Rosalie Undone (Book Six)

by Elizabeth Kelly

  Hudson, stop. If you shift, you’ll lose your job. Take a breath. Just one breath.

  He sucked in air like a man drowning. It helped a little, and he sucked in another breath and then a third. His body returned to normal size and his bear retreated. It was furious with him, but it retreated.

  “You gonna shift on me or do you have control?”

  He turned his head and stared down at his boss. “I have control. Sorry.”

  Porter studied him for a moment before nodding. “Your shirt’s ripped. Go grab a new one from the staff room.”

  Hudson nodded, and Porter gave him one final scrutiny before walking away.

  * * *

  “Here he comes. Rosalie, are you listening?”

  “Hmm…what?” Rosalie continued to stare at Hudson. The big polar bear shifter was standing at the bar and he hadn’t looked her way once. She was just considering going up to say hello when Maggie had spoken.

  “I said, the lion shifter is on his way over,” Maggie said.

  “Right. Okay, good.” She gave Hudson another anxious look. He looked even grumpier than usual, and even from across the bar, she could see the tension in his shoulders and neck. Something was wrong, and she was worried about him. “There’s something wrong with Hudson, I’m just gonna check and make sure he’s -”

  “Rosalie!” Maggie’s hand clamped down on her arm when she started to stand. “Sit down.”

  She sat, staring blankly at Maggie. Maggie gave her a pointed look as a low purr drifted into Rosalie’s right ear.

  “Thank you for the drink, darlin’.”

  The lion shifter eased his big body into the chair beside her. His gaze lingered on her chest, and she had to fight the urge to tug up the front of her dress a little.

  “What’s your name, beautiful?” He smiled at her, revealing perfect white teeth. His light blue eyes drifted down her entire body and back up to her tits, before finally settling on her face.

  “Uh, Rosalie.”

  “Rosalie. Pretty name for a pretty girl. I’m Koren.”

  He held his hand out and she shook it, blushing a little when he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Koren.”

  “You as well, pretty Rosalie.”

  She swallowed heavily as Koren continued to hold her hand, his thumb rubbing over the pulse in her wrist. He was incredibly handsome, and she waited for her lust to kick in.

  C’mon, Rosalie. Be attracted to him.

  Yeah, that would help.

  She smiled again at the lion shifter. “This is my friend Maggie.”

  “Hello, Maggie.” Koren didn’t take his gaze off Rosalie’s face. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You as well,” she said.

  Koren studied Rosalie’s hair before reaching out and brushing a strand back over her shoulder. “So, I know that your lovely friend Maggie is mated to the wolf shifter who owns this place, but you,” he squeezed Rosalie’s hand, “are not mated. Is that right?”

  “How did you know she was mated to Porter?” Rosalie asked.

  “He can smell Porter’s scent on me,” Maggie said.

  Koren grinned at her. “That I can.”

  “Actually,” Maggie said, “if you wouldn’t mind keeping Rosalie company, Koren, I need to speak with Porter.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Koren said.

  Rosalie took a quick glance at Hudson again as Maggie squeezed her arm and then left. He was pouring a beer and the mixture of anger and – was that worry? – on his face ratcheted up her own anxiety. What was wrong with him? Did he get some bad news? Was he not feeling well?

  “Rosalie?”

  She forced her attention back to Koren. “Uh, sorry. What were you saying?”

  “I asked why you bought me a drink.”

  “Well, I, um,” her gaze drifted back to Hudson. Shit, he really looked upset. Maybe she should forget trying to seduce the lion shifter and find out what was wrong with him.

  Rosalie, no! You need to do this. Don’t chicken out now, you pansy!

  Her inner voice was right. If she wanted to learn to be kinky, she needed to focus and get her head in the game. So what if she wasn’t attracted to Koren immediately. She’d talk to him for a bit, have a drink or two, and no doubt she’d start to find him hot. Besides, did she absolutely have to be completely attracted to him to sleep with him? No, she didn’t.

