by Sofia Hunt
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t think I can satisfy your needs. I am not a woman of passion.”
“Oh, but you are. You just need the right men.”
“Men?” Lizzie choked. Her face flushed with color. Obviously, she’d advertised her lust for both men in ways too obvious, like some harlot.
“Yes, men. I watch you, Lizzie. All the time. You’re torn between Gage and me.” He moved closer, his body mere inches from hers.
Lizzie kept the basket against her chest to serve as a barrier between them. The promise of a raw, pure, wild coupling charged the air between them. She desperately wanted to see the brawny body underneath his clothes, to run her fingers through his wiry chest hair, to feel something other than her own fingers inside her. What would it be like to have his cock pumping inside her, pulsing life into her body and her soul? A moan struggled to escape her lips. She silenced it.
“You flatter yourself,” she croaked.
Logan threw back his head and laughed. Sun glinted off his glossy dark hair. She didn’t fool the man one bit. “You don’t have to settle for one man. My brother and I, we’re different.”
“How different?” Lizzie treaded on dangerous, forbidden ground with tentative, yet hopeful, feet.
“We don’t mind sharing with each other.” His dark eyes twinkled with pure devilment.
She gasped and dropped the basket of berries. She retreated several steps, but Logan followed her, staying uncomfortably close, as if testing her courage with his body.
Logan laughed. “You find it scandalous, yet I can see by the light in your eyes you also find it intriguing.”
“I could never.” Or could she? Of course she couldn’t. Such a thing would be immoral, unthinkable, out of the question.
“We wouldn’t force you. You have to want it as much as we do. It’s all your decision. Just know the offer is there. Consider it the same as having two husbands.”
“Two husbands?” Lizzie’s head reeled, unable to comprehend his words.
Logan moved closer. “You’re all I think about, Lizzie. I need you as sure as I need to breathe air and drink water.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” Lizzie backed into the strong trunk of a mammoth tree. Logan advanced on her. Placing his hands on either side of her shoulders, he blocked her escape.
“You want me, too, Lizzie. Admit it.”
Lizzie drew in a shocked breath as Logan’s strong fingers brushed the underside of her breasts through the bodice of her dress. That simple caress wrenched a moan from deep in her throat. His hand crept higher, and he rubbed slow circles around her breast, spiraling in until he stroked her nipple. His mouth tickled her ear. His teeth tugged on her earlobe with a gentle pull. His other hand drifted lower on her back.
“You like it when I touch you, don’t you?” His hoarse whisper reverberated through her charged body.
“No, I hate it.”
He chuckled. “Ahhh, another deception, Miss Prescott. Do you want me to stop?”
She opened her mouth to say yes, but the words stuck in her throat, and her tongue rebelled and refused to form an intelligible language.
Logan kissed a trail down her neck. He paused to nibble on her exposed collarbone. She should’ve worn the dress with the high neckline instead of this instrument of debauchery. And surely, she was on her way to being a debauched woman.
His mouth descended on hers, and her lips parted, ready for him. Gage kissed with expertise and control. Logan kissed like the man he was. A little rough, on the edge of control, all earthy and strong. He conquered. He took the breath from her lungs. Their tongues mated in wild abandon, demanding, taking. His large hand slid between their bodies. Deftly, his large fingers unbuttoned several buttons on her dress, revealing her one good lace camisole. She whimpered when his mouth separated from hers.
His head dipped low. His silky black hair covered his eyes. He did a most unseemly act and kissed the sensitive skin on her breasts. She groaned even louder than before, the tortured groan of a wanton woman. Still, she didn’t stop him.
Fire burned in her belly and spread between her legs. She clamped her legs together in an attempt to stop the telltale wetness she experienced whenever Logan was near.
Appalled at her inability to stop the man and aroused by his bold advances, her breath came, heavy and ragged. Her partially bared breasts rose and fell as if she’d just slogged through the mud hauling buckets of water.
