Page 34 of Bria and the Tiger

Chapter Six

“Oh crap, did I forget to tell you Friday’s were casual?” Rosalie grabbed a mug from the cupboard and set it next to Bria’s.

“No.” Bria poured coffee into both mugs before setting the pot back. She smoothed down her dress a bit self-consciously as she studied Rosalie’s t-shirt and jeans. “You told me.”

“Oh.” Rosalie added cream to her coffee before pouring some into Bria’s.

It was early Friday morning and there was no one else in the office yet, but Bria still lowered her voice. “I have a date tonight after work.”

“Nice,” Rosalie said. “With who?”

“A wolf shifter from the Shifter’s Love app. We’ve been texting back and forth for a few days now and he hasn’t once misspelled ‘your’ or asked for a nude or sent me a dick pic, so I’m meeting him at Bud’s.”

“What’s Bud’s?” Rosalie asked.

“It’s a shifters-only bar. Well, it’s supposed to be shifters-only, but I know the new owner and he’s fine with humans coming to the bar. He doesn’t advertise it or anything because he knows that a lot of the shifters like that it’s just shifters. But Porter – that’s the owner - is mated to a human.”

“Oh. So, you’re meeting him for dinner and drinks?”

“I am.”

“Well, you look gorgeous and he won’t be able to resist you.”

* * *

Jace stood in the hallway outside of the kitchen with his hands clenched into tight fists. His tiger was growling and snarling, and he tried to calm it as he listened to Bria tell Rosalie what Bud’s Bar was.

She’s ours!His tiger growled. She belongs to us, not some stupid wolf shifter.

Knock it off, you idiot!He snapped at his tiger. She’s not ours and I’m not interested in anything more than sex. Stop it with the ‘she belongs to us’ shit. I’m not in the fucking mood.

“Is there a reason you’re standing in the hallway looking like your head is about to explode?” He was knocked into the wall when Lincoln clapped him on the back. “Oh, sorry, buddy. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”

“Shut up, Lincoln,” Jace said.

He followed the lion shifter into the kitchen, nearly running into his back when he stopped abruptly.

“Tiny ti – Bria, you’re looking lovely today.”

“Thanks, Lincoln.”

Jace stepped around Lincoln and forced a smile at Bria and Rosalie. “Morning, ladies.”

“Morning,” Bria said.

Rosalie was staring into her mug of coffee and she visibly twitched when Lincoln dropped his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, Rosie-girl. I like your t-shirt.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I better get to work. Busy day.”

She ducked out from under Lincoln’s arm and hurried out of the kitchen. Lincoln frowned and sniffed the air as he studied Rosalie’s retreating form. When she was gone, he poured himself a coffee.

Jace watched as Bria grabbed her lunch bag from the counter and bent to stuff it into the fridge. God, she looked good. Her dark hair was braided, and her dress matched her eyes in colour. It clung to her firm ass and he glared at Lincoln when he caught the lion shifter staring.

Lincoln shrugged and added sugar to his coffee as he continued to stare at Bria’s ass. She straightened and shut the fridge door. “Well, I should get to reception.”

“Right. Hey, uh, any plans for the weekend?” Jace asked.

“I’m going to Kat’s place on Sunday. How about you?”

---