RICHIE: New Orleans Wolf Shifters with plus sized BBW for mates (Le Beau Series Book 6)

by V. A. Dold

  She chewed her lower lip for a moment. “Maybe it would be best if we stayed in our own rooms tonight. I’ve never been comfortable with someone else in my bed. Please don’t be offended, I loved every minute of my time with you, but everything has happened so fast and it’s a lot to get used to in one day.”

  He smiled warmly and pulled her tightly against his side. “No offense taken. I totally understand, just remember, I’m only four doors away. If you need me for anything, call and I will be here immediately.”

  They snuggled for a minute before he stood to dress. Then he pulled her into his arms for a final long kiss. “Goodnight, mon amour. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight, Richie, and thank you for understanding.”

  Chapter 4

  Richie woke with a smile on his face. He couldn’t believe his luck; he’d met his mate! And they’d made love. He languidly stretched, and an image of her in his bed popped into his mind. Now there’s an idea.

  He tapped into his precognition to see the future. Maybe he would be able to see her in his bed tonight. Nothing came to him. He concentrated harder. Still nothing. Shit, it had been so long since he’d tried to see his own future; he’d forgotten it didn’t work for his personal life. He was only able to see other people’s futures. Ah, hell. He might as well shower and find some breakfast. He would simply make his desire a reality the old fashioned way. He’d shower his mate with romance. That was the least she deserved.

  *****

  Piper was showered, and her hair was done, now for makeup. She was about to stroke her eyelashes with mascara when she got a very naughty idea. I wonder if I can see what Richie is doing?

  Until now she’d only used her strange gift if she were in danger and in need of a little extra something to get out of it. Maybe it only worked if her adrenaline was pumping? She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. It couldn’t hurt to try.

  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on his hotel room. She pictured a floor plan identical to her own and focused her view four doors down. His empty rumpled bed came into focus. Slowly she turned three hundred sixty degrees, he wasn’t there. Piper moved her focus toward the door, her plan was to search down the hall and as far as the restaurant just off the hotel lobby.

  Her plan came to a screeching halt when she reached the open door to his bathroom. A new piece of information made itself abundantly clear, Richie showered with the door open. She was about to glance away and end her little spy caper when the curtain pulled back and exposed Richie in all his incredible glory. HOLY CROW! He’s well-endowed even flaccid!

  After last night she knew he was built like a brick house. That didn’t mean she was tired of looking at him, not by a long shot. And a dripping wet Richie was mind blowing.

  Richie’s gaze jumped to hers. SHIT, I’m so busted. But how the hell did he see me? Piper slammed her gift down. Shit. Shit. Shit. How was she going to face him now?

  *****

  Richie frowned, he’d swear he’d felt Piper’s energy, but now there was nothing. That was strange. I must be imagining things. He wanted to see her and touch her so badly he could taste it.

  Once he was dressed, he’d knock on her door. Maybe they could have breakfast together? Easily remedied, with a thought he donned dress pants, a white shirt, and casual leather shoes. Ready to go. The shifter power of dressing or undressing with a thought was his favorite thing at the moment.

  He knocked and waited. Nothing. Not a sound was heard on the other side of her door. She must have gone to the restaurant already. Grinning excitedly, he hit the elevator. When he reached the only restaurant in the hotel his shoulders slumped and his smile faded. She wasn’t there either. The girls were probably still sleeping, so he ordered a table for one.

  After breakfast, Richie searched high and low, and came up empty handed. He couldn’t feel her energy either. She must have left the hotel. At least she was guaranteed to be at the church. He’d find her and then not let her out of his sight.

  When he couldn’t find his mate, he headed to Billie’s and then Helen’s hotel rooms. He knocked and waited, no one answered. Dang it, the hotel was like a ghost town. Discouraged, he returned to his room. He needed to change for the wedding anyway.

  His wolf perked up the instant he exited his car in the church parking lot. She was here, somewhere. Energized by thoughts of touching Piper again, he bounded up the church steps. The lobby was wall-to-wall people. Luckily, he was taller than most.

