Loved by the Lion: BBW Paranormal Lion Shifter BWWM Romance (7 page)

Epilogue

Kira

Even though she was still technically on vacation, rising early in the morning was a long-standing habit. By the time Cole's snoring had stopped, she had already made a pot of coffee and the bacon was sizzling.

"Morning, beautiful," said Cole's voice, rough, from the doorway. His hair was still fluffy from sleeping on it; as warmth bloomed in her chest, Kira knew she wanted to wake up to that stupid hair every day for the rest of her life.

"Morning, handsome," she returned. And he was. The sight of Cole in a t-shirt and boxers with morning scruff was something worth her full attention, bacon be damned. She had been about to hand him a cup of coffee, but what the hell. She set it down and crossed the kitchen, putting her hands on his chest and leaning in to give him a good morning kiss.

The good morning kiss rapidly turned into something else. At first it was just a brush of the lips, but then her mouth opened under his and he flicked his tongue at her lower lip. A fire ignited in her.

She could feel his rock-hard muscles under the soft, flimsy t-shirt. She explored them with her hands, running down his chest and over his back and – she couldn't help herself – dipping her fingers into the trail of dark hair that started under his navel.

He groaned into her ear, then sucked her earlobe between his lips. The rough texture of his tongue gave her thrills, and her lioness leaped with the opportunity to be with her mate again. But she pushed him away gently before things went any further.

"We have to talk," she said softly.

He got a concerned, wary look; she knew he was worried about their relationship.

"Cole, this past week has been . . . incredible. And incredibly fun. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much." She paused. "Violent stalker excepted."

A little smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

She took a deep breath. "But I can't be on vacation forever. And I know you're waiting for me to decide whether I can be your mate. The mate you deserve."

He opened his mouth to object, but she cut him off.

"It's not fair of me to keep treating you like a fling if you're waiting for something more." Kira took a deep breath, and her lioness urged her through the next frightening, exhilarating statement. "So I wanted to tell you . . . I'm ready to be your mate. Your lioness."

Cole's expression shifted – from surprise to relief to joy. She could tell he was expecting a completely different speech judging from his reaction, and it made the lioness in her purr.

He drew closer to her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said, with all the confidence she felt in her heart. "You're my mate. I think I've known it the whole time, actually. From the first time we kissed. I just didn't want to get my hopes up about something again."

His expression was fiercely protective. "I would never hurt you."

She stepped closer, drawn by his warmth. "I know. I'd never hurt you either."

He ran his hands down her arms, then back up to her face, leaving tingles in the wake of his touch. She was glowing inside, having finally told him the truth about her feelings, and stepped into his embrace easily.

She kissed him, running her tongue across his lip before licking into his mouth. He responded to the alpha in her with a groan, and his hands tightened on her before one slipped up the back of her tank top, caressing, and then dipped down to squeeze her ass. She arched against him, inviting him further.

A black, acrid smell invaded her nose when she went to take a deep breath. They broke apart. It was like burnt meat . . .

"What the –" he started, his nose wrinkling.

"The bacon," she realized, and ran to remove it from the stovetop.

Behind her he laughed, and she had to laugh too at the ridiculousness of it all.

Crisis averted. She returned to Cole, running her palms over the flat planes of his stomach. Her fingertips brushed the hem of his boxers suggestively.

"What about the bacon?" he asked innocently as she gently pushed him back into the living room, toward the couch.

"Breakfast can wait." Kira pushed down on his shoulders and he sat back, his eyes darkening with anticipation. "I have something else in mind."

That something else was already quickly hardening, curving up over his stomach. She could see the hard line of him through the fabric and ran her fingers down his cock in what she knew was a frustratingly light touch.

His hips lifted from the couch. "Kira . . ."

"Mmm?" she asked. On her next pass up she pressed harder with her fingers, especially when she got to the sensitive area under the tip. He was already panting for her.

She ducked her head, but instead of pulling the waistband down so she could touch his silky skin – and oh, she wanted to – she placed a wet, open-mouthed kiss at the base of his shaft through the fabric.

"You're cruel," he said, half a gasp.

She kept playing with him through the fabric, getting it wetter and wetter until it slid against his skin damply. Trailing kisses up his clothed cock, she licked close to the head and he shifted his hips and moaned her name.

Placing her hands on his legs to feel the tension there, she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock and sucked lightly, savoring the feeling of him within her mouth even through the barrier.

Finally she decided she'd had enough fun teasing him, and tugged the waistband of his boxers down to reveal his stiff length. His cock sprang out at her, eager for her attention.

One hand cupped around his shaft, Kira swirled her tongue around the head, relishing the movement of his hips in response underneath her. She could feel her pussy growing wetter. His fingers curled around her neck, not pushing or forcing but gentle and encouraging. She took his silky flesh deeper into her mouth and sucked.

It wasn't just Cole who was reacting. Kira's nipples felt stiff and sore; absently she pinched one through the thin cloth of her tank top to feel some relief. Cole, who was watching her, gasped when he saw what she was doing, sending a lightning bolt of desire straight between her legs.

