Kenny (Shifter Football League Book 2)

by Becca Fanning

  He nosed into the kitchen, saw more of the same decor, then walked back toward the hall. As he did, he wrinkled his nose when he came to a full length mirror that showed his and his mate’s rather crumpled selves.

  Christie looked like a buxom angel. He, on the other hand, looked like a reprobate. He’d shaved and showered before he’d come to her, but stubble was already showing through on his jaw. His cock was hanging out of his fly—he hadn’t thought to put it away—and he saw how ridiculous he looked carrying his mate about while his dick was full on display. It was a good thing Christie lived floors up in an apartment and not in a house where neighbors could peer in through the windows, although he took a quick look out the window and noted that occupants of the building opposite might be able to look inside.

  The notion that a strange male might be able to look at his female in the nude had Mundo scurrying back to her bedroom. He settled Christie on top of the covers. She didn’t stir, a notion that made his lips twitch with amused disbelief. He quickly stripped, rounded the bed to lift the covers, and then shuffled her beneath the duvet. Then, he returned to the other side and climbed in next to her. Now, she responded, her body searching for his like a heat-seeking missile with its target locked and loaded. Her arms and legs curled about him, her shapely form clinging to his in a way that spoke of her intrinsic need to connect with him.

  One thing Mundo had always hated about sex was the octopus-like arms and legs of a clingy female. He’d suffered it for a handful of minutes, going so far as to count the time as it passed in his head before he’d shuffled out of his date’s hold.

  But now, with Christie, it was like he was another male.

  Maybe he was.

  He was no longer simply James ‘Mundo’ Aston—biker, Council member of The Nomads MC.

  All of that was almost irrelevant now because first and foremost, he was mated.

  A shudder wracked through him, and Christie responded by burrowing her nose against his chest and planting her palm on his belly.

  Her proximity was like a soothing balm to the soul that had endured five decades without her. It would take a long time for his Bear to come to terms with the fact he’d found her at last. It would take an equally long time for the man. But a part of him was at peace—that part that had forever been turbulent, filled with the foolish need to rebel, to make waves.

  Surrounded by his mate’s scent, Mundo finally felt as though he could relax.

  As he lay there, listening to her breathe, hearing the sounds of traffic outside, and feeling her warm curves against his whole length, he dozed, awakening only when Christie stirred with a deep yawn.

  She rubbed her nose against his pec then froze. He realized she’d just remembered why there was a huge man in her bed and was poised to defend his actions. But with a huge, shuddery breath, she calmed, her fingers tracing a path on his stomach as though she was helpless in her need to touch him.

  He liked the idea and so whispered, “How are you feeling?”

  His voice was gruff and like gravel, but that was only because he hadn’t spoken in a while, and he was currently overloaded with emotion. She’d accepted him, had accepted his presence here in her bed.

  That was a massive leap forward.

  She didn’t jump at the sound of his gritty words and instead sighed. “Better.”

  “Than?”

  “Huh?”

  “Better than when?”

  “Oh.” She peered up at him, and in the twilight, he saw her wrinkle her nose. “Since two minutes before you buzzed on my intercom.”

  He chuckled. “A job partially well done, at any rate.”

  “I don’t want to ravish you, Mundo, so I’d say that’s a job fabulously done.” She shrugged. “I want you, don’t get me wrong, but not like before. I felt like I was going insane with how badly I needed sex. I’ve never…” She flushed, ducking her head to hide her expression from him. He let it go, just this once, but only because they were new to one another. In the future, he’d show her how honesty between them was the only way mates worked.

  “You’ve never?” he prompted instead, his tone gentle.

  “I’ve never been a very sexual creature,” she whispered, her palm splaying on his belly as though she was trying to feel as much of him as she could—a notion his Bear fully appreciated. “But now, it’s like that wasn’t me before. Or, this isn’t me now. I’m not sure which.”

  “This is the real you, Christie. Once the mating call has been heeded, things will calm down,” he reasoned. “You’ll still need me as much as I’ll need you, but the desperation won’t be there so long as we’re not apart for long. But this is the you that was always meant to be. Since your first steps, you’ve been walking toward me, darlin’. You just didn’t know it.”

  “Is this really happening?” she whispered, peering up at him again. “I mean, you really are a…”

  “Yeah, I’m a Shifter, Christie. And you were born to be a Shifter’s mate. My mate.”

