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“Anything.”
“Be honest. Beating around the bush about what you are and what you believe she is to you isn’t going to do either of you any good. And before you mark her, you need to make sure she knows one hundred percent what it means.”
Diesel nodded. Marking during sex was like marriage for their kind. The thought of sinking his fangs into Emberly’s neck made his gums throb and his cat purr.
“Thanks for the advice.”
“Does this mean I have to fucking stay out here all night?” Hemi asked with a grunt as he folded his arms.
“Sorry, not sorry,” Diesel quipped.
He rushed to the bar and grabbed her a lemon-lime soda and rummaged for a bottle of water for himself. He couldn’t believe his good fortune to have his heart-match show up at the bar. Now he just had to give her a crash course in shifters and being the mate of one and ask her to be his forever.
No problem.
He hoped.
Chapter Four
Emberly could feel when Diesel was on his way back to her table. She wasn’t sure why or how, but she knew he was coming. She pondered the strange flutter in her stomach at catching the sexy scent that seemed to be rolling off him as he stopped at the table and smiled down at her. Damn, he was sexy. Tall and broad shouldered, utterly lickable.
“I’m off work for the night,” he said, his voice low and a little gruff.
She bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him. She was feeling more forward than she was used to, but there was something about Diesel she couldn’t put her finger on. It wasn’t that he was hands-down the sexiest guy she’d ever laid eyes on. Or that he smelled like a dream. Or that he ticked off all the boxes in her future-boyfriend-list.
She felt drawn to him, connected already after only knowing him for minutes.
Strange. But right, too.
“Do you want to go somewhere to talk?” she asked.
“Absolutely. There are some tables out back for employees. It’s pretty quiet.”
“Sounds good.”
She thanked him for the soda and picked it up as she followed him through the crowd, down a hall, and out a security door. The covered patio had picnic tables and a view of a parking lot. She sat at one of the tables and he sat beside her.
“How much do you know about shifters?” he asked.
“Pretty much nothing. There’s a wolf couple who come into the shop every week, and they’re super sweet and nice. But it’s not like I’ve ever asked them to explain what it’s like to be a shifter.”
“Well, wolves and lions are different in a lot of ways, but what’s similar is that we both have a beast that’s part of us. I grew up having a noisy creature in my head.” He tapped his temple and gave her a wry smile. “He’s pretty opinionated.”
Her brows rose. “Does he talk to you? Like with words?”
He shook his head. “Not words per se, but he will grumble, growl, or purr, depending on his mood. I can understand him because he’s been part of me my whole life.”
“It’s fascinating. I just have myself up here.” She pointed to her head and smiled when he chuckled. “Were you able to shift when you were a kid?”
“No, not until I was a teenager. The first few times were painful in some ways. The human body turns into a lion which involves bones, muscles, and skin moving around. It’s fast, but it was shocking when I changed the first couple of times.”
He explained that lions, unlike wolves, didn’t shift on the full moon, but instead had a gathering at the alpha’s house once a month for a hunting party. All the lions of the pride lived in pride territory, and they were the only shifter group in town.
“But there are other types of shifters besides lions and wolves, right?”
“Pretty much all the big predators – bears, tigers, pumas, and even owls. There are prey animals as well that can be shifters, like deer and antelope.”
She hummed. “I had no idea. Our town is so small – there weren’t even any shifters in school.”
