[ade Calhoun Series Book 9] - Dragons of Bourbon Street

by Deanna Chase

  Dragons of Bourbon Sreet

  Jade Calhoun, Book 9

  Deanna Chase

  Copyright © 2019 by Deanna Chase

  First Edition 2019

  Cover Art by Janet Holmes

  Editing by Anne Victory and Angie Ramey

  ISBN Print 978-1-940299-79-2

  ISBN Ebook 978-1-940299-83-9

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

  Bayou Moon Press, LLC

  Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Deanna’s Book List

  About the Author

  About This Book

  White witch Jade Calhoun is seven months pregnant. All she wants to do is sink into domestic bliss while enjoying planning wedding and baby showers. But when a new acquaintance is arrested by the Witches Council and then mysteriously disappears, Jade is pulled into the thick of things. Forced by the Witches Council to track down the missing woman, Jade finds herself once again dealing with dragons.

  It should be a piece of cake, right? All she needs to do is track down the woman who escaped the Council, stop the dragons from awakening and taking over the city, and still find time to celebrate life’s milestones… all while in her third trimester.

  To learn about Deanna’s new releases sign up for her newsletter here. Do you prefer text alerts? Text WITCHYBOOKS to 24587 for news and updates.

  1

  “Jade, this would look hot on you.” Pyper held up a sexy little black lace number with matching panties against her white tank top and short electric-blue skirt. She’d finished the outfit with strappy white flats that showed off her electric-blue toenails. “It’s classy, and with your amazing new boobs spilling out of the bodice, Kane will lose his mind.”

  I glanced down and placed my hands over my protruding belly as I scoffed. “Have you lost your mind? I passed my sexy phase two or three months ago. Trust me. There is nothing about this seven-month-pregnant body that screams seduction.”

  Pyper stepped back, still holding the scraps of fabric in her hands, and shook her head as she eyed me. “Girl, you look so good that even those guys over there in the corner stopped searching for porn to gawk at you. Look, the blond one is practically drooling.”

  My face heated as I followed her gaze to the two men in the corner of the adult novelty store. We’d stopped into Hustler Hollywood to pick up a few things for our friend Kat’s bachelorette party and had somehow moved on to shopping for Pyper. She was looking for baby-making outfits for her next date night with her fiancé Julius.

  “Pyper,” I said with an uncomfortable laugh. “They’re in the pregnancy-fetish porn aisle. Of course they’re staring at me.”

  “Oops. You’re right.” Pyper grimaced and raised her arm, waving at the two men who were still leering. As they started to make their way over, she held her hand up. “That’s close enough, pervs. My friend here is married and not interested in being your fantasy of the week. Eyes back on the porno movies, got it?”

  “No can do,” the blond one said, lust streaming off him and making my skin crawl as it crept over my bare arms. Being an empath sucked when you were forced to deal with a horny SOB with a pregnancy fetish. “Your friend is the hottest thing I’ve seen since Plugging—”

  “Stop right there unless you want my friend to curse your manhood into a shriveled relic of rotted wood,” Pyper said with a saccharine smile.

  “Curse?” He threw his head back and laughed. “Sure, babe. Whatever you say.”

  The two of them continued to guffaw about Pyper’s threat. I just rolled my eyes. The chances of me cursing someone’s man bits were pretty small, but if they stepped out of line, I wouldn’t hesitate to put them in their place.

  “Okay, so about this black lingerie,” Pyper said with a grin. “If you don’t get it, I’m buying it for you as a present for Kane. I happen to know he still thinks you’re sexy as hell.”

  There was no doubt she would. “If you do and I look like a beached whale, don’t be surprised when something smaller and dirtier shows up when your pregnant belly is hanging over your elastic jeans so far that you can’t see your feet any longer.”

  Pyper’s eyes gleamed. “I have a feeling you’ll have trouble finding something I don’t already own.”

  All I could do was laugh at her. Wasn’t she going to be surprised when her entire body ached from being swollen and her bladder was complaining all the time? Sexy time might’ve been mind-blowing a few months ago, but lately… Well, as much as I loved Kane’s attention, sleep was number one on my list of recreational activities. “We’ll see.”

  “What do you think of this?” She held up a strappy leather thing that looked like it would require instructions to figure out how to wear it.

  “I think it’s probably a little wild for Julius,” I said with a shrug. “He seems more like a silk kind of guy.”

  She nodded and put the contraption back on the rack. “You’re probably right about that, though he’s never been too picky when it comes to my seduction techniques.”

  I snorted and selected a silver lace corset and matching garter set from the rack. “None of them are. Here, try this.”

  Her eyes lit up. “That’s perfect. He’ll love it.”

