Fina tried to sound encouraging, not condescending. “Am I correct in assuming that, say, if someone wanted to start up a glass-blowing business, they’d know how to blow glass?”
“Um. Sure.” Cutler shrugged. “We ask about that on the form. What actual experience they have.”
“Good. That’s a good start.” Fina nodded enthusiastically. “Do you offer accounting information or seminars? Tax tips? Staffing referrals or even employee-sharing schemes? Ideas for keeping pace with market trends, the forces of supply and demand on the marketplace?”
“You’re still speaking English, right?” Nath asked. His brows drew together.
She grinned. “I’m talking business, Nathaniel. So what do you do with these payments once you receive them?”
“Well,” Gil answered. Before he’d retired, he’d been an accountant. Now he was the pack’s bookkeeper. “We deposit the money in a business account at the bank. Once we know exactly how much we’ve got to give out that year, we ask for proposals, then distribute the money after about three months.”
“Three months? All that cash, sitting in a bank account that’s not going to pay you any interest and will charge you monthly fees?” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Has anyone ever suggested putting the money into short-term investments, holding back a percentage of the capital and all of the interest after dispersal, rolling that over into set-term investments and GICs, then maybe after five or six years letting the fund become self-sustaining so annual grants can be paid out of interest, leaving the principal intact so you wouldn’t need to ask your pack for money every year?” She stopped suddenly and inhaled.
Cutler blinked then grinned at her. “Looks like we’ve found ourselves a business manager after all. Guess you are more than just a pretty face.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and laid his forehead on hers.
“Hey, Mr. Pike. That pony sure has grown.” Ryan came racing into the house. Fina shot him a look, pointed at the boots still on his feet, and Ryan walked backward to the door where he toed them off. “Is he big enough to carry me?”
“I think he just might be. In fact, I was going to ask your folks about it. I’m going out on horseback first thing tomorrow morning to check the fence lines. Mrs. Pike is going to pack me one of her special breakfast-in-a-baskets. Was wondering if they’d consider letting you tag along.”
“Yesss.” Ryan pumped his fist in the air, ran up to the table and positioned himself between Cutler and Fina. Nath was generally a soft touch and didn’t require wheedling. “Please. Please.” He bounced up on his toes. “I could sleep here tonight and you wouldn’t have to pick me up until later.”
“Quite the social planner, hmm?” Fina murmured. She regarded Ryan with a thin smile.
“You haven’t been invited, Ryan,” Cutler reminded him firmly.
Ryan’s face fell.
“Well, understanding that he should have waited to be asked first, and understanding that he’ll make sure he waits for an invite next time…” Dorothea interjected. “Ryan, if it’s okay with them you’re more than welcome to stay over and have supper with us tonight. Do you have long pants for tomorrow?” She cast a critical eye over his shorts.
“In my backpack. Fina always carries extra clothes for me.” He nodded enthusiastically. He looked up at Fina and Cutler hopefully then whooped when they said yes.
* * * * *
“That smells good.” The last word rolled off Fina’s tongue sensuously. She ducked in beneath Nath’s arm, gave him a quick squeeze and inhaled the aroma coming off the pots on the stove.
“Have you finished registering for college in the fall?” Nath asked in his serious voice.
Fina snapped off a sharp salute. “Done.”
Cutler grinned as he walked into the kitchen, tucking his t-shirt into his jeans and heading for the sink to wash up for supper.
“Preregistered for online courses? Paid the deposit?”
“Check and check.” She watched with rapt enthrallment as he transferred a very thick, very large, very rare flank steak from a sizzling pan to a cutting board.
“Dorothea would have fed you more cake this afternoon if you’d asked,” Nath groused as she leaned into his space, stared at the meat and licked her lips. “Did you forget to eat today?”
Fina shrugged then answered, “Grilled cheese sandwich. Heavy on the grilled.” Nath had prepared a basket of crusty bread slices. She grabbed a piece and ran it through the juices running over the board. “Ryan didn’t complain.”
“Ryan’s used to charcoal. Hey—using a sharp knife here,” Nath scolded. He waited until she stepped back then started cutting the steak into very thin slices. “Go help Cutler set the table before I spill something on you.”
