The Tiger's Offer Read online




  Table of Contents

  Want to get this FREE?

  Also by Lila Jean

  Also by J.A. Cipriano

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  The Tiger’s Offer

  The Goddess’s Harem Book 1

  Lila Jean

  J. A. Cipriano

  Edited by

  J. B. Garner

  Copyright © 2018 by Lila Jean & J. A. Cipriano

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Want to get this FREE?

  Also by Lila Jean

  Also by J.A. Cipriano

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Thank You for reading!

  Author’s Note

  Want to get this FREE?

  Sign up here. If you do, I'll send you my short story, Alone in the Dark, for free.

  Visit J.A. on Facebook or on the web at JACipriano.com for all the latest updates.

  Visit Lila on Facebook or on the web at AuthorLilaJean.com for all the latest updates.

  Also by Lila Jean

  Billionaire Security Shifters

  The Mountain Lion’s Secretary

  The Grizzly Bear’s Heiress

  The Dragon’s Gym Buddy

  Goddess Harem

  The Tiger’s Offer

  The Wolf’s Hunt

  The Dragon’s War

  Also by J.A. Cipriano

  Starcrossed Dragons

  Riding Lightning

  Grinding Frost

  Swallowing Fire

  The Pen is Mightier

  World of Ruul

  Soulstone: Awakening

  Soulstone: The Skeleton King

  Soulstone: Oblivion

  Bug Wars

  Doomed Infinity Marine

  Doomed Infinity Marine 2

  The Legendary Builder

  The Builder’s Sword

  The Builder’s Greed

  The Builder’s Pride

  The Builder’s Wrath

  The Builder’s Throne

  The Builder’s Conquest

  The FBI Dragon Chronicles

  A Ritual of Fire

  A Ritual of Death

  Elements of Wrath Online

  Ring of Promise

  The Vale of Three Wolves

  Crystalfire Keep

  Kingdom of Heaven

  The Skull Throne

  Escape From Hell

  The Thrice Cursed Mage

  Cursed

  Marked

  Burned

  Seized

  Claimed

  Hellbound

  The Half-Demon Warlock

  Pound of Flesh

  Flesh and Blood

  Blood and Treasure

  The Lillim Callina Chronicles

  Wardbreaker

  Kill it with Magic

  The Hatter is Mad

  Fairy Tale

  Pursuit

  Hardboiled

  Mind Games

  Fatal Ties

  Clans of Shadow

  Heart of Gold

  Feet of Clay

  Fists of Iron

  The Spellslinger Chronicles

  Throne to the Wolves

  Prince of Blood and Thunder

  Found Magic

  May Contain Magic

  The Magic Within

  Magic for Hire

  Witching on a Starship

  Maverick

  Planet Breaker

  1

  Tina

  Tina Andrews threw back yet another tequila shot and blushed as a gorgeous blond man with a six pack ripped off his pants on the stage below. His form shimmered, and his head quickly morphed into a wolf while the rest of him stayed human.

  Tina gasped. She had seen a lot in her time working for her best friend’s werewolf father, but she had never seen that.

  “I can’t believe we’re here!” she laughed, turning to her friend Amy. “I didn’t even know werewolf strippers were a thing.”

  “Why not?” Amy snorted from the plush red chair beside her. “You humans have male strip clubs. Why can’t we wolves?” She paused for a second, clearly liking what she saw on stage before winking at me. “Besides, our men are hotter.”

  “Can’t argue with that.” Tina leaned against the edge of the balcony, admiring the werewolf shifter’s glistening pecs as another man joined him on stage. The new guy’s square jaw and handsome features belonged in a magazine or on a billboard, which made sense since she had yet to see an unattractive shifter.

  As the first shifter strutted across the stage and let out a piercing howl, Tina couldn’t help but shiver from a combination of fear and excitement. And
maybe the tequila.

  “That’s how it’s done! Hot damn!” Amy shouted, fist pumping the air with her pink martini.

  Amy sipped her drink and leaned out over the balcony, glancing at the dancers winding their way through the tables below before turning her eyes back to the stage. “Is this not the best thing ever?”

