“Oh!”
That was easy.
“I only wanted to tell you that I was… entranced by your gorgeous style.” I can practically see Eva banging her head against the table behind me. Excuse me, woman, but not all of us are experts in flirting with other females. Not that I’m flirting!
I chat her up, making sure that we’re on the same page when it comes to me not meaning to be a bitch. Like I said, I have nothing against this woman, and the last thing I need – as Eva mentioned – is Ethan Cole thinking I slighted his girlfriend.
Yet if I didn’t know this woman’s background before, it becomes painfully obvious now when she loses the words for things that are so simple in our world. She struggles to be articulate, and yet she isn’t a terrible conversationalist.
Besides, there are other more pressing things to talk about. Like this basket full of cats.
“Aren’t they adorable?” Jasmine plucks one out, a mischievous tabby with sparkling blue eyes. It clutches her shoulder and holds itself there. “These are the cats we found on our property up in the Hills. They’re cute, but such a handful… I’ve been trying to find homes for them, but it’s not like the old days when I could sit on the side of the street with a box full of kittens… I guess people around here aren’t really into cats.”
“Unfortunately not. People here prefer their lapdogs.” I look into the basket. How many are there? Six kittens? Five? Seven? It’s hard to tell where some end and others begin.
This basket seems to be pulling double-duty as Jasmine’s purse. Sectioned off to the side is an open compartment full of the usual things a woman carries. A wallet. Change purse. Small makeup case. A spare tampon.
A collar.
I glance away before she notices me looking at it. Shit, I’d almost forgotten that Ethan Cole was also a kinkster, let alone that I’ve seen this couple at The Dark Hour a time or two. Jasmine does not come off as submissive, if you ask me. So if she’s carrying around her collar, it’s because she has to be ready to go at her boyfriend’s whim.
Flashes of Ian presenting me with my own training collar enters my mind. He said it would help me know when we were doing a scene or “being ourselves,” wherever that line is blurred now.
Maybe it’s the same for this girl. Maybe her boyfriend – and Dom – set up the same situation to keep her placated and him pleased. Now I’m looking in this woman’s face and wondering how many times she’s worn this collar.
Before she can question me, I look into the basket again, where at least four kittens are piling on top of each other. Ian has a cat. A really pretty cat. Last time I spent the night with him I woke up to find that cat curled up next to me and purring like a happy motor box.
I’ve always liked animals.
Chapter 16
KATHRYN
Ian opens his door to find me holding a cat.
He promptly tries to close it again.
“Hey!” I whack my hand against the door and then squeeze through the tight opening, scoffing at his attitude. The cat in my arms wiggles, but I made sure to pick out the most docile one. A cute black and white female with what looks like a patch over her eye and a heart on her butt.
Awwww.
“What is that?”
I face him, cat prominently in my arms. “It’s a cat, dumbass. Thought maybe we could have a play date with our kitties.”
Sure enough, his cat perks up from the couch, stretching and pretending that it doesn’t care about the new feline intruder.
“I’m not sure if you’re crazy or just batshit.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t get her for you.” I cuddle the kitty against my chin. At this very moment I have Anita out buying everything I need for a kitty. Beds. Bowls. Food and flea medicine. Brushes, Oh, and a litter box. And litter.
I’m very dedicated to this cat I surreptitiously plucked from another woman’s basket.
“What brought this on? I didn’t think you were into animals.”
Ian leans against his kitchen counter, drinking coffee. He’s dressed like he’s about to go out to a business meeting. It’s hot, but doesn’t scream “fuck me now” like his usual outfits do. In all honesty, I don’t get the vibe he’s in the mood. Fine with me. I’m only stopping by anyway.
“I like animals. Just because I didn’t have one before now…”
“All right, all right.”
My smile won’t get off my face. “Her name is Sinéad.”
“Sinéad?”
“What? At least you can pronounce this name. Unlike, uh…” His cat is draped along the back of the couch, waiting for me to fuck up its name.
Ian does not look amused. “Saoirse.”
“Seer-sha…”
A meow sounds in the not far-off distance.
“So let me get this straight.” He doesn’t offer me coffee. He doesn’t kiss me hello. This Ian Mathers is the one I’ve known for years, although there were no problems with me strolling in here like I belong here. “You randomly get a cat that looks like it could be related to mine… and also give it an Irish name.”
“I was inspired, okay?”
“Apparently.”
“You make it sound like I don’t know how to take care of a cat. I’ll have you know that my mother had tons of them while I was growing up. One even spent most of its time in my room when it got old. Okay, so I’ve never cleaned out a litter box before…” I see it, Ian. I see you grinning behind your coffee cup. “But I’ve got a cleaner to help me with that. I know how to feed and love on a kitty. Hey, I’ve put up with you before, haven’t I?”
“Har har. You’re so funny, Kathryn.”
“What’s gotten into you?”
He gestures his cup toward me. “Not pussy, that’s for sure.”
“Tasteful.”
“Fine. I suppose I’m annoyed because…”
“Kathryn!”
Oh, no.
I hear Caroline’s voice long before I see her out of the corner of my eye. There she is, the woman who used to look at me as an equal, if not a younger version of herself. Now here she is, her lip trembling as she looks between me and her son. Don’t do it, Caroline. You’re making my new fur-child squirm in my arms.
“Look at you two!” She struggles to do it, but somehow Caroline plants a hand on both of our shoulders. “Having a lover’s chat in such an intimate setting as this. Oh, Kathryn, you should come have dinner with Ian and me!”
“Kathryn was about to leave,” Ian says, putting down his coffee cup and shrugging his mother’s hand off him. “She’s got a long day tomorrow. Was just telling me that she has to go to bed early, but wanted me to see her new cat she got.”
Caroline looks at Sinéad. “It must be related to Saoirse! Look at these markings… oh, a little heart!”
She’s practically screeching. Caroline, the woman who is known to bust balls and take no prisoners in the board room if it means the advancement of her bottom line. She’s shrieking over a cat, because she’s somehow perceiving it as being a link between her son and me.
Dear Lord help me.
“He’s right, I really must be going.” I accept a kiss on my cheek, although Caroline is this close to squishing my kitty. “Sorry to have disrupted your night.”
I see myself out, grateful to have missed that onslaught. No wonder Ian was standoffish toward me. Any sign of affection caught by his mother? We’d both be dead from the Saccharin.
Sure enough, I get a text in the elevator.
“Sorry about that. Didn’t want her being even more annoying than she already is. The cat is cute. Look forward to seeing it at your place sometime. ;)”
Why am I so jittery? Why does the thought of Ian being in my apartment for a change make me want to pet the shit out of this cat?