Chapter 9 #2
“I thought you might want to talk,” Phoenix offers.
Ulayna lifts a questioning eyebrow at her. “About what?”
Phoenix scoffs. “About how much of a dick Alexi is being, and what you’re going to do about it.”
Ulayna lets out a surprised chuckle. “Yeah, okay.” She gestures toward the kitchen. “I was just about to make myself a cup of tea and come up with a plan. Want to join me?”
“In the kitchen?”
“Of course. Where else?” Ulayna gives her a confused look.
Phoenix shrugs. “You know Cook doesn’t let anyone else in there except you. She barely even tolerates Alexi. She says the kitchen is the domain of the chatelaine.”
“The what?”
Phoenix affects a fake, uppity tone and drolls, “The lady of the manor.” She bows and gestures to Ulayna, subserviently.
“Uhh… What?”
Phoenix stands back up and laughs. “You know, the head bossbitch who runs everything around the estate. The woman in charge behind the scenes.”
Ulayna points at herself. “And Cook thinks I’m that woman.”
Phoenix shrugs. “She must. It’s the only explanation as to why she lets you in the kitchen and no one else.”
They step into the kitchen, and Ulayna looks around with new eyes. “Yeah, right,” she says incredulously. “It’s probably just that none of you have ever asked nicely.”
She waves off Phoenix's comments and heads to the tea cupboard. She pulls down the canister of her favorite tea and fills the kettle with water.
While she waits for the water to boil, Ulayna joins Phoenix at the kitchen island. She pauses, unsure how to broach the subject of Alexi.
Before she has a chance to begin, Phoenix says, “Did you know that Alexi is letting us all move into the mansion after the team placement challenges?”
“You and the rest of the team?”
“Yeah. The rest of his men and the two new teams will still stay in the bunkhouse. But the five of us will get to move in here.”
“That’ll be nice,” Ulayna says. “I always thought it was a bit of a waste to have so many empty rooms here. There must be twenty empty bedrooms.”
“No, what will be really nice is to have my own bathroom. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be the only woman in a bunkhouse full of men?”
Ulayna shudders at the idea. But then a thought occurs to her.
If she has any hope of breaking into Hawk’s room to steal the ring he challenged her with, she’ll need to do it before he moves into the mansion.
She knows that if she doesn’t get it before he moves, he’ll consider it a failure on her part.
And she refuses to fail. Like a countdown timer was just switched on, a sense of resolve spears through her.
She has to get that damn ring and get it quickly.
The teapot whistles on the stove, breaking her train of thought. She gets up to pour them both a cup of tea and turns back to Phoenix. Maybe she can convince Phoenix to give her some information on Hawk’s sleeping quarters?
“So,” she says, trying to sound casual, “is Hawk’s room near yours?”
Phoenix narrows her eyes suspiciously and blows on her hot cup of tea. “No, why do you ask?”
“No reason. I’m just curious.”
Phoenix’s eyes narrow further. Ulayna takes a cautious sip of her tea, trying to play it cool.
“Oh,” Phoenix says after a few seconds, a knowing look on her face. “You still haven’t gotten his ring from him, have you?”
“No… That has nothing… That’s not why…” Ulayna stammers, caught.
“Nuh-uh, girlie. I’m not helping you. If he found out I helped—and he would—there’d be hell to pay. You’ll have to get to Hawk on your own. But you'd better do it soon before he moves in here.” She echoes Ulayna’s earlier thoughts.
Ulayna huffs out a sigh. It was worth a shot.
Phoenix smirks at her. “But just because I’m not willing to give you any information doesn’t mean someone else won’t.”
“You think Bill, Ruger, or Shade would give me information?”
Phoenix scoffs. “Hell no. I meant one of the other men. You’re a young, beautiful woman, and it’s a bunkhouse full of men. You should have no problem getting one of them to tell you what you need.”
Disgusted by Phoenix’s suggestion, Ulayna crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not sleeping with some random Bratva soldier to get information.”
“I didn’t say anything about whoring yourself out for information.” Phoenix shakes her head as if the suggestion is absurd.
Ulayna’s shoulders drop, and she heaves a sigh of relief. She’s glad to know her friend finds that idea as horrible as she does.
Phoenix continues, “Have you ever heard the expression femme fatale? All you need is a little smile, a pouty lip, and a hint of cleavage, and they’ll never know what hit ’em.”
