completely
wrong about Clark’s feelings for Tate, that didn’t mean the lion
wanted the same thing Angel did. God, it was stupid to even
contemplate it.
So what if Clark’s scent made Angel want to tear off his clothes
and simply lose himself in the other man? So what if Angel had loved Clark even before he’d known what this type of affection meant?
They were brothers and nothing more. Angel couldn’t risk having
Clark hate him by confessing his feelings.
He’d have kept quiet, in spite of the whirlpool of emotions inside
him, but all of a sudden, there were soft, strong lips on his own. At first, the situation didn’t really process, so he remained stiff and unresponsive.
A low, rumbling growl snapped him out of his trance, and he
realized in shock Clark was kissing him. The lion rolled them over,
and his bulk pressed Angel into the mattress. If Angel had any doubts as to Clark’s desires, they were blown apart by the feel of the other man’s erection against his thigh.
He didn’t move, too fearful that this was a dream and if he even
breathed, he would shatter it. Unfortunately, his precaution had an
opposite effect. Clark moved off him and shot off the bed. “I’m sorry,”
he said, passing a hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
He seemed nervous, more nervous than Angel had ever seen him.
As if through a haze, Angel got up and took Clark’s hand. It was now or never, and after that kiss, Angel could no longer retreat behind his walls and pretend the only feelings he had for Clark were brotherly.
48
Scarlet Hyacinth
“I’m not,” he whispered as he looked up to meet Clark’s gaze.
Clark was much taller and much larger than him, but somehow, Angel
had always thought they were a perfect fit. Angel’s build allowed
Clark’s arms to wrap around him completely, and his head reached
Clark’s shoulder, as if it were meant to rest there forever.
Angel licked his lips, uncertain as to how to convey the feelings in his heart. In the end, he went with what his instinct told him. Lifting himself up on his tiptoes, he pressed his lips to Clark’s.
Angel wasn’t very experienced in terms of kissing. In fact, his first kiss had come just moments earlier, with Clark, just like he’d always dreamed. He wouldn’t have known how to take control of the
situation, and anxiety gripped him. He might have interpreted the
signals wrong. Maybe Clark had merely confused Angel for someone
else.
That thought and all others vanished, though, when Clark released
another growl and attacked his mouth. Angel might have initiated this kiss, but he was just along for the ride now. Clark licked the seam of his lips, and Angel gladly surrendered, opening for his mate. Because he knew now that Clark wasn’t his brother—or not just that. They
were soul mates, always had been.
As a rule, gazelles didn’t mate for life, and neither did lions. But Angel and Clark had never been like others of their kind. Their beasts didn’t rule over them. Their hearts did. Angel might have never
acknowledged it, but there was a reason why he’d always refused the
advances of other antelopes. In his heart, Angel had always known the only one for him was Clark.
Clark thrust his tongue in Angel’s mouth, and Angel moaned in
delight as Clark plundered and devoured him. Clark seemed ravenous,
and with each second that passed, he took more and more. Right then
and there, Angel would have given Clark whatever he wanted.
Clark walked them back toward the single bed and pushed Angel
on the mattress. Angel fell and, for a few seconds, had an arousing view of the lion looming above him, a predator ready to devour his
The Gazelle Who Caught a Lion
49
prey. Angel wasn’t afraid. He wanted Clark to devour him. He ached
to be one with the man he’d desired for as long as he could remember.
Those few instants passed, and Clark quickly got rid of his shirt.
He undid every button slowly, all