Page 27 of Lost & Found

I affectionately scratched behind his head. His eyes were fixated on me, as if he understood each word I said. The mangy rescue we’d chosen had very distinct sounding purrs available in his arsenal.

On rare occasions it was delicate and so utterly silent you had to put your ear against him to hear; then other times it was abrupt and spontaneous, coming in spurts. But my favorite was the one he was giving off now—a thundering, snoring sound—reminding me of a lion.

Every once in a while, he’d get the hiccups and snort. Kinsley liked to tease, saying he was having a “purr-gasm.” Without warning, he turned his head and side-eyed me hard.

“Oh, so now you’re going to start in on me, too? Is that what’s happening here?” My fingers momentarily paused on his back. The damn thing had the nerve to put its paw to my lips as if to say, “You could use a game night, let off some steam.”

I brushed the paw to the side and scratched behind his ears. “Don’t look like that. I’ve come so far. Ask Marcel, he’ll tell you. Or maybe he won’t seeing as we have that patient/client relationship and all. But you can trust me. I’ve made progress. I leave the house every day now.”

He meowed, and with one final side-eye, moved away. Even he didn’t believe it. I leaned back against the fluffy pillows on my bed as my gaze wandered to the ceiling. I counted the pattern of stars I’d painstakingly painted in a glow-in-the-dark paint.

I had another appointment with Marcel coming up. He was going to ask, and my attempts to start his homework assignment were pathetic at best. It only existed in my head, and the make-believe paper it was written on was scratched through several times over, wadded up, and then smoothed out once again.

“I’m going to make the list, I promise,” I said.

“What list is that?”

I jumped. My heart thudded hard inside my chest as I bolted upright. Pasha stood casually in my doorway, watching me.

“So we’ve stopped knocking now? I could have been changing.”

“No, you lock the door when you don’t want anyone in. It was unlocked and actually ajar. I knocked several times. Maybe you need to get your hearing checked. What lies are you telling, PF?”

He strolled in like he owned the place, and it hit me. I didn’t mind his presence here, even though it was my safe space.

“You going to judge me now, too? Why aren’t you down there giving a strip tease dance or shoving your tongue in some clubbie’s—”

“Pussy?” he asked before plopping down at the end of my bed.

Phineas abandoned me for him. Thank God for low lighting, as my cheeks burned. The thought of him on his knees, face first in a woman’s pussy, flashed through my head. It did strange things to me. I pushed those feelings aside.

“I was going to say mouth…what are you doing here?”

His gaze flicked up to meet mine as he stroked the cat. Mine was drawn to his hands and the length of his fingers. Don’t even get me started on the veins. I gulped.

“I wasn’t in the mood tonight.”

“Oh, poor thing. Was your favorite girl working tonight and couldn’t get off?”

I rolled my eyes. I knew for a fact Kinsley had invited a few extras tonight, one specifically for Sebastian and one for him. Knowing my brother, if it was a couples’ night only, then he’d have two at his disposal and was living the life.

“I’ve plenty of favorites. But like I said, I’m not in the mood.” He shrugged.

I vaguely wondered if it had something to do with the encounter with Hannah earlier today. I didn’t press the issue, but was clearly preoccupied with some deep thoughts. Phineas climbed onto his chest, proceeded to knead it and purr.

Narrowing my eyes, I scoffed. “You know I had high hopes for you when you first arrived on the scene.”

“I know. You expressed them before. I was touched then, and I’m touched now that you care so much. I’m also sorry to have disappointed the princess of Crimson Hall.”

I rolled my eyes. He’d taken to calling my room that due to the color scheme.

“Just because you’ve become an official member—”

Laughter poured from him as he smirked. “Excuse me? I’ve technically been a member since that night at Tori’s old place. You remember that night, yeah?”

His eyes flicked up to mine, and the breath caught in my throat. Did I remember that night? Stupid question. I hadn’t been able to forget that night and not for the reason that a man lost his life, either. No, it was for an entirely different reason.

He was watching with a strange expression on his face. Was he thinking about it as well? Heat stole through my cheeks as I remembered the way he took me from Sebastian and ushered me from the basement of torture. In an instant, I was there.