Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (83 page)

“Hey baby, what are you doing calling me? Has something gone wrong?” Elias answered, his tone concerned. Lucy’s shoulders slumped and she regretted her decision immediately.

“No, everything’s fine. I just miss you.” She said, keeping her voice low. Elias chuckled on the other end and Lucy felt sadness fill her.

“Don’t worry, it’s only a couple more days and then we’ll be out of here! This place is super boring anyway, I’ve been going out of my mind.” He said, rambling a little. Lucy bit her lip and listened, a familiar feeling of inadequacy washing over her.

“Yup, a couple more days. Well, I just wanted to hear your voice. I’ll let you go.” She said, wanting to get off the phone because he was less than helpful.

“Sure baby. I’ll see you soon. Keep sending the pictures, you’re doing great!” He said and then hung up. Lucy stared at her phone and felt like throwing it into the field. She sighed and went back inside.

“Can’t sleep either?” A familiar deep voice asked her softly. Lucy jumped, startled by Colby’s unexpected appearance and smiled when she realized it was just him.

“No.” She said, smiling and walking toward him. He was standing in front of his stereo, getting a song set up to play and Lucy watched him curiously. He was shirtless, clad in only a pair of gym shorts and his hair was loose from its typical band. Her hands started to shake with the desire to touch him, to run her fingers through his hair and across the span of his chest. She set her phone down on the counter so that she wouldn’t drop it and stood just behind the couch. Colby began to play the song and smooth jazz filled the living room. Lucy closed her eyes and an appreciative smile turned the corners of her lips. She always loved instrumental music, but Elias rarely let her listen to it. He found it boring, she found it soothing. She opened her eyes and saw Colby standing in front of her with his arm outstretched.

“Dance with me?” He asked, holding his hand out to her. Lucy’s smile broadened and she accepted, taking his hand in her own. He twirled her toward him until she was close enough for him to wrap his arm around her waist. She put her other hand on his shoulder and stared up into his green eyes as he swayed them to the music. Lucy felt so at peace and filled with contentment in that moment she thought she might burst. She wanted this. She didn’t care about the little house on the beach, she wanted
this.
She wanted what was in her arms. Colby leaned down and captured her lips with his own. Lucy gasped at the warmth that spread through her and she opened her mouth. His tongue slipped in between her lips and slowly massaged hers. It was a deep, sensual kiss unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. Elias and she were so young when they got together that everything was fast and impatient. As they got older, the skill got better but the pace never changed, never slowed. Lucy moaned against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer. For tonight, she didn’t want to think about Elias or the job. She just wanted to be in this moment.

Colby’s hands rested on her waist and began to trail upward on her ribs. Lucy pressed herself closer against him and tangled her fingers in his hair, urging him on. His hands slipped up and cupped her breasts, massaging them through the thin material of her nightgown. Her nipples instantly peaked and he rubbed the pads of his thumbs over them. Colby pulled back from the kiss and stared down at her. Reserved passion sparked in his eyes and she could tell that he wanted her but wasn’t about to push her. A true gentleman.

“Lily?” He whispered, asking the question he needed to know before he allowed his reserve to break. Lucy’s smile faltered a moment, almost imperceptibly, as the fake name washed over her like a cold shower. She gave her head a little shake to rid herself of the frigid guilt and smiled up at him. That didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was them, and that for this moment: it was real. She stood on her tip toes and kissed him again, letting her hands trail down the contours of his sculpted chest. Accepting her answer, Colby bent down and scooped her into his arms. Gasping in surprise, Lucy pulled back from the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to his bedroom.

He lay her on the bed and lifted the hem of her nightgown over her head. His eyes roamed over her body, taking in all her curves and the mounds of her breasts. He let out a shuddery breath and lowered himself on top of her, kissing her deeply again. Lucy wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling his arousal pressed against her thigh. She moaned and hooked her fingers in the waistband of his shorts and pulled them down so that the only fabric that was still between them were her panties. Colby broke the kiss and started planting open mouthed kisses along her jaw, her neck, and down to her breasts. He took one nipple in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it while his hands pulled her panties off. He moved his attentions to the other breast and slid a finger inside her. Lucy let out a breathy cry and arched against him.

“Colby.” She pleaded, reaching for him and entangling her fingers in his hair. He looked up at her and smiled. His smile was sweet and loving and it made Lucy’s heart break form the beauty of it. She spread her legs a little wider and he slid inside her. Lucy cried out as the length of him filled her completely. She hooked her ankles behind him so that he stayed that deep inside her and she began to rock against him. Colby pulled out and thrust back inside her, making her gasp. He pulled out slowly and thrust hard and fast inside her, building a slow rhythm as he made love to her. Lucy felt her pleasure building slowly in her belly but it was more intense than anything she had felt before. She lifted her hips to meet his thrusts and cried out as his speed began to pick up. She met his eyes and he leaned down to kiss her just as her orgasm broke and waves of pleasure coursed through her. She tightened her hold around his waist as she rode the waves, her nails digging into his back. Colby didn’t break the kiss as he felt her walls contract around him. He moaned against her, knowing his own release was about to burst. He gave another thrust and spilled inside her, gasping against her lips and letting out a soft cry of his own. He collapsed beside her, pulling her against his side. Lucy wrapped her arm over his stomach and nestled her head on the shoulder of his arm that he looped around her shoulders.

“I love you.” He whispered into her hair. Lucy smiled, her eyes closed and sleep finally coming to claim her.

“I love you, too.” She said, telling him the words she hadn’t said to Elias in over a year.

