“Yes, there is that. But first we need to find your lion,” she said, taking his hand and lifting it so they both looked at his bracelet.
“Do you think we should climb higher?” he asked. “Before we remove it.” He was still afraid he would hurt someone. Perhaps he would run back down to the cabins and kill everyone there. What if he was a man eating lion?
“No, Kane, this is high enough. We can climb higher when you change.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him, her lips warm, giving him strength and courage. He didn’t care about this mate bond; he could easily just take her back to the cabin and make love to her now. But that was just him trying to avoid what had to be done. What was the point in giving up his old life if he wasn’t intending to embrace this new one?
“So what do I have to do?” he asked, resigned to his fate, even if that meant living with four paws and a tail for the rest of his life. And a mane. Would he have one of those bushy manes?
“Concentrate,” she said, her voice calm but firm. “Look inside yourself, feel what you are, who you are. This is you, Kane Reinier. When your lion comes out, he will feel like the true you, but you have to remember this person.”
She placed her hand on his heart as if anchoring a part of herself there. A shock of electricity made his heart jolt, and he felt the beat of it thrumming through his veins, pounding in his ears. Kane looked into her eyes, saw the fear there, and wanted to get this right for her so that they could be together. The look in her eyes and the touch of her hand promised so much.
“Are you going to take this off?” he asked, his fingers running around the cold metal of her collar.
“Once I know you are safe. I want you to change first, so I’ll stay like this until I know what’s happening,” she said, her lips pursed and a small sigh escaping as his fingers left the cool metal to run along the warm skin of her throat. He touched the place where her pulse crossed her collarbone, feeling it quicken.
“You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” he said his voice thick with emotion. “Even without this bond between us, I would take you to my bed.”
“That’s because you are a playboy,” she teased. “Misty told me all the stories about the women you sleep with.”
“A man has his needs,” Kane said, and knew that fell too short of what he needed to say. “But I always moved on, because I knew there was one need they could never fulfil. I never loved one of them. Not one single woman in my past. Is this why?”
“You mean the bond?” She nodded. “Yes, like it or not, you are mine and I am yours.”
“I think I am going to like it a lot,” he said, pulling her close and letting her feel the length of his arousal. “Can’t we opt for sex first?”
“No,” she laughed, pushing him away. “I can see you are going to be a handful.”
“Want to see how much of a handful?” he teased, watching her cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink.
“No. Now, concentrate.” Her smile slipped from her face. “It’s time.”
He held out his hand to her, and her fingers moved to the clasp of the bracelet that had kept his lion chained for so long. “Oh, wait. You should strip.”
He threw his head back and roared with laughter. “So you do want to see me naked? But I think we should go somewhere a bit more private. Or do you like sex in the open air?”
“Is that all you think about?” she asked, then jabbed him playfully with her finger. “Listen, buddy, unless you want to live the rest of your life butt-naked, you need to learn to shift with your clothes on. It’s easy enough once you have control. But today, you won’t have that control. Your clothes will tear and you will be walking back to the cabin au naturel.”
“Damn it. Is there anything else?” he asked, beginning to undo his shirt.
“No. I don’t think so,” she said, watching him remove his shirt and casting an appraising look over his toned chest and washboard stomach. At least he had kept in shape; his uncle had always encouraged him to swim and work out to keep his body fit. Now he knew why.
His hands went to his belt and she turned around to give him privacy. “What’s mine is yours,” he joked. “I like sex with the lights on, so you are going to see me sooner or later. Sooner, I hope.”
“Yeah, it just feels weird out here in the open,” she said, her foot jiggling nervously, her head tilted up to look at the sky.
Kane let his pants drop to the floor and then bent to pick up his clothes, then he approached her. “What do you want me to do with these?”
She turned her head, and looked down at his clothes. “I’ll look after them. When you learn to do this fully controlled you can shift with clothes. Or a backpack, as long as it’s not too big. It’s all about control.”
“I’m not sure I have much of that left,” he said as she took his clothes from him and placed them on the floor.