“You have to go,” Velma said. “You and Ashley have been close since you were kittens. She’ll be so upset if you miss the party.”
Jace dropped into his chair and drank more coffee as his father stole the bacon from his plate. “Yeah, I know. I’ll be there.”
* * *
“Kat? What are you doing here?” Bria stared in surprise at her best friend.
Kat lifted the bottle of wine she was carrying. “Sorry to just show up, but I bring wine.”
Bria laughed and stepped aside so Kat could come in. “You know you can come by whenever. Where’s Ronin tonight?”
“He joined Garth’s monthly poker game.”
“It’s on a Sunday night?” Bria hung Kat’s coat in the closet.
“They had to reschedule from last night. Garth’s mom needed his help with something. So,” Kat followed her into the kitchen of her small apartment, “have you found anyone?”
“Found anyone for what?” Bria grabbed a couple of wine glasses and the corkscrew.
“Your heat. It starts tomorrow.” Kat plopped down in a kitchen chair. “Wait, am I getting your cycle mixed up with my sister’s? I could have sworn yours started tomorrow because it’s always a week before mine.”
“No, you’re right. Only, it came early for the first time in my life.” Bria poured wine into the glasses. She handed one to Kat and sat next to her. She winced and shifted on the chair before taking a sip of wine.
“It came early?”
“Yep. Friday afternoon.”
“Shit, were you at work?”
“Yeah.” She crossed her legs and winced again before rubbing at her thighs.
“That’s not good.”
“It really wasn’t.”
“So, who was the shifter from Heat Me Up that helped you?”
Bria took another drink of wine. “Why do you think someone helped me? Maybe I took care of it myself.”
Kat laughed. “Sweetie, no cat shifter winces like that when they’ve taken care of the problem themselves. Also, you look both unbelievably tired and satisfied at the same time. You had loads of sex this weekend. I know it. You know it. Why are you being so secretive about who helped you?”
“I’m not being secretive.”
“Uh, yeah, you are. Who was it?”
“Fine. It was Jace, all right?”
Kat stared at her. “Jace. Your boss helped you through your heat cycle again.”
“It’s not like we planned it.” Bria drained her glass of wine and poured herself another glass. “It was starting, but I didn’t believe it. You know? My cycle never comes early. So, I kept telling myself it wasn’t happening. Only it was. By three I couldn’t deny it anymore, and by five, I was in agony. I couldn’t even think straight, and my tiger kept yowling at me for relief.”
“Shit, did you attack Jace in front of the entire office?”
“No, he wasn’t even there. Lincoln – he’s the smarmy lion shifter I told you about – was the only one left in the office.”
“Wait,” Kat leaned forward and tapped one long red nail against the table, “Jace wasn’t there, but Lincoln was. But you didn’t fuck him, you fucked Jace.”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
Kat poured herself some more wine. “I have nothing but time. Start talking.”
* * *
“It’s not funny, Kat.”
Kat laughed again. “It’s sort of funny. I can only imagine the look on his parents’ faces when he strolled into the kitchen all shredded flesh and puncture wounds.”
“Did you think it was funny when your mom walked in on Ronin making you breakfast after you banged him for forty-eight hours straight?”
“Ooh, point taken, girl. Yeah, maybe not so funny.”
Bria rubbed at her forehead. “I looked like a psycho cat slut.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did. His chest and back, Kit Kat – it’s gonna take more than a day or two to heal from what I did to him.”
“Okay, but he will heal so don’t sweat it. Are you going to get him to help you with your next heat?” Kat asked.
“He’s my boss.”
“At this point is that even an issue? You’ve already had sex with him.”
“I did kind of make him promise that he would fuck me for every heat,” Bria said.
Kat laughed. “I’m sure that was a real hard thing for him to promise.”
Bria rubbed her aching thighs. “He was so good at it. We had so much sex, I lost track of how many times I came. He never once couldn’t get it up or complained when I made him go down on me. The difference between him and Raden – hell, even Kyle – was unbelievable. The need was really bad again, and he just handled it. You know?”
Kat nodded and took a sip of wine. “I’m glad for you, sweetie. It makes such a difference having a partner who you can rely on during your heat.”
“I tried to make him say he was mine,” Bria said abruptly.
Kat stared at her. “Shit. You didn’t.”
“I did.” Bria gave her a miserable look. “When I woke up this afternoon, I didn’t remember half of what I had said to him – you know how things are a bit hazy when you’re first coming out of your heat - but I’ve been remembering stuff in bits and pieces all day. After I made him tell me he’d fuck me every heat, I told him he was mine and tried to force him to say it. He wouldn’t though.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. He shouldn’t have said it. It’s just – it’s embarrassing that I did that. He’s been upfront about not wanting a relationship and I keep saying dumb stuff to him. It’s why I can’t sleep with him during my next heat. I want more than he can give me and that’s not fair to either of us.”
“No, I guess it isn’t. Are you sure he doesn’t want to date? Last weekend, you were in his bed and cuddling him.” Kat asked.
