“Well, this is a bit awkward, huh?” He finally said.
She blinked at him before forcing the words past her dry throat. “A bit awkward? Oh my God, I – I have to go.”
She tried to dart by him and he placed his hand on her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Wait, don’t go.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as he waited patiently.
“This was a mistake,” she said.
“Just – let’s have a coffee and talk, okay?”
It was the last thing she wanted, but she nodded in defeat and waited as he ordered his coffee. She picked hers up, dismayed at the way her hands were shaking. She found a table near the back as he grabbed his coffee and joined her.
“Hi,” he said as he sat down across from her.
The table was small - too small - and she sat back when his knees bumped against hers.
“Um, hi.”
“So, you’re friends with Kat?”
She nodded as he sipped at the coffee. “I’ve only met her once, but she seemed really nice.”
“Yeah.” She stared at the table.
“Bria?”
“I’m sorry I ran out on you the other morning. That was really, uh, ungrateful of me, but I was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.” She was babbling but couldn’t stop. “When I woke up, my heat cycle was done and I was ashamed at what I had done to you, but I shouldn’t have just taken off like that. It was really rude of me. I just – I wanted to say thank you. You really helped me out.”
“You’re welcome.”
She waited for more and when he just took another sip of coffee, she frowned at him. “That’s it?”
“What else did you want me to say?”
“I don’t know, that you’re not upset with me for leaving like that.”
“Why would I be?”
Her face went red and she glared at him. “Listen, maybe you’re used to just having random, casual sex with strangers but I’m not, okay? What happened between us was really out of character for me and I don’t want you thinking I’m some kind of – of whore.”
“I don’t.” He gave her a look of confusion. “You were in heat and couldn’t help yourself.”
“I’m not weak!” She snarled, even though she was terribly afraid that she was.
“I didn’t think you were.”
Her sudden anger vanished, and she rubbed at her temples. “What a mess.”
“It isn’t. In fact, I think this makes things a lot smoother for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you know exactly what I can do for you during your next heat cycle. I can still provide you with references, of course, but now you have first-hand knowledge. That will make your decision easier, right?”
“God,” she muttered. “I guess now I know why you were so – so good at it. You do this for a living.”
He laughed. “I don’t do this for a living, Bria. There’s no money exchanged and as much as I enjoy sex – I can’t exactly live off of it.”
“Why did you help me?” She asked. “Why did you warn me about that snake shifter and why did you…”
A small grin crossed his face. A weird tingle of heat went through her belly and her cat perked up.
“Why did I help ease your need?” He suggested.
“Yeah,” she mumbled.
“I told you – I’ve seen that slimy snake do this before and I’d finally had enough.”
She pulled compulsively on a strand of hair as he said, “As far as the easing your need goes – I knew it was the only way to keep you from taking the snake home.”
She released her breath in a shaky sigh. “Right.”
Why was she feeling such disappointment? Did she really expect him to confess that he had found her so beautiful, so intoxicating, that he just couldn’t resist? She was losing it.
“So, let’s talk about how this works. My schedule is flexible, and I can be available for you whenever you require. Is your heat cycle regular?”
“Like clockwork.”
“Good. If you choose me, you can be assured that you’re the only one I’ll be helping. There won’t be other cat shifters.”
“Guess that would be pretty tiring for you, huh?” She said.
He smiled a little. “You were a bit more demanding and aggressive than most.”
She blushed furiously and he shook his head. “That’s not a bad thing, Bria. I’m assuming you’ve had a few heat cycles without sex which makes it much worse.”
“This was my second one,” she confessed without thinking.
A look of surprise crossed his face and her blush deepened. “Oh God, I’m a freak.”
“You’re not,” he said. “Besides, I didn’t mind.”
She licked her lips and didn’t fail to notice the way his gaze dropped to her mouth. “How is your back, by the way?”
“Completely healed.”
“Good.”
He leaned forward. He was wearing a dark suit that clung to his broad shoulders and she stared fixedly at his red tie as he said, “If you choose me, I like to have an email or text reminder a week before your cycle starts. That way I can clear my schedule for you. Of course, if it happens to come early, you can always text me and I’ll work something out.”
“It won’t,” she said. “It never does.”
“The preference for most cat shifters I’ve helped in the past is that I stay with them - either at my place or theirs, it’s completely your choice – through their entire heat cycle. The need is usually less intense if you know you can have me whenever you want me.”
Dull heat coloured her cheeks. He was so matter-of-fact about it, so clinical, and she supposed she should have been happy about that. Unfortunately, at this moment she couldn’t get the memory out of her head of his mouth buried in her pussy.
“Of course,” he continued, “I’m also happy to be available on an on-call basis during your heat cycle. Also, I have good stamina and I’m more than willing to delay my own gratification until you’re completely satisfied.”
She didn’t reply, and he cleared his throat. “Don’t judge me completely on what happened earlier, Bria. I’d had a long day at work and wasn’t expecting to be helping a cat shifter through her heat cycle that night. I know my performance was subpar, but I can assure you that I’ll be at the top of my game when you need me.”
