THOMAS: Le Beau Brothers - New Orleans Billionaire Wolf Shifters with plus sized BBW for mates (Le Beau Series Book 4) (6 page)

She turned away from a large group filing through the door. Thomas would be coming alone so no need to search that crowd. With a sad sigh, she went back to the drink she was mixing.

Seconds later, the hair stood on the back of her neck in awareness, and her wolf lifted her head to sniff the air.

What the heck?

Julia glanced around the bar, and there he was, alone at a table, staring at her. Her breath caught in her throat. How could he become more handsome in the last few hours? Thomas was the most extraordinary representation of male physiology she had ever laid eyes on.

He wore his hair a little longer than most would expect of his position, after all, he was a very powerful man as the head of security for Uncle Isaac. But, she admitted as she grinned to herself, she liked it. His dark mane looked slightly tussled tonight. If she didn’t know he was the sheriff, so to speak, he’d look one hundred percent bad boy. It wasn’t hard to picture him on a Harley speeding down the highway.

His blue eyes, though soft and sweet when he looked at her, could turn lethal before you blinked when he was on duty. The contrast of those eyes and his tanned skin had her absolutely hypnotized, and now had her mouth watering. Quickly she dabbed the corners for drool. Thank Goddess for small favors, she hadn’t made a fool of herself yet, but she still had all night, so she knocked on the wooden bar top.

There was something very wild and masculine about the casual way he sat at his table drinking her in. Slowly, his gaze traveled from her eyes to her mouth. As his stare became more intense, he licked his lips, and she almost dropped to the floor. Her heart pounded, and knees went weak. She had no idea how she was going to make it through her shift.

“Something wrong?”

Startled, she jumped, and then, like an idiot, stood blinking at Logan, who was watching her very closely.

“No. What would possibly be wrong?”

Logan frowned at her skeptically. “You have a dazed kind of expression that I’ve never seen before.” Before she could bat his hand away, he felt her forehead for a fever. “Are you feeling all right?”

She leaned away and growled at him. “Hey, keep your hands to yourself, buddy.”

Thomas seemed to be keeping his distance and allowing her to work her shift without distraction. That was laughable; his being in the building was all it took to distract her. Logan made worried noises behind her as she messed up yet another drink order.

“Oh, shut up and mind your own business.”

“I’m really concerned, sis. You never screw up like you are tonight. Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“No.”

“That’s it? No?”

“Exactly. I’m fine, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Logan eyed her again, shook his head, and took the next order.

*****

“Thomas?”

Thomas went ridged as a provocative purr he knew all too well whispered next to his ear, and arms draped across his chest from behind. Lori. Average, curvy, and stacked with double Ds, she once aroused his lust.

That is until Julia opened his eyes.

Thomas let out a long, exasperated breath; he really didn’t want to cause a scene. And he especially didn’t want Julia to see Lori hanging all over him. He grimaced as she massaged his chest and shot a worried glance toward the bar.

Before he could peel her off, she said much too loudly, “I want you so bad, baby. Let’s get out of here.”

Ah. Hell, no!

A hard jerk dislodged her claws from his shirt, leaving a small tear behind. Hopefully, no one would notice, primarily, a certain bartender or her now glowering brother.

SHIT!

Lori rubbed her wrist where Thomas grabbed her. Thomas learned a second too late that she still hadn’t gotten the hint; apparently she was thinking he was playing rough or something. A fire lit in her eyes right before she shoved her hand into his pants and grabbed his cock. Then, to seal his fate, Lori rubbed her cleavage against his face.

“Get the hell off me!” Thomas barked a bit louder than he intended as he launched himself from his seat.

Lori looked stunned by his outburst, but slowly the surprise turned dark. “You aren’t mated, are you?”

That would be the natural assumption of a woman as self–absorbed as Lori was. Of course, there could be no other reason for a man to reject her as far as she was concerned.

Like a snake striking, she pulled the collar of his shirt open, looking for the mating mark.

Yanking his collar from her grip he spat, “Yes, I’ve found a mate, and it isn’t you, thank God.”

