Rugged Fire [Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 4]

by Edith DuBois

  “No. You’re checking out now.” Will had already laid more than enough money on the counter at the back of the store for the three books Lianne had clutched to her chest, and Seb dragged her struggling form out the front door.

  “What the hell is wrong with you two?” Lianne twisted out of Seb’s grip as he sucked in huge gulps of fresh air. “You can’t just go tearing a girl away from her romance novels.”

  “Sorry for that, truly, but I couldn’t stay in there another second.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “You couldn’t smell that?” Will asked, coming out the front door and practically running away from it.

  “Smell what?”

  “That place reeked of lion stench.”

  “It smelled fine to me. Maybe a little musty, but that’s all.”

  Seb studied Lianne. The openness of her features suggested she was telling the truth, but the noxious aroma was still fresh in his mind, and he didn’t understand how she couldn’t smell it. The Abbots must have freshly mated with someone. Normally their odor was mildly revolting, but today it was physically sickening. He wanted to get out on the lake with a fresh breeze flying in his face and slapping him around as soon as possible. He wanted that disturbing scent out of his mind.

  “You really like reading that stuff?”

  “Oh yeah,” she answered, already thumbing through one of her new books.

  Looking at the canoe and getting an idea, a naughty, exciting idea, he said, “Would you like to join us on the lake this morning?”

  “Oh, I shouldn’t. I have so much to do.”

  Despite her words to the contrary, Seb could hear the longing in her voice. She wanted to go with him and his brother but would feel guilty if she did because of all the chores she had waiting for her. “It would give you plenty of time to put a good dent in your book.”

  “Plus, you know what they say about all work and no play,” Will added.

  “So you’re saying I’m dull?”

  “Not at all.” Seb put his hand on her rear and gave her a squeeze, causing her to emit a high-pitched squeak of surprise.

  “But it’s a distinct possibility if you keep burying yourself in work,” Will said, brushing a strand of blonde hair away from her face and then cupping her chin.

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “Come on. Say you’ll come with us,” Seb insisted, running his hand from her ass up her back and into the hair hanging down her back.

  She eyed the book in her hand and then set her shoulders.

  “Okay.”

  * * * *

  Lianne sucked in a deep breath.

  There was certainly something to be said for the sense-invigorating power of bright morning air sliding across her face, of lake water lapping against the hollowness of the canoe, and of the gentle dip and sway of the boat as it glided over the lake’s surface.

  There was also something to be said for the sight of two muscular and sweaty males to the front and back of her, rowing together to some internal rhythm. It was all too easy for Lianne to imagine them scooting closer and turning that rhythm on her, sandwiching her body between the two of theirs and using those muscular arms and legs to hold her in place while making use of other appendages to stroke her insides, her pussy, her clit, and bring her to a screaming…

  “Lianne?” Seb twisted around from his position at the front of the canoe to look at her. “I asked if you are enjoying yourself.”

  “Huh? Oh.” She blinked a couple times and stared at the page in front of her. Realizing that the word “cock” was printed across it several times, she snapped the book closed. “Umm…yeah. I like it out here.” Apparently, the novel was leading her thoughts in a naughty direction. She sucked in a few more breaths, hoping the fresh air would clear her mind.

  “We usually take a ten-minute break right about now to enjoy the scenery,” Seb said. “If you’re cold, feel free to join me up here. I’d be glad to keep you warm.”

  “Okay!” It came out more eagerly than she intended, but at the moment she didn’t care. She’d been imagining how nice it would be to snuggle up with them, and then, like he could read her mind, Seb offered her a snuggle.

  Carefully maneuvering her way over to him, she sat on the floor of the canoe between his legs, feeling his warmth envelop her at once. “Mmm,” she said, burrowing deeper between his legs, “that feels nice.”

  His hands settled on her shoulders and began to work her muscles.

  “But you’re the one that needs a massage,” she admonished, her eyes drifting closed.

