Page 46 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter thirty-four

Sexbomb

*REMY*

K ata and Kiki have been laughing for five minutes straight. “This is the silliest story I have ever heard,” Kiki gapes. “I wish I could have been there to see Gabriel swing through your window.”

“It certainly was a sight,” I say.

“Has Lyle already heard the story?”

“No, but you can be there when I tell him,” I offer.

She giggles a bit longer before forcing herself to calm down. “So, you two are really mates?”

Kata leans her head against my shoulder while I hold her hand. “Yes, we are mates. No hiding anymore.”

Our families left it up to us to decide whether we want to come out to everyone or keep it to ourselves. They were just content to know the truth. However, I don’t feel like hiding it anymore, and as for Kata… I doubt she ever wanted to hide it. She just did it for my sake.

“Sorry,” I say. “I know it was a bit childish to hide it. I went into panic mode. Not because of Kata obviously, but because of everything and everyone around me.”

“Maybe a bit childish,” Kiki grins. “But I get it. No hard feelings – I am just so happy for you!” She winks at us. “To be fair, I had a feeling there was more going on than just flirting.”

“Oh?” Kata pops her head up. “Really?”

“Remy has never been touchy with a girl in front of us before,” she beams. “So, I figured either he asked you to be his girlfriend and become his chosen mate or, well…” She gestures at us. “That. Seriously, you two, that’s just so sugary sweet and perfect.”

When Kiki heads to the restroom for a moment, I take advantage of our alone time and cup Kata’s cheek to make her look at me. “See, she said you are sweet and perfect.”

Kata blushes, her eyes widen when she looks at me. “She said ‘we’,” she says, her voice an octave higher.

I bend forward to bite her ear softly. “She obviously meant you,” I whisper.

Goosebumps appear on her shoulders and arms. Kata leans forward, resting her hand on my upper leg, dangerously close to my groin.

I don’t know what I would have done had we truly been alone, but the creak of the door leading to the restrooms successfully reminds me that we are in a public place.

I settle with kissing Kata before drawing apart.

There is a time and place to get intimate, and sitting in a coffee shop with a friend isn’t it.

I would never want my friends to feel uncomfortable or like they are the fifth wheel.

It’s something I constantly feared when I believed I would never have a mate, and I would rather die than subject someone dear to me to that feeling.

Kiki appears a minute later.

“You heard the door, too, didn’t you?” Kata asks me.

I blink, taking a moment to understand what she is talking about, before it strikes me. She is right, I caught the door to the restroom opening. Touching my ear sends me into another spiral of thoughts. My senses are getting stronger!

After our coffee date with Kiki, we get some more studying done for our second round of exams and then head out to dinner with our families.

“Now for the second attempt,” Kata chuckles. “The first one was…”

“Special?” I offer.

“That’s one way to put it,” Kata grins. “It’s not just been us, though! Eve was so stressed and so tense. I have never seen him that way. He is super chill normally.”

“Joel means a lot to him,” I explain. “He probably wanted to make sure not to ruin anything for him.” I pause.

“We were pretty tense, too. I wasn’t even aware how much we relied on you and your brothers to ease the tension.

All three of you are incredibly aware of your surroundings and are social butterflies. ”

“Even Eve?”

“Yes, in his own way.” I think back on how he chatted with Gabriel, and how relaxed Gabriel was when talking to him.

“The most sociable of us is Joel,” she says.

“Joel is an enigma.” When she eyes me curiously, I just shrug. “He is hilarious, doesn’t care for rank or hierarchy, and yet it doesn't clash with his rank as an alpha. He can pull off both, but is also very aware.”

“Do you think his silliness is a front?”

“What do you think? He is your brother.”

“I think it's real,” she says. “I was just curious about how you see him. You are quite perceptive.”

Am I? I have never thought I was. “Not perceptive enough to see what’s wrong with my family.”

“It’s always different when you are the one caught in the middle of a dire situation,” she says.

“But to outsiders, you are perceptive. You instantly noticed that I have issues with my self-worth and saying no. You instantly trusted Ayden, although you normally don’t trust people.

