Wickedest Witch Read Free

themselves look like anyone they want.”
    If that were true, then what a shame she’d chosen tall and skinny because Ryker preferred his women with a little plush; it made the pumping more comfortable. However, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Ryker still had an itch. “Spell or not, I’m horny. As for her reputation, I know from experience how exaggerated those are. I mean, look at her. She seems harmless.”
    “For now.”
    “Come on, how bad could she be?” And really, what could she do to hurt him? He outweighed her by probably at least eighty pounds. If he couldn’t handle a skinny witch, then he needed a neutering and a frilly dress.
    Barry laughed, a sound he quickly tempered. “ Appearances can be deceiving. Trust me when I say she is just as bad as the rumors indicate. You remember Derek?”
    V aguely—a punk ass thief with some magical skill for cloaking. “What about him?”
    “He dated her for a while, and then one day , he disappeared. Sources say she turned him into a door mat. Or was that a dormouse. I don’t quite recall other than it wasn’t really nice.”
    Ryker put little stock in rumors, especially since there were plenty flying around about him, and while some h eld a semblance of truth, others would rival the tallest tales. Witch or not, I want to get to know her. Something about her is pulling at me. Not to mention his beast hadn’t stopped pacing and chuffing inside since it had scented her. Besides, he liked a challenge. To boldly go where no man dared.
    “Derek’s a wimp,” said Ryker. “A pretty girl like her needs a man—a real man.”
    “And let me guess, you think you’re that guy?” said Barry, rolling his eyes. “Care to wager on it?”
    “Damned straight. What are we playing for?” Ryker found himself perking up from the funk he’d languished in since his return to town.
    “I wager you can’t even get her to smile.”
    A chuckle escaped him . Way too easy. Ryker grinned. “You’re on.”
    “What are we playing for?”
    “I win and you let me drink free for the next week.”
    “Lose and you tell me what happened when you went home.”
    Cocky and confident, Ryker didn’t hesitate slapping his hand against Barry’s. “You’re on. Better prepare to call your beer suppliers. I feel a week long binge coming on.”
    Barry snorted as Ryker strutted his stuff over to the witch.
    Piece of fucking cake.
     

Chapter Two
    T he big brute, who’d eyed her since the moment she walked in, lurched over to the stool alongside her and Evangeline restrained a shudder at the alcoholic stench he emitted. Had he bathed in the beer? Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she tried to ignore his imposing presence, not an easy task.
    Built on the lines of a brick house, the man took up a lot of space, and most of it appeared as muscle, not fat. A point in his favor given she disliked overweight slobs. The stranger might have achieved passably attractive had he at least shaven the bristly shadow that covered his face and run a comb through his shaggy mop of dark hair. Intoxicated, and dressed one step above a vagrant—IE stained plaid shirt buttoned incorrectly with grease-stained, well-wornjean s— he redefined the term diamond in the rough.
    The interest in his bloodshot eyes made her want to sigh. Great. I wonder what lame pickup line he’s going to try. If this weren’t the closest magic friendly bar in town, she’d have stopped popping in for a drink after completing her most recent job, but sometimes, a witch wanted to relax in the company of other people—make that beings—without trying to hide behind a mask of humanity. Not to mention she still hadn’t found an escort for her sister’s wedding and with the date drawing closer, just about any man, or creature, would do. Or not, she thought as she caught a whiff of her new neighbor.
    “Hey there, cutie. I don’t suppose you’d give me a smile?” Her would-be suitor grinned at her engagingly, and while another type