by Donna Grant
He kissed her forehead and tightened his arms around her.
“I’m sorry for thinking you had something to do with my father’s disappearance. That wasn’t fair.”
“We were the last to see him. Of course it was fair of you to blame us.”
She licked her lips, unable to keep her eyes open another minute. “Do you think he’s alive?”
“We’ll find out all we can from Solomon. If need be, we’ll go to New Orleans.”
Now that surprised her. “You would leave your family?”
“For you, yes.”
Ava forced her eyes open to look at him. “You’re a good man, Lincoln.”
“Just don’t tell anyone,” he replied with a wink.
~ ~ ~
Lincoln let Ava sleep after their endless hours of making love. They had spent over twenty-four hours locked in his room, coming out only to grab food before closing themselves back in. He wanted to remain in bed with her, but it was past dawn after the last night of the full moon, and he needed to talk to Solomon. Lincoln dressed and quietly left the room.
He hurried downstairs and rounded the corner to walk into the kitchen where he found his brothers sitting at the table.
“’Bout time you showed your face,” Christian grumbled.
Beau mumbled something Lincoln couldn’t make out and got to his feet.
Vincent shot Lincoln a knowing smile. Lincoln tried to keep from grinning but he couldn’t. He punched Vin in the arm as he walked past. The morning sun chased the shadows away. Heavy dew had descended the night before, coating the ground with water.
“Ready?” Christian asked when all four stood on the porch with clothes in hand.
Lincoln was the first to reach the door. He opened it and headed to the stone building, his brothers right behind him.
It was quiet within, and that gave Lincoln pause. He unlocked the sliding door and opened it only wide enough for them to fit through. Vincent clicked on the lights. Kane slept like the dead, but Solomon sat against the metal bars of the cage still staring at his brother.
“It worked,” Solomon said. “I had my doubts, but you were right, Vin.”
Vincent unlocked his cage. “You can take him home, Solomon. I think Lincoln and Ava will be going with you.”
Christian tossed the clothes in to Solomon and checked on Kane’s lock. Beau leaned against the wall and used his pocketknife to dig a splinter out of his palm.
Solomon quickly dressed and cut a speculative look at Lincoln. “Bringing Ava to New Orleans isn’t a very good idea, cousin.”
“Because of this priestess, Delphine?” he asked.
“Exactly. Look what she’s done to my family? She wants Ava dead, and she will make sure it’s done.”
Lincoln fisted his hands. “Over my dead body.”
“It might come to that.” Solomon shifted his gaze to Christian, then Beau, and finally Vincent. “Is that what the three of you want? To lose your brother to some psycho bitch?”
“No,” the replied in unison.
Solomon winced as he pulled the shirt over his head. “I don’t want any of your blood on my hands either. Especially not Ava’s. I owe her old man. It’s because of him that I set some things up before I came here.”
“Ah, guys,” Beau said as he straightened and looked out the door of the building.
“Right on time,” Solomon said with a smile.
Lincoln frowned when Solomon walked out of the cage and past his cousins. They were quick to follow him. Lincoln drew up short when he saw the black Dodge truck. The doors opened, and two men stepped out. One with the blue eyes that signaled him blood, and the second man older, his face more wrinkled and his auburn hair liberally laced with white.
“I’ll be damned,” Beau said with a wide grin. “Jack Ledet.”
Solomon waved the two men over. Lincoln couldn’t take his eyes off Jack. He walked with a slight limp and wore a patch over his left eye.
“That ugly ass walking with Jack is the youngest of us LaRues, Court,” Solomon said.
Court rushed Solomon, lowering his shoulder into his gut and tackling him to the ground. The two brothers were laughing when they got to their feet.
Jack didn’t stop until he stood in front of Lincoln. “I hear you’re the one who saved my Ava.”
“It was all of us,” Lincoln answered.
Jack held out his hand. When Lincoln had taken it, Jack smiled. “I remember you, Linc. The one who sat quietly sharpening his Bowie knives. Ava couldn’t have been in better hands than with you Chiasson boys. Thank you all.”
Lincoln started to answer when a flash of auburn caught his gaze. He looked past Jack’s shoulder and saw Ava coming toward him wearing jean shorts, a gray tee, and a brilliant smile.
“She thinks you left her,” Lincoln hurried to tell Jack. “Be careful with her.”
Jack turned to see what had taken Lincoln’s interest. Lincoln knew the instant Ava saw Jack. Her smile faded, and she came to a halt.
“Uh, oh,” Christian said and disappeared into the woods.
Jack swiped a hand down over his chin. “She’s grown into a stunning woman.”
“Daddy?” Ava asked.
Lincoln walked around Jack to her. “Solomon had his brother bring your father.”
“What do I say?” she whispered, looking past his shoulder to her father
Lincoln tucked her hair behind her ear. “Tell him what’s in your heart.”
He started to walk off when she grabbed his hand. Her amber eyes beseeched him. “Stay with me.”
