Page 30 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
Ian had much to think on now. André’s offer to turn him had been unexpected. Ian had thought you were like a child to the vampire who turned you, but apparently this wasn’t always the case. However, vampires turning their human lovers in order to keep them, live out their lifespans together, made perfect sense. It must be a case-by-case thing.
He wasn’t sure how to feel about being a vampire, though. He could barely plan out his natural human lifespan. Thinking about having to make decisions that would affect him for centuries to come seemed immensely daunting. That murky, unclear future made his stomach tighten and twist uncomfortably. Still, the offer was also alluring. To have the natural speed, health, and power to protect himself and those he loved was incredibly enticing.
Having André as a loving partner to live out those centuries was also a major plus—iftheir relationship survived the passage of time, of course. But how would he know if he didn’t even give them a chance?
Mary had been right. It wasn’t fair to leave André in limbo. Ian should make it clear where he stood. And yet…and yet, when the conversation had given him the perfect opening to tell André he couldn’t date him, to give up, he hadn’t said that. His throat had closed down before he could choke those words out. Ian suspected his heart was already dangerously attached to this man.
If that was the case…then he didn’t know what to do next.
Chapter 9
Ian went through a mental checklist as he walked out of his last class for the day. As the holiday season approached, it was clear they were sliding into winter. The weather had gotten colder this week, and while there wasn’t snow on the horizon, they were definitely heading in that direction. It was a crisp day, although thankfully it wasn’t windy because any wind chill would bite right through his jacket.
He needed to return two books to the library, find an early dinner somewhere, and then he could go back to his dorm and play with Casper for a while before he had to focus back in on his paper. He didn’t work tonight—the bar was closed on Wednesdays—so he finally had time to dig into it.
He was one of those people who hated having tasks hanging over his head. And with Thanksgiving next week, he wanted everything done before break hit, as he’d need to be at Second Sun the entire week between his bartending shifts to help prepare for the holiday. Ian would rather put the extra effort in to get the paper done early and out of the way. It wasthegrade for his psychology class this semester, and supposedly you were to take all semester to write the answer, but…well, the professor hadn’t been contributing much in lectures. Ian could do outside research and finish it up ahead of time and be ready to turn it in.
He’d just moved onto the main walkway when he heard “Bitch, Benedict staged an entireeventto confess to me, and that doesn’t tell you something?”
The familiarity of the name caught Ian’s ear. André had mentioned his older brother, Benedict, several times, and it wasn’t exactly a common name. Ian turned automatically to see the speaker, alert and curious.
Oh, it was Felix Evans.
Ian had never met him face-to-face, but anyone on campus would recognize him. Like André, he had quite the reputation, and the video of how he and Benedict became a couple had spread like wildfire last year.
Felix stood his ground against three girls, with two of them practically flanking him on either side. The air over there crackled with so much tension, Ian could almost see visible sparks. If Felix noticed the danger, he didn’t give sign of it. Ian recognized one of the girls as someone he avoided at all costs in his department—she was the type to delight in drama and trouble.
Aw shit. This didn’t look good.
Ian moved without thinking it through. He had no obligation to help—Felix wasn’t a friend of his—but he felt sure that if André saw this going on, he would have stepped in. It was enough justification for Ian.
He skirted Kristy and her friends, coming around to stand right behind Felix.
“Take a step back, please,” Ian requested. Might as well start out polite.
Kristy’s eyes snapped to his, her dark brown eyes lethal enough to stick a dagger in his heart. “Who the hell are you? This isn’t your business.”
“Ian,” Felix answered with a sneer. “André’s boyfriend and my friend.”
There were several problems with this, but Ian kept the denial off his face. Felix might be exaggerating just to scare the girls off. If so, he wouldn’t argue the point here.
Kristy looked Ian over with doubt—which, ouch, was just hurtful. Kristy possessed a striking beauty about her, with lush blonde hair and a high brow, and clearly Ian didn’t meet her standards. “You’redating André?”
Ian ignored her. “Felix, what’s this about?”
“She wants me to break up with Benedict so she can have him.” Felix rolled his big blue eyes. “She honestly thinks I seduced him for kicks. Like, hello, he’s my childhood friend. Why the hell would I do something so stupid? She can have Benedict over my cold, rotting corpse.”
From Kristy’s nasty expression, Felix’s corpse could be arranged.
Ian got the gist of the situation. The Castor brothers sure were popular. Feeling a surge of protectiveness for the smaller male, he blurted out, “First of all, Kristy, you had your chance of winning Benedict over before he and Felix got together. It’s no skin off Felix’s nose that you failed. Secondly, antagonizing Felix like this is a poor move. Benedict will not take this kindly. You have shot yourself in the foot even trying it. Unless you want to becomethatperson, I’d suggest retreat.”
Her brunette friend on the right—her name escaped Ian at the moment—was visibly confused. “Shut up! And how did some nobody like you get André’s attention?”
“Walked into the room and breathed,” Felix answered with a shrug. He seemed highly amused by her question. “Ian is one of the most trustworthy people we know. André gravitated right toward him. Ladies, if you want a Castor’s attention, prove you’re trustworthy. In other words, don’t ambush people behind their backs and stir up trouble. Oh, and maybe don’t insult themen they’re already with. Neither Benedict nor André has any chill about that kind of thing.”
Kristy didn’t look like she was interested in backing off. She took a step farther into Felix’s personal space, her ridiculous heels letting her tower over the shorter man.
“How about you don’t preach at me, slut?”
