Love and Chaos (23 page)

“Mal,
you know I love you, and you know I want you to have a pet almost as much as
you want one. But do you think your parents will let you have a cat?”

Malcolm
shook his head. “I don't know,” he said softly, already knowing in his heart
that the answer would be no.

“You
can ask,” Emma suggested gently. “In the meantime, he can stay here. You and I
can take him to the vet this week to be sure that everything is OK, and we can
make sure we don’t see any fliers for a missing kitten. OK?”

The
look on the boy’s face nearly broke Emma’s heart. She knew that he badly wanted
this animal as his own, but she also knew his parents. There was no way they
were letting this little furball of destruction into their showcase of a house.
Even if it was something their son badly wanted. So she could take it in, if
she could convince Mason that this was a good idea, and Mal could see it all
the time. Whenever he wanted. She sighed. It wasn’t ideal, but it was an
option.

When
Mason got home a few hours later, Emma was waiting. She had put the kitten in
her room in case it got destructive, and met him in the living room, before he
had a chance to escape to his study.

“You
want to what?” he asked, when Emma was done telling the story.

She
rolled her eyes. “I want to keep the cat.”

“But
why?”

“Because
it’s cute. And little. And alone. And because Malcolm loves it.”

“So
why doesn’t Malcolm keep the cat?”

“You’ve
met his parents. Do you really need to ask?”

Mason
crossed his arms and looked sternly down at Emma. “So because his parents are
not cat lovers, I have to take in a cat?”

Emma
looked up at him suspiciously. “No, you don’t have to do anything. But have you
seen a kitten lately?”

“No,”
he admitted cautiously, not sure where this might take him.

“Well,
you can’t make a decision until you meet him.”

He
rolled his eyes. “OK. I’ll meet him. But then if I say he goes, he goes.”

The
stubborn look on her face was back. Mason sighed.

“Oh
hell. As long as it stays in your room. And as long as Chaos doesn’t create
havoc by chasing it all over my house.”

She
grinned. “No promises. But I’ll try. Hang on. I’ll go get him.”

She
was back seconds later with the tiny little black and white kitten. It was
probably the smallest animal that Mason had ever seen, and it was absolutely
the cutest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. When Emma held the kitten out to him,
he backed away. He didn’t know how to hold a cat!

“Oh
for heaven’s sake,” she said. “Sit down.”

He
sat. She placed the cat in his lap. “He’s a kitten. You really can’t hurt him
unless you try to. Here. Let him crawl on you.”

The
cat was all over him. In his lap. Up his chest. On his shoulder. Around his
back. On the other shoulder. Back down. And Mason was enchanted. This little
creature was adorable.

“What
are Chaos’ thoughts on this?” he asked dryly.

“Dunno.
Haven’t introduced them.”

“Has
he been around cats before?”

“Not
much. This will be new.”

“In
my house?”

“Relax,
Mason. We’ll take it slow and easy.”

He
leaned his head back on the couch. “Why do I let you talk me into these
things?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Because
your life would be boring otherwise,” she grinned. “I’ve got to go pick up some
food and a litter box for him.”

He
gave in. “Go. Take Chaos. I’ll watch the little crazy feline.”

“You
sure?” Emma asked.

“No.”

Emma
grinned. “OK, OK. I’m going. I’ll be back quickly. If you need something to do
while I'm gone, you could come up with a name for him.”

“Malcolm
should name him,” Mason said immediately.

“OK
then. His name is Max. I tried to advocate for Havoc, but Mal wasn't amused.”

Mason
laughed then. “Havoc might be more appropriate, but Max is a good name. Go. But
please tell me you have something in the fridge that I could heat up for
dinner?”

“I
do. It’s on the top shelf. I’ll be back in half an hour,” she assured him,
scritching the kitten on the head and briefly squeezing Mason’s shoulder. “Try
not to step on him,” she called as she and Chaos bounded out the door.

Emma
couldn’t sleep. She kept listening for sounds of the kitten on the stairs. She
worried that he had gotten lost, or that he was stuck somewhere. She worried
that he was lonely. Finally, at 11:00, she surrendered. Climbing out of bed,
she shrugged into her robe and padded down the stairs. She’d start in the
kitchen, where they’d set up a little bed for the animal, near the window so he
could look out. If he wasn’t there, she’d start looking around.

When
she looked around the corner of the kitchen, she nearly laughed. Mason was
sitting on the floor, cross-legged, letting Max climb all over him. As she
watched, he picked the kitten off of him and set him on the floor, but Max
immediately climbed back up until it was sitting on his shoulder. She smiled
softly at the sight, and started to quietly back away, but as she moved, she
must have made a sound. Mason’s gaze swung over to where she was standing. The
look on his face was one of sincere happiness. And it melted Emma’s heart.

She
moved over to where he sat and gently plucked the kitten from his shoulder. She
cuddled it closely, kissing its tiny belly and rubbing her nose into its fur.
He squirmed, but his paws reached out to pull her closer. Giggling, she handed
Max back to Mason, who set him back on his shoulder. He shrugged. “It’s a
losing battle,” he said with a grin. “What are you doing up?”

“Apparently
the same thing as you. I wanted to make sure Max was OK. I wasn’t sure if he’d
make it up the stairs if he got lonely.”

He
chuckled. “The cat’s fine. A little energetic, but fine.”

“I
can hear him purring from here. So you’re OK with keeping him?”

Mason
turned his head to regard the kitten on his shoulder. “WE are keeping him. This
is joint custody.”

She
smiled and reached down to scratch the little kitty head. As she did so, her
robe gaped open, and Mason caught a glimpse of the dark blue silk nightgown she
had on underneath. His gaze moved down to her long legs, peeking out from under
her robe, and when he raised his eyes to hers, the laughter was gone.

