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

by V. A. Dold

  Piper was astounded by his reaction. “Are you kidding? Most men want a thin, attractive woman.”

  “I’m not most men, I’m a shifter, and I want my mate soft and curvy with meat on her bones.”

  “Holy crow, I had no idea you were so attached to my love handles. Don’t worry, a few days of cake and ice cream for dessert and all the weight will be back.”

  “Really?” he asked, much calmer.

  “Really. All I have to do is think about food and I gain weight.”

  He crossed his arms and smiled broadly. “Excellent.”

  “I think it’s over. I don’t feel any pain or tightness anymore.” Her voice was almost a whisper.

  Richie pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair. “Let’s wait a minute to be sure.”

  After a few minutes, she wriggled to loosen his hold. “I need that shower you mentioned. I smell like a locker room.”

  Richie stood and helped her from the bed. “Do you need my help or should I make us something to eat?”

  “I’m good. You’re free to find something to fatten me up with,” she teased, and walked from the room.

  Richie breathed a sigh of relief. Her suffering was over. That had been much more difficult to bear than any injury he’d ever sustained personally. He really disliked his mate in pain.

  He’d just turned to leave the room when he heard a gasp of alarm. Rushing to the bathroom, he yelled, “What’s wrong!”

  Piper stood before the mirror completely naked. A hand covered her mouth as she turned this way and that. “Is that really me?”

  “Dang it, Piper, you gave me a heart attack,” he groused in relief. Then he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. “Yes, mon amour, that’s you.”

  She reached up and touched her hair. “I don’t remember looking this good.”

  “You’re stunning. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He turned her in his arms and kissed her breathless, then left her to shower so he could get the food ready. She was going to be starving by the time she joined him in the kitchen. Going through a conversion left a person with a large appetite.

  *****

  Twenty minutes later, he heard the shower shut off. Perfect timing. He turned the burner off on the stove, and grabbed his tongs. He grinned happily as he added a thick cut, medium rare steak to each plate and set them on the table. Now that he was taking care of his mate again, he felt better.

  She entered the kitchen and took a deep breath. “What smells so good?”

  “Steak just the way you like it, baked potato with lots of butter and sour cream, and as you requested cake and ice cream for dessert.”

  “Wow! If you are going to cook like this, I should go through the conversion every day.”

  “Don’t even say that out loud,” he whispered as if someone would hear them.

  Piper laughed and took her seat. “I’m famished. Going through the conversion is a workout and brings on one heck of an appetite. This looks great, baby. Thank you.”

  Richie smiled happily and sat across from her. “My pleasure.”

  He watched as she took her first bite, waiting to see her reaction to food as a shifter.

  “Oh. My. God!” she moaned, eyes closed in ecstasy.

  “Good?”

  “This is better than sex.” When she saw the horrified expression on his face, she quickly amended her response. “Almost, and only better than sex with a human. It’s not even in the same ballpark as you.”

  He smiled and nodded in approval. “Much better.”

  Her taste buds were dancing a jig in her mouth. And her sense of smell was off the charts. Shifter senses were the bomb!

  “You’ll hear and see better, as well. And I don’t mean just in the daytime, you’ll have perfect night vision, as well. Did you notice you can smell and taste all the separate ingredients?”

  “Is that the difference? This is great! I could have used these abilities as a bounty hunter.”

  “You certainly would have had a much larger advantage.”

  They ate happily in silence for a few minutes, and then he asked. “Have you noticed any change in your gift?”

  “No. But I haven’t tried to use it yet.” She finished chewing then set her knife and fork aside and closed her eyes. For the first time, her spirit easily parted from her without effort and zoomed across the room where she directed it.

  Piper opened her eyes and was astounded for a second time. She could use her gift with her eyes open. She’d always had to close her eyes to make it work. She watched as her spirit zoomed to wherever she directed it, and she could see everything from both perspectives at the same time. Then she tried something she’d never been able to do. She directed her spirit to the river and upstream where she’d never been. In the past, she’d only been able to view spaces she was familiar with. This was a whole new ballgame.

