“I don’t wear dresses but thank you. Was I rambling about the damn things last night or something?”
“You will wear this tonight.”
Jessie frowned. “Why? What is tonight?”
“You are going to a party with me. Don’t you remember?”
Jessie shook her head and regretted it immediately. Movement was bad. “What party?”
Breeze grinned. “This is going to really be good. You don’t remember us talking about it.” Her laugh sounded again. “You are going to a Species party as my guest. Other humans will be there and it will be fun.”
“I don’t think so, Breeze. Justice was pretty clear that I’m banned from Species social gatherings and my head hurts so bad I just want to climb back into bed until next week.”
“I have made all the arrangements and you’re going. It is a done deal.”
“Did I mention I don’t wear dresses? My father is a senator and he dragged me to so many benefits growing up that I can’t stand the sight of them.” Some of the pain in her skull eased, a sign the pills were working and she peered at Breeze warily. “Plus, you know someone is going to mention to Justice at some point that I went to that party. I don’t want to fight with him. When we talk I don’t want there to be yelling involved.”
Breeze sat on the counter. “This one you will go to and you will wear a dress. I want you to put on makeup the way your women do and we’ll have fun. It is settled and I’ll howl if you argue. I’m mixed with canine and have been practicing.” She grinned, obviously proud of that. “It’s loud enough to make your ears want to bleed, so shut up, my friend. Now I will wash your hair for you and you will get out of the tub before your skin wrinkles. We only have a few hours to get ready since you slept all day.”
“What time is it?”
“Four in the afternoon.”
Jessie groaned. “It can’t be. I had to work today.”
“I told Ellie you would not be in today. She went on the internet, sent a human to pick up the things she chose from the outside and they delivered it all to the gate. She bought you everything for tonight. I had to come get one of your shoes and look at your bra to get your sizes. I hope you don’t mind but I borrowed your key to the front door. We went to a lot of trouble so don’t argue, Jessie. You are going to that party if I have to carry you. I did it last night and I’ll do it again. Now, scoot away from the edge and let’s wash your hair.”
Two hours later Jessie felt a hundred times better. The aspirin had fully kicked in, the bath had helped and the headache was just a memory. Breeze had gotten ready with Jessie for the party, almost fearful she’d bolt. She admitted she might have been tempted if the taller woman hadn’t kept her within eyesight at all times.
Jessie gawked at her reflection and tried to hide her dismay. Breeze preened from her side, happy as could be by the look of it. The dress was too tight, revealed way too much cleavage with the plunging neckline and the handkerchief skirt flashed too much leg.
“Ellie picked out this dress?” She glanced at Breeze for confirmation.
“I told her I wanted you to look very sexy and nice. She said that dress would make every male notice you. I think it’s perfect but I wish you’d put your hair up in one of those nice buns your women wear. I see them do that on television when they go to nice parties.” She stepped closer. “The makeup hid the marks Justice left on you so there’s no reason to have your hair fall over your shoulders.”
“I like it down. It’s long enough that it gives me a headache if I put it on top of my head for more than a few hours.”
“You look good.” Breeze shot her a grin. “Everyone will think so.”
Or they’ll mistake me for a hooker. She refrained from saying that aloud, not wanting to explain the definition to Breeze or hurt her feelings. The party seemed to mean a lot to her friend and for that alone she’d put up and shut up.
“I hope there’s no dancing.” Jessie looked down at her exposed cleavage. “This dress wouldn’t survive anything other than slow dancing without getting me arrested for indecent exposure. I’m afraid to take a deep breath in case my breasts spill out. I think I have another bra that isn’t a push-up.”
“You’re not changing a thing that Ellie picked for you to wear. She knows what she is doing and she went to a lot of trouble for us. There will be dancing but no one said you had to participate. You have a great body and you look wonderful. You don’t have our muscles and you’re pale but you have nothing to hide away, Jessie. What is that saying? If you have it, flaunt it? You have it, wear it proudly.”
Jessie suddenly frowned, studying Breeze. Her inner alarms warned her that something was up. “What are you plotting? You’re too pleased with yourself and you have this glint in your eyes.”
“Nothing.” Breeze glanced away, looked everywhere but at Jessie and fidgeted with her hands.
“Is Justice going to be there?” It was the worst scenario she could think of. “I was told he is at Reservation by his secretary when she called here to explain that our meeting was canceled. He must have told her we had one because he sure wouldn’t have mentioned he was coming here to yell at me over last night.”
“He was delayed by some issue at Reservation.” Breeze met her gaze and held it. “It would be interesting if he had been able to attend. Every male will be looking at you and will want to mount you.”
Jessie sighed. “I don’t want a repeat of last night ever again. It was embarrassing to be treated like a five-year-old being sent to her room. He caused a scene on the dance floor with Flame when he prevented me from leaving with him.”
That mischievous gleam returned to Breeze’s dark eyes. “That won’t happen tonight. Justice won’t be able to yell if males dance with you and wish you’d share sex with them.”
“Breeze, you had Ellie pick this dress on purpose just to piss Justice off if men hit on me, didn’t you? He’ll hear about it and hit the roof.”
