Page 45 of Whiskers on Kittens

“We can spar if you would like to work out your nerves. I am confident in my ability to defend myself from you.” He seized me by the hips and picked me up. “You may weigh up to a hundred and thirty pounds, but that is being generous. I would guess a little less. Your diminutive stature has something to do with that guess.”

I tested his strength through ineffective struggling, giggling at how little force he used while still managing to keep me contained. “You’re going to end up sitting on the shower floor while I crawl all over you to get that crap out of your fur. Maybe we’ll get lucky and clog the Devil’s pipes.”

Easton set me back on my feet. “You wish to work out your anger through grooming?”

“Yep.”

“Then we shall do this. I am angry, but I got to lift heavy furniture, and knowing I stole their shit truly helped. However, what is going to happen with all that cash we found?”

“Finders keepers,” I informed him. “I found it, I get to keep it. I will be funneling it into trusts for the victims and anti-trafficking organizations if anything is left over. I’m not going to appreciate the administrative work involved with managing the trust, but I’ll deal with it.”

While it took a few minutes and a venture to Lucifer’s indoor pool, an entire ballroom, a salon with a liquor collection rivaling mine, and several sitting rooms, we located the bedrooms and their adjacent bathrooms. As we deserved the best, we checked each one until finding the largest, which happened to be stocked with an excessive amount of shampoos and conditioners. I checked the labels to determine they had been left on purpose, which ones were best suited to dogs, and which ones were best suited for divine felines. That Lucifer called Easton a dog while addressing me as a divine feline amused me enough I showed the hybrid the labels.

“Well, I did bark at an archangel today. I deserve to be called a dog.”

I giggled, stepped into the shower, which was plenty spacious enough to handle even a hybrid, and found the operation panel for the shower, which allowed me to pre-set the water so we wouldn’t get any cold or hot surprises. I set the temperature, hit the button to heat the water, and stepped out before shucking out of my clothes and kicking them in the direction of the trashcan. “I’ll buy replacements, but those are getting burned in his fireplace tonight.”

“There was a fireplace in the salon.” Easton scooped up the clothes, shook his head over the loss of the lacy bra, and bounded off, returning a short time later without my clothes. “There might be fleas.”

Gross. “You’re probably right.” I stepped into the shower, turned on the water, and grinned as the entire ceiling became a deluge. “Come on in and bring the dog shampoo with you. This is going to take a while, but at least we’ll be able to get you good and wet.”

Huffing, Easton hesitated at the threshold, tested the water, and stepped in, careful not to destroy the tiles with his claws. As I had no hope in hell of reaching his head and he knew it, he sat on the floor, which put his head at my eye level.

Ah, self-inflicted torture. Was there anything better? I worked my fingers into his cinnamon fur, growl-chuffing my pleasure over the soft texture, which became slick and silky when wet. Once I worked out the worst of the surface grime, I grabbed the first bottle, dumped a bunch into my palm, and lathered him up, taking care to avoid his eyes although I did clean his muzzle as he’d turned a rather dusty gray. I killed every bottle of the dog labeled shampoo before turning off the shower and working the first bottle of conditioner into his fur. “I’ll give Lucifer credit on this one. He understands the importance of fur care—and he’s willing to pay the ridiculous price to make sure your fur emerges without mats. Let the conditioner set so you reach peak fluffiness.”

He rose and stared down the length of his muzzle at me. “I was unaware peak fluffiness was a consideration.”

“I’m a cat, Easton. Peak fluffiness is always a consideration. And after I get rinsed, it’s your turn to shampoo and condition my fur. At least my hair is easy. I’ll shampoo and condition it while your conditioner sets. That much fur needs extra soaking time especially as you’re rocking two coats.” I kicked all the empty shampoo bottles out of the shower, grabbed the next bottle of conditioner, and started with his legs and worked my way up. I handed over the bottle so he could handle his private matters on his own while I addressed his lower back, admiring the general scenery. “There is so much fur to love and snuggle with here. You’re getting top points, Easton.”

“Should you be admitting that while you’re in the shower with me?”

“If I didn’t want you looking, I would have stayed clothed. Anyway, I’m not all that body shy. I’m a lycanthrope, and my clothes fall off when I transform if I don’t somehow shred them with my claws. I destroy a shameful number of outfits transforming without stripping first. I try to strip first. It’s cheaper that way.” Once I could no longer reach, I had him sit down and dumped an entire bottle of conditioner on his head and worked it into his fur. “Unlike other cats, I like the water when wearing my fur coat. I think it comes from being a tree cat species that lives in a place where it rains often. Some clouded leopards live in dryer climates, but I suspect I am one of the rainforest varieties.”

“Is that what you are? A clouded leopard?”

“I am, indeed, feline perfection.” Once done, I grabbed the shampoo meant for humans, made use of the handheld faucet, soaked my hair, and soaped up, doing a brisk cleaning before rinsing off and conditioning my hair. “After our shower, we’re going to end up sorting through paperwork. The angels will have purified the paperwork for us; I caught them using holy fire on some things while we were clearing the places out. I expect we’re going to be angry all day. Rage is a good way to keep us awake until it’s the right time to go to bed.”

“And this place is large enough to handle us running around to vent off some steam.”

“His floors won’t be the same, but that’s his problem.”

“Are you aware that you are very callously disregarding the Devil?”

“I’m quite aware. If he didn’t want me doing it, he’d send me to his many hells or tell me to stop. As such, he probably likes that I’m bold enough to do what I want, when I want, and how I want.” Satisfied the conditioner had enough time to soak into his double coat, I turned the shower back on and went to work getting it all out. “You’re going to take forever to dry off, though.”

“That would be an understatement.”

“I’ll abuse the Devil and see if he can give you a magical blow dry. There will be no moldy fur when I can stop it, and you needed that bath. We both did. Those houses were filthy.”

“On the outside, it seemed like such a pleasant street. On the inside? It was worse than what I imagined possible.” Easton helped as much as he could, but even with both of us, it took an exhausting amount of time to get all the residue out. “I should apologize for this.”

“I volunteered. In fact, I’m pretty sure I sauntered right on into the shower and did a come hither to get you in here with me. If the Devil hadn’t wanted to pay for your bath, he wouldn’t have provided the bottles—the exact amount needed for your fur.”

“Ten of each for me, and one of each for you. The size differential here is disturbing. Is the conditioner out of your hair? If so, shift, and I’ll return the favor. It’s not as much work, but you probably don’t get anyone working your coat often.”

“More like never. I could ask my parents, but I am far too independent to go ask my mommy and daddy for help with my coat.” I took care retrieving the bottle of shampoo and conditioner, handed them over, and went about the important work of shifting into my feline form. To prove I had zero problems with the water, I bounced under the stream and went to the important work of batting around an abandoned cap we’d missed in the initial cleaning.

After making certain I was soaked from the tip of my nose to my tail, he turned off the shower, soaped me up, and had me lathered within minutes, although he took his time massaging the bubbles deep into my coat.