Page 27 of Russian Roulette
“This is where you’ll stay today,” Vulcan tells me. “Or until we figure out what the hell we’re going to do with you.”
“Letting me go would be a good start.”
“Besides that,” he says.
“What is Kit doing with a tiger?” I ask. “You could’ve warned me before we showed up here unannounced. Is he an exotic animal collector or something?”
“Or something,” Vulcan replies curtly. “Let me give you a piece of advice before he comes back. Whatever you do, don’t compare him to Joe Exotic or he’ll flip out on you. I’m serious. He’s very touchy where his animals are concerned. Don’t even say the name. The show has him riled up ever since it came on.”
“Well, I hope he takes good care of the tiger,” I say, frowning. “I don’t like the idea of exotic animals being kept as pets. Just because someone is rich doesn’t mean they can be assholes.”
“Sounds as if you and Kit will get along just fine,” Vulcan says. “He hates it, too. His thing is rescuing big cats from trashy roadside zoos or private collectors. He has several on the ranch, along with an assortment of other orphaned animals he’s brought home over the years.”
“How many cats does he have?” I’m intrigued and surprised by the new information on Kit.
Vulcan shakes his head. “I lost count a couple of years ago. If you ask me, he has too many. They’re very expensive to feed and take care of. He can never walk away from a chance to get them out of a bad situation, though, so they just keep showing up.”
I walk around the room, noting the sparse furnishings. The house clearly doesn’t hold a woman’s touch. “Does he live here alone?” I ask. “How does he take care of the animals?”
“He has a couple of employees who help feed the animals and that sort of thing,” Vulcan replies. “He lives here alone in the house, if that’s what you’re asking. You’ll be the only one staying here besides him.”
“Kit sounds like an interesting guy,” I prompt, hoping for more information.
“He is. Not much of a talker, until he gets acquainted with someone. Don’t expect him to sit around and entertain you with polite conversation. And don’t be offended if he doesn’t talk at all. That’s just Kit. He’s a little weird.”
“And you’re not?”
“I’m freaky weird,” Vulcan says. “He’s a decent guy. There’s a huge difference between us.”
Kit walks into the room wearing only a loose pair of gray sweatpants. His feet are bare, along with his huge, muscular chest. His long blonde hair is tangled and messy, as if he’d just crawled out of bed. The image of this Nordic god before me sprawled across a King-size bed flashes across my mind. I’d forgotten how massive he is. The sight of him up close takes my breath away.
“What happened to your shirt?” Vulcan lets out a laugh. “Did Puffin shred it with her claws? Or did you think it would be more impressive to Jade if you stripped half of your clothes off?”
“I’ll go change in a minute,” Kit replies in a deep, gruff voice. “Puffin jumped up on me with muddy paws. I didn’t want to track a mess into the house.” He glances over at me. “Sorry, Jade. I wasn’t expecting you to arrive this early. I’m not used to having guests.”
“You said to bring her to you this morning,” Vulcan reminds him. “And here we are.”
“I meant a reasonable time, like maybe eight or nine, not six o’clock in the morning. I didn’t get home until one. You didn’t answer my question before. Why didn’t you call from the front gate?”
“I didn’t think the big Kitty Kat would be out,” Vulcan quips back. “Believe me, next time I’ll call first.”
“You’re well aware that Puffin doesn’t like you, Vulcan,” Kit says. “You shouldn’t have taken a careless risk with Jade. If Puffin had wanted to attack, there wouldn’t have been one thing I could do to stop her. She’s much stronger than I am. She’s not a Golden Retriever on a leash and she hates the sound of your motorcycle. When she heard you coming up the driveway, she almost pulled me off my feet to get to you.”
“Point taken,” Vulcan says, not the least bit concerned. “It won’t happen again. I’ll be more careful around the cats.”
“Sorry if that little episode scared you, Jade,” Kit says to me. “I’m very careful with the cats to make sure these kinds of situations never happen.”
“No big deal, I’m fine. It startled me, that’s all. You also could’ve warned me about wild animals here.”
Kit’s icy blue eyes shoot to Vulcan, who smirks back at him. Kit’s not happy that I jumped to Vulcan’s defense so quickly. The words flew out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying.
“I might be deadly allergic to cats,” I add quickly, to give him something to consider. I don’t appreciate the way the guys make decisions concerning my life with no thought beforehand.
“Are you?” Kit asks, suddenly concerned. “That might be an issue.”
“No, I’m not.” I don’t dare give him an excuse to send me back with Vulcan. “I was only using an allergy as an example. Cats don’t bother me at all.”
Kit’s blue eyes turn back to study me closely. “What happened back at the RV last night?” he asks casually. “Everything go okay with you two?”
