The thought of Rosemary put a glare on Julie’s face.
“Is that so?” Julie asked with a raised eyebrow. She was challenging him. They both knew it and it hung in the air between them. The space around them became fraught with tension, so heavy she could scarcely breathe from the weight of it.
Lord, how she wished she could take back the past few minutes. This was all going so wrong, and in record time as well. If she wasn't about to panic, Julie might be impressed with herself. Swallowing, she licked her lips, waiting for Forrest’s next move in this tug-of-war they had somehow found themselves in.
His eyes tracked the movement of her tongue, and his jaw clenched as he did so. Her husband looked deeply conflicted. Julie could tell he was deliberating on what to do. What she did know was that she wasn’t being fair, not in the least, but neither was he. For the love of God, why wouldn’t he just touch her? Why hadn’t he made love to her yet? How much longer would they dance around the issue?
So frustrated was she that she would welcome going over his knee if only to have his hands on her in a more intimate manner.
She drew in a breath that caused her corset to thrust her breasts higher. Forrest’s eyes fell to her cleavage, and Julie had an idea. Perhaps she could use the heightened energy in the room to her advantage in tempting her husband.
Such a bold move would require her to be wanton. Too bad Julie hadn't the slightest inclination of what that entailed. Though that wouldn't prove to be an issue, because suddenly Forest moved. His athletic body, so tightly coiled a moment before, was now in motion, and before she could discern the intention of his movement, Julie found herself face down in the mattress of their bed.
Perhaps her plan to seduce her husband would be simpler than she imagined. He seemed determined to carry out more than his fair share of the seduction plot she had only just thought up.
“Oh!” Julie gasped, turning her face to the side. When she went to push herself up, she couldn't. Her hands, held fast by Forrest, were crossed behind her back.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, voice barely louder than the crackling and popping of the fire that now burned in the dim room. The firelight illuminated only their bed, with all else around them falling into shadow. It was as if nothing else on earth existed but the two of them and their bed.
“Getting you undressed," he said.
Julie swallowed hard. “Why?”
Forrest didn’t answer as he yanked off her stockings and drawers. When he had the garments off, Julie felt the drag of his calloused fingers along her bare backside. For a solitary moment, Julie thought he was going to follow through on his promise to discipline her, but after another slow caress from her husband's palm, the energy in the room shifted.
Tension morphed from frustration to physical want that Julie felt down to her toes, prompting a moan muffled by the comforter on the bed. Her eyes drifted closed when she felt the rough material of Forrest’s denim against her legs as he shifted behind her with a groan of his own.
Forrest still held her wrists in one of his hands while he supported himself on his forearm by her cheek. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“Want you so bad, little bird. It’s torture with you feeling so sweet under me."
“Then have me,” she whimpered, fingernails scraping at the hand that held her wrists. “Please. I need you. ”
Forrest’s hand ventured further up, pushing the thin wet material of her slip as he went. When he reached the back of her corset, he hesitated before pushing himself back onto his knees to unknot her corset strings. Julie held herself still, a shiver moving through her as she anticipated Forrest's next move.
Forrest let out an appreciative sigh at the sight of her now undone corset. He reached out and trailed his finger along her spine in a featherlight touch, so light Julie half wondered if she had conjured the sensation from her overactive imagination and hormones.
Smoothing his palm against her back, Forrest then flipped her over onto her back with ease. Julie felt like her breath had been knocked out of her from the sudden gesture and she stared up at Forrest with wide eyes. The quick rise and fall of her chest drew his eyes down, and this time it was he who licked his lips. He smiled when he saw Julie's gaze fixed on his mouth.
"Are you still with me, little bird?" he asked, knees on either side of her legs, caging her in, his denim-clad thighs rough on her sensitive skin.
Julie gave the barest tip of her chin. "Yes."
Forrest blew out a deep breath through his nose, nostrils flaring as he stared down at her with eyes full of want. There was no mistaking that he genuinely did want her. His gaze moved over her with a heat that set her core on fire, and Julie couldn't speak.
