Page 45 of Known By You
And had I just… sat there?
Like an idiot?
Like a complete and utter fool who had never been kissed instead of a man who would happily devour her?
Also, heartbreakingly, yes.
I paced back and forth in front of her door, debating calling her and begging her to let me come up and at least tell her with words that her kiss wasn’t misplaced.
Regret and fear flashed through me at the thought she might never do it again. She really might not. She didn’t strike me as the kind of woman to do something rash in thefirst place, and if she did and it didn’t go her way, she wasn’t likely to make the same mistake again.
Had that been my one and only shot with her, and I’d just tossed a grenade on it with my hesitation and disbelief?
I groaned, scrubbing my hands over my face and pleading with the stars for an answer. I’d loved every minute of tonight—well, maybe with the exception of her hurting to start it. But I wanted to support someone like this, to distract them a little and then speak gently to them. That’s what a partnership was, wasn’t it?
But this wasn’t a partnership. We weren’t dating or together or doing anything…Especially not if you don’t kiss her back, idiot!
And there was the very valid point that this was all temporary. She’d leave and I’d be here, so avoiding all physical contact was probably smart. It was where I’d started with this and probably where I should end with it, too.
But… I’d never wanted to follow my own advice less.
The urge to laugh hysterically or maybe cry hysterically snuck up like fingers walking up my spine, one after another, a little more pressure mounting as my mind whirled around what’d just happened and how exquisitely I’d just bungled the moment.
A tiny squeak broke through my self-loathing. I glanced around, searching for the source of the sound. Nothing obvious that I could see, so I stopped pacing and held my breath.
Meow.
My gaze darted toward a small pile of detritus near the trunk of one of the trees a few feet away. Had I actually heard something, or was my brain calling to mind all the things I wanted but couldn’t have in this perfect moment?
Meow.
My pulse quickened, and I moved instantly to the pile, startled by a tiny feline face coming into view amidst the random pile of stuff.
Death by cuteness.Was that possible?
Through the handle of a plastic bag, two yellow or maybe green eyes peered back at me. It was hard to see in the darkness.
“Well, hi there, little friend,” I said, bending slowly so I wouldn’t frighten it. The temps were below freezing, and it had to be dangerously cold. The ears pointed out in dark triangles and the head was covered with what seemed like a dusky gray color of fur.
“Meow.”
“Are you lost?” I slowly reached out a hand, not wanting it to bolt. The poor thing wriggled, but then I saw how the handle of the baggy had been looped at least twice around its little neck. “Ouch. Let me get that off there.”
Slipping my glove off, I held out a finger, and the cat sniffed my skin for a minute before I inched the plastic over his head. It had definitely gotten stuck in this tangle and my heart squeezed at the thought of him being here all day twisted up like this, too tiny a voice to be heard over the normal din of business and cars and people.
In another few seconds, I got him unwrapped completely and expected him to scamper off, but he stayed put and gave another pitiful little meow.
“Not feeling too good, huh? Let me see if I can get you to a doctor.”
I dialed Tristan, whose alarmed answer would’ve made me chuckle if I didn’t have an agenda. Once I explained the situation, he gave me his vet’s emergency number, and I thanked him. Normally, I would’ve called Beast for all thingscat-dad related, but I didn’t want to give him anything to worry about. Despite appearances, knowing there was a freezing little kitten out here would absolutely send the giant of a man into anxious pacing until I could confirm he was okay, so I’d try to get that part of the equation solved before I notified him.
The vet said he could meet me in a half hour and since I was likely about seven minutes from the destination, I had to get this tiny guy out of the cold.
“Okay, please don’t hate me for moving you from what has become your safe place, but I don’t want you to freeze and you seem like you need some help. So I’m going to pick you up, and then we’re going to go get in my car. I’d really prefer it if you could not pee on me, but I won’t hold it against you this time if it happens.”
I scooped him up into my gloved hand and made anughsound when I saw just how tiny he was. His little head seemed to be almost as large as the rest of his body and he weighed maybe a pound and a half, if I had to guess. Maybe two, but not five or even three, certainly.
Tucking him close to my chest inside my jacket, I hustled to my truck and climbed in, doing my best not to jostle him. “You’re the tiniest guy I’ve ever seen. And you feel like a small collection of chicken bones in a little half-full beanbag, but we’ll get you fattened up, I hope.”
