by The Lion
“Were you bitten or something, like in the movies?” She had seen enough werewolf movies to last a lifetime, but a part of her knew this was not like a movie in any sense.
“It doesn’t work like that, baby. I was born this way. My mother and father are lion shifters, as are my two brothers and sister.” He smiled and cupped her cheek. “I moved to Vegas when I was twenty-two. My father wanted me to run the pride after he stepped down as Alpha, but I never wanted that. I never saw myself as the leader.”
It’s hard to believe he wouldn’t want to do something like that, especially when she had seen exactly how domineering and assertive he could be. He was a born leader, even if he didn’t realize it.
“So, I started at the bottom in Vegas and worked my way up. It took a lot of blood and sweat to be where I’m at today, but it was worth it.” The way he looked at her in the moment was so deep it stole her breath. “Especially now that I’ve found you, Tatum. My mate.”
Mate? That word sounded strange as it rolled around in her head, but for some unknown reason it felt so right.
“Everything about you calls out to me and my animal. The way you smell, so sweet and delicious, makes my mouth water. Your luscious curves have my lion purring in need, baby.” The air started coming in and out of her in faster intervals. He moved closer to her so that their lips were mere centimeters apart. “You are the only woman that I will ever want for the rest of my life.” She blinked from the seriousness of his words. “Tatum.” She focused her eyes until his magnificent face came back into view.
“Y-yes?” Never had a man said such things to her.
“You own me. Body, soul, and animal.” He slanted his lips on hers, taking her mouth with a fierceness that rivaled her own.
Yes, this was what it felt like to be wanted wholly. Breaking the kiss—which was so much harder then she imagined—Tatum placed an unsteady hand on his chest. Things needed to be said from her side, things that she needed to reveal about herself.
“I want to tell you about me, Leo.” The lust in his eyes dimmed when he heard her words. He nodded and leaned back, but kept a hand on her hip. Digging deep inside of her, she pulled up every ounce of strength she could muster. Kiki was the only one who really knew about what she had gone through, and she found it frightening as hell to be about to tell another person.
Chapter Eleven
Tatum lay beside Leo on his massive bed. His arms wrapped snugly around her, a reassuring presence. They had been lying like this for a long time, neither of them saying anything. She knew Leo was giving her time to tell him, and she found it a lot harder to say the words then she could ever have imagined.
“My first memory is watching my mother stumble into the house. I was only four years old, but even then I knew that what I saw wasn’t right. She had a man hanging all over her. She always had a man hanging all over her. I could smell alcohol on her, although at that time I didn’t know that’s what it was. It was a scent I associated with her because that’s what she always smelt like.” Tatum took a deep breath and continued.
“She always had different men coming and going. Most of the time they ignored me or didn’t even know I was there, but other times…” His arms tightened around her, and a growl left him. A smile curved her lips at the sound. Strange to think she actually felt comforted by the animalistic noises.
“Nothing ever happened, not in the way you think, but that’s only because I became smart and started hiding when I heard her come home. After one of them tried to get me to go with him to his truck I knew that those men were bad.”
“Christ, Tatum. You were just a baby.” He kissed the top of her head, and she snuggled deeper into the hardness of his chest.
“I learned at a very young age that I could only rely on myself. There were times when it seemed my mother had her sober moments and tried to acknowledge my presence. I was still so desperate for her love that I absorbed anything she gave me.” She stared at a patch of hard, tanned flesh on his abdomen and drew lazy circles around his skin. She got lost in the past as she retold it.
“When I became a teenager her verbal abuse became a daily occurrence. I wasn’t skinny by any means, and she made sure to point that out at every turn. My mother was a waif, but she had her lack of eating and alcohol consumption to blame. She already thought I was a burden, but now I was her fat teenage daughter that had become a chain around her ankle.”