  Tina nodded. “It seriously is. I can never have a normal man after this.” She pointed at the dancer on stage. His abs were just so … yum. “How can a human compare to that?”

  “They can’t,” Amy said with a smirk as she tossed her blonde hair over one shoulder. “Like I told you before we came, our men are hotter.”

  “I know, I know. You were right. Happy?” Tina laughed, a blush burning her cheeks as she lifted another tequila shot to her mouth. “Then again, while shifters are fine and all, what about the demigods?” Tina downed the tequila, and as it warmed her all the way down, Amy rolled her eyes.

  “Traitor.” Amy smirked. “But yeah, if there was a demigod strip club, this place would be out of business.” She fanned herself. “But they don’t have them, so …”

  “It’s too bad though,” Tina said with a sigh. “I mean, demigods are the descendants of actual gods and goddesses. That sounds pretty damn sexy.”

  “It is,” Amy said, playfully smacking Tina’s shoulder and pointing to the stage. “But now’s not the time to worry about it. Focus on the naked men.”

  “All jokes aside, consider me converted. It’s shifters only for me from now on.” Tina chuckled, a mischievous smile on her face as the handsome men below rolled their hips to the pulsing beat blasting through the speakers. “Can we get closer to the stage? Why are we stuck up here in the nosebleeds?”

  “It’s a VIP balcony, Tina, not the cheap seats. We’re high rollers, honey, which means private dances and the best booze. Besides, Daddy says I have to be discreet. He’s making some political bids in the next few months, and I need to pretend to be wholesome.” Amy sighed, clearly not as happy with the situation as she’d like.

  “Your dad is screwed, then,” Tina said with a grin.

  Amy threw back her head, laughter spilling from her lips. “He really is, but I’m going to at least try.”

  On the stage below, the music changed as four gorgeous men in nothing but fireman pants strutted into the spotlight.

  Amy set her martini glass on the table between them. “I’m going to the bathroom. Be right back.”

  “Want me to come with you?” Tina asked, suddenly feeling alone. After all, she was the only human in a den of wolves.

  The werewolf heiress rolled her eyes. “I’m walking twenty feet to a toilet, not down some dark alley alone at three in the morning. I’ll be right back.”

  Before Tina could protest, Amy hopped out of her chair and disappeared through the door leading into the hallway.

  Tina couldn’t suppress the niggle of worry that snaked through her when her friend left. They had ditched Amy’s bodyguards since they would have ratted Amy out to her father in a heartbeat. That meant she and Amy didn’t have any protection at all. Essentially, they were just two girls alone in a massive city crawling with predators, and worse, she was just a normal human. Amy, at least, was a werewolf.

  “It’s going to be fine,” Tina told herself, and then, to settle her nerves, she performed her “going solo” ritual.

  First, she felt her pocket for the werewolf mace she always carried with her in the wolves’ kingdom of Wolfcrest. As she felt the small tube press against her palm, she let out a satisfied sigh before whipping out her phone and checking her contacts for a familiar name:

  Anthony.

  Good. She hadn’t accidentally deleted his contact information. If she had, there’d be no one she could call if something happened.

  “See, nothing happened!” Amy said, sweeping back into the room and flopping down in her chair like she owned the place.

  “Good.” Tina tilted her phone toward her bestie, Anthony’s name still on the screen. “I had you covered in case anything went wrong, though—”

  Amy rolled her eyes. “Nothing ever goes wrong.”

  “But if it does—”

  “Then call him, yes. But we’ll be fine, like always.” Amy shook head. “Honestly, Tina, I don’t know why you’re so worried. This is a strip club. Nothing will happen here. I mean, there’s dozens of people around.”

  “Better safe than sorry,” Tina said with a shrug. Sure, there might have been dozens of people there, but all of them were shifters. While it was unlikely any of them would rip her to shreds with their bare hands, the fact that they could was scary enough. It was why she had been so reluctant to come here, despite the promise of so many exquisite men.

