Living a Lion: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Sleeping Lions - Shifters Prime Book 1)

by Harmony Raines

  “Frasier, do you believe that Serrif killed Kane’s father? Because I don’t want my mate getting into something, fighting with Serrif, if it’s not true.” Her voice was direct when she asked, “Is Darius lying to Kane?”

  “No. At least not about Serrif killing Remus. Now, I will swear I never said this if anyone asks, but I know Serrif killed Remus. But where Darius was that night, I don’t know.”

  “Was he with Kane’s mother?” Amara asked.

  “Who knows, and maybe it doesn’t matter. Or maybe it is a thing Kane needs to ask his mom or Darius. But the answer won’t change what Serrif did.”

  “Thank you,” Amara said. “You should eat. I’ll get Kane some water and try to get him to wake up. If he’s concussed, you know I’m going to be hanging your bear hide on my wall.”

  “He’ll be fine.” Frasier moved away, his voice fainter when he said, “He’s lucky to have you. You will make a fine queen, or whatever it is you will be when he beats Serrif.”

  “You think he can beat him?” Amara asked. “Because part of me wants to kidnap him and take him far away from all this.”

  “Now, where would be the fun in that?” Frasier asked.

  “Bears!” Amara sighed and then said, “Oh, I think he’s waking up.”

  Kane stretched his legs and pretended like he was waking up, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt, but if it did, Amara showed no sign. She simply leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

  “Welcome back.”

  “Are you an angel?” Kane asked.

  Across by the fire, Frasier sprayed his dinner out of his mouth, while Amara laughed and helped him up.

  “Oh, yeah, he is concussed,” Frasier said.

  “I’ll get you next time,” Kane said, sitting up and feeling his head spin.

  “In your dreams,” Frasier said.

  “OK, now I know you’re all right, Kane. That means you get to keep your bear hide for another day,” Amara said to Frasier. “Come on, Kane, you need to eat. Then I thought we could go for a walk.”

  “I think I like the sound of that,” Kane said, sitting up and then moving towards the fire. In his head, his lion sat with his pride dented at being knocked out by a bear. But the thought of walking with their mate in the moonlight soon made him forget, but not forgive. He would get that bear. He would keep training until one day no one would beat his lion.

  Chapter Twenty – Amara

  “You know, we hardly know anything about each other,” Kane said. They were seated on a log in a clearing. Above their heads were millions of stars, making her feel small, but with Kane’s arms around her, she didn’t feel insignificant.

  “Do you find it weird, knowing I am your mate?” she asked. “In Shifters Prime, we are pretty much used to finding our mate and settling down and then getting to know each other. Which is the fun part.”

  His arms tightened around hers. “For me, it’s strange. I grew up expecting to meet a girl, take her out to dinner, maybe a movie. Meet her parents, and then get married in a year or two, unless they were keen to get their hands on my bank balance, then I guess things would go quicker.”

  “Yeah, I totally missed out there. I should have got you to show me the delights of your world before I dragged you over here to be a penniless lion.”

  “When I beat Serrif, I’ll have my father’s assets back, right?” Kane asked, his hand going to stroke her neck and send thrills down her spine. She shivered and nestled close to him, feeling the warmth of his body and the beat of his heart.

  “Yes, as long as you win by the Pride Rules. And as long as he still has assets. I’m not sure what kind of man he is,” Amara said.

  “And what about you, and your family?” he asked, kissing her neck in such an exquisite way, her body erupted in butterflies.

  “My family? Now, that is a good question. I mean, they thought they sold my contract, so I hope they are happy when I return home.” She had reservations that they would think there was something underhand going on. Never in their wildest dreams would they expect their daughter to turn up, so soon before the end of her contract, with a pride leader in tow.

  “Surely they will be pleased.” His hands began exploring her body, and she sighed contentedly.

  “Can we forget about families for now, and fights that have to be won, and just be two people who have found each other under the stars?” She leaned back on his shoulder and turned her head so his lips could meet hers.

  An electrifying pulse ignited the flames of desire that burned for him. A deep need unfurled, to thread through her veins, setting her nerve endings on fire. Every part of her clamoured to be touched by him, to feel his hands brush her skin.

  Kane slipped one hand inside her shirt and cupped her breast, his thumb brushing her nipple, while his mouth plundered hers. His tongue slid along her lower lip, and she opened her mouth for him, allowing him to taste her fully. She met him, her tongue entwining with his, while his fingers tweaked her nipple, making her whimper against his mouth.

  “I want you, Amara, here under the stars,” he whispered when their mouths parted.

  She stood up, feeling confident in the waning moon as it caressed her body. Slowly, deliberately, making sure he watched her every move, she took her clothes off. Never had she felt more sensual as she did now with his eyes ravishing her body. First her shirt fell to the floor, and then she undid her pants, letting them slide down her legs. Slowly, she stepped out of them, stopping to stand upright, her hands on the clasp of her bra. Kane watched, shuffling uncomfortably, the hardness of his cock wanting release.

