‘Proud as fuck,’ Loki said, puffing out his little chest. ‘My bonded.’
‘My mate,’ Robbie murmured, eyes soft as he looked at me and said those words. I’d be lying if I denied that it sent a bolt of pure lust right through me. His mate. There was something sobasic,so feral about the term; I liked it.
And if I were to behismate, he would be mine, and I was very on board with that idea. Keeping a man like Robbie as my own … life would never be boring.
I started to lean forward to kiss him, but my stomach gurgled loudly.
‘Hungry?’ he asked with a smile still lingering on his too-handsome face.
‘Starving,’ I admitted.
‘Let’s get you fed then.’ Chuckling, Robbie turned the engine over and pointed us towards Mum’s house and, more importantly, food.
Chapter Fourteen
Mum opened the door with a wide smile, which grew as she noted my lack of Connection uniform. ‘Stacy.’ She pulled me into a hug, then turned to my boyfriend. ‘Your Excellence.’ She gave him a little bow.
‘Just Robbie is fine, Mrs Wise,’ he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.
‘Right,’ Mum said awkwardly. ‘Sure. I don’t want to be disrespectful.’
‘You’re not.’ He smiled easily.
‘Go and sit down,’ I told Robbie. ‘I’ll help Mum serve.’ I dragged Mum into the kitchen and shut the door for extra privacy.
‘Mum,’ I hissed, dropping my voice as low as I could so I was fairly sure Robbie wouldn’t overhear. ‘His dad died when he was a teenager, and his mum died when he was born. He has no family, none. No uncles, no cousins, nothing. He comes here because he likes the idea of family, even if he’s just an observer, so just … stop shoving his title at him. You’re not beingrespectful; you’re being rude. Underlining that he doesn’t belong here.’
‘Oh,’ she said, wringing her hands. ‘I didn’t mean to do that. Poor Robbie. He’s really got no one?’
‘He’s got me,’ I said fiercely.
Mum smiled again. ‘So he does.’ She ran an appraising eye down me. ‘Still no sex though, huh?’
‘Ugh, Mum! You’re so embarrassing!’ I grabbed one of the huge trays of pasta bake and carted it into the dining room. Rupert’s girlfriend, Ava Grey, was absent, as was Grant, Julian’s husband. On the plus side, that meant we had plenty of space around the table for once.
Mum followed me in with several loaves of baked garlic bread. I suspected she’d put more in when I said I was bringing Robbie. An ogre’s metabolism was no joke.
‘Where is everyone?’ I asked the room at large as I shovelled several spoonfuls of pasta onto my plate before doing the same for Robbie.
‘G-man’s on shift,’ Rupert said. ‘Ava’s at her dad’s today.’ He eyed me and then Robbie. He grimaced. ‘Still no shagging huh?’ He pulled out a twenty and chucked it at Julian, who pocketed it with a snigger.
Teenage me reacted without hesitation. I grabbed a slice of garlic bread and flung it at Rupe’s sniggering face. Annoyingly, he caught it and took a bite.
‘Yum. Thanks for passing me the garlic bread, Ace,’ he taunted.
‘May you choke on it,’ I muttered darkly.
Mum sighed. ‘Just because your girlfriend isn’t here to judge your behaviour, Rupert, is no reason to descend into adolescent idiocy. And Stacy, you know better. Besides, you don’t have a ring on your finger yet Stacy, so don’t scare Robbie away until it’s set in stone. Until then, reveal the crazy in small segments.’
Robbie was sitting back in his chair, grinning. ‘I don’t scare easily.’
‘I don’t suppose you do,’ she said, ‘but I’m using it to make my children behave at the table, so don’t call me out on it.’
He barked a laugh. ‘Sure. Whatever works.’
‘My thoughts exactly. Now please pass me the garlic bread, Robbie.’
The rest of dinner passed with a surprising degree of civility, and after the plates were cleared Mum decided to risk it all by bringing out Scrabble. It was a four-player game, so I kindly volunteered to team up with Robbie.
