Dirty Weekend

DIRTY WEEKEND

T here are lots of clues, but my sleep soggy brain still takes a minute to determine where I am. Sunlight, the kind that is fresh with possibility, streams through the small window, unimpeded by the dull, unwashed glass and curtains. They are so thick with dust they sag.

I really need to do something about those, but my to-do list has grown exponentially since the last time I've been here. Who has time to worry about curtains for an old, dusty cabin that doesn't belong to me anyway?

The smell in here is exactly the same as the last time I was here. Slightly stale and musty but shot through with a fresh breeze, pine, and a hint of the two assholes that kidnapped me from my library and my responsibilities.

The blankets at my feet jerk, lifting into a short round ghost, just before a sharp pain shoots through my right big toe. I wrench my leg up hard, squealing, and a burst of muffled, pleased chittering comes out from below the thin coverlet. "Dump! I swear I'm going to—"

A thump at the end of the bed tells me not only has my best buddy deprived me of waking up on my own, but he's also taken my right to kick him off the end of the bed.

Little asshole. He chitters again and this time, it sounds like evil laughter. I close my eyes and inhale, tamping down the urge to throw off the covers and rage at the two males I know are present somewhere in the tiny cabin. I smell bacon, buttery toast, greasy and salty hashbrowns, and cheesy eggs. They're cooking.

Coffee. A whole, bubbling, boiling hot pot, filled with the nectar of life. Nothing will drag me out of bed faster than my liquid reason for living.

My stomach makes a sound so obscene I wonder if the wildlife surrounding the cabin is blushing as fiercely as I am.

Hinges squeal and the sound of a wooden screen door, slapping against a weathered wooden frame, jolts me all the way awake. I could go downstairs and pitch a fit. I could storm outside and steal whatever vehicle is sitting in the drive. Then I'd be back to the library and back to my grueling schedule in under two hours. Or I could give them the benefit of the doubt, inhale the siren song of my favorite meal, and wait to yell at them until I hear them out. What excuses could they possibly have for dragging me out away from our work without my permission?

Them. Raine and Reese. A soft smile edges my cheeks into apples as I stretch languorously over the sagging mattress thinking about the two who belong to me. My fingers slide over the two rings of fire and water on my chest.

There must be a good reason why they didn't just ask me to come to Skeeter's cabin.

"We know you're awake. Get your fine ass down here and eat breakfast. Betsie brought it from Freeman's."

I yawn and stretch, one last delicious time, crawl out of bed, and head down the ladder. When I reach the cold floor and turn, I can't decide who looks more appetizing. Is it Raine? His look has grown edgier and sharper over the last couple years. His body has grown a little leaner, but more cut, and his face sharper. Reese, on the other hand, has softened; although, he is as surly as ever in public. There are lines beginning to form around his mouth and tiny wrinkles around his eyes from smiling. Being surrounded by young people has done his cantankerous nature a world of good.

"Where'd Dump run off too?" I ask, sending up a twofold prayer to the universe that there are biscuits and gravy. Also, that my food driven raccoon did not dive paws first into the dreamy dish.

"I think he needs to go to the vet. He ran out of here so fast his fat ass didn't have time to ripple." Raine glances out the screen door, looking slightly worried.

Reese guffaws. "Pussy. That's the only explanation. He's got a side trash panda. That's the only thing that would force him to bypass a breakfast feast."

I pause and start sniffing around my mental bond with Dump. Everything feels fine, so I banish the pang of worry from my mind. Folding my arms across my chest, I cock a hip and purse my lips. I almost smile when the two men cast the same worried glance at one another.

"Salem," Reese starts. I focus my gaze on him, tamping down my delight when he pulls at the neck of his T-shirt. There aren't many who can make a fire mage hot under the collar. "You were so exhausted you were—"

"—asleep for eighteen hours," Raine finishes for his brother. I have the distinct feeling that is not what Reese was going to say. Especially when he sighs and shoots a quick glance of relief at his brother.

