“They seem to sense the magic within us, and they don’t like it,” said Leon. He shrugged, muscles rippling, and flipped his hair out of his eyes. “I’m not sure why, but I do know that most animals either go on the offensive or take off running whenever I get too close.” Like a dog or cat straying too close to a squirrel in the city, I thought. They always took off long before the animals could get a hold of them. Cars killed more squirrels in the city than anything else, as far as I knew.
“That’s… odd.” It took me a moment to find the right word. Even then, I wasn’t sure if it was the word he wanted me to use. But it was true – it was odd. Odd that animals would be so terrified of magic. Odd that a shifter could not blend in around animals. I wasn’t much for speculation around the supernatural, as I hadn’t grown up believing in magic or other such things, but even I knew that this seemed like a strange shortcoming in the otherwise magnificent magic of these powerful – and gorgeous – people. I swallowed hard at that last thought and tried not to look at Leon. It was useless. My eyes were constantly drawn to his flawless beauty. To his shaggy hair, his golden skin, his feline eyes, and his powerfully and gorgeously cut physique. Just seeing him flexing as he moved from spot to spot in the forest stirred heat deep inside me and set my knees quivering. I swallowed hard and forced myself not to lick my lips. I wanted to lick him. It was a thought that struck me strangely but deeply. I wanted to reach out and touch him, stroke him, suck on his neck, do things to him I had never dreamed of doing to another human being.
But then, Leon wasn’t any other human being.
“Are you all right?” asked Leon, jerking me out of my thoughts, which had strayed to wondering how hair-covered he was.
“Um…”
“Your heart rate is increasing.” He didn’t look over his shoulder as he spoke, so he couldn’t see the look of shock on my face, but I’m sure he heard it in my voice.
“What?” I asked, staring at him incredulously. I stumbled a bit as I spoke. How did he know these things, and why hadn’t he said anything before? Oh God, if he could hear my heart beating… I felt my face heat up from embarrassment. Did he know of my attraction then? Of my deep-seated want to be close to him, to touch him, to embrace him? Did my heart reveal that much, or did he have another way of sensing it?
“I can hear your heart beating,” said Leon, as though I hadn’t already figured it out. “And I can also tell when your core temperature is rising.”
“Okay…” I drew out the word and scowled at him, hands shaking as I stuffed them into my pockets. “What else can you do? What can all shifters do?”
Leon was silent for a minute as we walked. He seemed to roll the words over in his mind as his eyes gained a faraway look. But even in his distant state he still moved with the graceful slink of a cat. I stumbled over myself a few times just watching him walk. The flick of his hips, the roll of his shoulders, it was all breath-taking and exhilarating. I could barely keep my breath. The want, no, the need to reach out and touch him made me want to scream.
“It depends on the shifter,” he said, finally. I didn’t bother to shake myself out of my more lustful thoughts this time. The low growl of his voice only served to enhance the mental image I had. “Feline shifters have the advantage of eyes and ears, along with our physical prowess-” I smirked at the phrase, he had no idea. “-but other shifters have other abilities. It all depends on our shifted creature.”
I nodded. “So, what, does your pride use your abilities all the time?” I asked. Leon jumped up onto a fallen log and darted across it. Once across, he held out his hand to me so I could follow.
“Yes and no,” he said. “My pride is small, as I said. I only have about half a dozen females left, maybe less. So we tend to stay away from humans. Because of this, I actually don’t know if we are always using our abilities, as we simply don’t have a benchmark to check.”
“So how does pride life work, exactly?” I asked. I imagined lions in their cages at the zoo overlapped with those on the plains of their homelands. Those images were fast replaced with images of lions running through jungle, though I knew that wasn’t true, and the trees were replaced with skyscrapers made of glass and steel. The concrete jungle, so to speak.
“What do you mean?” asked Leon.
“You live in cities, or at least close to them; you obviously hunt, whether for animals or for mates; and you live in a polygamous relationship with six women.” I counted the facts off on my fingers. “I’m trying to figure out how it all works.”
“My beta and I actually share the lionesses of the pride,” corrected Leon. I raised an eyebrow at him. Before, I’d been skeptical about the polygamy of his lifestyle, but now I was merely curious. My earlier scorn and judgment was gone, replaced with a gentle curiosity.
“Oh?” I turned to him as we walked and urged him to continue on.
Our path carried us over a small hill and through trees so tall I could scarcely see the tops as he spoke. “We live in the forests, in much the way you would expect, but we also have jobs in the cities. We need supplies, food, shelters, and those are things which largely require money.” He sighed. “Unfortunately. We used to be able to live solely on our own, but that simply isn’t possible anymore.” He laughed. “That’s not to say it isn’t fun. We live together, eat together, play together, and love together. We only go into the cities when we need to and most of our funds come from our hunting.” A wistful look passed his face. “Until today, I didn’t think anyone ventured this far into the forest.”
