A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,40

couldn’t deny the sight of Annie closing her eyes, licking her lips and making small sounds of pleasure was rekindling some of the heat in his belly, despite all the time they’d just spent in bed together.

Later, he told himself. Right now, eat your soup.

Annie was right – the soup was good. Creamy, salty and smoky, the potatoes seemed to melt in his mouth, the clams themselves providing just a hint of oceanic bitterness.

“That’s some good soup,” Beau said as he scraped his spoon over the bottom of his bowl, chasing down every last morsel.

“You’re telling me,” Annie said. She put her bowl down on her coffee table, before leaning back against the sofa, watching him. “Today hasn’t gone anything like I thought it would,” she said reflectively after a moment or two. “I guess in some ways I’m still waiting to wake up and find out this is all a dream.”

“Nope – promise you I’m real,” Beau said, reaching over to grab her bowl from the table, before standing and taking them to the sink.

“So you say, as you stand there, the hottest man in the world, doing the dishes with a sheet half falling off your ass,” Annie said. “Am I honestly supposed to believe this is really happening?”

Beau glanced over his shoulder at her, a warm smile on his lips. His hippogriff had been quiet – a nice change after all the storming and rampaging it had been doing all morning – but now it rose up again, content but insistent.

She is the one who is too beautiful to be real.

I know, he told it.

“To be honest, I never really understood what meeting my mate meant until now either,” he said, once he’d stacked the bowls in the drying rack and come back to the couch. “I’ve had friends who’ve tried to tell me, but I get now why they couldn’t. It’s just indescribable.”

Annie’s cheeks were tinged with pink as she looked at him. “I guess I’m still taking it all in as well.” She swallowed. “So, uh, does this mean I get to meet your family? Your hippogriff family of hippogriffs?”

Beau laughed. “Sure, if you feel ready for that. I won’t lie – I had to tell them I’d met my mate so I could excuse myself for a few days while I tried to figure out a way to tell you. So they’re all raring to meet you.”

“Oh, right,” Annie said, before taking a deep breath. “I… I kind of hope I’m not a disappointment. I mean, the only thing I turn into is a terrifying beast when my alarm goes off in the morning.”

Again, Beau couldn’t hold back his laughter, before he reached out to run his hand reassuringly over the smooth skin of her shoulder.

“There’s no way you could disappoint anyone, ever,” he said. “But in any case, you’re my mate. That means you’re family now. They’ll love you no matter what.”

To his slight surprise, he could see tears beginning to gather in Annie’s eyes once again.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, brushing them away. “I’m not sad – the opposite. I just… I’ve never really had a family before. And you said – you said a mated bond is for life, right?”

Beau nodded, his heart filling with tenderness as he looked at her. “Yes. That’s exactly what a mated bond means. Forever.”

“This’ll take a little getting used to,” Annie said again. “But… well, luckily, I have a few days off work. So I could go with you to visit them over Christmas, as long as it wouldn’t be intruding.”

“Never,” Beau said warmly. “Like I said, they’re dying to meet you.” He grimaced as a thought occurred to him. “Though… I think I left my car parked out the front of your bakery. I should probably go get that at some point.”

Annie laughed. “Uh, yeah, that might be a good idea. We can go now, if you like. My neighbors are away and they said I could use their parking spot if I wanted to have a Christmas guest over – not that I thought I would. We could start out first thing tomorrow morning.” Annie looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Though why are you driving? Are those huge wings just for show or something?”

We should show her! His hippogriff was apparently well and truly away again now. We should fly her to wherever she desires to go! Show her our magnificence!

“Oh no, they’re definitely good for flying,” Beau said, pushing his hippogriff’s egotistical