WILLEM (The Witches of Wimberley Book 1) (14 page)

She smiled. “She might be. But you know, you get what you pay for, Willem.”

“So I’ve heard. I’m just a middle class boy from Alabama so I wouldn’t have much personal experience in that department.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who thinks of Golden Bull Buffet as a special occasion.”

“I had some nice times courtesy of my agent. Learned the difference between a fruit fork and a soup spoon.”

“Your agent? Oh, that’s right. You were an actor.”

“How is it that everyone seems to know so much about me? Have you memorized bios on all fifty contestants? And come to think of it, why did you say ‘were an actor’?”

“First, yes. We look over incoming guests. Second, some of us just learn names, some of us read more and have good recall. Third, you told our people in L.A. that you’re done with acting. That puts it in the past tense, right?”

“Right. So, should I be asking questions about you?”

She grinned. “You’re funny, Willem.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because you
have
been asking questions.”

Hearing her say it out loud, I realized that was true.

“This prime rib is indescribable. And the wine, he didn’t ask me for a preference, but I’ve gotta tell you. It’s amazing.”

“If you win, you’ll eat whatever you want when you want it. As far as the staff goes, they’re very skilled at reading people and anticipating needs.”

“Or desires.”

“You’re quick, Willem. I like that. And you’ve passed my test. You’ve made quick work of that rib. Want more?”

I sat back and put both hands on my stomach. “I’ve eaten more in the past two days than I’d normally eat in a week. No. I’m good.”

“Well, maybe coffee and dessert later. I know several people who would be very happy to keep you company when you’re ready.”

“That’s nice.”

“Meantime, let’s get back to business. We have a few more people to introduce you to.”

True to her word, Glory delivered me into the hands of another knockout who then passed me on to someone else. I’d counted how many beautiful creatures I’d talked to over the course of the evening and, if I wasn’t woozy from too much alcohol, I was carrying a total of twenty-nine. That meant there was one to go.

I was ushered toward the last inquisitor at twenty minutes before midnight. She had her back to me and was chatting with four contestants. She had long black hair falling in shiny waves down a backless dress that revealed just the right amount of muscle under flawless skin. The dress was a perfect complement to her hourglass figure.

“Ravish, this is Willem.”

When she turned around, I felt the hair follicles on my head stand straight up, joining the goosebumps that suddenly popped out all over my body. I know I lost my breath for a minute. It was the woman from the portrait, but in the flesh. She was even wearing the same dress.

Her pale green eyes swept over my face, down my body and back up, just before she smiled with lips the same color as her dress.

“Hello, Willem.” Her voice was as sultry as a siren and beckoned me to lean in unconsciously. “Let’s go outside on the terrace.”

I think that, if she’d said let’s jump into a cauldron of boiling oil, I would have taken her hand and agreed. It only took a moment for me to decide that I had to have her, even if it meant killing every other contestant with my bare hands to get rid of the competition.

“Alright,” was the best I managed.

As the others had done before her, she slipped her hand through the crook of my elbow, but unlike the others before her, I felt a weird sort of tingly sensation from the contact.

“Are you having a good time?” she asked.

I was a little taller so that she was looking up at me, even with heels on. And I liked that.

“I am. Especially now.”

I hadn’t realized that probably sounded more cheesy than charming until it rolled out of my mouth without putting any thought behind it, but her smile told me it was an okay thing to say.

“Don’t be so worried, Willem. The right person can’t say the wrong thing.”

“That’s, ah, very deep.”

“Is it?”

We stopped when we reached the banister that edged the terrace and formed a barrier to walking off the hillside. She turned to face me. The gaslights flickered like torches, making her eyes seem even more hypnotic.

“So, Willem, do you want to win?”

“Being perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure why I’m here, let alone
what
I might win.”

“Me.”

“You what?”

“Do you want to win me?”

Every fiber of every cell in my body began jumping up and down and screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” I wasn’t sure what winning Ravish entailed, but whatever it meant, I was sure I wanted in. I felt like I truly understood the meaning of the word ‘bewitched’.

“Ravish, I…”

“Kiss me, Willem. Then you can decide.”

That was an offer I could
not
have refused if I’d wanted to. And I didn’t want to.

I put my hands on either side of her hips and pulled her into me, thinking that at any second the crowd was going to spill outside with kazoos and laughter saying, “Gotcha! You didn’t really think
you
could win. Did you?” But as she drew closer nothing happened.

I brushed her lips with mine lightly. Once. Twice. Then allowed my mouth to settle on the sweet soft fullness of hers. I knew I was going to look ridiculous in red lipstick, but I didn’t care. That kiss wasn’t just a kiss. It was more spectacular than most orgasms.

At the point where I would normally ease up for a breath, I pulled her in tighter, unwilling to let go of what might be the peak experience of my entire life. Eventually my lungs had their way. I pulled back and looked at her. That’s when I saw it. She was looking at me as if
she
was the one who’d won the prize.

