Page 41 of Cats Never Fly

“I’msureI’mgoing to love it.It’sgoing to smell like you and be filled with the things you love.Iam happy you’ve brought me here.”

“I…I…”Hestammered.

“Comeon, kitty cat.It’sgoing to be okay.Ipromise.”

Withhis shoulders rounded in defeat, he led me down the short corridor into his living room—his very bare and very empty living room.Along worn-out sofa lined one wall and a teensy tiny flatscreen television sitting on a couple of wooden crates sat against the opposite wall.Andthat was it.Therewere no side tables or lamps or pictures or knickknacks.Nothing.

“Thespace is great,”Isaid. “Lotsof room to move around.Cluttercan be such a pain to dust and clean.”

“Don’t.”Simonsnorted.Hischeeks were bright red. “Iknow it is bad.Ikeep meaning to buy some stuff, butIcan’t make up my mind.”

“Neverfeel embarrassed about who you are.”Ipatted his chest. “Butif you want me to help you,Ican do that.”

“Iwould like that.”Hisface turned so earnest thatIwanted to squeeze his adorable cheeks.Thenhis mouth twisted, and his forehead furrowed, andIknew he wasn’t thinking about his apartment anymore. “Idon’t understand what happened.Tonight.Betweenus.”

“Idon’t either,”Iconfessed. “Butwe don’t have to solve it tonight.”

Iclosed the distance between us, drawn to him in a wayIcouldn’t explain.Wasthis because of the magic that joined us?Whenwe’d been standing in front of the police station,I’dwanted to kiss him.Soundly.Thoroughly.Istill did.

Itconsumed my thoughts.

Becausewhat if…?

Whatif we became lovers?Whatif we made this work?Whatif he didn’t care about finding his fated mate either?Becauseour mutual attraction was undeniable.Alot of chosen mates made it work.Myeyes darted toSimon’spretty pink mouth.Ilicked my lips and leaned forward.Exceptwe shouldn’t do this.Nottonight.

“CanIkiss you?”Simonasked.

“Oh, kitten, how you tempt me,”Iwhispered.

“Isthat a yes?”

Idarted forward and swept my lips across his, thenIpulled back.Anylonger andI’dhave succumbed to temptation and grabbed him and never let him go.Thatkiss, if you could call it that, had lasted only a tiny fraction of a second.Iwanted more.Iresisted.

Thestrange and intense blending of our magics had eased.ThankMagicfor that.Italmost felt… comfortable… now.Whatwasn’t comfortable, though, were the ridiculous clothesIwas wearing.

Ibrushed my hands over my borrowed clothes, inadvertently drawingSimon’sattention to the bulge under those gray sweatpants.Oops.Hehad a similar bulge in his own pants.Hewas as interested asIwas, but whenItook him to my bed for the first time,Iwanted to savor the experience.Tonight,Iwas too exhausted, and my mind too distracted to do whatIwanted with him.Whenwe came together, it would not be a quick, desperate fumble.Wewere not hooking up.Wewere…something else.Whatthatsomething elsewas, well, that remained to be seen.

“It’sbeen a long day, kitten,”Isaid gently. “Weshould turn in.I’msureOfficerHellhoundwill be around with more questions in the morning.”

Hegrowled softly, as if he didn’t like me thinking aboutVanwhen my cock was hard.

“I’llsleep on the couch,”Ioffered.

“Thereis room in my bed for both of us.”

Didthat sound like a cheesy line to get me in his bed?Yep.Itdid, butIliked it.I’msure my eyes took on a wicked gleam at his invitation, butIshook my head and backed away. “Nottonight, kitty cat.”

Hefrowned.

“Don’tpout.I’lltake care of you soon enough,”Ipromised. “Buta lot has already happened today.Ithink we should slow things down a bit.”

“Iknow.You’reright,” he grudgingly admitted, “but that doesn’t meanIwon’t be awake the entire night thinking about you.Fantasizingabout you in those gray sweatpants.Obsessingabout what you mean by taking care of me soon enough.Wonderingwhat it’d be like to kiss you properly.”

Mypulse quickened at his words.Oh.Mykitten had a wonderful imagination.Excellent.Hedipped his head down.Hecoughed and shuffled his feet, as if embarrassed to have admitted so much to me.Thatwouldn’t do.Heneeded to be rewarded for all that.

Irose on my toes and brushed my lips against his heated cheek.Ilingered there, my lips pressing soft intimate kisses against his skin, until he turned his head and his lips met mine again.Thistime,Ididn’t duck away.

Hemoaned as our mouths met.Hewrapped his arms around me and hauled me up against his chest.Yes.Itwas exactly asI’dimagined.Evenwith the fabric of our clothes separating us, every brush of our bodies against one another made me writhe and press closer.Icraved his touch, but neither of us moved to strip off our clothes.Ourtongues danced.Ourbreaths wove together.Ourbodies rocked.Itwas sublime.