“You enjoy camping?” Beck said, looking incredulous.
Lucy rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. “Yes, jerk, I love camping. Anyway, we hiked on a trail to a scenic vista located in the Chisos Mountains. The Window. Have you heard of it?” Patrick nodded and Beck shook his head as she continued. “During the entire hike, he told me his mother was trying to help and I should be grateful. And that perhaps she was right about everything, especially my weight.”
“I hope you told him to kiss you gorgeous ass and kicked him to the curb,” Beck growled.
Lucy shook her head. “I was still stupidly loyal at that point. I love being in the outdoors and I did my best to not let his words get me down, thinking that he was having as much pressure from her as I was. At the end of the trail there’s a drop off of several hundred feet. I was scared but at the same time exhilarated, and I wanted to get as close as I could. Up until that point I’d felt safe.”
“Felt safe? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Beck’s words mirrored Patrick’s own thoughts. “Why didn’t you feel safe?”
Lucy looked down at her hands and then said, “He held my hand when I asked him to, while I leaned out and then he said, ‘Don’t lean out too far or you might pull us both over. Mom was right about that trainer.’ And I just...” Her hand trembled when she rubbed her forehead and was lost in thought for a few seconds.
“That son of a bitch,” Beck growled, his hands curling into fists.
Patrick sensed that there was more to the story. “What else did he say?”
Lucy looked up at him and opened her mouth, then closed it and shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “Just more of the same stupidity. I realized that I was fooling myself to think he truly accepted me the way I was.
“The hike back to the Lodge was awful. Chuck got mad because I had nothing to say to him and what should’ve been a careful uphill hike suddenly became a test of endurance. Midway back, when I realized that he was trying to prove his point, I slowed to a more normal pace. We were in a wild area where hikers need to stay in pairs but he moved on and returned to the Lodge without me. During the hike back I came to the realization that I needed to end it. I was naïve to think I could satisfy them.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Luce, but his loss was our gain.”
Luce smiled at him and stroked his cheek. “When I got back, I walked into the main room of the Lodge and discovered him fooling around with one of the singles who was staying there. And it wasn’t innocent flirting either. He had his arms around her and had her pressed into a corner. Even though I’d already decided it was time to end it, I was still crushed that he’d be that flagrant in his disregard for my feelings.”
“Please tell me this is where you gave that bastard the heave-ho?” Patrick asked.
Lucy’s lips pressed together into a flat line and she squinted a bit as though recalling the memory. “I called a rental agency and arranged to have a vehicle brought to me that afternoon. I told Chuck I couldn’t stand his snobbish family and that I wouldn’t abide a cheating asshole for a husband. I told him our engagement was off and that he could kiss my ass.”
Patrick couldn’t help his laughter as he envisioned her doing exactly that. “That definitely sounds like the Lucy I know.”
“Well at least you got them out of your life, Lucy,” Beck said as he caressed her knee. “You wouldn’t have been happy with him anyway.”
“All very true. I returned his ring, the clothing, everything. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop him from throwing a hissy fit and deciding to take revenge. He burned my house down.”
Patrick’s jaw dropped for a moment. Then he said, “Burned your house down? That’s a pretty extreme reaction to being jilted.”
“Before he showed his true colors, I would’ve told you he was passionate. That was one of the things I liked about him. I’d just never seen it taken to an extreme before. I had insurance on the rental property so my loss was covered. The investigators could tell the fire had been set but could never prove anything even though they suspected him. I’d already graduated from school and come to Divine. I just wanted to get on with my life and forget about him so I didn’t pursue it. Then I met the two of you…and the rest you know.”
“That was a real low point in your life, huh?” Beck asked as he lifted her hand to his lips and rubbed them against her knuckle before pecking them softly.
“Yeah.”
“And there you were trying to have fun, and then I go and hurt your feelings. I’m sorry, sweetness.” Beck’s words were so soft, Patrick almost didn’t hear them.
