Cat Style (Stray Cats) (2 page)

“Give me a moment.” She eyed him, then left the room. Her three-bedroom ranch house wasn’t large, and he heard every one of her movements. The drawers clunked open and shut, then the closet door rattled. When she emerged from the hallway, she held a pale pink sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. “These are all I have that might fit you.”

“Thanks.” He unfolded the pants and stood. The soft material clung to his legs. Even her biggest pair of pants was too short on his wiry frame. His ankles and half his shins stuck out of the bottom cuffs. He grinned to himself. Who knew he’d be so tall! Having something over his cock that wasn’t a pillow felt a lot better, too.

Penn handed him the sweatshirt. “I’m dying to know. Why now? I’ve only ever heard of shifters of any kind in books. What was so great about tonight that made it possible for you to shift?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” He eased the garment up over his head. Just like the pants, the shirt offered little room to move. He didn’t care. He didn’t even mind having a white cat emblazoned on his chest. He was with her. That’s what mattered. “Why don’t I start from the beginning?”

“I’d appreciate that.” She perched on the arm of the couch.

“Where do I begin?” He folded his arms. “There have been cat shifters for ages. Most of them blend into the shadows. You’ve heard of people saying their cats are like little humans? They weren’t wrong. Some shifters are able to shift and others never quite get to that point. I was lucky.”

“Very.” Her cheeks reddened and she averted her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

She shook her head. “You were a cat. How the heck did I know the fuzz ball I adopted would turn out to be such a hot guy?” The blush deepened and she stared at him. “I mean -- oh… shit.”

“You think I’m attractive?” Hey, not every man could work a slightly tight sweat suit ensemble, especially not when he was packing a hard on. “I like you, too.”

“But you’re a cat.”

“True.” He sat beside her on the couch, but angled to face her. “My dad was a human, but mom was a shifter. When she gave birth to us, she was in her cat form. I’m not sure what happened, but she wasn’t around long.” Vague memories slid through his mind. Shouting. A man with a gigantic black bag standing over him, cursing. His father sobbing. Hildegard stuffing him and his brothers into a bag.

“Are you okay?” Penelope slid off the arm of the couch and bumped his thigh with her own. She touched his cheek. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat. Eventually he’d tell her about that night. Not now. “You adopted me from a kindly witch named Hildegard. She took in us four kittens. She raised us until we were old enough to be adopted and last I knew, my brother Joel and I had found our humans. I’m not sure what happened to the others.”

“That’s terrible. You have family and don’t know where they are.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Either I’m really tired or really touched.” Her chin quivered. “No wonder you became so attached to me.”

“I like you, Penn. In my cat form and human form. I chose you. I didn’t know why at the time, but I climbed into Hildegard’s arms when you came to the house.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I’m glad. You’re going to be my salvation.”

Her sea-blue eyes widened. “What?”

More of the story had to come out. She needed to trust him or she wouldn’t be able to help him -- not properly, anyway. “There are people who want to kill all shifters. They don’t like the idea of man being able to change into something else. One of these people is a guy who claims to be a doctor. He’s a fraud. He made threats against me and my brothers, but I can’t be sure he hasn’t attacked anyone.”

She flipped a lock of her black hair over her shoulder. Her brows furrowed, like she was deep in thought. “What’s his name?”

“Branker. Orson Branker.” He hated talking about the jerk when all he wanted to do was cuddle her. Soon he’d be able to focus on Penn. “I’ve kept up on the news. I can’t read very well, but I know what’s said on the television. He was arrested for assault not too long ago, but I didn’t catch where.” Part of him wanted to drape his arm around her shoulders. Part of him assumed he should give her space. Fuck.

“Do you think he tried to kill your brothers?” She placed her hand on his chest. Her touch warmed him to the core.

“Can’t be sure.” He gasped for breath. He needed her to be closer. Ascher cleared his throat. “All I know is once we are able to shift, we’re valuable. He claimed he wanted to make super animals -- animals with human DNA and the best of both worlds. He’s lying. He wants to sell our blood on the black market.”