  “Wow!” she breathed, and then told him everything that had happened.

  They were cleaning up when a knock came on the door.

  “Seth, what brings you back?” Richie asked drying his hands.

  “I’m collecting my gear from the woods. Now that Qball is in custody, I’m not needed here. Plus, Dad told me this morning, there is a rogue in Minnesota that needs killing and he asked me to handle it before I retire for good. So, I came to say goodbye.”

  “Shit. I’m sorry man. I know you’re really burned out and you didn’t want to hunt anymore. Isn’t there anyone else who can go to Minnesota?”

  “According to Dad, I’m the only one he can send,” Seth said tiredly. “The request came directly from the Goddess. I’m to allow a human woman by the name of Sara Adams to help with the hunt and ensure she doesn’t get herself killed in the process.”

  Richie’s eyes glowed angrily. Why were they pushing Seth when he was so close to ending his life? Couldn’t they see how ragged and depressed he was? “All you have to do is say the word and I’ll go with you.”

  Richie’s fury brought a small smile to Seth’s face. “I’ve always been able to count on you to have my back. Thank you, but no. You have a new mate to see to and I’ll be fine. Besides, the female is a detective. I’m assuming she’ll know how to handle herself. Who knows, it might be entertaining. I can practice talking to a human while I clean up the mess.”

  “If you get into any kind of a bind, you’d better call me,” Richie demanded. “I don’t have a lot of close friends and I can’t afford to lose one.”

  “All right, I promise if I need back up, you’ll be the first person I call.” He grinned, then he pulled Richie into a man hug and pounded him on the back.

  “See you soon, bro.” He turned to Piper and kissed her knuckles with a twinkle in his eyes. “Congratulations, cher, and welcome to the family.”

  Piper gave Richie a confused look. She wasn’t aware all shifters consider each other family regardless of parentage.

  Once Seth was gone, Richie scooped his mate into his arms. “Would you like to learn to shift or are you warn out from the conversion?”

  Piper’s eyes lit up with eagerness. “Surprisingly, I feel great. What do I have to do?”

  “Let’s go outside where there’s more room.”

  She grinned brightly and ran for the door like an excited child.

  Chuckling, he joined her on the lawn. “Before you shift you need to know the shifter rules. Born shifters learn these as children. Our goddess decreed these laws when she created us.”

  “Okay.” She folded her arms and gave him her full attention.

  “Always put your mate before yourself.

  “Respect another shifter’s mate.

  “Do nothing to expose the existence of shifters.

  “Do no unnecessary harm to shifters or humans.

  “And respect other nonhumans.”

  Piper raised her eyebrows at the simplicity of the rules. “Logical and practical. They make sense on a very basic level.”

  “You’d be surprised how simple s
ome shifters are. Plus, this isn’t the human world. Very little crime actually exists in our community.”

  “Really? I can’t imagine a world without crime. It sounds surreal.”

  “And having shifters in the world sounds perfectly normal to you? Shifters are not humans, and as a species behave very differently.”

  “Put that way, I guess it’s unrealistic to expect the rules of both worlds to be the same.”

  “Exactly. Now, the first thing you need to do is close your eyes and visualize yourself as a wolf. Picture your hands and feet as paws, feel the fur all over your body, and the sensation of having a tail. Be sure to picture your human clothing disappear so all that remains is the wolf.”

  She did as he instructed and squeezed her eyes tightly in concentration. A tingling energy raced across her skin and suddenly she was on all fours in wolf form.

  “Good job!” Richie cheered. “You should see yourself. You’re gorgeous. And as I suspected, you’re a beautiful chocolate wolf.”

