Lions and Tigers and Bears (3 page)

Ten minutes later, Liddy settled onto a stool on one side of the low counter that held her medicinal supplies. He took a seat opposite her.

She sorted pills as she spoke. “It turns out a shifter is behind the attacks, the way I’ve always believed.”

The calm that had come over Kevin as he watched her work was replaced by dread. He nearly snapped out the need to know more before he could gather his senses. He had to look like he was merely curious, not that the safety of his pride might hinge on her response. “What makes them think that?”

“They were able to get DNA off the last victim.”

Shit. “Were they able to match it to anyone?”

“Not by the sound of things.” Liddy secured another handful of pills. “Detective Riggs said since no one’s coming forward, they’d have to find another way to catch this thing.” Her hand shook as she upended it over a small plastic cup.

She looked up at him. Her eyes had always been soulful in the past, now they held rage. Gathering the cup in her hand, she squeezed until her brown knuckles shone with whiteness. “That’s what he said,” she snarled. “Thing. Like a shifter is a fucking object or something. And my mama, she’s worse. She called them freaks. Shifters are not freaks!”

It wasn’t just her hand shaking now, but her entire body. Her lips were pressed tight and she looked capable of vibrating off the stool with her anger.

No longer fearing what might happen if he touched her, Kevin reached across the counter and covered her fisted hand with his. Heat radiated from her skin, shot up his arm and fired his blood with awareness.

The hardness of his body had retreated since learning she wasn’t attracted to him. The way the temper in her eyes sizzled to passion, the way she blinked at him, the way her tongue slipped out of her mouth to swipe along her lips… It all suggested she wasn’t immune to his touch. It suggested she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. And it had his cock stirring back to life and right into painful hardness.

“You know one?” he asked, wary of the roughness of his voice.

Liddy didn’t break eye contact or attempt to pull her hand back. “I’ve met them before, and they’re just like anyone else with a few extra abilities. They have feelings, hopes. Desires,” she added in a sultry voice. Her lips curved into the inviting smile he adored, and for a moment they sat in silence, staring at each other. Then she continued, “Most of them have jobs and even families. And I hate to be the one to break it to Mama, but they do live in
Hanover
.”

Kevin nearly let go of her hand with the shock of her words. She knew his kind lived among the residents of this city. How? “I know,” he ventured.

She looked as stunned as he felt. “You do?”

“Yes. I’ve met them before, as well. I know several who live in the city.”

“Why didn’t you say something before?”

“I wasn’t sure how you would respond,” he admitted, still uncertain of how she would respond if she learned he not only knew shifters, but was one himself.

Would she fear him, or would she embrace the truth?

His heart squeezed with hope for the latter. Maybe it was a foolish thought to even entertain, but if there was a chance… “I could ask the same of you.”

“I guess I kept quiet for the same reason.” Liddy’s fist uncurled beneath his. She turned her hand until her palm connected with his. It wasn’t soft, but the hand of a woman who wasn’t afraid of hard work.

Either that, or one who spent a lot of time on her hands and knees.

Heat splintered through him with the visual that formed in his mind. Liddy naked on the floor before him, her curvy ass in his face, her thighs splayed wide to expose the rear of her pussy and the nest of black curls that covered her mound.

Sliding into her would be a lesson in control. Feeling her wetness, her warmth around him, milking his cock would surely drive him insane. Kevin’s shaft gave an impatient twitch, while his balls drew tightly to his body.

Fuck, he wanted to be there now, buried deeply inside her pussy, listening to her full, sweet mouth crying his name. Hearing her growl as she came.

Women didn’t growl, females did.

Fine then, she could moan or scream. He could live without her growling if doing so meant having the lovely Liddy in his life, his arms. His bed.

He focused on her face, determined to do something about this heat between them. Now that he knew where she stood on the shifter front, it wouldn’t be such a grand wager to ask her out. If she learned the truth about him and couldn’t handle it…well, hell, he’d deal with the consequences if and when it happened.

He didn’t believe she would turn him down, not after seeing the want that burned in her eyes with a simple touch. Still his heart pounded madly as he said, “If I asked you out, what would you say?”

The smile fell from Liddy’s lips. She blinked at him. Several Times. Fast. The blinking stopped and she looked at their joined hands, then back at him. Emotions swam through her eyes. Emotions that like her thoughts, he couldn’t read.

Seconds passed. Nearly a full minute. His heart felt ready to beat from his chest.

Her mouth parted, her tongue slipped out. Licked over her lips, slowly. Sweetly. God, he wanted that tongue on his body. Wanted it up against his own.