  “No, no. You’ve been working your ass off to get the attic ready, and you’re so tiny that—”

  “You’re probably exhausted but too proud to admit it.” Will’s voice was closer than she thought it would be, so she cracked one eye open. He’d moved to her spot in the middle, and she wondered how she hadn’t felt the boat rock as he’d moved. It was probably a shifter thing, she thought, letting her eyes drift closed again.

  “Well…maybe I am a little tired. But not enough to stop working.”

  Seb’s hands moved a little further down her back, pushing and kneading and loosening. His fingers brushed against the sides of her breasts, and she sucked in a breath. She wanted his fingers to move further, to touch her nipples, to pinch and squeeze and flick.

  They did.

  With a sigh, Lianne leaned her head back into Seb’s stomach, affording him easier access to her breasts. He slowly unzipped her large fleece jacket and slipped his hands inside. She thrust her chest up as he cupped her.

  “So beautiful,” Will whispered.

  Her eyes snapped open, and she shot away from Seb, causing the canoe to tip back and forth precariously.

  “What the hell?” Seb asked, gripping the sides. “What’s the matter?”

  As she leaned against the side of the canoe, her fumbling fingers attempted to zip up her jacket, but she was suddenly too nervous for her muscles to remember how to do it. She could also feel the heat blossoming on her cheeks as embarrassment and shame swam through her blood.

  “Lianne?” Will asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just remembered that I have to go back. We have to go back right now.” She could never admit to them what had really upset her, what made her cheeks flame at the thought of Seb’s hands traveling so brazenly across her body. He must have felt how small her breasts were. No doubt he was appalled by what she lacked.

  Will’s eyes had a smirking quality though his lips remained pressed tightly together. “And how do you plan on getting back to land?”

  “You…well, you’ll row me over.” Will’s eyebrows shot up. “Won’t you?”

  “Not until you tell us what the hell is going on here.”

  “Nothing’s going on.”

  “Let’s see,” Seb said. “One moment you’re murmuring soft sounds of pleasure at my touch and the next you’re nearly tipping the boat over in nervousness. That doesn’t sound like nothing to me. Does it to you, Will?”

  “Nope.”

  Lianne glared at first Seb and then Will and crossed her arms over her chest, fearing that leaving her small breasts exposed for their scrutiny would somehow alert them to her insecurities. “I’m serious. I really have to be getting back, so if you’ll just kindly pick up your oars and start—”

  “No, I’m serious, Lianne.” Seb’s voice was dark and commanding, leaving no room for argument. “This canoe is going nowhere until you tell us what has frightened you.”

  “I’m not frightened.” Her words sounded small.

  Seb grabbed her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to look deep into his eyes. “Tell me the truth.” She opened her mouth to protest, but Seb tightened his fingers. “Right now.”

  She sniffed. “It’s my chest.”

  “What about it?”

  She glared at him, annoyed that he was actually making her say it aloud. Obviously he could see that her boobs were lacking in the “big, supple, and sque
ezable” department.

  “What about your chest?” he asked again.

  Squeezing her arms tighter around herself, she whispered, “It’s not exactly generous.”

  His lips trembled, and his eyes squinted together.

  “Don’t you dare do it,” she said, waggling her finger at him. “Sebastian Earl Carson, don’t you dare laugh at me.”

  “How do you know my middle name?”

  “A seventh grader with a crush can dig up a lot of information if she wants to.”

  “You had a crush on me in seventh grade?”

  “On both of you.”

  Both of their eyes popped open wide in surprise.

  “Oh gosh, this is heading straight for a cesspool of embarrassment, isn’t it?”

  “Come on, Lianne. Is that really what you are worried about?” Will asked. “The size of your breasts?”

  She squeezed her eyes, unable to meet either of theirs, and nodded.

  “Well, that’s crazy because they’re perfect. You’re perfect.”

  Her eyes flew open. Looking over, she stared deep into Will’s eyes. There was no hint of laughter on his face. He looked dead earnest, in fact. “That isn’t the adjective I would use exactly.”

