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CHAPTER 1
"Not the toes." Roseâtre refused to squeal. As lead dancer for the Arcana Royale's Midnight Mystery Lounge, she would never squeal or scream, but her voice pitched high enough that the syllable at the end of toes cracked.
The great white tiger snuffling her feet through the five-inch strappy black-and-sapphire Louboutins rolled his head away. Instead of obeying, he stroked a whiskered cheek down her bare leg.
"Cut!" Voice booming, the show's stage manager hustled out from the wings. Heidi was a brisk woman with a quick temper and a stout body, dedicated to creating the best shows. After Pandora's escape from her contract, she relied on all of her girls to have the same dedication to the performance, Roseâtre more than most.
Pandora. She'd always made the lead look easy. She'd walked out on the stage and owned the audience. Roseâtre believed Pandora could have shared the stage with twelve chimpanzees and it wouldn't have mattered. Gazes would have been riveted to the tawny nymph.
The white tiger stretched out his neck and yawned, showing off a mouthful of glistening teeth. He flexed his paws, claws scoring the stage. She wasn't fooled by the sleepy-eyed expression or house-cat similarities. Big cats weren't pets.
The rest of the dancers relaxed from their poses, some even dropping down to coo and stroke the cats whose arrival had elicited a long round of awws and aren't they sweets. Roseâtre, however, shifted away from the cat with his tickling whiskers and raspy tongue.
"Rose?" Heidi beckoned, a pen behind one ear and a notebook tucked under her arm. She pursed her lips in a you're-not-in-trouble-yet moue, but the wrinkles knitting her brow told an entirely different story.
"Yes, ma'am?" Roseâtre didn't drag her feet. One certainly never dragged Louboutins, but she couldn't quite resist displaying her mutiny with an uplifted chin and wrinkled nose.
Cats.
Her nose twitched. Her sinuses burned. Her eyes threatened tears. But she maintained her composure.
Damn cats.
"Look, I know you're not thrilled with this idea." The opening gambit was classic Heidi, softening her up for the too-damn-bad often attached to those statements.
Closeted together at the far end of the stage, Roseâtre was glad to be out of earshot of her shield-sister Cerveau, the other dancers and thankfully, the damn tigers.
The Midnight Mystery Lounge was closed for an entire week so the dancers could learn this new act. She'd woken to the bad news that the diNapoli Tigers — tigers — were joining the show for a three-month trial to drum up business in the magical casino and resort.
"But you're just going to have to get over it. The apothecary will provide you with a tea for your allergies. We need this show and you're the headliner. That means you and the tiger will be all over each other on that stage and you're going to love it."
And there it was, the verbal slap demanding submission. The command chafed. But a promise was a promise and she was as bound by her oath as her shield-sister Cerveau was by her curse.
"Is there any way we can do this without cats?"
"Not really, no." The sympathy was real, but from Heidi's compressed expression, the stage manager was plainly not on Roseâtre's side. "I'm sorry, Rose. But the diNapoli Tigers were an enormous success in Monaco and Paris. We need them for resurgence of interest or the Overseers may very well break up the show."
"Really?" Panic drifted under the surface of her skin, sending her heart puttering. The Overseers controlled the Arcana Royale, the sprawling complex where meta-humans of all types were welcome and could be themselves. They controlled the shows, the people and in the case of the dancers, their souls. Breaking up the show meant the dancers with varying leases on their souls could be placed elsewhere at the Overseers' discretion.
Worse, Roseâtre and Cerveau could be separated. Roseâtre couldn't allow that to happen. She'd sworn an oath. Pride could be sacrificed. Honor could not.
A shield-borne oath was an oath.
"I'll try. It's not just the allergy, though."
"What is it?"
No simple answer existed. Roseâtre glanced over her shoulder to where the great cats lounged. Some groomed themselves while yet another rolled over on its back, presenting its belly to Peppermint for attention. Of all the dancers, Peppermint was the most gracious, the most loving and the most likely to enjoy gamboling with the tigers on the stage.
"I assure you, nothing is wrong with my cats." The dark, deep masculine tones teased up her spine. She jerked her attention back to discover a bare-chested, bare-footed blond god had joined them.
Oh my. Who did he kill to get those abs?
She snapped her jaw shut with a flicker of irritation, and forced her gaze up from the hard six-pack of clear-cut muscle to roam over the ripped planes of his chest and shoulders.
Dear gods, does it end?
The cool dislike in his blue eyes slapped her back to the present. Everything about the man seemed larger than life, from his thick thighs, easily three times the size of hers, to his wide hands and square, chiseled jaw.
"Roseâtre, Anthony diNapoli." Heidi's snapped introduction rebuked her. "Anthony, this is our headliner, Roseâtre."