  Without giving it any thought, Piper wagged her tail happily. The sensation startled her and she shot across the lawn to get away from it. The only problem was, the feeling followed her. She skidded to a halt and spun around to nip whatever had attached itself to her backside. She spun and spun again, until she realized it was her tail she was feeling. If a wolf could blush in embarrassment, she would be beet red. Best to pretend it didn’t happen.

  Piper’s wolf held her head high and trotted back to Richie.

  He held his hand over his mouth, hiding his grin. “Goddess, you are priceless.”

  Not another word she growled.

  I have no idea what you’re talking about.

  Good answer.

  “Okay. Try to shift back. You’ll need to visualize your human form with clothing and no fur. Be sure to be precise. If you want to be wearing underwear you need to visualize it, the same goes for socks and shoes.”

  Piper’s glossy brown wolf sat at his feet and closed its eyes. A moment passed when suddenly his mate sat at his feet fully clothed.

  He reached down and helped her to her feet, brushing dirt from her backside. “You’re amazingly good at shifting. Most humans take months of practice to do it as well as you do.”

  “Really?” she asked with a frown. “I didn’t think it was that hard.”

  “Don’t say that in front of the women at the Le Beau plantation. You’ll find yourself strung up.”

  “No way! Anna had trouble? She’s so good at shifting.”

  “She’s had over a year of practice.”

  “Huh. Okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut. I don’t want to make anyone feel bad.”

  “Do you want to go for a run with me or are you ready to see your new home in the Garden District?”

  Piper chewed her lip and eyed the forest. “Can we go to the house now and come back in a few days to take a run?”

  “Absolutely, cher.”

  “Let’s do that then.”

  *****

  An hour later, Richie had her luggage in the boat and they were speeding toward his SUV at the pier he used near town.

  He was so excited to show her their home. He kept his Garden District mansion a well-guarded secret, going as far as maintaining a tiny five hundred square foot studio apartment in the French Quarter. He worked hard to hide his wealth from his human friends and coworkers. He’d even had a few over for drinks to the studio for good measure.

  Other than the Le Beaus and a few other shifters, no one knew he owned the house. He’d had his shell corporation purchase it so it wasn’t even in his name.

  The house wasn’t far from the river and in no time, they were stopped in front of it. “I’ll pull around to the back in a minute, but first I wanted to show you what it looks like from the front.”

  Piper’s eyes widened. “Your house is perfect. I love the white color and it’s not one of the overly large palatial homes I’ve seen in pictures. It’s more of a medium-sized house, large enough to be impressive, but small enough to be a comfortable home.”

  “Our house, mon amour. It’s our house now.”

  He looked at his two story, rectangular home with its fancy black wrought iron work on the second story balcony, seeing it through her eyes. The forest green shutters matched the front door and were more lovely than he’d remembered them being. He’d had them installed long ago as finishing touches to really make the house grand without shouting, “look at me.” This had been the perfect house for staying under the radar and going unnoticed. That’s not saying it wasn’t expensive, the house was worth well over a million dollars.

  “Do you like it?”

  “I love it,” she beamed. And he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Let’s get this rig parked and I’ll give you a tour.”

  They pulled around the back to his private garage and he ran around to her door. On the way to the front door, he detoured to the side yard and showed her the private patio and pool with its fountains.

  “Oh my, this is lovely, Richie,” she breathed.

  His wolf rumbled proudly. The beast loved pleasing their mate.

  He took her by the hand again and led her to the door, unlocked it, and swept her into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she squeaked.

  “Carrying my woman over the threshold of course.” He walked them into the front hall and set her on her feet. “Welcome home, Piper.”

  “Holy moly.” Her eyes grew large as she took in the antiques and artistically designed décor.

  “The formal living room is here to the left and has French doors to the pool.”

  She stepped into the room and gaped,

  “I know it’s large,” he said when he saw her face.

  “Large? It’s huge. This has to be at least twenty-five feet long. My entire apartment would fit in this room.”

  “If you don’t like it, we can buy a different house.” He worried she hated it after only seeing the first room.

