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“Remember you said—” Tex stopped in his tracks. “What the hell is all this stuff?”

A mountain of boxes were stacked on both sides of the door. A few had the brand names on display. The moment Tex read them, he turned to me.

“You bought him a cat tree?”

I shook my head. “I bought him four cat trees. Two can go upstairs, one in the living room and the other is mounted on the walls.”

Tex’s jaw dropped as he continued to stare at me. I squinted, trying to decipher if it was a good or bad thing. Is he upset or possibly annoyed?

“What about the rest of the boxes?” Tex asked.

I opened the door, and he walked in with Penelope in his cage. He sat him down and helped bring in the boxes.

“I read that cats enjoy small places to nap. I don’t want boxes littered around the place, so I got a few alcoves for Pen to sleep in. To avoid him ruining my furniture, I got six scratching posts.”

Tex whistled. “That’s a little overkill, don’t you think? Pen is one cat unless you’re thinking about getting your own.”

I shook my head. “It has never crossed my mind.”

He stopped moving and I was forced to work the large box around him.

“What… what about when, you know.”

My head tilted as I tried to come up with the answer. “I don’t know.”

Tex groaned. “Whatever this is.” He pointed between us. “Is… I don’t know, done.”

I ate up the distance between us in four easy strides. My hand circled his neck as I pulled him close. “I thought I made myself clear; I am no longer giving you chances to leave me.”

Tex’s eyebrows dipped. “And when you go to jail?” He cleared his throat and stood up taller. “I’m a cop. You’re the bad guy.”

I stared into his eyes. “You weren’t very good in school.”

He blinked at me. “What, why would you say that?”

I let him go no matter how much I wanted to march him upstairs and ruin him until he couldn’t think of anything but being under me.

“You’re shit at listening.” I grabbed another box and handed it to him. “I’m never letting you go, Tex Caster.”

* * *

“Okay,got the last piece up. What are you making?” Tex asked.

He peeked over my shoulder as I stirred the food.

“Fuck, it smells good.” He groaned in my ear.

My body heated instantly, my cock stiffening. His chest was pressed against my back and I could make out the hard ridges of his body through the thin t-shirt.

“Step back,” I said.

Cool air greeted my back, and I almost asked for him to come back. Black hair flopped over Tex’s eyebrows as he moved to the side. His gaze was heavy on the side of my face, and I fought not to react.

“Why?”

“You distract me, and risotto is a delicate dish.”

“I’m distracting you? How?”