Bria and the Tiger (The Shifters Series Book 5)

by Elizabeth Kelly

  “Actually,” Lincoln said with a cheerful smile, “I invited Tori to sit with us. She’s seeing the same movie as us and is all by herself.”

  “My mom’s watching the kids for me tonight because she knows how much I wanted to see the new Star Wars. But then, like, my friend Lori totally bailed on me. But I still really wanted to see the movie, so I said to myself – Tori, you are a strong independent woman and you can totally go to the movies by yourself. But then I ran into Lincoln, and he was, like, totally sit with us. Isn’t he just the sweetest?” Tori said.

  “The sweetest.” Rosalie took the bottle of water from Lincoln. “Thank you.”

  “All right, lovely ladies. Let’s watch a movie.”

  Tori giggled and hooked her arm around Lincoln’s arm. “Yes, let’s.”

  Feeling sick to her stomach, Rosalie followed them to the theatre.

  “It’s super busy,” Tori said as she stared at the crowd of people sitting in the small theatre.

  “Nice call, Captain Obvious,” Rosalie muttered.

  “What was that, hon?” Tori smiled at her over her shoulder.

  “Nothing,” Rosalie said sweetly.

  “I don’t even think there are three seats together.” Lincoln was scanning the theatre.

  “Oh look, Hudson’s watching this movie too!” Tori waved frantically at the giant polar bear shifter.

  He was sitting in the end seat of the very top row on the right side. There were only two seats in the row and the one beside him was empty. Rosalie wasn’t surprised. Forgetting that he looked rather terrifying with his rough features and perma-scowl, his big body filled the seat and he’d had to flip up the arm rest between the seats. She couldn’t imagine a stranger wanting to see the movie badly enough to try and sit next to him.

  She followed Lincoln and Tori up the steps as Lincoln continued to scan the seats. “There are two seats in this row. I think we’re going to have to split up. It looks like it’s just these two and the one by the polar bear left.”

  “Why don’t you and I take those two and Rosalie can sit with Hudson?” Tori said.

  “That’s a great idea.” Lincoln winked at Tori before turning and smiling at Rosalie. “You don’t mind sitting with the big guy, do you, Rosie-girl?”

  “You and I were going to watch the movie together,” Rosalie said.

  “I know but there aren’t three seats together.”

  “Tori can sit with Hudson.”

  “Oh, he, like, totally hates me,” Tori said. “I don’t even know why, but he probably won’t even let me sit with him.”

  “Who could ever hate you, darlin’?” Lincoln pressed a kiss against the top of her head, and Tori giggled again and leaned against him.

  “What do you say, Rosie-girl?” Lincoln smiled at her. “You okay sitting with the bear?”

  She sighed in defeat. “Yeah, sure.”

  She headed up the stairs toward Hudson.

  He stared at her when she stood next to him. “What?”

  “Can I sit with you?”

  He scowled. “I thought you were sitting with the lion shifter.”

  “There aren’t enough seats together.”

  “So, he dumped you on your date for the idiot rabbit?”

  “We’re not on a date.” She could feel the tears wanting to break free of her lashes. “This is the only seat left. Can I sit with you or not?”

  He hesitated, and she turned away and started back down the steps. “Forget it.”

  His big hand curled around her wrist and held her still. He stood and jerked his head at the seat beside him. “Sit down, human.”

  She was torn between what was more humilating. Sitting next to Hudson when he so clearly didn’t want her to sit with him, or having to leave the theatre, and wait in the lobby for Lincoln to finish watching the movie with that damn rabbit shifter.

  “Sit down, human,” Hudson repeated.

  The people on the other side of the aisle were staring at them. She moved past Hudson and sat in the seat next to his.

  “I need to keep the arm up,” he said.

  “Okay.”

  He eased his big body down beside her. The length of him was pressed up against her and it was clearly making him uncomfortable. He shifted and futilely tried to put some space between them. She wanted to laugh from a combination of embarrassment and anger. Hudson was probably wishing that Tori was sitting with him. She was annoying as hell and never seemed to shut up, but at least she was tiny and wouldn’t take up much room in her seat.

