Northern Exposure: Compass Brothers, Book 1 (6 page)

“I
always
dream of you.” She took a deep breath then admitted, “But sometimes you’re not alone.”

Her husband slid beneath the jewel box quilt Victoria had made for their wedding present, gathering Lucy to his chest. The pounding of his heart drummed in her ear.

“You truly believe I don’t want you anymore, Colby?”

“For tonight, sure. Once Silas is home…” Her cheek rose and fell when he shrugged. “You’ve always loved him. Shit, you only agreed to date me in the first place to make him jealous.”

“You knew that?”

“I’m not stupid, Lu. It pissed me off when he shunned your affection.” He drew a deep breath. “Like he’d always done to me. Acting like we were nothing but friends. I understood how bad that would sting you.”

“Colby, we were young.” Her sigh buffeted his nipple, hardening the dime-sized point, stealing her attention for a moment.

“Especially you. I wondered if Silas kept his hands off because you hadn’t even turned seventeen yet. But I couldn’t resist. I never was as honorable as him.”

“Don’t say things like that.” She lifted her head to meet her husband’s troubled stare. Her fingers stroked damp hair off his brow. “What I meant is that I was too inexperienced to comprehend all you had to offer. You’re subtle where he’s flash. You’re steady where he’s hot then cold. You’re reliable, trustworthy and sexier than any man has a right to be.”

“You’re good for my ego, Lu.”

“You’re good for my soul.”

When he dragged her close for a drugging kiss, she tasted the cherry candy he popped like mints when he worried. Didn’t he understand?

“You were always spectacular and you’ve done a hell of a lot of growing since those days, Colby. No potential went to waste with you.” She forced herself to put some distance between their torsos or she’d forget what she intended to say. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from walking her fingertips up his chest, over the contours of his neck, to his lips. “I admire how you forged yourself into the man you are today. You didn’t have all of Silas’s advantages and yet you’ve become one of the most respectable leaders on the ranch and in Compton Pass. Hell, I heard rumors in town they’re going to write you in on the ballet for trustee this year.”

“Funny.” He nipped her finger then sucked until the sting disappeared. “Victoria said something similar earlier. You didn’t need any polish, Lu. You’ve always been perfect to me. Even when you schemed to use your pal Colby to make Si suffer.”

“It didn’t take long for me to realize I already had what I wanted.” She leaned forward to taste his lips once more. No use in resisting. His palm landed on her ass, cupping her as they shared a deep, lingering kiss. She chuckled around his fluttering tongue then dislodged her mouth to whisper, “I think we dated all of one day before I begged you to take my virginity.”

He’d refused.

She still couldn’t say if it had been some misplaced sense of propriety or the fact that he’d lusted for someone else more than her. The sliver of doubt had niggled the far recesses of her mind for too long. Soon, she’d find out. Suddenly, she wasn’t as eager for the answer. Her life here was perfect. She had everything important. Almost.

Colby bundled her into his arms then rolled onto his back, pillowing her on his gorgeous body. She rested their foreheads together until the creases that appeared on his brow when he discussed something serious crinkled against her skin.

“When we hooked up, you had s
ome
of what you wanted. Let’s be honest, Lucy. You’ve always craved Silas. We both have.”

The truth they’d tried to deny for so long reared between them. A tear leaked from her watering eyes without warning, dropping onto Colby’s cheek.

“That doesn’t mean I love you any less,” she promised.

“Then you understand it’s the same for me?”

She nodded. Ten years of Colby’s easy companionship and generous passion didn’t lie. Too bad Silas hadn’t shown a glimmer of interest in her. When the object of her girlhood crush had clutched Colby to him, ravaging her then-boyfriend in the barn, the sight had sliced her in two. Jealousy had sickened her. She fled, praying she’d make it far enough that her ultimate disappointment wouldn’t douse the sparks between the two men she adored.

Lucy hadn’t done a good enough job of hiding her disappointment.

Silas had bolted the very next day, before she had a chance to guarantee him of her happiness for them. How much time had she stolen from Colby? From Silas? How callous did it make her that she’d savored her husband’s devotion despite the cost?

