Pack Mistress #3 (Quick 'n' Dirty Erotic Paranormal Romance) Read Free Page A

leaning against the
Victoria’s Secret entrance sending a text message when I
approached. Without my heels on, I didn’t tower over her as much as
I did at work, but I was still significantly taller.
    “Wasn’t sure you were going to show.” She was
as surly at the mall on a beautiful, sunny Miami day as she was on
a workday.
    “I would’ve called.”
    “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”
    “Hey, I’m happy to be here, and happy to help
you—something you requested of me, I might add—but I don’t need to
be here if you’re determined to make this a miserable
experience.”
    Sally stood facing me, arms crossed over her
chest, eyes looking at anything but me. “I’m sorry. It’s just ...”
She hesitated, then dropped her arms and started fiddling with the
top layer of ruffles on her skirt, making her look like an
uncomfortable five-year-old.
    “What is it?”
    She sighed and said, “I’m uncomfortable with
this.”
    I looked around the mall, then back at her
and shrugged. “With what? This mall? We can go somewhere else.”
    “No,” she said, rolling her eyes, “shopping
with you. I mean, we’re totally different.”
    “I know that—and I’m not going to suggest
that you dress like me, if that’s what you’re worried about. We’re
going to work your personal style into a little more conventionally
sexy package—that’s all.”
    “Yeah, so, no mini-me action, right?”
    I laughed, trying to picture Sally as a
miniature version of myself, “Not at all. You’re going out with a
man who likes you for you already, right? Why would we try to ruin
that?”
    She smiled and her shoulders relaxed. “Okay,
yeah—totally.”
    The next three hours were painful, but worth
it. Sally got a sophisticated, sexy black dress that showed a lot
of leg and highlighted her elegant neck and collarbone. She paired
it with an adorable pair of granny boots that had a sexy heel and
were sort of steampunk—and something her very small frame could
actually pull off without looking chunky. She added a demure pair
of fingerless lace gloves and bought a studded black-and-white belt
with tiny skulls on some of the studs. It was perfectly Sally and
perfectly sexy. I was slightly jealous that I’d never be able to
pull off something so edgy. To comfort myself, I’d invested in new
lingerie and a tight-and-tiny black dress.
    We went to lunch after we’d accomplished our
mission, and Sally offered to pay as a thank you. While we were
attacking our salads with the gusto of hungry baby wolves, I
decided to find out more about her mystery date.
    “So, where’d you meet him?”
    Sally’s face turned red and she fiddled with
her fork. “He came into the museum one afternoon, after you’d left.
He was looking for artwork that represented real Florida wildlife
for his vacation home out on South Beach. At first I thought he was
talking about those crappy peach-and-sea-foam paintings with shells
and glitter on them, but he is a serious collector with a great
eye. He was really drawn to R. W.’s stuff.”
    I nodded and finished chewing. “R. W.’s work
is pretty jarring, though. Seems a weird pick for a vacation
home.”

    Sally rolled her eyes. “Art is meant to evoke
emotion, not to lull you into a coma. With R. W.’s work in a
Florida vacation home, the buyer would be creating one of the
truest Florida experiences, and isn’t that what vacations are
about? Living like someone else for a while? Maybe even embracing
the lifestyle of the spot more than people who actually live
there?”
    I shrugged. “I guess. I’ve never really had a
vacation.”
    Sally started choking on her greens and her
eyes went wide as she coughed a leaf free. “What do you mean you’ve
never been away on a vacation?”
    “What would I get away from? I love my pa—my
parents. I don’t need a break from them.”
    “You still live with your parents?”
    “No, we … we’re close—in the same
neighborhood. But I meant I love the area