“Shut up, Lincoln.” Jace buttoned his shirt.
“Are those bite marks?” Lincoln grinned at him. “Nice! What little hellcat did you pick up at the bar this weekend? And is it serious? Because if it isn’t, give me her number. I’d love to get into the pants of the woman who -”
Jace growled at him, his eyes glowing bright green. Lincoln held up his hands. “Easy, buddy. What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing. Just be quiet.”
Lincoln’s eyes widened, and he studied the open door before turning back to Jace. “Motherfuck. Bria did that, didn’t she?”
“No.”
“Bullshit. After you kicked me out of the office on Friday, you helped her with her heat.”
“Keep your voice down.” Jace shut his office door.
“Don’t try and deny it, my friend,” Lincoln said. “You don’t normally stand half-naked in your office with the admin staff.”
Jace scrubbed his hand across his face as Lincoln said, “Hell, I had no idea Bria had that in her. She’s so tiny and sweet. Maybe for her next heat, I can convince her to give me a chance. I’d love to feel those claws of hers sinking into my -”
He grunted with pain when Jace slammed him against the wall. “Keep away from Bria. Do you hear me? If you go anywhere near her, I’ll tear you apart.”
“Holy shit.” Lincoln’s voice was soft. “You’re falling for Bria.”
“No, I’m not.” Jace let him go and returned to his desk. He sat down and scowled at Lincoln when the lion shifter sat in the other chair. “I’m busy, Lincoln.”
“Are you and Bria dating?”
“No, I just helped her with her heat. I don’t want to be in a relationship anymore. You know that.”
Lincoln leaned forward. “I know you keep saying that, but I haven’t quite figured out if it’s because you don’t want to be in one, or because your parents don’t want you to be in one.”
Jace growled at him but Lincoln continued anyway. “You can’t live your life for your folks. I know what happened with Jonah was awful, but who’s to say it wouldn’t have happened even if Davra hadn’t left him. Jonah needed therapy and medication and -”
“Are you forgetting what happened when Tabitha and I broke up? Depression runs in our family. My aunt killed herself when she was only thirty-eight, and then Jonah, and then I…”
“You were nowhere near that point,” Lincoln said. “Don’t let your parents convince you that you were. You were hurting, you got help, end of story. You’re letting your parents’ fear dictate your life, buddy.”
“You weren’t in my head,” Jace said. “How I felt, the things I thought about when Tabitha and I ended it, it was awful and -”
“And it doesn’t mean you were going to off yourself like your brother did.”
Jace winced. Apparently, Lincoln couldn’t contain his usual bluntness any longer.
“Look,” Lincoln tugged at the crease in his pants, “your mom and your dad are terrified that you’re going to get in a relationship, break up and then kill yourself just like your brother did. I understand why they’re afraid, but that fear is smothering you and stopping you from living your life.”
“It isn’t.”
“It is.” Lincoln continued relentlessly. “Maybe you didn’t help alleviate their fears when you went a little squirrely after that bitch Tabitha broke your heart. But what you and your parents are both conveniently forgetting is that you didn’t spiral down until you thought suicide was the only option. You recognized what was happening and got some help.”
“My parents met Bria.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“I’m not.” Jace grabbed his tie from the desk and traced his finger along the pattern. “They dropped by my house on Sunday afternoon. Bria’s heat was finished, but she was in the kitchen making us something to eat. They walked right in and saw her.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. My mom was a little horrified by the way my chest and back looked, Bria was incredibly embarrassed and left immediately. Mom and Dad stayed, and we ate brunch.”
“What did they think of her?”
“They didn’t think anything of her. They just confirmed right away that it wasn’t serious, and I wasn’t dating her and that was it.” He wondered if Lincoln could hear the bitterness in his voice. “Anyway, I’m more than willing to help Bria with each of her heats, but she wants a relationship too. I told her I don’t do relationships and she said she didn’t want to just sleep with me because of her heat. I wouldn’t have helped her with this heat if it hadn’t come early. She only fucked me because she was desperate.”
“You sure about that?” Lincoln leaned back in his chair and tucked his hands behind his head. “She turned me down flat and she was in agony from her heat. I could see it and smell it. Besides, the way you reacted when I talked about fucking Bria -”
The growl was tearing out of his throat immediately and Lincoln laughed. “Yeah, thanks for making my point. You want a relationship with Bria, she wants a relationship with you – go for it, you idiot.”
“You didn’t see the look on my parents’ faces when they thought I might be dating her.”
Lincoln sighed and stood up. “You’re not your brother, Jace. Don’t let them convince you that you are.”
He left the office. Jace turned in his chair and stared out the window. Fuck, what was he doing? Why the hell did he invite Bria to Ash’s engagement party? He had lost his fucking mind.
No, you just want to spend time with Bria. You like her.
His tiger growled its agreement. Give me my mate.
He sighed and turned back to his computer. He invited Bria because he wanted to use her to keep Marilyn off his goddamn back. If his father hadn’t mentioned it, he would never have even thought of it.