  “Sorry.”

  She glanced up at the big shifter. “For what?”

  “I’m in your space.” His look of embarrassment eased her own a little.

  “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

  He studied her. “You sure?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Besides, these hips take up my fair share of the seat anyway.”

  His gaze dropped to her pelvis and she blushed a little as he stretched his legs out into the aisle. She realized that a large portion of the people in the theatre were staring at him. He seemed to be doing a good job of ignoring the stares, but she had a moment of pity for him. What must it be like to always have people staring at you? To always feel out of place and too big for the world around you. No wonder polar bear shifters kept to themselves.

  “You want some popcorn?” He held the tub of popcorn in her direction.

  “Sure, thanks.” She loved popcorn but hadn’t ordered it. She didn’t want to have a greasy face or popcorn stuck in her teeth around Lincoln. She took a handful and tossed it into her mouth. God, what an idiot she was.

  * * *

  “Did you enjoy the movie?” Rosalie smiled tentatively at Hudson as they walked out of the theatre. Lincoln and Tori were waiting for them near the exit. She tried to ignore the way Tori was pressed up against the lion shifter.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “I did. I thought it was better than – oh!”

  A man was backing up and he bumped into her and knocked her into Hudson. Without really looking at her, the man said, “Watch where you’re going, idiot.”

  Still pressed against Hudson, she felt the vibration of his growl before she heard it. The man froze and turned around slowly as Hudson’s arm slid around her waist. He stared up at the shifter and Rosalie swallowed her sudden urge to giggle when his face paled.

  “Apologize to the lady.” Hudson’s voice was low and angry.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the man said immediately. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  “It’s fine.”

  Weirdly, the man reached out to pat her on the shoulder. She didn’t know if he was drunk or if Hudson made him so nervous he was acting crazy. Hudson growled again, this one louder and angrier, and the man’s hand froze just above her shoulder.

  Hudson’s arm tightened around her waist. “Don’t touch her.”

  “S-sorry,” the man said. “I’m, uh, so sorry.”

  He turned and pushed his way through the crowd of people that were watching the three of them. Rosalie patted Hudson’s arm. “Thanks.”

  He didn’t reply, and she glanced up at him, the smile dying on her face. “Hudson? What’s wrong?”

  “Are you hurt, human?” His dark brown eyes were nearly black, and he looked supremely pissed off.

  “What? No, I’m not hurt.” Rosalie patted his arm again, feeling more than a little self-conscious as the people around them continued to stare. “Uh, you can let go now.”

  He made another little growl and his arm tightened almost painfully across her ribs. She squeaked out a protest and he abruptly released her. “Sorry.

  “That’s okay.” She reached out and squeezed his forearm. “Thank you.”

  He scowled at her and pulled his arm away. “I told you I don’t like to be touched.” He walked toward the exit, the people around them parting silently to make way for him, and after a moment she followed him.

  To her surprise, he stopped in front of Lincol
n and Tori. Lincoln grinned at him. “Hey, big guy. You enjoy the movie?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good, good. Rosalie, how about you?”

  She nodded and watched as Tori put her arm around Lincoln’s waist.

  “Tori and I were thinking of going to Trinity’s. What do you say, Rosalie?” Lincoln said.

  “No, thanks.” The nightclub was not her scene and Lincoln knew that.

  “C’mon, Rosie-girl, it’ll be fun. The night is still young.”

  “I’m really tired. I’d like to just call it a night.”

  Tori squeezed Lincoln’s waist. “Let’s go, hon.”

  “Can I meet you there? Rosalie and I drove together. I just need to give her a ride home first.”

  Tori pouted prettily. “Seriously? I have to be home by, like, midnight.”

  “It won’t take long,” Lincoln said. “I’ll meet you there in -”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Rosalie said. “I can find my own way home.” The thought of Lincoln driving her home before he hung out with the rabbit shifter, who he would undoubtedly have sex with, was making her nauseous.

