When a Pack Dies (21 page)

Nath’s abdominals clenched and he snarled. Threading his fingers in Fina’s hair, the muscles in his arms corded like he was holding back his strength. His hips began to rock and his eyes squeezed shut.

“Now, sweetheart,” he gasped. “I’m gonna come.”

“Swallow it if you can,” Cutler whispered, his voice dark and seductive. He bent forward, licked Fina’s ear again then bit it gently.

Nath’s hips surged forward and he howled. Cutler felt Fina stiffen beneath him then she relaxed. When he heard her gasp and swallow, over and over in time with the jerking of Nath’s body, Cutler almost came himself. The subtle movements of her elbows told him she was still fisting Nath’s cock, still working that finger she’d slid in his ass.

Growling, Cutler licked the scar of his mating bite on her back and grazed her skin with his teeth.

“Jeez...stop,
stop
,” Nath panted and lifted her mouth off his deflating cock. He shuddered when she licked him slowly and deliberately.

From the direction of his brother’s gaze and the stunned expression on his face, Cutler knew Fina was looking into Nath’s eyes as she cleaned him. The image made his cock rock hard and he shoved his loins forward.

Nath grunted and slid back onto the bale when her chin butted his balls. “Asshole,” he bitched without any real venom and glanced up at Cutler.

“Lightweight,” Cutler shot back, gripped Fina’s hips and put some strength behind his thrusts.

Despite his lazy snarl, Nath sat up and positioned himself so he could watch them. He reached beneath Fina’s body to fondle her breasts and pinch her nipples.

“Oh. Gawd,” she breathed. Cutler’s fingers moved faster over her clit. He was authoritative and his touch was goal orientated. There was more variety in Nath’s touch—more tease than arousal. The difference turned her on like crazy.

Her thighs began to shake. Being with the two of them was so hot, being the center of all this delicious, male lust was making her come faster than she wanted...but who was she to turn down a good spine-jarring orgasm? Cutler had never felt so big, so hard inside her. A few days ago that would have made her wince. Now it made her belly clench and her pussy squeeze down on him. He grunted, swore and pumped her faster.

Fina came first. Crying out, she flung her head back. She braced her arms, dug the heels of her hands into the loft floor and let the pleasure wash over her. Trembling, her body bore down on Cutler, wanting him deep and hard. Bright light flooded the backs of her eyes. When the pulses of her orgasm faded, she gasped, lifted a hand to grab the edge of the bale Nath was sitting on, and hung on for the ride.

Behind her, Cutler howled. It was a primitive sound. Her wolf ran toward it, slammed her body back into his, and howled in response. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nath’s cock twitch and swell.

She winced when Cutler’s fingers dug into the healing bruises on her hip. He started pumping into her hard, pulled her back into him as his rod jerked inside her and wetness gushed out around the mouth of her sheath.

After a time, he fell silent. The hard, erratic movements of his hips stopped. Slowly, she felt the swelling at the base of his cock subside and when it did, he pulled out of her gently. Cutler sat down on the floor beside her, pulled her onto his lap and cradled her.

Nath ran his fingers through her hair, easing it away from her face.

“Um, what did you do to your nuts, man?” Cutler said quite suddenly a few minutes later. He lifted his head so he could look at Nath, lounging above them and looking smugly content.

Lifting his cock out of the way, Nath stroked his smooth scrotum.

“I had them waxed,” he answered conversationally. “Before my last trip. Some salon two towns over.”

“Did it hurt?” Cutler asked. He shuddered.

“Like a son of a bitch.” Nath shrugged then he grinned. “Had you going there, didn’t I?” he taunted Cutler. “I just shaved them. Who the hell would let anybody near their nuts with hot wax?” Chuckling, he gave his new mate a wink. “I figured Fina would appreciate it. After all, who wants to suck down a hair when they’re going down on somebody’s nut sac.”

Her brow furrowed at Nath’s crude language but she gave him an appreciative grin nonetheless. “That’s so sweet, Nath. Thank you,” she cooed and squeezed his thigh.

“Hey. I can be sweet too.” Cutler grumbled then held her elbow when she stood and started hunting around for her clothes. “Didn’t I let you come first?”

“Oh yeah. You’re a peach,” Nath deadpanned, ducked when his brother tried to cuff him and grabbed his pants off the floor.

