ROMANCE: LION SHIFTER ROMANCE: Luring The Lion (Lion Shapeshifter Paranormal Fantasy Romance) (BBW Lion Shifter Romance) (4 page)

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Fiona walked into the palace. She had an armed guard in a smart uniform escorting her, and right now she’d almost wished she could have stayed with the beast and the cart that had brought her here. She swallowed hard.

“The Prince is busy at the moment, but you’re free to explore the grounds as long as you stay within the walls of the palace. We will show you to your room and then we will leave you to look around at your leisure,” said the guard who’d given her the water, giving her an encouraging smile.

“Thank you,” Fiona said and followed the guards to the room where they left her. Her bags and luggage where already inside and she was shocked at the minute size of the room. It was stark white and had no color, it reminded her of a medical room. On her planet, they loved colorful art and paintings, she wondered if all the rooms here looked like this, or if they just kept it all stark like this to make it easier to clean.

She brushed her hair and changed her clothes, freshening up. She decided to go for a walk outside and getting some sunshine and smell the fresh air, that was one of the benefits of being on a new planet, and she intended to enjoy this.

Walking around the grounds, she followed the perimeter brick wall until she saw a large lake and walked towards it. She hadn’t seen water like that since she’d been a little girl. She had images of putting her feet in the water and touching it. Maybe even tasting it.

She noticed a young boy of about ten or so splashing in the water. At first he looked like he was enjoying cooling off but as she got closer she noticed he was struggling to keep his head above the water. She raced towards the lake and would have dived in to save him, but then she saw a man close by pulling off his shirt and kicking his shoes off, and then diving in to save the boy.

She saw the man swim out to the boy and sighed in relief when she saw him get hold of the limp boy.  She waded into the water, grabbed the boy’s body and helped get him to shore. The boy wasn’t breathing and she watched the man preform chest compressions on the boy until he started coughing.

“Thank you, I haven’t swum before, I was going to try to rescue him, but it was probably wiser that you got him out of the deep water.” Fiona said out-of-breath as he helped the boy sit up and patted him gently on the back while comforting him.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he said, as he looked up at Fiona. Turning his attention back to the boy he helped him to his feet. “Are you okay, are you breathing okay?”

“Yes sir.” The boy said sheepishly, and nodded.

“Go see medical.” The man ordered him and watched him walk off slowly towards the palace.

“Do you know that boy?” Fiona asked inquisitively.

“He is the nephew of the King. If he died, the King would be very angry.” The man chuckled. “That boy is always getting himself in trouble. He’s second in line for the throne if something were to happen to the Prince.”

“What’s your name? Mine is Fiona. I’ve just come here from…” Fiona was stopped mid-sentence by the man as he picked up her hand and distracted her.

“You can call me Ko.” The man said. He smiled at her and turned her palm over examining her hand. “For coming from a planet with no water, you sure have a good-looking, soft skin.”

“I didn’t even tell you where I came from yet,” she started to say again and then stopped as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

“You stand out here. I know everyone in this palace, every guard, every maid. It’s my job to know who belongs here, and who doesn’t. You are the daughter of a prime minister. You were sent her to marry the Prince.” He told her and gave her a grin that had her heart beating fast in her chest.

This good-looking man in front of her raised her pulse, got her all hot and all she could think about was kissing him. He was heroic, he had just saved a boy, and he knew all about her and she knew nothing about him.

“Ko, are you going to tell me about the Prince, or do I just have to wait and see?” She asked him sweetly. She knew she was flirting with this man, but she was attracted to him. She knew this wasn’t a good idea. She wasn’t here for him; she was here for the Prince. The way he looked at her, his mysterious, dark brown eyes and dark lashes had her thinking of decadent desserts.

“You’re not what I was expecting.” Ko told her and touched a strand of her hair before tucking it behind her ear. “As much as I’d love to stand here, conversing with you, I have to get back to the palace now. The King is going to want to know about his nephew, and I’m guessing you need to meet him now that you are officially here.”