He tugged at her bodice and pulled it apart, popping the last of the buttons without a care. Her nipples pressed against the thin material of her camisole. To her astonishment, he pulled the material down and bared one nipple. His mouth followed, and he pressed his lips to her nipple in a most brazen manner and suckled like a baby suckling his mama. But this virile man was no baby and she was no mama. She had no idea men did this for pleasure—until now. His other hand slipped under her bodice, stroking and pinching the opposite nipple.
A small cry escaped her as the pleasure built to a fever pitch. Her control of the situation disappeared like a cat slinking off into the dark night.
She’d no idea a woman could enjoy this as well as a man. Surely, she was a bad woman to allow such things and to enjoy them. Sanity planted a seed in her brain, and she dredged up the strength to push his face away from her swollen nipple.
* * * *
“Mr. Gallagher, this is most inappropriate.”
Logan almost smiled. It damn sure was, but if he ruined the woman, she’d have no choice but to marry him. And, by God, he wanted to ruin her, over and over again, every last part of her. He also wanted to marry her and keep her here with him.
He smiled his best wolfish smile, the one the ladies loved and couldn’t resist. Lizzie was no exception. She squirmed and attempted to put her hands over her bare breasts. He caught her small wrists behind her back in one big hand.
“No, you don’t. I like gazing on your assets.”
“It’s unseemly.”
“Hmmm. There are those who might agree, but out here, no one will know but you and me. Do you want me to stop?”
“I... I don’t know.” The indecision flashed across her face.
Logan released her hands. She immediately covered her breasts. Not taking his eyes off her face, he undid the lacings on his shirt and pulled it off over his head. She gasped but didn’t look away. Her pupils dilated. Her chest rose and fell, as she took short, quick gasps.
“You’ve see a man’s bare chest before.”
“My husband’s body looked nothing like yours.”
He appreciated her honesty. It was one of the things that attracted him. “And how do I look to you?”
He looked down at her and waited.
“Magnificent.”
“Why don’t you touch me?”
Hesitantly, she removed a hand from her breast and touched the crinkly hair on his chest. He sucked in a breath. She ran her fingers downward, pausing at his nipples to stroke them, imitating what he’d done to her. She stared up at him in wonder. Her hand traced the path of dark hair downward, past his navel to where it disappeared in his trousers.
“Touch me.” His strangled voice surprised him. He guided her hand lower, let her feel his arousal. She tried to pull her hand away. He held it steady. “This is what you do to me.”
“You–you are hard.” She stared up at him, wonder in her eyes.”
“That’s what happens when a woman arouses a man. How could you not know that?”
“This conversation is most inappropriate.” She looked away, embarrassed and pulled her hand away from his crotch.
“So is our state of undress.” Clasping her smaller hand in his large one, he helped her stroke his cock. She attempted to pull away, but he didn’t allow it.
“Herbert never—He was always limp. He did not desire me.”
“Well, obviously I do. Did you never consummate the marriage?”
“He could not. But I am not a virgin.”
L
ogan furrowed his brows. “Explain yourself, madam.” Had she slept with other men? Were these more secrets she harbored?
Lizzie tried to get away, but she could not fight his superior strength. He held her easily in place.
Logan placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face upward. “Answer me. As your future husband I must know all your secrets.”
“I pleasure myself.” Her eyes watered, and a big tear rolled down her cheek.
“What?”
“I put my fingers inside my private area and do forbidden things to myself, so I am not a virgin.”
“That’s it?” Logan stifled his laughter. He must take her admission seriously, though he found it amusing and endearing.
She nodded, her face crimson with shame.
Logan cradled her face in his hands. She’d become even more precious to him in these past few minutes. She was an innocent in many ways and a virgin. “Lizzie, you are still a virgin. Using your fingers does not take away your virginity.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No. It does not.” His lowered his voice. His heart flooded with unfamiliar emotions for this naïve woman.
Logan placed her hand back on the bulge in his pants.
