Taste of Wicked

by Michelle Howard

  “Great. That makes the vacation worth it right there. I can’t believe how much you’ve talked about this guy and never seen him before.”

  “We didn’t exactly exchange last names, you know.” At this point Toni didn’t have a problem sharing hers but Drake had never offered.

  “Take his picture and google him or get his last name and look up his social media accounts. Everyone has a social media presence these days.”

  Chrissy’s response was typical. She practically ran a background check on any guy she dated, scrolling through site after site for every tidbit about him.

  Toni sat up and ran a hand through her disheveled hair. Should she tell Chrissy everything? “I’m not sure that’s the best plan. Anyway, we had lunch earlier and he asked me to dinner tomorrow night.”

  Nothing in the world would stop her from attending.

  “Hmm. Me thinks there is sex in your very near future.”

  Toni went silent. How did she tell her best friend that he’d thrown that exact suggestion in her face without warning?

  “Toni?”

  All she could think about was how serious he’d looked when he said the words. Nothing but desire had gleamed back from his violet eyes and Toni had contemplated stripping at the table right there. Only a smidgeon of common sense kept her from the ill advised action. Instead, she’d tucked her hands under the table to hide their trembling and changed the subject.

  She’d blabbed about what she ate on the plane, the shuttle ride and a host of other things she didn’t remember until the waitress brought out their food. Drake for his part had followed her conversation change without blinking.

  “Why’d you go quiet? What aren’t you telling me?” Chrissy’s voice rose on the end.

  Toni hesitated for all of a minute. In the end, she swallowed the details she wanted to blurt out. “Nothing. I’m enjoying myself so no need to freak out.”

  “Hmm, well see if you can take a picture of him on your phone and send it to me. I might need to pick him out of a line up if you disappear.”

  “Very funny. I’ll think about it. And I’m not going to jump in bed with a man I just met.” Toni crossed her fingers as she told the potential lie.

  “What about your other little problem?” Chrissy asked, shifting the conversation.

  Toni sighed and contemplated what to wear for her dinner with Drake. The choices were a pair of cute black capri versus an ankle length rose colored skirt which made her feel like a fairy princess. No easy feat at her height. “So far all is quiet on that front. I think everyone was right and getting away has hopefully dispelled Thomas’ thoughts about us getting back together.”

  Well she and Thomas hadn’t really been together. Toni had gone to dinner with the charming man from another department at the University for a grand total of three times before deciding she wasn’t interested. Something about him hadn’t felt right and she couldn’t put her finger on why. Unfortunately, Thomas wasn’t taking her hints to move on gracefully.

  She’d changed her cell number twice and turned off her home voicemail service but he continued to find ways to leave messages for her. Chrissy with all her savvy skills hadn’t managed to dig up anything unusual about him on the internet. He appeared for all intent and purposes to be normal. Until he wasn’t.

  “Argh, I can only hope the creeper gets it through his head that you aren’t interested.”

  Chrissy would know. She’d been present on the two occasions when Thomas showed at Toni’s place begging for another chance to go out. Her first refusal had led to some very embarrassing crying on his part. The next refusal received a far different response. Thomas’ gray eyes had taken on an eerie glow and his fingers curled into locked fists at his side. She’d honestly believed he wanted to hurt her in that moment. Then he’d smiled and scrubbed a hand over his face as he left.

  At the time, Toni hoped that was the end of it. Not. For the last several weeks Thomas sent flowers to the office where she worked. Candy, stuffed animals and non-stop texts with the same plea to take him back made things awkward. It soon became unbearable thus Toni’s idea to take some vacation believing he’d eventually move on.

  “Hopefully, he’ll have forgotten all about me when I return.”

  Chrissy hummed under her breath. “At least, keep me posted on your wicked gamer and don’t let any strangers eat you with a bottle of wine.”

  Toni blinked. “What?”