Fina huffed then bit into the bread. She headed for the silverware drawer. “Would you get the serving bowls down for me, Cutler?”
“Is that all I am to you?” He sighed dramatically and gave her a gentle hip check, took the bread out of her hand and ate it in one bite. “Your domestic drudge? Tall, dark and, er, tall?” He reached up into a top cupboard.
“Of course not,” Fina teased. She ran her hands over his back, following the curve of his shoulder blades, the indent of his waist. “You’re also some mighty fine prime meat, Sheriff.” Grinning, she gave his butt a squeeze. “You too,” she added, reaching out so she could give Nath’s backside a pat.
“Oh so now you’re objectifying us, hmm?” Cutler tutted. “There are laws in this state about that sort of thing, missy.”
“Laws that say I can?” Fina asked hopefully. She batted her eyes at him.
“Keep that up and you can get your own bowls down,” Cutler growled, despite his grin. “How about I make a bowl out of you?” He dug his fingers into her waist until she bent over and squealed with laughter.
“Hmm. Not a bad idea,” Nath said quietly. He set down the knife and turned to them. “I think a little…penitence is in order, Sheriff. What do you think?”
“Oh I’m always up for a game of crime and punishment.”
“What are you two up to?” Fina demanded suspiciously. She watched Nath’s eyes flash then darken as he licked the juice off his fingers.
Cutler leaned back on the counter. “Strip.”
“Pardon?”
“You heard me,” he barked and crossed his arms over his chest. “Strip. Everything off.”
Gaping, she looked back and forth between the two brothers then, with a gleam in her eye, Fina began unbuttoning her sleeveless shirt. Nath turned back to the stove to stir something but kept his eye on her as she removed her clothing. Cutler did too.
“You responsible for this?” Cutler asked Nath in a low, demanding tone when Fina was naked and standing in the middle of a pile of discarded clothing. He arched a brow in Nath’s direction then ran his fingers over Fina’s shaved pussy.
She bit her lower lip and sighed.
“Yep. Did it this morning after you left for work.” His head dipped to one side as he watched his brother’s big hand slide over Fina’s softness. “You were unavailable for consultation.”
Growling quietly, Cutler shot his brother a look then shrugged. “I like it. Good call.” He straightened then smacked Fina’s backside authoritatively. “Get on the table. Now.”
Blinking and moving hesitantly, Fina climbed onto the heavy table and sat up primly. The table’s thick, turned oak legs with the broad curved feet didn’t shift a bit under her weight.
“In the middle. On your back. Nice. Very nice,” Cutler murmured encouragingly. He pulled her hair back and up, fanning it across the wood surface.
The table felt hard and cold. She shivered and her nipples got hard.
“Let’s start with the carrots.” Nath picked up a drained pot and carried it over to the table. He selected a lightly buttered carrot slice from inside, blew on it then laid it on Fina’s stomach, above her navel. “Not too hot?”
“N-no,” she answered hesitantly. When he placed
another carrot slice beside the first, Fina lifted her head to see what he was doing.
“Nuh-uh.” Cutler pressed a finger to her forehead, easing her head back down. He fanned out the hair she’d disturbed. “Nath was always pretty good at art in school. Let’s just see what he can do with you as a canvas.” His cock twitched as he took in Fina’s small body, laid out smooth and pale on the kitchen table with her hair lying in waves above her head. Nath arranged slices of cooked carrot in a circle around her navel, overlapping the pieces then adding more at intervals until there was an orange flower displayed in the middle of her body.
“Hand me the green beans.”
“Huh? Oh. Sure.” Rousing himself, Cutler walked to the stove. He came back with another pot and watched in enthrallment as Nath selected length after length and laid them across Fina’s ribs like they were stalks of grass. The beans had been cooked with diced tomatoes and Nath fished those out and arranged them across the bottoms of the beans like some sort of red, alien earth. He licked his fingers and grinned.
Fina swallowed anxiously.
“Potatoes next, I think.” This time Nath went to the stove himself. He stuck his nose over the pot, inhaled deeply and smiled. “Mashed with garlic. Your favorite,” he said to Fina. Leaning down, he kissed her mouth. Pressing his free hand to her shoulder, keeping her immobile, Nath moved his lips over hers. He nipped gently, licked the inner rim then sank his tongue in slowly.
