An Early Spring

by Ann Lister

  Nick tightened his grip around Colby’s waist and pinned her against the deck railing with his body. “I’d rather focus my energy on making a baby with you,” he beamed, his lips brushing over hers. When he felt her mouth open for him, he kissed her deeply, igniting the flames between them.

  One heart beat, and they became swept away with the sensations of their mouths. Nick slipped his hand into the back of Colby’s shorts, while her fingers began working on the buttons of his shirt, their mouths never disconnecting.

  He groaned into her mouth, when he felt her tug the shirttails from his pants and ease the garment off his shoulders. Nick’s free hand moved up Colby’s back and untied her bikini top to expose her breasts.

  He watched her eyes widen in shock, then mask in lust, when his fingers began to manipulate a nipple beneath his thumb. “Do you think your friend would mind if we used her bed?” he asked. His voice was strained with arousal, as Colby began to unfasten his jeans.

  “What’s wrong with right here?” she asked, and pointed to the extra wide lounge chair behind them.

  Nick smiled against her lips and grabbed at her hands as they began to work his pants lower on his hips. “I love the way you think, baby, but what about your neighbors?”

  Colby removed her bikini top and tossed it onto the chair with Nick’s shirt, then unzipped her shorts and stepped out of them, along with her bikini bottoms. When she stood upright, she was completely naked with a full, all-over body tan.

  Nick’s mouth dropped open at the sight of her. “Wow,” he said on a sigh.

  Colby reached for his pants and started tugging again. “Since when are you shy about being naked outside?”

  Nick laughed and stepped away from her grip. “I’ve never been naked outside with other people so close-by, Colby,” he said. He scooped her up in his arms and walked inside the cottage. “Besides, I don’t want to be distracted. Where’s your friend’s bed?”

  Colby clung to his neck, softly biting the skin. “It’s the door on your right.”

  Nick moved beside the bed and gently set Colby down onto her feet. His eyes fused with hers, reflecting a beautiful mixture of lust and raw emotion. He cupped the side of her face and ran his thumb over her lips.

  “I love you,” he said. “And I want to do this right.” He slipped his fingers into the front pocket of his jeans and held up her engagement ring. “I’d like you to wear this when I make love to you,” he said thoughtfully. “What’d you say? Are you still willing to marry me?”

  “Absolutely,” she said. She watched as he kissed her knuckles and then pushed the ring back onto her finger.

  “I hope you never feel the need to take off this ring again,” he said. “Seeing you do it the first time shattered me, and I’m certain I wouldn’t survive you doing it a second time.”

  Colby smiled brightly, glancing at the ring on her hand, then up to his eyes. “This ring is where it belongs. I’m not taking it off.”

  Her hands slid around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers. She lovingly kissed him, slow and languid, until she felt Nick fumbling to remove his pants, then she moved onto the bed, up against the pillows, and waited for him to lay down beside her.

  “Dare I ask, how you achieved this perfect all-over tan?” he asked. His hand roamed the firm expanse of her thigh and settled on her belly.

  “I’ve been laying on that lounge chair you saw out on the deck.”

  “Naked?” he asked, his thumb rolling over her nipple.

  “I lay down first, then take off my bathing suit. I really doubt anyone has seen me.”

  Nick shifted against Colby, his lips covering her mouth, his tongue swirling across hers, tasting and teasing, until she rolled onto her back, delirious with pleasure. His hand moved between her legs, just as her fingers gripped onto his erection and began to stroke.

  “You’re going to make me come,” he said in a raspy voice, then inched his body above hers, resting his weight on his elbows. He rocked his pelvis against her without entering, until Colby wrapped her legs around his hips. Feeling the smoothness of her legs rubbing against him, made him lose control. He quickly pitched his hips forward and penetrated her.

  Colby began to rock beneath him, her arms draped around his shoulders, rubbing her breasts against his chest. The friction was powerful, stirring an inner yearning and making her entire body tingle.

  “Nick, this feels so good,” she said breathlessly against his mouth.

  He kissed her with tenderness, feeling her body tightening around him, as his hips kept a slow and steady rhythm. He felt her exhale into his throat, when her spasms started, making her whole body tremble. He watched her face flush with heat, her eyes flutter, then close, and a slow smile curl her lips.

  “Your ribs don’t seem to be bothering you,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

  Nick rolled onto his back, pulling her on top to straddle his lap. “I still feel a little…discomfort, from time to time, but it’s a hundred percent better than it was a couple of months ago.”

  Colby smiled down at him and began to rotate over his cock. The slow, steady turns of her body had Nick twisting his head into the pillows, his hands gripping at her hips. She leaned forward; tipping her pelvis, allowing for a deeper penetration.

  “Je t’aime.”

  “You drive me crazy when you talk French,” he sighed.

  “I know,” she said, and dragged her tongue across his lips.

  Nick’s hands went to her waist and squeezed, nearing his own point of no return. He saw the color in Colby’s eyes deepen and felt the urgency rising in her movements.

  “Come for me, Colby,” he said. “I’m not going to last much longer.”

  As soon as he felt her inner contractions begin, he relaxed and allowed his own orgasm to race through his body.

