Page 80 of Bria and the Tiger

He studied the books again before studying her. “Lion shifters are nothing but trouble. You should stay away from them.”

“I told you – they’re books for a friend.” Her voice was too high and too thin. Why the fuck didn’t she just order the damn books online?

“You’re not a very good liar, human.” He held the books out and she snatched them to her chest.

Without another word, he turned and left. She could feel the floor shaking as he walked, and she watched as others in the bookstore turned to stare at him. Her heart thudding in her chest, she hurried to the checkout.

* * *

“Mom, I’m fine. Stop worrying. I had a few errands to run, that’s all. No, I’m not feeling sick, why? My voice is not rusty sounding. No, my throat isn’t sore. Mom, I have to go, okay? I’ll call you later. I love you too. Bye, yes, no I know…okay, bye.”

Rosalie sighed and shoved her cell phone into her pocket before pushing through the exit doors. After her humiliating encounter with the polar bear shifter, she had gone to the food court and consoled herself with sushi before grabbing a coffee from the Starbucks. She took a sip of the hot liquid as she walked across the parking lot. She would go home, get into her pajamas and maybe do a little reading. She was stupidly excited to read her new books, and maybe get some ideas on how to seduce Lincoln and…

Shit. She slowed to a stop and stared at the man bent over the engine of the truck. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe it was some other giant-sized man who just happened to be a damn polar bear.

She sighed again before walking toward Hudson. “Hey there. Car trouble?”

He glanced briefly at her before bending over the engine of his truck again. “Yeah.”

His big hands poked and prodded at the engine. When it came to what was under the hood of a car, she knew how to add windshield washer fluid, and that was the extent of her knowledge. Hudson seemed like he knew what he was doing, but the truck also looked about a thousand years old. She wasn’t surprised when he returned to the driver’s seat and nothing happened when he turned the key.

She expected him to curse, maybe slam his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. Instead, he just slid out from behind the wheel, shut the door and closed the hood with a loud bang.

“Are you going to call a tow truck?” She asked.

“Nah. I know the part I need. I’ll pick it up tomorrow and come back and fix it.”

“Oh. How will you get home tonight?”

“Walk.” He walked away without saying goodbye and she bit her bottom lip.

“Hey, wait. I can give you a ride home.”

He turned and stared at her. “Won’t fit in your car.”

“I drive a truck.”

He looked her up and down. She could see the surprise on his face. “What?”

“A little human like you drives a truck?”

“I’m not little.” She wanted to giggle at the absurdity of the conversation. Had she ever once in her life been called little? No. Definitely not.

He trudged back until he was standing in front of her. “You look little to me.”

She craned her head up to stare at him. He made a good point. Compared to Hudson, she was little. Of course, a damn moving van would look little next to him, so she shouldn’t be too flattered.

“Um, my truck isn’t parked far from here.”

“I can walk.”

“I’d like to repay you for helping me at the bar the other night. Let me give you a ride home, okay?”

He shrugged. “Okay.”

She shifted her bag of books to her other hand and blushed a little when Hudson stared at the bag. “Ready?”

He nodded and followed her to her truck. He pushed the seat back as far as it would go and climbed into the passenger side. She threw the bag of books in the back and put her coffee in the cupholder between them. She slid behind the wheel and started the truck.

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