Page 51 of Mistle-Ho

He sounds so confident. So certain of the very thing that made me come here in the first place. Sure, the possibility of finally having sex with the man I’ve spent a good part of my life lusting after was a big draw too, but the real reason I agreed was because Gavin makes me feel understood.

And that doesn’t happen for me much.

I’m not sure how to respond since I’m not faced with this scenario often, but it turns out I don’t have to. Because a loud crash from somewhere else in the condo has both of us sitting up straight.

“What was that?”

“I’ll give you two guesses.” Gavin is off the bed before I can blink, the sight of him in nothing but his underwear making my belly flip because all of that man muscle was pressed against me all night long. Unfortunately none of it went inside me, but I guess you can’t have it all.

Sliding off the mattress, I creep behind him, glancing around as I follow him down the hall. His condo is bigger than I initially thought, with a third bedroom right across from the master. It’s set up as a super sparse office, with nothing but a bare desk anda cheap rolling chair. The door to the second bedroom is closed since it currently has a cat inside, and the full bathroom across the hall is the same, but because of a one-eyed lizard. I get a peek at the living room as we pause in front of the closed doors, and now that I’m not in a full panic chasing wild animals, I can see it is just as basic as everything else.

“Have you lived here for a long time?” I’m trying to remember when he moved in, but it must not be as long ago as I think. Surely Gavin would have bought a dining room table by now if he’d been here any length of time.

He shrugs. “A couple years, I guess.”

That has my head bobbing back in surprise. “Two years?” I turn again to the large open area that should consist of the living room and a dining room space. All it has is a sofa, a couple recliners, and a giant television like the one in his bedroom. “Why don’t you have more stuff?”

“Because I’m a guy, Al.” Gavin cracks the door of the bathroom. “I don’t know how to pick shit like that.” He swings the door wider, stepping in.

I follow him in and find the bathroom looks exactly as it did last night. Not a thing is out of place, and there’s an iguana on the shower curtain rod. “Looks like whatever happened is behind door number two.”

Gavin turns, shooting me a smirk. “So I told you once you were funny and now you’re going to be a comedian?”

I roll my eyes, smothering out a smile. “Fuck you.”

Gavin reaches for me, pulling me close. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but we’ve got some shit to deal with right now, so you’re going to have to wait.”

For some reason that irritates me. “When have you ever made a woman wait to have sex with you?”

The minute the words clear my lips I feel bad. I really don’t judge Gavin for what he’s done before me. I’m just starting to get a little bitter he hasn’t also done it with me.

But Gavin doesn’t seem offended by my outburst. His expression is soft and a little perplexed as he reaches up to run a finger along the line of my jaw, pausing under my chin to tip my face back. “Never. You are the first.” He leans closer until his lips almost touch mine. “You have always been the exception, Al.”

I’m holding my breath, ready to be kissed.

But then freaking Cilantro has to try to tear the building down with her own four paws again.

Gavin closes his eyes, letting out a slow breath. “I’m kind of afraid of what’s behind that door.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t sound like Cilantro is a big fan of your new pet.” I think through the entire situation. “Or me. Either way, she’s pretty pissed off about someone else being in her house.”

“She’s used to having me all to herself.” He gives me a slow, sexy smile. “Luckily, there’s a lot of me to go around.”

From the other bedroom, Cilantro lets out a blood curdling scream and then there’s another crash. “I believe she disagrees strongly.”

“That’s her entire personality in a nutshell.” After another deep breath, Gavin turns to the door and cracks it open. It’s barely ajar when a pink nose shoves in the gap, pushing it wider so a skinny, sleek body can wiggle out.

I take a step back, just in case I’m the one his cat’s pissed at. Cilantro races past Gavin, tossing a hiss his direction, before winding her way around my ankles. I freeze, scared she’ll suddenly use her danger mittens to climb me like a tree so she can scratch my eyeballs out, leaving me looking like the lizard one room over.

But she doesn’t. Cilantro just tips her head back, looks at me with wide golden eyes and lets out the sweetest sounding meow.

I sense a trap. The minute I reach for her she’s going to go all Jekyll and Hyde on me. I know it.

But then she starts to purr, rubbing her little face against my shin, and I feel bad. She was locked in that room all night, and is probably used to sleeping next to Gavin.

I wonder if he uses her like a teddy bear too.

A pang of something shoots through my gut, making me press a hand to my middle. What the fuck? Am I jealous of a cat?

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