Emma
nearly gasped at the intensity of his stare. His eyes locked on hers, he slowly
pushed his way to his feet. He gently set the kitten back into his bed, then
turned and moved toward Emma. His shirt was unbuttoned at the neck, and his tie
was loose, but even in his state of slight disarray, he was the sexiest man
Emma had ever seen. And at this moment, he was completely focused on her. She
lifted one hand to catch her hair in back of her neck, and watched as he
approached her, stopping only inches from her. Reaching out, he wrapped his
fingers around her neck, gently using his thumb to lift her face toward his.

Pulling
her mouth to his, he kissed her. It was rougher than his kisses had been
before, and Emma felt the controlled passion behind it. He explored her mouth with
his tongue, his lips moving over hers, fierce and demanding.

“Emma,”
he said as he lifted his head, his voice low and gravelly. “You have to know
that I want you.”

She
nodded solemnly, her breathing unsteady. She knew. She wanted him with equal
passion.

“Tell
me,” he commanded softly. “Tell me that you want me too.”

“I
do. I want you too, but...”

“Emma,
I don’t want this to be one-sided or for you to feel coerced,” Mason continued.

She
nodded. “Mason, I know that the contract…”

But
he interrupted her. “To hell with the contract,” he said fiercely. “This is
between us. I don’t want to do anything you don’t want, Emma.” He ran his thumb
gently over her lip. “If you tell me to stop, I’ll step away.”

She
closed her eyes. She wanted this man. Badly. But there would be consequences.

“Mason,
I don’t take this lightly,” she whispered.

“Nor
do I.”

But
Emma pulled away, and Mason reluctantly let her go.

“What
I mean is...” She took a deep breath. “Look. If this is just because you need a
woman in your bed, then you need to stop this. I’ve offered before - we can
renegotiate the contract so that you can sleep with other women.”

“You’re
offering me an outlet.”

“Yes.”

“And
if I tell you that I don’t want an outlet? That I want you?”

“Do
you?”

“Emma…”

“Because
I’m not like Jen. Or like the other women you’ve dated before me. I’m not
asking for a ring and a promise of forever, but if you’re just in this for the
sex, I can’t do this.”

He
looked intently down at her, without touching her. “You have the ring already,”
he reminded her, reaching out to brush a strand of hair back from her face.
“And neither of us knows what tomorrow will bring, or if forever is in the
cards for anyone.”

Still
standing a foot away from her, he held her in place without touching her, just by
the strength of his gaze. “Will you let me make love to you, Emma?” he asked
gently.

She
stared up at him, her need for him consuming her, making it hard for her to
think. Would she regret this in the morning? she wondered. But some part of her
simply didn’t care. She’d deal with the consequences the next day. And there
would be consequences, she knew. Still, she didn’t have a choice, really. She
wanted this man like she wanted air to breathe. “Yes,” she whispered.

With
a groan of relief, Mason reached out and pulled Emma into his arms. There was
no finesse to this, not tonight. Not now. Not when he finally had her in his
embrace. His kiss was passionate, bordering on obsessive. There was no
expertise to his touch. He simply had to have her. But she was matching him,
touch for touch, kiss for kiss. She wanted him too. And while he badly wanted
to slow down, to take his time, to show Emma how good it could be between them,
the need was too great.

Without
lifting his mouth from hers, he swung her up into his arms, and carried her
easily up the stairs and into his bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he gently
followed her down.

Emma
awoke to the feel of little tiny kitten paws walking over her face. Opening one
eye, she giggled at the sight of the kitten hopping over her to the space next
to her on the bed, and flopping down, raising his paw for a belly rub. She
happily obliged. Turning around in the bed, expecting to find Mason there
beside her, enjoying the antics of the cat, she found nothing but an empty spot.
It was cold – he’d been up for some time.

Fighting
the wave of anxiety that hit her, she pulled on the robe that Mason had pulled
off of her last night. Picking up Max, she walked down the hallway to her
bedroom. Mason had already let Chaos out – his crate was open, and he was
nowhere to be seen. So Emma placed the kitten on the floor of her room, and
went into the bathroom to take a shower.

It
was a bad sign that Mason had gotten up this morning without waking her. Emma
knew that. She knew that it was likely that he was regretting last night, or
that he was wondering how to tell her that things had gotten out of hand, but
that he was very sorry. She also knew that he’d probably be cold this morning.
The walls would be back up. She needed to be ready for that. She might have
broken through for one night, but she was kidding herself if she thought that
once they were down, they’d stay down.

After
showering and pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she pulled her wet hair
back into a ponytail and applied just a dusting of makeup. Looking at her
watch, she gave a sigh of relief. It was almost 9:00. She was due at her
grandmother’s at 11:00 to take her to the grocery store. If she needed to,
she’d go over early. Gran would understand, especially once she explained why.

Heading
downstairs, Emma found silence. No coffee brewing, no breakfast cooking. Any
last hope that she had that Mason was just kindly letting her sleep in
disappeared. Moving into the kitchen, she started a pot of coffee, then let
Chaos in and fed him. She put down food for the cat. She poured coffee. She
drank one cup standing at the counter. She poured herself a bowl of cereal. She
ate it. She drank another cup of coffee. She cleaned up after herself.

Going
back upstairs, she made the bed in Mason’s room, then went into her own room
and straightened up. At 10:30, she crated Chaos, shut Max in her room with
food, water, and a clean litter box, and headed for Gran’s.

Gran
took one look at Emma when she opened the door to her granddaughter. “You slept
with him.”

“I
did,” Emma admitted as she walked into her grandmother’s home and made herself
comfortable on the couch.