Page 145 of Monster Daddies

I bet he did.

“We’ll be fine with money, but yes, it’s going to make sure you can save up a lot more now. Then we can talk about what kind of traveling you want to do versus what you’ve been pushed to do.” I wasn’t sure if there would be a difference but it seemed like there might be.

“That’s going to be interesting to figure out.” When he paused again, I thought he might be catching up. “This explains why I like being with you so much, doesn’t it, and… and why I keep wanting to help you decorate your house?”

Nodding slowly, I focused on that aspect. “And why you seemed to have picked out your playroom and office space too.”

Because he was settling into his new house with his mate.

Was he there yet?

Frowns.

Blinks.

Long breath.

“Malik?” When I nodded and tried to be patient, he sighed. “It’s not fair to make me think so much first thing in the morning.”

“I’ll work on that.” He was my mate, so we had the rest of our lives for me to figure it out. “Later today you can tell me how you like your morning to start.”

Because his brain didn’t work as fast as mine did when he woke up.

“I think that’s a good plan.” Swallowing, he frowned and cocked his head. “Well, fuck.”

And he was finally awake.

I should’ve timed how long that’d taken.

“At least you know my mom already likes you.” That had to make the whole mates thing easier. “And you like my house. Oh, and you were looking for a more peaceful area and a Daddy who could carry you.”

The peaceful area thing had to have something to do with needing to find his mate. We were both going to have to do more research, though, because we’d come to the end of what I knew about the Caladrius.

“Those are good points.” Inhaling deep, he let it out long and slow while his brain processed what he’d learned. “And it explains a lot.”

It really did.

I was quiet and let it sink in, trying not to push him or poke at him too much. After a few minutes, he blinked and came back to life again. “What do you think about that?”

The question shouldn’t have been unexpected but it was.

“I’ve never been jealous of other peoples or humans. I’ve never wanted to be anything else, but the one thing that always pulled at me was those of us who are gifted with mates.” Every group was differently blessed and special, but mates, that was what I’d been jealous about. “But it turns out I just had to be patient until my mate turned up.”

A smile peeked out and after watching me for a long moment, he finally rolled me over onto my back and stretched out on me. “I’m your mate.”

Since he seemed pleased by that fact, I nodded and tried not to laugh. “You are.”

“And I’m your boy too.” He got just as much excitement out of that which was adorable. “I’m really glad I wasn’t thinking about moving in with just any random guy I’d gone out on a date with. You seemed perfect and I kept looking for your red flags but I didn’t find any. So I was starting to worry about that.”

He liked worrying so that wasn’t a surprise.

“But if you’re my mate then I don’t have to worry about flags.” That took a weight off his shoulders judging by the smile on his face. “That means this is where I belong, right?”

“Yes.” Lifting my head up, I kissed his nose. “Your people search for their fated mates until they find them. Some people might need more drama in their relationships than others but that’s not what you need.”

As he shook his head, he settled on me and rested his chin on my chest. “No. I wanted calm and someone to take care of me and a quiet area where the people weren’t pushing at me all the time.”

He was definitely more empathic than he seemed to realize and it made me wonder what else he was ignoring, but we had a lifetime to figure that out too.