Page 83 of Lion Conquers All
Connie stood up and put the bag of jerky on the counter. Curiosity was winning over fear. What would it feel like to be a lion? To be so big and powerful?
Energy crackled around her, her skin warmed, and then everything changed.
34
AARAV
Something changed.
He could feel her…more.
Aarav shoved his foot on the accelerator. He was close. Connie’s house was only a mile away now. He slowed for the turn onto her street and then again for her driveway. He barely shoved the car into park before he was out and running for the front door.
He turned the key and stepped inside.
A lioness.
She had shifted.
She was gorgeous.
His mate was standing on the couch. Pillows were on the floor. Blankets were everywhere. A lamp had been knocked over and there was glass from the broken bulb across half the room.
A smile attempted to curve the corners of his mouth, but he kept his face flat on purpose. She was worried and anxious and obviously having difficulty navigating with a very large, long body, and a tail.
“Shuarra.” He kept his voice soft. His eyes tracked through the kitchen. His note was crumpled on the floor and coffee was all over the window above the sink and dripping down the front of the counters.
Not everything had been positive for her this morning.
She made a low roar in her chest and looked at the glass on the floor. Then laid down on the couch and buried her face in the cushions.
“I can take care of that. It’s just a light bulb. It can be fixed.”
He went to her pantry, grabbed her broom and dustpan and swept up everything. She mostly kept her face hidden, but every so often he caught her watching him around her paw or the arm of the couch.
Aarav walked into the living room and squatted at the end of the couch where her head was once again shoved into the cushions tohidefrom view.
“You know I can still see you, right?”
The lioness chuffed out a heavy breath like she was annoyed. He couldn’t stop the smile that time. She wasn’t mad at him. Perhaps she had been. She had crushed the letter he’d left for her. But right now, she was embarrassed and anxious with a little thread of curiosity peeking through the emotional storm flowing through their bond.
“Can you shift,shuarra?I would very much like to speak with you. I have been going mad this past week with worry. You’ve been like the princess in that movie Naomi likes so much, the Sleeping Beauty lady. Except that my kiss wouldn’t wake you.”
Connie lifted her large head and laid her massive chin on the arm of the couch. She had the same large canine tusks he did, but not quite as big. The lines of her face were smoother and more streamlined. Her fur was the color of dry grass, a beautiful light, almost white-blonde. Her eyes were gold and brown and sparkled with the soul magick that now lived inside her.
“Think of yourself as a person. She will let you go.”
A few moments later Connie appeared. Aarav internally groaned at the sight of his naked mate. The curve of her breasts. The pink of her nipples. The swoop of her hips. But it was the lustful look in her gaze that completely did him in and hardened his cock to the point of pain.
“Thank you for cleaning up. I was worried I would hurt her if I stepped on the glass.”
He moved and sat on the couch next to her.
She didn’t flinch or move away from him. Both very positive. But she crossed her arms and curled into a tight ball while also eyeing the stack of throw blankets he’d made on the coffee table.
He grabbed a blanket and draped it over her body, only slightly sad that he couldn’t bathe in her naked beauty, but her comfort was more important.
Connie’s shredded clothes had been in the kitchen, and he’d thrown those into the trashcan. Later, he’d give her his charm so that wouldn’t happen to her again. He was perfectly capable of coping with undressing before shifting.