  He took a position along a wall that would afford a good view of the entire space. His initial search failed to locate her or his friends. Her scent was present, but faint. It must have been some time since she was in that part of the church. He called on his wolf senses; if he concentrated hard, he may be able to follow her energy.

  Slowly, he waded through the crowd. He was pretty sure she was down the hall on his left. He found the men’s and women’s restrooms and what must be a dressing room. He bet money on the dressing room, but he sure as hell wasn’t going in there. Hell, nothing to do but wait. He hated waiting. He claimed a bit of wall at the edge of the lobby and hallway, crossed his arms and leaned back.

  What the heck was taking the ladies so long? Thirty minutes later he still held up the same patch of wall. The lobby emptied as people were ushered to their seats. Richie had no choice but to leave his station, and join the crowd.

  The groom stood at the front of the church and still no Piper. Richie’s wolf raged. The beast wanted to take action and track its mate. He braced his arms on the bench of the wooden pew, prepared to stand and leave the church when she hurried through the door and took a seat in the front row. Finally, he breathed.

  Richie lost sight of her when everyone stood as Theresa, escorted by both her mother and father, walked down the aisle. She was stunning. He’d only ever seen her in jeans and a T-shirt. Wow, she was beautiful. His mind immediately pictured Piper in a wedding dress, walking toward him, as he stood proudly at the front of the church. The excited hammering of his heart about beat his ribs to dust.

  Once they were seated again, he paid little attention to the wedding. His eyes were riveted on his mate. Like a lovesick pup, he held his breath, and willed her to turn slightly so he could see her face. What was he? Stupid? He could get her attention with telepathy. They were mates and as such were gifted with the ability to speak to one another telepathically.

  Piper, he whispered gently into her mind.

  He watched her shoulders stiffen. Slowly, she turned and searched the church.

  Piper, it’s me, Richie. Don’t ask why, I’ll explain later, but we can speak telepathically to each other.

  Her shoulders rose slightly as she sucked in a breath and held it.

  You can speak to me as well. Just think what you want to say and imagine saying it to me. Richie explained.

  Is this for real? I’m not losing my mind am I?

  Richie’s chuckle sounded in her thoughts. Yes. It’s for real.

  You can read my mind?

  No, cher. I can hear what you direct at me.

  Thank god! How is this possible?

  Richie slapped a hand over his mouth to contain the laughter that threatened to erupt. Like I said, I’ll explain later, it’s complicated.

  I’m holding you to that, because let me tell you, this is freaky.

  You’ve got a deal. Tonight after the wedding dance when we can talk in private I’ll tell you all about it.

  Okay, I guess that might be for the best. This is too strange to talk about in public. People will think we’ve lost our minds.

  Exactly. Hey, where were you this morning? I missed you at breakfast.

  Sorry, I had appointments with the girls in the wedding party. She paused, then continued. Will you save a dance for me tonight?

  How about I save all my dances for you?

  There was a long pause. Okay.

  I better let you enjoy the wedding. Meet me outside the church after the ceremony is over.

 
Okay, I’ll look for you.

  Thank Goddess for a short service! The instant the bride and groom walked passed his seat and into the lobby, he stood and rushed from the church. His gaze fixed to the huge double doors. His heart accelerated as he waited for Piper to emerge. Wedding guests flowed down the steps and still no Piper. Where had she gotten off to now?

  Finally, he spotted Billie. “Hey, gorgeous.” He greeted her with a smile and gave her a hug.

  “Hi! Wasn’t the wedding beautiful?”

  “It sure was. Theresa was breathtaking.”

  “I know, right! Her dress was to die for.” She narrowed her eyes on Richie. “What are you up to?”

  Richie’s brows rose. “What? Why would you ask me that?”

  She narrowed her eyes further and poked his chest. “I know that look. You’re up to something.”

  “Actually, I’m looking for Piper. Have you seen her?”

  “No!” Billie covered her heart dramatically. “The Great Richie has a crush?”

  Richie laughed and put an arm around her shoulders. “Shut it before I give you a noogie and mess up your fancy hair.”

