The Girl and the Lion (Sanctuary Book 1)

by Stella Night

  He pulled away to look at her. “You’re more beautiful than ever. What you did. That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen. You saved my life.”

  “We both saved each other. I told you we’d make it through this as long as we stuck together. And you wanted me to stay at the Sanctuary.”

  He smiled. “You were right. I should have listened to you.”

  “Remember that the next time.”

  “I will.” He looked down into her eyes

  “I love you, too,” she said. “You know, just in case you didn’t realize that already.”

  He kissed her gently, careful not to disturb the wounds on her face. The kiss was deep and soulful. Better than any kiss he’d ever experienced. This was what love feels like, he thought.

  Finally, they pulled apart. Dimitri helped her to her feet. She looked around the warehouse, taking in the devastation.

  “It looks like a hurricane rolled through here,” she said.

  “It really does feel like the calm after the storm.”

  She looked over at Conrad’s body. The tiger was gone, leaving the body of a sad old man. “Is he dead?”

  Dimitri nodded. “He is. He’ll never hurt anyone ever again.”

  “Good. And Garrett?”

  Dimitri led her over to where Garrett had fallen. His body was gone.

  “I guess he made it,” Dimitri said. “I wonder where he went.”

  As if the words had summoned him, Garrett limped into view. He was fully clothed and carrying a large duffel bag.

  “I’m here,” he said. “Still alive. I went looking for some clothes while you two were making out. And look what I found.”

  He opened the bag. Bundles of cash spilled out the top of it. Dimitri whistled softly.

  “That’s a lot of dough,” Dimitri said.

  “Yeah, I guess our friends forgot to take it with them when they bailed.”

  Dimitri grinned. “Yeah, an angry bear tends to have that effect on people.”

  Garrett laughed. “Well, it helps to have a scary ass black lion as my sidekick.”

  “I am not your sidekick,” Dimitri said. “Don’t forget, I outrank you soldier.”

  Garrett nodded. “What do you say we split it? Think of it as an apology for acting like such a dick earlier.”

  Sadie frowned. “We can’t take that. I mean, can we? It’s drug money.”

  “I’m sure as hell not leaving it here for the cops to find,” Garrett said. “I figure Conrad owes us for all the trouble he put us through.”

  Sadie chewed her lower lip indecisively. “Well, when you put it that way…”

  “Although to be honest, I’d trade it all for the antidote.”

  “Oh,” Sadie said. “That reminds me.”

  She ran over to the black case where it lay on the floor and brought it back. “There’s one dose left.”

  “Well, that’s not good,” Dimitri said. “Both of you are poisoned.”

  Garrett shrugged. “You take it. It’s my fault you got poisoned in the first place. It’s only right.”

  Sadie shook her head. “I’ve got a better idea. But first, we need to get the hell out of here.”

  Chapter 17

  Back at the Sanctuary, Sadie got busy tending to everyone’s wounds. Even her own.

  Stitching up her own face while looking in the mirror took some getting used to, but she thought she did a pretty good job nonetheless. The claw marks would probably scar, but it was a small price to pay all things considered.

  Dimitri and Garrett’s injuries were a lot easier. As shifters, they healed faster than normal humans. It wasn’t instantaneous or anything, but they were in much better shape than they had any right to be. She envied them a little for that.

  Now they were gathered in the clinic while Sadie fiddled around with different chemicals.

  “So you’re saying you can make an antidote now?” Dimitri asked.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Now that I have the antidote, I can analyze it’s chemical matrix and recreate the mixture.”

  “Was that English?” Garrett asked, sipping on some of Sadie’s homemade treatment tea.

  “Told you she was smart,” Dimitri said, beaming with pride.

  “I don’t know,” Garrett said. “If she ended up with a guy like you…”

  “You know,” Sadie said. “I don’t have to give you the antidote.”

  Garrett laughed. “Okay, fair enough. I take it back.”

  The group lapsed into a comfortable silence while Sadie worked. There was something nice about having people around at the Sanctuary with her. It felt right.

  Maybe she was just happy they’d made it through the madness of the last week. It had only been a short time since Dimitri had shown up, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Now she couldn’t imagine being without him.

  Funny how so much had changed in so short a time. She glanced at the stacks of cash sitting on the table beside her. She’d never seen so much money in all her life. Her initial guilt at taking the money had already faded. The cash had come from a bad place but she was going to put her share to good use.

  “So what are you two going to do with your cut?” she asked.

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” Garrett said. “Maybe settle down somewhere. Spend my time fishing.”

  “You know, you’re welcome to stay here with us for a while,” Sadie said.

