THE FOLLOWING DAY, Phoenix was beginning to feel trapped. She couldn’t stop thinking about the night before with Dante, but she was stuck with Kenzie in the box of a room that she called an office at the hotel where she worked. Phoenix wanted out of there. What she could really use was a run through the forest in her cat form. Instead, she had to settle for standing up and pacing the human’s office.
“You are more than welcome to leave. I am perfectly safe here at work,” Kenzie said from her desk where she was typing on the computer. “I can call you when I’m done.”
“No, I have to stay here.”
She had been given this assignment by her alpha, and she wasn’t going to disappoint him. But, if someone hadn’t needed to come in to work on a Saturday morning, this all could have been avoided.
Okay, that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t Kenzie’s fault that Phoenix was feeling overwhelmed emotionally. But, still…if the human would just hurry up.
Kenzie looked up from her monitor and smiled sweetly at Phoenix. “Then, you’d better sit your ass down before I kick you out.”
Phoenix narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”
Kenzie picked up the phone. “Security? Yes—”
Phoenix plopped her butt down in a chair and scowled.
“Never mind, Wayne. False alarm,” Kenzie said before hanging up the phone.
“You know, if I wasn’t going to die from boredom in a few minutes, I could see us being friends. You don’t put up with shit. I like that.”
Kenzie snorted. “Give me fifteen minutes to finish up, and we can get out of here. Or will you already be dead by then?”
Phoenix pretended to look at the clock and think about it. “Nope, I can make it.”
“Thank God. If you sit there and stay quiet, I promise you that I will be done soon.”
“Got it,” Phoenix said. She pulled out her phone to waste some time. She didn’t have much to do on it though. She wasn’t on Facebook or Instagram or any other social media. She didn’t get the appeal.
Just as she was about to open up one of her games, she got a text.
Dante: Are you doing okay today?
Okay was such a relative word. Technically, she was okay. She was alive and in good health. But, emotionally, she was kind of a wreck. She couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation she’d had with Dante last night. And that kiss.
Kisses actually.
Phoenix had needed to know if her reaction had been some fluke, so she had kissed Dante again as they lay on his bed. But that was as far as it had gone. There was no touching below the neck, not sexually anyway. The part that Phoenix was really tripping balls over was that she wanted more than just a kiss.
This was a whole new experience for her, and she felt out of her realm.
She hated it.
Phoenix: Doing well. You gave me a lot to think about.
Dante: All good stuff, I hope. You’re not going to change your mind, are you?
Never. Just because Dante was putting her mind in overdrive did not mean she wanted to stop going through with their plan.
Phoenix: Nope.
“Dude, do you have something going on with Dante? He’s hot. Yum.”
Phoenix snapped her phone against her chest and glared at Kenzie. “Excuse me, why don’t you mind your own business?”
Kenzie shrugged, as if being rude was no big deal. “What’s the fun in that? Besides, I called your name like fifty times, and you didn’t answer. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t even notice me coming over to stand right next to you. Thank heavens no one came in to attack me.”
Phoenix immediately felt ashamed. “You are right. My apologies.”
Kenzie rolled her eyes. “Oh my God. It was a joke, Phoenix. Sheesh, you need to lighten up.”
“Oh,” Phoenix said.
“So, seriously, what’s going on with Dante?”
Phoenix stared at Kenzie. They barely knew each other, and she was supposed to spill her guts?
Kenzie studied Phoenix. “You know what? Save that question. You and I are going somewhere first. Then, we can talk about this Dante situation.”
“I don’t think—”
Kenzie laughed and opened her office door. “No, Phoenix, I think your problem is that you think too much. Now, let’s get out of here.”
Phoenix stepped in front of Kenzie, so she could look down the hall and exit first. She let her charge outside, and they got in Kenzie’s car. Phoenix didn’t say anything until they pulled up to a strip mall where a storefront advertised Nails, Nails, Nails.
“What are you doing?” Phoenix asked.
“We’re getting pedicures.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Oh, come on, Phoenix. My best friend just got home from the hospital and won’t be going anywhere for a little while. And I’ve been spending a lot of time with Sawyer. I love him, but I need some girl time. I thought we could get pedicures and talk about Dante. You’re all I have now.” Kenzie stuck out her bottom lip.
