Her Lion Protectors

by Lilly Wilder

  “Smells good,” he said, and when I told him what I was making he seemed impressed. “I have to admit that I’ve never been much good in the kitchen. My hands aren’t delicate enough for baking,” as he said this, he flexed his fingers in the air, and my gaze drifted to his palm. I was tempted to reach out and hold them tightly, but I managed to hide my desire, wanting to play it at least a little cool while he got settled in my apartment.

  “Food is one of the few things I like to indulge myself in. When I was growing up, we never had extravagant meals. Mom and Dad always had other things to worry about, so they just threw things in the oven and didn’t worry about the nutritional value or the taste. I grew tired of eating the same things all the time, so when I moved out on my own, I made a vow to myself that I would learn to cook. It made for a few messy disasters to start with, but eventually I got the hang of it.”

  “Give me an example of one of these disasters?”

  “Oh, well, that’s easy. I tried making my own pizza from scratch, even the dough, but I forgot to put flour on the rolling pin so it ended up sticking all over the place, then when I did put flour out, it coated everything in a white cloud. I put the pizza in the oven and I didn’t put nearly enough toppings on or sauce, so I ended up having basically dry bread for dinner that night. There’s nothing that can inspire you to improve your cooking skills than eating unpalatable food, and then, there’s all the cleaning up of the mess afterwards, as well,” I shook my head, “I’m glad those days are behind me, although I’m probably still a little too messy for my own good.”

  “It doesn’t look that way,” he nodded towards the lounge.

  “Keep it between us, but I tidied up especially for you,” I winked at him.

  “Well, I’m honored that you went to so much effort for me. Is there anything I can do to help you prepare?”

  “Nope, everything is in the oven and the table is set. All I’ll need to do is dish it up when it’s ready.”

  “Then I suppose it’s time for the tour.”

  I gave him a quick tour, and it really was quick, because my apartment wasn’t massive. I blushed when he peeked in my bedroom, because of the erotic thoughts I’d been enjoying of him in there. It was as though my private fantasies and reality, were colliding and blurring together, and I started to wonder if my deep desires would come true.

  We ended up back in the lounge and I told him to put some music on while I went to get him a drink. I’d bought a six pack of the beer he’d been drinking in the bar, while I had some more wine to help ease my nerves.

  “So, I want to make a rule about tonight,” I said, as I folded my legs under myself and sank onto the couch. I took a sip of wine and rested my hand on his arm, once again enjoying the heat of his skin. He seemed warmer than most people and I found I didn’t want to take my hand away, because he was just so comforting.

  “Go on,” Dalton said, arching an eyebrow.

  “There is going to be no talking about parents. I’m sorry for how snappy I got the other day, but they really just trigger me and I don’t want them to ruin any more of my life, so let’s just have a nice evening and talk about each other. There’s still so much I want to learn about you.”

  “I think I can follow that rule. What would you like to know?” he asked. The question almost stumped me, because there was just so much, I didn’t know where to begin.

  “Tell me about your last girlfriend,” I said. “You already know a little bit about my last relationship, so I think it’s only fair I know about the woman who came before me.”

  Dalton took a sip of beer and bowed his head. “You know, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea either.”

  “Oh, really? It sounds like there’s some drama there,” I said, leaning forward.

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “I do.”

  Dalton sighed. “I hope this doesn’t ruin the mood for the evening, but she died.”

  “What?” I withdrew my hand and, suddenly, all the good mood vanished. My throat tightened and I felt as though I had stepped into a minefield. “I’m so sorry Dalton, I didn’t mean to pry that’s…that’s so sad. You don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

  “No, it’s okay. I suppose we were going to have to talk about it eventually. Unfortunately, she fell very ill and there wasn’t anything that could be done for her. We had enough time to say goodbye, which was a blessing, but it didn’t make it any easier. That’s another reason why I came to the city. Being at home was just so difficult without her there. There were always reminders, you know?”

  “How long were you two together?”

  “We’d actually been betrothed since we were children.”

  “Betrothed?”

  Dalton shrugged and it became clear that he still had a lot to explain. “I told you that my parents are traditional. In our community, it is normal for parents to arrange marriages between their children so that they can plan for the future. It doesn’t always go to plan, though, but I and Isla were happy enough. Then the worst happened and, well, the rest is history.”

  I reached out again with my hand and squeezed, although I realized what an empty, hollow gesture it must have been. I wanted to hug him tightly, but I knew we weren’t there yet.

  “You seem at peace with it.”

  “You have to be, really. There’s nothing I can do about it. I wish I could have, but sometimes in life there are forces out of your control and if you don’t accept that, you’re going to go crazy. Besides, she wouldn’t want me to mope and miss out on life. She had such a love for life, and before she died she made me promise that I’d try to be happy, so that’s what I’m doing.”

  My plans for the evening changed drastically. Seeing this vulnerable side of Dalton only made me more attracted to him, but I was sensitive to his emotions, so I didn’t want to push him any more quickly than he was able.

  “I want you to know that we can take this as slow as you’d like. I don’t want you to feel like you’re under pressure. I know there are probably a lot of emotions under the surface and this is the kind of thing that you never really get over.”

