Page 147 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
The struggle escalated, the twisting was out of control, and for a brief moment I wondered if the end of this battle would result in a hospital visit.
“Stop spinning.”
Immediately, Henry listened to my demand, giving me the perfect moment to throw down my nuclear weapon. I pulled off the cap to the water sprayer and chucked the entire bottle at Henry, just in time for Sir Licks-a-Lot to jump off him, resulting in Henry taking the brunt of the water straight to the noggin.
In shock, Henry stood in front of me, drenched from head to toe, with his hands stretched out and a look of utter confusion on his face. Next to him sat Sir Licks-a-Lot, cupping the water on the ground and slowly bringing his paw to his mouth to lap up a tasty Henry-flavored drink, as if our entryway floor was his own personal watering hole.The. Little. Shit. Bastard. Cat.
Henry wiped his face and then asked, “Love, what is that thing doing in our apartment?”
This was one conversation I wasn’t looking forward to. I knew Henry wasn’t going to be happy about our new roommate.
“Honestly, I don’t know how it happened. Last thing I remember is Gladys looking at me, begging me to take Sir Licks-a-Lot home.”
“Why?”
“All the cats were removed, something about furballs in the air ducts. She needed a place for him to stay.”
“And you were chosen for that?” Henry asked. He wasobviouslyirritated over the new resident in the building. The feeling was mutual.
“I was the only one permitted to have cats in their apartment. She called the landlord, Henry. What was I supposed to do?”
“Say no.” We both watched Sir Licks-a-Lot rub up against Henry’s pants, marking his territory. If I wasn’t so scared of the feline, I would let him know that Henry wasn’t available for marking, but honestly, I was too frightened I would lose an eyeball, so I kept my distance.
“I couldn’t. She cornered me and then offered me three hundred dollars more a paycheck to take care of him. I didn’t have a choice. Please don’t be mad at me.”
Despite my sad attempt at explaining why there was now a cat in our apartment, Henry continued to look irritated and frustrated. I didn’t like that look . . . at all.
The entire day bubbled over on me and my emotional well-being snapped. Tears flooded my eyes while I dropped to the floor, completely exhausted and emotionally worn out.
Before I had a chance to take a breath, Henry scooped me off the floor and took me into our bedroom, where he shut the door, partitioning off any access Lucifer had to us.
Henry laid me on the bed and then quickly stripped himself down so he was only in his boxer briefs. Hovering over me, he undid my hair from my ponytail and removed my clothing so I was only in my underwear and bra. He climbed into bed next to me and pulled me into his chest, where I rested my head and held on to him tightly.This. This is what I’ve needed.
“I’m not mad at you, Rosie. I’m sorry if it seemed like that. I just wasn’t expecting to come home to four sets of claws to my chest.”
“I don’t think anyone is prepared for that.” We both laughed, and the deep rumble of his chuckle vibrated through his chest and into my soul. Lying on a bed with Henry still felt like a dream. It was sometimes almost too good to be true, that I’d been so lucky to fall in love with my best friend, my hot and super-sexy best friend.
“I might have overreacted a little. I didn’t have the best day at work.”
“You didn’t?” I sat up in bed, placed my hand on his chest, and looked down at him. “What’s wrong?”
Cupping my cheek with his strong hand, he sadly smiled and said, “Nothing you need to worry about. Now get back down here so I can get lost in your intoxicating scent.”
I giggled as he encompassed me with his arms and buried his lips in my neck. I wanted to know more about work, but by the way he shut me down so quickly, I knew he wasn’t in the mood to talk about it, and I didn’t want to push him.
“Are you ever going to get tired of me?” I had thought this many times since we’d first got together. It still seemed surreal that Henry was in love with me. And no matter how many times he told me how beautiful I was, how perfect, how much he loved me, I still felt insecure about us. Yes, he’d been my friend for years, but at times that had meant he’d spent time apart from me when I’d ticked him off royally. I wasn’t sure I would be enough to hold his attention . . . as his girlfriend.
“Never, Rosie. I will never get fucking tired of you. You’re my girl.”
I sighed and melted into his chest as his hands worked wonders with my breasts.
“Mmm, are you looking to get some? Because I have some ideas of how we can meet each other in Pleasure Town, USA.”
Henry paused for a second and then spoke with his lips hovering over my skin. “We’re going to have to work on your dirty talk, love. I’m not going to lie; it’s not the best right now.”
“Hey,” I said, offended. “I thought that was clever. Pleasure Town, USA was funny, witty, and exciting. Tell me one person who doesn’t want to go there?”
“I think everyone wants to go there, love. I just don’t think anyone wants to talk about it in that context.”
