Behind the Eight Ball (21 page)

“You’re new to that, and I should have known not to overdo—”

I sat at the table and he joined me. “Excuse me, but I do know how to say no. Loudly too. Did you hear me saying no?”

“No.”

“Exactly.” I picked up my orange juice, then nodded at his plate. “Besides, I just need to shift and all will be fine. Eat up before it gets cold.”

“Think you have enough bacon there?” Lawson asked, laughter in his eyes.

“Hey, I like bacon. I like other things too, but come on…
bacon.
Everything’s better with bacon. I’m a cat. I like meat. And bacon especially.”

“Speaking of….” Lawson put his fork down. “Heller, would you…. That is, I’d like to….”

“Would I what?”

“Well, the Vetala mainly show their fangs and eyes when hunting or angry—and they’d deny it—but fear will make them change. I’m not really sure if the same applies to you. Would it be rude for me to ask to see you in your shifted form?”

I nibbled at the pile of bacon on my plate. “You want to see my cat?”

“I do. I mean, I really do. Can I? I’ve always been a cat person, and… and…. Can I treat you like a cat? Or is that bad? God, I hope I’m not like sticking my foot in it.”

“You’re fine, and honey, I’m a cat. So yeah, treat me like a cat when I shift. I’d love it. Let’s eat, and then you can meet him.” I couldn’t wait to get done now.

Lawson was eating faster too. “Is there anything I shouldn’t do?”

I smirked. “Throw water on me. I’ll scratch your eyes out.”

Lawson snickered and then laughed full-out. “Picky about that hair even in cat form, huh?”

“Damn straight.”

We finished eating, and he helped me clean up. I took him by the hand and sat him on the couch.

“Stay here. I’m going to shift in the bedroom, and then I’ll come out here.”

Lawson got comfy on the couch. “Why not do it in here?”

“Because I’d like for you to get used to me in cat form first, and then I’ll shift in front of you. Hearing me shift is… unpleasant. Or so I’ve heard.” I shrugged. “I guess bones breaking and limbs twisting are scary, although it’s not as ghastly as it sounds.”

“Got it. Ah, just curious. Who said it sounded bad?”

“Kirk. Tal shifted in front of him to prove what he was. Let’s just say Kirk had a less-than-pleasant response. He called it cringe-worthy.”

“Jesus, why would Tal do that?” Lawson asked.

“Dolf said it was hard to deny the proof when it’s shifting right in front of you.”

“Huh. Well, that’s certainly one way of looking at it. I’ll stay here.”

I hurried to the bedroom and stripped, throwing my clothes on the bed. All sorts of emotions raced through me. I was excited, nervous… and my cat was pacing in my mind, anxious to come out and meet Lawson
. Thank the goddess Lawson is a cat person.

I cleared my mind, squatted down, and let the change take me. Distantly I heard the first bone break. My body twisted in ways the regular human body was never intended to twist. Things tore and reformed as I shrunk.

My spine changed, muscles realigned, and bones reformed in a feline shape. My spine tingled as my tail grew. All four paws hit the ground, and I stretched, working out the kinks.

Time to meet the mate.

I pranced into the living area, fluffy tail held high. Sashaying over to Lawson, I rubbed against his leg, but this wasn’t working for me. I wanted skin to scent mark, so I jumped on his lap and head-butted his chin.

“Holy cow, you’re bigger than I remember. What are you? About the size of a Savannah?” Lawson ran his hand down my back. “Big, big kitty, aren’t you?”

Oh, that felt good. I gave him a kitty kiss by licking his chin. Mmm, he tasted good—like a beautiful warm day at the beach with the tart smell of the ocean on the breeze. Purring, I stretched out against him, my paws on his chest and my head tucked under his chin. My tail switched back and forth as he petted me.

“Wow, you
are
pretty. Why are your eyes such an electric blue? I noticed that at the restaurant that night you, ah, introduced yourself to Marshell. And duh, I should’ve asked before you shifted, but can you understand me in this form?”

I lifted my paw and patted him on the cheek, making sure to keep my claws sheathed. Very slowly I nodded. I wanted to make sure he knew I understood him.

“That was a yes, right?”

Still making eye contact, I nodded again. “Meow.”

“That’s totally cool.”

I settled back down on his chest, and Lawson resumed petting me.

