Page 87 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

“I love that you chase me too. I love that you planned an entire date because you wanted to make me happy. I love every morning I walk into Wick’s and find you already looking at the door for me.”

His blush deepens. “I don’t do that.”

“Darlin’, everyone at that table knows you do.” I smile and bring his hand to my mouth, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. “And I love that you chose me.”

Sparkle goes completely still in my arms. There. I said it. Maybe not precisely the way I intended, but now that I’ve started, I don’t want to hide behind his Guide or a joke or anything else.

“I love you, Sparkle.”

His lips part, but nothing comes out.

My heart gives one hard, painful thump against my ribs. I’ve lived for centuries. I’ve faced demons who could peel the flesh from my bones. I’ve tracked creatures across realms and survived things I don’t particularly care to remember.

None of that prepared me for confessing my love to a cat shifter.

“You don’t have to say it back.” The words start spilling out before I can stop them. “That’s not why I said it. And I obviously don’t mean I only said it because of the Guide. That would be ridiculous. I love you. Very much. An alarming amount, actually.”

Sparkle’s mouth twitches.

“I just don’t want you to feel pressured because you wrote that when you were sixteen, and you couldn’t possibly have known a devastatingly handsome higher demon would eventually find it and use it as a comprehensive romantic instruction manual. I can give you time. I’m excellent at giving you time now. Ask anyone. I’ve improved tremendously.”

“Lucien.” Sparkle’s smile grows as he shifts closer.

“I can leave if you want some space. Or stay. Staying is also an excellent option, though. I personally vote for staying, but I’m trying to respect the spirit of the Guide rather than imposing my own preferences.”

“Lucien.” His hands slide up my chest, but my mouth apparently has no interest in stopping.

“Maybe I should stop talking.”

Sparkle grabs my face and kisses me. A completely undignified sound escapes me as his knees land on either side of my hips and he settles into my lap. My arms close around him instinctively, holding him against me while he kisses me hard enough that every thought disappears from my head.

When he finally pulls away, we’re both breathing harder. Sparkle keeps his forehead against mine, and his fingers slide into my hair. “I love you, too.”

I grab him around the waist and launch us both off the couch. Sparkle shrieks and clings to my shoulders as I spin him around the living room, his laughter filling the apartment.

“Lucien! Put me down!”

“You love me!” I kiss his cheek before spinning him again. “You fucking love me.”

“Yes, you ridiculous demon. I love you.”

“Say it again.”

“I love you!”

I kiss him properly this time, though I can’t seem to stop smiling long enough to do a particularly good job of it. I kiss his cheek next, then his forehead and the tip of one fuzzy ear until he squeals and shoves at my face.

The words come out before I can think better of them. “My kitty loves me.”

I wrap my arms around him and let myself sink into the kiss. There’s no Guide anymore. No checklist. No perfect date I’m trying to create and no grand gesture I need to perform so Sparkle understands how much I want him. I don’t have to prove anything. He knows. And I know it’s the same for him. We just click.

EPILOGUE

SPARKLE

Six months later, I wake up in a patch of sunlight with a purple demon wrapped around me. There are worse ways to start a Saturday.

I stretch slowly, pushing my toes toward the bottom of the bed until my back arches and my tail goes stiff beneath the blankets. Sunlight pours through the gap in the curtains and warms my face, and I turn toward it on instinct. Lucien makes a sleepy noise behind me before his arm tightens around my waist and drags me backward against his chest.