Beauty & the Beasts (8 page)

“You know something, sweetie?” He set her on the floor.

She looked up at him, the end of her gray-andcream tail swishing, as though she were asking, “What?”

“Madeline Howard reminds me of you. It’s the eyes. She wants to trust me, too, but she doesn’t. And she’s less willing to try than you are.”

Damned if he knew why he cared, why he was fighting his way through her occasionally thorny defenses. The easy answer was that he wanted her; she was a beautiful woman, and his body reacted to the very sight of her—a smile, the way she tipped her head, the long graceful line of her back—with a hunger that went deeper than it ought when he hardly knew her.

But there was something else. Pity, maybe, he thought, but felt disturbed at the idea. Sympathy might be a better way to put it. She seemed lonely. Occasionally she’d start talking, as she had that day about her mother, but he sensed that she rarely opened up about herself.

Or maybe, he conceded wryly, he just liked the idea of being her savior, as he was Hannah’s.

Whatever the reason, he wouldn’t let a few scratches keep him from trying to get to know her. Tomorrow was as good a time as any. Besides, he looked forward to seeing her work her magic on the innocent pet owners who set out to shop with no intention of acquiring another cat.

He arrived, lunch in hand, just about noon the next day. The setup at the store was terrific, he saw immediately as the automatic doors glided shut behind him. Just inside to the left was a glassed-in room with cages, much like those used by pet stores that sold cats and dogs. This one was for the exclusive use of shelters like Ten Lives.

A dozen or more cats filled the cages. A banner that proclaimed the shelter’s name draped a long table outside the glassed-in room. A volunteer sat behind it, earnestly talking to a young couple who had a Sheltie on a leash. Madeline was inside the glassed-in room, her back to him, a cat slung over her shoulder. She was simultaneously petting and gesticulating, and he saw the balding man she spoke to laugh.

Twenty feet away from the table the greyhoundrescue organization had set up for their own adoption day. Five of the large elegant dogs lay peacefully on blankets, while their handlers sat chatting with shoppers interested in knowing more about the racing greyhounds culled from the track. Eric had done some vet work for the organization; he admired the effort they made saving these dogs that would otherwise have been euthanized when they didn’t run fast enough.

Eric nodded at the volunteer behind the table, who smiled brightly and said, “Go right in. The cats love to be visited.”

He didn’t correct her impression that he might be the next sucker to take a cat. No, he thought, amused, he was the last sucker. He’d already taken his cat home.

He pushed open the door, and Madeline spotted him immediately. She gave him a quick smile, flashing dimples, but her gaze returned to the balding man, her hand never stopping its stroking of the Russian blue that lounged in her arms. Lucky cat.

Even the black jeans and the T-shirt that, below the picture of a grumpy cat, said, “I
am
smiling,”
couldn’t hide her subtle curves and natural grace. Her hair was wound into a knot on the crown of her head, but tendrils were escaping to curl over her forehead and along her slender neck. Eric’s hands itched to brush them back, coincidentally feeling the silk of her skin and the pulse beneath.

The balding guy, his back to Eric, was still talking. Eric tuned in at the point where he was saying, “That cat spent every day on the back of the couch staring at the bird in its cage. Worried us, I can tell you. But darned if we didn’t come home one day from work and find that bird loose and the cat cowering under the bed. He never went near the cage again. We figure the bird spent the day dive-bombing him.”

Madeline’s laugh rang out and Eric smiled in pleasure at the sound. How had a woman who liked people and animals as much as she did become so guarded much of the time?

“Well, I’m not sure Misty here would ever bestir herself enough to contemplate eating a bird. If you want a lap cat, she’s for you, but don’t count on her chasing toys or mousing in your garden shed.”

“You say she’s five or six?”

“That’s our best guess.” Madeline handed over the cat, who wrapped her front legs around the man’s forearm and settled in cozily.

He bowed his head, looking down at her. After a moment he said in a low gruff voice, “Since the wife passed away, my place seems so empty. Our last cat was hers more than mine. He was nineteen when he died. Her health wasn’t too good by then, so we didn’t replace him, but now…”

“Cats are wonderful company,” Madeline said gently.

