Read Online Rose, Charlotte - Bayou Rescue [The Shifters of Alligator Bend 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Charlotte Rose - Free Book Online Page A

do it, Serafine. I don’t know how, but I’ll figure it out. I promise.”
    Serafine turned to Adele. “You sure you’re up for helpin’? Don’t get me wrong, we need everyone who’s willin’, but I ain’t gonna lie. It might be dangerous. You sure you wanna take that risk?”
    Adele smiled. “I don’t want Villemont to take your family away any more than you do. It’s totally worth the risk if I can help out.”
    “I just wanna make sure you’re prepared. I’d hate for you to change your mind about us if you wind up in any danger.”
    “I won’t change my mind. I want to help. My whole career has been devoted to protecting the natural world from people who want to cause problems. Helping the congregation is perfectly natural.”
    “Even when you have to deal with the likes of Xavier?” Oscar asked with a slight chuckle.
    Adele giggled at Xavier’s frown. “Even then.”
    “Okay, I think we be done here. We’re gonna meet again next Saturday, work out the details for the rest of the plan,” Serafine said. “Now, it’s been a long day. I’m thinkin’ it’s time for us to eat. We can’t spend the whole day workin’.”
    Oscar hadn’t expected Adele to stay for the food, but when the group dispersed for the kitchen, she walked with Georgina and grabbed a plate to load with crawfish étouffée. She kept her distance from Oscar and Xavier, and Oscar knew better than to push her boundaries. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He suspected they hadn’t completely lost favor with her, either. He caught her staring at them on more than one occasion.
    As the sky darkened into night, Adele and Georgina stood up so Georgina could take Adele home. After saying their good-byes, Georgina headed straight out the door, but Adele walked toward them.
    “Why don’t you two walk me to my boat?” she asked.
    “Our pleasure,” Oscar said, jumping to his feet. He offered his arm, and Adele accepted it. He was pleased to see that she took Xavier’s arm as well.
    “Why don’t we have dinner together next Friday?” Adele asked as they stepped into the warm spring air.
    “What? Really? I mean, that sounds great,” Oscar said, trying to keep his cool. “Any place in particular you had in mind?”
    “The Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. It’s my favorite. Should I make a reservation for eight o’clock?”
    “Works for us,” Xavier said.
    Adele smiled. “Wonderful.”
    She slipped her arm from Xavier’s, turned to Oscar, and gave him a kiss so deep that his cock began twitching to attention. Before he had the chance to get fully hard, though, she pulled away, and gave Xavier a kiss that looked just as intense. Pulling away from him, she flashed another brilliant smile and hurried off to her boat, laughing all the way. Georgina started it up, and they sailed off into the night.

Chapter Five

    Adele rushed into the Sazerac Bar five minutes late, frazzled after a difficult day. She’d woken up with jitters, and things had only gotten worse from there. She’d planned to work through her lunch hour and leave an hour earlier than usual so she’d have plenty of time for a relaxing bubble bath before getting dressed for dinner and heading out to the French Quarter. The only thing that had gone according to plan was that she skipped lunch. Unfortunately, she didn’t even get the chance to eat at her desk. A problem with one of her experiments kept her busy until the afternoon and made her late for office hours. Only one student showed up, but he was a needy undergraduate who wanted lots of hand-holding and expected an automatic A for effort. He’d kept her twenty minutes late, and then there had been a traffic jam on the way home, caused by an eighteen-wheeler going off the road. She didn’t make it home until after six, and she had to rush through her beauty routine to make it out the door on time. Then, there had been even more traffic, as people piled into the French Quarter to celebrate the