"Are you serious? I thought you wanted a dog!" Daren said, staring with an open mouth.
Chris snorted. "What's wrong with having both? How about two dogs and a cat, like in that Homeward Bound, Incredible Journeymovie?"
Daren barked out a laugh. "Right. Okay."
"Come on, I really like this guy. And I'm allowed a small pet on my lease," he wheedled. "Let me hold him!"
Waving toward the cage, Daren eyed him with an indulgent smile. "Knock yourself out."
"Ooooh," he crooned as he opened the cage door, retrieving the cat. He took it into the little glass room used to get to know a prospective pet and sat on the bench, the cat on his lap. He pulled the string out of his hoodie and dangled it in front of the cat. The animal immediately fixated on the object and began to bat it when Chris made it dance close enough.
Falling in love with the animal took Chris all of fifteen seconds. He figured that had to be some kind of record as he told a laughing Daren that he wanted to adopt the cat. Chris was standing at the front desk filling out paperwork when a pair of strong arms slipped around his waist and someone nuzzled his neck.
"Hello, cher," Manon's voice purred into his ear.
He grinned and glanced over his shoulder at his lover. "Hi there," he murmured, accepting a chaste peck.
"I missed you," Manon told him.
"It's only been a few hours," he teased back, although secretly pleased by the sexy man's admission. Nothing like having your lover miss you to boost your ego! And remembering their little tryst when Manon had visited him at lunch had his cock filling in his jeans. Damn, he just couldn't seem to get enough of this man!
Manon chuckled. "So."
He opened his mouth to reply when he noticed how pale the teenager behind the desk had become. What was his name? Right, Baxter. In fact, Chris saw Baxter's hands shaking where he gripped the pen he was using to review the paper's Chris had already filled out.
Baxter shook his head, then nodded just as quickly. It was obvious he was clearly agitated. Thinking it was because of the PDA between two men, Chris glanced over his shoulder and gave Manon a smile. "I'm almost done here. Can you give me a little room to finish filling out these forms?"
His lover turned and frowned at the box. "What you getting?"
Chris couldn't stop his grin. "She's a super cute white fluff ball." When Manon's frown deepened, he rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you don't like cats?" It wasn't something they'd ever discussed, but surely, this kind man didn't have a problem with them. At least, Chris hoped so.
"A cat?" Manon's brows lifted. The words sounded clearly shocked. "Why would you … "
Chris couldn't hide his disappointed look, and Manon immediately lifted a hand.
"Of course I don't have a problem with cats. I guess, since we never talked about them, we never discussed pets in general, it never occurred to me that-"
Snickering, Chris placed his hand over Manon's mouth, stopping the man's rambling. And wasn't that just so cute? "I guess I should have told you I've been looking into getting a pet for quite some time. I don't like little yipyip dogs, and I can't have the big one I want until I get a new place, but I dolike cats."
A smile eased the confused expression on Manon's face. "So you like big dogs, too?"
Chris nodded.
"That be good. Me, too."
"I just bet you do," Baxter muttered.
His words drew their attention. Manon cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"
Baxter quickly shook his head. "No. No, we've never met." Taking the papers, Baxter turned his back to them. "Everything's in order. If you have any problems, please give the center a call." Baxter forced a smile. "Congratulations on your new pet."
If that wasn't a desire to rush them out, Chris didn't know what was. As he gathered up the paperwork, Manon grabbed the cardboard box with the cat and headed toward the door.
Before Chris could follow his lover, Baxter grabbed his arm and hissed into his ear. "Don't let him eat the cat."
His jaw dropped, but before he could even fathom a response, the guy scurried into the back. Shaking his head, Chris hurried after Manon and his new cat. When he arrived outside, Manon had already reached Chris's car. He'd set the cat box on the trunk and leaned over to stare into it. As Chris neared, he realized Manon was talking to the animal. He couldn't make out the words until he was almost behind him, and he heard Manon mutter, "Good. I'm glad we got that settled."
The cat gave a plaintive yowl.
"What are you doing to her?" he asked, brushing past Manon to look into the box. To his surprise, he found her on her back, begging for a belly rub.
Manon chuckled. "Just checking her out." He bumped his hip against Chris's. "Gotta make sure she'll like me, after all."
Chris smirked. "Well, you better rub her tummy like she asked, then. Wouldn't want her to not like you," he teased.
He growled softly, but did as he was told. The cat feigned a nip to Manon's fingers then settled down and started to purr. After a few strokes, Manon pulled his hand a way and mock-glared at Chris. "Happy?"
Grinning, Chris smiled. "Yep, and so is Rose."
Manon groaned. "You named her Rose? But she be completely white!"
Shrugging, Chris closed the box back up before the kitten could escape. Then he stuck his tongue out at his lover. "So what. She looks like a Rose to me."
His lover's eyes narrowed, his gaze filling with heat. "Better keep that tongue in your mouth unless you plan to use it properly, cher," he crooned.
A shiver of lust rolled through Chris. He swallowed, struggling to find his voice. "Oh, yeah? You gonna kidnap me, take me to your place, and tie me up until I'm good?" He'd never really been into that kind of thing before, but for some reason, the image of being tied down and tortured, in the most pleasurable way, by Manon seemed to be stuck firmly in his head.
"Oui, I will," Manon confirmed. Then he took a deep breath and stepped back. "But not now. I been called in to work," Manon told him. "I gotta work ‘til eleven tonight."
"Oh, okay," Chris murmured. Why did he feel disappointed? Wasn't the whole point of going back to work to have enough space to figure out what was going on between them? Why did he not want to spend the night without the man?
"I am sorry, cher," Manon said, clearly contrite. "If I had been able to get out of it, I would have."
Chris stretched on his toes and pressed a quick kiss to Manon's lips. "I know. Maybe we can go to dinner tomorrow night? It is Friday," he added.
Manon grinned. "Sounds like a plan. I'll call you tomorrow," he promised. After Chris opened the car door, Manon took the box from the back of the car and slid it onto the back seat. "You be careful carrying this upstairs," he warned. "I don't want you hurtin' yourself."
"I will." He traced a finger over Manon's brows. "Don't worry so much. I'll see you tomorrow."
After one more kiss, and another round of good-byes, Chris climbed into his car and headed home, the plaintive mews of the kitten in the back reminding him that he really wasn't alone.
Chris curled up on the couch with a cup of herbal tea and watched Rose settle in. He'd already shown her where her litter box and food dishes were. Now, she explored the small twobedroom apartment. She found a bug crawling across the carpet and followed it, occasionally poking it with a paw, until it reached the couch where Chris sat. She sat back on her haunches, looked up at him, and meowed.
"I thought you were supposed to eat those or something," he scolded with amusement. She meowed again.
A knock on his door pulled him away from watching Rose reach a paw under the furniture after the bug. He looked through the peephole and frowned, wondering what the young man from the animal shelter was doing at his door. With only one way to find out, Chris pulled it open and greeted the man.
"Hi. Baxter, isn't it?"
Baxter nodded. "Sorry to drop by unannounced, but I-I really need to talk to you," he said.
"Okay," Chris replied. "Why don't you come in?" he said, waving for the clearly younger man to enter.
He pegged the guy for eighteen or nineteen, a late bloomer who was just getting out of the skinny, awkward stage. Baxter had shoved his hands into his coat and his baggy jeans dragged on the floor. His brown hair was cut short and his brown-eyed gaze darted this way and that until it fell on Rose. The kitten had found its way onto the couch, curling up in a corner. Its bright blue eyes were open and watching the men.