“You got all of that from the news?”

Her skeptical tone amused him. “The news and what Hildegard told us. She took great pains to teach us to protect ourselves by staying vigilant.”

“Will you be safe here?” She surged from her seat and sprinted to the front door. The lock snicked and she engaged the chain, too. “He can’t get past the locks, right?”

“The question is, will you be safe? If he finds out I’ve shifted, there’s no telling what he’ll do to you or me.” Ascher left the couch and stalked toward her. He enfolded her in his arms, pleased by how well she fit against him. “I’ll give my life to protect you. Promise.”

“Maybe I’d better have my guard cat in his regular place.” Penelope wriggled but didn’t pull away.

“I’d prefer it.”

“I’m exhausted, but there’s no way I’m going to fall asleep.” She stared up into his green eyes. When she’d picked up the kitten, she’d had no idea her ball of fuzz would turn into a hot man. Like, holy hell, Batman, he’s hot. Her heart ached. Good-looking men didn’t come after her. They tended to give her wide berth. The ones who did date her didn’t stick around. Would Ascher be like the others? He kept claiming they were stronger together. What the heck did he mean?

“We don’t have to go to bed right away.” He rubbed her arms. “We can talk or whatever.”

Sure, Ascher looked ridiculous in her sweatshirt, but he hadn’t complained. The fabric pulled against his muscular frame. So all those hours running like a mad cat through her house helped his physique?

“There’s just so much to think about and process. My cat became a man right in front of me.” A man she wanted to strip naked again so she could lick every inch of his sexy body. The man she’d dreamed of waking up beside. She rested her head on his chest. “I wish I understood everything.”

Ascher wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to put you in danger, but you’re my human.” He kissed the top of her head. “When I was in my cat form, you understood me. Most people want that sort of bond with their pets. Now you’ve got the best of both worlds -- the most loyal house cat and the man who loves you.”

He loved her? Well, yeah, his cat should’ve. She’d fed him, kept him in catnip and hesitated to get him fixed. Why did he have to be so appealing?

“I’m drawn to you, Penn, and not just because you own me.” He cupped her jaw in both hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “You won’t understand this, but you’re my mate.”

Yep, she didn’t understand him. The words made sense, but what the hell did being his mate mean? “Are you going to hit me with some crazy magic or something and make me want to fall into bed with you?”

“I wish.” He parted his lips and tilted his head to the side. “Right now, I don’t care about DNA, lunatics who want me dead or anything else.” He met her mouth for a kiss.

The moment their lips touched, heat flooded her body. She moaned into the kiss and pressed her chest tighter to his. Her nipples ached. From the lack of attention? Maybe. Penelope rubbed her groin against the growing bulge in his pants. Cream coated her pussy. No toy matched what he was packing. She dug her nails into his shoulders.

A strange scent wafted around him -- earthy, but almost like clean linen. Did men actually smell like linens or was it her detergent?

Ascher scooped her into his embrace and carried her through the house to the bedroom. He broke the kiss first and rested his forehead on hers. “I need to make love to you. Can’t wait.” He collapsed on the bed with her on top of him. He eased his hands inside the elastic waist of her yoga pants and palmed her ass. His touch on her body sent shivers through her being. She wanted to go too far with him and find her heart’s desire -- but not yet.

“No,” she said, putting a halt to their actions. One kiss and some cuddling didn’t equate to them having sex. “We can’t.” Although she wanted to, the thoughts were rational. She wasn’t the type to fall into bed with anyone on the first date -- even if she’d known him for over a year.

The shrill ring of her doorbell sliced through the tension in the room. Penelope brushed her hair off her face and sat upright. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait.” Ascher tagged along, hot on her heels. “It could be Branker.”

