AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, to be that slice of pizza.” Charlie sighed.
Zaide’s grin slowly grew across his face. “I don’t need to be a slice of pizza to make her moan like that.”
“Zaide!” I choked.
Charlie scoffed playfully as he picked up a slice. “Big talk from the titan who was a virgin yesterday.”
“A virgin with a … monster cock, I think you called it.” Zaide raised a brow and also took a slice, sitting down at the table.
Charlie shrugged. “It's not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean.”
I finally burst out laughing. “You two are too much.”
“Tough. You’re stuck with us.” Charlie winked, and warmth bloomed in my head.
No place I’d rather be.
* * *
“God I’min such a food coma,” Charlie moaned as he lay sprawled across the sofa.
"I'm going to bed." Zaide pulled me into his arms and dropped a kiss on my head. He swept his hand down my hair and sighed. "Good night, Little Cat."
"Good night," I whispered as he slipped away, closing our bedroom door behind him.
Charlie opened one eye to squint at me before throwing an arm out to wrap around my leg and bring me closer. I perched on the edge of the sofa in the slightly curved space between his shoulders and hips. His arm moved to wrap around my waist.
His eyes closed again, and I took the time to stare at him. Even as a cat, I’d relished seeing him so relaxed and unguarded, seeing his cheeky grin and mocking brows fall away to reveal someone a little bit lonely and scared, like me. It was almost a religious experience.
Slowly and gently, I brushed my thumb over his brow, repeatedly enjoying how I could touch him now, feel the textures of his skin and hair. His breath tickled my wrists, and I counted the seconds between his inhale and exhale. I felt it growing unsteady and catching.
Finally, his lips parted, and he whispered, "You said you loved me this morning. Did you mean it?"
I sagged, all the air in my body let out with the fierce vulnerability in his face. "Of course, I did. Charlie …" I swallowed, emotions rushing to the surface.
"What?" He sat up so we were eye level and cupped my face.
"When I was a cat, I'd come over to annoy you," I began.
"I remember," he grumbled darkly.
A small smile tugged at my lips. "You were the best part of my day. I loved how you'd grumble at me but still give me attention. I loved that you thought I was a cat but treated me better than the people closest to me did when I was human. You were the kind of man I'd never met before. You fascinated me.
But when you started seeing Lydia, I knew it was more than that. I was jealous. She talked to you and made you smile. She touched you and kissed you, and I couldn't. So, I stopped seeing you because I couldn't let myself get anymore attached. Yet as soon as she was out of your life, I popped round again and imagined I could have you all to myself."
I huffed out a breath and looked up at him, straightening out my fingers so I didn't fidget with them anymore. "I didn't want to be human again. I feared everyone seeing something in me that turned them mean. I didn't want to look at my face and see bruises from centuries past. I didn't want to feel so much pain and suffering ever again. But getting to talk to you, being with you, touching you, made me want to fight those fears. Even before Zaide and the others arrived, if I was ever going to be human, it would be for you. I've loved you for a very long time."
"Clawdicat," he sighed. "I'm so sorry."
My heart stopped. "Sorry? Why?"
"I was a prick to you when you were first human. You must have been so disappointed." He chuckled, and I smiled at him.
"You didn't know what to make of a cat turning human, and that's fine."
"I didn't know what to make of a cat turning into a beautiful woman who I was very attracted to and who already knew all the bad shit about me." He squeezed me and tipped my head back to look up at him. "We've been through a lot in a short amount of time, so I don't want to rush to tell you that I love you, because I think love is in the everyday moments and not in the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it moments. But I can count the number of people on one hand who have loved me in my life, so thank you. I don't know what you see, but I'll try to be worthy of it."
He inched closer and pressed his lips against mine in a kiss that was the opposite to the tentative, soft, questioning kisses Zaide had melted me with. Charlie’s kiss was firm and passionate and took my breath away. A tidal wave of happiness and relief overwhelmed me as I realized I was kissing the man I'd been craving the majority of this life.
