Page 18 of Wrong Number, Right Lion

“Guess.” Kalen waved something under my nose.

“Salami.” It was peppery and spicy, almost making me sneeze, and while I couldn’t describe it, I caught a fatty aroma.

“Open wide.”

I could get used to this.

Kalen prepared me a plate of food after asking what I wanted. There was a gentle breeze blowing that rustled the leaves. If I’dbeen by myself, I would have hunkered down, thinking a wild animal was approaching. But my date wasn’t bothered; instead he said it reminded him of a silver maple.

We finished the meal with more grapes, but Kalen tossed nuts into the air and caught them in his mouth. How was that possible?

“I want your secret.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. “My what?”

“You can see in the dark. Your family must have supercharged genes.”

He laughed, and the sound was similar to a hug. Silly, but it enveloped me.

“My mind went to jeans with a J, and I pictured my pants running off by themselves with me racing after them yelling, ‘Come back!’”

I giggled at the image, and our laughter mingled and joined the leaves rustling. “I’m so glad I came. Thank you.”

Warm breath billowed over my cheek. He was closer than before, so close I could see his white teeth glowing in the dark.

“Me too. And thank you for enduring the climb. I forget how steep it is.”

“No problem.” My teeth were chattering but not from the cold. I’d been desperate for Kalen to plant his lips on mine, and now that it might be happening, my heart sped up as it had on our walk.

“May I kiss you?”

He was such a gentleman. He could have pulled his dick out and I would have responded by showing him my bare ass.

“You may.”

His lips were as soft as I imagined when he placed them gently on mine, and his hand caressed my back. He tasted of sugar and spice, just as in the nursery rhymes, thanks to our picnic food.

He pecked my lips and then nibbled the lower one. He tugged it, and I gasped, before running his tongue around my mouth, applying soft pressure.

“Mmmm.” I parted my lips, wanting to capture his tongue. The tip of his flicked mine. My breath hitched, and our tongues probed one another, lightly at first and then with more force.

My cock stood at attention and heat threaded through my veins as our tongues danced and played. Kalen’s tongue swirled over mine, making tiny circles, and I groaned into his mouth.

I longed for more, but he pulled away and kissed the end of my nose.

Tempted as I was to ask him to get naked, I told him instead that I hoped there were more kisses in my future.

He placed his mouth on my ear. “There will be.”

10

KALEN

Leaving Arlo after our date hurt. And not just,oh, I wish I could stayoroh, I really wanted to hold him longerkind of hurt. It physically hurt. Each step I took toward my car felt like my insides were being yanked.

I’d never experienced anything like that before or heard of it happening to anyone I knew. It was as if our bond was already forming, even though we had yet to mate, and because it wasn’t fully intact, it was being ripped apart. Would it be gone in the morning or possibly when I drove away? Maybe, but what if it wasn’t?

I mean, there was the obvious: complete the mating. Once he was marked and the bond was fully in place, it wouldn’t hurt anymore. At least not in this way. But going from a first date with a sweet kiss all the way to mated was a huge-ass leap, especially for a human who would have all of this be completely new and foreign to him.

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