She frowned, looking like she wanted to protest, but in the end, she nodded. “Okay. I wish I could help more, though.”
Reaching over, he took her hand in his, raising it to his lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “You keep saying that, but you’ve done nothing but help. You figured out what was really going on with the auction. You’ve been finding the buyer’s info. And you just saved us from whoever’s following. None of that would have been possible without you.”
Her cheeks pinkened as she glanced away for a moment. “Yeah, I suppose I did help. I don’t know. I guess I feel like I’m in my element, here with you and doing this work. Like this is where I’m meant to be. But, at the same time, I feel kind of like a hindrance, too. Logically, I know I’m helping, but if I wasn’t with you or wasn’t a vulnerable human, you would have been able to stay. You could have done more.”
“Or maybe we would have been ambushed. All of us. They started tracking us before we knew about it. If we’d been close, they would have gotten us.”
“Yeah, I suppose you have a point with that.” She bit her lip, casting him a shy glance—maybe the first he’d ever seen from her. “I hope that didn’t sound too forward. About feeling like I’m meant to be here with you. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
It wasn’t the time, but still, he suddenly longed to tell her everything. That they were mates—that they were forever, if she wanted to be—and that he loved her. But they didn’t have time for that, and it wasn’t the place, anyway. So, in the end, he just addressed her statement.
Turning as much as he could in the seat, ignoring the steering wheel digging into his side, he brushed the backs of his fingers down her face before cupping her cheek. Leaning in, he kissed her softly, lingering for a moment before pulling back.
“I feel zero pressure, Lily. I promise. I feel like you’re meant to be here with me, too.”
She smiled, relief in her gorgeous blue eyes. Casting a quick glance at her laptop, she looked back at him, biting her lower lip nervously. “Seven minutes.”
“Okay. In a minute, I’m going to get out and hide in the trees. I want you to hide then, too. When they get out to look at the truck, I’ll get them. I won’t let them get close to the truck or you.” Pausing, he searched her eyes as he exhaled. “I might have to shift. I wanted to tell you now, so you won’t be surprised when I do.
“Remember what I told you. I’m still there, present inside my lion. I won’t hurt you, and my cat won’t, either. He’s just as attached to you as I am. So please, don’t be scared. I won’t let them hurt you, and I won’t definitely won’t.”
Instead of looking scared, she seemed excited. “I get to see your lion?”
His eyebrow rose. “Doesn’t scare you at all, does it?”
“Nope.” She hesitated, searching his eyes. “Once it’s safe… do you think I could come out of the truck and meet him? Like, face to face?”
He smiled, feeling a sense of disbelief wash over him. She’d accepted all of it—all of him—so easily. Far easier than he ever imagined she would. That was a gift in itself, but now that he had to shift in front of her, she wanted to meet his lion.
That was the most amazing gift he could have gotten—apart from her.
Nothing trumped her.
“Absolutely. Just remember what I said about how much bigger shifter animals are than their counterparts in the wild. You don’t seem afraid at all, but keep that in mind when you see him, okay? And remember, no matter what form I’m in, I’ll never, ever hurt you.”
Eyes shiny, she nodded, beginning to lean in to kiss him, he thought. Pausing when her eyes fell on the screen, she whispered, “They’re slowing down and approaching the road.”
Nodding, he kissed her once, hard, then kicked his shoes off as he opened the door. “Remember. Hide, okay? I don’t want them to see you.”
She nodded. “Good luck. And be careful.”
Smiling at her one more time, he got out, put his hat on the seat before he shut the door, and walked to a denser covering of trees not far from the truck. Hiding behind the biggest one, he glanced back at where she was sliding to the floorboard, then turned his eyes back to the road.
The calm he forged in the Marines washed over him, and he narrowed his eyes. Two shifters threatening his mate? Easy enough to take care of.
No one, and he meant absolutely no one, who came after his mate could expect to live very long.
No one.
Chapter Twelve
Biting her lip, a nervous habit from childhood she’d never been able to break, Lily listened hard as the car drove very slowly down the dirt road. She could hear the dirt and rocks crunching under the tires, so it must be close. A moment later, it came to a stop, and long seconds ticked by in silence.
She was dying to look, but she promised Noah she’d hide. But it was killing her to not see everything.
Not just for her, although she had that feeling she got when she watched scary movies with ghosts—like something she couldn’t see was stalking her.
But she could handle it for herself. It was not knowing what was happening with Noah that was driving her insane. And as far as she could tell, no one had even gotten out of the car yet.
Hopefully, they hadn’t caught on. All she and Noah did to set this up would be for nothing if they called back and alerted others before they could be stopped.
She knew less than a minute had gone by since the car stopped, all her thoughts going rapid fire through her mind. But she was still starting to panic when the sound of two doors opening finally reached her ears.
A moment later, both doors shut, and then the sound of footsteps on the dirt came to her. Part of why she could hear so well was because she’d cracked the window open for that very reason. But she thought part of it was because what people said about senses was true. Cut one off and the others amplified.