  “Good. Let’s take care of the items on the list for Kat’s party now.” I handed her the bustier and noted she was still clutching the lace number she’d threatened to buy for Kane. Resigned that I was going to end up with it one way or another, I held my hand out. “Give it here. Kane can pay for it.”

  “He’s going to thank me later.” She winked, handed me the garments, and moved on to eye the penis headbands.

  “Definitely get those,” I said as I grabbed a jar of edible Honey Dust and chocolate body paint.

  “Someone has plans.” Pyper grinned as she made her way down an aisle to inspect something that looked suspiciously like nipple clamps.

  “Please. They’re for Kat’s wedding shower. I was— Hey!” The glee hit me square in the back like an arrow plunging into my skin just before a pair of hands landed on my ass. I spun around as I backed up, putting distance between my groper and myself. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  The blond guy who’d been searching pregnancy porn gave me a cocky grin and raised his hands palms up as he said, “That ass, it was just right there. What else was I supposed to do?”

  “Hey, asshole!” Pyper snarled, hurrying back toward us. “What did I say about leaving my fr
iend alone?”

  Still shocked he’d just blatantly grabbed my ass, I stood there blinking in disbelief. Had that really just happened? But then he reached out, his hands heading for my belly as his lust started to prickle my skin again. Oh, hell no.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I said through clenched teeth, magic already sparking at my fingertips.

  “I just want to feel your… bump,” he said, his tone seriously creepy.

  I tried to back up but ran right into a display of edible panties, causing the product pyramid to crash to the floor, and still the man kept coming. Time seemed to slow down, and I felt frozen in disgust as his hands inched toward me.

  He let out a small moan as his fingers lightly brushed over the barely exposed skin between my tank top and stretchy yoga pants.

  I snapped out of my horrified trance, and my magic flew straight for his crotch. The white stream of power lit him up like a firecracker as he flew backward, his hands covering his electrified privates. He tripped over his own feet and sprawled to the floor, his mouth open in a shocked O and terror in his wide, dilated eyes.

  Great. He was high on something. I stalked across the store and stared down at him, my hands still sparking with electric magic. I held them out so he could see just how dangerous I could still be. “Do anything like that again, and I’ll blow it right off. Got it?”

  “It’s already gone, you crazy bitch!” he cried, clutching his crotch.

  His anger swirled around him like a red haze, but my own rage-induced magic was keeping it from affecting me in any way. Good. Otherwise it would drain me, and my afternoon nap would likely turn into a sixteen-hour sleeping marathon.

  His lips twisted into a snarl. “You turned it into a shriveled, burned piece of wood!”

  “Not yet, but I will,” I growled back.

  “Yeah!” Pyper chimed in, pressing her boot to his side. “And when she’s done, I’ll crack a rib or two.”

  “Back off!” Pervy’s friend cried, trying to come to his rescue. “All he did was cop a feel. He doesn’t deserve to have his dick blown off.”

  “No?” I said, my rage making my entire body shake. “I beg to differ. Better get your jackass friend out of here before I call the police and file an assault charge.”

  “You assaulted me!” Pervy whimpered as his friend hauled him to his feet.

  A short redheaded woman ran over, a small fluffy dog at her heels. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Calhoun. Vic is on his way downstairs to escort this man out of the store.”

  “No!” Pervy shook off his friend, panic taking over as his gaze darted for the stairs. “I’m going.”

  Loud footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs in the back of the store.

  The pair hurried to the front door.

  “Don’t come back… ever,” the redhead called after them.

  “I spend hundreds here every month!” he spat out as he hesitated at the door.

  “More like tens,” she said dryly and gave him a flat stare.

  “Bitch,” he snarled.

  She shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

  Clearly pissed he hadn’t ruffled her feathers, he whirled and stormed out.

  The clerk turned to me and lifted one shoulder. “I don’t think he likes me much.”

  Pyper laughed and shook her head, amused. “I think we’re going to be good friends.”

  I grinned at the sales clerk. “Same.” Holding my hand out, I asked, “You seem to know me, but I don’t think we’ve met.”

  She beamed and shook my hand with both of hers. “I’m Harper Spelling. We haven’t actually met yet, but you’re sort of famous in my circle.”

  “Famous?” I asked just as the baby kicked one of my ribs. “Oomph. That was a good one. She gets a little excited when I use my magic.”

  Pyper sobered and eyed me. “Everything all right? Do I need to take you to the healer?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No. You’re just as bad as Kane is these days. I’m fine. The baby’s fine. And that jackass who groped me is gonna be out of commission for a week or so while he recovers from the swift bolt of magic to his nuts. Everything’s good.”

