Page 69 of Conquering Oz

“Aren’t you sweet?” She scratched the scruff of his neck, and he flopped to the floor and rolled onto his back. “Rolling over, huh?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the cat flipped over and walked to the corner edge of the counter. He sprung up and nuzzled his face against a sealed ceramic jar. She walked over,opened the container, and smiled. Cat treats. Oz was the last person she’d expect to be an animal lover. The cat jumped off the counter but remained close by her feet with a loud rumbling purr and a barrage of meowing.

“Do you do any tricks?” Elodie teased. “Can you sit?”

Much to her surprise, the cat immediately sat down.

“Oh shit.” She giggled and grabbed some of the treats, eyeing the cat. “Can you give me your paw?”

The cat held up its paw, and she gasped. “How about laying down? Do you do that?”

When the cat laid on his belly, she burst out laughing and then widened her eyes when he rolled over.Holy shit!She dropped the treats on the floor and watched him devour them. Who would’ve thought?

He went into full cat mode once the treats were gone. She reached down to pet him, and he side-eyed her and skittered away into the other room. Still, she was impressed. She made her way over to what looked like a coffee machine, but it was anything but basic. Elodie wouldn’t even know where to start, let alone where to find the coffee. Oz obviously had expensive taste.

She gave up her quest and was heading upstairs when she passed a birthday card lying flat on the table. She grabbed it and flipped it open.

To Oz, Love Dahlia and Trey.

When was his birthday? And more importantly, why hadn’t he mentioned it? Technically, this had only been their third date. It shouldn’t bother her she didn’t know his birthday. But it did. She ignored the gnawing ache in her chest.

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Oz had woken up fifteen minutes ago to an empty bed. It was his norm, but it left him unsettled. He reached for his phone, pulling up the house cameras. Elodie couldn’t have left without triggering the alarms. He found her in the kitchen. He watchedintently as she played with the cat and then picked up his card on the table.

When she walked out of the kitchen and through the hall, he set his phone down on the nightstand. A few minutes later, she emerged through his bedroom door.

“You have a cat.”

Oz hooked his arm under his head, staring up at Elodie as she crawled across the bed. Her hair swung past her shoulder, and her hands were braced on either side of his chest. It wasn’t a position he’d found himself in often. She was essentially caging him in.

“Yes.”

Her brows dipped, and she leaned an inch closer. “Did you know he sits on command, gives his paw, lays down, and rolls over?”

Oz didn’t know much about the habits of felines, but he’d had his very own freeloader for the last seven years.

“Yes.”

Her jaw dropped, and her mouth fell open in the cutest O. “Did you teach him that?”

“I taught him manners.”

Elodie’s smile broke into a grin, and she laughed. It was high pitched from the belly and authentic.

“That’s amazing. Cats are usually assholes.”

Oz scoffed. “Heisan asshole.”

“Yeah, but he’s an asshole who does tricks.” She giggled, leaning closer and dropping her breasts to his chest. “What’s his name?”

“The cat.”

She knitted her brows and remained silent for a few seconds.

“Yeah, the cat. What’s his name?”

Oz steeled his features. “The cat.”

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