by Tiana Laveen
LIBRA
Mr. Romantic
THE TWELVE SIGNS OF LOVE
(The Zodiac Lovers Series)
Written by Tiana Laveen
Edited by Natalie Owens
Cover by Travis Pennington
BOOK 1: Capricorn – Mr. Ambition
BOOK 2: Aquarius – Mr. Humanitarian
BOOK 3: Pisces – Mr. Imagination
BOOK 4: Aries – Mr. Adventure
BOOK 5: Taurus – Mr. Persistent
BOOK 6: Gemini – Mr. Versatile
BOOK 7: Cancer – Mr. Intuitive
BOOK 8: Leo – Mr. Boss
BOOK 9: Virgo – Mr. Intelligent
BOOK 10: Libra – Mr. Romantic
BOOK 11: Scorpio – Mr. Magnetic
BOOK 12: Sagittarius – Mr. Philosophical
Welcome to the “Zodiac Lovers Series” – The 12 Signs of Love.
This is a series which features a hunky hero for each zodiac sign of the year!
This series is stand-alone, so whether you wish to only purchase one or two books of this astrological romance series, or all 12, you can do so without missing a beat. Each Hero embodies typical characteristics of their zodiac sign, but please bear in mind, this is simply for fun – and not to state emphatically that any sign mentioned will act as described. Each tale chronicles the life of the hero and heroine’s quest to love and romance, and each story is unique.
Some of the heroes are serious and brooding, others capricious and fun loving. Some of the tales will feel like a modern-day fairytale while others take a more serious tone. Some tales may lie somewhere in between. This series is written from the heart.
Enjoy!
COPYRIGHT
WARNING!
DON’T STEAL OR ILLEGALLY SHARE AUTHORS’ WORK!
Copyright © 2018 by Tiana Laveen
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. PIRACY IS AGAINST THE LAW.
IN OTHER WORDS: If you do any of the above, the karma bus is waiting for you. If you steal this author’s work and illegally loan and/or share it, request illegal/free copies online and/or in printed version, you are no better than a burglar that breaks into someone’s house while you think they are away. You are a criminal. A thief. A cheat. You don’t work for free, so why should authors?!
WE WORK HARD. SHOW SOME APPRECIATION.
BLURB
Langston Lopez grew up in Elsa, Texas, the only place he knew for most of his life. Half Mexican and half White, he didn’t let racism or poverty stop him from living the life he wanted. After facing many hardships, he found his passion: bodybuilding. Working part time as a UPS driver, he travels from city to city in his spare time, winning trophies and making a name for himself. Blessed with a great physique he worked diligently to obtain, a good dose of charm, and good looks, women flock to him like moths to a flame. Getting female attention is easy for Langston—until he meets Yasmine English, that is.
Yasmine has moved to Elsa from Dallas, Texas to start a new life. A young, divorced mother of a hearing-impaired fourteen-year-old son, she works at a grocery store that she soon hopes to own. The last thing on her mind is getting to know the six-foot-three hunk of muscle with jet black hair, tattoos, and honey-colored eyes that drops off boxes of perishables and flirts like there is no tomorrow. One day though, fate brings them together in the most terrifying of ways…
Yasmine stuffs bags with soft bread and canned goods, but she also has her own crosses to bear. Langston doesn’t only carry weight in barbells; he has his share of baggage and it is far heavier than the packages he delivers from house to house.
Faced with a new reality, both must deal with a new set of problems and perhaps blessings, too. Can these two lay down their burdens, lighten the load, hold tight to one another, and find their way to the light within?
Read, “Libra – Mr. Romantic” to find out!
HEADS UP!
Please bear in mind that each book in this series is adult in nature and includes:
Profanity – (sometimes gratuitous depending on the characters/specific book in the series)
Explicit intimate encounters – (this is consistent in all 12 novels of this series)
Adult topics and situations – (This could be anything from drug abuse to mental illness, violence, incurable disease, etc.)
If you are offended or triggered by any of the abovementioned, please consider this before moving forward.
Thank You.
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the Libras of the Zodiac…
You are charming, sentimental, romantic, fair, and lovers of justice and equality. Don’t let your charming ways sway you into the vast arena of manipulation, attention-seeking, and exaggerations—your truth is good enough and stronger than you know. As you’re a natural lover, you can sometimes give so much of yourself that there is nothing of you left.
If you are on zero, how can you fill up another with your love?
The world needs your tenderness; you are the teachers of how to love unconditionally, so take care to not be a doormat to someone who doesn’t appreciate your worth. You can be patient, sweet, and quite determined when you put your mind to it. Many of you make loyal friends. You are among the few who are able to see both sides of a coin and therefore, by default, you are often fair in your assessments of various situations.
