Page 8 of Theirs to Keep

She made some coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice, pouring pancake batter onto the hot griddle. It would only be a matter of time before the guys woke up to the smells coming from the kitchen and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. The thought of both men upstairs sleeping in her bed made her want to ditch breakfast, strip, and crawl back in between them. She was also hired to do a job for them, and it was time to start earning her keep.

Regan turned to flip the pancakes and ran into Jamison. “Morning, honey.” He pulled her into his body and kissed her.

“Jamison, my pancakes,” she protested. He laughed and released her to take care of breakfast, swatting her ass on his wayto the coffee pot. He helped himself to a cup and groaned with the first sip.

“Good coffee, honey. I was getting sick of drinking Ash’s sludge that he tried to pass off as coffee.” Ash strolled into the kitchen and flipped him off causing Regan to giggle. She loved the way the two of them picked at each other but deep down, they seemed to have each other’s backs.

Ash pulled her into his arms after she got the last stack of pancakes from the griddle. “Hi, baby.” He slid her up against his body and kissed her mouth. She could get used to waking up every morning like this, making breakfast, and being kissed by the two men that she was quickly coming to think of as hers.

She glided back down his body and he released her to help himself to the coffee. “Pancakes and bacon—I’m guessing that Jamison was the one to request breakfast today.” Ash flashed her a smile and sat down at the big kitchen table. Jamison helped her bring over the rest of the food and orange juice, pouring them each a glass. Ash stood and pulled her chair out, helping her to get settled and she felt like a princess the way they were pampering her. They needed to remember that she wasn’t an overnight guest but their employee.

“Okay guys, if this is going to work you need to stop treating me with kid gloves. I’m your employee, this isn’t a date.” She loaded her plate with pancakes and bacon. “I need to hold my own around here and do my job. Isn’t that why you hired me?” Jamison shot Ash a look and she knew that they had done one of those unspoken communication things. They both seemed to read each other’s minds. During the night when they were working in sync to make love to her, bringing her more pleasure than she knew was ever possible, she didn’t mind it. But today she wanted to be clued in.

“What the hell was that? You guys need to stop talking to each other using your supernatural, telepathy powers, orwhatever it is that you do.” Both Ash and Jamison laughed at the mention of supernatural powers.

“I promise you, honey, we can’t read minds.” Jamison shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth and pulled her chair closer to his so that she was practically sitting on his lap. “Last night was amazing, honey,” he whispered in her ear and kissed her jaw. She suddenly felt shy and unsure of herself. Regan didn’t know what to say or do at his compliment.

Ash must have picked up on her unease, pulling her from her chair to straddle his lap. “Jamison’s right, baby. You were incredible last night. Are you sore this morning?” She was mesmerized by Ash’s beauty. Regan ran her fingers through his long blond hair, pushing it out of his blue eyes. Ash was like her calming force, and she was grateful for the way that he wanted to take care of her. It was nice to have someone in her corner, for a change.

“I thought so, too. Last night was—everything. Thank you, both.” She looked over to Jamison, who had moved to sit next to her and Ash. He pulled her between the two of them, so that she sat half on Ash and half on Jamison, just where she wanted to be. It was almost like she belonged there. She kissed Ash and then shifted in their arms to kiss Jamison. Regan thought that it would feel awkward to share two men, having one watch while the other took her but it felt completely natural. It was as if they were two halves of a whole, both made for her.

“Okay, baby. We need to go over a few things and then head out to feed the cattle. Today’s breakfast was delicious, thank you,” Ash said around a mouth full of pancakes.

“Most mornings it will be just the three of us but in the spring and fall, the other guys might eat breakfast here. At lunch, you should plan for about seven of us. Nothing fancy, just something that will fill us up until dinner time.” Jamison pulled her in forone last kiss and helped her back onto Ash’s lap. He stood and started to clear the table and Regan growled in frustration.

“That’s my job, Jamison.” She stood and pulled the plates from his hands. “You need to let me do my job and you do yours.” She knew that she sounded as bossy as him, but she wasn’t going to let them pay her for doing nothing while they continued to do everything for her. Jamison sighed and handed her the breakfast dishes.

Ash shoved the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and carried his dish to the sink. “You’re going to have to get used to the fact that we want to take care of you, baby.” He started grabbing his gear for the day as Jamison lingered by her.

“He’s right, you know. You being here and everything that happened last night was so much more than we could have ever hoped for. We are all going to have to learn how to handle this whole working arrangement, especially now.” She nodded at Jamison, agreeing.

“For dinner, it will mostly be just the three of us. We usually go out to eat on Friday nights, so don’t plan anything for tonight.” Regan felt foolish, she had lost all touch with reality, even forgetting what day it was. “We’d like to take you out and show you around town, take you on a real date,” Jamison almost whispered his request. She melted a little, seeing Jamison’s soft underbelly.

“I’d like that, Jamison. Thank you. I don’t have anything to wear, though.” She looked down at her feet, knowing that she was going to have to step up her game. Jean short cut-offs and old T-shirts were good for working around the house, but she needed to start dressing like an adult. “I was going to put away a little money from each paycheck to get a few new things. When I left home I took as much as I could carry and high-tailed it out of there before Mike came home.”

Jamison wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back and she gratefully accepted the connection.

“How about you take the company truck and go on into town today and pick up a few things?” She shook her head to protest but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. “You will need reliable transportation to run into town and pick up groceries. I’m assuming you can’t ride that motorcycle of yours loaded with grocery bags.” Regan considered it for a minute, not wanting to take the keys that he dangled in front of her. She wasn’t used to taking things and not working her ass off for them.

Jamison waited her out and she caved, grabbing the keys from his hands. He pulled her against his body and kissed her. “Thank you for that, honey.” Ash crowded in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“You’ll get used to him being so bossy, baby. It never ends; he gets off on it.” Regan giggled at Ash, leaning back into his body.

“I’ll take the truck and pick up groceries, but I won’t go clothes shopping for myself. I don’t have the funds for that right now.” Ash pulled out his wallet and shoved a bunch of bills into the front pocket of her cut-offs.

“Problem solved, baby. Get some jeans, we don’t want anyone seeing that gorgeous ass of ours.” Jamison growled his agreement and grabbed her ass, hauling her back into his hold.

“He’s right, honey. I’d have to knock some heads together if I find the guys in town even thinking about looking at this luscious ass. It’s ours, Regan.” Jamison squeezed her ass and pulled her tight against his body for a scorching kiss.

“Fine, I’ll cover my booty and get a few shirts to go out. Is there anything you guys want at the grocery store?” Regan was starting to realize that she was going to have to choose her battles with these two.

“Beer,” they both said in unison, and she laughed. “You’ll need your ID, honey. They card in town so as long as you’re overtwenty-one, you’ll do fine.” Regan froze as she thought about the little white lie that she told on her resume. Well, the two little lies—one being her age and the other being that she was professionally trained to be a chef.

Jamison and Ash shared another look, and she moaned knowing that she would have to come clean sooner or later. “Listen, about my age—I may have told you all that I’m a little older than I am.”

“Just how old are you, honey?” Jamison growled. She could feel the muscles in Ash’s body tense, and she knew that they were worried that she was underage.

“Relax, guys. I’m not jailbait, I’m twenty-two.” Ash relaxed behind her, but Jamison seemed angrier.

---