  “Don’t you dare.”

  “Okay, but after you see all of it, if you don’t want to live here, we’ll move.”

  He led her to the far end of the living room and back into the hallway. “Across the hall is the kitchen and informal dining where I usually eat.”

  “Wow, I could live in here and never leave.” She ran her hands over the surfaces. “Oh my gosh, you have oak cabinets all the way to the ceiling, stainless steel appliances, and granite counter tops and floors. Richie, It’s exactly what I would have designed for myself.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her excitedly examine the room. When she was finished, he took her down the hall toward the front door and up the stairs.

  First, he showed her the guest bedrooms and then he dramatically opened the door to the master suite.

  “Richie, It’s gorgeous. And you have a huge four-poster bed I can chase you around in. Have you seen these monstrous closets?” Her voice rose an octave with each new thing she discovered.

  “Yes, cher. I’ve seen them.” He chuckled. “These French doors lead out to a balcony over the pool area and on the other side those double doors lead to a private sitting room. But I saved the best for last. Close your eyes.”

  He led her to the bathroom and then said, “Okay, you can open them.”

  Piper’s hands flew to her chest. “I’ve died and gone to heaven. I’ve never seen such a luxurious bathroom. This belongs in a spa somewhere.”

  He knew she was envisioning a long hot soak in the fancy marble tub. Richie pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her neck. “I’ll draw you a bath later,” he whispered as he peppered kisses up her neck and across her jaw. “First, I have dinner waiting in the dining room.”

  Piper frowned and looked him in the eye. “You didn’t show me a dining room.”

  “I know,” he rumbled with fire in his eyes. “I was saving it for last.”

  He took her hand and kissed her knuckles one by one, then led her downstairs
to a formal dining room. The table was set for an intimate dinner for two, with candles, crystal stemware, a bottle of champagne on ice, and two plates covered with sterling silver domes.

  Her breath caught and she turned to stare at him. “How did you do this?”

  He pulled her close and breathed into her ear, “I keep telling you, I have mad skills.” Then he nibbled her neck until she squirmed.

  Finally, he stepped back and pulled a chair for her. “We should eat before it gets cold.”

  He pushed her chair in, and then took his own.

  He grinned like the Cheshire cat and watched her closely. “Let’s see what Anna left us for dinner.”

  Piper lifted the dome off of her plate and stopped breathing all together.

  The plate was empty except for the incredible sapphire ring she’d wanted so badly the day he’d taken her to Royal Street. It was artfully displayed in the very center of the china so it caught the light from the chandelier.

  Her eyes shot from the ring to Richie. She was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

  With a smile bigger than any she’d ever seen on his face, he rounded the table, picked up the ring and got down on one knee.

  Eyes rounded and widened to the size of saucers, she gasped and her hands flew to her mouth.

  “Piper Sinclair Majors, will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?”

  Tears ran down her face and she nodded, her hands still shaking over her mouth. Apparently she was too shocked to function.

  “I’m going to need your hand, mon amour,” he coaxed and gently removed it from over her mouth to slip the ring into place. Then he cupped her face with both hands and poured his heart and soul into his kiss.

  Finally, he whispered against her lips, “I can’t wait to spend the coming decades together. With you by my side, it’s going to be an amazing adventure.”

  Read on for an excerpt from

  SETH

  Book 7

  of the Le Beau Brothers

  Prologue: The Plan

  It had been about a year since Isaac and Emma Le Beau first hatched a plan to assist each of their seven grown sons in meeting their one true mate. The plan was a simple one. Emma would ask the Wolf Goddess to disclose who the mate was for each of them. Then Isaac and Emma would ensure whichever son was matched to the disclosed mate was in the right place at the right time to meet her in person. Once they saw each other and experienced the draw of one mate to another, the unique scent one had for the other, nature would take its course. A very simple plan that had worked five times. And not only had they found mates for a few of their own children, but a niece and step-grandson as well.