Loved by the Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shifter BWWM Romance Read online

  He grinned, unrepentant. “Didn’t really seem like we needed words, did it?”

  Flushing, she laughed. It was true: she felt an instant, solid connection to Cole unlike any she’d felt before. Earlier in the bright light of the morning she’d convinced herself it was a bad idea to get involved with him, that maybe their connection was a figment of her imagination, but now, with him close again and leaning in, she couldn’t deny it. He wasn’t anything like her stalker. He was kind, and funny, and by all accounts a great guy. Why shouldn’t she have some fun for once?

  She leaned in to meet his mouth with hers. At the first touch of his lips she felt that electric spark.

  The kiss quickly deepened as his tongue plundered her mouth, first slow and easy, then urgent. Even as a cool morning breeze wafted by, heat began to rise in her core, warming her from within.

  He pulled away once (panting a little, Kira was pleased to see). At first she wondered if something was wrong, her mind filling in the moment with her own doubts, but he gave her a smile, almost shy, and gently took her coffee cup from her and set it down safely.

  Then his hands were on her again, smoothing over her shoulders and cupping her face. No one else is here, Kira realized with a shiver. She slipped a hand under his shirt, gliding over hard muscles. Then it was his turn to shiver.

  His desire swept away all her doubts and uncertainties. One of his hands shifted to her leg, and he touched what felt like every bare inch of her skin exposed by her shorts, stroking and squeezing and cupping with barely restrained desire. At his touch she felt her pussy grow wetter and her nipples tighter, begging to be touched.

  When he palmed her breast, rolling the weight in his hand, she gasped and made herself stand up against all her inclinations. At his confused look, she suggested in a breathy voice, "Maybe we should go inside?"

  A slow grin stretched across his face. He took her hand and they went inside, giggling like teenagers. Along the way he tugged up the hem of her t-shirt, knuckles brushing her ribs. He wouldn't stop touching her everywhere – her neck, shoulders, sides, even her belly. His mouth, hot and skilled, followed, tracing wet designs over her skin.

  They paused at the foot of the stairs while his hands slid down her bare sides and traced the hem of her shorts, his thumb stopping at the button. What a tease, she thought affectionately as his fingers slipped between the fabric and her skin.

  “We have to stop for a second,” she panted, pulling away slightly. “How else are we going to get up the stairs?”

  He smiled against her cheek, like he knew something she didn’t, and suddenly Kira felt nervous. “There’s another way up,” he said low in her ear, making her shiver. She tensed. He couldn't be thinking of trying to –

  He was. Without warning he picked her up and pulled her against him, his hands sliding over her ass. She squeaked in surprise. She loved how big and broad and strong he was; he dwarfed her in comparison. Remembering the ex who had teased her, she was afraid for a second that Cole might say something about her weight.

  "Beautiful," he murmured instead, and her fear melted away.

  Instinctively she wrapped her legs around him. The position mimicked the one they’d been in the night before, up against the kitchen counter, and yep, as she shifted she could feel him hard against her inner thigh. She moved again, wanting to feel him right at her center. He groaned as she did.

  And then he rumbled in her ear, an almost animalistic growl: “Careful, or we won’t even make it up the stairs.”

  A delicious thrill went through her at the thought of having him right here, right now. “Lead the way, alpha,” she said on a whim, leaning down to kiss the corner of his jaw. He groaned at the nickname, pulling her tighter against him. He held her up with one arm as they mounted the stairs, and each bounce and jog produced a delicious friction that Kira couldn’t help but rub herself up against.

  By the time they reached the bedroom she could feel how wet and ready she was. She moaned when he set her down on the bed at the loss of his skin on hers, but he knelt to unbutton her shorts and slide them down her thighs, staring at her body reverently all the while. “Can’t wait to make you mine,” he murmured as he pushed her legs apart.

  She couldn’t remember ever being so aroused. Every time his fingers even brushed up against her it was like being shocked. She wanted more; she needed more.

