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

for me, please?”
    She didn’t even glance at it before sliding the note inside a large book. “Sure thing.”
    There. If he didn’t call, I was fine with it. Totally. After all, a one-night stand is what I’d been after, right?
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Zane
    I glared at the empty room as though through sheer willpower I could magic my mate back into it. “What the fuck do you mean she left?”
    Andy peered around my shoulder. “She’s not here.”
    “I can see that!” I growled, the urge to hit something— anything —flooding me. “Where is she?” I strode over to the window, scanning the crowd below. She wasn’t there. Fuck!
    “I don’t know, do you want me to ask Stacey?” At my blank look he continued, “At the front desk? You know? The girl who—”
    “I don’t care. Yes, go ask her.”
    He turned to leave, then paused, his hand on the door. “Can I just ask, why?”
    My fingers itched, frustration tearing at me. Why had she left? “Why, what?”
    “She seemed like a nice woman, and don’t get me wrong, I had spotted her earlier, but—”
    I was across the room, my hands around his neck in a matter of seconds. The door shook as I slammed him against it. “You don’t ever look at her in that way again! Do you hear me?” A distant part of me knew I was overreacting, but I couldn’t help it. The mating hadn’t been completed; I had pierced her skin but not said the words that would bind us. She wasn’t mine, but she was . It was screwing with my head. Not to mention the fact that my lion was going ballistic inside of me, threatening to tear out of my skin. He couldn’t understand any better than me why our mate would walk away.
    He frowned at me, ceasing to struggle. “ Shit! She’s your true mate, isn’t she?”
    I took a deep breath, forcing my fingers to loosen around his neck. I couldn’t go around taking it out on the members of my pride. It wasn’t his fault. It had to be mine; somehow I had managed to screw this up. Everyone leaves you… I silenced the whisper. No, I was not a child anymore. I didn’t believe that rubbish. I had people who loved me—my ragtag family did. For some insane reason.
    “Go, speak to the girl on the door. Find out if she saw Lara leave and who she was with.” Meanwhile, I was going to have a little chat with Gretchen. Lara didn’t seem like the kind of woman to come to a club like this on her own, looking for a hook up. The fact that she hadn’t taken part in the speed dating gave me some hope. “Send Gretchen in, will you?” I called after him, already resenting the look of pity he shot me before heading downstairs.
    I didn’t need his pity— fuck that—I needed Lara. And I was going to find her.
    I walked around my desk and sank into the chair, letting my head fall back as my fingers stroked across the leather arms. A couple of hours ago, I had been adamant I didn’t want a mate, but now? I couldn’t think of anything else. Closing my eyes, I played back the last hour, letting it dance across the front of my eyelids. I knew I didn’t love her, not yet, anyway. It was far too soon. But I felt something beyond the urge to fuck her—a yearning of some sort? I tried to sort through the tangle of emotions, peeling away the base needs and mating urges. Yeah, I yearned to get to know her, to talk to her and hear her laugh. To explore that hint of feisty attitude and get a feel for what kind of woman she was. What made her tick? What did she love? Hate? Was she grumpy in the mornings? Did she mainline coffee? What music did she like? Did she want to travel or was she a homebody? Did she want children?
    “You’re thinking very serious thoughts, Zane. What’s up?”
    “Gretchen—” I opened my eyes to find her sitting in the chair in front of me. I had been so lost in thought, so preoccupied, I hadn’t been aware of her arrival. Something that had never happened before—ever.
    Eying me, she sucked in a breath, releasing it on a low hiss. “What happened?