“Would that be okay? Would you like it if I dated your owner?”
Bas snuggled under Hudson’s chin.
“I’m going to take that as a yes.” It was nice that he at least had his furry friend’s support. That wasn’t fair—Carter had Hudson’s back as well, always. Starting over in a new town had given Hudson the chance to present himself in a new way. Where he would receive more respect from others. It hadn’t taken long for Hudson to return to his natural state, which was happy and cheerful.
“I hope it’s a date,” Hudson confessed to his little buddy. “Your owner is an extremely attractive man. It was hard not to wonder how far down his chest the tattoos went.” He chuckled. “You probably know. You probably get to see him shirtless all the time.”
Bas did that rumble of a purr as he headbutted Hudson’s chest.
“I’m a big guy,” Hudson told the cat. “Back in the city when I tried to find a partner, the guys I was always interested in thought I was a top and didn’t feel like we’d be a good fit. You have no idea how many times that I’ve heard that I’m not meant to be a bottom. I know what I like though!”
It hurt. They said there was someone out there for everyone. Hudson might be in his early thirties and still had time to find a partner, but he was starting to doubt that was true for him. Women and smaller men seemed drawn to him, but Hudson was into men that wanted to dominate him. Not meanly. He’d explored his kink side. Being bossed around, tied up, spanked,and whipped. Those things just weren’t what Hudson had been looking for.
There was a BDSM club in town that his brother was a member of. Carter had offered to bring Hudson as his guest if he wanted to try again. Hudson knew he hadn’t changed his mind. He wanted a partner who didn’t mind that he was bigger and would care for him.
Bastian’s face came to mind.
Bastian didn’t appear to be the type of man that would be easily intimidated. He might already have a boyfriend or girlfriend though. Some tiny little thing that Bastian doted and loved on.
“Is your owner even single?” Hudson scratched down Bas’s back.
Bas yowled.
“I don’t speak cat,” Hudson said with a laugh. “And still, I keep talking to you.”
“I wouldn’t worry unless he talks back.”
Hudson grinned at his brother as Carter carried two beers over. Carter passed Hudson a bottle then sat in the chair next to him.
“He does seem quite taken with you.” Carter waved the bottle of beer at Bas.
“We’re friends!” Hudson claimed.
Bas yowled as if he was agreeing.
Hudson kissed the top of his head. “Bas here is helping me figure out if his owner is interested in me as a boyfriend or not.”
“He called you attractive,” Carter pointed out.
“Cute and gorgeous,” Hudson corrected.
“Sounds pretty interested to me,” Carter said.
Hudson sure hoped so.
Chapter Five
Bastian
Standing in front of the office building that would soon be his new base of operations, Bastian stared at the dark red brick. Leo signed the paperwork this morning and Bastian was waiting on him to bring the keys over. He wanted to start getting measurements to order the security system.
Aaron had been in the main house kitchen, online shopping for the office furnishings with the help of Lawson while Bryce, Nate, and Axel were headed into the closest city to do some shopping. At first it was supposed to be Axel and Bryce but when Bas had brought up his issue with not having any cat-friendly things in his cabin, Nate had insisted he knew what store to visit. Bryce had gotten excited, and the alpha was now in charge of updating Bas’s place.
Overall, Bastian was pleased with how he’d managed to avoid shopping and still would be able to stage the cabin as if he owned a cat. It wasn’t technically a lie. He was a cat. That had to count for something.
His phone chimed from a text message and Bastian dug the little device out.
The picture of a cart full of cat items had Bastian barely holding on to his cell. It might have been a mistake to give Nate his credit card.
