Page 56 of Pack Scratch Fever
I blink.
He’s so handsome. His inky dark hair looks soft and shiny, and I want to run my fingers through it. His jaw structure is sharp, almosttoosharp.
It’s like an otherworldly vampire walked through the pet store.
Heidi nudges my side as I gawk at him like an idiot. “That’s so kind of you, sweetie.”
Maddox grins and extends his hand to her. “I’m Maddox,” he says. “I know all about your rescue because of Pipe.”
When he goes to shake Gary’s hand, the older man huffs. “You be good to our girl,” he warns him, and I want to die of embarrassment.
“Gary,” I hiss, but Maddox only laughs.
“Of course,” he says.
Gary has never been one to keep his mouth shut, especially when it comes to Blair or me. “She’s a good one. You hurt her, and I hurt you.”
“Gary!” I gasp, mortified.
“Absolutely,” Maddox agrees, and I’m ready to run out of the store from embarrassment. “I give you permission.”
Gary lets go of his hand with a harrumph. “Since you’re here, you can put yourself to work,” he says gruffly. “We have cats to adopt. We don’t need any distractions.”
“Gary,” Heidi warns, her eyes light with amusement. “Stop embarrassing the poor girl.”
But Maddox isdelighted. He sits in the chair next to me, which happens to be Mari’s. But Mari is talking to a Beta woman about the cats, and when she sees Maddox in her chair, she simply gives him a friendly wave.
Traitor.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him quietly, turning so only he can hear me. I can feel Heidi and Gary’s eyes on me, watching us intensely.
“What everyone else is doing,” he says matter-of-factly. “Volunteering. And don’t youdaresay you don’t need volunteers, because I know you do.”
I scowl at him. “I needactualvolunteers, not someone trying to distract me.”
He looks amused. “I’m a real volunteer,” he says, then points to Mari. “Mari is holding Coral right now, who is bonded with Henry, her brother.” He points to the kennel closest to us. “The tuxedo one is Gracie, and the calico is Allie. Their mom is Claudia, who is on a sensitive food diet. And that—” he points to the cage near the front of the store that houses a grey tabby cat— “is Darlene. She has dry skin and needs to be the only cat in the house.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “Oh.”
“Yeah.Oh,” he repeats, smirking. “So, how do you like the website?”
At the mention of the website, I soften. “It’s phenomenal,” I say softly. “I can’t thank you enough. I can pay you?—”
He shakes his head, a tuft of black hair falling into his eyes. I have the urge to reach up and push it away. “I don’t want your money, sweetheart. Just your company.”
My inner Omega purrs in delight as my heart beats rapidly.
Heidi sighs dreamily next to me, and I roll my eyes are her eavesdropping.
“You’re doing enough,” I argue, looking inside the bag. I widen my eyes at the premium cat food it contains. “Hey, this is really expensive. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Why not give them the best food they can have?” Maddox shrugs. “The less filler the better, right?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. That’s right.”
“And I think…” he leans over to peer into the bag, “…this one has cranberries for bladder health, and some pumpkin for digestion. Hell yeah, I made sure I bought the best type.” He motions to the aisle farthest from us on the left. “The better brands are over there, near the back. At least, those are the ones I would give my imaginary cat.”
My jaw drops. “Did you do research on cat food or something?”