  “That’s true and thank you for saying that, but I’m okay to move on, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. I don’t want to spend the evening talking about another woman, I know that’s not really the proper thing to do.”

  “It’s okay, in this instance, I think,” I smiled at the way he tried to put my needs first, even though speaking about Isla must have been very painful for him. “I’ve never really been one to get angry about past relationships. What matters is the here and now, and I’d be a world-class bitch if I didn’t let you talk about Isla. She was a big part of your life, and played a big role in you becoming the man you are today, the man that I’m attracted to.”

  My voice was soft and sensual, and as I gazed into his eyes, I found myself moving towards him. I raised my hand and started to play with his hair, which was impressively soft. I stroked the side of his face and smiled at him, as his body shifted and his arm came over my shoulders. His fingers touched my flesh and there was a sizzling sensation in my body. Breath rushed out of my mouth and I became light-headed as I moved inexorably towards him, and then, suddenly, our lips met, soft and luscious, in a tender kiss that held all our affections within it. My eyes closed and I felt as though I had been enchanted by a spell. I smiled when he pulled away and looked at him, then leaned in for a deeper kiss. I pressed my body against his and wrapped my arms around his neck, giving in to the deep desires that were swirling inside me. His hand spread wide over the small of my back and kept sliding deeper down my body. He let out a muffled moan and I flicked my tongue in his mouth, playfully teasing him.

  I was beginning to lose my senses, as I drowned in his embrace, and I was just about ready to give him everything, because the reality of being so close with him was far more powerful than t
he fantasy. I trembled at his touch and shuddered at the thought of stripping away every item of clothing on my body, to give myself to him. These thoughts crashed through my mind, as I enjoyed the feeling of his strong hands against my supple skin, his eager lips brushing against my neck, and then, we were interrupted by the timer in the kitchen.

  We burst into laughter and I pressed my forehead against his, before kissing him again quickly.

  “I can’t let the food burn,” I said, although it was difficult to tear myself away from him. I walked into the kitchen, swaying my hips as I left. Dalton followed me, and as I was checking the food, he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried himself against the nape of my neck. I let out a warm laugh and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of him being so close to me. This is what life should be like, I thought to myself, this is what I wanted a relationship to be. Everything was so natural and easy. I turned around and felt his hands sliding around my waist. I kissed him deeply. I wanted him to see the desire I had for him in my eyes. There was a promise of more to come in that kiss, and I knew that we were going to become as close as two people could be.

  But first, there was dinner.

  I pulled myself away from him and playfully teased him, saying that he would have to wait for dessert. Dalton ran his hand over my womanly curves, as if to get one last touch in, until we finished dinner. I served the food and carried it to the table. After just one bite, he leaned back in satisfaction and praised my cooking. I imagined part of his praise was influenced by his attraction to me, as I certainly wasn’t the best cook around, but I accepted his words readily and, thankfully, there were no awkward moments through our conversation. We spoke of happy things only, about funny incidents from our lives, and stories about our friends. We spoke of the Blue Lagoon and of the stars in the night sky. All through the meal there was an undercurrent of tension throbbing in the air. Underneath the table our legs touched and our feet caressed each other. Every time I looked at him I seemed to get more aroused, and it felt wrong that we were separated by a table.

  *

  At one point during dinner, he reached over and took my hand. He stroked the middle of my palm with his thumb, running it in small circles.

  “That feels nice,” I murmured. He’d almost finished his meal. I still had about half a plate left, but in truth I wasn’t hungry for food any longer. I only wanted him, and I think he could sense it.

  Dalton, still holding my hand, rose from his chair and moved around the table, falling to his knees. I shifted my position away from the table too. He kissed my hand and clasped it tightly, running his other hand up my arm, leaving a trail of tingles where his flesh touched. He inched closer to me and gazed at my body.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said, in a low voice. I smiled and reached out to play with his hair. He kissed my hand and my wrist, while his other hand ran over my body, across innocuous places like my stomach and waist, avoiding the more intimate areas, which only made me want him to touch them more. Breath rushed through my throat and heat rippled out over my body. I leaned forward and fell into a kiss with him again, soft and tender, loving and affectionate, with a hint of the raw passion that burned inside both of us.

  His strong arms wrapped around my waist, creating a vice and I slipped off the seat of the chair. Suddenly, I felt the world moving, as he rose, taking me with him. My feet left the floor and I clung to him, but I was safe in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his body and continued kissing him. He was so strong, he showed no sign of strain as he carried me to the bedroom, pausing for a moment to press me against a wall and ravish me. He reached up and pulled away my hair clips, letting it flow down in tresses. It cascaded into my face, and he had to brush it away from my lips, so it didn’t interfere with our kisses. It was a moment of humor that quickly faded, as we both knew what we were thinking, what we wanted.