“I’m sure. He was just drunk and feeling sad about his brother. I don’t know if I told this part to you or not, but he mentioned a woman named Tabitha. When I asked him about her, he shut me down and wouldn’t talk about it.”
“Ah, so it’s the old ‘gun shy about relationships because his heart has been broken in the past’ scenario,” Kat said. “Lame.”
Bria shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a safe bet.”
“You’re going to go back to the Shifter Love dating app, then?”
“Yeah. I haven’t had good luck yet, but there’s bound to be someone normal on there. Right?”
Kat slugged back the rest of her wine. “At least seventy-five percent normal.”
* * *
Jace stood and paced restlessly in his office. It was always busy on Mondays and today was no different. He was out of the office for most of the day at different showings, and when he had finally shown up at the office, Bria could hardly look at him. She looked tired and worn out. Several times, he had to stop himself from calling her into his office to talk.
The others hadn’t noticed the tension between them. Well, maybe Rosalie had – she was weirdly perceptive for a human – and he decided it would be best to let another day or two pass before he tried to speak to Bria. He didn’t want to wait though. He wanted to sit her down and reassure her that he was fine. God, the look on her face when she had seen his upper body. He should have been smarter and hidden it from her.
He glanced at his watch. It was just after five and Bria would be gone by now. He could leave without having to walk by her, without having to smell the scent of her embarrassment and shame. He traced the deep gouges in his desk before cursing under his breath. He hated that she felt that way. Even worse, his tiger had been growling and grumbling all day for him to simply pick up Bria and take her home. To take her to his bed and show her, in a very precise and very intimate way, that he wasn’t upset with her.
His jaw clenched and he stared at his desk again. He really should have Rosalie order him a new desk. He’d kept the gouges hidden by paper
work this afternoon but sooner or later, she or someone else in the office would notice them, and he’d need to come up with an excuse. But he liked seeing them, liked remembering the way Bria had purred and moaned as he fucked her against the desk.
Fuck. It was ridiculous to want her again. He’d just spent the last forty-eight hours between her soft thighs and there was no way he should want to be back there already. Other than the scratches and puncture wounds from her claws and teeth, his body had already healed itself from the other various aches and pains. But he had seen Bria wince when she sat down, had noticed the way she walked a bit stiffly. She wasn’t completely healed yet.
Besides, now that her heat was over she wasn’t interested in just having sex with him. She’d gotten what she needed, and it would be another month before she wanted him again. If she didn’t find a boyfriend between now and then.
There was a soft knock on the door and he spat out a ‘come in’.
The door opened, and Bria stuck her head into the room. “Hi. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yes. Shut the door.”
She held a large bag in her hand, and he stared at it curiously as she shut the door and approached his desk.
“I thought you had left already,” he said.
“I wanted to speak to you first.” She glanced at his door. “Um, Lincoln and Rosalie are still here so I’ll make this quick.”
“About yesterday – I’m sorry you had to meet my parents like that, I know it was embarrassing.”
“Oh, uh, that’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” She picked at the handle of the bag. “How are you feeling today?”
“Fine. It really was much worse than it looked. You shouldn’t -”
“Are they healed?”
“Yes.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Let me see.”
He hesitated, and she sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“I told you that I didn’t mind scratching and biting.”
She bit at her bottom lip. “If you hadn’t – hadn’t restrained me, I would have really hurt you.”
“But you didn’t and next time I’ll be quicker to restrain you.” He flinched at his words, wondering if she would reject him immediately, but she was staring at the bag in her hand and hadn’t seemed to hear him.
“I bought you these.” She pulled two packages of sheets from the bag. “To replace the ones I ruined.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. I also have this.”
She pulled a large jar from the bag and he stared at it. “What is it?”
“It’s a salve for your chest and back. It will help you heal faster.”
“Where did you get it?”
She had placed it on the desk and he picked it up and examined it.
“I know a place downtown. It’s a shifter store and they have ointments and salves for different things. It will help. Will you use it?”
He nodded, and she gave him a look of relief. “Good. Start using it right away, okay?”
“I will.”
“Okay, well, uh, have a good night.”
“You too.” He watched her walk toward the door, more turned on than he should have been by the sight of her ass in her tight skirt. His tiger growled happily when she paused at the door.
“Do you have someone to – I mean – how will you put it on your back?”
He grinned at her. “Well, Lincoln is still here, I’ll just ask him to rub it into my back. I’m sure he’ll love the idea.”
His pulse sped up when the smile curved across her lips. “I’d rather you didn’t show Lincoln your back. He knows I was in heat on Friday, and it won’t take him long to put two and two together.”
“Rosalie, then. She’ll be horrified, but I’ll just tell her the job description has changed.”
“No!” Her sudden growl made him twitch. “She is not to touch you.”
He didn’t reply, and she flushed before striding forward. “Take off your shirt. I’ll put some salve on it before I go home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a flirty little grin then yanked off his tie and dropped it on the desk. She stared at it and he wondered if she remembered that it was the tie he had used to restrain her to the bed. It was stupid of him to wear it today, but he couldn’t resist.
