He Ain't Lion: Ridgeville

By Celia Kyle

Life sucks… And then you get turned into a werelion…

 

Curvaceous, blonde bombshell Maya Josephs is looking for a little action to take her mind off of her recent break-up. Crazy werecats or not, an evening at Genesis is exactly what she needs. And when she meets the hotter than hot, super-sexy owner, Alex O'Connell, the alpha lion shifter is just the man to fit the bill for a one-night stand.

Dumped like a rotting piece of meat by her ex, Maya is on the prowl, fixin' to do whatever it takes to get herself a piece of the gorgeous furball. Besides, what's the harm in a girl having a little bit of fun?

 

Pages: 89 ~ Words: 22211

• Language: English
• Publisher: Summerhouse Publishing
• Release date: Mar 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215639849

Celia Kyle

Ex-dance teacher, former accountant and erstwhile collectible doll salesperson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Celia Kyle now writes paranormal romances for readers who: 1) Like super hunky heroes (they generally get furry) 2) Dig beautiful women (who have a few more curves than the average lady) 3) Love laughing in (and out of) bed. It goes without saying that there’s always a happily-ever-after for her characters, even if there are a few road bumps along the way. Today she lives in central Florida and writes full-time with the support of her loving husband and two finicky cats.

Book preview

1

The evening began normally enough, but staring at the lush woman making her way through his club, Alex O’Connell realized it was the calm before the shit storm.

Awareness slid through his night club, Genesis. One by one, each shifter male became aware of the newcomer—an unknown human female—in their midst. She smelled nothing of their lion pride or the nearby wolf pack. Hell, she didn’t even smell of the local wererabbit warren.

Shit, fuck, damn, and growl.

He ran a hand through his hair and willed his inner beast to calm. Unfortunately, the bastard wasn’t in the mood to be denied and it latched onto the fuck portion of his thought. The cat wanted to fuck someone all right. Her. He’d already scented the lush woman, and was more than ready to pounce, strip her naked, and bury himself in her.

How had she gained entrance on tonight of all nights? Who was this unfamiliar female swaying curvaceous hips amongst his felines, completely oblivious to the trouble she was about to cause?

Alex’s pride was on edge as were the wolves and rabbits crammed into the club. The Gaian Moon would rise high in mere minutes and when that happened… All hell would break loose. He had no doubt the males within the club would fight to claim her.

The moon was nature’s way of ensuring shifter cubs would be born, and the clans would continue to flourish. Without it, their numbers would almost certainly dwindle and they’d become extinct.

The humans in attendance knew what they were in for the moment they’d become pride familiars. The pride, pack, or warren would care for them and any offspring for the remainder of their lives as long as they made themselves available at the Gaian Moon gatherings. Giving birth to cubs ensured pride protection and support.

There were several true matings in their pride, but those couples remained at home to make little cubs of their own while the others romped their way through Genesis.

The female in the tight, cleavage-revealing red dress, though, was not a familiar. Alex knew this, because he was the Prime, damn it. It was his job to know everyone in his community, including those around them.

Shit, fuck, damn, and growl.

His felines stared at her as if she were a slaughtered deer, and they hadn’t eaten for weeks. Even so, she continued to mingle fifty feet from where he stood, yet he still scented her heat, singling her out from the gatherers. He needed to do something. Fast.

You need to do something, Alex. And fast. She’s not one of ours. His Second’s words cut through his thoughts, mirroring his own. I would have, but they’re already sniffing after her.

Staring at the gathering crowd, he knew Grayson couldn’t get the woman out of the building had he tried. The males were too worked up over her to listen to anyone other than the pride’s Prime.

I know. Alex barely recognized his own gritty voice, and he paused in surprise to take stock of his body’s responses to the new arrival. His cat, normally easy to control after years of practice, fought Alex’s restraint, snarling and snapping at its internal cage, prowling just beneath the thin veneer of his skin. The fucker wanted out. Now.

His arms tingled, skin prickled, and he knew—without looking—golden fur sprouted from his forearms. The throbbing in his hands would soon reveal fuzzy fingers, and lethal, razor-sharp claws. Fuckity fuck.

How’d she get in? His lengthened canines made speech difficult, but not impossible.

He watched expressions flit across his Second’s face, where feelings of regret and remorse dueled for supremacy. "I put Gina on the door, and she said she could’ve sworn the woman was on the list and that she scented of you."

Alex rolled his eyes, immediately refocusing on the tempting interloper. Her blond hair practically glowed under the dim lights, her pale skin a beacon his lion was more than happy to follow to the ends of the Earth. Gina’s still pissed at me for not mounting her the last moon, and I’m sure she’s itching to start trouble.

Grayson nodded. You may be right.

Alex’s lion wanted this stranger. No doubt about its feelings, the beast practically begged and snarled its needs. Part of him wanted to charge through the gathering, steal her away to his den. Unfortunately he couldn’t, not without revealing his true nature to the woman. Sure, shifters were known to the human populace, but they weren’t exactly out and proud with their existence. Nonchalance and closely kept secrets ensured the shifters protection thus far, and the various clan leaders around the world wanted to maintain the status quo.

As the Prime, Alex had too much on his plate already, and he’d rather not add calming a panicking human to the list.

Bring her upstairs. I’ll talk to her, and then send her on her way. Maybe give her an incentive to return another night. We can’t have her in the building once the doors lock.

There’s only five minutes left, Prime.

As if his title within the pride wasn’t enough pressure, the last thing Alex needed was to be further stressed by his Second’s reminder of the remaining time, damn it. His cat was more than aware how long it had to wait until it could mate with the fertile, willing females on the club floor. The opportunity to produce cubs of its own appealed to the cat. A child was a child, mated parents or not, and the lion wanted one or two… maybe twins. He could take care of things in one shot.

His lion had yet to be successful, but it was more than willing to keep trying. Then make it fast.

Maya’s friend Gina hadn’t lied. The guys in Genesis stared at her as if she was a slice of chocolate cake. Okay, she was probably the only one in the club who’d drool over chocolate cake, but whatever. Then again, their semi-drooling activities could be because they were werecats. But wait, weren’t dogs the droolers?

Maya mentally shrugged. Gina, even if she did seem a little cat crazy, was fun to hang out with, and now she was Maya’s very best, hook-me-up-with-hotness, friend.

She’d always known shifters lived in Ridgeville—her best friend forevah was a werebunny—so the cat-owned club didn’t surprise her. The impending orgypalooza did, but who was she to judge when she’d come with the intention to, uh, come. With condoms.

She came to come with condoms. She almost laughed out loud at that one, but swallowed the giggle.

Taking a look around, she wondered how many other non-cats occupied the space. Then again, who cared if the men were wolves, bunnies, or lions? They were all smokin’ hot in their human form and that’s all that mattered.

Well that, and the fact they certainly seemed to like a girl with some cushion for the pushin’. Maya was a realist, always had been. She had big hips, big thighs, and big breasts, which added up to a big woman. Whatever. ‘Cause