Page 40 of Kitten Kisses

No, his mate wasn’t. Alex didn’t have to work another day in his very long life if he didn’t want to. Slater would gladly take care of him. He would love the chance to pamper his mate.

Slater grinned mischievously. “Becky?”

She glanced up at him with the same Nordic blue eyes as her son’s. “Yes?”

“If you explain that reference to me, I’ll take you to any restaurant of your choice.”

Her face lit up with excitement as she replied, “Oh my! There’s this new place I’ve been wanting to try, but it’s too expensive. They supposedly have the best steaks.”

“It’s a deal,” Slater agreed with a smile.

“No!” Alex’s eyes were so wide they almost took up his entire face.

“We used to have this cat—”

“I’m kidding.” Slater chuckled. His mate had been embarrassed enough. If any humiliation was going to happen to Alex, it would be of his own doing, not by someone else’s.

“About the lunch?”

“I would never revoke my offer to enjoy a delicious meal with you and your son.” Slater placed a hand over his heart, relieved to see Alex visibly relax.

“I admit I had my doubts about you, Slater,” Becky began. “Leaving my son alone with your exotic pet... But now I see that you truly care about him.”

“With all my heart.” He looked directly at his mate, enamored with that pretty cupid-pink blush. She hadn’t a clue how deeply Slater cared for Alex. He was Slater’s everything—his heart, his very breath, and his future.

“I’m so glad my son found someone who’s over the moon for him.” Becky smiled warmly.

“Over the universe.” Slater winked at his mate.

“All right, enough with making my son blush. What should we do about Mitzy? She seems to have lost her energy and is always lying around now. It’s not like her.” Becky frowned as she stared at the cat.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but I’m not a cat whisperer. Maybe a trip to the vet would help.”

Alex tried to contain his laughter, but his eyes were giving it away.

“Alex petted and talked to your tiger when it was passed out,” Becky pointed out. “Regardless of my warning to stay away from a dangerous animal, he sat with the tiger for a while before we had coffee. He was talking to the dang thing like it was his tiger.”

Another punch to the heart. That’s why he loved his mate so much. Despite being terrified, Alex had comforted Slater’s tiger.

In more ways than one.

“I’ll try.” Slater shrugged. “I’m more of a big cat kind of guy, but let’s see what’s wrong with this furball.”

He just hoped she didn’t start looking at him as her personal vet, or god forbid, recommend him to her friends. Slater really didn’t know anything about domestic cats, but for his mate’s mom, he would give this a shot.

“Thank you.” Becky smiled gratefully at him.

Slater sat down and immediately caught Mitzy’s wary gaze. She smelled his cat. He gave his tiger a nudge to help him out. His tiger took one sniff and went back to sleep. “You’re no damn help,” he grumbled.

Hopefully the furball didn’t scratch him to hell. He picked up her and placed her on his lap. “What do you usually feed her?” he asked as he felt her weight on his legs.

“Wet cat food, tuna, baked chicken, cat treats. She also enjoys cold cuts.”

Slater looked at her in disbelief. “I’d recommend cutting back on the amount of food. Perhaps her weight is contributing to her lack of energy?”

“She wasn’t like this until she snuck out of the house,” Becky replied. “Do you think she might have picked up something from outside?”

Mitzy put her paws on his chest and sniffed curiously at him. “You’re going with me on my next run,” he whispered to her. “Stop eating everything your mom gives you.” A thought struck him. “Is she spayed?”

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