Page 4 of Red and Her Dragons (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 4)

He chuckled. “I like to call it a beard.”

“Is that what they are calling those things these days?” I asked.

“I’ve been slaving away all morning on this feast,” Jax said, returning to his spot in front of the stove. He was jovial considering the normally serious moods I have known him to have. His dark brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that rested against the nape of his neck. He turned his attention toward me as he picked up the spatula, settling his ice-blue eyes on mine. “So, you better be hungry.”

“I am starving,” I said as I retook my seat at the island in the center of the kitchen. “So, how have you guys been?”

Bret shrugged. “Eh, now that you’re here, I’m certainly doing better. But things haven’t been too bad for me.”

“Same,” Jax said.

“A man of so many words,” I commented. “Glad to see that hasn’t changed.”

“You know me so well,” he said and then flipped an egg.

“Where’s Marcus?” I asked, looking around for him.

“On patrol,” Jax said. “He’ll be back in a few hours.”

“The man is all work and no play,” Bret said. “Which is fine by me. His loss is my gain.”

He winked, forcing my cheeks to set on fire. I cleared my throat as a plate was placed in front of me, piled high with bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage links, hash brown patties, and a bowl of blueberries.

“Wow, this is too much,” I said.

“Don’t worry,” Jax said, pointing his spatula at Bret. “Whatever you don’t eat, Mr. Hoover here would suck it up for you.”

I laughed and dug in. My stomach growled in anticipation. I wrapped an arm around my torso to help smother the sound.

Bret snorted. “You’re the bottomless pit here.”

“True,” Jax agreed. He patted his belly

Minutes later, Bret was handed a plate. He took a seat on my right. A few more minutes longer, and Jax had a plate and sat down at my left. Each of them smiled and I suddenly became self-conscious about how I ate. But the food was too delicious. With each bite, I cared less and less.

The food was five stars compared to the slop and scraps I would get with the wolves. And that was only when I was fed. There were times where, just for punishment, I would be deprived. Never for longer for a day, and it wasn’t like I had minded either. Their food lacked sustenance, flavor, and probably nutrition.

I wondered if that was why they were always angry.

A few minutes into the meal, Bret and Jax started in with the questions I knew I was going to have to face, sooner or later.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Jax said. “But I can’t help but wonder why you left in the first place?”

“Yeah,” Bret said. “I mean, I never saw you as an arranged marriage type of girl.”

“Well, there is no longer a marriage to arrange,” I said. “Besides, it was what my family wanted. I had no say in the matter.”

“What changed?” Jax asked.

“Well…” I started.

The men slid in closer, and I breathed in deep their musky, woodsy scents, instantly becoming aroused. I sucked in a breath of shock with how incredibly hot and bothered I became. Though I knew these men for a long time, I had always only thought of them as nothing more than big brothers. But there was something different about them now. Clearly, they were much, much more than that to my raging, neglected hormones.

The sensation was something that I knew was going to be almost impossible to ignore.

But before I could let myself get too carried away, I put my full attention into my food and pushed my dirty thoughts to the side.

For the moment.

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