Page 18 of Crow Me A River

She stood there for a moment just looking at him. It was probably the only chance she’d get since every other time she stared too long, he seemed to catch her doing it.

The man really was handsome as sin.

With his eyes closed, she noticed things she hadn’t before. A faded scar cut through one of his thick eyebrows, and his nose was slightly crooked as if it had been broken at some point. Neither took away from his looks. If anything, the small imperfections made him even more attractive. His long black lashes rested against his tanned skin, which honestly seemed unfair. No man needed eyelashes like that.

Her gaze traveled lower. Even sitting against a tree, there was no hiding how big he was. His shoulders were broad beneath his shirt, and the open V at the neck showed tanned skin sprinkled with dark hair.

Damn.

Misty forced her eyes back to his face before they wandered somewhere they had absolutely no business going and she was shocked to see him wide awake and staring at her. She felt her face burn at being caught checking him out. Dammit.

She refused to look away even though she was embarrassed, but Bruce let out the loudest snore she’d ever heard, that even made her jump. Both she and Vin glanced at Bruce who straightened one leg out and farted.

“Oh, my, God.” Misty said, then laughed a true belly laugh and couldn’t stop. Vin joined her as he also laughed shaking his head.

“What?” Bruce opened one eye. “Trust me, that could’ve been a lot worse. Never trust a fart after whiskey.”

Misty didn’t really know what to say after that, but she did finally manage to stop laughing. Looking between Bruce and Vin, she frowned. “What are you two doing here?”

“Well, after I puked my guts out followed by a hairball incident, I wanted to make sure you got home okay.” Bruce licked his paw before rubbing it over his ear, grooming himself. “Wasn’t sure exactly which shithole you lived in, but after that lovely description you gave Griffin, I figured it was either this one or the one closer to the entrance of the Crow compound. That’s when I found lover boy here.”

“Bruce, don’t make me kill you this early in the morning.” Vin narrowed his eyes at him.

“The way my head is pounding, and my stomach is working up a good shit, I may welcome death.” Bruce went right back to grooming himself. “That’s why I’m here. You’ll have to ask grumpy ass why he’s here.”

Misty’s gaze moved to Vin. “Not a morning person?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Mornings are fine,” Vin replied, then without missing a beat added, “I just hate cats.”

“Yeah, well, Jaguars aren’t exactly my cup of tea either.” Bruce snorted before giving his whole body a shake.

Misty’s eyes shot to Vin. So that’s what he was, a Jaguar Shifter. Made sense. He definitely had that predator vibe about him, not to mention those gold eyes she’d seen at the lake. She should have figured it out then, but she'd had other things on her mind. Like being naked while six asshole Crows circled overhead.

“Wait a minute.” Misty frowned, looking from Vin to Bruce. “Aren’t you both from the cat family?”

Bruce stared at her as if she'd just insulted every cat who'd ever walked the earth. Vin didn't look much happier.

“What?” Misty glanced between them.

“Don’t ever say that again,” they replied at the same time.

“Ah, okay.” Misty’s eyes widened before she frowned in confusion. “But why? I mean, facts are facts.”

“A Jaguar is not a fucking cat,” Vin replied, looking almost offended.

Bruce’s head whipped toward him. “Excuse the fuck out of me?”

Vin glanced down at him. “You heard me.”

“Oh, I heard you, asshole.” Bruce sat, his tail twitching behind him. “What the hell do you think you are? A fucking giraffe?”

Misty covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

“I’m a Jaguar,” Vin growled.

“Which is a cat,” Bruce shot back.

“A big cat.”