Page 68 of Whiskers on Kittens

“You’ll make the lycanthrope jealous, my darling.”

I was jealous? I eyed Easton, and after a few moments, I shrugged. “He is a pretty handsome specimen for a wolf. I would be doing the world a major injustice if I prevented other women from enjoying the view. Anyway, he can posture for whomever he wants until the point he is mated, and even then, he can posture all he wants, but he can only touch his mate. Those are the rules.”

“Since when?” Lucifer asked in a curious tone.

“Since I said it.”

The Devil considered it, and then he joined me in shrugging. “That seems fair. What do you have to say about that, wolf?”

“It seems like a fair arrangement assuming it’s mutually shared by all single, adult parties in this penthouse of the lycanthrope bent.” Easton glanced in the direction of the sitting room, which had been taken over by an entire flock of succubi the last time I’d checked. “I doubt you could get some of the adults in this penthouse to abide by those rules even if you tried.”

“It’s true. I made those little demonesses and devils quite well.”

I took several deep breaths to calm my nerves. “How do their parents handle them?”

“They try their best, but at first, they were concerned they had bitten off more than they can chew. They got support from their families, which helped,” Lucifer replied. “By the time you’re headed back to Chicago, you’ll be an old hat at managing them, especially with the help of the other adults with you. You’re mostly overwhelmed because this is new territory for you. Should you decide to have an entire litter, you will have plenty of assistance from your neighbors, your vampire friends, and even the forces of hell. I wouldn’t trust that heavenly lot. They might teach your kittens good habits.”

“Heaven forbid,” Easton stated in a dry voice.

TWENTY-TWO

The demons and devils adored the attention.

In the weeks before Christmas, we took the kittens to every big amusement park between New York and Florida with a herd of succubi and incubi in tow. On the days we didn’t go to a park, we hit up a mall, aquarium, or museum instead. It took six shopping ventures, but we finished all the Christmas shopping necessary to appease everyone. As I would become bankrupt if I allowed the kittens to go unchecked, I’d limited each kitten to ten purchases each per mall.

They stuck to the limit for the most part.

We fell into a routine, one that left me exhausted but satisfied with my life. Each night, we camped out at a new hotel close to our next destination. I did as much work as I could in two hours while Easton entertained the children through reading stories and playing games, careful to insist they stay quiet so I could concentrate.

During the trip, I received offers for six more lucrative jobs, which I personally passed on to colleagues, keeping the one project for myself.

I would find out more about the work in January as all parties were willing to play nicely with each other until the start of the year.

I couldn’t justify sitting on contracts needing immediate work.

At the parks, I kept Mollie company most of the time although sometimes her brothers wanted to stay as close to their sister as possible. I recognized the trauma response for what it was, and we worked around it, promising the boys they could all stay in a group if they wanted. It often resulted in a flock of nine adults escorting the five kittens to Mollie’s favorite rides over and over and over, but we dealt with the repetition in silence. We saved our exasperated sighing for in private.

It was their moment to have fun.

Unfortunately for my wallet and sanity, the children wanted photographs at every single ride and exhibit they could get them at, and they wanted photos with everyone. The beleaguered staff handled the request with grace, but in order to make all the children happy, we had to experience the same damned ride up to ten times in a row to get the appropriate combinations of people with the kittens.

The demons and devils adored the attention.

I wanted to find a dark corner so I could cry for a while.

Easton glowed whenever any of the kittens graced him with even a scrap of attention.

As promised, I gathered gift certificates for every amusement park we went to, enough to pay for a visit for the entire family. I also spoke to the management of each hotel, making arrangements for all stays by the family to be charged to one of my credit cards.

Lucifer helped with that.

When the Devil came calling, hotel managers tended to make exceptions, especially when it brought business to their establishments.

At ten in the morning on Christmas Eve, as predicted by the Devil and his wicked wife, we arrived at my home in Chicago. One of Ernesto’s vampires held a spot for us with a big pickup, moving out of our way so we could park the borrowed van. Easton’s cruiser remained in its spot, but my Acura had gone missing sometime during the trip, likely stolen by the Devil or one of the vampires. I eyed my baby’s spot, flexing my hands.

“Temper,” Easton warned, getting out of the van. He eyed my garage as well. “I suspect Lucifer did not approve of your everyday car, Kelsie.”

Someone would pay. The someone would be the Devil, and I’d dye his wife’s fur so he couldn’t glimpse a single one of her spots. Rather than hiss and teach the kittens bad habits, I got out and began the tedious process of herding them out of the vehicle and into the house.