ROUGH, TOUGH AND TUMBLE 3: WHEN IN ROME
by Kate Hill
Format(s): Ebook
Heat Level: Erotic
Pairing(s): M/M/F
Genre/Themes: Shapeshifter
Length: Novella
Publisher: Changeling Press
Cover Art: Zuri
ISBN: 978-1-60521-491-7
Purchase Link: Changeling Press
Related Books or Books Set in the Same Universe: Rough, Tough and Tumble 1: Hung at Dawn, Rough, Tough and Tumble 2: Blood, Sex and Leers, Aspectians
Blurb:
Shapeshifters Zandra, Sefu and Tiago find themselves in ancient Rome where a gladiator and his lover are desperate to escape the brutal games and her cruel husband.
The trio’s lust burns hotter than ever, stoked by the knowledge that this time they might not return to their world. Using their powers, they must impersonate Roman nobles to deceive a twisted emperor and save a gladiator from death in the arena while coming to terms with their love for each other.
The following excerpt from WHEN IN ROME is for readers 18 and over.
Zandra jumped awake to screaming and shouting. She gasped when Tiago tugged her into his arms and motioned for her to remain silent. Sefu had moved a short distance from them to peer behind the bushes.
A moment later, he shifted into a crow and flew off.
“Damn him,” Tiago muttered. “Why does he do shit like that?”
“We’d better see what’s going on,” Zandra whispered.
With a resigned sigh, Tiago shifted into an owl. Zandra did the same, since it was the only bird form she had learned well. As a pleasure shifter she had little call to change into a creature that would fly away from her customer.
No sooner had they taken to the air than they noticed a disturbing scene a short distance away.
A tall, muscular man wearing only a loincloth struggled violently as four armed guards in ancient military attire bound his hands and feet to the trunk of a tree. Another man, draped in a white tunic, his angular face taut, glared at the half-naked prisoner. He tightly held the upper arm of a frantic-looking woman also draped in a tunic that did little to hide her pregnancy. Her dark hair hung loose down her back and tears streaked her face.
“Aquilinus, don’t do this,” the woman shouted. “You’re making a mistake.”
The man in the tunic curled his lip in disgust and turned his dark, piercing gaze to the woman. “No, my dear Corda, you’re the one who made the mistake when you took this animal to your bed. Now you’ll watch him die.” He shoved her so hard that she stumbled to her knees.
“Leave her alone, bastard!” bellowed the prisoner. His powerful muscles bulged as he struggled against his bonds.
“The only bastard around here is the one growing in this bitch’s belly,” snarled Aquilinus, jerking his thumb in Corda’s direction. “Listen well, gladiator. I want you to die knowing that as soon as my wife, gives birth to your child, it will be killed after its first breath.”
Repulsed and angered by the scene, Zandra tried to think of a way to help these victims. Maybe Corda had cheated on her husband, but he was an absolute madman!
“You can’t!” Corda said, her voice rough with emotion.
“Can’t I? Count the days until your child’s death.”
Removing a dagger from the folds of his tunic, Aquilinus stepped closer to the prisoner and slashed him across first one cheek, then the other. Blood dripped down the man’s face. If possible, the prisoner looked even more enraged.
“Stop it!” Corda screamed and lunged at Aquilinus, grasping his arm and trying to pull him away from her lover. This time he struck her hard across the face, once again knocking her to the ground.
A deep growl echoed through the night and Zandra recognized Sefu’s wolf voice. She tensed. If he’d shifted from the crow to a wolf, he was probably going to intervene.
“Do you want us to kill him now?” asked one of the guards.
“No, I want that pleasure myself,” Aquilinus said. “You may return to your master. Be sure to thank him for delivering Rullus to me.”
“We’ll leave at once,” said another guard. “The emperor wants us back as soon as possible.”
The guards mounted their nearby horses and galloped off.
Blood dripping from her split lip, Corda rose painfully to her feet and approached her husband.
“I won’t let you do this,” she said.
Aquilinus snorted with contempt. “You don’t have a choice.”
Again he raised his dagger to the prisoner. At that moment Sefu, having shifted back to his human shape but wearing a cream-colored tunic, leapt from the shadow of another tree. With surprise as well as brute strength on his side, he knocked the dagger from Aquilinus’ hand and rendered him unconscious with a chokehold.
Corda gasped in surprise and stammered, “Who… where…”
“It’s all right,” Sefu said. “I’m here to help.”
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