Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) (40 page)

Rachael has explored forgotten temples in Cambodia, kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland, and stood inside the Roman Coliseum. She loves studying people and cultures, current and ancient. Her appetite for romance began with Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, which she later nurtured with a healthy dose of Jane Austen.

As a writer of scorching hot fantasy romance, Rachael blends the lines between mythology, reality, and fantasy. In her worlds, you’ll encounter strong, sexy alpha males and the capable women who challenge them. If her heroines can’t meet their heroes toe-to-toe, then they’ll bring them to their knees.

No matter what torture she puts her characters through, true love will always prevail. Love is, after all, the most powerful force on Earth, and beyond.

Rachael holds an Honours BA in anthropology, as well as a CELTA. Her secret indulgence is her passion for baking, which she offsets with her addiction to running (she’s completed four marathons). She resides on the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, two children, and cat.

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Coming Soon From Rachael Slate

Look for these titles coming from Rachael Slate in 2015!

BY THE HORNS (CHINESE ZODIAC ROMANCE, #2)

REINING HIM IN (CHINESE ZODIAC ROMANCE, #3)

READ ON FOR AN EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK AT THE NEXT BOOK IN THE CHINESE ZODIAC ROMANCE SERIES, BY THE HORNS!

(COMING SUMMER 2015)

Enter a secret guild of assassins…

As a member of the Lotus League, Natalie Quan is as lethal as she is invisible. Her newest mission brings her to Malaysia, and straight into the arms of the man she relinquished to her past. The only man who has ever seen through to her soul. And the one standing between her and hosting one of the twelve spirit animals of the Chinese Zodiac—the Snake. To keep the Snake and finally defeat the demon of her past, she’ll have to slip into one more disguise.

Some masks never hide the truth…

The last person Kassian Weld, Chosen of the Ox, expects to be named their newest member is Natalie. Years ago, she disappeared without a word. Now, she’s back with a sexy air of confidence, tempting him to end his pledge of celibacy. Despite her claims of being a capable assassin, no way in hell will Kassian allow Natalie to host the Snake—a volatile spirit. Yet Natalie is as driven to succeed as Kassian is determined to ensure she fails.

The vows that brought them together threaten to tear them apart…

Natalie is bound to the Lotus League, Kassian is devoted to his oaths, and they are both sworn to their fates as Chosen. The forbidden spark of desire reigniting between them threatens to consume their destinies. But when Kassian unmasks Natalie’s darkest secret, they’ll risk every vow they’ve taken for one chance to seize passion together…by the horns.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

645 days since the first outbreak of the Red Death

The nose never failed to seal the disguise.

Natalie Quan flashed the customs officer a smile as he stamped and handed back her passport. The name on the document read, “Jason Wong,” but the latex prosthetic nose she sported precluded any questioning of her gender. That and the tube socks she’d stuffed into the front of her slacks.

She proceeded from the customs agent booth to the inside of the main terminal. Kuala Lumpur’s airport might as well have been made for ants. Tiny, indistinctive creatures. Exactly what she imitated.

The lethal threat no opponent ever saw coming—a shadow.

No, a
Lotus
.

She hefted her large black duffle over her shoulder and headed outside. While it might have been easier to hire a private jet for this trip, doing so wouldn’t have gifted her with the same advantage of anonymity a commercial flight did. Staff gossiped. If one person asked who the hell she or “he” was, her carefully constructed invisibility would be shot.

A single moment of letting down one’s guard was all it ever took. Her hand drifted to her collarbone and the healed bullet wound, fingertips grazing the small ring of raised, smooth flesh.

Call her anally cautious, but she’d never make that mistake twice.

A blast of suffocating, humid air engulfed her as she passed through the doors. She hailed a waiting taxi with one hand while adjusting those damned tube socks with her other.

One benefit of being a man? She touched herself and no one paid attention.

The sweet caress of AC greeted her inside the cab. As she rattled off the address in a gruff voice, her stomach twisted into knots.

The good kind.

Six long years, she’d awaited this moment. At last, her chance to shed her past. To be reborn, as much as any soul could be renewed without dying, really. No more shadow-life for her.

Tonight, she would become a Chosen.

The taxi pulled around to the alley of the four-storied, red-roofed, dilapidated building. Through the rearview mirror, the driver sent her a “you sure about this?” look, eyebrows raised above dubious eyes. She’d bet if this man had any clue she was actually a girl, he’d never let her out of the cab. Not in this ghetto.