“You and I both know that was a misunderstanding now. Sorry for boring you with my sob story,” Lucy murmured. “But maybe you can understand why it is that the first thing that comes to mind when you asked why I’d be attracted to you is the fact that you’re loyal. Loyalty and honesty mean more to me than pretty words and lots of money. Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure,” Beck replied, glancing at Patrick. The uncertainty in Beck’s eyes told him that Lucy wasn’t the only one who was stumbling. “What would you like to talk about?”
When Lucy seemed to flounder for words, Patrick spoke up. “Are you worried how all this is supposed to work out?”
“Definitely. I want you to know from the get-go that I’m not perfect.”
Patrick mulled her words over for a few seconds. “Only time will tell you this, Luce, but I want you to know that we do see you as perfect. Perfect for us. But we know you’re not a perfect person and wouldn’t want you to be anyway.”
Lucy stopped wringing her hands together as she replied, “It’s a terrible expectation to put on a person. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like our friends who are involved in ménages make it look so easy.”
Patrick said, “I’m sure they all had to work a few things out, behind closed doors. I can’t imagine we’re the only possessive men, who wondered if they could really share their woman with another man, in that whole bunch. But they make it happen. We can, too. We just need to try.”
Beck tipped her chin so that she could look directly into his eyes and said, “I’m taking a lion’s share of the blame. I’ve held you at arm’s length so long that now relating to me romantically must feel odd to you. I’m happy you’re willing to start over. If we give it time, maybe we can be on the same footing as the other ménage groups.” Beck gently caressed her upper arm with his knuckles. “You took my breath away tonight.”
Patrick felt it when gooseflesh broke out all over her upper body as he stroked her other bare upper arm. She shivered and smiled.
She stroked Beck’s jaw, touching his dimples and the cleft in his chin. “Speaking of looking good, this is really sexy.” Beck turned his face into her hand so he could kiss her palm and Patrick watched Lucy as she watched Beck’s mouth. She bit her lip and another blush suffused her cheeks.
The air was filled with a different kind of tension as Patrick murmured, “Lucy, have you given any thought to what it would be like to be between us? One of us holding you in front with the other holding you in back? Me kissing your lips while Beck kisses your throat. Beck making love to you while I played with these beautiful breasts.” He stroked the outside of her breast with his knuckles, and he smiled at her little intake of breath and the way tiny pulse at the base of her throat sped up.
“Sometimes. Yes.”
“Does the thought arouse you, or make you feel uncertain?”
Lucy looked into his eyes and a smile crossed her face. She spoke without hesitation. “I never feel uncertain when I think about things like that. It’s a big turn-on.”
“Do you imagine us in bed with you?” Beck asked as he shifted closer and pressed a kiss against her throat. “Would you feel crowded or unsure of yourself if you were between us in that bed?”
“Um…” Lucy gulped then gasped and bit her lip as Beck stroked her other breast as well. “No… It makes me really hot to think of things like that.
”
Beck licked his lower lip as he turned his hand to cup her breast, stroking over the satiny fabric with his thumb to tease her nipple. “You and me both, sweetness.”
Lucy reached out to stroke their thighs that were pressed alongside her own and tilted her head back with a sigh. Patrick stroked her other nipple through the material of her dress.
Patrick murmured, “Is this more like what you imagined, Lucy?”
“This is definitely more like it,” she whispered, moving restlessly on the couch cushion.
Beck shared a long look with him before turning his gaze to Lucy and said, “I don’t know what I was thinking, when I refused to see you for the beautiful woman that you are. You’re making me a little crazy right now, I want you so much. I’d do just about anything to make it up to you.”
When she pressed against the hands on her breasts, Patrick sensed she was ready to take the next step. Even so, he moved slowly, gently lifting her into his lap. She was a wonderful, warm bundle of woman, pressing on his enlarged cock. He smothered a groan and tried not to rub against her, but it was difficult. She seemed disconcerted to be lifted like that, but once she was settled, she leaned against him, making a soft, kittenish sound.
