Lovers' Tussle
Lovers’ Tussle
Being torn between a suave gentleman rogue and a dangerous unholy knave can turn any woman traitor.
Tienna Sterling is forced into a choice that is tearing her apart. Aiden James Marquis of Kendrick, the dapper gentleman cloaked in soft, dashing, pure-white fur, will steal her body and soul with sensual, sweet kisses and tender caresses. Roth Demount, the blackguard and beast, a compelling Alpha male beneath a lush gray feral coat, will force his will, demanding and conquering her passions in one fell swoop.
Gentle or dangerous? The choice should be simple, except tenderness soothes harshness. They contrast and complement each other like day and night. Or more like the demon and the saint. At first she intentionally pits them against each other until she realizes without one mate she is only half complete. She will have them both but the cost is high. She will uncover their secrets, defy convention, forsake her family, and eventually turn traitor.
Genre:
Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Vampires/Werewolves
Length:
43,905 words
LOVERS’ TUSSLE
India-Jean Louwe
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
LOVERS’ TUSSLE
Copyright © 2012 by India-Jean Louwe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-570-0
First E-book Publication: October 2012
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Lovers’ Tussle
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DEDICATION
With all my love to my wonderful husband. It’s true we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.
LOVERS’ TUSSLE
INDIA-JEAN LOUWE
Copyright © 2012
Chapter 1:
Provocation
Tienna Sterling, firstborn and sole cub to the royal bloodline of the ruling pack of the metropolis, looked every bit the devious little prankster that she was as she perched upon the sturdy branches of the great oak. From this vantage point she would be awarded a rare, spectacular view of the impending vicious battle, a battle that could easily lead to death. The very idea sent a shiver of excitement through her deceptively slender, fox-like frame, making the dry autumn leaves shudder in gentle urgency as though kissed by a breeze. No, a fight to the end did not distress her in the least. The gory end was just what she anticipated. After all, it was through her cunning machinations that this confrontation had come about in the first place.
Her tiny, pink tongue darted out to swipe across her vicious smile from corner to corner, savoring the tangible flavor of male prowess and surge of energy that could come only from the brute clash of canine aggression. Below, the two stalwart males eyed each other, unaware of their jesting audience, enraptured with the need to conquer, to tear the opponent apart limb by limb.
The great white wolf, while majestic in his snowy coat, was hardly camouflaged against the backdrop of the earthy, brown, crispy carpet of leaves. His magnificent muscles bunched as he hunched, ready to pounce. Penetrating blue eyes, overwhelming like the midnight sky with the flicker of star sprinkles, shadowed by the furrow of lush, thick fur, assessed his aggressor’s every move. His roar revealed a set of healthy, razor-sharp dentures within a jaw span wide enough to swallow Tienna whole. She trembled at the delicious thought.
The answer to the bellowed challenge came in an equally mighty growl, displaying pointed canines against firmly peeled-back lips. The gray-black wolf blended in perfectly with his surrounding, much too well. If he chose to stay still, you would miss him completely. But he moved now. Tendons rippled as he stretched his huge bulk, tensely alert yet liquid in sleek agility. His eyes, deep shades of hot, melting chocolate, oozed with malevolence, dispelling the illusion of sweet decadence at first glance. But Tienna was no fool. She noticed the tight snap of his jaw just as one great paw clawed the earth. He may appear devilishly disheveled, but he should not be underestimated.
Tienna’s eyes shot from one to the other, admiring the full lengths of their glossy fur, so thick she could sink her claws in. It was such a pity both would be covered in coppery blood soon enough, one with no further chance to lick his mortal wounds. The ground would cradle one of these mighty beasts within its loving arms of death before this night was over.
The great white was her gentleman, Aiden James Kendrick, Marquis to the human race and leader of his own elite pack. It had been easy enough to lure him with a coy wink and sly smile. She’d stood within the confines of a grand ballroom, provocatively clothed in frosty blue, cloaked in her human form, and issued her nonverbal invitation. For him it had been an intriguing offer he could not possibly pass up. His nostrils had flared, his interest plainly visible across a crowded hall, and she’d done the only thing she could. She’d beaten a hasty retreat. His eyes had speared through her, heating a torch of passion within her belly just before she’d felt the blast of rage at her cowardly disappearance. That had been last night. She knew full well the moon would be full and glorious this night. And he would likewise emulate its majesty.
The rougher-looking rapscallion, Roth Demount, noble in every way but the bastard bedding on which he’d been conceived and leader of his own notorious band of cutthroats, had been a little more difficult to rein in. Beguiling him had not been the problem but locating him had. She’d scoured the lower parts of London, overcoming an unimaginable amount of lewd male attention and unwelcome propositions, female shrewdness, and lungs filled with the stench of sweat, grime, and sewage to last a lifetime before finally finding him in a disreputable tavern. Unaware of her scrutiny or the search she’d just undergone he had remained submerged in both ale and loose harlots, cavorting and dominating the scene as only an Alpha male could. As a man he had been nothing less than astounding, with bulky muscles straining beneath his tight-fitting breeches and forest-green coat. But she had leaned down provocatively, sipping from her tankard of beer while spilling her assets over her low bodice until his attention had been snared. A moment more and her entire breasts would have been the toast of the evening and fodder for bawdy melodies many nights to come. The singe of his fury had almost driven her to her knees as she ran out into the night and vanished like mist in the sun. But here he was, answering the challenge she had left hanging last night in the cigar-hazed, fume-intoxicated air.
There was no way either would have declined this blatant invitation. They knew as well as she that once they caught her scent, it would speak directly to their inner beasts. Her unique fragrance would tickle their nostrils and fill their lungs, claiming them, possessing. There was no way either would back down from this fight.
Pity
. The thought made her pause only for a second. She had grown up on the dreams that had left her fevered until the break of many a dawn, her hair plastered in a heated sweat against her scalp, her body raging for completion. Their presence had haunted her from the day she had reached her maturity, and she had welcomed both with open arms and generous gratitude, even if it was restricted to steamy dreams, so easily scattered like the withered leaves in a whirlwind. Their presence had ignited her, filled her, completed her.