Page 99 of Bria and the Tiger

Chapter Thirteen

“Jace! I’m so glad you could make it.” A tall and slender tiger shifter with long dark hair and green eyes, threw her arms around Jace and hugged him hard.

“Me too, Ash. Congrats on the engagement.”

“Thanks! Listen, I don’t know if you know, but Marilyn is here.” The tiger shifter rolled her eyes. “I didn’t want to invite her, but you know how Mom is. Anyway, just wanted to warn you. You know she’ll be trying to get into your pants like she always does.”

Jace stepped away from his cousin and put his arm around Bria’s waist. “Mom warned me she was coming. Ash, this is my girlfriend Bria. Bria, this is my cousin Ashley.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” Bria held her hand out and Ashley shook it with an excited trill.

“Oh my God! Jace, you didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend! Aren’t you just the most gorgeous little thing, ever! I love your dress. That blue matches your eyes perfectly. Where did you buy it? It’s so awesome to meet you! How did you and Jace meet?”

“The Shifters Love dating app,” Jace said.

Bria hid her small grin as Jace squeezed her hip.

“Oh my God! That’s how Reggie and I met! Reggie! Babe, come here!”

The bull shifter, he was only about 5’10 but was wide and powerful looking, walked across the lawn toward them. He walked like a typical bull shifter - with his head down and his muscular arms swinging with every stride. His head was shaved, and he had multiple facial piercings. She studied the small golden ring in his nasal septum as he drew closer.

He stopped next to Ashley and she threw her arm around his waist. “Babe, you remember my cousin Jace. This is his girlfriend, Bria.”

“Hey, good to see you again.” Reggie shook Jace’s hand and then Bria’s. He had a hard grip but he smiled good naturedly at her. “Hi, I’m Reggie. Good to meet you.”

He pressed a kiss against Ash’s cheek. “My aunt wants you to come and meet my cousin. The one who flew in from Maryland.”

“Sure.” Ashley grinned at Jace and Bria. She pointed to the table that was set up on the stone patio. It was loaded down with bowls and platters of food and a giant punch bowl. “Help yourself to the food before it’s all gone, okay? Oh, and Dad poured like an entire bottle of vodka in the punch when Mom wasn’t looking so you might want to go easy on it.”

Jace laughed. “Thanks for the warning.”

Bria waited until they were out of earshot. “The dating app?”

Jace grinned at her. “What? I thought it was a brilliant last-minute save. We never talked about our ‘how we met’ story.”

“Hey, I’m impressed by your quick thinking,” Bria said.

“I’m more than just a pretty face, you know. I’m smart, funny, and I have a really big -”

“Jace?”

Bria pasted a smile on her face. She recognized the voice behind them and her nervous system went on high alert. Her tiger made a low whine of anxiety, and she soothed it absently as she and Jace turned. She smiled confidently at Jace’s parents.

“Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad.” Jace shook his father’s hand and kissed his mother’s cheek.

“Hi, honey.” Jace’s mom patted his shoulder. “We missed you at breakfast this morning at Franco’s. Almost the whole family was there.”

“Sorry. We slept in.”

She supposed if sleeping in meant Jace had pinned her against the wall of the shower and fucked her until she was begging him to let her come, then yeah, she guessed they had slept in.

There was an awkward silence and then Jace said, “You remember Bria.”

“We do,” Jace’s dad said. “Nice to see you again, Bria.”

“Nice to see you too, Mr. Shepherd.” She held out her hand and he studied it for a moment before shaking it.

Bria held out her hand to Jace’s mom. The tiger shifter seemed even more reluctant than her husband to touch her hand, but she finally gave it a quick, brief shake. Bria smiled at her. “That’s a very pretty dress, Mrs. Shepherd.”

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