Spell Cat by Tara Lain Page 0,23

one. Killian opened his mouth wider, and Moran took advantage, pressing in deep. Yes, very nice. Killian felt Moran’s fingers start to untwist the tie in his hair. He pulled away. His hair was personal to him. Not everyone got to play with it.

Moran tensed for a second, then ended the kiss and stepped back. “Thank you for the most delightful evening I’ve had in a very long time. I sincerely hope we can do it again.”

“I’d like that.” Hmm. It was true. While this didn’t include the fireworks people said signaled true love, there was a solid chance Moran Inglesby was the one.

Jimmy shuddered. Don’t want to know! What the fuck, the suspense was killing him. He sat on the threadbare rug that covered battered hardwood floors in his one-room apartment over the garage. He stared at the objects he’d found around the trash cans outside. He’d added a few of his own possessions, and they were all spread out around him on the floor. A couple of kids’ jacks, three playing cards, a rock, and just because he loved the old Matrix films, a spoon. He laughed. Stupid to be nervous. He either could do it or he couldn’t, and he didn’t know which was worse.

Deep breath. He stretched out a hand and focused his mind on one of the jacks. It rolled over and bumped the one beside it. Shit! Did I do that? Could have been coincidence. Another breath. Start again.

He stretched out a hand—at the playing card. Nothing. Well, what did he expect? He shrugged. He’d kind of expected it to rise up. The card fluttered and rose several inches into the air. Shit! It fell. Yes, he made that happen. When he’d made up his mind what he wanted it to do, the card had done it. This time, no hand. He just thought about the card rising, and sure enough, it rose. Then he tried focusing on the second card while not losing the first. Wobbly, but he got the second one in the air while keeping the first one flying. Double shit! The cards fell.

His hands trembled. The jury was voting. About to render a decision. Okay, might as well go all the way. What was the biggest challenge? The rock. A good chunky rock, weighing a couple of pounds. Could he do that? Good grief. What did he think? That his mind had muscles? He focused on the rock, kind of saw it flying. Shit! Bam. The thing rose up so fast, it bounced off the ceiling. Yikes. A guy could get hurt. Yeah, in more ways than one. He carefully “thought” the rock back to the carpet.

As a pièce de résistance, he picked up the stainless-steel teaspoon. He stared at it. There is no spoon. The object that had been solid metal an instant before melted like so much silly putty. Christ! He dropped it, and it instantly returned to normal. Dear God, I’m Neo.

He stared at his hands. Just great. His girlfriend’s father already hated him. How would he tell his parents? Jesus, how would he tell himself? The verdict was rendered. Jimmy Janx, physicist, was a freakin’ freak.

Chapter Eight

“Dammit, Al. Will you get ready to go?” Sigh. Yes, he was talking to his familiar again. A sure sign of desperate loneliness. Aloysius was stretched in front of the small fireplace as if he had nowhere he had to be. Oh hell, I’ll go without the damned cat. He’d seen Moran twice in the last two days, and he’d been nothing but charming, kind, and gracious. Aloysius, however, refused to give him a look, much less a lick. At this point Killian was ready to declare Moran the lover and get on with it. They could only really be together for a week and a half, so he had no time to waste. It wasn’t what he had expected from true love. No fireworks. Not like…. He grabbed his mind back from its lustful wanderings. That was the exact reason he had to get things going with Moran. Thoughts of that damned human consumed him. Night. Day. Going nuts. It had to end.

He tossed his hair off his face. Moran seemed to like it, so tonight he wore it down. He wanted to show how much he appreciated Moran ordering him a special dinner. It would be their first private evening and their first chance at intimacy. Well, at least the first since they’d made up and corrected their