  Fortunately for her, he seemed to feel the same way. With one hand he pushed one side of her bra up and cupped her, his thumb brushing over her nipple and making her gasp. The other hand kneaded her thigh and then slipped higher.

  He ran his thumb down her slit, opening her up. Even just that light touch over her sensitive skin felt amazing. Two of his fingers parted her, dipping into her entrance lightly – shallowly – damn, and then brushed over her clit just so. She gasped into his mouth.

  Her hips rocked against his hand, and when he bent his head to take the peak of her breast into his mouth, she arched into his touch. Cole sucked lightly, running his tongue over her nipple, the texture rough and electric.

  Kira felt herself grow wetter, and just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he slipped two fingers down between her inner lips and inside of her, all the way down to the knuckle. Tilting her head back, she cried out.

  “Beautiful,” he said again, and her cheeks warmed. “So tight. So ready for me. You ready for me?”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” she gasped, her hips lifting off the bed in her eagerness.

  He smirked. “You sure? If you’re not sure . . .”

  Kira’s voice was thin and breathy, but she managed to voice a threat: “If you don’t get over here I’m thinking about starting without you.”

  He wasn’t going to have any of that. In a second his boxers were down and he was leaning over her, his arms caging her in. He was so big she felt tiny in comparison. She ran a hand down his broad chest and over his cock, already hard and thick for her.

  She couldn’t wait any longer for him. Couldn’t wait to have his cock inside her, filling her and stretching her. She guided him to her slick entrance, rubbing her against him a little before wrapping her legs around him again and cradling him between her hips.

  In one stroke he was inside of her, hot and thick, and it was exactly what she needed, too much and not enough at the same time. He started out slow, giving her time to get used to his size, but soon Kira started to meet him thrust for thrust, angling her hips to take him in as deep as she could and urging him on.

  Together their bodies moved in a perfect rhythm. She'd had sex before, but this was different. Kira couldn't stop running her hands over his shoulders, his arms, his chest, his back – trying to pull him closer, unable to believe she could have something so perfect for herself.

  Cole groaned and began to move faster and harder. One of his hands stroked down her side, and she arched at the feeling of being taken, of being possessed, of being his.

  He slipped his hand between their bodies, his fingers circling her nub, and that was all it took: she was crying out, wave after wave of pleasure washing over her, her body squeezing him tight, the most amazing climax she'd ever had. Her legs were still shaking when he gave a shout and stilled, spilling himself in her. He’s mine, too, she realized with pleasure.

  They came down slowly, Cole nuzzling her throat while she panted and stroked his back. She almost never felt like falling asleep right after sex, but almost did now: she hadn’t felt so safe and cared-for in a long time.

  “Mine,” he murmured into her ear before pulling away, their bodies separating. “My mate.”

  And something in Kira, buried so deeply she didn’t even know it existed, agreed.

  * * *

  When Kira woke, she felt groggy and . . . weird. Funny, and a little awkward, like nothing was in quite the right place. But that was a silly feeling, probably the remnant of a dream, so she put that to the side and took in a deep breath.

  Immediately a range of strong, deep smells assaulted her, som
ehow richer and stranger than she expected. There was the old but pungent odor of coffee, though she must have made that pot hours ago. Maybe someone had left it on the burner.

  She could smell people, too, that mix of sweat and skin and perfume and deodorant, all of which she could detect with just a whiff. Most of all, she could smell him, her mate, close by, like a mate should be.

  At the thought of Cole, Kira smiled – or tried to. The muscles in her face didn’t quite work properly, and her mouth felt too heavy.

  That was too weird to ignore, so Kira tried to roll onto her back and open her eyes. The world looked . . . different, in a way that was hard to describe, and her spine didn’t seem to want to cooperate. A frisson of fear sparked in her. She thrashed a little, and that must have been what woke Cole up.

  She felt his weight shift and then lift off the bed, and heard him breathe out.

  “Oh, shit,” she heard him say, sounding half-shocked and half-afraid, and that snapped the last tenuous thread of her self-control.

