Page 86 of Pack Rivals, Part One

"Of course."

"Then we need to buy you a dress," I say, marching towards her and pulling her to her feet. "Come on." I pull her along behind me, taking her into the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"Dress shopping."

"You can't buy me a dress!"

"Yes, I can."

"I can borrow a dress. From my cousin."

"Nope. Buying you a new one."

I hit the button on the elevator and smile at her as we descend to the ground.

"Haven't you got work to do?" she asks me. My little bird's all flustered, her feathers all ruffled. I fucking love it. Going to love it even more when I've dressed her up.

"Nope. I'm done for the day."

Her eyes dart upwards towards the ceiling. "I'm not sure Mrs. Finch is going to be happy about me disappearing."

"She won't mind." She looks at me skeptically. "What's your favorite color?"

"My favorite color?"

"Yeah."

"Erm, blue, I guess. Why?"

"Wanted to know what color dress we're looking for."

"Maybe I ought to go back up to my desk."

I shake my head. "Aren't you going to ask me mine?"

"Your what?"

"Favorite color."

"What is it?"

"Black."

She laughs. "Black's not a color."

"Yeah," I shrug. "It's still my favorite. But I'm beginning to really like amber too."

I stare straight into her eyes and the little thing blushes.

I like that too. Wonder if she blushes like that when she comes. Wonder if she's bare down there or whether she has cute little curls. Wonder if she's the same shade of caramel or darker.

"Stop it," she says.

"What? What did I do?"

"Looking at me like you want to … I don't know … eat me or something."

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