Kevin rarely exerted his dominance, on women or lionesses. This time he couldn’t stop himself. This time it seemed action was exactly what was needed. He rose to his feet and tugged Liddy to hers. Watched the emotions play through her eyes as he leaned across the counter. Worry. Anticipation. Fear. Relief.

He could read them all now. And every one of them tuned his body into hers all that much more. He could scent her arousal. See her desire. And then taste her want, as their lips met. Hers were wet from her tongue and soft as a dream. They tasted not of the lip gloss he’d imagined, but rather…familiar. Maybe nothing more than the sensation of coming home. Or maybe, as he’d thought of Sierra’s eyes last night, it was a taste of his future.

Both Liddy and Sierra could not be his future.

Anger surged through him with the thought. He ceased the brushing of his mouth and stabbed his tongue deep. The throaty moan against his mouth wasn’t one of fear, but of urgency. Her tongue moved against his, wet and rough and needful. Her fingers untwined from his, her hands moving to his chest. Pushing his own into her long dark hair, he gripped the thick curly length. Her hands slid beneath the open sides of his jacket, her nails pressing through his dress shirt. He’d never noticed if they were long, but he felt them now, long and sharp and biting into his flesh, bringing pleasure just this side of pain.

She was wild, wanton. His need for her was fierce. He had to have her now.

“I hate to admit it, but it looks like I’m gonna need a jump.”

Liddy broke from his arms with a gasp at the sound of the detective’s voice. Cursing under his breath, Kevin stepped back and stood on the side of the counter opposite her. Passion darkened her eyes to near black, flushed her stunning face, and had the breath leaving her lips in hot little pants. They were sexy as hell and he wanted to swallow them with his mouth. Instead, he turned to the cop.

“I have jumper cables in the back of my truck.” He started toward the door, then glanced back at Liddy and grinned. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to finish the conversation.”

* * * * *

Kevin returned inside ten minutes later. Liddy’s heart was still racing, her panties wet, her nipples aching points and the need to feel him inside her wild in her blood.

She’d gone without sex for months at a time. Considering she’d just had it last night with someone far more ideal for her than Kevin, her pussy shouldn’t be tingling with the need for it now. But it was, and she wanted him so badly it bordered on pain.

She should say no to his date offer. There were too many consequences that could come from it, not the least of which was a family feud with Mama. Only she wanted to say yes. No, she wanted to scream yes, preferably when she was fucking his gorgeous body.

Oh boy. How had things reached this point so quickly after months of denying herself the urge to so much as touch him?

The question was forgotten the moment Liddy noticed the streak of red on the side of Kevin’s hand. Her senses attuned to the blood and his possible pain in turn.

Concentrating on the latter, she rushed to him. “Are you hurt?”

“Nothing a Band-Aid or two won’t cure.” He held his hand out for her inspection. A jagged scratch ran the length of his palm. Not deep, just bleeding a good deal. “The detective dropped the hood before I was ready. Luckily I pulled my hand out in time and only managed to cut it on the latch.”

“Luckily,” Liddy returned, disdain for the detective making her irritable. She’d only been joking about feeding him to the lions, but the idea held some real appeal.

The rich metallic scent of Kevin’s blood took over her thoughts then. Her nostrils flared, her tongue ached. They had to get the wound covered. She took his good hand and warmth shot from their joined fingers directly to her womb. Her pussy pulsed. She was still so wet for him. Wetter with this simple touch.

First things first.

She guided him to the low counter and instructed him to sit down on the stool he’d occupied before kissing her. Memories of that kiss, of how desperate he’d made her feel clouded Liddy’s thought as she pushed vitamin containers aside. She settled his hand on the empty space. Her tongue swelled with the sight of his blood. Her pulse sped. She was back to desperate, this time in a completely different way.

She hurried to grab the first-aid kit that was mounted in each of the large heated buildings for precaution’s sake. With shaking hands, she pulled out antiseptic and a large, square Band-Aid. Kevin’s hand needed to be bathed before she could apply the antiseptic. There was a sink less than four feet away. But her tongue was so close and his blood smelled so good, warm. Enticing.

Unable to take her eyes from the oozing red liquid, she lifted his hand to her mouth. Just a kiss. The kind Mama had given her boo-boos when she’d been a little girl. She brushed her mouth across his palm, telling herself she’d leave it at that. Kevin’s grunt wouldn’t allow it. The guttural sound reached deep down inside her, stoked her hunger, her natural need. The side of her she denied to all but a few.

