Melted By The Lion: A Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance (3 page)

Not sure how that could be the case, I tightened my arms across my chest. “How do you figure, though?”

“Well, look at it this way. I think that by alternating trying to get each of you pregnant, he probably feels like getting too close to one of you in particular will be less of an issue, if he wants to guard himself against that, which I think he does, for whatever reason. Also, by making it clear, by trying to impregnate you both, that this is just a business arrangement to him, so to speak, he may think that that will discourage either of you women from getting too close to
him
.”

I scoffed, hugging my arms to my chest so tightly my ribs hurt. “Or, maybe he’s just a male pig, and having two women in his bed at once has always been his fantasy.”

Martha stifled a short, sudden chuckle. “Well, I can’t speak as to his fantasies, but it
won’t
be you and Veronica in his bed at once; that’s already been determined. Dr. Moore doesn’t think that the possible stress and anxiety about that likely unwanted situation would help anyone get pregnant, not that Commander Beaumont even suggested it.”

Whoever Commander Beaumont was, I officially didn’t like him. He didn’t sound anything at all like the type of man I’d maybe like to have a child with. He didn’t sound kind or compassionate, and he definitely didn’t sound loving. And maybe I’d been hoping the man I’d be having a child with would be. I’d definitely been thinking I’d at least be the only woman the man I was matched up with would be trying to impregnate.

Thinking, I sipped my coffee for a short while before responding to Martha. “You know, I
did
sign up to help repopulate the world in a time of great need, and apparently re-population is needed here in Louisiana. And I
do
remember volunteering, and I know I shouldn’t go back on what I said I’d do. But now, well, isn’t there some other way I can follow through other than by actually sleeping with a man I don’t even know? Like, what if instead of sharing a bed with Commander Beaumont, what if I just offered my ‘services’ as a fertile woman by agreeing to be artificially inseminated?”

Martha shook her head, stifling a yawn, clearly beyond exhausted from her long shift. “It doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid, and they
have
tried it here before. See, when Louisiana was first given to Commander Beaumont, the fertility of all the women in his nomadic group of wandering people was in a steep decline. Most women were only having one child in the whole of their fertile years, if that, and Commander Beaumont knew the community needed frozen women if Louisiana as a nation was ever to get off the ground. So, knowing this, Commander Jackson of the UFS also gifted Commander Beaumont with a hundred or so of you frozen women, recently discovered in an underground storage facility long thought lost, near Gorgolian territory. Another hundred or so women went to the bears in Michigan, where they’ve only just now started thawing them. They started right away here; you and Veronica were the last.”

The intercom speakers out in the hallway blared with another page again, and Martha listened for a second before continuing, looking as if she was having a hard time keeping her bloodshot eyes open.

“Well, anyway, when you hundred or so frozen women got down here to Louisiana and the slow process of thawing one or two of you at a time began, with Dr. Moore flying down here via dragon periodically, Commander Beaumont was so busy clearing land and dealing with the gators that despite his desire for heirs, he allowed some of his unmarried men to begin claiming frozen women first. Except, some of them weren’t too keen on hopping right into bed with men they’d just met, and so they asked to be inseminated instead. But, long story short, it never worked, and Dr. Moore has a lot of theories as to why the process kept failing on women who’d been frozen. Bottom line, it was only when women began to feel more comfortable around the men they’d been claimed by, enough to actually begin physical relationships, that pregnancies began to happen. So, that was a long way of answering your question, but there it is. No, unfortunately, being artificially inseminated isn’t an option. You’re actually going to have to sleep with Commander Beaumont if you want to keep up your end of the bargain. And, yes, he’s not the kind of man who’s looking for a romantic connection like many young women, namely you, might want, but that being said, aside from possibly getting to have the honor of bearing a child of the commander-in-chief, and I know many young women around here
would
find it an honor, you might find there are other perks to your new life. I wasn’t kidding when I said Commander Beaumont isn’t too hard on the eyes. And you might find that the task of trying to become pregnant with his child won’t be such a grueling one.”