“Well…all right.” He turned and Eric could see his face. He smiled ruefully down at the gray cat, which was purring nonstop. Misty knew which side her bread was buttered on. “I’ll take her.”

Madeline reached for a flattened cardboard carrier and said, “You won’t be sorry. She’s a honey. Let me set this up for you to take Misty home in. I do have some paperwork for you, but it won’t take long.”

The fellow, perhaps in his midsixties, filled out the form, wrote a check and took a shopping cart off to load up on cat food and litter. In her carrier, Misty went with him, presumably so she could be consulted. Eric suspected that some catnip and a plush bed and maybe an elaborate carpeted scratching post would be included in the final tab. Love made a man want to open his wallet.

Madeline introduced Eric to the other volunteer, a young woman named Linda, who then left to run a quick errand. Things had quieted down, so once Linda was gone Madeline and Eric sat down behind the table and opened the bags he’d brought.

“You did buy a milk shake!” She sounded delighted.

“Chocolate okay?”

“Chocolate is nirvana.”

They’d adopted out two cats already, she told him, a six-month-old kitten to a couple who wanted a companion for one they already had, and now Misty.

“Misty liked him, I could tell,” she said contentedly.
“Nice guy. He’s stopped to look at the cats and chat before. I knew that eventually he’d fall for one. He gave us a hundred dollars.”

A skinny blond girl, maybe ten years old, darted in the automatic doors and up to the table. “Do you have any kittens today?” she asked anxiously.

“A whole litter.” Madeline pointed through the glass behind her.

“Oh!” A radiant smile lit the girl’s face. “I’ll be right back!”

Sure enough, in less than a minute she was hauling her parents through the doors. They looked willing enough, however, and a younger girl clutching Mom’s hand was bouncing in eagerness. They all poured into the room, followed by Madeline, who gave a last wistful look at her half-eaten cheeseburger.

Eric watched through the glass, unable to hear the conversation but able to tell what was happening. They picked out one kitten right away, a playful black one with white feet that he remembered neutering just that week. It appeared that the girls liked an orange tabby, also, but the mother preferred a second black-and-white one. The kittens got passed around between family members, while Madeline hovered protectively. Eventually they settled on the black-and-white female, and Madeline gently deposited the two kittens in another carrier. Her hand lingered inside for a moment before she closed the top.

“And you’ve already bought everything you need?” Madeline was asking as she pushed open the door and came out with the family behind her.

“Yes, we’ve been looking for kittens for a couple of weeks. A farm had some, but they had runny noses,” the mother said, “and so I wasn’t sure…”

“Probably just a cold, but you never know.” Madeline sat down beside Eric and began explaining Ten Lives’s procedures and expectations. “We do ask that you not declaw cats you get from us, but I already told you that, didn’t I?”

The mother began filling out the form. “Yes, but we wouldn’t do it, anyway. It must be painful.”

The youngest kid squatted and poked her finger in a hole in the side of the carrier. She giggled. “His whiskers tickle!”

“You’ll have fun with them,” Madeline said, smiling at the child. “These two are really playful.”

Linda arrived back just then and went into the glassed-in room with a man in a business suit

The family left with their kittens, and Madeline shot to her feet. “Tell Linda I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, and hurried away. Her voice had sounded a little choked, and after only a brief hesitation, Eric went after her.

Already well down the aisle between displays of dog toys and bowls, she turned and disappeared. At the back of the store, he saw a hall that said, “Rest rooms,” and then beyond, “Employees Only.” On a hunch, Eric pushed through the “Employees Only” door. Inside was a huge stockroom, deserted but for Madeline, who stood with her back to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She swung to face him, and he saw she was crying. She wiped her eyes, blew her nose firmly, then nodded.
“I fostered those kittens, you know.” She sniffed. “It’s dumb, but I cry every time I place one I’ve had at home. I feel like I’m giving away my own cats.”

He stepped forward and carefully wiped away some fresh tears that clung to her lower lashes. “Yeah, but thanks to you they have a chance at a good life.”

“I know.” She blinked hard. “It’s worth a few tears. But I’d just as soon no one saw.”

“Including me?” With a will of their own, his hands closed on her shoulders, but he resisted drawing her into his arms.