Ulayna looks down at her own small chest, doubtful.
Phoenix chuckles. “Trust me. It’s not about the size, it’s about how you use them.
” Warming to her own idea, she nods enthusiastically.
“This will be good practice for you. It’s a skill all women need to master.
You’re good at reading people and understanding their intentions.
You just need to apply that skill. Present yourself as desirable but unattainable.
Make them think it’s their idea to tell you what you need to know.
Embrace your femininity and use it against them. ”
Ulayna scowls at her, uncertain. She can’t really picture what her friend is describing. She knows all about men’s desires, but the concept of using their desires against them is foreign to her.
Phoenix pulls out her phone and opens an internet browser.
“Here, look.” She holds her phone out to Ulayna and scrolls through the pictures on the screen.
Images of Eva Green in Sin City, Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde, Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct flash across the screen.
All the images show beautiful women who are breathtakingly dangerous. They’re vipers coiled for an attack. Cold, sensual, and deadly.
Looking at all those powerful, sexy women, something unfurls within Ulayna. Something dark, and wicked, and hungry. Suddenly, she understands what Phoenix is talking about.
It’s not trading sex for information like it’s a transaction. It’s not treating her body like a commodity to be sold. It’s using her body, her sex appeal, and her intelligence to manipulate and control those around her.
Like a light bulb being switched on, Ulayna can instantly see the benefits of this type of scheme. But… “I’m not sure I can pull that off,” she admits.
Phoenix bites her lip, reluctant to say something.
“What?” Ulayna asks. “Just tell me.”
“Well… from what you’ve described, it sounds like the Program trained you for this. You know what men crave at their deepest, basest level. Let them know that you could give them what they crave—if you choose to. But hold it just out of reach so that they’re begging for it.”
Ulayna picks up her tea and takes a sip, thinking it through. Could she do that? Could she embrace what she learned in the Program and use it to manipulate the men into giving her the information she needs to know?
Horrible images of the brainwashing and depraved lessons from her time in the Program surface in her mind.
She’s done her best to block that part of her life out.
But maybe Phoenix is right. Maybe she can turn the worst thing that ever happened to her into a tool.
And if she can do that, it’ll mean that all her suffering wasn’t for nothing.
It’ll give meaning to her past and a direction for her future.
Plus, maybe this is exactly what she needs to convince Alexi that she’s not a child in need of protection.
Maybe she can kill two birds with one stone.
If she can get another man to see her as desirable, maybe Alexi will too.
And if she can successfully get the ring from Hawk, maybe Alexi will see how skilled and powerful she’s become. Desire and power. Power and desire.
She can do that. No, she wants to do that. She wants to prove to herself and to everyone else around her that the Program didn’t break her. She wants to take back her own sexuality. Learning her own body and her own pleasure was the first step. This will be the next.
And after that? Once again, images of Alexi flash through her mind.
Heat washes across her skin, and she’s shocked by her body’s reaction.
Yes, he was a dick this morning, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still hot as fuck.
Maybe her body has been ready all along, and it’s just her mind that needs to catch up?
She brushes the thought aside. One thing at a time.
She takes one more look at the pictures of femme fatale characters on the phone screen and lets a devious, sinful smile wash across her face. “Okay,” she finally says, nodding. “I’ll do it.” She gestures to the phone.“I can be one of those characters if it gets me what I need.”
“Yeah, girl!” Phoenix practically bounces in her seat in her excitement. She takes Ulayna’s teacup from her and pulls her to her feet. “Get some!”
“Wait. You mean right now?”
“Yeah. Why not? It’s the perfect time. The men all just got released after a month of brutal training. They’re tired, and their guard will be down. Plus, you’ve already got the outfit on.”
Ulayna puts a hand to her cheek, self-consciously. She shrugs. “I know I normally wear comfy, casual clothes. But I like that this outfit makes me feel powerful. Hadley encouraged me to wear it and sent me links to a few makeup tutorials that I’ve been practicing with.”
“Yup,” Phoenix says, popping the P on the end of the word.
“That woman is good. Half the time she dresses like Tinker Bell on ecstasy, but she knows how to use fashion to make a statement.” She gives Ulayna little shooing motions with her hands.
“Now go. Find some sorry sop to practice your womanly wiles on.” She waggles her eyebrows suggestively.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Ulayna blows Phoenix a kiss and winks, then walks out of the kitchen.