The first taste of his blood was exquisite, like nothing she’d ever experienced, like nothing she could ever have imagined. With the second lap, raw energy soared through her body, deep into her veins. Her breasts felt heavy, her nipples hard peaks. She licked fervently, urgently, stunned by the way it affected her. It was more than a hunger, it was a want, a lust. Her pussy felt aflame, wetter with each lap.

Was it possible to come from licking someone’s blood? There was so much about herself she didn’t know. So much no one had ever told her. So much she thought she could live without. Only now it seemed she had been wrong.

“Liddy?”

Kevin spoke her name roughly, and when she lifted her eyes to his, she saw his want for her clear. She also saw his confusion.

She was confused herself, but knew better than to let it show. Lowering his hand, she applied the antiseptic and Band-Aid, explaining in a voice that only trembled slightly, “I, uh, thought it might help. Mama used to kiss my hurts.”

He should have asked more. She would have. Instead, he said, “It did,” and reached to her face with his good hand, stroked her cheek. “Your saying yes about going out with me would help even more.”

His touch was so good, so lulling Liddy could simply purr over it. “Mama will never let me hear the end of it. I mean, not because she doesn’t like you but because…well, I’m me and you’re you. We don’t exactly match.”

Amusement lit Kevin’s blue eyes, turned them dark as night. He chuckled deeply, then quickly sobered. “If it bothers you that much, tell me no. I’ll understand.”

“No.”

Disappointment flashed through his eyes and he pulled his hand back. Liddy mourned the loss even as she realized how he’d taken her answer. “I meant no,” she clarified, “that I don’t want to say no to you. I want to go out with you. Mama’s mama. Very set in her ways. The important thing is that she loves me and respects my decisions. One date isn’t going to change that.”

At least, nothing more than consuming his blood like a feral animal had.

Chapter Three

One date, Liddy had said, but Kevin had every intention to see this first date led to many more. Especially after today. After the way she’d licked his wound.

His cock hardened with the memory of her hot, wet tongue on his hand and the sultry look in her eyes as she lapped at his blood. Hell, he’d been ready to pounce across the counter and claim her as his with the first lick.

He was still ready to claim her as his, lioness or no.

Kevin didn’t want to speculate on Liddy’s behavior meaning she was one of his kind. But cleansing his wound with her mouth wasn’t something a normal woman would do. The ability to keep her thoughts from him was potentially something a normal woman could do, but the odds were slim.

As were the odds he was right about her being a shapeshifter. He wanted it to be true for his own selfish reasons. But he had to consider the other possibility, namely that she had an incredibly soft spot for animals. Her behavior could have been something she’d picked up from spending so much of her life around them.

Wrong or right, Kevin had every intention of finding out tonight. There were ways of drawing out a lioness and he’d yet to meet a female immune to them.

Before he could pick Liddy up, however, he had a few things to deal with. The most important of which was setting up another pride gathering. Now that the police were pointing fingers in the direction of a shifter, discovering who was behind the string of attacks was critical. If the wrong lion was brought in, he could spill every one of the pride’s secrets, including the identity of all those who struggled to keep their lion side private.

The unfamiliar cat from last night topped that list of wrong lions. Kevin had no idea who the male was, but given his open disrespect for the way Kevin ran the pride, it was clear he would do anything to see him usurped.

He had to have answers, and he had to have them immediately. As much as he wanted to end this night with Liddy in his bed and slipping away from her unnoticed would be unlikely, the gathering needed to be tonight.

Of course, maybe he wouldn’t need to slip away from Liddy. Maybe she’d be attending the gathering with him. Maybe she’d been attending them all along.

* * * * *

“You look hot!”

Shrugging into her long winter coat, Liddy cast her sister Chenille, who sat cross-legged on the living room couch, a “knock it off” look. She was incredibly nervous about going out with Kevin. Knowing her sister would be home when he arrived made her all that much more so.

As younger sisters went, Chenille was great but had a big mouth. Liddy knew the moment she walked out the door on Kevin’s arm, her sister would be on the phone to Mama. Unless she could think of something to blackmail her with first, that is.

Fortunately thinking of ways to blackmail her sister wasn’t so hard. At twenty-five, Chenille had a penchant for late nights spent partying with her guy of the week. It was the reason Liddy has been shocked to hear she was staying in tonight. It was also the reason she could smile now.

At least until she met her sister’s eyes, then she was careful to keep her expression bland. “Did you ever tell Mama you were the one who ran over the mailbox last summer?”

Chenille’s eyes went wide. Her relaxed position grew tense. “What? No. Why?”