  “‘Us?’” Garrett asked, turning to Dimitri. “I guess that means you’re sticking around, too.”

  “Oh, I’m not leaving this woman’s side ever again,” Dimitri said. “As long as she’ll have me.”

  Sadie looked over at him, affection swelling inside her. “I guess I can keep you around for a while.”

  “Oh, is that so?” Dimitri asked, getting up and pulling her into his arms. “You guess?”

  She giggled. “Yeah, I guess.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, filling her with heat. She leaned into him, loving the way his body felt against hers.

  “Stop it already,” Garrett moaned. “You two are giving me diabetes.”

  Sadie pulled away with a sigh. “Don’t be jealous, Garrett. We’ll find you a woman of your own.”

  He pulled a face. “I don’t know about all that. I’ll settle for the antidote and a place to sleep.”

  “Yes, let me finish this up. It’s almost ready.”

  “I think I might hang out around here for a while,” Garrett said. “I think I owe you both a beer for saving my ass. Besides, it’s nice to be around friends. Both old and new.”

  “I know what you mean,” Sadie said. “Things have been so quiet around here for the last year. It’ll be nice to have some life around here again.”

  “I’ll happily earn my keep,” Garrett said. “I’m pretty good with animals.”

  “Just try to stay out of bear form,” Dimitri said. “You don’t want to scare them.”

  “This coming from the scariest lion I’ve ever met.”

  “Actually, you’re both free to roam around in your shifter form,” Sadie said. “This place is private and secluded. You can be yourselves out here without worrying about revealing your secret.”

  Garrett nodded. “A real sanctuary.”

  “A real home,” Dimitri said.

  ***

  The antidote worked as promised. Sadie felt better the moment it entered her system. Garrett did, too.

  Now that she was feeling like herself again, she couldn’t wait to get some alone time with Dimitri.

  Dimitri had sent Garrett out to deal with the three men still locked up in cages. They were just going to let them go. Conrad was dead, his empire shattered. They weren’t a threat any longer. But just to be sure, Garrett was going to give them a stern talking to. He promised he could be persuasive. Sadie didn’t want to know what that meant.

  All she knew was that he would be out of their way for a while.

  As soon as he was gone, Dimitri and Sadie retired to her bedroom. They’d bar
ely made it in the door before they’d started kissing and ripping the clothes off one another.

  All of the danger and adrenaline really got her engine revving. Or maybe it was just Dimitri who had that effect on her. Either way, when he closed the door behind them and kissed her, her body lit up like fireworks.

  His hands roved over her body, like he was savoring every inch of her. His touch lit trails of fire over her skin. Liquid heat rushed through her veins.

  “I love you, Sadie,” he said, his voice husky and low. The sound of it sent a thrill through her.

  “I love you, too, Dimitri.”

  He looked deep into her eyes. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I never want to leave your side again. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be my mate.”

  “I want that, too. Wait, is being your mate like a shifter thing?”

  “It is. It’s a bond stronger than marriage. Stronger than anything. It means we’ll be connected forever, you and I.”

  “I’d like that. How does it work?”

  “I have to mark you.” He seemed to see the concern on her face. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. In fact, I’m told it’s quite pleasurable.”

  “Then I want that.”

  He slanted a firm, intense kiss over her mouth. His strong hand curled against the small of her back, pulling her body close to his. She loved the way it felt to lean against his strong, masculine frame. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the man she was always meant to be with. Their bodies just seemed to fit perfectly together.

  Electricity crackled through every nerve ending in her body. He lit a fire inside her that felt amazing.

  She’d needed this after everything they’d been through. The longing for him had built up into a deep, hollow ache that only he could fill. But it wasn’t just the danger and the excitement that had her feeling this way.

  What she felt at that moment went beyond the physical. It wasn’t just the way he kissed her or the way he touched her. There was an intimacy between them now. It was like she knew for sure now what it was like to be in love and what it was like to be loved.

  It was the greatest feeling in the world.

  All the obstacles they’d faced felt like they’d been worth it. When two people were truly meant to be together, nothing in the world could keep them apart. Not drug lords, not poison, not even the threat of death itself.

  Sadie and Dimitri’s love had overcome all of those things to bring them together here in this moment, and Sadie intended to make the most of it.

  Her fingers hooked into the waistband of his pants and she pulled him back towards the bed. It was the only urging he needed. They tumbled into bed together, his body pressed over hers.

  He trailed kisses down her neck, sending shivers through her. His sure hands pulled her shirt off, revealing her breasts to his hungry gaze.

  He kneaded her breast gently and took her nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it until it hardened to a sensitive point.

