Maggie paused in handing the next bowl to her. “Tori the bunny shifter from the bar, Tori?”
“Yes.”
“And who’s Lincoln?”
“Oh, he’s the lion shifter that I, uh, like. He invited me to the movies and we ran into Tori and Hudson. After the movie was over, Lincoln went to the club with Tori.”
Maggie gave her a you’re-kidding-me look and Rosalie nodded. “I know. Total dick move on Lincoln’s part. But, in his defense, he never said we were on a date or anything. Just asked if I wanted to go to a movie with him.”
“I guess, but to then finish the night with another woman isn’t very nice,” Maggie said.
“He’s a lion shifter and they’re pretty flirty.”
“Yes, I’ve heard,” Maggie said.
“Anyway, so now Hudson and I go to the movies every Sunday, but we don’t really talk or anything.” Rosalie said. “Still, it’s nice to have someone to go to the movies with. My, uh, other friends -”
What friends?
She ignored her inner voice. “My other friends aren’t really into movies.”
“Oh, well, I like going to the movies and a lot of my nights are free because Porter’s working at the bar. If Hudson can’t make it, I’d totally be in for a movie night.”
“Yeah?” Rosalie gave her a surprised look.
“Yes. Just remind me to exchange phone numbers with you before we’re finished here. Okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, Maggie.”
Maggie smiled at her. “Thanks for possibly hanging out with me. I don’t have a lot of friends, and even fewer human friends now that I’m with Porter.”
“Honestly, I don’t have that many friends either,” Rosalie said.
“Well, before we go any further with this new friendship, I need to ask you a serious question.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you like coffee?”
“Love it,” Rosalie replied.
“Thank goodness. I work at a coffee shop and I’m a total coffee snob. If you don’t like coffee, I spend most of my time wondering what the heck is wrong with you.”
Rosalie burst into laughter and Maggie grinned at her. “After Porter, coffee is my second love.”
“Are you sure my brother is first? From what I’ve heard, you’re pretty grumpy until you get that first cup of coffee in the morning.”
Rosalie turned to see a tall, dark-haired man leaning in the doorway of the kitchen. He had light blue eyes, broad shoulders and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that clung to his flat stomach. He was very handsome, and she could feel her cheeks redden when he smiled at her.
“Rosalie, this is Porter’s younger brother, Heath. He’s a lawyer. Heath, this is Rosalie. She works with Bria at the real estate agency.”
“Hi, Rosalie.” Heath’s handshake was warm and strong, and he held on for a beat too long.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You as well.”
“Is everyone back?” Maggie asked.
“Yep. I think Willow wants to have lunch first before we start unloading the truck. But Bishop and Hudson are bringing in the fridge – and here they are.”
Rosalie’s eyes widened as she watched Bishop and Hudson carry in the fridge. Neither bear shifter had even broken a sweat. The muscles in their upper arms bulged as they maneuvered the fridge in front of the empty space. Bishop plugged in the fridge and nodded to Hudson.
She found herself suddenly fascinated by Hudson’s back muscles as he pushed the fridge into the space. Lord, he was strong. He backed away from the fridge and shook Bishop’s hand when the grizzly shifter held it out.
“Thanks for the help, Hudson.”
“Sure,” Hudson replied. “It’s not a -”
His big body suddenly stiffened and he lifted his head, sniffing the air before turning and staring at Rosalie. She gave him a small wave. “Hi, Hudson.”
“Hey.”
“You guys are friends?” Heath asked.
When Hudson didn’t reply, Rosalie gave a nervous laugh. “Yes, we go to the movies together.”
Heath glanced at Hudson. The polar bear shifter neither confirmed nor denied her statement and awkward silence descended. Rosalie’s cheeks were heating up and she wanted to sink into the floor. If she wasn’t sure about her friendship with Hudson, she certainly was now. Why had she said they were friends? Why couldn’t she have just said she met him at the bar once and left it at that? God, she was an idiot.