Fina’s chest rose as she gasped and she felt a hand, Cutler’s, graze her breast.
“Hmm,” Nath murmured as he straightened. “Tasty. Grab a spoon, Sheriff. You take one, I’ll take the other. It’s time we reined in this miscreant.” Nath pulled the ladle out of the pot, held a bit of potato to his lower lip, gauged the temperature then blew on the fluffy white mash. “Good thing this form of presentation takes a while. Food’s cooled some so you won’t get burned.” He grinned rakishly. “But I’ll guarantee you’ll get hot.”
Holding her breath and staring raptly, Fina watched him smooth a trail of potato around her breast. It felt very warm and creamy. The smell made her mouth water. She was blown away by how erotic it looked. Nath dipped the spoon into the pot, reloaded it, blew on it and continued. She started when Cutler bent to her, pressed a long, chaste kiss to her other breast then dipped a serving spoon into the pot. His head dipped to one side, his brow furrowed in concentration, he began to draw a design on her breast.
Fina’s breath hitched but she held herself still. The spoons moving over her, the looks in her men’s eyes, the warm weight as the mashed potato built up on her all felt incredibly erotic. She trembled, just a little, then held herself still when she felt her pussy get wet.
“A tulip?” Nath asked, glancing at his brother’s handiwork.
“Uh-huh.”
“Nice.” Nath nodded appreciatively then used the back of his spoon to raise the thick layer of potato covering Fina’s left breast into soft, regular peaks. He handed the pot to Cutler, who scraped it empty then dabbed the last bit over Fina’s nipple. “Looks good enough to eat.”
“Not yet,” Nath cautioned as he carried the pot back to the counter. He picked up the serving plate holding the long, thin slices of steak. “Don’t forget the entrée.” He wriggled his brows suggestively, nudged Fina’s knees apart and set the plate on the table between them. “Pussy à la beef.” He picked up a slice, trailed it over her freshly shorn mound then draped it over the crease where abdomen met thigh.
Cutler grabbed two slices and followed Nath’s example. His mouth fell open as he looked at her.
Warm juices from the steak trailed over Fina’s hip and between her legs. She shivered and moved her hands to grip the edges of the table so she wouldn’t move. They trailed the hot meat over her, between her legs, across her thighs. It felt silky except when a crushed peppercorn or some other spice clinging to the steak grazed her. The contrast made her pussy clench. Cream seeped out of her, blended with the steak juice and pooled beneath her. The meat was heavier than the vegetables and as it built up, as Nath and Cutler sculpted the pieces into swirls and curves, Fina groaned.
When they were finally finished they stood, removed the plate, licked their fingers then circled the table slowly. They moved like predators and stared at her with unchecked lust.
“Dig in,” Nath finally said, glancing at his brother.
“You first. To the chef go the honors. Besides, it was your idea.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” Nath murmured seductively. He leaned over her, tucked his hair behind his ears and deftly picked up a carrot slice with his teeth.
“How is it?” Cutler asked. His voice was low and rough and he swallowed audibly.
“Very good.” As he chewed, his eyes met Fina’s and she gasped at the naked heat in them. “Dig in,” he said to his brother without taking his eyes off Fina’s.
Trembling, she glanced back and forth between her lovers as they plucked the carrot slices, one by one, off her abdomen using only their teeth. She groaned when Cutler’s tongue trailed over her waist, following a trail of butter and lapping it up. They grinned hotly and she groaned again. As the arrangement of carrots thinned, lips, tongues and teeth grazed her skin. When a tongue burrowed into her navel, seeking the remnants of the sweet, buttery liquid, her belly clenched and a fresh flood of juices seeped out of her.
“Smell that?” Cutler grinned savagely.
Nath nodded. “Smells like hot, horny bitch. Damn but I love it when she smells like that.”
Chuckling, Cutler nodded, shifted and kissed Fina’s mouth. She opened to him, loosened her death-grip on the edge of the table, wove her fingers through his short, soft hair. He tasted warm, buttery, sweet—like carrots—and she ran her tongue over the front of his teeth. Nath’s lips moved over her ribs and pulled a long bean into his mouth.