  Colby pressed her chest to Nick’s and set her face into the bend of his neck. “Wow,” she sighed. She felt his fingers moving up her spine and smiled. A total sense of contentment and complete love overwhelmed her, bringing her emotions to the surface.

  “Baby, why are you crying?” he asked, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead.

  “I’m very happy,” she said quietly.

  “Me, too, and I’m also eager to get you back to Colorado.”

  “When’s your return flight scheduled?” Colby asked.

  “I don’t have one booked, yet. I wasn’t sure how long it was going take to convince you to come home with me, so I left it open-ended. Maybe we could rent a moving truck and drive back to Colorado with your belongings from the storage unit. Hell, if you want, we could also stop in Vegas and get married at one of those all-night chapels.”

  “Are you serious?” she laughed.

  “Serious about the moving truck or Vegas?”

  “Vegas.”

  “I’ll marry you anywhere you want. You name the time and the place, and I’m there.”

  “Your parents would be awfully upset if we got married without them in attendance. Don’t you think?”

  Nick tipped his head and smiled. “I’d probably never hear the end of it.”

  “Do they know we broke-up?”

  “No. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them. It hurt too much to talk about you leaving and I really didn’t want to tell my parents why you left, so the subject was never brought up in conversation.”

  Colby rolled to Nick’s side. “Your parents don’t know about Nathan?”

  “Hell, no! Why would I tell them about a kid my ex-fiancée conceived with the help of another man - while engaged to me? My parents already had enough reason to hate Sarah, they didn’t need to know about Nathan.”

  “I see your point,” Colby replied, skimming her hand across Nick’s chest and down onto his stomach. “You're all muscle, now. How many hours do you spend in the gym?”

  Nick chuckled heartily. “After suffering through that first week being back at work, it felt like I hadn’t exercised at all. I was so sore and stiff.”
/>   “Stiff?” Colby teased.

  He moved onto his side and faced her. “I wasn’t stiff where it counts,” he said. “I saved that for you.”

  Colby tipped her chin and touched the side of his face. “What about Lana? I figured, she’d be all over you the moment she heard I was gone.”

  “Nope. She’s still screwing poor Glen senseless.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Where were you and Sarah planning on getting married?”

  “New Jersey. She wanted to use the church where she was baptized. Why are you asking.”

  “I didn’t want to unintentionally suggest the same place for our wedding. That’s all.”

  Nick grinned. “Do you have a location in mind?”

  Colby nodded. “Yes, I do. It was the first thing I thought of when we stood in this particular spot.”

  “What spot?”

  “The deck outside the Summit Lodge at the resort. I thought it would be beautiful to have the ceremony outside, overlooking the mountain range.”

  A slow smile spread across Nick’s face. “That would be perfect, Colby, and we could have the reception inside.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Maybe when we get back to the resort we could talk to the manager at the Summit Lodge and see what dates they have available.”

  “We can do that. Do you have a date in mind?” he asked.

  “Yes, but I need to ask you another personal question, first.”

  “You want to know the date Sarah and I were supposed to be married, right?”

  Colby nodded.

  “It would've been in June.”

  “I was thinking sometime in October would be nice,” Colby said.

  “Very good choice! The foliage will be turning the trees by then and it’s before the winter rush, which will please my boss. You do realize, though, that October is only two months away.”

  “Yes, but you said you didn’t want a long engagement,” Colby replied.

  “I don’t. The sooner the better.”

  “Okay, but before we confirm a date, there is something you need to do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You need to meet my parents and we should probably do that before we leave for Colorado.”

  “Fine, set it up - but not for today. I have a feeling we’re going to be busy for the rest of the afternoon,” he said, and rolled on top of her.

  “All afternoon?” she giggled. “That’s a bit ambitious, don’t you think?”

  “Okay, maybe not all afternoon,” he said. “After all, I’m not twenty years old anymore, but I’m fairly certain I can keep you entertained for the next couple of hours.”

  The following day, Nick kept his promise and met Colby’s parents for dinner at a small Italian restaurant on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles. Colby drove Nick’s rental car, navigating the route back to L.A. with ease, as if she were driving around the streets of a small mid-Western town and not a major city.

  The sun was just beginning to set, when Colby stopped the car in front of the restaurant and allowed the valet attendant to park their car.

  “I have to warn you, my father is a bit old fashioned,” Colby said, hooking her arm around Nicks bicep.

  “I thought you said they wouldn’t care if we were living together.”

  “They won’t care about that,” Colby said. She stopped Nick as he tugged open the front door to the restaurant.

  “Then, what is it?”

  “He’s going to want you to formally ask him for my hand.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know - ask if you can marry me.”

  “Seriously?” Nick asked.

  Colby shrugged. “It will make him feel involved in the process.”

  “Didn't you tell them I proposed to you last month?” he asked, the sudden realization that their engagement could quite possibly be a total surprise to her parents.

  “I told them we were ‘getting serious’, but I wanted to wait until you could ask my father.”

  “Colby!” he said using a fake admonishing tone. “You were supposed to tell them when I told my parents.”

