Lion's Hunt: BBW Lion Shifter Paranormal Romance

by Zoe Chant

  And she was definitely a woman whose heart was filled with wanderlust, like his.

  Seth stroked a careful finger over Cassie’s cheek. Her nose wrinkled, and he had to bite back a laugh at how cute it was. But she stayed asleep.

  He brushed a kiss over where his finger had been and got up to take a shower and see what he could do about making them dinner.

  ***

  Cassie was dreaming of being out to eat with Seth. They were at a fancy restaurant, and she was so, so hungry. The waiter kept bringing delicious-smelling plates of food past them to other tables, but their food just wouldn’t come.

  She came out of the dream to a sense of contentment and well-being...and hunger. That part hadn’t been a dream.

  Nor, she realized, had the delicious smells. Her apartment smelled amazing.

  Cassie got up and padded naked into the kitchen, where Seth was checking on something bubbling on the stove. “What on earth is that?” she asked.

  Seth looked over at her. “Wow. That’s a sight I wouldn’t mind seeing every day.”

  Cassie glanced down at her naked body, but dismissed that in favor of more important concerns. “What are you cooking?”

  “Nothing special,” Seth laughed. “Just stew. It’s one of my favorite things to make over a campfire, because you can put in whatever you have.”

  “I don’t know what I had in here, but I’ve definitely never made this place smell like this.”

  Seth’s grin broadened. “Okay, maybe I ran out to the store down the street real fast. I wanted your first meal after we made love to be as delicious as I could manage.”

  “Oh,” Cassie murmured to herself, as Seth turned back to the stove. After we made love.

  It was such a simple thing, but she’d never dated any man who called it ‘making love’ instead of ‘having sex.’ It reminded her of how she’d felt while they were in bed together, the tightness in her chest as she realized that yes, she really did love this man. Even though they hardly knew each other, even after so short a time...she loved him.

  She’d never thought this would happen to her. But she was so, so glad that it had.

  Fortunately for her stomach, the stew was almost ready. She set her tiny little kitchen table, and they sat down together.

  The stew was delicious, of course. Cassie made an involuntary noise of pleasure around the first bite. “What did you put in this?”

  “Little bit of this, little bit of that.” Seth looked very pleased with himself.

  She was going to have to get used to that smug leonine look, Cassie realized. But since it only seemed to make an appearance when Seth had managed to blow her mind, she thought she could probably handle it.

  They focused on the food for several minutes. Cassie knew that she, at least, had worked up a heck of an appetite earlier, and the stew was so good, all she wanted to do was eat.

  When she’d finished a bowl, Seth held his hand out for it and went to refill it from the pot.

  “Thanks,” Cassie said, fighting a blush. “I guess I’m hungry tonight.” It probably wasn’t the most sexy thing in the world, stuffing her face like this, but she was hungry. And she wasn’t the type of woman to pretend that all she wanted was a salad so a man would think she was trying to be skinny.

  “Good,” Seth said, setting her bowl down in front of her again. “You know, I’ve hardly ever cooked for someone else. Normally it’s me out on the trail alone, cooking just enough for one meal over the fire.”

  “Me too,” Cassie confessed. “Except to be more realistic, it’s me in my apartment alone with my trusty microwave.”

  Seth laughed. “Don’t worry, with me around you won’t have to rely on the microwave if you don’t want to. I’ve rarely even been in the same room as one in the last few years.”

  Cassie sighed. “That really sounds like the life. Not that I don’t appreciate creature comforts, but honestly, I’m happier out hiking than I am in here with my microwave and indoor plumbing. Although I don’t think I could manage a three-course meal over a campfire.”

  “It’s no good if there’s no one else there to appreciate it.” Seth was smiling softly at her. “I never used to think I wanted anything...I guess ‘domestic’ is the right word. And I still don’t want to settle down in one place, but cooking food for my mate, and seeing you enjoy it so much...I didn’t realize it would be like this.”

  Cassie blushed a little. “I don’t think having a family has to immediately mean that you settle down and buy a microwave,” she said. “We can be domestic anywhere in the world if we want.”

  “The key word is we,” said Seth. “Cassie, when this is all over, after we’ve investigated the lab and told Max everything he needs to know...will you come traveling with me?”

  “Of course I will,” Cassie said. “Didn’t I say that that’s what I’ve always wanted to do?”

  “You did, but I didn’t want to just assume that you were going to quit your job and leave your entire life behind for me.” Seth smiled. “I thought I’d at least ask first.”

  Cassie laughed. “Believe me, quitting my job and leaving my entire life behind is something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time now. I wouldn’t be doing it for you, I’d be doing it for me. Or for us, I guess.”

  “Good.” Seth’s shoulders relaxed; Cassie hadn’t realized how tense he’d been about the question.

  “Were you worried I wouldn’t want to go with you?”

  “Not...exactly,” he said. “It’s just that leaving your entire life is a big deal. I did it when I was eighteen, and it was harder than I thought it was going to be. Even though I was living the life of my dreams, I still had to leave my family behind. And I knew that my father hadn’t wanted me to go, which made it even harder.”