“Tatum, baby—”
“No, Leo, please let me get this out.” He kissed her temple but didn’t say anything else. “Every time I saw her she would get a disgusted look on her face. After a while I grew used to the insults and made sure to make myself scarce. She made it no secret that she should have aborted me when she had the chance.”
She would not cry. She would not cry. It had been over a year since her mother passed away, but reliving the abuse Tatum suffered at her mother’s hands reopened the wounds she thought had long since healed. Apparently she wasn’t as put together as she thought.
“I was her fat fuck of a daughter that could stand to lose half my body weight and still be overweight. Her words, not mine.” She laughed humorlessly as she remembered that particular conversation with her mother. “She told me maybe if she had a beautiful daughter people would love me. beautiful she would love me.”
“Baby…” The pain in Leo’s face had her closing her eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I wanted her to love me, to think I was beautiful. It wasn’t like I gained weight at home. Hell, there was hardly ever any food. I spent a lot of my time at Kiki’s, but I never gorged myself. It was like I was built differently, and I hated it. I wanted her to see me as the daughter she could be proud of.” Tatum wiped angrily at her tears and pressed on. It hurt to get this out, but she knew she had to. She was a broken woman, and Leo deserved to know why.
“I started starving myself, and anything I did eat I threw up.” The tears fell harder, faster. “The weight started dropping, and I finally started thinking I could be more than the fat, ugly daughter of Carey Weatherton.”
“Sweetheart, you have to know that isn’t true.” Leo turned his head and cupped the side of her face. “I’ve never met a woman more beautiful than you.”
And she believed him, with every part of her. “But dropping the weight wasn’t enough. I kept binging and purging. The guilt from eating, even if I just ended up throwing it up, had me starving myself as well. It didn’t matter though, because all I saw in the mirror was a girl with big hips, too thick thighs, and a size fourteen frame. The only person who showed any kind of concern was Kiki, but I didn’t care. I started to get compliments. The boys at school noticed me, and my mom praised me instead of degrading me.” Those little compliments meant more to her than anything else. “I actually felt beautiful—”
Leo cut her off when he slanted his mouth on hers. The kiss was hard, yet showed her that his pain for her was very much real. Was it possible to love someone so quickly? Because her heart swelled and something shifted in her when it came to him.
“I wish I could have been there for you. I would have showed you how important you are.” He kissed her again. “I would have showed you that you are beautiful inside and out.” His lips were still pressed against hers when he spoke. She could have stopped there, but he needed to know how bad it had been.
“Thank you for that, Leo. I wish you had been there, too. I have no doubt my life would have been far better than it had been if you were by my side.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I got really sick. My mom had been gone for three days, but that wasn’t too unusual. Kiki was the one who found me when I didn’t show up at school. I spent weeks in the hospital as a result of malnutrition and dehydration. They said I was lucky not have had a heart attack.”
Tatum shook her head as her past flipped through her mind like a movie reel. “Can you imagine a seventeen year old dying of a heart attack as a result of an eating disorder? The repercussions of what I did never delved deeper
than the surface.” Even now she could see herself lying on that white, sterile bed, the IV machine beeping a steady rhythm.
“My own mother didn’t even come and see me in the hospital. Kiki was the only one that loved me, that still loves me for who I am.” Squeezing her eyes shut she knew that to be the truth.
“Tatum, look at me, sweetheart.” She opened her eyes and tilted her head back. “She isn’t the only one who loves you.” He kissed her tears away. “I love the way you talk back to me.” His lips touched another tear as it crept down her cheek. “I love that you’re soft and caring and think of others before yourself.” Another chaste kiss. “I love how beautiful you look when your hair is rumpled and your cheeks are rosy right after I’ve been inside of you.” He heart picked up. His hand landed between her breasts, and she knew he had to have felt how fast her heart beat. “But do you want know what I love most?”
“What?” Her eyes fluttered closed when his lips brushed hers.
