Page 59 of Bria and the Tiger

“Thanks, Rosalie,” Jace’s voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat as he stepped away from Bria. “I’m just finishing up a quick meeting with Bria.”

Grimacing, he adjusted his cock through his pants and crossed the room to sit at his desk.

Bria smoothed down her hair and opened the door. Thanking God that Rosalie was human and wouldn’t smell her need for Jace, she smiled at her. “Sorry, it’s my fault.”

Rosalie frowned at her. “Are you sick? Your face is bright red.”

“No, I’m fine. Just feeling a little warm.”

She slipped past the brunette and hurried back to reception.

* * *

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Rosalie gave Bria a worried look.

“Yes,” Bria said. “The office is closing in, like, twenty minutes. I can handle twenty minutes on my own.”

Rosalie studied her for a few minutes. “It doesn’t seem fair to leave you alone just because I want to skip out early on a Friday. But I told my mom I would meet her at the mall before five and - ”

“I’ll be fine. Go, Rosalie.” Bria kept her hands clenched in a tight fist below the receptionist desk.

“Lincoln is still here but he’s holed up in his office and he wouldn’t be any help even if you had questions.” Rosalie pulled on a tendril of her hair. “But you have my cell phone so if there was an emergency…”

“I’m sure there won’t be an emergency at quarter to five on a Friday afternoon. The phone hasn’t even rung since three. You need to go before you’re late.”

“Are you sure you’re okay today?” Rosalie asked. “You’ve been really quiet all afternoon and you’re pale. The flu is going around but I thought shifters didn’t really get sick.”

“I’m not sick. Just a bit tired.”

Please leave. Oh God, please leave.

“Okay. Well, have a good weekend and I’ll see you on Monday, all right?”

“You bet.”

“Remember, just call me if you need any help.”

“I will. Bye, Rosalie.”

“Bye.”

The moment Rosalie was gone, Bria gripped her stomach and leaned over. She rocked back and forth for a few minutes before standing and walking to the kitchen. Lincoln’s door was closed. and she could hear the faint sound of his voice as he talked on the phone. She poured a glass of water and drank it all in three large gulps before gripping the counter tightly.

Ten more minutes, Bria, ten more minutes.

For the first time ever, her cycle had come early. She had refused to believe it at first, ignoring the ache in her belly and pelvis, but by three it was impossible to ignore.

She was in heat and in deep trouble.

Jace isn’t here, don’t worry.

Thank fucking God. Yesterday, after his meeting with Ava and Bishop, Jace had left the office again. But he’d shown up this morning at eight with donuts and coffee for the office. He’d spent the entire morning in his office with the door closed but she considered that an improvement over the last few days.

Luckily for her and her hey-why-don’t-I-come-early heat cycle, Jace had left at noon to show some houses and wouldn’t be back. She checked the clock on the microwave – eight minutes to five. All she had to do was get through the next eight minutes and then she could go home.

Where you’ll spend the next two days in agony.

She ignored the errant thought. Her hand shaking, she tucked a stray lock of hair back into her hair clip. She would worry about the next two days later. Right now, she still had eight minutes to get through, and she couldn’t forget that Lincoln was still in the building. Sure, he was in his office, but what if he left at the same time she did? What if she took one look at him and jumped on him? She needed to be fucked and her cat wouldn’t care who it was, just that they had a nice, thick cock to –

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