Page 44 of Purrfectly Outfoxed

By the time the trick-or-treaters slow down around eight o’clock, I’m exhausted in a way I’ve never been before. Not from danger or survival, but from sitting still and being cute for children. It’s a different kind of tired.

But it’s a good tired.

Bea starts cleaning up the candy wrappers and empty bowls, so we take that as I cue to head back inside and shift back to humans so we can help her.

“That was wonderful,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. “Thank you both so much. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“We do,” I say. “It was pretty great for us too.”

“You have no idea what you’ve done for us, Bea,” Tabitha adds.

Bea looks at us and her eyes fill with tears. “You gave me the best Halloween.”

“You gave us a home,” Tabitha says softly. “This is the least we could do.”

We all stand there for a moment, the three of us on the porch, surrounded by the remnants of the evening. Then Bea pulls us both into a hug, and we let her, because that’s what family does.

“I’m going to head to bed,” Bea says eventually, pulling back and wiping her eyes. “You two should get some rest too. It’s been quite a day.”

“Goodnight, Bea,” we say in unison.

“Goodnight, my dears.” She pauses at the door. “Oh, and Jasper? The tuxedo really did suit you.”

She disappears inside, and I realize the tiny bow tie is still somehow attached to my collar.

Tabitha bursts out laughing.

“Shut up,” I mutter, trying to remove it.

“Never.” She helps me take it off. “Come on, let’s finish cleaning this up and go to bed.”

“Bed? We’re nocturnal, Tabitha.”

She turns to me with a glint in her eye. “I never said anything about sleeping.”

We work together to pack away the last of the decorations and sweep the porch. She keeps brushing against me—deliberately, I’m pretty sure—and every time she does, heat pools low in my gut.

“You’re doing that on purpose,” I murmur when she reaches across me to grab a box, her breast pressing into my arm.

“Doing what?” She bats her eyelashes innocently.

“You know what.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, fox.” But the smile on her face tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing.

By the time we finish and head to our room, I’m half-hard and trying not to rush her.

When we finally make it, I close the door behind us and pull her into my arms, kissing her deeply.

She melts into me, her hands sliding up my chest and into my hair. “Missed this,” she murmurs against my lips. “Being alone with you.”

“It’s been like twelve hours.”

“Twelve hours too long.”

I walk her backward toward the bed, my hands finding the hem of her new sweater. “You know what I realized today?”

“What?” She helps me pull the sweater over her head.