Beck smiled and moved closer, filling the spot she had vacated, and said, “How does it feel to be so close between us? To know that we both want you?” He grasped her hand and led it to his groin so she could feel how hard he was. Patrick was encouraged when she moaned softly, a sighing, longing sound. Beck groaned as he released her hand and she rubbed it gently over his cock.
Obviously affected by her touch, Beck whispered, “Baby.”
Lucy gazed at Patrick, desire burning in her eyes, and then she tilted her head up, wanting a kiss. He obliged, pressing his lips to hers. She looped her arm around his neck and lavished him with her sweet kiss, rubbing her lips against his, making a soft little seductive sound that enthralled him before she pulled back slightly and peered questioningly into his eyes and then Beck’s.
“I want to kiss Beck, too. Is that okay?”
A slight chuckle escaped Patrick. “Luce, I’d expect that you’d want to kiss him, too.”
A happy, confident light entered her eyes. “You won’t be jealous?”
“No.”
She tilted her head and persisted. “What about when he makes love to me, later tonight? I’d want you there, too. Will that bother you?”
“I’d love to watch the two of you, as long as I knew that I was included.” Imagining the three of them naked and consumed by passion in his bed made his cock even harder, and she giggled, signaling that she’d noticed the change.
Not loosening her hold, she turned to Beck. “What about you, Beck? When fantasy becomes reality, will you be jealous?”
“Like Patrick said, as long as I know I’m included, I’m okay with it. You wouldn’t cut me out, would you? Just make me watch and nothing else?”
Lucy shook her head emphatically. “No. That sounds like a really mean thing to do.” She giggled and added, “But just to be on the safe side, no using the T-word anymore, okay?”
Beck grinned, moving even closer, and laid a kiss right on her cleavage and then made noisy smacking sounds against her flesh as he growled, “But they’re such gorgeous—”
“Beck.”
“Breasts,” he murmured as he looked up at her with twinkling eyes as he continued kissing her chest.
Patrick had to chuckle, wondering how they would work things out between the two of them. Lucy had her pet peeves and Beck had his breast-obsessed habits. In the end, he had to leave that to them.
He caressed her upper thigh, enjoying the feel of her hot flesh through the silky material of her dress and said, “Bedroom?”
With one arm wrapped around each of their necks, she looked from one to the other. “Yes.”
Patrick gathered her securely against him and then rose from the couch.
Lucy let out a shrill squeal. “Put me down! You’ll hurt yourself!”
He winked at her as she held on to his shoulders and looked at the floor then back at him. “Don’t be silly, Luce.”
“I weigh a ton! You’re gonna get a hernia!” She turned a pleading look to Beck. “Tell him to put me down!”
Beck shook his head in resignation. “We need to work on your self-image, Juicy Lucy. You don’t weigh that much.”
“I do! Damn it, be careful of your back!” she squeaked as he walked down the hall with Beck trailing behind.
Patrick carried her to his king-size bed and although the thought of tossing her onto the bed had appeal, he didn’t release her.
She looked at him expectantly. “Aren’t you going to set me down? I’m straining your back. Your arms.”
Beck made a tsking sound as he kicked off his boots and Patrick sighed. “I’m stronger than I look, Luce. After Elizabeth was gone, remember me telling you that I started lifting weights here at home as something to do with my spare time and a way to work out my frustrations? What was her sewing room is now my weight room. Beck lifts, too. You really don’t need to worry. I can handle you.”
The troubled look in her eyes told him that she’d need convincing of that.
Finally, she smiled at him. “That explains why you’re both so muscular. I noticed that on Valentine’s night.”
Beck got a quizzical look on his face and then understanding came into his eyes. “I’d just as soon forget that night.”
Patrick set her on the bed and she said, “Not all of it was bad. Besides getting to see your manly, hairy chests, I also got to talk with Patrick. And I suppose you couldn’t help your crotchety assholedness, Beck. I’ve had the flu so I know you felt pretty awful.”
