Page 44 of Wrong Number, Right Lion

Once he parked, I gathered everything up, glad I had reusable totes in the trunk. There was no way I was letting my mate not only walk down the path but do so carrying anything in his hands. He was already carrying the most precious cargo of all, and that was enough.

He led the way.

Instead of talking about why we were here—or anything about our evening—he rambled on about his day at work, about all the meetings that could have been emails.

“I think you’re right,” he finally said. “I think I need to be done.”

“Excellent.” I didn’t even hide my enthusiasm. He didn’t need work stress on top of getting ready to have our baby.

“Obviously, I can’t quit tomorrow, but I’ll work on making it happen.”

“Sounds great to me.” Beyond great.

“Truth time.” He smirked. “How hard was it for you not to push me to start my leave early?”

“Very. You have a great mate like that.”

He gave me side-eye.

“I’m patient.”

He rolled his eyes as we stepped into the clearing.

“What? Icanbe patient.” Sort of... usually… with a whole lot of effort.

“Really think about what you just said.” He put a fist on his hip. “How patient are you?”

“Well, I waited a long time to—” I sighed. “Okay, fine, I’m not patient. But I pretend to be.”

“This I know. Now, help me set up the space.”

And by “help me,” he meant he had a plan, and I was going to follow it. We put out blankets, the chair beside it, and the food in the corner.

“Did you want to eat first?” I asked.

“No. There’s something else I need more,” he said. “Strip.”

“Ooh, I like where this is going.”

He playfully smacked my shoulder. “No, not that. I mean, it can be that, but—no. First… I don’t know. All day, I’ve just had this need. I need to cuddle your lion.”

My lion perked up at that.

“Is that a thing? Is that what pregnant lions do? Snuggle time?”

“I’ve never been a pregnant lion before,” I admitted. “But connecting with our mates’ beasts? Yeah, that’s something lions do. All shifters, really.”

“Good.” He nodded. “Now hurry up and get naked and shift. I didn’t bring you any extra clothes, and I don’t think you did either. It’s too cold to walk back naked, and I’m not carrying all of this. So strip.” He was babbling, but also it was as if the weight he was carrying was lifted. If this was what it took to keep my mate happy, I’d keep my lion form 24/7.

“Fair enough.” I took off my clothes, set them on the chair, and shifted into my beast.

Unlike the first time Arlo met him, he came forward without hesitation, rubbing his forehead against mine, then kissing my nose. “I brought a blanket for you.”

I laid down on it, and he joined me. So much for him not knowing if he could get up again. He put his arm around me, his fingers weaving through my fur, telling my beast all about his day until his words slowed, then faded into sleep.

It was a short nap—maybe a half-hour—before his stomach growled, waking him up.

“Well, that’s embarrassing.” He kissed my nose again. “Guess that means we should eat now.”

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