She fought back the urge to make a break for it. He was huge, but she’d seen big men who were fast. She had to find another tactic to use. “I thought you said I could walk around?”
“Nope. Changed my mind.”
She resisted the urge to ask him how big a mind he had. “I just want to see if I can scrounge up a little food. Is that so bad?”
His unibrow lifted skyward. “You’re hungry? Sure, sure.” Craning his tree-trunk-size neck around, he hollered, “Lyra, bring food!”
Crap. That didn’t work either.
Within a few seconds, a beautiful woman with flowing brown hair appeared out of the darkness carrying a basket. She was as tall as Luke with what would be considered a large frame for a woman, but the way she held her body, the way her emerald eyes sparkled, gave her a special appearance that was entrancing.
“I was already on my way.” She jutted out her chin. “And don’t you go yelling for me like I’m your slave, Luke Yahr. I may be your mate, but I’m not about to take orders from you.”
She ignored the fact that Luke tried to respond and shifted her attention to Callie. “I’m Lyra.”
“And I’m Callie.”
“I heard we had a visitor and expected that the Deacon brothers hadn’t bothered to think about food. What else would you expect from men?”
Callie liked her. Her warmth was genuine and her demeanor easy-going. “I guess. I don’t really know them since I just met them earlier.”
Lyra pushed her way into the tent and Callie followed behind her. She set the basket down on the bright blue quilt in the center of the tent nearest the fire pit then turned back with a smile on her face and a twinkle of curiosity in her eyes. “Really? Are you sure about that?”
Callie fought to keep from darting her gaze to the quilts where she and Pete had made love. Would Lyra be able to tell by how rumpled the blankets were? Or worse, to smell the lingering scent of their sex? “I’m not sure what you mean.”
That’s it, isn’t it? Like he’d said. It had felt more like making love than having sex. Like I’ve known him for a lot longer than a few hours.
Lyra gave her a secretive smile. “Would you like to eat alone? Or would you prefer to have company?”
Since she wasn’t going to get away from the tent, she might as well get as much information from Lyra as she could. “Please, join me.”
Callie settled on the quilt opposite from where Lyra sat and waited for her to open the basket. The tall woman pulled open the lid and started putting out a variety of foods, all of which were either vegetables or fruits. “The men should have a container of water around here. Ah, there it is.”
She reached over and grabbed a pitcher and two mugs off a low-lying shelf then poured them both a drink. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t have any meat to serve you.”
“So you’re not vegetarians?”
Lyra’s laugh sounded like a cackle, but it didn’t take away from her charm. “Some of us are. Not Luke or myself, though. Or the Deacon brothers. Tell me. What did you think of them?”
She hadn’t expected that question. “Like I said, I just met them.”
Lyra rubbed an apple on the skirt of her dress. “As soon as I saw Luke I knew he was the one for me. And he knew it, too. Although I think it took me a while to actually admit it. But that’s the way of it, isn’t it? Something wonderful comes in such a quick time that the logical side of you thinks it’s too good to be true.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Are you talking about love at first sight?” Surely, Lyra didn’t think she’d fallen for the Deacons.
“For me and Luke, it was. But for others?” She shrugged. “Who knows? I wouldn’t doubt that those men had their fair share of women who would’ve lain with them the first night of knowing them.”
Callie dropped her gaze to pick up a banana. Was Lyra hinting that she knew about her and Pete?
“They’re terrific men, you know. Better than most, I’d say. The woman who gets them as mates will be a very lucky girl.”
“You said that word before. Mate. Do you mean like a husband and wife? Or partners?” She peeled the banana then it hit her. “Did you mean one woman for all three of them?”
Lyra bit into her apple and took her time chewing the piece. “So how did you meet them?”
Way to avoid answering.
But Callie didn’t think she should push. “I almost hate to tell you.”
Interest brightened Lyra’s face. “Well, then, now you have to. It sounds like a good story.”
“Yes, I guess it is. Although it makes me feel a bit stupid for how it happened.” She took a bite before going on and took the time to chew and think about her answer. “I was hiking through the woods.”