  “Wait!” Chrissy laughed on a scream. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

  Toni rolled her eyes. “I don’t even want to know. I’ll talk with you later. I want to see some of the town. It’s quite different here with some odd happenings thrown in.”

  From the howls of wolves the night before to the late night cackles in the hall, Toni didn’t know what to expect. She would almost swear the statue in front of the library which received a lot of attention had moved. On the day she arrived the man in stone had been kneeling. Today he stood with his right elbow propped on his right knee. She was sure she’d seen a woman talking to him. Other whimsical thoughts crossed her mind too.

  It was probably her imagination since there was no way the little gnomes stationed in front of the market had been laughing as the customers walked by.

  ***

  Being at Simon’s house reminded Drake of all the things he didn’t have. Things he’d wanted when he started his business but never seemed to find the time for. At one hundred and twenty nine he still had a lifetime ahead of him. One far longer than the average mortal but who would he spend those years with? None of the women he crossed paths with would be a good fit for marriage. Most of them were interested in his money and the prestige of being seen with the head of Winston Enterprises. Not once had he taken the time to cultivate a relationship with any of them that expanded beyond the bedroom.

  Tory, Simon’s wife, on the other hand was a perfect fit for his friend. She understood all sides of her husband and accepted him. Simon didn’t look stressed at all with juggling fatherhood and his business. Their marriage, it was easy to see, was a success.

  Tory breezed into the room, her dark hair about her shoulders and brown eyes glowing. The slight flush to her cheeks told their own story. Simon followed behind her with a smug grin on his face. Envy snared Drake.

  Tory paused beside his seat. “It was nice meeting you, Drake. I hope you have time to come back for a meal before you head home to New York.”

  “I’ll try.” Drake wasn’t sure how he’d handle an evening of low key family life. It wasn’t in his repertoire but if he had the chance he’d try.

  Tory gathered the screaming twin boys wearing cowboy hats of all things and stopped to give her husband a steamy kiss before waving to Drake on her way out the door. Simon collapsed on the sofa opposite Drake with a heavy sigh, paying no attention to the small lizard which scampered over the back.

  Drake pointed to the beers on the table between them. “Help yourself.”

  “I will, thanks.” Simon twisted the top off one and took a drink. “I’ve been asking you to come for weeks. What finally changed your mind?”

  Simon knew most of Drake’s issues. His faulty spells, the anxiety and pressure of work. All of it he’d shared in his efforts to find a solution and the werewolf was a good sounding board. Simon ran a business with the same intensity as Drake but without the burnout.

  “She’s here on vacation.”

  No need to explain who she was. Drake spilled the details of his growing desire for Antonia to Simon when he didn’t like the medical non-answers to his problem.

  Simon set his half-empty beer on the table. “In Magic? You’re kidding?”

  Drake shook his head. He never kidded about Antonia. “No.”

  “What are the odds?” Simon mumbled. “Does she know who you are?”

  “Of course not,” Drake returned, wondering if he’d ruined things by bluntly stating his desire for her at lunch.

  Simon frowned. “I mean who you really are.
”

  Drake stiffened followed by a sharp pain shooting up the back of his neck. He rubbed at the throbbing area. “No. Telling a woman you met online that you’re a warlock isn’t exactly normal conversation.”

  Thankfully, Simon seemed to sense he was on edge and changed the subject. “What do you think of Magic so far?”

  Drake stretched an arm across the back of the sofa. “I didn’t have a chance to look around much. The coffee shop is a favorite so far though.”

  It was where he’d met Antonia. Their first face to face. The decadent coffee was a bonus.

  “What about your little problem? Do you have a plan on how to fix that?”

  Sighing, Drake sat forward and cradled the beer bottle between his hands. “My therapist says if I relax everything should come back.” He made finger quotes, grasping the neck of the bottle lightly. “I’m my worst enemy.”

  Simon chuckled, blue eyes alight. “The magic will come back. Be honest, Drake. You work too hard. I was the same way until I settled down.”