  He frowned. “I don’t know who put the idea in your head, but you can forget it. I love your body.”

  “Come on. You don’t have to feed me some line. I’ve already admitted how smitten I am. It’s not like you have to win me over or anything.”

  “That wasn’t a line, Lianne. I mean it. I love your body. I wish you’d let me see more of it.” His mouth quirked up, and his smile matched his brother’s from moments before.

  “No fooling?”

  He shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes trained on her.

  She moved so that she was on her hands and knees, and then very carefully, she made her way to him, trying her best not to let the canoe tilt as she crawled because she was really shaking. When she reached him, she sat on her heels and put her hands on Will’s knees. Placing his hand on her jacket’s zipper, he slowly pulled it down until she felt the front come apart again. Cool air pushed at her thin sweater and undershirt.

  Slowly, Will slid his hands under the fleece of her jacket and over her shoulders. He rolled his hands back, making the fabric slip off. Lianne shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold air. Her nipples poked against her garments.

  Will covered her breasts with his broad palms, and Lianne winced, nervous at how little she had to offer him. Despite her timidity, he began to fondle and caress. Lianne fought the urge to stay stiff. It was such a strange feeling for a man to be paying special attention to her breasts. Biting her bottom lip, she willed herself to relax into the pull and sway of Will’s hands.

  He leaned forward, put his lips to her ear, and said, “See. All I need is a palmful each.” He nibbled at her earlobe, sending wild thrills down her neck and across her scalp. Her hands flew up to hold his elbows, pulling him closer against her body.

  After a few moments of teasing her through the sweater, Will slipped his hands under the garments. Lianne gasped at the sudden warmth of his flesh on her flesh. Then, before she could compute what was happening, Seb had grabbed her from behind, and the twins were moving as one until they had her positioned just like they wanted, and just like she wanted, too, with Seb lying beneath her, almost cradling her, and Will above her.

  Seb’s legs stretched along her body, locking her close to him. He put his hands on her hips, circling and drawing seductive patterns through her jeans onto her skin. Each line, each shape that he drew sent out tentacles of pleasure through her nerves and through her blood until it roped around her pussy. A low moan rumbled in the back of her throat, and she closed her eyes, wanting to dive deep into every tiny sensation the twins were causing in her body.

  She’d dreamt of their hands, their lips, their breaths so many times as a teenager, and now that it was actually happening, it didn’t seem possible. It had been impossible for so long that she’d stopped believing in it.

  Will pushed her sweater and undershirt up, exposing her bare breasts. She’d been in a hurry that morning and figured two layers were enough for decency with her small bosom. As Will’s lips landed on one of her nipples, she heard a surprised squeak pop out of her mouth before she could stop it. Seb chuckled beneath her.

  “It’s…not…funny,” she choked out between desire-ridden pants. Her hands flew to Will’s head, holding him close to her body as his tongue laved her nipple with one rough swipe and then softened to swirl and undulate against her nipple.

  Seb’s hands played with the button of her jeans, flicking at it in question.

  “Go on,” she whispered.

  Deftly, he undid her pants and then slid one of his hands inside. Lianne sighed at the welcome intrusions and let herself fall into the swirling luxuriance of pleasure he stirred up inside her cunt. His fingertips danced along the lips of her pussy and toyed with the swollen flesh of her entrance. She rolled her hips up toward his hand, needing him to delve in.

  Moving to her other breast, Will used his teeth on her nipple just as Seb sank his fingers deep into her pussy. She whimpered, carried away on a wave of desire. She dove off her safety raft of control and let herself struggle in the sweeping, powerful, overwhelming waves of passion that the twins called up all around her. Her body writhed and twitched with each stroke and nibble, with each jab and lick. They tugged her back and forth between them, Seb striking from below and Will from above, until the very center of her body throbbed and pulsed and spasmed. Each outward wave pushed tight against the edge, moving her closer and closer until she thought her mind would expand and expire like birth and death, like the rising and the setting, the blinding and the seeing.