Lori looked like he’d slapped her, then leaned closer to hiss, “In your dreams, little man. My mate will have more to offer down,” her gaze trailed to his crotch, “there.”

With an evil smile, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and sauntered to another table. Poor guy, he hoped the man knew what he was getting into.

With more composure than he was feeling, Thomas gave a nod to the patrons eyeing him and sat at his table once more. Afraid to look toward Julia, he focused on his beer.

His heart was almost beating normally again when a large hand slammed down on his tabletop. Lucky for the man attached to that arm, he wasn’t packing. Instantly, his sheriff persona was in place.

Any man or shifter with a lick of sense would have backed off. But not Logan, at least not when the situation involved one of his sisters. He was getting an explanation, and it was happening right here, right now.

“You’d better start talking, asshole. Your stench is all over my sister, and she told me she found her mate last night. I’m assuming that man is you,” Logan snarled. “So, the question is, if you’re Julia’s mate, why are you letting Lori shove her hand down your pants?”

Thomas knew better than to fight with one of Julia’s brothers. She wouldn’t thank him for that. Instead, he put his hands up in surrender and waved Logan to join him at the table.

“First off, yes, I’m Julia’s mate. Second, I dated Lori, once. I didn’t encourage her tonight in any way and the instant she got handsy I put an end to it.” Then Thomas glared at Logan. “Perhaps you missed the part where I told her I had indeed found my mate? Or the part where I told her to get off me?”

Logan clapped Thomas on the back and grinned in satisfaction. “Good answer. Welcome to the family.”

“Thanks.” Thomas sighed in relief. Then he frowned. “I had no idea Lori was a shifter.”

“She’s not, she’s human. Her sister is a mate, and ever since she found out, she’s been trolling for one of her own. I pity the man who gets saddled with that one.”

As if they had been discussing the weather, Logan walked back to his station behind the bar like nothing had happened.

Shifters are nuts.

But, as he considered the crazy world he was now fully a part of, his thoughts turned to Julia. The way she’d looked as she danced with him. Her lips kiss–swollen and her eyes begging him for more. Bingo. He was hard as a rock. A quick adjustment and he was a little more comfortable, but not much.

He wasn’t a coward by any means, but the thought of seeing a look of disappointment or hurt on Julia’s face had his gut in knots. Gathering his courage, he looked her straight in the eye. His heart lurched – she looked lost and hurt.

Sad.

Immediate action was required. Thomas pushed back from the table and made a beeline to Julia. Without asking permission, he walked behind the bar, took Julia’s hand and caught Logan’s eye.

“We need a minute.”

He didn’t bother to wait for a response, experience with shifters had taught him, when it came to mates, everything else was secondary, even work.

“Where’s your office?”

She nodded toward the far corner. “Over there.”

Once the door was shut, Thomas took Julia’s face in his hands.

“Baby, what did you see?”

She wouldn’t look at him and when she attempted to answer only a whimper came out.

“Sweetheart, that woman is someone I dated once and only once. I have zero interest in her, and if you were listening I’m sure you heard me tell her that.”

Julia nodded but still didn’t look at him. Finally, she spoke. “I saw her,” she hiccupped, “caress you and stick her hand...” a sob broke from her throat.

“Did you also see me jump away from her and yell at her to get off of me?”

She nodded.

“So, can you tell me what the problem is?”

She hesitated. How do you tell your mate you suddenly feel inadequate?

He had no idea how, but he felt her anxiety and pain, and the only thing he could think to do was kiss her all better. Slowly, he leaned closer.

Julia wet her lips, which caused Thomas to inhale sharply when he felt her tongue flick across his lower lip. That deep breath took in her fresh snow scent and muddled all his senses. Fighting this attraction was downright stupid, and he had no intention of being stupid. No, his intention was just the opposite.

His desire pounded through his veins until he vibrated with it. Cupping her face, he captured her lips with his own. Excitement and desire tightened Thomas’s gut and forced a tortured groan from his throat that rumbled in the room. Thomas devoured her mouth like a starved man.

A soft moan rose from her lips as she kissed him back just as passionately. His fingers tangled in her hair; then he angled her head perfectly to deepen the kiss further. He swore he heard the click of puzzle pieces snapping together, and he was lost.

