Blake looked into Amelia’s brown eyes and pulled her closer. Amelia could barely conceal her smile. This was incredibly awkward, and she struggled to keep her composure. Bursting into laughter would have ruined the moment and confused the audience. She tipped her head when Blake’s lips sought hers and closed her eyes when she felt them press against her mouth. She forced her hands to travel up Blake’s chest and rest on her shoulders, thus allowing her to squeeze her waist and press her body flush against hers. If she were kissing Seth, Amelia would have felt his rock-hard erection trapped between their bodies, but with Blake the experience was entirely new and different. The kiss ended before it really began, and they pulled away.
As everyone cheered, Blake turned towards Roman and nodded. “Thank you.”
The old man pursed his lips and said nothing. He couldn’t trust his voice not to crack. Instead, he nodded back, letting Blake and Amelia know the mating ritual was over.
Blake took Amelia’s hand, squeezed it, then walked her between the two rows of fox-shifters, shifter brides, and children who were applauding, cheering, and congratulating them. Roman’s brothers shook Blake’s hand and kissed Amelia on both cheeks. When they finally managed to get out of the crowd, they found Seth waiting for them.
“Congratulations!”
“Why, thank you,” said Blake.
“You take good care of her, all right?”
Amelia laughed at how ridiculous the situation was, not realizing Seth was actually being serious.
“You know I will,” said Blake. “We both will.”
The gravity in Blake’s voice caught Amelia’s attention and she looked at her, then at Seth. They were holding each other’s gaze, barely aware of her presence. Then Seth nodded and the moment of tension passed, leaving behind a silent agreement between the three of them: they would all take care of each other and see their plan to the end. Amelia realized she had, in fact, gained two best friends: her fake husband and her handsome, devoted lover.
“Wanna get out of here?” Blake asked Amelia.
“Shouldn’t we stay until the end? Celebrate with the others?”
“I’d rather not. They won’t even notice we’re gone, and if they do, I’m sure Damon will make one of his dirty jokes about how we couldn’t wait to get into each other’s pants.”
Amelia laughed. Truth was, she couldn’t wait to get into someone’s pants, and that someone was Seth. She looked at his broad chest and marveled at how well the black suit hugged every bulging muscle. Even though she knew his body like she knew her own, her imagination still ignited. Seth was studying her just as carefully, lust shining in his eyes. He definitely appreciated the long, white dress which delicately highlighted her curves.
“Hey! When I asked if you wanna get out of here, I was talking about me and Amelia. Knock it out, you two! You don’t know who’s watching.”
Seth took a step back and forced out a smile. It was rather difficult given the raging erection Amelia’s tight dress had just caused.
“Well, talk to you later,” he told Amelia, then nodded towards Blake and went back to the party.
Amelia waved after him, a deep sigh escaping her chest. Blake rolled her eyes and pulled her by the hand. “Come one, lovebird. I wanna show you something.”
***
Everyone was on the shore, so the streets of Ekviknuna were deserted. When she was sure they were too far for anyone to notice, Blake let go of Amelia’s hand and walked faster, taking the lead.
“You don’t expect me to keep up with you in these heels, do you?”
“Well, if you’re just a bit curious about what I want to show you, you’d better,” the smile in Blake’s voice was obvious. However, she stopped in the middle of the narrow street.
Amelia thought she was waiting for her, so she lifted her skirt a tad higher and picked up the pace. When she saw Blake had started to remove her jacket and unbutton her shirt, she stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to turn right here, was she? She looked around them and strained her ears to catch any noise which might have betrayed someone was watching them, but there was nothing there… just the dark windows looking down upon them, and the soft night breeze playing in her brown curls.
“You’ll have to hold this for me.” Blake handed her the cloth strips she had just unwrapped from around her chest, and Amelia took them and folded them neatly. “We’ll leave the rest here. The fox-shifters need to know their future Inari does turn from time to time.”
It did make sense, but Amelia was too busy staring at Blake’s beautiful, athletic, and very much naked body to think of the logic of her actions. She would see her turn for the first time. That was the only thing her brain could process at the moment.
“Don’t look at me like that,” said Blake in a low, soft voice. “I know I’m not very feminine…”
“What?” Amelia was taken by surprise, and for a few seconds she didn’t know what to say. “I… I wasn’t looking because of that… I think you have an amazing body! I mean, I could diet and work out for years and never get so fit and strong.”
Blake smiled bitterly. “Why would you even want that?”
“I… because I think it’s sexy?” Did she sound pathetic? She was almost certain she sounded pathetic. “Every woman is different and beautiful in her own way. We’re never satisfied with our body, unfortunately. I’d love to have narrow hips… It’s like my butt gets bigger every time I look in the mirror. It’s not gonna happen, I had to accept that a long time ago. When I turned 18 and got my own page in the Vulpes Catalog back at Alma Venus, I thought no fox-shifter wanted to buy me because they didn’t find me attractive… I thought they preferred thinner, more athletic women, so I began working out. It had no effect on my curves whatsoever.”
“Curves? What curves? Your wide hips actually show you’ll be able to carry healthy babies.”