  Dimitri was gentle and attentive. It was like he was taking his time to savor her body and milk as much pleasure from her as possible. Apparently, she hadn’t been the only one looking forward to this moment.

  “That feels so good, Dimitri,” she moaned. “Please don’t ever stop.”

  Her body writhed on the bed beneath him, overwhelmed by the sensations he awoke within her. His mouth teased and nipped at her breasts, first one, then the other. And his hands stroked over her skin, caressing all of her most sensitive places.

  He spread Sadie’s thighs and gazed down at her center. Then he brushed his lips over her thighs, kissing her and licking her and working her up into a frenzy.

  She pushed her hips forward, begging him for more. He took her cue and lapped at her greedily. His tongue slid between her lips, and she threw back her head and moaned. Dimitri licked and sucked at her sensitive mound, trailing his tongue up her slit until it found her swollen clit.

  His tongue swirled around her hard bud, stroking it with just the right amount of pressure to get her hips squirming and her pulse racing. He slid a finger into her soaking depths as his tongue tortured her clit, driving her wild.

  His stroking finger worked inside her, sending waves of pleasure through her aching body. She could already feel the orgasm building inside her. She was panting and moaning as he pleasured her with his skilled mouth until finally she couldn’t hold back any longer.

  A wave of pleasure crashed over her, washing her away in its current. Her whole body tightened up and trembled with the force of her release.

  Her body collapsed back onto the bed, breathless and quivering.

  When Sadie could breathe and think again, she looked into his eyes.

  Dimitri trembled with anticipation, and she loved him for that. It made her feel sexy and desirable, the way every woman should feel.

  He positioned himself over her. She could feel his cock nestle between her legs, right at her throbbing entrance. He grabbed the base of his shaft and stroked her folds with his head, soaking it in her juices and teasing her lips apart.

  Then Dimitri thrust inside her. She gasped at the feeling and her face twisted up with pleasure. He slowly started pumping his hips against hers, stroking his cock inside of her. Sadie moaned at the feeling. He picked up the pace of his thrusts, moving deeper and faster.

  The feeling of him was intense. Dimitri seemed to find parts of Sadie she never knew existed. He was a master at coaxing pleasure from her body, confirming her feelings that they were a perfect match for each other. This was more than attraction. This was fate.

  “Dimitri,” she moaned. “I want you to mark me. Make me yours forever.”

  Dimitri looked down into her eyes, and she shivered at the look of desire and love in their warm blue depths. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life. I don’t want to spend another moment not being yours completely.”

  Dimitri leaned down to kiss her. At the same time their lips met, he thrust himself deeply inside her. She moaned into his mouth, savoring the feeling. He planted kisses down her cheek and her neck until he reached her shoulder.

  She readied herself, closing her eyes and trembling with anticipation. “Do it,” she whispered.

  Dimitri’s teeth sunk into Sadie’s skin. There was some pain, but not as much as she’d expected. Her shoulder felt tingly and warm, kind of the way the rest of her body was feeling but a little different.

  She could feel something change between her and Dimitri, like they were connected not just physically but spiritually. She could feel him inside her mind, almost like a sixth sense had been awoken inside her.

  It was like a vague impression of his emotions and feelings. She could feel the love he felt for her, along with the desire and arousal coursing through his body. It was like his pleasure gave her pleasure now, spiraling together to make her feel the most intense thrill of her entire life.

  “Oh my god,” she breathed. “Do you feel that?”

  She could tell by the look on his face that he did. “Yes. I had no idea it would be like this.”

  “It’s incredible,” she said. “I’ve never felt so…”

  “Connected,” Dimitri said, finishing the thought.

  She nodded. “Exactly.” An impish grin spread across her face. “Well now that we’re so connected, let’s see what making love is like.”

  Dimitri grinned back at her and plunged into her depths. The feeling was almost too intense to handle now. Sadie threw her head back and moaned wildly.

  Dimitri leaned down and took her nipple in his mouth while he thrust inside her. Then he planted kisses all over her chest, neck, and lips. Sadie felt drunk with pleasure.

  He pumped his hips, sliding in and out of her with a steady, maddening rhythm. She moaned as he increased his pace, plunging himself into her deeper and deeper.

  Waves of ecstasy washed over her, consuming her with pleasure until she thought she
might break into a million little pieces.

  “Come for me, Sadie,” Dimitri whispered.

  It was all the urging she needed. A tidal wave of pleasure rolled over her, sweeping her away with its fury. She felt her whole body tense up and shake. His body froze over hers as his cock spasmed inside her, filling Sadie with his fertile seed.

  Time seemed to stop as they came together. Nothing else in the world seemed to exist but the two of them in that room, connected in a way that could never be broken.