Be professional. She extended her hand and kept her gaze focused above his chin. Despite the five additional inches her designer shoes added to her considerable height, topping at around six foot, the man towered over her.
And he inspected her with an air of detached amusement, his gaze clearly dipping below her chin to where her breasts strained against the confinement of the black leotard.
"Your pleasure, I'm sure." The bastard smiled and ignored her hand.
"Anthony's cats are in high demand, and he's graciously consented to this trial contract so we're going to do the best we can to make the most of this situation." Heidi turned to Anthony as though unaware of the icy drop in Roseâtre's regard. "We'll add extra rehearsal time so Roseâtre and her cat can get used to each other."
We will? Incredulous, Roseâtre could barely pull her eyes away from Anthony to look at the stage manager. "More rehearsals?" Tired of holding her hand out to the air, she let it drop.
"Absolutely." Heidi nodded briskly, clapping her hands and striding away to gather the dancers, completely ignoring the cats with the poise of one who was likely more dangerous than the wild animals. "Ladies!"
Cerveau stood next to Kiki, Peppermint and Amber, the question in her expression obvious, but Roseâtre shook her head, waving her off with one short hand gesture. She didn't need backup.
"So what's your problem with cats, princess?" The words shivered up her spine. Anthony's voice prowled behind her, his body heat brushing against her in challenge and invitation.
"Does it matter?"
She didn't have to play nice. The bastard couldn't be bothered to shake her hand.
"It might. You're going to be riding my tiger every night for the next three months." The words dripped with mockery and some other indefinable emotion.
Roseâtre shifted away, sparing him a dismissive look. She'd practiced the art of cool disdain for years under her mother's tutelage. He might call her princess in his low, rolling sexy voice as a jest, but it didn't make it any less true.
"What's the problem now, princess?"
"You're getting sarcasm on my shoes." She lifted one, taking great care to inspect it.
Anthony threw his head back and laughed, a deep belly-trembling shout of amusement.
The noise drew the dancers' attention like children to free chocolate. Cerveau's face twisted comically, a mixture of censure and curiosity reddening her cheeks. She wouldn't approve the tone, but she would appreciate the cause.
"You still haven't told me why you don't like my cats."
"They're cats."
Head canted to the right, he studied her. The deep blue of his eyes was enhanced by a circle of darker blue along the iris. His pupils seemed to blink on their own, but that wasn't possible. Roseâtre forced her gaze back to his dimples, just barely disguised by the thick rush of blond beard coating his cheeks.
"Cats are magnificent, bold and affectionate creatures. They are slow to trust, but have unshakable loyalty."
"Until you're dead and then they just eat your corpse." She shuddered.
He laughed again. "You don't need your body when you're dead."
She was missing everything Heidi was saying to the other dancers. Clearly, the stage manager didn't care because she wasn't even looking in Roseâtre's direction, much less shooting her with her optic laser beams of impatience.
"I'd rather my body was undisturbed, thank you very much. The idea of anything feasting after I'm dead is unappealing." Not to mention sacrilegious. A warrior's death should be honored with blades and flame, never teeth.
Or, the gods forbid, a hairball. Roseâtre grimaced.
"Would you prefer they do it while you're alive?" The silken whisper brushed against her ear. Tingles raced over her skin from the sweep of his beard on her cheek.
Heart leaping, Roseâtre barely managed to suppress her startled scream and settled for smacking his chest. The hard muscles didn't even budge as her hand made contact, leaving a vivid, white mark against the golden tan.
"You really need to stop doing that." Enough is enough. The man might be here at Heidi's request or the Overseers', but his job was to deal with the damn cats.
"Stop what?" The mock innocence coating his teasing grin reminded her more of the tiger yawning than it did a conciliatory gesture.
"Invading my bubble." She rolled her hand in the air between them. "You haven't been invited into my bubble."
The coolness in his gaze warmed considerably, his grin widened. He was obviously enjoying the hell out of her irritation.
"How does one get invited into your bubble?" He batted the air in front of her, a downright playful gesture that sank its claws into her belly.
Nope. Not going to be turned on.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, her gaze dipped back to the ripple of his abs as he edged closer and she backed up. For every step she took, he closed the distance until he was practically leaning forward into her personal space, amusement shining from his sinfully blue eyes.
She stopped abruptly when she realized they were alone on the stage.
Except for the cats.
Where did they go? All the dancers had left the stage, abandoning Roseâtre to the crazy, sexy blond god and a collection of behemoth tigers in various stages of repose.
"You didn't answer my question, princess. You aren't scared, are you?"
Don't run.
The instinct to cut her losses, dart off the stage and race up the aisle of the empty lounge as fast as her Louboutins would carry her, roared through her. Hot on the heels of that flash fire was stony resolve.
"Princesses don't run, Ruth. They stand the battlefield. They lead the charge. Their armies must know that their leaders will return with their shields carried upon them."
