Gripping the arm of the couch, Tatum felt her breathing increase as the man before her started to change into something that she could not wrap her mind around. The sound of bones breaking filled the room in a sickening rush. Muscles stretched, popped, grew, and reshaped. Thick, caramel-colored hair rippled along his massive body.
She blinked several times, not knowing if what she saw was actually real. The wild animal in front of her should have been roaming the Kalahari Desert, not pacing back and forth in front of her.
A lion. There is a fucking lion standing in front of me.15Tatum’s survival instincts told her to get the hell out of there, but awe filled her at the unbelievable situation in front of her. Familiar blue eyes stared back at her with intelligence. For that one moment she could see Leo behind those eyes, watching her, gauging her reaction.
The size of him was immense, far bigger than what she knew a normal lion to be. The thick mane of hair around his face looked soft. Shaking her head, she knew none of this could be real. What she needed to do was get out of there.
Standing slowly, Tatum felt everything starting to spiral out of control.
This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.
Over and over, Tatum said it, like a mantra meant to soothe her. As she edged closer to the door to freedom, the large beast watched her with intelligence. A low rumble sounded deep within its chest. She knew that sound, had heard it come from Leo many times before.
How could this even be possible? Every romance book she had ever read with wolves and vampires had all helped to flame her fantasies, but this was reality. Keeping her eyes locked with the wild animal’s, she felt the door greet her back.
Hands reaching behind her blindly, Tatum tried to wrench the door open, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge. Her frazzled mind remembered Leo locked it just moments before he shifted into the beast before her.
She closed her eyes tight, felt sweat make a slow trail between the valley of her breasts, and prayed she would wake up. This had to be a dream, right?
Warm breath tickled her arm, and she squeezed her eyes tighter. No, that animal was not in front of her. No, no, no, no. The low purring had her slowly opening her eyes and staring into blue ones. He butted his head against her hand, and she snatched it back, cradling it against her chest. The sound of her heart slamming against her ribs and working its way up her throat and into her ears drowned out every other sound around her.
He sat on his hind legs, but despite his sitting position, the animal’s huge head reached her chest. Tatum half expected him to bare his teeth or unsheathe his claws, but when he did nothing but sit there and stare at her, she felt a miniscule amount of her fear slipping.
He just sat there, watching her with those intelligent eyes, waiting for her to make a move. What she really wanted to do was run the hell out of there and never look back.
The heavy thump of the music from the club sounded like a dull hum compared to everything else. Whatever came over her, whatever courage suddenly spiked within her, had her lifting her hand. She could see her fingers shaking out of the corner of her eye as she moved closer to the animal. Who was this woman, the one actually reaching for some man/beast out of a book or movie?
No doubt Tatum was crazy, certifiably insane for what she was about to do. Maybe it was the fact that those blue eyes, so familiar and warm, watched her without malice or hunger. Sitting right in front of her was a gentle giant, or at least she perceived it that way. Maybe it was just her optimistic thinking that had her hand spearing into the silky, thick hair.
The purr that came from him grew louder, and his big eyes closed.
Everything on the lion was large, even the massive paws that could crush bone, no doubt. His head lowered, and she let the thick, lustrous strands of fur sift through her fingers. He dropped lower until he lay in a relaxed position at her feet. Tatum let herself lower until her ass hit the floor. She was now face-to-face with the frightening beast, but at that moment, as their eyes locked, his loud purr of contentment filling the room, her hand still buried in his fur, she didn’t feel fear, only awe.
The muscles in his incredible body flexed as she moved closer and rested his monstrous head in her lap. The weight was substantial, and she forced herself to breathe evenly. She closed her eyes and felt the rough scrape of his tongue as it ran along her arm.