Number Neighbors - Emma Hart Page 0,33
take it much longer.
“Ahhh!” Hannah screamed and shoved at me.
My arms gave out, making me fall before I could push away from her. “What?” I jolted back from her as soon as I possibly could, forcing myself up to sitting.
“That fucking kitten!” she hissed, sitting up and clasping at her ankle.
I stared at her. “He bit your ankle?”
“Bit my ankle? Bit my ankle? He just took my damn ankle off my leg!” She clutched it tightly and raised it onto the sofa, then slowly peeled her hands away.
She was bleeding like a bitch.
“This is why he’s not my kitten!” she ground out, moving to sit up.
“Where’s your First Aid kit?” I held my hands out to stop her moving. “I got this.”
“Draw next to the fridge.”
I walked into the kitchen and opened the drawer. There was a mini First Aid kit in there, and I unzipped it to find a flattened box of plasters—or Band-Aids as they called them here.
I carried it into the living room where Hannah was still sitting and mumbling curses to herself on the sofa. Blood was trickling down her foot, and I got there in time to pick up her leg before the blood dripped onto the sofa.
“It was about to drip onto the sofa,” I said softly and set the kit between us. There was a small packet of wipes, so I pulled one out, ripped the packaging open, and pulled out the wipe. Hannah hissed when I touched it to the tiny wounds, but I was able to clean her up with relative ease.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
I grinned. “More times than you know. I promise this looks worse than it is. His claws might be sharp, but they’re still small. Chances are this is one scratch where he just got you really good.”
She nodded, throwing her hand over her eyes dramatically. “This is why I live alone.”
I fought a chuckle as I opened the plasters and covered up the three worst offending scratches. “There. You’ll be as good as new in the morning.”
“Don’t wild cats have rabies?”
“Not in the USA,” I replied. “Besides, he didn’t bite you, he scratched you. I can see by the marks. Whatever it was, he obviously isn’t a fan of me kissing you.”
Her cheeks flushed as she sat up. “Forgive me for not asking you if you want to continue. I think I’m injured enough for today.”
“Forgiveness granted.” I zipped the kit back up with a half-grin. “I won’t hold it against you… For too long.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and sat up straight, tucking some hair behind her ear. “Well, clearly Lucifer knows I don’t sleep with people on the first date.”
“But you’ll sext a stranger.”
“Listen here, you—”
I pressed my finger against her lips. “Settle down. I have an early shift tomorrow, so I can’t be up all night fucking you until I pass out anyway.”
Her cheeks burned even redder.
Jesus, this was fun.
“Now I know you’re not going to bleed to death from your three very tiny wounds,” I teased, “I’m going to leave you to it before your kitten decides to attack my head.”
She sighed. “That’s probably a smart idea. I bet he would. He’s a jerk.”
“No, he’s just protective over you. You might not like it, but you’re probably his human at this point.” I brushed my thumb over her lower lip and stood. “You mind if I take one of these pizzas?”
She shook her head and passed me the top one. “I won’t eat it all. Go wild.”
“Thanks.” I checked my pockets to make sure nothing had fallen out and headed for the door. Hannah was right behind me, and she paused a couple of feet away from me.
Her brown curls were a wild mess. Her mascara was smudged at the corners of her eyes, and she touched her fingertips to her swollen lips. “I enjoyed dinner,” she said softly, glancing away for a moment.
“So did I.” I smiled and reached out, hooking two fingers beneath her chin to tilt her head up so I could meet her eyes. “Even the rather abrupt ending was somewhat amusing.”
“Would you be saying that if it were your ankle he’d taken a chunk out of?”
“I’ve had bigger, scarier things try to bite me than a one-pound kitten with an ego.”
She paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face. “Actually, so have I.”
I laughed quietly, then leaned forward and brushed a kiss over her cheek. “Goodnight, Hannah.”
She coughed ever so slightly and took a step back, blushing once