***

Lucy stretched out on the large bed, sliding her hand through the empty sheets seeking the warm body she had been wrapped in the entire night. Finding only empty sheets, she pealed her eyes open and looked around. The memory of their night together came back to her and she smiled. She was going to have to tell Elias the job was off. Lucy rolled onto her back and let out a deep breath. She did love Colby, but she knew it was never going to work out. He thought she was someone else. If she couldn’t give him what he wanted, the very least she could do was not take anything from him. Heaving a sigh she rolled out of bed and scooped up her clothes from the floor. Where was her phone? She wondered, not recalling where she set it down. Thinking it must be in her room, she decided to get ready for the day and change. Once she was dressed, she looked all over the guest bedroom trying to find it. Lucy cursed when she couldn’t and put her hands on her hips as she tried to remember what had happened leading up to the most amazing kiss she’d ever had. Lucy began to retrace her steps, walking into the hall. She remembered feeling lost and calling Elias, which had been stupid. Then she saw Colby and set her phone down on…

“I think we should talk,
Lucy
.” Colby said, his tone cold and his eyes just as frigid as his voice. Lucy stopped in her tracks and she stared at him, horrified, as he sat at the table with her phone in front of him. Her mouth dropped open and his glare intensified. She took a cautious step toward him, looking between him and the phone on the table. It was still locked, so he hadn’t broken her pass code, but when he pushed the button to light up the screen the recent messages from Elias were visible on her lock screen. Her shoulders fell and she felt tears build up in the corners of her eyes. Colby didn’t say anything as she read the messages that he had seen.

“Everything’s set up, babe! We can go early if you can get him out of the house tomorrow.”

“Lucy, did you find a safe? I need to let my guy know whether or not we will need him to crack it.”

Lucy looked into his eyes and felt the stab of betrayal he was experiencing. She opened her mouth to say something but she didn’t know what. She didn’t know what she could say that would fix this. Colby growled angrily and slid her phone across the table to her. He stood up and started to head toward the back door.

“Get out.” He growled opening the door to leave.

“Colby!” She shouted after him, making him stop. Tears were slipping out of her eyes and she saw his expression soften slightly before becoming enraged again. He slammed the door shut and stomped over to her.

“What? What can you possibly have to say?” He shouted. Lucy flinched at his biting words but stood her ground.

“I’m so sorry. I was going to tell him to call it off. I do love you, and I wish I could give you what you so deserve.” Lucy said, her voice cracking a little through her tears. Colby’s anger began to fade but it was replaced with pain.

“So was it all a lie?” He asked, clutching the back of one of the chairs. Lucy shook her head, her tears fogging up her vision.

“No. The only lie was my name. Everything else I’ve told you is true.” She said, wiping the tears from her eyes furiously. Colby shook his head in disbelief and gave a weary shrug.

“Then why’d you do it?” He asked. Lucy heaved a sigh and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Because Elias asked me to. He promised me that this would be the last job and then we could retire from the con and he’d finally marry me properly.” She answered. Colby’s eyes widened and he swayed a little, pulling out the chair to sit down on.

“You’re already married?” He asked incredulously. Lucy shook her head frantically and wrung her fingers.

“No, not really. Elias and I grew up together. We started dating when I was eighteen and that’s when he convinced me to run away with him. So I did.” She started explaining. Colby stared up at her, listening quietly to her story. Lucy ran a hand through her hair and took another step toward him. “We tried to make an honest living at first, but there weren’t many jobs and the ones we could get didn’t pay much. Eventually, one of his old managers came up with a con to steal from the company. Elias was pulled in and it worked. After that, he started planning his own cons and I joined him. We were making more money but we had to stay on the move. We went home once, but it was only for a day as we were passing through. We couldn’t stay anywhere for long in case someone reported us. We’ve been together for nine years now and he did propose and had it blessed by his cousin who was a former priest, but that’s it. I just wanted to get out, to stop running. I want everything I told you I wanted.” Lucy explained. Colby nodded, his eyes looking away from her and down at the table. His fingers traced the grains and he processed the information.

“So what are you going to do?” He asked, lifting his head to look at her. Lucy shrugged, despondency setting in.

“Get out of your life, I guess. Try to convince Elias to leave you alone and keep moving.” She said forlornly, thinking of the life that lay out before her. They were never going to stop, no matter how much she wanted to. Colby nodded and stood up. He crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips.

“Is that what you want?” He asked. Lucy frowned in confusion.

“What do you mean?” She asked. What she wanted didn’t matter, she had no choice. Colby met her eyes, the hurt still lingering in his but mostly replaced with a resolve she didn’t understand.

“Do you want to leave me and be with him?” He asked. Lucy let out a harsh chuckle and shook her head, letting her hands drop to her sides defeated.

“No. I want to be with you, I want what you’ve shown me but I can’t have that.” She said, a tear slipping out of her eye again. Colby took a step closer to her and brushed the tear away.

“You could.” He said, his lips close enough to hers that she could feel his warm breath blow across her lips. She looked into his eyes, searching for any lies or deceit and found none.

“Really? You still love me after all of this?” She asked uncertainly. Colby smiled and lowered his lips to hers.

“I do.” He mumbled, kissing her deeply. He pulled back and Lucy smiled at him, tears in her eyes.

“If I have the choice, then I choose you.” She said. Colby smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Then you still love me, too?” He asked, resting his forehead against hers. Lucy nodded.

“I do.” She whispered, kissing him again.

THE END

BONUS BOOK 4

A Cowboys Wild Heart

Mail Order Bride

By: Avril Adams