“You look like shit, Bria.”
“Are you always this sweet to your customers, Porter?” Bria asked as she slid onto the bar stool.
Porter winked at her. “Only the lucky ones. What can I get you to drink?”
“Whiskey.”
Bria ignored the wolf shifter’s look of surprise. When he brought her the glass of amber liquid, she drank it all in one gulp.
“Hoo…that burns,” she muttered. “Give me another one.”
Porter studied her for a moment before pouring her another. “Drink this one slower.”
“Yes, Sir.” Her voice was heavy on the sarcasm, but she sipped at the drink. Porter leaned on the bar and crossed his arms.
“So, you going to tell me what’s wrong or just drink all the whiskey in the bar?”
“Is the bar officially yours yet?” Bria asked.
Porter nodded. “Yeah, as of two days ago. Bud’s wife was really good about getting all the paperwork sorted out after his death. But, because it was a homicide and they never found the bank draft I gave Bud, it was complicated.”
A brief flicker of pain crossed Porter’s face and Bria gave him a sympathetic look. She knew Porter felt guilty over the death of the former owner of the bar. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yeah, I know,” Porter said. “It’s just…difficult.”
“You didn’t know that Vaughn would kill Bud just to frame you for the murder. Vaughn was a cop, for God’s sake. He was supposed to uphold the law, not break it.”
“I should have,” Porter said. “I knew Vaughn would do anything to get Maggie, but I didn’t think… Bud died because I didn’t understand just how dangerous Vaughn was.”
“From what Kat told me, no one really did. Besides, all that matters is that Maggie is safe, right?”
“Yes,” Porter said immediately. “My mate is safe.”
“When is the wedding?” Bria asked. In shifter terms, Porter and Maggie were already married. Wolf shifters bit their mates to claim them. Kat had told her that after Vaughn kidnapped Maggie and Porter saved her, he had claimed Maggie later that same night. But Maggie was human, and Bria assumed she would want the traditional human wedding ceremony.
Porter shrugged. “Not sure yet. Maggie wants to go back to school to get her accounting degree. She can get it finished this semester if she takes a few extra math courses online. It would be tough for her to do her classes and plan a wedding.”
“Does that bother you?” Bria sipped at her whiskey.
“Nah, it bothers my mom and my grandpa, but I’m fine with it. Maggie is my mate. I love her, and I don’t need a ring or a piece of paper to know that she loves me too.”
Porter’s face was nearly glowing with happiness and Bria felt a twinge of jealousy. Had Kyle or Raden ever looked at her that way? She couldn’t remember about Kyle, but she knew for certain that Raden hadn’t. More jealousy mixed with guilt and regret coursed through her and she finished the rest of her whiskey.
“Another please, Porter.”
“You sure?” Porter asked.
“Yes.”
He poured her a third one. “Is your guy joining you?”
Bria shook her head and took a sip of whiskey, wincing as it burned its way down her throat.
“What’s his name again?”
“Raden.”
“Right. So, he’s not joining you?”
“We broke up.”
“Sorry,” he said. “When?”
“Forty-two days ago.”
“You broke up with him?” Porter asked bluntly.
“Nope,” Bria said.
“Well, he’s an idiot. Also, his man bun was ridiculous looking.”
She laughed despite her embarrassment and Porter grinned at her before punching her lightly on the arm. “Most of us were surprised you were with a lion shifter anyway. They’re all a bunch of kinky sex addicts who hate to commit to one woman.”
“Raden wasn’t. He couldn’t even fully satisfy me during my heat cycle.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth and gave Porter a horrified look. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just told you that.”
He laughed. “People can’t resist revealing secrets to the bartender.”
“Or it’s the whiskey.”
“That too,” he said cheerfully. “I’ve been with a few female cat shifters in my time, but never during their heat cycle. Is it really that difficult to keep her satisfied?”
Bria just shrugged. She didn’t want to talk to Porter about her heat cycle, especially after how bad her last one was. It had been her first heat cycle without a boyfriend and it was a terrible experience. Raden may not have been able to completely satisfy her urge to mate during the two days that her heat cycle lasted, but, having nothing but her own hand and a vibrator to get through the whole thing was pure torture. Near the end she had almost gone to a bar to find a shifter – any shifter – to help ease her need.
She shivered all over as she remembered the pain, and the aching, and the deep overwhelming desire that nearly drove her mad. She swallowed another mouthful of whiskey, this time thankful for the burn in her esophagus. It helped distract her from the knowledge that her next heat was less than a week away.
She took a deep breath. She would be fine. Now that she knew what to expect, she was better prepared. She’d already purchased a couple of different vibrators as well as a few other toys. That would be enough.