“I’ll check the security hole first.” She stood on tiptoe and peeked through the small circle of glass. A man and a woman stood on her porch. Penelope gripped the door handle. The man looked one hell of a lot like Ascher. Same black hair, same green eyes and angular face. She flattened her feet on the ground.

“I think your brother is out there,” she murmured. Penelope scooted out of the way as Ascher glanced through the peephole.

“Joel.” He fumbled with the locks on the door. “Joel?”

“Wait.” Penelope blocked him from getting the door open all the way. She jabbed the chain back into place. “If this Branker fellow wants to hurt you, he could use your brother as bait to get you.”

“Good point.” He opened the door with the chain engaged. “Joel?”

“Brother.”

Penelope couldn’t see him, but she heard Ascher’s brother quite well. He even had the same gravelly voice.

“Is this… your mate?” Ascher asked.

“Yes. May we come in?”

Ascher glanced at her, then shut the door. “He’s alone save for his mate. I can’t turn him away.”

“Sure.” Why not? Hell, everything else she thought she knew had turned upside down -- why not let total strangers into her home as well?

When Ascher opened the door again, Joel and the woman stepped into her small house. Both slipped their shoes off as Ascher re-engaged the lock. “This is Penelope, my owner.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” The woman opened her arms. “I’m Hayden.”

Joel, the spitting image of Ascher, smiled. His eyes lit with mischief. “You must be the woman who tamed my brother. Fang did have a way with curtains.” He offered his hand. “I’m Joel. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He draped his arm around Hayden’s shoulders. “I hoped I’d be able to find you. The scent was strong.”

Scent? Penelope eased backwards to the couch. Minutes earlier she’d been on the brink of stripping naked to make love to Ascher. Now his brother and mate were in her house. Oh, and both men could turn into black housecats.

“Why… are you wearing that?” Joel’s dark brows knotted. “Is this your first shift?”

“Yes.” Ascher joined Penelope on the couch. “I was in the middle of a lot of explaining.”

“Yeah, seeing my cat shift into a guy was quite a shock.”

“I know,” Hayden said. “Three days ago when Godzilla shifted, I almost passed out.”

“Godzilla?” Penelope snorted. “That witch had a way with naming them, didn’t she?”

Ascher curled his arm around her and cuddled her to his side. “I see you’re in one piece, Joel. I take it Branker didn’t find you?”

“He did.” Joel perched on the edge of the armchair. He patted his thigh for Hayden, then when she sat on his lap he enfolded her in his embrace. “Branker sent his man Nugent to kill me. Hay helped stop him. If it weren’t for her, I’d be dead.”

“Joel shifted back into his cat and tried to run, but the bastard caught him and jammed a needle into his chest.” Hayden closed her eyes. “I thought I’d lost him.”

“You didn’t.” He pressed his forehead to her temple.

“It’s a bizarre coincidence you’re here,” Penelope said. “How’d you know where to find him?” For a moment, jealousy slid through her veins. She wanted what they seemed to have -- a solid love and devotion.

“His scent.” Joel nodded once. “I know it sounds crazy. Our cats have a much better sense of smell than our human counterparts. The cat helped me to find Ascher.” He shrugged. “It also didn’t hurt for him to have found his mate shortly after I found mine. He can shift.”

“Oh.” Penelope sagged in her seat. “Then he doesn’t need a mate,” she blurted. “You broke the spell and they’re all free.” Well, didn’t that knowledge take some of the pressure off.

“No, his blood is valuable. Branker is in jail, but there are others who want to harm us. We need to find our mates, bind our DNA and come back together.” Joel sat at the edge of his seat. “Haven’t you two mated?”

Penelope glanced at the clock. “Damn. Almost eleven at night. Where’d the time go?” She stood and righted her clothes -- anything to not have to answer Joel’s question.

“Can you give us a minute?” Hayden stood and hooked her arm around Penelope’s. “I need some water.”

When they entered the kitchen, Hayden eased the door shut. “I know this is nuts. Trust me. Four days ago my house cat was just a little black ball of fur and my love life was in shambles.”