More purposefully she trailed her hand between her heavy breasts, gliding over the curve of her stomach and dipping down between her legs. She looked up at him through her lashes; his mouth was parted and he was watching avidly.

She slipped her fingertips beneath the waistband of her panties, stretching out the fabric. Cole's darkened eyes followed her movements. When she slipped one finger between her lower lips, feeling the slickness that had already gathered there, she moaned.

Kira pulled off his cock with a soft, wet
pop
. She gave it one last lick at the head before pumping him with her hand and leaning back to give him a better view of what she was doing.

"I'm so wet," she said, her voice a little roughened. Two of her fingers worked between her legs, brushing over her clit and making her gasp.

His head fell back against the couch. "
Kira
. You're killing me."

"For you," she added. Her other hand continued pumping his spit-slicked cock in rhythm. "My pussy is so ready for you." On a whim she added, "For my mate."

That did it. He couldn't take it anymore. Cole hauled her up into his lap – her weight was no obstacle. She slid her panties down her legs before stepping out of them and kneeling over his lap.

He buried his face in her neck, a steady hand at her back and one cupping the back of her head. "Want you so bad."

Kira angled the tip of his cock between her legs and rubbed it around so he could feel how wet she was. Then she guided him to her entrance, feeling him so big and hard against her.

Kira sank down on him and couldn't help a gasp. She would never get used to this, how big he was, how he filled her up so perfectly and fit so well inside her. "Cole," she whimpered, but his hands were steady, holding on to her.

"I know," he said, his own words half a gasp. "Kira. My mate."

She braced her hands on his broad shoulders and began to rock against him. She started out slow, but found she couldn't wait: it wasn't a minute before she was pumping his cock with her pussy as fast as she possibly could. The slick friction of his hard length inside of her made her gasp and keen for him.

Her lioness was eager, too. She had her mate. She was with her mate, making love to her mate, listening to her mate say her name in wanton desire. She was a lioness, she was an alpha, and she was part of the pride: Kira felt the rightness of it and embraced it.

The sounds coming out of her mouth as she neared the edge were loud and uncontrollable. Kira's lioness wanted everyone to know her victory, her belonging.

She could feel the tide of her orgasm rising in her. Kira wrapped her arms around Cole's shoulders, pressing their bodies together, wanting to be as close to him as physically possible. Her hips ground against him, and he was thrusting up into her, too, trying to get as deep as he could.

Finally the tension in her body snapped, and Kira threw back her head and cried out as she peaked. It was like every point in her body that had been wound up uncurled in a burst of pleasure. But she didn't slow down; her pussy clenched around Cole and every glide of his cock in her drew her orgasm out.

With her pussy milking him for all it was worth, it didn't take Cole long to finish too. His hips stuttered as he slammed up into her, then he shuddered and buried his face in her neck.

He was whispering something, but it was a few moments till she realized what it was: her name, over and over, and "my mate."

Her inner lioness purred in satiation. Kissing Cole on the forehead, Kira slipped to the side and curled up next to him. He pulled her legs across his lap and she nestled into his shoulder. She shivered with a chill, and he pulled the throw blanket from the back of her couch down and wrapped her in it gently.

It was a few minutes before she found her voice. "I think that was worth the burned bacon. Don't you think so?"

Cole played with her hair a little and traced the edge of her ear, where she was sensitive. Under her hand his chest heaved as he panted.
I did that
, Kira thought with a warm glow of satisfaction as she listened to his heart beat.

"We had a pretty good breakfast without it," he said agreeably, and she slapped his side.

His fingers stroking over her neck and shoulders was making her sleepy. As they recovered, Cole was getting quiet too. "Kira?" he asked softly.

She lifted her head with a murmur.

"What do you want to do?"

Kira thought for a minute. She knew what he was asking: now that they were mates, how were they going to fit their lives together?

"My apartment lease is up in a couple of months," she suggested, and felt his lion rumble through his chest.
Yes, good
, her lioness responded, licking one paw contentedly.
Mates should be together
.

He kissed her temple. "Sounds good."

"I like your place better," she confided. She'd always thought of herself as a city girl, but now, the thought of Cole's acres to roam and protect was so much more appealing than taking the bus every day and seeing litter everywhere.

His arm tightened around her affectionately. "Anything else?"

"You mean, are we going to get married and have a litter of cubs?" The words would have struck her as ridiculous a week ago, but now they felt good and right for Kira to say even though she was teasing.

"Only if you want to," he said generously, but she could tell he did want that – and she did, too. She knew with all her heart that they were going to be together forever.

She nudged him with her toe and began to rise, pulling the blanket more securely around herself. "We have a long time to figure that out," she said, bending to give him a kiss.

He caught her face in his hands tenderly and returned the kiss deeply. When they separated, he whispered, "And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

Her smile as wide as her face, she bustled to the kitchen to see if anything from her attempt at breakfast was worth salvaging. The coffee she'd poured out was cold and the bacon was burned, but Kira didn't mind. She could see the new, bright horizon of her future laid out before her, and she was excited to experience it all.

A note from Zoe Chant

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Loved by the Lion
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