Page 110 of Untamed

“Ares?” I hear Jordyn call out.

“I thought I told you to stay in the room?”

“Seriously? You pulled a gun on a kitten?”

Jordyn’s voice floats to me like silk laced with amusementandjudgment. I turn my head just enough to see her standing in the doorway, clad in red satin, arms folded, hair tousled from sleep, one brow cocked in disbelief. There’s a ghost of a smile playing on her lips, the kind that makes something stir low in my gut.

I glance back at the kitten in my grip, its wide baby blue eyes that resemble Jordyn’s staring up at me with a mix of defiance and stupidity. “He broke into my house,” I mutter, deadpan. “I was defending myself.”

Jordyn snorts, stepping closer, bare feet whispering against the floor. “You were ready to shoot a poor, defenceless kitten.”

I arch a brow. “I was ready to shoot an intruder. He turned out to be… underwhelming.”

She stops in front of me and gently reaches for the kitten. “Poor thing. He’s shaking.”

“So was I,” I say dryly, releasing my hold.

“Aww, did the big mean man scare you, little one...” Jordyn cradles the little beast to her chest, cooing under her breath as itburrows into the crook of her arm. Her voice softens, drops into that gentle register she uses when she forgets I’m watching. The kitten starts to purr. I hate that I envy the damn thing.

“Yeah, you’ve got a death wish, little ladro,” I mutter under my breath, glaring at the cat.

Jordyn looks up, her blue eyes dancing with mirth. “You named him already?”

“I didn’t name him. I issued a warning.”

She smiles, all slow and knowing and it makes me want to grab her by the face and plant my mouth on hers. “You’re not fooling anyone, Bestia.”

I grunt, stepping back toward the bedroom door. “Don’t get too attached. He’s not staying.”

She follows me inside, kitten tucked securely against her chest. “He already picked his human.”

I start to interject. “I’m not his?—”

“Of all the villas he found and crawled in yoursandyou’ve named him,” she interrupts, eyes gleaming. “That’s basically binding in cat law.”

I exhale, tipping my head back toward the ceiling like it might hold the strength I’m rapidly losing around this girl.

She grins, already walking back toward my bedroom with the thing in her arms. “I think he likes it here.”

“I don’t like him.”

“You don’t likeanyone.” This was true...untilher.

“I like silence,” I growl.

“You’ll love him then. He barely talks.”

I follow her back inside, every instinct screaming at me to wrestle back control, but all I can do is watch her settle onto my bed like she’s done it a hundred times.

Like she belongs. And fuck me, do I want her to. “If he pisses on my bed, Bambina, I’ll cook him for dinner. You’ve been warned.” I mutter, following her inside.

Jordyn smiles, smug and victorious, like I haven’t spent every second trying to keep her out of this room, this life. “Don’t you listen to him, Ladro, he acts all tough, but deep down he’s really a big softy.”

I shake my head.If only you knew.

The kitten sprawls luxuriously in her lap, as if it has always belonged there, already claiming her attention with the ease of a monarch assuming the throne. Her giggle, like a cascade of wind chimes, erupts when the kitten licks her nose, a real, unfiltered, warm laugh that scrapes against something raw and aching inside my chest.

And damn it, I smile. It’s faint. Barely there, but it’s real. Because she looks so fuckingsoftlike this. Legs curled beneath her, hair messy from sleep, cradling that furball like it’s something sacred and precious. No walls. No sharp tongue. Just light.

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