  “I-I don’t know anything about Shifters,” she argued. “Nothing save for what I’ve read in books.”

  He snorted at that. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll learn. Not that there’s much to learn. We’re deceptively simple creatures. Plus, my friend is newly mated, and I’m sure you’ll like his mate. Annette’s cool.” She stiffened and he sensed her jealousy. That had been stupid of him. A mate only half-bonded was likely to have emotional spikes. “She’s totally in love with Mars, which is nice to see because he is pretty awesome. Still, I was so jealous, and I had no right to be. Mars is fucking ancient in comparison to me. I’m like a baby. It’s unheard of for younglings like me to find their mates so soon.” He squeezed her, sensing he’d soothed her envy at his foolish words about another female. “I’m lucky.”

  She preened a little at that, her smile a timeless twitch of the lips that had beguiled smarter men than Mundo since Adam and Eve.

  He liked seeing that look on her face. It was an expression that told of her growing confidence in who she was to him, in what she was. The more they touched, the minute they bonded, that confidence would flourish.

  He breathed her in, scenting that her sadness had diminished a touch. That more than pleased him. Maybe just his presence in her life would drain away the sorrow that had been eating her up.

  It hurt him to think that she’d been suffering, alone, without him. They lived in the same fucking city and had for God only knew how long. She wasn’t from here. She spoke with a Yankee twang, but it had lessened to a degree that spoke of a fair bit of time spent here.

  They’d been so close to one another yet simultaneously so far apart.

  Her suffering had been unnecessary.

  Though anger tried to flood him, Christie seemed to sense it because she began to stroke his stomach, letting her hand slide down his hip and along the top of his thigh as far as her arm could reach.

  That she was petting him amused him, but it worked like a charm. His Bear responded to her touch first and foremost, making the piddling anger this half of him was experiencing disappear with the creature’s delight in being stroked.

  Mundo knew it wouldn’t be long before his Bear started demanding she stroke him when he was in his fur.

  That would be a great conversation to have with her. He almost snorted at the thought. Human females were not known to appreciate being in close quarters with wild animals. They sure as hell weren’t known to like petting them either.

  He’d have to gentle her to that side of him because the Bear was as desperate for her gentle touch as the man was.

  “Is it like the books?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts. “Do you have to claim me?”

  He smiled, reaching up to stroke her hair. When she wriggled, pressing closer to him, he felt his Bear rumble its delight at his mate’s affectionate ways. “I don’t read those types of books, so I don’t know for certain.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” she admitted around a chuckle. “They’re not exa
ctly for men, anyway, and certainly not for Shifters who know the score.”

  “I take it you’re a fan of those Shifter romances though, eh?”

  She grinned. “Appropriate, I suppose.”

  “Yes. We’ll call it research for this moment.”

  A snort escaped her. “Research—that’s a diplomatic way of putting it.”

  “That’s me, a born diplomat.”

  “I doubt that. You’re a biker, aren’t you? I wouldn’t say they were renowned for being cautious with their words.”

  “No, you’re right, but a man can change, can’t he?”

  Her smile deepened, the humor she’d found in his words changing into a bone deep contentment that radiated from her. “He certainly can,” she murmured softly, apparently pleased by his declaration. “However, the books always have it where you have to say like a ritual or something. A bit like vows, I guess, in a wedding ceremony?”

  Mundo shook his head. “Some people speak blessings, but it’s more like a thank you to the Goddesses rather than a prerequisite.” He let his hand drop down and then curled his fingers around her throat. She must have sensed the lack of aggression in the move because she didn’t flinch at being caressed in such a vulnerable manner. “I have to bite you here.” He grimaced. “It will be a nasty bite, but you won’t be aware of it. I have to do it when you pass out after climaxing. Then, by the time you’re awake, it will have healed.”

  “You’re a bit cocky, aren’t you?” she asked, cocking a brow at him. “What makes you think I’ll pass out?”

  “Well, you passed out in the hall and I wasn’t even inside you, so I reckon I’m good.” He laughed at her expression; she looked utterly peeved. He tapped her nose. “I’m teasing, but it’s likely to happen again and again. Your body’s hardwired to mine, sugar. Passing out is going to be a natural part of sex for you now. It’s part of the magic of the bond.”

  “You make it sound like a good thing.”

