When high-end food stylist Lira Santiago signs a contract with Roar Energy, she expects protein powder dust, temperamental lighting, and at least one argument about foam density. What she doesn’t expect is Leo Valerius—the golden-maned lion man behind the empire—who’s all sunshine smiles, alpha confidence, and absolutely no concept of personal space when she’s holding whipped cream.

Leo is New Vegas royalty: shirtless on billboards, purring through interviews, and one paparazzi scandal away from tanking his carefully polished image. Lira is sarcastic, tightly wound, and very good at pretending she doesn’t notice the way his tail curls when she feeds him.

But when a tabloid disaster forces them into a fake-dating arrangement to save his brand, “just for the cameras” turns into forced proximity, lingering touches, and a lion who looks at her like she’s the only thing on the menu.

Cream for Her Lion is a standalone story in the Monsters of New Vegas series, set in the Obsidian Rift Universe. This golden-retriever-meets-grump romcom is packed with fake dating tension, rooftop kisses, food-as-foreplay energy, and a lion man who purrs when he falls—and falls hard.