CHAPTER 28
MATHIS
Mathis was wide awake the moment the front door opened. Wide awake—and terrified.
There were only a few people who had a key to his apartment. And he knew immediately who had just come in.
“Oh, shit,” he whispered into Chloe’s hair. She wriggled against him and yawned, still half-asleep.
“Wassit?”
“My parents are here.”
Chloe sat up so quickly Mathis had to jump back before she clocked his chin with the top of her head. “What? Here?”
She stared at him wide-eyed. Her hair was tangled from sleep and non-sleeping-activities, her cheeks pink and her lips soft and kissable. To him, she looked perfect. But he wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d feel the same way.
“Oh God,” Chloe gasped. “Now?” She winced as he nodded. “I need a shower—I need clothes…”
“Did you bring some?” It was a fair enough question, Mathis thought; it wasn’t like he would know. She hadn’t needed any since she arrived.
Chloe glared at him. “Yes. I brought a bag. I left it—in the entrance hall…”
She groaned and dropped her head into her hands as voices filtered through from the rest of the apartment.
“I don’t know what will be worse. Going out there in your clothes, or sneaking out to grab my bag while they’re not looking…” Chloe gave a tiny scream and the voices in the other room paused. Her eyes went wide. “Oh shit…”
Mathis laughed and pulled her into a kiss. She slapped playfully at his arms, but she couldn’t even pretend to fight him for long. Her lips were soft and hot against his, but not gentle. She was as hungry for him as he was for her.
Chloe slammed her palms into his chest and pushed herself away. “Damn it! Parents—shower…”
“I’ll get your clothes,” Mathis reassured her, pulling one of her hands from his chest and kissing the palm. “Take as long as you want.”
Chloe grumbled wordlessly. “You say that now. Wait until it’s next week and I still haven’t emerged.”
Mathis kissed her fingertips. “If you want to hibernate in my en-suite, I’m sure Mom and Dad will understand.”
“Oh, God. Parents.” Chloe’s eyes flickered to his. “Mathis—you know I’ve never had the whole real-family thing, and…”
“They’re going to love you.” Mathis brushed a stray strand of hair off her forehead. “Every shifter parents’ greatest wish for their children is that they find their mate. They’re going to ask me what the hell took me so long to find you, and they’re going to love you.”
Chloe’s tense expression melted into a smile. “Okay. But… shower.”
Mathis watched her skip to the bathroom, enjoying the view. They’d shared a few showers since he came home to find her in his bed, and the temptation to join her now was strong, but…
“Mathis?” Mathis winced and rubbed his forehead.
“Out in a minute, Mom!” he called back.
He grabbed pants and a shirt and slipped them on, then sauntered casually out into the living room.
His mother was lounging on the sofa nearest the window; as usual, she’d nabbed the best sun-spot in the room. His father, just as typically, was rummaging through Mathis’ fridge.
“Son!” he called out cheerfully as he spotted Mathis. “Thought I’d put on breakfast. You eaten?”
“Hi, Mom, Dad.” He knew there was no point trying to wrestle control of his kitchen back from his father; Jacques Delacourt had very strong ideas about whose job it was to provide for his family, and if he had to break into one of his children’s homes to make sure they were eating, he’d do it.
Which was one of the reasons he had a key for Mathis’ place.
Mathis’ mother, Donna, smiled languidly up at him. “Leave your father to it, dear,” she murmured.
“I know better than to get between my alpha and a hot stove,” Mathis joked back. “But—not that I’m not happy to see you—I thought we were meeting later…”
He’d always been close with his parents, but since coming back from the island he’d seen them so often he was beginning to think they wanted him to move back home. But they’d never met for anything earlier than lunch before. His mother hated early starts.
Mathis narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his parents just as the shower started in the en-suite.
Mathis’ parents exchanged a look of pure glee.
“Now this is worth getting up early,” his mother purred.
“Mom…” Mathis groaned. “Who’ve you been talking to?”
“That nice young Lance MacInnis,” his mother drawled at the same time his father said, “Harley, you know, the Ames boy.”
