Ben chuckled. “Iama fixer. I just fix living animals instead of inanimate objects.” He patted my hand. “I take no offense. It’s natural for you to be curious.” He grabbed his bag. “Well, let me know if you have any further questions or problems with him.” He saluted. “Good luck, Leto Villa!”
Aiwin opened the door for him, and showed him out, and I looked at my cat, who was grooming himself nonchalantly.
“Hmm,” I said.
Draven laughed. “This is going to be a fun pairing. I can already tell.”
“We live to amuse,” I said drolly.
Chapter5
Mia
It would not be an understatement to say that during the next week I put in just as many hours researching everything there was to know about my familiar as I did in my vampire assistant duties.
In fact, I’d researched tigers so much that I was now dreaming of tigers and could recite how to care for and feed them in my sleep. I learned everything I could get my hands on regarding a tiger familiar’s growth, physiology, and psychology.
For example, I knew he needed to eat lots of meat and a little bit of grasses. I knew where he liked to sleep (he’d taken over my beanbag, the scamp), and I knew that he would just about die for belly rubs. I knew how much sleep he needed, and I also learned, quite by accident, that swimming with my tiger was not conducive to my health.
One warm spring day, I decided the sunshine was too amazing to stay inside. I’d already finished my work for the day, and was itching to try the pool I’d not tried yet, so I put on my turquoise tankini, grabbed a towel, sunscreen, snack and hat, and shoved it all in myI♥Beachesbag.
My familiar, somehow knowingwe were going to the pool, politely nudged me out of the way with his big, scruffy head so he could exit our room first, and led the way out of the villa to the backyard.
The pool had huge rock formations, and waterfalls that dripped into a gigantic, deep blue pool. The bottom was a darker color than I was used to seeing in pools, almost black. It had stairs that led down, and looked like something you’d see on a front page, full color shot inBetter Homes and Gardens.
There were tons of lounge chairs and tables set up around it, with large, colorful umbrellas. There was also a little pool room that had a bathroom and outdoor shower, a small kitchen, an outdoor grill and a full fridge loaded with sugary snacks and all kinds of drinks.
I put my stuff down onto a table, switched my water bottle out with a colder one from the fridge, and took a long drink. The day was really warm, but the sun felt good on my skin. Draven kept the temperature in the villa at a balmy 65 degrees. Penguins would be quite happy here.
My tiger, meanwhile, was following me with his eyes like I was his sun and moon. He’d been doing that for days, and I still couldn’t get over the fact that I had a familiar.
A familiar that was a tiger.
I kept expecting to wake up in my old apartment, having dreamed the last few months. My life now was so different from what it had been a mere two months ago that I sometimes felt like an imposter.
My tiger’s beautiful black, white, and gray fur rippled a little with the slight breeze we were getting from the ocean, and he kept staring at me.
“I need to figure out your name. I can’t keep calling youmy tiger.”
He snorted and made that chuffing sound.
Aww. So cute. He was happy. I went over to give him hugs. Except, he thought this meant that I was ready to swim, because he bumped with his huge head right over the edge and into the pool.
“Ack!”
Splash!
I spit water out of my mouth, having taken in a whole lake-full because I had been screaming as I’d gone in. My familiar looked at me with big, amber, kitty eyes in apology as I scowled at him.
“Ugh. Not fair that you already know how to use those.”
And then he jumped in, swam over, and tried to sit in my lap.
“You don’t fit!” I squeaked, trying to shove him off me. “What are you doing? There’s an entire pool to swim in!” I kept trying to push him away, but he was like taffy in the warm sun, impossible to separate from my person.
And that was how my boss found me.
Me, trying not to drown with a 200 lb, not fully grown tiger on my lap. And my kitty cat mewling in distress every time I tried to push him off of me.
