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“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.
