In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1) (21 page)

Everyone’s got
to eat eventually, and it turned out that room service was the one thing the
Amber Primrose didn’t offer.  The girl at the front desk apologized, stating
that it was for the safety of their staff.  Previously, some of their less
intelligent clientele assumed the person delivering the food, or blood, was
also on the menu.

I so did not
want to touch that one with a yardstick. 

After showering
and lathering on some of the “Apollo Healing Ointment–Minor Healing Strength,”
I was able to walk again.  There was a bottle of the Maximum Strength version
present as well, but that was designed for couples who liked to rip each
other’s skin apart with their teeth, claws, and sometimes, blades.  Creepy, but
I guessed the more animalistic hybrids enjoyed pain or something.

Dex handed me a
glass filled with the liquid version of the same stuff.  He motioned to his
throat. 

“Thanks.” My
voice sounded like I’d been screaming for hours.  Well, actually, I
had
been screaming for hours. 

We clinked our
glasses in a toast before downing the fruity beverage.  Delightful tingles
soothed my throat.  “Wow, that’s good.”  I sounded like me again.  Winking, I
smirked at Dex. “Looks like my voice won’t be out of commission for a week
after all.”

His hands
wrapped around my waist.  “We’ll see about that.” 

“Mmm-hmm.”  I
bit my lower lip.  “Careful or we won’t be able to get anything to eat.”

“Doesn’t matter,
my favorite meal is right here.” 

My stomach
growled.  “The sooner we get some food, the sooner we can get back here for
dessert.”

“Maybe we can
bring some back here too?”  His lips pecked mine.

“Just as long as
it isn’t honey.”

Dex laughed. “I
promise not to put any in your hair.”  Taking me by the hand, he led me to the
door.

“You better not,
mister.”

“Although
freezing your panties might be a good idea for when you go back to work.”

I snorted.
“They’ll be thawed out before I even left the house.”

“True.”  We
entered the elevator.  Another couple was pressed against the back wall,
pounding their pelvises together.  At any other place, we probably would have
taken the next elevator, but here, it didn’t faze either one of us.

Hand-in-hand, we
got off on the floor Dex chose.  He led me to a room with a placard that read
“Ironwall University.” 

I raised a
brow.  “That sounds like a prison.”

Dex laughed
again.  “Depending on whom you ask, it feels like one too.”  He shrugged,
“Ironwall University is one of the only colleges on this continent that is
capable of protecting demigods and demigoddess from the fae.  It’s also far
enough north to offer us some protection from malevolent mythos beasts as
well.”

He pushed open
the doors.

 As soon as Dex
and I walked into that fantasy room, our Arachne Garments shifted into school
uniforms.  Dex sported black, pleated slacks and a long-sleeved, white,
button-down shirt with an Egyptian-blue blazer.  His tie was the same the color
as his blazer.  A shield-shaped patch on his left breast pocket displayed
Egyptian hieroglyphics.  

“I thought you
said that this is where you went to college.” I looked down at my own typical,
black, pleated, short skirt, a button-down shirt and a yellow blazer.  My
crisscross tie was gold-and-white with a sun-shaped pin in the middle.  I
noticed the shield-shaped patch on my left breast pocket displayed runes. 
Somehow, my brain automatically knew that it said, “Aesir.” 

“It is.  Just
remember, this is Erda.  We do things a little differently on this side of the
In-Between,” he said.  His hand settled on the small of my back as he guided me
toward a food court in front of what looked like a student center.  Across the
room sat the only empty table.

Multiple,
colored banners adorned the walls.  I noticed that each had a different form of
writing.  There was an Egyptian blue banner that had hieroglyphics, along with
a yellow one that had runes.

Besides the
staff members who were working the food kiosks, I saw several tables filled
with demigods and demigoddesses.  Most were wearing violet or tangerine-colored
blazers.  Though there were a few wearing yellow-green, shamrock-green,
Egyptian-blue, and yellow blazers, too. 

“So, what else
is different? Other than the school uniforms?”

“Lots of things,
like the rule that we weren’t allowed to fraternize with demigoddesses until we
graduated.” 

“What!”  I
shouted, causing several people to turn and look at us.  I lowered my voice.
“You’re joking, right?”

He shook his
head. “Well, our sisters and half-sisters were the only exceptions.”

“Why?” We sat
down next to each other, leaving the other two chairs empty.

“Take a guess.”
He wiggled his brows at me, but in case I didn’t get his clue, he stroked my
thigh with the backs of his fingers.

I bit my lower
lip.  Hot liquid pooled between my thighs. By this point, I’d given up wearing
panties, so when the pad of his fingertip stroked my lips apart using a “come
here” motion, he was not surprised to find such easy access.

“Have you two ordered
yet?”  Finley plopped into a chair across from us.  Dark circles surrounded his
bloodshot eyes.

It seemed like
Dex intended to torture me when his finger pressed up inside me, seeking my
G-spot.  “No, we just got here.”

“Good. Caress
wanted me to invite both of you down to the conference room after dinner. 
Apparently, her staff has been trying to get in touch with you all day, but
they couldn’t find you. You didn’t answer your phone or the knocking on the
door.”  He gave us a knowing look.

 “That’s funny
because I tried to order room service earlier.”  I lifted my hips slightly to
give Dex a better angle to work his finger inside me.