Holy crap! I was going to be a winner.

“Willem, you probably don’t know it yet, but you were made for me. And you’re going to be a winner if you accept the contract I’ll offer you tonight.”

Only one cylinder of my brain was firing, but I still managed to put it together.

“You’re Destiny’s sister.”

She grinned. “Yes.”

“And your other sister is married to Raider.”

She looked surprised. “Yes. How did you know?”

“I caught them giving each other a look. The important thing is that I accept.”

“Well,” she smiled, “you can’t accept without going over the terms, but we’ll only be offering two contracts this year and yours is one of them. We should go back inside. It’s almost midnight.”

All of a sudden I was feeling self-conscious about the crowd, especially Raider and Kellan. “I have red lipstick all over.”

She laughed. It was the exact opposite of a tinkling bells laugh. It was the laugh of a bawdy bar maid who’d seen and done it all. I
loved
it. So did my cock, that couldn’t seem to stop trying to twitch its way out of my pants.

“There’s no lipstick to come off, Willem. My lips are this color.”

“You look like this twenty-four hours a day?”

I didn’t care if I was being pranked at that point. I held my arm out for her and she took it in her sexy, but elegant way.

“Maybe not, but my mouth doesn’t change. Have I told you that you look delicious in this color?” she asked, but I didn’t have a chance to answer because we walked through the door to a cheer from the women and the past winners.

Harmony came to greet us. “Ladies and gentlemen. Two of our guests will be offered contracts this year. Willem Draiocht by Ravish Wimberley. And Cairn Connelly by Deli Bennett. To all the rest of you, thank you for coming. As you return to your homes you will lose all memory of what you’ve seen and heard here. You will have pleasant memories of your visit to Wimberley, but will not associate it with any purpose beyond leisure. Good night.”

I could see the other contestants smirking at each other like they didn’t believe for a minute they’d forget a second of their experience.

Harper and Ivan were the only two who made a point to come by and congratulate me.

Looking at Ravish, Ivan said, “You’re a lucky man, Will. She’s something.”

I looked at Ravish feeling like I was having an out of body experience. “She is.”

“You can enter again, Ivan,” she said. “And you should. Perhaps your contract just wasn’t ready for you yet.”

He smiled. “I’ll bet you say that to all the contestants.”

“I assure you that I do not. I mean it sincerely.”

“We’ll see. Thanks for the encouragement.”

“That was nice of you,” I said, looking down at my prize.

“Not at all. It’s true. He may be a future winner.”

“So you really know who the winners are before we arrive?”

She nodded, smiling. “Yes. The others are just here to make the winners feel comfortable. That and males like competition.”

I laughed. “That’s why the ruse? Males like competition?”

“It works.” She shrugged. “Haven’t you felt at ease this weekend?”

I thought back. “Well, yeah. Except when Raider was trying to drown me.”

Kellan appeared in front of me with his arm around Glory. “Congratulations, Will. It’s a very special brotherhood you’re joining.”

Glory either squeezed his butt cheek or pinched him. It was hard to tell. But he jumped.

He looked down at her. “You know it’s hard to maintain a sense of dignity when you insist on treating me like a male stripper.”

She gave him a playful pout. “Sorry, Sugarbunch. I’m working on it.”

His answering lopsided grin said he’d tolerate anything she served up.

I looked down to see a large, sleek black cat trying to twirl itself around Glory’s legs. She leaned over and picked the cat up, saying, “Hey, Fambo. You need some attention?”

She brought the cat up and held it in her arms. It looked at me with the heavy lids of extreme pleasure partially covering pale green eyes that were eerily similar to the color of Ravish’s. Its purring was loud enough to be heard several feet away.

“This is my cat, Willem. He and Kellan both think they’re king of this castle. And they’re both a little jealous of my attentions to the other.” She shifted the cat so that her nose was touching his. “Can’t be helped. I need both my bad boys.”

I looked at Kellan, who rolled his eyes. He clearly didn’t share Glory’s affection for the cat. “So this is your house?”

“It is.” He raised his chin a bit in an obvious moment of pride. “Most of the community gatherings and such are held here because we have extra space.”

“That’s an understatement,” I replied.

“Excuse me. I need to talk to Harmony,” Glory said.

When she turned to go, cat draped over her shoulder, Kellan said, “Looks like we’ll see you back here tomorrow.”

“Looks like. Any tips?”

“No.” He grinned. “You don’t need any tips. You won.”

When he walked off, I turned to Ravish. “Has anyone ever told you that you look exactly like Pleasant Wimberley?”

She looked genuinely surprised. “No, Willem. How would you know that?”

“One of the gallery owners told me I’d been pranked, that she shows herself to people in other portraits sometimes. You look exactly like her. She was even wearing this dress.”

“This dress?” She looked down. “But these are modern clothes.”

“Guess she likes contemporary fashion.”