*
   
*
   
*

“Watch out for the buck. He’s got a bit of a mean streak.” Nath hovered over Fina, watching as she reached into the rabbit enclosure to pick up one of the kits. “He’ll kick back at you if you get within range and he’s got some nasty claws.”

Cutler refilled the water bowl and measured out feed pellets. He grinned when Fina’s face lit up. She held one of the smaller rabbits to her chest and stroked its long fur. They kept the rabbits up here, in a wooden enclosure in a corner of the loft because it was quiet, ventilated and away from the other animals.

Nath pulled some alfalfa off a nearby bale, separated the clumps and dropped it into the enclosure.

Her brow furrowing, Fina looked up at her mates. “How come he doesn’t mind me holding him?” she asked, looking down at the rabbit resting contently in her arms. “When I was six, one of my human girlfriends had a cat. When I walked into her house, the thing hissed at me, tore up the skin on my arm and ran away.” She stroked the rabbit’s ear and smoothed her fingertip across its cheek. It seemed to relax even more. “My friend said the cat didn’t come back for two days. Don’t rabbits, um, perceive us as predators?”

Cutler grinned. “They would, except these ones were raised with weres. When any of the farmers in the pack import new stock, they buy them as young as they can so they can acclimate. It’s better if we breed them ourselves, though. Nath and I buy frozen semen when the heifers go into heat. We tried bringing in a bull once.” He and Nath exchanged a look then started to laugh. “Damn thing went berserk then died of cardiac failure about a day later. The heifers were pretty disappointed.”

The corner of her mouth quirked up and she put the rabbit back in the enclosure. Wiping her hands off, she headed for the ladder to climb down out of the loft. “So why do you keep so many different kinds of animals.”

“Well,” Nath answered as he climbed down after her. “Habit, I guess. Our mother was into spinning—not the kind on a bike but the kind with a treadle and yarn. She built up the sheep herd, brought in some long-haired goats and the rabbits. I guess you could say we’re honoring her legacy by keeping them.”

Cutler looped his arm around her waist when he reached the barn floor. “That and we’ve been too lazy to get rid of them,” he admitted, kissed the top of her head and led her back to the house.

When they passed the cattle paddock, Fina pointed. “So why Black Angus cattle?”

“Because they’re delicious,” Nath answered with a shrug, kissed her quick and gave her hand a squeeze before he opened the kitchen door.

*
   
*
   
*

“...and he rolled down the hill like that and
boom
at the bottom and Koby put his hands on the air and...”

Angling his big body in the café chair, Nath grinned and focused his attention on Ryan, listening to the boy’s play-by-play about how he and his friend Koby had spent yesterday.

Nath and Fina had picked up Ryan from Trudy’s this morning. So the Beta could spend
some
time with Ryan before heading out on his next trek, they were having breakfast at the café. Cutler had wanted to join them but duty called...that and the state inspector’s visit. In fact, the café was starting to empty as customers finished up and headed to work.

When Dorothea Pike walked in, Fina waved her over.

“Good morning,” Fina greeted her warmly, stood and gave her a quick hug. “I thought you worked the lunch shift?”

“I do. But I like to get an early start. Thank you,” Dorothea added when Nath grabbed an empty chair, pulled it up to their table and held it out for the older woman. She grinned when Nath leaned over her and buzzed a quick kiss to her cheek before sitting back down. “Plus it’s a baking day.”

“A baking day?” Fina asked. She got up, walked over to the servers’ station, picked up a clean cup, saucer and a pot of coffee and brought them back to their table.

“Uh huh.” Nodding her thanks, Dorothea accepted the cup of coffee Fina set down in front of her, stirred in a bit of sugar and sat back in her chair. “Every Tuesday and Friday I make my secret-recipe apple crumble. It’s one of our most popular menu items.”

“Nath makes that,” Ryan piped up. He finished off the last of his milk. “Nath cooks way better than Fina does.”

Fina was the first to laugh. “He’s right,” she acknowledged with a shrug.

“Well you’re a fortunate young man, Ryan Upton,” Dorothea explained. She sipped her coffee then added a touch more sugar. “Nathaniel’s mother and I were best friends before she died. She’s the only person I ever gave the recipe to. She passed the recipe on to Nathaniel.”