Beck chuckled at her verbiage and shook his head. “I don’t want you to make allowances for me anymore. If Patrick had acted like that, you’d have been royally pissed.”
Lucy stopped him from speaking further. “Patrick wouldn’t act like that because it’s not in his nature. You have a completely different personality. You’re not as easygoing, but I can handle that.”
“I don’t want you making allowances for me that you wouldn’t make for him.”
“You’re different, Beck. That’s all. I still like you,” she said as she reached for his hand and pulled him nearer. “I like that the two of you are different. I wouldn’t change you.”
Beck scoffed. “You say that now…”
Lucy smiled and nodded. “Granted, I’ll still call you on your bullshit. But that doesn’t stop me from caring about you. I’m done talking.” She looked expectantly between the two of them. “Can we stop talking now?”
Patrick nodded silently as he unbuttoned his shirt and watched her climb from the bed and walk across the room. He grasped the flowing skirt of her dress to stop her. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Lucy turned with a hand on her hip. “You might as well know, I guess. I’m wearing Spanx under this dress. They erase a multitude of sins but they aren’t exactly sexy. I’m going in the bathroom to take them off and then letting you undress me.”
Beck looped a forearm around her waist and pulled her back between them. “Uh-uh. Let us help you.”
Lucy huffed and her cheeks turned pink. “Air of mystery, guys. Come on. Beck,” she whispered as he went down on his knees in front of her. “This is embarrassing.”
Patrick closed in on her side and brushed her hair from her shoulder to kiss his way up her throat. “Don’t be embarrassed. We want to undress you. This is no different from taking off your bra.”
“Yes, it is. My bra is sexy and made of lace. Spanx are just flesh-toned nylon and Lycra. Not sexy at all. I don’t want you to see them.”
“Why do you wear them?”
“They erase the dimples in my ass,” she said stridently. Her cheeks were red but a giggle escaped her and she jumped as Beck reached under her dress and evidently slid his hands up the backs of her Spanx-covered legs. “They make me look better in my clothes.”
Beck kissed her upper thigh through the fabric of her dress and looked up at her. “Okay. Let’s have a compromise.” He grinned, evidently liking what he felt. “Damn, baby, Spanx or not, you’re pure sexy beneath this dress.”
Patrick could see his hands wandering over her ass under the skirt, and Patrick wanted to get all of it off of her so he could finally see her naked. “Focus, Beck.”
“Sorry. That’s a sweet ass you got, too, baby. I’ll kiss your dimples if you let me take these off of you,” he said teasingly. She giggled again and Patrick smiled, realizing that Beck had taken charge of making her feel more comfortable with the situation. The guy was learning. “How about you let me help you out of these. Then…the dress comes off and we get to see your sexy bra and panties.”
“I’m not wearing panties,” she whispered in a husky tone and then bit her lower lip.
Beck just smiled up at her as he slid his hands up to her middle and eased down the waistband of her undergarment. “Mmmm, your skin is so warm and silky. Put your hands on my shoulders so you don’t lose your balance.”
She did as he asked and allowed him to slowly ease the Spanx down her legs. “How a man can make me feel so sexy while removing my support garments is beyond me.” She sighed as he gathered the underwear in a puddle around her ankles and then helped her ease both feet from them.
Unable to resist, Patrick slid a hand from her back to her ass and groaned at the way the silky fabric slid over her bare, heated flesh under his fingertips. His dick reacted with a surge and grew even harder.
Without further examination or comment, Beck tossed the Spanx to the chair nearby and then stood up to look at her. “There. Now they’re off and it wasn’t that big a deal, was it?”
“No, I just was hoping to keep the fact that I need them a secret.”
Beck pressed kisses on the other side of her throat. “If you feel more comfortable wearing them, then there’s no reason for them to be a secret. We don’t worry about stuff like that. Right, Patrick?”
Lucy's Revenge [Divine Creek Ranch 15] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 13