“Usually I don’t,” I said quietly. My voice trailed off as new images of the shifter life came into my mind: lions and humans lounging by the water and living in cabins together; lions racing through the forests only to flip into humans at the last second; lions fighting together and enjoying life to the fullest, without the hustle and bustle of the cities to slow them down or to stop them. I sighed, wistful. The life of a shifter seemed so calm, so peaceful, compared to the lives of the people I lived with. If the worst they had to worry about were territory wars, then maybe shifter life was the best life to live. It helped, I thought, with a sidelong glance, that the leader of the pride was as attractive and kind as Leon.
“It sounds lovely,” I said after a bit of silence.
Leon nodded. “That it is,” he agreed. “I couldn’t imagine living any other way.” And, thinking about it, I could definitely see why. After living so peacefully for so long, what must he think about the filth and noise that was the city? What must he think of the people who wandered into the edges of the forest, disturbing his home? What must he think of me? I nibbled on my lower lip and looked away from him.
“Are you all right?” he asked me, and I managed a weak nod, though I could tell he wasn’t convinced.
“Are you all right?” In the thirty seconds between my nod and my question, Leon had changed. His hair hung limp now, his hands shaking as he stuffed them in his pockets. His entire body seemed to be slowly coating itself in a layer of sweat. Short, fast breaths puffed into the air around him, hot and smoky enough that I could feel the residual breeze from them. I had to stare. This didn’t look healthy or natural. I’d never seen someone look so sick so quickly.
“Yes,” he rasped, and it was my turn to not believe him. But I didn’t press, not at that moment. I was trying to sort out my feelings. A hard swallow made me ground myself, but it wasn’t enough. Staring at Leon as he sweated through his shirt was making my body thrum. And it only took a moment for me to realize that he was staring back.
“Are you sure?” I asked again. He stared at me, his steps slowing down until we were standing across from one another. “Leon?”
In an instant he leapt forward, wrapping his arms around me. I didn’t have a moment to wonder what he was doing, for in the next instant he had pressed his lips to mine. Fire ripped through my body and I threw my arms around him. Hot, wet heat poured between our mouths and I lapped it up with a vigor I didn’t know I possessed. Our tongue
s danced . I struggled for air as we entangled ourselves together.
Then the moment was gone. Leon pulled back, panting hard and staring at me. His pupils were so wide, his eyes were pure black. His gaze so intense that I could not tear myself from it. Distantly, I knew I was panting, but I could feel nothing but for the intense heat that pooled along every inch of my body.
“Leon,” I managed. It was a breathy sigh of a word, dancing in the air between us. He growled, low and hungry. He came at me again, and this time I met him in the middle.
CHAPTER FOUR
Leon’s growls rolled through my body as he pushed himself against me. We stumbled backwards, bodies aching and shaking with raw want and need. I hit a tree, the bark pushing hard against my back. I arched toward Leon, half out of pain and half out of lust. He bared his teeth and dragged them across my neck. It was too light to break the skin, but the pain was there. It brushed my skin, sending lightning sharp sparks of hunger through my body. They rolled into my stomach, swirling lower until the heat between my legs made me want to clench them together and rub.
A low laugh erupted from Leon’s throat, rumbling across my skin. He tugged at my shirt, tearing it over my head and throwing it into the fallen leaves all around us. I tossed back my head and it hit the rough bark of the tree. The breeze danced across my bare skin. Leaves stirred around my feet. The hair on my arms rose up, and I hummed. The cool breeze shook me to my core. It tangled with the heat deep in my stomach and curled around my arms. I gasped, feeling the cold dance across my nipples. My bra was gone, dangling from one of Leon’s hands. He smirked at me, eyes black as night, and lunged for one of my breasts.
His teeth were sharp, but they came just short of breaking the skin. I gasped, loud and hot as he wrapped his lips around my nipple and sucked. His teeth grazed the sensitive skin and I squirmed. My lust was getting unbearable, and my pants were hot and uncomfortable.
“Leon,” I managed. And he chuckled again. It rolled into a low growl as I buried my hands into his thick hair. I could feel the heat coming off me in waves. I could feel the heat coming off him in a constant stream. It burned my fingertips and my breasts. Everywhere he touched, heat exploded across my body. A spider web of heat and wet and want.
“Yes?” The word was breathed into my throat. His mouth followed. He planted hot kisses against my throat. He moaned, rolling his entire body toward me. He pushed his body against mine, panting against my throat as he continued to press down kisses. The kisses trailed lower and lower, lips finding my collar bone, my breasts again, and even lower. His lips and tongue lingered at a nipple. He nipped and tugged at it with his teeth, drawing it out. His tongue swept circles around the pert flesh, dancing gooseflesh across my arms and breasts. I gripped his hair with one hand and gasped. The other hand grabbed the tree behind me for support. The bark bit hard, sparking the smell of blood. I didn’t care.
“More,” I breathed. “More!” Leon obeyed. His tongue swirled lower and lower, trailing down my stomach and stopping at my belly button. He lapped at the little hole, tickling it. His nose nuzzled my stomach. He was uncharacteristically gentle, but only for a moment. Seconds later his hands were digging hard into my hips. I slid down the tree, my knees buckling. He grabbed my legs below the knee and wrapped them around my waist. My back dug hard into the tree behind me as I was pushed back up the tree.
