Illeanna

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: LoveXtreme Forever

ILLEANNA

Copyright © 2012 by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-843-2

First E-book Publication: July 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley

All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

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Illeanna
by Dixie Lynn Dwyer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

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Illeanna walked past the open slider doors of her bedroom and onto the small patio that overlooked the picturesque scenery of Orchidea, a town deep within the lush, marsh swamps and hidden from the busy, touristy, loud hustle and bustle of New Orleans. Orchidea was different but not so old time that there weren’t updated businesses, a growing population, or unnecessary need for law enforcement. She swallowed hard at that thought, immediately imagining the Boudoux men in uniform and in nothing at all.

She took a deep breath, attempting to manifest her reasoning of taking in the scenery instead of returning to the same thoughts about the Boudoux. She needed to clear her mind and focus and relax before work. She took a moment to appreciate her home and the scenery encompassing her small house. The moss on gnarled cypress, the various healing plants hidden within the habitats of exotic birds, alligators that their very own voodoo priestess often explored. She thought of Marie Cherise Laveau and their encounter a week ago today.

“Sometimes one has to put their profession on hold to seize the opportunity of love that ensures a fruitful and successful future,” Cherise had told her, then reached into the small brown pouch attached to the belt on her waist and tossed some sort of dusty, stinky powder onto Illeanna. It made Illeanna sneeze, and that satisfied the crazy voodoo priestess as she smirked and winked at her then walked away humming. Illeanna tried not to think anything of it, but that didn’t last long. Illeanna was beginning to wonder what Cherise had meant and what exactly Illeanna was meant to do with her life. Put her profession on hold? Seize the opportunity of love? Fruitful and successful future? Where? What did it mean? How could she?

Illeanna had bills to pay, a career to establish, and she had invested too much time in proving her capabilities at Carlile’s. Sure Jacque was a fat, obnoxious asshole that knew shit about authentic New Orleans cooking, but her boss Felix was the one in charge. She needed to impress him, and eventually he would see that she was the one who should be in charge, not Jacque. Frustrated, she walked back inside, closed the door, and prepared for work. She needed to have breakfast first, and a trip by her sisters’ place would surely get her morning started brighter.

* * * *

It was seven o’clock in the morning when Illeanna entered Aubert’s Restaurant. Her sisters Angelina and Ellena were busy serving customers but waved her over toward the counter and a few open barstools. An early weekday morning and the streets were buzzing and so was Aubert’s Restaurant. Illeanna could smell the fresh biscuits, sausage, and gravy, the homemade apple-pecan-baked oatmeal, and of course as she entered, she saw the Pain Perdu, a kind of Cajun French toast. She was hungry for breakfast just like the rest of the crowd. Her sisters owned the establishment that served both breakfast and lunch. They had all the traditional Cajun and Creole recipes, from Cajun quiche and crawfish beignets to po’boys, gumbo, and jambalaya.

“Hey, honey, you on your way to work already?” Ellena asked. Her shoulder-length black hair was angled toward her face, making her look as delicate as a porcelain doll. It suited her well. She was as pretty as one, too.

“Yep, headed in for another day of abuse and agony,” she replied as she plopped down onto the stool. She smiled toward Mr. Perkins, who lived in town. He was there every morning like clockwork.

Ellena poured Illeanna a cup of coffee then placed her hand on her hip. “You should think about finding a new job. Forget about that snooty old place in Monte. Maybe think about working here. We talked about expanding our hours to serve dinner, and with Angelique opening up her lingerie shop in town, it’s liable to get real busy with tourists,” Ellena stated.

“There’s plenty of time to discuss that idea, and believe me it’s looking better and better. Jacque is such an arrogant jerk. He doesn’t cook shit, but he gets all the credit,” Illeanna stated.

“You should take that fancy étouffée you make and pour it over his head. That will show him,” Angelina chimed in.

They waved and smiled as the front door opened, the small bell above it announcing more customers had arrived.

Illeanna took the sip of coffee but didn’t turn to look. She didn’t have to as Angelina and Ellena greeted the customers.

“Hi, Sheriff and Deputy Boudoux,” Ellena said then glanced at Illeanna, waiting for a reaction. She got one as Illeanna dribbled her coffee and quickly wiped her mouth. It figured that this morning was starting out to be a hell of a day. It was bad enough she lived in the same town as the five Boudoux brothers, but avoiding them over the past year had been difficult. Lately though, they all seemed to be trying to pin her down and get her attention. It was attention she wasn’t certain she really wanted right now. Not with her life being such a mess of negativity. Those men had issues anyway.