“How do you
think I was able to find you so fast?”  He grinned. “Caress figured you should
eat first before we get down to business.  And by the way, your eyes are
glowing, lass.”

Heat spread
across my cheeks. 

“Look, I’ll
order for you.  Dex, why don’t you show Frost around?” 

“Great idea.” 
Dex pulled his hand out from under my skirt.  We quickly made our way deeper into
the fantasy room.  “There should be an office right around this corner.”  An
open door greeted us, earning a cheer from my girly parts. 

“Is there anyone
in there?”

He poked his
head into the small room.  “Nope, it’s all ours.”

“Awesome.”  As
soon the door was closed, Dex wrapped his arms around me from behind. 

Whispering into
my ear he said, “Brace yourself against the desk.”

I locked my arms
while lifting my hips up.  Dex pushed back my skirt.  His hardened member
pushed into me with one quick thrust.

By the time we
returned to the table, our food was cold.  Apparently, Caress got bored waiting
for Finley to return too, because she was riding him like a horse. 

Dex and I
switched tables.  We kept our backs to them in order to give them at least a little
privacy.  And well, to be honest, so we could eat. 

It was well past
midnight by the time we actually made it down to the conference room, which was
located in the same hallway as Caress’s office.

As soon as the
conference room doors opened, the tension inside there hit me in the forehead
like a basketball that missed the hoop.  My stomach instantly turned sour,
making me wish that I skipped dinner.

Caress sat down
at the head of the table. “Thank you for coming. Have a seat.”

“Glad you could
finally make it.” Whisper’s lips twisted into a sneer. 

“Calm down,” a
nearly identical-looking woman seated next to her muttered under her breath.

I rubbed my
sweaty palms on my slacks. “Thank you for the invite.”  Taking a deep breath, I
poured out some much needed tranquility from my being.  The stress lines on
Caress’s brow decreased.  Whisper was sitting so straight and rigidly that, up
until then, she looked like she could snap at any second.  Luckily, once she
absorbed some tranquility, her body relaxed into the chair. 

The sisters
looked at each other, exchanging several expressions before Caress turned back
towards me.  “First of all, let me introduce you to some of the other members
of my family.  Starting at the end of the table, they are Aidric, Kyler, Bliss,
and you already know Whisper.”  She motioned to us.  “You all know Finley
Fields; and these are his friends, Declan Rivers and Jocelyn Frost.”

After a brief
exchange of handshakes and nods, everyone sat down in their chairs. 

“Earlier, my
siblings and I discussed your business proposition.  We reviewed all of your
key points.  Before we vote on whether or not to run with your idea, I would
like to open the floor one last time to everyone who wants to present any
lingering thoughts or ideas.” 

Whisper sat
forward. “I’m responsible for overseeing the finances of this establishment.  I
currently feel that setting up a new business would be extremely costly.  Most
of our profits are redirected back into the facility and our staff.”

The first brother,
who had strawberry-blonde hair like Caress, spoke up.  “That’s true, but during
our last meeting, you suggested hiring an additional twenty new women and five
new men to work the floors.  If we postponed hiring additional staff for a year
or two, theoretically, we could afford the transportation of the rubber tree
dryads.”

“Hiring five
dryads, who would only stay around their trees, versus twenty-five new
employees is a huge difference,” Whisper countered. 

“Don’t forget
the room-and-board costs associated with those twenty-five employees,” the
second brother spoke up. 

“I like the idea
of recruiting the dryads. They’ll, like, bring in a bit more diversity. 
Besides, who knows? They may not be, like, as prudent as you are, like,
assuming them to be.”  Bliss smacked a piece of gum.

“You’re just
hoping they’re into chicks.” Kyler poked his sister in the arm.

“And you’re like
hoping they’re into dicks.”  She popped a bubble in his face.  “Besides, a
girl, like, has needs that, like, can’t always be scratched the, like,
traditional way.”  Bliss gave me a wink.

“I did some
research while we were waiting, and found a site ten blocks over that used to
be a candle factory.  It closed down about twenty years ago when the city went
electric,” Aidric said as he passed Caress several pieces of paper. 

“Twenty years is
a long time.  This building is nothing more than a hollowed-out shell.”

“I may be able
to help with that.” Finley spoke up.  “I have several half-siblings and cousins
who are looking for work.  I’m sure if you provide them with room, board, and
access to your facility for the time it takes, they’d be more than willing to
reconstruct the building.”

“That’s still
going to eat into our finances.  Materials are costly, never mind the permits
and legal issues associated with starting a new business,” Whisper huffed.

“Couldn’t you
just call it an extension of your current business?  It doesn’t have to be
completely separate,” I inquired. 

“It’s still not
going to be enough.  Unless you’re willing to cough up the extra currency.”

I chewed on my
lip.  “I have some extra gold and savings.  It’s not much, but I’ll invest all
that I have to offer.”

“I’ll research
where we can find the equipment to make the condoms.  Hopefully, there will be
some available on Earth,” Dex added.

Caress paused in
case anyone else wanted to speak up. When no one did, she said, “It’s time to
vote.  All those in favor, say, ‘aye’.”

Aidric, Kyler,
and Bliss said, “Aye.”

“All those
opposed, say ‘nay’.”

Whisper
grumbled, “Nay.”

“The ayes have
it.  Ms. Frost, we will support you in this new business venture.  I’ll have
someone from our legal department draft a contract for you to sign.”