Melted By The Lion: A Paranormal Lion Shifter Romance (4 page)

“I apologize for knocking so loudly. I didn’t know that this room housed such a fragile, sensitive-eared little flower.”

With my blood instantly turning to lava, I gasped, almost as loudly as I had when he’d startled me. “How dare—”

“I’ll make sure to wrap my fist in a double layer of cotton batting next time, to protect your sensitive little ears.”

I could only sputter for a moment or two. “I’ll have you know that I’ve survived being frozen in liquid nitrogen; I’ve survived being thawed, which not all women do; and I’ve survived a fever that could have killed me. So, how dare you imply that my ears—”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry. You have survived an awful lot, and I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry, Savannah.”

“Oh, and now you’re making presumptions about what my name is, before we’ve even made proper introductions. Nice. You have no clue if that’s even my name or not.”

“Well,
isn’t
your name Savannah? It says so outside your room door.”

With a little heat rising to my cheeks, surely making the light freckles I disliked more prominent, I tightened my arms across my chest, struggling to maintain eye contact with Commander Beaumont. “Well, yes. I suppose that
is
my name.”

Once again, the edges of his mouth twitched with maybe just the faintest trace of amusement, same as earlier, and I couldn’t be certain, but I thought I saw a little twinkle in his unusually-colored eyes, as well. Now, standing just a foot or two away from him, I could see what gave his green eyes such warmth. Within the deep, mossy green of his irises, amber-colored flecks were sprinkled in a ring around each pupil. His eyes were positively dazzling. Breathtaking, even, if the way I was struggling to breathe right then was any indication.

With his mouth still holding the trace of a twitch, he extended one large, long-fingered hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Savannah. I’m Commander Beaumont.”

“I figured as much by your cockiness and arrogance.”

I seemed to have only minimal control in regards to what tumbled out of my mouth around Commander Beaumont.

I’d taken his hand, finding it was firm and warm. The feel of it made me think I might somehow slide right through the floor, if that were even possible.

Ignoring what I’d said, Commander Beaumont gave my hand a few pumps. “Though you can call me Trevor.”

“All right, Trevor.”

His first name was even attractive to me. It struck me as straightforward and masculine, like him.

“And you can call
me,
well, I guess you can call me Savannah, like you already did.”

“Fair enough.”

Once our hands parted, leaving the skin on my palm tingling for some reason, silence hung in the air for a moment, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t even know why, but I just felt the need to speak, to fill the air with any type of noise, just so I wouldn’t have to silently look into Trevor’s dazzling amber-green eyes even a moment longer. So, I said the very first thing that popped into my mind.

*

“I didn’t shower or brush my hair before you came, because, well, I just didn’t want to. And that’s because I think that un-brushed hair is, well…” Standing across from Trevor, I paused, swallowing, not knowing what to say, but not wanting my train of thought to derail into awkward silence. “I just think it looks really nice.”

I knew I was beginning to have trouble thinking clearly, and I knew I was starting to sound like a complete ass. My face flamed, but Trevor, however, didn’t seem to mind my nonsensical talking. The trace of amusement still present on his features seemed to intensify a degree, and when he spoke, I thought I could detect a hint of amusement present in his voice as well.

“Well, that’s an interesting way to think; to think that un-brushed hair looks ‘really nice.’ Though I have to admit, when it comes to your hair in particular, I have to agree with you. Even un-brushed, your hair does look very nice. It’s very pretty. Same as your sweet, heart-shaped face.”

I hadn’t thought it was possible for my face to get any hotter, but I’d been wrong. I now felt like I had a fever again. Though at the same time, I wanted to smile. Almost felt like I couldn’t help it, really. It seemed as if some feeling that had welled in my chest when Trevor had said what he had, had floated right up to my mouth. And so, giving in to this feeling, not being able
not
to, I gave Trevor a little smile, not even realizing that my tightly-folded arms had loosened and fallen from my chest to my sides.

“Well, thank you. That’s nice of you to say.”

He started to smile in return, but he didn’t really reach full smile. The smile kind of froze on his face, and he just looked at me for a moment. Right before his half-smile suddenly became a frown.

Raking a hand through his thick, honey-brown hair, he then spoke
at
me without looking into my eyes. “I’ll come back to get you in a few hours, after Dr. Moore has given you one more final checkup before she leaves to go back to DC.”

It was as if some switch had been turned. His expression was now cold and stern again, like how it had been when he’d first entered the room.
He
seemed cold and stern. It seemed as if he’d allowed a different part of him to come out, a likely much warmer part than he usually showed as commander-in-chief, but then something had made him close that part back up again. Like maybe he didn’t like my smile or something.

Confused, irritated, and maybe even a tiny bit hurt, though I didn’t want to admit it, I folded my arms across my chest again and responded to what he’d said with as much ice in my voice as I could muster. “That’s fine. I’ll be ready to go the moment Dr. Moore gives me the okay. However, you should know that I haven’t yet officially decided whether or not I’m going to consent to try for a baby with you. I know at the time I was frozen, I agreed to have a child with any man who claimed me, for the good of humanity, and I
do
feel that I should honor that agreement, but to be perfectly honest, I’ve begun to rethink my decision since I’ve been thawed, and I think I have a right to do so.”

Still stern-faced, Trevor responded while looking into my eyes, though somehow looking
through
them at the same time. “You
do
have that right. I’m not in the business of forcing a woman to do anything she doesn’t want to do. However, I’d like you to stay at my residence while you’re making up your mind.”

“Why?”

“I’d like you to see where you could live for the rest of your life if you agree to enter into the business relationship of having a child, or children, with me.”

