Chapter 24
Celani
After a stressful evening of arguing with Pierce, then a night of actively avoiding him to save my sanity, I capped it all off with restless sleep.
I wake up the next morning feeling drained, both from my period cramps and my memories of last night.
Killian’s team hasn’t gotten closer to figuring out what Pierce may be hiding, but I am at the end of my rope living with him. I don’t know how much longer I can keep going through the motions with him here without completely losing it on him.
I drag myself out of bed to use the restroom. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and pull off my bonnet all on autopilot. I slide on some slippers, and make my way downstairs, but stop halfway down them when I don’t see Killian standing in his usual spot at the bottom.
I frown and walk through the downstairs hallway into the kitchen, looking around as I go. My steps halt when I see a bouquet of roses sitting on top of the island.
My mood lifts and I smile as I walk over to breathe them in, wondering if Killian disappeared so he could surprise me with them.
But when I pull out the small card that is attached, the note is not what I expected:
Sorry for my actions last night. I will be working late today.
-Pierce
“The hell?” I grumble, tossing the card onto the island and staring at the flowers in disgust.
I should have known that Killian would never buy me basic ass red roses.
I pick up the vase and take the flowers over to the trash can. I open it up and dump the entire thing into the garbage. I smile again, wiping my hands on my pajama pants when I hear the back door chime.
My pulse quickens seeing Killian coming through the back door carrying a few bags in his hands.
“Good morning!” I chirp, hurrying over to meet him.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he says, bending down to give me a soft kiss. “Come here. I got you a few things.”
He walks over to the kitchen island and sets the bags down. He hands me a black shopping bag, and when I look inside I see a box of ibuprofen, and another box that has a heating pad inside of it.
Next to them is a gold-colored bag with Redland Chocolatiers written on the front of it, and I gasp.
“Is this..” I whisper, too excited to finish my words.
He chuckles, watching me open it quickly. Inside there is my favorite dark chocolate with chopped Macadamia nuts inside of it. The ones I love to get whenever I go into the city.
I throw my arms around him and feel tears prickling in my eyes.
“Killian, this was so, so thoughtful. Thank you,” I say, wiping my eyes.
He kisses my forehead and helps me wipe away my tears with his thumb.
“I wanted to make sure that you had a survival kit for your period today,” he says, his expression tense.
My heart soars. “You’re so amazing. How are you even real?”
He shrugs off my praise and I suddenly hear a sound coming from the other bag on the counter. I set the chocolate in my hand down.
“What is that sound?”
Killian gives me a crooked smile and moves over to the bag to pull something out.
I feel a surge of happiness watching him pull out a small, fluffy, gray kitten wrapped in a tiny blanket.
“Oh my gosh, Killian!” I squeal, when he places it in my arms. “A kitten?! How?”
He chuckles rubbing the top of the kitten's head. “I had a busy night after I left you. Asher and I found him downtown at an animal shelter, not far from the chocolate shop you love,” he explains, going inside of the bag again.
He takes out some cat food, a black collar with a tiny charm on it, and some small bowls.
“I already put a litter box over in the laundry room, and we can go get anything else you want for him today if you feel up to it,” he says.
The kitten meows quietly at me and I kiss his soft head.
“Thank you, Killian. All of this is..this is really the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me,” I say, sniffing back the tears that are threatening to come back.
He wraps his arms around me and the kitten, hugging us gently. “It’s the least that I could do for you, baby. I know how rough this week must be for you,” he says.
I rub my eyes. “I’m so proud of you,” I say, gazing up at him.
He tilts his head at me. “Why?”
I reach over and take his hand in mine. “You have such a good heart. Even with all of the things you’ve been through you didn’t let any of it keep you in the dark.”
He stares at me a moment, and I see a wave of emotions dance over his face. He swallows hard before nodding once.
“Thank you, baby,” he says clearing his throat. He looks from me to the cat again. “You have to give him a good name.”