“So you’re cognitive in this form. Good to know you can understand me still, even if we can’t communicate.” Lawson chucked evilly. “Hmm, I know some who’d give just about anything for that.”

“Meerow?” Oh reeeeeally? I kneaded his shirt, purring. Letting a claw come out, I pierced his shirt.

“Hold up now!” Laughing, Lawson laid his hand over my paw. “Easy there, hellcat.”

I was careful not to slice skin. I might not be able to speak, but I could still make my point. I even let out a little chirrup to make sure he got it.

“Okay, okay.” Lawson snickered. “Message received. You don’t need be verbal to get your point across.”

He had no idea. I could speak verbally. It just wasn’t in English. Just wait. I’d have him speaking cat in no time. We sat there, him petting and me purring. This was nice, especially when he really dug in and gently scraped his nails against my skin. Ye gods, that felt good. Then he scratched right above my tail, and I was
very
tempted to yowl.

“You know, you sure give off a lot of heat.”

I was a longhair. Of course I did.

“Well, this is going to sound stupid, but I kind of thought you’d do more… cat things, since you’re a cat and all.”

I jumped off him and landed on the floor next to his feet. After a quick head-butt and flick of my tail, I trotted over to an old wood box tucked away in a corner of the room. Looking back at Lawson, I imperiously meowed at him to follow me when he just sat on the couch.

“That was a ‘come here’ if I ever heard one,” Lawson mumbled as he stood and walked to where I was sitting. “Jeez, was it me who said you couldn’t communicate verbally?”

“Meeer.”

“Oh, hush you.” Lawson looked in the box. “Well, I’ll be. This is your toy chest, isn’t it?”

I stood on my back legs, which put my paws on Lawson’s hip. I stared at him. “Me-wow.”

“What? What did I…. Oh.
Oh
! Oh, heavenly day.”

I couldn’t really laugh as a cat, but my whiskers did twitch. I loved it when he blushed.

“I didn’t mean
that
kind of toy chest. Perv.”

Like I’d have that out just sitting around in the living area. Silly mate. It was in my bedroom.

“Good grief, did you rob a pet store? I’ve never seen so many toys.” Lawson bent down and checked out the box.

Suddenly a handful of balls hit the floor, and off they rolled. Some were rubber, and those bounced. Others were hollow with a bell inside. There was every shade of blue and green in the spectrum. I eyed one of the balls as it rolled away.

The urge to lunge after it nearly had my bottom wiggling, but I wanted to see what else he pulled out. Next came the electric mice and the little birds that made sounds. I liked those too. Lawson squeezed one of the nonelectronic mice at me.

A few feathered teasers floated past my head as he continued to explore my goodies. Then he…. yay, he found the wand with the colored fabric attached to one end. I
loved
that, but it wasn’t something I could really play with on my own.

I rubbed against him. “Meow, meeow, meeeeeow!”

Lawson looked at me. “Like this one, huh?”

I swatted him on the arm. “Me-now!”

“Think we have a winner.”

Lawson picked the wand up and backed away from me. He jerked the wand back and forth, making the long material at the end flutter and dance. Crouched low, I watched it, the snapping movement holding my attention hostage.

My tail flicked behind me, a nervous little twitch as I watched the material tease me. My back legs tensed. The material taunted me, goading me to try to catch it, to maim it. I launched across the room, gaze zeroed in on the material fluttering in front of me.

Lawson jerked it up and I sprang up after it, claws extended as I swiped at my prey. I heard Lawson’s surprised laugh as I twisted in the air and landed on my feet. Damn, I barely missed the stupid thing. I nonchalantly chewed on a claw.

“Jesus, Heller. You had to be close to six feet off the floor.”

I sniffed. “Meeer.” Really, that wasn’t that high.

There was a ball next to me, so I batted it across the floor and took off after it. I chased it through the house, swatting at it to keep it going. I could hear Lawson behind me. When it slowed down, I got in front of it and slapped it at him.

“Whoa!” Lawson slid to a stop and chased the ball down.

A swift kick, and the ball came back at me. Good! He got the idea. Pawing at it, I shot it into the kitchen. My claws clicked on the wood floor, my tail held high as I hauled ass after it. I made a lap through the kitchen, slipping and sliding across the floor as Lawson followed behind me, laughing. I swatted it at Lawson, but he missed it, and it rolled into the living area again. I yowled playfully at my mate as he ran out of the kitchen after it.