“I love the strong, independent woman you are, and that you know what you want in life.” His tongue slipped inside of hers, and she moaned. “I love you, Tatum. I love everything about you, inside and out.”
She rested her head against his shoulder and thanked whoever listened for bringing Leo into her life. Whatever happened between them was fast, yet strong. It wasn’t conventional, and there were a lot of things that were not the norm, but it worked for them.
“It took a long time for me to get better, mentally and physically. If Kiki hadn’t been there I don’t think I would have made it. Once I graduated I left home with Kiki and started a new life.” Her hand stilled on his chest, and she looked into his eyes. “I’m telling you all this because I want you to know who I am. I’m not perfect, still have issues with my self-image, and know that I could relapse at any moment. I want you to know that I have been broken, and although I put myself back together with the help of Kiki, I still have cracks that run deep. I don’t want you to look back and wish things had been different.”
In the next second she was on her back with Leo’s body covering hers.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Tatum.” His forearms were beside her head, his fingers playing with the ends of her hair. “When I say you’re mine, I also mean I’m yours. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll be here for as long as you’ll have me.” The feel of his hard length rubbing along her cleft had her instantly aroused. “I want you no matter what. The woman I see is all I’ve ever wanted.” He ran his nose along her cheek. “Just tell me that you want this, too.” Leo whispered against her ear, and she closed her eyes and nodded.
In one fluid, smooth move he slid into her. This time it was slow and sweet. There was no rush, because for the first time in her life she felt like she had all the time in the world.
She let him know that she wanted this, more than anything, with every lift of her hips and moan that left her mouth. It was the single most eye-opening experience she had ever encountered.
They made love for several more hours before she finally fell asleep in his arms, with the sound of his heartbeat lulling her to sleep. And when she woke and he insisted he follow her home, she felt like the butterflies in her belly would burst forth. She couldn’t remember another time when things had felt so right, and she couldn’t wait to tell Kiki that maybe she was on the road to finally mending herself from the inside out.
Chapter Twelve
“I have plans tonight, Kiki.” Tatum pursed her lips to hold in her laughter as she watched her best friend fall dramatically on the sofa.
“You always have plans.” She threw an arm over her eyes and sighed. “Let me guess. Leo?” Kiki dropped her arm and turned her head so she stared at Tatum.
“Yeah.” When Kiki didn’t say anything Tatum looked up. “You’re not mad, are you?” Tatum poured the second glass with white wine and made her way into the living room.
“Of course I’m not, but I’m in desperate need of a girl’s night out.”
Tatum sat beside Kiki and handed a glass over. She watched with a raised brow as Kiki downed half of it in one swallow. “Everything okay?”
Kiki sucked in a big lungful of air and set her glass down. “It’s just…” She picked at her shirt before continuing. “I think Beau’s cheating on me.”
Tatum sputtered on the wine she had just swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “What?” Kiki nodded and grabbed her glass. She drank the rest of it and handed the glass to Tatum to refill. When both of them were topped off Tatum finally found her voice.
“Kiki, I think you might be seeing things that aren’t there.”
Kiki shook her head, and tears swam in her eyes.
“No, I mean, I hope I am, but I don’t think so.” She wiped angrily at her tears and refused to look at Tatum.
“Honey.” She placed her hand on top of Kiki’s. “What makes you think he’s cheating?” Tatum honestly couldn’t see Beau doing anything like that. He loved Kiki, doted on her like she was precious crystal. For five years Tatum had watched their nauseating PDA.
“I don’t know. He’s just been acting very secretive the past few weeks. He’s getting these phone calls and leaving right in the middle of dinner to answer them. I’ve tried to overhear what he says, but all I can make out are urgent whispers.” Kiki sniffed loudly.
“Did you ask him about it?”
Kiki nodded. “Yeah, and let me tell you that didn’t end well. He was all nonchalant about it, like I imagined everything. That pissed me off even more.”
