Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic)

wasn’t the only one who looked like they had missed a few meals. The woman looked worse. He could see her ribs poking through her skin.
    The closer the woman got, the more of an urge Mitch had to purr and rub himself all over her, marking her with his scent. There was just something about the woman and the boy setting off his protective instincts that he couldn’t explain. He wanted to drag her and the boy close and tuck them under him, keeping them with him. That wouldn’t have been unusual for most lion shifters, but Mitch wasn’t most. He was unusual. While other lions chose to live in a pride and be surrounded by others of their kind, he preferred to be alone. He spent most days in his shifted form napping in the sun unless he was on a job. He did what he wanted when he wanted and answered to no one. Mitch wouldn’t have it any other way. So why was he tempted to claim both of these people that had broken into his home?
    Mitch was snapped out of his thoughts when the most mouthwatering smell hit him. The woman was right next to him now, slowly reaching for the boy. Beneath the fear, he smelled the sweet scent of vanilla and spring rain. Mate! That was the strange scent he had caught on the boy. He smelled his mate on him because he carried a small trace of his mother’s scent. Mitch reacted without thinking. He stood and licked his mate. He began purring as his tongue raked across her inner thigh. Mine!
    Unfortunately, his sudden movement set the woman off and she began screaming again. She snatched the boy in her arms and ran out of the room. There was no way Mitch was letting his mate get away from him. He gave chase, shifting smoothly as he ran. He was on two legs by the time he made it to the bedroom door.
    “Wait,” he yelled out, snatching a pair of old shorts from the chair next to the door. He stumbled trying to put the shorts on as he ran, but he didn’t want to frighten the woman any more than he already had by chasing after her naked.
    By the time he made it to the stairs, the woman was at the front door. She was still naked, gripping the boy on her hip as she struggled to open the door in her panic. There was no way he could let his mate run out of the house naked. Mitch lived in the middle of nowhere, and there was no one around for miles to see her, but that didn’t matter to him.
    Mate! Mine! His lion grumbled in his head. “Please stop. I won’t hurt you!” Mitch yelled as he ran down the steps after his mate.
     
    * * * *
     
    Tessa Palmer couldn’t get her fingers to work as she tried to get the front door open. It had been a stupid idea to break into the house in the first place, but she and Nico were so tired and hungry. She had watched the house for two hours without seeing any movement, so she had decided it was worth the risk.
    There were no cars in the drive, so she assumed no one was home. To her shock, the front door had been unlocked. At first she thought it was because the house was in the middle of nowhere, but now, Tessa knew exactly why. Instead of a guard dog, whoever lived in the house had a pet lion, a lion of all things. After everything her and Nico had been through, they were about to be eaten by a freaking jungle cat. She screamed when a hand landed on her shoulder.
    “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” A deep raspy voice came from behind.
    Tessa turned and fell against the door, gripping her son tight in her arms. She thought her heart was about to beat out of her chest as she got a look at the man who had grabbed her. He was tall, about six foot five with long, golden hair. In fact, everything about the man was golden, from his hair to his strange gold eyes. Even his skin was a deep, gold color like the man spent most of his time out in the sun. The shorts the man was wearing hung low on his hips, and Tessa couldn’t help but stare at his chest and stomach. He was huge with bulging muscles on top of muscles. She gulped and pulled Nico closer to her. What have I gotten us into?
    “Hey,” the man said, holding his hands out as if he could sense her thoughts. “You’re safe here. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
    Tessa peeped around the man and sighed in relief when she didn’t see the lion standing there waiting to eat them. “It’s not you I’m worried about. I’m sorry we came in here without permission. We’ll leave and not bother you again.” She gripped the doorknob to leave when the man cleared his throat.
    “You aren’t going out there