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.
“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.