“Do you like my tie, Bria?”
That delightful flush deepened, and he knew if he took off her shirt, the flush would cover her small but incredible tits. Fuck, he really wanted to suck on her nipples right now. Instead, he unbuttoned his shirt and then held the jar out to her.
She was staring at his broad chest, at the still-healing marks on his tanned skin. Did she even remember how it felt to be underneath him, to have his cock slamming into her tight pussy repeatedly? He knew that some cat shifters remembered very little during their heat, but he had no idea if Bria was one of them or not.
“Bria?” He prompted.
“Sorry.” She took the jar and he took his shirt off and draped it across the desk before turning around. “Oh God, it hasn’t healed at all.”
“Of course it has. Stop feeling bad.”
The obvious scent of her desire had been replaced with shame. He made sure not to move a muscle when she tentatively rubbed the salve into the slashes on his back. The salve was cold, but her hands were warm, and he tried not to groan with pleasure while she rubbed the salve into his back.
“All finished.”
Her voice was a little hoarse and he turned around, hoping she wouldn’t notice the way his cock was tenting his pants. She would smell his desire but there wasn’t anything he could do about that.
She bit her bottom lip as she stared at his chest. “Um, do you want some, uh, help with the front?”
“That would be very helpful.”
She swallowed, he heard the dry click in her throat, and scooped out a large amount of salve. She spread it over her fingers as he sat on top of his desk and spread his legs. She hesitated before stepping between them, and he held back his groan when her thighs brushed against his. She smoothed the salve over his chest, concentrating on each bite mark and scratch with studious regret, as the scent of their mutual desire hung thickly between them.
When her fingers scraped across one flat nipple, he inhaled sharply, and she gave him a worried look. “I’m sorry, did that hurt?”
“No, little tiger,” he rasped. “It doesn’t hurt. Keep going.”
She licked her bottom lip before stroking his chest with her soft, warm hands. She gasped when his big hands cupped her ass and he pressed her against his hard dick.
“I – is that better?” She whispered.
“Not yet,” he growled. “I need more.”
“Okay,” she almost moaned. Her hands rubbed across his collarbone and she gasped again when he slid his hands inside her skirt and gripped her bare ass.
He squeezed the firm flesh before tracing the thin strip of material between her ass cheeks. This time she did moan, a soft sound that set his skin on fire with need.
“I feel so bad about doing this to you.” She pressed her mouth against a particularly deep bite mark on his shoulder.
“You shouldn’t.” He squeezed her ass again.
“I feel like I should make it up to you, somehow.”
“Maybe you should.” He bent his head and sucked on her bottom lip.
She purred, and his cock throbbed at the sound.
Her purring fucking did him in every time.
“What do you want me to do?” She licked his mouth and he groaned.
Despite how much time they had spent mating over the weekend, he wanted her again with a desperation that would have been funny if it hadn’t been so ridiculously pathetic.
“You can go with me to my cousin’s engagement party this weekend.”
She blinked in surprise at him as he gave her his own look of shock. Where the fuck did that come from?
She pulled away from him. He let go of her ass
with regret, and she folded her arms across her torso. “You want me to go with you to a family thing?”
“Yes. My cousin Ashley is getting married, and we’re having an engagement party for her. My entire extended family will be there.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Her eyes widened, and she took another step back. “Your entire family?”
Goddammit.
“Yes, but there will also be friends there. One of them is a lion shifter named Marilyn.”
She gave him a blank look and he forged ahead. “I’ve known Marilyn since we were kittens and she, uh, she has a bit of a crush on me.”
Her eyes flashed golden fire for a moment before returning to their normal blue. “So what? You want me to go with you and pretend to be your girlfriend, so Marilyn leaves you alone?”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want. I know, I sound like an asshole, but I have tried everything else with her – including flat out telling her I will never be interested in her as anything more than a friend. The woman is relentless.”
“Do you think me posing as your girlfriend will actually make a difference then?”
“I do. When Tabitha and I were together, Marilyn didn’t…”
His face turned red and he cleared his throat. “Anyway, you’d be doing me a huge favour by posing as my girlfriend. What do you say?”
“I’m not sure, Jace. It’s weird to pretend when I…”
She stared at the marks on his chest before taking a deep breath. “Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate this.” He hesitated and made a sudden decision. If they left Friday night, he would have an excuse to spend the night with Bria. Maybe she’d want to sleep with him again. “It’s an overnight trip. We’ll leave Friday after work and we’ll be back in the city by Saturday evening.”
Before she could reply, the door opened, and Lincoln poked his head in. “Hey, I’m going for a drink. Do you want to come with – holy shit, man, what the fuck happened to you?”
Jace grabbed for his shirt as Bria, blushing furiously, skittered past Lincoln and out the door.
“Christ, you look like you’ve been put through a meat grinder,” Lincoln said.
Bria and the Tiger (The Shifters Series Book 5) Page 14