Free Cat Style (Stray Cats) by Megan Slayer Page A

woman strode back into the house and closed the door with a snick.
    “I will. Thank you -- I think.” Penelope turned and left the porch, but a thousand questions bounced around her mind. Had the little guy had any of his shots? Had he been to the vet? How old was he? Was he really a he? She sighed. First thing in the morning, she’d call the vet and make an appointment. Maybe she didn’t have the best luck with human men, but she’d give the love and companionship of an animal a try. Why not?
    She climbed into her car and placed the kitten on the passenger seat. She should’ve brought a carrier or something, but then again, she hadn’t planned on getting one of the little critters. “I need to get kitty litter and kitten chow.”
    * * *
    One year later…
     
    “Five more minutes of trick-or-treat. If I’m lucky, I’ve got two pieces left.” Penelope glanced at the nearly empty bucket. Two hours prior, the bucket had overflowed with candy. She leaned on the doorframe and glanced over at the television. The coverage of the storm damage played on every channel. Her hometown of Hazard had postponed trick-or-treating until three days after the traditional Halloween holiday.
    Her doorbell rang and someone called, “Trick-or-treat!” The voice seemed awfully low and male for a kid, but who knew these days?
    Ready to part with the last two pieces of candy, she yanked open the door. “Here you… go?” Instead of a kid in costume or even a parent who’d spoken for a smaller child, no one stood on the stoop.
    “Meow.”
    She knew that sound. “Fang! It’s Halloween. How in the name of God did you get out? I had you in the bedroom so you wouldn’t get loose.” She scooped the cat into her arms and flipped the switch to turn off the porch light. “You can be a real poop sometimes.” She nudged the door shut with her hip then engaged the lock. As per usual, the cat cuddled in her grasp and purred. She plunked him on the couch. “What am I going to do with you? Huh? I’ll get that bell I’ve threatened to put on you.”
    Penelope sighed and closed her eyes. She rubbed her temple. As much as she loved the cat, he drove her crazy. “I should take you to the vet and have you fixed,” she grumbled. “That would teach you.”
    “I suppose you could, but what fun is that?”
    She opened her eyes. Instead of her black cat lounging on the couch, a dark-haired man with a hint of scruff on his cheeks and not a stitch of clothing on sat in his place.
    “You’re not Fang.” Not her best response, but who in the hell was he? She balled her fists, ready to punch the intruder. “What did you do with my cat and how the hell did you get in?”
    “Penn, it’s me, Fang. My mother called me Ascher, and I rather like it better.” He rose to his feet. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’d rather be back in your arms.”
    Her brain misfired. A nude man, handsome at that, in her house and wanting to be in her arms? And he claimed to be her cat? She wobbled on her feet. The room went blurry, then black. When she opened her eyes, the man was crouching over her.
    “Penn? Fuck.” His eyebrows crinkled and he smoothed her hair from her face. “I knew I should’ve told you yesterday but there wasn’t time.”
    “You’re a strange man in my house.” She scrambled to an upright position. “Get the fuck out.” Where in the hell were her purse and her mace?
    “Penn.”
    “You don’t know me.” She inched away from him. Instead of coming after her, the naked man sat still. “Now get out.”
    “I do so know you, Penelope.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. “Wait.” He grabbed a pillow to cover his crotch, then sat on the floor. “I know. Piss-poor timing to hide my junk. I’m sorry.” He sighed. “When you went to Hildegard’s to get a kitten, you were handed me. You didn’t know you wanted me until you saw the fluff on my ears. You loved that I had those funny tufts of