“I’m dreading it, if can I tell you a secret,” she asked him, wondering if he’d keep it to himself. When he nodded she took a deep breath and confided the truth in him. “I didn’t really want to come here and marry anyone. I didn’t get much of a choice and I’ve heard rumors about the Prince that have me worried this marriage will be a mistake. I’ll do whatever it takes to save my planet and my people, but I’m worried the two of us will hate each other.”

“I don’t think he’ll hate you, and don’t believe everything you hear. He’s a good man, and maybe he’s not as thrilled to marry a woman who is being dumped in his lap any more than you are.” Ko told her and then gave her hand a squeeze before dropping it and walking back to the palace, leaving her standing there watching him walk away.

She watched him go, and then turned back to the water. She kicked her shoes off,  stripped off her socks and sunk her toes and feet into the chilly water. Sitting on the ground at the edge of the water, she let her feet splash and kick in the water and then shut her eyes.

It was bliss.

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“You met the girl and didn’t tell her who you were?” Jakobe’s father stared at him and shook his head. “I understand you met her and didn’t want to ruin the moment, but do you know how mad she’s going to be when she realizes you lied to her about who you are?”

“It wasn’t that simple father,” he stared at his dad and shrugged. “I will tell her when I see her again.”

“You shouldn’t have even been out there like that,” he said, glaring at Jakobe. He shook his head again, trying to understand his son.

“Well, I had to save Max, he decided he was going to swim in the lake and nearly drowned. She was going to save him, even though she doesn’t know how to swim and probably would have drowned herself. I admire that she would have tried, anyway. You need to put a guard on Max, if he’s going to be doing stupid things, he needs a caretaker.” Jakobe told his father, sounding irritated. Rescuing his cousin was not his idea of a fun afternoon. He disliked that his father often held him responsible for Max’s behavior. Max’s mother had died in childbirth, and his father had been killed on a diplomatic mission to an alien planet. Jakobe’s father, Krev, had decided that Jakobe was responsible for making sure his cousin survived to adulthood.

Max had advisors preparing him to be in line for the throne, should anything happen to both King Krev and Prince Jakobe. He would be expected to act as a diplomat for their planet when he grew up, and the boy seemed determined to get himself hurt. It was a constant battle to keep track of him.

“Please father, if I’m going to get married, you have to keep Max out of trouble, I cannot take care of him and my new wife to be at the same time and I get the impression she already hates me.” Jakobe sighed. “I want to be able to convince my wife I’m a decent guy and be able to focus my free time on her. I have enough obligations with royal commitments beside keeping track of Max.”

“You’re the Prince and you didn’t tell me?” Fiona gasped from the doorway, where she had appeared unnoticed. A guard had shown her to the throne room to meet the King and now she overheard Prince Jakobe – Ko - tell his father how he’d met her. “Why didn’t you tell me who you really…?”

“Stop right there,” Jakobe told her and put up his hand to say something. “I wanted to just have a normal human interaction for a change. You treated me like a person, not royalty and you didn’t look at me with hate, like you are right now.”

“I don’t hate you, I just don’t know you. I came here to marry you, and it seems like you couldn’t even respect me enough to tell me who you really are.” Fiona seethed inside. She stormed from the room without giving him a chance to respond to her and went to her room slamming the door behind her.

She took a few steps towards the bed when the door opened behind her and Jakobe walked in and shut the door quietly behind him.

“Do you think I wanted to marry a total stranger either?” He asked her with a raised brow.

“You messed with me on purpose, you’re an ass.” She told him and had to stop herself from grabbing a pillow off the bed and chucking it at his head.

“You’re upset. I get that. You’re on a new planet, you feel like you’re being sacrificed to save your entire planet from destruction, and you won’t even give me a chance. Did you ever stop to think how I feel? I didn’t get a say in my bride either, I’m not a monster but you’ve already decided I’m not someone you want to know,” Jakobe protested.

“I don’t have a choice but to get to know you, I just wanted to come here and have an honest conversation with the man I’m supposed to marry. I don’t know anything about you, but you’ve already lied to me by not telling me who you were.” Crossing her arms, Fiona glared at him.

Jakobe stared at her for a moment and then started to laugh. “Look, I get you’re upset. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you exactly who I was, but it was nice to be treated like a normal person for a change.”

