Chapter Twenty-One
Twenty-One
Tegan
“Okay, so I got all the cupcake preorders finished. You’re working on the retirement party cake, and then you’re going to teach me how to make the kolaches, right?” Selene asked, staring at her notepad.
We were running through our to-do list, making sure none of the orders or duties for the day were missed.
She was doing a great job, keeping everything organized and making sure we were fully stocked with bakery essentials like butter, sugar, and flour.
It was so nice to have her help, especially in the areas where I was lacking.
My life would have been so much easier if I had given her more responsibilities sooner.
“Yep.” I rotated the cake I was working on, making sure the icing was smooth and level on the sides and top. “They’re pretty simple.”
“So. You seem like you’re in a particularly good mood today. Did anything happen this morning?”
I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks. How was she so good at reading me? “I, um, I might have given Atlas a blow job at the gym this morning,” I mumbled.
She gasped. “Tegan Marie Rollins. You did not.”
I nodded, keeping my eyes laser focused on the cake. “I did.”
“I don’t even know who you are anymore.” She nudged my shoulder, and thank gods I wasn’t actually working on the cake anymore because I totally would have messed up. “That’s huge. How did it even happen?” she asked.
I puffed out a breath, turning around to face her. “I was tired of waiting for him to make the first move. He was helping me with this one workout and his cock kept brushing against my ass, so I just sort of went for it.”
“Right in the middle of the gym?” she asked, like it was the most scandalous thing she’d ever heard. Maybe it was. It was definitely the most brazen thing I’d ever done.
“We were tucked back in a corner, and it was super early in the morning. No one was there,” I assured her.
“Still. You’re wild.” She paused for a second, then asked, “How was his cock?”
“Huge. Intimidating. I don’t even know what to think about his knot.”
“Have you ever been with anyone with a knot before?” she asked.
Selene knew some of my previous dating history, about my ex-girlfriend and the issues surrounding the bakery that led to our breakup, but I hadn’t given her a full rundown of my sexual escapades.
I shook my head. “No. I’ve played with some toys that had one but, like, never had one inside me. I know it’s possible, though.”
I knew porn wasn’t an accurate depiction of how things were in real life, but between that and this morning’s internet deep dive into wolven and human pairings, it confirmed that knotting was possible. Painful at first, but possible. I looked at it as an exciting challenge.
My phone vibrated and I pulled it out of my pocket.
Selene’s full lips quirked up in a sly smile. “Oh damn, I wonder if it’s Atlas.”
“Stop it,” I snorted.
“Can I peek?” she asked before I unlocked my phone.
“Ugh. Get over here.”
Selene shimmied next to me, peeking at my phone as I typed in the passcode.
Her brown eyes twinkled as she looked at the screen. “Tegan! You stalker! You made his contact photo the picture from his website?”
My cheeks flushed. “Don’t judge me! I don’t have any pictures of him yet!”
“You have got it bad. I’ve never seen you like this!”
I bit back a grin and held out the phone so we could read his text.
Atlas: I had a lot of fun this morning. What do you want to have for dinner? What are you bringing me for dessert?
“He sent you a wink face!” She shrieked out the last part.
This was a mistake. I should have just waited to read the text myself like a normal person.
Shit.
“What do I say?” Now it was my turn to shriek.
“Oh my gosh, you are so adorable! Just tell him what your favorite meal is! I know you love shrimp scampi, so just say that. And don’t think I’m letting the wink face go.
He definitely plans on having you for dessert.
” She threw her head back and cackled as I pulled the phone away from her to type out a reply.
Tegan: I had a lot of fun too. I really like shrimp scampi! But if you have a seafood allergy, we can have something else! And I’ll handle dessert
Selene read the message from over my shoulder as I hit send. “Look at you, ya flirt. You better be dessert after this morning’s gym stunt. We don’t like men who receive but don’t give.”
She was 100 percent correct in that. I didn’t have time for a partner who wasn’t interested in going down on me.
I had the feeling that I’d actually have the opposite problem with Atlas.
He’d probably apply that same practiced perfectionism to cunnilingus as he did to working out and sculpting his body.
We stood in silence for a few seconds, staring wide-eyed at my phone. Yeah, I was making Selene a part of this. She was invested.
I almost dropped my phone when it vibrated.
Atlas: Shrimp scampi it is. What you want, you’ll get. Especially after this morning I owe you one, baby.
“Baby!” Selene screamed in my ear. “Since when does he call you ‘baby,’ Tegan!?” She covered her face with her forearm in a fake swoon.
“Well, it definitely sounds like he’s down to reciprocate.” I chuckled under my breath and bit down on my lower lip to fight back a smile.
“This is a big deal, Teg. What time are you meeting him?” she asked.
“Shit. I didn’t ask. I need his address, too,” I said, typing out another text to Atlas.
Tegan: I almost forgot! What time and what’s your address?
It only took a second for him to respond.
Atlas: How’s 6pm? I usually eat at 5 because I’m a grandpa, but I’ll have a snack before I start dinner. My address is 317 Briar Lakes Drive. See ya then
Selene’s mouth was hanging open. “Oh, Tegan. Briar Lakes? Isn’t that the gated development where the mayor lives?”
Panic welled up inside of my chest. “Fuck. It is, isn’t it?”
Selene grimaced and nodded her head in confirmation.
