There’s a longer pause before her next message arrives. When it does, I can practically hear the lowered,
sultry strain
in her simple words. And I regret just a little not taking her up on the call to
listen
for real instead of only imagining it.
K: [I’m glad. If I’ve helped.]
A slightly shuddering exhale leaves me rubbing my temple. I can’t just let her think she was
the solution to my problem
. Whether it has been somewhat
true
or not, that gives her... too much leverage.
C: [You should go back to work.]
K: [I’d rather not. I’m stuck looking at a set of plans for three weeks out. Getting to chat with you has been the unexpected highlight of a drab day.]
My face feels warm but my lips turn down quickly.
Three weeks
... is when I’m supposed to go back to the clinic. Because of a pregnancy this body -
this Helene
- got itself into before I arrived.
> She doesn’t know about that. Would she be turning on so much charm if she did? I want to play with her, not you... you’re suffocating. Didn’t make her less ignorant about so much of your world. But I do respect her a bit for not completely buckling in private. Only a bit. How terrible it must be for a vixen to have to help manage wealth, right Vrika? As if they were not given nearly everything they wanted. Cages far wider than mine, but no one is ever satisfied to keep them clean. <
They just want to
get out of them
.