  What’s wrong with me? Kira thought, panicking. Why can’t I move right? Why does everything feel so wrong?

  She rolled onto her belly - she could manage that, at least - and caught a glimpse of gold and claws underneath her. She froze. Those were lion’s paws. She was on top of a . . . But that didn’t make sense. Kira flexed her hand, and watched one of the paws spasm, digging gouges in the pillow.

  A bolt of frightening clarity shot through the fog in her mind. Abruptly she remembered Marlene’s story: Went to bed with him one night and woke up the next morning a lion.

  This wasn’t possible, she thought, dazed. It just couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t a lion, or a shifter, or anything like that. More than that, she wasn’t anyone’s mate.

  The room felt small, the walls crowding in around her and making it hard to breathe. Strange, new muscles bunched and rippled as she leapt from the bed to the floor and began to pace, circling this side of the room.

  “Kira.” Cole’s voice broke into her thoughts.

  Him. The mate. Or – no. Kira’s thoughts were torn in two directions. Part of her was pleased to hear his voice and affirmed his closeness. The other half of her was pissed. He was the one who’d done this to her.

  “Kira?” he said again, and stepped closer. She growled and snapped at his outstretched hand. Behind her she felt her tail swish angrily, brushing against her thighs. Faintly she thought, Oh my God, I have a tail.

  She felt claustrophobic, the very air in the room seeming to tighten around her and push down on her.

  “Kira,” he said a third time, and this time she recognized the voice of her alpha: the command, the firm tone, compelling her to look at him. He was not smiling, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed in her direction. “I know this is frightening for you. We’ll figure this out. But you need to come back first.”

  Come back? Back to human, he meant. In irritation she let out another low half-growl.

  “Yes, you can,” he said, as if he understood what she hadn’t said. “Here. Listen to me. Listen to my voice.”

  Kira tried to concentrate through the clamor in her mind. His voice, deep and low, began:

  “Think about what it’s like to be human. Imagine having soft skin, no fur, long hair. Imagine your hands, the way they grip and hold things, the opposable thumbs. Think about what it’s like to walk on two legs, upright, propelling yourself forward with each step, poised on the ball of your foot . . .”

  Something about his tone soothed her, making her think that everything was going to be all right. She tried to do as he said, to think about those things, about her human body despite the distractions of her new, more sensitive nose and ears and eyes. Her arms swinging at her sides, the gentle pendulum of rising and falling with each step –

  Kira found herself on her hands and knees, gasping for air. Cole rushed over, kneeling next to her and murmuring low words of comfort.

  “What . . .” Though questions were swirling around in her head, Kira didn’t have the words to ask them. Her mind went utterly blank.

  Cole’s hand cupped the back of her head, large and firm but gentle at the same time. It was like he had done this a hundred times. “You’re okay,” he repeated, over and over.

  When she thought she had caught her breath, she pulled away, her mind clearing and her instinctive trust of Cole fading. Plus, she realized for the first time, she was completely naked.

  “What the hell?” she demanded, staring up at him. She almost covered herself, but then remembered he’d seen it all anyway.

  “I hope you brought more than one change of clothes,” he said with a strained half-smile, but his joking tone fell flat as a board.

  Chapter Six

  Cole

  He was well and truly screwed.

  That was Cole’s first thought as he looked down at Kira, sprawled on the floor, obviously in shock.

  His second thought was even less admirable. Ours, purred his lion, deep in his chest. Our mate. His lion sounded very satisfied – and after the morning he’d had with Kira, why not?

  As Cole retrieved a sheet from the bed to wrap her in, he let himself think about the hours before: Kira in his arms, kissing and touching and licking her, listening to the beautiful sounds she made. Being inside her was like nothing he’d ever felt before. They fit together so well.

  And then this happened! Cole tried not to groan aloud. Or bang his head against the wall.

  “Marlene told me about –" Kira began, her voice shaky. She took a deep breath to steady herself. “About how something like this happened to her.”

