Page 25 of When You Became Mine

She frowned, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I followed her hand as it squeezed the back of her neck, and the urge to replace her fingers with my own hit me. Instead, I shook my head and squeezed my own aching neck, an attempt to keep my fingers from betraying me and reaching out to her.

“Where am I going to sleep?” she murmured, staring at the house.

I groaned when I remembered that the only bed set up in my house was my own. Hampton’s promise of her not being a burden had already been broken.

I raked my hand across my face and with a sigh told her, “You can sleep in my room. I’ll crash on the couch tonight.”

“I can’t force you out of your own bed, Lawson.”

I bit my tongue to keep from agreeing with her and reassured her once more that it was fine before ushering her inside. I’d barely cracked the door when Seven appeared, meowing loud enough to make her displeasure known.

Piper froze. “You have a cat?”

I scooped her into my arms and while scratching her head turned to Piper. “More like the cat has a human. But, yeah. This is Seven.”

I always thought Seven had the biggest eyes I’d ever seen, but they were buttons compared to the saucers that were on Piper’s face. She stumbled backward and with a hand over her mouth wailed. “I’m allergic to cats.” With one final step back, she was out of the house and once again on the porch. “Oh, God, I can’t live here!”

I chuckled. “You’re not allergic to cats.”

“Yes, I am!” she snapped.

I shook my head, still scratching a now purring Seven behind the ears. “Pippie, I was there. Remember?”

“Shit, I guess you were. Well, still. I can’t live with a cat.”

When Seven began to squirm, I dropped her to the floor. They say cats are skittish, but it was Piper who nearly jumped out of her skin when Seven began to wind through her legs. Piper yelped and I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped my lips.

“Quit being an asshole, Lawson!”

I ducked my head in shame and apologized. “I’m sorry. Do you tell everyone you’re allergic?”

“I can’t very well tell people that a twenty-pound mama cat attacked me when I was ten and ever since then anything that has retractable claws makes me wet my pants, now can I?” Even though she was scowling, her blue eyes were filled with humor, brighter than they’d been all day.

“Poor Piper, all she wanted to do was hold the baby kitties.”

She shrugged. “They were really cute.”

I nodded in agreement. “So, you gonna come inside? Or would you rather sleep in a pallet on the porch?”

She briefly contemplated the merits of sleeping outside before coming inside and tiptoeing around the cat. “Seriously. If I’d known their mother was from the pits of hell, I’d probably still have tried to pet them. I would’ve just sent you in the bushes first.”

“You always were a giver,” I muttered. “This way, I’ll give you the quick tour of the house.”

She followed me down the hall, checking over her shoulder to see Seven following us.

I didn’t tell her that the cat was used to sleeping in the bed with me. I hoped she didn’t scare Piper in the middle of the night.

On second thought, maybe I did.

“Rise and shine.” Her sing-songy voice invaded my dreams like a kudzu vine on a tree. I rolled over and pushed up to an elbow, glancing across the living room to the clock on the TV.

Six-fifteen.

“Are you fuckin kiddin me?” I grumbled before flopping back down onto the couch and pulling the down blanket farther up my body.

I could hear her footsteps drawing closer, but I refused to open my eyes. “I was up till four a.m. trying to catch up on work I missed while moving you out yesterday.”

It was only partially true. I had been up that late working, but it was only because I couldn’t get comfortable on the couch, knowing Piper was asleep in my house. Down the hall. In my bed.

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