Roseâtre was her stage name. Her real identity — Ruth Ann — was a Princess Royal, born to the Queen of the Amazons. Hers was the first birth of a royal princess to their ancient and dwindling tribe in four centuries.
She would not run. Roseâtre braced her legs. She ignored her thin, negligible attire and lack of armor. She allowed the tempest brewing in her soul to glow in her hazel eyes.
"You're here to do a job, Mr. diNapoli." Frigid didn't begin to describe the tone she attempted. She strove to emulate her mother's legendary aloofness. Roseâtre didn't need to put up with the beast's behavior, even this handsome, sexy beast that left her insides damp and aching. "I suggest we get on with it."
"Oh, whatever you say, princess."
The bastard appeared more amused than cowed by her words as he stepped back, swept a bow and motioned her back to the stage.
With its litter of cats.
Spine erect, she strolled away from him, every step deliberate. His gaze was a physical caress on her ass. She took her time and let him look.
And then let him weep.
CHAPTER 2
The princess was late.
It was their fourth "private" rehearsal time. After their first night, he'd settled for introducing her to each of the cats, encouraged her to run her long, nimble fingers over their silky coats and ignored the possessive surge of fur that writhed under his skin. His cat wasn't interested in watching her pet others, much less the meek and submissive cats under his command.
Anthony diNapoli interlaced his fingers behind his back and bent in a long stretch, palms facing the ceiling. The muscles in his shoulders burned from the pull, until one by one, his vertebrae popped, easing his stress. The relief was instantaneous. His gaze flickered to the stage with impatience. It was too bad he couldn't relieve other issues as simply.
But Anthony kept it under control.
Miss Roseâtre might be a showgirl now, but she still carried the smell of bronze blades inherent to her race.
Amazon.
He could hardly believe his luck. The sting of losing to his uncle had left him alone and without a Pride in a world hostile to lone shifters. It required delicate negotiation and the backing of a strong group to travel through warring territories without offense.
Anthony possessed neither the skill for negotiation nor the backing of a Pride. So he was forced to beg, borrow and steal the goodwill of others to sponsor his travels. That meant he must cross some territories in hours or pay an exorbitant amount in tithe to those Packs and Prides where he worked.
The Arcana Royale was neutral territory. Anthony need pay nothing to the Pack controlling the Las Vegas territory nor a tribute to its reigning vampire prince, as long as he remained within the confines of the casino property. The casino had even negotiated his travel arrangements. The casino boasted everything he could need: income, sanctuary, and with the amount of power they controlled, significant perks like his suite. The gambling didn't interest him, nor did the tourists and other paranormals. He wanted a home for his cats, and time. His job provided him with both. It was altogether satisfactory. Except for one self-entitled princess.
As if summoned by his thoughts, the distant sound of expensive shoes click-clacking against concrete announced her impending arrival. He straightened, taking the time to scratch Nalini's neck.
The maternal female was of a slighter build and boasted the only dark eyes of all his handpicked Pride members. A sweet female, Nalini could set even the most high-strung audience member at ease. A domesticated pet housed in the body of a feral predator.
As if sensing his concern, Nalini butted her head under his hand, stroking her cheek against the rough denim of his leg, scent marking him, demonstrating solidarity, affection and affinity. She never challenged his authority in human or cat form.
If only he could domesticate the princess as easily.
Roseâtre needed to practice sliding her lithe, long body down the back of a cat tonight and despite the blood roaring in his ears, Anthony knew it was better to rehearse with Nalini.
For now.
The Amazon-turned-showgirl seemed to have timed her entrance, appearing from the shadows wrapping the back of the stage. Her black leotard molded every sensuous curve and highlighted the smooth, long torso from the swell of her breasts to the roundness of her hips. His immediate erection applauded her supple form, but his mind rebelled at the black.
Always black.
The woman needed to dress in richer, warmer tones that would give color to her pale, soft flesh. He pictured her in Earth tones that brought out the flickers of green in her hazel eyes or jeweled sheaths that he could unwrap, inch by silken inch, to explore her creamy skin.
He allowed his gaze to rake over her, appreciating the clean, easy lines of her posture as she strolled across the stage. No. She owned the stage and allowed it the grace of her presence.
Her feet glittered and sparkled. He lifted both brows, curious and amused by yet another pair of shoes. Her boring black leotard might be the same night after night, but the shoes were always different. High heels decked out with shiny baubles and smelling of cold, hard diamonds and gems.
"Good evening." Her voice was the cool winds of autumn brushing aside the drizzling heat of summer.
"You're late, princess." Irritated by his own reaction, he nudged Nalini aside and stood.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The White Tiger Shifter's Wild Amazon"
by .
Copyright © 2013 Heather Long.
Excerpted by permission of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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