Her hands slid around his neck to pull him closer, the fit of their bodies was perfection and the press of her breasts into his chest drove him wild. The feel and scent of her pushed his desire higher. He craved her touch, her companionship, her love.

The friction of hips grinding against hips brought him to the edge of release. His rock hard erection was pressed against her belly straining for liberation from his jeans. But he knew, without a doubt, a quickie was out of the question and would never be enough to satisfy either of them. When he made love to Julia, he wanted the entire night to pleasure her and explore her body, not a tawdry few minutes in a public place. Damning the fact they were in her office with a hundred shifters on the other side of the door, not to mention her brother who would kick his ass, he slowed the kiss. She moaned softly into his mouth while his tongue danced with hers one last time.  

It took all his resolve to lift his lips from hers and open his eyes. Pressing his forehead to hers, only the sound of their ragged breathing broke the silence. The hurt that had occupied her expression before was now replaced with passion and longing.

Every breath brushed her pebble hard nipples against his chest. A shudder racked his body as he fought for control. He had to get them out of her office and put at least a sliver of daylight between them. Otherwise his resolve wasn’t going to be enough.

Thomas’s finger combed his hair as he watched Julia straighten her clothes before checking her hair and makeup. He was relieved when she finished, and she looked like they had simply been having a conversation. The last thing he needed was Logan launching him out the door for molesting his sister.

As he held the office door open for Julia, he glanced over her head toward the bar. Logan watched them closely and gave him an approving nod when he saw his sister’s smile.

Chuckling under his breath, he shook his head.
Shifters are strange.

A human would kill another guy for messing with his sister, but shifters were all good with it as long as you made the woman happy and respected her.

Julia took her place behind the bar without so much as a glance at her brother while Thomas found an open table. There was still a bit of time before she finished her shift, so he got comfortable. Not more than ten minutes later Stefan, Lucas, and Marcus joined him. El was speaking at a university tonight, which left Stefan with free time on his hands. As far as he was concerned, as long as they behaved themselves, he was happy to see them.

An hour later Julia was cleaning her end of the bar and preparing to clock out. As she walked from behind the serving area, she had two bags of garbage in her hands. No man worth his salt would allow his woman to struggle under a load like that. He was at her side in an instant, relieving her of the bags.

“I’ve got those. Let me take these out while you finish up.”

Stefan watched Thomas head for the garbage bin behind the building. A disturbance among the wild creatures caught his attention. Something wasn’t right, and whatever it was had the wildlife upset.

Quickly he asked the birds what they could see. The image of half a dozen shifters circling a single man popped into his head. Thomas was about to be handed a shit storm of trouble and a world of hurt.

Julia was busy making a monster order of drinks when she heard Thomas cursing in her mind and received a flurry of scrambled images.

The backyard.

Men all around.

Fists flying.

Tommy!

Stay...inside.

Frantically, she looked at her brother and then her cousins. She didn’t need to say a word. All the men were already headed for the door.

She bellowed what could only be described as a war cry and cleared the bar in one powerful leap.

Mess with my mate and you answer to me, boys.

She was right on the men’s heels as they rounded the corner of the bar and headed for the dumpster. Just like the flashes she’d received from her mate, a gang of shifters surrounded Thomas. It was one of the swamp packs. Wolves who rarely surfaced and lived like it was nineteen hundred instead of twenty fifteen, and most of them considered humans second-class. Which was asinine and why the majority of the men had no mate. Idiots. The human population was where ninety-five percent of the mates came from.

Julia recognized the ringleader, Blade. He’d been causing trouble since he cut teeth. After a bar fight that he’d started trashed her bar, he had been banned from The Backwater for life. Every decent male she knew hated that punk and was looking for the opportunity to take a bite out of him.

The moron had been hitting on her for decades even though he knew everything about him chafed her ass. The idiot didn’t seem to understand the word no. More than once she’d wondered if his stupidity was a product of his shallow gene pool. The Goddess must really have it in for the swampers, the last mating she had heard about was between cousins. No wonder they were so inbred.