  Soon enough we were in my room and he laid me down on the bed, the very same bed where I had fantasized about him. The mattress creaked under our weight and we reveled in our kisses. His body was on top of mine, hard and heavy. I ran my hands along his back and over his biceps, the feeling of his muscles arousing me instantly. His hand grabbed my waist and squeezed, then moved down my thigh, lifting my leg up. My dress slipped up, over my flesh and, suddenly, his hand was on my bare leg, rising up, traversing the landscape of my skin, until he felt the burning of my inner thigh. I groaned and arched my head back, as his lips moved from my mouth to my neck, leaving a trail of kisses all the way down to my collar bone.

  I frantically clawed at his shirt and pawed at the buttons, fumbling at them in my haste. He smirked and rose up, kneeling over me. My chest heaved, and I lay there with my arms at my sides, my gaze fixed on him. One by one the buttons came undone and the shirt slipped away, revealing his muscular body. Hair rippled over his chest and thinned into a narrow line that pointed to his pants. I lifted my hand and felt his body, pulling myself up, as I wanted to taste him and touch him. I wrapped myself around him like a vine and kissed his masculine flesh, as he caressed my back and ran his hands through my hair. He pulled my shoulder straps away and my dress fell down my body, my flesh was exposed. He wasted no time in kissing me again, while he unclasped my bra and flung it away. He pressed into the small of my back, making me arch away from him, and he buried himself in my breasts. My nipples hardened and a fervent moan escaped my mouth. I had reached the point of no return now, and it was glorious.

  We undressed each other and soon took delight in exploring the new terrain of each other’s bodies. I licked my lips, as I saw the size of his manhood, and curled my fingers around him, feeling all the hard tension coiling in his body. He placed his hands on my delicate skin, and dragged them down, until he hit the hot wetness that made me moan so ardently. I felt myself tremble and shudder, as his fingers slipped inside my heat, curling back and forth, reaching deep inside me. I tried to stroke and pleasure him at the same tempo as he was pleasuring me, but he teased and tormented me by changing the rhythm and bringing me to the brink of pleasure, before letting it fade, fanning the flames of pleasure inside me.

  His grunts and moans were hot and heavy in my ear. His kisses were quick and deep. His body was so sexy and every inch of me wanted him. I bit my lower lip and felt my skin prickle with sweat as we came closer to each other, then I felt him roll over me and all of a sudden my entire world was him. He looked down and felt his way inside me. I winced at the pain. It had been so long and I had always been a petite girl, but the pain blurred with pleasure, creating an exquisite cocktail that touched me deep inside. My nails dug into his skin as he began thrusting deeply, rocking his hips slowly at first, to ease my body into the motion, to help me get used to him, before he was seized by animalistic passion and he started to get harder and stronger, and I actually felt him bite me.

  I’d never been made love to with such fierce abandon before and my mind was awhirl. Pleasure attacked me from every part of my body and I had no defense against it. Small explosions thundered all over me and I grabbed the back of his neck tightly, holding onto him for dear life, as my mind cracked and my body pulsed with a deep, soulful pleasure. Our breaths mingled and tongues danced, and our bodies were intimately connected. His hands were all over me, he was deep inside me, hitting parts of me I never even knew I had. It was like I was a virgin again, experimenting for the first time, being shown the ways of love and having my body transformed into a vessel of erotic pleasure.

  A smile played upon my lips, as I felt myself surrendering to the rush of delight. It started in the deepest part of my body and then thrummed through me, like a secret heavenly chord played on an angel’s harp. Dalton’s hands were in my hair, pulling on me, making pain blur with pleasure and I knew I was completely at his mercy. I moaned his name and he moaned mine, and we were just two lovers caught in the paralyzing haze of orgasmic delight. I felt his muscles tense and I knew that he was going to release himself. I urged him and begged him, and needed him to take me t
o heaven, and then, all of a sudden it came, in one warm blissful explosion that shook my body and the bed, and all the world around us.

  My hands fell limp by my sides. My body felt weak, as though I was melting into the bed. My skin was flushed and as he pulled himself away from me, I lay back wondering how I had never felt this kind of pleasure before. I placed my hand on my chest to feel the hammering of my heart, wondering if my body knew what had hit it. Dalton murmured his satisfaction and held my hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it softly.

  “That was something else,” I whispered. Dalton merely smirked and kissed me again. This time his sweet taste was mixed with the bitterness of his sweat, but I didn’t mind. He was so beautiful, and I was enraptured by the essence of his body. He had opened something inside me that I thought had been lost for eternity. I was in awe of his ability to make me feel this kind of pleasure again and I knew that not every man would have been able to do so. The void inside me had been filled, and for the first time in a long time, I felt as though I was truly able to let go of the past.

  Chapter Seven

  I remember seeing the sensual moon hanging outside like a lantern before I fell asleep. Dalton and I talked for a while longer, whispering, as we traced our fingers along each other’s bodies in the afterglow of love. Somehow, I wasn’t self-conscious with him and stayed above the sheets, offering him the intimacy of my naked body, outside of the thrill of sex. A flutter of delight passed through my body every time he dragged his fingers across my flesh and my appetite was such that I could well have gone for another session, for I had a lot of catching up to do. I didn’t want to become greedy though, so I, instead, enjoyed the feeling of being close with him, of kissing him softly and sharing the kinds of secrets that were only shared by lovers, as the night dwindled outside.