Page 9 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them (Fated Mates #4)

“Pretty much. She used the money from her parents’ estate to keep it going for years, but funding dried up around the time I was adopted.

My father contributed what he could, which helped, but you’ve seen the state of the building.

Renovations eat into the yearly budget. Then you have to consider the health issues some of the kids have.

Most kids we get aren’t orphaned so much as abandoned.

They have medical issues that are just too much for parents to handle, so they give them to us thinking we can take care of them.

There’s a minuscule government budget that’s basically used to keep the place going, but it’s absolutely not sufficient for the task. ”

Ian hated the helplessness that came along with trying to keep everything going, to protect and care for the kids who relied on having a safe place. The unrelenting stress of it all had kept him awake more nights than he could remember.

“So you manage, but only barely.” André shook his head, expression tight. “Damn, talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Well, it ends now. Although, now I know I need to ask Mary and Emma about any outstanding hospital bills. I’ll clear those out so they don’t keep adding stress.”

Ian studied his profile, confusion rising to a whole new level. André really listened. He wasn’t just asking for politeness’ sake or to carry on a conversation. He wanted to know. He heard what Ian said, saw the undercurrent, and reacted.

A rich playboy shouldn’t have that quality about him.

Would André’s reputation even recognize the man himself if they passed on the street?

Ian didn’t know how to respond to this latest offer, so he focused on the lists again. The lists, at least, he could make sense of. André just confused the hell out of him.

After a minute of silence, André asked, “Have you gotten Casper back to your place yet?”

Pulled back to André, Ian lifted his head. He remembered that? “Oh. Yes. A few days ago.”

“She doing all right?”

“Yes, quite well. We’re still litter box training, but she seems happier to be in a safe place. I had a vet check her out, and she got a clean bill of health.” If André was going to keep engaging, Ian much preferred this topic of conversation. It was less rife with potential pitfalls.

“Good. I know you were worried about leaving her the other day. I doubled back before I left campus, just to say hi to her, but she informed me I was not you. I got to hear all about it. Probably should have brought tuna with me or something. It might have gone over better.”

He’d…gone to check on Casper? Ian rubbed his head, feeling a headache brewing. “She’s a little wary of strangers.”

“Caught that, yeah. I like cats a lot, but I admit I don’t have a lot of experience with them. As I mentioned before, I moved around too much as a kid, so we never got to have pets. I’m going to win over Casper, though; just wait.”

Win over Casper or win over her owner? Ian barely kept the question locked firmly behind his teeth. It was damn tempting to ask, though. Not like he needed to—he more or less knew the answer.

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 liaison between 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 whole situation, 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 with this specific 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.”