Page 88 of Bria and the Tiger

Bria laughed. “I don’t mind. I promise. Go home and get ready for your date.”

“Are you sure? Jace is still here and so is Sam. If you have any questions, she can help you.”

“It’ll be fine. Go. Have fun tonight, okay?”

“Thanks, Bria.” Rosalie smiled happily at her. “Have a good weekend. I’ll talk to you on Monday.”

* * *

Jace closed down his laptop and checked his watch before shutting the lights off and locking his office door. Sam had left five minutes ago, and he was alone in the office with Bria. He carried his coffee mug to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher before leaning against the counter and closing his eyes.

He was feeling jittery and anxious, and not even his therapy appointment with Dr. Martin this afternoon had helped. Of course, he hadn’t been very truthful with her about what was wrong. She’d known something was upsetting him, but he had skirted around the truth. He should have been open with her. He should have told her that his tiger wanted Bria as its mate, and his human side wanted her too, and it was freaking him the fuck out.

It had taken all of his willpower Wednesday night not to ask Bria to spend the night. He’d been shocked and uneasy by how strong the urge was to have her sleep in his bed with him. If she had lingered even a minute longer, he would have asked her to stay.

He rubbed at his forehead. If his parents knew how he was feeling, they would be the ones freaking out.

So why exactly did you invite Bria to Ash’s engagement party?

“Jace? What’s wrong?” Bria’s scent drifted to him and her soft voice made his tiger purr happily.

He opened his eyes and smiled at her as she walked into the kitchen. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Are you sure?”

He knew she could smell his confusion and his anxiety, and he did what Dr. Martin kept telling him not to do. He pushed it down deep and masked it with a false sense of cheerfulness.

“I am. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. I left my car at home today so that if one of the agents came into the office tomorrow, it wouldn’t be still in the parking lot. Do you think you can drop me off at home tomorrow night?”

“Of course.” They walked to reception and he watched as Bria fished out an overnight bag from under her desk.

“Here, I’ll take that.” He took it from her and slung it over his shoulder. Bria set the alarm and they left the office. He put her bag in the trunk next to his and they climbed into his car.

“Are you hungry?” He started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

“Not starving. Why?”

“I was thinking we’d go out to eat after we checked in at the hotel, but it’s a two-hour drive to Langden.”

“That’s fine, I can wait.”

He turned left and headed toward the freeway. “I also, uh, booked us together in the same room. It’s the only hotel in Langden and a bunch of my family are driving up tonight and will be staying there too. No doubt we’ll run into some of them in the hotel. It would look odd if they saw us going into different rooms. But if you’re uncomfortable with sharing a room…”

“It’s not a problem,” she said. “I assumed we’d be sharing a room, we are dating after all.”

He wondered if he should tell her that he’d booked a room with only one bed. He could have booked a room with two doubles, he’d just deliberately chosen a room with one queen bed.

“Jace?” Bria was giving him a nervous look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make this awkward with the dating comment. I know we’re not actually dating. I was just making a stupid joke.”

“You didn’t,” he said. “Really. I’m just a bit distracted. The house showing didn’t go well today, and the clients are getting frustrated.”

“It’s only the fourth house you’ve shown them, right?”

“Yeah, but they’re impatient to find a place. Anyway, let’s talk about something not work related.”

“Okay. Tell me about your cousin and the rest of your family. It’ll be easier to sell the idea that we’re dating if I know a bit about your family.”

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