Authors: Kylie James
Chapter
Three
Lex woke up in a foul mood he
couldn’t seem to shake. After arguing with his alpha lioness, the next day, Lex
removed himself from the penthouse. He didn’t care to be around any of them at
the moment. He felt restless and needed fresh air.
“Sir, are you alright?” Eli
stood next to the door.
“I am starting to think I have
feelings for a human girl Eli. What do you think about that?”
“I think its fine sir, but
humans are not always so accepting of things they don’t understand. They can be
wary of lions and I’m sure you can understand why.”
“I do, but I want her to be
part of my life and I don’t know how to tell her.”
“Perhaps spend some more time
with her and make sure you really want her in your life before you start making
all these pride altering decisions.”
“I need to get away from the
grounds for a bit.” Lex moved out the front of the house and across the lawn.
The expansive balconies surrounding the apartment didn’t offer enough room, so
he roamed the park instead. Whenever he felt this way, the only cure was to get
back to nature. He didn’t mind the smells that assaulted his heightened senses
at the park. For the most part, they were fragrances from plants surrounding
him.
As he was on his third lap,
after spending hours walking, he happened to cross paths with the one person
who had dominated his thoughts since the previous night. She was dressed in
tight black shorts and a red sports bra as she jogged down the paved walking
track. Lex watched her for a few moments before she realized his presence and
her eyes snapped to his. Her pace slowed and she popped her ear buds out when
their paths crossed.
“Hi,” she said with a small
smile.
He could sense her
self-consciousness and attributed it to her covert departure the night before.
“I didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye to you last night,” he said.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.
Mel was getting hit on by this huge creep. We decided to sneak out while
everyone was listening to you.”
Something about the way she
averted her eyes when she spoke led him to believe she was speaking more of
herself than her sister. “What was his name? I might know him.” He had a pretty
good sense of people when they weren’t telling the truth. Some small part of
him enjoyed calling them on it and watching them squirm.
“Oh, it wasn’t that big a deal.
So, um, it was crazy running into you again. Unless you’re following me,” she
added with a laugh.
He joined her in laughing and
shook his head. “Not following, no. I also didn’t intend to make you
uncomfortable last night. I’m the kind of person who goes after the things in
life that I want. Sometimes, that’s intimidating to others. I’m sorry I caused
you to leave early.”
Having bluntly called her out
for lying about both her motives and her escape, Lex caught her gaze again, and
held her golden brown eyes with his penetrating blue stare. He felt the spark
of awareness pass between them, but allowed her to react to it in her own time.
Yep, he loved watching them squirm when caught in a lie. He also simply liked
watching her squirm.
“I’m just not used to men being
so forward,” she finally confessed.
“Then asking you to dinner
tonight would make you uncomfortable again,” he teased.
She laughed quietly again, but
shook her head. “I don’t go out with men who are already in relationships. My
sister told me you’re involved.”
Yes, he was involved. Other
lions understood the importance that came with his invitation. A human
wouldn’t. How could he explain it to her and not sound like a man whore? There
really wasn’t any way to tell her yet.
“All I’m offering is dinner. Nothing
fancy. No limos or diamonds or maître’d’s. We can get some takeout and have a
picnic here, if that’s what you’d like.” He tried to soften his face knowing
this was not a woman who responded to a demanding male.
The hesitation in her demeanor
was clear. She wanted to accept, but something more was holding her back. “I’m
only here for a few more days. I don’t live close by. What would be the purpose
of dinner?”
How could he convince her? He
didn’t care where she lived or what she thought of his pride. All that mattered
to Lex was what she thought of him.
Taking hold of her hand, he put
his all into it. “For whatever reason, Emma, our paths keep crossing. To me,
that means something in the universe wants us together. It could mean for a
lifetime. It could mean for a few months. It could just mean for dinner. Who
are we, in the grand scheme of some cosmic script, to question that intent?”
This time, her laugh held more
amusement than flirtation. “Well, when you put it like that, I really can’t
refuse, can I?”
“No, you really can’t,” he
agreed. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”
Her grin grew even more amused.
“Do you know where my sister lives?”
“I make it a point to know
everything about anything that matters. Eight.”
They parted ways, and Lex
returned to the penthouse. He smiled as he walked away feeling her eyes on his
back side. She wants me, he thought to himself. Lex was nothing if not
confident, but he had to admit to himself her hesitation threw him a bit. He
wasn’t used to rejection in any form. She might prove to be a challenge.
Chapter
Four
The moment he opened the door,
he walked straight into the middle of a melee between three of the lionesses.
They’d shifted into animal form and were going at one another while the others
stood around watching. Lorna sunk her teeth into the much larger Lissel and
caused the lioness to let out a huge growl and scream towards the smaller
threat.
“What is going on?” His voice
roared above the others.
Liona, still a bit apprehensive
around him, but ever the alpha lioness, stepped forward to explain. “Linnet
accused Lorna of taking her favorite pair of shoes. Lorna tried to shift the
blame to Lissel. I was allowing them to work it out on their own.”
Shaking his head, he left the
group in his wake as he retreated to the solitude of his study. It was all part
of pride politics. Normally, he dealt with it efficiently, but today, he just
didn’t have it in him. Frankly, he’d rather be with Emma and forget everything
about who he was right now.
But he couldn’t. His blood ran thick
with lion’s strength and pride. He couldn’t ignore who he was any more than he
could ignore the sun rising every morning. Wanting her with such ferocity,
hopefully, he could explain that to her in such a way so that he didn’t scare
her off. The best case scenario would be total acceptance. He didn’t count on
that. There was a lot to be said for a human woman who could grasp the concept
of him turning into a giant lion on a whim.
