They were both too fast for the foster dog to keep up with, so Eric had carried the little guy in a backpack, ramping up his speed slowly, making sure it wasn’t scaring him. It had been ridiculous and sweet and had put Gabe in a weirdly good mood.
Almost as ridiculous as their run was finding Soren standing in front of their couch, a ball of yarn in hand, lecturing Mr. Handsome, aka Not-Bubba, aka the cat he liked to claim he wasn’t obsessed with.
Soren hadn’t been able to decide on an official name in the last week, but he’d taken to calling the cat Mr. Handsome, supposedly to increase his “tattered self-esteem,” and the nickname was threatening to stick.
“This ismyyarn,” Soren was telling the cat. “I use it to crochet. If you eat it, you’ll end up in the cat hospital, and that’ll ruin both our days. Got it?”
Mr. Handsome purred.
Soren huffed at him and sat down, waiting patiently as Mr. Handsome climbed laboriously onto his lap, curling up there immediately. Soren set his yarn next to them, grabbing his crochet hook. “Nice run, Highness?”
“It was perfect,” Gabe told him with a grin, leaning against the doorway. “How are my guys?”
Soren shot him a disapproving look. “Don’t put me on the same level as a mangy cat,” he scolded, scratching Mr. Handsome under the chin. “But we’re good. It’s movie time.”
“Can I join?” Gabe asked.
Soren was always gorgeous. Always perfect. Always enticing. But there was something about him at his most domestic like this—in his crocheted matching set, getting ready to watch some ridiculous movie while he crafted another item of clothing, his easy contentment radiating through the bond—that got to Gabe in particular. It was a side of Soren he knew very few people had been lucky enough to see before recent years, and Gabe hoped he never forgot to be grateful that he was one of them.
Soren smirked at him. “I suppose.”
Gabe settled next to him on the couch, frowning down at Mr. Handsome. Normally Gabe would be lying down, his head on Soren’s lap, but the cat was in the way.
It was fine though. Mr. Handsome also spent a lot of time on his insanely expensive cat tree, staring at the birds out the window. It wasn’t like Gabe was deprived or anything.
“Stop moping,” Soren told him, nudging Gabe with his knee. “We spent all morning in bed together.”
Gabe threw an arm around Soren, tugging him in close, dropping his head onto Soren’s and inhaling his cool, soothing scent. “I’m not moping.”
Soren started the movie, and the three of them watched in silence.
A long time later, Soren let out a quiet, “Thank you.”
Gabe raised his head, confused. “For what?”
“For knowing me.” Soren’s eyes were on the movie, but he was petting Mr. Handsome in long, even strokes.
Gabe kissed the top of Soren’s head.
It had been obvious his mate wouldn’t be happy leaving the shelter without the cat. Gabe wasn’t sure why Soren had been resisting it, but it was probably tied up in his past.
Maybe Soren had never considered a pet before, moving constantly from place to place the way he’d been doing before Hendrick was taken care of. Or maybe he had thought he didn’t have the personality to be a caretaker, even of an animal, still thinking of himself as too shallow or selfish to be capable of it.
Because that was Soren’s big secret, one he tried to keep from himself as well as everyone else. The huge, tender heart he was hiding under all that sass.
Not that it was a secret to anyone in the den—not anymore. There was no question about Soren’s loyalty, his care for those who were able to get under his skin. Which was a mighty high number of people these days.
Mr. Handsome was lucky to have him. As was Gabe.
“You’re welcome, brat.” Gabe dropped another kiss to Soren’s head, just because. “Knowing you is my favorite thing.”
LUCIEN AND JAMIE
TRICK OR…TRICK
Lucien
Luc let himself be led down the dark, winding hallway to the bar’s basement by an eager Jamie.
