“Kat, this would be so much easier if you were here.” Bria stared at Kat’s face on the screen of her cell phone.
“I know but I’m stuck at work and if you want my opinion on a dress, this is our best option. Show me the yellow one.”
Bria turned the phone and showed her the yellow dress. “It’s pretty but am I looking for pretty or am I looking for knock-your-socks-off hot?”
“Okay, let me see the blue one again.” Kat’s voice was tinny and low.
Bria pulled the blue one from the rack and held it next to the yellow one. “Which one do you think?”
“Definitely the blue one.”
Jace’s low voice speaking into her ear almost made her shriek in surprise. She whipped around, still holding her phone out in front of her and stared up at the gorgeous tiger shifter. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a mall where people shop. I shop.”
Kat’s laugh drifted out from the phone and Jace grinned at the screen. “Hello, Kat. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Jace.”
Bria turned the phone so the screen was facing her. “Uh, Kat was helping me pick out a dress for this weekend. Right, Kat?”
“That’s right. But I gotta go. Bye.”
“Kat! No, wait…”
The jaguar shifter’s face disappeared from the screen and Bria gave Jace a weak smile. “Uh, she had to go.”
“I heard. So, which dress are you going with?”
“I’m not sure. I wanted a second opinion when I’m actually wearing them. I guess I’ll just wait until tomorrow night and see if Kat can go to the mall.”
“No need,” Jace said. “I can give you the second opinion. Go and try them on.”
“Oh no, that’s okay. You’re probably busy and…”
Jace scooped up both dresses and carried them to the dressing room at the back of the store. She followed him and watched as he gave the dresses to the attendant.
“Come with me.” The attendant was a wolf shifter and she was giving Jace a clear look of appreciation.
Her tiger snarled in jealousy. Bria soothed it as she followed the attendant to one of the rooms. The attendant hurried away, no doubt to flirt with Jace, and Bria grimaced at herself in the mirror. She stripped off her shirt and skirt and tugged the yellow dress over her head. It was pretty, and the colour looked good on her, but she wasn’t fond of the way it flared around her hips.
She opened the door and stepped out. To her surprise, Jace was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area and there was no attendant in sight.
He looked her up and down. “This one is cute.”
She made a face. “Yeah, it’s a no then.”
“What’s wrong with cute?”
“Nothing’s wrong with cute if you’re a little kid.”
He laughed, and she grinned at him. “I’m gonna try on the blue one.”
She returned to the dressing room and took off the yellow dress. She studied the blue one for a moment before shrugging out of her bra. She had a strapless one at home that she could wear with the dress, but she was perky enough to go without, just to see what the dress looked like.
The dress really was gorgeous, she mused. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and a ruched bodice. The skirt flowed down her hips to just above her knees. She pulled the zipper up as far as she could before opening the door and poking her head out.
“Is the attendant around?”
“Nope. What do you need?”
“Uh, my zipper done up.”
He stood and she hesitated before walking to him. She turned and he zipped up the dress before stroking a finger across her bare upper back. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her tiger purred before she could stop it. Jace’s rumbing purr in return made her flush with pleasure.
Before she could do something really stupid like push him into the dressing room and have sex with him, she stepped away and turned to face him. “What do you think?”
He didn’t reply, and disappointment flickered through her. “That bad?”
“That good.” His voice was a low growl that made her pussy dampen and then clench uselessly around nothing. “You look incredibly sexy, little tiger.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His gaze lingered on her breasts and she could feel her nipples tightening against the material of the dress. He traced the ruching across the abdomen with his hand and she could barely contain her moan. When he finally lifted his gaze to her face and she saw the lust in it, her tiger made a soft and embarrassingly eager mating trill to Jace’s tiger.
“Oh God, I’m sorry.” She wanted to kill her stupid tiger and her stupid mating call.
Stop it! She snapped inwardly at her tiger. You’re embarrassing me.
Her tiger hissed at her but retreated. She gave Jace another look of apology. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “You have to get this one for the party.”
She smoothed her hand down the skirt. “Yeah? You like this one better than the yellow one?”
He nodded as he studied her mouth. “Much better. There is one problem though.” He stepped closer to her and she licked her lips when he rubbed her collarbone with his thumb.
“Wh-what?”
“If you wear this dress to the party, I’ll have to mark you to keep the other shifters from trying to take you from me.”
She stared up at him. His eyes were turning from hazel to jade and when his tiger called to hers, she purred in reply without even thinking about it. Cat shifters could mark and sometimes did – although they weren’t nearly as over-the-top about marking as wolf shifters were – but they usually only marked their mates. It was a testimony to how drunk Jace was the night he kept marking her at the club.
“Maybe I should mark you right now.”
His voice was low.
Hypnotic.
“Lift your head, little tiger.”
She wanted him to mark her so much.
She wanted to know that she smelled like him.
She wanted any shifter who went near her to smell Jace and know she was his.