  She made herself focus on the lion shifter still holding her hand. “I bought you a drink because you looked thirsty.”

  His laugh reminded her of the low throaty purr of a big cat. “Did I?”

  “Yes.” She turned her hand until she could link fingers with him and gave him her most confident smile. “Are you sure you don’t mind hanging out with me tonight, Koren?”

  “Not at all. I am, however, waiting for my brother Keegan. He may join us for… drinks, if you’re open to that.” His smile was full of dark promise.

  “Is he a lion shifter as well?”

  “He is,” Koren said. “He’ll be very happy to meet you, I’m certain. He’s always had a thing for,” his gaze drifted over her body again, “beautiful women with gorgeous curves. Of course, I might be guilty of feeling the same way. Your body is stunning, Rosalie.”

  “Oh, um, thank you. You have a nice body too.” She took a sip of her drink to ease her dry throat. Already she was feeling a little overwhelmed by his flirting. No doubt he would be happy to teach her how to be kinky.

  And his brother too, apparently.

  Her cheeks flushed. Oh God, was she really going to have sex with two lion shifters tonight? The thought made her a little afraid, rather than turned on.

  Keep it together, Rosie. You can do this.

  Yes, she could. She had to. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to slow it down just a bit, to ease into the whole, ‘hey do you want to have kinky sex with me’ thing. She cleared her throat and gave Koren another smile. “So, what do you do for a living?”

  * * *

  “You okay, buddy?” Judd leaned against the bar.

  “Fine.” Hudson twisted off the cap to a beer bottle and handed it to the deer shifter. She gave him a nervous smile of thanks and handed him some cash before disappearing into the crowd.

  “You sure?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because a lion shifter is hitting on your woman.”

  “She’s not my woman.” He kept his gaze on the bar. If he even looked at Rosalie, if he even saw the lion shifter touching her, he’d rip him apart. He was holding on to his self-control by the thinnest of threads.

  His hand clenched around the bar rag when he caught a whiff of the lion’s scent. He looked up, just in time to see the asshole walk down the hallway toward the bathroom. He chanced a quick glance at Rosalie. She was sitting by herself at the table and she was staring at him. She gave him a nervous smile and a little wave.

  He gave her a short nod and the smile on her face disappeared. When she mouthed, “what’s wrong?”, he immediately looked away.

  “I can kick the lion shifter out,” Judd said. “Make up some excuse and give him the boot so you don’t have to watch him keep touching her.”

  Fresh new anger rushed through Hudson. He glared at Judd. “He’s touching her?”

  “Uh,” Judd shook his head quickly, “probably not. I mean, I don’t know. I didn’t get a good look at them and -”

  Hudson threw the rag into the sink. “Porter? Can I take a five-minute break?”

  Porter nodded from the other end of the bar. “Yeah, take your full fifteen.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Hudson, don’t do anything stupid. Okay?” Judd grabbed his arm.

  “Let go of me,” Hudson said.

  “Just don’t do something dumb to that lion shifter,” Judd said.

  “I just want to talk to him,” Hudson said in a low voice. His fangs dropped, and he bared them at Judd. “Let go of me. I won’t ask again.”

>   “Well, shit.” Judd released him.

  Hudson stepped out from behind the bar and headed down the hallway. The lion shifter was just coming out of the bathroom. Surprisingly, the hallway was empty, and Hudson stopped in the middle of it, blocking the lion’s path.

  The lion cocked his head and looked him up and down. “Excuse me, please.”

  “Stay away from the human.”

  The shifter’s gaze turned cool and he gave him an insolent look. “Does she belong to you, polar bear? Because I can’t smell even a whiff of your scent on her. Besides, since when do polar bears fuck humans?”

  Hudson growled at him, and the lion shifter made a low hiss in return.

  “Do not touch her again, lion shifter, or I’ll tear you apart.”

