Shara Azod - Thierrys Angel

2 Can the power of his love and the magic of his touch make her believe in happily ever after again? THIERRYS ANGEL 2007 Shara Azod In New Orleans, where old Southern lineages root as deep and tangled as the haughty Cypress, two powerful families become entrenched in a battle to preserve pedigrees. For the past nine years, Thierry Chevalier, the strikingly handsome, well-bred, polished son of one of the oldest, most powerful white families in Louisiana, has been harboring an impassioned desire to captivate the woman of his dreams. His desire, Angelique Dubois. Graceful, delicate and sensually delectable, Angelique seems as unattainable as she is desirous: the daughter of New Orleans mayor; member of a proud Black Creole family; and engaged to another man. But when opportunity opens, their fates are magnetized. The tempest of passion, power and pride that erupts is more sweeping than a steamy Gulf Coast monsoon. Warning, this title contains: Explicit sex, graphic language.

3 Ebooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writers imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. Cacoethes Publishing House, LLC. 14715 Pacific Avenue South Suite 604 Tacoma, WA 98444 Thierrys Angel Copyright 2007 by Shara Azod Cover by PK1 Studios Photography By Michelle Anderson ISBN: 978-0-9799015-0-8 Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9799015-1-5 www.cacothespublishing.com All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Cacoethes Publishing House, LLC. Electronic publication: November 2007

4 THIERRYS ANGEL SHARA AZOD

5 DEDICATION This book is dedicated with love to Auntie Alma who opened my eyes to the wonderful world of romance and believed in me before anyone else and my loving husband Mark for all his support and who never let me give up on my dream. I would like to thank Ana Maria, Dahlia and Marianne for all the no nonsense advice, my editor Dyann Gregg for working with me and my best friends Dirty Red and Darkness for listening to my crap. The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. ~Carl Jung

6 Acknowledgements Thank you to the great state of Louisiana for your continuous inspiration.

7 CHAPTER ONE Angelique covertly watched the couple at the adjacent table with envy and more than a little yearning. Both seemed to be roughly her age, maybe a little younger. They were sitting side by side as close as they could get though no one else occupied their small caf table. The man could not seem to keep his hands away from the woman. He touched her hair, her cheek, her legs, and her arms. Their kisses had started off innocently, almost like a question, but had grown in fervor. Angelique wondered how either of them could breathe. The woman was flushed, squirming in her seat while the man looked nowhere else but at his ladylove. What must that feel like to be desired in such a way? To have someone so into you they blocked out the entire world as if you were the only thing in the universe that meant anything at all to them? Angelique, are you listening? I swear your mind is always in the clouds somewhere. And I dont understand why you would want to live on your own in that old house. Youll only have to move again after the ceremony. I am quite sure Paul would never want to live in that neighborhood! Paul, her so-called fianc, had never looked at her the way the unknown man looked at his woman. He had never touched her in a way that made her burn. It doesnt seem be at all safe especially now, after the horrible hurricane, Charline Dubois continued, completely unaware her audience was anything but captive. I dont understand why your father would agree to let you buy that house. I cant imagine what you might have said to him to make him agree with such a foolish decision. What if something were to happen to you? Where would you be then? Just think about all

8 the things you are going to have to do to make that place habitableI mean it is a complete waste of money! Angelique stirred her coffee absently as her mother droned on and on. There was little point in interrupting or adding anything to the one sided conversation. She would just ignore her anyway. And look at your hair! It looks positively nappy. I dont understand how you could come out so, well, you look nothing like me or my family. I dont understand where that hair came from. And just look at your skin! Have you been using the fading cream I gave you? You are going to have to remember to stay out of the sun! You look positively bronze! Some people would love to look positively bronze , Angelique thought to her herself. Of course, she said nothing out loud. Meeting her mother for shopping and coffee had been a huge mistake. When Charline Dubois had called claiming she missed her little girl, Angelique felt that twinge of hope she had fostered all her life: maybe this time Mother would be different. Maybe they could just hang out and at least be civil to one another. Not that Angelique was ever anything but obedient and compliant as far as her parents knew. It still was not enough for her mother, who felt the need to point out everything wrong or undesirable about her at every opportunity. Her hair was too nappy, she was too dark, too nave, too bookish. Angelique was not the perfect Creole daughter Charline had wanted. Instead of the dusky ivory and cream skin and good hair Angelique had skin that was an interesting mixture browns and reds, like of milk chocolate swirled with cinnamon and a touch of Kashmir saffron. Rather than having

9 light colored eyes to declare her mixed linage, her eyes were dreamy brown. Soulful eyes, her grandmother called them. Plain mud brown was all Charline saw. The Dubois clan was a proud Black Creole family. Her father, Adam, was currently the mayor of New Orleans. His father had been the first African American mayor. The family owned a multitude of businesses and properties throughout the state. They could trace their roots back through Creole gens de couleur libres to one Amlie Durand, who was the daughter of an African slave and some kind of French nobleman. Family legend had it that she married the illegitimate son of a French king. Angelique doubted most of the story was true, but it was pleasant family folklore. Her mother, however, believed every word. She reveled in it, flaunted it whenever the opportunity presented itself. The woman lived and breathed Dubois pride, which Angelique found a bit odd seeing as her mother was only a Dubois through marriage. It seemed that the family name meant far more to Charline and Anne, her aunt by marriage, than it did anyone else. Angelique Marie, are you listening to me? God how she wanted to say, No, you arent saying anything worth listening to. Instead an apology sprung to her lips without thought. I am sorry, Mama. What were you saying? I said you should go down to the office and see if Paul would like to have lunch with you today. It would be a pleasant surprise and you two have rarely been seen out in public since the engagement announcement. You really should more effort into this relationship; I dont see how you even got him to propose with the way you act. I will

10 make a hair appointment for next week with Irene. She always seems to be able to tame that wild mane you call hair. You want to look your best for your engagement ball. Angelique wanted to scream she hadnt gotten Paul to propose, she never wanted him to. It was the implied promise of political and business advancement Charline placed into his head on numerous occasions that made the man ask her out and finally to marry him. She wasnt entirely sure she even liked Paul Guidry. Sure, he was fine, with his light golden skin, devilish dimples, bright hazel eyes, and tall, well-muscled physique. Yes, he said all the right things, dressed nicely, and had a great education. But when all was said and done, he was her mothers choice. He came from a suitable Creole family, he belonged to all the right social clubs, he had a small fortune of his own, and he and his mother were intimidated by the Dubois name. Paul was everything Charline had ever dreamed of for in a son-in-law. He had even proposed at the dinner with her parents present, as if he knew she would have probably said no had they been alone, which they rarely were. Thats a great idea, Mother! Angelique exclaimed brightly. I think I will go right now so I can catch him before he gets roped into a boring business meeting. She didnt give her mother a chance to reply, just grabbed her bags and purse and practically ran out of the little caf. What made her think she could stand her mother longer than ten minutes, shed never know! Maybe one day shed learn and stop expecting anything more from the vain, selfish woman. Charline had wanted to shop with her today to be seen and ensure that Angelique was dressing appropriately and to remind her of the upcoming engagement ball. How many times had she heard today, Honestly Angelique, you are either dressed as a vagabond or some kind of whore. She was