Page 32 of Caelum

Could that have sounded anymore carnal?

My cock stirred as she ate some more, then she pressed a hand to her mouth and whispered, “What is it? It’s beautiful.”

My throat thick from unexpected arousal, I replied huskily, “It’s this stuff they make from the meat they cook.”

Eren snorted, but I could see from his dilated eyes that he was just as turned on.

We were guys. Boners weren’t unusual, but I just hadn’t anticipated my response to Eve. She was so innocent, and I hadn’t expected her to make a noise like that, for Christ’s sake.

“Ever effusive,” Eren mocked.

“I’m no chef,” I said with a grunt. “Anyway, if you know so much, why don’t you share with the class?”

Eve released a chuckle. “Please do, Eren. I’d like to know how to make this.”

“You cook?” Stefan interjected, and I wasn’t sure what would make his boner harder—the moan or the fact she could cook.

“Well, we didn’t have much choice but to cook, but we never made anything like this.” Her brow puckered. “I wonder if it’s complicated.”

“No. When you fry beef, they usually deglaze the pan with wine or something so that all the juices that have stuck to the base of the pan are released into the beef stock they pour in next. They add in seasonings and thickeners, sometimes things you buy or flour. Because we can’t process certain foods, I think it’s flour here.”

I gaped at Eren. “Since when are you Gordon Ramsay?”

“I like cooking shows,” he grumbled. “They’re relaxing.”

Well, I’d never seen him watch one. Although, maybe he did at night. Eren slept like shit and usually watched TV until the early hours. I’d thought he’d be watching porn, not Ina frickin’ Garten.

Eve frowned. “I wonder why we didn’t eat this. It sounds quite simple.”

“What did you eat?” Stefan inquired, his head tilting to the side as he contemplated her.

“Mostly vegetables. If we had meat, it was usually chicken. Beef was for special occasions like Yule, but we used cows mostly for the milk. A few times a week, we had fish if the men had a good haul—we were close to the ocean,” she explained, then she licked her lips as she picked up one of the salt and pepper cellars. “What are these?”

I gaped at her then shot Eren and Stefan a look to see if they were just as floored as me. “You don’t know what salt and pepper are?”

“Seasonings?” she queried. “I’ve heard of them but I don’t think I’ve tasted them.”

We watched as she sprinkled some onto her palm, and then I snickered when she pressed too hard and a shit ton came out. When she licked her finger, my nostrils flared and my amusement died out as she stuck it into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the tip in an unconsciously sexy move that made me wonder how someone so naive could keep pulling this on us.

Her eyes widened at the peppery taste. “That’s good!” she mumbled, sprinkling some over her meal. When she repeated the move with the salt, her nose wrinkled.

“You tried too much,” Eren rasped, as affected as the rest of us with the way she was exploring these new flavors. “We only use a pinch here and there.”

She hummed. “A pinch.” So saying, she sprinkled some on her meal too.

“Do you seriously mean to tell me that you’ve never tried salt and pepper before?” I queried, both unable to believe it from how alien she found most things, and strangely accepting of it too.

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Jesus, your food must have been bland as hell,” Stefan grunted, his eyes wide.

“I believe so.” No wonder she was moaning at the taste of the gravy on her plate.

For a second, I just watched her eat. I felt like a perv, but man, it was better than porn. The way she savored every bite? It was hard not to wonder if she’d savor a man’s dick that way.

Then, I felt even more like a perv for thinking that, but if she’d make as much of a meal out of me as she did her chicken-fried steak? I’d die a happy man.

Stefan cleared his throat, but the look he shot me wasn’t loaded with warning, just caution. I understood because we didn’t want to scare her, and I had to assume I was looking at her like a dinosaur probably eyed a caveman—food.

---