  Lincoln gave her a look of delight. “Thanks, Rosie-girl. I owe you one.”

  “Sure. Have fun.”

  “We totally will,” Tori said.

  Lincoln pressed a kiss against Rosalie’s cheek. “See you at the office on Monday.”

  “You bet. Bye.”

  Lincoln and Tori walked out of the movie theatre. She waited a few seconds before nodding to Hudson who was standing silently. “Bye, Hudson. Have a good weekend.”

  She pushed through the doors and walked down the sidewalk a few feet before pulling her phone from her purse. Before she could call for an Uber, Hudson was standing beside her again.

  “I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “I can call an Uber.”

  He grunted in annoyance. “I said I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Fine,” she said.

  “Let’s go.” His voice was impatient.

  “I’m going.” She scowled up at him and followed him to his truck. He unlocked the doors, and she yanked the passenger door opened and climbed in as he slid behind the wheel. He drove out of the parking lot and when they stopped at the red light, she said, “Go ahead and say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “I told you so.”

  He didn’t reply, and she glared at him. “It’s not an ‘I told you so’ situation anyway. We weren’t on a date. We’re just friends.”

  “But he’s the lion shifter you want to fuck.”

  She blushed. “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to. I can smell it on you.”

  She buried her face in her hands. “I have got to stop hanging out with shifters.”

  “That guy’s a typical lion shifter. Full of nothing but bullshit.”

  “Oh? You hang out with a lot of lion shifters, do you?”

  “No,” he admitted.

  “You don’t know anything about Lincoln, so it’s not fair of you to judge him.”

  “I know it’s a shitty thing to dump your date for another woman.”

  “It wasn’t a date!” She took a deep breath. “Look, can we just not talk about Lincoln right now?”

  He didn’t reply, and she stared out the window, trying not to cry and wishing she was just home already. When he pulled into her complex, she directed him to her townhouse. He stopped in front of it and she unbuckled her seatbelt.

  “Thank you for the ride home.”

  “You want to hang out sometime?”

  She paused in opening the door and gave Hudson a look of surprise. “What?”

  “You want to hang out?” He cleared his throat. “Just as friends. I’m not looking for a girlfriend.”

  “You don’t even like me.”

  “You’re all right for a human.” He shrugged. “I like going to the movies. You like going to the movies, and you didn’t eat much of my popcorn.”

  “Which are the requirements for being your friend?”

  “Give me your cell number. The next time I go to the movies, I’ll text you. If you want to go, great. If not…whatever. I just thought you might like having a friend who doesn’t ditch you when you go to the movies.”

  He pulled his cell phone out and gave her an expectant look. She hesitated and then recited her number. There was no harm in giving him her number. She went to a lot of movies by herself. Pathetically enough, she didn’t have a lot of friends. Her mother required a lot of attention and most of Rosalie’s evenings and weekends were spent with her. Her mother hated going to the theatre though. It would be nice to have someone to go with to the movies.

  “Okay, bye.” The impatience was back in Hudson’s voice.

  She realized she was still sitting in Hudson’s truck and he was giving her a very clear get-the-hell-out-of-my-truck look. She opened the door and jumped to the ground. “Bye, Hudson.”

  She shut the door and walked to her townhouse. He waited until she was inside before driving away. She watched the tailights of his truck fade away before crouching and picking up the grey tabby that was weaving around her feet.

  “Hey, Mr. Pibbles. My night sucked. How was yours?”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Why don’t you sit and relax while I check us in.”

  “Sure.” Bria smiled at Jace and wandered over to the seating area in the lobby. She studied the art on the wall as Jace spoke to the front desk clerk. Considering that Langden was a small town with less than five thousand people, the hotel was actually pretty nice. It had seven floors with a pool and a small gym on the main floor. She glanced at Jace before staring into the fireplace.

