“Damn, girl, Jayden is fine. I heard he’s built like a stallion, if you know what I mean.” Dana waggled her eyebrows as she passed Haley an enormous red dildo.
“I wouldn’t know.” Haley’s heart beat loudly in her ears and she quickly passed the obscene toy to the woman sitting next to her. Sex was the last thing on her mind. She really didn’t see the appeal of all these plastic gadgets and candy-flavored underwear. It wasn’t like she was in a relationship. Not anymore.
“You need to start dating again.” Dana’s brow furrowed as she turned on the spinning dildo shaped like a sea lion. “You’re last relationship was what? Four months ago?”
“Five.” Five months, two weeks, and three days. The night she was kidnapped, a pack of rogue red wolves said they needed to repopulate their scarce numbers. And they wanted her to be their sex slave. Lucky her. It was the night her boyfriend and her parents had deemed her damaged goods. After all, who would want to mate her now, right? She came from a wealthy werewolf family and reputation meant everything.
“I don’t think I’m ready.” Haley pretended to read the ingredients of a cherry-flavored lubricant. No way in hell was she ready to date right now and it didn’t have anything to do with a broken heart.
A few weeks after moving into the dorms, Haley started receiving handwritten notes under her door once a week. They had started innocently enough with things like, “Hello pretty girl” and “You blind the sun with your smile.” At first Haley had thought they were meant for Dana.
But then she began receiving them every day and the messages had been more personal, more intense. Whoever left them made sure to write Haley’s name on the outside so there would be no mistaking who they were intended for.
“I see how the all the guys look at you, Haley. You could have any hot guy on campus.” Dana shook her head. “Hell, if I were single and looked like you I’d be exercising my options.”
“Whatever. I can’t imagine you and Mark not together. You guys look like the perfect couple, Ken and Barbie.” Haley smiled.
“Yeah, but it gets a little boring. He’s always studying and striving to keep his four point oh. This leaves very little time for me.” Dana pouted.
“Well, order this little number. “ Haley pointed to a red lace teddy that hardly covered anything. “I’m sure he’ll make time for you then.”
“Oh, I like that one.” Dana scribbled the item number in her order form and cut her eyes to Haley. “Shall I put you down for something? A vibrator, maybe? It could be an early Christmas gift.”
“No, thanks.” Haley scowled and glanced at the empty doorway. The minute Jayden had locked eyes on her, she’d struggled to remain sitting. All she wanted to do was get up and go after him. She still hadn’t had the opportunity to thank him for what he had done for her that night in Louisiana. If Jayden hadn’t shown up, she would have ended up being repeatedly raped and eventually killed. A shiver ran down her back as she wrapped her arms around herself.
She tried to tell herself that was the only reason she wanted to go after him. That she didn’t feel anything other than gratitude for the male who’d risked everything to save her.
She’d seen how his eyes iced over when they landed on her. Though he covered easily and managed to hide it from everyone else in the room, Haley knew that Jayden was not pleased to see her there. Apparently this was his town and his state now and he didn’t approve of sharing that territory. She was as offensive to him as she was to her parents.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said softly, swallowing back the bitterness rising from her chest
“What doesn’t matter?” Dana didn’t look up from her catalogue.
Haley chuckled nervously, not realizing she had actually spoken out loud. Damn, she needed to stop doing that. It was a habit her parents hated and she had made an effort to not do it. But since they distanced themselves from their only daughter, she’d not really cared who she pleased. Not anymore. She was going to make only one person happy. And that was herself.
Haley opened up her catalogue with a renewed interest. No time like the present.
“It doesn’t matter which one. Just pick me out one. But I’m buying it. I’m sure you’re going to break the bank ordering all those edible panties for your guy to enjoy.”
#