* * * *
Jenny sighed then jerked, coming awake in an explosive flash that made her feel disoriented. Sitting up in bed, she tried to clear her head. She’d been warm, snuggled, and very happy lying naked between Parker and Dale, and then she was…what? Something had awakened her, and she didn’t know what it was.
“It’s okay, sweet Jenny. Laci gave you an extra day off, remember?”
She let herself flop back onto the pillow. That was it. My internal alarm clock just went off.
“I didn’t remember that, but I do, now.” She sighed. “Sorry I woke you.”
“You didn’t wake me,” Parker said. “I was just lying here, enjoying the moment. Still am.”
“What he said.” Dale’s voice didn’t sound sleepy at all.
Both men turned onto their sides, propped up their heads, and looked down at her. “How are you feeling, baby?” Parker’s eyes held such tenderness Jenny felt her throat go tight.
“Warm, rested, and very content.”
“Are you sore, sweetheart?”
Jenny turned her head just enough to meet Dale’s gaze. She nearly tossed off the question but took a moment, instead, to think about it. “Tender. I’m not used to…” What do I call it?
She sensed a waiting, so she forged ahead and prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake. “I’m not used to making love like that.”
“Like how?” Parker asked.
Emboldened now, she pressed forward. “Like I really mean it.”
Both men grinned at her as if she’d given them the exact right answer.
“Do you know what we’d like to do right now?” Dale’s question, asked with that trace of devilry, made her own smile blossom.
“No, what?”
He blushed and then looked over at his brother. Parker nodded then grinned down at her. “Let’s go downstairs and work together on making ourselves supper. We missed lunch, and we’re not going anywhere until tomorrow. Are we?”
“I don’t want to leave this house until I absolutely have to,” Jenny said.
“Good. We’ve never lived with a woman, either of us. And making supper together…” Dale leaned down and kissed her lightly. “Making supper, the three of us, will be another kind of intimacy. Not sexual, but definitely sensual.”
“Emotional intimacy,” Jenny said. She hadn’t dated extensively but knew from listening to various friends and coworkers over the years that emotional anything wasn’t what a lot of men wanted to talk about with the women they were dating, let alone display it.
Her heart felt full to bursting. Parker laid his grin on hers, and then he sighed. “Exactly. We’ve made sexual magic in the bedroom. Let’s go make gastronomic magic in the kitchen.”
“As long as one of you gives me one of your tee shirts to wear.” Clearly, her guys had an image in their minds of things they’d like to do with her that they’ve never done before. She was all for that and had a few ideas of her own.
They got out of bed, and Parker tossed her his tee shirt, the one he’d taken off earlier. She snagged it mid-air and made quick work of putting it on. It came down to mid thigh on her and was like a sexy mini-dress. Very sexy, since she didn’t bother to put any panties on beneath it.
Dale patted her on the ass lightly and treated her to a mock leer. She laughed and realized she hadn’t felt this good, ever. The guys just threw on their jeans, also going commando. They all three headed for the stairs.
“We didn’t check the cupboards, fridge, or freezer,” Parker said. “But I have a feeling if the families were able to outfit us with house, furnishings, the whole nine yards, they wouldn’t have skipped the vittles.”
“I think you’re probably right.” Jenny entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. “There’s a whole chicken in here!”
“Not alive, I hope,” Dale said.
Jenny giggled. “No. Good thing, too, because I have never butchered, nor have I plucked, my own supper.”
“We have,” Parker said. “So, we could do it if we had to because that was part of our education, growing up on the ranch. We didn’t only have cattle. We had chickens, a few hogs, and we grew our own food for the animals, too.”
“I can pick food out at the supermarket. Somehow, I don’t think that’s as impressive a skill as what y’all can boast.”
“Well, if you feel like you’ve missed out, sweetheart, we would be happy to teach you everything we know.” And then Dale raised his eyebrows twice in rapid succession, that mock leer of his making the look complete.
“We can revisit that offer.” Jenny had a hard time keeping her laughter light.
“So, decision time: whole bird roasted? Or do we want dissected and mutilated bird parts, fried?”
“Whole bird, roasted,” Jenny said. “We can toss some veggies into a casserole dish with butter and a few herbs, and they should both be done in about the same time.”
They worked together well. While she scrubbed and peeled, Parker rinsed and poked and rubbed butter and salt into the bird.
Dale found the makings for a green salad and set to work on that. Then it was time to simply wait for supper to cook.
A bottle of Chablis had been chilling in the fridge, so Parker opened it, Dale brought over wine glasses, and they made themselves comfortable at the kitchen table.
They talked of inconsequential things. Movies and music, weather and the day’s headlines. They never wanted for conversation, and often, like this time, there would be long stretches of silence interspersed. It felt companionable, and right.
“I almost can’t believe that we’re here.” Jenny looked down at her glass then up at her two lovers.
I have two lovers, and I’m falling in love with them. Who was she kidding? She wouldn’t have given herself or taken them if she wasn’t already in love with them. She had no idea where this love would lead, but she looked forward to finding out.
“Personally, I’m happy as hell about
