Read Hot Summer Bites: A Castle of Dark Dreams Novella (A Penguin Special from Berkley Sensation) for Free Online

concrete for lunch. I—”
    Kristin’s eyes still looked glazed, but her fighting spirit seemed in great shape. “You’re cute and fluffy. Deal with it.”
    Taurin recognized the exact moment her nose for a sensational story began to twitch. “So what’s the trick? Is the kitty wired and someone upstairs is spouting this stuff? If so, you really need a new script writer.” She stared at Taurin. “Tell me we’re dealing with a wired kitty.”
    What could he say to reassure her? Nothing. So he talked to the cat instead. “What’re you doing here?”
    The cat whipped its tail back and forth, still ticked at Kristin. “I was just hanging, so I thought I’d kill time watching you guys. I’d have more fun watching mold grow.”
    Kristin slipped into her shirt and crouched down in front of the cat. She ran her hands over its body looking for the wire.
    “Won’t find anything, but don’t let that stop you.”
    Kristin paled as she stood and turned to Taurin. “Nothing. What’s going on?”
    Taurin raked his fingers through his hair. Okay, one thing at a time. “Let me rephrase my question. Why the hell are you in the castle?”
    “Oh, that. I’m a messenger of Bast, Egyptian cat goddess of all things important, according to her. A while ago Bast sent another messenger, Asima, to the castle. Asima hasn’t reported in lately, so the goddess sent me to check on things. Seen this Asima chick around anywhere?”
    Kristin put her hand over her mouth. Probably trying to muffle a scream.
    “I might’ve. What’s your whole name? I won’t call you S.O.B., even if it fits.” Taurin kept an eye on Kristin. He hoped she wouldn’t have hysterics or race screaming up the stairs.
    The cat stared at him resentfully. He mumbled a name.
    “Again. Didn’t quite catch that name.” Taurin bared his fangs to hint he was losing patience.
    “Oh, hell. It’s Saffron.” He hissed the name.
    “That’s the
S
. How about the
O
and
B
?” Taurin relaxed a little as Kristin dropped her hand from her mouth and seemed to be listening to the cat.
    “My name’s Saffron Oregano Basil.” He growled low in his throat. “You laugh, you’re dead.”
    It was tough. Taurin wanted to laugh. Kristin just stared at Saffron with wide, unblinking eyes.
    “Okay, Saffron, you can leave now.” He wanted to be alone with Kristin. Not that he had any hope of picking up where they’d left off.
    “No.” Kristin’s voice was a little quivery, but sounded determined. “Who gave you that name? What are you? And can I have an exclusive on your story?”
    She glanced at Taurin. “I’m still in denial here, but just in case this guy’s for real, I want an interview.”
    Damn. He’d forgotten what she was. She recognized a sensational story when she saw it. The scariest part? If she accepted the shape-shifter as real, she might begin wondering about the reality of other nonhuman entities. He couldn’t let that happen.
    “Don’t waste your time. He’s a fake. We have a remote hookup that makes it sound like he’s talking.” Was that possible? He hadn’t a clue. “He’s, umm, Snowflake, my cat.” Taurin glared at Saffron, daring him to deny it.
    Saffron wasn’t having any part of it. “Snowflake? What the hell kind of name is that? It’s as bad as Saffron.”
    He shifted his attention back to Kristin. “I’m real. Don’t doubt it. The deal is that goddesses are touchy. See, I made the mistake of telling someone I’d rather serve Sekhmet, the lion goddess of war and destruction. That’s a real man’s goddess. Major mistake. Bast heard me. She’s Sekhmet’s sister, and they have this whole sisterly competition thing going on. Bast got pissed and gave me this form. All her messengers take cat form, but hey, she could’ve made me a big old alley cat. I would’ve been down with that.”
    “And the name. Tell me about the name.” Kristin’s eyes glowed with journalistic fervor.
    Taurin wished she’d look at him like that.