Page 41 of The Holy Grail
“Paprika?” she murmured in his ear, as if she was blown away by the inclusion of the spice. “Is that the secret ingredient?”
He turned slightly, just enough to see her mouth, lips slightly parted, less than an inch away. “Yes. Very few people know about it,” he murmured back, then took her mouth in a long, soft kiss that he drew out until she was needing more. When he drew back, she blinked at him, sure every filthy thought she was having was written on her face.
“Can you do me a favor?” he asked, his voice little more than a caress.
She glanced down in the vicinity of his groin, and even though his shirt was untucked and provided camouflage, she could tell there was definitely some activity going on. “Of course,” she agreed, hoping the favor was related to what was in his jeans, because she’d totally—
“Would you get the waffle maker out for me?”
“What?” Her eyes popped back up to his, and the innocence there told her he knew exactly what she’d been doing and was playing with her in return. She really liked that. “Oh, sure,” she told him, like her internal temperature was completely normal, and took a few steps away from him, only to realize she had no idea where it actually was, blowing her cool game. “Where do you keep it?”
With a devilish grin, he pointed to a cabinet on her left.
Jules wasn’t surprised to see he had a fairly fancy waffle maker, which put hers to shame, and his pots and pans were stainless steel/non-stick hybrid Hex-Clad, which also put hers to shame. As he worked on double-breading the chicken (this time with her leaning against the counter), Dawn Corleone jumped onto the island and made her way over to Jules.
“He’s not supposed to be up here,” Malcom began, only to correct himself. “I meanshe’snot supposed to be up here, but …”
“But she’s a cat, and doesn’t give a damn about house rules,” Jules pointed out.
“You can set her on the floor if she’s bothering you.”
“She’s fine right here.” Jules began scratching behind Dawn Corleone’s ears, earning a full-throated purr in return. “Aren’t you, girl?”
When it got to where he could use some help, he had Jules come around and make the waffles, and the novelty of having someone cooking with him made his heart feel light. Just watching her do the simple tasks put a smile on his face, which she caught and returned.
When everything was done, and Malcom started plating up the food, she went and flipped the record.
“You can play something else, you know,” he called out to her, unable to stop thinking how much he liked her in his space, making herself at home.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I know.”
With Donna Summer’s voice filling the room once again, Jules sat down next to Malcom, close enough so their legs were touching. As they started to eat, Dawn Corleone stalked over to them and Malcom immediately picked her up and set her on the floor, only to have her jump up again.
Jules stopped him from putting the cat on the floor again. “Do you know how many meals I’ve eaten at Paige’s with multiple cats hanging around? Every. Single. Meal.”
“Fine. She can stay,” he agreed, only to point his fork at the cat. “But just this once.”
Jules rolled her eyes, knowing how cats got their way, no matter what. Because … cats. “The sooner you accept the fact she’s going to do whatever she wants in her house, the better off you’ll be.”
“Her house?”
“Yes. Since she’s choosing to live here, that makes itherhouse. In her mind, anyway.”
“Which makes me … what?”
“Her tenant.”
Malcom rubbed the top of Dawn Corleone’s head. “This is actually the first pet I’ve ever had,” he revealed. “And I’m not totally convinced she doesn’t belong to someone else. I mean, she’s pretty well behaved, and doesn’t seem like a stray cat, so I keep waiting for someone to knock on my door looking for her.”
“I really don’t think you need to worry about that.” She pointed to one of Dawn Corleone’s ears, in which the top was clipped off in a straight line. “That right there means she was a stray and was rounded up and taken to a vet who spayed her, clipped her ear, then released her back into the neighborhood.”
“What?”
“It’s to control the cat population, making it so they can’t reproduce and create a feral cat colony. She’s probably been given her shots, too, but you need to find a vet and have her checked out anyway, to make sure. You’ll also need to get her a litter box—”
“I already did that.”
She gave him a look that said,And you’re thinking you don’t own this cat, before saying, “And you’ll need to get her some cat toys and maybe a scratching post or two, and then try and start limiting her time outside.”
