Page 47 of Paws & Order
Then smoothly closed.
We stare.
“Did you fix that?” I ask.
Cassian shakes his head.
“No.”
A strange warmth settles over me.
Not fear.
Not concern.
Just the distinct feeling that somewhere, somehow, someone is feeling very pleased with themselves.
Gomez glances toward the kitchen.
Then immediately falls asleep.
I rest my head against Cassian’s shoulder.
His arm settles around me without hesitation.
The mystery is still there.
The flowers.
The gifts.
The impossible Theodore Whitmore.
But for tonight, none of it feels quite so frightening.
For tonight, I’m exactly where I want to be.
CHAPTER 12
CASSIAN
When I wake, the apartment's blue morning light is filtered through a cat's voluptuous body.
Gomez has migrated from the windowsill to my sternum, acting as a furry sandbag against the possibility of escape.
The weight. The heat. The pins and needles in my arm trapped beneath the couch pillow. Those are the first things I register.
The second is the soft, even rhythm of Liza's breathing against my shoulder.
She's curled into my side, one hand splayed across my shirt, her thumb resting unconsciously over my heart.
Her hair is a tangle of brown and red across my chest.
For a moment, I simply lie there and take inventory.
Cat. Woman. Warmth.
The simple satisfaction of surviving another night together.
