Utterly, crazily, beautiful.
And her scent?It was like nothing he’d ever imagined, and yet had always known.It triggered in him responses that should have scared him, but it didn’t.Nothing about her could cause fear or trepidation.
She was his, and he was hers.
A shudder whispered through him at the heady notion, and with it, a heavy dose of fatigue.His head pitched to the side as, with her in his line of sight, he could finally relax enough to let go, to let sleep claim him.
He dreamed of her, of his Triad.Of the union that would eventually settle into place.
He saw his parents, Trip’s, and Ryan’s around them.Their bonds burning as brightly as the day they’d first met, and knew that his would burn just as hotly too.
He didn’t know how long he slept, but however long it was, he awoke feeling rested.But it was still dark, which told him he’d barely had any rest at all.
What awoke him, he wasn’t sure, until his eyes fluttered open and he saw the gawking woman kneeling before him.
Fresh from her own slumber, she looked even more magnificent.And covered in one of Trip’s too large Tees, she was a handful too delicious to ignore.
“Mate,” he whispered softly.
She blinked at him.“I know you.”
He tilted his head to the side.“You do?”
Her smile was, in a word, beatific.“I work on the board for Wild, the wildlife charity?You cater for our special events.”
He returned her smile.“I do.But I’ve never seen you there.I’d have known.”
“You’d have known if I was there or you’d have known I was your mate?”
God, to hear her admit to that… his heart wept and his cock jerked to attention.“Both.I’d have recognized you as our mate, and I’d remember you at the occasions.”
She jerked a shoulder.“I never attend them.”
“Why not?”
“Too much of a security risk.”
He blinked.“Seriously?But your mom’s like the belle of the ball.On the flight down here, I did a little research,” he admitted.
“Mom’s a publicity whore, but she never gets any kidnapping threats.I, on the other hand, do.”
“Why?”
She shrugged but her gaze shifted a little from him.“I don’t know.I just do.Maybe kidnappers realize my father would be more likely to pay a ransom for me than he would my mother.”Her nose crinkled adorably.“Okay, that’s being mean.”
“If it’s the truth, then it’s the truth,” he countered.
“My mom and dad only seem to agree on the fact that I’m a huge disappointment,” she confessed.“But dad would still pay her ransom.Maybe not as eagerly as mine though.”
“Well, he mustn’t think you’re too much of a disappointment if he’d be so eager to pay your kidnappers.”
She laughed.“Is that positive thinking?”Shaking her head, she murmured, “Why are we even talking about my being abducted?”
“Well, it will never happen now, so you can attend the Wild social events with me.But I guess you should know who you’ll be attending with.My name’s Marc, El.”
Her lips twitched into a grave smile.“I figured as much.What I can’t figure is… How do you know it won’t happen?Why is it you can protect me when even Shawn couldn’t?”He sensed no heat to her question, more like curiosity.And who the hell was Shawn?Someone on her security detail?
“Because we’re Lions, first and foremost.We can scent things that humans can’t even imagine.”
