Page 16 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
André’s earlier answer on why he wanted Ian was…enlightening. To say the least. Ian had proven himself trustworthy, which was rare? Had André been betrayed or used so many times he was now wary of people? But…he’d slept with a lot of people too. André’s concept of trust didn’t connect in Ian’s brain. Well, okay, Ian couldn’t sleep with people he didn’t trust. André apparently didn’t have the same problem. It was another thing they didn’t see eye to eye on.
Ian almost didn’t ask because indicating interest was the last thing he wanted, but at the same time, he felt like knowing might clear up some of this confusion he had.
“André, can I ask something?”
André flashed him a brief but inviting smile. “Ask anything.”
Ian believed he meant this. André had that kind of confidence. Ian took a second to phrase his words before speaking them. “You said you wouldn’t let go of me because I’m trustworthy. Is it truly so rare to meet someone you can trust?”
“Well, it’s not common.” André’s expression was both rueful and sad at the same time. “Most people approach me for one of two reasons. One, I’m filthy rich. Two, my father’s a liaisonbetween vampire society and humans and has considerable pull with both governing bodies.”
Ian startled. He hadn’t known that.
“The people who approach for reason two often want some political favor or want to pull strings for their own selfish reasons. They tend to approach me more often than they do my brother. No one looks at Benedict and thinks he’s easy to maneuver around, as he’s always been serious and levelheaded. Me, though, I look like an easy target, I guess. They think they can charm me into following along. The whole charade gets old fast.” There was a flash there, a hard cynicism, before André’s expression smoothed back out.
“I can imagine.” How heartbreaking. Ian might not know how to respond to André half the time, but no one deserved to be treated so callously.
André flashed him a smile and said more lightheartedly, “It’s why you impressed my whole family. You knew who I was; you told the EMTs and police my name. But the only thing you did was protect me, give the police a witness statement, and then go back to work. You didn’t ask for a favor, or repayment, or anything like that.”
You were almost assaulted, Ian wanted to wail.Of course, I wouldn’t take advantage of you when you were already vulnerable.
Damn, if André expected that kind of selfish reaction amidst a shitty situation, then no wonder he liked Ian for something so simple. People were jerks.
André reached over the console and snagged his hand, leaning sideways just enough to brush a kiss against his knuckles. Ian would never admit it out loud, but every time this beautiful man touched him, he felt this flutter in his stomach. His body enjoyed the contact a little too much for his peace of mind. He was still wrapping his head around the wholesituation, so André doing things like this sent him right out of his skin. He liked it, but he didn’t know how to react to liking it, and especially not withthisspecific man.
“André.” Ian tugged his hand back. “Stop kissing my hand.”
“That sounds hard. Can you give me an easier job?”
Why was this man so ridiculous?
“Just drive, André,” he responded, letting out a huff as he yanked his hand back. “Just drive.”
Chapter 5
André tried very hard to not tease Ian on the drive to the mall. Very hard. He mostly managed it? Which was honestly a miracle. He blamed Ian’s initial reaction. When he’d kissed the man’s hand, he’d caught a whiff—just a hint—of arousal, which had been thrilling. He loved knowing he had an effect on Ian.
But his arousal had come with a conflicted expression. André didn’t know what held the man back, but he had some concrete-thick walls up around him. André wasn’t sure if it was his own reputation, or something else? Ian’s orientation was a complete mystery to him, but the man reacted to André, so he had to be something not straight, right? Right?
It slowly killed him, not knowing all of this. He had to draw on wells of patience he didn’t know he had. One way or another, though, he would figure Ian out.
They arrived at the mall’s entrance, André beaming from ear to ear. He had a list of shopping to do, an Ian, and kids to spoil. This day couldn’t be going better. He spied two familiar faces waiting just inside and gave them a wave.
“Liam, Mateo, hi! Thanks for coming. We need help with this.”
Both men were humans employed by his family, as well as earnest men and good workers, which was why André had asked for them in particular.
“Master André, we’re happy to help. Secretary Kim filled us in on why we’re here.” Mateo was a former marine let go because of a torn ACL, but he was still strong as an ox. With his shaved head and tattoos wrapping around his neck, most people gave him a wide berth, but André had always found him to be a gentle giant.
Liam was as slender as Mateo was wide, a careful sort of man with three children of his own. André was quite happy to see him because he would need his parental experience here shortly.
“Liam, Mateo, this is Ian. He’s a volunteer with the group home. He’s offered to help buy what we need because he knows the kids so much better than I do.”
Ian looked at him sideways, eyes plainly saying he was there for an entirely different reason, and André knew it.
André feigned ignorance.
Everyone gave each other a hello. André led the charge, so to speak, starting on the second story. He wanted to begin with bedding, as it would take up the most room and would take the longest to move down to the vans.
