He slapped the pouch of money into my palm and turned to the bed. "Mr. Boots likes anchovies."
"I'm not getting pizza for your cat."
Kansas shrugged and leaned his shapely hip against the mattress.
Damn. I'd expected more of a fight from my refusal.
"He's got canned food. I stocked up." He pointed to the largest bag in the room. It was a duffel with a thick black strap. Next to it was a small backpack.
More than half of what I'd assumed were his belongings was cat food.
I turned my face to the door before frowning. He should've bought food for himself with that money, not cans of cat food that he'd only have to lug around. Once outside, I stopped by the office to ask for directions since I'd forgotten to ask Kansas where the place was.
It was a short block away, and they weren't very busy. I guessed the mushroom-hunting crowd and the pizza-eating crowd didn't overlap as much. I ordered, adding a small cheese-and-anchovy pizza to the order at the very end. I wasn't getting it for the cat, but for myself. I'd always wanted to try anchovies on pizza.
When I returned to the room, Kansas sat on the bed with his legs spread and his back against the headboard. He had the television turned onto the evening news, and he pretended not to notice me coming in. His eyes flicked back to the television when I turned around quickly.
I snagged a roll of paper towels from the kitchenette and brought them to the mattress, where I sat down on the other side of the bed, placing the pizza boxes between us. If Kansas wanted to pretend he was a brick wall, that was fine. I'd eat and be comfortable while I did. I cracked open the box without a word and grabbed my first slice of pepperoni pizza. I'd try the anchovy later.
I did not get the pizza for the cat. I just wasn't hungry for that kind yet.
The lady on the news was talking about the record rainfall we were getting in this part of the country.
From the corner of my eye, I watched Kansas slowly sneak his hand over. He grabbed the top of the first box and peeked inside before doing the same to the second box.
"You got anchovies," he said, but with a tone that sounded like I'd just rescued him from a burning building.
Was he going to cry?
"It's just a pizza," I grunted, shoving the rest of my slice in my mouth. If I was chewing, I didn't have to figure out what to say. I loved Kansas angry at me. I wasn't sure what to do with his gratitude.
We ate in silence. Except for the part where Kansas tried calling his cat over to try the pizza. Either Mr. Boots wasn't in the mood or Kansas had been lying because he refused to stay on the bed long enough to even sniff the pizza.
"He usually likes it," Kansas grumbled.
I leaned back and patted my full stomach. Kansas had put down nearly as many slices as I had, but when the larger pizza was gone, he went for a slice from the smaller one. The guy could eat. Odd, since he didn't look like he did. I scowled at what that might mean while Kansas polished off the second box before picking them both up and setting them in the kitchen.
"How did you jump so high earlier?" Kansas asked without preamble. "When you plucked Mr. Boots from that tree. How did you jump that high? You're so strong. Stronger than people normally are."
I wished I had another slice of pizza, if only so I could shove it in my mouth and give me time to think while I chewed. "I work out," I lied. I didn't work out. Not like Nash, who used to get up every morning and run until he didn't feel guilty about his past anymore. I didn't feel guilty about anything that had happened to the four of us cousins.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me." He looked back at the television just as the narrator was explaining all the horrible things that could happen to you if you took whatever medication it was that they were advertising.
"How did you slip me that drug?" I countered.
Kansas pressed his red lips together.
Uh-huh, so I wasn't the only one of us who wasn't so forthcoming. We were going to have a hard time finding something to chat about. Still, we had several hours before we could leave. I planned to sleep through some of those, but I was used to getting off after long shifts at the bar. Most nights I closed around midnight, ten if things were dead. But on busier nights, sometimes I wouldn't get home until after five in the morning.
"Was any of what we talked about true?" I asked, staring at my crossed feet. Nana would scream at me if she saw my boots up on the bed, even if we weren't in her house.
"Yes," Kansas replied quietly, understanding I'd meant all of what we'd talked about the first night we met. "Most of it, anyway."
"Who is chasing you?"
Kansas crossed his arms over his chest, and I attempted to not fixate on the motion. I hated how tightly he held himself while he literally blocked his heart from me.
I growled and turned so I was faced slightly away from him. I didn't want anything to do with his heart. But, if he was in serious trouble, he shouldn't have had to deal with it all on his own.
"I don't need you to try to fix my life," Kansas snarled, unfurling his arms but clenching his hands into fists immediately after. "I live free. It's me and Mr. Boots, and that's how I like it."
"Fine!" I snapped back, rotating my upper body to square off with his. "I'm not trying to fix your life. Mine is fucked up enough on its own."
"Good! You have your own problems to fix. Like your rotating bedroom door!" Kansas didn't try to keep his voice even.
Inside, my wolf howled, wanting me to meet this challenge head on. "You seem very concerned with who is in my bed, considering you drugged and robbed me before you had your chance."
"Yeah, like I wanted to go where many have gone before. No thanks."
I wouldn't feel shame for my lifestyle. I enjoyed sex. I was always open and honest with those I had sex with too. They might have wanted more, but I was always clear that they were getting right now. "You didn't mind my mouth."
"Fuck you," Kansas spat. His leg shook so rapidly he made the bed vibrate.
"I wanted to," I hurled back. My blood raced through me like fire, igniting every sense and nerve ending. I felt awake, alive, and so fucking horny.
I was so turned on that when Kansas leapt on top of me, straddling my erection with his knees on either side of my body, I thought I was fantasizing. Then his lips pressed against mine, and I snapped out of my daze. I grabbed two handfuls of luscious ass and thrust my tongue into Kansas's mouth. He made a low noise, a shocked snarl, and kissed me back, bringing his tongue in to war for dominance.
I flipped us over, nestling Kansas beneath me while I stretched his arms over his head and held both of his wrists in my hand. This was how I wanted Kansas: open. Nothing between me and his beating heart. It pounded now, an erotic drumbeat that I could shake my hips to.
I wrenched my mouth from his, kissing down the line of his jaw to his neck. I sucked hard, and he squealed.
"You'll give me a hickey!"
"Good," I snarled with more intensity than I'd intended to let show. I wanted Kansas marked by me. "Worried you won't be able to fool your next victim so easily?" I didn't doubt that Kansas would still be able to. If he'd shown up to The Greasy Stump with his neck covered, I'd probably still have been lost to him.