avenging angel.”

Tyler and Tom both turned to stare at Danny, who had his back to the room as he stared hard at the wall in front of him. He had to be reliving it while she was telling them. What was he thinking? Was he remembering that first impression? The excitement of it? Or had he managed to convince himself he'd never felt that? Probably not, or he wouldn't still hate himself for it.

“I think I adore him now, too,” Tom said.

“I didn't do shit,” Danny said angrily, turning to them and glaring around the room. “Yeah, I got them off her and got a couple of good hits in, but that's it. I never went to the cops. I never told anyone.”

“That was my decision, too,” Marian told him. “Don't forget that.”

“Wait,” Tyler said, holding up a hand, his eyes going wide. “You went to the same college, right?” He stared at Marian. “That makes your dad Rufus Sedgeway. Fucking Rufus Sedgeway. Holy shit.”

“Fucking Rufus Sedgeway,” Danny said bitterly. “That's right. That's his name.”

“There's more to the story,” Tom said. “Tell it.”

“How many times do we have to go through this?” Danny asked, frustration evident in his voice and his posture. “No matter how many times you tell the story, it doesn't change.”

“My father wouldn't let us go to the police,” she said, ignoring Danny. “He threatened both of us. Told me he'd tell the cops I was lying. Told Danny he'd be off the team, lose his scholarship, talk him down to scouts. He had the power to ruin his career.”

“Jesus,” Tyler said. “Your father?”

“They were headed to a bowl game, a winning season. My boyfriend and a couple of his friends were headed for the NFL, another few notches on my dad's I'm-so-great belt. That was more important than a stupid daughter.”

“Marian,” Tom said, his voice breaking. He leaned over and held her hand to his forehead. “No. Not your dad.”

“The point of all this,” Marian said, “is that both Danny and I were fucked up by the whole thing.”

“I'm not fucked up,” Danny protested.

“Yes, you are,” Beau told him, standing up and facing him, holding on to the back of his chair. “You hate everyone in your world, including yourself. Now let her finish.”

“I thought what I wanted was wrong,” Marian said. “That I'd asked for it. God, that old horrible excuse, right?” She licked her lips nervously. “But Cass and Beau made me see that I didn't. That it's not wrong. This is what I want, and they want it, too.”

“Okay, that's okay,” Tom said quickly. “It is. No one cares. No one here thinks less of you because of what you guys have. Hell, we're all jealous.”

“You should be,” Cass said with a smug grin. It instantly lightened the atmosphere.

“The thing is,” Marian said, “I'm not entirely over it. Yet.”

“The locker room,” Tyler said. “That's why you never come in.” She nodded.

“So we thought,” she said, looking at Beau and then Cass. “That is, we talked about it, and we were hoping you three might help me get over that.”

“Okay,” Tom immediately agreed. “How?”

Tyler thumped him on the head. “How do you think, genius?”

Tom looked puzzled for a minute and then he blushed and his eyes got wide. “Oh,” he said. “Oh. Right.”

“No,” Danny shouted. “No. We are not doing this.
I
am not doing this.”

Tom started to say something but Marian held her hand up for him to be quiet and he obeyed. “Let me,” she told him. She walked over to Danny, who was standing with his back against the wall, facing them all, his arms crossed. She got right in his personal space. She'd done it a million times before, but this time was different. This time there was a sexual tension in the way they met. She let it wash over her. When Cass had mentioned this, she'd thought it would be awkward with Danny, but it wasn't. She loved him. She wasn't in love with him, but she loved him dearly. He was gorgeous and had always been her hero. She reached out and gently placed her hands on his arms.