She swore she’d set things straight and grant them the bliss she’d hoarded for a decade.

For one more night, her husband belonged to her alone.

“I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but if Silas is the same man we adored, you have to pursue your heart’s desire Colby. For all of our sakes'.” She couldn’t bear to keep him from Si a moment longer. Colby would have chased the other man down long ago if it hadn’t been for the responsibility he felt for her, the ranch and a million other real-life hurdles. “I won’t be an obstacle to your happiness.”

Her husband flipped her, rising over her supine form on straight-locked arms until he could peer into her eyes. She made sure only the hope for his bliss projected from them.

“Jesus, I’m crazy about you. I’ve stressed all day about how to tell you exactly the same thing, Lucy.” He tangled his fingers in the curls at her temples and claimed her lips in ravenous kisses between vows. “I
will
fight for us. I promise. I’ll do my best to convince him.”

And then she’d be alone. No more sultry nights filled with familiar laughter and unending passion or the occasional disagreement resolved with gentle loving. Lucy reached for something to tide her through the lonely darkness to come.

A precious memory.

“Love me, Colby?”

“I’ll always love you. No matter what comes tomorrow. Or the day after.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “Or the day after that. I swear I’ll never stop, Lu. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but I cherish you more for giving us this chance. For understanding.”

Her heart broke. She nodded anyway. Us. Colby and Silas. Despite what her husband claimed, he wouldn’t be able to deny his lust. She didn’t have to have psychic abilities to predict the future.

Colby didn’t waste any time in displaying his gratitude. He laid a trail of wet kisses down her neck, across the tops of her breasts, through the valley between them, along her center to her pussy. His hands lit her nerve endings on fire as he caressed her in tandem. He teased the edge of her mound with glancing swipes of his fingers before settling in the cradle of her thighs.

Her husband sighed as he inhaled the scent of her arousal then laid his cheek on her mound as though to ground himself before continuing. She petted his damp hair then nudged him toward her aching core.

“So hot, Lu?” He grinned up at her, his irises the shocking blue they turned when his desire took control. “What if I feel like going slow?”

“Jackass. You don’t.”

“Damn straight.” Colby scooped his hands beneath her ass then raised her to his mouth. He sipped from her moist folds, feeding on every molecule of her arousal.

Lucy’s hips flexed in his hold, her body undulating of its own accord when he neared her clit with his roving lips.

“There.” She buried her fingers in his hair to keep him still when he’d reached the perfect position. “Right there.”

His smile spread against her slippery tissue. Of course he knew exactly how to touch her. He liked to tease, that’s all. God, he made torturing her an art form.

Lucy shivered then smoothed the heels of her palms up her tummy to her breasts, planning to fight fire with fire. She cupped the soft swells in her hands, playing with her nipples using the tips of her fingers.

Colby paused his assault to stare. He groaned, vibrating her clit with his pleasure. When she winked at her husband, he slipped in some tricks of his own. One of his hands glided from her hip to her pussy. His broad middle finger nudged the opening, tracing her inner lips before delving inside.

Her hands fell to the mattress, her sweet torment abandoned. She slipped her legs from beneath his arms, propping her heels on his ridiculously wide shoulders. When her husband applied the perfect level of suction on her engorged bundle of nerves, her toes curled into his muscles.

“Ah!” She cried out when he added a second finger, stretching her pussy, preparing her for his cock. She couldn’t decide if she’d prefer him to keep eating her or to fill her with his impressive length. Colby didn’t ask. He pursued her nearing climax with a single-minded determination she found attractive both in and out of bed.

God help her when her man fixated on something. He’d go to the ends of the earth to make his desire reality.

His calloused finger massaged a hidden spot nestled deep in her body. He played her like a violin virtuoso with a Stradivarius. Lucy attempted to resist, to prolong Colby’s seductive gift. When he added a third finger and rotated them all so he stimulated the clenching walls of her channel, she stood no chance.

Lucy slapped the mattress. The pressure building within her required an outlet. She squirmed and shouted nonsense her husband understood on an instinctive level far beyond decipherable language. He took pity on her, sucking her clit into his mouth as he spread his fingers apart, triggering a climax of epic proportions.

