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The roar was loud enough to hear over the music, and Lily's heart stopped for a moment, waiting for her brain to catch up. The only time she'd heard a roar like that had been at the zoo, a long time ago, and while Leo had said there were wild animals in these woods, he hadn't mentioned...

A lion.

A massive lion who stood as high as her shoulder, with a mane she wanted to sink her fingers into and stroke, to see if he was really as soft as he looked.

The rest of him didn't look soft at all. The powerful predator could take her down in one swipe of his enormous paw. He'd be on her in one bound, he was that close, so she knew it was far too late to run. Even climbing a tree was pointless, as she suspected the big cat was better at that than she would ever be.

If she was going to die, then she refused to go out cowering in fear. Nope. She was going to find out what that mane felt like, even if it was the last thing she did.

Lily stretched out her hand.

And the lion came to her. Like he wasn't a ravenous beast, but he was just as curious as she was.

This had to be the lion she'd seen at Tremotino Castle. Lions were hardly a species native to Scotland. The real question was...how had he followed her here?

His mane was rougher than she expected, like her own hair after she'd been swimming in the sea, before she washed out the salt. His fur was softer, more like velvet, but still resistant, like she was rubbing him the wrong way.

He licked her hand with his scratchy tongue, and she held her breath. Her stepmother had owned a cat when she'd first moved in with Dad, and licking was always followed by savage biting. Was this a precursor to the moment when he'd bite her hand off, or worse?

At least she could say she'd spent her last moments patting a real, live lion. If there was an afterlife, that was definitely something to tell her parents, if she'd be seeing them very soon. Lily close her eyes. She'd accept death now, if it came at the point of those enormous paws or fangs, but that didn't mean she had to watch him attack.

She felt his hot breath on her face. "Just do it," she grumbled, before she actually caught a whiff of that breath. She expected rancid meat, or fish, like her stepmother's cat. But he smelled incongruously like fresh brewed coffee. That couldn't be right. Caffeine wasn't good for cats.

Lily forced her eyes open.

The lion was gone, and in front of her, stark naked, crouched... "Leo? What the hell?"

He rose to his feet, not even bothering to hide...oh, hell, he was huge. And definitely turned on. Definitely not gay. She raised her gaze to his face, so she wasn't looking at his...weapon, only to find herself caught in his unblinking, burning desire.

Desire that seemed to burn her from the inside out, completely ignoring the fact that she'd almost died and the lion couldn't be far away. She should be thinking about running to somewhere she could barricade herself inside, before the lion returned, instead of climbing her boss like a tree and rubbing herself against him like a cat marking its territory.

He grinned. "You're my fated mate. I didn't know for sure until I scented you again, but now I'm certain. I'm going to shred that prenup the moment we get back to the house. But first...we have a marriage to consummate." He advanced, backing her up until her back hit a tree trunk. Then his lips claimed hers and Lily lost the ability to think.

That hard body pressed against hers. Hot and hard and...why was she still wearing clothes? She'd never wanted a man more in her life. One who was obviously ready for her...

But not here. There was still... "The lion. We should get inside before he comes back," she said breathlessly.

Leo chuckled. "He won't come until he's called. And if you claim me as I intend to claim you, it'll be your call he comes to far more eagerly than mine. You'll see."

His words made no sense, but then he was kissing her again, and he was the one rubbing against her. Rubbing her in exactly the right places, or they would be if she wasn't wearing so many clothes. She shimmied out of her knickers, until they tangled around her ankles for a moment before she kicked them away. Hiking up her skirt, she hitched first one leg around his hip, then the other. Hot and hard and oh god she wanted to feel him inside her so much.

Who was rubbing against who now?

"Leo," she moaned, so close to coming she could taste it.

"Come for me, my mate," he growled.

God help her, she did. She came so hard, she tasted blood, like she'd bitten her lip to hold in the scream.

Then she opened her eyes to see Leo touching a hand to his own mouth, which came away bloody.

She'd bitten him? Oh, fuck. "I'm so sorry!" she began.

But Leo only grinned, licking his bloody lip. "I'm not. You're fiercer than I'd dreamed possible. You're perfect. But if I don't take you now, I'm going to explode. So you'd better tell me now – do you want this?"

Hot, hard and huge, he rubbed his cock against her clit, teasing her with another orgasm even as the aftershocks of the first still left her knees too weak to stand.

Her knees might be weak, but her resolve was stronger than the steel struts that would support the infrastructure of Hea Sanctuary. Lily looked Leo in the eye. "What I want is for you to give me another orgasm as big as the first one, so I know I'm not dreaming. And when I come, I want to feel your cock deep inside me."

His thrust took her by surprise, but then she was so lost in the sensation, the sheer size of him stretching her, that her gasp turned into a moan of pleasure. He was a perfect fit, like he was made for her.

"Anything for you, my mate," he growled, as he began to pound into her.

Another orgasm? God, it hit her like a wrecking ball, as did the second. And still, he kept up his relentless rhythm, as she heard her breathless voice begging for more.

When she came for the third time, she couldn't hold back her scream, but he drowned it out with a loud roar, reminiscent of the now absent lion. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she became aware of a slight sting at the side of her throat.

Blood stained his lip again, but also his sharper than usual teeth. "Now I've marked you, as you've marked me. We're mated, as was fated. I can't wait to hear you roar, or to hunt with you at my side."

Her thoughts still coalescing after that final, mind-shattering orgasm, Lily struggled to piece together what he meant.

Then he withdrew, leaving her leaning against the tree, and he seemed to blur before her. A moment later, where Leo King had stood in all his naked glory, now the lion stood, his eyes still burning with desire.

Wait...Leo was the lion?

He could have said something, instead of scaring the life out of her.

Fear morphed into fury. Lion or man, she wasn't going to stand for this. Not after they'd just had the best sex of her life.

She let out a roar of her own, wordless, but giving him no illusions about how angry she was. Her whole body tingled as fury burned through her. She was going to kick his furry arse.

Lily leaped, paws outstretched. Paws? With claws, too. Lion. Somehow, she'd turned into a lion, too. No, a lioness. The real hunters in the pride. Oh, he was in such deep shit right now.

Leo grinned, then turned tail and ran, with Lily hot on his heels.