They were arrogant, intimidating, demanding, and downright mean most of the time. Although never lonely or without some sexy woman throwing herself at them, it was annoying. She hated to admit it, but seeing any of them with another woman made her mad and put her in a shitty mood. It was her fault though. She was scared to get involved with any man. She was terrified to get involved with five. There was no need to think about it. She made her decision a year ago when she walked out on Louis Boudoux. She’d been regretting it since, but he moved on, so why bother?

“Good morning, ladies,” Sheriff Johnny Boudoux said. His deep, masculine voice penetrated the restaurant even though he was talking low. His voice did strange things to Illeanna’s body. Embarrassing things that made certain body parts react too easily. She never did anything easy. The hard way was the Aubert way. All the Boudoux men affected her, and if there was more than one nearby, it set her into a panic. She gripped the napkin on her lap and held her body steady.

“Good morning,” they all said. Then Illeanna glanced up to see the very tall, very large Deputy Gustave Boudoux take off his hat and take a seat next to her. His thick tree trunk of a thigh brushed against her leg, and she quickly centered herself on the stool so neither man would bump her again. She inhaled on impulse, loving the light, fresh cologne he wore. It was sexy and appealing just like Gustave. Her body was so in tune to them it was crazy. She gave a small smile then silently prayed that his brother Johnny would not take the open seat next to her on the other side.

Angelina placed a dish of scrambled eggs and a small dish of fruit in front of Illeanna. She wondered how the hell she was going to eat as Johnny took a seat on the other side of her.
Son of a bitch. This is real bad.

Her belly did a series of flips and flops as she used the fork to push around her eggs. She refused to look at him any more than a glance. She didn’t need to stare at either man to know that they were fine-looking men. Big, broad shoulders and chiseled, muscular bodies, including their faces and personalities, set people in line with as little as a stern stare or an abrupt command. They were bossy, intimidating, and superior in nature and so were their brothers, Louis, Franco, and Julien. But they were a wild bunch. She was average in every aspect. From her tiny nose to her insecure personality, she lacked the confidence and control to deal with men like Gustave and Johnny.

“You look real pretty this morning, Illeanna. You headed to work?” Johnny asked as Ellena placed a cup of coffee down in front of him and his brother Gustave. Gustave remained silent. He was always quiet and never spoke a lot. Out of all the Boudoux he was kindest, but he also had a temper.

“Yes, I need to get going in just a few minutes,” she said then took a bite of the eggs in front of her. She felt almost too nauseous to eat. She figured if she shoveled them down fast enough, she could make a run for the door.

“She should just quit that job in Monte and come work here with us. Everyone likes to see you around town more, Illeanna,” Angelina teased then placed a large plate of food in front of the two men. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, and homemade hash browns and Aubert’s famous homemade biscuits. Angelina and Ellena spoiled them.

“Angelina!” Illeanna squeaked, hoping they would stop trying to push her toward the Boudoux. Ever since Angelique met and fell in love with the Lafont brothers they were trying to get her interested in the Boudoux men. Especially since the sheriff showed up at the hospital when Angelique was injured. It was bad enough that one night a year ago she lost her senses and got a bit too close to Louis Boudoux. Immediately she felt her body warm and her insides tighten up. She shouldn’t be thinking about that. She needed to focus on her career. She should tell Angelina to stop shying away from Tye and Mike, Angelique’s business partners, and their brothers every time they visited the site in town for the boutique. That would get Angelina all fired up. So easy for her to push a ménage relationship on her, but Angelina wasn’t taking her own advice. Illeanna went over the scenario in her head, but she bit her tongue. She just needed to escape before she hyperventilated.

“Ya sister’s right. We’d all love to see more of you around town, sugar,” Johnny whispered as he turned toward her and held her gaze. She felt her heart beating rapidly, and a panicky feeling filled her body. They were lethal and would cause her nothing but heartache. She was already practically in love with them but they weren’t right for her. They weren’t what she needed. She had seen the women they brought around and had known they were not the commitment type at all. Especially Louis, Julien, Johnny, and Franco. They had women falling all over them.

“I really need to get going. I don’t want to be late,” Illeanna stated as she took another sip of her coffee and began to get up.

“Don’t you take any shit from that phony fruitcake of a chef there. We’ll see you later when you get home,” Ellena stated.

“Thanks.”

Johnny touched her hand to stop her, and she froze in place.

“Someone bothering you?” he asked.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she replied with attitude, glancing toward Angelina. She was going to give it to her later. She swallowed hard and pulled her hand from Johnny’s. She couldn’t help it. Every time one of them came around to flirt or pretty much make an attempt to get down her pants, she got all bitchy and ignored them. She just couldn’t give in to the sexual attraction she felt. She needed a steady job, a career, and independence just like she and her sisters talked about having for each other. Angelique was well on her way. So were Angelina and Ellena with the restaurant, and even Mikayla was a career woman running her own realty company. Illeanna had to stay focused.

“I have to go. See you around,” she said then headed out the door.