He wanted to fuck her again and tell her that, this time, he wanted her to take his blood even though that was not a possibility. She wasn’t his mate, and right now was the wrong time to even think about a baby. She was caught up in a mess so deep that he feared she wouldn’t get out of it.
Sterling continued to use his fingers and thumb until she came again. Only then did he withdraw his hand. He brushed his fingers against her lips and kissed her one last time, so they could taste themselves together.
He broke the kiss and pulled up his pants. He bent down and helped Lexine get into hers.
As she slid her foot inside her shoe, he said, “We should probably get out of here. You said it wasn’t safe.”
He almost regretted his words because her post-orgasmic look changed to one of panic.
“Let’s go,” he said. “We’ll meet somewhere, and you’re going to tell me everything.”
“Okay.”
“Everything,” he reiterated.
“I know,” she said with just enough irritation to make him smile. “But you’re not going to like it.”
“Honey, I haven’t liked it from the start, but at least I will no longer be in the dark.”
“I THINK WE’RE going to have sex tonight,” Phoenix told Kenzie.
Kenzie whipped her head up from her computer at work. “What time are you supposed to meet him tonight?”
“I usually go around sundown, but tonight, he actually asked me to come around five.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Kenzie asked in a panic.
It had been several days since Phoenix and Kenzie started becoming friends and several days since Phoenix had taken Kenzie’s advice. Every night since then, she and Dante had been intimate. Intimate as in, she had given him a hand job, and he had gone down on her. She figured they’d been doing that long enough, and it was time to move on to the final step. Her mating heat was about a week away, but that was just a guess. They didn’t come exactly six months apart. It was only a general time difference in between. She could technically get it tomorrow. Some women were more regular but not Phoenix.
“What’s wrong?” Phoenix asked.
“What’s wrong? You can’t be serious.”
“Yes, I am.”
Kenzie pointed to the clock on the wall. “You’ve known about this all day, yet you didn’t tell me until almost noon. We barely have time left,” she said as she started stacking papers and putting her stuff away in a rush.
“Time for what?”
Kenzie stood up and pushed her chair in, all the while looking at Phoenix like she was nuts. “To go shopping.”
Phoenix was confused. “Shopping for what?”
Kenzie stared at her with a deadpan look.
“What?”
“You aren’t serious, right? You’re just joking with me.”
Humans. Women. Both. Phoenix would never understand them.
“I seriously don’t know what you are referring to.”
Kenzie came around her desk and pointed to Phoenix. “Girlfriend, your clothes.”
Phoenix looked down at her outfit. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Nothing. As long as you’re not a bag lady standing on the corner, begging for money.”
She gasped from the insult.
“Phoenix, babe, you have a banging body. Banging.” Kenzie held up her hands, making okay signs with her index fingers and thumbs. “But you hide it under your hideous clothes.”
Phoenix felt herself getting warm from Kenzie’s compliment but instantly tried not to think about it. Her body was what had caused her problems when she was younger. Phoenix had started dressing like this to hide her body. Back when she had been vulnerable and couldn’t take care of herself.
Although she wasn’t that naive young girl anymore. Dante had made her see that already. And maybe even Kenzie had helped her realize that, too.
So, maybe Kenzie was right. Now, Phoenix was so used to her clothes and dressing the way she did that she hadn’t realized there was anything wrong with them.
“Look,” Kenzie said, “I get that you have some…things that make you dress the way you do. But, if you would let me, I would love to help you shop for some clothes that would look nice on you yet were still modest.”
Phoenix hesitated.
Kenzie folded her hands together. “Please, please. It would be so fun.”
Phoenix raised her brow.
“Okay, it would be fun for me.”
She still wasn’t sure. “I don’t know.”
“Well, how about we go and get lunch, and you think about it? Then, I will take you to all my favorite stores.”
Phoenix stood and looked at the human’s clothes. “Uh…”
Kenzie showed way more skin than Phoenix was comfortable with.
Kenzie waved her off. “You don’t have to dress like me. I promise, I’ll make you look very nice. I mean, you are going to bone Dante, right? At the very least, you need some sexy lingerie.”
“Holy crap, Kenzie. Does Sawyer know you talk like this?”
“Why do you think he mated with me?” Kenzie went to her office door and opened it. “Come on. Let’s get you stylin’.”
Phoenix flopped back on the chair in the dressing room area. “Kill me now.”
“Oh, stop it, you big baby,” Kenzie said. “I only had you try on a few things.”
Phoenix looked at the piles of clothes. Piles. The yeses, the noes, and the maybes. “You’re nuts, you know that?”
“Nah, I just like shopping.”
“Can we please be done now?” Phoenix begged.
Kenzie smirked and held up two articles of clothing on her fingers. “Only if you promise to wear the bra and panties I picked out for you.”
“Uh-uh.” Phoenix purposefully shook her head. “No way.”
What Kenzie had picked out could scarcely be classified as a bra and panties. The bra barely covered her nipples, and her ass hung out of the underwear.
“Bra and panties, my ass. Literally.”
Kenzie smiled. “I would never make you wear something that didn’t look good on you.”
