Authors: V.A. Dold
This is Dedicated
To all of my readers and fans of the Le Beau Series, I appreciate you more than I can say.
Thank you to my friends and family who cheered me on and gave me the energy to keep writing when I was running low on sleep.
A special thank you to all the Bayou Babes who support me every day.
BJ Gaskill and Mary Pavek, you rock!
And thank you, Tina, Carolyn, and Jinny; the best editors a girl could ask for
...Enjoy the adventure!
Le Beau Brothers
Book 3
By
V.A. Dold
Anna Le Beau knocked on her mother
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in
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law's door then absently began wringing her hands. Her heart was in her throat, and her brow glistened with sweat. Ever since her sons, Thomas and John James, had requested to be converted, she’d been on an emotional roller coaster.
The door swung open presenting Emma Le Beau and her gorgeous smile.
“Anna! What a wonderful surprise.”
“Good morning, Emma.”
“I was pouring a cup of tea, would you like one?”
“Yes, a cup would be lovely.” It would give her hands something to do. Anna took a seat at the kitchen table to watch Emma as she worked.
Emma gave her a long, speculative look, then sighed. “They finally asked, didn’t they?” Her bangles tinkled as she set the cups on the table.
“It’s truly creepy, how you know everything before anyone says a word.”
“Oh, darlin’, not everything. Them boys of mine got away with plenty,” Emma said as she patted her daughter-in-law’s hand.
Anna shivered. “I can imagine. No, wait. Don’t tell me. I’m not sure I even want to know. In some situations, ignorance is bliss.”
Emma threw back her head and laughed. “So, what would you have of me, sweetheart?”
“My boys came to us last night. They’ve thought it through and would like you to petition the goddess for their conversion. Please tell me this isn’t dangerous.”
“Oh, heavens, no. About a hundred and fifty years back, a man in Omaha requested conversion and it went very smoothly. Keep in mind, the goddess may decline the request.”
Anna sat back in her chair and visibly relaxed. “Thank goodness. I didn’t get a lick of sleep over this. So, what do we have to do?”
“Nothing. I’ll make the request this afternoon during meditation, and then we wait.”
“Oh. I sure feel silly. I was all worked up for nothing.”
Emma sipped her tea. “Leave everything to me. You just take care of my grandchild.”
Anna finished her tea, feeling much more relaxed than she had twenty minutes before. “I really could use a nap,” she sighed. “Thank you, Emma. Please let me know as soon as the goddess makes her decision.”
“Of course, I will. You run on home. And don’t worry about a thing.”
*****
Four hours later, Emma knelt before her altar as she prepared for her daily meditation time. She spoke with the spirits each day but normally didn’t make such a monumental appeal. Drawing a calming breath she forged on. It wasn’t every day a worshipper requested a human conversion.
She lit her candles and incense, closed her eyes, and laid her hands palm up in her lap.
“My child, your visits lighten my heart,” the goddess quietly spoke.
“If it pleases you, I humbly request a conversion on behalf of your beloved daughter, Anna. She asks that her two human sons be converted to shifter.”
The goddess was the creator of the wolf shifters. Long ago she blessed a village of humans with wolf souls. They were the first shifters. Since then she has only blessed a handful of humans who were not mated to a born shifter.
“Ah, Thomas and John. Both are good, honorable men. Even as humans, they have served me well by protecting my daughter from harm. I grant the request of John James to take place during the next new moon, but I have other plans for Thomas James.”
Emma bowed low. “Thank you, mother goddess. If it pleases you, may I inquire about my sons’ mates?”
A soft chuckle sounded from the wavering image. “Your second eldest son has much to learn and his mate will teach him. Her name is Rachel Jorgenson. She is the owner of Shadow Hill Stables. She will be a participant in Simon’s auction. Have Stefan attend the event and all will unfold as destiny has planned. Take care, my daughter. Blessed be.”
Watching her slowly fade, she thought,
Oh goodness, this is going to take some planning.
*****
That evening, Emma invited Cade, Anna, and her boys to join her and Isaac on the deck. Sweet tea filled her pitcher on the sideboard, adding to the cooling breeze coming off the river. A secret little smile lit her face and her toes tapped a happy rhythm on the decking.
“Are you going to keep me waiting all night, Emma?” Isaac asked with a grin of his own.