She hadn’t yet finished coming when Colby covered her with his entire frame. Her legs wrapped around his trim hips, opening her pussy to invite him inside.

Her husband tunneled into her clinging sheath, joining their bodies as tightly as their spirits entwined. The fit of their flesh impressed her every time. Though she’d never had another man, she couldn’t imagine a match as perfect as this.

What would it be like to hold Silas inside her instead?

“Yes. God, yes.” Colby shuddered over her. “Do that again. Clench my cock.”

She thought of the responsible, brave and daring young man she’d hungered for all her life then pictured the man he’d become. She closed her eyes and allowed her imagination to run wild. In her mind, he claimed possession of her, fucking her without the restraint her husband insisted on for her protection.

“That’s it, Lu.” Colby grunted as he shuttled in and out of her with urgent glides. The contracted ring of muscle at her entrance caught the ridge below the head of his cock on every pass, preventing him from abandoning her pussy despite his quickening thrusts.

She wished she could taste the fluid leaking from his cock as it always did when he came this close to shooting. The salty emission mingled with her copious lubrication to facilitate his amplified motion. Colby fucked her harder, dropping his mouth to hers, whispering his affection against her skin.

He kissed her with a tenderness the pounding of his hips should have belied. Urgency overwhelmed them both, guaranteeing his care, his concern and his soul-deep adoration. Because she returned the sentiment, her open heart allowed her to sense the slight imperfection in their joining.

Colby needed something else to achieve the rapture flooding her in wave after wave. Familiar regret threatened their harmony. She couldn’t satisfy all of his desires. Still, she would do her best.

Lucy nipped her husband’s lip to get his attention. When his driving rhythm hitched, she shoved his shoulders, urging him to turn. He complied with a moan, rotating until he flopped onto his back. His spread fingers trailed from her ribs to her hips, confirming she’d settled herself comfortably before setting her loose.

Her husband relinquished control, handing her the reins. She tipped back, supporting herself with her hands braced on his thighs to give him room to do her bidding. He licked his fingertip then played with her clit, eager to serve.

Lucy rode him with a variety of motions designed to drive him insane. She rocked her hips in a series of short bursts that concentrated her tightest muscles on the head of his cock before grinding onto him fully.

The jerk of his erection inside her corresponded to the curses spilling from his lips. “Fuck. Ah. Shit. Yes. Damn!”

Colby slammed his hips upward with each utterance, his climax triggering a second wash of ecstasy in Lucy. He never could resist when she took charge. Spurts of his come splattered on her swollen tissue, filling her with his thick, white cream.

She raised herself until he shot the last strand on the outside of her pussy. Before she could rub the opalescent fluid into her flesh, he tugged her hip, forcing her to straddle his head. He surprised her when he devoured the pearly concoction.

Would he be so eager to ingest Silas’s come?

The thought rocketed her to an instant orgasm. She ground her pussy on her husband’s wriggling tongue. Before she could process what had happened, he’d tucked her into his solid embrace—face to face—so she could ride out the storm.

“Things are different already,” he whispered into her hair. “That was…”

“Amazing.” She panted, her breath impossible to catch.

“Wild.” He massaged her relaxing muscles, sighing when she settled more fully against the contours of his body. “The same, but better.”

“Exactly.” Lucy couldn’t stop touching her husband, petting every inch of exposed skin. “Scary.”

“Why?” He cupped her cheek in his hand, tilting her face toward his.

“I’m afraid our relationship will never be the same.”

“Only enhanced, Lu.” His half-hard cock perked up when he communicated his optimism with a thorough kiss. “We’ll never lose this.”

They rocked together until the length of his erection firmed against her belly. He reached down and slipped inside her once more. They soothed each other with tender, lingering touches that focused on bonding rather than fucking for the sake of the prize at the end of the performance.

Lucy had never fathomed such an intimate exchange could exist. She couldn’t say how long they held each other, hours maybe, before a gentle, reassuring warmth rained over her soul to match the heat flooding her womb. Ecstasy washed her clean of her troubles.