Chapter Four
Butch
I think Leonidis expected to man the grill, but in my house, I’m a lways the stalk in control of the grill.
“I’m a lion,” he said dubiously, when I unwrapped the steaks. “I like them mooing.”
“Show it the grill and put it on the plate. Understood.” My mate didn’t look convinced I could cook to order, but he nodded and didn’t take over. Instead, he helped prepare a large salad while I sliced zucchini, squash and bell peppers for me.
“Why do you have a grill?” he asked. “You don’t eat meat. I thought you took your food from the soil.”
“I bought it initially because I have out-of-town friends who are carnivores,” I explained. “But I like to spend an evening relaxing on the patio, eating grilled vegetables too. Crimson sometimes joins me for dinner. We discuss anything we need to about Valentine over a meal.” I smiled wryly. “We discovered there are fewer arguments that way. She likes my cooking.”
Leonidis couldn’t hide a sudden frown. “You and Crimson?”
“She’s Valentine’s alpha and I’m the sheriff,” I pointed out as I started grilling my vegetables. They would take longer than the steaks. “The town is our responsibility. Even in a little town like ours, there’s always trouble.” I felt rather than saw him twitch. “Even before your pride arrived, there were always young stalks getting up to mischief and out-of-towners causing chaos.”
“In other words, I’m being ridiculous.”
I turned to see his pinched expression and hooded eyes. I stepped into his space, ignoring the knife in his hand, and cupped Leonidis’s jaw, watching his hair fluff out. “I like the fact you’re jealous.”
“How…” He scowled. “You do?” He didn’t sound convinced.
“I do.” Great Rhu, I wanted a kiss, but turned back to my vegetables, not wanting to crowd him. I hid my grin at his disappointed gasp, and the way he had almost leaned into me.
When the veggies were grilled to perfection, I plated them and turned my attention to the steak. Two minutes later, I handed Leonidis his plate, piled high with meat.
“Is this how you like your meat?”
He stared at the barely seared steak. “Perfect. How did you—”
“I have wolf shifter friends, remember? They’re even fussier than lions.”
I snorted at his grunt. Lion and wolf shifters. They were all the same. They despised each other. I couldn’t wait to introduce the wolves to my mate… if he let me.
We filled our plates with salad and sat down on my Adirondack chairs to watch the sunset.
“We do this at the pride house,” Leonidis said, sighing as he settled into the chair.
“Do what?”
“Watch the sunrises and sunsets. It’s the first time we’ve spent anywhere long enough to relax. After the last town ran us out, I thought Maxi was mad choosing that old house in yet another small town, but he was right.”
Anger boiled inside me at the thought of my mate and his pride struggling to find anywhere that would accept them.
Leonidis patted my thigh. I guess it was meant to be a comforting gesture, but it sent fire straight to my cock. I wonder if he realized just how often he gave me gentle, reassuring touches since we’d left his home.
It was nice.
“Calm, my sheriff.”
My sheriff? I sucked in a breath. Did he hear what he’d just said?
Leonidis carried on, as if he hadn’t noticed my reaction. “No one wants a mixed pride like ours. The predators saw half our pride as prey, and towns filled with prey animals saw us lions as predators. We never fit in anywhere. I didn’t consider finding a home in a town full of rhubarb.”
I became filled with pride at the thought of my town. Valentine Growville was a special place in the world. I never wanted to live anywhere else. I hoped my mate felt the same way.
We ate in silence for a while as the sun slowly dipped beyond the trees. I didn’t feel the need to move.
Leonidis finished the last mouthful of steak with a satisfied groan. “That was amazing.”
“Don’t groan like that,” I said before I could hold back the words, my body reacting.
He blinked at me. “Huh?”
In for a penny. “Only your mate should make you groan like that.”
“You did make me groan,” Leonidis pointed out. “You cooked the steaks.”
He had a point.
I turned to regard him, feeling the tension in his body as if it were rolling toward me in waves. “Leonidis.”
“Yes?”
My mate sounded nervous, and I hated making him feel worried.
“I’ll take you home when you’re ready.”
He frowned. “You’re offering to drive me home?”
“Yes.”
“But…” Leonidis licked his lips. “Don’t you want to fuck me?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “But not today and only when, if, you’re ready.”
“But you asked me on a date.”
“A date, not a hook-up.”
He fidgeted in his seat. “But—”
I swung my legs around so I could face him. “Today was just about me offering you dinner and a chance to watch the sunset. That’s all.”
“I think I’d like to go home.”
I nodded, disappointed he didn’t want to stay longer, but I’d said I’d take him home when he was ready.
“I’ll help you clear up first,” he murmured shyly.
We cleaned up, and he loaded the dishwasher while I cleaned the grill. Then I drove Leonidis back to the pride house.
He hesitated before he got out of the car. “Well, thanks—”
But I leaped out of the car and rushed around to open his door.
“We’re going to have to talk about this,” he muttered.
I ignored that and walked him to the front porch. He put his hand on the door handle and hesitated, then gazed at me.
“Thank you.”
I knew he was thanking me for more than just dinner.
“You’re welcome.”
My mate licked his lips again, a nervous gesture. “Would you like to come in for a coffee?”