No, it’s not, her tiger snarled like a sulky child. We need real dick, not plastic.
She ignored her tiger’s whining. What she really needed to be concentrating on was finding a damn job. Her savings were almost completely depleted and unless she wanted to move back in with her parents, she needed to find employment.
“Are you Porter?”
The low and incredibly deep voice to her left made her turn. A hand roughly the size of a baseball mitt rested on the bar. She stared at it for a moment before looking up.
And up.
And then up some more.
The shifter standing next to her was massive. He was well over seven feet tall with a thick chest, broad shoulders, and arms the size of her thighs. His short blond hair was so light it almost looked white and he had dark brown eyes that gave her a quick once over before returning to Porter.
She inhaled as Porter smiled at the shifter. “I am. You must be Hudson.”
“Yes,” the shifter replied. “Nice to meet you.”
“Good to meet you too,” Porter said. He held his hand out and Bria watched it be swallowed in the enormous hand of the colossal-sized shifter.
“Why don’t you have a seat in the booth over there and I’ll grab us both a water,” Porter said.
Hudson studied the booth. “Can’t fit in it.”
Porter hesitated. “Oh right. Sorry. How about that table over there instead?”
The shifter nodded and gave Bria another cool glance before walking toward the table. He sat down, and Bria wondered if the chair wouldn’t simply collapse beneath his mass. Surprisingly, it held his weight. The bouncer, a black bear named Judd, joined him. They shook hands and Judd clapped him on the back. Judd was a large shifter by his own right and a normal shifter would have pitched forward from the force of his hand. Nothing on Hudson moved at all and she couldn’t get over how small Judd looked next to him.
“Jesus, he’s bigger than Judd said,” Porter said. “I mean, I knew polar bear shifters were big, but I’ve never seen one in person, have you?”
“No,” Bria said. “They’re notoriously shy. They never interact with humans and usually avoid shifters too.”
“Fuck, I think he’s even larger than Bishop,” Porter said.
Bishop was a grizzly bear shifter and, until Hudson, the biggest shifter Bria had ever seen.
“Why is he here?” Bria asked.
“Job interview.”
“For a bouncer?” Bria said. “Is Judd leaving?”
“No, I’m interviewing him for a bartender position,” Porter said. “Although Judd said he can double as a bouncer if needed.”
“Yeah, no doubt about that. You fired Arlo, huh?”
Arlo was a weasel shifter who had worked as a bartender at Bud’s bar. To get drug charges dropped against his younger brother, he had fed Vaughn information about Porter that had led to Porter being framed for Bud’s murder.”
“Actually, no. He quit as soon as Vaughn was dead and Maggie was safe. I talked to Maggie and she wanted me to give him a second chance. She said if it was my brother in trouble I would have done what Arlo did, and he didn’t know how dangerous Vaughn was either. Anyway, I agreed, but Arlo quit. I heard he moved out of the city three days later.”
“Sorry, Porter,” Bria said.
“Yeah, me too. Warren agreed - ”
“Warren?”
“He’s a part time bartender. He’s been working for Bud for years and is about ninety-five-years-old. He agreed to cover Arlo’s shifts while I looked for a new bartender, but its been six weeks and he’s threatening to quit.”
“Not many applicants?” Bria asked.
Porter shrugged. “I’m just picky. Judd suggested I meet with Hudson, they’ve been friends for a few years now, and I agreed. I’d better get over there.”
“Before you go…” Bria held out her empty glass and Porter filled it again.
“You’re not driving,” he said. “In fact, why don’t you give me your keys right now.”
She handed them over without protest. “I was planning on taking an Uber, Porter. I’m not stupid.”
“I know. But you’re Kat’s best friend and she’ll scratch my eyes out with her pointy jaguar claws if I let anything happen to you. When your Uber gets here, I’ll give you your keys back. Deal?”
“Deal.” Bria sipped at her whiskey and stared at the shiny surface of the bar in front of her as Porter walked away.
* * *
“Hey, Bria baby.”
“Kit Kat?” Bria stared blearily at her best friend as she sat on the stool next to her. “What are you doing here?”
“Ronin texted me and asked if I wanted to meet him here for drinks when he was done with his shift.”
“On a work night?” The whiskey was muddling her thoughts. “It’s Thursday, right?”
“Yes. How are you doing?”
Bria stared at the tall and lithe jaguar shifter for a moment before turning her gaze to Porter. “Porter, you asshole. You called Kat, didn’t you?”
“No,” Porter poured a beer, “I texted Kat. Big difference.”
“Why would you do that?” Bria said.