The sound of a scuffle came to her, much louder than the footsteps, and she knew Noah had entered the fray. He must be silent as a cat—she snorted to herself; of course he was, he was a lion—because as good as she’d been hearing things, she hadn’t heard him at all until the fight began.
A shout rang out, and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as the sounds of the fight escalated. She debated with herself long and hard—she’d told him she’d hide, but dammit, she couldn’t sit there without knowing what was going on.
Decision made, she began slowly easing herself up enough to see out of the window. There was Noah, big, strong, fighting the other two with precision accuracy. Relief washed over her, so strong she felt dizzy and weak.
The smaller of the two rushed Noah, distracting him from the other. While he fought the small one, the other made a weird hunching motion as the sound of something popping split the air, and a moment later, a panther was in the man’s place.
Her moth popped open as she took in the huge cat. His black fur was shiny, and Noah had been right—he was much larger than a wild panther. She’d think he was pretty, except he currently had narrowed yellow eyes locked onto Noah as he stalked him.
Eyes darting between the two of them, she wondered if she should try to intervene, maybe call out a warning. But Noah didn’t want them to know she was there, and she didn’t want to make the fight harder for him if they went after her.
Still, it was hard to not try to help in some way.
Noah drew his fist back, the muscles in his huge arm bunching, and then he punched the smaller man hard. The man went flying backward, landing on the dirt with a thud, not moving at all.
Casting him one last glance, Noah turned toward the panther, making the same hunching motion as pops echoed through the air. She watched with fascination as his lion burst out of him, pieces of his torn clothing flying through the air.
Swallowing hard, she stared at him in awe. He was massive, and much bigger than the panther. Underneath his shiny tawny fur, he was heavily muscled, and she thought surely his paws were the size of her head. The top o
f his head would probably reach to the middle of her bicep.
He’d said he was big, but she hadn’t expected him to be that big.
His mane was full and thick, a few shades darker than his fur, almost an amber color. He turned his massive head toward the truck, and she saw his glowing green eyes flick toward her, and then he turned for the panther who was charging him.
She was pretty sure she just got busted.
The two cats crashed together with a thump she heard easily, growling, hissing, using claws and teeth as they fought ferociously. The panther was big but Noah was bigger, taller as well as more heavily muscled—like his lion form matched his human form in size.
She’d been holding herself tensely, but she began relaxing as she watched the fight. Noah was clearly the superior fighter, and he was winning, hands down. The panther managed a swipe of his claws down Noah’s side, and Noah roared—but it didn’t sound pained. It sounded pissed off.
He started backing away from the panther, and she frowned as she watched. He was clearly a better fighter, so what was he doing?
His eyes flicked toward her, so quickly she almost missed it, and then she understood. He wasn’t trying to get away—he was trying to lure the panther into the woods. As she looked at the black cat, she thought she understood.
His blazing yellow eyes were crazed and the murderous gleam in them wasn’t hard to miss. He wasn’t going to stop fighting, even though it was clear Noah would win. In the panther’s mind, this was a death match.
Noah knew that, and he was trying to lead him away, so she wouldn’t have to see him kill the panther. Briefly wondering how she could be so sure, she shrugged to herself. She just was. She knew Noah, and that was something he’d do.
They disappeared into the trees, the sounds of a vicious fight coming to her, and she felt herself tense again as the worry came back to her. She knew Noah was the better fighter, but she didn’t like not being able to see him.
Turning her eyes to the man who was still knocked out cold, she watched him closely. The last thing they needed was for him to wake up, shift into whatever animal he was, and take Noah by surprise.
The sound of the fight escalated and then a screech of agony split the air. Stiffening, she forced herself to take deep breaths, her eyes darting back and forth from the man on the ground to where Noah had disappeared behind the trees. The longest minute of her life passed agonizingly slowly and then her massive lion walked into eyesight.
Blowing out a breath, she slumped over, closing her eyes as she became dizzy with relief. Straightening, she watched as he walked over to the man, walking around him as he studied him. Jumping at the sound of Noah’s phone ringing, she glanced over at the screen, seeing Blake’s name flashing.
Deciding Noah would probably want her to answer, she picked up the phone and swiped the accept button. “Hello.”
“Lily? Where’s Noah?”
“He just finished fighting the men who followed us.”
“How’d it go?”
“He knocked one of them men out in human form, and that guy’s still out cold. The other one shifted and they fought. I didn’t see how it ended, because Noah guided the fight into the woods, but I think he killed him. The panther wasn’t backing down even though he was getting beaten.”
“I see. Where are you guys now? Luke’s back. We’ll come take over so you two can get home.”
“I’ll send you the exact location in an email.”
“Sounds good. See you two soon.”
Hanging up, she put the phone in the cup holder as she sat back up in the seat and opened her laptop. She quickly emailed Blake and when she was finished, she closed the lid and set it back on the floorboard. Looking out the window, she immediately spotted Noah. He was sitting between her and the unconscious man, and as she watched, he jerked his head in the universal come on motion.
Nerves suddenly assaulted her and she took a deep, shaky breath. Was she really going to leave the safety of the truck and walk up to an enormous lion? It sounded like a completely insane thing to do.
