Page 43 of Lion Conquers All
After what seemed like an eternity, she finally turned the key and walked inside. And she didn’t close it on him.
He’d never been inside her house. Not once.
He stepped over the threshold and closed and locked the door. She flipped on a floor lamp, and disappeared into the shadows. There was a wood stove across the room that needed to be lit. He crossed to it and began that process. Her house was cold. He could fix that.
He took a few pieces of small kindling from the basket against the wall. Made a little pile inside and then struck a match. The kindling lit immediately. He fed the flames a few tiny twigs and sticks. Then a small dry square of wood. The flames were catching well. He added a couple of smaller logs and waited for those to catch before closing the stove. It would need a bigger log in a few minutes.
“Thank you.”
He turned to face her. She was standing in the shadows of the hallway, wrapped in a blanket.
He stood. “It should start to warm up in here soon. I’ll put another log in after a bit.”
“You’re lion was…I’ve never seen anything so big. I didn’t realize how different you were from anactuallion.”
“You weren’t wrong to warn us to be more careful. We do not blend in well.”
“You have tusks.”
He chuckled from deep in his belly. “Yes.”
“Like a prehistoric lion.”
“Mmmmhmmm. Naomi has shown us pictures. My kind are much more similar to those ancient cats than the ones you call lions presently.” He didn’t move from the stove. He didn’t want to spook her. He was inside her house. She was speaking to him. They were alone. She’d let him carry her home on his back. His lion’s back.
There had been so many firsts tonight. So many firststoday.
He worried that if he moved the changes would evaporate. Her panic would overtake her once again and he would be pushed away, dismissed until she felt brave again.
She emerged from the shadows, crossed the room to him, and put her arms around his chest, enveloping his body in the blanket she was wearing like a cape. “Thank you. I didn’t want you to risk exposure for me tonight, but thank you for getting me home. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep had I stayed.”
“You’re very welcome,shuarra.” The words caught in his throat. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. When would he get another chance to be this close? Would she allow it more often? Or was today an anomaly created by the crisis of the missing children and the storm?
She pulled away a little and looked up at him. Their faces were so close, he could feel her breath on his skin. Her heart was racing in her chest like a caribou fleeing his beast. And still she stood her ground. She didn’t budge. She stared up at him and into his eyes like she was looking straight into his soul.
And he let her. He would let her look her fill forever.
Whatever she wanted.
Whatever she needed from him.
He would give.
18
CONNIE
She stared up at Aarav. He was a beautiful man. Rough-squared jawline, dark blue jewel-toned eyes, and cheekbones that would make any woman jealous. Fucking hot. That’s what Aarav Di’Rham was and he was looking down at her like he was thinking the same things about her.
And she was kinda okay with that…which was a new feeling. A scary feeling. A really really overwhelming feeling. But also a feeling she wasn’t quite ready to let go of and that surprised her.
Those blue eyes grabbed her attention again. As much as she could feel his lust seeping into every pore of her body, she also could feel his genuine warmth and charisma and overall good nature. He was a good man. A dangerous one—he had a lion inside of him—but he was a good man. She knew it to be true in her soul.
He wasn’t pushing her. He wasn’t asking for more. Everything he’d ever said, he’d been consistent and genuine. Loyal to a fault. Protective. He took care of her in every way he possibly could without invading her life. And he’d been doing that since he laid eyes on her.
She didn’t want to belong to a man. But maybe how she thought ofbelongingwas different than the Reylean definition of belonging. She was a mess. Her mind was a mess. Plenty of people had very happy fulfilling relationships andbelongedto each other without it tripping them up and causing panic attacks and nightmares.
She equatedbelongingwith beingowned.