I nod eagerly, “Let’s think about it together today. I want it to be perfect,” I say, smiling happily.
◆◆◆
We spend the day doing our usual routine, except Killian makes me rest as much as possible. He sends Jules out to get more supplies for our kitten, and insists on being the one to make breakfast and lunch for us, not letting me lift a finger.
The kitten sleeps a lot, and catches on to using his litter box easily. Killian calls to set up an appointment for him with a vet the shelter recommended. While he makes the call, I watch the two of them sitting on the floor together as the kitten pounces playfully on him.
It’s so sweet seeing what a truly gentle giant he is, and it makes me fall for him even harder than I’ve already descended.
The day is so amazing that my mood doesn’t even sour when Pierce comes home from his meeting that night.
I’m sitting on the couch with the kitten in a blanket on my lap since he’s fallen asleep again.
Killian gets up from next to me when we hear the front door chime, and moves to stand beside the couch like he wants to create a shield between Pierce and me.
Pierce eyes Killian when he walks in, obviously still feeling uneasy after their confrontation yesterday.
“Hello,” Pierce greets shortly before looking over towards the kitchen. He pauses and frowns over at me.
“Where did you put the flowers I bought you?”
Shit.
I forgot about those.
I feel Killian eyeing me but I ignore his gaze and give Pierce a sad frown.
“Oh.. the vase-it fell when I was adding water to it,” I lie, feigning unhappiness. “Glass got all over the flowers, so I couldn’t salvage them.”
He stares at me for a few moments and I can tell that he is mad, but one glance over at Killian has him nodding instead of throwing another tantrum.
He clears his throat, “Well that’s unfortunate,” he responds, loosening his tie and walking over to me.
He bends down to give me a kiss, but a loud ‘meow’ stops him mid-descent. His eyes narrow and drop down to my lap where the kitten is squirming around in the blanket. His head emerges and he blinks his blue eyes up at Pierce.
Pierce rears back as if there’s a tiger sitting on my lap instead of a sweet little furball.
“Wha-Where the hell did that thing come from?!” He shouts, giving me an accusatory glare.
“The shelter,” I chirp, smiling down at the kitten.
Pierce gives me a mortified look. “A shelter?!” he asks incredulously.
“Yes, a shelter. For animals without homes in Redland,” I explain.
I look behind him and see Killian standing with his arms folded over his chest, a satisfied smirk on his handsome face.
Pierce shakes his head furiously, “You know that I don’t like cats, Celani. It can’t stay in this house,” he announces resolutely, as if I’m obligated to listen to him.
“He is not an it,” I respond curtly. “His name is Shadow, and he’s not going anywhere. You don’t have to take care of him at all. I will.”
I pick up Shadow and hold him against my chest while Pierce scowls between the two of us, looking like his head might explode.
“You’re damn right I’m not taking care of it. And I’m not spending money on it either,” he continues to rant, “And I don’t want him clawing up the furniture, or leaving his fur all over the place either.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes, and grin instead, refusing to let him ruin my mood. “No problem,” I agree.
His nostrils flare and he gives Shadow one last glare before storming out of the living room to head upstairs. A few moments later we hear the bedroom door slam, and I look over at Killian to see a wide smile growing on his face.
I laugh quietly, shaking my head at him. “I told you,” I whisper conspiratorially.
He comes closer and rubs my cheek gently, “He’s just pissed he’s got two pussy’s in the house that don’t like him now,” he says, winking at me.
My mouth falls open and I burst into giggles. “Killian!” I whisper.
He chuckles and leans down, surprising me when he presses his lips to mine for a sweet kiss.
“I’ll see you in the morning, sweetheart. You and Shadow have sweet dreams,” he murmurs.
I reach for his hand and kiss the top of his scythe tattoo.
“Goodnight, Kill. Dream about me,” I say, looking up into his eyes.
“Always,” he assures me, before walking out into the night.