Free Jupiter (Were Zoo Book 2) by R. E. Butler

settled the bracelets on her
wrists, and she pushed them up past her elbows, trailing the
lilies’ essence on her skin. The sweet scent made his beast prowl,
anxious to have her alone.
    Jupiter lifted the bowl of sweet
prickly pear, which he’d cut into bite-sized pieces.
    “ Jupiter,” his dad said,
“do you swear yourself and your lion to Celeste? Do you promise to
be with only her for as long as your heart beats? Do you promise to
make her life as sweet as the prickly pear fruit, as lovely as the
lilies, and to protect her with claw and fang as long as you
live?”
    “ I swear,” Jupiter said,
feeding a bite of prickly pear to Celeste. She made a sound of
pleasure as she bit and swallowed the fruit, and it made his cock
jump.
    Celeste fed some fruit to him and they
took turns until all of it was gone. The sweet juice sloshed in the
empty bowl as he set it on the ground beside the fur. His dad
rested a hand on each of their heads. The pride drew closer, their
soft growls of agreement growing louder.
    “ I welcome you, Celeste, to
the pride, and I declare this night that when Jupiter has marked
and mated you; you will be as a lioness in the pride, honored and
adored. The pride will stand with you and for you against any who
would harm you. May the cubs you bear grow up to be as strong and
fierce as their parents.”
    The lions all roared in approval, and
Celeste shivered. The pride filed by them one by one, each dropping
a lily on the ground next to the rug, a token of their approval and
a blessing on the mating. They disappeared quickly into the
darkness, but Jupiter waited until he heard the soft clang of the
secret door in the storage shed before he hauled his sweetheart
close.
    “ I guess we’re alone,” she
said with a chuckle.
    “ We are now,” he said,
lowering his head to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck
with a moan as their tongues touched. He slid his hands down to the
hem of his shirt, and drew it up over her lush curves. She was
naked underneath, and as he bared her skin to his questing fingers,
he reined in his cat, needing to ensure that she had her pleasure
first so she would be lost to the world and wouldn’t feel the
marking.
    The shirt tightened over her breasts,
and he growled softly at the hindrance. His claws came out to shred
it, but she laughed and pulled away from the kiss. “It’s totally
sexy that you want to rip my shirt off, but I don’t want to walk
back to the shed naked, so give me two seconds.”
    His claws receded, and he was glad she
had her wits about her so that he didn’t do something they’d both
regret. The firelight danced on her skin as she wriggled her way
out of the shirt, pushing it over her breasts and hips until it
pooled at her feet. He stood and shoved his leather trousers down
his legs, tossing them to the ground and falling back to his knees
at her feet. He grasped her legs just above her knees, rubbing his
fingers up the sensitive backs.
    She cupped her breasts and said, “I
love how you look at me.”
    “ How?” he asked, his voice
rough.
    “ Like you could devour me
and make me love every second.”
    “ I could. I will,” he said.
He kissed her navel and inhaled the sweet scent of her arousal, and
then he offered her his hands as she moved back to the center of
the fur. She went to her knees closer to the fire so that she
wouldn’t be affected by the cool night. Moving behind her, he
gathered her hair in his hands and twisted it, pushing it over one
shoulder to bare her neck. Trailing his fingers over her shoulders
and down her arms, he placed a kiss between her shoulder
blades.
    He cupped her chin with one hand and
tilted her head until he could kiss her as he slid his other hand
slowly down her stomach. She wrapped one arm around his neck and
buried her fingers in his hair as their tongues slid together and
the sweet taste of her filled him. She laid her other hand on top
of his as he delved between her thighs. Parting her legs