  “Well, it’s not exactly bad, is it—being pleasured until you can’t take anymore?” When she squirmed, he knew he’d explained himself well. “When we next connect, you’ll come and I’ll claim you properly—unless your body tells you otherwise.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “You had to endure the mating call for a long time. Normally, we’d just need to fuck to claim each other that way, but our claiming might be a bit different.”

  “You mean, what we did out in the hall—it’s not normal?”

  “Define normal,” he teased. “There isn’t much normalcy in my world.”

  “No, I guess not, but you know what I mean. I…” She licked her lips in embarrassment. “I needed you to come on me. Not in me. That’s not a part of a regular claiming?”

  “Not as far as I’m aware, honey, but it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing wrong about how we claim one another. We’re just heeding your body’s call to mine. That’s why I said to you we’d go at your pace, do what you needed us to do. It’s my fault I couldn’t answer the mating call immediately.” His tone deepened, lowered with his anger at himself, as well as his disappointment and despair at having failed her from the first. “It’s my fault you suffered. I’ll never forgive myself for not being the mate you needed.”

  “It wasn’t like you could help it, James,” she whispered, petting him again, trying to soothe him out of his funk. “You would have come to me if you could, and the instant you could, you did. You’re here now, aren’t you?” Christie hesitated a second then continued, “But if that guilt of yours means you’ll never put yourself in a position where you’re behind bars again, locked away from me, I won’t complain.”

  He curled his arms about her, pulling her tighter against him. She stiffened at first, as though uncertain what his reaction would be to her words. He guessed she thought he’d be angry or offended, but he wasn’t.

  Anything but.

  “Today is the first day of the rest of my life, Christie. I’ve been searching for you since…”

  When he broke off, she pulled back to look up at him. “Since?” A laugh escaped her. “James, are you blushing?”

  He grunted. “It’s Mundo. And I don’t blush.”

  “What’s Mundo?”

  “My nickname.” He rolled his eyes.

  “What if I don’t want to call you Mundo? What if I don’t want to call you what everyone else calls you?”

  Stunned by that remark, he frowned at her. “I don’t know,” he told her honestly, because truth be told, he did like that notion very much. However… “My dad was called James. I’m named after him.” When she didn’t appear to put two and two together, he gritted out, “I hated my father.”

  “He’s dead?”

  Mundo shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t sought him out since I was old enough to handle things myself, and he hasn’t looked me up either.”

  He could tell she was appalled by that. The way she was gawking at him made him feel like a bug under a microscope.

  “What about your mother?”

  “She did what he did, although if he’s dead then she is too.”

  “Huh?”

  Her wide eyes were filled with fright. He damned himself for putting that emotion there. “Thing is, when you’re mated to a Shifter, your life is linked to theirs. If something happened to you once I claimed you, then I’d die too. And vice versa.”

  “Wow, that’s something they did get right in the books.” She blinked at him. “That’s scary.”

  “Is it?” he asked, his tone a little wistful. “Now that we’re together, in each other’s arms, would you really want to be in a world without me?” When she gawked at him, he flushed. “I mean, it’s not like our bodies can’t survive without the other. It’s the heart that can’t.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean? We’d die of a broken heart?”

  “Yeah.” He amended, “Well, mates in a strong bond do. It’s like we give up. We stop caring whether we live or die, because a world without our other half in it is a world we don’t want to be in. Period.”

  “What do you mean? A strong bond? Are there different variations?”

  He nodded. “It’s a little hard to explain, especially because we've a strong bond.”

  “We do?” When he nodded again, she asked, “How do you know that?”

  “For the mating call to have been as urgent as ours was, that says a lot.” When her mouth rounded into a perfect ‘O’, he smiled a little. “My parents had a strange bond. It wasn’t the strongest, but it was strong enough that they’d die without one another.”

  “How do you know it wasn’t strong?”

  He sighed. “They cheated on each other.” When her eyes widened, he grunted. “That’s a rarity, Christie. And we won’t be cheating on each other.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “You make it sound like I might…”

  He could tell she was pissed, but he brushed it off easily. “You’re beautiful. What man wouldn’t want you?”

  She reared back at that. “What man wouldn’t want me?” she squeaked, repeating his words in astonishment. Her eyes flickered off, down her luscious body, and she started to say something but shook her head instead. “I’m faithful to my partners, Mundo,” she whispered, conceding to using his nickname. “Always have been, always will be.”