You glow in colors of warm oranges, vibrant reds, and blazing golds…
The scales tell no tales.
Weigh all your options,
Make a choice,
And be proud.
You are the big-hearted Libra…
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
About this Book
Heads Up!
Dedication
Letter to the Reader
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
About the Author
LETTER TO THE READER
To my Laveen Queens and Kings, welcome. If you’ve been rocking with me for a while now, then there are no words to express my gratitude. To any new readers who happen upon this book—welcome, and thank you for going on this journey with me. All right, so as to the question that many will ask: Why did you create this series, Tiana? Since a very early age, I have nurtured an interest in the field of astrology. It wasn’t something I relied upon necessarily, but I was intrigue
d by it, especially if a specific forecast rang true. Regardless of anyone’s personal beliefs, astrology can at least be considered an interesting study. Some believe it to be total nonsense. Others believe there may be some credibility, but it is still rather farfetched. Yet others believe that the entire subject is evil while some tend to take it quite seriously and consider it no laughing matter. Whatever your beliefs, please suspend them for the reading of this romance series.
None of the books in this series are about conjecturing, prophecy, predictions, etc. They are merely avenues, or tools, if you will, to view the astrological sign as a gateway into a particular character. This is used to highlight a few key characteristics, be they good, bad, or indifferent, about all 12 zodiac signs from a male perspective.
I am an author who writes lengthy books by default. You would be hard-pressed to find over 10% of my portfolio that does not hit the 100k+ word mark. With that being said, I wanted this series to be full-bodied, but not overwhelming. I wanted to write love stories that unfold in a timely manner, something a reader could knock out in a day or two, but not be explored so fleetingly that the reader misses my signature character and story development. I prefer to write extensive novels because I am practically addicted to the human mind – the psychology behind a character. Why did he say that? Why did she do that? How did this happen? Who were their parents? And so on and so forth.
This kind of in-depth exploration takes time, which equals a longer page count. Longer does not always equate to better, however, and in my personal writing journey this series has been inside my mind for quite some time and needed to come out. I wanted the series to be standalone, meaning if a reader only wished to read Pisces, Cancer, and Libra, they could do so without missing key components. In fact, my “Raven Maxim” series is similar – no book is contingent upon the other, though the stories take place in the same town. That series is ongoing and may never end, because I have given myself permission, as an author, to fully explore the characters, the city, etc., and not worry about readers waiting a long time for a conclusion due to a succession of cliffhangers. Series are mostly either loved or hated, but standalone books in a series, to me, merge the best of both worlds. In the Zodiac series, the link that binds the books is that you, the reader, are looking at the hero’s astrological sign. But there is so much more to these men, these exciting heroes, than this.
These guys are all different, from all walks of life. They tell their tale in the manner that they see fit. Some are entertaining, others inspiring.
In this 12-part series, you will meet 12 men and their love interests.
12 signs…
12 different minds…
12 lifetimes…
You will sit back and watch the magic unfold.
Please get comfortable, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy the, “Zodiac Lover Series – The Twelve Signs of Love.”
It is a gift from me to you…
Tiana Laveen
I love intensely…
Sometimes I’m the loudest in the room, sometimes I’m the quietest, but one thing is for sure—I am one of the most underestimated.
I love a good laugh and can be a social butterfly. Sometimes though I crave alone time and just wish to concentrate on my hobbies, ideas and dreams. I tend to be very creative in whatever field of interest I obsess about. Yes… obsess. When it comes to my interests, I give them my time and full attention; they become a part of me, define who I am to the world. I am married to my hobbies to the point that I sometimes burn myself out. I am also quite generous but not always the best with money. Yet, to get what I don’t budget well for, I often find creative ventures to earn supplemental income that others don’t think about.
My friends have said I’m indecisive and sometimes that’s true, but it’s only because I am able to see so many different sides of any given subject matter. Even choosing pizza toppings can be a source of frustration, so I often spend a lot of time weighing the scales, or, in this case, options. Now, there are some idiots who have called me crazy and accused me of having a wicked temper. What nonsense. That’s Leo and Aries, not me. Some have said, when I get angry, it’s like a tornado. But that’s not true, either.
I’m more like a volcano…
It never happens all of a sudden or with short notice.
