Villere House (Blood of My Blood) (23 page)

"Good. Good," he repeated, bending to softly press his lips to hers.

In an instant, all ounces of anxiety, doubt, fear, and panic drained from her body, eased by the passion in his touch, the love in his hands. More than that, it was chased away by emotions far more powerful than fear or doubt. It was the overwhelming sensation of feeling like she finally belong somewhere and hopefully...with someone.

EPILOGUE

T
he room still smelled like paint, and the lavender candles Xavier had lit to help cover the smell just made it smell like lavender scented paint. It would have to do.

The room was supposed to be remodeled weeks ago but the contractor flaked out, so it had just been finished this morning. He would have put Lottie up in the suite again, but couldn't. Since they hadn't made their Jazz Fest deadline and it had been booked months ago, he couldn't stand to lose the income.

He'd rather just have her stay with him. But things were still weird with Grandmere. He knew she didn't actually have anything against Lottie, but she was deathly afraid of Sanite and definitely worried about her wrath.

He could understand. Luckily, there hadn't been any evidence his long-deceased aunt was still hanging around. Hopefully, that wouldn't change when Lottie got here since her apartment wouldn't be ready for a couple of weeks.

Her flight was scheduled to land in a couple of hours. He hadn't been so anxious for someone's arrival since his estranged father promised to come to his tenth birthday party. He hadn't, of course, but Xavier's ten-year-old self hadn't been able to sleep he'd been so excited.

It was still hard to believe the path that had brought him here, but he wouldn't change a moment of it if it meant he didn't meet Lottie. And not only did he gain her, his eyes were opened to a heritage he'd spent a lot of energy trying to deny. Although, he had to admit he was still coming to terms with it.

To think, for years, Laurent Villere tried to communicate with him via the one repeating dream, all because Xavier liked to toss a few coins into an altar basket for good luck. But there was a reason Voodoo was now synonymous with unexplainable.

In fact, if he hadn't witnessed every crazy thing that had happened firsthand—from the dreams, to Julien's possession, to the giant skull taking Élise to the afterworld, to his grandmother viciously attacking him—he'd be the first one to commit himself to a mental hospital.

He looked at the time again. Shit, still two hours. He wasn't sure how he was going to get through the afternoon without wearing a path on the carpet from pacing.

Soft knocking sounded on the hotel door. Brow furrowed, he went to answer it. He wasn't expecting anyone, obviously, but it might be a guest, or perhaps his mother or Grandmere needed something.

What greeted him when he opened the door was even better. Lottie stood before him, looking radiant in a breezy cotton dress, a beaming smile on her beautiful face.

Throwing her arms around his neck, she jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. "I couldn't wait to see you. I caught the earliest flight I could," she said before devouring him with a kiss.

It wouldn't have ended until both of them were naked, sweaty, and satiated, but Xavier caught a glimpse of his brother walking from the courtyard. Julien had been…different since Sanite's possession, but he still didn't trust him around Lottie.

Reluctantly, he broke their kiss. "What the hell is Julien—"

Lottie's tongue interrupted him. Doubts about Julien were tossed aside as his brain turned to other matters, namely his hands cupping her smooth, bare thighs. Maybe naked had been presumptuous. He could just slide her panties aside…

Kicking the door closed with his foot, he headed for the bed.

It was Lottie who pulled back this time. Lip caught between her teeth, she wore a sly smile. "Happy to see me?"

"Can't you tell?"

Her hips rocked against his pelvis. "So, those aren't wooden stakes you're packing?"

"Not today."

Her neck looked like it needed attention. "I do wish you'd called me," he murmured between tracing the curve of her throat with his tongue. "I'd have picked you up at the airport."

"That's okay. I wanted to surprise you. Julien picked me up."

He paused mid-neck nibble to look at her. "What?"

"I thought it would be a good idea to clear the air." She offered him a smile and a soft kiss. "It was nice. We had a pleasant conversation and he even apologized for everything, even though we know he wasn't acting of his own free will."

Julien was definitely different all right.

Her undulating hips brought his mind back to more important things.

"Your jeans look a little binding," she said. "Why don't we get you out of them and into something more comfortable. Namely me."

"Gladly."

Easing her back onto the bed, he couldn't believe how perfect this felt. There was no denying she belonged here, in New Orleans, with him.

Coming Soon in 2014!

Bayou Grisé

A follow up to Villere House

Other Books by C.D. Hussey

The Human Vampire Series

La Luxure:
Discover Your Blood Lust

Book One in the Human Vampire Series

de Sang
: Embrace Your Blood Lust

Book Two in the Human Vampire Series

Eveillez
: Deny Your Blood Lust

Book Three in the Human Vampire Series

Expiez
: Redeem Your Blood Lust

Book Four in the Human Vampire Series

Contemporary Romance

Unexpected Oasis

Coming Soon!

To stay updated with C.D. Hussey, please visit:
http://www.cdhussey.com/

If you would like stay connected with Leslie Fear, below are a few links to her social media pages:

https://www.facebook.com/author.leslie.fear

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7202737.Leslie_Fear

http://www.theindiebookshelf.com/search/label/leslie%20fear

http://jilliandodd.net/category/leslies-book-bliss

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

From Leslie:

To my lovely husband, Randy, for his continued support and patience while I wrote, edited, emailed, took over his computer for more days than I should have and everything else I'm sure I tortured him with. I love you, honey, "all the way to the barn and back!"

To my Mom, Sue Colburn, for her unending elation and for, (I'm sure), showing off every single thing related to our book. Your excitement was palpable and I love you even more for it!

To my dear friend, Stephenie Thomas for putting up with my phone calls while I power-walked, got ready in the mornings or just wanted to chat with a truly honest and awesome, supportive friend. I love you to pieces!

To Morgan Parker for your praise of my writing. You turned out to be a reliable source in this business who didn't blow smoke, only the insightful truth. I will be eternally grateful!

To The Dean's List Facebook group. Your continuous encouragement, helpful suggestions and awesome cheerleading will never be forgotten. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To my co-author, Carla, for taking me and my story on. You called me out, made me think, stayed honest and because of that, you mentored me into a better writer. Words can never fully express my gratitude. I think you're rock star...seriously!

From Carla:

A big thanks to Leslie for bringing me into this project and letting me run with it. And for putting up with me and my quirks. Obviously, I couldn't have done it without you.

From Leslie and Carla:

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our beta-readers: Stephenie Thomas, Sarah Phelps, Tami Fairley, Tashia Brandenburg, Laura Wilson, Beth Rustenhaven, Vanessa Proehl, Tosha Khoury, Keelie Lington, Jennifer Lawson and Jule Delgado.

Your time, insightful comments and helpful suggestions were priceless! We are grateful beyond words!

To Michelle Warren who so wonderfully designed our awesome book cover. You listened and gave us exactly what we wanted, and on the first try! It was so incredibly easy to work with you as you went above and beyond so many times. We appreciate everything you did for us!

And finally, Carla and I would like to thank the lovely author, Tracey Garvis-Graves for her kind, thoughtful and amazing comments about our story. Your encouragement meant the world!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

When not writing, C.D. Hussey enjoys a career as a professional engineer. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, teenage son and two cats. With an ongoing love affair with New Orleans, expect to see her in the Crescent City at least twice a year.

Leslie Fear began writing as a stay-at-home-mom and has two unfinished novels she'd like to return to someday. In addition, her love for reading lead to reviewing books for Goodreads and Amazon and also co-founding The Indie Bookshelf blog. She also enjoys her work as review contributor for author, Jillian Dodd's blog.

Leslie lives in Texas with her husband, teenage son and daughter and one very silly pug.