Chapter Ten
“Kat, this would be so much easier if you were here.” Bria stared at Kat’s face on the screen of her cell phone.
“I know but I’m stuck at work and if you want my opinion on a dress, this is our best option. Show me the yellow one.”
Bria turned the phone and showed her the yellow dress. “It’s pretty but am I looking for pretty or am I looking for knock-your-socks-off hot?”
“Okay, let me see the blue one again.” Kat’s voice was tinny and low.
Bria pulled the blue one from the rack and held it next to the yellow one. “Which one do you think?”
“Definitely the blue one.”
Jace’s low voice speaking into her ear almost made her shriek in surprise. She whipped around, still holding her phone out in front of her and stared up at the gorgeous tiger shifter. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a mall where people shop. I shop.”
Kat’s laugh drifted out from the phone and Jace grinned at the screen. “Hello, Kat. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Jace.”
Bria turned the phone so the screen was facing her. “Uh, Kat was helping me pick out a dress for this weekend. Right, Kat?”
“That’s right. But I gotta go. Bye.”
“Kat! No, wait…”
The jaguar shifter’s face disappeared from the screen and Bria gave Jace a weak smile. “Uh, she had to go.”
“I heard. So, which dress are you going with?”
“I’m not sure. I wanted a second opinion when I’m actually wearing them. I guess I’ll just wait until tomorrow night and see if Kat can go to the mall.”
“No need,” Jace said. “I can give you the second opinion. Go and try them on.”
“Oh no, that’s okay. You’re probably busy and…”
Jace scooped up both dresses and carried them to the dressing room at the back of the store. She followed him and watched as he gave the dresses to the attendant.
“Come with me.” The attendant was a wolf shifter and she was giving Jace a clear look of appreciation.
Her tiger snarled in jealousy. Bria soothed it as she f
ollowed the attendant to one of the rooms. The attendant hurried away, no doubt to flirt with Jace, and Bria grimaced at herself in the mirror. She stripped off her shirt and skirt and tugged the yellow dress over her head. It was pretty, and the colour looked good on her, but she wasn’t fond of the way it flared around her hips.
She opened the door and stepped out. To her surprise, Jace was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area and there was no attendant in sight.
He looked her up and down. “This one is cute.”
She made a face. “Yeah, it’s a no then.”
“What’s wrong with cute?”
“Nothing’s wrong with cute if you’re a little kid.”
He laughed, and she grinned at him. “I’m gonna try on the blue one.”
She returned to the dressing room and took off the yellow dress. She studied the blue one for a moment before shrugging out of her bra. She had a strapless one at home that she could wear with the dress, but she was perky enough to go without, just to see what the dress looked like.
The dress really was gorgeous, she mused. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and a ruched bodice. The skirt flowed down her hips to just above her knees. She pulled the zipper up as far as she could before opening the door and poking her head out.
“Is the attendant around?”
“Nope. What do you need?”
“Uh, my zipper done up.”
He stood and she hesitated before walking to him. She turned and he zipped up the dress before stroking a finger across her bare upper back. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her tiger purred before she could stop it. Jace’s rumbing purr in return made her flush with pleasure.
Before she could do something really stupid like push him into the dressing room and have sex with him, she stepped away and turned to face him. “What do you think?”
He didn’t reply, and disappointment flickered through her. “That bad?”
“That good.” His voice was a low growl that made her pussy dampen and then clench uselessly around nothing. “You look incredibly sexy, little tiger.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His gaze lingered on her breasts and she could feel her nipples tightening against the material of the dress. He traced the ruching across the abdomen with his hand and she could barely contain her moan. When he finally lifted his gaze to her face and she saw the lust in it, her tiger made a soft and embarrassingly eager mating trill to Jace’s tiger.
“Oh God, I’m sorry.” She wanted to kill her stupid tiger and her stupid mating call.
Stop it! She snapped inwardly at her tiger. You’re embarrassing me.
Her tiger hissed at her but retreated. She gave Jace another look of apology. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “You have to get this one for the party.”
She smoothed her hand down the skirt. “Yeah? You like this one better than the yellow one?”
He nodded as he studied her mouth. “Much better. There is one problem though.” He stepped closer to her and she licked her lips when he rubbed her collarbone with his thumb.
“Wh-what?”
“If you wear this dress to the party, I’ll have to mark you to keep the other shifters from trying to take you from me.”
She stared up at him. His eyes were turning from hazel to jade and when his tiger called to hers, she purred in reply without even thinking about it. Cat shifters could mark and sometimes did – although they weren’t nearly as over-the-top about marking as wolf shifters were – but they usually only marked their mates. It was a testimony to how drunk Jace was the night he kept marking her at the club.
“Maybe I should mark you right now.”
His voice was low.
Hypnotic.
“Lift your head, little tiger.”
She wanted him to mark her so much.
She wanted to know that she smelled like him.
She wanted any shifter who went near her to smell Jace and know she was his.
She was lifting her head when common sense returned. His mark would last a day or two and the other shifters at the office would smell it.
He was already bending his head and she put a hand on his broad chest. “Jace, wait.”