Lincoln nodded and walked her to her father. Several awkward moments passed with Jack blinking tears away before she threw her arms around his neck. Tears slipped down Jack’s face as he held her tight.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“It all worked out,” Vincent said and took a long drink of his beer.
Lincoln sat beside him on the porch and watched Ava and Jack down by the shore. They had been talking for hours. “Has it? Ava has her father. There’s no need for her to stick around.”
“You were going to take her to New Orleans.”
“I was hoping that a little more time with me would help her realize...” Shit. He couldn’t even say it.
“What?” Vin pressed.
Lincoln shrugged and propped his foot on a post. “That she might care for me.”
“Because you love her.”
“A person can’t fall in love after a few days,” Lincoln said derisively.
Vin gave him a droll look. “This coming from a man who did just that, but I think you fell for her the moment you saw her.”
“It’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
Lincoln set down his beer beside the chair. “Ava has a life in Dallas. She’s a successful attorney. What could I possibly offer her?”
“Love.”
“A life of fear and worry. Christian has it right. Why put ourselves through it?”
Vincent sat up and rested his forearms on his knees. “She hasn’t said she’s going back to Texas.”
“She hasn’t said she’s staying either.”
“Then give her a chance to make that decision.” Vin got to his feet. “Besides, when have you ever given up on something you really wanted. If she’s worth it, fight for her, Linc.”
Worth it? Of course she was worth it. The problem was, Lincoln wasn’t sure he was. She had been put through the wringer. What kind of life was that?
She was used to the city, to comfort and fine things. He could protect her from werewolves, but he wouldn’t know the first thing about living in the city, wouldn’t know how to be the kind of man she was used to being around.
Fight for her?
He would die for her a thousand times over.
~ ~ ~
Ava looked all over the house for Lincoln. It was Beau who finally told her he was in the building with Kane. Not even that stopped her from going to him.
She walked inside and found him near the
far wall next to Kane’s cage, leaning back in a chair and balancing on the two back legs.
“I’ve been looking for you,” she said and glanced at Kane who was still laying on his side, asleep, his back to her in human form.
“How did the talk with your father go?” Lincoln asked.
“Difficult at first, but then better,” she said as she stuffed her hands into her front pockets. “He killed Delphine’s niece outside our house. She was trying to get in my window. He took the body away to dispose of it, and that’s when Delphine’s people caught him. They took him to New Orleans where she held him for years.”
Lincoln lowered the chair to the floor. “Is that how he lost his eye?”
“Yes. She wanted to kill us, but he wouldn’t tell her anything about Mom or me. By the time her people came looking for us, we were gone.”
“She found you anyway.”
“That was because of me. I sent a private investigator looking for my dad. Apparently, the PI went to New Orleans, and his questions caught Delphine’s attention.”
Lincoln stood and walked to her. “How did Jack get free of Delphine?”
“Your cousins. They healed him, and he chose to remain with them so he wouldn’t lead Delphine to us.”
“What happens now?”
So that was why he was acting so weird. He thought she was leaving, and perhaps for a while even she had thought that. Until she realized what type of man she would be letting get away.
“That depends,” she answered.
He kicked at the leg of the chair. “On what?”
“You.”
His gaze lifted to her face. “What about me?”
“If you want me.”
The last word hadn’t left her mouth before she was against his hard body, his face inches from hers. “Want you? You fool, woman. I’m pretty sure I love you.”
She couldn’t form a coherent word. She had held out hope that he wanted her to stay. It never occurred to her that he might love her.
“Say something,” he said and gave her a little shake.
The only thing she could think of was to throw his words back at him. “Took you long enough.”
He smiled and lowered his head. Just before his lips touched hers he said, “Stay, Ava. Stay for me, for us. I’ll love you from now until eternity.”
The kiss was toe-curling, reminding her of just one of the many reasons she couldn’t walk away from him. When he ended the kiss, she drew in a shaky breath and smoothed his long hair away from his face. “I’ll stay for you, for us, because I love you too, Lincoln Chiasson.”
EPILOGUE
One month later...
Ava looked around her new office with approval. She had always wanted to start her own practice, and by deciding to remain in Louisiana, it had given her that opportunity.
“Mighty fine digs,” Beau said as he and Lincoln finished hanging the last of the pictures.
Ava beamed. “I can’t believe I officially open tomorrow.”
Christian adjusted the filing cabinet next to the reception area. “Can you really say that after already taking on three clients?”
She shrugged. “It’s not as if I could turn them away before I had the office up and running.”
“That’s my girl,” Lincoln said with pride in his voice.
Olivia walked through the front door with a box of files from the law firm. “These came from Texas. I’ll get to work on them tomorrow.”
“You have more experience than required to be my receptionist,” Ava said.
Olivia gratefully handed the box to Beau who sat it on the front desk. “You need help, and I need a job. Seems a perfect solution.”
Lincoln walked over to her and wrapped an arm around Ava’s shoulders. “You two spend so much time together already while planning the wedding.”
