I angled my head back to look out the window and the businesses we passed. We were driving for a long time.
“Not at first. I tried to get by with entry-level jobs, but they don’t pay well. The first time I slept with someone for cash, I threw up badly afterward. I told myself I would never do it again, but you’d be surprised what you’d do to survive.”
He squeezed my hand. “That’s right. You’re a survivor. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had nine lives like a cat.”
I smiled at him. “Will you tell me about your childhood sometime?”
“When it’s safe for me to do so.”
It was better than nothing. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“Good, we’re here.”
I peered out at the plaza and gasped. No way. I couldn’t get a word past my lips as he parked right in front of Kitty Krave, the pet café I’d begged him to take me to weeks ago.
“You remembered.”
“Of course I did. It means a lot to you, no?”
He got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me. I couldn’t go a second longer without kissing him. I flung my arms around his neck, glad for the extra three inches my platforms afforded me, but I didn’t have to make all the effort.
As if he’d been craving this moment as well, Sully wrapped his arms around my waist. I’d never felt so safe in someone’s embrace before. He claimed my mouth, hard and hot, with a lot of tongue I hadn’t been sure if he was ready for. I wound my fingers into the hair at the back of his neck and leaned into the kiss, running my tongue alongside his.
His mouth sent a dangerous raging fire licking at my insides and a steady sense of security. He held me tight against him as if I was his entire world and he wasn’t prepared to let me go…ever.
Sully released my lips but kept his arms around me. He studied my face, eyes flickering as if bewildered by our kiss.
A car zipped by us, going way too fast, and broke the moment. Sully let go of my waist but claimed my hand as he set the car alarm. “Let’s go in.”
I squeezed his hand and fell into step beside him. I should have felt small next to him, but I felt larger than life. He opened the door to the café and ushered me inside. My excitement mounted, and I was bouncing with delight at the sight of an orange-and-white feline winding their way under a chair.
“This is so exciting,” I said as we joined the line to pay for our admission and to buy refreshments. Sully ordered a cucumber drink, but I dared him to try something else. We ended up with two cups of chai latte and a slice of praline pumpkin pie for me, since I hadn’t eaten yet. I devoured the pie, then took our drinks to the closest playroom, where cats of all shapes, sizes, and breeds were either sleeping, playing, or grooming themselves.
I thrust my drink at Sully and strode toward the bay window where a cat was curled up on the bedding, batting at some balls that dangled from a shelf. Careful not to startle it, I sat and brushed my finger over the cat’s head. Its ears flicked for a second. Then she leaped from the window and walked away.
I laughed. “Look how prissy she got. Isn’t she adorable?” I spotted a cat on a floating shelf, peering at the distance between it and the other shelf to the right. “Aww, he’s trying to figure out if he’ll make it or not. You can do it,” I whispered.
Sully chuckled when, after making its calculation, the cat turned its back on the other ledge and made a leap for one closer. Most of the other guests had moved on to the back rooms, so this one wasn’t as crowded. In this section alone were at least a dozen cats, and I had only forty-five minutes to pet them. It wasn’t nearly enough time.
A brownish-orange kitty wound its way through my legs, rubbing its head at me. She had three legs and the cutest little meow.
“Hi, pretty kitty.” I reached down and scooped her up in my arms. “Aren’t you the sweetest?”
I took her over to a chair in the room and settled down with her on my lap. She purred and stretched, kneading my thighs with her paws.
“Do you want to pet her too?” I asked. Please say yes.
He hadn’t interacted with any of the cats, seemingly comfortable watching me, but I wanted him to feel what I did whenever I came here. How therapeutic it was and how all the burdens of life seemed to melt away. Here, I was just a boy petting his feline.
Sully crouched beside me and placed our drinks next to us. He rubbed his index finger over the kitty’s head.
“She’s so soft.”
Now that Sully was the one petting her, the kitty jumped from my lap and onto Sully’s. He rocked back and sat on the floor, stroking the cat’s fur. The animal purred loudly, eyes closed as she arched her body into Sully’s hand.
It reminded me of the way I’d moved when he touched me. Seeing Sully on the floor, petting that cat, hit me hard. I was in for the long haul. For the murder and mayhem. There was no way I was letting this man go because he was a criminal. A man who stroked an animal with such tenderness couldn’t be that bad.