He stared at them both, and his mother cleared her throat delicately. “I believe I missed a call from your friend Grant this morning, too. Really, you boys are worse gossips than my shooting circle…”
“How did Grant know…” Mathis waved his own question away. From Lance or Harley, clearly. Damn it. When he saw them…
“You can bite their heads off at lunch, dear, but we did rather want to be the first to meet her.”
“And breakfast!” Jacques waved a skillet for punctuation.
“And breakfast.” Donna blinked slowly at her son. “And coffee!” she added, turning to her husband. “Remember, he keeps it in that little cupboard above the plates…”
Mathis took advantage of his parents being distracted by the possibility of coffee to dart by the entrance way and pick up Chloe’s bag. He hadn’t noticed it that first night because she’d tucked it under the coat rack.
He picked it up, and his stomach lurched. The bag was light—it couldn’t have more than a few days’ worth of clothes in it.
She wasn’t sure whether I’d want her to stay. The thought hurt, and he tightened his grip on the bag’s strap.
She knew now, though. She knew he would never leave her again.
And if he didn’t get her bag to her in the next few minutes, he knew he was in trouble.
Mathis hurried back through the living area toward the bedroom. His father waved a spatula at him as he darted past. “Herbs?”
“Garden on the balcony!”
“Aha! Fancy!”
Mathis put his head down and barreled into the bedroom before either of his parents could interrupt him. He slipped into the en-suite just as Chloe was turning off the shower.
“Oh, good, you got—” The rest of her sentence dissolved into a hum of pleasure as he pulled her into a kiss. “You got yourself wet,” she finished after a few minutes.
Mathis looked down at himself. She was right; her wet body had left some… interesting… wet marks on his clothes. “I’ll change.”
Chloe grabbed a towel and her bag, and then bit her lip. “The clothes I brought… they’re not terrible, but they’re not…”
Mathis glanced down again. His shirt was soaked—but it was also fine cotton, tailored for his body. “My family aren’t snobs. But if you’re worried about your wardrobe, we can go shopping. And if you’re not, we can go shopping anyway, because you’re going to need more clothes than there are in that bag.”
“I do need to buy something for the trial…”
“I’m going to do the buying.”
Chloe’s eyes flashed at him, her lips curling into a delighted smile. “All right. If you insist. Just—no slinky red dresses.”
Mathis grabbed her hand and kissed it. “I promise. Just yoga pants. Lots of yoga pants.”
Chloe snorted and snatched her hand back. “Oh hush.”
She was still smiling when they had both gotten dressed. Mathis folded his hand around hers. “Ready to meet my folks? Remember, hibernating in the linen closet is still an option…”
Chloe groaned. “Let’s go.”
Mathis couldn’t help the protective urge that rushed through him as he led Chloe into the living room, and he didn’t fight it. Chloe was his mate. She was his, and if his parents didn’t accept her—
He shouldn’t have worried. The moment his parents saw Chloe, they practically glowed with pride.
“Mom, Dad, this is Chloe.” He slid one arm around her waist, his lion purring as she leaned against him. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be alive today.”
Chloe twisted to look up at him, her dark eyes questioning. “What? You saved me.”
“I would never have made it off that island without you.” He cupped her cheek in his free hand and kissed her. “You know that, right?”
Chloe grumbled, but her cheeks went pink. Mathis’ lion purred.
“And, Chloe, these are my parents—Donna and Jacques Delacourt.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all ours, dear. It’s so wonderful to see our Mathis happy again.” Donna smiled and, to Mathis’ amazement, actually got up out of her sun-spot to come and take Chloe’s hand. “He probably hasn’t figured it out yet, but he’s been looking for you for a long, long time.”
Mathis blinked. She was right. All those years of feeling like there was something missing, the need to find meaning in his life—it was Chloe he’d been looking for. His mate.
And now he had her, and everything was perfect.
“All right, Dad,” he said, grinning. “How’s that breakfast?”
Chloe slipped her hand into his as they headed for the table, and Mathis changed his mind.
Perfect made it sound like this was as good as things would get, and he knew that wasn’t true. Every moment of every day that he loved his mate, every time he touched her or looked at her, his life got that much brighter. There was no limit to how wonderful their life together would be.