Love Potion No. 2-14

Gage reached for the driver-side door handle then jerked back as an enormous house cat jumped on the hood of his car, landing with a thud.

“Hey! Get off my ride, you big oaf.” Big was almost an understatement, since the animal probably weighed twenty-five pounds. “Christ, what’re they feeding you?” he growled, checking his hood for dents. “Stray dogs and small children?”

With a twitch of its tail, the pure black creature strutted across the hood, up the windshield and onto the roof, leaving a trail of muddy paw prints in its wake.

“Figures.” Gage shook his head. “After all, I just washed the damn thing.”

He cursed and fisted his hands on his hips, trying to look intimidating. The cat responded by sitting on its haunches, curling its tail around its feet and glaring at him with its evil-looking yellow eyes.

“Where the hell did you come from, anyway? And how’d you get mud on your paws to track all over my car? It hasn’t rained for days.”

He made a grab for the little monster, but it scooted just out of reach, sat down again and blinked one golden eye.

“Get off my car, you dumb piece of shit,” he shouted. “Or I’ll pull out my gun and blow your worthless ass away.”

“No, don’t hurt him!”

Gage spun around as Kole rushed out of her store, her beautiful green eyes filled with horror.

“Shit.” He hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. I should have known. A cat this ornery could only belong to her. “I wasn’t going to shoot your cat,” he muttered, raising his hands to show her they were empty. “I was just trying to scare him off my car.”

“Boo’s not my cat,” she declared indignantly. “He’s a familiar. So save your threats and bullying. They won’t have any effect on him.”

“Boo, huh?” Gage snorted. “Should’ve guessed. What else would a witch call her black cat?” Taking a deep breath, he struggled to control his temper—and his libido. “So then, if my methods won’t work, what would you suggest for getting this behemoth off my car? You wouldn’t happen to have a broom I could borrow, would you?”

“Cute.” Her voice was ripe with sarcasm. “I don’t suppose it occurred to you to try asking nicely.”

“You’re joking, right? You seriously think dipshit will leave just because I make it a request instead of an order?”

“You’ll never know unless you try. Of course, if it’s too much of a strain on your ego to ask politely, you could just wait until he decides to move on his own. But I warn you, that might take hours. And his name’s Boo, not dipshit.”

“Whatever.” Might as well humor her, he decided. He turned back to the cat. “If it’s not too much trouble, Boo,” he said, giving him a small bow, “could you please get your big ass off my car?” Glancing over his shoulder at Kole, he added, “Sorry, but that’s about as polite as I can manage without—”

Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention back to Boo. The beast stood up, yawned, stretched and walked regally back down the windshield to the hood. Then he jumped to the ground and sauntered over to Kole.

“Way to go, Boo,” she whispered, picking him up and nuzzling him. With the cat in her arms, she headed back to the shop, pausing on the threshold. “You’re welcome to come in and check out my store, Detective, if you think it will help with your investigation.”

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “I’m sure you’re smart enough not to make an offer like that unless you’ve already destroyed all the incriminating evidence.”

Heat flared in her eyes, igniting a fire in Gage’s loins.

“There wasn’t any incriminating evidence in the first place.” Her face hardened. “Investigate all you want, Detective. But be careful how you do it. If you harass my customers too much, I can’t be responsible for the consequences.”

“Oh boy, I’m really shaking in my boots now.” He gave a mock shudder. “What are you going to do, turn me into a toad?”

“Well, I would,” she said with the barest hint of triumph in her smile. “But somebody obviously beat me to it.”