“I heard that,” Lawson yelled from the other room.

The ball came flying back, and I chased it under the kitchen table chairs, weaving my way through them, and then I took a hard right as I batted the ball. Damn floors. My ass slid around, almost turning me in a full circle. I ended up facing Lawson.

Lawson covered his mouth, giggles spilling out. “Ah, oops?”

“Rawl!” I declared, and then ran straight at him.

“Shit!”

I sprinted through his legs and ran full speed toward the den with Lawson hot on my heels. I saw the ball the same time Lawson did. My mate sped up. Surely he didn’t think he could beat me? While he hauled ass around the coffee table, I jumped the damn thing and landed by the ball.

“Holy cow, Heller!” Lawson shouted.

Guess he didn’t know what an excellent jumper I was. I dropped down on the ball. That should be pretty clear as to who won.

“Meooow!”

“You know, all I’d have to do is pick you up to get the ball.”

I flashed my fangs at him.

“Huh. You got some choppers on you.”

He didn’t know the half of it. They were longer and thicker than the average cat’s.

“Very well, hellcat, I give. You won.” Lawson came to me and scratched the base of my tail. “Thank you. I enjoyed seeing your cat. But can you change back now? We still have things to discuss.”

I rubbed my face against his chin and headed for the bedroom. I shifted, dressed, and joined Lawson in the living area.

“Thank you too. That was a lot of fun,” I said. “I, ah, hope we can do that more.”

“I’d love to. Seeing you so playful was a treat.” Lawson sat in one of the overstuffed chairs and pulled me into his lap. “So this joining ceremony. What is it, and what do I have to do?”

“The ceremony takes place at the Circle of Stone. It’s on clowder land, and it has belonged to us for as long as we’ve been here. It’s an actual circle made of large, bulky boulders at least four feet across and eight feet high.”

“Sounds like Stonehenge.”

“Yeah, I guess it does, a little. Anyway, it’ll be us, the elders, the betas, and our Alpha. You swear an oath like I said, and that’s it. There’s usually a small party afterward, welcoming the new mate. See? Not a big deal.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound like all that much. Fine, I’m not going to worry about it,” Lawson said. “What do we have planned for today?”

“How about we do some grocery shopping? We can grab a movie and have a nice dinner here. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good.”

We spent the rest of the week hanging out and getting to know each other.

Lawson

THE WEEKEND
had rolled around again, and here we were sitting in Heller’s den on a Saturday morning, watching TV.

Suddenly Heller turned off the TV and looked at me. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something all week, but I’ve been afraid to. You’ve spent every night here. We’ve been together all day. We’ve had fun, right?”

“Yeah, we have.”

“You haven’t gotten tired of me during that time, right?”

“Of course not! You’re my mate. Why would you…? What are you getting at, Heller?”

“Well, I was hoping I could talk you into moving in with me.”

I just knew my mouth was hanging open.

“Lawson?”

“I, ah… wow.” Well, hell, I should have seen this coming too. Guess I should have seen him nearly dumping me on the floor so he could get up and pace.

And across the floor he went….

“We’re mates,” Heller stated. “There’s no undoing this or getting a divorce. We made love, took each other’s blood, and now you aren’t human any longer. We took a pledge to each other, and frankly I don’t see why we should live apart.”

“I—”

And back he came.

“Are you having second thoughts now? Please tell me you aren’t. I mean… I thought you said you were sure about us, and that we weren’t rushing this! Oh gods. Do you
not
want to live with me? Do you think it’s too soon?”

“I—”

And forth.

Heller twisted his hands together. “I don’t think I can stand not having you with me. My cat will go crazy and… and we belong together. Plus I told you I was sticking close to you after that were scared you.”

“I—”

And back again. It was like a slow-motion tennis match: back and forth, back and forth.

“I really love my home, but if you’d rather we live somewhere else…. But my house is big and very nice. Don’t you like it? I mean, you rent. Half the stuff in your house isn’t even yours. And gods, you live with Marshell. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t stand to live in the same—”

“Would you just
stop
!” I yelled, stopping the rant Heller had launched into. Jesus, it was the only way to get a word in edgewise. “Breathe, Heller.”