Chapter Fifteen
Catherine hurried around the kitchen as she finished prepping the two cakes she’d baked for tonight. Graham was taking her to meet his entire family. Apparently they had a family dinner every other week. It both warmed her heart and hurt it. He’d grown up with such a loving family, focused on each other and the connection they shared. It contrasted so sharply with her own upbringing.
Ever since Graham asked her about her past the night before, she’d been fighting to hold the levy against those dark memories. She’d told him just enough to get him to stop asking but she knew it wasn’t the end. She had no doubt that he and his alpha would keep looking until they found every piece of dirt they could. She just hoped when he found out the full truth of why she’d left MoonStone that he’d keep his word and wouldn’t cast her away.
The front door opened and she quickly pulled off her apron and fluffed her hair. Graham stepped through the kitchen door and his smile lit up his face as he glanced around.
“Do you ever stop cooking?” he asked, stepping into the kitchen.
“You didn’t expect me to go to dinner without preparing something to take, did you?” she asked, skeptically.
He chuckled. “None of my siblings ever do.”
“Well, I have an impression to make,” she answered.
He stepped over to the counter where a bowl of frosting sat. He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Am I allowed a taste or are there health codes to abide by?”
Catherine laughed and stepped up beside him. She dipped her finger in the bowl and held it up to his mouth. “One taste, I don’t know where your hands have been.”
His eyes blackened for a second before he gripped her wrist and sucked her chocolate-covered finger into his mouth. He closed his eyes as his tongue swirled over her skin. He pulled her finger out with a pop and she shivered.
“Delicious,” he said. Then he quickly ducked his head and kissed her. The bowl clattered to the ground as she gripped his shoulders. His tongue skimmed her teeth before he stepped back. He licked his lips. “Mmm, even more so.” She felt her face heat at his comment. “Are you ready to go?” he asked, his eyes skimming down her blue sun dress. “You may want to change. I planned on taking the bike.”
“The bike?” she asked as she walked away from him. “Like a bicycle?”
She tried to picture her hulking mate peddling to his mom’s house and cracked a smile. He barked out a laugh and shooed her away as he started to carefully pack her cakes into a backpack.
A few minutes later she returned to the kitchen in a green silk tank top, tight skinny jeans and taupe heels. She held her arms out.
“Decent?” she asked.
Graham looked up from his phone. His eyes flicked over her hungrily, lingering on her exposed cleavage and narrow waist. He gave her a heartstopping
smile.
“More than. Come on,” he said, handing her the backpack.
They walked out the front door and Catherine felt her arousal spike at the motorcycle parked in the driveway. Of course he meant motorcycle. Suddenly the cute image from before morphed and she clenched her thighs thinking maybe she should pack an extra pair of panties.
She felt his breath against the back of her neck. “You okay?” he asked with a hint of humor in his voice.
He stepped around her with a laugh and she flipped him off behind his back. He sauntered over to his bike in his black t-shirt and jeans and for a moment she just watched him. How had she gotten so lucky? The tattoos on his arm twisted as he pulled a helmet from the handlebars. He turned to look behind him and his brow scrunched as he looked around to find her still on the porch. He smirked and bobbed his head for her to come over. She took a deep breath and did as she was told. He took the helmet and placed it securely over her head. His scent overpowered her senses as the helmet closed around her. His brow furrowed as he concentrated on tightening the chin strap.
“Where’s your helmet?” she asked.
His eyes lifted to hers for a moment before going back to the strap. “You’re wearing it,” he said before nodding his satisfaction at the strap. He leaned back
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Chapter Fifteen
against the bike. “But I’m sure you can already tell that.” He took hold of her hands and yanked her against him. His hands molded around her waist. “Have you ever ridden before?”
She smirked mischiefly. “Many times… Oh you mean on a bike? No.”
Jealousy flashed over his features and he scowled at her. “You better watch it. I’ll make you pay for comments like that.
She dared to run her hands over the hard planes of his chest causing him to groan. “Promise?”
“Dammit, Catherine, I just got that helmet tightened to my liking, don’t make me yank it off,” he warned. Catherine shrugged playfully and bit her lip. “Stop it.” She traced her fingers down his bulging biceps and he growled. “Unless you want me to introduce you to my mother like this,” he griped, gesturing down to his lap. Catherine looked down and noticed the prominent bulge pressing into his zipper.