She was lifting her head when common sense returned. His mark would last a day or two and the other shifters at the office would smell it.
He was already bending his head and she put a hand on his broad chest. “Jace, wait.”
He growled at her and she shook her head. “No, you can’t mark me. The others at the office…”
“A kiss then,” he said. “Kiss me, little tiger.”
“I shouldn’t,” she whispered as he dipped his head down.
“You should.”
She stared at Jace’s mouth. “Maybe just once.”
He growled his approval. “That’s my good girl.”
“How are we doing here back here? Need any help or – oh!”
Her tiger growled, and her fangs popped out. She clapped her hand over her mouth before she could bare them at the attendant who was suddenly standing behind them.
Jace stepped back and the attendant took a deep breath before flushing. Bria joined her in turning red. No doubt the wolf shifter could smell Jace’s arousal. Hell, she would smell Bria’s too.
The attendant gave her a look that practically screamed silent judgment. “Have you decided on a dress?”
“Uh, yes. I’ll take this one.”
“Perfect.” She stared pointedly at Jace.
“Bria, I’ll wait for you out there. Okay?”
“Sure, okay.”
He left and the attendant gave her a frosty smile. “Need help with the zipper?”
“Yes, thank you.”
* * *
She half-expected Jace to be gone when she came out of the dressing room, but he was standing by the till. They stood in awkward silence as the woman behind the counter folded the dress and placed in a bag.
“That’ll be $125.73,” the woman said.
Before Bria could grab her wallet from her purse, Jace was handing the woman his card.
“Hey, no, you’re not buying the dress.”
The woman paused and Jace made a go on motion to her. “I am, Bria.”
“I have money,” she said defensively.
“I know you do. But the only reason you’re buying this dress is because of me. I’d really like to pay for it. You’re doing me a favour, remember?”
“No, I’m going as a way to say sorry for scratching the crap out of you during my -”
She shut her mouth with a snap and stared at the sales clerk. She was human, and she was studying her with curiosity. Jace was grinning and Bria scowled at him as he turned back to the sales clerk. “Put it on my card, please.”
She rang it through and he took the bag when she handed it to him. He walked out of the store and Bria followed him. When she tried to take the bag, he pulled it away. “I’ll carry it for you.”
Dammit, why did he have to be such a gentleman? She sighed and walked beside him as they wandered through the mall. “Thank you for buying the dress.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Where to next?”
“I’m done.”
“I have to go to the bookstore.” Still holding the bag, he turned left, and she had no choice but to follow him to the bookstore. He went straight to the food section and started browsing through the cookbooks.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?” She asked.
“It’s my mom’s birthday next month. I bought her a spiralizer and now I’m just looking for a cookbook with recipes for a spiralizer.”
“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.”
There was an awkward silence. Jace rubbed at the scruff on his jaw. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.”
“Yes.”
“Right. Okay, bye.”
“Bye.”
He turned to go, and her tiger whined like a housecat. “Jace, wait.”
“What’s wrong?” He studied her closely.
“Nothing. I just – is your back really healed?”
He shrugged. “Mostly. My chest is completely healed – that salve you gave me is amazing – but I couldn’t put the salve on my back so it’s taking longer to heal.”
She bit her lip. “Um, your house is on my way home. Do you want me to stop and put some salve on your back?”
“I thought you had a thing.”
She smiled a little. “Sorry, I didn’t. I just – Rosalie obviously didn’t want us to see what books she was buying.”
“Seriously?” Jace gave her a surprised look. “Why not?”
“I don’t know, but it’s why I lied. She wanted us to leave.”
“Oh. Well then, yes, I’d like it if you stopped by.” He backed away quickly, as if afraid she would change her mind. “I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes then?”
“Yeah, okay.” She climbed into her car and gave Jace a brief wave before starting the car and driving toward the exit.
Her tiger was purring and trilling excitedly. What the hell was she doing? Going to Jace’s house was a very bad idea, but one she couldn’t resist.
* * *
Rosalie peeked around the corner of the bookshelf. Jace and Bria were paying at the register and she loosened her grip on her books. God, if they had seen what she was buying…
She took a deep breath. They didn’t see them – it was fine. They were leaving the bookstore and she heaved another sigh of relief. It was stupid to feel so self-conscious, she decided as she hurried toward the cashier. Even if they had seen her books, what was the big deal? She was an adult woman buying books about sex. She studied the books in her arms. There was nothing to be embarrassed about or –
“Crap!” She ran head-first into a warm, hard and oddly-familiar wall of flesh. The books flew from her arms and landed on the floor as she staggered back. She stared up at the rough features of Hudson. The polar bear shifter scowled at her and she gave him a nervous smile.
“I’m sorry.”
He grunted in reply and she watched in slow-motion horror as he bent and reached for her books.
