“Grab the cat?” I suggest.
The traitor kitty comes out sniffing the air. What’s this? She likes his scent as much as I do?
Good God.
“On it.” He scoops her up in one hand, and the cat goes limp like a bean bag. A very small bean bag. She tries to lick his fingers. “Now give me the suitcase,” he demands.
I hand it to him without a word, trying to hide the fact I’m checking out the way his biceps bulge so nicely when he lifts it. “Thanks. You still okay with me leaving my stuff and the cat at your place?”
He grins, and my heart resumes beating. “Sure. As for the cat, I didn’t get around to asking JC about it, but I guess we’ll see what he says.” He lifts the cat higher and tells her seriously, “We’ll cat-ambush him.”
I swallow a laugh. I wasn’t sure how he’d react. He did say I could leave the kitten with him, but you never know.
“Does this mean you’re moving in with me?” he asks, his gaze sliding to me, raking over me, darkening, as if he’s thinking of all the wicked things he’ll do to me the moment I say yes.
The kitty meows.
“Is that a yes? Huh?” he murmurs.
My heart is starting to pound hard, and I open my mouth to reply, and it’s only then it registers he’s talking to the cat, not me.
I’m imagining things.
God.
Turning away, I grab my laptop and stuff it into my backpack, make a final check to make sure I didn’t leave anything important.
When I turn back toward Merc, he has a strange expression on his face, as if he wants to say something but can’t find the words.
I don’t give him time to find them. “Shall we go?”
The cat blinks at me, still hanging in his hand.
Oh whatever. I don’t even know why I’m so upset. A few days ago I was worried that it was too soon to meet his family, too soon to trust this thing between us, and now I’m mad because he didn’t ask me to move in with him?
Get a grip, Cos.
And give this time. Moving in together is a huge step—and since when do you want that? How about making your own way, like you were thinking five minutes ago?
It’s just that… you want to make your way together with Merc, right? That’s the thing. But just because being with him feels like the best thing that ever happened to you doesn’t mean you should dive in head-first.
Take it a step at a time.
Chapter Twenty-One
Merc
“Breathe,” someone is saying. “Breathe, Merc. Goddammit, dude, what’s going on with you? Snap out of it right now or I’m taking you to the hospital!”
I’m being shaken, rattled about. Dragged out from a darkness thick like molasses and dropped on a bed, gasping and sweating, thrashing like a fish out of the water.
My bed.
JC is scowling down at me, one hand braced on the headboard, the other lifted as if to stop some threat. “Rise and shine,” he growls, and I blink at him.
“Wha?” I try to sit up, but I’m tangled up in my covers. “The hell?”
“My thoughts exactly.” He leans back. “You wouldn’t wake up. You popping sleeping pills again?”