  “Man, I really wish I had that skill. Magic to the crotch would be preferable to straining a muscle during a physical altercation,” Pyper said wistfully.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Harper said and turned her attention to the large man who’d finally made his way onto the bottom floor of the store. He was tall, close to seven feet, with bulging muscles, and he had a scowl on his face fit for a WWF wrestler ready to rip an opponent’s head off. “We’re good, Vic. Just the idea of dealing with you sent the jackass running.”

  “Perfect.” He smiled at her, his entire face softening and making him look like a giant teddy bear. “My reputation is finally paying off.” The man winked at us and strode back toward the stairs.

  “He’s… Wow,” I said, admiring the man’s ability to portray two completely different personas.

  “Definitely wow. And handsome too,” Pyper said. “If I wasn’t already spoken for, it’d be hard to keep me from following him upstairs.”

  “Yeah,” Harper said with a wistful sigh. “He’s yummy.”

  I chuckled softly, watching Harper and Pyper barely hold back the drool as they stared at Vic’s backside until he disappeared to the second floor. He was definitely hot in a pure-testosterone sort of way. But in my view, no one held a candle to Kane… not even a Jason Momoa look-alike with muscles to match.

  “So, Harper,” I said, clearing my throat. “You said I was famous in your circle. I can’t imagine what circle that would be unless you’re a witch. And if you are, you should certainly check out the New Orleans coven.”

  “Oh no, definitely not a witch,” she said, lowering her voice and glancing around the showroom as if looking to see who might be listening. “Though I have a second cousin who is. She’s been living in Salem the past couple of years.”

  “That’s pretty on the nose,” I said with a laugh. “Does she wear black and a pointed witch hat and run a novelty witchcraft store?”

  Harper burst out laughing. “Yes, as a matter of fact, she does.” Her smile was radiant, and her eyes sparkled with joy. “It’s a total tourist trap where she sells mostly fake wands and harmless love spells. But she enjoys it, so who am I to judge?”

  Pride radiated from the woman in the form of bright white light that only I could see.

  “I’m friends with Mati Ballentine,” Harper continued. “We go to school together at Tulane, and I happened to be in the Pointe that day when y’all brought down that dragon. It was crazy and awe-inspiring the way you saved the city from the dragon and yet still rescued Conor.” She bowed slightly at the waist and mimed tipping an imaginary hat. “So impressive.”

  She was referring to the incident a few months ago when the actor Conor Wells had been possessed by a dragon’s soul and had actually turned into a full-fledged flying dragon. With the help of the Coven Pointe witches, I’d been able to capture him so that the angel council could force the dragon soul out of his body and back into a statue where it had been previously contained for hundreds of years. Conor was back to his normal self, once again working on his hit television show Witchin’ Hills, and the dragon soul was safe in the angel realm.

  I gave her a tight smile, uncomfortable to be talking about a major breach in the paranormal world right there in the middle of the store. “Thanks. I had some help.”

  “I was wondering if we could get together and talk sometime soon… in private? There’s something brewing here in New Orleans, and I think—” The store phone started to ring, and she grimaced, holding up one finger. “Hold that thought. I have to get that.”

  “Sure,” I said, curiosity rolling through me as she hurried through the aisles of penis pops and edible undies to grab the phone. The knowledge that there was something, likely a paranormal something, going on in New Orleans wasn’t surprising. New Orleans was a hotbed of paranormal shenanigans, but it would be
a nice change to be forewarned for once.

  “Come on,” Pyper said. “Let’s finish up and get out of here.”

  I nodded and followed her around the store as we gathered enough supplies to open our own mini store. If Kat didn’t have a good time at both her bachelorette party and wedding shower, it wasn’t going to be for a lack of trying.

  As Harper finished ringing us up at the register, I asked, “What was that you were saying earlier before you were interrupted by the phone? Something about a problem brewing here in New Orleans?”

  She nodded and frowned as she opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get the words out, the door swung open and three witches I recognized strode in. Madam Tempest, the leader of the Witches’ Council, was flanked by two other council witches, a white-haired male and a pretty brunette. I’d had the unfortunate experience of being on trial in front of them a few months ago after the Conor / dragon fiasco. I’d been accused of a variety of things, including breaking and entering and endangering the citizens of New Orleans.

  “Madam Tempest—” I started, but the witch wasn’t paying any attention to me.

  Instead, she held her hand out toward Harper and said, “Bind she who seeks to unleash the dragon.”

  Tendrils of braided light shot from her fingertips and encircled Harper’s wrists, locking them together.

  “Hey!” Harper cried, her eyes wide and fear seeping off her in the form of a stinky green gas that made my stomach roll from the noxious fumes. “I didn’t do any—” Her words were cut off as the magical light shot to her lips, magically sealing them together. She thrashed her head back and forth as she murmured, “Mmmm mmm.”