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Seth set the tray down on the coffee table and handed around the mugs. Then he leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up.
“You get everything ironed out, Seth?” Dillon asked.
Seth nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to go back to Denver tomorrow and tie up all my loose ends there. Shouldn’t take me more than a few days. ”
Michael turned to Lily. “Want to come hang out with me at the office while Seth does his thing? Lots of critters to see. ”
Lily’s face lit up. “That sounds fun. I love animals. ”
As Seth settled back to sip at his hot chocolate, he looked around at a new family in the making, and despite his initial reservations, hope and anticipation, and most of all, satisfaction gripped him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Three days later, Lily held a pitifully mewling cat in her arms while she waited for Michael to complete his assessment. She stroked her fingers over her ears and murmured nonsense words in an effort to soothe her.
The poor thing was bedraggled, cold and hungry to boot.
“What will happen to her?” Lily asked anxiously.
The cat had been dumped at the door of the clinic in a box a few minutes after Michael had closed the clinic. By the time they heard her plaintive wails, the cat had been half dead from the cold.
Michael grimaced. “We’ll feed her, make sure she’s healthy and no serious problems and then we’ll try to find a home for her. But I’ll be honest. I get a lot of castoffs here, and I simply don’t have the room to board them all. I usually have to call the shelter over in Gunnison. ”
“But don’t they put animals to sleep if they can’t find homes?”
She tried to keep the stress from her voice because she knew Michael wasn’t any happier about this than she was, and he was right, he couldn’t take in every stray that came across his doorstep.
Michael’s eyes softened. “They’ll try to find a home for her first. Euthanization is a last resort. ”
Lily looked down at the bundle of fur and felt tears crowding the edges of her eyes. She stroked the cat and felt the answering vibration of purring.
Then she looked back up at Michael, her expression pleading. “Couldn’t we take her? I mean home? I don’t want her to die just because someone didn’t want her anymore. ”
Michael blew out his breath and then looked between her and the cat. Then he lifted his gaze to hers again, his eyes troubled. He touched her cheek and softly caressed.
“Is that how you felt, Lily? Like no one wanted you anymore?”
The ache grew in her chest as she struggled with her emotions. “Maybe I just didn’t feel like I deserved to have people to love me,” she whispered.
“Aw, Lily. You have such a big heart. I can’t imagine anyone not loving you, and furthermore, if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to make damn sure that not only do you know you deserve it, but that you expect it. ”
She dropped her gaze to the cat who’d snuggled into her arms.
“She deserves a home and someone to love her too. ”
“I have this feeling that you’re going to be impossible to ever win an argument with,” he said ruefully. “I can’t think of a single reason to tell you no. ”
Lily lifted her gaze back to Michael. “So I can keep her?”
He dragged a hand through his hair and pulled it behind him in a makeshift ponytail. “Yeah, you can keep her. God help me. Dillon’s going to have a coronary. ”
“Dillon doesn’t like pets?”
“More like the thought of a cat scratching up his custom wood is going to give him a seizure,” Michael said with a grin.
“I’ll take good care of her and keep her off Dillon’s wood,” Lily said solemnly.
Michael pulled her in and kissed her hair. “I’m just giving you a hard time, baby. We’ll pack her up after I’ve finished my exam. She’ll need worming I’m sure and we should treat her for fleas before we take her into the house. I have cat food here and we can bring a few bags home so she’ll have what she needs. ”
“And a litter box?” Lily asked. “I don’t want her to be outside in the cold. She needs to stay inside. ”
“And a litter box,” Michael agreed. “She can take up residence in the mud room. ”
Lily clapped her hands together in delight and then threw her arms around Michael, scaring the cat in the process. She leaped to the neighboring counter and stared suspiciously as Lily danced around the room, holding tight to Michael.
Michael laughed. “Easy there. You’re making me dizzy. ”
“Thank you,” Lily exclaimed. Then she reached up and kissed him full on the lips.
He caught her against him, cradling the back of her head in his palm as he kissed her. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips, demanding entry. With a breathless sigh, she opened and let him in. His taste seeped into her mouth and floated through her veins until all she could breathe, smell or taste was him.
When he drew away, his eyes were half-lidded and glittering with desire. His hands wandered idly over her hips and up her sides to her breasts.
Then he walked her back until the small of her back met the edge of the exam table. He planted his hands on the table on either side of her, effectively trapping her.
“Shouldn’t we be going?” Lily asked innocently.
“Kiss me again, and I’ll take you and your cat home for dinner. ”
“Bully,” she grumbled, but she melted against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He smelled good. Tasted even better. She delved her fingers into his hair, letting the strands slide over the tips as he kissed her senseless.
They were both hungry and breathless. His arousal pressed into her belly, hard and urgent.
The cat meowed and jumped back onto the exam table to run against Lily’s side. Michael drew away with a muffled curse when the cat sank her claws into his arm.
“Damn cat. Already encroaching on my territory,” he grumbled.
Lily giggled and leaned into Michael. “Take me and our new kitty home and feed us. We’re hungry. ”
Lily fussed over the food and water bowls and then made sure the litter was situated just right before locking the cat into the mud room until she was better acquainted with her surroundings.
When she went back into the living room, Michael was standing in front of the couch, his eyes hooded. She was immediately wary. Arousal and lust was heavy in the air. Thick, so thick it prickled up her nape.
She stopped in the doorway, her hand resting on the frame. He was looking at her like he was about to pounce. Her pulse raced and her breath caught in her throat until her lungs burned.
He crooked his finger in her direction. The power in his gaze and the command in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine.
