The Caveman and the Devil by Chris T. Kat

Chapter One
     
    M Y TEETH hurt from grinding them together forcefully for the last few hours. I consoled myself with the fact that at least my heart had stopped beating out of my chest.
    Mostly. As long as I didn’t think about what had happened earlier today. As soon as my thoughts went in that direction, my heart pounded, my pulse sped up, and sweat beaded down my back.
    Noah didn’t notice any of this. Of course he didn’t. How could he?
    He was focusing all his attention on the two small lion cubs. Outwardly calm, I followed him inside our apartment. Yeah, our. It had become ours a month after I first witnessed his cuddling session with Daria, one of the snow leopards at the Philadelphia Zoo. That had been the catalyst for us becoming an item.
    It had also been the catalyst for my hair to recede very, very far. I would have preferred for my hair to turn gray, but you can’t always get what you want. Including a responsible-acting boyfriend.
    Breathing in and out deeply several times, I held myself in check, which meant restraining myself from wringing Noah’s neck or throttling him. I was getting the hang of it since I practiced that particular restraint a lot . One day I was sure to master it completely, but today was not going to be that day. No chance of that happening!
    I didn’t think about the cubs when I kicked the front door shut with a resounding bang. The cubs mewled, frightened of their new surroundings and the loud noise. Noah shot me a dark glare over his shoulder. I shrugged apologetically before proceeding to the kitchen. I kept seething as I unpacked the box with supplies for the cubs.
    I couldn’t believe what he’d done. I really couldn’t. But then again, I still couldn’t believe he’d cuddle with a nursing snow leopard, either. Come to think of it, I hadn’t accompanied him to his cuddling sessions with Daria in months . We had an agreement. Granted, it was a stupid (not to mention dangerous) agreement, but I thought we both had followed through with it. If he’d gone into her compartment without me sitting close by, I would… I would….
    Frustrated, I slammed the cupboard door shut. Fucking hell! I didn’t know what I’d do. I trusted Noah not to do anything behind my back. He never gave me a reason to believe otherwise. Noah was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a liar. Omissions were a different matter.
    I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to ask him about his nonexistent cuddling time with Daria. The chance that I might not enjoy his answer seemed very likely. Today had shown me again how impulsive Noah could be.
    My anger bubbled inside me, pushing closer and closer to the surface. My vision blurred from pent-up anger and frustration. I barely refrained from smashing another cupboard door shut, reminding myself how inconsiderate it was of me to make so much noise with the cubs around. I grabbed the empty box and stalked from the kitchen to the front door.
    “Where are you going?” Noah called. “And could you stop making so much noise? You’re scaring the cubs, and they’ve been scared enough for one day.”
    “They weren’t the only ones scared today,” I mumbled to myself. Raising my voice so Noah could hear me, I replied, “I’m getting the crate out of the attic. Make sure they don’t explore beyond the living room.”
    I stomped up to the attic, wrenched the door open, and was immediately engulfed in a dry, suffocating heat. Seconds later my shirt was glued to my skin while sweat trickled down my face. I quickly located the crate and even discovered some toys for the cubs. I put them into the crate, a sudden bout of nostalgia settling over me. Some of the toys were battered and almost beyond recognition because I’d had to repair them over and over again. The new cubs would certainly end the lives of several of them.
    Shaking my head, I hefted the crate up and carried it from the attic. The cool air that awaited me outside the attic allowed me to breathe more