“Oh god, I’m practically ready to come right now,” Fina breathed against Cutler’s lips.
He smiled, kissed her once more then straightened. “Not yet, honey. But soon.” He kissed her throat. “Often.” He kissed her shoulder and passed his nose over her skin. “Hard,” he added, took hold of her hand and licked the inside of her wrist before releasing her and closing his teeth over one of the beans lined up on her rib cage.
Shivering delicately, she felt their mouths move over her. Licking and nipping, they slowly ate the crisp vegetables and scooped their tongues through the trail of diced tomato. When her ribs were clean they straightened, licked their lips, exchanged a look then stared at her breasts. Fina’s back arched enticingly.
“Please,” she breathed and squirmed.
The corner of Cutler’s mouth curved into a slow, sensuous smile. His aqua eyes darkened as the centers expanded. Nath growled, low and predatory, as he looked at her then, laying a warm, rough hand on her belly, he bent to her and trailed the tip of his tongue through the potato at the very edge of her breast. Cutler watched, groaned and adjusted his hard cock.
Fina’s eyes drifted shut as she sighed. She wound her fingers around Nath’s shoulder as his tongue moved over her skin. It felt warm and wet as he scooped little mounds of potato into his mouth, rolled them around his tongue then swallowed the fragrant, garlicky mass. Her eyes snapped open when she felt Cutler’s torso brush her arm. She pulled his head to her breast and he lapped delicately at the thick layer of potato directly over her nipple. Even though she couldn’t feel a thing, it looked erotic as hell and she squirmed. Even Nath growled his approval before returning his focus to her other breast.
Slowly, seductively, they ate away at the soft white mounds adorning her breasts, eventually revealing patches of pink skin. Staring at the tops of their heads and panting, Fina held them to her with growing impatience.
Nath flinched. “Easy, sweet bitch,” he breathed and took hold of her hand, easing her sharp little nails away from his scalp. “Don’t rush us. We’re eating.” He and Cutler chuckled then resumed swirling their tongues through the dwindling patches of potato.
She jerked when Cutler’s tongue touched her nipple.
“Hmm. Buried treasure,” he teased and repeated the caress.
Soon they were licking her breasts in long, rough strokes, gleaning the last of the taste and cleaning up all traces of potato. Nath held her breast gently, like it was precious, kissed her nipple and suckled on it with long, tender pulls of his mouth. Cutler swirled his tongue around the other peak, flicked it playfully, nipped until she gasped. Nath was still making love to her breast when Cutler slid his tongue down her torso, snagged a piece of steak off her pussy and chewed noisily. He sounded primitive, savage, as his teeth tore into the meat. Growling, he laid his hand on the breast he’d abandoned, swallowed and snagged another piece of steak.
Nath joined him. Snarling like puppies over a bowl of food, they bit down on the trailing edges of the meat, dragged them over her skin, chewed quickly, swallowed then returned for more. Tongues snaked through trails of near-raw drippings, down her hips, between her thighs. When her knees were levered apart crudely, Fina groaned and lifted her hips. A mouth kissed her mound. Lips moved over her labia. Cool room air touched her as pieces of meat were dragged off her. The sounds of chewing, tearing and rough, guttural snarls filled the air.
When the last strip of beef was gobbled away, a hand grabbed her thigh and pulled it up, then a tongue sank into her pussy.
Fina looked down and moaned. Cutler’s head was buried between her legs. It jerked back and forth as his tongue lashed her. At her other side, Nath watched raptly. His mouth hung open and he was tearing off his clothes. When Nath was naked, Cutler stepped away to yank his t-shirt over his head. Nath leaned over her, levered her thighs high and wide and pressed a wet, loud kiss to the mouth of Fina’s sheath. He wriggled his tongue into her and drew out her taste and Fina gasped before grabbing his head and pulling him into her as hard as she could.
Chuckling darkly, Cutler stepped up to her, cupped the back of her neck in his hand and rubbed the tip of his cock over her lower lip. He groaned when her tongue lapped over him then drew him in. The muscles in his arms bunched dramatically then he lifted his body onto the table, turned so he was facing her feet and positioned his rod over her mouth. Holding his weight off her, Cutler licked the crease near the curve of her hip, lapping up a pool of steak drippings.
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