Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
My heart beats like crazy as I rush toward the front of the cabin, but despite the cold and fear making me move like a wooden dummy, all I can think of is Cassian. He is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I can’t see him hurt, regardless of what he believes.
Rain pours down on me, but I don’t care about it at this point, intent on confronting whatever awaits me. A part of me is ready to dash back inside if this is indeed some wild animal, but when I peek toward the door from behind the wooden wall, I see nothing.
Fuck.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. I assess my weapons and decide the pan is less important. Squinting at the area in front of the door, I wait for a few moments but throw the pan toward the suspected intruder as soon as I spot movement.
A loud meow and hiss combo pulls me out of Rambo mode.
A ginger cat leaps away from the door and, thank fuck, it didn’t actually get hit by the pan.
“Oh, my God! I’m so sorry!” I coo at it as relief floods my whole body.
“Mattie?” Cassian shouts, but I’m already scooting next to the poor animal, whose fur is so wet it sticks to its skinny body like second skin.
“Open the door!” I shout as the cat regards me with caution. But it not only isn’t running away but even approaches to smell my fingers after a moment’s hesitation.
We both stiffen when Cassian opens the cabin door.
“Wow,” he says after a moment of silence.
I realize I still hold the knife as if I’m about to stab someone. “Don’t laugh at me! It could have been anything.” But I snort too, and when the cat rushes inside, I follow.
I give Cass a cold, wet hug filled with all my love for him and grin when he flinches.
“Ouch, ouch, jeez, you’re cold!” he complains but keeps hugging me as we lock the cabin and glance toward the fireplace. We can’t find the cat at first, but in the end, the wet traces of little paws make us look under the bed, where it’s hiding.
“Poor thing,” Cassian mutters before snapping his fingers. “I have a can of tuna. Just wait.”
It must have wanted to hide from the storm.
Seeing that Cass is on top of coaxing the cat out, I take off the wet towel and stand with my ass shamelessly turned toward the fire.
“He nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“There’s no people around. What could he possibly be doing here?” Cass mutters when he comes back with an open can of fish and a little bowl of water. As he scoots by the bed to leave out the food, I let my gaze slide down his muscular shoulders, down his back, all the way to his buttocks. He’s incredibly hot, and I want to touch him, but I’m also struck by how comfortable it feels to be naked around him.
Around women, I always experienced a weird tension, but there’s none of that with Cass. And it’s not just because he’s a man too. The thought of hanging out with some random dude naked makes me uncomfortable, so it must be Cassian specifically who puts me so at ease.
“Could it be feral? We should take it to a vet tomorrow and check if it has a chip.”
He shrugs. “Hard to tell. Maybe once it feels comfortable coming out of there, we’ll see if it’s wearing a collar.” With that, Cass rises to his feet and faces me with a soft smile. “Such a gentleman, didn’t want me to get tortured by crazy cultists, or whatever you imagined was out there,” he says as if he wasn’t the one to come up with the intruder being human.
I groan and spread my arms. “You say that now, but it could have been anything. So yeah, I’d protect you.”
“Oh, I know. You’re my hero,” Cassian whispers, approaching me with a confident smile that switches something in the mood. All of a sudden, I feel lightheaded.
I rub my wet hair. “I try. I thought it could be a bear and still went out there in just a towel.” Okay, so I might be milking it a little. Sue me.
“Really brave.” Cassian grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. His kiss to my fingers sends a jolt of electricity down my body, and when he looks up and meets my gaze, my tongue feels too big for me to talk.
I bite my lip in a bout of shyness. My heart beats faster, but he seems to simply have that effect on me. “You better not be mocking me.” The warmth from the fire is starting to burn, and I might have to step away soon, but I notice his fingers are cold. “You should…” I laugh and pull his hands to my overheating butt. “There. Saving your hands too.”