Page 2 of Dragon Exposed

Nina started working on my hair, turning the long, straight blonde tresses into an intricate, although somehow still loose and casual do that framed my face and kept the hair up and away from the back of my neck. It was almost as if Nina understood all too well how hard it was going to be for me to not end up a sweaty mess by the end of the night and wanted to help out as much as she could.

I loved the fashion designer, with her bold, brash attitude and fearlessness when it came to just about everything. But I also knew I’d never be noticed next to the model-thin, gorgeous goddess of a woman, especially in the club.

It’d help to seek out the vampire, but it could also mean accidentally putting my friend on a figurative silver platter for the monster to taste.

Nina didn’t know about my obsession with vampires, and I’d learned the hard way that friends didn’t often stick around once they found out about everything, I believed in. I liked having her as a friend way too much to share that particular side of me.

No way would she understand that the only reason I wanted to go out tonight was to stake a vampire.

“Okay, you’ve still got those Spanx, right? The ones that make your waist look tiny?”

Tiny was relative.

“Yeah. But I don’t know how well I’m going to be able to dance if I can’t breathe.” I pulled the shapewear out and threw it on the bed.

“Breathing in a dress like the one I brought you is overrated. It’s going to make your ass and your boobs look killer.” Nina grinned and pulled out our wardrobes for the night.

Neither dress looked like it would even come close to fitting over my curves, even in the shapewear. Nor did it look like it would leave anywhere to stash a wooden stake.

God, I so did not want to lure a vampire back to the apartment before killing him.

“Nina…”

“No. You said I should bring something for you to wear. Go put it on.” Nina shoved me toward the bathroom with the scraps of fabric.

I sighed as I started to get undressed, glad for the semi-privacy of the bathroom to sulk while I squeezed into the undergarments. I really hated trying to hide the fact that I wasn’t built like Nina, and never would be. Most of the time, I was more than happy to rock a size twenty-four, and it didn’t bother me that I’d never be stick-thin.

But when Nina insisted on dresses that were so small, they hardly covered my ass, it was hard to feel confident.

At least the deep mauve color would look awesome with a leather jacket and thigh high boots, so I’d be mostly covered, even if the plunging v of the neckline made sure to show off an ample amount of cleavage.

That fucking vampire better show up, if I’m going out looking like this.

Nina grinned as I stepped out of the bathroom, letting out a wolf-whistle that would’ve made me blush if it had come from anyone else.

“Damn, girl, you look killer in my clothes. You really should let me dress you more often.” Nina gestured for me to twirl, stepping close to tug on the dress here and there, to make sure it was perfect.

“Are you sure about this? I mean, if I bend over or breathe too hard, everything’s going to pop out.”

“So, when you find some hottie you want to take home and sit on his face, make sure to bend over.” Nina winked and then turned back to the mirror. “Can I trust you to do your own makeup, or am I going to have to work on that too?”

I sighed. “I think I can handle it.” I picked up a much smaller makeup bag than the one Nina was working with and started to apply bold eye makeup. Hopefully between the tight dress and the bold makeup, the vampire who had fed on me wouldn’t even see the same woman from years before. Not that I expected the murdering bastard to remember me.

I tried not to compare myself to Nina, but it was so damn hard when she slipped into a tiny white dress that practically glowed against her cool umber skin.

“Okay, clearly I’m going to stand out for all the wrong reasons tonight.” I sighed and sat down on the bed, pulling my boots on and zipping them up. “No one’s even going to look at me next to you.”

“Uh, not true. You look hot, and any time you start to doubt that I will remind you. That dress is almost enough to make me wish I was into girls.” Nina grinned as she slipped her own heels onto her feet. “And if you need a guy to rip you out of it tonight, I will not be offended if you let that beautiful piece of art get trashed for the sake of your libido.”

“Uh, no. Even if I do manage to catch some guy’s eye, there’s no way I’m letting anyone see me in Spanx.” I covertly slipped a slender wooden stake into my boot. Another, thicker one went into my purse, and then I smoothed my hands over the front of my dress and took one last look in the full-length mirror.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad look, and the black leather of my boots and the studs on my purse gave the mauve color an edginess, something to keep me from looking entirely like a chubby, sweet, girl-next-door.

I wasn’t always this self-conscious or even body-conscious, but tonight was throwing me out of my comfort zone in so many areas that my small insecurities felt monstrous tonight.

“Let’s go show the men of New York that you can shake what your momma gave you.” Nina linked arms with me, and together we headed out onto the street.

Epsilon was already crowded when we got there, with a line around the block and dozens, if not over a hundred women waiting to get through the door.

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