Lion's Dangerous(Kings of the Jungle #1)(12)

The woman in the chair next to Lily clucked. "I never liked massages. They feel like being on the receiving end of a beating. If I'm going to have someone pounding on my muscles, I want a few orgasms out of it. Have you been to that sex shifter club yet? The Jungle? You could get a good beasting instead and if you walk away a little achy, at least you enjoyed getting to that point."

Uh … what? Nevermind the idea of a shifter club, Lily blinked at the bucket full of over-share. Alexa's kneading hands faltered and she hunched her shoulders until they were nearly up to her ears. Lily could empathize. This was a topic she wanted to hide from, too.

Unsure how to respond to the unwanted advice, Lily glanced at the stranger and attempted a light tone. "I think a glass of wine is more my speed."

The woman shook her head, her expression serious. "Wine can't compare to one of those guys at the Jungle. They're animals. If anybody can drive your troubles away, they can."

"Don't tell me you've managed to get inside," Alexa's colleague said. "I've heard you practically have to sacrifice your firstborn and then his firstborn on top of that."

The woman in the chair lost her smile and heaved a disgruntled sigh. "Sadly, no. I have to settle for the Red Room like everyone else."

At Lily's questioning glance, Alexa explained. "The Jungle is a private club that caters to shapeshifters. It has a certain reputation."

"Right," Lily said slowly, picking up on Alexa's don't-want-to-talk-about-it vibe.

She'd heard of the Red Room when she still lived in Seattle. It wasn't uncommon for people in the dungeon club scene to visit other establishments while they traveled. Some even chose their vacation spots based upon the quality of the clubs, the same way other people picked their destinations for the beaches.

The Jungle, on the other hand, was new to her, intriguing enough that, as the conversation turned to gossip about some incident that had occurred at the Red Room, Lily found herself guiltily pulling up a search on her phone. 

There wasn't much information to be had. Most of it came from sketchy sites that seemed to turn news into fiction. One common theme did stand out, though, and that was the observation that the Jungle featured a host of private rooms and promised fulfillment of wild-emphasis on the wild-fantasies in the arms of shapeshifters.

Despite her best efforts to squash her interest in Jude, she imagined him in a dark, dreamy club setting where the temperature ran hot and the air swirled thick with scents of lust. Imagined herself there. With him. And every inch of skin on her body flashed hot. Her calves suddenly felt too sensitive for the massage and hunger rose up to claw her insides.

Unable to escape without drawing attention to herself, she gripped the arms of the spa chair and breathed shallowly through the rest of the pedicure. Mercifully, Alexa's colleague rushed with the salacious woman in the neighboring chair. That helped some, but not much.

After helping Lily into a pair of foam sandals, Alexa glanced up at her. "I know a man who works there. I could give you his card, too."

"No." Lily shook her head a little too vehemently, and then laughed to cover her momentary panic.

Alexa arched a pierced eyebrow and grinned. "You sure? Your toes curled up at the mention--"

"No," Lily said firmly.

"Okay. Wine it is." Alexa wiped the spa basin with a towel, stashed her supplies, and straightened, arching her back as she did. "Hey, I have a date tonight. Drinks with friends. Want to join us?"

That sounded so much safer. Lily had given up on girlfriend culture under Paul's controlling influence and she'd missed it. She smiled at the invitation. "Mixed gender?"

Alexa grinned. "Nope. Time enough for dick every other night of the week."

"Then I'd love to go," Lily replied, laughing. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Don't thank me yet. We're not all pretty drunks."

"The pretty side isn't always the best side."

"No," Alexa murmured.

They exchanged numbers and set a time to meet up for drinks. At the register, Alexa pressed a card and Lily's receipt into her hand. "Reach out to my friend, okay? You look like you need a little more taking care of."

"I will. Thanks. Maybe a massage will do me some good."

The bell above the door chimed as Alexa's next client, a tall, lean man with a smooth jaw and well-manicured hands, strolled into the salon. Leaving Alexa to her work, Lily wiggled her fingers in a wave and left to go to her car.

As she tucked her change into her wallet, she realized Callsita had given her two cards instead of one. The first was for a masseuse named Elaine. The second was Alexa's business card, but she'd crossed out her own phone number and written a man's name and number instead.