Work has been about searching for redemption, not fulfillment. Stella is incredibly supportive but has her own life with her mom. Maggie and Ben have been nice and will be good to have in my and the baby’s life, if they want to be, but the people who are only in my corner… I don’t have that.
I may have thought at one time that Nemo was that person, but I don’t want him anywhere near my kid.
“A matchmaker sounds interesting,” I say.
“Want to hear the best part?”
I raise a brow at her, and Stella whispers. “It’s at a sex bathhouse.”
I blink. “A sex bathhouse? Do those really exist?”
“Oh, my sweet summer child, you have no idea. We’ll have to go sometime when your jailer allows it.”
I throw a piece of grass at her. “You’re the worst.”
“But you love me.”
“I do.”
Stella grows serious. “I worry sometimes that you’ll feel trapped here.”
I worry about that too.
“It’ll get better. I have a bunch of appointments to deliver projects next week, so I’ll get some new scenery.” There’s a rustle in the bushes behind me, and I sit up. “What was that?”
The foliage is thick, and I don’t see anything at first. I’d gone over the security with Ben and had him strengthen it with my advice so someone shouldn’t have been able to sneak in like I had.
“I didn’t hear anything. Maybe it’s a squirrel,” Stella says. Then there’s a raspy meow, and Stella jumps to her feet. “Cat! That was a cat.”
“Don’t scare it!” I whisper, but the rustling gets closer as if spurred by the sound of our voices.
The bushes part, and with a loud meow, a rangy orange cat pushes through.
“Oh, I love orange tabbies,” Stella says immediately, crouching down, but the cat pads toward me instead.
“Maybe it lives nearby?” I ask as the cat starts to rub against my legs. I crouch and pet the creature awkwardly.
“It looks like a tom cat.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because of the balls,” Stella teases. “Oh, you’re such a sweet guy and you love Katarina, don’t you?”
The cat’s fur has a greasy texture to it, and the stark bones under the animal’s coat makes my heart ache.
“I can feel all his bones.” I sit cross-legged, and he chirps before curling into my lap, purring loudly.
Stella frowns. “A stray then. He’s so friendly that I doubt he’s feral. I’ll have to take him to the shelter. Mom is allergic to cats.”
I suck in a breath at the thought of taking the cat anywhere, let alone to a shelter with cages. I glance around the bright estate. It’s probably a paradise in his eyes.
“He can stay here,” I say.
Stella freezes. “Are you sure?”
I quirk my lips as the answer comes to me. The rightness of it is a sigh of relief on my senses. “He’ll be my cat.”
I run my fingers through greasy fur and am rewarded with a louder purr. “I’ve always wanted a pet.”
Stella opens her mouth before closing it. Probably to ask why I didn’t have a pet if I’ve always wanted one.
I’ve never deserved one. But this guy just literally fell into my life, and I’m not going to say no to him.
“He did choose you,” Stella says as if echoing my thoughts.
He closes his eyes in pleasure, looking too thin but majestic at the same time. “I’ll name him Griffin.”
Ben’s voice comes from the house and gets louder the closer he gets. “Katarina, I’m just checking if your guest is going to stay for dinner—what the fuck is that?”
I turn my head, and Ben’s face is contorted in horror.
“It’s a cat,” Stella says, her tone flat.
“I can see that. What if it’s someone who spelled themselves to spy on you?” Ben asks.
I frown and look at Griffin. Is that even possible?
Stella guffaws. “Give me a little credit, Barnes. I would have sensed that type of spell. It’s a damn cat.”
Ben breathes in through his nostrils before responding. “That may be, but I’m not sure Kalos wants a damn cat wandering the house.”
Anger sparks at that.
Stella is already snapping in response. “Too bad. You are now a beneficiary of the Cat Distribution System.”
Before they start fighting about whatever that is, I insert myself. “Kalos isn’t the only person who lives here. I’ve done everything he’s asked of me without complaining. This is my home too, and I want to keep Griffin.”
Ben and Stella blink at me, but he recovers, his lip twitching. “Well, if that’s the law of the land, who am I to argue?” He looks down. “I assume we’re going to need to go on a supply run for… Griffin.”
15
KALOS
I LET OUT the breath I’m holding the moment I lose sight of Katarina and her friend from my place at the window. No doubt they mean to relax in the shade of the trees after doing their yoga. I never know if catching glimpses of the woman living under my roof is better for my beast or worse.
Each stolen sight yanks at him, but the days when I don’t see her, he whines and scrapes at my self-control.
I expected her to tell me to leave the first time I’d joined her in bed, the scent of her tears still in the air, but she softened for me. She allowed me to contribute to the child inside of her the only way I’m able to.
I consider the routine of cradling her body in mine and feeding her the heat energy she needs the same as adding fire to a dragon egg. It’s a sacred duty. One I’ve done twice in my life and never expected to again.
It’s the only way I can explain away the peace the act gives me. The way I look forward to joining her bed every night and count down the hours until I can be there again. My dragon rages at me that it’s because of her, but that’s only a trick of my biology.
“Kalos,” Sophia says from behind me.
“I’m listening,” I lie.
“Sure doesn’t seem like it,” she mutters.
“Perhaps it would do with repeating,” her bonded mate Mace says. “It is a beautiful day outside, and he no doubt became distracted.”
That has the hair on the back of my neck rising. I turn from the window and glare at Mace, who winks back at me. He’s sprawled on the couch while Sophia sits at the edge of my desk, tossing up a glass paperweight before catching it. I narrow my eyes at her, and she drops the object back on the mahogany desk, sighing.
My eye twitches at the loud sound of the glass hitting the wood before I return my gaze to Mace.
The demon has a penchant for secrets. One that I’ve exploited from time to time, but that I’ve never been on the other side of. Can he hear Katarina laughing with her friend like I can? Dragons have better hearing. Either way, he knows something is up.
Could it be that he really can sense secrets?
Sophia arches a brow at Mace. “Behave,” she says as if she wasn’t just the one throwing around a one-of-a-kind artwork.
Wonderful. They both know something is awry. I trust them enough not to fire them in the literal sense for knowing that there’s an unknown woman residing with me. They work for me as independent contractors, and even though our relationship started contentiously, they are the loyal sort with similar ideals, but every person who knows about Katarina increases her risk.