Free Tears of the Neko by Taylor Ryan Page B

seemed that every time Damien
moved suddenly after working quietly, the boy flinched, startling
both him and Damien, who'd nearly forgotten he was there.
    The front door suddenly slammed open, causing
one of the servants to drop the silver tea tray she was carrying to
the parlor. It clattered to the floor with a loud bang.
    There was a sudden hiss, and Damien felt his
knees bang against his desk as Kayden darted by them to the small
space under his desk.
    "Ow! Shit!" Damien yelled, rubbing his
bruised knee.
    "Why the hell wasn't I told?" he heard Roman
yell out in the hall.
    "Damn it," Damien cursed again, as he rose
from his chair. "Roman! What the hell is all the noise about?" he
snapped, annoyed that his brother had startled the slave into
running into his legs.
    Roman appeared in the doorway, and Damien
heard a soft hiss from under his desk.
    "No one told me that your little brat was
found," he snapped. "I was still out on my horse with the dogs
searching."
    "Well, I appreciate your help in searching,"
Damien said, "But you didn't need to bother yourself with that; I'm
sure the slaves and servants would have been able to find him, had
he actually run off."
    "What do you mean? Where was he?"
    "He was still in his room. Under the
bed."
    "Hiding, huh," Roman surmised. "Not
surprising."
    Damien chose to ignore his brother's comment,
as he saw Harrison run in from the parlor.
    "What's wrong?" Harrison asked
breathlessly.
    "Nothing's wrong. Roman was just a little
upset that he got the news about Kayden a little later than the
rest."
    "Oh, I see," Harrison breathed easier. "I was
with Miss Penelope in the parlor and we heard the crash, which I
assume was our tea."
    Roman grinned guiltily. "Sorry about
that."
    Harrison turned to leave to go back to his
guest but stopped. "Speaking of your little gift, isn't he supposed
to be with you, according to the bet?"
    Damien growled. "He is with me."
    Both his brothers raised their eyebrows as
they glanced around the room, even peering behind the desk by the
window.
    At his brothers' suspicious looks, Damien
sighed. "He's under the fucking desk, thanks to Roman's noise in
the hall. Nearly took off my knee trying to get there."
    Both Harrison and Roman burst out into loud
hysterical laughter. When they settled enough to talk, Harrison
said, "You're just lucky there wasn't a tree nearby."
    Damien's hands rose to his hips. "What's that
suppose to mean?"
    "When I first brought him home, Arnett was
trying to collar him, but you apparently were shooting skeet. The
shots scared him and he ran up the tree in the slave yard,"
Harrison explained.
    "Took over twenty minutes to get the little
brat down," Roman sneered disdainfully. "Then he attacked me when
we tried to collar him."
    "Up a tree? Attacked you?" Damien
frowned.
    But Harrison glared at Roman. "He scratched you when one of Damien's shots scared him," he
amended Roman's version of the story.
    Damien was shaking his head and then waved
the brothers away. "You know what, I don't care. I don't have time
for this. The king's delegate will be here shortly to discuss some
things for the legislative meeting next week. Just go, both of
you."
    "I could stay and help you," Roman offered.
"I'd like to keep more informed of what's going on."
    "Very well, stay if you'd like," Damien
waved, then bent down to peek under his desk.
    "Come on out from under there, kitten." He
waved for the little feline to dispatch itself from under the
desk.
    Damien watched him slip out and kneel next to
his leg. Roman stepped closer, and Damien noticed the small
creature's ears flatten and his body leaned into Damien's leg.
    His brother's eyes narrowed, as Damien sat
back in his chair. "Sit down, Roman," he ordered his brother,
"Kayden, go sit somewhere else," he waved the young neko away. "I
don't want you distracting me during my meeting."
    The boy quickly surveyed the area as he rose
fluidly to his feet, finding a spot in the sunshine behind Damien's
desk in the corner.