“Just wondering.” Liddy turned to the mirror that hung on the closet door, pretending to inspect her appearance. “I know how much she loved it. Daddy gave it to her for their twentieth anniversary. She always said how much the windmill design reminded her of their honeymoon.”

“Yeah, I know.” Concern was apparent in Chenille’s voice. “But why bring it up now?”

Liddy spun back to look at her sister meaningfully. She believed what she’d told Kevin. Mama did respect her decisions. Annette would pitch a fit over Liddy’s dating a white man, possibly not even talk to her for a while, but eventually she would have to see how happy Kevin made her and get used to the idea, or at least learn to live with it.

Of course, just in case this date didn’t go so well, prolonging the moment when her mama found out about it wouldn’t hurt anything. “I was thinking how heartbroken she was about the mailbox and how mad she’d be with the person responsible. Probably wouldn’t make them carrot cake for at least a dozen Sundays or so.”

Whether it was the mention of the cake that happened to be her sister’s favorite and the dessert Mama made every Sunday for their weekly family luncheon, Chenille’s gaze narrowed. She came to her feet and lifted her chin, attitude clear in her stance. “She’s not going to, so don’t worry about it.”

“I hope not.”

A knock sounded on the door before Chenille could respond. Liddy’s belly tightened as she crossed the short distance to the front door. With an indrawn breath, she yanked it open, and had to fight to hold in her roar of appreciation.

Between tight fitting dark jeans she could guess would hug his ass like a glove and a black leather jacket over a tan sweater, Kevin looked more than good enough to eat. His mouth tugged into that wide, full grin that showed off his teeth and her panties grew moist. Vaguely she was aware of the cold air rushing in, but it wasn’t the reason her nipples felt hard as rocks. No, that would be the way his intense gaze traveled over her body, lingering on the swell of her breasts.

She’d put on her coat, but hadn’t bothered with shutting it, and her cleavage suddenly felt ready to escape the bodice of her casual dress. Right into his hands would be the ideal place for her breasts to go.

Kevin’s gaze met hers and he whistled. “Wow. You look—”

“Hot,” Chenille’s voice carried over Liddy’s shoulder. I told her…” Her sister’s words trailed off, and she knew Chenille had stepped into sight of Kevin. “He’s your date?”

Liddy retreated to the couch to grab her purse and give her sister a warning look. “Yes. And we’re leaving now. Don’t wait up. And don’t forget about the mailbox.”

Understanding filled Chenille’s eyes followed by amusement. With a sigh of relief, Liddy returned to the door. Her sister seemed mostly accepting of her dating a man outside their race—at least, the parts of her race that involved pigmentation—now to see how the rest of the city responded.

* * * * *

“I like mine blood red. How about you?”

Liddy frowned a little, but then responded to Kevin’s question. “Same way. It zaps all the flavor out of the steak when it’s cooked too much.”

He’d been asking her minor questions meant to unravel the mystery of what she really was—a woman or a lioness—for the last half hour. The major questions would come later, when he had her in a position where he wasn’t afraid she would bolt.

Given the frowns that had come with his latest questions, he opted to avoid even the minor ones for the time being. A glance across the small candlelit table revealed a topic he wouldn’t mind spending several hours talking about, the way Liddy’s lush breasts pressed against her black gown and tempted his fingers to reach out and touch.

The candlelight played off her golden brown skin and made the generous curves glisten, as if they were damp, as if he’d had his mouth on them. He hadn’t yet, but he would before this night was through. The sensual smile that curved her lips as he lifted his attention from her cleavage ensured she was as anxious to take this relationship up a step. Heat sizzled in her dark eyes as he reached for his wine glass, purposefully brushing the hand she’d settled on the table next to her own glass. The intensity of that heat had him aching to take the next step here and now.

It was dark in the restaurant, the lighting set low to add to the atmosphere. The tablecloth hung well over the edge of the table, far enough to hide most of their legs from view. Far enough that unless someone was pointedly looking at their feet, they wouldn’t notice movement under the table.

Kevin could give her casual conversation, but they shared that daily during his visits to the sanctuary. What they hadn’t shared during those visits—hadn’t even come close to sharing until yesterday—was intimacy.

His cock lengthened, thickened with the idea overtaking his thoughts. Dare he, when it was clear how anxious Liddy was about the two of them being seen on a date?

He lifted his wine glass and took a long drink. The answer to his unspoken question was in the way her gaze went to his mouth. Her pupils darkened, dilated. Her tongue slipped out, swiped at her lush lower lip.