  With a vampire no less. Simon had the best of everything. A job he loved and a vibrant family life with a half-vampire wife.

  “Well, that’s why I’m here. To relax.” He remembered his faulty attempt at a spell at the coffee shop. “I’m not sure what I’ll do if I lose that part of me.”

  “You won’t,” Simon assured, rising to his feet. “You’re a warlock descended from a family of warlocks. I’ve never seen anyone weave magic as seamlessly as you do. I don’t think you can lose it even if you wanted to.”

  Drake prayed his friend was right as he set the now empty bottle on the table. The alcohol didn’t help, and with the purity in his bloodline, it would take a lot more liquor to get him to a mind numbing forgetful state.

  “What are you going to do about the girl?” Simon stopped him at the door with the question. His pupils dilated in a sure sign his inner wolf was listening for a response as well.

  Drake rolled his shoulders forward and slid the tips of his fingers into his back pockets. Antonia was hardly a girl. She was a woman full grown with a body he couldn’t stop thinking about. He’d barely mentioned her to anyone else but Simon was a good friend. “We met over coffee. By accident if you can imagine.”

  Simon arched his brows. “And?”

  “We had lunch and made plans for dinner tomorrow,” Drake evaded, unwilling to talk more about the sexual electricity between them. “She seems nice.”

  More than nice. She was beautiful in a witchy way but there was nothing otherworld about her. Antonia Hendricks was as human as possible. One whiff of her peach scented skin was all it took to know. Her appeal was completely natural and proving irresistible to Drake.

  If he thought her personality was addictive via the internet, she was more so in person. Sitting across the table from her at lunch had provided its own set of trouble. Blurting out the vision running through his head probably wasn’t his wisest course of action. Even now, Drake found it hard to regret though. Watching her eyes go round with desire and seeing her nipples poke through her shirt as arousal sent a flush to those pale cheeks more than made up for the risk he’d taken.

  Having lunch with Antonia only made him want to know more about her. Everything. And knowing she felt the same sting of desire did nothing to curb his growing appetite.

  “Nice, huh?” Simon’s smirk spoke volumes. “Good luck on that front too then. For some reason I think you’ll need it.”

  Drake pondered his friend’s words as he headed back toward the center of town. In the beginning, he’d considered having his IT guy hack Antonia’s gaming account to get her true identity, but the thought of invading her privacy in such a manner soured his stomach. Especially since he knew she had no idea her casual online friend was the millionaire business tycoon Drake Winston of Winston Enterprises.

  He focused his attention on his surroundings. Main Street which actually ran right down the middle of the town sported specialty shops on both sides. None of the fancy retail chains Drake was used to but he wasn’t put off by them. Not that he’d be doing any shopping. All of his clothes were custom tailored and anything he wanted he ordered or sent Kent and Ben to purchase.

  Knowing all of that, Magic continued to hold him enthralled. To the casual observer it may seem as if the place was a simple tourist spot except the town was anything but ordinary.

  It was a perfect getaway for Drake. No one from his corporate existence would expect him to be here and if rumors and Simon’s remarks proved true about the strange happenings of the town inhabitants then Drake should be able to fit right in. What was a warlock amidst a place filled with wolves like Simon, vampires, witches and a mix of other things?

  Chapter 4

  Back in his room at the inn, Drake murmured the words for one of his favorite spells, one he’d mastered during college. Instead of a pot filled with steaming coffee, a melted mug with sludge inside appeared on the small desk. He cursed and flung the cup and its contents into the plastic lined wastebasket.

  He dug his fingers into his hair. In all his years he’d never had an issue with his spells or summoning his magic. He studied with less attention then his instructors desired but he learned everything they could teach him. Drake was a master at his craft and brought the same sheer genius to his company.

  Once the money began to roll in, his hours increased until working sixteen to eighteen hour days meant nothing. He got by on four hours of sleep most nights without slowing down and held most of his staff to the same exacting standards. Then six weeks ago his first spell failed.