Catherine sighed in longing but shook her head. “I guess not.”
“Good. Now, behave and get on,” he said, throwing his leg over the bike and smacking the seat behind him.
Catherine gripped his shoulders and hoisted herself up. He helped her place her feet on the proper pegs and then pulled her hands down and around his waist. The engine roared to life and she couldn’t help but smile at the power wrapped between her legs… and the bike. He backed carefully out of the driveway and then glanced back at her with a wicked grin.
“Hold on to me tight, Baby.”
In the next moment he was gunning the bike forward. It rose up on the back wheel before taking off. Catherine squealed and gripped her mate tighter as they raced through the streets.
Within only a few minutes Graham was pulling in front of a small brick house. The driveway was clogged with cars and even before she stepped off the bike she could hear boisterous laughter coming from the open windows. Graham took her backpack off and pulled the cakes out. She pulled the helmet off and he smirked at her hair. She flung her head forward and back, shaking her hair as she did so. When she looked back at her mate, his eyes were wide.
“What?” she asked, fluffing her hair more.
He set the cakes down on the seat and pulled her against his chest before sealing his lips over hers. She moaned into the kiss while sliding her hands up his sides. He groaned.
“We should have fucked before we came here,” he said, looking up at the sky for help.
Catherine laughed at the casualness in which he spoke about them having sex. Honestly she was astonished they’d held out this long. It was a testament to their respect for each other. He glared down at her. She shook her head and took his hand, pulling him to the house. He quickly grabbed the cakes with his free hand and followed her to the porch. She raised her hand to knock but his chuckle behind her made her pause. He reached around her to turn the knob and push the door open. The volume inside doubled once the door was opened all the way. She suddenly remembered how Graham said Natalie was his tamest sister and she gulped.
There was a flurry of activity all around her. Several men were arguing in a jovial manner over several NFL teams. Girls could be heard gossiping about celebrities in another room while kids ran from doorway to doorway chasing each other. Graham laughed at her shell-shocked expression. He put a finger to his lip before pulling her hand down the hallway toward the kitchen.
The kitchen was far quieter with only Natalie and a short woman with long, bright red hair. Natalie’s eyes lit up when she saw them and she nudged the woman. The woman turned and gave her a smile from ear to ear. Catherine realized this must be Graham’s mother though neither Graham nor Natalie took after her. She was short, several inches below Catherine. She had plump curves and emerald green eyes. Freckles dotted her cheeks and though Catherine knew she must be at least sixty, she had the vibrant glowing youth of someone in their thirties. Lycans.
Graham’s mother held her hands out to her son who stepped around Catherine to give his mother a quick peck on her temple. He handed her the cakes and she looked down at them with a curious glance.
“They’re from Catherine. She didn’t want to come empty-handed,” Graham whispered.
“Ah,” Graham’s mother smiled sweetly at Catherine before continuing with a whisper of her own. “How thoughtful of you. I wish my children would be so kind as to bring something to dinner instead of forcing me to slave away.”
“Hey!” Natalie said to which both Graham and his mother shushed her. “I thought the whole point was to come over to give you something to do, you old bird,” she whispered now.
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Chapter Fifteen
Graham’s mother rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Dear. I hope to get a slice before everyone eats it all up.”
“You’re welcome,” Catherine whispered, though she wasn’t sure why. Graham stepped away from his mother to stand behind Catherine. He placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her forward slightly.
“Mom, this Catherine, Catherine my mom,” he said, close to her ear.
Graham’s mother set the cakes down and wiped her hands on her apron again before stepping forward and clasping Catherine’s hands. “I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to meet you and to see a smile on my boy’s face again.” She touched Catherine’s cheek. “Thoughtful and beautiful. A rare combination.”
Natalie scoffed in the corner. Catherine cleared her throat. “May I ask why we’re whispering?”
Graham chuckled behind her and then nodded to Natalie. “Oh my Goddess! Graham is that you!?” she said an octave higher than probably necessary.
The house around them quieted and then she heard a bunch of squeals. Natalie, Graham and their mother laughed as the sound of little feet sounded down the hallway. Graham shoved Catherine forward into his mother’s arms just in time to avoid being tackled to the ground by half a dozen little kids.
