I needed a moment to regroup.
Dathal took a hasty step back, letting go of me as the meowing got louder and more pitiful. Satan appeared from around the corner, strutting down my hallway like he owned the place and we were intruders. Jet-black fur covered every inch of him. His bright blue eyes loomed large and intelligent as he assessed us both.
I wasn’t above using my cats to buy me some time to think. I wanted Dathal, and I was pretty fucking sure he felt the same. What came after that was less certain, but one thing I did know was that one touch from him and the mark on my wrist had reacted.
He’d felt it.
He might not know what it was, but he wasn’t stupid. It wouldn’t take him long to connect the dots that something wasn’t right with me. Did I want him enough to tell him a secret I’d yet to share with Mase?
The answer should be a solidfuck no.
And yet…
Dathal’s eyes widened as Satan picked him as the easier target and proceeded to rub up against him, tail curling around his calf muscle. Dathal stood stock still, eyeing my cat like he might attack at any moment. “What is that?” he hissed.
“A cat.” I frowned. “Have you never seen one before?” Admittedly, I had zero knowledge of the world beyond the gateway. Not that the information wasn’t available anywhere, but I’d never bothered to investigate it before.
Kind of regretted that now.
“No.” Dathal shook his head, gaze locked on Satan as though waiting for him to make his move.
Fearing for my cat’s safety, I bent down and scooped him up, ignoring his protests. “He’s a pet.” A tickle under the chin rewarded me with loud purrs, and Dathal’s smile slowly appeared.
“I’ve heard of cats, seen pictures, but never seen one in the flesh. I thought they’d be bigger.”
I huffed, affronted on Satan’s behalf. As domestic cats went, he was a monster. Dathal leant closer to get a better look, and I whispered, “Don’t let him hear you say that.”
“He understands?” he asked, quickly moving away again, eyes wider than saucers.
Whatever I’d imagined happening when I got Dathal back to my house, it certainly wasn’t this.
But maybe fate had intervened on our behalf. Any longer in that hallway with Dathal caging me against that wall and I would’ve done something reckless.
And so would he.
Letting Dathal believe Satan was hanging on his every word was incredibly tempting, but I’d brought him here for a reason. Feline interruptions aside, we should talk about the weird connection that drew us to each other.
Because I knew it wasn’t just me feeling it.
I wouldn’t normally go through all this just to sleep with someone, but Mase had been right when he’d said I was different with Dathal. Common sense told me to say “thanks but no thanks” and move on. There were plenty of willing people at my club who’d be interested in a no strings hook-up. Why was I wasting time with Dathal?
Because you like that it’s different with him.
Exciting in a way you haven’t felt with anyone else.
“Are they always black?” Dathal asked. “And why is it called Satan? Is that not what your non-paranormals refer to as the devil?”
I eyed him curiously. “Oh, so you’ve never seen a cat, but you know about the devil?”
He winced. “Some of my visits here have involved interactions with religious groups.”
“I bet that was fun.”
“Not particularly.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. My friend Jasmine got me Satan and Beelzebub when I moved in. I wasn’t in a good place when I arrived here. Not the most sociable either. She thought it would do me good, giving me something else to care about other than myself.
“Sort of a tongue-in-cheek housewarming present. Not that cats should be classed in the same league as a potted plant or anything, but I’d already said I loved animals, so it was fine.” And yep, I was rambling like a fucking idiot. But in my defence, Dathal being so quiet threw me.