With her tired eyes sparkling just a bit, Martha gave me a little look, but I couldn’t manage even the weakest of smiles. Even if Commander Beaumont was incredibly handsome, I still wasn’t sure that I wanted to sleep with him, and also, I was growing distracted by a sight beyond the wide windows in my room. The building was surrounded by what appeared to be wide open land, at least on the side my windows were facing, and over a large hill a good distance away, I could see tiny moving forms of some sort. They were racing over the hill, charging over it, maybe like animals. Maybe like lions.

Martha noticed my distraction and looked over her shoulder before turning back to me, eyes twinkling once again. “Speak of the devil. Looks like you might get a chance to meet Commander Beaumont right now.”

CHAPTER TWO

Martha got up from her folding chair and motioned for me to follow her over to the windows. “Come on. Have you ever seen shifter lions before?”

I said no, pulling the covers off and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “I remember knowing that shifters are a thing, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a shifter animal before, of any kind. Or, at least, I don’t remember seeing one, if I ever did.”

“Well, they’re quite a sight to see, and the lions are especially majestic.”

She wasn’t kidding. I joined her at the window and immediately gasped. Hundreds of lions were now charging over the tall hill in the distance, roaring. I could hear them clearly even though the windows were closed. Even from as far away as I was, I could see that these lions were much bigger than regular lions. They had to be at least twice the size, with long, shaggy manes in various shades of gold and brown, and long white teeth that glinted in the sun. One lion led the rest, and he even seemed to be slightly bigger than the rest. I had a feeling I knew who he was.

Majestic wasn’t even the right word to describe the sight of all these fierce, massive lions charging over the hill at once. Not that I could remember much from my former life, but I knew it was the most spectacular sight I’d ever seen.

Realizing I’d stopped breathing for several seconds, I filled my lungs, and my voice came out in a near-whisper.

“Holy—” With my gaze still on the lion stampede heading toward the hospital, I swallowed. “Dear God.”

Martha laughed. “Yup. ‘Holy dear God’ indeed. I imagine seeing the lions for the first time is kind of a shock. And that’s actually kind of a muted reaction to seeing them for the first time. Some of the frozen young women scream. If you do feel like you may have a scream coming, please tell me so I can grab a pillow for you to scream into. I’ve nearly had my eardrums ruptured a few times.”

Still not taking my gaze from the lions, I shook my head. “No, don’t worry. Yes, I’m a bit stunned, I guess, but I don’t think I’m going to scream.”

Martha laughed again. “I didn’t think so. You don’t strike me as the stunned-into-screaming type. You survived your thawing and then fever with a kind of quiet, steady strength that I was able to pick up on even when you were asleep, so I figured you’d react to seeing the lions for the first time the same way. Our other thawing patient wasn’t quite as stoic. She was up before dawn today, demanding that she be served ‘medium golden’ toast with crusts removed, eggs ‘perfectly’ over easy, and Belgian waffles topped with slices of strawberries that had been
skinned
, so as to make the slices seedless; and while I was phoning her exact order into the kitchen, she happened to look out the windows and see Commander Beaumont leading his men out on patrol. She screamed so loudly I couldn’t believe it didn’t wake you up. She demanded that ‘those beasts’ be kept away from her at all times, but when I explained to her about her being frozen, and why, because she still can’t remember a single thing, she kind of changed her tune. She seemed very intrigued by the prospect of having a child with the commander-in-chief of this new nation, and even more intrigued when I mentioned that Commander Beaumont is very handsome.”

As the lions reached the bottom of the hill and slowed near the grassy front lawn of the hospital, I finally pulled my gaze from the scene to look at Martha. “And Veronica doesn’t care that Commander Beaumont isn’t looking for any kind of a romantic relationship to come from this procreation arrangement? She doesn’t care that he seems to be a cold man when it comes to matters of the heart?”

Martha stifled a yawn, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. “Oh, I think that will suit her just fine. Veronica strikes me as kind of a cold individual herself.” Martha stifled another yawn, squeezing her bloodshot eyes shut for a second. “Savannah, my dear, I need to get home, shower, and sleep, so I’m going to leave you be for now. Another nurse named Betty will help you with anything you’ll need before you’re discharged later today.”

I realized I had no idea where I was going to be discharged
to
, and I asked.

