Claiming Their Cat (12 page)

Rio sent the
code
to unlock the gates to the
estate
from his i
Phone.
It was close to eight in the morning, and he was
dog-tired
, but it was good to be home.
He’d nap this afternoon when Cat took hers. As he rounded the last curve of the driveway, he saw a person standing on the porch.

Joy then
dread
assaulted him. His
shiichoo
was here. He hadn’t seen her in a while, so it would be
nice
to see her. But she was going to kick his ass if she found out he was
somewhat
blackmailing Cat. Of course, there was no
if
about it. She was a seer, which meant she already knew and was here to kick his ass.

Rio shoved the truck in
park
and killed the engine. Cat stirred.
Sometime during the night, he’d pulled her over, so she was laying down resting her head on his lap.
That allowed him to
touch
her almost all the way home. He
couldn’t get over how soft her
skin was
. He
would never get enough of touching it. He hadn’t worried about falling asleep at the wheel, because his dick was so hard the entire drive. His wolf was tormented between the need to fuck and
claim
, and the need to soothe and caress.

“Wake up
,
sleepy head. We’re home.”

Her beautiful blue eyes flew open, and she popped up. “Where are we?”

“My home.”
O
ur home.

She blinked several times as her gaze took in the surroundings. “
This is your house? It’s s
pectacular.”

“Thank you. Wait until I
come
around and help you out.”

He slipped from the
truck
and smiled when he heard, “I’m not crippled.”
No, she wasn’t, but he liked doing things for her and fully intended to do much more.

Cat had already opened the door by the time he’d reached her. “I told you to wait.”

“You did, but there was nothing in our negotiations about obeying your orders except where sex was concerned.”

She smirked at him, and he had to hide his smile.
He already knew she wasn’t a morning person, at least not until she
had a piss and a cup of decaf.

Speaking of coffee, h
e certainly could use a cup of Fred’s
brew
. He needed to
call
Fred and find out how he was doing.
Rio was glad Fred didn’t take him up on his offer to stay here for a while.
That would
surely
put a damper on his blackmail scheme.

She avoided his hand and slipped from the truck. “Come and meet my grandmother?”

Horror flooded her face as she immediately tried to smooth the wrinkles from her dress and push the loose ends of her hair behind her ears.
“I’m in no condition to meet anyone.”

“Trust me, she won’t care, nor will she care about what you think of her.”

Her eyebrows went
together
. “Why would I think badly of her?”

“Well, she’s always dressed in jeans, plaid shirt, and
dirty
cowboy boots.
Her hair’s gray and bushy, and she’s smoking either a pipe or a cigar.
Not
a
typical grandmother.”

Cat’s face reflected the wheels turning in her mind. “I assure you, I’m not a prude.”

His
nose
told
him that she
was irritated at his insinuation.
Sometimes
, he couldn’t
win
with Cat. “No, you’re not, but grandmother has other qualities that strike some people the wrong way.”

“I know how to act around the elderly.”

He had to stifle a laugh.
Grandmother wouldn’t take too kindly at
anyone
call
ing her
elderly
, but she might forgive Cat when she realized
she
was his mate.
Hell, she probably already knew that too.

When they reached the steps, he had to
grin
.
His grandmother
sported
a pipe this time, and her hair looked as if it hadn’t seen shampoo or a brush since the last time he’d seen her.

After helping Cat maneuver the steps, he placed a kiss on his
shiichoo
. “Cat, this is my grandmother, Ila. Ila, meet Cat.”

Ila
’s eyes crinkled as she took Cat’s
hand
. “I’ve prepared you a bath.
I will help you with your hair, so you won’t have to cut it.”

What?
“She’d better not cut her hair.”

Ila smacked him on the arm. “What you say doesn’t always go.”

Cat grinned
,
obviously finding an
ally
. “A bath would be lovely.”

“Then…I’ll fix breakfast.” Ila led Cat into the house, which meant he was dismissed.

As Cat and
Ila climbed the stairs, she was aware of the firm, but gentle grip the older
woman
had on her arm. It certainly reminded her of Rio’s
strength
. When she entered the bedroom, it was obvious this was Rio’s. The
large
furnishings were a dark cherry, and the giant bed only had a
thin
quilt. Rio radiated heat and would
su
ffocate under a heavy comforter. His grandmother
guided
her into the enormous bathroom. The
huge
tub made for three people was brimming with water.
Did Rio call ahead and order a bath
? B
ecause if
he did, she needed to thank him.

“Shed your clothes and let me help you into the tub.”

Embarrassed, but not wanting to be rude, Cat did as she was told. There was no way to hide her belly. Ila untied her
braid
and then she sank into the warm water.

“I’m going to wash your hair.”