  “That does sound hard,” Cassie said softly, not wanting to pry but hoping that Seth would choose to open up more.

  There was a long silence, and she could see that Seth had tensed up again; his jaw was clenched tight.

  She was just about to change the subject to something less painful when Seth said, “He and I...we never got along.”

  Cassie made an encouraging noise.

  “He wasn’t an expressive man. And he cared more about the company than about anything else, and that included his family. Not that he didn’t care about us at all, but...the company came first. And he assumed that for each of his kids, the company would also come first.”

  Cassie pictured a cold, ruthless businessman who was training his children to be the same, and it made her heart ache. “But it didn’t for you.”

  Seth shook his head. “Not for me, not for my little brother. Our sister bought into it, though, and I’ve always thought that Max turned out just like our father. He inherited the company, he rules it with an absolute iron fist like our father did, and I wouldn’t have thought that he’d prioritize anything else.”

  “You sound like you’ve changed your mind.”

  He hesitated. “Maybe. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about the last time we met made me think a little harder. And Max has always understood things that our father didn’t. He gave me his blessing when I left, which our father wouldn’t have. I used to wonder if that was just because he wanted the company all to himself, no brotherly competition, but...I don’t think that anymore.”

  “Well,” Cassie said, “you said that you wished you could be closer to him. Maybe now is your chance.”

  “Maybe,” said Seth. “Although I’d put off any ideas about how that might go until you actually meet him. Getting close to Max Rowland is not easy.”

  “I think you might be underestimating yourself,” Cassie murmured.

  Seth shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “Well, I have spent the last six years of my life in the most remote locations of the world, avoiding contact with people whenever possible. My interpersonal skills are a little rusty.”

  Cassie shook her head vehemently. “You’re kind, you’re intelligent, you care about y
our brother...I think you’ll be okay.” She paused. “Why did you want to get away from everybody so badly? You don’t seem very antisocial to me.”

  “This,” Seth waved his hand between them, “is different. In the world where I grew up, socializing meant that you were always trying to figure out what everyone wanted from each other.”

  “Even as kids?” Cassie couldn’t imagine it.

  Seth nodded. “I went to a high-end private school. Everyone there had rich, powerful parents, and they all thought friendship was just part of a power game. Because that’s what their parents had taught them.”

  “That sounds sad.”

  “It was. And I can see that now. I’m sure a lot of the other kids wished they could have real friends, make real connections. But at the time, I thought everyone was out for what they could get, and I just wanted to get away.”

  Cassie pictured a young Seth, surrounded by scheming junior businessmen who didn’t know any other way to live. Being one of those junior businessmen, and refusing to play the game. “What changed your mind?”

  “I grew up, I guess,” Seth said. “Even though I’ve never been looking to make connections when I travel, sometimes it happens anyway. I had a couple of relationships with women who lived places I was staying, and I learned that sometimes people just want to enjoy each other.”

  Cassie felt a burst of possessiveness at the thought of Seth with other women, but reminded herself that those had been brief flings, and Seth was her mate. There was no need to be jealous of relationships that had been over for a long time.

  “But since I’ve still never wanted to settle in any one place, I couldn’t work out how to maintain any relationships. I needed someone who would come with me.” Seth reached out to clasp her hand, and smiled that warm smile that lit up his face. “And now I’ve found her.”

  Cassie felt an answering smile spreading over her face, and they stayed there in a pocket of happiness for a long time.

  ***

  Eventually, though, it was time to start planning their visit to the lab.

  "What do you mean, 'You should stay behind?'"

  “There's no reason for you to put yourself in danger,” Seth insisted. “This whole thing is my responsibility. Max asked me to take care of it."

  "It's my responsibility just as much as it is yours," Cassie pointed out. "I've been working here for months and I never realized something was up. I've been doing the numbers for the lab! I've been helping them conceal whatever it is they're doing, and I didn't even know it."

  The knowledge that she'd been unknowingly used to cover up something probably illegal, almost certainly immoral—it burned inside her. She was furious at Dave, at whoever worked in that stupid lab, at Chief Financial Officer Carl Hendricks, at all of them for creating this situation and making it so that she was a part of it.

  She was going to help make it right.

  "None of that was your fault.” Seth took her hand. “There was no way you could've known something was up."

  Cassie squeezed his hand, feeling warmed by his words, but didn’t give up. "I did know something was up. And how is it less my responsibility than yours? You didn't do anything wrong, either. You just want to help your brother. Well, guess what: I want to help you."

  "I don't want you to get hurt." Seth’s jaw was set.

  "I don't want you to get hurt, either!" Cassie glared. "Is this some macho man thing? You don't think a woman should be allowed to put herself in danger?"

  “It has nothing to do with you being a woman, and everything to do with you being my mate. I love you and I want you to be safe." Seth’s grip on her hand tightened.

  Cassie squeezed back. "I love you and I want you to be safe. Does that mean you're going to stay behind?"

  Seth was silent for a moment, and Cassie knew she'd won. "No,” he said grudgingly.

  "Great. We can take my car. I know the roads, anyway, and they'll be hard to navigate, especially in the dark."

