Northern Exposure: Compass Brothers, Book 1 by Mari Carr and Jayne Rylon Read Free Book Online Page A

earned your position as foreman and the other hands respect you. Lucy adores you. JD and I are lucky to have you. Silas would be too.”
    “Thank you.” He hated the sting behind his scrunched eyelids.
    “Now put your wife to bed right. She’ll need her energy tomorrow.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned as he rounded the bar and scooped Lucy into his arms.
    She snuggled close to his chest and sighed, a perfect fit for his hold.

Chapter Four
    Lucy blinked at the hairline crack snaking across the plastered ceiling above her and Colby’s bed. How had she gotten here?
    The foreman’s lodge lay half a mile east of the main house. She didn’t remember the trip home. They certainly hadn’t raced their mounts along the well-used trail as they did when they couldn’t wait to crash into bed—or onto the kitchen floor—together. Neither did she recall driving herself in her Jeep as she did when she returned from a long day of tending to her elderly or terminal homebound patients.
    It would have been impossible to forget riding double with Colby in the moonlight and crisp air as they did on occasion to relax after a long day. The security of her husband’s muscled arm around her waist, his powerful thighs bracketing hers and the promise of his hard cock in the small of her back always had her eager for attention by the time they walked his gelding—Couper—bareback out of the farmyard, never mind along the entire trail to their house.
    Sometimes they had to stop along the route.
    She smiled to herself as she realized Colby must have driven her home sometime after she’d surrendered, promising to take a miniscule five-minute break before washing the mountain of dishes that had piled up. Nearly the entire town of Compton Pass had swung by the ranch at some point to show their support. The whole day melted into one long blur of activity.
    The brush of supple cotton sheets on her breasts as she lay naked confirmed Colby had tucked her in. Undressing her infatuated him. He’d peel her clothes off as though he performed a sacred ritual intended to worship her body. The man treated her like a goddess.
    Running water caught her attention. She rolled to her side and checked the clock on her nightstand. Nearly two in the morning. She considered joining her husband in the shower as he soaped his ripped muscles, honed by daily manual labor.
    Every ridge and line would gleam beneath the slick suds.
    Memories of many shared washings had her humming her approval. Despite the stress of the day, she couldn’t shake the low level buzz that had haunted her since the news of Silas’s homecoming. Her thighs parted a bit, and she ran one palm low on her abdomen. Engrossed in the recollection, she didn’t notice Colby had finished until he strolled into their room.
    “What’s going on out here, naughty girl? Can’t leave you alone for a minute.” The twinkle in his eyes as he emerged with a towel slung low on his trim hips proclaimed he’d caught her thinking of him. With one glance, he read everything she felt. Exactly what she needed.
    He ruffled the terrycloth over his damp hair, granting her a world-class view of grade A beefcake.
    “Like what you see, Mrs. Peterson?”
    “Mmm. You’re one mighty fine cowboy.”
    A glimmer of doubt crossed her husband’s face. “Was it me you were thinking of?”
    Lucy levered onto her elbows, the sheet pooling at her waist. Things were serious when her bare breasts couldn’t distract Colby. He had a thing for her tits, especially when her nipples stood straight out as they did now. He would spend hours ravishing the sensitive peaks.
    He didn’t glance away from her stare. His throat worked as he gulped. She patted the bedspread beside her hip, and he crossed to her in two moderate strides of his long legs.
    “I always dream of you.” She took a deep breath then admitted, “But sometimes you’re not alone.”
    Her husband slid beneath the jewel box quilt Victoria had made for their