Did she think I was just going to bail in the middle of the night without saying goodbye? Did she saymagic? I paused at the foot of the winding staircase. “Where is your room?”
“You’re a curious one, aren’t you? I’ll tell you what, if you’re still here tomorrow, I’ll give you a tour. For now, go rest.”
“Will you rest?” I asked, feeling that I was drawing out the conversation in a near desperate way to just be able to speak with her a little longer. A part of me was embarrassed with myself for my lack of social decorum. Another part of me didn’t care—I was only desperate to know more about this mysterious woman in white whom I found in my graveyard.
Lunette Selene glided down a dark hall. “Goodnight, Shiloh Solair,” she whispered sweetly down the way before she disappeared into the night. God, my name sounded nice when she said it. Such a sad but kind girl she was.
Fatigue pulled at my bones, and I stretched a yawn before slumping up the stairs and finding my room. It was a nice, spacious area, with plush carpets and a modest canopy bed. Reaching into my pocket, I felt something hard and smooth.Pulling it out, I inspected it. A silver locket encrusted with glimmering sapphires. On the back were the initials,C.M.D. Weird. A relic from a past I couldn’t recall at the moment. Though it didn’t look like something I would wear. I wasn’t much for jewelry or finery. Looking at my attire, one could assume that I didn’t own anything fine at all. Maybe I’d stolen it. Was I a thief? Opening the top drawer of the only dresser in the room, I tossed the necklace into a pile of socks to worry about later. Without a thought as to why I’d lost my mind, quite literally, and followed a strange woman home, I collapsed into a pile of rose scented blankets.If you’re here in the morning, I’ll give you a tour, she’d promised. Of course, I’d be here. Where else would I go? My thoughts had left me, and like a newborn baby, my only point of reality was her, my graveyard, this house, and my aching, tired bones.
Sleep found me quickly as I waited for the morning sun and the promise of more Lunette.
Something scuffled from underneath my bed. My inner child might have thought it was a monster. My grown self… also considered it could be a monster, but I was too tired to care.Come on, evil one, take me away. The noises persisted, followed by tiny growls and hisses. With a yawn and a stretch, I pulled myself up and parted the drooping bedsheets like a curtain.
Suddenly, a white ball of fur pounced. I jumped back as a kitten, followed by three more kittens, landed on my chest. One gnawed at my suspender straps, the other pawed the buttons of my shirt, while the third perched on my shoulder like the parrot of a pirate.
“So, it was indeed monsters under my bed, huh?”
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I gave the tiny terrors head rubs and made my way down the staircase. This manorwas massive and ornate. Sunlight revealed white marble from floor to ceiling and black accents. Everything looked very clean, proper, and in place. Just like my hostess.
An orange cat reclined on a step, swishing its tail as I stepped over it. Two more cats chased each other through the foyer. A chorus of meows reeled me toward a large kitchen with a domed ceiling. Lunette placed teacup after teacup on a long table, and feline after feline jumped up to its place setting. The meows were soon replaced by lapping and purrs. I cleared my throat, not sure if I should focus on the circus or its ivory ringleader. Lunette’s white hair swayed past her hips, and her elaborate gown of the night before was replaced with a simpler, but still fancy, white skirt and top. “Oh, good morning, Shiloh. I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“You think I’m so rude as to just leave without saying bye when you gave me a place to crash? No, I don’t remember much of anything right now, but I’m pretty sure I’m not that much of an asshole.” A fluffy grey cat rubbed against my ankles. “So… a hundred cats?”
“No.” Lunette filled another teacup with meat and sat it on a saucer on the table. “More like a thousand, maybe more, some come and go.”
“You’re kidding,” I awed, taking a cursory glance around the room and counting at least sixty fur balls. “Where do they all come from?”
Lunette glided over, her movements so fluid and graceful, she resembled a swan. “They find me.”
“Kind of like me.” I smirked down at her, catching the faintest whiff of her jasmine and tuberose scented perfume.
She offered me a teacup. “Kind of like you.”
“No, thanks. I’m okay, kind of tired of meat in delicate dishware. It’s what I have every morning.”
Lunette giggled. It was the first time I’d heard her laugh, and my insides flip-flopped like a fish on a boat dock. “Then you’ll be glad it’s just peppermint tea.”
She watched intently as I took the cup from her grip, letting my fingers greedily exploit the opportunity to brush over hers. Taking a sip, the tea was warm and comforting on my throat.
Her eyes widened. “Extraordinary.”
“What?”
“You.”
“What about me?” I inspected the floating tea leaves. “You’re the one with the ability to wrangle a thousand cats and still look so nice.”
A faint pink blush spread across her cheeks. Yes, I was flirting. I was laying it on thick as hell, and you would have too, if you were me. Lunette Selene wasn’t just gorgeous, she had this quiet but sure presence about her. Like she was someone who knew every secret in existence and at any moment could reveal one to you or could simply hand you a teacup of warmth… or meat. A lonely, chaotic sort of mystery, she was.
As much as I wanted to dwell on that soulful and introspective observation… I also really, really wanted to fuck her. Look, I may have lost my memory momentarily, but I knew I was a girl with needs, and right then—fighting not to stare at the way her pert nipples poked through the thin sheer fabric of her dress—I was no better than a common man. Did she feelit, too? The tension in the air that made the symphony of cats meowing and licking dishes fade into nothing. Her gaze dropped to my neck as I knocked back my tea in a single gulp. Taking the cup back, her fingers lingered over my knuckles, her touch warm and soft. “Huh,” she said in a mix of astonishment and seeming disbelief. “What’s it taste like?”
I choked on air at that question as my mind fell right into the gutter. “Would you like to find out?” I raised an eyebrow.
Lunette flushed pink again. “The tea,” she amended. “What flavor is the tea?”
“Peppermint. Why? Don’t you remember what you gave me?”
“I’m rather surprised you can taste and touch.” She set my cup on the countertop and petted the long, fluffy tail of a silver and black cat that jumped up to purr at her.
