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I quickly shake my head in disgust when I realize I’m having a hate-filled staring contest with the damn thing.
Am I seriously jealous of what may or may not be a cat?
“I won him in a poker game two nights ago and we’re still getting acquainted,” Eric explains, scratching behind the monstrosity’s ears.
“And you couldn’t have come up with a better name than Derrick Alfredo? Something like, oh, I don’t know, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub. . . .” I trail off, wondering how there’s an animal like this even allowed in nature.
“PJ sent me a text yesterday about how Cindy was making fettuccini alfredo, but his phone autocorrected it to Derrick Alfredo, and he meowed when the text came through. I took it as a sign. He looks like a Derrick, doesn’t he?” Eric asks.
“He looks like a gremlin you fed after midnight,” I deadpan.
“As much as I’m enjoying your company and your sparkling personality this morning, is there any particular reason you stopped by? Or was it just to check out my ass when I was bending over to get Derrick?” Eric asks, looking up from the cat to give me a smirk.
Goddamn it all to hell.
“Oh, piss off,” I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest in a huff.
Eric’s eyes trail away from mine to roam down to my cleavage, which my arms are now pushing up and out of the tank top I’m wearing. My body instantly heats with the hungry look in his eyes, and I quickly drop my arms back down to my sides.
I open my mouth to call him a pig when I hear Belle’s voice in my head.
Be kind, be grateful, and smile.
“Is something wrong with your mouth?” Eric asks drolly when I try to smile.
I don’t need a mirror to tell me I look like the grimace emoji, clenching my teeth with my lips pulled back as far as they’ll go.
Blowing out a breath, I run my hand through my long red hair and try one of the other suggestions.
“Why in the hell did you stock my fridge and pantry with food?”
Oh my God, I suck at this.
Eric chuckles, walking away from me and over to the couch, gently setting Derrick down on one of the cushions. He turns back around to face me and slides his hands in the front pockets of his sweatpants, the movement pulling the waistband down a little lower until I have a perfect view of the V indents by either side of his hips.
I will not succumb to the V, I will not succumb to the V. . . .
“What kind of a landlord would I be if I didn’t make sure my tenant doesn’t starve to death?” he asks.
“Which reminds me—how much do I owe you for rent?” I ask.
“You’re not paying me rent,” he scoffs with a shake of his head.
“I most certainly am paying you rent. I’m not a fucking charity case, Eric. Just tell me how much and I’ll pay you.”
I wonder if Cindy and Ariel would be opposed to adding a hooker option to our website. . . . Not that I’d be ready to do something like that, since I can’t even strip at the moment, but, you know . . . I could be a pimp or something. I’ve heard they make good money.
He yanks his hands out of his sweatpants and stalks across the room towards me, his eyes filled with fury that, I’m not gonna lie, is kind of hot after watching him baby that damn cat.
Eric stops when we’re toe-to-toe, shaking his head as he stares down at me.
“I know you’re not a fucking charity case. I’d like to think that we’re becoming friends, and there is no way in hell I’m letting a friend give me any fucking money to crash on one of my yachts. So be nice and just say thank you.”
Did he just friend-zone me? And why do I even care?
“Be kind, be grateful, and smile.”
Since I’ve already fucked up the smiling and kindness bit, I let out a sigh.
“Thank you,” I tell him softly, surprised when my skin doesn’t break out in hives.
My neck is still craned to look up at him, since he’s almost a foot taller than me. I swallow thickly when his eyes never leave mine. He’s standing so close that I can smell the soap on his skin from a shower he must have recently taken, and all sorts of dirty thoughts about him wet and naked in the shower fill my head. It doesn’t take much to imagine it, since he’s already half naked, and I’ve gotten an eyeful of the magnificent top half.
“There, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” he asks with a damn smirk, and the image of him standing in the shower with his hands resting against the tiles as water cascades over his body disappears with a poof.