“No, don’t - ”
It was too late. Hudson had picked up both books and was studying the covers. The one in his ham-sized right hand was bright blue. The woman on the front cover had the striking beauty of a supermodel. A lion, it’s mouth open in a roar, was sitting next to her. In yellow font, the title, “A Human’s Guide to Sex with a Lion Shifter” was scrawled across the top of the book.
The book in his left hand was black with white lettering. Hudson studied the photo of the handcuffs embossed on the cover and she wanted to die when he read the title in his low voice. “So You Want to be Kinky. Fifty-Two Ways to Spice up Your Sex Life.”
“They’re, um, a gag gift for a friend.” Her cheeks were so hot, she was waiting for them to simply catch on fire.
“Right,” he said.
“I’m sorry for smashing into you again.” She gave him a weak smile.
“You do that a lot. Maybe you should watch where you’re going.”
“Uh, yes, I will, um, start doing that.” Oh God, she needed to leave, but he was still holding her books. “Can I have the books back now?”
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.
“Um, I’m Rosalie by the way. You’re Hudson, right?” She asked as she buckled her seat belt.
He nodded and slouched a little so the top of his head didn’t hit the ceiling. “Yeah.”
“What’s your address?”
He recited the address and she jerked in surprise. “That’s in Standen Park?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m in Standen Court which is right next to Standen Park. We’re neighbours.”
He grunted in reply and she cleared her throat before driving out of the parking lot. After a few minutes, she said, “So, uh, thanks again for helping me at the bar.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you like working there?”
“It’s a good place to work.”
“That’s good.” He hadn’t asked but she said, “I work at a real estate agency. I’m a personal assistant but I’m thinking of becoming an agent.”
He didn’t reply, and she stopped at a red light. The silence in the car felt thick and uncomfortable. She studied him out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing jeans with dark brown work boots and a t-shirt. This one fit him way better than his work shirt but it still stretched across his broad shoulders and clung to his upper arms. He wasn’t wearing a jacket despite the cool air.
“Aren’t you cold?”
He turned to study her. “I’m a polar bear.”
“Oh right. That was a stupid thing to say. You probably never get cold, huh?”
Another shrug before he stared out the window. She studied the back of his thick neck as the light turned green. She drove forward and cleared her throat again.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” She decided his low grunt meant yes. “Where do you buy your clothes? Pretty sure you can’t just walk into a Macy’s and buy a pair of jeans.”
“Order them online.”
“Oh. Like a speciality store for, uh, large shifters?”
“Yeah.”
“That must be annoying. Not being able to buy clothes from a store here in the city.”
“There are shifter clothing stores here.” He scowled at her. “Do you know anything about shifters?”
“Not a lot.”
“That guy you were with at the bar was a tiger shifter.”
“Yes, but he’s my boss. We don’t, like, hang out on a regular basis or anything. The new receptionist, Bria, is a tiger shifter and we’ve sort of become friends. Are you, uh, friends with any humans?”
“No.”
“Oh. Because you don’t like humans or…”
“I don’t know any humans. Can I ask you a personal question?”
She nodded. “Oh, uh, yes, of course.”
“Why do you wanna fuck a lion shifter?”
Her face turned bright red and she groaned inwardly when she had to stop for another red light. “That’s really personal.”
“You asked me a personal question.”
“There’s a big difference between asking someone where they buy their clothes and asking someone about their sex life.”
He just shrugged, and she stared out the windshield. She wasn’t going to tell the polar bear shifter why she wanted to sleep with Lincoln. It was none of his business.
“I don’t want to-to just fuck a lion shifter,” she blurted out. “I want to date a lion shifter named Lincoln.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Why does anyone want to date someone? He’s handsome and smart and funny. I like him.”
He looked her up and down. “You’re not his type.”
“You don’t even know him. Besides, lion shifters like all sorts of women. Even chubby ones,” she said defensively.
“Not talking about your looks. And I do know him. He comes to the bar all the time. Goes home with a different shifter every time.”
She had an immediate urge to defend Lincoln. “That doesn’t make him a bad guy.”
“You’re too sweet for a lion shifter.”
“You don’t know that I’m sweet.”
“Anyone who needs to buy a book on how to have kinky sex, is too sweet for a lion shifter.”
“Oh my God! I am not discussing my sex life with you. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with expanding your knowledge on certain subjects. Reading is never a bad thing.”
He laughed, and a weird trickle of heat went through her belly. He had a nice laugh. An amazing laugh, actually, and her irritation and embarrassment disappeared almost immediately.
“You should stay away from him,” he said.
“I’ll take your suggestion under advisement.” She pulled into the Standen Park complex and he pointed toward a townhouse.
“It’s that one on the end.”
She stopped in front of his house and he reached for the door. “Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome.”
He slid out of the truck. Before he could slam the door shut, she said, “I leave for work around eight. I can stop and pick you up if you want a ride to a car parts store or something.”
He hesitated, and she smiled tentatively at him. “I really don’t mind.”
“Yeah, okay,” he grunted. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. See you at eight.”
“Bye.” He shut the door and walked into his house without looking back.