  “I know, but I wanted to wait until we could do it right,” she said.

  Nick studied Colby’s expression, saw the emotion rising in her eyes and melted. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her, and if she wanted him to ask her father for her hand in marriage, he’d happily do it.

  Before Nick could respond, Colby’s parents breezed into the restaurant causing Colby to squeal with delight.

  “Dad! Mom!” Colby shouted, hugging her father tightly around the neck, then doing the same with her mother. Colby pulled away from her mother’s embrace and stepped toward Nick. “I’d like you to meet Nick Gaffney,” she said, tugging Nick closer to her parents. “Nick, this is Mark and Betty.”

  Nick quickly extended his hand to Colby’s father to shake. The man was large and looming, well over six feet tall, with almost a full head of hair, even with his age being over sixty years. Colby shared the same blue eyes as her father and the same dark skin.

  “It’s very nice to finally meet you,” Nick said to Mark, then turned to Colby’s mother and offered her a hug.

  Betty was in her early sixties, but still had the youthful appearance of a woman in her forties, causing Nick to wonder if it was natural or surgically enhanced. After studying both Colby’s parents, Nick decided Colby resembled her father, more so, than her mom. Colby’s hair was blond, like her mothers, but outside of that, there wasn’t much similarity between the two women.

  “Colby tells me you’re a Search and Rescue guy at the ski resort?” her dad asked.

  “Yes, sir. I’ve been a part of their EMT crew for almost twelve years now,” Nick said with pride.

  “That’s how we met, Dad. Nick saved me from the side of a trail,” Colby said brightly, her hand clutching onto Nick’s tightly.

  The hostess interrupted their conversation and escorted them to their table. Nick quickly ordered two bottles of wine and waited until everyone had filled their glasses.

  “Mark, Colby says you’re an old fashioned kind of guy, so I want to do this properly,” Nick said, reaching for the stem of his wine glass. “I’m in love with your daughter and I’d like your blessing to marry her.”

  Beneath the table, Colby squeezed Nick’s thigh.

  Mark smiled with pride. “Thank you, Nick. I appreciate you asking,” he said. “Colby told us you two were getting serious, so Betty and I suspected an engagement would be on the horizon.”

  “We’re thinking of having the ceremony in October, Dad,” Colby said with excitement.

  “This October?” her mother asked.

  “Yes, we want to do it as soon as possible,” Colby said.

  “Why so soon?” Betty asked. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

  “No, Mom! Of course not!”

  “Then, what’s the hurry? How can we plan a wedding in two months?”

  “Nick and I want something small and intimate, just close family and friends, and we want to have the ceremony at the resort, too.”

  “In Colorado?” her father asked.

  “Why not Colorado?” Colby asked. “That’s where we met, the place has sentimental value to both of us.”

  “We don’t have to talk about the specifics of the wedding right now, Colby,” Nick said, trying to defuse an argument he sensed was brewing between Colby and her parents.

  “Okay, you’re right,” Colby agreed, and took a sip from her wine glass. “I’ll give you both a call when we have a date confirmed.”

  “Let’s order some food,” Colby’s father said. “I’m starving!”

  “I’ll second that idea,” Nick said.

  They finished their meals, paid the bill, and began to head toward the front door. Colby’s father congratulated them again on their engagement, while her mother expressed her concern with the short ti
me interval to plan the event.

  “Mom, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything, but remember, Nick and I want this to be small, so you’ll have to keep your guest list to a bare minimum.”

  “Do you have a big family, Nick?” Betty asked him.

  “No, not really, but even still I’m sure my mother will protest our wishes to keep the wedding small.”

  “Yes, well, I guess mothers will do that,” Betty said.

  “I’m glad you’re happy, sweetheart,” Colby’s father said.

  Nick slid a protective arm around Colby’s shoulders and pulled her tightly to him.

  “I’m beyond happy, Dad.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  After dinner, Colby got behind the wheel of Nick's rental car and followed the signs leading to Highway 110. From there she'd take scenic Route 1 up the coast heading toward Malibu.

  “We need a plan, Colby,” he said, once they were safely out of the city traffic.

  “I have to pack up my things in Malibu first,” she said. “Then I'll need to figure out how I'm going to get everything back to Colorado.”

  He looked at her, saw the concentration in her face, and smiled. “Want my input?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she said, giving him a quick glance.

  “We pack up what you have in Malibu, then we'll drive over to your storage unit. You can assess what you have there, decide what you want to keep and what you don't. The rest of the stuff will go into a moving truck for the trip back.”

  She tossed his suggestion around in her head for a few minutes. “I have a lot of furniture in storage that I won't need at your place, but I don't want to throw it out,” she said.

  “That's okay,” he said. “There's a storage facility about ten minutes from the mountain. You can store what you can't use there for the short term and decide what you want to do with it later.”

  “It sounds like you're thinking of driving the moving truck back to Colorado,” she said. “That's a good two-day drive, Nick, and I don't want you to miss anymore work than you already have.”

  Nick rubbed at his chin and watched Colby turn off the highway to take the coastal route. “What are you thinking?” he asked.