She blinked at him. If his performance three nights ago was subpar, she wasn’t entirely sure she could handle him when he was at the top of his game.
“You were fine,” she whispered.
He winced. “Fine? I really need to work on my performance, apparently.”
“No,” she stuttered as her cheeks flamed again. “You were good. Uh, really good. I mean that.”
“Thanks.” He pulled a piece of paper out from the inner pocket of his suit and handed it to her. Confused, she opened it and stared blankly at it for a moment before her eyes widened. Right. In his email, Jace had asked her to bring a copy of her latest medical tests as well as proof that she was on birth control for him to look at. She fumbled the papers out of her purse and pushed them across the table. Jace looked them over as she studied his face.
He handed the papers back to her and smiled. “Thank you. As you can see from my tests, I’m clean, but I will wear a condom if that’s your preference.”
“Uh, I’m okay with not wearing condoms,” she said.
“All right. Do you have any other questions?”
“What about in between my heat cycles?”
“What about it?” He gave her a confused look.
“Would you – I mean, are you available then as well?”
Surprise crossed his face. “I don’t usually have cat shifters asking for me when they’re not in heat.”
This time she was positive her cheeks were on fire. She had no idea why she had said that, it had just come tumbling out of her. She realized with sudden clarity that she couldn’t do this. She was the relationship ty
pe, not the ‘fuck them once a month’ type and she was stupid to think she could even try.
He ran his fingers over a small shaving cut on his jaw. “I don’t do conventional relationships, Bria. This is why this arrangement works so well for me.”
She stood, and he immediately stood as well. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this with you. I’m sorry for wasting your time.” She pushed past the table and fled.
* * *
The tiny tiger shifter was quick. She was across the coffee shop and out the door before he could even think of going after her.
“Dammit, Jace, you fucking idiot,” he muttered. He sat down, pushed his half-finished coffee aside and stared blankly at the wall. It had rattled him badly when the woman in the red shirt with the amazing ass had turned around. He hadn’t expected to see the little tiger shifter from the club ever again. His tiger had immediately roared its approval and he had damn near rubbed up against her before he could get control of it again.
He had been ridiculously disappointed when he’d awoken and discovered she was gone, leaving nothing but healing scratches on his back and destroyed sheets. The woman was dynamite in bed and so responsive to his touch. Her aggression and frantic need had only increased his lust.
Christ, when she had bumped into him at the club and he had smelled her lust and felt her hips pressing against his groin, he had hardened immediately. He’d known instinctively that she was in her heat cycle, but she had skittered away before he could offer to help.
He had watched, growing angry when the snake shifter had arrowed in on her. It was pure instinct that had made him go after her in the bathroom to warn her. Her need had a strong hold on her by then and he had, again, acted on instinct, when he pushed her into the stall. Her scent, the way her blue eyes flashed fire at him – hell, even the way she had hissed at him - had his dick straining at his jeans.
He wasn’t lying when he told her he was tired, and he muttered another curse. Maybe she would have chosen him if he was a little more attentive and a little faster to ease her need. But he had shown four houses that day and there was a mistake with some paperwork that had nearly cost him a sale.
His assistant Rosalie was running on empty trying to cover both her job and reception. He didn’t blame her for the mistake, but he had spent a few tense hours calling the bank to fix the error and apologizing to the clients. He wouldn’t have even gone to the nightclub that night if he hadn’t promised Lincoln he would. Then the damn lion shifter had bailed on him at the first sight of the bunny shifter twitching her nose at him.
He reached for his coffee. It didn’t matter now, he had blown it with Bria. He didn’t know why it bothered him so much. He had three more emails from cat shifters wanting to meet with him. One of them would be a good fit.
I want Bria, his tiger growled sulkily. Give her to me.
Way too late. She specifically said she couldn’t do this with him which meant she was probably already choosing from the next on her list of applicants. He cursed again – why the fuck didn’t he make a better effort that night?
Chapter Four
Bria opened the door and hurried into the foyer of Kat’s office. Kat, along with a wolf shifter named Malcolm Burke and a grizzly shifter named Bishop King, owned a security firm that provided personal protection for paranormals. Over the last year, they had branched out into providing corporate security for paranormals as well as personal security for humans.
Their receptionist and Malcolm’s mate, was a human named Willow. She was on the phone and she waved at Bria as the door opened again. Bria turned and smiled at the curvy redhead who walked into the office. “Hi, Ava. How are you?”
Ava set the car seat she was carrying on the floor. “I’m good. Just brought Lila in to see her dad during lunch.”
Bria crouched next to the car seat before pulling back the blanket. Lila stared at her and Bria brushed her hand over the baby’s bright red hair. “Look at her chubby cheeks. I can’t believe how big she’s getting.”
Ava laughed. “She loves to eat. She might be human, but you can totally tell she’s Bishop’s kid.”
“How old is she now?”
“Almost seven weeks.”
Bria touched Lila’s cheek with the tip of her finger. “Hi, Lila. Hi, sweet baby.”
“Do you want to hold her?” Ava asked.
“Can I?”