His dunce squad was always looking for a fight. Her belief was their insanity stemmed from a lack of sex, their lack any way. No decent woman would let them near her. Sexual frustration was her theory to explain their inexcusable aggressive behavior, and she was sticking to that theory.

Thomas had taken two of them down before they got hold of him. Both lay writhing at his feet, as he stood pinned between two others while a third used him as a punching bag.

He was trying to free himself to fight back, but he was held tight, covered in bruises, and blood flowed steadily from his nose and mouth.

Fury spread like a thick red haze over her vision as she launched a hailstorm of empty liquor bottles from the dumpster, at the goon squad’s heads. Her enraged roar and the flying bottles stopped the rescue party in their tracks. There were so many heavy glass bottles in the air; they had no way to reach Thomas without being knocked senseless.

Arms thrown wide, she drew every loose object within two hundred feet to her and directed all of it at Blade and his minions. After over one hundred years of practice, her accuracy and aim were unprecedented. Not a single missile struck Thomas, even though he was in the center of the hailstorm. Cries and howls of pain from the cowering swampers filled the air as more people filed into the yard from the bar.

Logan tentatively tapped Julia on the shoulder. “As much as I’m enjoying the show, we need to get to Thomas.”

Julia nodded once and allowed all the objects flying to fall harmlessly to the ground. All that is, except one. A rather large, heavy lead pipe from the plumbing renovations she had just completed slammed into Blade’s crotch before it joined the bottles and branches to lie silently around the bloodied swamp rats. Blade’s scream of pain made every man’s ears within two miles bleed.

Before Logan or her cousins could move, the dunce squad shifted and darted for the deep swamp. A group of men from the bar shifted to chase them down, but Julia knew they would never find them. They were already scattered like schoolyard bullies, and no doubt hiding in one of their secret holes no one else was ever able to locate. In the deep bayou, they easily became invisible, using their ability to run and hide to survive.

“Damn, Julia,” Stefan said in awe.

“You ruined all our fun,” Marcus and Lucas griped.

“Momma is going to have a cow.” Logan shook his head. “You know how she feels about you using your telekinesis gift.”

“So don’t tell her,” Julia panted. “Now come over here and help me get him into my house.”

Julia lived in a two–bedroom cottage she had built on the land behind the bar. It wasn’t a palace, but it was comfortable and convenient for her with the bar next door.

Marcus and Lucas helped Thomas up, and each wrapped an arm around him to help him walk the short distance.

Glancing over her shoulder at Logan, Julia asked, “Would you make sure the bar gets closed on time?”

“You got it. Let me know how he is.”

If left up to the local shifters, The Backwater would be rocking twenty–four seven. Someone needed to shoo them out at closing time, and she had her hands full at the moment.

“Can you lay him on the couch? I’ll get the med kit and a washcloth from the bathroom.”

“You got it.”

Thomas groaned as he was lowered to the cushions. “I feel like I was hit by a bus, then it backed up to make sure it finished the job.”

Marcus was very quiet; Stefan knew he was concerned about injuries they weren’t seeing. Those shifters looked like they were trying to turn his ribs into dust, and there were sure to be a few broken or cracked.

“Julia, I think I should call Anna and the healers,” Stefan called toward the hallway she had just walked down.

“I was thinking the same thing. I suck at healing, and I think he’s going to need them.”

Stefan pulled out his cell phone while Marcus took a seat across the room, and Lucas stood in the doorframe. A steady stream of growls rumbled from Marcus’s chest, as he stared out a window at the swamp.

Seconds later, Julia hustled into the room with arms loaded. “First, we need to clean you up so I can see how bad your cuts are.” She needed to keep talking and concentrate on the task at hand, or the tears she held in check would flow.

“The other healers are unavailable, but Anna and Mom are on their way, as well as Cade and Dad,” Stefan said as he shoved the phone in his pocket. “Dad wants a report about what happened, and he wasn’t about to let the women come here unescorted.”

“When are Jack and Michael joining the guard?” Marcus snarled.

“I’m meeting with Etienne and the guys in a couple days,” Thomas hissed, as Julia dabbed around his left eye.

Lucas narrowed his gaze on his brother. “What are you planning, Marcus?”