  “She came on to me,” the shifter said. “If she’s your woman, you’d best get a handle on her before she decides fucking a lion shifter is more fun than fucking a polar bear with anger issues.”

  Hudson snarled and grabbed the lion shifter by the throat. He slammed him up against the wall and glared at the impudent little prick. “Don’t look at her, don’t touch her, don’t even get within a foot of her, or I’ll -”

  “Hudson? Hudson, what are you doing? Let him go!” Rosalie hurried forward and grabbed his arm. She yanked on it, her eyes wide and frightened looking. “Hudson, stop.”

  He released the lion and stepped back, breathing harshly as the lion shifter coughed and then dragged in a breath of air.

  “Koren? Are you okay?” When Rosalie tried to get close to the lion, Hudson growled and wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her up against his body as she made a startled noise and stared up at him. “Hudson, what is wrong with you?”

  “Don’t touch him.”

  “I…what?”

  Koren straightened his shirt and pushed away from the wall. He rubbed at his throat before giving Rosalie a thin smile. He walked away, and when Rosalie tried to follow him back out into the bar, Hudson tightened his grip on her waist.

  “Koren, wait!” Rosalie called. She yanked on Hudson’s arm before glaring up at him. “Hey, let go of me.”

  He released her but grabbed her hand before she could follow the lion shifter. “Rosalie, come with me.”

  “What? Where?”

  He held her hand in a tight grip as two female raccoon shifters, giggling and swaying drunkenly, wandered into the hallway.

  “Oh wow, you’re totally the biggest dude I’ve ever seen. I think I wanna climb you like a tree,” the one on the left slurred out and then hiccupped.

  Completely ignoring the drunk raccoon shifters, Hudson tugged Rosalie into Porter’s office and slammed the door shut behind them.

  * * *

  Porter’s office was small. Rosalie backed up until her butt hit the edge of his desk. She glared at Hudson when he slammed the door shut and gave her an angry look.

  “What’s your problem, Hudson?”

  “My problem? You’re out there trying to pick up a goddamn lion shifter and you want to know what my problem is?”

  “Koren is nice and -”

  “You don’t know anything about him, Rosalie.”

  “Do you?”

  “No, but that’s not the point. He could be dangerous.”

  “Or he could be a perfectly normal guy who wants to sleep with me.”

  Hudson’s face turned red and he growled deep in his chest. “You’re going to sleep with him?”

  “Yes, probably. I think. I mean, if you didn’t scare him off then yeah, yeah I’m gonna sleep with him.”

  His scowl was so deep, she could practically climb into it. “No, you’re not. You are not taking that lion shifter home.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “I’m an adult, and you don’t get to tell me what to do. If I want to sleep with a lion shifter, then I will, and you can’t stop me.”

  He growled again, and she glared at him. “Growl all you want. I’m not afraid of you.”

  “I thought you were in love with that idiot Lincoln,” he said. “I thought you wanted to fuck him.”

  Now it was her turn to go red. “Stop being crude.”

  “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but you don’t have to be so, so -”

  “If you’re in love with the stupid lion, then why are you going to fuck a different stupid lion?”

  Her temper flared. “For practice, okay? Lincoln likes kink and I have two weeks to learn and to-to practice some sex stuff before I ask him out.”

  “Two weeks to practice,” he repeated.

  “Yes.” She tugged at the top of her dress. “I don’t have a lot of experience and I need to change that if I’m going to seduce Lincoln so…”

  “How many shifters are you planning on sleeping with?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but as many as it takes to learn to do what Lincoln wants in bed,” she said, “and before you start slut shaming me, there’s nothing wrong with a woman having multiple sex partners if that’s what she -”

  “No.”

  “No, what? Why are you growing a beard?” Her eyes widened as the shoulder seams of his t-shirt ripped. “Are you shifting? Stop shifting!”

  He took a deep breath, and she watched in fascination as his body slowly returned to normal size and the beard faded from his jaw.

