Page 16 of Lachlan

“You’re sure?” the dark-eyed one growled.

“Very,” Lachlan confirmed. “Belle, this is my middle brother, Ranulf.” He nodded at the green-eyed man before turning to the dark-eyed one. “And our younger brother, Hunter.”

“Pleased to meet you both.” She stepped forward with her hand politely held out.

Only to come to an abrupt halt, her hand falling back to her side when she heard the soft rumble of what sounded like a dog growling in warning. A glance around the kitchen showed her there was no dog in the room.

“Weird,” she muttered under her breath at the same time as she shook her head.

The cold and fear during the long hours of the night before must have gotten to her if she was now hearing growls that couldn’t possibly be there.

“We’re very pleased to meet you too, Belle.” The brother called Hunter grinned, but made no effort to offer to shake her hand.

“Yes,” Ranulf confirmed abruptly, his hand now back at his side.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Well, it felt awkward to Belle. The three Drake brothers seemed unaffected, or at least not to notice the underlying tension Belle was feeling as, without actually talking about it, they set about the task of producing dinner.

Ranulf moved to stand in front of the huge range along one wall and lift the lid of the large pot on top of it, immediately releasing more of the delicious aromas that instantly made Belle’s empty stomach grumble in appreciation.

Hunter set about laying four places at the table.

Lachlan moved to slice the fresh bread sitting on a board on one of the work surfaces before placing it and butter from the fridge in the center of the scarred table.

To Belle, it looked orchestrated, something the brothers had done dozens of times before, each knowing the part they played without being told.

Having no family of her own, she felt almost envious of their easy familiarity with each other.

“Would you like to serve the venison stew into the bowls while I put out the plates for the bread?” Ranulf invited gruffly after he’d set out the four bowls and a ladle on the worktop beside the range for her to use.

“That’s the most I’ve heard you say for…a while, brother,” Hunter stated with approval.

Ranulf didn’t answer, but his lips quirked into what wasn’t quite a smile, but did succeed in making his features appear less grim.

Belle’s mouth literally watered as she served the delicious-smelling stew into the four bowls before placing them on the tablemats at each place setting.

“Would you like something to drink with that?” Lachlan offered.

“Just water, please.” She waited until Ranulf and Hunter had taken their seats on one side of the table before pulling out a chair opposite and sitting down. She placed her backpack on her thighs in front of her.

“Please, eat,” Lachlan instructed as he placed the requested water on the table in front of her before taking the seat next to her.

The brothers proceeded to eat in silence, as if putting fuel into their bodies was a serious matter and not to be interrupted by conversation.

Despite her hunger, Belle ate more slowly. Firstly, because she didn’t want to overload her empty stomach too quickly. Second, because she was still a little unnerved at suddenly finding herself in the company of three such imposing men.

One of whom she was still so very aware of as Lachlan sat beside her.

An awareness she had felt since the moment he stepped into the cave. In a way that made her breasts ache and between her thighs feel swollen and damp. An awareness that had deepened as he held her hand tightly in his while they walked along the passages through the mountain.

In fact, she felt slightly bereft, an emptiness inside her that had nothing to do with hunger, now that she no longer had that physical connection with Lachlan.

Weird.

But then, sitting here, eating venison stew with Lachlan and his two brothers, felt almost surreal. Not just because she’d never eaten venison before, but because she had never met even one man as large and handsome as Lachlan Drake, and now she’d not only met him, but also his two equally as big and handsome brothers.

LachlanDrake…

The significance of that name, now that Belle was no longer hungry and freezing cold, suddenly hit her.

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