Damien (Slater Brothers #5)(85)

“Have you ever watched a game of baseball in your life?”

“Jesus, no.” I felt myself pale. “Why would I ever do somethin’ like that?”

His laughter brought a smile to my face.

“I love your laugh.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his bright eyes gleaming. “I’m a little partial to yours, too.”

“Sweet talker.”

He helped me out of my coat, then hung it up and his own while I saw to Barbara. I opened the sitting room door carefully, and instantly, a putrid odour stung at my nostrils. I quickly glanced around and saw the used litter tray.

“Why on Earth did I leave the stupid tray in ’ere?”

I placed my hands on my hips and searched the room, coming to a stop when I found Barbara sitting on my curtain pole.

“Barbara!” I gasped. “How in Christ’s name did you get up there?”

“How did she get up whe—holy shit.”

I began to panic and rushed across the room until I was directly below Barbara with my hands up, ready to catch her in case she fell. She was looking down at me with a bored expression and made no move to even try and get down.

“She stinks.”

“Damien, focus on her right now, not the stupid smell.”

“Alannah, she’s a cat,” he said, calmly. “She won’t fall, and if she does, we’ll catch her.”

“We?” I demanded. “I’m the only one standin’ ’ere with me hands up.”

“I can see that,” he replied. “Your t-shirt has ridden up with the action … your ass looks so damn fine in those jeans.”

“Damien!”

“Right, sorry. I’ll get her.”

He moved to my side, and without having to really stretch, he reached up and plucked Barbara from her seated position. Her nails snagged on the curtains, so Damien gently tugged the fabric free. When he handed the cat to me, I cuddled her against my chest, then hissed when her nails dug into me.

“You little bitch, that hurt.”

“Nails like needles, huh?”

“Yeah.” I frowned. “I need to put water in a spray bottle to teach ’er not to climb on the curtains. Not only could she fall, but she’ll also ruin the curtains with ’er nails.”

Damien raised a brow. “Cats tend to scratch things like furniture a lot.”

“But I got ’er a scratchin’ post!”

His lips twitched. “She’s still getting used to the apartment and to us. She’ll learn in time.”

“I guess.”

I put Barbara down, and she instantly jumped onto the settee, snuggled under one of the cushions, and plopped down on her stomach as if she had just finished running a marathon. I shook my head at her, then proceeded to clean out her litter tray while Damien moved her food and water bowls into the kitchen. I put the litter tray in the corner of the room and made a mental note to clean it out a few times a day. If I kept it poop and pee free, no smell would linger. I hoped anyway.

Damien was headed to the bathroom when he glanced into the office, paused then turned and entered the room, flipping the light on as he went.

“What the hell happened in here?”

“Oh, me office.” I beamed as I practically bounced into the room. “What d’ye think?”

“I think it’s awesome, but baby, I would have done this for you.”

“It’s really okay. I did it with Morgan.”

“You did it with Morgan?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “His first day was today, and we converted the room in, like, an hour.”

It took me a moment to realise that Damien was very quiet and very still. I turned my attention from my office to him and found him staring at me. His body was tense, and it didn’t take a lot for me to sense that he was annoyed. I put two and two together and cringed. This was about Morgan.

“Did I not tell you that his first day was today?”

“No,” Damien answered coolly. “You didn’t.”

His tone told me he was mad and maybe a little jealous.

“I forgot with Branna havin’ the twins, findin’ out me ma is sick, and then gettin’ with you,” I said, knotting my fingers together. “It’s only been a few days since all of those things happened, and I’m still reelin’, and it just slipped me mind. I’m sorry.”

He nodded and looked away from me, so I stepped into his space and put my arms around his waist.

“You have no reason to be mad or jealous,” I said, speaking calmly. “None. Morgan works for me, and that’s it.”

Damien slowly relaxed.

“I know.” He sighed. “I trust you, I do …”

“But?”

“But we’re brand new, and another guy being around you just rubs me the wrong way. It’s petty, I know, but it’s just a nagging feeling.”

I tilted my head. “Would it make you feel better if you met Morgan?”

“Yes,” Damien answered instantly. “This guy is a stranger to me, to you, so meeting him would probably relax me.”

I doubted that, but I was willing to give it a shot.

“He works for me five days a week, but we’re flexible, so most the time, he might not even be ’ere. He works from ten to two when he is ’ere, and ten to three when he isn’t or less if he clocks his hours before then. Twenty-seven hours a week in total is what we agreed.”