"I don't give a fuck," I start. "I . . ." The words die on my lips as the two of them advance, stalking around the table.

A loud pop makes my ears ring. I glare at the cause, wiping the splatters of ectoplasmic goo off my cheeks. "Looks like those two hunks of grade A, prime cut man steaks are going to make you squeal."

Rolling my eyes, I glance pointedly at the door and jab my finger towards the porch. Gertrude shrugs. "I'm bored. I decided I deserved a vacation too. The afterlife isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'd rather watch you and these two big schlonged boneheads get it on than—"

"Gertrude, get out of this cabin right now! You may present yourself to my office at nine o'clock Monday morning!" Reese rolls his lips together, pressing the corners down as if to suppress a smile. Raine acts as if she doesn't exist. Although both can see her, they are careful to act as if they can't. She's focused on me, but if they give her the least bit of attention, she could decide to latch onto one of them. Ghosts are funny that way. Their behaviorisms aren't quite . . . human or magic driven, regardless of what color their eyes were when they were alive.

"It's Tuesday!" She sniffs, folding her arms across her chest and sticking her nose in the air. Her readers stay firmly perched on her nose, but the chain attached, the one that droops down from the legs of her glasses and drapes across her chest, quivers.

"I know," I say, taking a steadying breath. "Who is going to watch the library while I'm away? I thought I could rely on my most trusted librarian to mind the manor and give me a full report."

Gertrude's chest puffs up. The kittens on her poodle style skirt begin to play. "Salem, of course. I . . . I only came to see if you have any specific instructions."

"I'm sorry I didn't meet with you personally before I left, I just didn't think you'd need me to," I offer, cringing at how long her head is going to be inflated from this conversation. Gertrude takes the statement the way I was hoping.

With her spine straightening, she sniped, "Right then, I'd best get back to my post." She zips around the living room, her hand snaking out to run over Reese's chest and over Raine's crotch. Then she turns upside down and waits a beat until her skirt falls, before popping out of the cabin.

"I cannot believe she did that," Raine yelps, frantically rubbing the front of his sweatpants with a kitchen towel. "She's been talked to about that."

Reese snorts, laughing. "Buck up, brother. You were so busy rubbing her handprint off your dick you missed the panties."

"What did they say this time?" Raine asks, forgetting all about his ectoplasmically invaded tool.

Reese laughs harder, barely able to get the words out. "Th . . . Thank you, cum again," he manages to spit out, howling with laughter.

I wait, not-so-patiently as Raine begins to snicker. He ends up laughing as hard as his brother. He is leaning over the table as he wipes tears out from under his eyes. Eventually, they slow to a few random chuckles as my frown grows.

They are ignoring me. On purpose. One glancing at the other, communicating in the way only siblings can. I hate it. Mostly because I don't have a sibling, so I don't get to make those snarky, little, info filled looks. Unless Dump is around. And his hairy ass is nowhere to be found.

"Raine, is our beautiful, cranky, starving, little street urchin scowling at us?" Reese advances, dropping his chin. There is a look of devilment lighting upon his very handsome face.

"She is. She's presenting as an extremely ungrateful brat this morning Wouldn't you say, Reese?" Raine stalks around his side of the table. Together they advance.

I take a step back and hold out my hands in front of me. "I'm not presenting as anything except confused. The last thing I knew I was . . ." I think back. Was I in bed? I remember dozing off. I bite my lip. ". . . I was working," I say firmly.

"Were you now?" Tilting his head, as I back up another step, Raine purrs, "Because we found you passed out at your desk, drooling all over a 240-year-old text." I gasp. "For shame, my darling."

"We decided that unless you learn to balance your work and your health better, we're going to do it for you," Reese adds. I suck in a great gulp of air, prepared to argue, but his next statement steals all the air from my lungs. "Your health directly affects us now, Salem. There is no argument. Don't waste your breath, you can't win."