  Seb’s lips found hers from above, from somewhere far away and tangible. She thrust her tongue up and into him. He caught her and held her. In that moment, touching both of them, being stroked to life by them, she realized they held everything. They always had.

  The precipice shattered. She was flung over, and a body-locking orgasm swept through her. Every muscle taut, every word lost, every sight obliterated, Lianne felt herself expanding. The pleasure whirled through her, washed it all away, left her clean and bare and fresh. As the raging fire dimmed to rolling embers, Lianne’s breath came back. She realized she was gripping Seb’s thighs like she feared falling overboard, like her life depended on him.

  Brushing a few locks off her forehead, Will smiled down at her. He had pulled her sweater back down. “Like I said, you are perfect.”

  “Will,” she whispered, his name and his brother’s name the only thoughts she could recall, the only things worth remembering.

  “You’re so responsive,” Seb whispered.

  “I’ve never experienced anything like that,” she said. “It was so…so…I don’t know what it was, but I never imagined such feelings were possible. It was incredible. I didn’t know it could be so…” She let her sentence trail off, already reminiscing about the deliciousness they’d stirred up in her.

  “You’ve orgasmed before, though, right?” Will asked.

  She cracked an eye at him and was surprised to see a slightly alarmed expression on his face.

  “Umm…”

  “Lianne,” Seb said, making her sit up. “You went to college. You’ve had boyfriends. You’re not a virgin.”

  She blinked, not sure how to respond. “Were those questions?”

  “You can’t be a virgin.”

  “Well, I mean, technically I can.” Her cheeks flamed, and she sort of muttered it into her lap, but she knew Will and Seb got the message because Seb’s arms stiffened and Will’s face went completely blank.

  Without saying a word to each other, the twins moved her back to the middle bench and then picked up the oars to start rowing back to shore.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, feeling nervous that they suddenly seemed so determined to head back. “Everything okay with you two?” Nobody answere
d her question. “Seb?”

  He looked out over the water, refusing to meet her gaze.

  “Will?” His eyes were trying to bore holes in the bottom of the canoe.

  “Fine,” she said, picking up her book again and fighting off a violent shiver. “Assholes,” she muttered, ripping her book open. Then she buried her nose in it, trying her damnedest to hold back tears.

  Chapter Four

  She was a goddamn virgin!

  Will’s mind didn’t want to wrap itself around that idea. It wasn’t his, or Seb’s, normal routine to deflower virgins. Although, from the way she’d blazed to life under their touch, it was difficult to comprehend the fact that she was a virgin. It was funny how much could change in just a few small moments. Lianne Seward had always been around, always been Carson and Noah Strong’s younger cousin, a small slip of a girl. In fact, until he’d seen her at the bank, if someone had mentioned her, his mind would have brought up a picture of her as a twelve-year-old tomboy.

  The only thing he remembered about her was carrying her home after she’d fallen off her bike and scraped up her legs too much to walk. She’d clung to his neck and shivered from the shock, but she didn’t cry. He’d delivered her to the same doorstep he was standing on now. Her mother had answered when he rang the doorbell, stared at him for a long and uncomfortable moment, given him the strangest smile, and then thanked him for returning her daughter home.

  But after hearing her cry out in pleasure at his touch and at his brother’s touch, Will couldn’t see that little girl anymore. He saw the woman. He saw only the woman—the passionate, beautiful, trusting woman.

  Still, he thought, shaking his head, they’d made a point of only sleeping with women who had experience, who wouldn’t expect things from them, things they could never promise. He hated to be prejudiced, but virgins had a tendency toward clinginess. Toward obsessive, demanding, I’m-expecting-a-ring-soon clinginess. Not that he knew from personal experience, but he’d seen enough to know what would happen.

  The moment his cock penetrated her vagina, she’d be hearing wedding bells. Dreams of white and lace and babies and forever after would fill up her head until she became a mere ghost of the alluring woman she now was.