Page 14 of A Lion's Heart
CHAPTER 4
Decan yanked his shirt up and over his head and then let it fall to the ground beside the heap of clothes he knew belonged to Nisa. He held back a curse as he quickly untied his boots and stripped off his pants. Then, he was shifting, running through the area that was once a national preserve.
She had a head start but it didn’t matter, her scent was locked into his senses so that he knew he could find her wherever she was. It was how he’d known she’d left her room.
He had been lying on the bed, arms folded behind his head while he thought about the events of the day. The beginning of his mission for the Assembly Leader, butting heads with Nisa about who was in charge, and the appearance of Kyss. He also needed to contemplate the murders and what that meant for him and his agenda. But all he’d managed to really give deep thought to was, Nisa Reynolds.
Decan had never ached for a female before. Yet, he’d ached as he stood in front of her, wanting with a sickening need for her to reach out, unzip his pants and take him into the waiting heat of her mouth. The second he’d closed his eyes he’d thought of her doing just that and his entire body had hardened, the lion inside roaring its dissatisfaction with the way things had actually turned out. Nisa hadn’t undone his pants and licked him until his release burst free. She hadn’t stood and wrapped her long legs around his waist, opening so that he could slip deep into her.
And he hadn’t done a damn thing about those facts.
Because he couldn’t.
She was untouchable and if anyone in this world knew what that meant, Decan should, after all he’d been through.
Rome had made it perfectly clear what this job was about. Sleeping with his daughter had not been listed in the things to do. In fact, the Assembly Leader’s final words before he’d left had resonated most with Decan.
“I want my daughter safe. That is the first priority of this mission,” he’d said as they stood in his office.
Safe meant untouched by him or anyone else. Decan understood that perfectly. He wished his cat could decipher the meaning of those words.
The four-foot tall, three hundred and fifty pound white lion raced through the path of bald cypress trees that had been battered and still withstood the shift in climate that had plagued the earth in the last years. The trees that normally stood in water, now barely thrived in less than three-feet of water making the path much easier to travel for the four legged beast. Years ago this place would have appeared to be too wet and humid for him to track a jaguar. But not for Decan. He’d been specially trained in tracking. That, combined with all of his shifter senses lent him the upper hand. Now, because of the decrease in moisture in the air, it was much easier to pick up her scent.
Who was he kidding? He’d never lost her scent. He feared it might actually be imprinted on his cat at this point. And that, would be a horrific mistake. For both of them.
She was about ten feet ahead when she turned quickly and doubled back. She knew he was behind her, no doubt, and was trying to lose him. She had no idea who she was dealing with.
Her body was long and sleek, at least five feet. Her coat a perfect pattern of large rosettes and spots. Powerful paws slammed through the water and skittered only when he crossed over to stand in front of her, his teeth bared, head lifted. Her cat roared in response, not backing down, but pressing forward. He stood taller, daring her to try. She did, going up the trunk of a tree and then jumping down so that she was now behind him. The moment he turned she was off and running once more. This time Decan didn’t think. He didn’t recall any rules or wait for any permissions. He let the lion burst free, taking the lead…in everything. He let the chase go on until she was once again near the doorway to allow her back into Oasis. Only she could not get in through this doorway on her own because she wasn’t authorized. She was going to figure that out and be pissed, but for now, he had the upper hand.
His cat circled around her and landed with his front paws on top of the clothes they’d both left behind the bushes that hid the narrow opening. He shifted only seconds before her and was ready for her rage when her shift was complete.
What he wasn’t ready for and should have anticipated was the sight of her standing only three feet away from him, totally naked.
“Standing on my clothes is real mature,” she spat the moment she was able to.
Decan heard her words but he wasn’t really processing them. She was perfection. He’d thought so when he saw how elegant and powerful her cat looked moving through unfamiliar territory. Now, he knew it went through and through. The human body was just as alluring, from her slim waist to the curve of her hips and the pert breasts he knew would fit perfectly in his hands. If he were stupid enough to touch her. Which, this morning, he would have sworn he was not.
“Move out of my way,” she said before coming straight at him. She pressed both her palms on his bare chest and attempted to push him back.
Decan didn’t move. He did, however—despite the stark warnings of the man—plant his hands on her hips and lift her off her feet. She opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late, he was already moving them, taking the couple of steps back to the side of the building where the cloaked doorway was and pressed her back against the cinderblocks.
“What—” she started to say.
“Stop,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Stop before it’s too late.”
Her hands were still on his chest, her dark skin against his lighter hue. They both looked down at them simultaneously and she sucked in a breath. She was going to tell him to get his tainted hands off her. To get his act together before she told her father.Say it!He willed her silently.Say it!
“Stop what?” she asked instead, her tongue snaking out to run slowly over her lips.
“Don’t. I’m warning you,” he said.
“Didn’t you hear?” she asked as she brought one leg up and wrapped it around his waist. “I don’t take warnings.”
Her other leg was easing around him by then and when they locked at the base of his back, Decan growled.
Nisa growled in return.
His fingers tensed, blunt tipped nails digging deep into her skin as his cock hardened to a painful length. It was apparent that not only did the lion want inside of her, the man did too. She held his gaze and Decan swore he could see her begging him to do it in the deep depths of brown eyes. But she didn’t speak. There wasn’t another sound between them.