I refuse to climb back up the ladder, casting a mournful glance over my shoulder, back to the kitchen. Raine clucks his tongue against his teeth, and I know I won't be getting any of that breakfast until I let them herd me into the loft. Then they will give me the talking to they've obviously prepared.

A faint stain tinges my cheeks as I think about the last time the four of us snuck off to this cabin. That was when the library still felt like a hope fueled adventure, and not a cold war. When the responsibility of running it felt like an honor and not a marble albatross around my neck.

We have practically zero time for us anymore. It is always me running the library, spending as much time with Evie as I can, and Raine and Reese teaching and running dorms. And even with getting Frank to give up the restaurant and come run the kitchens, so he can help me with his sister.

What used to be marathon fucks and ice cream at three in the morning, are now quickies we grab in maintenance closets and secret ten-minute trysts in Reese's office. That only happens because Dump was kind enough to start a rumor that if Reese wasn't expecting you, his doorknob would melt the skin off your palm.

This is why, when Reese carries me up the ladder, tosses me on the bed, and then crawls up and snuggles into my neck, I burst into tears. Raine sits down at the foot of the bed and picks up my feet, setting them in his lap. Slowly, he begins massaging them. He's the only one who can do it without tickling me. "We miss you," he murmurs. His voice is so sad and lonely, a fresh stream of tears streak over my cheeks. Raine draws the hot, salty track of my loneliness from my face, and twirls the moisture up into a heart. "You're so busy, so we decided to resort to thievery. We stole you and some of your time. I don't think kidnapping applies here, bonded."

I cry even harder. Raine drops my feet and crawls up to me on the side not occupied by Reese. The breakfast is forgotten as I clutch at them both. I cry until my eyes are swollen almost shut and my nose is so congested I can only breathe out of my mouth. Because they're right. We are always connected by the bonds between us, but I miss them, physically, so much it hurts. "I hope you know that I don't give all my time to the library to avoid you. I feel like I owe each one of them everything they deserve. So, I spread myself thin, knowing everything I have to give still isn't enough; that you two are the only ones who might forgive my failures at the end of the day."

I appreciate beyond words that they don't offer cliched platitudes. They quietly listen and hold me, never passing judgement or offering advice I don't ask for. They simply embrace me, loving me for the perfectly imperfect mess I am. Their unwavering faith in my visions fuels my drive more than the any amount of magic.

And so, they curl around me, cocooning me in devotion, content to just be near me, skin touching and breathing in sync, until my shuddering sobs slow and I fall back asleep.

When I wake, I'm perfectly warm, and I know Reese is controlling our temperatures to be just the way I like it. The warm, cozy glow of my body is nothing compared to the burning sun of love in my heart.

They are right. I do need to stop focusing on the library so hard and put some energy into what is most important. I flex my ass cheeks and almost purr. Reese's cock, lined up perfectly in the cleft of my ass, is a rock solid, heavy, pulsing length of pleasure, just begging for me to partake. Raine is poking into my belly, his soft track pants tented and strained against the press of his hard on.

All it would take is a wiggle and they'd both be instantly awake. Gently, I slide two fingers under the straining waistband and lift it up and over the soft, flared head of my more cerebral lover. His dick jerks back and smacks against the slightly rippled plane of his abdomen. His thick, dusky brown shaft narrows just a little before blooming into the head. My eyes travel up the wide vein that feeds my favorite organ . . . …my favorite after his heart and brain. My cunt clenches. I can feel my nether regions growing moist. I reach down, and just before I curl my fingers around him, I decide to slip them under my panties. I slide my leg farther up his, giving myself a little space to move my hand.

My body, although sated with cuddles and attention, longs for sexual satisfaction. Self-denial hasn't been my thing for a long time. As my fingers rub a slow circle around my clit and pleasure jolts through my undercarriage like lightning, I realize I've been using self-denial to punish myself. Raine's chest jerks as the scent of my arousal hits his nose. I look up, loving the slow lazy grin that spreads across his face. "You skipped me and went right for the honey pot, eh?"

