Free Serengeti Lightning by Vivi Andrews Page B

so—”
    “Don’t.” Whatever she had to say, he didn’t want to hear it. He’d heard more than enough for one night.
    What the fuck was that? She stormed in here like a Valkyrie, out for blood, and then ran out. Always running. Always pushing him away with one hand and stringing him along with the other.
    She didn’t get to do that anymore. He wasn’t going to let her. Michael was sick of being teased and toyed with. She wanted it to be over between them? Fine. It was going to be over.
    But not until he’d said his piece. She didn’t get to blindside him and run away from him this time.
    Michael roared, the shift taking his body to lion form with a sudden painful jerk. He lunged forward, his speed fueled by anger as he sprinted into the night. He caught the scent trail of the female and raced down the path after her. She was headed away from the residential compound, into the pasturelands beyond. He didn’t care. Wherever she went, he would catch her.
    He knew the moment she realized he was following her. He felt the soft pop of pressure as she took her own feline form. He poured on the speed, knowing she would be faster and more evasive as a lioness. That knowledge only reinforced his determination to catch her.
    She was fast, but he was faster. He could see her ahead of him now, her sleek, sandy form little more than a shadow streaking across the dusty plain. The heady satisfaction of a successful hunt began to pulse through his blood as, with each leaping stride, he grew closer to his prey.
    He closed the distance, gauging her speed, and leapt. His paws struck her shoulders. Her feet flew out from under her and they rolled in a flurry of snapping teeth and swiping paws. She snarled and fought like a hellcat, but size and blind rage were both on his side.
    He sank his teeth into her scruff, pinning her beneath his bulk. She hissed angrily but stopped struggling, her breath panting out onto the dirt raising puffing dust clouds.
    He eased his teeth off her, making sure he kept his weight pressing her into the ground. He shifted back to human form, trusting she would follow suit. If she stayed in feline form, she could easily get away from him, but she must have known he would only shift again and come after her. Michael could keep this up all night.
    Mara shifted beneath him. Both of their clothes had been destroyed in the change, so naked flesh pressed warm against naked flesh. Michael’s body immediately took notice, but his thoughts were still fogged with anger, not lust. He flipped her onto her back so he could look into her eyes, then pressed his forearm across her shoulders and used his legs to pin hers. She would hear him out. He would make sure of it.
    Mara swiped her tongue across her lower lip, her eyes wide but unafraid. “What do you want?” she asked defiantly.
    Michael kept his voice low and controlled. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so angry, but he didn’t want to risk an involuntary shift. He would say his piece, tell her every thought burning through his mind, and then he would walk away.
    “I’ve begged you to say,” he said darkly. “I’ve done everything in my power to prove I deserve you, to be good enough for you. That changes now. I am sick of being treated like a child because I feel things strongly and my lion rides close to the surface. I am more than just my deficiencies. I deserve to be with someone who recognizes that. Someone who respects me in a way you never have.”
    The last you broke something open inside him. Michael growled, staring into the greenish-brown eyes he would have sold his soul to protect only twenty-four hours ago.
    “Maybe it’s you who doesn’t deserve me,” he snarled. “Maybe you aren’t some poor lonely creature who hasn’t been lucky enough to find love, but rather someone who refuses to give any piece of herself to anyone else. Maybe you are the reason you’re alone. Incapable of accepting love into your heart. Always in control. Always