  Billie stepped back and touched her fancy updo. “You wouldn’t dare! It took forever for the beautician to create this man catnip.”

  Richie barked out a laugh. “Man catnip?”

  “That’s right.” She nodded and leaned closer. “I’ve already gotten numbers from three guys.”

  “Sorry to break it to you, cher. But that’s because you’re a bridesmaid. Guys always hit on the bridesmaids. It’s a thing.”

  Billie put her hands on her hips. “What kind of ‘thing’ are you talking about?”

  “Ah, hell. You really don’t know?”

  She crossed her arms and tapped her toe. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.”

  Richie cringed and leaned away from Billie before he said as quickly as he could, “It’s kind of a bragging thing for guys to bag a bridesmaid.”

  She gaped at him, and blinked. Without a word she reached into her tiny bridesmaid purse and fished out three even tinier slips of paper. She ripped them once, twice, and then a final time before tossing the confetti sized scraps over her shoulder.

  Then she squared her shoulders and slipped a hand into the crook of Richie’s arm. “Let’s find Piper, shall we? I’ll even let you escort all this sexy, man catnip.”

  Richie grinned and gave her a wink. “I’d be honored to escort your sexiness.”

  Before they could find Piper, Billie was summoned to join the wedding party for pictures. At first Richie hung around and watched. His hope was she would appear since the girls were here. She didn’t. Apparently, the personal attendant wasn’t required for the wedding party shots. Who knew? After forty-five minutes of “look this way,” “smile,” or “could you move a little the other direction?” he’d had enough. The reception would be in the ballroom of the hotel so he headed back to locate a stiff drink. If the Goddess happened to be in an extra helpful mood, he might even find Piper waiting for him there.

  *****

  Piper had every intention to escape the wedding as quickly as possible. Her aunt, Margery, the mother of the groom, had other plans. Some of the wedding guests left their gifts at the church and now a small mountain of shiny packages needed to be relocated to the reception.

  With a heavy sigh, she glanced one last time at the double doors that would take her to Richie. Her fascination with their telepathic link would have to wait. Since she was parked next to the exit door at the rear of the church, the logical option was to get a couple people to help lug the gifts through the church and out the back.

  It took a few trips, but the task was done and her car was packed solid.

  Piper puffed a strand of hair from her face and shut the trunk of her car. “All right, that’s the last of them. Could you guys meet me at the hotel to unload?”

  “Sure, we’ll meet you at the front entrance with a luggage rack,” one of the men said as he turned to find his own vehicle.

  Slightly overheated from the exertion of repeated trips back and forth loading gifts, she turned up her AC and got on the road. The sooner she was done, the sooner she could track down Richie.

  Fifteen minutes later, her assignment was completed and she searched the ballroom. It looked like most of the guests were either still at the church or somewhere in between.

  Her heart sank. Where was he? Piper grimaced when she took a step to leave and search the lobby and bar. The shoes were pinching her toes something awful. A sadist with a grudge against women must have designed the heels she wore. Grateful she always had a backup plan, she made a beeline for her room and the comfortable flats that waited there. Fashion be damned, she was attached to her toes and planned to keep them.

  Once in her room, she grabbed the flats and kicked off the heels. Closing her eyes, she smiled and sighed. Blissful relief. She spotted her laptop sitting on the bedside table and powered it up. Qball was still out there and for some reason he was fixated on her.

  Quickly she glanced down the list of unread emails, when she finally found the one from her employer she clicked it. Shit, her bounty was on the move and seen just outside of town by the local sheriff.

  This guy must be truly insane; bounties didn’t chase the bounty hunter. Behavior like that was suicidal. Several email messages, text messages, phone calls, and one pair of shoes later she was back in the ballroom. Her side trip must have taken longer than she planned. The reception was packed with guests and the party was in full swing.

  At least she was forewarned about Qball. Along with her new shoes, she’d also strapped on her dress weapons. It was better to be prepared than caught off guard. The hotel manager had assured her security was on high alert and extra officers were posted in strategic locations. Ryker ‘Qball’ Quintrell wasn’t getting anywhere near her family.