Breeze wouldn’t look at her but her grin widened.
“Breeze!”
“It will be good for him. He made you cry. You will make him angry and he won’t be able to do a thing about it tonight. The Council and all our people except those working security will be there and he has no logical reason to say you shouldn’t go to the party. This is your night to get even, Jessie. Justice will have to hold his temper in check even if it kills him when he discovers you’re there. You can flirt and dance with all the males you want and he’ll suffer wondering if one of them will win your attention. It will be good for him to learn what it is like when he finds out how attractive you are to our males. Think of how you felt, knowing he took Kit dancing. I bet after tonight he will learn to never go out with other females again. For that reason alone you should do this, Jessie.”
Jessie sighed. “I don’t want him to get really upset.”
“Our men don’t get upset. They get angry, blow up, but they recover from it quickly. The way to get even with one of our males is to piss him off and do it when he can’t retaliate. He will learn this way and remember.”
“You mean he can’t retaliate tonight. What about tomorrow? His secretary said he’d be back in the morning.”
“You are sleeping in the women’s dorm tonight. I’m not stupid. I thought of this. We are having a slumber party in the library of the dorm and you have been invited. It will last for days. I packed your pajamas in the bag already. By the time you come home, he will have cooled down and learned his lesson.”
Jessie chewed on her bottom lip, considering it. “Are you sure?”
She had to admit it was tempting. Justice would blow a fuse when he got the call that she was at the party and had disobeyed his orders. He did deserve a little grief.
Breeze smiled. “Don’t worry about Justice. I promise one way or another, he will have cooled off by the time he gets you alone. Our men don’t stay angry for long. Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.” She gripped her arm and tugged. “I’m driving.”
; Breeze parked down the street from the bar. Jessie climbed out of the golf cart and met Breeze on the sidewalk. “The party is being held at the bar?”
“It is where all of our social gatherings are held.”
“What’s the occasion? I forgot to ask.”
“We do this every once in a while. It is good for us to mingle with each other and humans. It is one of the things that Ellie thought up to help bridge the gap between our differences and it has gone over well. We have had two of them in the last year. They are fun and liked by the humans we associate with and our people.” She hesitated. “I’m surprised you haven’t been to one. You worked with the human task force and they are invited.”
“My boss never told me. Tim kind of babied me.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s protective and treats me like I’m his daughter. He probably didn’t invite me, thinking men would hit on me.”
“Oh. That’s valid.” Breeze walked faster toward the door. “Hurry up. Some Species come from Reservation too, just to attend. They don’t have the large building at Reservation to do this. We have the sleeping dorms and can always fit more people here comfortably. They can stay for days. Some of the males and females you helped rescue in Colorado will be here too. We wanted them to share the joy of freedom with us.”
The part about the freed Species from the Colorado testing facility filled Jessie with a little dread, remembering her attack but she figured it would be fine. Other humans would be there which meant they were prepared to deal nicely with them. Breeze waved her inside.
The music pumped loudly through the large area and flashing lights had been turned on over the dance floor. The place was packed with people—the women wore nice dresses and the males sported suits or nice casual slacks with dress shirts.
“The council is here too. I’ll introduce you later.” Breeze had to yell over the noises. “They are friendly.”
Jessie had never met the four male council members. Each one represented one of the testing facilities and the Species who’d been detained inside each of them. Jessie guessed that they would soon have a fifth council member from the newly discovered Colorado facility if they didn’t already.
Breeze gripped her hand. “Come. Let’s dance!”
She spotted Trey, her old team leader and a few of the task-force members sitting at the bar. “Hang on. I see some friends. Do you want to meet the guys I used to work with?”
“Not now.” Breeze tugged on her again. “Let’s dance. Say hello to them later when we are thirsty and want a drink. We’ll sit and talk.”
Jessie sure didn’t want to drink after her hellacious hangover. The team would be there for hours, the night was still young and the party had just started. It wasn’t as if she had a choice as her friend’s grip tightened and Breeze dragged her onto the dance floor into a sea of moving bodies.
Jessie was short but she saw a few shorter women on the dance floor. Tiny and Beauty were sort of dancing together. Beauty grinned, stood on the dance floor as Tiny danced around her and watched everyone else dance. Jessie laughed, happy not to see fear on the other woman’s face while in the midst of such a large crowd of people.
A few things became apparent to Jessie about Species as she danced in a group of them. They danced together but not as couples for the most part, just grouped together with everyone. She relaxed more and just went with the music. Breeze leaned in.
“Teach me something sexy.”
Jessie stopped swaying to the beat. “Like what?”
“That thing you were doing while you were dancing with Flame the other night.” Breeze backed up and held up her arms to wiggle her hips. “This move.”
Jessie slid her arms up and showed her. She did a turn and swayed her hips, something she’d learned in a belly dancing class years before. Breeze mimicked her and so did a few of the other women nearby. She showed them what she knew, happy to teach them. Breeze moved closer.
“Do this.” Breeze showed her some moves.