But as her gaze locked with the glowing green eyes of the lion, she smiled. Yes, she was going to get out and walk up to him. It wasn’t just a lion. It was Noah, and she could see him right there in the cat’s eyes.
Excitement began to replace the nerves, but her fingers still trembled as she opened the door. Easing down onto the step side before hopping to the ground, she took a deep breath, shut the door, and turned around.
Noah seemed even bigger—and closer—once she was in front of him. Cocking his head, he stared at her, and with another deep breath, she walked slowly forward. Even sitting, his head reached up to her breasts, and she could see the definition of his thick muscles as she came closer.
Stopping in front of him, she looked him over, trying to quell the nerves fluttering in her belly. It was hard at moments to remember this was Noah and not a wild lion—she’d only known what he was for a short time.
But at the same time, she was actually standing in front of a lion. They were her favorite animal, and she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Not like a real lion would. Who else ever got this kind of opportunity?
Smiling as the nerves finally dissipated, she looked into his eyes. “Noah,” she whispered, her throat tight. “You’re so gorgeous. Can I touch you?”
He huffed, dipping his head. There were still fine tremors skating through her fingers as she touched them gently to his forehead. His fur was baby soft until she reached his mane, where it was coarser and just a bit rough.
She gently ran her fingers through it before repeating it all, stroking behind his ears. His began purring, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet afternoon, and he closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.
Lily wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that—him sitting back on his haunches, his purr filling the air, while she petted him. But when her arm finally started getting tired, her eyes were filling with tears she desperately tried to keep at bay.
One of them slipped free, making its way down her cheek, as she lowered her arm. Noah opened his eyes, cocking his head and growling low as he saw the wetness on her cheek. Laughing shakily, she lifted her hand and wiped it away.
“I’m okay. Just feeling a little emotional right now. Thank you, Noah.”
And then, to her horror, more tears broke free, and she sank to her knees, wrapping her arms around his thick neck and burying her face in his mane as she hugged him. He made a rumbling noise in his chest, and she shook her head.
“I promise, I’m fine. I don’t know why I’m crying, but I’m fine.”
She really had no clue what was wrong with her. The only thing she could think of was that she was truly happy in that moment. Happier than she’d been in a very long time, and the emotions were overwhelming her.
Tightening her arms around his neck, she let his mane dry the tears that had slipped free. The moment felt incredibly surreal. She was on her knees, hugging a lion.
A lion who just happened to also be a man—a man she loved so much, she thought her heart would burst with it.
Noah, still in lion form, turned his head and glanced at Lily. She was curled up next to him, her head pillowed against his side, fast asleep. An hour or two had passed since she cried—he wasn’t sure how long, exactly. It was always hard for him to keep track of time when he was in this form.
She’d been so brave when she got out of the truck and walked over to him. She touched him gently, petting him over and over, and he’d eaten it up. He didn’t think he’d been touched before in that form and it was amazing. Although, that was probably because it was Lily doing the touching.
But then she started crying. He hadn’t thought it was because of him or his lion, because she sank to her knees and hugged him close, but he hadn’t known what the problem was. He’d wanted to shift and ask her, but he couldn’t make himself take on his more vulnerable form while she was so close to the unconscious human.
Turning his head, he looked
over at the man. He was definitely a human. Noah never would have let Lily get out of the truck if he hadn’t been. He’d hit him way too hard, but he hadn’t had much of a choice with the panther coming for him. He’d been trying to fight them both as humans, but when the other one shifted, he had to hit the human hard enough to put him down for the count while he battled the panther.
But he was starting to think he’d done some serious damage to the other man. He should have woken up a long time ago.
Glancing over, he took in the rise and fall of the man’s chest. He was still alive. He just wasn’t waking up.
The panther, on the other hand, was dead. Noah had been able tell he wasn’t going to go down until one of them was dead, so it had to happen. No other outcome was acceptable, not with Lily so close. And Noah felt absolutely no remorse.
If he could have smiled in lion form, he would have as he remembered seeing just the top of her head and her eyes peeking over the top of the door. She’d been far from hidden in that moment, but it was better than her being completely visible. And he didn’t blame her for needing to watch. If their situation was reversed, he wouldn’t have been able to hide away and not know if she was okay or not.
She stirred and he turned his head, watching as she blinked several times, frowning with confusion. Glancing over, her eyes widened as she saw him. Almost like she’d forgotten for a moment that he was a lion. She smiled gently at him, her eyes starting to fall closed again, and then she sat up abruptly.
“Noah! Why are you still a lion? What’s going on?”
He glanced over at the human man and nodded toward him before looking back at her. She frowned as her gaze followed his.
“Because of him? You think he’s still a threat?” She sighed when he lifted a shoulder in his lion version of a shrug. “I like hanging out with your lion, but this not being able to talk thing can get old.”
She stood, stretching her neck and then her back as she walked back and forth. Rising, he blocked her path when it looked like she was going to move past him, and she swatted at him while wrinkling her brow, exasperation in her blue eyes.
Thief (Blood & Bone Enforcers MC Book 2) Page 14