  When Drake tried to clean his desk at the end of the day by sending the reports to his brief case, he’d ended up with an explosion of papers fluttering around him. In shock, Ben had turned to him with a dazed expression. Drake had gone still.

  Making matters worse, Kent walked in as the last of his flyaway reports settled on the carpeted floor. “What the…?”

  The mishaps continued, getting worse every day. His temple throbbed from sun up to sun down. He developed a tick in his jaw and found himself losing his temper in meeting after meeting. The more his spells and magic failed, the more enraged Drake became. The only thing to calm him down and give him ease was the late night chats with Antonia. He ended up spending half his work day chatting with her about miscellaneous crap. Books, movies, news. Anything to keep the connection with her, a woman who didn’t know anything about him and thus would have no reason to look at him as a failure.

  Things came to a head during an international conference call. Something small and so minor it wouldn’t have registered as a blip on his radar in the past. His overseas manager had held up a rare artifact Drake craved to own. Gil smirked and taunted Drake with details on how he’d gotten it for a steal.

  “You won’t get this one from me, Drake,” Gil had teased.

  Laughing, Drake snapped his fingers and opened his palm.

  Nothing happened.

  Color drained from his face as he witnessed Gil’s surprised expression. How many times had Drake snatched Gil’s prized possessions from his hands with miles and the ocean between them? But in that one fateful moment, he realized something was really, really wrong.

  After much badgering from his assistants, Ben and Kent, Drake went to see a therapist. Dr. Curran was Fae of all things but with his knowledge of magic and the otherworld, Drake hoped he’d be able to help him.

  Hours of sessions later and Brody summarized his issues as stress related. Apparently the good doctor believed Drake pushed himself too hard in magic and at work. He blew out a breath, imagine that.

  He’d always worked long hours and put in longer days if necessary. He thrived on the energy and it fed his need to be the best in any venture he touched. Which also played into why having his magic go faulty on him was such a disaster.

  Drake lived and breathed his abilities. Perhaps he took them for granted but it was hard not to when he could conjure anything he desired with a simply worded spell.

>   But without his magic, who was he? Would he still be able to claim his warlock heritage? His stomach knotted at the possibility. In order to combat the onset of worry, Drake changed his thoughts to his upcoming dinner with Antonia. As he selected the clothes he’d wear tomorrow, a warning triggered in his brain that getting involved with his curvy online friend could be equal to opening himself to a lot more problems then the ones he currently had.

  Thankfully, his phone dinged acting as the perfect distraction. He glanced down at the screen. Ben, bless him, didn’t understand the meaning of downtime and soon Drake found himself immersed in his work.

  At one point his thoughts shifted to Antonia. Did she like flowers? Would it be appropriate to bring them for their dinner? Perhaps a single flower. Something that could be looked at as a token from a friend.

  Drake tried to conjure a single rose. He held the clear image of a yellow closed bud in his mind and ended up with a dead stalk in his hand. The sense of failure threatened to overwhelm. His jaw locked and he returned to his work, ignoring the growing wedge in his chest. Tension crept up his spine but he continued.

  When his eyes strained from working on the small screen, Drake retrieved his tablet from his bag and began reviewing the attachments and proposals.

  ***

  Toni was in love. Everything about Magic, New Mexico drew her deeper in love with the small town and its residents. Every where she went people greeted her with smiles and struck up a conversation. On top of the congeniality of the towns people, there was a fairy like setting to some of the shops.

  “Excuse me, can you help for a second?”

  Toni glanced over her shoulder at a woman smiling in her direction. “Sure.”

  Relief crossed her features. “Great. I’m trying to decide on which dress to by for my anniversary with my husband.”

  Toni checked out the dresses, one hanging from each of the woman’s hands. Both were beautiful and would look great on the blonde. Finally, she pointed at the bright red dress with an asymmetrical hem. “That screams sexy to me, if that’s the vibe you’re going for.”