Page 59 of Pleasure and Mane
Quinn's throat tightened. "I was terrified you'd thought I had lost my mind. Moving in here so fast, changing my entire life plan for a man I'd only known for one month..."
"Sweetheart, your father proposed after our third date when we were seventeen. When you know, you know." Her mother squeezed her hand. "Besides, look at you. I haven't seen you this relaxed and happy since you were a little girl. That man adores you—it's written all over his face every time he looks at you."
As if summoned by their conversation, Caius appeared beside them, his presence immediately shifting Quinn'sawareness. After one month together, her body still responded to his nearness like a tuning fork struck against crystal.
"Ladies, the bonfire's about to start. Best seats in the house are waiting for you."
He offered his arm to Quinn's mother with old-fashioned courtesy before sliding his hand possessively around Quinn's waist. The casual dominance in the gesture made her blood heat.
The bonfire Henry and Bertram constructed this month was a masterpiece—twelve feet tall and built with the precision of men who'd clearly done this many times before. As the flames caught and roared toward the star-filled sky, the entire gathering fell into a comfortable hush broken only by the crackling wood and distant laughter of children.
Quinn found herself nestled between Caius's thighs on a thick wool blanket, his arms wrapped around her as she leaned back against his solid chest. The heat from the fire warmed her face while his body heat enveloped her from behind, creating a cocoon of perfect contentment.
"This is amazing," Kate breathed from her own blanket, where she'd somehow convinced a particularly handsome lion shifter named Travis to massage her shoulders. "Quinn, I can't believe you've been hiding this paradise from me for a month."
"I wasn't hiding it," Quinn protested. "I was just... processing."
"Processing?" Her father chuckled. "Is that what we're calling falling head over heels these days?"
Caius's arms tightened around her, his lips brushing her ear. "Your family's perfect," he murmured, his voice pitched too low for anyone else to hear. "Smart, funny, and they clearly raised a special woman."
The affection in his tone caused her to melt against him even more completely. This was her Alpha, claiming her family as hisown with the same fierce protectiveness he showed his family and pride.
As the evening wore on and the fire burned lower, Quinn watched her parents saying their goodnights. Her mother hugged every person she'd met, collecting promises for recipe exchanges and garden tours, while her father clapped Caius on the shoulder with the easy familiarity of men who'd found mutual respect.
"We'll see you both tomorrow before we head home," her mother called as Henry escorted them inside.
Kate, meanwhile, had disappeared entirely with Travis, last seen heading toward the secret gardens with what Quinn could only describe as predatory intent.
"Well," Quinn said, stretching contentedly in Caius's arms, "that went better than I dared hope."
"Did you really think they wouldn't love you being happy?" His voice held gentle reproach. "Your parents want nothing more than to see you thriving."
"I know, it's just..." She twisted to face him, the firelight casting dancing shadows across his strong features. "Everything happened so fast. Sometimes I still can't believe this is real."
His blue eyes burned with intensity. "It's real, sweetheart. You're mine, I'm yours, and we're building something beautiful together here."
Around them, the pride was beginning to stir restlessly, and Quinn recognized the signs. The full moon hung heavy overhead, calling to the lions with ancient magic.
"It's almost time," she said softly.
Caius nodded, his gaze never leaving her face. "Almost midnight. The pride run begins soon."
Something in his tone made her pulse quicken. There was a question in his eyes, an invitation that made her breath catch.
He's going to ask me to come with them. To witness the pride at their most primal and powerful.The thought should have made her nervous. Instead, excitement coursed through her veins like fire.
He leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "I want you to join us tonight, sweetheart. Ride with me on the midnight run under the full moon."
"Yes," she breathed immediately, not a trace of hesitation in her voice. "God, yes. I wanted to last month, but?—"
"But you'd only known me for one day," he finished, his blue eyes blazing with possessive satisfaction. "Now you're my Lioness. The pride's Lioness. This is where you belong."
Around them, the air began to shimmer with ancient magic. Pride members stood and moved toward the treeline, their human forms already beginning to blur and shift. The sound of bones cracking and reforming filled the night, accompanied by low growls and the rustle of clothing being discarded.
Caius rose smoothly to his feet and pulled Quinn up with him, his hands steady on her waist. "Stand back for a minute, love."
She stepped away, her heart hammering as she watched her mate's powerful frame begin to change. His clothes fell away as his body expanded, muscles rippling and reshaping. Golden fur emerged across his skin as his face elongated into a magnificent muzzle. Within moments, a massive four-hundred-pound lion stood before her, his golden eyes burning with the same intensity she recognized from his human form.
