“I think they’ll excuse a hasty departure on our wedding night.”
Julie licked her lips. “Right.”
Once the band finished playing Forrest wasted no time in slipping his hand in hers and leading them off the dance floor. She almost pulled back when she saw he made his way to where Will stood with Rosemary. The way the two were positioned, their bodies just a tad too close, heads bent in conversation, had Julie feeling like they were about to ruin an intimate moment, but Forrest paid it no mind and continued forward.
“Goodnight, Rosemary. Thank you for the dance.” Will gave a slight nod of his head to the blonde.
Rosemary winked and reached a hand out to squeeze his arm. “Of course, what kind of lady wouldn’t dance with you?”
Julie bristled. Though Rosemary had her back to her, the comment seemed directed at her and her first instinct was to fire off a sharp remark. Inhaling, Julie worked to calm herself. There was no sense in feeding any rumors with erratic behavior. She was just sensitive today from all of the excitement of the wedding. And the excruciating exercise of vibration torture via completing a month-long train ride. Then there was her uncustomary alcoholic consumption. Not to mention, there was the matter of her wedding night to attend to—a wedding night that featured two husbands.
Yes, staying silent until she was more in control of herself was the best course of action.
Will shrugged. “I can count a few who might make a run for it.”
“Well, I’m not one of them,” Rosemary said, taking a step far too close to Will for Julie’s liking. She stiffened at the sight of it and Forrest cleared his throat, announcing their arrival to the couple.
Rosemary sprang back from Will and gave Julie a contrite look. “Mrs. Wickes-Barnes, so good to meet you. Finally.”
Julie hummed a greeting to the woman but the champagne she’d drunk sang through her veins. Gossip or not, she suddenly didn’t care too much about being polite to the blonde woman. She was lucky Julie was even choosing to keep her mouth shut. Julie leaned against Forrest’s side and the man caught her with a chuckle.
“Rosemary,” Forrest greeted her and then looked to Will. “I think it’s time we took her home.”
“We don’t have to,” Julie said, forcing herself to stand taller. “If you’d like to stay, that is,” she added, looking at Will, trying to gauge his response. She didn’t miss how Rosemary also looked to him for his reaction.
Why did the woman care so much about what Will thought? Why had he deigned to dance with Rosemary when he hadn’t so much as touched Julie after their wedding kiss?
“Been waitin’ on you to call it,” Will replied gruffly. And though his features no longer looked relaxed, or even held a hint of the smile he’d given Rosemary, he stepped close to Julie and slipped an arm around her waist. “Goodnight, Rosemary. Thank you for coming.” He turned to Julie. “Come on, I’ll put you in the wagon while Forrest makes our goodbyes,” he said.
Julie nodded with a yawn, a glow of pleasure warming her better than the champagne had at the pinched look their sudden departure put on Rosemary’s face.
“Goodnight!” she called with a cheery wave on her way to the wagon with Will. She snuck a look at him and wondered why he was the one putting her in the wagon and not Forrest. Before long, they were in front of their wagon and Will lifted her to her seat.
“God, woman, where are you in all this lace?” he huffed, making sure to get the entirety of her train safely up on the bench next to her.
“It’s the height of fashion,” she informed him primly.
Will snorted, still shoving swaths of silk satin up next to her. “Seems like a waste.”
Julie stiffened at his casual comment and looked down at her hands, even though she knew he couldn’t see the hurt in her eyes, not with the near darkness they were in, relieved only by the bright light of the moon.
Noticing that she’d gone still, Will sighed. “I didn’t mean—Julie, you looked beautiful today.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice small. She kept her eyes on her lap and, working to keep her voice even, began to ask about Forrest when Will spoke.
“Darlin’,” he tried, one of his hands coming to rest over both of hers, which were clasped in her lap. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I speak before I think. Y-you were the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life today.” He picked up a fistful of her skirt and gave it a gentle shake. “This wasn’t a waste. Not an inch of it.” His voice was low and husky. She could hear his sincerity, and she swallowed hard at the raw emotion she heard.