I try to smile back, but I can't. I've picked up speed, and a long-denied orgasm is rolling through my uterus like an oncoming train. I bite my lip and hiss, wondering if I can quiet enough to not wake up Reese. "Shh," I hiss, as quietly as I can.

"This one is just for me?" he asks hopefully, dropping a kiss on top of my head. Then he grabs my wrist, his fingers closing and squeezing like steel bands, and yanks my hand out of my underwear. "Shh," he advises, before I can squeal my protest. He shifts back the tiniest bit and slides his other hand down to replace mine. "Hand or face, baby? Instead of doing this quietly and secretively, why don't you crawl up here and let him watch?"

My mouth drops open. Raine grins and yanks my panties down. I lift my leg, bending my knee, so I can hook my toes inside and kick them the rest of the way down. In one smooth maneuver, Raine grabs my waist and flips to his back, hauling me up to a seated position over his face.

My thighs clamp hard around his ears as his tongue delves up my slit and swirls around my throbbing, lonely clit. Reese is awake and on his knees beside me, pulling off my camisole top as he peppers my neck with hot, hard nips and bites. Raine grabs my hand, drawing it behind me and under my ass. "I'll share," he says. The words are muffled, the sound floating up from between my legs. He swirls my index and middle fingers around my opening, and then grins.

When I lift my hand, my two fingers glistening with my arousal, the "Hey," that comes out of my mouth is gritty with the effort of holding back. Raine is working my cunt like champ, stroking and sucking in a steady pattern. Reese has worked his way down my neck and is currently sucking on my breast, hard, pulling back with my nipple between his teeth. He's flicking his tongue over the hard bud of flesh in a rhythm that perfectly complements what his brother is doing below.

The orgasm is winding, sweeping up my senses and any lingering guilt like a tornado, ready to explode in size and raze my insides. I want my come in both of their mouths. I stuff my fingers between Reese's lips. His tongue bucks as I press my fingers into it. His eyes flare with endless flames as his cheeks hollow, sucking on my digits so hard I feel his throat working, and the pull of his mouth in both nipples and into my core.

Raine chooses that moment to drive two fingers into my weeping channel, crooking them and dragging them against my walls. The orgasm touches down inside of me, tearing through me like a force of nature. I slump over Raine's face grabbing the top of the headboard, so my belly doesn't seal off his nose in the way my very satisfied pussy has claimed his mouth. He slides his hands under my thighs and grips the top of my legs, pulling me down to his chest. I reach across him and pick up my wadded-up camisole. Dabbing it around his mouth, I smile shyly. "Thank you. I really needed that."

Reese lunges, grabbing me under the arms, pulling me off Raine, and flipping me so I bounce once when I land on my back. "He was just getting you warmed up," he growls into my neck, nipping me in one of the same places he did earlier. The bite flares, but Reese licks the spot, his tongue pressing flat with just enough slow drag and pressure to relieve the initial sting.

"I didn't realize you required your Wet brother to warm up your women, flame boy," I tease.

"Don't ever say ‘women' to me again. You're the only one for us. And if I must, I'll steal you away to a cabin or lay you down in a stack of books. Now, come here. This time, you'll be seated on my lap. I want to see your face when you cum."

The thrill that starts low in my belly, heats my blood. And that's when it happens. A version of the vision I've been getting with increasing frequency. A dark-haired child, running in a field with Reese and Raine. My left eye whirls and the scene takes over the room. Only this time, I'm not seeing the scene as an observer. This time I'm in it, my hands reaching up, gripping those of the two males beside me. The sun is warm on my face. I know without a doubt that the library is functioning just fine without me for the afternoon. Instinctively, my hand curves over my belly.

This is the last time I'll see that as a vision.