Page 78 of Bria and the Tiger

“Are you always this organized?”

“Nope. Just ask Rosalie.”

She laughed, and he grinned at her. “Is Rosalie saying bad things about me?”

“No, just the opposite. She really likes working for you.”

“She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. It’ll be a damn shame when she becomes an agent.”

“You know she wants to do that?” Bria gave him a surprised look.

“I suspected and now you’ve confirmed it.” He gave her a wicked grin and she poked him in his flat abdomen.

“You tricked me. Here I was thinking you were a sweet guy.

“I’m very sweet.” He stepped toward her and she backed up until her ass hit the bookshelf behind her. “In fact, I think you know exactly how sweet I can be.”

She licked her lips, her tiger purring so loudly she could barely hear anything else. “Jace, I…”

His chest was brushing against her breasts and she tried not to moan. He studied her mouth as he reached beside her head and pulled out a book. “Just what I’m looking for.”

He stepped away and she swallowed down her disappointment as he leafed through the book. “It’s perfect. Ready to go?”

“Yes.”

They walked toward the tills and Bria said, “How are your back and chest, by the way?”

“Almost completely healed.”

“Really?” She gave him a skeptical look. It had only been two days since she’d given him the salve. She suspected he was lying to her.

“Yes. I keep telling you that you don’t need to feel bad about scratching me. It’s really not that big of a…Rosalie, hey. Uh, what are you doing here?”

They were walking through the self-help section and they had nearly run straight into the curvy brunette. Rosalie stared wide-eyed at them before clamping the books she was holding to her ample chest. She covered them with her arms and gave them a nervous smile.

“Uh, hey, guys. Uh, just looking at some books. What are you doing here?”

“I ran into Bria while she was shopping for a dress. I’m buying a cookbook for my mom’s birthday,” Jace said. “What books are you buying?”

“Um…” Rosalie stared at Bria. The human had a holy-shit-help-me look on her face and Bria tugged on Jace’s arm.

“Hey, do you mind if we get going? I have a thing tonight.”

“Sure,” Jace said. “See you later, Rosie.”

“Bye, Jace.”

Jace stepped past her and Rosalie mouthed ‘thank you’ to Bria. Bria smiled at her and squeezed her arm before following Jace to the till. He paid for the book and they walked toward the outside entrance of the bookstore.

“Where are you parked?” Jace asked.

“Not far from here.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

They walked in silence to her car and she smiled at him when he put the bag in the backseat for her. “Thanks, Jace.”

“You’re welcome.”

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