Seth set the tray down on the coffee table and handed around the mugs. Then he leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up.

“You get everything ironed out, Seth?” Dillon asked.

Seth nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to go back to Denver tomorrow and tie up all my loose ends there. Shouldn’t take me more than a few days.”

Michael turned to Lily. “Want to come hang out with me at the office while Seth does his thing? Lots of critters to see.”

Lily’s face lit up. “That sounds fun. I love animals.”

As Seth settled back to sip at his hot chocolate, he looked around at a new family in the making, and despite his initial reservations, hope and anticipation, and most of all, satisfaction gripped him.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Three days later, Lily held a pitifully mewling cat in her arms while she waited for Michael to complete his assessment. She stroked her fingers over her ears and murmured nonsense words in an effort to soothe her.

The poor thing was bedraggled, cold and hungry to boot.

“What will happen to her?” Lily asked anxiously.

The cat had been dumped at the door of the clinic in a box a few minutes after Michael had closed the clinic. By the time they heard her plaintive wails, the cat had been half dead from the cold.

Michael grimaced. “We’ll feed her, make sure she’s healthy and no serious problems and then we’ll try to find a home for her. But I’ll be honest. I get a lot of castoffs here, and I simply don’t have the room to board them all. I usually have to call the shelter over in Gunnison.”

“But don’t they put animals to sleep if they can’t find homes?”

She tried to keep the stress from her voice because she knew Michael wasn’t any happier about this than she was, and he was right, he couldn’t take in every stray that came across his doorstep.

Michael’s eyes softened. “They’ll try to find a home for her first. Euthanization is a last resort.”

Lily looked down at the bundle of fur and felt tears crowding the edges of her eyes. She stroked the cat and felt the answering vibration of purring.

Then she looked back up at Michael, her expression pleading. “Couldn’t we take her? I mean home? I don’t want her to die just because someone didn’t want her anymore.”

Michael blew out his breath and then looked between her and the cat. Then he lifted his gaze to hers again, his eyes troubled. He touched her cheek and softly caressed.

“Is that how you felt, Lily? Like no one wanted you anymore?”

The ache grew in her chest as she struggled with her emotions. “Maybe I just didn’t feel like I deserved to have people to love me,” she whispered.

“Aw, Lily. You have such a big heart. I can’t imagine anyone not loving you, and furthermore, if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to make damn sure that not only do you know you deserve it, but that you expect it.”

She dropped her gaze to the cat who’d snuggled into her arms.

“She deserves a home and someone to love her too.”

“I have this feeling that you’re going to be impossible to ever win an argument with,” he said ruefully. “I can’t think of a single reason to tell you no.”

Lily lifted her gaze back to Michael. “So I can keep her?”

He dragged a hand through his hair and pulled it behind him in a makeshift ponytail. “Yeah, you can keep her. God help me. Dillon’s going to have a coronary.”

“Dillon doesn’t like pets?”

“More like the thought of a cat scratching up his custom wood is going to give him a seizure,” Michael said with a grin.

“I’ll take good care of her and keep her off Dillon’s wood,” Lily said solemnly.

Michael pulled her in and kissed her hair. “I’m just giving you a hard time, baby. We’ll pack her up after I’ve finished my exam. She’ll need worming I’m sure and we should treat her for fleas before we take her into the house. I have cat food here and we can bring a few bags home so she’ll have what she needs.”

“And a litter box?” Lily asked. “I don’t want her to be outside in the cold. She needs to stay inside.”

“And a litter box,” Michael agreed. “She can take up residence in the mud room.”

Lily clapped her hands together in delight and then threw her arms around Michael, scaring the cat in the process. She leaped to the neighboring counter and stared suspiciously as Lily danced around the room, holding tight to Michael.

Michael laughed. “Easy there. You’re making me dizzy.”

“Thank you,” Lily exclaimed. Then she reached up and kissed him full on the lips.

He caught her against him, cradling the back of her head in his palm as he kissed her. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips, demanding entry. With a breathless sigh, she opened and let him in. His taste seeped into her mouth and floated through her veins until all she could breathe, smell or taste was him.

When he drew away, his eyes were half-lidded and glittering with desire. His hands wandered idly over her hips and up her sides to her breasts.

Then he walked her back until the small of her back met the edge of the exam table. He planted his hands on the table on either side of her, effectively trapping her.

“Shouldn’t we be going?” Lily asked innocently.

“Kiss me again, and I’ll take you and your cat home for dinner.”

“Bully,” she grumbled, but she melted against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He smelled good. Tasted even better. She delved her fingers into his hair, letting the strands slide over the tips as he kissed her senseless.

They were both hungry and breathless. His arousal pressed into her belly, hard and urgent.

The cat meowed and jumped back onto the exam table to run against Lily’s side. Michael drew away with a muffled curse when the cat sank her claws into his arm.

“Damn cat. Already encroaching on my territory,” he grumbled.

Lily giggled and leaned into Michael. “Take me and our new kitty home and feed us. We’re hungry.”

Lily fussed over the food and water bowls and then made sure the litter was situated just right before locking the cat into the mud room until she was better acquainted with her surroundings.

When she went back into the living room, Michael was standing in front of the couch, his eyes hooded. She was immediately wary. Arousal and lust was heavy in the air. Thick, so thick it prickled up her nape.

She stopped in the doorway, her hand resting on the frame. He was looking at her like he was about to pounce. Her pulse raced and her breath caught in her throat until her lungs burned.

