Page 71 of Virgin Skin

“I wouldn’t do that,” Jag deadpans as I step out of the house. “That’s how you end up with a squirrel named Fuzzy McFlufftail.”

“Well that would be tragic, wouldn’t it?” I baby talk at the kittens. Cy puts her ears back, clearly unimpressed with how sweet I’m being. I’m a good stepdad, dammit.

“Hey, Piston, hope you’ve got room for a couple of litter boxes and scratching posts at your place,” Hero calls.

I look up to see Piston loading the last kennel, containing a fluffy dog badly in need of a bath, into the back of Porter’s van. He looks at the kittens in my arms, then back at me with a sigh. I know he’s not going to tell me no, but I put on my best ‘please, please, please’ smile anyway.

“We’ll make room,” he says, and I have to bite my tongue against a happy squeal.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I do a little wiggle and Cy growls again.

“Why don’t we get them into a crate before Mama loses her patience and sheds some blood or runs off, huh?” Porter suggests.

I clutch the cats a little tighter and he gives me a placating smile.

“Don’t worry, you can return the kennel after you take them home with you.”

“Oh, shoot.” I frown at Piston’s motorcycle. “How are we going to get them home?”

“I’ll run back and get my car,” he says.

“Thank you.” I beam at him and carefully place my babies into the open crate Porter brings me.

“I saw you in there, patiently getting her to warm up to you,” Porter says after Piston pulls away with a promise to be back in just a few minutes.

“I like animals.” I shrug. “In a weird way I’ve always related to them a little better than people. They get overwhelmed by the same loud noises and unexpected situations I do, they’re honest about their wants and needs, and they never judge you.”

“That’s why I’ve always been an animal person too,” he says. “Have you ever thought about working at a vet clinic?”

I huff out a laugh. “College isn’t really for me. Lectures go on and on, textbooks are impossibly boring… I don’t know, I just feel like school has a way of sucking the joy out of things, even stuff I like.”

“You don’thaveto go to school. I mean, obviously, you can’t be a veterinarian without a shit-ton of schooling, but some of my best technicians were trained on the job.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card. “I’m not trying to push, if you’re not interested then no worries, but if you want to come shadow for a day and see what it’s like, give me a call.”

I take the card and stare at it for a minute, fresh excitement buzzing in my chest.

“Thanks. I will.”

“And make sure you call to schedule an appointment so I can check out Mama and the kittens in the next day or two. I’ll have to have you fill out official adoption paperwork too, but for now I’ll just write you down as the foster.”

I nod again and promise to make the appointment.

Piston is back twenty minutes later, pulling up to the curb in his car. He helps me load the crate into the back seat and then I climb in with it so I can make sure it doesn’t slide around too much on the drive back.

“You don’t mind, do you?” I ask as we pull away.

His eyes meet mine through the rearview mirror and I can see the smile in them.

“I don’t mind.”

“Cats are a big responsibility,” I hedge, running my fingers over the cool metal bars of the crate door. “They need a stable home. And these babies could live twenty years or more.”

Pison makes a sound in his throat and his hands tighten on the steering wheel. He’s quiet for a second before he clears his throat.

“That’s definitely a big responsibility. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

He meets my gaze through the mirror again and my heart flutters at the cautious hope I see shining in them. I swallow hard and nod.

“Yeah, I am.”

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