  "Okay," Seth said, "but listen. I can shift if there's danger. A lion is stronger and faster than a human—any human, man or woman. I also heal faster than a normal human if I get hurt. So that means that if there is danger, if there's any possibility that one of us might get hurt, I have to be the one who's first in line. If I tell you to run, you need to run, and trust that I can take care of myself and get out alive, even if you've taken the car. All right?"

  Cassie didn't like the idea of running away and leaving Seth to get hurt at all, but she had to agree that his logic was sound. "Okay," she said reluctantly.

  "If anything does happen to me, then I want you to call Max."

  Cassie got out her phone and entered the number Seth gave her, wondering at her life. She had the personal cell phone number of Rowland Global Solutions' CEO in her phone.

  "Max will know what to do if there's a problem," Seth continued. "The only reason he sent me instead of coming himself was because he wanted to take care of this without Hendricks finding out. If something goes wrong, he can bring the wrath of—well, of himself—down on anyone he wants to."

  "Okay." That was comforting, wasn't it? Cassie decided to believe it was comforting. Max Rowland was on their side.

  Seth took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go."

  ***

  Seth wasn't sure how he felt about Cassie coming along with him. On the one hand, having his mate by his side as he went to investigate felt...right, somehow. The two of them, working together to solve a mystery and right a wrong. It was exactly what he'd never realized he wanted for his life.

  On the other hand, he was terrified that something would happen to Cassie while they were at the lab. He had to acknowledge that she had as much right to be there as he did, that this was a problem for her as well as for Max.

  But he didn't have to like it.

  They dressed in dark clothes, and Seth made sure Cassie’s car was equipped with a first-aid kit and some basic survival gear.

  "There's a small night shift," Cassie told him. "From what I've been able to tell from the payroll info, there's about six people who work nights, and four of them are paid like security guards, while two of them are paid like scientists."

  Seth was consistently amazed at how much intelligence Cassie had at her fingertips. And she could remember all the facts about the lab off the top of her head, which he would never have expected of anyone.

  When he said as much, though, she just shrugged. "My job is kind of boring," she said with an impish smile. "I didn't have a lot to do with my brain other than speculate about what the super-secret lab might be up to. I spent a lot of time sifting through the numbers to figure out what it might look like and who actually worked there.”

  Seth supposed that made sense, but it still spoke to Cassie's smarts and imagination.

  "Stop looking at me all sappy and let's go!" Cassie's words were impatient, but her expression was equally sappy, if not more so.

  Seth kissed her...and then realized one kiss wasn't going to be enough, and kissed her again. Her wide, expressive mouth was impossible to resist.

  Cassie kissed him back, making that tiny little moan in the back of her throat that he'd already learned to love. They were just about to get too distracted to keep going when she pulled back.

  "We've got a mission," she reminded him, although her eyes were making hot promises for what they might do when they got back.

  "Mission." He nodded. "Right. Let's go."

  Cassie led the way.

  ***

  It was a long drive out to the lab, on dark mountain roads. Cassie had handed Seth a map and told him to navigate, but she hardly asked him to look at it, so he was left thinking about the possibilities for how the night would go.

  Cassie’s information suggested that there were at least four security guards. They’d have to try and get a sense of where they were posted. They also had two passcodes, but no idea where each of them had to be used.

  More and more, Seth was sure that Hendricks was up to
something very bad out here.

  And Seth was bringing Cassie right into it.

  He had to bite his lip to keep from telling her to stop the car and let him out. They didn’t know there was any danger, and if there was, they had plenty of opportunities for dealing with it. If necessary, Seth could reveal his identity. Anyone who ostensibly worked for Rowland Global Solutions would have to pause when confronted with an actual Rowland.

  And as a last resort, he could shift. Anyone would pause when confronted with a 500-pound lion.

  Cassie pulled up in a little dirt offshoot from the road, and turned off her car. “This is probably as close as we can get without anyone hearing us,” she said.

  “Time to walk, then.” Seth put a hand on her arm before she could get out of the car.

  “Stay behind me,” he said seriously. “If I tell you to run, run. If anyone points a gun at anyone else, run. Please don’t put yourself in danger.”

  She nodded. “I won’t. I understand.”

  Seth leaned in and kissed her, and they got out of the car together.

  He led the way down the road until they reached the turnoff to the lab. The road turned into a couple of dirt ruts, and he went more and more slowly as they got closer.

  When the ruts started to open up into a clearing, he stopped. Cassie came to a halt behind him, her hand resting lightly on his back.

  It was probably too dark for her to see anything, but Seth’s shifter senses gave him an advantage. The lab was a large complex of squat, concrete buildings in the middle of the clearing, with high, small windows and no indication of what its purpose might be.

  Seth watched it without moving until someone came around the corner. Another someone. It was two of the security guards.

  He leaned back to whisper to Cassie, “We have to wait here until we know what their routine is.”

  She nodded, and they settled in to watch.

  The guards made a pass all the way around the building complex every fifteen minutes or so, pausing every so often to scan out into the woods. They looked bored.

  Seth figured the most exciting thing they’d had to deal with in the entire time they’d been employed was the occasional wild animal. They were complacent, because nothing had ever happened.