Free Tears of the Neko by Taylor Ryan

most of the night, the grey
stone cold under his bare feet, even with the thick calloused pads
nekos had to protect their feet. He was nervously afraid of what
might happen if he were caught sleeping if his master expected him
to be awake. He just couldn't anger his new master who might send
him to that one called Roman.
    And he wasn't sure if he was allowed in the
bed; maybe it was for his master to use, even if it seemed small.
He hadn't been told it was okay.
    Last night, he'd finally heard the door slam
from next door and jumped, waiting for the door between the rooms
to burst open. But it never did. He'd vaguely heard the rustle of
clothes and boots dropping to the floor. After another hour, when
nothing happened, he'd eventually exhausted himself by worrying.
Having been awake and overly alert and on edge for the last two
days, he finally pulled the blanket folded on the end of the bed
around him. He crawled under the bed to sleep. It felt safer there
than the open corners of the room, more protected.
    So he was shocked by the loud curse, and even
more surprised he hadn't woken to movement in the room when the men
came in. He rarely slept so soundly that he wasn't aware of other
people in the room. Time had taught him to sleep lightly--to be
careful not to be caught unawares. But he'd just been so tired.
    His wide green eyes popped open, staring at
the two men in his room, quickly scenting sandalwood and another
neko. He slowly slunk out from under the bed towards his angry
master, kneeling at the man's feet, his dark ears drooping
nervously.
    "Ellis," his master breathed, controlling
himself. "Tell everyone he's been found and to call off the
search."
    Ellis glanced nervously at the young neko,
fearing the boy was going to be punished for hiding. But he
disappeared quickly.
    "Kayden, right?" Damien stated.
    He nodded silently, afraid to look up at the
huge man.
    "Do you always sleep under the bed?"
    He shook his head, not sure how much trouble
he was in.
    An audible sigh. "Can you speak ?"
    Kayden nodded hesitantly, gulping. "Y-yes,
sir."
    Another deep sigh. "So why were you under the
bed? Were you hiding from me?"
    Kayden shook his head quickly, then
remembered to use his voice. "N-no, sir."
    A moment's pause, then an exasperated sigh.
"Well?" Damien demanded.
    For a second, Kayden wasn't sure what his
master was asking but then remembered the first question. "I-I
d-didn't w-want to sleep in the c-corner."
    "What the hell was wrong with the bed?" his
master snapped, and Kayden flinched at the anger in his voice.
    He wished tears weren't threatening to spill.
"I-I I've n-never been a-allowed before." Since he'd never been
allowed on a bed before, he had no reason to believe he was
now.
    He felt the stillness in the room as his
master got suddenly very quiet.
    After a long silence, Kayden heard the deep
rumble of his master's voice again. "Where did you sleep with your
other masters?"
    "In m-my cage, sir," he answered softly.
"O-or the g-ground."
    With a small curse, his master turned, and
Kayden peeked up to see the man running his hand through his dark
hair.
    His new master seemed huge, larger even than
he had appeared when he'd had a glimpse of the man on the horse in
the distance, and he tried not to think about how much damage a man
like that could cause. Up close, he seemed as big as a tree. The
man was beautiful though, broad lean muscles stretched under his
linen shirt that was tucked into cotton pants that fitted the man's
form easily. His hair was black and trimmed short around his neck
and ears. Kayden flinched when the piercing blue eyes narrowed on
him again.
    "You are allowed to sleep on the bed," his
master said slowly, seemingly trying to control his temper. When he
turned back to Kayden, Kayden dropped his eyes quickly. "This is
your room, Kayden. You can use anything in it. I assume they've put
clothes for you in the dresser there. Stand up."
    Kayden quickly rose to his feet.
    "Come with me."
    He was