  When she unclasped her bra, and her breasts spilled forward, he licked his lips and she wanted him to taste them. Going to him, she straddled him, sitting in his lap, her clit pressed against his hardness. She made small movements, using her body to increase their arousal, while he lowered his head and kissed her nipples, nipping her flesh, teasing her, until she ached for him to be inside her.

  Slipping backwards, with his arms around her so she didn’t fall off, she undid his pants, freeing his long, thick cock. It stood hard and erect, desperate to be sheathed in her warm, moist sex. Lifting herself up, he guided his cock, so when she lowered herself again, he inched inside her.

  They both gasped at the sensation, the day’s stresses forgotten as she went lower and lower, his cock filling her.

  “Oh, that’s good,” he said, and his hands gripped her hips, helping her to move with a rhythm that brought their arousal to fever pitch. Up and down, she lowered her body, until she was completely impaled on him. Then she began to rock her hips, stretching her sex around him.

  She laced her hands behind his neck, her mouth seeking his, while his hands moved to her breasts. He was inside her and all around her, taking her to new heights, and following wherever she went until they exploded in unison.

  Amara threw her head back, the stars above her head bright and cold, shining down on them as they celebrated the warmth of their love. She wanted to cry out, and tell the world she had found her man, her mate, but she was acutely aware of Frasier, only a mile or so away. So she bit his neck, burying her head in his collarbone while her orgasm carried her away into the night.

  “We should get back,” he said.

  “I know, but it’s nice being here with you, just the two of us.”

  He kissed her. “One day, we will be carefree and happy, but right now I have things I need to do,” he said.

  “A destiny to be filled.” She kissed his neck, breathing in the scent of him.

  “I never knew I would have a destiny,” he said. “I always thought I would spend my days sitting at a desk, or in the boardroom. My uncle kept the secret so well.”

  “Do you think there are other secrets he keeps?” Amara asked.

  Kane stared up at her, his face lit by the moon. “You mean about the night when my father was murdered?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I’ve given it a lot of thought. And I think th
at whatever happened, whatever guilt he carried, that by taking me away and keeping me safe, he has done his penance. Being here under the stars, running free, well, I don’t know how he gave it up. I don’t know how he has denied himself everything that he is.”

  “Including his mate,” she said, brushing Kane’s hair back and kissing him.

  “Including his mate,” Kane murmured. “I don’t know how he lives without her love.”

  Chapter Twenty-One – Kane

  Back on the road again, but the atmosphere in the truck was more relaxed. Perhaps it was because Frasier had beaten him last night and no longer felt threatened; this whole top-predator thing had thrown him. Now Kane realised that the business world he had been brought up in was fake. Out here, it was very real, real fists, real claws and he had to learn as much as he could as fast as he could, because Serrif would have had a lifetime of training in Shifters Prime. While Kane was going to have a hard time shrugging off the young pretender image.

  “How much do you know about Serrif?” Kane asked Frasier.

  “Met him once. He put in an order for a consignment of microchips.”

  “And you found them for him?” Kane asked.

  “Now you’re catching on.” Frasier grinned. “Yes. They aren’t the easiest thing to get across the border. The humans don’t want us developing any technology. We’re supposed to know our place, and that is under them. They try to forget that some of the brightest, sharpest minds turned out to be shifters. The splitting of the world was bad for us all.”

  “Do you think we’ll ever go back to how things were?” Amara asked.

  “Nope, at least not in my lifetime. They are scared, and understandably so. We are more powerful, and we have the ability to turn them,” Frasier said.

  “Wait. What?” Kane asked. “I didn’t know that, it’s not common knowledge in my world … in the Otherworld.”

  “Those in charge like to keep it quiet,” Frasier smiled at Kane. “Do you know how many women come across that border to get turned by one of us filthy, sexy beasts?”

  “No. But I can guess. People are always dissatisfied with what they have. So they think if they become something different, it will make them happier.” Kane watched the scenery change. They had passed through the mountains and thick forests and were now travelling along flat grasslands. He could almost imagine lions out here: it wasn’t quite the savannah, but it was second best.

  “There was some big debate with the tribal leaders in the Prime, and the chiefs passed a law that said anyone who turned a human was responsible for them, for the rest of their lives. It made a huge difference. Imagine if you find your mate and have to explain that there is another man or woman in your life. That does not go down too well. Mates don’t like sharing, so it rarely happens these days.” Frasier laughed. “It’s some crazy world we live in. Exciting, though. You never know what you’re going to get faced with next.”

  “Elephants,” Kane said, his voice rising in excitement. To their left, there was a herd of elephants. Hundreds of them. Hundreds of them. “I didn’t know there were that many elephants left alive.”

  “They aren’t your elephants, Kane. They are our elephants,” Amara said. “You know what I think sometimes?”

  “No, tell me,” he said softly.

  “That this is nature’s way of ensuring we don’t lose all the animals on earth. That humans can’t wipe them out with hunting or farming. Because now they are part of us,” she said. And for once Frasier didn’t laugh.

  Kane turned and looked out of the window at the large herd, a dust cloud following them as their enormous feet walked across the dry grasslands. “Where are they going?” To Kane they looked like an army going to war.

  “To work, we all have jobs,” Frasier said. “They go up to the forests and haul the wood down.”

