"It's okay. Baby, it's okay. It's not mine. You're covered in it."
Oh. Right. The fight. Thank fuck.
"I'm sorry." I sag in relief. The gore on her skin-it's straight from my nightmares.
"It's okay. Let me," she tugs me toward the showers and turns on the water. Holding the detachable shower head, she rinses the gore from my skin, massaging with her free hand until I close my eyes.
The skin is already healed, healthy. I haven't healed this quickly in... I don't know how long.
"Better?" she asks, handing me a towel.
I dry off, then reach for her. My arms close around her slender form. She's all sinuous power packed into a delicate feminine package. "Denali," I drop my head to her marked shoulder, breathing in our mingled scents. She's warm and smooth. Her arms feel like home.
"Come on, baby. Let me take you home."
Nash
"FAVORITE MOVIE?"
"Lion King," I say, and Denali snorts. We're lying in each other's arms. Her hands roam up and down my back, tracing the planes and grooves of my muscles. "What about you?"
Her gaze darts away. She blinks, her eyes growing misty. "Born Free."
I tighten my hold on her. "Denali, I'm going to get you out-"
The door slams open. I jerk upright, claws out, but they're ready for me. The shock sticks hit my body. My knees give out, but the pain is nothing compared to the screams of my mate as they drag her away from me.
Denali
HE STALKS me through the pine trees. I can't hear the tread of his heavy paws, but I know he lopes just behind. The moment I pulled up in the parking area at the base of the Temescal Ridge trail, I yanked off my clothes and shifted, leaving Nash sputtering in bewilderment.
Catch me, lion.
I want Nash to embrace his animal like I do. He's been making it the enemy for far too long. He should feel the joy of the hunt. Of the chase. Of stretching his long, sleek body out for a fifty mile an hour run.
I left Nolan at preschool and rearranged my appointments. I could've brought Nolan with us, but Nash is so unsure of his lion. I need to give him my full attention and I don't want him worrying about fathering Nolan. Because even though he's cautiously attempting the role, I know he's still getting used to it.
I love letting my lioness out. Running at top speeds, chasing rabbits, tracking scents. I love being wild, one with nature.
A huge paw comes down on my hind end and we tumble to the ground. I roll and spring back up. In a flash I'm down again, on my back. Nash steps on my throat to hold me down, then licks my face. He's magnificent. Bigger than any lion I've ever seen-twice as big as my lioness. His mane is sandy blond, eyes amber. His paws are the size of a dinner plate. His long tail flicks behind him.
Both of us purr. He's happy. I swear I can sense the joy bubbling up in his lion as plainly as I feel the sun on my fur. The dull static I sensed from his animal when I first met him is gone.
He removes the paw holding me down and I scramble up and tussle with him, trying to bring him down. Of course, it's impossible. He toys with me, lets me scamper around him and nip at his throat before he tackles me to the ground again.
Suddenly we're in human form, though I don't remember thinking I wanted to shift. Did his lion somehow alpha command it? Just like the afternoon he showed up at my cottage, I'm on my back beneath him, only this time, we're naked. The forest floor beneath me is soft and springy with undergrowth, nature's gentle bed for two lions.
He rocks his hard erection between my legs. "You like to be chased, my lovely lioness?" He nuzzles my neck.
The head of his cock prods my entrance without guidance from either of us. We don't have condoms with us and I don't think Nash even remembers, but in that moment, I surrender to fate. If we're meant to produce another perfect cub, I'd take it. Everything feels easy and possible with Nash's heart beating over mine.
He thrusts into me leaning up on his hands to keep his weight off. "I love you, Denali."
We both freeze. He has a deer in headlights look, as if he had no idea he was going to say that.
Hard determination slams down on his face. "It's true," he says fiercely. "I don't care if we don't have the longevity to prove we can make it. You're mine."
I lift my hips to urge him to move inside me again. "Is it love or is it a lion's claim?" I ask softly. Because there's a difference. The lion's claim is his animal's choice. Love is a human emotion. Does Nash even know love?
Torment flickers over Nash's face. I see his doubts about himself, what he's become, but he shakes his head. "I wouldn't have said it if it weren't true."
Tears prick my eyes because I believe him. The words had just fallen out. He loves me.
I wrap my arms around his neck. "I love you, too, Nash. You're mine."
His eyes blaze with light and he slams into me. The birds in the trees twitter and chatter, like our energy feeds them. The sky starts swirling above us, or maybe I've grown dizzy with lust. All I know is that everything on the mountain seems to contribute to our mating-the trees, the leaves, the flowers, the other animals. There's a magic in our joining. A beautiful consummation, as if this is our true mating. The one we were destined for. Not that crazed bite back in a cell.
I'm not surprised at all when Nash bellows and sinks his teeth into my shoulder, in the same place he chose last time.