She clapped excitedly. “I received answers from the goddess. She has given me the identity of Stefan’s mate. El from Shadow Hill Stables. You remember her, the healers’ group cured her stallion a while back. She’ll be at the ball Simon and Rose are hosting. I already have a plan to get her there, too. I have additional news, but you have to wait for the others, then I’ll tell everyone.”
Isaac scowled playfully and sipped his tea. A few minutes later, footsteps were heard on the wooden stairs.
“Oh! Here they are.” She rushed to hug everyone. Even Thomas wore a grin at her exuberance.
“Hi, Mother.” Cade spun her playfully in a circle.
“Oh, you.” She gave him a swat and offered tea to everyone before settling down to serious business.
Five faces stared at her in expectation. “I’m sure you already guessed I have news. John, your request will be granted at the new moon. And Thomas, the goddess told me she has plans for you as well, however she hasn’t disclosed what they are. But, keep in mind, she never does anything without a very good reason or behaves in a spiteful manner. So, don’t worry about not getting the conversion with John. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be patient. She did tell me you were both honorable men and were serving her well.”
Anna’s hand clamped over her mouth. “So fast?”
“When the goddess makes a decision, there’s no reason to wait. I’ll teach you everything and we’ll do it together.”
“Cher, it’ll be fine,” Cade said as he wrapped his arms around her. “There’s nothing to fear, remember?”
“I know. It’s these stupid hormones. Just ignore me.”
“We have fifteen days to prepare. Tomorrow we’ll go over the preparation and prayers. We’ll also need to check the herb cabinet to verify we have everything.” Emma was all business when it came to her rituals and magic.
“Let me know when you need me to be here.”
“This is going to be great!” John shot a look at Thomas and received a toast from his brother for his success.
“I’d still like to remain here in New Orleans and live on the plantation if that’s okay with everyone,” Thomas said, looking like a kicked puppy.
“Of course you will,” Isaac nodded. “I have plans for you myself. Can you meet with me in the morning?”
“Certainly,” Thomas replied.
Searching for ‘Her’
“Oh, yeah.” Stefan sighed as he closed his eyes. The dinner meeting had gone far too late into the night and he had an early morning at a job site.
He was stressed out and could really use the relief of his dream woman tonight. Just one of a million times he’d wished he could control when he received a dream.
Drifting off to sleep..
.He stood in the entrance to a blues club he recognized, Papa Joe’s, not far from the plantation. The smells and sounds were so real. If he hadn’t experienced these dreams hundreds of times, he would actually believe he was living this instead of dreaming.
Slowly he took in the bar and patrons. His heart stuttered as he spotted her, seated alone in the deep shadows of a booth across the dance floor. She hadn’t seen him enter and seemed very intent on her cocktail.
Long strides ate up the distance between him and his destination. In moments he stood before her with his hand extended. “May I have this dance?”
Startled, her gaze snapped to his, a second later her lips curled in a heart-stopping smile as she recognized him. Without hesitation she took his outstretched hand and followed him to a dark corner on the dance floor.
“I’ve missed you, cher,” he whispered against her neck as he laid hot, tender kisses behind her ear.
“I’ve missed you, too.” She moaned as his marauding lips grazed her neck, seductively. “Where have you been?”
“Looking for you.”
They slowly swayed to the mournful tune being performed as lips and hands roamed discreetly.
A woman exiting the ladies’ restroom a few feet away gave him a very naughty idea.
Stefan scanned the bar to make sure no one was watching. Glancing back to her, he indicated the door with a tilt of his head, winked, and took her hand. They entered a large, one
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person bathroom that didn’t require separate stalls, excellent for what he had in mind. His dream woman threw the lock as the door swung shut–smart lady. Privacy at last.
Without breaking stride, he backed her against the far wall. As her bared skin connected with the cooler tile, she let out a startled gasp. A more ideal opportunity couldn’t have presented itself. He seized her parted lips, kissing her long and deep until his head spun from lack of oxygen. Goddess, she was perfection, and tasted so hot and spicy. For a second he wondered what she’d eaten to taste this delicious.
There were acres of flesh that needed his attention and he intended to enjoy every bit of her. Trailing hot kisses from her swollen lips to the curve of her neck, he lingered where he ached to put his bite, until she moaned and writhed against him.
Their temperatures rose rapidly as hands and lips became more frantic. Heat danced between them like a living flame. She was always so responsive, giving as good as she got.
