Chapter 30 #2
Nessa grinned, feeling lighter than she had in years. “Yes, we had sex. It was phenomenal.” That was an understatement of epic proportions.
“And you saw … everything?” Hunny asked hesitantly.
Nessa furrowed her brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Hunny leaned against the cart, letting out a soft sigh. “Henry tells me a lot, Nessa. Probably too much, actually.”
Realization dawned. “And he mentioned Murphy’s scars.”
“He didn’t go into specifics or anything,” Hunny assured her. “He just mentioned that Murphy was nervous about you seeing them.”
“He was.” Nessa shrugged, not wanting to delve into more details. It was one thing to discuss Murphy’s body with him and to help ease his insecurities, but it felt like a betrayal to speak with someone else about it. Even if it was her best friend.
Still, she didn’t want to brush Hunny off, either. “We all have things we’re insecure about, but I hope one day Murphy can see himself the way I do.”
Hunny’s eyes softened. “That’s really sweet.”
“I know. It’s part of my charm.” Nessa stuck her tongue out playfully.
“I’m really glad you went to him when you found out about his mating sickness,” Hunny continued solemnly. “You’re a good person, Nessa.”
Nessa waved away the praise, uncomfortable by it. “I’m just glad his symptoms are gone. I thought we’d have to mate for that to happen, but Murphy seems fine now.”
More than fine, actually. She hadn’t heard him get snarly aside from last night, when she’d brought up Tony. He hadn’t gotten jealous or possessive when she’d been around his friends or family, either.
“I was wondering about that, actually,” Hunny said, licking her lower lip thoughtfully.
“Usually, in order to cure mating sickness, the bear has to mate, otherwise he’ll eventually go insane.
What if Murphy wasn’t sick? What if his bear was just throwing an epic tantrum to get under his skin, hoping he’d give in and chase after you? ”
“What?!” Nessa exclaimed in bewilderment. She shook her head in an instant denial. “No. No way. That would be so … so sly of his bear to do something like that.“ And mean as hell. “Tabitha said Murphy had mating sickness, and she’s the doctor. She would know.”
“Murphy didn’t let anyone actually get close enough to him over those few months without you, so she could only speculate.” Hunny grinned. “Whatever happened, the end result was the same. You and Murphy are together now. His bear is obviously happy with that, otherwise he’d still be acting up.”
Yeah, but …
If what Hunny suspected were true then Murphy’s bear was a diabolical little shit! Oh, she’d be having words with that freaking bear when her mate came back over tonight.
Would it be weird to interrogate Murphy’s bear? Probably. Would that stop her? Not for a damn second.
“Anyways,” Hunny said casually. “I’m really glad that things went smoothly with Murphy last night. I’m sure he was relieved.”
“I can understand why he felt nervous,” Nessa admitted. “Being vulnerable with someone else is difficult.” That was one reason Nessa had never confided in anyone about her past before last night. One day, when she was ready, she’d tell Hunny about it, too.
“He’s honestly the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.” All those muscles, his striking brown eyes, and rugged good looks were such a turn on. Nessa sighed wistfully. “I’m super envious that he can eat whatever he wants and still look that good.”
Hunny glanced around their section of the store before leaning in and whispering, “It’s definitely a great perk of being a shifter.
Especially now that I’m pregnant. Before, I really only ate fish, veggies and fruit.
I wasn’t into red meat, or carbs, or a lot of sweet things.
But I swear to you, ever since this second trimester hit, all I want is chocolate cake and pizza. ”
Nessa’s brows shot up. “There is a pizza place next door that has this tasty chocolate chip brownie dessert, topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. We can always stop there after we’re done shopping.”
“Shut the hell up, seriously?” Hunny asked excitedly. Just then, her stomach growled loudly. “Ugh, now all I want is food.”
“Do you want to go eat and then come back here after?”
“Yeah, actually. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Nessa wasn’t about to come between a pregnant woman and her cravings—she knew at least that much about pregnancies.
Pulling the clothes from the inside of the cart, she walked them back to the rack before following her friend toward the exit.
“I actually wanted to ask you something. Murphy mentioned that his mom and dad used to host family dinners once a week, but that hasn’t happened in a while.
What do you think about starting that up again? ”
“What, like you and I make food for the guys?” Hunny asked, surprise evident in her voice.
Nessa nodded, reaching for the handle on the glass door.
Several people walked by on the sidewalk, idle chatter filling the air as she pulled the door open and held it for Hunny to walk through.
“I mean, I thought about asking Tabitha, too, since it’s her tradition.
But I could make most of the food. I love to cook for others, and I think Murphy would like something like that. ”
She’d see about inviting Marcus and the others as well. She didn’t think Murphy would mind hosting it at his cabin, and that way he could unwind after a long week of Alpha business, whatever that entailed, and spend quality time with his family and friends.
Following Hunny out the door and onto the busy sidewalk, Nessa lifted her face toward the sun, its warm rays a blessing on a rather chilly day. She closed her eyes, soaking up the heat even as the cold breeze threatened to take it away.
“That’s a great idea, Nessa, and it’s a good way to get to know everyone. Now come on, let’s go eat until our bellies pop.”
Nessa opened her eyes, pivoting toward her friend, just as her gaze settled on someone several feet away, briskly walking in the other direction. She stiffened, everything inside of her freezing in place as familiarity roared its head.
She blinked, and the person was gone, blending in with other people packed there.
Angelo?
“Nessa?” Hunny waved a hand in front of her face. “Everything alright? You look freaked out.”
“I—“ Nessa cleared her throat, searching through the crowd to spot any sign of her brother. Except he wasn’t there.
What the hell?
Had she imagined seeing him? It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility, considering she’d thought about him more last night than she had in years. Besides, she’d only caught a glimpse of the back of someone’s head.
It could have been anyone. Had her mind played tricks on her?
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nessa answered, sending Hunny a faint smile. She reached into her purse, relaxing as her fingers brushed over the holster of her gun. She skipped past it, pulling her phone out instead. “Let’s eat.”
Nessa was probably just being paranoid, but she sent Murphy a text anyway.