  Her attention turned to the head table when she heard the tinkle of silverware on glass.

  Her uncle stood and said, “everyone please take your seats, dinner is about to be served.”

  Little table tents with names printed on them dictated where to sit. From her earlier visit, she knew Richie wasn’t assigned to her table tonight. The string of delays, which kept her and Richie apart, had graduated from bothersome coincidences to full-blown annoyance. Unhappily she took her seat and placed her napkin in her lap.

  Piper used her predicament to locate Richie. With everyone forced to remain in one spot for the next thirty minutes she would be able to systematically sweep the room. There, three tables over. He was directly in front of her, and dang, looking straight at her. Her breath hitched, she felt like a side of beef in front of a starved lion.

  Richie was silent throughout dinner, his focus on his mate, not the inane chit chat people felt required to generate with complete strangers. He noticed Piper rarely offered a response either. They were both too busy watching each other to bother with the people at their tables. His fingers itched to touch her. Forced to gaze at, but not touch one’s mate was cruel and unusual punishment for a shifter. His fingers flexed again. If he was forced to wait much longer, his claws were going to make an appearance.

  Helen’s whisper of his name caught is attention. He glanced from Piper to his friends at the head table. They all sported blatantly curious smiles. Their faces were too alight with interest for his comfort. He’d seen them like this before, and it never ended well. Whatever they thought they knew was eating them alive. He was screwed. They’d never let up until they had the entire story.

  Too bad. He had no intention of enlightening them. This was between him and Piper. Regardless, he couldn’t tell them about mates or shifters if he wanted to. So, he cocked a brow and gave them a look. If they were smart, which he knew they were, they would back off.

  He held his glare until each of them looked away. Then he turned his attention back to his mate. He captured her gaze again and held it. She seemed to be on guard. Why would a gorgeous woman at her cousin’s weddin
g be so edgy? Who was she looking for? He scanned the room himself, ready for any threat to his mate.

  Piper sucked in a breath, as heat surged through her body. She felt Richie’s intensity like an intimate caress from twenty-five feet away. Her brows furrowed and she concentrated on his eyes. They appeared to glow like they had last night in her room. Memories of his eyes glowing made her blush like a schoolgirl with a crush. The effect excited her, which in turn worried her.

  She swallowed hard on a bone-dry throat and blinked. The glow was gone. Either he’d turned and the light hit his eyes differently or she’d imagined it. Piper reached for her water, shook her head to clear her wild and crazy thoughts, and took a good long drink. The last thing she needed was a distraction and illusions. Qball was stalking her and he was far too close for comfort.

  The past thirty minutes felt like a lifetime. Finally, the clamor of dinner plates and silver being cleared filled the room. About time, too. She needed a drink to calm her nerves and clear her mind of romance. Piper took a sip of her whiskey Coke.

  Damn, that’s good.

  She nodded her approval to the bartender and stepped out of line. One well-mixed cocktail was exactly what the doctor ordered. She was on the job, which meant limited alcohol.

  After years as a bounty hunter the habit of locating every exit and potential danger was deeply ingrained. A wedding reception was no exception. She found a spot away from the crowd and stood to the side of the room, sipped her cocktail and secretly observed Richie. He was genuine and courteous, his manners leaning toward old world and refined. In the short time she’d watched, two things she found incredibly sexy became evident. He was intelligent and had a sense of humor. She eavesdropped on a conversation between him and the bridesmaids when she’d made the circuit around the room. It seemed last night hadn’t been a fluke or an act. Richie was the real deal. Everything she’d ever wanted and smoking hot.

  His suit jacket did nothing to hide his wide shoulders and sculpted chest. Piper leaned a little to the right to get a better look. Holy Moses did he have a nice caboose in those dress pants! She clenched her hands, her fingers itching to stroke his thick dark hair. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, remembering his scent. He’d smelled so darn good. Opening her eyes again, she longed to see his expression. If he turned around, she’d see a twinkle of amusement in his deep brown eyes.