Lord, Tatum could just imagine how that ended. Kiki wasn’t known for keeping her anger in. More times than not she set her inner wild child free, and the destruction tended to be cringe-worthy.
“I think he’s seeing someone at the club.” Kiki let her head fall back on the couch and sighed. “I’m happy for you and Leo, I truly am, but I need this girl’s night out, Tatum. I need to get good and wasted, dance my ass off, and not think about who Beau is fucking behind my back.” Kiki pouted in an attempt at humor, but Tatum could see the pain behind her friend’s eyes.
There was no way she planned on not being there for her friend. Kiki had always been there when Tatum needed her. Grabbing her phone, Tatum typed out a quick text to Leo.
Sorry. Can’t make it tonight. Need to have a grls night out with Kiki.
A second later her phone buzzed.
Leo: Everything ok?
Ya, just boy problems. Can we reschedule for tmrrow?
Leo: Sure, baby. Where u gonna go? Just so I’m not worrying all night. J
“Kiki?” Her friend’s eyes were closed.
“What?” She sounded so forlorn that it pulled at Tatum’s heart.
“Where do you want to get drunk at?” Kiki squealed right before she jumped out of the couch. After she told Tatum where she wanted to go and she sent a text to Leo, they headed into her bedroom to get ready for a night of debauchery.
****
Leo sat at his desk, his gaze on the papers strewn across the top. His mind was on other things than work, more important things. He couldn’t help but think about Tatum and everything she had told him.
Since they spoke a week ago things had been going better than he could have ever imagined. The fact she had accepted his lineage astounded him beyond comprehension. He had expected her to run away from him, to see him as the animal he truly was. She had opened her arms to him, and he had eagerly fallen into them. He was putty in her hands, whether she realized that or not.
A knock on his door had him lifting his head and putting the thought of Tatum in the farthest part of his mind. Whoever was coming to him would not taint the image or thought of her.
“Yeah?” He unlocked the door by a simple press of a button under his desk. The lock unlatched, and Tryck, one of his bouncers, stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
“Slade’s here. Peaches took him to the Champagne room. He’s got three girls in there now and two of his men hanging back.”
Shit.
Leo didn’t know what was going on with Slade, but the shifter had been sniffing around his house, and Leo wasn’t feeling it. Whatever the hell Slade had up his sleeve couldn’t be good. He had known the asshole since he first moved to Vegas. Ever since their altercation five years back, they had kept their distance from each other. The town was big enough for both of them, but Slade didn’t see it that way. The lion wanted full reign of the land, but there was no way Leo would back down.
After a lot of bloodshed Slade had walked away, but Leo wasn’t a fool enough to think the psychotic shifter would let it be. It might have taken five years, but Slade kept coming back to his club for a reason, and Leo had a feeling it wasn’t for anything good.
He stood and made his way to the Champagne room. The steady, low bump of music surrounded him, and the closer he got to the closed door of the VIP room, the more the bass intensified. Without knocking, because really, it was his fucking club, Leo pushed the door open. Slade sat on the black leather couch situated in the center of the room. Two girls in nothing but a G-string and their tits hanging out danced seductively to music.
Slade looked the relaxed part as his arms were thrown over the back of the couch and his legs were parted. One of the girls moved between his legs and turned around, showing her ass. She did a little shake before popping her ass out in Slade’s face. The lion’s expression sppeared almost bored as he watched.
“Candy, Pepper, and Macie, get the fuck out of here.” The girls hurried out of the room at Leo’s menacing tone. He was beyond pissed that Slade was here, and the fact the fucker had a smug grin on his face had his blood roaring in his ears.
Once the girls were out Tryck took a step closer. Slade’s men followed suit, their hands at their waists. Leo didn’t doubt there were guns hidden under their suit jackets, but Leo was beyond that gangster shit. If things were going to get ugly with Slade, they were going to do it lion to lion. No guns, no back-up. Just the two of them, and may the best shifter win.