Branded by the Badge

Chapter 4

The weeks after the incident in the hotel were nothing short of a small town circus. Of course it'd made major news, bringing the biggest news outlets from all over west Texas to their sleepy little county. Everyone wanted an interview with the big strapping hero, the tall, broad, dark sheriff that stepped in and took down the corrupt Judge Leilland just in time to save the sweet innocent secretary from becoming his latest victim. Sheriff Russell Randall was on the cover of every local newspaper, and on the lips of every woman in the county. Every woman had commented at least once to her girlfriends over lunch about how handsome and dashing the man was and how lucky his wife must be. Not that Russell's ego needed the stroking, but every time he heard it, his chest puffed up a little more, just as it did now while he walked with his arm around his beautiful blonde wife, Susannah. They had the first hearing set for Judge Leilland and of course he would be present, if nothing else for publicity. It was good for his image to be seen there. He had ordered Marlena to be there as well even though she'd fought him tooth and nail on the subject. He wanted to be sure that the public saw her by his side, supporting the hero that had saved her from such a terrifying ordeal. Bringing her to his way of thinking that morning had been quite pleasurable indeed. He could still feel her nails raking over his shoulders and arms, the sting as they'd broken the skin while he buried his head between her legs, licking and sucking at her sweet pussy until she was completely spent, gasping and begging him to stop. It was then that she'd finally relented, agreeing to go to the hearing only so he would stop the delicious torture he on her body. That was one of his special tricks he pulled out when she was being incredibly strong willed and needed that extra charade of emotion, like a dangled carrot. He loved tasting her succulent folds, but he didn't allow himself that pleasure often. Today had been a rare treat for them both. He smirks as he guides his wife into the courthouse, his palm barely grazing the silky material of her dress as they moved into the courtroom. Like magnets, his eyes found Marlena immediately. She looked even smaller than usual, if that were possible, almost shrunk in on herself, her eyes trained on Leilland as though he'd break free of the restraints and come after her. He leans down and places a kiss to the top of Susannah's head, playing the doting husband as he always did in public, though his actions were completely emotionless. To him, she was simply an accessory, a means to an end. There was only one reason he'd married her, and love had absolutely nothing to do with it, neither did attraction for that matter. 

Marlena looks up as she feels someone standing at the end of the aisle next to her and gives a soft smile to Susannah Randall, trying to be polite. She holds back a yelp as the woman passes by her, her sharp heel coming down directly on the top of Marlena's foot. With a heavy sigh, Marlena simply shifts further away from the blonde, making herself as small as possible, while picturing all the ways she could dismember the blonde terror if she ever had the chance. She had assumed that Russell would continue moving through the row, past his wife to sit on the other side, but instead, she felt him settle in the empty space between her and Susannah. She tries to hide her shock, not turning to look at him as she so desperately wanted to. His presence next to her was both a comfort and unsettling at the same time, his thigh brushing hers, his broad shoulders taking up more space than the average man's. She hated how much he affected her, she truly did. She wished that she could break the spell he'd cast over her, but here she was, sitting beside him in a crowded court room just as he had instructed, his beautiful wife sitting on the other side of him. Her entire body was tense as Leilland turned in his chair, making eye contact with her, those beady eyes trained on her. She knew from the look in the Judge's eyes that he was fully aware he was set up, and if he ever had the chance, she would certainly pay for her involvement. The thought alone made her shiver and her stomach turn. She feels the slightest brush of a hand against her clothed hip, between hers and Russell's bodies and knows that he felt the change in her body, the fear and anxiety rolling off of her. It was times like this that made it so damn hard to simply tell him to fuck off and to walk away from the bastard.