Stefan ran his palm from her grinding hips up her ribs to the tiny bit of halter
-
top–a thin scrap of cotton between his marauding hands and the treasure he sought.
As he traced the edge of the offending cotton barrier, he drew back. “This needs to go,” he murmured, and brushed his thumbs across her peaked nipples straining for his touch.
Using the leverage of her shoulders, she arched away from the wall to give his hands room to unclasp the halter. The new position ground her hips even harder against his straining cock. Stefan groaned as his hand slipped under the dangling fabric, her engorged nipples tickling his palms and making his mouth water.
He kneaded the luscious mounds as he lowered his head to one rosy peak. Her grip tightened on his shoulders as her moans echoed off the walls.
“Yes,” she cried as he lightly bit down.
His dream lover fisted his hair and thrust more of her magnificent breast into his mouth. His erection tested the pressure rating of the rivets in his jeans, but he wanted to make this last so the damn things would just have to hold.
Still suckling her breast, he slid a hand down her eager body to her belt buckle. Clothing was no longer an option and he made short order of her shoes and jeans. Only her panties remained between his seeking fingers and his goal. Locking gazes with her, he traced the strip of thong between her legs with his seeking fingertips.
Damn! She was wet.
His two fingers slipped deep into her moist heat, eliciting a cry of pleasure. He had to tighten his hold to prevent her quaking legs from buckling.
“Turn around,” he urged huskily, relishing the brush of her skin against his as she slowly complied. With her back pressed to his heated body, he seductively ran his palms down her arms to gently raise her hands to the wall. “Just hang on,” he breathed into her hair. “And enjoy yourself.”
His hands slipped back to her shoulders and continued their slide across her aching breasts, over her hips, and down her stomach, until stopping between her quivering thighs.
She widened her stance and arched toward him as he pushed the thong aside and slid one finger along her wet folds.
“More,” she pleaded and pressed against his seeking fingers, begging for his touch. Grinding her ass into his throbbing cock.
He swore he heard a rivet pop when he sank two fingers deep, setting a slow, sensuous ride for his dream lover. If she needed more, he would oblige. He quickened the pace and added a third finger as he met her thrust for thrust.
In seconds she exploded around him with a barely suppressed shout.
Stefan leaned back from her still quivering body just enough to reach his jeans; that scrap of thong needed to go. The sight of that tiny bit of satin disappearing down the center of her gorgeous ass almost did him in. His knees shook as he lowered his zipper. The trusty Levi’s had put up a valiant effort, but were about to lose the battle.
She began to turn from the wall, but he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop the motion.
“Don’t move,” he panted.
Going to his knees, he cupped two handfuls of trembling flesh and spread the enticing mounds. “Exquisite,” he murmured between kisses. Blindly, his fingers traced the waistband of her thong as he licked her right through the satin of her panties.
“Please,” she pleaded.
“Oh, I will, cher.”
With one quick tug, the thong was history, her cheeks jiggling from the force. Damn, she had great rebound. Not about to miss out on the banquet before him, Stefan’s plundering tongue quickly replaced the deceased thong.
“Spread your legs further for me, baby,” he growled, his voice gravelly with need. Tenderly, he pushed her legs apart, and then held her in his desired position. “Right there, cher.”
He needed to taste her glistening heaven more than he needed to breathe.
With his first lick, her hips jerked, and then caught his rhythm. So hot. So spicy. He would never get enough of her taste. Using gentle fingers, he spread her folds wider, granting him better access to her heat and swollen clit.
Each lick and suckle caused her legs’ trembling to increase under his palms.
“I’m–going–to–fall,” she said between pants.
“I’ve got you, cher.”
“Oh God! Stefan!” she cried and shattered again.
His wolf howled in triumph. They had given her a second orgasm and this time she had shouted his name. He only wished she would have been turned to him so he could see the ecstasy on her face. Next time, he decided.
Goddess, he loved her taste. No other woman had ever come close to his dream woman in satisfying him and his wolf.
When he was sure she wouldn’t fall, he drew back and rose from the floor.
“That was,” she panted over her shoulder, “amazing.”
“Yes, you are,” he agreed licking his fingers. “But, I’m far from finished with you, so don’t move.”
He started at her neck again, kissing a path across her back, as he slipped his hands around to cup her glorious breasts. Stefan took his time kneading and rolling the taut peaks from behind. Her moans filled the room again as she ground her soft ass into his painful erection.