I scoffed, almost unconsciously taking the tiniest of steps back from him. “So, it’s true what I’ve heard. This
business
of you having heirs is just that. It’s just purely a business arrangement to you.”

Mirroring my pose, Trevor had folded his arms across his chest, and he’d also clenched his strong jaw. Now he unclenched it just enough to speak. “Yes. This is just a business arrangement to me. No more, no less. That’s all. I’m a busy man with a nation to build, and citizens to protect, and I don’t have much time or need for sentimental nonsense.”

“And that’s all a deeper connection than just the physical is to you?”

He hesitated for just a split-second longer than I thought he should have before responding. “Yes.”

“Well, you’re certainly not making a very good case for convincing me to enter into your hoped-for ‘arrangement.’ Because before I was frozen, I guess I was hoping for something more. I guess I was hoping that the man I was to have a child with wouldn’t be opposed to the possibility of developing a deeper connection of some kind along the way.”

Trevor remained stony-faced, still looking into my eyes but seeming to look through them at the same time. “Well, you won’t get that from me. But, if you
do
decide to help me in my desire for heirs, which, at the same time, would be you helping to repopulate the post-nuclear-disaster world, a very noble act, there
will
be something in it for you. This is a business arrangement, after all, and I plan to compensate you fully.”

Now I was thoroughly disgusted.

“You’re going to
pay
me to have a baby with you?”

“Not directly, though you’ll have full privilege to use any amount of my money, within reason, I suppose, to buy whatever you like, for the rest of your life. In essence, my money will be your money. You’ll only have to ask, and I’ll give you whatever money you need, whenever you need it. You’ll also be allowed to live in the commander-in-chief’s residence for as long as you want. And as you’ll see, it’s quite a spacious, comfortable place to live. You’ll be waited on by my staff, and treated like a queen. You’ll also be treated like a queen by everyone in the community. For helping to repopulate our nation, and especially for helping me to have heirs, you’ll be respected and admired for the rest of your life, and beyond. You’ll go down in history as the woman who ensured that my line wouldn’t die out, which, of course, is very important to me, as future commanders of this nation aren’t going to be elected. Like in the United Free States, the title is going to pass from father to son, or father to daughter’s son if a commander doesn’t have one.”

I snorted. “Wow. That doesn’t sound sexist at all.”

Trevor raked a hand through his honey-brown hair, which was currently being made even more honey-colored by a shaft of sunlight slanting in through the windows. “It’s not like that, Savannah. The law of succession isn’t meant to be sexist. I’d gladly have any daughter of mine take the reins of power when I’m gone, but a commander-in-chief must be chief protector of the nation, and funnily enough, shifters seem to be better fighters and protectors than human women. You see, only baby boys born to shifter fathers grow to be shifters themselves, not daughters. It’s just the way it is. We’d have to understand all the mysteries of science to understand why the nuclear blast that turned some men into shifters didn’t affect women in the same way.”

I snorted again. “Yeah, most of
us
were just left infertile. Sounds like women got the raw end of
that
deal.”

“I wouldn’t disagree with that.”

We both fell silent and just stood, each of us with our arms crossed over our chests, looking at each other. Then, making the awkward moment even more awkward, the intercom speakers out in the hallway blared with a page, so that neither of us
could
say anything for several moments. I shifted my gaze to the ground, and Trevor shifted his to the side, knitting his dark brows.

After the page, he looked at me again. “Like I said earlier, I’m not in the business of forcing a woman to do anything she doesn’t want to do. You’re free to do whatever you please, including not following through on what you’d said you do when you were frozen. However, I do think you owe it to me, humanity as a whole, and yourself, to think things over and give things a chance. I ask that you at least spend some time living at my residence. After a while, once you can imagine living there full-time, happily raising a child, or several, in the most spacious, comfortable residence in the nation, maybe you’ll decide that my proposed business arrangement doesn’t sound like such an off-putting one after all.”

“I’ll agree to stay at your residence for the time being because I don’t think I have anywhere else to go.”

It was true. The only other people I knew in Beaumont City were Dr. Moore and Martha, and Dr. Moore was soon leaving, and as for Martha, I had no idea if she had space at her place for a guest, or if she’d even be willing to accept one.

Trevor dipped his head in a nod with his stern expression softening just a bit, clearly pleased. “Fair enough. I’ll be back to take you to your new home later today, then.”

“Oh, and Veronica, too, right? Don’t forget about her.”

I’d
forgotten about her, actually, until right that moment, when she’d popped into my head for some reason.

Trevor heaved a sigh, giving me a look similar to one a person might give an unreasonable child. “Yes.
And
Veronica. I’m a pragmatist, Savannah. My goal is to have as many children as possible, as that’s what’s best for this nation, and my legacy.”

“Pragmatist? The way you look at things, sometimes you strike me as a robot.”

I could see muscles working in his clenched jaw, and I wondered if I’d went too far. He
was
the commander-in-chief of the entire nation, after all, and I knew he surely wasn’t used to being dished out a bit of sass. I wasn’t sorry, though. I was getting the feeling that in my former life, I’d been the type of woman who’d always spoke her mind, and I didn’t want that to change now. I didn’t see why it should have to, no matter Trevor’s official title.
I
may not have been commander, but I was a human being, and I felt entitled to let my thoughts and feelings be known. And considering the circumstances, and some of the things Trevor had said, I even felt entitled to let my thoughts and feelings be known with a bit of sass.

Other than a moment grinding his teeth, he didn’t even acknowledge my robot comment, though. He just began heading over to the door, finally letting his arms fall from his chiseled chest. “I’ll be back later today.”