The Lion's Pride (BBW Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance) (The True Date Agency) Read Online Free Page A

arms, had begged him to take me. “You own this place? You’re that Zane?”
    He winced as my voice rose to a screech. “I didn’t get the chance to properly—”
    “You didn’t even tell me your name! Not until we were—” I clamped my mouth shut, suddenly remembering we had an audience. Not that he hadn’t had a front row seat, anyway.
    “Why does it matter?” He sounded genuinely confused, and I couldn’t blame him. He didn’t know me, didn’t know why I avoided men like him. After all, we had only just met! Christ! I wanted to curl up in a ball and die. I couldn’t even do a one-night stand without complicating it. He was right—it didn’t matter who he was. It wasn’t like we were ever going to see each other again. We’d scratched an itch, that was all.
    “There you go again, thinking out loud,” he murmured, his hand brushing my cheek in a decidedly more-than-a-one-night-stand kind of way.
    “What?”
    The bartender coughed pointedly. “Boss? We really need you downstairs, like five minutes ago. Would you like me to escort the lady out? And my name’s Andy, by the way.” He winked at me, flashing me a smile that was a cross between a grin and a smirk.
    “She stays here,” Zane snapped, grabbing his t-shirt up off the floor and pulling it on.
    I was torn between wanting to smooth down the tufts of hair that spiked straight out from his head and snapping back at him. “What? Uh-uh. No way.” Okay, snapping won.
    Zane turned to me, taking my hands in his. “Stay, please. I need to talk to you…there are some things I’d like to say. Things you need to know.” His back was to Andy, his eyes pleading with me.
    I could feel myself starting to relent, my willpower weakening. What harm would it do to hear him out? “Okay…” No sooner were the words out of my mouth, he strode out of the room, Andy hot on his heels.
    The door swung shut behind them, the room falling silent again.
    “Right,” I muttered, walking over to a chair and sitting down. “For a woman who’s trying to avoid men…” My voice trailed off, the sound loud and just plain weird in the empty room. Dampness between my thighs served as a reminder of how badly I was keeping that promise.
    As my body cooled and my heart rate slowed to nearly normal, the feeling that I had missed something important nagged at me. But what?
    I’d just had sex. Not the end of the world!
    With the owner of this club. Zane Sarson. And from what I’d just heard, he was a typical playboy—rich, mysterious, aloof, and popular with the ladies.
    Sound like anyone you know, Lara?
    I slapped my head, hoping to knock some sense into myself. I was an idiot! The ink had barely dried and I was hooking up with a replica of my ex.
    Who had told me to wait here until he got back. Like I was a dog. And I was doing as I was told, like I always had.
    Well, hell. The sex had been good—but not that good.
    I lurched to my feet, decision made. My thighs slid together, an ache blossoming between them.
    Okay, maybe that last bit had been a lie .
    But it wasn’t stopping me. No way. This was a new start— I was in charge. I got to decide what I did, and didn’t, do.
    I pushed open the door and stormed down the stairs. More like hobbled, actually, tenderness flaring with each step. Scooping up my shoes, I slipped them on. Kate and Tina seemed wrapped up in the dating thing, both engrossed in conversation, so catching their eyes, I shot them a quick wave and headed for the door.
    At the threshold, I hesitated, the urge to turn back and find him shooting through me. “Have you got a pen and scrap of paper that I could borrow?” I asked the girl at the front desk. Grabbing them off her, I jotted down my number, scrawling my name underneath. If tonight had meant anything to him, he’d call. But did I really want him to? What about a fresh start?
    Telling the judgmental voice inside my head to shut up, I handed the paper to the girl. “Could you pass this to Zane