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“Shifters stick with their own kind for the most part. It’s just safer that way. Humans can be twitchy about us.”
“Does it go both ways?” She tilted her head and looked at him. His eyes were brown, a dark caramel color with gold flecks, and his lashes were thick enough to make her jealous.
“What?”
“Are shifters twitchy about humans?”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, then linked their fingers and gave her hand a squeeze. “There are always people who don’t like another type of people for one reason or another. And yes, there are lions who don’t want to mix with humans. But I’m not one of them. Our pride recently went through some major changes to the laws governing us. At one time, lions couldn’t mate with anyone other than another lion or they’d be exiled from the pride.”
“Exiled like kicked out?”
He nodded.
“That’s harsh.”
He shrugged. “Our laws kept our people safe for centuries, and a lot of it has to do with keeping our kind going. Human-shifter mixes aren’t always able to shift.”
“Does that matter?”
“If you care about it, I guess it does. But I never did. It doesn’t matter to me what someone can or can’t shift into, only that they’re a good person. Before Duke found his human heart-match, there were only lions in our pride. Now Duke has Ree, and another lion – Barron – is mated to Ree’s sister.”
“Heart-match?”
“Lions find their mate one of two ways. Either they ask a match-maker to set them up or they wait to find their heart-match. The one right person on the planet for them.”
“So, you either wait for fate or go into an arranged mating? Wait, is mating like marriage?”
“Yes, and yes,” he said.
“Are you...arranged?” Her heart clenched as she waited.
“I’m not. I’m single. You?”
“Single.”
He purred and she adored the sound. “Good.”
She smiled and kissed him, a quick brush of her lips against his. But he didn’t let her get far from him, sliding his hand to the back of her neck and drawing her back to him. He swiped his tongue along her lips, and she opened them, and that first glide of her tongue along his sent a riot of sensation down her spine. Her stomach flipped and her body heated, and she scooted closer, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arms around him.
He tilted her head and deepened the kiss, and she groaned. Her whole body felt like it was plugged in.
The kiss felt like it went on forever but also seemed to be over far too fast. Before she knew it, he was easing away with a purr that she could feel, and her heart was pounding in exhilaration.
“Wow,” he said, his eyes dark and hooded.
“I second that.”
He stroked her hair and she snuggled into his warmth. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him to come home with her, but she’d never done that, and she wasn’t sure if he’d think badly of her. What she wanted right now wasn’t just one night with Diesel – her heart was already longing for a lifetime. And how strange was it that it was happening so fast, but she wasn’t freaked out by it?
“Can I take you home, sweetness?” he said roughly, his voice low in her ear. “I don’t want the night to end. Come home with me or let me take you to your place. I don’t care, just...don’t make me say goodbye right now.”
“Are you psychic?” she asked as she leaned away from him.
“Thinking the same thing?” he asked with a chuckle as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“Definitely. I’ve never done this kind of thing before. I don’t want you to think less of me.”
He took one of her hands and placed it on his chest. His eyes changed from caramel to gold and she saw the hint of fangs in his mouth when he spoke. “I swear on my lion that I want you. Not just for one night. You’re mine and I’m yours. I believe we were meant to find each other tonight.”
