Page 47 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

Excuse me?

I slow blink right back.

Lucien finally notices. “What’s going on?”

The orange one hisses at me. So of course I have to hiss back.

“Sparkle!” Lucien catches my arm before I can take a step toward the asshole.

“He started it.”

The orange cat yowls, and my ears flatten. “Oh, you wanna go?”

“Darlin’, you can’t get into a fight on our first date.”

“He called me an asshole!”

Lucien goes completely still. His grip on my arm loosens as he looks from me to the cat. “You can understand them?”

“Of course I can understand him. I’m a cat shifter.”

Another cat yowls from across the room, and I gasp. “Take that back! My mother is a wonderful woman!”

Lucien’s shoulders start shaking.

“Don’t laugh!”

That does it. He bends forward, laughing so hard he has to hold on to me. I should be offended. But his laugh is wonderful. Deep and loud and completely unrestrained, and before I know it, I’m laughing too.

“This is a disaster,” he manages. “I thought you’d love it.”

“I do!”

Lucien straightens and wipes beneath one eye. “You do?”

Before I can answer, something brushes against my ankle. A tiny gray puffball of a kitten sniffs my shoe before rubbing her whole body against my leg, and every bit of my irritation disappears.

“Oh, hello, baby.” I slide to my bottom and offer her my hand. She sniffs me before climbing directly into my lap.

Lucien makes a strangled sound beside me. I glance up to find him staring at us with huge eyes.

“What?”

“You have a kitten.”

“Yes?”

“Kitty holding a kitty.”

I immediately know where this is going. “No.”

“Please.” Lucien drops into a crouch in front of me. His ridiculous excitement softens into something sweeter as his gaze moves between me and the kitten. My gaze drops for half a second.

Mmm, those thighs. Focus, Sparkle.

“One picture?” he asks.

Damn this demon, I’m never gonna live this down if anyone sees the pic.