“Of course.” Ava bent and unbuckled the belt before lifting Lila out of the seat. She handed her over and Bria kissed the baby’s cheek.
“You look just like your mama.”
“She totally does,” Willow said. She had finished her phone call and she hurried around the desk and kissed the top of Lila’s head. “Hi, Bria.”
“Hi, Willow. How are you?”
“Good. You here to see Kat?”
“Yeah, if she’s here.”
“She is,” Willow said as she picked up Lila’s hand and kissed it. “How’s my sweet Lila girl?”
The door to Bishop’s office opened and the giant grizzly shifter came hurrying out. He was sniffing the air and a huge grin broke out on his face when he saw Ava. He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her before smiling down at her. “Hi, gorgeous.”
“Hi, honey. Sorry to drop by without texting, but I wondered if you wanted to have lunch with Lila and me?”
“Yes.” Bishop kissed Ava’s forehead before holding out his hands for Lila.
Bria handed him the baby. She looked incredibly tiny in his massive hands and Bria couldn’t help but feel a tinge of worry. Grizzly shifters weren’t exactly known for their delicate touch.
She shouldn’t have worried.
Displaying a gentleness she hadn’t known existed in him, Bishop tucked Lila against his broad chest. The baby stared up at him and when he made a low rumbling sound of happiness, her face broke out in a toothless grin. She kicked her feet, her grin widening as Bishop gave her his finger to hold. She gripped it tightly, her gaze never leaving his face as he cooed to her.
“How’s my baby girl? Has she been a good girl for her mama today? Daddy is so happy to see you. Your daddy loves you, yes he does.”
Willow started to giggle. “Bishop, you are ridiculously adorable. Did you know that?”
Bishop turned red but continued to coo to his daughter. Lila tried to put his finger in her mouth and made an angry cry when he wouldn’t let her.
“Uh oh. I think she’s hungry again. Do you mind if I feed her before we go for lunch?” Ava said.
“Why don’t you feed her in my office while I run to the café and grab us something to eat. We can eat in my office or in the boardroom,” Bishop said before handing Lila back to Ava.
He left the office and Ava jiggled Lila and smiled at Bria. “How are you, Bria? I haven’t seen you since Lila’s baby shower. Did you find a job?”
“I’m good. Actually, I have a job interview tomorrow and another one the day after that.”
“Awesome,” Ava said as Lila’s face scrunched and she made a loud, wailing cry. “Okay, sorry to cut this short but this kid’s hunger cry can break glass. I need to feed her.”
Bria laughed. “Fair enough. Good to see you again, Ava.”
“You too,” Ava called as she picked up Lila’s car seat and hurried toward Bishop’s office.
Kat’s office door opened and Ava waved at her. “Hi, Kat, sorry about the noise.”
Kat laughed. “It’s fine. Come see me before you leave so I can get my Lila fix.”
As Ava disappeared into Bishop’s office and shut the door, Kat smiled at Bria. “Hey, sweetie, what’s up?”
“Do you have plans for lunch?” Bria asked.
“Nope. Was just going to go downstairs to the café.”
“Want some company?”
“I would love that,” Kat said.
The café on the first floor of the building was crowded and noisy. After grabbing their food, they snagged a small table by the window. Bishop was just leaving the c
afé with a bag of food and they waved at him before Kat opened her bottle of water and took a drink.
“What’s wrong, Bria?”
Bria glanced around the café before leaning forward. “I met with the tiger shifter this morning.”
“Great. How did it go?”
“Kat, it was him.”
Kat crumbled some crackers into her soup before stirring it. “It was who?”
“The tiger shifter! From the club! Jace was the tiger shifter from the club!” Bria said.
Kat’s spoon clattered to the table. “You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not,” Bria said. “Oh God, Kat, I was so humiliated.”
“Seriously? Jace was the tiger shifter you fucked in the bathroom at the club?”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Sorry.” Kat picked up her spoon and wiped it with her napkin before dipping it into her soup. “I’m just really surprised.”
“How do you think I felt? I almost ran out of the Starbucks.”
“You didn’t, did you?”
“No, Jace convinced me to sit and talk to him.”
“Good. How did it go?”
Bria stared at her untouched sandwich. “Embarrassing. I apologized for just attacking him in the bathroom and then running away in the morning, but he said it was fine. It didn’t even seem to bother him.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, right?” Kat said.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“So, did you make arrangements for your next heat cycle?” Kat took a bite of soup before wrinkling her nose and adding some salt to it.
“No. I mean, he told me how it worked, and we looked at each other’s medical records, but I told him I couldn’t do it.”
“What?” Kat stopped sprinkling salt into her soup. “Why would you do that? You already know how good he is in bed, this was the perfect solution.”
“I can’t do it,” Bria whispered. “I – I just can’t. I’m not the type of person to sleep with someone when it doesn’t mean anything. I want a boyfriend, not a fuck buddy. I totally humiliated myself by asking Jace if he was available in between heat cycles. I don’t even know why I said it. It just popped out, you know?”
Bria and the Tiger (The Shifters Series Book 5) Page 4
