Tigers on Tour

By Gabrielle Demonico

Orphaned as an infant, Anabelle Mitchell had grown accustomed to the unfairness of life’s lottery. Throughout her short twenty-two years, the curvy young woman had been let down by people and circumstances more often than she cared to remember.

Because of that, she had long ago made a deal with life. She opted for what she knew she could get – scholarships, a career and financial independence and in exchange, she gave up that which she craved – being needed, wanted and most of all, loved. It was a reluctant bargain but one she felt certain would keep her safe from life’s jagged edges, hazardous moments and dangerous men.

But an unlikely glitch in her life plan has brought her face-to-face with all of those things at once in the form of two brothers - Armin and Tanner Vossler. Tiger shifters and front men for the wildly popular indie rock group, Stung by Fate, they are the antithesis to the stability Anabelle has so long sought from life.

And although Anabelle hates the brothers, their music and everything she thinks they represent, she has no option but deal with them or risk losing everything she’s worked so hard to achieve.

Initially she is repulsed by their bad boy reputations. But soon she discovers that there is more – much more – to them than their sexy rocker personas and rumored womanizing ways.

Their presence is powerful, all-encompassing and nearly hypnotic to the curvaceous young woman. Once she gets a glimpse of their primal side - a taste of nature’s wild things - she finds herself tortured by a need to uncover the mystery behind the men.

To her shock and disbelief, they are not the only ones with a dark, unknown past. In a final twist of fate, Anabelle discovers that she has demons of her own to confront and unless she does, all that she's dreamed of could vanish...

Instantly.

An Excerpt from the Book:

Emboldened, she stepped towards him and said, "I’m still here. Aren’t I?"

Tanner looked at her with surprise in his eyes. "But... Anabelle, surely the Professor told you..."

She moved nearer until only inches separated their lips. She whispered, "Told me... told me... what?"

"That..." he said softly.

She closed the gap by another millimeter or so, interrupted him and said, "That I would risk being happy in a way that I could have never imagined? That I could have a life I’d never dreamed of having, with not one, but two, of the most amazing men a woman could ever hope to be with? Is that what you are asking me, Tanner? Is it?"

"No." he said sternly.

"Then what Tanner? What is it that you want to know about what the Professor said to me? I’m right here, just ask me..." She dared.

Instantly he replied, "That you could die, Anabelle. That you could fucking die. That’s what..."

Without a word, she nodded in the affirmative. She reached towards his thick, mussed hair and tugged a runaway strand behind his ear. Their eyes met as never before. She looked deep into them and replied softly, "Yes... He did."

Tanner seemed stunned by her resolve but Anabelle had reached her limits as a woman. If she was to assume her rightful place in this life, alongside these men, this was the time to stake her claim.

It was her birthright, as much theirs, to be with one’s true mate. She stared bravely into the abyss of death with the tenderness of love as her only weapon - her only hope of salvation...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gabrielle Demonico
• Release date: Aug 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301458875

Gabrielle Demonico

Thank you to all of my readers for your support! I am so grateful to each and every one of you for purchasing my titles. It means so much to me that you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy creating them. For those of you new to my work, you’ll likely be surprised by the variety you see. All I can say is that I have a sixth smut sense that knows no bounds! The plain truth is that I have a great passion for each of the tales I create. So, no matter which one(s) you purchase, you can be sure that I’ve done my best to deliver you a sexy, spicy tale. To keep up-to-date with my latest releases, please visit my website at (www.grdemonico.com). Thanks again! :)

Book preview

Tigers on Tour

by Gabrielle R. Demonico

Copyright 2013

Smashwords Edition

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

All participants in this title are 18 years of age or older.

***

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

***

An Excerpt from the Book:

***

Emboldened, she stepped towards him and said, I’m still here. Aren’t I?

Tanner looked at her with surprise in his eyes. But… Anabelle, surely the Professor told you…

She moved nearer until only inches separated their lips. She whispered, Told me… told me… what?

That… he said softly.

She closed the gap by another millimeter or so, interrupted him and said, "That I would risk being happy in a way that I could have never imagined? That I could have a life I’d never dreamed of having, with not one, but two, of the most amazing men a woman could ever hope to be with? Is that what you are asking me, Tanner? Is it?"

"No." he said sternly.

Then what Tanner? What is it that you want to know about what the Professor said to me? I’m right here, just ask me… She dared.

Instantly he replied, "That you could die, Anabelle. That you could fucking die. That’s what…"

Without a word, she nodded in the affirmative. She reached towards his thick, mussed hair and tugged a runaway strand behind his ear. Their eyes met as never before. She looked deep into them and replied softly, Yes… He did.