“Vampire senses will come in handy,” Marcus growled as he turned away from the window, “when I go swamper hunting.”

“Excellent idea. The moment they laid a hand on Thomas they signed their own death warrants,” Stefan growled.

Twenty minutes later Stefan cocked his head. “I hear Mom and Dad coming to the door.”

Julia met them at the door before they could knock. “Hello, everyone.”

“How are you, cher?” Emma asked as she drew her in for a tight hug. Then Isaac hugged her gently as Cade smiled hello.

“I’m good, but Thomas has had better days. Please, come in. He’s on the couch through there.”

“Don’t worry, cher. Thomas will be fine,” Anna said as she gave her a quick hug.

“Hi, Grandma. Hey, Mom,” Thomas said as he tried to smile through the pain.

“Oh, cher. What did those animals do to you?” Emma cried.

Anna gasped and rushed to hold him in her arms, but she instead stood frowning and seemed afraid to touch him. Finally, a whimper escaped her quivering lips before she could suppress it.

When Emma stepped to the end of the couch, Isaac got his first look at Thomas’s face. Furious energy flooded the room as everyone heard vicious snarls in their minds.

Mon amour
.
You’re sending telepathy to everyone.

Julia frowned at Thomas. “Why are you growling at your grandfather?”

His eyes grew wide in surprise. “Wasn’t me.”

They looked at each other for a heartbeat, then glanced around the room.

Everyone gaped at Isaac as he slowly raised his hand. “It was me.”

“What the hell, Dad?” Stefan, Lucas, and Marcus yelled together.

“Except for Cade, you’re all too young to remember, but as king, I had a few special things I could do. Talking telepathically to all shifters under my rule was one of them.”

“So...” Marcus hedged. “Can we answer you?”

“Yes, you can. Now, anyway. Triggering the ability required two things, I had to be the ruling king, which I am again, and I had to initiate telepathic communication. Which, apparently, I just did. When you were children, and I gave up the throne, I lost that ability,” he shrugged. “It looks like it’s back.”

Stefan and Marcus sat back in their chairs, flabbergasted. Their reaction was rare, very little affected the brothers the way this bombshell had.

“Well,” Emma said to break the silence. “Should we get busy, Anna?”

“Oh. Yes,” Anna said, shaking off her own surprised stupor.

Repositioning, Anna sat near Thomas’s head as Emma sat at his feet.

“Since there are only the two of us, we’ll send healing energy through you from opposite ends. The Goddess will guide the energy where it is needed,” Emma explained as she wrapped her fingers around his ankles.

Julia was enthralled; the healers were incredible to watch. Before her eyes, the swelling of Thomas’s left eye went down, and the bruising faded. As she strained to listen, his breathing became smoother, and there was a pronounced reduction in the rattle she had heard in his lungs earlier. Before they ended the session, his lips returned to normal, the swelling and split skin gone.

Finally, Emma stood. Julia thought she was done, but instead she moved to join Anna by his head. A concerned expression creased her brow as her hands hovered over his forehead and then around the sides of his skull. She didn’t actually touch Thomas; rather, it looked like she was sensing something.

“Are you sensing what I feel?” Anna asked.

“I believe there’s a fracture along the left side running from above his ear to the eye socket.”

“That’s where I was feeling an injury as well,” Anna agreed.

Isaac, my love, we need a little help. Please have everyone send as much energy as possible to Thomas.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we need to lend a little assistance. Hold your palm out toward Thomas and imagine a door opening at the top of your head to allow the Goddess to funnel energy through you and out your palm. In your mind, see the energy flowing to Thomas.”

The room was silent for a very long ten minutes before Emma spoke. “That should do it. Are you sensing anything else, Anna?”

There was a moment’s pause before she shook her head. “I think we’ve done all we can.” 

Thomas sat up and rubbed his head as if testing it out. “Wow, I feel a lot better.” He smiled at his mother and grandmother as he hugged them. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, cher,” Emma beamed.

Anna swatted his arm. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” Then she pulled him in for a second hug.

“Geez, Mom. It wasn’t like I picked a bar fight. I was just taking out the trash, and those goons jumped me.”