Page 18 of Hansen

Hansen booped Evan’s nose with his finger.“What’s going on in your head?”

“Things I probably shouldn’t be thinking about at this hour of the day while sitting on the floor.”

“Then don’t think about them.Tell me what to do and rest.”

“Fine, but I’m not doing it from the floor.”

With a chuckle, Hansen straightened up and offered Evan’s hand.Evan took it and allowed his mate to help him to his feet and guide him to one of the small tables by the window.He didn’t argue when Hansen pushed him into one of the chairs, and for a moment, they stared at each other.

This man was Evan’s mate.If Evan played his cards right, Hansen would be in his life until one of them died.If Evan allowed himself to live, he could be the happiest he’d ever been, even before he’d been taken.He hated that it had taken him being kidnapped and tortured to find his mate, but maybe finding Hansen was a way for fate to ask for his forgiveness—for both their forgiveness.Hansen had been in a lab, too.That was probably why he knew what Evan needed.He’d been through what Evan was going through now.He knew how it felt.He could take care of Evan in a way that no one else could.

Evan cleared his throat and started explaining what to do before he did something stupid like kissing Hansen.Hewantedto kiss his mate, but was now the best moment to do it?Was there a best moment to do it at all?Evan didn’t know, but he still felt slightly panicked, and he knew it would be better to give himself time to relax.He didn’t want their first kiss to happen when he was about to cry.He wanted to enjoy it and to know it was the beginning of something.

“There’s not a lot to do,” he said.“I took care of the cleanup earlier, so we just have to lock up the place.”

He gave Hansen instructions, and Hansen followed them as if hewaspaid to do it.It was clear that this was important to him because he put a lot of effort into it, which earned him another point in Evan’s heart.

Even though Evan had always known that mates existed, he’d never believed in love at first sight.He supposed he still didn’t because he hadn’t fallen in love with Hansen the first time he’d seen him, but he was developing feelings much faster than he thought possible.Maybe he should have expected it, considering who Hansen was to him.He wasn’t just another guy.He was Evan’s mate, and both Evan and his wolf wanted more.

Would it be right to start something with Hansen when Evan’s life was still a mess?Evan wanted to think it would be, but there was something weighing on him that he felt he should take care of before things got messier with his mate.

“You should probably let Davey know that you’re okay,” Hansen said as he cleaned the table.

Evan blanked.“Why?”

“I’m sure you remember how much he frets.Orion might have managed to distract him for a bit, but with the bakery closing, he’ll start wondering if everything’s fine.”

Hansen was right, and realizing that was startling.Once, Evan had been the one person who knew Davey best.They’d been inseparable.They’d been childhood friends, attached at the hip since they were six and had met in first grade.

But they hadn’t spent time with each other in years.Evan had been utterly alone, but he was glad that Davey hadn’t been there.He needed people.Everyone did.It was bad enough that Davey had felt guilty for something he couldn’t help.At least he’d had people who loved him.

Evan texted Davey to reassure him that he was okay before Davey could start freaking out.He also teased him a bit about what he’d been up to with Orion, and while he was happy for Davey, he was also slightly uncomfortable at the thought of going home tonight.Surely they’d had their fill of each other by now?

It wasn’t like they’d fuck on the coffee table if they hadn’t, and it wasn’t the first time that Davey had a boyfriend, but Evan felt like the third wheel when he spent too much time with Davey and Orion, especially in the privacy of their home, where they were more relaxed and the PDA was off the charts.

“How’s Davey?”Hansen asked.

“Probably blissed out, although he did manage to send me a text.You were right.He was getting worried.”

“Would he worry even more if you didn’t go home tonight?”

Evan put his phone down and looked up at Hansen.“What are you suggesting?”He wanted to say yes without even thinking about it, but could he?

He wanted everything with Hansen.He wanted what Davey and Orion had, including sex and not being able to stay away from each other for long.It would take time to build up to that, but Evan felt like he and Hansen were ready for something, even though he didn’t know what that something was.Spending the night might be a little too fast, though.

“You could give Davey and Orion an evening to themselves, and I could continue taking care of you.If you’re okay with it, I’d like to cook you dinner,” Hansen offered.

“What about after dinner?”

“Like I said, I want to take care of you, whatever that entails.”

Evan bit his lower lip.“That’s probably not going to entail sex.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me.It’s not why I asked you to spend the night.”

“It’s what people will assume we did.”

“Do we care about what people will assume?We’re mates.People will think that we’ll be bonded in a week, anyway.What happens between us when we’re in private is no one’s business but ours.We can go at whatever pace you feel comfortable with, and I don’t care what people think of that.”

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