Page 29 of Stella

Hormones were fun. So much fun. “Fine.” I couldn’t keep the petulant tone out of my voice, no matter how hard I tried.

It wasn’t like I actually wanted to go on a date, not when I didn’t know whether I was going to laugh or cry at any given moment. Evan was right.

“Stella.” Evan laughed. “Honey, I wouldn’t be folding laundry if I wasn’t interested.”

Heat flared inside me at the idea of how ‘interested’ he might be. He looked at me for a second, warmth in his gaze, and I sucked in a breath.

“We both like how each other smells, andthatisn’t because you’re in heat. It will make it more intense but, just because your hormones are a three-ring circus, doesn’t mean you’re attracted to someone you usually wouldn’t be.”

At his words, tensions that I hadn’t known I was carrying suddenly eased. He was right. I absolutely was scared that my lust would make me do something I would regret.

But being in heat didn’t mean I’d lost all sense, at least, not during this early part of it. Everything inside me was dialed up to a ten, but I wouldn’t suddenly develop a deep and abiding desire for someone who I normally wouldn’t want to jump.

“You’re right.”

“Yup.” He finished with the jeans. “Let’s go get you organized.”

I followed him outside. He opened the door to his Jeep for me, and I slid inside. He had the bikini top partially down, and we drove in silence for the first part of the drive.

It was relaxing. I sort of wished we were going somewhere further than the drugstore down the road.

“Can I make a stop first?” He glanced at me with a mischievous grin.

“Sure.”

We pulled off the main highway and took some backroads. The air in my face felt good, and more of the tension inside me released. I wasn’t happy with going into heat early, but Evan and Jerrick made it feel like it was going to be fine.

I glanced at his legs, his thick calf muscles visible. He could make it more than okay.

I shook my head as we pulled into a gravel parking lot. It was a small bungalow, with faded white paint and ivy covering the sides.

“What’s this?”

Evan grinned. “You need some more candles.”

Perking up, I jumped out of the Jeep and we walked inside.

It was an essential oil and candle shop. Luna made candles too, but it was nice to get out and look at different people’s work.

A grey-haired lady stood behind the counter. When she saw Evan, her face lit up. “Evan! It’s been too long.”

“I know.” He hugged her. I tried not to feel jealous. Evan didn’t want this woman sexually, but he hadn’t hugged me either.

“Stella, this is Fiona.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Fiona smiled. “You must be Luna’s sister? Not too many people named Luna and Stella inside the same family.”

“I am.” I nodded. “She’s working on a new essential oil blend for muscle cramps.”

“Give her my regards. Tell her to stop by when she gets it figured out.”

“Sure,” I said. Maybe I was spending too much time at the agency. It felt safer somehow, but I wasn’t out in the community like Raina or even Luna.

“I would love that.” She winked at me and Evan. “You’ll need some of this.”

She handed me some thick pillar candles with rosebuds and apple blossoms infused inside the wax. It was for balancing sexual energy.

---