Page 2 of For Toron's Pride (Toron's Pride 1)

“Welcome, Sienna. I’m Stella.” She offered a smile that was anything but sincere and stepped back to let Sienna in.

“He was expecting you and Davon a couple hours ago as he likes to greet his couples personally, but an issue with work came up. He’ll join us for dinner later. Meanwhile, I’ll show you to your room.”

Sienna held up a finger. “First, we”—she waggled the finger back and forth between her and Davon—“are not a couple, and second, I hope you meant rooms because I am not sharing a bed with this man.”

Sienna didn’t know why Stella seemed disappointed in her announcement. Davon was not going to be linked to her all weekend. She didn’t care what these people’s ways were. If they thought they were going to lock her with him, they had another thought coming.

“No problem,” Stella pushed between clenched teeth.

“Follow me to your room, and someone can get one ready for Davon.”

Sienna followed the woman across the hall and up a curving staircase that was hardwood buffed to perfection.

Their heels clicked on the smooth surface and echoed across the wide-open space that extended straight up to the second level. Huge landscapes at least six feet tall hung on the walls, and a skylight brightened the lobby where she had come in. Sienna became even surer Toron rolled in the dough.

She turned her attention from the house’s décor and focused on the woman ahead of her. Who was Stella? Toron’s wife or girlfriend? She couldn’t imagine any other reason she would greet them, and she looked nothing like Toron, who was blond and big, while Stella’s auburn hair extended half way to her waist, adding to the rightness of her petit figure. This was the type of woman he probably would go for, the trophy wife. Thinking about it, Sienna shook herself. Not that it made any difference to her. Her concentration was reserved for the next steps in her plan, and a man did not enter into the equation.

Sienna settled in her room, still thinking about Toron and Stella, and then showered and changed her clothes. By the time she’d unpacked and done a little reading, it was time to go to dinner. She had no idea if the people here dressed up for the occasion, so she slipped into a simple mini dress, with a deep blue lower half, and white with tiny blue flowered bodice. A long solid blue cardigan, which reached her upper thighs, would keep her warm.

As she headed downstairs, her stomach knotted. Maybe Toron wasn’t as hot as she remembered. Maybe he didn’t tower over her, and his shoulders and arms were nothing special. Her fantasies were probably just tha

t—fantasies— and the imposing presence he had was a figment of her imagination. Sienna had always admired how sexy some white men were, but she had never sampled any. Leaving it for nighttime dreaming was all she’d done, but a man like Toron could make a woman rethink that practice. At least her memory of him could.

Picking up voices from around the corner, she wrung her hands and slowed her pace. She’d never been the shy type, preferring to speak her mind no matter what anyone thought, but coming to this type of gathering marked a new experience. Every person in that room was a shifter.

Sienna halted and put a hand up to the wall. She drew in a breath and cursed herself for its shakiness.

When the shadows in the hall shifted, she peered up. Her fantasies were way off base. “Toron,” she murmured.

“Hello, Sienna.” Why the hell did he have to have such a deep, rumbling voice? The sound reverberated off the walls and made the hair on her arms rise. Authority—that’s all she could think to describe it as being, even if he didn’t issue a command. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” She chewed her bottom lip. Toron’s height of several inches over six feet, and his shoulders, which seemed to dwarf the hall , took her breath away. He must have come straight from a shower because his hair lay in wet ringlets about his head. On any other man, it might have appeared boyish, but on Toron, it added to his sexiness. Of course, she couldn’t ignore the eyes. Golden and piercing as if they looked into her soul, yet warm at the same time.

His eyes drew her in, and she’d stepped closer without realizing it. She forced herself to stop.

Toron smiled, revealing even white teeth, and held out his hand. “Will you join us? Everyone is waiting, and I don’t like keeping them hungry.”

A chill raced down her spine. Yeah, don’t deny the animals their food. Just the mention of it stirred her own appetite, but when she put her hand in his, the desire that roared to life had nothing to do with meat and everything to do with the beast standing before her.

For Toron's Pride

Chapter Two

Sienna raised her napkin to wipe her mouth. The delicious four-course meal satisfied her and the wine did the trick. Even though she almost never drank, she’d had two glasses to calm her nerves. Now that Toron sat at the opposite end of the table, she could think and take in the guests. The table sat twenty people easily, and every spot was taken. More women than men sat down to dinner, and Sienna wouldn’t have thought that was weird except that every one of them could scarcely take their eyes off Toron.

While Stella sat at his right side, he paid her no more attention than he did to the other women and to Sienna herself. His hands were bare, and Stella wore a few rings but no engagement or wedding band. The other women’s hands were bare as well, except for one woman, and from the way the man at her side fought for her attention along with the band on his ring finger, she guessed he was her husband. Sienna resisted the urge to stare at Toron. If he got off on women fall ing all over themselves for him, she wasn’t the one to join in. They could have at it.

“Is something wrong, Sienna?” Toron’s voice startled her from her thoughts.

“Um, no, it’s fine.” She dared a glance in his direction, and the same pull came over her. What was it about him?

“I don’t know if you know, Sienna,” Stella began in her condescending way of speaking. She placed a hand on Toron’s arm, a possessive move if ever Sienna saw one.

“Toron is the alpha of his pride, and as such, he is very powerful—and very appealing.”

“Meaning every heifer is after him?” Sienna asked with feigned innocence. Stella’s cheeks reddened, and so did most of the other women’s. Boy, was she not making friends. Sienna didn’t know when to bite her tongue, so she ducked her head and pretended an interest in the last of her steak. The truth was she was stuffed.

Toron laughed away the tension. “I admit it comes with the territory, my…appeal. I don’t mean to do it but…”

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