Something in Ryan’s expression changed. He looked...blank for a moment. It was subtle but it caught Fina’s attention. She combed her fingers through his short, dark blond hair. Nath must have seen something too because he touched Ryan’s shoulder. After a moment, Ryan blinked, pulled an electronic game out of his backpack and began playing.

“Speaking of your mother,” Dorothea continued, directing her question to Nath, “are you going to get a shearer in this summer?”

“A shearer?” Fina asked.

Dorothea nodded. “For the sheep. His mother got me hooked on spinning years ago. Of course I weave more these days than knit.”

Fina’s brow furrowed.

“Oh it’s my favorite hobby,” Dorothea enthused. “I made a big production out of the whole process. Carding the yarn, dyeing it...my husband dug a fire pit in the backyard for me years ago. He rigs up a tripod, carries out my big iron pot, even stacks the firewood for me. I dye my own yarn the old fashioned way,” she added with pride. “Just like my grandmother taught me. Onion skin for yellow, walnut bark for brown, indigo for blue.” She winked. “Of course, it’s more an excuse to sit out back with my feet up, soak up some rays and read a good book. I only have to get up every twenty minutes or so to give the pot a stir.

“Once I’m satisfied with the color, I hang the yarn up to dry then it’s ready for spinning.”

“Hmm.” Fina sat back, digesting what Dorothea had said. When she did, Dorothea sat forward and discreetly sniffed the air around her and Nath.

“Both brothers then, huh?” the older woman said speculatively and without condemnation.

“Both. Yes,” Fina answered.

“Well good for you is what I say. It’s about time somebody collared those wild pups.”

One of Nath’s brows shot up but that was his only reaction.

Dorothea grinned. She glanced at Ryan, made sure he wasn’t paying any attention to them and lowered her voice. “When the mating urge hits, there’s nothing you can do about it. They’ve found a good woman in you, Fina. I thought so from day one. Keeping them in line won’t be your only trouble, though.” She glanced around the almost-empty café. “There’ll be plenty of single bitches out for blood when they find out you’ve caught the two most eligible wolves in the county.” Dorothea leaned back, picked up her cup, took a sip and sighed appreciatively.

Fina glanced at Nath. He offered an apologetic grin and a shrug.

“Great,” Fina huffed. “Looks like I’ll have to polish up my brass knuckles.”

When the adults at the table laughed, Ryan glanced up, looked at their faces in confusion then returned his attention to his game.

“Well hello, Nath.” A tall redhead, wearing a fitted skirt, a silk blouse and dangerously high heels headed for their table about a second after she entered the café. “Congratulations on how well your business is doing. We just mailed out your latest bank statement and I...” Her voice trailed off. She sniffed the air around them, then sniffed again.

“Um, Fina, I’d like to introduce Anna Fraser. Anna’s the assistant manager down at the bank and—”

“
Both
?” Anna shrieked. She slammed her manicured hands down on her hips and leaned over Fina. “You’re with
both
of them?” She trembled with anger.

Fina stood slowly, bared her teeth and growled.

For a moment it looked like Anna was going to take her up on her offer to fight. Then the anger drained out of her eyes. She looked timid when she glanced away and took a step back. Without another word, she turned and walked away slowly, shoulders sagging, head not quite as high as it was when she came in.

“What did she mean, Fina?” Ryan piped up. He tugged on Fina’s sleeve. “Who’s both of them?”

Fina forced a smile. “We live with both Cutler
and
Nath,” she hedged. “Just like they live with both you and me.”

“Oh.” Ryan glanced down at his game then back up at her. “I don’t think she likes you.”

“Neither do I,” Fina agreed with a sigh. “But she’ll come around. They all will. I hope,” she added under her breath, took the game out of his hand and set his unfinished plate of toast and scrambled eggs in front of him.

*
   
*
   
*

“It would make a great tie-in with Nath’s business.” Fina turned the computer monitor so Cutler could see. He put a hand on the back of her chair in the home office and leaned forward. “Organic angora and mohair sweaters, hats, socks, throws made with yarn dyed with natural ingredients. We can cross-promote with his company—dedicate a display area at his base camp with a website tie-in. Plus it’ll create jobs in the community by having local women knit for us. I hear knitting’s a popular hobby.”

Cutler nodded. “You know Nath’s always complaining about newbies showing up without the right clothes. Somebody always needs more socks or an extra sweater.” He looked down at Fina curiously. “How do you know about this stuff?”