“Will,” she whispered, touched at his words. She opened her mouth to say more but Will surprised her when he surged forward and caught her lips in a kiss. For a moment, Julie didn’t move, far too stunned by the kiss to think, but then, under his adept and coaxing lips, she relaxed. A little moan caught in her throat, her mouth finally parting under Will’s ministrations.
Their kiss deepened, his hands tightening on her as he explored her mouth. When Julie reached out to run her fingers through his hair, he pulled back to swing himself up beside her on the wooden bench of the wagon. He pulled her into his lap with eager hands and kissed her again once she was settled against this chest. The kisses were a soothing balm to the early sting of his dance with Rosemary, and were a step in the right direction at looking past his inattention.
“So sweet,” he whispered against her lips. The soft tone in his voice prompted Julie to whimper and wiggle in his lap in search of more contact. She could feel the firm planes of his body despite the layers of lace and silk between them. Her corset, already a troublesome garment, was suddenly more constraining than normal and she cursed the item’s designer. Her fingers slid down to brush against the buttons of Will’s shirt, which prompted her to decide she also hated buttons. Damn the little monsters for keeping her husband’s skin from her touch during their little rendezvous.
When Will’s fingertips brushed the top of her neckline she squirmed. All of this was new and heady to her, the passionate kisses, the heated touches and breathy gasps. She was frantic to feel his calloused fingers on her body in far more intimate places. Her friends at finishing school and again at Vassar had told her numerous stories about their stolen moments and trysts with their beaus, but until this moment Julie had never been in such a scandalous or compromising position in her life.
Yet, how compromising was her perch in Will’s lap when they had married not an hour before? Wasn’t this how they were intended to enjoy the other’s body? After his perceived coldness during the reception, Julie found the closeness soothed her nerves. She wondered suddenly if that was Will’s intention, but Julie barely had time to consider the fleeting thought before a sudden cough broke the frenzied embrace the pair had been locked in.
Will lifted his head up with deliberate slowness. “Forrest,” he grunted out, sounding annoyed, though his hands were still gentle on Julie’s sides.
“Should have known I would come back to this,” Forrest’s voice floated to them from the dark. Julie pushed at her hair, which had started to come loose from the pins Alice had used to secure her curls.
“I-I,” she stammered, already pushing herself off of Will’s lap, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“What? Didn’t mean to enjoy a moment with your husband?” Forrest asked, swinging himself up on the bench next to them. Now that he was closer to her, Julie could see his features in the moonlight. And there wasn’t one thing about him that didn’t scream arousal. He bit his lip before darting forward to press a kiss to her lips. “Nothing wrong with what you were doing, Julie.”
She gave him a quick nod, breathless at being kissed by not one but two men in the span of as many minutes. Before tonight her romantic history had consisted of nothing more than a few rides in a caleche to park outings and socials. There had been a picnic here and there but always with a chaperone, never alone, and not once had Julie allowed any of the gentlemen to take liberties. So small was their socia
l circle that Julie knew better than to fall for the fanciful words men spewed in order for a few moments of pleasure. She almost laughed at the thought, because before now, there had hardly been a handful of words spoken between them other than ‘I do.’
Though Julie supposed in the grand scheme of things, those two simple words were the ones that mattered the most.
Julie bit her lip with a smile. “I’m beginning to see that,” she said quietly. Will relaxed where he’d been sitting stiffly next to her and touched her cheek.
“Been trying not to touch you all night, Jules,” he said, fingertips just grazing her skin. “Didn’t mean to lose control like that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I quite liked it,” Julie told him. At her reply, Forest husked out a laugh while Will made a noise Julie couldn’t quite interpret.
Forrest made short work of untying the reins of the horses, and as he worked he said, “Let’s get her home before you both drive me to undo all the good work our little reception did. Plenty of time to get acquainted at home.”
