Page 20 of Hell's Kitten

He looks up at me, and I swear his grumpy demeanor softens ever so slightly. “You can have whatever,” he grunts firmly. “Don’t be shy.”

Before I can really process his words, he takes the tray and marches into the living room. Looking around at the various cats still with me, I grimace at them. “I suppose I should follow, huh?” I whisper.

When they start walking toward the living room, I take that as my cue to do the same.

Nim is waiting for me, standing by the sofa. When I enter, I’m rewarded with a fractionally bigger smile. “Sit,” he says, almost proudly. It’s like…he’s enjoying fussing over me. Perhaps I don’t have to feel like such a terrible burden after all?

Making sure I don’t disturb any kitties, I make my way over and sink down onto the couch. He places the tray on the coffee table, picks up the nice blue blanket, and drapes over my bare legs.

My heart flips in my chest. Whoa. That’s…intimate.

But he plods on like it’s nothing unusual, turning to fetch the tray again and settling it on my lap. He walks around the back of the sofa so he can go sit on the other end. It’s not huge, and I feel like we’re suddenly quite close. But he doesn’t seem to notice, so I try my best to ignore it.

He picks up the TV remote and unfreezes the screen. He must have paused it when I shrieked myself awake earlier. An image of some kind of bird flying through the sky comes back to life, and I assume it must be a nature documentary.

“This okay?” Nim asks me.

“Uh, sure,” I reply without even really thinking. It’s his home, after all. I’ll watch whatever he likes. Apart from scary horror movies. I hate those. Typically, I like trashy reality TV shows and competitions, but I imagine he’s more interested in animals than people.

Unable to fight my growling stomach any longer, I pick up my fork and attack the lasagna I poured my heart into earlier that day. Even reheated in the microwave, it’s still damned good, and I can’t help but moan as I drag the cutlery from my lips.

My eyes snap to him, though. He’s staring, but he looks away quickly. Great, I’m making us both embarrassed.Just shut up and eat, Jessie.

It’s not so hard to do. With all the drama yesterday, I didn’t have much of a dinner then either, and once I start eating, I can’t stop. The pasta soon vanishes, and I don’t pause before tackling the side salad or the bread roll. I feel much better after that.

Without saying anything (naturally), Nim takes the tray from me and heads back out to the kitchen, leaving me with a pack of hyenas on the screen that has some of the cats very interested indeed with all the strange noises they’re making. I’m so busy watching the various different kitties that I’m taken by surprise as Nim plops back onto the sofa. He’s still got the tray I was using, but this time he puts it between us.

Now it’s holding a tub of ice cream with two spoons sticking out.

He juts his chin and grunts, and I’m confident he’s telling me to help myself. Looking down, I see that the flavor is butter pecan, one of my favorites. “Thank you!” I squeak earnestly, grabbing one of the spoons.

I’m trying not to get carried away, but this is so cute and cozy. Yeah, I know my new friend is a slightly terrifying-looking tattooed biker. But my mom taught me to judge actions, notappearances, and he has been so insanely kind to me today I can’t stop my heart from melting like the ice cream.

If I’m being honest, this dinner has felt more like a date than anything Parker and I ever did together. I’m starting to appreciate that I just liked the idea of him more than who he actually was. I was blinded by sex, but I have to wonder now if that was any good either or if it was just good because it was better than my right hand.

I’m soon yanked from my thoughts as I scratch my head and realize with absolute horror that I’ve had the cat-ear headband on this whole time.

“Oh, shit,” I yelp before I can stop myself. I drag the thing off my head and shove it into the front pouch pocket of my hoodie. “That’s embarrassing.”

Nim frowns and shrugs, not meeting my eye. “You should feel at home here,” he says simply.

“Yeah, but that’s kind of a private thing,” I start babbling, knowing I’m blushing yet again. “I don’t want you to think I’m weird. It’s just like, uh, a comfort thing, I guess. Like a blankie. I know I’m too old for shit like that, but after the past few years and my mom’s illness, I don’t really care about what other people think of that kind of stuff anymore, you know? Like, if it’s not hurting anyone else, why does it matter? But I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward or anything.”

He licks his lips and glances quickly over at me. “You didn’t. I’m sorry about your mom.”

“Oh, she’s fine now,” I say. “I mean, the cancer’s gone. Something like that takes a bit of time to get over psychologically, though. For both of us. But health-wise, she’s in remission. We’ll have to wait a few years to really be sure, but there’s every hope it’s all gone. Thank you all the same!” God, I’m so ungrateful. And awkward. Did I mention awkward?

He nods. “Good.” Then he chews on his lip and appears to steel himself before speaking again. “Don’t hide the ears on my account. They suit you.”

Whoa.

Blood rushes to my face, but it’s an entirely different feeling than before. His words are warmer to me than the blanket wrapped around my legs. For a moment, I’m too stunned to reply. Eventually, though, I remember my manners and do my best to stop the awkwardness from growing.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

Does he really mean it? The idea of being myself around him is so liberating and…well, after today, is it crazy that I trust him? Like, for real trust that I can be vulnerable around him? He’s already saved me twice in a matter of hours. First from sleeping in my car and then when he came back in time to rescue the lasagna.

Maybe I’m totally naïve, and this is going to come back and bite me in the ass. But for now, I slip the headband out of my hoodie pouch and place it back on my head before reaching for my ice cream spoon again. As I go to scoop a little from the carton, I catch Nim’s gaze, and his smile might still be small, but it’s definitely fond.

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