Page 20 of Tamed By the Lion Freak

After parking in a central area, they walked down the quiet street. It was Sunday morning and the town just beginning to wake up around them. Kitty noted how ordinary everything looked—church members coming and going, shops opening up late for brunch and coffee. It was a world away from the dark, intoxicating atmosphere of the Twisted Carnival. In the week she had been at the carnival, she had almost forgotten what normal felt like.

"We'll be here for one more night," Leo said, breaking the comfortable silence between them. "Then it's on to the next state."

"Do you ever get tired of moving around?" Kitty asked. She loved travelling to a new place every week or month, a new crowd to awe and show off in front of. Except now, she would be the attraction for her notoriety instead of her animal training. That should bother her more than it did.

Leo shrugged. "It's all I've known for a long time. Some acts come and go, but I'm a permanent fixture."

She wanted to confirm what she had deduced last night and hopefully, he’d be able to talk about it. "Are all the performers like you? Cursed, I mean?"

"No." Leo shook his head. "Some never deal with Madame Noir at all. They're just exceptionally talented humans who enjoy the thrill of our particular brand of entertainment."

“Are they all humans?”

He gave a half shrug, but the smile and the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. No, they weren’t.

Kitty absorbed this information, adding it to the growing puzzle of the Twisted Carnival in her mind. She supposed it shouldn’t shock her that if magic existed and Leo turned into a lion at night, that other supernatural creatures were just as real. She glanced at Leo, noting the way he was taking in their surroundings with barely concealed wonder.

"You don't get out much, do you?" she asked.

"Is it that obvious? No, I don't often leave the carnival grounds. It’s been a while since I visited a town and mingled in with the mundane."

She looked down at their joined hands. This didn’t feel mundane. It felt accelerated from zero to sixty. This past week felt like she had known Leo for three years. It had taken her months to sleep with Marco. It had been easy to blame her jumping into bed with Leo immediately because of the carnival’s influence. But truth be told, if he snapped his fingers right now, Kitty would drag him back into the truck for a quickie.

On impulse, she stopped walking and turned to face him. "I need to tell you something."

His eyes met hers, curiosity and a hint of apprehension in their depths. "What is it?"

Kitty took a deep breath, struggling to put her tumultuous feelings into words. "I was worried that my feelings for you were being manipulated by the carnival. That its need to feed on emotion was amplifying everything I felt."

Leo started to speak, but Kitty pressed a finger to his lips, needing to get this out.

"But now I know that's not true. I've never experienced anything like this before. It's real, Leo. It's ours. And I don’t want it to end. It’s a little scary that this is happening so quickly. Do you feel it too or am I just seeing what I want?"

For a moment, Leo stood perfectly still, his eyes searching hers. Then, with a sexy grin that sent shivers down Kitty's spine, he pulled her close and kissed her. It was raw, passionate, a merging of human desire and animal intensity. Kitty melted into him, her hands tangling in his hair as she returned the kiss with equal fervor.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily, Kitty saw her own emotions reflected in Leo's eyes. Desire, yes, but there was also a deep, growing affection that both thrilled and terrified her.

“You are my mate. My lioness.”

She hugged him tightly. “I don’t know about that, but I’m so happy right now.”

But now she wondered if this was only real because she subconsciously wished for it and made a deal with Madame Noir. And maybe that would be okay, if she knew what her curse would be. Would it be that she would never shake free from her past? Was the cost of her bargain, her job, that she would always be tormented by Brutus and the grief of failing him? Why couldn’t she just be happy and accept this?

"Come on," Leo said, his voice rough. "I smell coffee."

They made their way to a small internet cafe, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries enveloping them as they entered. It was a cozy space, with mismatched furniture and desktop computers in cubby holes. A few early patrons hunched over laptops, the soft click of keys providing a soothing background rhythm.

Kitty and Leo settled into a corner table, away from the other customers. As they sipped their coffee and licked lox and cream cheese from the side of their bagels, Kitty realized this was her first date with Leo. So they might have skipped a few steps, but what mattered is they were away from the carnival and it was real.

But was it?

She hushed that little voice again.

“I know you’re limited about what you can tell me about your curse, but I want to get to know you. I want this to be more than physical,” she said.

“I want that too,” he said. “What do you want to know?”

“Do you have any family?”

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