Grabbing a paperback book she’d left on one of my side tables, Martha glanced at me with a little smile. “Well, the commander’s mansion, of course. Commander Beaumont’s private residence. I imagine he’ll come pick you up at discharge and take you right there. It will be your new home. Though I have a feeling he might stop in to meet you before then. The lions running up and down the hill at full speed is one of their daily training exercises to keep them in fighting form, but it looks like they’re done now. And it looks like Commander Beaumont is heading over here right now.”

Realizing I hadn’t even showered yet, I whipped my face toward the window. Almost instantly, though, I thought that it didn’t even matter that I hadn’t showered yet. It wasn’t like I was too concerned with impressing Commander Beaumont; I didn’t even like the man, based on what I’d heard. I didn’t care if he met me when I was as fresh as a daisy, or a little grungy with slightly matted, un-brushed hair, as was the case.

But then, again almost instantly, the very moment I had these thoughts, I
did
start to care again that I hadn’t taken a shower. And that was because I’d caught sight of Commander Beaumont, in his human form, striding across the bright green lawn toward the hospital entrance His appearance suddenly made me very self-conscious about my own, to the point that my heart began hammering in my ears, like a drum beating in time with each of his long, purposeful strides.

Martha hadn’t told me the full truth about him. He was not “easy on the eyes.” He was not “very handsome.” At least not
just
“easy on the eyes,” and
just
“very handsome.” He was an absolutely gorgeous specimen of a man, and even that description didn’t do him full justice. He was beyond handsome; he was beyond being a perfect embodiment of masculine beauty. He was the kind of man that would make women fan their faces, sighing and weak-kneed, after he had walked by.

He was tall, at least a few inches over six feet. His body was long, lean, and clearly well-muscled. The battered jeans and white t-shirt he was wearing highlighted various hard ridges and a six-pack so tight I could faintly see it beneath the thin fabric. Brown, honey-toned hair completed the “tall, dark, and handsome” picture. But beyond these physical features, there was even something else that made him so devastatingly attractive, though I was at a loss as to what exactly it was. It could have been the confident, commanding way he carried himself, head up and broad shoulders back. It could have been the angle of his strong, square jaw. But no matter what it was, it worked for me. Though that was probably the understatement of the century. It worked for me so well that my heart was beginning to sound like a jackhammer in my ears.

Wanting to disguise how ruffled I’d become just after a few moments of watching Commander Beaumont walking, I turned from the window to Martha, shrugging. “Well, he managed to get dressed very quick after shifting from his lion form. And shouldn’t the commander-in-chief of a nation be dressed in something a bit more formal than a t-shirt and beat-up jeans? I think I even saw a little hole in one of the knees. And shouldn’t he be a bit older or something? What is he, like, thirty?”

I instantly felt rude, as I probably should have. How Commander Beaumont dressed, and if he was “old enough” to be commander of his own nation, were things that were none of my business.

Avoiding Martha’s eyes, I gave my head a little shake while my face became a bit warm. “Sorry. That was probably rude of me. I just… I guess he’s just not what I expected.”

He was just light years more attractive than I’d expected.

Martha said not to worry at all about what I’d said. “You’ve been through an awful lot being thawed these past few days, you had a near-lethal fever, and a person wouldn’t be human if they didn’t show
some
sign of that stress
some
time. And Lord only knows, you’ve been a saint and a complete joy compared to our
other
patient. But, to answer your questions before I go, you’ll find that even though he’s the leader of the nation, Commander Beaumont is a casual-dressing kind of guy. Though you’ll probably see that that doesn’t interfere with his commanding respect from his people at all. And, oh, by the way, shifters don’t even need to dress and undress when they shift; their clothes shift right along with them, as magical as shifting itself is. And as for your other question, Commander Beaumont is thirty-three, though he’s already been leader of his people for a decade. His strength and bravery in battling various enemies earned him that honor very early on.” While I digested all this info, Martha crossed the distance between us, clutching her paperback, and wrapped me in a hug. “Have a good day, Savannah banana, and best of luck to you. It really has been a joy to care for you, and I look forward to seeing you around town.” After patting my back a few times, she released me and began heading for the door, but paused and gave me a backward glance with her eyes twinkling. “Maybe I’ll even see you back here at the hospital soon, for a pregnancy test. No matter how things go with you and Commander Beaumont, babies are a blessing, you know, and I think you’ll make a wonderful mother.”