“All right. I’ll go ahead. Get the fires lit,” Will replied, already moving from the bench, but a gentle touch from Julie stopped him. She leaned close to him and caught his face between her hands.
“I liked it when you called me Jules,” she said. Then before he could say anything she kissed him, slow and clumsy from her lack of experience, but Will didn’t seem to mind it and returned her kiss. When they parted Forrest groaned, hands tight on the reins of the horses.
“Going to be the death of me, the pair of you,” he muttered.
“Don’t act like you won’t love every second of it,” Will shot back before he jumped from the wagon and disappeared into the darkness. Forrest made a sound in his throat in answer, but worked on getting the wagon ready for their journey home.
Julie blushed, settling back into her seat. She knew that her marriage was unconventional. That more than a fair share of her acquaintances in New York wouldn’t understand, that most likely her family wouldn’t understand why she had chosen to do it.
But in that moment, she found she didn’t care. The dynamic that had begun to form between them felt right. And that was only after a few hours of knowing each other. What would her feelings be toward them in a few days? What about in a few weeks, or even a few years?
Forrest’s arm settling over her shoulders and pulling her close to him drew her from her thoughts, and she gratefully leaned against his muscular frame for the ride home. The gentle rocking of the wagon had begun to lull her into a doze when she spotted bright lights ahead of them in the darkness.
“Is that the ranch?” she asked, sitting up.
“Sure is. I see Will wanted to impress you,” Forrest replied with a laugh. “Thing is never that lit up all at once.”
“It’s beautiful,” Julie breathed. As they approached she saw that Will had made sure every window was blazing with light. The house was two stories and massive, judging from the number of windows that shone in the darkness. When the wagon pulled up she could make out the dim shapes of several buildings in the distance. Most likely a barn and storehouses, but her attention went to the main house's wrap-around porch. The grand windows that lined the sitting area and dining room were stunning, and she adored the porch swing that moved in the night breeze.
“I love it,” Julie exclaimed, practically clapping her hands. Forrest looked pleased at her words and gave her a proud look.
“Wanted our wife—well, you,” he said, “to be comfortable. There’s plenty of room for children, too.”
“How many bedrooms is plenty of room?” Julie asked when he handed her down from the wagon.
“Six.”
Julie laughed nervously. “Six?”
Forrest shrugged. “Best to plan for all sorts of things. Never know when we’ll need the rooms. There’s a sitting room, formal parlor, dining room, library, nice big kitchen, and a wine cellar.” He opened the front door, a massive mahogany door inset with colored glass that reminded her of the way sunlight shone when it hit cut glass just so.
“This is beautiful.” Julie paused and touched her fingers to pieces of turquoise and purple glass. “Where did you get it from?”
“I made it,” Forrest replied, holding the door open.
Julie gaped. “You made this?”
“I did. For you,” Forrest added, making Julie blush.
“It’s lovely,” Julie told him. She stepped into the house and was greeted with a beautiful foyer. There were two doorways off the side of it that led to a dining room and sitting room, respectively. The walls were covered in gorgeous cream wallpaper and the dark wood floors shone with a high polish that even her mother would envy.
“I can give you a tour now, or we can wait, if you like.”
Julie considered Forrest’s words carefully before she answered. “A tour tomorrow morning would be lovely.”
“Are you sure?” he asked her, blue eyes dark.
Julie understood the unspoken meaning in his question and nodded, moving toward the staircase in front of her. “The bedroom is, ah, upstairs?”
“It is.” Forrest was beside her instantly, a gentle hand on the small of her back. He cleared his throat as they slowly walked up the stairs. “Would you like your own room tonight? We have one made up for you... or would you like to go ours?”
The prospect of spending a night with both men had her short of breath, but there was never a better time than the present to face down one’s fears, so she gave him a nervous smile.