He growled at her and she shook her head. “No, you can’t mark me. The others at the office…”
“A kiss then,” he said. “Kiss me, little tiger.”
“I shouldn’t,” she whispered as he dipped his head down.
“You should.”
She stared at Jace’s mouth. “Maybe just once.”
He growled his approval. “That’s my good girl.”
“How are we doing here back here? Need any help or – oh!”
Her tiger growled, and her fangs popped out. She clapped her hand over her mouth before she could bare them at the attendant who was suddenly standing behind them.
Jace stepped back and the attendant took a deep breath before flushing. Bria joined her in turning red. No doubt the wolf shifter could smell Jace’s arousal. Hell, she would smell Bria’s too.
The attendant gave her a look that practically screamed silent judgment. “Have you decided on a dress?”
“Uh, yes. I’ll take this one.”
“Perfect.” She stared pointedly at Jace.
“Bria, I’ll wait for you out there. Okay?”
“Sure, okay.”
He left and the attendant gave her a frosty smile. “Need help with the zipper?”
“Yes, thank you.”
* * *
She half-expected Jace to be gone when she came out of the dressing room, but he was standing by the till. They stood in awkward silence as the woman behind the counter folded the dress and placed in a bag.
“That’ll be $125.73,” the woman said.
Before Bria could grab her wallet from her purse, Jace was handing the woman his card.
“Hey, no, you’re not buying the dress.”
The woman paused and Jace made a go on motion to her. “I am, Bria.”
“I have money,” she said defensively.
“I know you do. But the only reason you’re buying this dress is because of me. I’d really like to pay for it. You’re doing me a favour, remember?”
“No, I’m going as a way to say sorry for scratching the crap out of you during my -”
She shut her mouth with a snap and stared at the sales clerk. She was human, and she was studying her with curiosity. Jace was grinning and Bria scowled at him as he turned back to the sales clerk. “Put it on my card, please.”
She rang it through and he took the bag when she handed it to him. He walked out of the store and Bria followed him. When she tried to take the bag, he pulled it away. “I’ll carry it for you.”
Dammit, why did he have to be such a gentleman? She sighed and walked beside him as they wandered through the mall. “Thank you for buying the dress.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Where to next?”
“I’m done.”
“I have to go to the bookstore.” Still holding the bag, he turned left, and she had no choice but to follow him to the bookstore. He went straight to the food section and started browsing through the cookbooks.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?” She asked.
“It’s my mom’s birthday next month. I bought her a spiralizer and now I’m just looking for a cookbook with recipes for a spiralizer.”
“Are you always this organized?”
“Nope. Just ask Rosalie.”
She laughed, and he grinned at her. “Is Rosalie saying bad things about me?”
“No, just the opposite. She really likes working for you.”
“She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. It’ll be a damn shame when she becomes an agent.”
“You know she wants to do that?” Bria gave him a surprised look.
“I suspected and now you’ve confirmed it.” He gave her a wicked grin and she poked him in his flat abdomen.
“You
tricked me. Here I was thinking you were a sweet guy.
“I’m very sweet.” He stepped toward her and she backed up until her ass hit the bookshelf behind her. “In fact, I think you know exactly how sweet I can be.”
She licked her lips, her tiger purring so loudly she could barely hear anything else. “Jace, I…”
His chest was brushing against her breasts and she tried not to moan. He studied her mouth as he reached beside her head and pulled out a book. “Just what I’m looking for.”
He stepped away and she swallowed down her disappointment as he leafed through the book. “It’s perfect. Ready to go?”
“Yes.”
They walked toward the tills and Bria said, “How are your back and chest, by the way?”
“Almost completely healed.”
“Really?” She gave him a skeptical look. It had only been two days since she’d given him the salve. She suspected he was lying to her.
“Yes. I keep telling you that you don’t need to feel bad about scratching me. It’s really not that big of a…Rosalie, hey. Uh, what are you doing here?”
They were walking through the self-help section and they had nearly run straight into the curvy brunette. Rosalie stared wide-eyed at them before clamping the books she was holding to her ample chest. She covered them with her arms and gave them a nervous smile.
“Uh, hey, guys. Uh, just looking at some books. What are you doing here?”
“I ran into Bria while she was shopping for a dress. I’m buying a cookbook for my mom’s birthday,” Jace said. “What books are you buying?”
“Um…” Rosalie stared at Bria. The human had a holy-shit-help-me look on her face and Bria tugged on Jace’s arm.
“Hey, do you mind if we get going? I have a thing tonight.”
“Sure,” Jace said. “See you later, Rosie.”
“Bye, Jace.”
Jace stepped past her and Rosalie mouthed ‘thank you’ to Bria. Bria smiled at her and squeezed her arm before following Jace to the till. He paid for the book and they walked toward the outside entrance of the bookstore.
“Where are you parked?” Jace asked.
“Not far from here.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
They walked in silence to her car and she smiled at him when he put the bag in the backseat for her. “Thanks, Jace.”
Bria and the Tiger (The Shifters Series Book 5) Page 15