  Cole found himself pathetically grateful for that fact. At least he wasn’t starting his explanation from scratch. “It’s not very common, but yes.”

  Her expression was starting to move from “shocked” to “angry.” “Did you know this would happen?” she asked, eyes searching his face. There was an undercurrent to her voice that said danger, danger to Cole.

  “No,” he replied firmly. “It’s never happened since my . . . Since I’ve been alpha of this pride. And I haven’t exactly been celibate the last ten years.”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Kira gave a huff and pulled the sheet tighter around herself. This was not going Cole’s way.

  “Then why me and not one of the other . . . dozens of women you’ve been with?” she shot back hotly, holding herself proudly.

  Cole held back a sigh. This was going to be the worst part, at least for her. She might know about lion shifters, but she wasn’t one of them, hadn’t been raised among them, and wasn’t used to the customs among the pride that might be a little more . . . strange to average human ears.

  “It happens when two people, two lions, are mates,” he said reluctantly, knowing how it sounded. Not that internally his own lion wasn’t purring and bathing himself with an aura of self-satisfaction. “Not always. You can have a human mate. But sometimes.”

  “Mates,” she repeated in a faint voice, cradling her forehead in one hand. “Like, as in some kind of National Geographic nature documentary special. Mates. Mated.”

  “I know how it sounds -“ he began.

  “I really don’t think you do!”

  “- But we’re here for you. The whole pride is.” They would have a pretty good laugh at him first, when they heard the news, but he knew they would welcome Kira with open arms. After all, they already had.

  “But I’m not a lion. Lioness. Whatever.”

  Cole didn’t want to push her, but denial was going to get her nowhere fast. “You are now.”

  She stood up suddenly, clutching the sheet tight, and began to pace; he was reminded of how she had done that just minutes before in her lioness form. (Your lioness. Shut up.)

  “And I don’t get a choice in this?” Her voice was sharp but with a brittle edge of fear.

  “There are things you can choose,” Cole said carefully, against the protesting roar in his chest. Sometimes the
lion needed to be caged for certain things. “It’s not about destiny. It’s about compatibility. It’s about belonging. Family. What do you think? What do you really want?”

  Kira swallowed, and he followed the movement of her throat with his eyes. Although she wouldn’t meet his eyes, he could read the uncertainty and reluctance plain on her face, and his heart gave a jump. Maybe she did want him.

  “I think I want you to get Emi. I need some clothes,” she said finally, running a hand through her hair.

  Cole wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but his heart dropped low into his gut at her words. Still he said, “Sure thing,” and went to do as she bade.

  He got a few teasing comments and knowing looks from other members of the pride as he looked for Emi, but he ignored them. They just thought he was fresh from a hook-up; they’d find out the truth soon enough.

  Emi was having an animated discussion about some science fiction show with Andrea when he found her, but she was quick to pick up on the fact that something was wrong. By the time he had finished telling her in private, in a grim voice, what had happened, her eyes were as wide as saucers and her hand was covering her mouth.

  “Oh, wow,” she said fervently. Personally Cole thought oh, wow, didn’t really cover it, but then, what did?

  Emi worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “How is she? Is she upset? On a scale of one to ten, how freaked out is she? Do you think –"

  “Emi,” he interrupted gently. “She needs some clothes. Can you grab her suitcase and bring it to my room? She’s still there.”

  She nodded, a few more times than was necessary. He recognized the signs of an impending Emi panic attack and squeezed her on the shoulder.

  “Will she be mad at me?” whispered Emi.

  He managed a small grin. “I have a feeling I’ll absorb the brunt of her anger. Just get her some clothes. One step at a time.” A thought occurred to him. “And maybe Marlene. It might be good to have someone who’s gone through this before.”

  “I think she’s with the kids. I’ll grab her.” Emi paused, looking at him searchingly, and her voice became a little bit teasing. “What about you, huh? Mated? Are you happy?”