…What do you want me to do about it?
As I stared at him with incredulous eyes, the finger inside my mouth started poking at my fangs. Since I wasn’t biting down, he was basically getting himself bitten. Poke against my lower left fang, poke against my lower right fang, then poke poke against my upper fang in turns—while he grinned like he was enjoying himself. What the hell?
This can’t be happening. This is absolutely, unquestionably him disrespecting me. I’d coddled him for too long, and now he’d completely lost his sense of fear. I flared up in righteous fury and clamped down hard on the finger inside my mouth.
“……”
“……”
The golden eyes meeting mine blink slowly. I kept my teeth sunk firmly into his finger, staring straight into his eyes. My fangs were clearly embedded in his finger, but strangely enough, there wasn’t even a scream—no expression of pain at all. Something about the patron’s overly blank face made me feel oddly uneasy.
Wondering if maybe he was angry, I rolled my eyes around, but there was still no reaction. I finally spat out the finger I’d been biting. When I looked down, I saw several small holes punctured into the finger in front of my mouth. From those holes, blood slowly welled up, then dripped down in thin streams. Looks like I really bit him properly. I lifted my head again to look at him, but he was still expressionless.
…What. Is he pissed?
I narrowed my eyes hard and glared at him.
So what! What’s he gonna do if he’s mad! He’s the one who started it! He was smiling like he liked it when I bit him! He literally asked me to bite him, so I just did what he wanted!
I glanced down and saw drops of blood falling onto the documents below.
One drop. Two drops. Three drops. Four drops. Five… drops… six… seven….
…Hmph.
I stopped counting the drops and quietly started licking the patron’s finger.
As I lapped at the puncture marks and glanced up, the golden eyes slowly curved into a smile. The moment I saw the patron starting to chuckle, I smacked the finger I was licking away with my paw.
You bastard—you tricked me! You fucking asshole!
I lunged at him and started raking at his chest furiously, and he burst out laughing outright. I tore at his clothes with my claws, venting my rage.
You scared me, you piece of shit! You con artist!
“Keuk—yeah. My fault. That’s on me… hahaha!!”
Even while trying to pat me soothingly, he started laughing again. I pulled my claws out of his now-tattered clothes and sharply turned my body away.
I’m not playing with you anymore. You liar.
I flopped down on the cushion with my back turned toward him, and his laughter gradually faded.
“…Are you angry?”
When he cautiously reached a hand toward my back, I smacked it away with my tail. He paused for a moment, then started gently stroking my back again. I ignored him completely and just glared at the wall.
“I won’t do it again, so calm down.”
The patron whispered. But I absolutely refused to look at him. So he whispered again.
“Want to play tail-catching?”
…Tail-catching?
At the tempting words, my ears perked up despite myself, and the patron continued in a teasing voice.
“Or should we play with a feather?”
Before I knew it, I whipped my head around.
Feather play? Now?
When I stared at him with sparkling eyes, the patron nodded. His effort was honestly kind of touching, so I decided—reluctantly—to accept his apology.
The moment my anger faded, the patron went right back to touching and stroking my back and cheeks however he pleased. I couldn’t care less and just tapped his arm impatiently with my paw.
Hurry up and get the feather. Huh? Right now. Hurry. Hurry.
***
“I’ll have it finished as quickly as possible.”
The tailor bowed deeply and left the room. I forcibly tore my gaze away from the measuring tape swaying around the tailor’s arm. Watching the movement of a tape measure in a human body—looks like I’ve gotten far too used to being a cat.
Once the tailor was gone and the door closed, the patron approached and buried his nose in my head. I tilted my head back to look at him, and this time he pressed his mouth against my forehead instead. The golden eyes meeting mine curved into a quiet smile. Even when I stared at him pointedly, he showed no intention whatsoever of pulling his mouth away. For a moment, I wondered if this guy was actually way more unhinged than I’d thought.
“I told him to hurry, so you’ll be able to try it on the day before the banquet.”
After slobbering all over my forehead, the patron finally pulled his lips away and spoke. I rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand and shot him a glare. When he sticks his mouth on my fur, he doesn’t slobber like this—but the moment it’s bare skin, he always leaves spit behind. I really wanted to tell him to knock it off, but I held back. The bite marks I’d made earlier were still sitting blatantly on his hand.
Again. Again. Again.
Somehow, without even realizing it, I was back on his lap as he sat in the chair. I looked once at his thigh—now basically my designated seat—then at his face, then at the perfectly fine empty chair beside us. But the thought of moving over vanished almost immediately. If I sat on the chair, my butt would definitely get cold. Compared to that, the patron’s thigh was nothing but warm. Comfort comes first.
I started eating the cookies laid out on the table. Since I can’t eat these when I’m a cat, I have to stuff myself at night.
“When’s the party?”
I asked with my mouth full of cookies, and somehow the patron understood. He lifted my hand, and while I stared blankly, he unfolded my fingers one by one until there were four extended.
“…Four days from now?”
I asked skeptically, and he nodded. He could’ve just said it—what is this, playing house? A grown man doing this nonsense. I was just about to snap at him, but the words quietly slid back down my throat. Because a finger riddled with little tooth holes was waving around right in front of my eyes. It felt like he had me by the weakness somehow. I deliberately looked away and shoved more cookies into my mouth.
While I silently chewed with my cheeks puffed full, the back of my neck suddenly started itching. When I turned my head, that bastard patron was slobbering all over someone else’s neck again—mine. I poked his forehead with my finger, and he just smiled calmly. Lyx, this guy really seems to think he’s some kind of irresistible seductress, batting his eyes like that.
Since he could do whatever he pleased, I stayed still—and he started planting little kisses all over my neck. Sometimes something wet brushed past. The constant touch of his hot breath made my whole body itch, and I scratched at his thigh with my nails.
“…Hey. I didn’t eat any fruit.”
I jabbed at the hand that had somehow slipped inside my clothes. The hand rubbing my stomach so casually was so bold that for a moment I thought it was my own. But then this guy—
“Whatever you eat at night, you have to digest it properly.”
—and he still didn’t pull his hand away. I’ve been sticking close and playing with him every day, so his affection starvation should’ve eased by now, but somehow it feels like it’s only getting worse. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts trying to nurse from his mom later.
……
The image that flashed through my mind made me freeze in horror.
The patron latched onto Julia’s nice chest, suckling away—ugh. Ugh. Ruined the taste of my cookies.
“Oh, right. Lyx.”
I tried to change the subject, but the patron was still busy slobbering on my neck. I grabbed his ear and yanked him away.
“Hey. I can’t dance, by the way.”
“Dance?”
At my words, the patron finally pulled his attention away from my neck.
It’s not like I can’t dance at all. In fact, I’m fairly confident in my dancing. It’s just that I can’t dance the kind of dances you’re supposed to do at these parties.
After thinking for a moment, the patron quickly curved his eyes into a smile, grabbed my waist, and stood up from his seat. He walked over to the open space and set me down.
“So what?”
When I glared up at him sulkily, the patron grabbed my waist again and lifted me right back up. I briefly considered kicking his thigh, but barely managed to restrain myself. Because once again, I saw the finger riddled with tooth holes. Seriously, he needs to cover those up already.
While I was hesitating, the patron placed me down on top of his feet. I stood there stepping on both of his feet, and my face immediately twisted into a scowl.
I’m not learning how to walk for the first time like a baby. What the hell is this supposed to be?