  “Besides,” Amy said, breaking Tina’s train of thought. “Even if something does happen, you can’t forget rule number one.”

  “Don’t call your father,” Tina said for the millionth time. “Although…”

  “If you do, I swear I’ll—”

  “I know, I know. Don’t call your dad. Got it.”

  Amy shuddered and downed the rest of her martini. “Talk about a nightmare.”

  “Only if he thought you’d get kidnapped, I suppose.” Tina laughed. “He would chain you in the basement if it would keep him from having to pay a ransom.”

  “I know you’re joking, but you’re honestly not far off. Now please, Tina. Naked men! Look at the pretty pecs!” Amy pointed down below again, drawing Tina’s eyes to the stage once more.

  As her gaze settled on a new wolf with rippling abs and sun-kissed skin, Tina smiled and leaned against the edge of the balcony, finally letting herself relax.

  “Excuse me,” said a voice as the door opened, and as they turned toward it, they found themselves staring at a muscled waiter wearing only tight black pants and a bowtie. “Which one of you is Amy?”

  “I am,” Amy said, giving him a once over before gesturing at him with her martini. “Can we get another round?”

  “Well, sure, but I have something better.” He smiled mischievously. “Unless you don’t want the private dance that comes with your VIP seat …” He let the words hang in the air as Amy’s eyes lit up.

  “Guess I’ll be back in a bit, Tina. Enjoy yourself. After all, Daddy’s paying.” With that, Amy moved toward the door, passing by the waiter as she headed into the hallway.

  Tina chuckled and shook her head. “More booze for me, then. I’ll switch to tequila slammers, though.”

  “Of course,” the waiter said with a slight bow of his head before he followed Amy into the hallway.

  Man, I could get used to the high life, Tina thought wistfully. Too bad her bank account was in the three digits. Still, this was no time to dwell on that, not when she had access to nearly unlimited booze and a stage full of eye candy.

  As the minutes ticked by and the empty ball glasses on her table multiplied, Tina couldn’t help but wonder how long a private dance lasted. It had to have been a half hour at least, maybe an hour. Biting her lip, she glanced at her phone as yet another song ended. As the curtains closed temporarily and the waiter returned to pick up the glasses beside her, she gasped in surprise. It had been over two hours.

  “Say,” Tina said, catching the man’s attention, “where’s my friend?”

  The waiter smirked. “She’s … preoccupied. She called for a car to take you home.” An embarrassed smile flashed across his face. “I was supposed to tell you …” He smacked his head with one palm. “I just forgot what with everything going on …”

  That killed Tina’s buzz.

  Amy would never bail. Sure, she would drink all of Tina’s booze, borrow clothes for years at a time, and had nearly gotten them arrested twice, but she would never just leave Tina on her own, especially in werewolf territory.

  Alone, Tina was a human in a werewolf den, and while she may have had a ride out, it seemed off. No. Amy wouldn’t do this, and she especially wouldn’t do this here.

  A wrong place, wrong time si
tuation out here in Wolfcrest was a death sentence more often than not, and Amy had never once left Tina alone. Red flags waving in the back of her mind, Tina frowned at the waiter. “Take me to my friend, please.”

  “She asked not to be disturbed. Sorry, Miss, but this is what your friend told us to do.” He set down the tray and smiled. “But if you’re ready to leave, I’d be happy to escort you out. There’s only a couple more dances anyway.” His nostrils flared, and Tina got the distinct impression he was smelling her. “There’s nothing to be scared of, but I’d understand if you are.” He gestured at his washboard abs and perfectly touchable pecs. “We wolves do have something of a reputation.”

  Sure, his words were gentle enough, but Tina got the hint.

  He wasn’t asking her to leave. He was telling her to leave.

  Fine. She’d leave … but not without Amy. After all, in the five years she’d worked for Amy’s father, Tina had ducked more bodyguards than she could count. One little waiter, however ripped, wouldn’t be a problem.

  She smiled sweetly, doing her best to impersonate a drunk college girl. “Oh, okay. In that case, lead the way.”