“I didn’t know it could get so large.”
“When a man wants a woman, his cock grows in size and hardness.”
“But this large?” Her eyes met his in wonder.
“Yes. I’m not an old man, Lizzie.”
“Is it painful?”
He chuckled. “It can be if I don’t get relief.”
Logan rubbed her hand up and down on his cock, but he needed more. Lots more. Maybe a lifetime more. She squirmed one more time and made a feeble attempt to pull her hand away. He held it steady. Her creamy white breasts rose and fell. He released her hand and chuckled when she yanked it away from his crotch.
“Remove your dress,” he ordered through gritted teeth as he wrestled for a semblance of control, temporary at best.
Lizzie raised her eyes to his face. With shaking hands, she pulled off the dress.
“The petticoats, too. Everything must go. You should only be wearing what god gave you to wear when you came into this world.”
He watched as she removed the remainder of her clothes. He followed suit. He heard her sharp breath as she looked upon his cock, standing tall and proud and ready to do his bidding. It’d been a long time since he’d had a woman as innocent as her. Plus, his cock was larger than most, so large it initially caused discomfort to some women. He needed to take it slow. His penis twitched in anticipation. Everything within him wanted to throw her onto a bed of leaves and ram deep inside her, but he couldn’t. Not this time. Maybe later. Maybe when he and Gage took her together. For now, he’d take her alone. What he had in mind required time and patience. Eventually, she’d beg for what she denied herself now.
* * * *
Shivering, and not from the temperature, Lizzie faced Logan. Her gaze anchored on his cock. She’d never in her life seen one so large. But then, she’d only seen her husband’s limp cock.
A gentle smile softened Logan’s rugged features. Snatching his shirt with one hand, he backed Lizzie against a stump. Covering the stump with his shirt, he placed both hands on her waist and lifted her onto the stump. Kneeling down, he exerted pressure on her thighs. Lizzie pressed them closer together.
“Relax, Liz, open up for me.”
Tight with fear and uncertainty, Lizzie loosened her thighs slightly and closed her eyes, afraid to look. Logan spread her open. Cool air touched her privates. Logan’s hot breath warmed her.
“What? What are you doing?” She attempted to scoot backward, but he held her tight. His mouth touched her in a most intimate way. His tongue slipped inside her wet slit, delving deeper and deeper. He pushed it inside her wet walls, swirled it around. His mouth sucked on her. He ate her like a starving man ate his last meal. His teeth scraped her delicate nub, causing her to pant like an animal in heat. She tilted her hips, ground her crotch into his face. He lapped at her juices, speared her with his tongue, drove her beyond ecstasy.
Lizzie threw her head back and buried her fingers in his unruly hair. Cries of pleasure vibrated through her body. Foreign emotions took her beyond the bounds of her mortal body. She flew, she soared, she shuddered. Now she tasted true rapture, and her gluttonous body wanted more.
Logan drew back, his eyes glazed with desire.
“You’re mine, Lizzie. We’ll marry tomorrow.”
He helped her to her feet, pulled on his clothes and left her to dress in private.
Clutching her dress to her body, she watched him walk away.
Tomorrow, she would marry Logan Gallagher because the alternative would be unbearable.
Chapter 8
Lizzie’s Journal, July 10, 1864
Port Steele, Washington Territory
I’ll marry Logan Gallagher in the morning. I can’t help but imagine what it’ll be like to lay with a young, strong man like Logan, to be intimate with him. What will he expect of me? Will I live up to those expectations? What if he goes limp at the sight of me like Herbert did?
Tomorrow, I’ll marry Logan, a man who makes my body feel forbidden things, yet I also have feelings for his brother. How can I marry one man and want two men?
* * * *
The wedding lasted all of five minutes, the most life-changing five minutes of Lizzie’s life.
The no-frills ceremony consisted of basic, no-nonsense vows, a deep, bent-over-the-arm kiss, and backslapping and congratulations all around.
