the tub. Eight more dishes later, he returned to the door, and when he came back, he carried a bottle of red wine and two glasses in one hand and a basket covered with a cloth in the other. “I’m not sure I ordered enough, but this is my attempt to make up for not taking you out to a steakhouse as I promised, although I did get to take you to two buffets I really enjoy.”
I sniffed, and the enticing scent of steak teased my nose. “If this isn’t enough, we have cheese.”
“And if we hit the cheese because we’re still hungry, we’ll either be stoned or frisky, and then we won’t care we’re still hungry.” Sebastian laughed and set the basket beside the platters. “Do you want to open those boxes now?”
I returned the boxes to the basket. “They’re probably expensive, and I’ll freak out. I’d rather eat steak and explore the glories of this tub.”
Sebastian picked up the basket and carried it back to the sitting room before returning, effectively stripping out of his clothes and tossing his poor suit across the polished floors. “You’ll get the strip tease sometime after I’m not starving to death. There’s food for me to eat, so I will eat it. Immediately.”
“I get strip teases? Nobody told me I got strip teases.”
“Being my mate earns you a lot of sinfully good things, and strip teases are only one of them.” He took care stepping around me and got into the tub before starting the water. “Do you want to go through your gift bag? Otherwise, I’m going to start digging through it for the things I’ll be adding to the water.”
I giggled at his desire for efficiency, and I snagged the bag of goodies he’d gotten from the spa, tossed the tissues onto the floor to deal with later, and discovered a ridiculous number of bottles, jars, and bath goodies inside. “You have no restraint, do you?”
“When it comes to you, apparently not. And I was told the tub can handle anything we do to it, as they make sure they’re in good order when they come and clean the room.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“Guilty as charged. I’m done working for the day. Get naked and get that little ass over here. It’s play time, and I’ve scheduled you in for some serious purring.”
I grabbed random bottles and handed them over. “Figure this out. I have better things to do right now.”
Sebastian laughed and took the bottles. “Presents are great until it’s time to get naked, I see.”
“What can I say? I’m a cat, and I’m proud of it.”
Thanks to a big meal and some tender, loving care from Sebastian, I missed the planning portion of the evening, and I woke up five hours before we were scheduled to go to the spa. With nothing else to do, I checked on my bounties, reviewing the cases for one I could handle while the lion got in his beauty sleep. Considering purring in his ear hadn’t woken him, nor had poking him in the ribs, I expected I’d be able to sneak out without any issues.
The most dangerous of my bounties involved an asshole who liked spreading the virus by spiking drinks at a bar or a coffee shop, and he’d been spotted at a pixie dust vendor down the street from the resort. The CDC’s notes on him suggested he wanted others to join him in being miserable and infected against their will.
To confirm the bounty, I needed to catch Mr. Donald Haverly in the act. I got dressed, applied enough makeup to make my face disappear, spritzed myself with the remainder of my perfume, and headed for the coffee shop, planning on enjoying some quiet time unless my target showed up and made an idiot out of himself.
I would need some luck of the good variety.
I ordered a hot chocolate, got extra whipped cream, and resisted the urge to get any pixie dust. While the idea of working under the influence appealed, I needed to do a good job to get my pay.
While I waited, I made use of my new phone to review my general notes, amused the tiny device worked better than my old laptop. Best of all, I could observe the coffee shop from my table in the corner while I sipped at my drink. Most went about their early morning as I expected, stifling yawns and getting a morning cup of coffee to jumpstart their day. With a