Page 29 of Reclaimed

9

Isla

After tossingand turning the entire night, I finally give up and drag myself out of bed at seven a.m. The smell of coffee percolating down the hall reduces my emotional bandwidth to near zero. My exhaustion and the fact I can’t actually drink caffeine has my pace quickening, a scolding forming rapidly in my thoughts.

Rounding the corner with a complaint on the tip of my tongue, I stutter to a halt. The kitchen is annoyingly empty.

“Figures,” I mutter to myself.

The carafe is nearly full and a bag of my decaf grounds sits beside it. I busy myself with fixing a plain cup since Aiden went out of his way to start a pot and let my irritation subside.

Chevy winds his long body around my legs, his purr filling the room.

“Good morning to you, handsome.”

He meows and sits at my feet, staring at me as if I should be able to read his mind.

“Where’s your human this morning?”

Chevy meows again in answer.

“I’ll have to get used to having you around. I’m sorry to say I don’t speak cat.”

“He’s just pissed because Cortney said he needs a diet, and I won’t give him more food.”

“Why do you have to listen to your sister on her opinions of your cat?”

I glance up, feeling my earlier irritation spike at the sound of his voice, but my mouth runs dry.

“Because she’s his vet.”

“Where are your clothes?” I stutter, frantically attempting to wet my dry lips. The words hover between us in little more than a whisper.

The towel draped around his hips is dangerously low and incredibly unstable looking. One little trip or catch against his toe, and I’m going to become a peeper in my own damn house.

“I was just on my way to get some.” His smirk is cocky if not a little cold.

“From where?”

“My bag.” His brow furrows.

“You didn’t bring it with you into the bathroom?”

His shoulder lifts in a shrug. “You weren’t awake yet.”

“Well I’m awake now!”

“No thanks to that shitty coffee. It’s so weak I had to brew two pots because I thought I didn’t do it right the first time.”

“It’s decaf!” I fire back, hands settling on my wide hips.

“It’s coffee flavored water. I’m not even trying to be funny. It tastes like the pot just ran the water passed the grounds to get a hint of flavor.”

“It’sfine.” If only he knew how badly I wanted real coffee. The strong bitter bite of a freshly brewed sip. The jittery jolt of caffeine I haven’t felt in over a month.

Tears prick the corner of my eyes.

Ohfuck.

---