  The two-hour ride to the hotel was pleasant enough. Jace spent most of it telling her about his family. She told him they didn’t sound that much crazier than hers. He laughed and told her to wait until she met his Aunt Frieda in person. After that, they spoke about favourite tv shows, restaurants they enjoyed in the city – all very pleasant, safe things. Things that friends talked about.

  “Jace.”

  The low purr and the scent of lion made Bria’s hackles rise. Her tiger growled, and she soothed it absently. She turned around to see a large blonde-haired woman drape herself around Jace and hug him tightly.

  He patted her back awkwardly before stepping away. “Hello, Marilyn. It’s good to see you again.”

  “It’s so good to see you.” The lion shifter’s voice was pure sex. “You look so good.”

  “Thanks.” Jace took another step back. “You look, uh, very well.”

  “What floor are you on?” Marilyn asked. “I’m on the third. Maybe we could have dinner tonight and a nightcap?”

  Bria ignored her tiger’s jealous hiss. The lion shifter was stunning. She was almost six feet tall with long blonde hair to her waist and bright green eyes. Her body was all smooth skin and sleek curves and Bria ran a hand over her own non-existent hips a bit self-consciously.

  She took a deep breath. She was here for a reason and it was showtime. She joined them and smiled at Jace. “Honey? Did you get the room key?”

  Jace immediately put his arm around her waist and drew her into his embrace. “Almost. I’d like you to meet an old friend. Bria, this is Marilyn. Marilyn, this is my girlfriend Bria.”

  Marilyn’s pupils narrowed to slits for a brief moment before she blinked and they returned to normal. “Girlfriend? I heard you’ve been single since you and Tabitha split up.”

  “You heard wrong.”

  Marilyn sniffed at Bria. “You’re small for a tiger. Do you have a genetic deformity?”

  “Marilyn,” Jace scowled at her, “that’s really rude.”

  “It’s fine.” Bria smiled at Marilyn as the front desk clerk handed two keycards to Jace. “It was nice to meet you, Marilyn.”

  She turned to Jace. “Let’s go to the room. I think we should have a,” she trailed her fingers over his flat abdomen and gave him a sexy smile, “nap befo
re dinner. Don’t you?”

  “Yes,” Jace said.

  Bria turned back to Marilyn. “Jace and I love napping. We nap a lot.”

  Before the lion shifter could reply, Bria tugged Jace toward the elevator. “Bye, Marilyn. We’ll see you at the party tomorrow.”

  She pushed the elevator button. The doors opened, and she pulled Jace into it and dropped her bag on the floor. “What floor?”

  “Five.”

  She pushed the button and the doors slid shut. Jace was staring at her and she started to giggle. “The napping part was too much, wasn’t it? I knew it was too much, but I couldn’t resist.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “No, it was funny. Thanks for your help.”

  She curtsied dramatically. “Anytime. I might be tiny but I’m excellent at scaring away overzealous lion shifters.”

  “You really are,” he said so solemnly that she giggled again.

  The doors opened, and he grabbed both bags. They walked to the room and he opened the door and ushered her inside. She studied the bed before smiling at him. “This is nice.”

  “They only had rooms with one bed still available,” he said. He flushed and dropped the bags on a padded bench next to the dresser before crossing the room to the miniscule loveseat tucked into the corner. “I can, uh, sleep on this.”

  She set her purse on the bed and joined him at the loveseat. “Hey, Jace?”

  “Yeah?”

  She took his hands and squeezed them. “This is feeling really awkward and it doesn’t have to be. I’m here to play the part of your adoring girlfriend. In the interest of keeping things simple, why don’t we just keep the whole pretend girfriend thing going even when we’re alone. Once you drop me off at home tomorrow night, we’ll go back to being just friends. It’s easiest this way. Do you agree?”

  “Yes. If you’re sure you’re okay with that.”

  “I am. Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t start thinking it’s real and go all Fatal Attraction on you later,” she said teasingly.

  “Excellent news, little tiger.” He gave her a flirty grin and put his arms around her waist. “So, if we’re going to pretend to be dating even when we’re alone, does that mean I can get you naked and…nap with you?”