Reese (Pack of Misfits #2) - Raven Kennedy Page 0,12

Whatever. The point is, I’m like Santa Claus—if Santa Claus was a rat and carried all his toys in a pair of boxers that he stole for himself.

I start dragging it away merrily, already dreaming of all the placement options I have for my new treasures. My nest is gonna look so good. It’ll smell good too, because these boxers are laundry fresh and carrying a hint of Lug Nut’s nice scent. Hmm, I might need to come back later and get another pair…

Just as I reach the door to his room, it opens wide, and Mr. Lug Nut himself walks in.

I freeze, and his steps falter as he takes me in, his wide eyes revealing his surprise. His eyes flick over me, and his expression changes from confusion to amusement.

He crouches down in front of me, his weight balanced on the balls of his feet as he rests his forearms on his knees. His jeans and t-shirt are greased up and worn, and there’s more black stains on his hands and beneath his fingernails. And you know what? This grungy, hard-working vibe he’s got going on is working for him. He looks downright sexy.

I didn’t get a very good look at him that first night when I stole his lug nut—which, by the way, I can see he’s still wearing the others on his chain necklace. But now that I have sunlight on my side, I see tanned skin, black hair long enough to run some fingers through, brown eyes, and a square jaw. His biceps are formed nicely, and he has those sexy hands—hands that you can picture gripping your hips.

A slow grin spreads across his face as he continues to look at me. “You seem to be making a habit of stealing from me, Mousey.”

I don’t move, and even though I’m freaking out that I just got caught again, my rat doesn’t give a shit. In fact, she starts walking over to him, quite pleased with herself, while dragging the ratsack behind.

He tsks. “I’ve been leaving you presents. Isn’t that enough to keep you satisfied without having to resort to thievery?” he asks, but I can hear the teasing lilt of his tone.

My rat sniffs at the bottom of his pant leg, very curious about what kind of shifter he is, but I can’t tell. Then again, I’m only familiar with the scent of rats and mongooses. I guess I can rule those out.

“You took my boxers?”

Yeah, I did, and I don’t appreciate his tone about it.

When he reaches down and tries to take it from me, I turn and run between his legs, dragging my sack behind me.

“Hey!”

I ignore him, opting to race out of his room instead. I nearly get stepped on by someone walking down the hallway, and I’m forced to stop, standing on my hindlegs with my hands up, boxers hanging out of my mouth like a common criminal.

The brown-haired female peers down at me and then looks up at Lug Nut. “Friend of yours?”

I’m scooped up by Lug Nut, and rather than let my ratsack fall, I just cling onto it harder, using my front claws to help. “Yep,” he answers.

The female leans in and sniffs me. “Hmm,” she says, straightening back up as she yawns. “Cool.”

Lug Nut smirks. “Nap time, Wynn?”

She nods and starts flouncing away past his door to reach another bedroom further down the hall. “Yeah. I’ve been up for three hours. I’m exhausted.”

He and I watch as Wynn opens her door, takes three steps to her bed, and falls onto it face-first with a happy, tired groan.

Lug Nut shakes his head. “Sloths.”

I kid you not, she’s already snoring.

Turning his attention to me, he runs a finger over my back, petting my sleek fur. Okay, fine. What I have isn’t really as fancy as sleek fur, but I’m appearance-positive, and I just washed my brown hair this morning.

Lug Nut continues to stroke me, and damn, his pets feel really good. Like, really good.

My rat sighs a little and practically melts in his hand. She even wants to turn over and show him her belly so he’ll pet there too, and that’s when I realize that my rat has a big ol’ crush on Lug Nut. I can’t really blame her. I think I might have a crush on him too.

“Alright, you little thief. I can see by how hard you’re still chomping down on my boxers that you’re not letting it go without a fight. I’m a male who