“The answer’s still no. Nope. Nada. Not going to happen.”
Kenzie sighed and gave Phoenix her innocent big eyes again. “Well, I guess we’re going to have to do more shopping.”
Phoenix grunted, snatched the lingerie out of Kenzie’s hand, and stomped out of the dressing room. “Fine, but I’m not getting the maybe pile!” she yelled over her shoulder.
She heard Kenzie laugh all the way to the purchase counter.
The lady looked up as Phoenix approached.
“Hello. Are you ready to check out?”
“Yes, but I left all the clothes I’m going to purchase back in the dressing room.” She held up the bra and underwear, leaned forward, and lowered her voice. “I’m supposed to buy these with my clothes, but if you could accidentally set them aside, so I don’t bring them home, that would be great.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Kenzie said as she dropped all the yes clothes onto the counter. “She’s buying them,” she told the lady. “And, if she doesn’t stop fighting me, I’m going to make her wear them out of the store.”
“Bitch.”
“Brat.”
“I don’t like you right now.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” Kenzie replied, unfazed.
The saleslady laughed at them as she rung up Phoenix’s clothes. After Phoenix handed over her credit card and paid, she and Kenzie grabbed the bags and headed out to the parking lot.
“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” Phoenix said as they put her purchases in the trunk.
Kenzie shut the trunk. “Have I steered you wrong so far?”
Phoenix reluctantly said, “No.”
“Wow, that was easier than I’d thought. I’d thought I’d have to pull that no out of you.”
“I’m not that bad.”
Kenzie snorted. “Anyway, I know what
I’m doing here. I might not be the brightest bulb on the tree, but I do know what I’m talking about when it comes to relationship stuff.”
Phoenix’s shoulders slumped. “I know. I’m just nervous.”
“Come on. Let’s go, and you can tell me all about it.”
They got in Kenzie’s car.
“So, tell me why you’re nervous,” Kenzie said. “Besides the obvious.”
“What if I don’t like it?”
“You’ve liked everything else so far, right?”
Liked it was an understatement.
“Yes. But what if I don’t like sex as much as I like oral sex? What if I can’t have an orgasm? Or worse, what if I don’t like it at all? Dante’s big. What if it hurts?”
Kenzie put her hand on Phoenix’s arm. “How big?”
Phoenix rolled her eyes. “Does it really matter?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. The first time I saw it naked, I thought of a Coke can but longer.”
“Holy shit, girl, you hit the jackpot.”
“Yeah, maybe, if I were you. You like sex. I’m terrified as hell. What if he rips me in half?”
Kenzie laughed, but when she looked over at Phoenix’s serious face, she stopped. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. I know you’re freaked out.”
“I am.”
“Okay, remember what I told you the other day about just feeling? You have to do that tonight, too. If you start to panic, you’ll add pressure to yourself, then you’ll add pressure to Dante, and then back to you. It’ll be a vicious cycle. And, if you’re all tense, you’re going to be tense down there, too.”
Phoenix threw her head back against the seat’s headrest. “I know.”
“Look, you need to get out of your head. You need to stop worrying about your ex-boyfriends. They were losers. Dante is just going to be happy that you’re naked and willing. Trust me. You are going to make him happy just by showing up.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so. By the way, does Dante know it’s the big night?”
“No.”
“Damn. You are totally going to make his night.”
“God, I hope so.”
DANTE LOOKED UP at the clock in his office. Almost five.
He lathered his face, neck, and hands with sunscreen and then grabbed his black jacket and wide-brimmed black hat. He wished it were the middle of winter tonight, so it would already be dark or at least make the place they were going to stay open longer. But he couldn’t control Mother Nature or the company’s hours.
He reached the front door just as Phoenix knocked and stepped through.
Wow, he thought upon seeing her outfit.
Under normal conditions, she was dressed casually and quite conservatively. But, for Phoenix, she was dressed practically provocatively.
She was wearing a V-neck black sweater that matched the dark streaks in her hair, making the red stand out. The top was not tight but not loose. Her dark blue jeans were the same. Both hugged her curves, and Dante was afraid he wouldn’t make it through their date.
Phoenix, on the other hand, looked nervous. She pulled on her top—not realizing that, when she tugged it down, her gorgeous cleavage made an appearance. “Does it look bad? It does, doesn’t it? I tried to tell Kenzie it didn’t do anything for me, but she insisted. I should go home and change.”
Upon hearing her rambling, he realized that he hadn’t said anything out loud. He’d just been staring at her, gawking like a teenager. “You look beautiful.” His big, dumb brain finally made his mouth form something useful. “Please don’t go home and change.”
“Are you sure?” She looked down at herself, noticed her cleavage being exposed, and let go of her sweater. “Oops.”
“Yes, I’m very sure,” he said as he stepped closer to her.
She sniffed the air. “Why do you smell like coconut?”
“It’s my sunscreen. Are you ready to go?”
At this, she lost some of her edginess. “Go?”
“Yeah, we’re going out tonight.”
She looked toward the stairs and then back at him. “But I thought…aren’t we…don’t you…” She grunted. “Never mind. Look, I’m not much of a going-out person. Maybe I should just go home.”