By the time I am yelling and screaming, I’ve put up with your shit for far longer than I should have; and now you are feeling the wrath of pent-up frustration that has been deep within me for weeks, possibly months or even years. If I am in your face and exploding, it means enough is a fucking ’nough and I’ve gone to the point of no return. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes it just becomes painfully obvious that some motherfuckers aren’t worth a rusty ass penny; therefore, I will address them as such. I will definitely call a spade a spade once I see what you’re doing. If you wonder why, when I do get angry, my temper is so volatile, it’s because I am emotional when it comes to affairs of the heart. Whether it’s a friendship, a family member, or my woman, if you want to hurt me, make me think that you love me and then I find out that you don’t…
I’m sincere and quite sentimental. I am the type of person who can tell you exactly what I wore, what the temperature was, and who was around me when I was six years old on Christmas Eve at exactly 2:15 P.M., but may not recall what I ate for breakfast the day before. Family and close friendships are extremely important to me. I often surround myself with people like they’re a comforting blanket, because this makes me feel calm and at peace. The times I do choose to be alone, it is typically for reflection or due to some work that I desperately need to get done. Yes, I can procrastinate at times, even be lazy, but I get right back on track with little effort. I have a snarky sense of humor and am full of sarcasm. Pure silliness is a good description of my humoristic style. Not to brag, but people love being around me.
I am the person who is either laughing until I am in tears, or causing others to laugh until they are in tears. Comedy is not only a part of my life, but is mostly a need—my medication. Sometimes I have to laugh to keep from crying. If you don’t see me smiling and laughing for long stretches of time, call for help. It means I’m depressed and a depressed Libra is truly a sad state of affairs.
Speaking of affairs, I am either extremely loyal to my love interest or play the field like I have seven dicks and only twenty-four hours of life left to use them.
There seems to be no in between with me. Angel or dog, it just depends on what type of Libra you get. An unbalanced Libra will define himself by sowing his wild oats well after the age of thirty. It’s because we’re charismatic, women love us, we tend to care about our physical appearance, we know how to talk to people to get what we want, and we love sex. An emotionally mature Libra will give his relationships his all and not dare screw another woman.
This is not to say I don’t appreciate other women’s beauty while I am in a relationship or married; I am just not going to let it go further than that. I will definitely look, okay? I am a natural born flirt after all. I am known to love beautiful people, clothing, houses and surroundings—you know, the luxuries in life, but I know better than to touch another woman whom I’m not committed to.
Now, back to something I brought up a minute ago. I was honestly not trying to brag, just like I said, and I am honestly not trying to toot my own horn, but people are always trying to spend time with me. They are attracted to my energy. This includes individuals of the opposite sex and even straight guys who want to be friends, who feel I have some sort of magic, something that draws them in. People are fascinated by me, and that’s just a fact. I tend to have a nice, welcoming smile—this is typical of a Libra. This invites people to rush to tell me their problems without prompting. I know some secrets that would blow your mind. People just tend to naturally trust me, and this is in part because I tend to be a good listener, often play Devil’s advocate, and offer good advice—even if I never take my own advice but that’s another topic
for another day.
One grievance I have, however, is that I have a hell of a time finding people as generous with their hearts as I am with mine. I get sick and tired of that shit. Why do I always have to be the one to compromise? It’s frustrating and angers me to no end. People are constantly needing me for something, but as soon as I need something… *crickets.* Okay, fine, I know I sound like a martyr again. Libras are often accused of that, too, but it’s true! I often harbor unspoken resentment due to this, and sometimes feel used and taken for granted. That can lead to passive aggressive behavior on my part if I am not ready to lose the bond we have, thus avoiding confrontation only to have it fester that much longer inside of me. The vicious cycle continues, which then leads back to depression…
One of the biggest reasons why I get down in the dumps is due to feeling unappreciated by someone I love, being ignored by a friend I adore, or feeling isolated and alone. Yes, people gravitate towards me, but I can be in a crowded room and still feel lonely. Sometimes I don’t feel understood, but due to my optimistic nature, I tend to not give those feelings much attention, and then they grow and worsen. If I become negative, it’s because I am unbalanced and an unbalanced Libra is a nightmare. Why? Because we are the scales.
We teach everyone else in the Zodiac how to be straightforward and unbiased. We are the judges. We are the teachers of law and order, with a heaping dose of love. At times, and I will admit this, I can play the victim. If something isn’t going my way, I may embellish or exaggerate the actual events of a situation to turn the tide in my favor. Sometimes I don’t even realize I am doing it; in my own mind I often believe whatever rendition of a story I am relaying. I am not inclined to just lie for the hell of it. If I do, it’s to save my own ass or, somewhere along the line, I got the facts twisted. In those cases, after I have calmed down, I am not above admitting that I made a mistake in judgment. After all, being fair is important to me.