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He let out a soft growl and hooked his arm around her waist, drawing her against him. His skin was warm and he smelled like sunshine and tall grass. Her new favorite scents.
“You smell amazing,” he said. He lowered his head and buried his face in her neck, inhaling, his breath skirting over her skin and making it prickle. He let out a low growl and kissed her neck, then drew his tongue up her throat to her ear. She shivered and dug her nails into his skin.
Holy crap, he was good with his tongue.
“Careful with those sexy thoughts,” he said roughly. “We need to get back to the campsite and while the idea of a quickie is something to consider, I don’t want our first time rushed because of my people.”
“And my parents are in the other room.”
“Good point,” he said with a chuckle.
“Let’s get packed up. How far is it to your home?”
“It’s about four hours. I have a little cabin, it belonged to my grandparents. It’s not as nice as your place, though.”
“My cousin lived with me for a while, but moved out with a few buddies. It’s a little big for me by myself, but I like it.”
“You’re not by yourself anymore,” he said. “You’ve got me.”
“I want you to know how much I appreciate what you did. I’d be dead if it weren’t for you, or severely injured.”
He growled, his upper lip curling. “I’m not sorry he’s dead.”
“Me either. I am oddly thankful he brought us together. You’re a great silver lining to an almost terrible night.”
“That’s the only time I’ll ever be thankful for that asshole.”
She chuckled and took his hand, giving him a quick tour of the three-bedroom home. In the master bedroom, they helped her dad and Angel fill up two suitcases.
“So whether we decide to stay in your town or come here, we’ll be back here in a week, right?” China asked.
Oz nodded. “Yes, either to pack you up or move me in.”
“What do you think we’ll end up doing?”
He sighed and sat on the bed. “I think it would be nice to be here. I’ve never lived away from my pride, so I’m used to the dangerous alpha lion situation, but I really respect your alpha and like your pride. It’s so different from mine.”
“I really thought they were all the same.”
“I’m sure there are plenty that are like yours, mine just morphed into one where fighting to the death over leadership is a pretty normal occurrence.”
“Well, we can figure it out as we go. Right now, I’m happy to be where you are. I work as a waitress at Tails, the pride’s bar, and I like to cook and paint. I never went to college, but I have taken some art and cooking classes. My grandma always said I should open my own restaurant or a store to sell painted things. Maybe someday.”
“We should totally collaborate,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. “I could definitely use a painter in my furniture company, and I don’t have a storefront, everything’s online so we could do that anywhere, even here.”
“I’d love that.”
They finished packing up. Her parents and Angel carried her things out to the truck.
Oz grabbed her before she left the room. She turned to face him.
Oz said, “Whatever we decide, when we get to Elk Hills, I want to make you mine in truth. If you want to wait, I’m okay with that, I just need to know so I can tell my lion to stop making inappropriate comments.”
She thought Oz was so sweet. Him and his lion. “You know what? I don’t want to wait. I wasn’t even looking for my heart-match and we found each other. My lion wants to make us official too.”
She cupped his face and kissed him, tracing the seam of his lips with her tongue until he opened his lips and she got a hit of the sweet, decadent taste of him. Had anyone ever tasted as good as Oz? She doubted it. Her heart-match was the sexiest male on the planet, and she’d fight anyone who said differently.
* * *
