Page 14 of Bria and the Tiger
“Yeah, and probably fourteen other cat shifters every month.”
“Actually, he said he didn’t help out more than one cat shifter at a time,” Kat replied.
“You believed him?”
“Yes. Just email him, Bria. You can meet in a public place, he’ll give you references, and you can give them a call. If you’re not interested after meeting him, just email him and tell him. He wasn’t offended when I said no thanks. Plus, he said he didn’t mind scratching or biting. That’ll come in handy for you.”
She grinned as Bria flushed. “I – yeah, maybe I will. My mom says it would be good for me to not be in a relationship for a while. She says I’ve barely spent any of my adult life being single, and I need to get to know who I really am.”
Kat laughed. “God, I wish my mother was like that. She’s finally jumped off the ‘you’re going to die old and alone’ train, but now she’s hopped on the ‘you need to make me a grandmother before I die’ train. Ronin delights in teasing her about how he’s pretty certain he’s sterile. She falls for it every damn time.”
“Do you think I need to be single for a while, Kat? I’ve always been in a relationship and honestly, I find it lonely to not be in one. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“I think you need to do what makes you happy. If being in a relationship makes you happy – then be in one. Just make sure it’s the right guy, okay?”
Bria nodded, and Kat took a sip of her coffee. “How’s the job hunt going?”
“Good, actually. I have two interviews this week. Both are just reception jobs, but my savings are dangerously low, so I’ll take what I can get. Maybe someday I’ll grow up and figure out what I actually want to do with my life.”
She took a drink of her coffee. “Thanks. I feel much better.”
“Good. Email that tiger shifter, okay? It’s better than trolling for total strangers in a bar.”
“Yeah,” Bria said. “I will.”
* * *
Bria paid for her coffee and moved to the other end of the counter. She shifted from foot to foot and tried to calm her racing pulse.
After talking to Kat, she’d gone home and before she could lose her nerve, sent an email to Jace, the tiger shifter that she’d recommended. She kept it brief, explaining that she received his email from Kat and wondered if they could meet to discuss her heat cycle. Jace had replied within a couple of hours and agreed to meet. His email was short but well-written. Feeling a little sick to her stomach, she arranged to meet him at Starbucks the next morning.
She smoothed her bright red top and wondered if her jeans were too tight. They did showcase her ass nicely and she considered it to be her best physical feature. Her boobs were too small to be proud of, but both Kyle and Raden had loved her ass.
She sighed nervously. She hadn’t sent a picture to Jace and he hadn’t asked for one but now she wondered if she should have. What if he didn’t like what he saw?
So what if he doesn’t? You’re still not entirely sure you can go through with this anyway.
That was a good point. She sighed again. She had given him a description of what she was wearing so he could find her at Starbucks. She tentatively searched the people milling about. She didn’t see anyone who looked remotely big enough to be a tiger shifter and some of the nerves eased a little in her belly. She was early so he likely wouldn’t be here for another ten minutes anyway. She smoothed her shirt and picked at a loose thread near the button.
“Bria?”
A hand touched her elbow. The deep, raspy voice sounded vaguely familiar. She turned and raised her gaze to the hazel eyes of the tiger shifter who had fucked her in the bathroom three nights ago.
“Hi, I’m Jace. It’s nice to…”
They stared at each other in shocked silence. Her pulse pounded in her ears and she knew her mouth was hanging open like an idiot.
“Well, this is a bit awkward, huh?” He finally said.
She blinked at him before forcing the words past her dry throat. “A bit awkward? Oh my God, I – I have to go.”
She tried to dart by him and he placed his hand on her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Wait, don’t go.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as he waited patiently.
“This was a mistake,” she said.
“Just – let’s have a coffee and talk, okay?”