Dare he? Oh yes, he dared.

Kevin set his glass back, and hitched his elbow at the precise angle to send his spoon flying to the floor. Finely arched black eyebrows darted together and he gave her an innocent smile. “Woops. It would seem your date has a clumsy side.”

He sent a covert glance around, and noting no watchers, pushed back his chair. Slipping to the floor on his knees, he pulled the chair back in. The spoon had fallen inches from his feet. He grabbed it and crawled the short distance to Liddy’s slender feet decked out in strappy black heels. Her pantyhose were sheer black and her legs neatly crossed. He set the spoon against the inner curve of one of her legs, and they came unfolded, still too close together for his liking. He remedied that with his mouth.

Nibbling at the inside of one knee, he set the spoon aside and caught the other knee in his hand, squeezing the soft flesh, then slowly working his way up. Liddy was silent above the table, but her hands moved beneath it, letting him know she wasn’t unaffected by his actions. He parted his lips and stroked his tongue along her thigh. Her legs opened wider, while her fingers delved into his hair.

Yes. Higher. All the way up.

Her thoughts hit him hard, and made his cock throb. That she was sharing them was a good sign. They were also a silent plea he had no plans to resist.

Kevin placed both hands on her thighs and slid them upward. The air lodged in his throat momentarily when he met with the lace edges of the silky material that covered her legs. Not pantyhose, but stockings. And that meant her pussy was easily accessible.

His blood heated as he lifted the hem of her dress, moved it up her shapely thighs and bunched the material beneath her curvy ass. Her panties were black and miniscule. The scent of her arousal all consuming. Nostrils flaring, he slid his thumbs to the apex of her thighs and beneath the crotch of her panties.

Liddy’s hips shot forward with the first swipe of his thumbs over her swollen clit. Then harder a second time, as he pushed one thumb against the tender pearl and used the other to pull her panties aside. It was dark under the tablecloth, and this was one time Kevin praised God for his abilities as a shifter. Thanks to his night vision, he could see the tangle of black curls glistening with her essence as easily as if the sun shone on her sex. He parted her folds with his thumbs and once more Liddy’s thoughts came to him.

Your tongue. Now. Please. Fuck me with it.

If he’d had any concerns over her not wanting to end this night in his bed, they were wasted. The months they’d spent as friends, carefully avoiding the chemistry between them had her dancing on the edge of need as acutely as he himself was.

Her need he planned to do something about, now.

So hot
, Kevin thought, pressing his nose to her slit. He inhaled her heady scent and her essence fired his blood to fever pitch. It stole through him in a flourish, making his veins ache with the urge to do so much more than sink his tongue into her wet flesh. His body throbbed, his cells felt afire. This wasn’t a normal reaction to a woman. It was a reaction to a female. It was the way he felt before he shifted.

He wouldn’t shift here, but that he wanted to do so nearly confirmed what he’d guessed. Liddy was no woman. She was a shifter. The female that he would make his. Later with his body, now with his mouth.

He sniffed her sexy scent one last time, then placed his tongue to her slit and licked the length of her damp folds. Her hold on his hair tightened, her nails nipping into his skull. A soft little mewl left her throat. Kevin grinned against her pussy and sank his tongue deep. His extrasensory hearing might have allowed him to be the only one to hear that mewl. But more than likely there were other shifters in the restaurant. Others who knew exactly what was going on beneath the table.

Oooh yes! More. Deeper. So close…

He responded to Liddy’s silent pleas with deep thrusts of his tongue into her sex. Warm wetness coated his tongue, growing damper with each push.
So wet.

Palming her upper thighs, he kneaded the soft, dark flesh while he returned the pad of one thumb to her clit. With each plunge of his tongue into her pussy, he pressed at the swollen pearl. The muscles of her sex shuddered around his tongue. Her hips jerked against his face. He could taste how close she was to climaxing.
So sexy.

More gentle mewls reached his ears. His answering growl was low but automatic. Her nails nipped harder against his head. Her pelvis jerked toward his face.

Oh God. Oh God. I’m going to come…

Her pussy convulsed around him. Cream drenched his tongue. One long, low cry lit the air. His cock thrummed with the animalistic sound. His balls hugged his body. He ached to pull her under the table and fuck her breathless.

Instead, he eased his finger against the inner walls of her sex, bringing her down from the climax. He took one last lap of her heavenly body, then fixed her panties and righted her dress. Mindful to grab the spoon, Kevin returned to his chair. The grin that took over his face as he looked across the table felt ridiculously huge, but he couldn’t do anything about it.