With a fierce growl Leon pushed against me, his teeth and tongue finding purchase against my skin. He groaned against my throat and licked at the bruises he was leaving with his teeth. I gasped, hips bucking against him. I pressed against a thick hardness in his front. I couldn’t help a gasp and a smirk. His pants couldn’t be comfortable. The thought thickened the arousal that lit my veins on fire.
Leon’s hands found my pants and pulled. He dragged them down my legs. They got caught for a second on my shoes, and then he was dragging those off too. My socks hung half off my feet. My panties were the only thing left on my body. The breeze ripped through again, chilling my skin as it burned up under Leon’s fingers. The heat coming off him was becoming unbearable. I gasped and bucked against it. I wanted more, but it burned. It burned like nothing else in this world. My entire body writhed in pleasure beneath Leon’s hands. He held me against the tree with his hips and legs, and used his hands and mouth to find the sweet spots on my body. I couldn’t believe he could hold me up. Even with his stature, I was still much broader than he was. He must have been incredibly strong to hold me up with only his legs.
“So beautiful,” murmured Leon. It was the first words he’d said the entire time. His fingers traced the pale lines of old stretch marks, his eyes swept my curves. His eyes grew even darker as he traced the arc of my hips. My body shuddered beneath his gaze.
“Leon,” I breathed in return. He grinned at me, feral and hungry, and he sucked on my neck. His hands curved around my hip before diving beneath my panties.
I shrieked. Whether in surprise or in pleasure, I wasn’t sure. His fingers pressed into the damp heat of my womanhood. His knuckles brushed against my entrance. Lightning danced across my body, racing through my veins. My toes curled reflexively, my entire body going rigid and then relaxed against his hands. Leon grinned against my throat.
Then my panties were off. Tugged hard and dragged down off my body. They tore on the way down, ripping against my leg. Then they were gone. And I was naked. The breeze was cold, but it no longer bothered me. What bothered me was the fact that Leon was still completely dressed, and I was naked in the woods. I tugged at his clothes, growling quietly. He blinked, and for a second I saw some of the single-minded arousal fade from his eyes.
Together, we tore off his clothes. His shirt and pants were easy enough, and when his boxers came off I couldn’t help but stare. Every inch of Leon’s golden skin was covered in muscle. Flexing, sweating muscle that rippled with his every move. And his impressive length bobbed between us, the head dark with pounding blood.
He smirked when he saw me staring, and just like that the lust overtook his eyes again. He shoved himself against my body. I was on fire. Heat pounded through every inch of my body. It came from his hands, his mouth, his eyes. It came from Leon himself, pouring off him in waves too hot to stay still. I gasped and writhed beneath him, squirming against the tree. I wanted more. I wanted to feel him completely, and I knew he wanted the same.
With surprising gentleness, Leon shifted my weight back against the tree. My legs were wrapped around his waist again, and I wound my arms around his shoulders. He pressed a passionate kiss to my mouth, and pressed two fingers inside my womanhood. I gasped at the sudden intrusion and at the quickness of his fingers. They curled and pressed deep inside me, brushing hot spots that sent flashes of white-hot hunger through my body. My toes curled again, my entire body shuddering as he touched me. He pressed in a third finger, and another kiss. And then I was empty, my body quivering with want.
I stared at him with hooded eyes, and a slow smile split my face. He looked back at me, his own eyes huge and black with lust. I nodded and, without another pause, Leon lined himself up and pushed inside me.
Leon’s gentleness ended there. He pressed deep inside me, growling around the curve of my neck. His thrusts pushed me hard against the tree and left the bark digging into the soft expanse of my skin. I gasped, head thrown back and neck exposed. My entire body vibrated. Heat pulsed through my veins. It lit my skin on fire over and over, the fire dying with each gust of wind only to be renewed anew when Leon thrust himself deep inside me. My fingers clenched on his shoulders. My nails dug hard into his skin. He growled, and I felt fur bristle along his shoulders. But he did not shift.
I bucked hard against him. My body screamed for more, but I didn’t know what else I could give it. Leon’s teeth dragged themselves across my exposed throat. He thrust deeper and deeper inside me. My hands scrambled for purchase, my body ached for release. His movements grew faster and more erratic. I screamed, again and again I screamed as he buried himself deep inside me.<
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He went faster and faster. My body bucked harder. We scrambled together, struggling to hold ourselves upright. My legs went weak. Stars exploded in my vision. My body, pressed so tightly against his, found its release. I threw back my head and it slammed into the tree. I screamed myself hoarse as lightning coursed through my veins.
Leon found his own release as the heat overwhelmed me. My toes curled tightly. He pumped his hips over and over, forehead falling to my neck. In just a few seconds, it was over, and we slid to the ground, naked and spent.
CHAPTER FIVE
For a few minutes, we were both silent, and we bathed in the afterglow of our coupling. I curled into Leon’s side, content to use his warmth as a shield from the breeze, and he draped an arm around me, his entire body relaxed. I drifted, my entire body relaxed and content with pleasure and warmth.
“Leon?” I asked after a while.
Seduced By The Lion Alpha Page 4