She was considering just bolting out of the house when Willow popped back into the room. “Ooh, the new fridge looks great. We’re just going to have a quick lunch before we unload the moving van. It isn’t much, just sandwiches, but we’ll have pizza and beer for you later. C’mon over to our place and…”
She cocked her head and stared at each person in the room before turning to Bishop. “Why is it so weird in here?”
He just shrugged. “It’s not weird, Will.”
“It is. What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” Maggie said. “It’s all good, Willow.”
“Well, I don’t believe any of you fibbers, but since we’ve wrangled you all in for free labour on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I’m gonna let it go. C’mon, let’s eat.”
* * *
“Here, Rosalie, let me take that.”
Heath took the heavy box from her and set it on the dining room table. She straightened her shirt and brushed her hair back from her face as Heath grinned at her. “Starting to regret giving up your Saturday afternoon?”
“No, not at all,” she said. “I’m having fun.”
He laughed. “Sure you are. So, how do you know Ava and Bishop again?”
“Oh, I work for Jace at the real estate agency that they used.” She flushed a little. It sounded stupid that she was helping them when she didn’t really know them. “I, uh, I’m friends with Bria and she asked me to help.”
“That’s nice of you.” Heath stepped a little closer.
Even though she was just shy of six feet in her sneakers, he was still taller than her and, wow, did he have broad shoulders. He was also ridiculously attractive with his dark hair, square jaw and full lips. If she wasn’t so in love with Lincoln, she might have allowed herself to have a completely pointless crush on the so-far-out-of-her-league-it-was-laughable wolf shifter.
She straightened her shirt again as Heath said, “You’re very tall for a human.”
“Oh, um, yeah. My dad was pretty tall. My mom isn’t. She’s only like 5’2”, and she has blonde hair and brown eyes and is super slim. People never believed that I was her kid when I was growing up. I was too tall and chubby and -”
Rosalie! Shut up!
She gave Heath a weak grin. “Uh, anyway. So, you’re a lawyer?”
“I am,” he said.
“And a wolf shifter.”
“That’s right, and you’re human.”
“Yes.”
“You have beautiful eyes, Rosalie.”
“Thank you.” She licked her lips and his gaze dropped to her mouth. “Your eyes are really pretty too.”
She cringed inwardly. Heath did have lovely green eyes, but most guys probably didn’t enjoy being called pretty.
He grinned at her. “Thank you. What are you doing after - ?”
“Heath?” A dark-haired man stuck his head into the dining room. “Mom’s trying to reach you. Do you have your phone turned off?”
Heath stepped away from her and reached into his pocket. “It’s on silent. Thanks, Mal.”
“You bet.” Mal glanced at her curiously before leaving.
Heath pulled his cell from his pocket and read the texts before smiling at her. “Sorry, Rosalie. Could you excuse me?”
“Of course.”
He left the dining room, nodding to Maggie who was just walking in. Rosalie opened the box on the table as Maggie joined her.
“Hey, need some help?” Maggie asked.
“Sure. Ava asked if I wouldn�
�t mind unpacking some of the extra kitchen stuff in the hutch.” Rosalie lifted out a large paper-wrapped glass pitcher and unwrapped it. She handed it to Maggie who placed it on the top shelf of the hutch.
“What do you think of Heath?” Maggie asked.
“He seems nice.”
“Just nice?”
Rosalie handed her a ceramic platter. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Heath’s into you.”
Rosalie stared at her. “What? No, he isn’t.”
“Yeah, girl, he is.” Maggie laughed. “I’ve been in this family long enough to know when a Burke boy is interested. He’s interested. Plus, I heard him asking Ava if you were single.”
“Why would he be interested in me?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Because he’s blindingly attractive?” Rosalie replied.
“He is pretty hot. Of course, all the Burke brothers are. You haven’t met Ellet yet, but trust me, he’s just as good looking as the rest of them. It doesn’t seem fair that one family can have that much hotness in it.” Maggie handed her another ceramic platter. “So, are you going to go out with Heath?”