“I mean, it’s fine. He seems like a perfectly normal guy. So what if he lives in a really fancy house in a really fancy neighborhood, right?”
She schooled her expression and wiped a streak of icing from my cheek. “Yeah, it’ll be totally fine. He didn’t give off rich-asshole vibes.”
If Selene or Dec felt like anything was off with Atlas, they would have told me.
“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” I repeated, trying to reassure myself. “I’m freaking out over nothing.”
“What are you going to wear?” Selene asked.
“A dress probably?” Something that looked good but was easy to take off.
Selene pulled out her phone, her nails tapping against the screen. “That’ll be cute.” Her phone vibrated and she smiled to herself.
“Who’s got you smiling like that?” I asked.
“You’re just going to have to see.” She typed out another message and slipped her phone back into her pocket. “Now, let’s get these kolaches finished so we can get out of here on time.”
That was right. The fucking kolaches. It wasn’t like Brian needed them right away…
“You know—why don’t I just text Brian and tell him that we’ll have the kolaches for him later this week. We can close a little bit early today. Is that okay with you?” I asked, knowing Selene usually took all the hours she could get.
She grinned. “That works out perfect, actually.”
—
A chocolate coconut cake and two piping bags full of icing sat in a box on my kitchen counter, just waiting for me to take them to Atlas’s. The only thing left to do was figure out what I was going to wear.
Dressed in my best lingerie—a light pink lace bra with a matching thong—I stared at the two dresses I’d laid out on my bed.
Option number one was a green velvet wrap dress.
Pretty, but very similar to the dress I wore to the wedding.
Option number two was a satiny blue dress with spaghetti straps.
It was cute, but the bra I was wearing wouldn’t work with it, and I didn’t like the way the material clung to my belly.
Fuck.
I went back to my closet, flipping through the rows of hangers in the hopes that something else might catch my eye, when the doorbell rang.
“Who the fuck could that be,” I huffed, pulling on my robe when the doorbell rang again. “Coming,” I shouted, stomping down the hall to the front door.
I yanked it open to find Dec and Selene standing on my front porch.
“Surprise!” they said in unison.
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, clutching my robe tight to my chest.
Selene held up a garment bag. “We wanted to bring you something to make tonight extra special.”
“It isn’t every day that our bestie gets dicked down,” Dec said.
I laughed, but I also wanted to cry. They really were the best.
“Aw, you guys. Come on, get in here,” I said, holding the door open for them.
They followed me down the hall to my bedroom, and Selene tossed the garment bag on top of the rejected dresses.
“I think you’re going to love it,” she said.
Dec and I stood on either side of her as she slowly unzipped the bag.
A light pink gingham swing dress with wide shoulder straps was inside. The perfect cutesy, retro dress of my dreams.
“Oh my gosh,” I said, “it’s adorable.”
“I knew you’d love it. It’s from the same boutique as the dress you wore to the wedding,” Selene said.
The boutique she was referring to was all the way in Rock Harbor, a whole forty-five minutes away from Briar Glenn. So that was why she was okay with closing the shop early.
“Isn’t that place a little pricey for a gift?” I asked, considering I’d had a hard time buying the other one when it was on clearance. Neither of them was independently wealthy, and I hated the thought of them spending their hard-earned money on me.
“Relax,” Selene said, gently placing her hand on my arm. “Dec pitched in, so it really wasn’t bad at all.”
Dec nodded. “We wanted you to look like a knockout tonight, even if the dress is just going to end up on Atlas’s floor.”
I snorted. I mean, that was the plan.
Selene laughed her signature raspy chuckle and pulled the dress out of the bag, holding it out to me. “Go. Try it on.”
I headed straight for the bathroom, closing the door with a loud thud behind me.
“Make sure you come out and let us see it! Even if you don’t like it!” Selene shouted from the other side of the door.
“We mean it, Tegan!” Declan added.
I untied my robe and let the fuzzy piece of material fall to the floor.
I caught a glimpse of my body in the mirror before pulling on my dress.
My breasts were substantial, with light pink nipples and delicate streaks of white stretch marks.
My waist was soft and round and widened to thick thighs, which rubbed together when I walked—also complete with bands of stretch marks.
It wasn’t a perfect body, not by conventional beauty standards, but I loved and appreciated it. Loved and appreciated all the things it allowed me to do. It was strong, healthy, and it obviously called to the desires of an attractive wolven.
I stepped into the gingham beauty and gently shimmied it over my hips.
Please, goddess, fit.
I was sure that we could figure something else out, but I really wanted to wear this damn dress and live out my cottagecore queen fantasies.
When the zipper clicked into place at the base of my shoulder blades, I could have cried tears of joy.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment, admiring how the dress accentuated every curve of my body, defining my breasts and waist before flaring out at the bottom.
Atlas was going to be foaming at the mouth over the sight of me in this dress.
I looked like an absolute snack.
“Are you ready?” I yelled out to my best friends in a singsong voice.
“Duh. I’m freaking dying out here, Teg.” Declan groaned the last part for emphasis.
I took a deep breath and smiled before turning the knob. When I stepped out into the bedroom, I grabbed the hem and did a little twirl for them, the dress billowing around me.
Dec clapped his hands together. “Absolutely stunning.”
“You look amazing,” Selene said before wrapping me in a tight hug.
I knew Atlas was going to think so, too.