I heaved a deep sigh and glanced at the animal curled up in his giant man-paw. It wasn’t their fault the KDS had fucked up. I took off my coat and hung it on the back of one of the stools at the island, then held my hands out to him. “You give me sleeping beauty and go find a towel or a blanket.”
He passed me the kitten, and it was like holding on to air. It couldn’t have been older than a couple weeks, barely weighed more than a pound, and probably wouldn’t have survived if Atlas hadn’t grabbed it.
Dammit. I didn’t want to give him points for that, but I had to.
Cradling the kitten on its back, I did a quick scan, confirming there was one missing body part. The KDS gifted a girl kitten to an overgrown man-child. That was going to be fun.
I glanced up to find Atlas still standing there. Still glowering at me. I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your pussy.”
He inhaled sharply before devolving into a coughing fit. “What?” he managed through a rough throat.
“Your cat.” I held her up between us. “I’ve got her. Go get what we need.”
“Her?”
“Yep. Congrats, it’s a girl.” I strode around him and headed toward the absolute dream of a couch.
I’d expected it to be comfortable, but I did not expect it to feel like I was sinking into a cloud when I sat down. I had to hold in my sigh of contentment as I sank into the feather-soft cushions, the kitten held against my chest. With the rain soaking her fur, itwas hard to tell if she was white or gray, but I just knew she was going to be cute either way.
It was only a few minutes before Atlas came storming back into the room, glower in place. He’d shed his coat at some point and now stood there in a black T-shirt, his biceps the size of freaking cantaloupes on full display as he held enough blankets and towels for a fort as big as this entire room.
“Gee, I really hope that’ll be enough,” I said dryly.
A crease formed between his brows. “You think we need more? I can get more.”
Watching this man fumble, staring at this tiny kitten like it was the very mystery of life, was kind of hilarious. It was as if he’d never been around an animal before.
I breathed out a laugh. “I’m joking. Have you seen her? She could nap in one of your shoes.”
“Would she like that?” he asked with such sincerity, I couldn’t bring myself to make fun of him.
“I think one of those will be fine. Towel first, so we can get her dry.” I accepted the towel he passed over, gathered up the kitten, and dried her off. All while he watched on as if the entire process was completely alien to him. “Haven’t you ever had a pet before?”
He shot his gaze to mine, something flashing briefly in his eyes before he shuttered them, blocking off any emotion from leaking through. “No,” he snapped. “No pets.”
“Okay,” I drew out the word. “Didn’t know that was such a touchy subject. Well, Kitten 101 is to keep them safe, warm, and fed. You’ve got two down, and you’re working on the third with your town bulletin.”
He didn’t say anything, but I felt his stare on me, nonetheless. Just like I’d been able to that night in the hotel. Just like I had every other time I’d been in his presence.
“Swap you,” I said, handing him the damp towel and gesturing for one of the fleece blankets in his hands. I made a tiny nest on my lap and placed the sleeping kitten in the center. “And don’t feed her, like, tuna straight from a can or cow’s milk. You’re going to want to stick with kitten formula or wet kitten food for now. Unless you want to deal with the aforementioned diarrhea situation.”
“The one you won’t help me with.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” I raised a brow at him as he stood over me, hovering with his arms still full, as if he was unsure what to do. “You can sit, you know. And maybe hold her.”
He hesitated for a moment before dropping the pile of blankets and towels on the floor next to the couch and sitting down, warily eyeing the kitten.
After several moments of silence, he cleared his throat. “Did you have any pets when you were young?”
The question sounded like it was torn straight from his soul, and I wasn’t sure if that was because he was trying to hold it back or trying to force it out.
I breathed out a laugh and shook my head. “God, no. There were absolutely no pets allowed in our pristine home. My mother had a coronary if I didn’t change clothes immediately after visiting a friend whose house was full of dogs.”
“Why would you need to change?”
“Heaven forbid anything less than perfect show up in the Sinclair estate, even dog hair on a sweater.”
That was far more information than I’d intended to give. Far more information than Iusuallygave, even after months of knowing someone. As a rule, I didn’t talk about my childhood. Or my parents. Especially when I’d worked so hard to cut them out of my life. To rid Laurel and myself of their toxic, overbearing presence.