“Because you’re drinking too much tonight, and you’re sad,” Porter said.
Bria opened her mouth to argue and then stared into her whiskey instead as Porter set the beer in front of Kat and walked away. Kat put her arm around her and leaned her head against hers. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“Nothing. Everything.” Bria blinked back tears as she stared at Kat. “I’m a loser.”
“What? You’re not a loser.” Kat scowled. “I mean, you are, but you’re my loser and that makes you cool.”
Bria smiled a little. “Yeah, okay.”
“Are you feeling sad about Raden?”
“No. Embarrassed, but not sad.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. Raden was a fool for breaking up with you. You’re amazing, honey, and he’s going to regret letting you go.”
“I’m embarrassed because I didn’t have the guts to break up with him first.” Bria took another sip of whiskey. “I knew it wasn’t working, but I refused to admit it to myself.”
“Sometimes couples go through rough patches,” Kat said. “It doesn’t mean that -”
“He was a lion shifter who couldn’t satisfy me during my heat. Either there’s something wrong with him, or there’s something wrong with me. Raden said he’d been with other cat shifters and there wasn’t an issue.”
“You believed him just like that?” Kat asked.
“Why would he lie about it?”
“Why?” Kat gave her a look of disbelief. “Bria, honey, I love you, but get your damn head out of the clouds. Why wouldn’t he lie about it? You think any shifter alive wants to admit that he can’t satisfy his partner during her heat cycle?”
“He said I got really aggressive near the end of my cycle,” Bria whispered.
“So what? That’s normal. I told you how much I bite and scratch Ronin. Hell, I’m lucky he’s a phoenix shifter and heals abnormally fast even for a shifter, or he’d have to take a few days off after my heat cycle, just to heal.”
Bria shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. Raden said that I became freakishly aggressive, but I was so frustrated by that point, you know? He’d start off strong the first day but even by the end of the day he’d be almost useless. So, I would get upset, and I could feel myself getting upset, but it’s not like I could control it. The need would just take over and I wanted more than he could give me.”
“Honey, he knew what he was getting into when he started dating a cat shifter,” Kat said.
Bria stared at the liquid in her glass. “My last heat cycle was so bad, I thought that I -”
“Hello, Kitten.”
Bria stopped talking and stared into her glass of whiskey as Ronin sat down beside Kat. He pressed a kiss against Kat’s mouth before grinning at Bria. “Hey, Stripes, how’s it going?”
“Super, you?” Bria replied before sipping at her whiskey.
“Can’t complain.” Ronin took a swig of Kat’s beer.
“Honey, could you give us a minute to finish our conversation?” Kat asked.
“It’s fine,” Bria said before Ronin could reply. “You don’t need to leave, Ronin.”
“Bria -”
“It’s fine,” she repeated before sliding off the stool. “I should go, Kat. It’s getting late and you have work in the morning.”
She weaved unsteadily as she fumbled her phone out of her purse. It slipped from her hand, but Ronin snatched it from the air before it could shatter on the ground.
“Holy shit, you’re fast,” Bria said.
Ronin laughed. “Reflexes like a cat.”
Kat took Bria’s phone before he could hand it to her. “Bria, you’re coming home to our place tonight.”
“No,” Bria said. “It’s a weeknight and I don’t need a babysitter. I’ll just go home and -”
“Ronin, help her to my car, would you, honey?”
“Sure.” Ronin slung his arm around Bria’s waist. “C’mon, Stripes, let’s get your drunk ass back to our house.”
“I’m not drunk, I’m just tipsy,” Bria said.
“Good night, Porter.” Kat leaned over the bar and pecked Porter on the cheek. “Thanks for calling me.”
“Night, Kat,” Porter replied. “Bria, take care of yourself.”
Bria waved her hand in Porter’s direction as Ronin led her toward the door.
* * *
“What’s wrong with me, Kit Kat?” Bria asked.
Kat helped her climb into the bed and pulled the quilt to her chin. She sat on the side of the bed before brushing Bria’s hair out of her face. “Nothing, sweetie. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.”
“There might be.” Bria yawned.
Kat kissed her forehead. “There isn’t.”
Bria yawned again. “Thanks for letting me stay with you tonight. I love you, Kat.”
“I love you too. Get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah. Hey, Kat?”
“Yes?”
“Ronin’s a good guy. I’m glad you have him.”
“Thanks, sweetie.”
“Does he happen to have a brother? Because my cycle is next week and I’m not sure I can do another one alone.”
Kat kissed her forehead again. “Ronin’s an only child. Sorry, sweetie.”
“Dammit.”
Kat laughed and stood. “Good night.”
“Night, Kit Kat.”