Necessary Temptation Releases Friday!

My m/m werepanther tale, Necessary Temptation, will be released from Ellora's Cave this Fridaym so I thought I'd post a little teaser for you!

Only one night of sexual testing stands between Dawson Gray and his destiny. If he can endure a public ritual without succumbing to his desire for another man, he will claim his female mate and his future as head of his wereleopard Pride. That future is in his grasp, until one man approaches...
Logan is an Unfree slave whose only chance at freedom is to become the warrior-mate of a Pride-born son. But there's one thing Logan desires more than his freedom--Gray. This is his only chance to tempt the man he loves to his side. He'll use every weapon at his disposal to prove to Gray that their feelings are more than desire, and that this night is the beginning of a shared destiny, not merely a necessary temptation.



The master of ceremony’s voice cued that it was time to grit his teeth for the penultimate test. Almost there. Twenty more minutes, and two very public encounters with two other men and he’d be ready to mate-claim his woman. Their parents had already arranged for the details of the claiming months ago, so there would be no battle for Melody’s hand. If she chose him and he accepted her offer, none would dare challenge him, no matter that she was one of the loveliest and most well-liked young woman in their pride. He was Dawson Gray, son of the Pride Head, and to challenge a Gray was very close to a death sentence.
The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.
Even more reason to hold strong, to take your father’s place and effect change. To make this pride a place where true equality and—
Gray lost his train of thought faster than his little brother Darius scampered after a bowl of cream placed on the kitchen floor.
Gods, no, anyone but him.
His next Unfree tormentor stood before him, all six foot something of him naked as the day he was born, his tanned skin oiled to a high sheen that only emphasized the perfection of his muscled frame. Logan’s chin-length dark blond hair hung wildly around his face, half covering his startlingly bright blue eyes. It looked as if he hadn’t bothered to preen before the testing, as if he hadn’t cared to waste time prettying up for the tribe born.
Thank gods. If he looked any better, there would be no chance of resisting.
It was as if Logan had somehow overheard Gray’s unspoken thought, for he suddenly smiled, a wry twist of his full lips that alone was nearly enough to make Dawson thicker.
What in the hell was he going to do once Logan was allowed to touch, to tease, to taste?
Gray closed his eyes, forcing the image of the slightly shorter male from his mind. Logan. Gods, why did it have to be Logan? The man had haunted his dreams every night in the year since they returned from San Francisco. Until then, he’d just been another Unfree working the shit jobs at the Pride’s import factory that no Pride born were-panther wanted to dirty their hands with. A gorgeous man, yes, but there were an abundance of gorgeous men among the Pride, and Gray had never taken advantage of an Unfree sexually. They couldn’t say “no” to a Pride born and Gray wasn’t into forced encounters.
But after he had seen Logan fight the were-lions like it was his own Pride’s territory he was defending, with a bravery that outshone every other man on the battlefield… Logan had become something more than an Unfree. He’d become an object of fascination. With a body built for pleasure and a spirit as fierce and untamed as any he’d known, Gray found his thoughts turning to Logan far more often than they should. He’d dreamed of what it would be like to touch the man and to be touched in return, but never dared think those dreams would become a reality.
Now that it was actually going to happen…gods, how in the hell was he going to force his body to deny his attraction?
“The Unfree may begin. You have ten minutes.”
“Ten whole minutes. Not nearly enough for all the things I want to do to you,” Logan whispered under his breath as he circled slowly around in back of Gray.
Shit. Of all the things he could have said, that was the worst. Want to do. Things he wanted to do, not things he was forced to do. Now Gray didn’t even have the element of force to cool his lust.
He took a deep breath and let it out, wishing he could rid himself of anxiety as easily. This was going to be pure hell. No matter that Logan might not find the time sufficient, Gray knew they were going to be the longest ten minutes of his life.


I'll post the Buy link on Friday as soon as it goes live!