Page 7 of Loving the Lion

CHAPTER THREE

THEIR JOURNEY UP the mountain was not what Sally had expected, but then, everything had taken a sharp turn away from normal the moment she had met Bachar. They had driven for well over two hours, up and up, until she thought she’d need an oxygen mask to counteract the height to which they traveled. But, she owned up with a grimace, the lack of oxygen in her lungs was due entirely to the fact that she’d sat beside the seductive shifter for so long, his intoxicating smell filling her senses.

She’d been surprised when he’d climbed behind the wheel himself, dismissing the man who had obviously arrived to drive them. Their conversation as they’d traveled had also surprised her. Well, not his arrogance, but his intelligence. Not that anything about this man should have surprised her. After all, he was the alpha of his pride. A very wealthy pride if the car they traveled in was any indication.

She was no car enthusiast, but she knew this one had not come straight off the assembly line. For one thing, the windows were bullet proof. How did she know? When she had looked out the window to watch the beautiful, snow covered scenery, she’d noticed the side window held a small defect, which, upon closer inspection revealed the fact that it had been made by what could only have been a bullet.

She’d also noticed the other four wheel drive vehicle with its darkened windows traveling behind them. A security detail no doubt.

They had just reached their destination, another luxury hotel, when the snow started to fall. The flakes were wet and heavy, and she immediately begun to worry. Where was her brother? Was he someplace safe? Some place warm?

Bachar was out of the car and opening her door before she could focus her thoughts. He helped her from the high seat by placing his hands on her waist and simply lifting her down. Her eyes flew to his in shock at this show of strength.

“What?” he asked, a frown marring his features.

“I’m way too heavy for you to be lifting me like that.”

“Do you doubt my prowess?” His hands tightened on her waist, and she swore he was about to pull her closer when a voice sounded behind her.

“She does not like to be helped, Alpha.” Tarek stood behind Bachar, watching and listening to their exchange.

Bachar lowered her to the ground. To cover her unsettled feelings, she snapped. “I dislike having strangers touch my ass.”

“Your ass?” Bachar spun on his heel and glared at his guard. Sally took the opportunity to move away. As she walked towards the hotel, she heard the two men exchange words in a strange language and smiled. It served the intense bodyguard right, even though she’d never once thought about reporting his actions to his boss.

As she neared the door, it was opened for her by an older gentleman dressed in a blue sweater and a pair of jeans. “Welcome to the Lion’s Pride.”

“Thank you.” Before she could say anything else, Bachar and Tarek entered. Instead of the look of remorse she’d expected to see, Tarek gave her a small, almost smug smile. Bachar gave her an intense glare.

“Alpha.” The man who had opened the door for her greeted Bachar.

“Daniel.” Bachar acknowledged his greeting with a regal nod of his head. As Sally watched, she realized it had nothing to do with the man’s reference to him as alpha, the gesture was just naturally inbred in Bachar. While she thought that, she realized also, that the slight arrogance would not necessarily be present in all alphas. Despite his slight disdain for his African cousins, that middle-eastern attitude was clearly present in this lion.

By the time she brought her attention back to what was going on around her, her luggage—the ratty, old backpack—had been brought inside. She bent to pick it up, but before she could, Daniel grabbed it.

“Daniel will see you to your room, Sally.”

She shook her head quickly. “No, I need to start searching for my brother.”

“No. You will stay here. Tarek already has a lead.”

He turned as if to walk away and she grabbed his arm to stop him. That same zing of electricity that had burned through her earlier when they’d shaken hands was back. The palm of her hand where she touched him felt like it had been branded. She rubbed it across her denim covered thigh. Wow, she thought. What had that been all about?

“Then I definitely want to come with you.”

Bachar ignored her and turned to Tarek. “Get the vehicles ready, please.” The words were clearly a dismissal, and yet the other man hesitated, his gaze shifting to Sally before landing back on Bachar.

“Very well.” He bowed slightly before turning and striding from the hotel.

When Bachar started to walk away, Sally stepped into his path. Immediately, all activity in the room stopped. She ignored the fact that she and the lion shifter had become the uncomfortable center of attention “I want to go, Bachar. He’s my brother.”

“And you are a guest in my territory.” He emphasized the word guest with a tone that made her shiver inside. “You will do as you are told.”

“What if I don’t want to?” She clenched her jaw and returned his stare. Those dark eyes of his seemed to look into her very soul.

“Then we will have to discuss your punishment.” He closed the distance between them until his chest almost touched her breasts. Breasts that were suddenly aching and tingling. He was a wall of raw, masculine dominance that called to something deep inside her.

“Punishment?” One fine brown eyebrow rose. “You wouldn’t dare.” Or at least she hoped he wouldn’t. She was banking on the fact that he wouldn’t want any bad publicity leaking out about how shifters treated women tourists. Technically, she wasn’t a tourist—or at least she wasn’t exactly a legal one.