Page 54 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
“Nor should you,” he assured with a fatherly expression. “If somehow the VSB finds out about you, I will do everything in my power to put a stop to them even interviewing you.”
Considering the political power this man wielded? It wasn’t a light threat.
“No one speaks about this outside of this house,” Mrs. Castor warned. “Felix?”
Felix squawked. “Look, I know I love to put everything on social media, but I’m not going to out Ian!” Felix rolled his eyes. “No way. I like him too much, for one thing. For another, André would lose his shit.”
“Andréwouldlose his shit,” André drawled. “I’m glad you realize this.”
“There is no timeline on this,” Mr. Castor stated again in a calm manner, “so Ian, don’t feel rushed or pressured. But if, and only if, you choose to stop dating André, understand I must report your nature to the VSB. I can delay this for a long while, but it must be reported at some point.”
“That’s fair,” Ian allowed. “And if I choose to stay with André?”
“We’ll still report it, but we’ll report him as your mate at the same time.”
Er, what? “Wait, wouldn’t it be reversed? I’m his mate?”
“No, no,” André said. “You’re the one with all of the power here. Not me. I’m just the lucky SOB who you chose.”
Now didn’t that put everything into a dizzying perspective. A family of generation zero vampires surrounded him, and yet Ian held all of the cards. Seemed he had greatly misunderstood and underestimated what a mate truly meant in vampire society.
Ian was not a drinking person most of the time, but he drained the rest of his glass. “André.”
“Yeah, honey?”
“I want to get shitfaced tonight.”
“How about I go fetch a certain kitty so you can safely do it without worrying about her?”
Look at this man, reading his mind and giving Ian exactly what he needed. He almost blurted outI love youon the offer alone, but those words were far too soon, so instead he kissed André square on the mouth.
André chuckled as he pulled back. “I’ll take that as a yes. Be back soon.”
Belatedly, he realized it meant bringing her into a house without the parental permission. “Uh, is that okay?”
“Oh, we love cats in this house,” Mrs. Castor said brightly. “I’d love to have her here. Honey, let’s get you some snacks to go along with your alcohol.”
Ian was going to get spoiled rotten by this family. He could see it now. He should probably try to mitigate the damage, but not tonight. Tonight, he was going to just enjoy.
Chapter 15
André came into the house, whistling a tune he didn’t remember the name of, pleased with himself. He had the whole weekend planned out. He’d grab Ian from work after two a.m., take him back to the dorm, then in the morning, they’d leave for the vacation villa up in the mountains for a pre-Christmas getaway. He’d have his lover all to himself for two days straight without interruption.
It had been a solid week since the big reveal. Ian still struggled with the idea of being a mate, and some days, André let it lie. It was a major thing, and Ian needed a little time to wrap his head around it. André also suspected Ian’s personal history hampered him. It wasn’t that Ian had a low self-esteem, per se—he had no trouble standing up for himself and being confident—but he also had this mental image of himself being a “regular guy,” someone who wasn’t particularly noteworthy. André absolutely and vehemently disagreed even before the big reveal, but growing up an orphan had impacted Ian deeply. He didn’t think of himself as amazing.
Well, André would be able to help him overcome that, little by little. They just needed more time. For Ian, André had all the time in the world.
In the meantime, he intended to spoil Ian rotten until his boyfriend couldn’t live without him. Starting with their romantic getaway. All he had to do was pack and throw things into the car. He had four hours to work with, so plenty of time.
“André!”
Oh? Mom was home. She sat at the dining room table, spreadsheets and folders spread out in front of her, obviously in the middle of something.
“Hi, Mom. Work?”
“For one of my charities. Sit. I want to ask you some questions about Ian.”
“My favorite topic.” André pulled back a chair and dropped into it.