Okay
. His grandmother used a
spray
head to wet her hair.
She
poured shampoo in her hand and then lathered Cat’s
hair
. She could have done it herself—eventually. How did the woman know she thought about cutting her hair? It was a mass of tangles. No amount of brushing could work through all that. After a rinse,
Ila worked
in
the
conditioner. It was ironic that Ila spent so much time on Cat’s hair when the woman hadn’t touched hers in years.
But she had to give Ila credit, there w
ere
no wrinkles in the old woman’s face despite the fact she must smoke like a freight train, or at least she smelt like
it
.
Rio had the same
dark
looks as his grandmother
.

When Ila grabbed the washcloth to bathe her, she decided to take over. “I can wash myself.”

The woman grinned. “I know. I will
sit
over here and help you out of the
tub
when you’re done.”

Cat wanted to sit and relax, but washed
quickly
instead
. Before she could
stand
, Ila was across the room with a hand on her arm.
“I’m fine, really.”

“Don’t want you to slip in the tub.
That would not be
good
for your baby.”

Ila did
let
her
dry
herself off which was a small victory.
The squat woman
brought a chair into the middle of the floor. “Sit backwards on it.”

Heat rushed Cat’s face when she remembered straddling Rio in the restaurant, so facing away from his grandmother was
good
.

“Rio’s a good man,” Ila said as she worked the
brush
through Cat’s
hair
.

Did this woman know what he did for a living? “He’s been good to me.”

“Of course, he has.”

Ila continued to
work
the brush. “We all do things we think are right in the beginning, only to learn that’s not the case in the end.”

Cat could
certainly
relate to that.
Or maybe she was referring to Rio’s blackmail. What would she think if she knew Cat was his
mistress
as payment for protection? If she told Ila that
Ri
o’s life was in danger, would Ila help her talk some sense in
to him
?

“You must trust Rio.”

Not gonna
happen
.

“In whatever he tells you to do.”

So not gonna happen.

“He can protect you, but only if you trust him.”

And only if she paid
his
price
.
Did Rio
put
Ila up to this?
She needed a friend to side with her not another one to gang up on her.

“If you trust him now, it will save us
all
a lot of heartache later.”

Okay, his grandmother knew nothing about the
heartache
that would happen when Alvarez figured out that Rio was helping her. “Ila, your grandson is in a lot of trouble. A
very
unpleasant
man wants me at all costs.
It would be better for everyone if I disappeared.
Rio’s only going to get himself killed.”

“My Rio can handle this trouble, but you are right. It will cost him.”

What did that even mean? Insanity must
run
in the family.

“Your beautiful hair is finished. You must never cut it. It’s part of a woman’s
power
over men.”

Cat was surprised that Ila was through.
She
hadn’t felt the slightest tug. “Thank you.” It wasn’t her
power
. She had absolute
power
of over absolutely nothing.

“I’ll
let
you get dressed and come down to breakfast.”

Ila opened the door and then hesitated. “I forgive you for what you
feel
you have to do. I understand.” Then Ila disappeared through the door.

Cat didn’t know what to make of that statement. It was as if Ila knew something Cat didn’t.

Rio heard his
shiichoo
coming down stairs, and that was only because she wanted him to hear her.
She was a wolf too, and was more than capable of moving on silent feet.

“Your mate is very lovely.”

“Yes, I know.”

“But it’s a good thing that you haven’t claimed her.”

He wanted to, something fierce, but he needed to
eliminate
Alvarez first, get all that nasty business out of the way.
“What would happen if I claim her while she’s pregnant?”

She shrugged. “It will not harm the baby. Have you seen your brother?”

“It’s been about five months. We seem to
pass
in the night.”

“The next time you see him do not kill him until you two have talked.”

“Kill him. Why would I want to do that?”

“Just let the
man
in you heed my words.”

Once again, his
shiichoo
wasn’t making any sense. Creed was his
little
brother who was deployed in Africa. Not a day went by that Rio didn’t think about his
bro
always hoping he’d keep his head down. He couldn’t wait to see
the little pain-in-the-ass
and
introduce
him to Cat.
Growing up, neither of them had thought they’d find a mate, but now Creed could have hope too.
Sometime during the long
ride
last night, he figured out that he would
claim
Cat as his mate. His wolf’s
compulsion
wouldn’t let him do anything else. Cat was a gift he didn’t want to live without. Now, he just had to win her over.

“If you see something, let me know what it is so I can deal with it head on instead of
being blindsided
in the dark.”

“You know my
gift
doesn’t work that way. I tried to
alter
the future once and what happened after my
interference
was worse than what I originally saw. You can’t change the future without changing the
whole
balance
of everything else. I can only warn and
provide
hints. Now
if
you knuckleheads would only
heed
them.”

“Ila, if you see any harm coming to Cat, I
need
to know. To hell with the balance. I’m begging you. Tell me what you see.” He wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. Killing that snake Alvarez wouldn’t be easy, but it was doable, and he’d need all the help he could
get
.