The Lion and the Lamb

The scent of her unease hit him like a damn brick to his chest.

“Want to come in?” She didn’t wait for a reply, just moved past him to the front door. She was turned on too. He could smell the sweet scent of it. His animal wanted to take her, right there, prove to her that she was his and no other male could put their fucking hands on her.

Leo followed her inside and shut the door. “You weren’t where you said you were going to be.” It sounded like an accusation, which wasn’t what he was going for, but damn if he could help himself. She turned around, her eyes wide, her lips parted.

“Kiki changed her mind at the last minute.” Her brows lowered. “Wait. How did you know I went somewhere else?” For a solid minute, they did nothing but stare at each other. The way her eyes slid to the living room window and stared across the street knew he needed to come clean. Clearly, she had an idea of what he had been doing anyway. “You’ve been having me followed, haven’t you?” The hurt in her voice pierced his heart.

“Yeah, I have.” There was no point in lying, and he wasn’t about to feel bad about doing it. “I wanted to make sure you were safe.” He took a step toward her and stopped. “At first, it was because I didn’t like the neighborhood you lived in, but then Slade started sniffing around, and I knew it was best to keep a detail on you.” She shook her head and looked away. “I did it to protect you.”

“That’s a sneaky thing to do, Leo. It’s not right, no matter what your intentions were.” She turned and tossed her keys onto the counter. Resting her hands on the Formica, her head dropped between her shoulders, and she inhaled loudly.

He moved forward until he was right behind her. Fingers itching to touch her, Leo refrained and inhaled. Pushing away the stench of Slade, he found what he had been looking for. It was the sweet, subtle scent that was all Tatum. The lion inside him purred, and he grew instantly hard.

“Tatum, look at me.” She shook her head, and he clenched his jaw. Her act of defiance had the dominant part of him rising to the surface. “Look. At. Me.” Voice low, his cock jerked to attention when she turned around and looked up at him with her smoky, dark eyes.

“You shouldn’t have had me followed.” Her voice was soft, but the scent of her arousal was stronger.

He took a step forward until they were chest-to-chest. “Is that what really has you acting strange?” And she was, and he knew it had to do with Slade, but until she was ready to tell him, he’d wait her out. Besides, he’d find out eventually, meaning when he left her house, hauled his ass to Stripped, beat down Slade’s fucking door, and kicked the living shit out of the shifter for even thinking it was okay to speak to his mate.

He looked at her mouth. The fact that she needed him took his common sense away. He hauled her to him and slanted his mouth on hers. The taste of her exploded along his tongue, like apples and honey and everything good. Hands cupped her ass, and Leo squeezed the mounds. He couldn’t help himself from grinding his cock into her belly.

Tatum moaned into his mouth, and he swallowed the sound, loving that it was because of him she made those sexy little noises. Wrenching away from her, he tore at her clothes until tatters of material fluttered around her body and landed at her feet. She stood in nothing but her bra and panties, and his cock jerked fiercely against his zipper.

“I liked those clothes, Leo.” The words fell flat from her lips as she pressed her breasts against his chest. Ignoring her comment, because he didn’t trust his voice, Leo slipped the straps of her lacy bra off her shoulders. The creamy swells looked pale in the darkened room. Cupping a full mound, he massaged the globe. The sounds that came from her were deep and throaty and had him impatient for more. He wanted inside her, wanted his cum filling her up and marking her as his, irrevocably.

“I’ll buy you more, baby, a whole fucking closetful.” Yeah, he’d do that, then he’d tear each piece off her luscious body. Taking her waist in his hands, he spun her around and pressed her upper body forward with a palm to the middle of her back. The sight of her bent over the breakfast counter, balancing on her toes, her ass high in the air, had him fumbling like a damn teenager to free his cock.

When he finally took his shaft out, he stroked himself a few times and let his eyes zero in on her ass. It was round and full, perfect for fucking, which was what he wanted, so damn bad.