Page 34 of Lucius

“You’re not scared anymore, huh?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Not even a little bit.”

He lowered her to the ground and then dressed. He gave her a quiet look as he pulled his jeans on. “Thanks for sharing so much of your life with me while I was a lion. I love hearing you talk.”

“Thanks for listening.”

He gave her his thousand-watt smile and finished dressing. He bent to lift the door in the floor when it opened and Caesar appeared.

“Hey you two, how was the time in the paddock?”

“Great,” she said.

“I heard you like to sketch?” Caesar asked.

She nodded. “I got a great sketch of Lucius.” She lifted her book from the bag, flipped to the page she’d just drawn, and handed to it Caesar.

“Holy shit, this is amazing,” he said. “It looks like it could leap off the page.”

“That’s so sweet, thank you.” Her cheeks hurt because she smiled so big.

Caesar looked like he was going to say something, but then he just smiled and handed the sketchbook back. “What’s on tap for you two today?”

“I’ve got some stuff to tell her about the park and my situation here,” Lucius said.

“We’d love to have a pride dinner tonight if you’re not going anywhere.”

Lucius looked at her, and she said, “Sure, that sounds great.”

“Good, my house at six. See you guys then.”

Lucius took Sidney’s hand and led her down the steps. They passed the other lions on the way up and greeted them. “Dad said we’re having dinner with the pride, are you guys coming?” Amadeus asked.

“We’ll be there,” Lucius said.

“Cool, he put ribs in the oven to slow roast during the tours. I can’t wait.”

“Awesome,” Lucius said.

As they continued down into the private living area, she said, “I take it the ribs are good?”

“Yeah, he makes his own barbecue sauce too. Jenni makes kickass cheesy potatoes, and Rhomi will probably make strawberry shortcake because that’s Mercer’s favorite dessert.”

“I can’t wait to get to know everyone,” she said.

They walked into his house and shut the door.

“Can I see the drawing?” he asked. “I only got a glimpse of it when you showed my dad.”

“Sure.” She pulled it out and flipped to the page.

“Oh wow, he’s right. It’s awesome. So detailed. I look pretty damn regal.”

“I think so too.”

She put her things on the counter and turned to face him.

“Before we do anything fun like strip and do wicked things to each other,” he said, “we need to talk.”

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