Page 105 of Secret Gifts
She looks at me as though I’m some sort of prude, and then the blood swirls back into the vial as she picks it up and seals it behind the last drop.
“What can I say? I’m a kinky bitch. I’m hybrid, which makes it my prerogative. As you can see, my gift works just fine.”
Her menacing grin only grows, and she walks over to pull her latex gloves off, tossing them in the trash before locking my blood in a double-door safe.
“I’m dating Jase now, so I don’t want to go screw some random stranger in a club. Besides, I’ve had plenty of sex in my life. It’s not like I’ve taken a vow of celibacy.”
She laughs lightly, some mockery in her snickers. She takes off her stiff lab coat and hangs it up on a hook near the safe.
“This may be the only way to unblock you enough for you to find out how you blocked your gifts in the first place, because I can't see anything in the blood. The club isn’t for you to have sex, by the way. A hybrid’s psyche is linked to their sexual energy. You are the only hybrid I know who has lived for all these centuries and yet still be timid about sex. The mere mention of the Catagar made your whole body red. You need to learn to embrace lust as part of life. You have to learn to enjoy people lusting after you. And you have to give them something to lust after. I know you don’t want to hear this, but your mom has it down to an exact science, and look at how well she uses her gifts."
She shakes her head in disapproval while staring at my very casual clothing, and I shrug in response to her silent scrutiny.
“I tried the other clothes, and I did feel sexy, but at some point, I just got tired of it. It feels… I don’t know. It seems like I do a lot of things out of the ordinary when I’m dressed like that.”
She smiles as though I’ve missed something, and then her arm loops through mine as we walk out.
“That’s the whole point. If you give your hybrid something, it gives you something in return.”
“You keep talking about my hybrid as though it’s separated from me.”
The hulking man shifts out of the way as we walk through the door, his eyes avoiding mine. Our conversation halts until we’re safely in the soundproof, camera-free elevator.
“Right now, it is separated. You’re not just a hybrid, Aria. You’re something completely different… even different from your mother. You have different needs. I think this would be a good exercise. It’s not like you’ll be having sex, you’ll just be learning to be comfortable around sex. By the end of the night, your cheeks won’t fire up quite as fiercely as they do every time someone makes the mention of the word.”
I blush as if on cue, and her index finger lightly pokes my cheek while her teasing eyes taunt me with an I-told-you-so look. I guess she has me there.
“Okay. I’ll go, but I want to make it very clear that I won’t be having sex. I’ll embrace my hybrid, but I won’t be unfaithful.”
She smiles while letting a small squeal out, seeming far too excited about this, and I roll my eyes while following her off the elevator.
“The club isn’t exclusively for hybrids by the way. There could be some full bloods there, since that seems to be your preference,” she mischievously tacks on.
“Simone,” I grumble, and she lets a chuckle free while we walk into her room.
“I have the perfect outfit for you to wear. You’ll look as hybrid as you want to feel.”
I laugh lightly while gripping my head in anxious dread, and then I let a nervous breath slide through my worried lips.
“I really don’t like the sound of that.”
“Don’t worry. We do use some discretion. You’ll be wearing this,” she says with a salacious grin.
I stare at the white mask she pulls from the drawer of her dresser, and I smirk somewhat as I think of my masked hero. The rhinestones embroidering the edges of the mask give it a little more zest, while the intricate silvery glitter streaks etch their way from the hollow eyes of the mask to the edge. It’s actually a rather beautiful piece of comfort. At least no one there will be certain it’s me.
"What do you think?" she asks giddily.
I huff, clearly hating this whole idea, but I force a smile through tight lips as I murmur, "Let's go find my hybrid."
The Catagar is packed, and it’s definitely dripping hot sex in here. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable and out of place in all my life. At the same time, I feel a little more like a hybrid right now.
Hot, sweaty, hard bodies are pressed against each other as they move to the music with such a choreographed arousal. I stare through the dimly lit haze to the far mirror, still uncertain if the girl staring back is really me.
My hair has a sexy, messy edge to it, and though I sort of like the wild wavy curls, it just doesn’t look like me. The dark, gaudy jewelry dangles from my neck, ears, and wrists. Then there’s the dress - or what Simone claims is a dress.
The sheer white fabric clings to my body, and the only places not see-through are my breasts and lower unspeakable areas. I’m so uncomfortable, and the white fabric of the dress glows under the black lights as though someone has put a spotlight on me. The dress doesn’t do much to hide my tan skin peeking out through the fabric. I can see my damn belly button.
The strapless top section cups my breasts, and the back has a gaping slit that shows my unobstructed skin all the way down to my ass. If the right breeze catches the gathered material in the back, I’m going to be showing everyone too much.
