Page 31 of Bria and the Tiger

“What? She does?”

“Yes. I smelled it this morning when she saw him, and she knows that I know and that all of the other shifters know too. Do they treat her differently?”

Rosalie shook her head. “No. I mean, I don’t think they do.”

“They don’t, and they won’t. Smelling arousal is no different to us than smelling hunger or anxiety. I promise you, Jace does not think differently of you because he knows you like Lincoln. Just like he doesn’t think differently of Sam.”

“Okay, maybe he doesn’t. But what about Lincoln?” Rosalie’s cheeks flushed bright red. “All this time, whenever he’s around me, he smells… God, I want to die of embarrassment. I can’t work with him anymore.”

“I know it’s weird, and I’m sorry, but quitting isn’t the answer. Shifters are everywhere in this damn city. Finding a job where there aren’t any won’t be easy. What if at your new job, you develop a crush on one of your coworkers? Are you going to quit that one too?”

“I won’t develop a crush on someone else.”

“Fair enough. Still, I know I just started here, but it’s obvious that you run this place. Jace is freaking out. Hell, I can smell his anxiety from here. If you quit and start over, it’ll take you that much longer to get your license, right? Not to mention, Jace will probably stalk you and beg you to come back for the next six months.”

A small smile crossed Rosalie’s face. “He would be up shit creek without me.”

Bria reached across the desk and squeezed her hand. “He would be.”

“It’s just, I don’t think I can face Lincoln. I can’t help my reaction when I’m around him, Bria. I try, but…”

“Lincoln doesn’t need to know that you know he can smell your attraction to him,” Bria said.

“I know he’s taking advantage of me with all the personal shit he gets me to do for him,” Rosalie said abruptly. “I’ve seen the women he, uh dates, and I’m not his type.”

“Lion shifters don’t have a type. They love women. All women. Trust me on this.”

“They do have a type. Maybe not physically but they like women who are wild and kinky in bed and,” a bitter laugh escaped from Rosalie’s throat, “that’s not me. I’ve slept with one guy – a human – and we didn’t exactly set the bed on fire together. Half the time he couldn’t even make me – fuck, sorry. I’m sharing way too much.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind,” Bria said.

“I know I’m wasting my time with him, I do, but you can’t help who you love, right? I know he likes women who know what they’re doing in bed and are up to trying crazy things. I want to be that type of woman.”

“Or,” Bria said, “maybe it’s none of that, and he doesn’t want to date a coworker.”

“There’s no policy against dating a coworker,” Rosalie said. “Trust me, if I believed he wasn’t asking me out because I was a coworker, I would have quit a long time ago. I overheard him just the other day telling Jace he wouldn’t date me because I’m not kinky enough for him.”

Another bitter laugh. “I wanted to argue, wanted to get him alone and tell him that I was plenty kinky only… I’m not. He mentioned handcuffs to Jace and I’m surprised he didn’t see the glow of my face from the hallway. I want to try new things in bed, I do, but not with someone who is already expecting it from me. I’d look like an idiot.”

Bria shrugged. “Learning something new doesn’t make you an idiot.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just – it doesn’t matter because Lincoln wants someone who is already kinky in bed, not someone who’s willing to learn to be kinky.”

“I think,” Bria hesitated and then decided to forge ahead, “the bigger concern is that lion shifters aren’t really into settling down.”

“Some of them are. You said your ex was ready.”

“Yes, but Lincoln seems like a typical lion shifter to me. They start off great in a relationship when it’s new and the sex is hot and heavy, but they get bored easily.”

“Maybe a girl just needs to be really open to lots of sex and different, like, positions and stuff,” Rosalie said.

Bria hid her frustration. She’d already decided that Rosalie was way too good for Lincoln and she hated the idea of the sweet human’s heart being broken by the arrogant shifter. “It really has nothing to do with their partner, you know? A woman could have sex with them seven times a day and they’d still get bored and want to move on. They can’t help it. It’s their nature.”

“But not all of them,” Rosalie said stubbornly.

“No, not all of them.” Bria knew when to admit defeat, and like it or not, Rosalie was in love with Lincoln.

“Did you – I mean, in the kitchen yesterday, did you smell anything on Lincoln? Was he, uh, turned on by me even a little?”

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