Page 70 of Oblivious Roommate

“That’s what I’m saying. We need the element of surprise. We can’t let them get the upper hand.”

Cass swallows and leans in for a quick kiss. “Okay. But we can’t make any noise. Let’s sneak out through the window. Without shoes, because that will alarm… whoever is out there.”

I nod at him. It makes sense. If we want to ambush the fuckers, we can’t just open the door. I tiptoe to the window at the side of the house and cringe at the awful squeak it makes when opened. What matters is that the sound is drowned by the noise of falling rain.

It might be dumb, but this shit is too real, and my need to protect Cass at all costs kicks in.

I look out, ignoring the water dribbling on me from the eaves, but it’s so damn dark I’m not sure if the shapes I’m seeing between trees are animals, cult members who decided to sacrifice us to some crazy demon, or bushes.

I suppose if they were alive, they’d have moved our way by now.

The damp wind smacks my skin as I carefully step outside with Cass holding my arm and supporting a large portion of my weight until I place my foot in the mud.

“Stay inside,” I whisper, meeting his gaze, dead serious. “If something happens to me, block the door.”

He blinks. “I’m not letting you go alone.”

I shake my head. “I mean it.” There’s no time to waste, so as soon as my other foot is in the mud, I lower my head and sneak along the wall.

My heart beats like crazy as I rush toward the front of the cabin, but despite the cold and fear making me move like a wooden dummy, all I can think of is Cassian. He is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I can’t see him hurt, regardless of what he believes.

Rain pours down on me, but I don’t care about it at this point, intent on confronting whatever awaits me. A part of me is ready to dash back inside if this is indeed some wild animal, but when I peek toward the door from behind the wooden wall, I see nothing.

Fuck.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I assess my weapons and decide the pan is less important. Squinting at the area in front of the door, I wait for a few moments but throw the pan toward the suspected intruder as soon as I spot movement.

A loud meow and hiss combo pulls me out of Rambo mode.

A ginger cat leaps away from the door and, thank fuck, it didn’t actually get hit by the pan.

“Oh, my God! I’m so sorry!” I coo at it as relief floods my whole body.

“Mattie?” Cassian shouts, but I’m already scooting next to the poor animal, whose fur is so wet it sticks to its skinny body like second skin.

“Open the door!” I shout as the cat regards me with caution. But it not only isn’t running away but even approaches to smell my fingers after a moment’s hesitation.

We both stiffen when Cassian opens the cabin door.

“Wow,” he says after a moment of silence.

I realize I still hold the knife as if I’m about to stab someone. “Don’t laugh at me! It could have been anything.” But I snort too, and when the cat rushes inside, I follow.

I give Cass a cold, wet hug filled with all my love for him and grin when he flinches.

“Ouch, ouch, jeez, you’re cold!” he complains but keeps hugging me as we lock the cabin and glance toward the fireplace. We can’t find the cat at first, but in the end, the wet traces of little paws make us look under the bed, where it’s hiding.

“Poor thing,” Cassian mutters before snapping his fingers. “I have a can of tuna. Just wait.”

It must have wanted to hide from the storm.

Seeing that Cass is on top of coaxing the cat out, I take off the wet towel and stand with my ass shamelessly turned toward the fire.

“He nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“There’s no people around. What could he possibly be doing here?” Cass mutters when he comes back with an open can of fish and a little bowl of water. As he scoots by the bed to leave out the food, I let my gaze slide down his muscular shoulders, down his back, all the way to his buttocks. He’s incredibly hot, and I want to touch him, but I’m also struck by how comfortable it feels to be naked around him.

Around women, I always experienced a weird tension, but there’s none of that with Cass. And it’s not just because he’s a man too. The thought of hanging out with some random dude naked makes me uncomfortable, so it must be Cassian specifically who puts me so at ease.