Page 34 of Wrong Number, Right Lion

And I did. We both gasped, and my head fell back as I wallowed in the delicious feelings that were swirling around me.

Kalen trailed a finger from the base of my throat, around my belly button and to my dick, still hard, and pointing at him. He ignited more heat and a fierce hunger that had me wanting to fuck him hard.

Slamming onto his cock, the soft cheeks of my bottom were cushioned by his flesh while his length lunged into me. Each thrust made it harder to breathe or speak, and what emerged were tiny squeaks and whimpers.

He grabbed my dick and pumped it. Now he was stoking the fire inside me, the one he’d kindled, and it was raging, sending lust coiling around me, making me its prisoner. And I welcomed it.

But my energy was fading and my head lolled forward. I needed more recovery time to hoist myself up. Instead of non-stop fucking, I wriggled my ass, angling my hips and tilting my pelvis.

Kalen’s eyes glowed, and he tugged my cock while with the other hand, he brought me closer, flicking his tongue around my lips and shoving it between them. I snagged it with my teeth, his body jolted, and he hissed.

Pushing myself upright, I lifted myself up and eased down, keeping my eyes on him, enjoying his grunts.

But as anticipation stirred in my belly, I slammed onto him, over and over, his panting and gasps mimicking my own.

“I love you and not just because we’re fucking.”

“You’d better.” I had a burst of energy. Maybe a declaration of love did that. Who knew?

Now I rode him just like that bronco I’d described. There was no more talking. Just fucking and Kalen pumping my cock. Beads of sweat hurled from the tips of my hair across the bed and onto my mate, while more dribbled down my chest.

I was so close, so close and… “Yes! Kalen!” My orgasm had been creeping up, but it took me by surprise and slammed into me. Cum sprayed over my mate as he heaved his hips up, pushing his cock deep inside me, and let go. His yell filled the room, the echo zigzagging around us.

My body was limp, my mind needing a rest, but I had to perform a ritual.

As his knot expanded, I fell forward and wanting to scrap my nails diagonally across his chest. What was that about?

18

KALEN

I had no idea what I was doing, and my brother was less than zero help. He didn’t understand why I wanted to buy a ring for my mate. To him, we were mated, and that was that. Getting engaged and married was redundant in his mind. He tried to be supportive, but as far as giving me advice went, he couldn’t be my go-to source.

And I understood exactly where he was coming from. If Arlo hadn’t been human, our mating would’ve been our everything as far as commitments went. But he was human, and I wanted to make this as special for him as I possibly could. And that was why I watched endless reels of proposals, read far too many blogs about how to ask your partner to be your forever, and was going to be the first person in my family to be engaged… ever.

But despite all my research, I was still clueless. I needed to find someone who could bridge the gap between my knowledge and my goal. That person was my co-worker, Madeline. Her late mate had been a rabbit shifter, and he’d made very different choices than I had, not telling her about his animal until they had a child who was about ready to have their first shift. Icouldn’t imagine doing that to my mate but tried to remind myself it was a very different time, Madeline being over a decade past retirement age.

Madeline was far from hip and young, but she was romantic. Pairing that with being a human who understood about shifters made her my best partner in crime. When I asked her to come with me to the jewelry store and why, she was over the moon.

We went to a local shop where the jeweler and his sons still actually made most of their pieces. In her words, “You don’t want something trendy. You want something that fits his personality.”

I wanted to ask her how I was supposed to know what jewelry fit his personality, but she started to go down memory lane, and I didn’t want to interrupt. Despite his dishonesty to her for so long, Madeline was still madly in love with her late husband.

The jewelry store was very different from what I had imagined. The only ones I’d seen in the past were in the mall. There was something cold about them. I mean, sure, it’s nice to have something sparkly around your neck, but they had an entire case of chains, and I couldn’t tell the difference between them.

As a shifter, I tended not to wear jewelry because it was a pain when I needed to shift—I’d have to take it off first and then have someplace safe to stow it. So maybe that was why I didn’t get it? But either which way, this store was nothing like it. The second we walked in, I felt more like I was in an art studio than anything resembling my mall experience. Already, I was happy that I picked Madeline to help. This was the place. I could feel it.

“How may I help you?” We were greeted by a man who looked to be at least my father’s age, probably a bit older.

“I came for an engagement present… a ring.”

He looked back and forth between us. “I see. And what is your style?”

Madeline gasped. “Me? Oh, no, no,” she said, breaking into laughter. “I am no cougar.”

She shook her head and pointed to me. “But this guy—he’s no romantic, so we need something great for his omega. Something unique, but low profile so it won’t get in the way while doing his daily activities.”

That wasn’t something I had even considered. “My m— Arlo has been doing a lot of gardening, so maybe something that he could keep on for that?”

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