Never in her life had anyone looked at her thusly. Wanted her in this way. Julie found she was desperate to be had.
She felt like a goddess.
The gentle, almost reverent touch of Forrest's hands on her body made her feel as if though she were meant to be worshipped. Oh, how she prayed he didn’t stop himself.
Not this time.
Wordlessly Forrest continued unfastening the front of her corset, and it felt like a second later when he tossed the garment away from them to join the rest of her soaked clothes on the floor.
"You're beautiful," Forrest murmured. He pushed his palms against her sides and gave a slight shake of his head. "Most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He leaned close and pressed a kiss against her lips. "Inside and out."
Julie whimpered as Forrest kissed her, his fingers rucking up her slip. The now sheer material of it fit like a second skin on her thanks to the drenching she had suffered on her way home. She squirmed under Forrest's touch, fighting the urge to tug the material down past her waist where it had been shoved.
Trailing his fingers upwards, Forrest drew back and gave the ties at the front of her slip a gentle tug. “Raise your arms.”
Her arms flew up, complying with his request. When her slip came off, she shivered, feeling the chill Forrest had warned her about.
“Cold?” he asked, blue eyes moving over her with a hunger that stilled her shaking. There was no way she could be cold with such a hot, desirous look from her husband.
"Yes," she told him with a nod.
Forrest bit his lip and yanked the comforter up and around her. Julie held her breath.
This was the moment she had been trying to skirt. She could see in his caring eyes that he was going to leave her now, pull away and take care of her from arm's length. Julie could not have that. She would not endure another night laying between her husbands without knowing what it was like to be made love to. She reached out, catching his wrist as he wrapped the thick material of the quilt around her.
“There is another way to warm me up. A more...physical way,” she breathed, raising her whiskey-colored eyes to his. “Husband.”
Julie had hoped to nudge him along in giving in to his need for her, but what she hadn’t expected was the full-blown look of lust that swept over his face. Forrest's blue eyes darkened, pupils dilated, and he surged forward, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Julie whimpered when Forrest rolled his hips, the rough denim of his pants touching her just so in her most sensitive place.
“Forrest!” she gasped when he pulled away with a positively feral look on his face.
“I’ll warm you up, little bird,” he murmured to her, his voice low and full of promise. He shoved his suspenders off his shoulders while he toed off his boots. "Is that what you want?"
Forrest pulled his shirt off, and his undershirt and pants followed close behind. And then he pulled Julie under his muscular body in an embrace that left her breathless.
“Please, Forrest," she begged, though Julie hadn’t the faintest idea what she begged him for. To kiss her? To not kiss her? Touch her? Whatever it was, she was desperate for it, and the only remedy for the tumult was her husband.
“Shhh, shhh,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck, hands reaching down to squeeze her hips
before trailing up her sides. Julie sucked in a breath when his thumbs brushed the underside of her breasts. Forrest noticed her quick intake and smiled, dipping his head to kiss the top of one breast while he palmed the other, first gently then more firmly, his palm grinding down onto her nipple.
“Mmm.” Julie’s hands flew up to grip his shoulders. His touch was nearly enough to make her dizzy, and she wanted more. Arching her back, she hooked a leg around his hip, seeking the friction she craved. When she felt his thick shaft pressing up against her inner thigh, she let out a moan of approval and fixed Forrest with a stare of pure wanting.
“I—I want you. Forrest, make love to me. I need you. Please!”
He swallowed hard, fingers digging roughly into her hips as he positioned her beneath him.
“God, Julie,” Forrest whispered, sliding a hand down to hitch her leg higher against his side. “We have to go slow, darlin’. Don’t,” he breathed, ducking his head kissing her breast, this time his tongue sliding over the top of her nipple,” want to hurt you.”
Forrest's mouth continued to work her nipple. A bite from him had her gasping his name.
