Page 22 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
“Sounds like it. It’s okay. I can be patient.” André suddenly snapped his fingers. “Hey, give me your number.”
Ian did not immediately reach for his phone. “Why?”
“Well, how else am I supposed to coordinate with you on when I can come over?” André had the perfect “duh” look on his handsome face, as if him coming over was a done deal.
He made a good point, but Ian wasn’t blind. André would absolutely abuse having his number. If Ian were wise, he wouldn’t easily give it over. So why was his hand already pulling his phone out and unlocking it? He didn’t understand himself but passed it over anyway so André could type in his info, seeming quite pleased with his victory.
He immediately texted himself so he had Ian’s number in return, grinning all the while. Which was all well and good for him, he’d gotten his way, but now that Ian thought about it, he couldn’t dismiss the scene from before so easily.
“André, what would you have done if I hadn’t been there? Would you have been pressured into going with those girls?”
André looked up from his phone, his head canted in question. “Why? Are you worried about me?”
“I don’t want a repeat of last weekend in the bar. Answer me something. Can’t you use one of your vampire powers in those situations?"
“Can’t,” André denied immediately. “For two reasons.”
“I’d love to hear them.”
“Well, first reason is it’s against the human and vampire laws. I can use those powers under two circumstances, namely to protect my human mate from danger, or to test if someone is a mate. There’s not so nice consequences if you use them willy-nilly, like making obnoxious girls go away. Second reason is, again, my father has connections with both vampire and human politicians. Anything I do reflects on him, and I don’t want to get him into trouble.”
Laid out in such a way, it seemed obvious that for all André’s power, his hands were tied. “I guess people know this and take advantage?”
“Yeah…sometimes. I need to put my foot down, but I haven’t figured out a good way of doing so without ending up on social media.”
“If you need me to be your excuse, I can be. I owe you that much.”
“You are the sweetest thing, and you owe me nothing.” André murmured, lips curving up at the corners. He stepped in close and hugged Ian to him, arms gentle but firm around his shoulders.
Ian stiffened, not sure how to react to this sudden hug. He’d never been hugged by a man except for his late adoptive father, and this felt worlds different. André had a slender but tall build,and he leaned in to wrap himself around Ian, encompassing him. What the hell was this man doing right in the middle of campus?
“André,” Ian protested, pushing lightly at his chest.
“If you say sweet things to me, I can’t control myself.” He said this right into Ian’s ear, in this low, throaty way that made Ian want to put some distance between them.
“Control yourself anyway.”
André finally stepped back, but he didn’t look dismayed—far from it. “Text me when you’re free, okay? I want to come over.”
“Yes, yes. Fine. I have to get to class.”
“Me too. See you soon, Ian!”
Ian watched him stride away, shaking his head the whole time. How was it that whenever he crossed paths with André, he always ended up giving in to the man? If this was a battle, Ian was in danger of losing the war.
He blamed André’s charm. That had to be why he was exasperated but still smiling.
Ian didn’t work tomorrow, but he wasn’t about to tell André that until much later today. He’d given André quite enough openings this morning. He had to draw the line somewhere.
Friday dawned and Ian found himself waiting just outside the college’s main café. Waiting for whom, you ask?
André.
Somehow—he had no idea how, despite living it—after he’d helped André escape those girls, it had become routine for them to meet midmorning for coffee. For the record, Ian had done his best to draw a line. Only, André had a legitimate reason for every meeting, at least the first three days. He’d needed to ask more questions about the kids, or he’d needed to coordinate something for Mary, or…you get the gist.
All of those coffee breaks with André had also somehow ended up with him walking Ian to class, or if neither had class right after, hanging out until lunch while Ian did schoolwork, and then André insisting on buying his lunch. He claimed paying for his meals was a thank-you for Ian’s time, despite Ian protesting he could afford his own meals, but André used the unfair advantage of vampiric speed each time to beat him to the register.
What it boiled down to was that André was a fucking expert at obliterating lines.
