Page 168 of Savage Empire

“The shelter was overcrowded,” he explains, not bothered by my incomplete question. “These two are a bonded pair; brother and sister. They couldn’t be separated.”

“Oh, of course not,” I agree vehemently. Reaching forward, I scratch under the little boy’s chin and caress the back of the girl’s ear. “You couldn’t leave your sister, could you, hmm?”

“How did you know he was the boy?” Apollo asks, blinking at me with an impressed look.

“Most black cats are boys, and an even larger percentage of Torties are girls—basically all of them. Plus, she has such a girly little face, doesn’t she?” She would look absolutely darling with a pink collar.

The smallest, sweetest little meow leaves the black one. His tongue and lips are the brightest shade of pink, while his noseis just as dark as his fur. His tortoiseshell sister yawns, eyes drooping sleepily, unaffected by her noisy brother.

“I suppose she looks quite feminine.”

“Quite feminine,” I mock with a chuckle. “Buckle in babies, your father can be quite the serious man. Perhaps you’ll soften him up, hmm? Who could resist melting for your precious little faces.”

“I’m their father, am I?” Apollo murmurs, looking down at me with so much intensity that my stomach swoops.

“Of course you are.” I gulp. “You found them, didn’t you? Now hand them over. I have to kiss their little heads and hold them close.”

My heart pitter patters happily as the two babies are handed to me, their purring picking up like tiny motors. “You two are going to be so spoiled,” I tell them softly. “Your daddy likes when I spend his money, and now he finally got me something that I can’t resist shopping for.”

“Do you have name ideas for them?”

“Oh, I’ve already decided,” I admit. “I’ve thought about pet names since I was a kid. These two fit what I have in mind perfectly.”

“Don’t leave me in suspense,” he teases, lips twitching.

“Midnight for the boy, Moonlight for the girl. Adorable, right?”

“I like them.” He nods, tilting his head. “Why do I have a feeling these won’t be the only two cats we ever have?”

I grin to myself. “You always were clever, weren’t you?”

Instead of being put off by the prospect, he appears victorious.

“I’ve bought them the essentials,” Apollo informs me, looking pleased with himself and his gift. “Armani is putting a kitty door into one of the closets down the hall, their litter box will go there.And there’s a cat tree and toys waiting to be set up whenever you want them.”

“Are you trying to seduce me?” I ask with a blush. “Because it’s working.”

“I was hoping you might say that,” he husks, eyes darkening. “Why don’t you let them explore their new house while we go break in our bedroom?”

The suggestion makes my thighs clench. I can never seem to get enough of Apollo. I quickly learned that with him, orgasms didn’t need to be written into our marriage contract. He thrives on making me go crazy. I swear, the more he makes me come, the more turned on he gets.

He’s a sex God in every sense of the term.

“They might scratch the couch if we leave them alone,” I warn.

“I’ll buy you a new couch.”

“And what if they have an accident?”

“I’ve already shown them the litter box, so they shouldn’t. But I’ll clean it up if they do. I’ve dealt with dead bodies, I can handle cleaning up after a kitten who’s the size of my fist.”

“Do you plan to clean their litter box then?” I joke, chuckling.

“Why is that amusing?” His face turns serious. “I absolutelydoplan to take care of that. Pregnant women are not supposed to clean cat litter, it could be dangerous.”

My stomach gives a funny flutter. “I’m n-not yet.”

At least, I don’t think I am.