She ignored his questioning stare, handed him the fare, and shuffled out, slugging her duffle along with her. The taxi peeled away. She resisted the urge to pace in the alleyway, counting to ensure no one had followed her. She’d covered her tracks. Anyone searching for her would have scanned the flight manifests for a woman, not a man.

Nat forced her hand to drop from her scar and knock on the steel door instead. The lesson had been hard-earned, but she’d never screw up again.
Rap-rap, tap tap tap
. Less than a heartbeat later, the door opened.

An elegantly manicured hand with crimson nails beckoned. “Come in, come in,
sayang
.” The Matchmaker always addressed Nat using the Malay term for “dearest.”

Steeling herself with a deep breath, Nat did as told and stepped inside. The heavy door thudded shut behind her. The Matchmaker was the sole person on earth she trusted. With her life, her soul, her heart. This woman had held Nat’s fate in her hands for the past six years.

“Well, let me get a good look at you.” The Matchmaker tilted her head, long straight black locks brushing her waist. The corner of the woman’s mouth curved as she examined Nat’s manly appearance. “
Hmm
. Nice detailing, especially with the nose.”

“Thanks.” She smiled as she peeled the broad, flat prosthetic off, perhaps for the last time. Just in case, she placed the nose in the small box inside her duffle. Digging her nails beneath her scalp, she peeled off the shorthaired black wig and bald cap. She shook out her long, curly dark auburn locks and sighed.

The Matchmaker handed her a traditional Chinese dress like the one she wore and ushered her into a closet. The red silk design would be the first feminine item she’d worn in a week. The dress fit like a glove.
The Matchmaker had this tailored for me.
The woman always looked out for her. After dressing, she applied adhesive remover to the strip of fake stubble on her chin, peeling it off.

“Ready?” Through the door, a hint of eagerness coated the woman’s normally smooth tone. Not for a minute did Nat forget how important this decision was to the other Chosen.

Or worry she wouldn’t be the one they wanted.

The Chosen were just that.
Chosen
by the Jade Emperor to host the twelve warrior spirit animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Together, the host and the spirit animal defended the Earth against imbalance, like the Red Death—a plague that had decimated almost a third of the world’s population over the last couple of years. The spread of the lethal disease had tipped the world’s balance of
yin
and
yang
—complementary concepts of light and dark, fire and water, male and female. Until the Chosen defeated the Plague God and restored this balance, humankind spiraled toward extinction.

Tonight, Natalie wouldn’t be chosen, not by the Jade Emperor, at least. The spirit of the Snake had been stolen from its host by one of the Matchmaker’s
Kongsi
members. A
Shèhúnzéi
—Spirit Thief—Lucy had snatched the Snake from its previous—and evil—host, a man named Zhao. Natalie had memorized every detail of the assignment over the past week. Ever since the Matchmaker handed her this new task.

“Coming, Matchmaker.” Natalie smiled but her smile soon faded. What if the Matchmaker was wrong? What if the Snake didn’t accept her? Just because she’d been born in the Year of the Snake didn’t ensure compatibility.

Enough.
She smoothed her skirt, straightened her shoulders, and assumed the air of confidence she’d spent the last six years perfecting. No matter what turmoil churned inside her soul, no one would detect her anxiety.

She twisted the knob and stepped out of the closet. “Thank you again, Matchmaker, for this great and honorable responsibility. I am ready to meet the Chosen.” She inclined her head in deference.

The Matchmaker’s obsidian eyes glinted. The knots inside Nat’s stomach twined again, weaving from excitement and anticipation to the uncertainty of the unknown.

What was the scheming woman up to? Her mind flashed over every aspect of this mission, but none stood out. She stomped down her nerves and followed the Matchmaker up a set of creaky stairs and into a narrow corridor. Down the flowery wallpapered hallway, the Matchmaker paused at a set of wooden doors, her hand gracefully swept outward to indicate Nat should proceed first.

She cast a glance at the woman, but whatever mischief had flashed in her expression disappeared. Focused back on the room, she combined every ounce of her control to stop her hand from trembling as she hauled open the solid hardwood door.

Candlelight from dozens of lanterns illuminated the figures in the room.

Four men and a woman. Both unfamiliar to her, one man and the woman stood entwined. Another man she didn’t recognize flanked off to the side.

Then there was
him
.

The air cut off in her throat.
It can’t be him.
Despite her denial, there was no mistaking the man standing before her. He wasn’t the tallest man in the room, but the largest for sure. Her gaze tripped on his feet, encased in shiny black loafers. Dark charcoal slacks hugged thick, powerful thighs. A casual navy blue dress shirt stretched across his massive chest, the sleeves rolled at the elbows to reveal sculpted forearms and the promise of brawny biceps.