Linus didn’t spare her a glance as he wheeled my luggage to the base of the staircase. “Meiko, no.”
Above him, Meiko climbed onto all fours and stalked down the length of the mattress. She hissed at him through needle-sharp teeth then leapt onto the floor. The resulting thud sounded more like a shoe dropping than a woman landing. About the time I got curious over what was happening up there, a furry leg banded with tabby stripes stretched for the topmost step.
“Um, Linus?” I felt my eyes widen. “What is that?”
“She’s a nekomata, and my second familiar.” He tapped his foot, waiting as the massive cat slinked down to greet him. “Meiko, Grier is our guest. No more pranks.”
The cat stuck its tails, and there were two, in the air and twitched them once as if to ask where’s the fun in that?
“Can she not talk when she’s…?” I gestured to what appeared to be either a Maine coon on steroids or a runty bobcat, “…like that?”
“Meiko can talk in any form,” he assured me. “She’s being catty.”
Literally in this case.
“You’ll be staying in my room,” he told me, and the cat yowled with indignation. “It’s the only way you’ll have any privacy. Meiko and I will stay down here.”
“Where will you sleep?” The sleek, angular sofa looked about as comfortable as a cardboard box with a sheet draped over the top. “We can always pick up an air mattress and pump while we’re out.”
Ears perked upon hearing we didn’t plan on sleeping together, the cat snapped her jaws shut then glanced between us, the light catching on her collar.
“I have a Murphy bed for guests.” He indicated one of the built-ins I had assumed was an armoire to hide his television since I didn’t see one mounted on the walls. “It’s never been used.” He pulled his luggage over and parked it at his new digs. “Now I can say it’s been tested at least.”
“I can stay down here. I don’t mind. I don’t want to run you out of your room.”
“You’re not. I’m offering it to you.” He indicated one of two closed doors. “There’s only one bathroom. We’ll have to share.”
“I can do that.” I bet it was every bit as lavish as the rest of the space. It wouldn’t beat the clawfoot tub in Maud’s bathroom where I used to beg to soak, but I could make do. “I’ll check in with Neely and see if he’s arrived yet.”
“All right.” He took his suitcase into the bathroom with him. “I’ll change.”
Meiko exploded into sex-goddess mode as the door clicked shut. “So, you’re Grier.” Her eyes glittered. “Want to know a secret?”
Unsure what her angle was, I shrugged. “As long as you don’t expect me to reciprocate, sure.”
“Follow me.” She crooked a finger in expectation I would trail her sashaying hips. “This is Linus’s home office, broom closet more like it, but it doubles as an art studio.” The door opened under her hand, and she flipped on a light. “Notice a theme?”
Gazing into his office was like staring into a mirror. On the back wall, hung above his desk, was an oil painting. The woman wore my face, but she wore it better than me. Happiness shined through her eyes, and a mischievous quirk lifted one corner of her mouth. She looked like she had a good secret and was seconds from sharing it if only you would lean close enough to hear.
This must have been his last memory of the girl I used to be.
“There are more,” she confided. “You’re his muse. You have been for as long as I’ve known him.”
“How long is that?” I rasped, unsure what else I ought to be asking.
“Four years,” she admitted. “Why he fixated on you when he has me is unfathomable.”
“I shouldn’t be in here.” Viewing this without his permission was worse than Boaz thumbing through Linus’s sketchbook in front of him. This was… More. A shrine—or mausoleum—where that past Grier remained entombed. “He won’t want me to see this.”
“Whyever do you think I showed you?” Delight rattled in the back of her throat. “Do you know what a nekomata is?”
“Not offhand, no.” I backed from the room, and she followed, closing the door behind her. “Are you a true shapeshifter, or do you use glamour, like the fae?”
“You’re a smart cookie.” She tapped the end of my nose. “No wonder he wants to eat you up.”
Heat flooded my face, part embarrassment over what she was telling me and part—I don’t know what—at seeing his memorial. Though her diversion almost worked, I noticed she hadn’t answered my question. “I’m guessing you trade in mischief.”
“Right again, Cookie.” Her husky chuckle, like she was sizing up how many bites that might take, made me uncomfortable. “I show people what they expect—”
“I did not expect a cat lady.”
“Oh, Cookie, but you did expect a beautiful woman in his bed.” Her eyes glimmered, the pupils dilating. “You must have put a lot of thought into his tastes in women.” She raked her claw-tipped fingers through my hair. “I plucked the image out fully formed, no embellishment required.”
“You’re wrong.” I backed away, but her fingers tightened on the ends of my hair to hold me still. “I have a…” boyfriend didn’t feel like the right word, “…Boaz.” Maybe if we had made it to our second date, or if he picked up a phone sometime, I might have had a different label for him. Right now, I wasn’t sure what we were or weren’t. Too much had changed that night in the Lyceum. He had changed. Given all that happened, it would have been impossible for him not to be altered. “Linus and I aren’t like that.”
“Yet.” She twisted in on herself until a fluffy too-big-to-be-a-house cat sat at my feet. “Brrrrrt.”
“Back at you,” I mumbled, relieved when she padded into the kitchen. Antsy at being left alone in a strange place, I dialed up Neely for comfort. “Hey, where are you?”
“I just rolled up to a café on Peachtree Street Northwest. I couldn’t remember where you said you were staying, and since you forbade me from hunting down my sugar lump, I figured I would fuel up while I waited.”
A look down at my clothes had me second-guessing the need to change. Unlike Linus, I wasn’t headed for a meeting, and there was only more of the same in my suitcase. With that reminder of why we had planned this outing in mind, I decided there was no reason to keep Neely waiting.
“Hold on.” I located Meiko, who was busy lounging on a black mohair throw draping the couch, and waited while she decided whether to acknowledge me. “Can you tell Linus I left? That I’m going to meet Neely? He’ll know who I mean.” And since we hadn’t nailed down our plans… “He’s welcome to join us if he wants.”
“He won’t.” Meiko yawned, baring a mouthful of teeth. “He’s not a joiner.”
“He did mention a meeting,” I conceded.
“There you have it,” she purred. “You best run along to meet your little friend.”
“Grier?” Neely buzzed in my ear. “Are you coming or…?”
“I’ll be right there.” I checked my pockets for my debit card and room card. “Order me something hot and sweet to go while you’re at it.”
“Aren’t you wicked?” He chuckled. “I’ll see who I can rustle up.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “A drink, Neely. Not a person.” I retraced my footsteps to the elevator. “I’ve got my hands full as it is.”
“Do tell.” His interest perked faster than a fresh pot of coffee. “I thought you were Boaz forever?”
“He’s acting weird.” Granted, he had plenty of reason for that. “I’m not sure what’s going on there.”
Rushing to my bedside made me think he was serious when he made his promises to me. Refusing to kiss me in more than a platonic way made me think he had changed his mind. Though I had just suffered an injury to my jaw, which made getting hot and heavy difficult—and painful. But that still didn’t excuse the lack of communication since that night at the Lyceum. I didn’t need a phone call a day, but maybe once a week. Or a text? An emoji? Something. Goddess, I was giving myself a headache.