Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Squatting beside one of the outdoor dog cages and cooing over a group of German shepherd puppies were two of her coworkers and close friends. They were the only people other than her brother who knew of her secret.
“Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous?” exclaimed Riley, a white-lioness shifter, as she noticed Jaime approaching.
Yeah, Dante. Jaime quickly expelled that thought from her mind, thankful she hadn’t said it aloud.
“You’re late again,” chastised Ivy, but the witch’s tone was playful. “Thank you for finally joining us.”
“Yeah, well, promptness is a quality of the boring.”
In response to a series of beeps, Riley dug her cell from her pocket. Instantly her heart-shaped face reddened, making her white-blonde hair look even lighter.
“A text from Aidan?” Ivy asked cautiously.
“Yes, it was the wild ox himself,” confirmed Riley bitterly.
“So you’re not letting him talk you into giving him another chance.” Ivy’s comment wasn’t so much a question as a suggestion.
“Hell no.”
“Good. Want me to do a little magick and make him impotent?” Ivy’s expression was hopeful.
“I was thinking more along the lines of giving him a sexually transmitted disease.”
“That sounds good.”
Riley nudged Ivy, smiling. “Did you tell Jaime what you did to your cheating ex?”
“What?” Jaime knew it would be good. Ivy was a great person, but she had a ruthless streak when it came to guys. It was no surprise really. Ivy was a unique type of witch—she was a Siren, but not the mythical version who sat on rocks and made sailors drown. Sirens like Ivy used their powerful singing voices to entrance and bewitch. Also, they oozed sex and sensuality, drawing males to them.
Ivy resented that guys were so mesmerized by her surface beauty that they didn’t look any further. It wasn’t often that she chanced having a relationship. If the guy repaid her by crossing her…it was never good.
Ivy’s expression was all innocence. “I kind of put him into a deep sleep while I shaved him from head to toe, paying special attention to his back, sack, and crack.” Typical Ivy, Jaime thought. “What did he do when he woke up?”
“He was pretty angry and did a lot of yelling, but it was hard to take him seriously when he looked like a mannequin. It was a shame, really. He was a cougar shifter and, well, you know that rumor that male feline shifters are extremely good at oral sex because of the slight roughness of their tongues? Those rumors have substance.”
“I know that from experience, too.” Riley shook her head, looking pained. “We need to stop all this talk about guys and sex, it’s making me horny.”
“Me too.” Ivy flicked her raven-black hair over her shoulder, and Jaime again found herself wishing her own hair was that glossy. Jaime had been told enough times that her hair was sleek and radiant, but Ivy’s was something else altogether—it seemed to shimmer and reflect. Depending on how the light hit it, her hair could even appear violet. “It really is time that we did something about our hungry libidos.”
Jaime nodded. “Definitely, especially since I’ve given up on Dante.” Ivy and Riley both gasped. Although neither knew him, they’d heard Jaime talk about him often enough.
“You’re admitting defeat?” Ivy shook her head incredulously. “In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you give up on anything.”
“There’s giving up, and there’s salvaging self-respect.” She told them about the conversation she’d overheard between him and Trick.
“What an ass,” said Ivy.
“Then we definitely need a night out,” declared Riley, “particularly since I’ve practically abused BOB.”
“BOB?” prodded Ivy.
“Battery-Operated Boyfriend. Don’t you have one?”
“Sure. I call mine Jack Hammer. What about you, Jaime?”
“I call mine my Funny Bone.”
Ivy burst out laughing. “I like that one. Anyway, poor Jack Hammer needs a break. How about we go to Enigma this weekend?”
Enigma was a local club that was exclusive to preternaturals. Humans were not admitted, because in this particular club, sexual contact wasn’t prohibited. Preternatural beings were casual—
although not flippant—about sex. In their culture, two people enjoying intimacy was a beautiful, natural, very basic thing and answered their primal need for touch—social and sexual. There was always an exchange of respect and pleasure. Humans didn’t always understand shifter culture and sometimes became uncomfortable or offended when a shifter attempted to touch them intimately. It had caused a lot of problems in the past, so most shifter clubs didn’t allow humans to enter.
“I say Operation Calm Libido should commence Saturday night.” Riley turned to Jaime. “What do you think?”
“Saturday night at Enigma it is,” drawled Jaime. “Until then, we wear out our vibrators and dream about rough tongues.”
Ivy smiled. “Ooh, good plan.”
With that agreed on, Jaime, Ivy, and Riley went inside the building to get to work. There were cages on both sides of a long aisle. The din was horrendous: dogs howling, barking, growling, and whining. Jaime couldn’t help feeling sorry for the animals stuck there, confused and frightened. All workers were asked to wear ear protectors, which didn’t drown out the noise or hinder conversations with coworkers, but made it so that the din didn’t cause harm to their eardrums.