The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside, letting the doors close behind her as she felt the box carrying her up toward the man that she loved. She was instantly reminded of the band’s headquarters and how it stopped on every floor and seemed to pick up someone who was heading up to a higher level. She wanted to scream at the claustrophobia that was coming on to her because of the shallow breathing and the pounding of her heart. This was all too much. It was all way too much for her to handle. She needed to get free of all of this.

When the doors finally opened and she was released onto the floor that James and the other musicians were staying on, she cautiously stepped out among the suites. There were security personnel all over the place, but they quickly recognized her and didn’t bother making anything of her presence. There was no need for them to take note of her. She was nobody. There wasn’t a single thing interesting about her. She hoped that her face would wash away from their memory as quickly as it had appeared.

Rounding the corner, she saw James’ room and before she could even step out to try and talk to him, she was cut off by two other figures that were making a quick push toward James, leaving her in the dust. It was her fear of these two figures that ultimately kept her hugging the corner and watching. She knew those figures and they were intimidating enough for her not to move, to lurk motionlessly like she was some sort of crazed stalker as she watched them moving toward James. What were Violet’s brothers doing up here and what business did they have with James?

“Sup man,” one of the brothers called out to James.

“Hey Luke,” James said with a grin that quickly faded when he saw the expressions on their faces. “Nick, what’s up guys? Is there something wrong?”

“Nah man,” Nick said with a shrug. “We’re just stopping by to make sure that everything is going fine with you and our sister. We know that the two of you haven’t, you know, sealed the deal or anything yet.”

“I don’t think this is something we should be talking about in the open here,” James laughed awkwardly and shook his head.

Lucy felt something conflicting inside of her stomach, something that felt a lot like pride and joy, but she knew it was stupid to be excited about the fact that the man she was having an affair with technically hadn’t even officiated anything with his betrothed match. That was a great feeling, because there was something romantic about it. She took a deep breath and stepped back from the corner, not willing to let them see her, but she leaned back close against the wall, praying that she could still hear them.

“We’re just worried, that’s all,” Luke said after a moment, his voice much deeper and raspy than Nick’s had been.

It was clear that Luke was the one who was smoking all of the cigarettes in their family. She wondered what it was like for these two clowns. The only thing they ever had to do was protect their sister and make sure her intentions were known to those around her. She was the one bringing home the bacon and their job was to make sure no one got in the way. It was probably the lamest purpose for two Shifters that Lucy had ever heard of.

“Well, you two don’t have to worry about a thing,” James assured them, his footsteps passing them and coming toward the bend in the hallway. Lucy’s heart started pounding faster and she bolted, making her way down the hallway at a frantic speed and praying that she didn’t get caught. “I’m a big boy and I can handle my own affairs.”

“Good,” Nick called after him. “I know you’re aware of how important this engagement is for The Pride and our family, as well. We wouldn’t want anything to come between it.”

Lucy pounded the button on the elevator and tapped her foot, looking down the hallway and seeing that James had rounded the corner and could see her. She turned, looking at him with terror in her eyes. She stabbed her finger in the direction of where the brothers were around the corner and shook her head no, her eyes wide with fear. James looked at her and for a second, it felt like he wasn’t going to connect the dots and understand what was happening, but he quickly spun on his heels and faced them, keeping them from seeing Lucy. He understood completely.

If they saw Lucy standing there at the edge of the hallway, waiting for the elevator with a terrified expression on her face, they weren’t going to be like the other security guards and let it go. They were going to make note of it and find it interesting enough to investigate and at that moment, they would be caught. Just seeing Lucy was going to be game over for them. Right now, as far as Lucy knew, Violet only had a sneaking suspicion and it was a fairly blind one at that.

After all, the facts were obvious to her. James and Lucy were being extremely careful about the clues they were leaving about their explicit dealings with each other and they were certain to make sure they weren’t getting together. Heck, they’d only slept together twice. The only communication that they’d had was one sided with James sending Lucy letters through the lobby attendants. There was nothing here that was damning, but that didn’t mean Violet was wrong. Her suspicions were clearly aroused by the fact that her and James hadn’t slept together and she was probably taking stabs in the dark to see what she could find out. She was probably intimidating anyone beautiful in the crew.

When the elevator doors opened, Lucy rushed through, not able to hear whatever James was assuring the brothers of. The one good thing was that when Lucy pressed the close doors button, they actually closed and the slow decent down to the lobby began, stopping at every floor to collect and gather more wayward souls that were trying their hardest to escape from the hotel and move on to their next destination. She tried not to think about how close she’d come to confirming some of Violet’s suspicions. It was better just to move on and get to the bus. At least there, she would get the chance to look at James and the band that sat in the front on leisurely chairs. She always enjoyed getting a chance to look at him as she helped out Lynn.