  “You’re not sleeping with other shifters,” Hudson said.

  “Uh, yeah I am,” she said.

  “No.”

  “Stop saying no! I need to learn how to be kinky and -”

  “I’ll teach you.”

  “If I even want to have a chance at winning over Lincoln, I have to stop being so shy in bed and start… what did you say?” She stared at the giant bear shifter.

  “I’ll teach you how to be kinky in bed.”

  She gaped at him and then burst into laughter. “Good one, Hudson. Seriously, that was really funny. But, if you don’t mind, I need to see if Koren -”

  “I’m not joking, Rosalie.” Hudson stepped toward her.

  Her laughter died out. “You are. Of course you are.”

  “I’m not.”

  “But you’re not attracted to me. You hate it when I touch you. You won’t even be able to-to…”

  He stepped even closer. Even with her heels making her six feet, she still had to stare up at him as he rested his big hands on the desk on either side of her. “Won’t even be able to what?”

  “Get it up.” Her voice came out in a high squeak that didn’t sound remotely like her usual voice.

  “Are you saying I’m impotent?”

  “What? No, no I’m not saying that.” She couldn’t seem to look away from his gaze. “I’m saying you’re not attracted to me so you’re not going to…”

  Her voice ended in another of those weird little squeaks when he traced one thick finger over her collarbone.

  “H-Hudson, what are you doing?”

  He bent his head and sniffed her neck. “A shifter would have to be blind or stupid not to be attracted to you, little human. Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “No but… you don’t like to be touched by me,” she whispered.

  He gave a lock of her hair a gentle tug before bending his head again. This time he licked her collarbone and every muscle deep in her lower belly clenched. She was suddenly finding it hard to breathe, and her nipples were hard points against the fabric of her bra.

  Oh God, was she getting wet?

  She was getting wet.

  For Hudson.

  Desperate to regain control, she lied through her teeth. “I’m not attracted to you.”

  He laughed, that warm deep laugh that she heard so rarely. It had the same effect it always did. Butterflies swarmed to life in her stomach and goose bumps rose on her arms.

  “There you go, trying to lie again, little human.”

  “I’m not lying. I’m not -”

  His lips pressed against hers as one heavy arm curled around her waist. He drew her up against him and s
he grabbed his arms, sinking her fingers into his hard flesh. Dear God, was he – was that his erection pressing against her belly?

  He sucked on her bottom lip before pressing soft kisses against her mouth. He teased and coaxed, licking the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue as his big hand rubbed her lower back through her shirt. He was being so damn gentle. Until this moment, she would never have believed this type of gentleness could even exist in Hudson.

  “Open your mouth, sweet Rosie.” His low voice saying her nickname sent fresh arousal through her. She opened her mouth immediately.

  He growled his approval and licked her upper lip before sucking on it. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue before kissing his way to her ear. He sucked on her earlobe and her heart banged against her ribcage. She was growing increasingly distracted by the low pleading for a kiss. Who the hell was sounding so desperate? So needy?

  “Shh, little Rosie.” Hudson’s breath tickled her ear. “I’ll give you what you need.”

  Holy shit. She was the one pleading.

  Another low moan slipped out. “Hudson, please kiss me.”

  He nipped her bottom lip and she moaned happily when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He angled his mouth over hers, his hand threading through her hair and cupping the back of her skull to hold her steady as he tasted her. She rubbed her tongue against his, slid her arms around his waist, and shoved her hands up the back of his shirt. His skin was deliciously hot against her fingertips. She pressed herself up against that hard length digging into her belly.

  He kissed her repeatedly. Kissed her until she was weak and trembling and fuzzy-headed. There was a gentleness in each brush of his mouth against hers, but she could sense the hunger beneath it. Like he was holding back, maybe. Like he was afraid he would hurt her or scare her.

  “I want more,” she breathed against his mouth. She reached for his big hand where it rested against her hip and tried to tug it to her breast. “More, Hudson.”