She gazed up at him, eyes huge and shimmering. “No.” Her voice was just audible. “You understand, don’t you?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Now he did pull her close.

She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. For a moment she relaxed completely, and he moved his mouth against her hair, reveling in its life and vibrancy, in her momentary trust.

When she lifted her head, she didn’t step back. Triumph and wanting surged in him, but tangled with nervousness he didn’t understand. He didn’t stop to try. Instead, he bent his head and kissed her.

CHAPTER FIVE

M
ADELINE STIFFENED
momentarily, but couldn’t make herself back away. He brushed her mouth again, moved to her eyelids where he kissed away the tears, then went back to the beginning. The way he nibbled gently at her lower lip felt amazingly sensual. It made her want more—more pressure, more heat, more…something. She hardly knew what.

With a sigh she relaxed and parted her lips. A groan vibrated in his chest; she felt it as powerfully as if it had come from her, perhaps because her breasts were flattened against him. His grip shifted so that he no longer held her as a friend might, but as a lover would. One hand was splayed on her lower back, pulling her more tightly against him. His other hand wrapped around her neck, his thumb persuading her to tilt her face upward, his fingers caressing, stroking, seeking out the suddenly frantic beat of her pulse.

And his mouth hardened, captured hers. She felt his teeth against her lip; his tongue touched the tip of hers. Her knees almost buckled. Warmth flooded her belly, and for the first time in her life, she understood the urge to have sex.

With a whimpering sound she pulled back, frightened
by this new awareness. For a moment his hands tightened, as though he wouldn’t let her go, and her panic grew like a fire worked by bellows.

Behind Eric, footsteps came down the hall. One of the double swinging doors whooshed as it opened. Madeline heard the sounds, but her brain made no effort to figure out what they meant. Eric lifted his head, and she thought only that he’d finally sensed her resistance.

It wasn’t until a young male voice said awkwardly, “Uh…I’m sorry, but customers aren’t supposed to be here,” that awareness parted the fog.

Her cheeks flooded with heat. Discovering she was gripping Eric’s shirt, Madeline let it go and took a quick step back, grateful he released her so quickly.

“It’s…it’s me,” she said inarticulately.

The twenty-year-old in the orange vest blushed as fiercely as she did. “Madeline! Oh. I didn’t know…that is, I’m sorry. You can…I mean, I shouldn’t have interrupted.” He backed away, eyes bulging. “I thought…”

Eric kept a hand on her arm. It steadied her, for reasons she didn’t want to analyze.

“That’s okay, Jon. I promise we weren’t back here necking.” Yes, they were, her conscience objected. She ignored it, forcing a shaky smile. “I just placed a couple of kittens I was especially fond of. It always makes me a little weepy. Eric was…was being nice.”

The young man stopped backpedaling. “I’m sorry. I know how that is. We had a litter of puppies once— our dog is a purebred Dalmatian, see, and we took
her to this breeder. Only then when it came time to sell the puppies, it was really hard. I mean, I’d named them all, and—” He stopped and blushed again. “I’m sorry. I came in to get something, but I don’t have to.”

“I’m leaving,” she said with a more natural smile. “I just needed a minute. That’s all.”

Jon stood back to let them pass. Madeline couldn’t look at Eric. They walked silently side by side to the front of the store. Linda was in the room with the cages, engrossed in a conversation with two older women. Madeline’s knees gave way, and she dropped into one of the folding chairs behind the table. There, right in front of her, sat her half-eaten hamburger and milk shake.

Eric didn’t sit, just leaned over the table, his hands flat on the top. His voice had an undertone she couldn’t identify. “I feel like I’m fourteen and the principal just caught me making out with my girlfriend behind the gym.”

A giggle came out like a hiccup. Madeline clapped her hand to her mouth, but she couldn’t stop. Soon she was laughing so hard it hurt.

Finally she managed, “I feel like my kid brother caught me.”

He winced. “Ugly thought.” But the deepening of one crease in his cheek let her know he was suppressing amusement, as well.

Her laughter died. “Oh, dear. Are you hopelessly embarrassed?”

“Not me.” His gray-green eyes held an intensity that shook her, even though there was something peculiarly
reassuring about it. “I’ll kiss you in public anytime.”