“Julie…” Forrest moaned, drinking in the sight of her reaction to his touch. "So beautiful, darling. Want to keep you safe. Never want to hurt you. You have to tell me if you need me to stop."
Julie closed her eyes and nodded. “You won’t. I trust you.”
"You have to tell me if I do," Forrest insisted.
Julie opened her eyes. "You won't hurt me. I know it. That’s why I married you.” She opened her eyes and smiled up at him, her fingers combing through his blond hair which glinted like burnished gold in the crackling fire. “I knew you were a good man from the first letter.”
"Little bird..."
Forrest kissed her, silencing her from speaking any further. The hand at her thigh kept her leg where he wanted as he pressed forward, the head of his member pushing against her core. Julie let out a shuddering sigh when he kept pushing forward, and the head of his shaft slid inside of her.
At long last. Oh, yes.
“Forrest.” Her hands tightened his hair, but she said nothing else as he began to drag his hips back and forth. That inch inside of her slid out, but a moment later slipped back in with a little more length added. Julie had heard that losing one’s virtue as a new bride could be a painful and disagreeable experience but that was not the case with Forrest. He was gentle and attentive.
Julie rolled her hips, trying to take more of her husband inside of her. Forrest sighed against her skin, lips, and tongue moving up her neck as he thrust up into her again. A short cry of pleasure escaped her when Forrest suddenly snapped his hips forward until his hips rested flush against her.
“Jesus…” Forrest went still, his head falling forward against her neck, using his proximity to cover her chest in kisses, while one hand massaged her breast, twisting and pulling her nipple. Through all this he didn’t move, his hips tense against her.
“Relax, little bird. We won’t—I won’t move until you tell me to.” He kissed her, his hands moving almost lazily up and along her body. Forrest touched her arms, her neck, and face as he deepened the kiss. When they drew apart, Julie smiled up at him and tentatively raised her other leg until it was at his waist.
“Move, Forrest.”
“Are you sure?” He pulled back, looking down at her.
She nodded, drinking in the sight of her beautiful husband above her, his eyes full of love. “Make love to me.”
Forrest groaned low in his throat and at her request moved his hips in a gentle rocking motion that had Julie eager for more. Every roll and shift of his body had her feeling more on fire, and she reached up, running her hands over his muscular chest. Julie hesitated before she leaned close and gave one of his nipples an experimental squeeze of her own.
He sucked in a breath at that and grinned down at her.
“More.” Julie dug her fingernails into his biceps. "I need more."
“God,” Forrest said, voice barely above a whisper at her direct request. “My little wife likes sex.”
Julie nodded. “With you.”
“And Will,” Forrest whispered, breath ragged. He thrusted into her with more strength, his movements causing her body to quiver in his arms.
“A-and,” Julie gasped from the sudden snap of Forrest’s hips, “and Will.” Her head fell back when Forrest picked up his pace in earnest.
“Yes, sweetheart.” Forrest leaned over her, his body blanketing her, every part of their bodies touching. He kissed her deeply.“Say that again. Tell me you want this with Will and me.”
“I want you and Will.”
“What do you want from us?”
“I want—want you.”
Forrest’s thrusts had picked up in earnest, and he slipped one hand between them to capture that sensitive bud of nerves Julie was quickly learning to revere.
“Tell me you want us to have you like this. That you want us inside you. Only us.”
“I want you inside me.” Julie gave up trying to match Forrest’s thrusts and gripped his shoulders, simply trying to hold on to her sense of where she was. Her husband had dropped all pretense of gentleness and moved into her with deep strokes, the muscles beneath her hands coiling and bunching as he took his pleasure. Though Julie found that she had not been forgotten in that regard, and gasped as wave after wave of ecstasy rolled over her.
“I want you to make love to me every night. I want you to have me in every way you want. The both of you. I want the both of you t-to bed me at once.”