“It still wasn’t a nice thing to do,” Fiona told him and was going to turn away from him when he grabbed her arm. “Let me go! And anyway, where’s your harem? When will I be joining them?”

For a moment Jacobe looked confused, and then burst out laughing. “Oh, the harem, that’s an old legend here. Many years ago that was the fashion and the way we did it, but now we’re monogamous. So no need to worry.”

Fiona looked relieved. “One less thing to worry about then,” she said.

“I can see the way you looked at me out at the lake. You liked me.” Jakobe smiled at her. He didn’t let her go, but his fingers gentled on her arm, touching her softer.

“I might have, until you lied to me,” raising a brow she stared at his hand on her arm.

“Kiss me,” he grinned at her.

Fiona jerked her head to look up at him and blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Kiss me Fiona. Let’s see if the fire I felt between us was real or my imagination.” He dipped his head and before she could protest and pressed his lips to hers.

Gasping when his lips touched hers, Jakobe surprised her when he stuck his tongue between her lips. He brought his arm up and around her waist, pulling her up against him. He wasn’t leaving anything to chance. This woman in front of him was a complete spitfire. He didn’t trust he could use his words to win her over, so instead he’d use his kisses.

Fiona was surprised when she found herself kissing him back. His lips tasted like an exotic wine and she closed her eyes and savored him. She was supposed to be angry that he didn’t tell her the truth, but in reality all she could think right now was the way he felt against her. He had strong, broad shoulders and arms. He was taller than her, but he wasn’t intimidating. He made her feel safe almost. It was a weird feeling. She was used to taking care of herself, having spent most of her life fighting for scraps and every drop of water she tasted, it was weird to be on a planet where she didn’t have to fight to survive. It was why she was here, to save her beloved home, Earth. She reminded herself of that as he deepened the kiss. He was supposed to be her husband, it was okay if she found him desirable, it was actually a good thing. It would make things easier.

Yet, she pulled back and broke their passionate kiss to look at him.

“Don’t think kissing me will make me forgive you not telling me who you really are.” She pointed a finger at him and stared, not blinking as she watched him laugh.

“Don’t tell me that you’ll be able to stay mad at me if I keep kissing you.” He had a cheeky grin on his face that almost irritated her. He was so smug and self-confident, arrogant.

“Maybe I won’t let you kiss me again,” Fiona retorted and turned sharply away from him to hide her smile. He was engaging. She didn’t know if this was some flirty game they were playing, or if he was getting under her skin. Either way, it felt dangerous. He felt dangerous to her. Emotionally at least. If she let herself like him, would it lead to more? If she fell in love with him, if he turned out to be the man he was rumored to be, would her heart be able to withstand it?

“Fiona?” He said her name gently, unsure why she turned away, he put a hand on her shoulder, startling her when he turned her around to face him.

“Do you plan on being faithful during our marriage?” She blurted it out, it hadn’t been her intention but it had clearly caught him of guard too. She looked up at him, searching his face. Feeling vulnerable that she uttered a thought out loud that had been private, one she hadn’t planned on blurting out quite like that.

“Of course, what kind of man do you think I am?” His eyes widened in shock and he dropped his hand from her shoulder. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I’m not a whore-monger. I don’t jump from one bed to another, I’m picky, and I wouldn’t have agreed to a wife if I didn’t plan on being a good husband to her.”

“You said earlier you didn’t get to pick your wife?” Fiona reminded him.

“But I willingly agreed to marry a woman whom I didn’t know, and my values are the same. It’s not in our nature to go outside of marriage. If we marry, it’s for life.” Jakobe said and looked shocked that she’d think otherwise. “I don’t know how it works on your planet, or what rumors you’ve heard about ours, or me, but I’m not that kind of man.”

“I’m sorry,” Fiona felt truly guilty for making assumptions. He looked so offended and almost hurt by her questions that she regretted asking them. “I just… I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“You should be.” He said and then shook his head. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

“What are you talking about?” Raising a brow at him, she was confused.

“This, our marriage, binding our planets together and having our relationship be something between us. I want love Fiona; I have to get married. I think you’re beautiful, you seem intelligent, but your emotional maturity has me doubting your ability to handle a grow up relationship here.” What he said sounded blunt, and it hurt her feelings.