Except from the Pettys. They sat in the back of the small church, legs sprawled carelessly in front of them and belligerent scowls carved on their faces.
Lucy and Constance had sat in the front pew, heads together, deep in whispered conversation. Olivia had stood at Lizzie’s side while Gage stood at Logan’s. The townspeople and lumberjacks crammed the small church to the rafters, all intent on witnessing the marriage of the first Bachelor Bay bride.
Lizzie and Logan stayed at the party afterward long enough for a few dances and a toast. After which, Logan swung Lizzie into his strong arms and carried her to his cedar-planked house. The revelers followed behind them, hooting and banging pots and pans.
Kissing the breath from her lungs, Logan carried her over the threshold, kicked the door shut, and slid the latch home. Holding her close, he toted her up the stairs and laid her gently on his big bed.
Lizzie stared around the room, wide-eyed. Simple but masculine, an elk hide adorned the floor near a rock fireplace. A simple quilt covered the brass bed. The entire house lacked a woman’s touch, a shortcoming she’d work to rectify.
“You share this house with your brothers?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Logan’s generous mouth. “I do, but they’re not staying here tonight.” Logan kept his back to her as he lit a couple candles on the small table near the window.
“Oh.” Lizzie didn’t know whether to feel relief or fear. She knew the drill. She slid off the bed and quickly removed her dress but not her undergarments while his back was turned. She lay down on her back and waited for it to happen. Just lay still and let him do it. It’ll be over soon. After that he wouldn’t bother her for a while, assuming she aroused him enough for his cock to be hard.
Logan unbuttoned his white dress shirt and shrugged out of it, leaving it on the floor where it fell. Muscles rippled across his tanned back. His broad shoulders flexed as he stretched and clasped his hands over his head.
Lizzie held her breath as he unbuttoned his pants and stepped out of them. Next he pulled down his drawers. Long, muscled legs led upward to—Lizzie gasped. Wicked thoughts ran through her mind as she fixated on his bare behind. Even his butt cheeks were muscular and well-formed.
Logan turned. One dark eyebrow lifted as he noticed her position on the bed. His dark eyes crinkled in the corners as he regarded her assessing gaze. “Like what you see?”
She blushed and fanned herself, f
ixing her eyes on a spot near his throat, afraid to look any lower. “I didn’t know a man’s body could look like yours.”
“Honey, you’ve obviously seen the wrong type of man naked.”
“It’s not like I have an entire army with which to compare.”
“I’m glad of that.” He chuckled. “Look at me. All of me.”
“I am.”
“No, you’re not. You’re avoiding looking at a certain part of me that is quite pleased to see you.”
He walked to the edge of the bed, only a foot from her and took her hand in his hard, calloused one. Tugging on her hand, he placed it on his cock. Lizzie tried to pull back, but he held her. She stared at his member. “I’m still overwhelmed that it can get so big.”
“This one does, especially around you.”
“I really did that to you? I didn’t know I was capable of exciting a man to such—such proportions.”
“Well, my proportions are not the norm for most men. Wrap your fingers around my cock, honey.”
Hesitant to do so, Lizzie touched the silky tip with her index finger. He drew in a sharp breath but held still. She traced a line almost to his pubic hair.
“Squeeze it, darling.”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Lizzie wrapped her fingers around the base.
“That’s it. Now move your hand up and down. Prime my pump.”
“It doesn’t look like it needs much priming.”
He laughed, a deep, hearty laugh. “So true.”
She slid her hand up and down his rigid shaft. He groaned and buried his fingers in her hair.
“Faster. Harder. You won’t hurt me.” His upper lip pulled back, almost in an animal snarl.
Abandoning her qualms, Lizzie took her task seriously, pushing beyond her embarrassment and inexperience. She reveled in the hardness of his huge member. Heavy balls hung beneath his cock. Curious, she touched them with her free hand. His body jerked.
“Did I hurt you?”