After an hour or so, he
returned to his pride, reprimanded his girls, and then laid out punishments for
their behavior. With that handled, he spent some time spoiling them since he
figured the bickering had really stemmed from a lack of his presence lately.
The women got restless when his attention was taken by anything else. With
harmony once again restored later that day, he planned out the details for his
date with Emma.
Promptly at eight, he knocked
on her sister’s apartment door and greeted her with a bouquet of wildflowers.
Despite his assurance that he would keep things casual, she’d dressed up a
little for him. Her white dress brought out the summer tan in her skin, and the
v-neckline gave him a peek at her amazing cleavage. He inhaled deeply taking
note of her sweet scent both natural and from the perfume she wore.
“So, where are we going?” she
asked once they reached the sidewalk.
“I know this great barbecue
place not far from here. We can walk if you want or catch a cab.”
He’d tucked her hand into his
arm once more, and she snuggled a little closer. “I don’t mind walking. I
should probably tell you, though. I’m a vegetarian.”
He chuckled to himself.
“What?”
He smiled down at her. “I was
just thinking that we couldn’t be any more opposite.”
“Yeah, my sister told me a
little more about you. We come from pretty different worlds.”
That was the truth, and she
didn’t even know the half of it. He could have told her right then, but the
sweet way she smiled up at him and tucked her hair behind her ear made him
hesitate. He didn’t want her to run screaming. He didn’t want her to look at
him like a freak. He didn’t even want her to end their night early because she
needed to “process,” or whatever excuse she came up with would be. He just
wanted to spend this one evening with this woman in the ignorant bliss of his
true identity. There would be time enough to tell her later.
Chapter
Five
The restaurant was small and
intimate, and much to their surprise, offered a few vegetarian alternatives.
While they ate, they talked. Emma told him about her childhood and her love for
her job. He allowed her to talk at length, asking questions and prodding for
more when she became embarrassed by how much she was sharing. It was hard for
him to get enough of her. He wanted to know everything and more about the
stunning woman.
She ate every bit of her
eggplant parmesan and made sweet little yum noises as she savored each
delicious bite. He had also gotten the eggplant in solidarity with
Lingering over a dessert of ice
cream and coffee, she finally turned the tables. “Okay, I absolutely insist that
I’ve talked enough about myself. I insist you tell me about you now.”
Having already paid the check,
Lex hesitated, letting her finish her dessert before suggesting they go for a
walk instead of directly answering her. It wasn’t until they’d covered a full
block in companionable silence that he finally decided to open up.
“My childhood wasn’t as easy or
as charmed as you would think. I wasn’t very well understood,” he began. “There
was something missing from my life and the children around me could sense that
I was different.
She patted his arm and smiled.
“Lots of kids feel that way. I imagine you were more normal than you think.”
“No,” he argued with a pointed
look. “I wasn’t.”
His clipped tone silenced any
further assurances she might make, and she remained silent while he continued
talking.
“My peers didn’t know what to
make of me, and I eventually pulled away from the public. Money allowed for
tutors, so I did get a thorough education, but growing up was never easy. Once
I reached adulthood, I was constantly facing one challenge after another. I
constantly had to prove who I was, what my bloodlines were. I fought to be
where I am. For everyone surrounding me, it’s still very lonely at times.”
“It sounds like it,” she agreed
in a soft voice. “Money can be very isolating.”
Looking down at her once more,
he stopped walking and turned to fully face her. He placed his hands on her
shoulders to make absolutely certain he had her full attention before revealing
this last bit about himself.
“It’s not the money that
isolates me, Emma.” He took a breath. “I can change my form. I’m a lion, Emma.
I head a pride, the largest in the city. I would like, very much, for you to
become a part of it. Don’t answer me right now. Think about it. I’ll give you
some time, and then, we’ll talk again.”
Having purposefully walked her
back to her sister’s apartment, he directed her inside, hating the shocked and
slightly numb expression he’d caused on her face. There was nothing he could do
about it now, however. She’s completely enraptured him over the course of
dinner, and he’d decided honesty was his best course of action where she was
concerned.
With her in mind, as soon as he
returned home, he ordered his pride to their respective corners of the
penthouse, well away from his own bedroom. He didn’t feel right about sharing
his bed with anyone until he spoke with Emma again, no matter that it was
normal for two or three to curl up with him on any given night. Emma wasn’t a
lion. She wouldn’t understand until he explained. For her sake, he was going to
play by proper human rules. There was something different about her and it made
him want to change.
Someone knocked on his door, as
he sat up in bed reading, to try and become tired.
“Come in.”
Lissel walked in and stood in
his doorway. She only wore a robe and had it open to reveal she wore nothing
beneath it. Her blonde hair was down and she swished it purposely as she moved
towards him.
“My King, it’s time for me to
become your favorite again, don’t you think? Liona has had her turn as the
alpha and I am tired of being sidelined.”
Lissel was his only lioness
with blue eyes; the rest had black or gold. She was a bit younger than the
others and always wanted more attention than the others. He could tell she was
in a wild mood and she proved it by running up and jumping on the bed. Her eyes
flashed and she crawled towards him.
“Not tonight Lissel.”
Her eyes flashed again and she
crawled up his body licking his neck. She was a persistent little thing. Her
nails ran up his arm and she pressed her lips to his trying to convince him she
was what he wanted. Lex growled and threw her into the floor. She hit and
rolled instantly glaring back up at him.
She jumped up and debated
attacking him, he could see it in her eyes, but she would lose and she knew she
would. There wasn’t a lioness strong enough to take him on. Finally, she moved
towards the door.
“Your loss my King, your loss.”
He knew she’d be back and it would be hard to continue telling her no without
angering the rest of the pride. It used to be something he really liked about
being the ruler, but something about Emma had caused his desire for his lioness
to grow dim. He simply wanted her and it was something he was going to make
happen.