Free Werecats and Werelocks (Collection) by Dakota Cassidy Page B

it."
    Sliding off her chair, Frankie gave him a coy, playful look. She didn't have much practice at it, but her mortal life was in the balance here. Her flower shop ... her cute apartment on the West Side. Giuseppe's fine Italian dining. Manicures. Oh, God, there was no way she could give up her manicures. “Right, I heard. So I had a thought, seeing as I have a predicament and all.” She winked a green eye and let her lips slide into a slow upward tilt of a half-smile.
    Sam put his game face on. The one he probably used when he cross-examined criminals. “You're not very good at this, are you?"
    Frankie left her expression blank, opting to play dumb. “I don't know what you mean."
    "I mean the sex kitten thing.” He inhaled, then chuckled at his own pun. “Sex. Kitten. Funny, huh?"
    "A riot."
    His face immediately went sober. “Okay, so again I say, you're not very good at it, are you?"
    "You say that, why?"
    "Look, uh, Frankie, right?"
    "Yes. Frankie Lane. Definitely not Wiggles."
    "Whatever. I'm a lawyer. I can read people pretty well and this just isn't a role you're comfortable in. Not even a little."
    Well, he had her pegged, now didn't he? “That's not the point. Here's the point. You're hardly ever here, right?” she encouraged, praying he'd agree to this.
    In an instant his face was hard, much the way she imagined he'd be when he made a closing argument. “Why don't you tell me what you're getting at? I'm a facts kind of guy. It's the lawyer in me. So let's stop beating around the bush, okay? What do you want? Money?"
    "A crib."
    " A what ?"
    Her face flushed, but she plowed onward. “A place to stay, lawyer. Look, I can't go back to my apartment because that's the first place my parents will go looking for me. I can't go to the flower shop either. Thank God for Renaldo, is all I have to say to that."
    "Renaldo?"
    "Yeah, he works for me."
    Realization flooded his face and he nodded. “Right, short, spiky hair with the fake blond highlights and a tendency toward wearing the color pink."
    Frankie grinned. “Yes, that's him. He'll take care of the shop until I can get back there. But here's the thing. I'm in my human form for now and I need to use that to my advantage while I can. Who knows when I'll shift back again? But I need somewhere to hide."
    "A place to stay..."
    "Yeah, and you're hardly ever here. You won't even know I'm around. Promise."
    "Exactly how do you plan to figure this out—no matter where you stay? If there's nothing you can do but mate to stop this shift thing from happening then—"
    Her eyes strayed toward the cold, white ceramic tile of his kitchen floor. “I know, I know. It looks like I'm fucked, right? I dunno. I haven't thought past actually being in my human form and that's why I need a place to hide because there just has to be some other way.” Her chin set stubbornly as she crossed her arms over her chest.
    His gaze returned to skeptical. “Question?"
    "Go."
    "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but in this shapeshifting place, do you people—cats—um, women ... do you all have sex with just anyone because you need to mate?"
    Frankie giggled. “Don't be silly. We're not a bunch of ‘ho's. Well, most of us aren't. Me included."
    "But you had sex with me and I'm a total stranger. That makes no sense."
    She hung her head and peered at him through her lashes. “I couldn't help it. I mean, my hormones couldn't help it."
    "Your hormones..."
    Her sigh was long and windy as she toyed with the edge of the coaster his drink had been on. “Yeah. My hormones are definitely discriminatory. They won't just have sex with anyone. Hence why I won't mate with Harry. So don't go feeling like you were only a warm body. There has to be some modicum of attraction there. Some kind of chemistry. But when my instinct to mate gets all riled up ... caution goes out the window like a credit card at a good sale on Jimmy Choo's..."
    He took a long gulp of his whiskey, swishing it in his