The glare Vic leveled at him only made Matt laugh. Itearned Vic a smack on the ass and a kiss on the cheek, as well. “Gosit down,” Matt murmured. “I brought in your paper. Let me get yourcoffee and what, some eggs? How’s that sound?”
With a confused shrug, Vic let himself be steeredfrom the kitchen. Mornings weren’t exactly his best time of theday, and Matt seemed to relish making them more hectic than theyhad to be. A cup of coffee and a piece of buttered toast, and thepaper stretched out in front of him across the dining room table.Vic didn’t ask for much.
But as he sank into one of the chairs at the table,the cat stopped grooming itself and slinked over to join him. As itbutted its head against his forearm, Vic elbowed it aside—gently,though. He didn’t wish the cat any harm. He’d just like it to getthe hell off the table.
When the cat approached him a second time, Vic pickedit up gingerly and set it on the floor. It meowed once, a pitifulsound, and watched him as he settled into his seat. The moment hewas comfortable, with the paper open before him, the cat nimblyjumped back onto the table. “God damn it,” Vic muttered under hisbreath.
From the kitchen, Matt snickered. “There’s no arguingwith a cat,” he told Vic as he came into the dining area. He held afull mug of coffee in one hand and a saucer of milk in the other.“You might as well just get used to it now. It’ll get what it wantsin the end.”
Sipping his hot java, Vic murmured, “Now who’s thatremind me of?”
“Hey!” Matt wrapped his arm around Vic’s head andpulled him close. Vic let him, leaning against Matt’s abdomen as heset his coffee aside. A warm hand rubbed over the top of Vic’s baldscalp, the touch followed by the damp imprint of a kiss. “You loveme, admit it.”
“I do.” Vic turned his face to kiss Matt’s stomachthrough his shirt. “But I already have one spoiled pet. I don’tneed two. Does it have to eat on the table?”
He meant the cat, who had found the saucer of milkand now sat hunched over it, lapping at the cool liquid. Tinylittle drops appeared around the bowl, reminding Vic of splatteredcum.
But Matt released Vic and dropped into the chair bythe cat’s bowl. “There’s plenty of room. Where else would it eat?On the floor?”
::You think?::Vic raised one eyebrow and left the question unspoken betweenthem.
Matt ignored it, as Vic had thought he would.Standing, Matt pushed his chair away from the table and announced,“Fish for you, kitty. And how about my man this morning? What can Icook you for breakfast?”
Into his mug, Vic muttered, “Well, I had wanted salmon and eggs.”
The look of surprise on Matt’s face was priceless,and Vic had to scowl at his coffee to avoid smirking. “Really?”Matt asked, his voice unusually high. “Because I was going to givethe cat…”
“It’s cool.” Vic shrugged and waved off Matt’s words.“Let the cat have it, I don’t care.”
Contrite, Matt took Vic’s hand in his and gave it aloving squeeze. “But Vic, if you want it—”
With a shake of his head, Vic admitted, “Idon’t.”
“I can maybe cut off just a little piece,” Matttried.
Vic couldn’t suppress his smile any longer, and hisfingers curled around Matt’s possessively. “I’m kidding, Matty. Idon’t want the fish. I’m just playing with you.”
Thin color rose in Matt’s cheeks. “Vic!” he criedwith a laugh. “Don’t do thatto me! It’s too early…”
Vic winked. “But you can fuck with me first thing andget away with it, eh?”
“Oh, I’ll fuck you,” Matt promised. “After breakfast,it’s back to bed for both of us, you hear?”
Vic couldn’t wait.
* * * *
Matt served the salmon on a small dish, setting itbefore the cat as if the feline were just another person sittingaround the table. He’d warmed it, to boot—from where Vic sat hecould faintly smell it, and though it turned his stomach at such anearly hour, he held his tongue. What was the use of arguing? Mattalways got his way in the end. As his lover set a plate heaped highwith scrambled eggs in front of him, Vic let himself be kissed ontop of the head. Diving into the eggs, he groused, “I bet Mrs. Kdoesn’t even let it eat on the table. And you know that’s one ofour plates. We eat off that.”
“All cat germs will come off in the dishwasher,” Matttold him.
He chose the seat beside Vic, as the cat ate at theend of the table where he usually sat. Already that part of thetable was covered with little flecks of pinked fish, chewed morselsthat fell from the cat’s mouth as it devoured the food. The poorcreature ate as if it hadn’t had food in years, but Vic suspectedit had eaten quite a bland meal of cat food earlier and was nowgorging on Matt’s treat.
When the cat grabbed a mouthful of salmon and tuggedit off the plate onto the table, Vic groaned. “This is why we don’thave a pet.”
Beside him, Matt scooted his chair closer to Vic’sand placed a hand high up on his lover’s thigh. The fingers curvedover the flannel bathrobe to tuck themselves between Vic’s legs.“Why? I’d spoil it?”
“Just a little.” Vic saw the cat throw an interestedglance at his plate and curved his arm around it protectively,hunching over as he ate his eggs. “The minute Mrs. K is back, I’mtaking that damn thing upstairs.”
The hand in his lap gave him a gentle pat. When Viclooked at Matt, a thoughtful expression had fallen over his lover’sface, glazing his eyes and forcing him to chew slowly. Even withoutthe telepathic ability they shared, Vic knew what was going onbehind that vacant stare. “No.”
With a shake, Matt tore his gaze from the cat tofrown at
