Page 44 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

Even a stranger who’s kissed the living hell out of me.And left me wanting more—so much more.

“Load it up and haul it away.”I step into the doorway, Pussy in my arms.

“It’s memory foam.”

I laugh at his superhuman pigheadedness.“I don’t care if it’s made of rainbows and angel wings.I don’t want it.”

He turns to face me.I see that he’s quite pleased with himself.“I also brought a portable solar generator and a solar-powered water heater, two comfortable camp chairs, thirty gallons of drinking water, a battery-operated heater, and a cellphone you can use in an emergency.I’ve programmed in my numbers if you need to reach me.There’s coverage up here, believe it or not.”

“Again, no.Toeverything.”I point a shaking index finger at him and then the trailer.“Dump it all back and get moving.I’m done with this shit.”

He takes two steps closer to me, and I take two steps back.

“I brought more shelf-stable food, too, and a cooler with other things,” he continues.“Plus, pillows and flannel sheets and some canned cat food, though I don’t know what he likes.”

“She.Her name’sPussy,remember?Who would name a male catPussy?”

“Oh.Right.”He pauses, as if he’s giving the matter serious thought.“I’ve known my share of men who were complete pussies, though.My brother Declan, for example.”

I stare at him, my mind suddenly blank.I don’t understand this.What the hell is he even doing?Why is he bringing me all this shit?Did he just tell a joke?And…

I glance down at the slowly expanding crescent roll.MacLaine just dragged a mattress up the mountainside with him.He’s delivered a damnbed.

“You have a lot of nerve, cowboy,” I mutter, turning away and walking toward the firepit.

“Right.Of course.Your Pussy is definitely ashe.Wait.That didn’t come out right.”

With my back still to him, I roll my eyes.If I weren’t in survival mode, this might even be comical.I might even enjoy this guy.

I know I would, and that’s the hell of it.

Right now, I’m just trying to stay alive.I don’t have time for hopeless attraction or flirting.I can’t be making friends, and I don’t need a hot stranger pushing me up against the wall and kissing the holy fuck out of me.

There’s no time for any of it.No point.

“I sincerely apologize for that kiss.I had no right—”

“Just go, Kevin.”

“I can’t do that.”

I spin around to find him standing close behind me.He’s not wearing his poker face.Instead, he looks absolutely tortured.Unsure of himself.Worried, even.It’s not what I expect from a man who’s mastered the art of being stone-faced.

I’m not sure what exactly I expect, but it isn’t this.

“Hold up,” he says, racing off to the trailer.MacLaine grabs a folding chair and some kind of carrying case and comes back to me.

“Please.Have a seat.”He snaps open the camp chair with one hand and pats the nylon seat to ensure it’s stable.Then he places the insulated case on the flat stump.The arrangement looks a lot like an armchair and side table.

I don’t move.

“Come on, Boots.I brought you a comfort food sampler.You’ve got to be starving.”

“You don’t know me well enough to give me a nickname.”

He shrugs and uses his pointer finger to tip his cowboy hat back away from his eyes.When he looks down at me, I swear I see those eyes sparkle.

“You’re right.I don’t know you well, but I want to.That’s why I can’t walk away.”