Olivia cut her eyes to him. “I needed help. Since y’all are so adamant about keeping Riley in Texas, of course I turned to Ava.”
Ava winked at Olivia. “We might need to take a trip to Austin and pay Riley a visit. I’d love to meet her.”
“She’ll love you,” Lincoln said, though his forehead was furrowed. “But if you go, she’ll want to come back with you.”
“This is her home,” Ava stated. “I tried to stay away, but I eventually returned. So will Riley.”
“The hell she will. If I have to go to Austin and find her a husband, she won’t be coming back,” Christian declared.
Ava and Olivia exchanged a look, deciding it might not do the Chiasson boys good to know about the phone call they received from Riley just the day before. Everyone needed a surprise every now and again.
Look for the next Chiasson story – WILD NEED – Coming August 2014!
Until then, read on for the sneak peek at FIRE RISING, the second book in the Dark King series…
Dreagan Industries
“Who is that?” Tristan asked.
Laith watched them a few more seconds before he said, “I gather by the way Jane is fussing that she’s Sammi, Jane’s half-sister.”
While Banan took Duke’s collar, Jane ushered Sammi into the house. Just before Sammi walked in, her head turned and she looked right at Tristan with her powder-blue eyes. It was like a punch in the gut.
Startling, disconcerting.
Amazing.
The surprising connection that seemed to zip between them left him pitching, tumbling. Plunging.
And he wanted more. So very much more.
“Tristan?”
He pulled his gaze away from the now-empty doorway and looked at Laith. “What?”
“Whatever you’re thinking involving Sammi, I wouldna advise it.”
Tristan frowned and glanced at the house, wondering what kind of injury Sammi had. “What do you mean?”
“Forget it.” Laith gave a shake of his head, a wry smile upon his lips. “I’ve got to see what happens next. Come on. Let’s go meet Sammi.”
The fact that Tristan wanted a closer look at the woman should have been enough to make him walk the other way. He was just getting ensconced in his life at Dreagan. Phelan and the other Warriors were complicating things enough. Tristan certainly didn’t need a woman added to the mix.
Yet he followed Laith into the manor. The sound of voices came from the kitchen. As they stopped at the doorway of the kitchen they saw Elena pouring some tea and Jane fixing a sandwich while Sammi sat at the table desperately trying to stay awake.
He found his gaze drawn to her no matter how hard he tried to look away. Even in profile, she was beautiful with her long, graceful neck and her fall of sandy-colored hair about her. She sat tall and straight in the chair, as if it was as natural as breathing.
Tristan saw her fall asleep twice and jerk awake both times. The third time, she listed to the right. He rushed to her, grabbing her just before she hit the floor. Jane, Elena, and Banan turned as one from whatever they were doing to gawk at him.
He gazed down at the woman who slept in his arms, completely taken unawares as he looked into her oval face. Her cheekbones were incredibly high, her nose small, and her lips as decadent as sin.
Even in sleep, she made his body hunger to know her, his lips crave to taste her, and his hands ache to caress her. Desire shot through him like lightning, making him burn.
Making him yearn.
Tristan moved a strand of her hair out of her lashes and wished she would open her eyes so he could look into their cool color once more.
Then he remembered where he was, and just who he was holding. “I think the food is going to have to wait.”
“I knew she looked tired,” Jane said, a frown marring her forehead.
Tristan easily shifted Sammi’s body into his arms and stood. “She’s too skinny.”
“I knew she had lost weight too,” Jane said with a shake of her head. Then she looked at Banan. “I think she’s in some real trouble.”
“We’ll get it out of her,” Banan promised.
Tristan was carefu
l not to touch Sammi’s left arm as more blood seeped through her shirt. “What about her injury?”
Banan let out a string of curses as he walked from the kitchen. “She said it was nothing. Bring her, Tristan.”
Jane was at his heels, tripping twice, as he followed Banan up the stairs. Despite both of them watching him like hawks, Tristan found his gaze drawn again and again to the woman in his arms.
Her hair, a unique mixture of blond and light brown, hung over his arm, the waves teasing him to touch them. Her exhaustion and injury worried him that someone had pushed her to her limits, and he wanted to know who had done that to her. And why.
Thank you for reading Wild Dream. I hope you enjoyed it! If you liked this book – or any of my other releases – please consider rating the book at the online retailer of your choice. Your ratings and reviews help other readers find new favorites, and of course there is no better or more appreciated support for an author than word of mouth recommendations from happy readers. Thanks again for your interest in my books!
Donna Grant
www.DonnaGrant.com
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Don’t miss these other spellbinding novels by
DONNA GRANT
Chiasson Series
Wild Fever
Wild Dream
Wild Need (August 2014)
Dark King Series
Dark Heat (3 novella compilation)
Darkest Flame (May 2014)
Fire Rising (June 2014)
Burning Desire (September 2014)
Hot Blooded (January 2015)
Dark Warrior series:
Midnight’s Master
Midnight’s Lover