“S’backwards?” his muffled voice says as I pull it down. Dark eyes peek up at me through his snow-damp hair. I smooth the hoodie down over his slim hips.
“Is that right?” I scoop up his furry companion, placing the little thing into the hood of the sweatshirt, right on Theo’s chest. “Or did I make a hoodie basket for Dumpster Kitty?”
Theo looks surprised, a real smile almost crossing his gorgeous lips. I’ve never actually seen a real smile from Theo, not one that lights up those beautiful eyes.
I shrug, leaning back beside him.
“You need to give her a better name.” I let my shoulder fall against his, catching the scent of his shampoo, clean with something sweet underneath it.
His fingers pull over the kitten’s fur carefully. “She needs the vet again, I think,” he says, so low I wouldn’t have heard it if I hadn’t been listening.
“Let’s take her tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Day.”
“I know what day it is, sweetness. Dr. Follett will be there in the afternoon—I already made the appointment around your schedule. You gotta be there, too, since Dumpster Kitty is partial to you.”
That’s an understatement—no one else can catch the cat. But, seeing how it’s snuggled in tight against his chest, with his fingers trailing over soft fur, I can’t blame the feline. Hell, the kitten is a fucking genius.
“Is everything okay with her?” Theo sounds like he is afraid to ask.
“Quinn and Bish took her when she arrived, but she wasn’t cooperative, and Dr. Follett wanted to follow up on a few things. Better if you are there, sweetheart.”
“Thank you.” Theo whispers the words, not looking up, but I catch his side-eye. He’s also flipping his lip ring aggressively with his tongue from the inside, jerking it in tight little swipes over his lip.
“Theo.”
His hands still, movements paused as his eyes lock onto mine.
“I’m going to touch you, and if you don’t want that you need to say so. Will you say so?”
Theo nods, and I carefully lift up his chin, using my thumb to stop the assault on his lip ring.
“Good.” I watch his chest heave. God, I love that, Theo’s biggest tell that my presence affects him. “Now. It’s snowing. While you have been taking a break, the Bear Valley PD tweeted the pass will probably close in an hour or so. Ride share, buses, all those don’t need the combo of ice and snow and too many drinks to ring in the new year.”
“But most people in Black Diamond are walking, aren’t they? Seems like they’re all staying in the condos. We aren’t closing?”
I sweep his hair out of his eyes, and I get a blush across his cheeks in reward.
“No, not closing. But,” I pull out the key card I had made across the street at a set of Mann Properties condos called Black Bear, “you need to plan to stay in Bear Valley. By the time Black Diamond does close, it will be too dangerous for you to reach Mirror Lake. I made one for Jordy, too.”
He also doesn’t take the card from my hand. He just stares at it. Back to flipping the lip piercing.
The boy is trying to kill me, looking up with thatthank you so much, I can’t believe you thought about melook before shutting it down and flipping that piercing. It makes his already-sexy lips practically sinful.
“You will stay in Bear Valley tonight, Theo. It is not negotiable. There’s an unbooked condo right across the street, and it’s all yours.”
He starts to nod, then catches himself. “Why would you . . .”
“Why would I what, sugar?”
Theo frowns, his eyes full of distrust and a little fear.
I move my hand away from his face. “Theo, you are what kept Black Diamond running so well last year. Quinn needed to be out of town—to be with Bishop—and you know how he micromanages this place. He trusted you to handle things, and because of that, they were able to build something special. A room that’s sitting empty anyway is the least I can do for you.”
The very least.
“I didn’t—”