He crooked his finger in her direction. The power in his gaze and the command in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

Her legs wobbling, she took halting steps toward him, stopping a mere foot in front of him.

“Tell me, Lily,” he said in a silky voice. “Just how grateful are you that I let you bring your cat home?”

She battled a smile, but played along. Then she leaned up on tiptoe and brushed an innocent kiss over his lips. “Thank you. I’m very grateful.”

“Then get on your knees,” he growled.

Her eyes widened and fire pooled low in her belly and tightened every muscle in her groin. Erotic images buzzed through her mind as she imagined precisely what he wanted to do.

Nervous bubbles scuttled around her stomach as she slowly went to her knees in front of him. His expression was fierce, demanding, his face drawn into harsh lines.

He slowly unzipped his jeans, the rasp loud in the silence. He loosened the waist, shoved them just over his hips and pulled out his cock.

Letting his pants fall to just below his waist, he reached out with his free hand and grasped her behind the neck.

“I can be demanding, Lily,” he whispered. “I like control. Don’t let me overpower you, though. If I ever go too far, say the word. I’ll back off.”

Heat rushed through her body, weakening her to the point she swayed on her knees. The words purred from his throat, so erotic and sensual. She gazed up at him, all the trust she placed in him shining in her eyes.

She was wildly intrigued by the command in his voice. His hand massaged her nape, but his grip never lessened. His fingers were firm, applying pressure as he guided his cock toward her mouth.

“Open,” he rasped.

As soon as her lips parted, he shoved into her mouth, deep and rough. A moan rippled from her throat and vibrated over his cock. Her lips met his knuckles and then he slid his fingers from around his cock underneath her chin as he fed his erection even deeper into her mouth.

“Swallow, baby. Swallow against the head. Milk it.”

She obeyed, awkwardly at first, but she quickly mastered working her throat against his huge shaft. One silky rope of semen filled the back of her throat as pre-come slipped from the probing tip.

His hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer. Then they slipped to the sides of her head and held her in place as he began thrusting harder into her mouth.

“Holy fuck, is this what I’m going to come home to every night?”

Michael paused, his cock buried in her mouth. Lily glanced sideways to see Dillon standing in the doorway to the living room. His eyes were glazed, and judging by the bulge at his groin, he wasn’t the least bit put off to find his brother’s cock buried in Lily’s mouth.

Michael eased out to give her breath but kept his hands on her head. He thrust shallow, keeping her mouth open and drawled lazily in Dillon’s direction.

“She’s showing her gratitude for my generosity.”

“Oh? And what pray tell did you do that warranted a blowjob?” Dillon demanded.

“I let her bring home a cat.”

“You did what?”

Lily flinched at the tone of Dillon’s voice but Michael caught her and soothed his hands over her face, still rocking his hips back and forth in short thrusts.

“We’re the proud new owners of a cat left on the clinic’s doorstep,” Michael explained.

“Well hell,” Dillon muttered. “What possessed you to bring something with claws into my house? The damn thing will shred my furniture.”

Michael withdrew and caressed her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip. “Lily thought she needed a home, and I agreed. I’m finding that our lady here has a way of asking that makes it impossible to turn her down.”

Lily glanced over at Dillon, worried that he was truly angry. Maybe some of her fear showed in her eyes, because Dillon’s expression immediately softened but then became quickly calculating.

It was the glitter and slow smile that told Lily she was in deep trouble. Dillon advanced, his eyes gleaming with a predatory light.

“It seems to me that since I wasn’t party to this agreement that you should throw a little gratitude in my direction.”

“Her mouth is busy right now,” Michael said. “I have plans for it for quite a while.”

“But not her pussy,” Dillon purred. “Strip, Lily. I see no reason why you can’t accommodate us both at the same time.”

Goosebumps raced across her skin with lightning speed. Every nerve ending jumped. Her breasts swelled and her nipples beaded so tight that her shirt abraded the tips painfully.

“You heard him,” Michael said tightly. “Undress and get on your knees on the L of the couch.”

He reached down a hand to help her, and she grasped it tightly, hoping her knees didn’t buckle on the way up.

Her fingers clumsily grasped at the buttons on her shirt. Several times she missed and had to go back to unfasten each one. As she pulled the shirt away, she walked toward the sectional where the side resembled a long, rectangle ottoman.

She loosened her bra, dropped it away and then quickly shed her pants and underwear. With a nervous glance over her shoulder, she carefully crawled onto the cushion, positioning herself so that her mouth and ass were easily accessible.

Michael walked around in front of her while Dillon came up behind her and slid his hands over the globes of her behind. Then he leaned down and ran his tongue up the seam of her behind to the small of her back, eliciting a violent shiver from her.

Michael cupped a hand underneath her chin and tilted her head upward as he grasped his cock with his other hand and brought it to her lips. For a moment, he teased her, running the tip over her mouth, from one corner to the other.

More pre-come seeped from the slit, coating her lips. She flicked her tongue out, licking the moisture. Michael’s breath escaped in a hiss, and she smiled, knowing he liked the erotic image of her licking his fluid from her lips.

Dillon ran his thumb over the opening to her pussy and pushed inward as his fingers found her clit. She closed her eyes and wiggled her hips as he rubbed over her sweet spot just the way she liked.

Then he positioned his cock at her opening and pushed in a few inches. Her pussy locked down, protesting the invasion. He caressed her buttocks and her hips and continued his shallow thrusts as he coaxed her body into accepting him.