I closed my eyes and basked in the attention. I could feel his tail caressing my cheek.
He continued to nuzzle my ear while his embrace grew tighter.
Now, I'm feeling a bit hot. His body temperature is higher than mine and combined with the blanket covering me, I'm starting to sweat.
I'm also starting to feel ticklish.
My heart continues to beat fast and my mind is wandering toward all sorts of naughty thoughts.
I don't mind, though.
I'm not a conservative person, though I have no experience with intercourse yet. I almost had a sexual encounter when I was younger, and it wasn't a pleasant experience for me.
But this?
Oh, sweet heavens.
I'm barely holding on to my last shred of self-control. I wanted to kiss him so badly, but my sense of reason reminded me that I'm still not sure of my true feelings for him.
Lion continued to nuzzle my hair and thankfully, he must have noticed I was sweating because he loosened his hold.
I was wrong.
Instead, his tail pulled me closer, holding my body steady while his hands moved toward my shoulders.
It felt wonderful.
He caressed my shoulders as he nuzzled my cheek.
A sudden thought occurred to me. He was showing affection exactly like a cat shows affection to its owner.
I pictured it in my mind and found it amusing.
I let out a chuckle and felt Lion smile against my skin. I've never felt so loved.
A rush of emotion hit me. I wished I could tell him how I really felt, but I was still hesitant. I slowly opened my eyes and saw him looking at me with such affection that I was left speechless.
I felt like crying just looking at him. But the moment didn't last.
.....
The door suddenly swung open and in came Ghost, Sly and a beautiful creature with the face of a puma and the body of a two-legged horse, complete with claws and a tail.
Both Sly and the creature looked like they wanted Lion and me to continue, while Ghost looked embarrassed.
The creature asked if we were about to have intercourse and I've never seen Lion's face turn so red.
He looked visibly annoyed and threatened the creature, who only laughed at him while Sly and Ghost guffawed.
Then, the creature turned to me and asked why I wasn't removing my blanket, even asking if I preferred doing "it" while covered up.
Sly added fuel to the fire, saying I shouldn't be shy since Lion had already seen me naked while bandaging me in my sleep.
To make things worse, Ghost told everyone that Lion had seen my whole body while I was bathing and was attracted to it.
My face turned bright red and I buried it in my hands.
I heard them screaming as they ran out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them. I have never been so mortified. I sat up, hugging my knees to my chest and burying my face.
Thankfully, my hair is long enough to hide me.
.....
After a few minutes, I heard the door open and close.
It was Lion.
He was muttering something unintelligible and let out a deep breath.
I heard his footsteps approach the bed.
He sat down and sighed, apologizing for the commotion, but he didn't mention seeing my body.
I asked him in a small voice, if he saw it, while keeping my face hidden.
He didn't make a sound.
Instead, his fingers brushed aside my hair and he looked at me with immense tenderness.
He asked why I was hiding.
Was it because he saw me naked? Was that something to be ashamed of?
He admitted seeing me bathe was an accident. He told me he panicked when he woke up and found my bed empty. He said there are uncivilized predators nearby and he feared I'd been taken.
The second time he saw me was when I was unconscious. It turns out I had been sick for several days.
When Ghost, Pinky and I didn't return to the castle, he immediately went after us.
He stopped talking and helped me sit up properly. He sighed and continued.
Sly had found us first, in his dragon form, his many eyes spotted us easily from the air.
Pinky and Ghost were panicking.
Lion said he immediately flew down and carried me into the forest to find a healer from his old tribe.
He apologized before continuing and I looked at him curiously. He explained that they hadn't known what was making me sick.
The creature from earlier is the tribe's healer. She has centuries of experience but even she was stumped.
He had to use magic and herbal poultices on different parts of my body to save me.
Lion's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
He hesitantly asked why I was so embarrassed about being seen naked, even for healing.
I reluctantly told him I don't like my body. I was honest and admitted that something happened to me in my previous world, though I wasn't ready to tell the whole story yet.
He sat beside me, looking concerned. He told me he thinks my body is beautiful and that he was incredibly careful with the bandages for fear of hurting me.
I looked into his eyes... those beautiful, multi-colored eyes and I finally decided to take a chance on this relationship.
I slowly raised my hand to his cheek. His eyes widened and his tail went upright before beginning to swish slowly. I caressed his cheek and he closed his eyes.
With my other hand, I playfully twirled his hair. His flush deepened.
As my hand moved down to his neck, he opened his eyes.
He looked clearly aroused.
I stopped there and simply rested my head on his shoulder. He nuzzled me and held my hand.
After a while, he stood up, remembering the basin and told me he needed to replace my bandages.
I realized I hadn't bathed yet and pleaded with him to let me wash up first. I can use the toilet later but for now, I just need a bath.