Jessie was having the time of her life. She danced from one male to the next, something they all did, as the songs changed. Another song came on and a male gripped her waist from behind. Jessie spun away from the Species she’d just danced with to dance with another one, grateful not to be home dwelling on Justice. Going out seemed to be the perfect solution to getting over the man she loved.
Justice hadn’t felt like attending the party but it was expected. Kit had asked to be his date but he’d turned her down. She’d hinted that she would consider being his mate last night when he’d taken her to dinner. She’d made it clear he could share sex with her at the very least and he’d regretted agreeing to take her out. He’d just done it because he’d thought that being with someone to talk to for the evening would distract him from obsessive thoughts about Jessie and ease everyone’s worry if he appeared happy. Instead of being a friend, Kit had tried to seduce him.
The four council members sat at a table with him and he studied them. They wanted more control and for him to hand off some of his duties to them. He’d readily agreed to a morning meeting to discuss the matter, looking forward to handing off some of his responsibilities. It would help him by allowing him to work fewer hours and make them feel as if they were doing more for their kind.
His thoughts drifted to Jessie again. Last night he’d barely slept and when he had, it had been to suffer dreams where she was in his bed under him. Waking alone with a raging hard-on hadn’t made for a pleasant morning. He’d showered and gone to the office only to get into an argument with Miles.
Miles had brought the woman who dyed Justice’s hair and his annoying assistant, Tonya, who had hit on Justice previously. She was an aggressive female who tried to lure Species males into her bed. He always felt hunted when he had to deal with her. He pitied the fool who took that one on. She had a mean heart, cold eyes and calculated her actions as if everything were a game.
“What has that irritated expression on your face?” The deep voice belonged to Jaded.
He lifted his gaze to stare into the bright green eyes of the council member. “Do you see my hair?”
“It’s lighter. That shade of brown isn’t your color.” The other guy grinned and touched his own jet-black strands. “This looks much better on you.”
“Stop teasing him,” Cedar, the other council member, ordered softly, his voice deceptively cool. “He does a lot for us and I’m sure the stench of whatever they used is bothering him more than us. I can smell it from across the table.”
Someone approached and distracted Justice from their teasing. He knew it was to lighten his mood but he doubted anything could. Tim Oberto smiled as he paused by the table.
“Thank you for inviting us, Justice.” He glanced at the council members before directing his attention once more on the NSO leader. “You still haven’t given me the name of the replacement I need. We have a few leads we’re looking into and I want a New Species onboard before we have a retrieval target to locate.”
Brawn leaned forward. “Replacement?”
“I’m sorry, Tim.” Justice had a lot on his mind. “Tim wants one of our males to join the team that makes first contact if a Gift Female is found.” He met the human’s gaze. “I promise that tomorrow I’ll go over the files, find someone who is good with human interaction and who will volunteer to live on the outside. I assume you have a plan to keep them safe while living there?”
“I do.”
“I’ll choose someone and he’ll contact you by the end of business day tomorrow.”
“Good enough.” Tim glanced at the council members. “Gentlemen.” He fled.
Brawn chuckled. “He doesn’t know us or he’d never use that term when referring to anyone at this table but Justice.”
Justice’s thoughts drifted to Jessie again. After the party he planned to jump the back wall, talk her in to allowing him inside her home and they were going to talk. She would not share sex with anyone but him. That was just how it
was going to be or he’d kill the male. He had a plan. They’d swear not to date others. It would keep him from committing murder and he’d never have to see that hurt look in her eyes that he’d seen when she’d realized he’d taken Kit out.
“Speaking of not being gentlemen, I love human women.” Jaded chuckled. “There is something that makes me so hard when I see them. I don’t know if it is because they are so different from our females or if it is because they are just so different from us.”
Cedar laughed. “I am hard right now watching the human I danced with before I came to the table. I’m still having fantasies about her small hands brushing over my body. I know they would feel so good touching me. Her skin was so creamy and while their faces are strange, hers made me think her beautiful.”
“I see the one,” Bestial said and nodded. “I would like to take that dress off her and see if she is creamy colored everywhere.” He growled. “Who is she?” Bestial pointedly stared at Justice. “Who is the human out there? I want her name so when I go after her I have an advantage. I think her thighs would fit perfectly over my shoulders.”
The males laughed while Justice shook his head at Bestial, in amusement. “It is probably Ellie you are speaking of. They are here tonight since she’s not showing enough for strangers to notice yet. You should stop. She’s mated to Fury and he would put your own thighs around your shoulders before he stuffed you into a bag to send you home to Reservation for looking at his female. The only other human female who would be here is the new doctor I hired. She is attractive and single but I don’t think she’s prepared for you. She’s a bit timid.”
Bestial pointed. “What is her name? She’s going to make me break the zipper of my pants if she keeps shaking that sweet ass much longer.”
Justice grinned and turned in his seat enough to follow the direction of the council member’s finger. He’d met the new doctor, Allison Baker, a week before. She was sweet, a bit shy and soft spoken. Someone as gruff as Bestial trying to seduce her into sharing sex would be outright funny. He just hoped the poor thing didn’t quit her new job out of fear, not realizing she was in no danger.
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