Page 199 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Mortified, I covered my face with my hands and peeked down at myself through my fingers. Why had I answered the door wearing only a robe? I’d seen him through my peep hole, had known it was Miles, and still, I opened the door wearing basically nothing. The robe was one of the few things I owned that I would have considered sexy. I usually only wore it while I was lounging around the house, a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other. No one else had ever seen me wear it. I chewed at my lip and wondered if, subconsciously, I’d wanted Miles to see me like this. Had I? His eyes had most definitely slid across my body.

I needed help. Grabbing my phone, I called Felicity. She’d agreed to come over the next night to give me some pointers, but now that Miles had invited me over at the last minute, I was in dire need of help.

Felicity answered via video call. “Hey, lady. What’s up?”

I switched on my own phone camera and saw Felicity lying on her couch. “I need that lesson sooner than expected.”

Felicity sat up, looking eager. “Oh? What happened?”

“Miles invited me to dinner tonight. I’m supposed to go over in less than two hours. Help. Please?” I didn’t like the desperate quality I had in my voice, but I couldn’t help it.

“We can do this. Big, deep breath, girl. First things first, is that what you’re wearing to dinner? Because if so, you don’t need any help from me. He’ll jump your bones in about five seconds.”

Heat crept into my cheeks. “No. I’m not wearing this. It’s my bathrobe. He just came to the door to tell me what time to go over. He…well…he got an eyeful, to say the least.”

“Nice. Good job.”

“Good job? What?”

“You gave him a little taste of what you have to offer. Like fishing. You have to hook them first before you can reel them in.”

“Oh.” The way she described it didn’t make it sound like the utter disaster I’d thought it was.

“Back to the lessons,” Felicity went on. “You need to give him subtle signs. Nothing overt, but little things that get his engine revving.”

I already felt overwhelmed. “Like what?”

Felicity made her face go serious and sexy. She licked her lips and blinked several times, giving me a look that made me catch my breath. If I didn’t know any different, I’d have thought she wanted to jump in bed with me. Once she was done, her face went back to normal. “See? Stuff like that. The lip licking, the fluttering eyelashes. Oh! Play with your hair when he’s looking at you. And touch him softly and subtly. Brush his forearm, put a hand on his chest, and slide your boobs across his back if you need to get by. You’ll have his dick hard in no time. Guaranteed.”

My breathing started to pick up. I almost allowed myself to fall into a fantasy of him unzipping and sliding his pants down, but I blinked it away and focused on Felicity.

“I don’t think I can do any of that, Felicity. I don’t have the balls to try stuff like that.”

“Girl, how much experience do you have with guys?”

I sighed. “Not much. None really.”

“None? Like at all? Wait…are you a virgin?” Felicity asked, looking shocked.

I swallowed hard and nodded reluctantly. “Umm…does a dildo count?”

“Holy shit, no, it doesn’t. That’s—” She thought for a moment before continuing. “Okay. No big deal. Everyone has to start somewhere. Okay, baby steps. Keep those other tricks in your bag, but maybe start slow. Shy smiles, little compliments, eye contact, and lots of ego stroking. Make him feel important and fun. Once you get comfortable with those, you can move on to the bigger stuff.”

“What if I do all that and he doesn’t flirt back?” The fear of that was almost enough to send me into a panic.

Felicity smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry. He’ll jump at the chance.”

“Right, but how do you know?”

“I’ve been around the block more than you have, Celina. Trust me. If you want that dude to bang your brains out, this’ll work.”

My face radiated heat. I nodded. “All right. I need to finish getting ready and make some brownies for dessert.”

“Good call. The quickest way into a guy’s pants is through his stomach.”

“I thought it was the quickest way to his heart?”

“Maybe, but I like my saying better.”

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