El padded out of the woods and stretched. The spicy, sweet scent of candied ginger made his nostrils twitch. That aroma followed him from the SUV, he’d found on an old logging road about a mile from the bar. He loped over to the cycles. Within a few steps bones broke and realigned; fur receded, leaving a sprinkling of hair on his skin. Gunter lit a thin cigar as he rested on the seat of his custom bike and blew circles of smoke in his direction. El strode to the saddle bag on his motorcycle and yanked out a pair of jeans. He slid in one leg, and then the other before pulling up his pants and meeting his second in command’s gaze.
Reaching for his vest, he slipped it on and dropped his boots on the ground. “You look like you have something to say Gunter?”
“Nope, I sent Reese to find you earlier, but now I’m just waiting.”
El glanced at the building which housed the motorcycle club then back at the older man. “For what?” Cool air enveloped him as he waited for an answer. Without the fur, he felt the chill to his bones. The weather in Oregon was nothing like the dry heat which seemed to rise off the plains of the Serengeti. But, it was a place no one would expect a pride of lions to reside. For him that once thing outweighed the importance of the other. He would keep his pride hidden at all costs.
“Curious evening, some woman came looking for you, a pretty little thing with bronze skin and sinful chocolate eyes.” Gunter inhaled deeply from his cigar, and a thin red rim of smoldering fire glowed in the night.
“A woman?”
“Yeah a human.”
“Huh, that’s the last species I would expect to seek me out. What did she want?”
The bar door was shoved open. Screeching metal was coupled with the whoops and hollers of his brethren. El tilted his head to see what the excitement was about. He caught sight of Zima falling down and another woman rising. One of his pride members hovered in the doorway, blocking El’s view.
He turned when El growled, hopping from one leg to another as he tilted his head toward the crowd indoors. “That woman … the human one … she actually brought Zima to her knees.” Excitement was clear in his tone. He dragged his gaze away from El’s and cleared his throat, hurrying out the way. The door closed with a soft click leaving an even stronger scent of candied ginger wafting through the air.
El stuffed his feet into his boots while he stared at Gunter. “I take it the woman is still in there?”
Gunter chuckled. “That’s where I left her.”
“You left a human woman in a room with animals? I am so tired of cleaning up your messes.”
“How is it my shit, when she came hunting you?” Gunter rose from his seat.
“Did she have an odor?” El pursed his lips and stared at the door.
“Oh yeah, a very nice one almost like candy.”
“What the hell were you thinking Gunter? You know what that means. She has mating potential.”
Gunter shrugged. “Zima was having a moment, and you know how I feel about her. I offered her the respect of a lioness and your one time lover. I walked away so I wouldn’t have to explain myself after I killed her. If and that’s a big if that woman could be, or is, a pride mate then she needs to be able to take care of herself. You don’t want some piss poor human female who can’t take care of herself or her cubs setting up camp with us.”
El met Gunter’s gaze. “You’re an asshole.”
A smile bloomed on his friend’s face. “You say the sweetest things. Umm … you might want to get in there before your psycho ex-girlfriend murders the cutie, and then we’ll be stuck searching for a burial spot all night.”
El stalked toward the structure mumbling. “Goddess, why do I keep you around?
Gunter followed in his footsteps. “Because I practically raised you, and I’m a tactical genius.”
El yanked the heavy barrier open and watched with growing interest as the lady Gunter had referred to held her own with Zima. She blocked blows while throwing her own punches. Her hair was pulled back tight into a ponytail. She’d worn jeans which that appeared to have been poured on, but she moved with ease. Her skin had a reddish undertone, and she was taller than he expected. She disappeared from view, and he searched the crowd for some sign of her.
He gazed over his shoulder at Gunter who raised his hands in question.
El turned his head, opened his mouth, and roared.
Everything stopped, except the two combatants. Zima was making a run for the human. The crowd split for him as he leapt on a table and used it as a springboard to land between the two women. He clamped a hand around Zima’s wrist and swung her around to face him. “Enough!” He growled. Then, he turned his gaze on the pretty female rising from a crouch. He released his ex and rumbled low in his throat. Zima inched away with her head bowed. The other woman loosely held a thin metal club in her palm.
She lifted her chin. “Who the fuck are you?”
He fought the urge to smile. “The man that saved your life.”
She sucked her teeth. “Please, I was about to knock that bitch out.”
“I think you might have underestimated Zima.”
“Or you have an overinflated estimation of her abilities. She has a tell, broadcasting which way she will move, and her left arm is weak. I would have won this fight.”
“Interesting, so want to tell me why you’re here?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m interested in finding Eldridge Khune.”
“My friends call me El. So what do you want?” He winked.
She reached behind her and pulled a semi-automatic forty five. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Your bail has been revoked and you are under arrest.”
One by one the club members started to laugh until it filled the space. El shook his head and sauntered up to the spitfire with pretty brown eyes. He stopped when the muzzle of the weapon prevented him from moving farther and took a deep whiff of her scent. Her breasts heaved, and her eyes darted back and forth. He caught an undercurrent of fear. Just as quickly, she shut the emotion down and tightened her grip on the gun. His cock hardened by the minute. He’d never had any interest in human women before, but this one … he wanted to bury himself in her lushness.
El wrapped his fingers around hers and forced her to ram the muzzle deeper into the center of his chest. He met her defiant gaze and gently squeezed her hand. “Go ahead suiker, pull the trigger.”