Free The Caveman and the Devil by Chris T. Kat Page A

easily, but it also sent a shiver down my spine. I locked the door, did my best to walk down the stairs instead of pound, and knocked at the door.
    Noah opened it while he struggled to carry the two fidgeting cubs in his arms. The sparkle in his eyes accentuated the green of his irises. Noah pulled the door open wider and grinned at me. It was one of his full-fledged grins that always led to me forgetting everything else. Despite everything that had happened, I really did forget my anger and smiled back.
    He stepped back to make room for me and said, “I thought you’d demolish the attic. What did you do there?”
    After closing the door, I walked into the living room and set the crate on the floor. “Searched for the crate.”
    “No, really?” Noah replied, grazing me with an eye-roll.
    And just like that, anger flooded me again. In an attempt to rein in my temper—and to refrain from wringing Noah’s neck after all—I declared, “I’ll prepare the food for them.”
    Noah blinked at me, a concerned expression appearing on his face. A stray lock of hair fell on his forehead and immediately drew the attention of both cubs. They reached for his hair with their forepaws, but neither of them was successful since their paws kept crossing ways. Both cubs voiced their annoyance with high-pitched mewls and lots of hissing. One of them nicked the skin on Noah’s forehead, and Noah yelped in surprise. While he scolded the cubs, he set them on the floor, where they started chasing each other.
    Gruffly, I said, “There are toys in the crate. See if you can get them interested in those instead of your hair or face.”
    “What? Are you afraid they might leave marks on my face?”
    I stopped dead in my tracks. Trying to keep my voice controlled, I replied, “You’ve got enough scars, don’t you think?”
    Hurt flashed over Noah’s face. His scars had never been an issue, at least not for me. They were a part of him, period. Obviously, Noah felt differently. Not that he’d ever tell me about it. I had tried several times to engage him into a conversation about the jaguar attack he’d survived years ago. His deflection skills were most impressive, which meant I remained unsuccessful. It irked me that he wouldn’t open up to me, but hey, I couldn’t very well nag him about it since I kept some of my past private too.
    Noah snapped at me. “If I had known they disgust you, I’d have made sure to keep them hidden.”
    “Don’t be stupid.”
    “Great. Not only am I disgusting, now I’m also stupid.”
    “Noah,” I growled.
    “What?”
    One of the cubs chose that moment to jump on the small wooden table next to the sofa. Its momentum caused the cub to slide along the surface and topple down the other side. Noah jumped when he heard it squealing and hastily knelt beside it. The other cub cautiously sneaked up on Noah and jumped on his back while he was busy petting the whimpering one.
    “Hey!” Noah protested.
    He pulled the cub off his back, laughing at its antics. The cubs forgot there was something to complain about and tussled with each other. Sometimes they tumbled over Noah’s legs and voiced their displeasure with a kitten-like mew before they lunged at each other again.
    Without a word, I retreated to the kitchen to prepare the bottles.

Chapter Two
     
    W HEN I came back, Noah leaned with his back against the sofa and both cubs mewled nonstop. The light-colored one sucked on one of Noah’s fingers while the other one repeatedly bumped its head into Noah’s belly, eliciting the occasional hiss from Noah.
    “Thank God, there you are! What took you so long? They’re going to eat me alive!”
    Stifling a sigh, I dropped onto the sofa and totally ignored its squeaky protest. I thwarted Noah’s comment by saying, “Not a word if you value your life.”
    Noah tilted his head back and grinned up at me. I bent forward, picked the darkly furred cub up, and set it in my lap. After I handed Noah one of the