Wicked Cravings (The Phoenix Pack #2)(6)
Author: Suzanne Wright

“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.

As was routine, Jaime spent the next few hours taking her dogs one-by-one from their cages to place them in the pen outside while she took out all the old, dirty newspaper from their cages, and rinsed and cleaned the floor. She then placed fresh newspaper, food, and water into the cages before bringing the dogs back inside.

She had a soft spot for all of them, but one in particular plucked at her heartstrings: Ben, a small, thin mongrel with sandy fur, who, as always, was curled up in the corner of his cage, shaking and shivering. He was, as her brother would have described his state, a nervous wreck. Once she was done cleaning all the cages, she sat on the fresh bedding beside the dog and stroked him lightly, talking softly about…well…nothing really. Within minutes he clambered onto her lap, curling up again, while she continued running her hand through his coarse fur.

“You spoil him.” Hearing that familiar deep voice, she looked up to see one of the other workers, Shawn. Although he was dressed in an old, filthy tracksuit, he somehow made it work, looking as strikingly cute as always.

“Yeah, well, it breaks my heart seeing him like that.” She carefully slid the sleeping, sandy dog onto the floor and got to her feet.

“Since your shift is over, I came to ask if you wanted to go for lunch.” God, this guy was tenacious. No matter how many times she had declined, he still asked her out at least once a week. Once upon a time—over five years ago—they’d had a brief fling. He was a nice guy, he was good looking, and her wolf happened to like him. As such, the brief fling might not have been so brief if it hadn’t been for one thing…Shawn was human.

She had nothing against humans, but having anything more than a fling with them wasn’t recommended. Their culture was totally different, so they couldn’t understand the draw or importance of a true mate bond, and as such they weren’t too good at stepping aside if the shifter with whom they’d been in a relationship suddenly discovered a mate. It had led to a lot of brawls in the past—no one should try getting in between mates. Then those “Die Demons” groups got involved, using the incidents as evidence that shifters were abominations and needed to be killed, blah, blah, blah.

Whatfreakingever.

At present, none of that was going to be a problem for Jaime, because even if she found the person who was the other half of her soul, she wouldn’t want to mate with him. Because of her problems with her wolf, there was simply no way Jaime could form that metaphysical link with her mate without risking his life, and that wasn’t something she was prepared to do.

But maybe a brief fling with someone wouldn’t be such a bad thing, she thought as she looked again at Shawn. It wasn’t like he would expect anything from her that she wasn’t able to give. He knew the score, and he certainly knew what he was doing in the bedroom. There was a problem, though. Shawn was on the rebound. Sure, it would only be a fling, so it wasn’t really a big deal, but would it be fair for them to have a fling while they both pined for others? That wasn’t to say she couldn’t spend a little time with him and see if nature eventually took its course, right? She wasn’t the type of girl to be put off by the itty-bitty fact that he was so boring a boomerang wouldn’t go back to him. It was actually kind of endearing.

“Sure, we can do lunch, but just as friends,” she insisted as she locked Ben’s cage. “For now.

You’re still on the rebound, and I’m barely in the process of moving on from someone.” Someone she hadn’t even been dating—how pathetic was that?

Smiling, he nodded. “For now. Maybe what we both need most right now is an uncomplicated friendship anyway.” Twenty minutes later they were in Mo’s Diner. No sooner had Jaime and Shawn placed their orders than the door opened and in strode the object of her dirtiest—okay, most sinful—

fantasies. As usual, he looked dauntless, sharp, capable, and so freaking hot she hitched in a breath.

His dominant, confident, purposeful walk shouldn’t have been so damn attractive, considering it bordered on cocky, but it heated her blood and roused her wolf. Jaime would bet he was just as dominant and capable in bed, would bet—

No, no more pining!

The voice was right. Returning her focus to Shawn, Jaime smiled brightly at him and wished to God that her body was having this reaction to him instead of to the cocky jerk on the other side of the diner. Groan.