Page 10 of Lion’s Legacy of Flame (Company 417 Shifters #52)

Chapter Ten

Two Months Later

Claire

There are a whole lot of things on my bucket list. See, I heard the phrase when I was nine and so I wrote down a list right then. That was close to fifteen years ago, so you can imagine how much has been added. I mean, of course, a lot has been done. When you’re nine, you write things like having your first kiss or getting a puppy and stuff like that. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I have a robust number of things I want to do in life.

But there’s one thing on my list that sure as heck should have been there. That’s riding a lion as though I’m riding a horse.

Holy wow!

I don’t think there’s anything I can do to explain it to you. I might just write it on my list just so I can cross it off. This is the most wonderful experience of my life! We’re in a forest I didn’t even know was so close to the city. Maddy is minding MEALTIME at the moment because I’m on vacation and I made a deal with Tiger Treasures to help them with some food needs.

Anyway, I don’t think I can describe how amazing this feels. I’ve seen the terrible destructive power of the lion beneath me. I’ve seen what it can do, and it almost feels like that power pulses beneath me and just flows through me as I hold tightly to Brady’s mane and he runs. I have to admit something, too. Uh… I’m really getting turned on. The reason that’s a little embarrassing is because it’s physical, not emotional.

What I mean is that I’m not on a saddle. I’m bareback and Brady’s muscles and movement are essentially stimulating me through my jeans. The stimulates me enough that it’s fair to say I might end up having an orgasm if he keeps it up!

That makes me giggle a little as we run through the forest. That’s okay. There has been a whole lot of laughter on this ride. There has been a whole lot of laughter since what happened at Mealtime. I guess now I understand why this man seems like so much more than a man, right? What a crazy set of circumstances, and what a wonderful life I get to lead.

Suddenly, the trees give way to a little rise over a beautiful little pond. The lion sits and I slide off his back. I walk around and hold the giant head in my arms. He’s so beautiful and so huge! I tell you, he’s bigger than the lion in the movies about the wardrobe and the evil witch. He’s a lot more savage, though, I can tell you.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’s so kind and gentle when he’s a man but the wild power of his lion will never leave my mind. I can promise you that. I’m not afraid of him but I saw what he can do. I don’t know why I’m not terrified of him. Well, sure I do. I’m not terrified of him because he’s Brady, and that means that I’m safe even if he’s an apex predator wild animal. Hell, I think I feel safer because he is one. He’s not just a badass lion. He’s my badass lion.

All mine.

“Be you again for me, Baby,” I whisper and instantly, my arms aren’t cradling the giant lion’s but instead are against his thick, muscular chest. I lift myself immediately to kiss him, and even though I say this almost every time, it’s the best kiss of my life. His hands come around me and I press myself against him. I guess I’ll seem pretty dramatic but…

Well, how the hell am I supposed to not be dramatic? Seriously. Give me an answer to that one. My fiancé is a lion! He’s a giant fucking lion! If you can come up with a way for me to not be dramatic when I’m marrying a god of a man who turns into the biggest king of the biggest jungle that ever existed? I’m getting married to a freakin’ lion shifter!

Okay, I needed to get all that out of my system. In all seriousness, though, can you imagine anyone being all prim and proper about something like this? I mean, seriously, can you imagine that? Tell me you’re not that much of a silly fuddy duddy.

And I’m stroking his cock.

Wow.

I want to tell you this is the first time he’s turned back, uh, shifted back into a man and I’ve ended up surprised to realize I’m stroking him. I just do it automatically, I guess. I can’t tell you why I do it. I can’t explain it at all.

Oh, I guess I ought to explain a few other things, though. He called the police and the police showed up as well as an ME. He didn’t say a word to them and they didn’t talk to him. I watched as the men who threatened me and shot at Brady were put in body bags and taken away. The police officer returned so I could sign my statement and so Brady could sign his.

The statement I signed said these men were chased into the property by a pack of feral dogs. Brady scared the dogs away but not before they killed the men. Then, they left. Essentially, it’s a shifter clean-up crew. I mean, Brady didn’t specifically say that. I asked about a lot of the firefighters and he said he couldn’t tell me about anyone’s shifter status. There aren’t a lot of violations of trust as great as that would be. So that was that.

Anyway, all of that was two months ago.

So yeah, I’m going to marry a guy I’ve known for next to no time at all. Well, what can I say? He’s everything I want. He saved my life. He’s a freaking shifter. And he’s got a really big dick. Okay, that last one was just so I could check and see if you were still paying attention. Are you?

The bottom line is that even though he intended me harm, Danton Steele set me on an important path when he tried to burn Mealtime’s offices down. Now, Mealtime is stronger than ever, and my life is better than ever.

I get to be the princess and I have a lion for my Prince Charming.

Did you enjoy reading Lion’s Legacy of Flame ? I hope so. I enjoy writing about the Company 417 firemen shifters. You already know that if you’ve read any of the other books I’ve written. I’m a shifter-loving girl. I don’t just have book boyfriends. I have a menagerie full of them! I go on picnics with wolves, to movies with bears, and on vacations with dragons.

I wish!

I loved writing about Brady, and I hope you found him as sexy as I did. Any girl can go for a firefighter, I think. At least, any girl I know! When he’s not just a shifter but a proud and powerful lion, it makes him even more irresistible, right? If he’s the king of the jungle, did Claire become the queen?

Naturally, I fell in love with Brady while I wrote Lion’s Legacy of Flame . That isn’t going to surprise any of you out there who’ve read my other Company 417 books. At the end of all of them, I just go on and on about how much I love the shifter men I write about. Well, maybe I do that but I can’t help but fall in love with every one of these hot shifters! I always imagine I’m the lucky girl involved, and you better believe I imagined I was Claire even though I certainly never accomplished all the wonderful things she’s accomplished for humanity.

Claire got herself a sexy man, an incredible firefighter, and more than just a lionheart, right? She got an incredible guy who’s a whole lot more than just a man. I think she’s going to spend the rest of her life head over heels in love with Brady. How about you?

Do you love these two together like I do? What do you like about the characters? Let’s face it. When it comes to shifters, I’m a hopeless romantic! How about you? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading about Claire and her Lion shifter lover. These two are going to have a wonderful life, and I think Claire is going to do a whole lot of good for people who need the help. She’ll do even more with her lion to protect her!

If you enjoyed this story, then I think you’ll love the next tale of paranormal romance in the Company 417 Fireman Shifters series.

Gianna Ricci is at the end of her rope. She’s done all she can to help her brother but he’s lost in a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol, and petty crime. But then, something horrible happens and it almost costs both of them their lives. She and her brother are rescued by an incredible fireman who carries both of them to safety.

The fire isn’t an accident. Gianna is sure.

If she’s going to keep herself safe, she’s going to have to find out who’s out to get her brother and what’s going to solve the problem. The good news is she and the fireman that rescued them are experiencing some sparks.

She doesn’t want to ruin the relationship that’s starting here so she keeps her troubles to herself. The thing she doesn’t know is that Firefighter Colton Tanner is more than an incredible firefighter. He’s a bear shifter, and he might be the only one who can help her. She’ll have to risk being open and honest with him. As for Colton, he’ll have to risk everything to keep this woman safe.

Find out all about it in Bear's Blaze of Betrayal , the next exciting tale in the sexy, steamy age gap shifter firefighter romance series Company 417 Fireman Shifters !