V: Vic and Matt Series

The V in Valor-2

Matt served the salmon on a small dish, setting it before the cat as if the feline were just another person sitting around the table. He’d warmed it, to boot—from where Vic sat he could faintly smell it, and though it turned his stomach at such an early hour, he held his tongue. What was the use of arguing? Matt always got his way in the end. As his lover set a plate heaped high with scrambled eggs in front of him, Vic let himself be kissed on top of the head. Diving into the eggs, he groused, “I bet Mrs. K doesn’t even let it eat on the table. And you know that’s one of our plates. We eat off that.”

“All cat germs will come off in the dishwasher,” Matt told him.

He chose the seat beside Vic, as the cat ate at the end of the table where he usually sat. Already that part of the table was covered with little flecks of pinked fish, chewed morsels that fell from the cat’s mouth as it devoured the food. The poor creature ate as if it hadn’t had food in years, but Vic suspected it had eaten quite a bland meal of cat food earlier and was now gorging on Matt’s treat.

When the cat grabbed a mouthful of salmon and tugged it off the plate onto the table, Vic groaned. “This is why we don’t have a pet.”

Beside him, Matt scooted his chair closer to Vic’s and placed a hand high up on his lover’s thigh. The fingers curved over the flannel bathrobe to tuck themselves between Vic’s legs. “Why? I’d spoil it?”

“Just a little.” Vic saw the cat throw an interested glance at his plate and curved his arm around it protectively, hunching over as he ate his eggs. “The minute Mrs. K is back, I’m taking that damn thing upstairs.”

The hand in his lap gave him a gentle pat. When Vic looked at Matt, a thoughtful expression had fallen over his lover’s face, glazing his eyes and forcing him to chew slowly. Even without the telepathic ability they shared, Vic knew what was going on behind that vacant stare. “No.”

With a shake, Matt tore his gaze from the cat to frown at Vic. “No, what?”

“No,” Vic said again. “No pets.”

A slight pout made Matt’s chin tremble. “But what about—”

“No.” Vic shook his head, adamant. “Be reasonable, Matty. Both of us work full-time, and it wouldn’t be fair to any animal to be left locked up in this small apartment all day long. We’d have to feed it, take it to the vet’s, take it on walks—”

“Cats don’t go on walks.” A sparkle lit up Matt’s bright green eyes, twinkling them. “But a dog…now that might be fun.”

But Vic just turned back to his plate, unmoved. “No. We don’t have a yard for it to run around in, and neither of us really have the time. A pet is a lot of responsibility and you know it. They’re like kids, almost. Kids with fur.”

Matt leaned closer to rest his chin on Vic’s shoulder. Pursing his lips, he blew gently into his lover’s ear, a gesture that did wicked things to Vic below the cinched belt of his robe. When his d**k jumped in interest, it brushed against Matt’s fingertips, causing his lover to push it down playfully. “You like kids,” he purred.

“No, I don’t,” Vic corrected.

“They like you.” Matt lay his head on Vic’s shoulder and snuggled up to him as he watched Mrs. K’s cat. The salmon had disappeared—all that remained was a circle of half-chewed, discarded pieces that ringed the plate. Bits stuck in the fur on the cat’s chin and chest. Licking its lips, the cat abandoned its empty plate and turned its attention to Vic’s instead. Without hesitation it approached Vic’s arm, then butted its head against his wrist in a show of affection that ended with it stretched out beside him, covering half the newspaper Vic had been trying to read. The glare Vic threw its way went ignored as the cat began to groom itself, noisily licking one paw several times before brushing it back over one ear, then repeating the process.

With a snicker, Matt added, “Animals like you, too. Must be your charming personality.”

Vic gave him a deadly scowl that Matt just laughed away. “It’s just something to think about,” he said, kissing Vic’s cheek. “I’m not saying let’s run out and buy something today. I’m saying let’s not write it off just yet, that’s all. Don’t say no until we talk it through and decide on it together.”

“My noes always turn to yeses around you,” Vic grumbled.

That earned him a heady kiss, this one on the lips, with a hint of tongue that promised so much more.