13. Dario

Chapter 13

Dario

My head was spinning.

I was aware Chris knew I was a shifter, but he wasn’t of our kind. He was my mate, but we hadn’t discussed that. So much had happened in one afternoon, I needed a nap to rest my brain.

But here we were, and I couldn’t waltz off to sleep the confusion away. Chris was here, and the only way to go was forward.

“Me first.”

He nodded, and I was tempted to run my fingers through his beard and drag him into bed. Why waste a night together when we could be in one another’s arms? Unless he had another Santa gig to get to tomorrow.

Tell him .

Yeah . This was a biggie, and while his little glances, him nudging me, his fingers brushing over mine suggested he was into me, telling him he was my mate might trigger an adverse reaction.

“Are you ready for this? It’s big.”

He smirked. “I’m familiar with big.”

Damn him. Again he was referring to his cock without actually saying the word.

“You’ve established that I’m a reindeer shifter.”

“Mmmm. I’ve met many of your kind. Not surprising, considering my work.”

That was a little weird. Reindeer shifters wouldn’t reveal their identity to a Santa impersonator.

I ignored his comment and continued. “Shifters are similar to humans in many ways, but there is a huge difference.”

He nodded and grinned. “Huge.”

Gods, for a man who dressed up as Santa, he liked to discuss sizes, and like the naughty Santa that he was, he somehow got me thinking of cock size. His had to be enormous. He was a big guy with broad shoulders. His pants must barely contain his length.

“But in one respect, we’re very different.”

Chris leaned in close, leaning on his elbow, his warm breath billowing over mine. “I can’t wait to discover what that is.”

I gulped and swallowed again. This man was leading my thoughts to places… like cocks being shoved in holes. Not that I didn’t want that. His length buried deep in me.

“Oh, yeah.” I breathed heavily, thinking of Chris’s length.

“Dario?” He quirked a brow.

Oops, I said that out loud. I giggled and hid my embarrassment behind a napkin.

“Some shifters have fated mates, and when they meet, they recognize one another instantly.”

“Is that so?” He was so close, our lips were almost touching.

But he was distracting me, and I had to tell him who we were to one another.

“And I’ve met my mate.”

Chris sat back, and I longed to pull him closer and have our lips meet. “What are you saying?”

Stress had me snapping at him. “You haven’t worked it out?” I was shrieking, and I didn’t like who I was in this moment.

“Why are you shouting?” he yelled back.

“Why are you?”

Gods, I’d fucked up, and when I told him he was my fated, he’d probably flounce out the door and not come back.

“You, Chris. You’re it.” Tension was wrapped around my chest, making it difficult to breathe, and I stood and paced over the wooden floor.

“I’m your mate. The one the universe insists should be at your side until we draw our last breath?”

He didn’t sound excited about the til-death-do-us-part bit. Who could blame him when I’d been so shouty?

“Yes. Don’t you feel it?” I put his hand over my heart and placed a palm on his chest.

He covered my hand with his own and smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. This wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for. He already had a mate or a love of his life. Maybe he was widowed and vowed to never love again. Or he didn’t want to be stuck with a shifter.

All the reasons why he couldn’t accept being my mate rattled my brain and my head hurt.

Not waiting for him to answer, I did it for him. “You don’t feel a connection.” I sighed as I thought of my life ahead, alone and pining for my one true mate.

“Please don’t put words in my mouth, Dario.” He brushed hair off my brow. “I fell in love with you the moment our eyes met this afternoon, and you being a reindeer shifter was perfect. I didn’t understand the pull I had to you, but now? Now it all makes sense.”

“Huh?” I loved this man, but the obsession with him role-playing Santa was a little much.

“Me Santa, you reindeer.”

Damn, why did he say that and have it ruin the moment when he admitted his feelings?

“But I come with a lot of baggage.”

“Kids?” I was great with children, Jonas being an excellent example. “Jail time? Meddling parents?” I could forgive a lot. Not everything, but a brief brush with the law I could maybe accept, depending on what it was.

“My job.”

I nibbled a nail because this was a problem. His work had taken over his life.

“Though it’s not really a job, more a role or a lifestyle.”

I sank into a chair. Love wasn’t always easy, but we could overcome hurdles. Maybe if I got him into therapy. Counseling for guys who allowed work to take over their lives.

“I’m Santa.”

I pulled him onto the chair opposite me. “You were an amazing Santa today, but that guy with the sleigh and reindeer is just for kids. He’s not real.”

“Why do adults stop believing in Santa?”

Ummm, there was an easy answer to that. This was more serious than I thought. How did I tell him? It might break him.

“Because we grow up and put away the make-believe.”

“And yet shifters are real, but to humans, they’re fantasy.”

He had me there, but it didn’t solve our dilemma.

“You don’t believe me.” He got up and stood in the middle of the room. “I’ll show you.”

Gods, I didn’t want him to hurt himself, so I ran to the fireplace and blocked it with my body. He might die if he tried climbing up the chimney.

Chris twitched his nose and shifted. Not shifted like a shifter, but he became the jolly gentleman he’d been earlier. The white beard, the red suit, and the big belly.

Holy shit. He’d been telling the truth.

Not only was Santa real, but he was my mate!