Chapter 24
Hot coffee tastes amazing when drank outside, in all this fresh air.
It’s cold, so I sit wrapped in two blankets, on a chair I dragged onto the porch from inside the house, but now that the storm passed, I can take in the natural beauty around us.
The lake stretching just about two hundred yards away from our door is the biggest surprise of all, since I hadn’t noticed it during the storm.
Now I’m wondering if skinny-dipping would be really such a terrible idea. Cold or not, it could be fun.
As I stretched my legs earlier, it became clear that there was a dirt road leading here, which Cassian must have somehow missed, but neither of us mentioned it, since there’s no point in beating a dead horse. In this changed weather, we can easily hike back to where we left the Jeep anyway.
And Cass has been extremely attentive since morning, which I’m interpreting as bottom privileges. You won’t hear me complaining. I didn’t feel it yesterday, but I am a bit sore.
I’d still love to do it again tonight though.
Cass is making us breakfast, so I’m on my own, enjoying the birds singing and the scent of damp leaves.
A little squeak alerts me to the cat, which jumps out through the open window.
“Hey there, cutie. All dry and warm, I see? Yeah, me too.”
The cat yawns and looks up at me, as if it wants something. We woke up to it sleeping on the edge of our blanket, and considering the state of the tuna can, the poor thing had its fill of food while we slept.
“What did you say?” Cass calls out, but as I prepare to shout back, the little ginger cat gets to his back legs and rests the front ones on my thigh. Does it… want to sit on me?
I adjust the position of my legs to make room for it in my lap. “Cass! I’m pregnant!”
“What, already? Don’t you remember how Gareth McCol insisted you can’t get pregnant during your first time?” He laughs, but I’m serious, because this cat, while worse for wear, is clearly not afraid of people. Though it isn’t wearing a collar.
The poor thing is a stray that’s lost its home or worse—was left in the woods on purpose. It’s a miracle it survived.
“Well then Gareth was wrong, because there’s a fur baby in my lap!”
No longer wet, the ginger cat is a ball of fluff that doesn’t waste any time and starts kneading my blanket. And by extension—my stomach.
I hear footsteps, and then Cassian’s head emerges from the window. His brows trail up. “Oh no. Maybe I should have used protection after all?”
The cat glares at me with a weirdly serious expression, before showing me its backside.
It’s definitely a boy.
“Well, too late now, it’s here. What are you gonna do about it, cat daddy?”
He bites his lip. “We’ll have a vet check if he’s chipped.”
I stare at him. “If he’s not, what does the rental agreement on the apartment say about pets?”
Cassian’s eyes narrow. “Nobody’s gonna know, regardless of what it says.”
I like when he’s a bad boy.
“Where’s the food? I just gave birth, so I can’t fetch it myself.” I lower my hand to the cat’s back, but he doesn’t flinch, and lets me pet him, stretching out his front legs as he rests his little head on my leg. I beam at Cass. “Oh, my God. Do you see this?”
His eyes shine with something I can only describe as joy. “You better come up with a name if you want to keep this baby,” he says and disappears in the cabin.
I stare into the cat’s eyes. “Did you hear that? He wants to take you away. But I will never give up my child. Especially not one as cute as you.” I stroke it under the chin.
“I would never,” Cass shouts, but I’m too busy watching the green eyes close in pleasure to answer. Moments later, the father of my child joins me with two massive pieces of French toast for us. He places the food on a chair and drags another one out to sit in.
“That looks amazing, thank you!” But with the cat in my lap, he’s the one who has to lean in for a kiss. “We could call him Lion, cause I thought he was a mountain lion.”
“There are no ginger lions,” Cass complains and cuts his toast into tiny pieces. “What about Spark?”
I bite into a piece of buttery goodness covered in cinnamon sugar. “Sounds good to me! But can his second name be Lion?”
“Is he taking your last name or mine? You know, since he’s born out of wedlock,” Cassian asks, squeezing my hand.
“Let’s do yours, cause it’s hot and Italian. Lastra,” I roll it on my tongue and wiggle my eyebrows at him, but then have another massive bite.
“Marshall isn’t too shabby either,” Cass says with his mouth full. “How about we go all out? Spark Lion Marshall-Lastra?”
The cat yawns.
“I think he likes it.”
As if to show us that he doesn’t, Spark jumps off my lap to stretch on the porch. Well, too bad, cause he doesn’t get a vote.
I take his action as my cue though and sit in Cassian’s lap.
“Would you like to come visit my family for Christmas?” I ask and wrap one arm around his neck for balance.
I already told him Mom knows, but surprise still passes over his features. “Yes. Will you visit mine?” he asks and tightens his arms around my waist.
I nod with a widening smile and give him a sweet, cinnamon-flavored kiss.
Invigorated and so happy my heart could burst, I get off his lap and drop the blankets so that I’m left naked. I regret it a bit once the cold touches my skin, but the adrenaline is pumping in my veins keeps me from freezing.
“Race you to the lake!”
He blinks at me and quickly pulls off his T-shirt, but he’s still wearing his pants and shoes. “Not fair!”
“Life’s not fair!” I yell, running bare foot over the grass stretching toward the lake.
Moments later, I can hear his footsteps pounding behind me, but as much as I want to see him naked, the need to win is more important.
A sharp rock digs into my foot as I dash over wet grass, but my goal, the forest-surrounded lake, is too close for me to care about such minor problems. I shriek when my foot hits the liquid ice and splashes it all over me, but what counts is that I won, so I turn around and face him with a proud smile.
He’s right behind me, running in his naked glory. It’s too late to save myself when I spot the wicked glint in his eye, it’s too late.
Cassian tackles me into the water and I screech, not sure if I’m terrified or overjoyed.
I love him so much.