Free Beauty & the Beasts by Anne Weale, Janice Kay Johnson Page A

black-and-white one. The kittens got passed around between family members, while Madeline hovered protectively. Eventually they settled on the black-and-white female, and Madeline gently deposited the two kittens in another carrier. Her hand lingered inside for a moment before she closed the top.
    “And you’ve already bought everything you need?” Madeline was asking as she pushed open the door and came out with the family behind her.
    “Yes, we’ve been looking for kittens for a couple of weeks. A farm had some, but they had runny noses,” the mother said, “and so I wasn’t sure…”
    “Probably just a cold, but you never know.” Madeline sat down beside Eric and began explaining Ten Lives’s procedures and expectations. “We do ask that you not declaw cats you get from us, but I already told you that, didn’t I?”
    The mother began filling out the form. “Yes, but we wouldn’t do it, anyway. It must be painful.”
    The youngest kid squatted and poked her finger in a hole in the side of the carrier. She giggled. “His whiskers tickle!”
    “You’ll have fun with them,” Madeline said, smiling at the child. “These two are really playful.”
    Linda arrived back just then and went into the glassed-in room with a man in a business suit
    The family left with their kittens, and Madeline shot to her feet. “Tell Linda I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, and hurried away. Her voice had sounded a little choked, and after only a brief hesitation, Eric went after her.
    Already well down the aisle between displays of dog toys and bowls, she turned and disappeared. At the back of the store, he saw a hall that said, “Rest rooms,” and then beyond, “Employees Only.” On a hunch, Eric pushed through the “Employees Only” door. Inside was a huge stockroom, deserted but for Madeline, who stood with her back to him.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    She swung to face him, and he saw she was crying. She wiped her eyes, blew her nose firmly, then nodded.“I fostered those kittens, you know.” She sniffed. “It’s dumb, but I cry every time I place one I’ve had at home. I feel like I’m giving away my own cats.”
    He stepped forward and carefully wiped away some fresh tears that clung to her lower lashes. “Yeah, but thanks to you they have a chance at a good life.”
    “I know.” She blinked hard. “It’s worth a few tears. But I’d just as soon no one saw.”
    “Including me?” With a will of their own, his hands closed on her shoulders, but he resisted drawing her into his arms.
    She gazed up at him, eyes huge and shimmering. “No.” Her voice was just audible. “You understand, don’t you?”
    “Mmm-hmm.” Now he did pull her close.
    She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. For a moment she relaxed completely, and he moved his mouth against her hair, reveling in its life and vibrancy, in her momentary trust.
    When she lifted her head, she didn’t step back. Triumph and wanting surged in him, but tangled with nervousness he didn’t understand. He didn’t stop to try. Instead, he bent his head and kissed her.

CHAPTER FIVE
    M ADELINE STIFFENED momentarily, but couldn’t make herself back away. He brushed her mouth again, moved to her eyelids where he kissed away the tears, then went back to the beginning. The way he nibbled gently at her lower lip felt amazingly sensual. It made her want more—more pressure, more heat, more…something. She hardly knew what.
    With a sigh she relaxed and parted her lips. A groan vibrated in his chest; she felt it as powerfully as if it had come from her, perhaps because her breasts were flattened against him. His grip shifted so that he no longer held her as a friend might, but as a lover would. One hand was splayed on her lower back, pulling her more tightly against him. His other hand wrapped around her neck, his thumb persuading her to tilt her face upward, his fingers caressing, stroking, seeking out the suddenly