Page 76 of Breeding Clinic

“Of course not,” Matthew says, picking Waffles up and tipping him on his back. He pets my cat’s fluffy belly while Waffles purrs.

I stare, shocked. Waffles never lets anyone but me touch his belly. “What magic spell have you put on my cat?”

Matthew shrugs. “We hang out when I come over to feed him.” He carries my surprisingly docile cat into the living room while Liam and Gabriel bring the bags in.

“You can put those in my office,” I tell them, pointing down the hall. While they’re doing that, I open my fridge to see what’s in there. There’s spoiled milk and ancient Chinese takeout and a bag of slimy rotting salad mix. I spend more time at their place now than mine. Water is fine, I decide, pulling out four glasses and filling them with ice and water from the fridge door.

I bring all four glasses over and set them down. Matthew is holding Waffles to his face and whispering something to him. Sitting down next to him, I give him an amused look. “What are you telling him?”

“That he has a sister coming and he has to be nice to her.”

Waffles purrs, unperturbed. When he’s had enough, he wiggles until Matthew sets him down, then walks over to his food dish and loudly meows.

“No,” I tell him. “It’s not time for dinner yet.”

“Is Mommy being mean?” Matthew chuckles and gets up to grab the laser pointer.

Being called mommy puts butterflies in my stomach. I rub my belly. She’s finally settled down after that big meal.

Liam and Gabriel come back, Liam holding something in his hand. “Is this your new book? I didn’t think it was out yet.”

“What?” I stare at what he’s holding. “Oh, that’s my proof copy. It’s not live yet.”

“September first, right?” Liam asks.

“You remembered that?” I think I mentioned it in passing but that was weeks ago.

“He signed up for all of your socials,” Gabriel says, flopping down onto the couch.

“And your newsletter,” Matthew adds.

I glance between them. “Seriously?”

“Of course.” Liam sits and flips through the book. “I want to be involved in anything that’s a big part of your life.”

My heart swells in my chest. That’s so sweet.

Liam flips faster, his thumb making the pages fly by. “Whatever sex scene it lands on, we’re doing.”

My eyes widen with panic. “What?”

“You write a lot of sex scenes,” Liam says. “It’ll land on one. And whatever they’re doing, we’re gonna do.”

Oh no.This isn’t a good book for that game. “The readers like spice. But I told you I’m not into every single thing I write. It needs variety, you know?”

“Hmm,” he says, like he doesn’t believe me. His thumb stops and he cracks the book open, his eyes skimming across the page. His eyebrows rise, and then he grins.

“What… what chapter are you on?” I’m afraid to ask. Because he means it. Unless I want to use my safeword, we’re doing whatever spicy scene he lands on. That book is one of my dirtiest. It’s a polyamory mafia romance where the heroine, an omega of course, is abducted by a rival mafia pack who want to get back at her father, the Don, for a business deal gone wrong. Of course they all fall in love by the end of the book. But it doesn’t come easy and they aren’t always gentle or understanding at first.

“Gabriel, we’re gonna need you for this one too,” Liam says, passing the book over.

I’m sweating in my seat while Gabriel reads the passage. The scene he landed on is over halfway through the book, so that’s not too bad. At least it won’t be the scene with the gun.

Gabriel flips the page and lets out an ominous chuckle. “Dirty girl,meu docinho.”He grins. “I like your thinking.”

“What is it?” Matthew asks.

Gabriel hands him the book. I try to intercept it but their arms are longer. They jerk it out of reach. “You guys are jerks,” I say without any heat to my words.

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