Tanner seemed stunned by her resolve but Anabelle had reached her limits as a woman. If she was to assume her rightful place in this life, alongside these men, this was the time to stake her claim.

Tanner seemed stunned by her resolve but Anabelle had reached her limits as a woman. If she was to assume her rightful place in this life, alongside these men, this was the time to stake her claim.

It was her birthright, as much theirs, to be with one’s true mate. She stared bravely into the abyss of death with the tenderness of love as her only weapon - her only hope of salvation…

***

Anabelle Mitchell leaned against the back bar in the Troubadour Tavern, a small crowded college venue about fifteen minutes south of campus.

It still didn’t seem real to her.

How could it be that twenty-two years of her life had come down to something as ridiculous as this?

She shook her head in disbelief and took a mental inventory of the challenges she’d fought through. She wondered if any measure of fairness actually existed in the universe. If it did, it never seemed to find its way to her.

Orphaned as a toddler, she’d been hustled through no less than nine foster homes by the time she’d finished high school. With sheer grit, she’d managed to put herself through college on her own and was on the verge of graduating and taking the next step – law school and achieving her dream of becoming an attorney.

There were only three things standing between her and that now. One was her journalism class and the other was two men who stood no further than fifty feet away from her. For the record, Anabelle had all but sewn up straight A’s in her other classes and under most circumstances, journalism would have been no different. After all, overachievement in the classroom was nothing new to her.

In fact, much of the semester of her journalism course had passed as expected. She seemed destined to ace it but just two weeks earlier, the class instructor, Professor Wilkinson announced that each student would be required to complete a ‘special project’ in lieu of remaining tests and even final exams. To drive home the point, he also announced that a full forty percent of the final grade hinged on the completion of the ‘special project’.

Professor Wilkinson was passionate about his course material but this was unprecedented, even for him. He explained that he’d wanted his students to feel journalism and so he had created unique assignments for each and every one of them – Anabelle included.

Worse still is the fact that Professor Wilkinson had a real knack for assigning his students tasks that he knew would be difficult for them – emotionally as well as intellectually – and hers was no exception in this regard.

If she had one weak spot, a single chink in the emotional armor she’d worked so hard to build it was her penchant for introversion. Unfortunately for Anabelle, the Professor’s assignment seemed cruelly intent on exposing it.

And it did seem downright cruel to her…

Really, who could blame her for being a little socially awkward? After all, being orphaned at such a young age has been known to cause far worse outcomes in life. How bad could some shyness really be? Deep down Anabelle knew that it wasn’t the most awful character flaw one could possess.

But the assignment cut straight into the heart of her fear – she couldn’t deny it. She’d done everything in her power to conceal that weak spot from the scrutiny of a callous world. She’d even gone so far as to opt for an arcane corporate law career that relied more on intellect for advancement than cultivating interpersonal relationships. For Anabelle, connections with people, romantic or otherwise, were just too risky over the long-run.

Since learning about her ‘special assignment’, it had literally consumed her with dread. She hated the thought of actually having to go through with it. In her mind, it would mean absolutely zero to her future dreams and goals.

What was it about her assignment that caused her such angst?

Two words, well, two men to be more precise…

Armin and Tanner Vossler.

Their band, Stung by Fate, had erupted onto the underground music scene and created a cultural phenomenon. This was especially the case among every heterosexual female within a one thousand mile radius of wherever they happened to be.

And it was their story that Professor Wilkinson wanted Anabelle to tell.

Why?

She had no effing clue…

She’d begged him to do something – a-n-y-thing else – except this but he refused to change his mind. He insisted that she ‘dig deep’ for the meaning behind their success and get to the heart of what made them as popular as they were.

Honestly, she thought that there would be no way to pull off such a feat. After all, Stung by Fate was literally one of the hottest bands around. When she’d asked her professor how in the world he expected her to get the interview, he simply replied, Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure that it happens.

Anabelle was incredulous. How the hell would a fifty seven year old square like Professor Wilkinson be able to pull that off? Although she was sorely tempted, Anabelle knew better than to call him a fool to his face. But it turned out that Anabelle was the fool for not believing him. For no sooner than one day after he’d made his promise, the band’s manger was on the phone with her. By the end of the conversation, she’d set up a date and time with her to talk as soon as they came to town.

In the meantime, she’d begged him on more than one occasion to tell her how he pulled it off but he would offer no clues. Eventually she just dropped it and decided to accept her fate as the reluctant journalist and do the best job possible. Besides, if she had any intention of paying back the $50,000 in student loans she’d already racked up, law school was her only chance. And the path to law school was going to be blazed through Wilkinson’s