Rosalie nearly dropped the platter. “I, well, I don’t know. He hasn’t asked me out, are you sure he’s interested?”
“Positive.”
Rosalie set the platter on top of the first one. She had no idea why someone who looked like Heath was interested in her, but maybe she could use him to teach her some moves in the bedroom.
“Has Heath, uh, had a lot of girlfriends?” Her plan wouldn’t work if he didn’t have the experience she was looking for.
“I think he’s dated off and on but hasn’t had an actual girlfriend in a while. So, I guess if you’re looking for something serious, he might not be the best choice. He works a ton of hours,” Maggie said.
“I’m, um, not looking for serious,” Rosalie said.
“Right, you’re in love with a lion shifter.”
Rosalie flushed. “Do you think I’m awful?”
“No, why would I?”
“Well, because I’m in love with Lincoln, but I’m not opposed to, uh, hanging out with Heath.”
“I don’t think you’re awful. You’re not actually dating Lincoln and if you’re upfront with Heath about only wanting sex, then I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Rosalie’s face turned bright red, and Maggie gave her an embarrassed look as her own face turned red. “I’m sorry. That was crude of me. I don’t think, I mean…”
“No, it’s okay.” Rosalie grabbed another paper-wrapped object out of the box. “It’s just that I don’t usually do this sort of thing, but I’m trying to learn…”
Oh shit. She couldn’t tell Maggie that she was trying to learn how to be kinky. She was nice, and she might feel an immediate connection with her, but normal people didn’t just blurt out stuff like that to people they just met. She was hoping to be friends with Maggie and if she got too personal too quick, she’d ruin that.
“Trying to learn what?” Maggie asked.
Before Rosalie could reply, Porter sauntered into the room. “Darlin? I’m leaving for the bar.”
“What time is it?” Maggie glanced at her watch. “Holy crap, it’s almost five. I’ll walk you out to the car. I’ll be right back, Rosalie.”
They left, and Rosalie rubbed at her forehead before finishing emptying the box. There was a second one on the floor and she bent and tore the packing tape off the top. God, she really needed to get better at not being so awkward around people. No wonder she didn’t have any friends.
* * *
Hudson carried the box into the dining room, stopping short just inside the room. Rosalie was bent over a box, and he stared at her amazing ass encased in tight denim. His cock turned to stone in his jeans, and his bear made a happy little growl.
His urge to stand behind her, cup her hips in his hands and press his dick against her ass was almost impossible to ignore. She’d finally know just how much he wanted her, how insane she drove him with lust, how desperately he wanted to be between her lush thighs and deep inside her pussy.
She straightened, and he dropped the box down to cover his erection as she turned. She twitched a little in surprise before giving him a hesitant smile. “Hi, Hudson.”
“Hey.” He made himself walk into the room. He had avoided her at lunch and the rest of the afternoon, but he couldn’t very well just walk out of the room carrying a box clearly labeled dining room.
“How are you?”
Praying she wouldn’t notice the bulge in his jeans, he set the box on the table. “Fine. You?”
“I’m good.”
“Good.” He needed to leave, his need for her would only grow stronger the longer he stood here gawking at her. Too bad he couldn’t get his goddamn feet to move. His bear wanted to stay close to the little human. It had smelled the wolf shifter’s interest in her and it didn’t like it one fucking bit.
It’s fine. She’s in love with the idiot lion shifter. She isn’t going to go out with the wolf. His efforts to soothe his polar bear weren’t working.
“What are you doing here?” His voice was gruff, and he winced inwardly. Jesus, he sounded like an asshole.
“Oh, um, Bria and I work together. Ava and Bishop used our agency to buy their house because Bria is friends with Ava,” Rosalie said awkwardly. “Bria asked if I could help out and I didn’t have other plans, so…you aren’t working at the bar tonight?”
“Porter said I could go in a bit late today.”
“Oh, that’s good.” She cleared her throat. “Are we still on for the movies tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Two o’clock, right?”
“Right. So…” she studied the room around them, “it’s kind of neat to see a client’s house. I mean, we help them buy the house, but I never actually get to see it. It’s kind of cool to see it.”
