interested?"
"I...no, no thank you." Her voice came out a breathless squeak and she clicked the call off.
"What are you doing?" Jayde tried to grab the phone from Estrella. "This is perfect!"
"He only went to that dating -- mating -- thing because he was feeling protective of me. That's probably why he put my name down."
"Uh huh." Jayde didn't look convinced. "Couldn't be that he wants to tap that ass?"
"He knows I'm going into heat. Why wouldn't he say something?"
"An alpha skeeving on a chick in his clan? That probably wouldn't go over well if he didn’t know you were interested. Talk about an abuse of power. My guess is that he's being super careful." She gave Estrella a knowing look and sipped from her iced latte again. "Has he ever given you any hints that he might want you for himself?"
"No, I don't think so." Bewildered, she thought back to their recent conversations. You're the only one here worth having, 'Strella.
She'd thought he was just being a nice alpha. Supportive. Like finding her other tiger males to consider.
And yet...he'd snapped a pencil when she'd told him she was going into heat. He'd looked so rattled.
Maybe...maybe this would work out after all . Estrella reached across the table and grabbed Jayde's hand. "Should I do this?"
"Girl, I've been saying that all morning. Of course you should!"
"Then I need a plan."
~~ * ~~
God, this was a bad idea. Jayde was a good friend, but a good planner she was not.
Estrella paced in the woods, dressed only in a thong and a lacy, sheer bra. The heat was burning through her, making her thighs -- and other parts of her body -- ache with need. Even though nightfall was approaching and the wind was picking up, with hints of snow and ice in the weather, she didn't feel it. The heat was keeping her warm, elevating her body temperature to an almost feverish degree.
And heavens, she was horny.
Her fingers itched to touch herself, to relieve some of the pressure she was feeling, but she kept her hands clasped. Touching herself wouldn't do any good -- her biological urges would override any sense of relief and this torture would just keep going and going until she either passed through the heat in another day or so...
Or until she found a man to make her pregnant.
A visual of that whole 'getting pregnant' process flashed through her erotically-charged mind. Of Vic, looming over her, muscles straining and tight ass flexing as he pounded into her.
She whimpered, shaking her head to clear it.
Her cellphone rang. Jayde. Her purse and clothing were hanging on a low branch nearby, though they'd soon be snow-covered if something didn't happen. The droplets were frosting her hair and turning the woods into a powdery white.
The plan was a simple one. Tell Vic that she'd been out running in her liger form and she'd gotten caught in some barbed wire. He'd come running to protect her -- or possibly yell at her since she'd have theoretically gone out in cat form without his permission.
And then when he ran across her, he'd see her, oozing mating pheromones and dressed in sexy lingerie...and hopefully nature would take over. Problem solved.
She tapped her screen to answer the call. Before she even had a chance to say hello, Jayde's voice rang through the air. "He's coming and he's seriously pissed , girl."
Estrella winced, just imagining her large, often surly alpha angry at her. "Well, I suppose that's not a surprise."
"Maybe we should come up with a Plan B," Jayde said thoughtfully.
"This was your plan, Jayde!"
"I know, but I forgot the part where your alpha has a volatile temper. It's not going to do you any good if he gets there and he's too pissed to make babies."
Estrella groane d. "There's no time for a plan B! Are you kidding me? You said this would work."
"Well, it should still work," Jayde said brightly. "Call me when you're pregnant. Good luck!"
"Jayde--"
Click.
Estrella growled. Sometimes her friend could be really, really annoying. She