” She pauses. “So, do you think Joel is putting on a mask?”

“No,” I say. “I think he is very much himself, but he does use it to his advantage and might push it sometimes. I guess there is a second side to him that he doesn’t show a lot.”

Kata nods, smiling. “I am glad you see him the way I see him.”

Before we enter the restaurant, I stop her and tug at her arm.

She stumbles into my arms with a squeal, before she gazes up into my eyes.

Her hand is at the nape of my neck all of a sudden, playing with my hair there, and her other hand on my arm.

I clasp her chin and pull her into a kiss, ravishing her beautiful lips.

Sometimes I don’t know what possesses me, but there is this urge in me that wants to claim her.

Every part of her body. Over and over again.

She presses her body against mine, allowing me to dominate the kiss, my pants get tighter at feeling her so close, tasting and smelling her.

A cough behind me makes me finally let her go. I turn around to see who is disturbing us.

“Don’t look at me so darkly,” Gabriel hurries to say. “You were just blocking the entrance!” He pauses. “I didn’t know you could look that scary.”

Kata peeks around me to smile at Gabriel, to my joy, not even a little bit embarrassed. “Hi. I am sorry, we were about to go in.”

“Right,” Gabriel snorts. “That’s how it looked.”

Putting my arm around her waist, I nudge her forward. “Come,” I mutter. “Gabriel is right. We should probably go inside.”

This dinner date is so much better than the last. Sean is his usual slightly distanced and calm self, but he doesn’t look as scary as the last time. Gabriel is much more relaxed, and so is Evander. As for Kata and me, we thoroughly enjoy each other’s presence.

The menu is pre-set, as it’s more of a fancy restaurant, and they have prepared the dishes for us specifically. The main dish is pasta with seafood. Knowing Kata isn’t too hot on seafood, I eat that part of my dish first, until only the noodles remain.

“Here,” I say, offering her to swap plates.

“Oh, thank you!” she beams. “That’s why you are the best!”

“You know,” Evander mutters. “I’ve seen them hanging out so often. I should have noticed something.”

“Very true,” Gabriel agrees.

Joel grins. “Joke’s on us,” he says. “They were practically glued to each other for two weeks, and we didn’t even question it.”

Gabriel curls his nose. “I saw them after the concert that night, and thought they were very close. But then I remembered, they are friends and didn’t want to read too much into it.”

“Dude,” Joel grins. “No offense, but if you think this is just friends, you need to get laid.”

“Goddess,” Evander groans, brushing over his face. “Joel!”

“What?” Joel elbows Sean. “Tell me I am wrong, Sexbomb!”

Both my and Gabriel’s jaws drop at that, while Kata and Evander freeze in fear. I can’t, for the life of me, grasp how casual Joel can be with Sean without an ounce of fear in him. He just seems to genuinely tease him, and even more mind-boggling is that Sean lets him!

Evander stares at Joel in horror, his brows furrowed. “Sometimes I am not sure if you are just playing with us or truly insane.” He turns to Sean. “I apologize. He is just… well… he is Joel.”

“Don’t worry,” Joel says before Sean can even open his mouth. “Sean doesn’t mind. He knows he is hot.”

Gabriel snorts into his drink, then he and I exchange a knowing look. He does, Gabriel forms with his lips, making it harder for me to remain serious.

Meanwhile, Kata entwines our fingers. “It runs in the family,” she says with a smile, and in a tone that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I absolutely adore how bold she is; it’s hot, and I don’t care who listens in.

“Goddess,” Gabriel sighs. “Next time, we need to separate the lovebirds.”

“And Joel needs to sit far away from Alpha Sean,” Evander adds.

“I would like to see you try separating me from my mate,” I say, my voice sickly sweet even to my own voice.

“Right,” Joel grunts. “Let’s see who will win that fight.”

Sean sips at his drinks, leaning back while he does so. Initially, I wonder if he is angry or annoyed at the situation, but he looks relaxed and a tad amused. When he notices my interest, he winks briefly at me, making me chuckle. It’s hard to tell who is playing who sometimes.