  “Fascinating,” Kane said watching them.

  “You say it like you’re watching the Animal Channel. This is real life now, Kane.” Frasier drove on, his foot easing down on the gas pedal. “We need to make better time. I wanted to be at Amara’s village before dark. We’ll stop and eat in an hour…”

  “We’re going straight to my village?” Amara asked, cutting Frasier off.

  Kane felt the tension in her body, and placed his hand on hers. “It’ll be good to meet your family.”

  “But I thought we would deal with your problems first, before we dealt with mine,” she said weakly.

  “Hey, I will be much happier once you and your folks have sorted out what happened.”

  “And he’s not facing Serrif until he can beat every last one of your brothers,” Frasier said. “I told your uncle I would keep you alive, and this is the plan. Sorry, Amara.”

  “It’s OK,” she said. “I’m just nervous, that’s all. I don’t want them to think I’m bringing trouble their way.”

  “How could they?” Kane asked, and then he realised what she meant. “You mean me?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes telling him all he needed to know, although she tried to smooth it over. “Not just you. The contract, my father’s debt. But yeah, if word gets round they are sheltering you, well, Serrif is powerful enough to destroy our pride.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” Kane said.

  “I know, but once my dad and my brothers know you are part of our family, our pride will defend you until the death.”

  Kane leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. The only family he had ever known was his uncle. Now he was about to be thrust into a pride, and then one day soon he would meet his mother, the woman who might, or might not, have betrayed his father.

  “Maybe we should just run off and live alone,” Kane said half jokingly.

  “You know it would be easier,” Amara said. “But we could never be happy. We both need this resolved. For the sake of our children, if nothing else.”

  He sighed. His life was all too complicated now, but as he held her warm hand in his, he knew he would never go back to the man he had been on the other side of the border. That man was dead.

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Amara

  They drew into Amara’s small village, in the Satoma Pride Lands, at dusk. Amara was sure she was going to throw up. She had no idea who, if anyone would greet her, or whether they would ask her to take the trouble she brought with her to someone else’s door.

  “It’s OK,” Kane said quietly. “They’re your family, you must love each other very much.

  “I’m not so sure,” she said worriedly.

  “The contract only existed because your father was duped into thinking he owed money. The debt wasn’t yours to pay; surely they will know that and be grateful to you.” He was looking out of the window at the deserted streets. “Is it usually this quiet?”

  “No,” she said. “The market is often still open at this time of day. And people mill around, usually swapping news, and talking and drinking. We’re a social bunch.”

  Yet the streets were empty. Only when they drew closer to the middle of the village did there begin to be signs of life. A shadow flitting here and there, but no one approached.

  “There’s my house,” Amara said and Frasier turned off down a side street and pulled up in front of a large wood-framed building that looked well maintained and well loved. The sound of wind chimes filled the air, and on the porch outside a rocking chair and a swing seat sat empty around a table with glasses on. There had been people here, but they had hastily gone inside.

  “Are they hiding?” Kane asked.

  “They don’t usually hide. Normally any strange vehicle would be approached. We aren’t suspicious, not unless given good cause.” She glanced sideways at Frasier. “It’s not your truck, is it?”

  “What do you mean?” Frasier asked, stopping but leaving the engine running.

  “Well, you are a finder aren’t you? So maybe you have a reputation,” she said, trying not to hurt his feelings.

  “Not the kind of reputation you are insinuating,” he said blun
tly.

  “Sorry, had to ask,” she said, and then turned to Kane. “Listen, this isn’t right, so why don’t we get out while Frasier stays here. At least if there is any trouble, we can make a run for it and make a quick getaway.”

  “Sure. Is that OK with you, Frasier?” Kane’s tone also had the underlying question you won’t run out on us, will you laced in it.

  “Engine running, foot on the accelerator. You go see if anyone is home, Amara.” He sat back in his seat, his eyes flicking to the side mirrors, and then out the front window, and Amara knew this wasn’t the first time he had done surveillance duty.

  “Thank you, Frasier,” she said, kissing his cheek quickly, much to Kane’s horror, but she had the pleasure of seeing Frasier blush and he mumbled something incoherent.

  “What was that for?” Kane asked stiffly when they were walking up the path leading to her house.

  “It was to make sure he is still there. I know your uncle paid him, but we don’t know if he would run to save his own skin. But if he likes us, he’s more likely to stay around.”

  “So you kissed him?”

  “Thought he would appreciate it more than if you kissed him instead,” she said and laughed quietly. “Come on, let’s get this over with. I think if I get any more nervous, I’ll throw up.”

  “Hey, it’s OK. I’m here. I know I don’t know how things work over in the Prime, but I am here for you all the same. We’re mates. Right?” He took her arm and turned her towards him. “I will always have your back.”

  “Thank you, Kane,” she said and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Should I knock?”

  “It’s your house. Would you normally knock?” he asked.

  “No. But they will not be expecting me, will they,” she said, and couldn’t help feeling out of place here in the village she called home. Despite only being away for a short time, it felt like an eternity, probably because she had changed more in those few weeks than she had in her whole life.