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Possessive ass.
Not that she could talk. The brand she’d left on his jaw was far from subtle. Well, she believed in tit for tat.
Deke quickly shed the rest of his clothes and dumped them on the ground. “Try not to piss him off.” He shifted in a smooth, fast movement.
As if to properly settle into his form, the cat shook his thick, gray, white-tipped fur. A small, stout ball of fluff. That was what he looked like. And super cute with his grumpy expression and little tufty ears that had small patches of creamy white fur.
She loved the snow-leopard-type spots that dotted his forehead. They were as dark as the stripes on his cheeks and the rings on his bushy, black-tipped tail.
His amber eyes landed on her; their pupils round, not vertical. There was nothing welcoming in that gaze. It said, Stay the hell back, I’m not in the mood.
She smiled. “Hey, cranky pants.”
He flashed a fang.
“You realize you only prove my point when you snarl, right?”
He let out a rumbly, somewhat haughty sound and then padded away.
She watched him explore the yard. He ran through the tall, wild grass. Took time to mark trees and rocks. Pawed the edges of the pond.
At no point did he play. Intent on changing that, she picked up a couple of little stones that sat near a rockery. Aiming for a spot on the ground near the cat, she threw a stone. It hit home, startling the feline, who predictably hissed at her.
She gave an innocent shrug. “What?” She threw another stone—again, not at him, just close to him.
He let out a super loud growl that would have chilled a lesser female.
“I ain’t afraid of an itty, bitty thing like you.”
Rumbling yet another growl, he stalked toward her.
“Yeah, come on, show me what you got.”
Nearing her, he swiped out a paw, but his claws were sheathed. It was a clear warning to leave him be.
Instead, she fished the ball of string she’d brought from her pocket and then sat on the ground, spreading her legs wide. Unwinding the ball, she tossed the string at his feet.
He glared down at it, sniffing.
She began wiggling the string and then dragged it toward her just a few inches.
He lunged, slamming his paw on the string.
She tugged on it again, swiping it out from beneath his paw, and slowly pulled it toward her once more.
Like before, he pounced on it.
Smiling, she did it again. And again. On and on it went, until he was between her legs, rolling on the ground as he bit at the string he’d managed to grip with his claws.
She kept on lightly tugging at it just to keep him focused on it. Which was likely why he didn’t react when he soon after rolled so close to her that his back crashed into her leg. Rather than freaking out over the physical contact, he stayed like that for long minutes, chewing on the string. The whole time, her snake sulked that she couldn’t join in the fun.
Eventually, he got bored and jumped to his feet. Though he fired a moody look her way, he didn’t snarl. And then bones were snapping and popping as he shifted.
Mirroring her position, Deke pulled her onto his lap so she straddled him. Swiping her hair away from her face, he lightly touched his nose to hers. “You got him to play.”
“I wanted to channel his aggression into something positive.”
His gaze lowered to the abandoned string. “You planned it out.”
“Yep. I didn’t tell you, because then he would have known about it. Did you notice he didn’t get all snarly about the physical contact? Him resting back against my leg was only minor, sure, but I’d still call it progress.”
“It was progress.” Deke slid his arms around her. “He’s currently lazing in my head, more relaxed than he’s been in a while. Thank you for that.”
“No thanks needed. My motives aren’t entirely selfish.” She paused. “Ever.”
His mouth curled. “So this wasn’t simply about helping my cat?”
“No. See, my snake wants to tussle with him. But I don’t see that going well. She has it in her head that he won’t harm her, but I don’t want to take that chance. She’d bite him without hesitation if he so much as scratched her. Then he’d be in pain for hours. We can’t risk it. So I’m also helping him for her sake, too.”
“I appreciate it, whatever your motives.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Gotta get dressed. It’s fucking freezing out here.”
She stood, allowing him to rise to his feet. He dragged on his clothes fast, and she couldn’t blame him. It was seriously nippy. Her ass felt chilled after sitting on the cold ground.
He closed his hand around hers and led her toward the door.
Her brow creased in surprise. “I never took you for a hand-holder.”
