Page 91 of Bria and the Tiger

“Sit down, human,” Hudson repeated.

The people on the other side of the aisle were staring at them. She moved past Hudson and sat in the seat next to his.

“I need to keep the arm up,” he said.

“Okay.”

He eased his big body down beside her. The length of him was pressed up against her and it was clearly making him uncomfortable. He shifted and futilely tried to put some space between them. She wanted to laugh from a combination of embarrassment and anger. Hudson was probably wishing that Tori was sitting with him. She was annoying as hell and never seemed to shut up, but at least she was tiny and wouldn’t take up much room in her seat.

“Sorry.”

She glanced up at the big shifter. “For what?”

“I’m in your space.” His look of embarrassment eased her own a little.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

He studied her. “You sure?”

She nodded. “Yes. Besides, these hips take up my fair share of the seat anyway.”

His gaze dropped to her pelvis and she blushed a little as he stretched his legs out into the aisle. She realized that a large portion of the people in the theatre were staring at him. He seemed to be doing a good job of ignoring the stares, but she had a moment of pity for him. What must it be like to always have people staring at you? To always feel out of place and too big for the world around you. No wonder polar bear shifters kept to themselves.

“You want some popcorn?” He held the tub of popcorn in her direction.

“Sure, thanks.” She loved popcorn but hadn’t ordered it. She didn’t want to have a greasy face or popcorn stuck in her teeth around Lincoln. She took a handful and tossed it into her mouth. God, what an idiot she was.

* * *

“Did you enjoy the movie?” Rosalie smiled tentatively at Hudson as they walked out of the theatre. Lincoln and Tori were waiting for them near the exit. She tried to ignore the way Tori was pressed up against the lion shifter.

“Yeah, you?”

“I did. I thought it was better than – oh!”

A man was backing up and he bumped into her and knocked her into Hudson. Without really looking at her, the man said, “Watch where you’re going, idiot.”

Still pressed against Hudson, she felt the vibration of his growl before she heard it. The man froze and turned around slowly as Hudson’s arm slid around her waist. He stared up at the shifter and Rosalie swallowed her sudden urge to giggle when his face paled.

“Apologize to the lady.” Hudson’s voice was low and angry.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the man said immediately. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s fine.”

Weirdly, the man reached out to pat her on the shoulder. She didn’t know if he was drunk or if Hudson made him so nervous he was acting crazy. Hudson growled again, this one louder and angrier, and the man’s hand froze just above her shoulder.

Hudson’s arm tightened around her waist. “Don’t touch her.”

“S-sorry,” the man said. “I’m, uh, so sorry.”

He turned and pushed his way through the crowd of people that were watching the three of them. Rosalie patted Hudson’s arm. “Thanks.”

He didn’t reply, and she glanced up at him, the smile dying on her face. “Hudson? What’s wrong?”

“Are you hurt, human?” His dark brown eyes were nearly black, and he looked supremely pissed off.

“What? No, I’m not hurt.” Rosalie patted his arm again, feeling more than a little self-conscious as the people around them continued to stare. “Uh, you can let go now.”

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