Alpha Lion: BBW Lion Shifter Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant Page A

clutching at his shoulders with her fingers as she shuddered around him.
    Dale was watching her face as he moved inside her, changing his angle based on the sounds she made, and it wasn’t long before she was riding the edge again, moaning, “Faster, faster, please, please—”
    “I’ve got you,” he whispered, and he shifted to hold her hip with one hand while he reached the other between them and stroked over her clit. Once, twice—Sam shrieked out loud as she came a second time.
    And at that Dale finally seemed to lose control; he pressed her down against the pillows and thrust harder and faster as Sam spasmed around him, sweat darkening his blond hair, his breath coming in harsh pants.
    “Sam,” he said, his voice deep and roughened, “ Sam —”
    Sam wrapped herself around him, holding on tight, and Dale came with a deep growl that made Sam shiver down to her toes.
    * * *
    It took them a while to catch their breath.
    Dale kept running his fingers along her arm, from her shoulder to her elbow and back again; occasionally he’d bend his head and place a kiss right in the center of her breastbone.
    Sam stroked his hair back from his face and thought about how much she loved him.
    It was too soon, she knew—too intense, too much. They barely knew each other. She wasn’t in any position to start a new romance, with her life teetering on the edge, working nights at a job she hated.
    But there was no getting around it. She loved him. She didn’t think she was going to stop anytime soon.
    After a while, he drew in a long breath, and he said, “I don’t know how much you know about shifters.”
    “Not all that much,” Sam said cautiously, not sure where this was going.
    “A lot of shifters have some traditional beliefs about love.” Dale was still tracing patterns over her arm. “Lions in particular can be a little…overenthusiastic about it. In my opinion.”
    Sam stifled a laugh; he’d said that last bit like he’d had some arguments about it. “What do you mean?”
    “Shifters are supposed to have mates. One person that you’re supposed to be with for the rest of your life. Maybe.”
    “Maybe?”
    Dale laid his head down on her shoulder. “I’ve never really believed in it. I’ve seen people say they found their mates, but it’s obviously just a line to get someone in bed with them. My—my parents said they were mated, but that was pretty clearly a lie.”
    “I’m sorry,” Sam said, keeping her voice steady and calm.
    She wanted to know more about Dale’s parents, but she wasn’t going to ask any questions now that she knew he sounded like that when he was talking about them.
    “It’s a long story,” he said. “Maybe I’ll tell you later. Anyway, people obviously just thought, well, I like this person and I think they’re attractive, I guess they’re my mate , and didn’t think about the consequences of telling someone they were bound together forever.”
    “You’re a person who thinks about consequences, though,” Sam said, sure she was right.
    Dale nodded, his hair brushing her chin. “I thought it was a monumentally stupid thing to do. I always told myself that even if I got married, I wouldn’t try to fool the poor woman into thinking she was my mate.”
    Sam could feel something warm in her chest—a full, happy feeling just waiting to come into full flower. “But?” she asked, her voice trembling a little.
    “But I was wrong.” Dale pushed himself up from her shoulder and looked her in the eye again. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I hardly even understand it. It’s not just that you’re brave, and funny, and beautiful, and smart, and you don’t give up, and that I know I’d fall in love with you no matter what. It’s something deeper. You and I belong together. I know it.”
    Sam blinked, and blinked again—her eyes were filling with tears. She bit her lip, trying to hold them back, because she never cried and she didn’t want to start now.