Cats And Dogs

Chapter Five ?

Tilly headed back to her room to get some shoes. She wanted to meet Sam at the gate when he got back, but fancied walking on two feet for a change. The gravel wouldn't hurt her paws, but was painful on skin. It had been an odd morning and she wanted to think. She had been surprised by Sam's reaction to Tom, and Tom's questions, but more than anything right now she was confused about her own feelings. She'd never spent much time with cats, even though her adoptive parents had introduced her to them in her youth. Suddenly being surrounded by them was actually unnerving. The rest of her team hadn't wanted her to go off without them, and once she was alone with the cats on the way back to the house she had felt uncomfortable until they were back in human form. She could deal with men, but was going to have trouble getting used to other panthers.

As she walked, she considered the new men. She didn't really have the measure of Alex or Cal yet; they had been fairly quiet except for rebuking Dill. Tom was puzzling because he kept a tight lid on his thoughts and feelings, and she hated not knowing what was going on in his head, especially since Sam was clearly interested in him. She would be asking about that as soon as possible. Then there was Dill. He had indeed been an i***t, but perhaps had redeemed himself a little by acknowledging the fact. She'd resolved to be offhand with him, but had trouble doing so when he came along the hall with the bags. He wasn't as young as she had expected, although younger than the others.

She had tried to dismiss him quickly so as not to spend any longer looking at him. Her cat side found him intriguing, and she'd also felt her human side reacting to his appearance. He was muscular, but like the rest of the cats much more lean than the wolves were. His eyes and hair were light brown, and the hair continued over his chest. When she had spoken to him she'd had the strangest urge to lean forward and run her fingers through it. And unlike his Alpha, she'd had no trouble feeling his emotions as he watched her walk away from him. If he hadn't started off by insulting her, she'd have had a lot of difficulty walking away. She sighed. Things were turning out to be complicated.

Sam heard her question in his head as he headed down the road towards their driveway. 'You nearly back yet Sam?'

'One minute,' he replied, starting to turn. 'You had a good morning?'

'Eventful.' came the reply as he drove through the iron gates and saw her at the side of the drive waiting for him. He stopped and she got in. He sensed she wanted to talk so didn't drive any further.

'So what has gone wrong so far?' he enquired.

'Dill.' came the reply, with the name almost hissed in exasperation. 'One of the new guys, managed to nearly start a fight with Finn and then insulted me when I broke it up.'

'Where was Tom?'

'Just behind me. He did sort it, but said he'd have more words later. To his credit, he let me get a word in as well.' Sam smiled. He had a suspicion she hadn't minced her words.

'So what have you shown Tom so far?'

She looked at him oddly before answering that. 'Not much. We headed out and were talking when we heard the fight. As soon as that was sorted he took his team back to the house. I've shown them their rooms and they are unpacking.'

'What were you talking about?' he asked, trying to surpress his interest.

'He wanted to know about you and me.'

'Huh?' he said, startled. 'What about us?'

She started laughing. 'He seemed to think we were rather close. So close that we were either mates or wanted to be. I had to enlighten him, I thought you'd want him to know the truth.'

Sam was so caught up in wondering about what Tom had thought about him and Tilly he nearly missed the inflection in her voice. 'What do you mean by that?'

'I saw how you looked at him. Felt it too. He had quite an effect on you.'

He glared at her. 'We are not talking about this,' he growled. He was not going to have her getting involved, especially when nothing was going to happen.

'You are kidding me? I can't let you sit by and not even find out if you have a chance with him. I know what you felt.' Tilly was shocked at the denial coming from Sam about what he was feeling.

He growled again. 'Consider it an order. I don't want to hear another word.' He restarted the car and shot up the drive before she had chance to say anything more. Wisely she did stay quiet. He didn't want to examine his feelings, particularly not with her. As he pulled up in front of the house Tilly jumped out almost before he had stopped. She headed straight into the house and he could tell he had annoyed her. Still, it would be worth it if she actually listened to him for once.

Tom had heard the car coming and was just inside the door. He wondered at the scowl on her face as Tilly walked past him, and wondered what had gone on. Time to apologise to Sam for Dill, he thought. He had no doubt that whatever else might have happened, Tilly would have mentioned that. He walked out to the car, which Sam was still sat in considering what had been said. He jumped when Tom knocked on the window.

'Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You guys okay?'

'Yes, fine.' His tone of voice didn't back up the comment, but Tom decided not to push it. Sam was glad of that. After Tilly had made him aware his feelings for Tom were obvious, he wanted to get a hold of himself, and probably the last person he needed to see right then was the object of his lust. He steeled himself to be all business and got out of the car.

'I gather there have already been teething problems?' he asked.

'Yes, sorry. Not the best start to be honest. I was going to have a word with him later, and I wondered if you wanted to sit in on that, and if we could also speak to Finn.'

Sam's reply was curt. 'You think my man started it?'

'No, definitely not.' Tom replied quickly, wondering at the accusation. 'Dill is just the type to start to show off, and I'm sure he provoked Finn. I didn't see the start, but he insulted Tilly in front of everyone. I would like to speak to Finn to find out what happened.'

'Okay. We'll have a word with the both of them after lunch. I'm starving.' Sam headed into the house, leaving a bemused Tom behind him. He thought they had got on well so far, but this time Sam had seemed distant and as though he didn't want to talk at all. Perhaps Dill's actions had really caused problems. Of course, it was just as likely that whatever he and Tilly had been speaking about was the cause of it. He would love to know why they were both in a mood. Whatever the cause, this wasn't the best start either for the mission or in fulfilling his own desires.