Dramatic much?
Phoenix didn’t blink. “I’m unaffected by your female wiles.”
Phoenix didn’t tell Kenzie that she actually kind of wanted to talk about Dante. When she thought about it, Kenzie would be the perfect candidate. Phoenix wasn’t close to her, and even though she was mated to a shifter, she was human. While Phoenix would listen to her advice, she wouldn’t care too much if Kenzie judged her.
“But what the hell? Why not?”
Kenzie clapped her hands. “Yay.”
They exited the car and entered the building. Phoenix immediately hated the smell.
Kenzie noted her wrinkled nose. “You get used to it.”
“If you say so.” This was why Phoenix didn’t do girlie things.
A lady stepped up to the counter. “Can I help you?”
Kenzie stepped forward. “Yes, we need two pedicures, please.”
The receptionist looked down at Phoenix’s feet. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Why?” Kenzie followed the lady’s gaze. “Oh, Phoenix, really?”
“What?”
Kenzie put her head in her hands. “Combat boots? You can’t wear combat boots after a pedicure.”
Phoenix held up a finger. “Let me remind you, this was your idea.”
Kenzie looked up just as the receptionist smiled.
“You know, I think we have something she could wear after she’s done. We bought a bunch of clearance flip-flops for things like this. We’ve just never used them before.”
“Perfect,” Kenzie said.
Oh, great, Phoenix thought.
“Let me just go and tell the pedicurist to set up,” the receptionist said.
Phoenix was getting more uncomfortable, the longer they waited, but when another lady led them back and put their feet in the hot water, she admitted it was wonderful. No wonder women did these all the time. Not that she was going to become a regular, but she could understand the desire to do so. Phoenix could only take so much feminine stuff. Thankfully, their pedicurist left them alone to soak, and they were the only patrons in the salon, so no one was around to witness the rare baring of her feminine side.
“So”—Kenzie wiggled her eyebrows—“tell me what’s going on with Dante. I know you’ve fed him once or twice, but is there something else going on?”
Maybe it was the hot water on her tired muscles or the massage chair kneading her back, but she was lying back against the chair with her eyes closed, and it was like she heard someone else say, “I asked Dante to take me during my next mating heat and get me pregnant.”
“Holy shit, Phoenix. When you bring the girl talk, you really bring it.”
Phoenix opened her eyes and looked at her companion, who was sitting forward and bracing herself on the armrests. “Sorry, I didn’t really mean to just spit it out like that.”
“Do not apologize. This is exciting stuff. Tell me more.”
Phoenix shrugged. “What else is there to tell? I just said everything.”
Kenzie sat back in a huff. “Forget what I said. Your girl talk needs work.”
Phoenix sighed. This was why she didn’t do stuff like this. Women were hard to please.
“I’m kind of jealous of this whole mating-heat thing. To have days and days in a row that are all dedicated to sex?” The human shivered. “Amazing.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. One, we can only get pregnant twice a year, unlike you who has twelve times. And, if we’re not mated, it really sucks to spend it alone. Plus, it’s hard for us to get pregnant during those two times we’re actually fertile.”
“But that’s only if you’re trying to have a baby. Otherwise, you have awesome birth control.”
Phoenix lifted a shoulder. “I guess.” Phoenix suddenly thought of something, and she sat forward. “Listen, no one knows about my pregnancy plan. No one. You can’t tell anyone, even your mate.”
Kenzie shrugged. “Sure. No problem,” she said. She lay back and closed her eyes.
Phoenix studied her. Was she saying that because she was lying and going to tell Sawyer anyway, or did she really mean it?
Kenzie opened one eye. “What?”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t feel bad, not telling your mate?”
Kenzie closed her eye and reached over and patted Phoenix’s arm. “Unlike you, Phoenix, I know how to do girl time. And the first rule of girl time is that stuff stays at girl time. Your secret is safe with me.”
Phoenix leaned back and relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Your wardrobe, however, is not.”
“What?”
“What?” Kenzie was all wide-eyed and innocent-looking.
“You just said…” Phoenix started.
“Lie back and enjoy yourself. You can worry later.”
Phoenix hit the settings on her massage chair and smiled. It was kind of nice, having a friend.