Forrest closed his eyes and clenched his jaws at her last statement. The words pulled to mind an obscene picture that was enough to nearly send him to his climax. He increased the pressure against her clitoris and before long he beheld the sight of Julie writhing beneath him, her eyes clenched shut.
“Look at me,” Forrest bit out, his voice hoarse as he worked her toward her orgasm. Dutifully Julie opened her eyes to look at him. “So beautiful, Julie. I love your body, little bird. Mmm,” he purred, nodding approvingly at her as he felt her start to clench around his shaft.
“That’s it, let me feel your pleasure,” he praised her when Julie’s body shook with the throes her orgasm. Her fingernails dug into his skin, and she let loose a sob at the sensation of free-falling into the pleasure Forrest’s body gave her.
After a shuddering gasp, Julie tensed and finally went pliant in Forrest’s hands as her husband continued to thrust into her. Each buck of his hips was stronger than the last until Forrest threw his head back with a shout as he emptied into her. He groaned, his arms shaking as he leaned down to kiss her.
“You were beautiful,” he whispered against her lips as another shudder ran through his body. "So lovely, so perfect for us."
“I love you,” Julie whispered back.
Forrest smiled down at her. “I love you too, little bird.”
Chapter 8
When Forrest and Julie descended the stairs hand in hand, they caught sight of Will sitting at their kitchen table eating a slice of pie. He leaned back in his chair, balancing on the two hind legs with his feet up on the seat next to him.
Julie’s eyes caught on the bright yellow material of the towel tossed to the side. It was identical to the towel wrapped around the dish Rosemary carried with her when they had crossed paths on the road. So that was what she had been carrying. Their, no, her house, had been Rosemary's destination that afternoon.
A flame of anger ignited in the pit of her stomach, though Julie tried to squash the feeling. She was being irrational. It could have been any number of things Rosemary had carried with her and yellow was not a unique color.
Who was she turning into out here on the frontier?
“And what have you two been up to?” Will asked, not looking up from the plate of pie.
Julie took a moment to collect herself from her self-reflection. There was something tense about the way Will held himself. The lines of his body were rigid a
nd sharp. He wasn't looking at them, but Julie didn't have to see his eyes to know he wasn’t happy. His tone was tense, his words clipped, and she bit her lip, casting a sidelong glance at Forest whom she saw had also registered the almost accusing tone in Will’s voice.
He wasn't happy, and it was because of them.
Forrest stood to his full height, bulk comforting at her side, and squeezed Julie’s hand. “You know what we were doing.”
Will looked up from the pie, a cruel smirk on his lips. “I suspect I do from the bounce in your step, Forrest.”
Julie sucked in a breath at that. Oh, he was mad. He was very mad.
Forrest narrowed his eyes. “Treadin’ heavy. Careful.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Will put his plate down on the table with a thunk and turned his eyes to Julie. “What do you think, Jules? You think I'm treadin' heavy?”
“What?” She crossed her arms in front of her and stepped closer to Forrest as Will leaned forward in his chair, regarding her as he rubbed a hand along his jaw.
His eyes landed on her hand in Forrest’s for a moment before he asked, “Forrest make you feel good?”
Julie blushed, her fingers tightening on Forrest's hand. “I-I—”
“You don’t have to answer that,” Forrest interrupted her, shooting Will a glare. Will’s eyes slid over to Forrest and Julie was suddenly worried about the consequences of her begging Forrest to take her to bed without Will.
She had made a terrible mistake.
Damn her libido.
She hadn’t been thinking of how Will would feel at being left out, and that was her error. And now that Will was upset, she wasn’t going to hide behind Forrest while her husbands exchanged tense words over an act that she had pushed for.
“It’s my fault.” Julie stepped forward, letting go of Forrest’s hand. “I asked him to do it.”
“To do what?” Will asked, leaning back his chair.
“To make love to me.” She held a hand out to Will. “Please don’t be angry. I wasn't thinking about how this would affect you. I'm sorry."
Heart and Hand: Gold Sky Series Page 12
