Page 43 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

I turn around twice before curling into his chest.

Lucien makes a sound. Not a word. Just a sound.

I look up at him and hope he understands he can pet me.

His hand comes down slowly, giving me plenty of time to change my mind. His fingers slide between my ears. Oh, yes. That’s nice.

My eyes close before I can stop them as Lucien strokes over my head and then along my back. He’s gentle.A purr rumbles out of me, and his hand immediately stops. I crack open one eye. Lucien presses his lips together, obviously trying not to smile, so I swat his stomach with one paw.

His laugh rumbles beneath me, and I settle back down. He starts petting me again, scratching lightly between my ears before smoothing his hand along my back.

“You’re so fucking soft.”

I purr louder.

“Pretty kitty.”

I allow it.

His breathing gradually slows beneath me. The hand stroking my fur gets heavier and slower until eventually it comes to rest against my back. I lift my head and find Lucien asleep.

The exhaustion has finally eased from his face, and since he appeared downstairs, he looks peaceful.

I study him for a moment before putting my head back down.

Days ago, I told him I didn’t have room for romance. Maybe I didn’t. But now I have an apartment that’s entirely mine. I have mornings where no one needs me and evenings I can fill however I want. Finally, my life has empty spaces. I thought they’d scare me. Maybe some of them do. But curled up on Lucien while his hand rests warm against my back, one of those empty spaces doesn’t feel quite so empty anymore. I close my eyes and settle deeper against him. Maybe I have room for a ridiculous demon after all.

17

LUCIEN

Sparkle purrs in my lap. He’s so cute with his wittle ears and his fluffy tail. I wanna give the end of his tail a nibble, or just the tip of an ear. His fur is immaculate. Not one mat or stain.

He’s so peaceful on my lap, and I continue to pet him. His purrs soothe my soul after the last several days of chasing after Raykin. The demon used all my old tricks, and I still found him. The rush gave me such a high I almost agreed to be a tracker again. But then I thought of the life I built and remembered why I left.

I’m not just a tracking demon. Maybe I’m still the best of the best, but Dorman doesn’t have anything I want. Thankfully, he respected my wishes and let me go. I don’t know what Dorman’s plans are for Raykin, but the demon was so far gone from sanity that I have to give Dorman some praise for grabbing his due now. Raykin could have exposed the entire otherworld to the humans, and that’s not something anyone is interested in right now. At least not that I know of. Humans churn their own turmoil, and we can feed off that. We don’t need them hunting us, too.

Sparkle stretches and looks up at me.

“Hey, pretty kitty.” I pet his little head, and he rubs against me. He’s so sweet even in cat form. He licks my arm, and I melt. I swear I’m vibrating. “You licked me. Now I’m yours.”

He snorts out a little sound but licks me again. Okay, maybe he’s grooming me. I smell awful after chasing Raykin and haven’t had the chance to shower off the stink. Sparkle rubs his head against my arm before licking me again. I sigh and lean back, letting him do whatever he wants with me. The rough tongue does more for my brain than therapy ever did. That’s probably a lie, but not in this moment. Right now, we’re content to just be. Me demon, him cat. No performing. No chasing.

Sparkle nuzzles my arm, then hops off my lap.

“Come back.”

He settles on the cushion beside me, then looks at his clothes, still in a pile on the floor. Then to me. The door. The clothes. Me. Door. Clothes. Me.

“Oh!” I pop to my feet. “I’ll be right out here while you get dressed.” I wave toward the door and go through it before shutting it behind me. I don’t know if he’s shy about shifting naked in front of me or what. But he wants his privacy, and I’ll give it to him.

I pace and watch the door. He’s taking a while. At least it feels that way.

When he opens the door, he’s swiping a hand through his hair, making one ear twitch. His tail sways behind him as he looks at the floor. The sweetest blush creeps across his cheeks.

“Hi,” he whispers before meeting my eyes.

I swallow. “Hi.” Why is it a croak? I cough into my hand. “What can I help with?”