He’d never last if she continued to grind on him. Drawing in a calming breath, he forced his body under control and the fog from his brain. Goddess knows it could be weeks before he dreamt of her again. Blue balls had become a constant state of being for him lately. He was determined to make the most of each and every dream he received.
“You’re so beautiful,” he growled, his body shaking with the effort to maintain control.
Turning her head, he captured a desperately needed kiss and groaned when she swept her tongue across his and explored the inside of his mouth.
He needed to get inside her sweet heat before he came in his jeans.
“Sorry, cher, this is going to be fast. Your incredible body is killing me and it’s been too long.” He panted between licks and nibbles before he drew back to free himself from the prison of denim he was serving time in. Guiding her to arch her back, he grabbed her hips and surged forward.
Her cry was the sexiest damn thing he’d ever heard and pleased his wolf to no end. Like a crazed man, he drove deep, to the hilt, slapping skin on skin. With each thrust against the soft cushion of her ass, her cheeks bounced deliciously.
She felt so damn good. Warm, wet heat gripped him tight. Ah, fuck… this was going to definitely challenge his stamina. Then it got worse, or should he say better. Goddess help him, she gyrated her hips. He was Mount Vesuvius preparing to erupt. Her heat surrounded him like molten lava. The sensations turned him into a quivering junky. He couldn’t get enough and knew his next fix wasn’t guaranteed. Stefan’s desperation kicked up another notch, he needed to taste her lips as he pumped in and out of her in frantic thrusts.
“Yes…yes,” his dream lover chanted louder and louder.
Her head was thrown back, eyes rolling, and lips parted as she panted in ecstasy. One palm gripped her bouncing breast as he held on to her hip with the other. Every rebound of her exquisite curves amped his pleasure and encouraged him to increase his rhythm.
Her heat tightened around his straining cock as she exploded with a mind-blowing orgasm. He joined her seconds later, unable to stop his own release once her body began to milk his erection with strong throbbing pulls. She’d taken everything he had to give, leaving him so spent he had to brace himself
–
holding her quivering form in a standing position by pressing her between his body and the tiled wall.
It took a moment of heavy breathing before he admitted defeat. They weren’t going to remain standing regardless of his good intentions to hold her up from the bathroom floor. This amazing woman was the only female who had ever been able to weaken his legs to useless jelly. The best he was able to manage was sitting himself on the floor with her in his lap. That would have to do.
If he were to ever be challenged by another wolf after making love to this woman, he would be a very dead wolf. She was, hands down, the sexiest woman he’d ever known and he’d known a hell of a lot of them.
Conversation was a huge nonfactor at the moment, first he had to catch his breath and then try to get his brain to reengage.
Loud pounding on the door abruptly ended their recovery time. They were out of options. Two sets of jelly legs were going to have to rise to the momentous task of transporting them to a booth in the bar.
She smiled and struggled to stand. “I think we were just served an eviction notice.”
“Is that what that was?” Stefan chuckled. “I thought it was the sound of my heart banging on my ribs.”
She managed to get to her feet and offered him a hand. It took a few minutes, but they were now dressed and snuggled into a booth in the bar.
Stefan waited for the waitress to set down their drinks and walk away before he turned and asked, “Will you ever tell me your name? Come on, cher, please tell me.”
Like every other dream, she gazed at him sadly and shook her head. “Like I’ve said before, you’ve never looked at me twice in the past twelve years. But, we have met. If you ever notice me when you’re awake you’ll know my name, but you never do. Perhaps I should go.”
Stefan placed his hand on her arm before she could scoot from the booth. “Please stay. I won’t ask your name again. Promise.”
She nodded and settled against him for the remainder of the night.
*****
He didn’t dream of her as often as he would like, but he had last night. In those visions he recognized some of the locations they occurred in, and he knew the bar from last night’s dream.
Scowling, he scrubbed his fingers through his hair; she said he knew her in real life. Dammit! Why couldn’t he remember who she was? When had he met her? He sure as hell would have remembered her.
It made sense that she was a real woman and living in the area. Night after night, he visited the clubs from his dreams on the off chance she might be in one of them. It hadn’t worked yet, but he wasn’t giving up.
Stefan shoved the hose onto the gas pump, a bit harder than necessary. Then he sucked in a breath as he willed himself to calm down. Like many other nights, this one had ended in frustration. His hopes had been so high when he’d left home this evening that this nightclub would be the one. It hadn’t been.