“Damn it, Roman, get back here. I’m not very in love with you right now.” Jessa tossed the towel onto the floor, then raced after her black cat. “Whoever said he was calm should’ve had to bathe him.” With him speeding ahead of her, she sprinted down the hallway.

 “Come back here.” Her hair flew in her eyes and her chest hurt from the scratches inflicted moments earlier when she’d first introduced him to the water.

Roman backed himself into a corner and hissed, his gold eyes blazing.

“Don’t make me have to tackle you.” Jessa crouched and took her best offensive stance. She counted to three, then lunged. An earth-shattering screech echoed in the room, but she managed to grab him. When she looked down into her curled arms, the cat struggled, but couldn’t free himself.

“You are a brat -- cute, but a brat.” She kept him tight in her grasp and marched back to the bathroom. “If you weren’t one gigantic flea, this wouldn’t be necessary.”

Upon entering the bathroom, she kicked the door shut. “Now try and get away.” She glanced around for where the cat shampoo had landed. “This won’t take long.”

The cat scampered from her arms and skidded on the rug. He collided with the bathroom door. When he fell back, instead of a black cat, a man -- a naked man -- lay sprawled in his place.

Jessa dropped the towel she’d picked up and sat down hard on the edge of the tub. “What the hell just happened?” She knew what she’d seen... her cat had morphed into a man.

The guy shook his head, his dark hair ruffling with each shake, then glanced over his shoulder. “Now do you see why I don’t need a flea bath?”

“I don’t understand what I’m seeing.” Jessa balled her fists. What the hell was she supposed to do? Locked in a bathroom with a strange man. “What’s going on here?”

“I’ve got a knot on my head from the door.” The guy turned around and rested against the wooden door. “Remind me not to run full blast away from you.” He rubbed his forehead. “But I’m kind of glad this happened. I was tired of being a cat.”