Free Lion's Love by Kate Kent Page B

clicked on the tab and a row of men popped up. Wow! There were only about a half a dozen men on the page…but what a hunky group! Shifter Villages sure boasted some lookers. These men were gorgeous. They were all tall with rippling muscles. As I stared at the photos, one of them caught my eye. His name was listed as Adrian and he was at least 6’3”, with thick, brown hair and warm, tanned skin. I felt a jolt go through my stomach as I looked at him. His gaze was intense, with amber eyes that seemed to stare directly back into mine. He took my breath away. I knew it was only a photo, yet something about him made me feel like he was in the room with me.
    I clicked on his profile. “Lion Shifter seeks special marriage mate for long walks, deep talks, and warm nights.” Warm nights—I could just imagine what it would be like to cuddle up to him. I closed my eyes as I visualized myself wrapped in his powerful arms; him snuggling me tight.
    “Sherry…Sherry…Judith wants us in the meeting room,” Roxanne’s voice interrupted me. “Whoa…that dude is hot—Adrian, huh?  He looks like a sexy beast. Let me see that. A lion shifter, huh?”
    Damn, she was looking over my shoulder again. As she leaned in closer to get an even better view of the screen, I quickly shut down the computer.
    “What did you do that for?” she frowned. “Anyway, you’re going to be late for the meeting. It’s an all departments meeting, remember.”
    Shit! I looked at the clock. I would have to scramble to make it on time.
    I quickly reached for the papers I would need and the manila envelope holding them fell on the floor, the contents flying everywhere. Damn. I hurried, gathering them up. Being late for a meeting was a no-no.
    Once I had all the papers pulled together, I rushed to the meeting room. Everyone was in their seats, including Roxanne and her mean girl cronies. The trio of Roxanne, Susan, and Jamie had amused expressions on their faces.
    “You’re late, Sherry,” my boss, Judith Banks, announced. Judith was an elegant woman in her late thirties. She was tall, curvy, and beautiful. She always looked perfect, with flawless skin and every strand of her thick red hair in place.
    “Sorry, I got caught up in something,” I said quietly.
    “Yeah, she was caught up at the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ website looking at a hottie shifter named Adrian,” Roxanne laughed.
    “Not just any shifter… a lion shifter,” Susan grinned.
    I could feel my face flush bright red as the others tittered. My skin color probably matched my port wine stain right now. It was obvious Roxanne had been talking about me behind my back again.
    Judith looked puzzled. “‘Luscious Lads and Ladies?’”
    “It’s a shifter marriage match site,” Jamie, one of Roxanne’s friends who worked in the Personnel Department, piped up.
    “Sherry thinks she’ll find true love there,” Roxanne added, a smirk playing across her lips.
    I shook my head. “I never…”
    Judith looked at me curiously. “Sherry?”
    “I…I was just looking during break. I…didn’t apply or anything…” God, I felt lame that Judith knew I had looked at the online marriage site. What would she think of me?
    “Sherry actually thinks it’s possible to find a life’s partner online—and a shifter no less!” Roxanne tittered.
    “A marriage match site?” Judith said. “It sounds intriguing. You absolutely should try it, Sherry. And let me know how it works for you. Lord knows it couldn’t turn out much worse than my two ex-husbands. I met both of them offline!”
    I let out a sigh of relief. Judith had a yin and yang personality. You never knew if she would give you a high five for something you did or a withering stare. But all in all, she was a fair boss, and I really liked her. It was the co-workers like Roxanne and her cronies who acted like they were back in high school that drove me nuts. I always tried to avoid them, but it could be hard in the small