“Emotional maturity, are you serious?” She gaped at him in surprise. “I was basically pulled out of my house one day, pushed onto a space ship, told what was expected of me and I didn’t even get a say at all in a matter that determines my future. I only had the trip to prepare myself emotionally to be married to a total stranger to save my planet. I arrived here, I met you and found out that my first encounter with my husband to be was a lie because he didn’t want to tell me who he is. You wanted to be treated like a normal person, I promise you, your highness, I will never kiss your ass,” she fumed.

Jakobe chuckled. “You sure? I can think of a few things with that mouth of yours that I’d love for you to kiss,” he grinned as a blush stole up her cheeks.

“Stop that! You can’t one minute insult me, then the next make sexual innuendos completely out of context.” Fiona clenched a fist and tried to take a deep breath. His comment about wanting love sunk in and she froze and stared at him. “Wait, did you say you wanted to fall in love?”

“Well, I didn’t say it exactly like that, but yes. I want love in my marriage. I would hope that we’d be able to come to love each other.”

“Why would that matter to you?” Fiona blinked at him completely shocked and her mind drawing a blank.

“Doesn’t it matter to you?” Jakobe tilted his head and looked at her like she was crazy.

Fiona stared at him for a moment and realized she wasn’t really mad at him. She was angry with the people back home who forced these decisions on her. “Okay, the truth is, I’m not really mad at you. You’re just the only person I can take it out on I guess, and it’s not fair. Be patient with me, I’m here, we’ll work this out, we’ll make this work. Just don’t get upset with me if I freak out. This is something I wasn’t prepared for and its new territory for me, literally. If you want to talk emotional maturity, they never prepared me for anything remotely like this in my entire life. There is no emotional anything when it comes to figuring a situation like this out.”

“But you find me attractive?” He asked her and took a step closer to her. When she didn’t back up, he reached out and touched her hair. It was soft and he rubbed the strands between his fingers as he looked down at her.

“Do I really need to even answer that?” Fiona asked him while snorting.

“Well, a man’s ego can always use hearing the woman he’s supposed to marry finds him attractive.” Jakobe laughed.

“Okay, fine. Yes, you’re a handsome man. Yes, I actually enjoyed your kisses, but I can’t promise not to freak out while we figure this out together. I promise not to run away if you promise not to hold it against me when I get overwhelmed. I wasn’t trained to be royalty, or be offered up like this to a Prince. I am a scholar. A scientist. I prefer books,” It’s sounded like a confession, and she hope he took it seriously. She dropped her gaze to his arm and watched it flex as he continued to touch her hair. They were good, strong arms, and she liked that.

“Can I show you something then?” Jakobe asked her and took her hand when she nodded at him.

He guided her out of the room and down a hallway, pushing open the doors he took her into a room that was filled three stories high with stairs and ladders, from floor to ceiling with books.

“We have a little bit of everything in here, from our history on Earth, to what brought us here, to our science and medicine, to even silly pastime books, though I can’t claim to have had much time to read those. I have books about other planets, cultures, and in other languages, if you need them translated, we have translated copies available. We have librarians, scholars who can assist you, but all of this – he waved his arm around the room – is at your disposal.” Jakobe waited, worried that she wouldn’t be nearly as excited by this room as he thought she’d be.

“This is amazing,” she gasped and stared at the room with wide eyed amazement. “I never thought something like this even exists. When they destroyed our eco-system, that meant books and trees and things, our educational material was on tablets, electronic devices, I haven’t held a real book in my hand before, I mean I know about them and my grandfather used to tell me stories about libraries and bookshops when I was a little girl. But this, its… it’s amazing.”

Walking over to one of the book shelves, she ran her fingers over the leather bindings and sighed in delight.

“I would like to see you this happy when you look at me,” Jakobe said as he watched her eyes light up as she examined the books and the room.

“Well, show me your true spirit, the real you, and maybe we’ll get there.” She replied, her back to him. Jakobe walked over to her and put his arm around her waist, he rested his chin on the top of her head and hugged her.