“I would very much like to spend the night in our bedroom.” She paused and glanced down the hallway from where they were now standing at the top of the stairs. How exactly were the sleeping arrangements expected to work out? Would they share a bed? Or perhaps they had more than one bed? More than one room? Did they mean to alternate with the days of the week?
It was enough to make her head spin. Why hadn’t she given a single thought to the logistical side of her marriage when she had so blithely said yes months ago?!
“When you say ours, what do you mean?” she asked hesitantly, giving voice to the questions swirling through her mind.
Forrest paused a beat before he answered her. “I mean ours, as in all three of us.”
A relieved sigh escaped her lips and she pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh thank heavens.” His answer was by far the simplest for Julie to deal with.
Forrest raised an eyebrow. “Thank heavens? We were worried we might offend you with that little piece of information.”
“Why?”
“Not something a young lady like you is accustomed to.”
Julie shrugged, following him down the hallway, plush maroon carpeting beneath their feet muffling their steps. “I’m not the usual young lady.”
“So I’m finding,” Forrest told her. He opened a door at the end of the hallway and ushered her into a spacious room with high ceilings, crown molding, and expansive windows along one side of the room for plenty of light. A fireplace crackled at one end of the room, giving the space a cozy feel. Julie instantly loved the room, but what caught her attention the most was the massive bed opposite the fireplace. It was unlike any bed she had seen before. The frame was an elegant four-poster affair with lovely scrolling woodwork covering nearly every inch of it.
She would have to examine it the next day to take in the particulars of the work, but right now her focus was on the bed itself. A cream down-filled comforter covered a mattress that had to be of custom dimensions, and an untold amount of pillows rested at the head of it. Julie grinned, remembering the pillows on the wagon bench.
The thought of Will and Forrest practically hoarding the town’s supply of pillows in anticipation of her arrival made her giggle.
“What’s got you so tickled?” Will’s voice came from behind her. Julie whirled around to see him entering the room, his gray eyes softer now than they had been all day, and they rendered her speechless.
“I—well, pillows,” she splutte
red, flinging a hand at the excess of down feathers on the bed.
He nodded at her and closed the door with a soft click behind him. “Forrest was worried you wouldn’t be comfortable without ‘em.”
“I see.” Julie clasped her hands in front of her, unsure of what to do. Her nervous gaze bounced between the two men and she looked down at her feet, unsure of what to do next. “Ah, what—what do we do now?”
Both men spoke at once, their words tumbling over one another.
“Whatever you like,” Will said.
“You tell us,” Forrest told her.
Julie smiled at their effort to put her at ease. From their honest and open faces she could tell they meant every word. “I think...” She bit her lip and raised her eyes to meet theirs, the champagne still lending her courage. “I’m sorry,” she sighed, causing both men to stand up straighter, their mouths opening, she knew, to give her more reassuring platitudes, but she held up a hand.
Both men fell silent at the gesture and Julie found she liked having husbands who listened.
“I meant to say that I know I want to have a proper wedding night, not, I think. Never offer a half-truth of an answer when a firm response is the best response,” Julie said, rattling off a lesson from Lady Pim by heart. She almost groaned aloud at herself but both men gave her approving nods.
“Tell us when to stop, little bird,” Forrest said, moving toward her. Will licked his lips but said nothing. Julie could see they held themselves back and she squared her shoulders, resolving to dissuade her husbands from treating her with kid gloves. The marriage was her choice and her request for a wedding night was her decision.
Julie wanted every second of this night, and she intended to experience it to the fullest.
Clearing her throat, she gave her husbands a smile she hoped was sultry. She’d never tried her hand at seduction, and she found herself woefully unprepared.
First thing first, she was going to have to adjust her reading to adequately encompass how a woman was meant to employ her wiles in the pursuit of sexual satisfaction. By the heated look in her husbands' eyes, Julie estimated the attempt a success. There was a small stirring of power at being able to elicit such a response from the two men, and the boon spurred her forward with newfound confidence.
Heart and Hand: Gold Sky Series Page 6
