Chapter Eight

Tim

It took me a moment to work out where I was. Warm, too warm. Sleeping next to a furry radiator. Soft bed, not damp soil. A hard, muscular body pinning me in place with one heavy arm. Miles of soft hair tickling my cheek. Maximus was a complete contradiction. Hard muscles, soft hair, squishy heart.

I opened my eyes, groaning as I squinted against the sunlight flooding the room. Then I turned to look at the most gorgeous sight in the world. My alpha lion was asleep on his belly, one arm sprawled across me as if to keep me pinned to his side. Did I get off on the dominance? You betcha, I did.

Was there ever a stalk happier than me? I think not. I spent all night in my alpha lion’s arms, showing him exactly what I could do to drive him out of his furry mind. I was an omega with mad twirlie skills. By the time morning came, I was limp, sore in places I didn’t know existed, and empty of custard.

I’m telling you, not a drop left.

He swallowed me whole and licked me clean. It turned out my lion had some mad skills of his own.

When a rhubarb loves a lion, he can't keep his mind on nothing but your dick…

I’d have sat bolt upright if I wasn’t being held down by a mons… lion.

Whoa, stop right there, Twirlie, stalk of cuteness. Who said anything about love? This was me getting my horn on!

“Sweet fuzzy boy,” Maximus mumbled in my ear as I shifted in his arms, thinking maybe it was time I skedaddled outta here before I made a total fool of myself and begged him to make sweet, sticky music with me forever when his lion didn’t seem to want long-term commitment. “Quit singing, quit thinking about how you’re scared and gonna run away, my lion will adapt. Just tuck your head here, baby, and go back to sleep.”

He tucked me into his armpit, which was kinda stinky if I’m being honest, and pinned me down so I couldn’t move. I thought about grumbling for all of two seconds. I mean, I’m not scared. Did I care I was covered head to foot in lion jizz and custard, and being gassed by his armpit?

I sighed happily. Hell no.

I pressed a kiss to his skin, closed my eyes, and dozed off, softly singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight in my head as my mate stroked a warm hand down my back.

~/~/~/~

“We could join them.” Unknown voice.

“Do it and die.” Maximus did not sound like a happy lion.

“We could throw water on them.” I knew that voice.

“Or you could just fuck off,” Maximus stated.

“That one,” I grumbled into his skin. I was not ready to face the world. “Tell them to go away. I want you to stalk me.”

“Jesus, does he ever stop?”

“He’d better not,” Maximus snarled.

I opened my eyes and glared at the three shifters staring at me from the end of the bed. Burke, I knew. One I’d met in passing. Dramatic dude. I got lion vibes from him. Were there… flowers in his mane? Yep, someone had been threading flowers through his hair. Was he a hippy lion? The other guy, tall, blond, lanky, was a stranger.

“Let me guess. You’re an alpaca?” I hazarded.

Maximus groaned as the man’s expression darkened. “Okay, you know how I don’t like you calling us monsters?”

I nodded.

“Well, Drew really hates being called an alpaca.”

Geez, these guys were so sensitive about everything.

“What are you then?” I demanded.

“I’m a llama.”

“I’ll never call you an alpaca again, I promise.” I gave Drew my most winning smile. From the way he scowled at me, it didn’t work. My smiles always worked. What was wrong with him? It couldn’t be me.

He coughed and spat something on the bed.

Ewwww!

Wait…

“Is that a love heart?”

I peered closer to have a look at it. It was a pale-yellow love heart with ‘Sticky for You’ written in pink letters.

Maximus peered at it and blushed almost as vibrant as Randy’s hair. “You heard?”

Drew rolled his eyes. “Heard you? Are you kidding me? We all heard, oh great alpha. The whole damn neighborhood heard you. In fact, two counties over probably heard you that last time.”

The rest of the pride nodded in agreement, some even sniggering when Maximus groaned and dropped his head back on the pillow.

“You’re gonna have to soundproof your room,” Burke said, looking utterly traumatized as he eyed us.

“Or you could wear noise-canceling headphones,” I suggested brightly. “I’m only going to get noisier. My lion, he’s tastier than—”

Maximus turned to me and his hand slipped over my mouth as he read where my thoughts were going. “You are?”

I beamed at him when I felt his body react to what I’d like to taste next and mumbled past his hand, “Rhubarbs get noisier when they mate. Just wait for mated karaoke night.”

They all went a little pale. I don’t know why. Mated karaoke night was awesome.

Me singing about the wonderfulness of being mated to a lion got his smirk reappearing, his smugness increasing at the others’ groans when he wrapped an arm around me and snuggled me tight.

When’s the next karaoke night? He didn’t wait for my reply, but that was alright because I could feel his excitement.

“You heard him. Wear headphones. Like now. Me and my cuteness are gonna mate again.

Whoosh!

Oops…

The squealing noise came when I squeezed my butt cheeks together, my slick going a little wild.

Drew’s eyebrows knitted together as he sniffed the air. “I can smell custard. Did we leave a pan on the stove?”

Maximus grinned widely. “Bye, bye pride. You better go before you get to see what a twirlie rhubarb can really do.”

He pushed me to my back and rolled on top of me, his cock, like a custard seeking missile, homed in on its target.

“We could watch,” the other lion suggested with just enough enthusiasm to suggest he wasn’t messing with us.

Maximus turned his head and bared an impressive set of fangs.

My guy definitely flossed.

“Not if you want to live. My mate is all mine. Every last fuzzy hair of him. Now skedaddle.”

I smiled ridiculously wide—it made my face ache as much as my ass that was getting spiked—at him as they darted for the door at the added roar. “I love how possessive you are of me.”

He growled and my dick went boing ! “Lions are very possessive. I don’t share with anyone .”

Now I’d indulged in a rhubarb orgy or three. I didn’t mind more than three stalks in a bed. But the idea of being this lion’s one and only made me shiver from the leaves on my head to the roots on my toes.

“No more orgies,” Maximus snarled, his teeth gleaming in the sunlight pouring through the window.

Who knew a growly lion could be such a turn on? “Understood,” I said in my bestest submissive tone, hoping he’d show me exactly how possessive he was with the wild lion dick rubbing against my slick hole.

“You’d better,” he said, nudging my legs wider and pushing his cock against my slick rim, teasing me. A moment later, he withdrew and rose over me, his large, spiked cock hanging between his thighs, making my ass work overtime. The power of custard replenishment!

“Only I get to taste your custard now.” He eyed me with a hungry gaze, his head dipped between my legs. “Just like this.”

I let out a long sigh of delight as he demonstrated just how long his tongue was as it lapped over and under my balls, reaching my hole in one move that made my hole flutter and my eyes roll into the back of my head. “That’s it, love on the custard. More,” I begged. “Slick me up, baby. Make me ride the custard train to heaven.”