She flushed a little and bit at her bottom lip. God, she was fucking adorable when she got flustered. He flustered her a lot. He didn’t mean to, but he did.
“Anyway, I’m looking forward to the movie tomorrow. I’ve heard good things about it.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Are you -”
“Sorry, Rosalie, I didn’t mean to abandon you like that.” The wolf shifter strolled into the room and his polar bear snarled angrily. He pushed it back as the wolf lifted his head and inhaled. He stared at Hudson, a small smile curling up the corners of his mouth.
Fuck. The wolf shifter could smell his lust for the little human.
He clenched his hands into fists as Rosalie smiled at the wolf. “Hey, Heath. That’s okay. Everything, um, all right?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t like the way the wolf was staring at Rosalie. Like she might belong to him someday. His polar bear roared angrily, and he jerked his head toward Rosalie when she said, “Hudson? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he bit out.
“Your t-shirt is ripping,” She said. “And you, um, have a bit of a beard. Are you -”
“I’m fine,” he muttered.
“Okay.” She crossed her arms over her torso. The movement stretched her t-shirt tight across her glorious breasts. Hudson growled out loud when the wolf’s gaze landed on them and he smelled the faint scent of Heath’s lust.
“Hudson?” Rosalie was nearly vibrating with anxiety now, and he cursed inwardly at his lack of self-control. Fuck, he was scaring the shit out of her.
“Rosalie? Could you give Hudson and me a minute?” Heath said.
“Um, sure, okay.” Rosalie gave him another tentative look before walking out of the dining room.
Hudson waited until her footsteps had completely faded before stomping toward the wolf and baring his fangs. “Stay away from her, wolf shifter.”
Heath stared up at him and gave him a grin that was remarkably terror free. “Never thought a polar bear would have a thing for a human.”
His hand shot out and wrapped around Heath’s ne
ck. “Tell her and I’ll tear you apart.”
Heath growled and bared his own fangs. “Let go of me.”
There was still no fear at all in his face or radiating from his body, and Hudson felt a grudging trickle of respect for the wolf. He released him, and Heath studied him for a moment. “If you’re going to claim her, then stop fucking around and do it. A woman who looks like her won’t stay single for long.”
Hudson growled again, and Heath curled his lip at him before walking to the doorway. “One last thing – keep scaring her the way you are, and she won’t exactly be eager to mate with you.”
“Mind your own fucking business, wolf shifter.”
Heath just shrugged and walked out of the room. Hudson paced back and forth in the room, the boxes on the floor shaking minutely with every heavy step. His bear was furious and wanted to tear apart the wolf shifter, but Hudson pushed it down when it tried to surge forward.
He’s right. We are scaring her.
His bear made an undignified noise that was almost a whine. The thought that his mate would be afraid of him made its anger dissipate, and he soothed it when it made another dejected noise. He took a deep breath and left the dining room. He needed to find Rosalie and apologize for scaring her.
* * *
Just go over to him, Rosalie. You already know he’s interested. He’s super hot and he’s probably slept with a bunch of women and knows lots of kinky stuff. Plus, he’s too busy to want to be in a relationship. He’s perfect.
She poked at her piece of pizza as she stared furtively across the yard at Heath. She really should just go over and talk to him, but after she left him and Hudson in the dining room, Heath hadn’t spoken to her again. She had deliberately stood next to him when everyone was grabbing a piece of pizza from the table set up in Mal and Willow’s back yard, but he had just smiled at her before grabbing a couple of slices and walking away.
She peeled off a slice of pepperoni and ate it. Okay, so the wolf shifter’s sudden interest seemed to have faded just as suddenly, but maybe that was just her weird imagination. She didn’t even realize he was interested until Maggie pointed it out. She just needed to go over there and use her, admittedly limited, flirting skills. She was a strong, sexy woman who maybe needed to lose five or thirty pounds, but she also had great breasts and guys loved boobs.
Rosalie Undone (Book Six) Page 3
