Page 27 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
Before I could respond, the woman in question breezed into the room, immediately seeing me and plastering a smile onto her face. Henry kissed my forehead before introducing us, but I found myself distracted as I looked back at my nest, wondering just what would happen once I did go into heat.
* * *
“What doyou mean you went to the Dreki realm for a day?! You’ve been gone for almost a month!”
Only an hour or so later, Jordan’s voice was echoing through my room, the familiarity of it making me smile. Her eyes were wide as she sat at my desk, Bella on her lap. Patricia, the seamstress with the costumes, was mostly silent as she worked, except for some occasional humming. Honestly, her job seemed very cool. Because she already had our rough measurements, she’d brought along an assortment of costumes we’d been able to pick from that she could alter and could be paired and matched with a ton of accessories she had also brought along.
I was sorta glad we’d gone this route, to be honest, because now my mates would really be surprised by what I’d chosen to wear tonight. I couldn’t wait to see their reactions.
“Apparently time moves differently.” I shrugged, finding her reaction funny. I loved my mates, but I was really glad Jordan was here. I had missed her, and I was realizing that sometimes I just needed a bit of girl time. Plus, my mates and hers were downstairs hanging out, and they seemed to all get along well.
Considering how happy she seemed, I was eager to meet them. Aside from her first mate, Marcellus, I hadn’t had the chance yet. I loved the idea of maybe doing a double date… Although, would it really be called that? We each had a lot more than one boyfriend…
“Insane.” She shook her head before looking at the inspiration pictures I had printed off for Patricia. Instantly, she was scowling.
“What?” I demanded.
“You are wearing pants!” Jordan complained. “Pants were not in the plan, Maya. We always wear pants. Halloween is not for ‘always’ moments.”
“I have to wear pants!” I laughed as she shook her head with a disappointed look.
“Skirt. Spandex. Even booty shorts. But no pants. No jeans. Nothing like that,” Jordan announced. I couldn’t help but find her excitement for tonight infectious. Plus, it was better than the opposite. She had already expressed guilt about Malcolm and Lorn escaping, and despite my assurance it wasn’t her fault, she continued to apologize. I didn’t want that on her. Heck, if anything, it would be on her dad, and I still didn’t blame him.
“Okay.” I nodded and looked at the woman. “Skirt.”
Honestly, after that, it was a bit of a whirlwind getting ready, with music blasting and Jordan dancing around the room. Luckily, my friend hadn’t mentioned the odd assortment of things on my bed, so I was hoping she either didn’t notice it or knew not to touch it. It was an odd feeling, but the idea of anyone except for my mates touching it really upset me.
As I brushed my hair into a high ponytail, I straightened the long length so that it hung down to my butt before Jordan helped me clip in sparkly pink hair extensions near the base of my skull. I turned my head and smiled, loving the way they seemed to glow under the light. Nearly as much as the bright pink lipstick I chose to wear, applying it carefully after putting on some light foundation and glitter to cover my cheekbones and eyes. I felt like I shimmered with glitter every time I moved, and my phoenix nearly broke out in excitement as Jordan pulled out spray glitter. By the end of the process, I was sparkling like a diamond, and it was so freakin’ amazing.
That was all before I even got ready. Ready in an outfit that even I would classify as sexy.
The top was made of a pale pink corset with darker pink ribbing that Patricia helped put on, the material tightening around my waist as I slid on the skirt over a pair of pink lace boyshorts, the fluffy pink tulle skirt hitting right under my butt. A sliver of my stomach could be seen between the two garment pieces, and I grabbed a pair of thigh-high white stockings to pull up so that there was a similar effect between the edge of the skirt and the sheer socks.
I couldn’t help but smile a bit in the mirror, knowing that my mates were probably going to like this outfit a lot… Well, in some ways. They would like me in it, but that didn’t mean they would like it, especially since we were going out.
Finally, I slipped into a pair of stilettos with pink fur on the straps that went around my ankles and feet. It matched the cat ears and tail that Jordan helped me pull on. As I looked at the finished effect, I felt my eyes widen, realizing that I felt as sexy as I looked, and that was a new experience.
“Maya!” Jordan giggled. “They are going to flip.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I shrugged. As if it wasn’t a big deal, as if I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect. I turned towards the vanity and grabbed the ring I had taken off while shopping, slipping it back on.
Jordan was suddenly tugging my wrist, her eyes wide. “What is that?” she demanded. I knew she wasn’t talking about the stunning flight marking that adorned my forearm.
“A promise?” I hedged while my cheeks turned pink.
“Girl, that’s an engagement ring,” she insisted.
“Maybe a little bit,” I agreed.
She laughed and turned around so I could help her put a few more curls in her hair, the entire red mass a stunning, wavy mess. Jordan did her makeup way faster than I had done my own, and when she went back to change, I looked over the jewelry case on the counter, wondering if there was anything else sparkly I wanted to add. My eyes landed on just the thing, knowing it matched Bella almost perfectly. It was the gift that had actually given me the idea to buy her a diamond collar.
Except this was a diamond choker, and as I slid it on, I couldn’t help but tilt my head to the side, loving how the lights flashed over it. I let out a happy sigh as I walked out into the bedroom, letting Jordan have the space to get ready. My amusement jumped, finding Patricia helping Bella into an adorable little set of red and orange wings that buckled underneath her furry stomach. Upon hearing me, she let out a fierce little meow that had me knowing that she loved her phoenix wings. It felt only right that if I was going to be a kitten, she would be a phoenix.
“What do we think?” Jordan pulled my attention, and my mouth dropped open. Holy crap.
“You look gorgeous!” I squeaked, looking at the adorable green dress she was wearing with fairy wings and emerald green stilettos.
“I’m Tinkerbell.” She turned around before shifting her wings on her shoulders, the gold complementing her hair perfectly.
“Who is that?” I asked, wondering if it was someone important.
“We will watch the movie sometime,” Jordan promised. I felt like there were a lot of movies we needed to watch.
“Ready?” I asked after thanking Patricia and putting Bella on my shoulder.
“Oh yes.” Jordan smiled. “I can’t wait to see all their reactions.”
I couldn’t either.