Dante laughed. “No way. I had to plan this a week ago. We’re going. Besides, you don’t even know where we’re going.”
“You said, going out. So, I’m assuming you mean, like, to a club or something. Then, we can get drunk and dirty-dance all over each other. But I don’t drink—at least not to get wasted—and I definitely don’t dance.”
Dante put his hands up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Phoenix, you act like I don’t know you. When I said going out, I meant, going out of the house. We’ve been hanging out here, watching Game of Thrones and making out like teenagers. I haven’t even taken you on a proper date. Therefore, we are going out tonight.”
She looked like she was in pain.
Dante sighed. “What now?”
“Weeeell, I’m not really a dinner-and-movie girl either.”
Dante laughed. “Again, Phoenix, it’s not like I just met you. Have a little faith. I know you’re a unique female. Now, will you please trust me, so we can go?” He put his hand behind her back and led her to the garage.
She seemed preoccupied again. He hoped she wasn’t worried about their date.
“What’s wrong, Red?”
She hesitated but only for a moment. “What did you mean by I’m not a regular female?”
“You said it yourself. You don’t like drinking and dancing or dinner and a movie.”
“That makes me sound hard to please.”
He put his arm around her and tugged her close. “Nah, you’re just different.”
Her shoulders tensed.
“But I like that about you.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
“And I’m ninety-nine percent sure that you’re going to like where we’re going tonight.”
She let herself lean into him. “Now, you’ve spiked my curiosity. Lead the way, oh wise one.”
Dante stopped at the door to the garage and kissed her. “I would love to, but you have to drive. At least until the sun goes down. I’ll ride in the back.”
They climbed into the SUV with illegally tinted windows, Phoenix in the front and Dante in the back.
“I feel like your chauffeur,” Phoenix said.
“Sorry about that,” Dante said as he pulled up the address on his phone.
“Or I could just kidnap you and have my way with you.”
He looked up and met her eyes in the rearview mirror. He liked this more playful side of her. She was really starting to come out of her shell.
“You don’t have to kidnap me to do that,” he said with a smile.
He looked back down at his phone and hit Navigate. He leaned over the front seat and put his phone in the holder reserved for things such as this. As he went back to his own seat, he brushed his lips across her cheek.
He put on his seat belt and told her, “I’m ready whenever you are.”
Phoenix opened the garage door, and they headed down the driveway and then out to the road. When they arrived at their destination, a big brick building, Saxon and Tegan were standing outside.
Phoenix parked and turned around to look at him. “You asked those two to come along? What are you up to?” she asked as she handed him his phone.
He pocketed it and smiled at her. “You’ll see. Let’s go inside.”
Dante quickly said hello to Saxon and Tegan as he headed for the building as fast as possible. Thankfully, he was only out in the sun for a few seconds. But, even if he needed to feed sooner, it’d be worth it.
The three shifters followed him inside, and Phoenix finally saw where they were.
“Paintball?” she said, her voice full of amazement.
Dante took off his cap and smiled at her. “Yep. You and I are going to kick these twos’ asses.”
Saxon
grinned. “I don’t think so. Right, Tegan?”
“Right. I’ve been brushing up on my shooting skills.” She pretended to point both fingers and shoot, and then she blew at the tips of her fingers.
“Not fair. I just found out,” Phoenix said.
“I have a feeling, you’ll do just fine,” Tegan told her.
At that point, a guy came out from the back. Dante told him the name for the reservation he’d made. They were shown to all their equipment. Suits, goggles, guns, paintballs, and so on. After they were ready, they split into their groups.
“How are we going to do this?” Dante asked Phoenix.
This was her day, and he wanted her to decide on their plan of action.
“Okay, here’s what I’m thinking…”
She leaned forward and laid out her idea, and she made sure to add what she felt were their opponents’ weaknesses. When she was done, they high-fived and went to opposite sides of the room.
They had the room for two hours, and they used it the whole time. Dante and Phoenix were good, but so were Saxon and Tegan. In the end, Phoenix and Dante barely won, but the important thing was that they’d all had fun, especially Phoenix, if the ear-to-ear grin was anything to go by.
By the time they got cleaned up, it was almost eight at night, closing time, and just about the time the sun went down. When they walked out of the building, the sky was dark with a sliver of red on the horizon.
Saxon and Tegan said good-bye to him and Phoenix.
After the two of them were alone, Dante put his arm around her and guided her to the SUV. “Hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Good. Me, too.” He held out his hands. “Keys?”
She took them out of her pocket. “I can drive again.”
“Nah, I already risked my life once tonight.”
She laughed and pushed him away. “You’d better watch it, or your life really will be in danger.”
“I’m scared.”
“You should be. Now, feed me.”
Dante got behind the wheel, and Phoenix slid in beside him.
“Where to?”
“Burgers. I need meat.”
“Sounds good to me,” Dante said.
He headed for the nearest Five Guys. They got a few stares when Dante ordered five burgers, and Phoenix ordered three. But he was used to it, and he figured Phoenix was, too, because she didn’t even bat an eye.
Forbidden Addiction (Forbidden, Book #4) Page 14