She breezed out of the room, yawning, leaving me to scoff to myself. I
did
agree that babies were a blessing, of course, but I wasn’t convinced that I’d ever be having one with Commander Beaumont. From what I could remember about my decision to be frozen, I’d kind of been hoping that the man I’d eventually be matched up with to create a baby would be the kind of man who’d want to build some kind of a romantic relationship with the mother of his child, or at least be open to the possibility of that. But, from what Martha had said, it seemed clear that that man was
not
Commander Beaumont. And now I’d either have to live with my disappointment and go ahead with a loveless impregnation, or back out of what I’d said I’d do, which just didn’t feel right to me. No matter how little I knew about myself and who I’d been before the nuclear disaster, I had a gut feeling that I wasn’t the type of person who didn’t follow through on promises.

I
should
have spent the time after Martha had left running a brush through my hair or maybe trying to find something to wear that wasn’t a thin, light blue bathrobe. After all, even though I wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen between Commander Beaumont and me, I supposed I didn’t want to look like a total slob upon meeting him for the first time. So, I
should
have spent some time trying to spruce myself up a bit. But I didn’t. After Martha left, I spent several minutes staring out the window at the wide green lawn, completely lost in thought. I’d honestly even forgotten that Commander Beaumont had been heading into the hospital. A sharp, loud knock on the door frame was my reminder.

Thoroughly startled, I whirled around, gasping. And, of course, I saw Commander Beaumont standing in the doorway. Despite the stern, borderline cold expression he was wearing, he was even more devastatingly attractive up close. Even from several feet away, I could see that his eyes were an unusual shade of hazel. Predominantly green, but with some amber-colored warmth to them that matched his lightly tanned, golden skin perfectly.

I couldn’t speak for some reason. He, however, seemed to have no problem, after a moment apparently sizing me up, quickly raking his gaze from my head to my toes and back up again.

“May I come in?”

Like Martha, he had just a hint of a southern accent. Apparently, pronounced twangs hadn’t survived the centuries since the nuclear disaster. But that wasn’t what had my attention; I was more focused on Commander Beaumont’s voice, which was rich, deep, and powerful. Just the four words he’d spoken had the effect of making some little current of electricity race through my body. I obviously didn’t want
him
to notice the effect his voice had had on me, though.

So, trying to act nonchalant, I just nodded, folding my arms across my chest to close my robe, since the cloth belt was undone. “That’s fine. You may come in.”

He did so, then stopped next to two folding chairs bedside, gesturing to them. “Would you like to sit?”

Offering
me
a seat in my own hospital room, as if he owned the whole place. Which, I realized, since he was commander-in-chief of the whole nation, he kind of did, in a way. But still, the act of offering me a chair in my own room rubbed me the wrong way.

In response to his question, I gave my head a shake. “No, thank you.
You
can sit if you want, though, if you’re tired. I imagine the act of knocking on a hospital patient’s doorway loudly enough to nearly give that patient a heart attack can be very exhausting.”

I hadn’t meant to say what I had. I didn’t even know where it had come from, other than from my irritation about being offered a seat in my own room. And maybe a tiny part of me
did
feel like he should have apologized for startling me so badly. Though something told me Commander Beaumont didn’t go around saying he was sorry for just anything.

In response to what I’d said, his dark brows shot up just a degree, just an incremental fraction, in seeming surprise. It was clear he wasn’t used to being spoken to in any kind of a hostile or icy tone. And for just a split-second, I wondered if I’d made a mistake. I wondered if Commander Beaumont was the type of man who didn’t suffer any disrespect, no matter how slight. I wondered if he was the type of man who’d have a woman jailed for such a thing, or the type of man who might even strike a woman for such a thing. If that were the case, though, I guessed that Martha would have warned me. And to my great surprise, right after his brows had lifted, Commander Beaumont’s mouth twitched slightly, or at least I could have sworn it did, as if he were amused. But almost as quickly as this faint sign of possible amusement had appeared, it left, replaced by Commander Beaumont’s usual stern, commanding expression; when he spoke, his voice held a bit of sternness as well.