Wow! I won second place!

Thank you so much to any and all folks who stopped by to give me your comments and support! Thanks to Ray Sostre for hosting the contest and to Kharisma Rhayne and Dawne Prochilo with No Boundaries Press for sponsoring the contest. I won second place! Here is a small tease from the 2000 words I wrote based on a picture they gave. For the full story please visit the link above.

Joy of the Multiples!

         “Good evening, Dr. Stevens. I’m glad you came.”

          Standing outside her apartment looking unsure, adjusting wire frame glasses, he studied her with aqua blue eyes. “Erika?”

          An amused smile stretched her lips. “No, not Erika.”

Maybe it was the dress. She wore head to toe, black, Chantilly lace, including a mask. Erika favored black for its morbid pretensions. She favored it as an eye catching canvas for lips painted in Cadillac Red and grey eyes.

          “Faith, then?”

          “Wrong again, Doc.”

 Her smile widened. He had no idea.  

          “You’re new, aren’t you?”

          “If you mean ‘new’ in the sense that we haven’t met before, then yes, I’m new. But I’ve been around for some time.”

          “May I ask for an introduction?”

          “I’m Joy.”

She extended a hand with red lacquered nails. He took her greeting with a large, firm grip.

Joy experienced a delicious shiver. Her body tightened. She appreciated men with strong hands and long fingers. A caress to his wrist with her fingertip caused his pulse to jump.

          “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Joy.”

“Please, come in, Dr. Stevens.”

She led him towards the living area with a deliberately provocative swing in her hips, willing him to watch. She turned as they stepped into the room.

Joy watched his face with anticipation, to see his first reaction to the décor. Tawny eyebrows rose, a full, wide mouth went slack, before his features schooled into a professional mask.

Smoke and mirrors was the theme.

Contemporary furniture with gray upholstery and clean lines had been arranged around a low, ebony table. Providing a stage like quality, the flat furniture piece dominated the room, four feet square and a foot off the floor.

Walls covered in charcoal silk brocade were hung with smoked mirrors and huge black-and-white photographs even intervals. The pictures seemed abstract, until the eye focused on the larger than life depictions naked female parts.  

Splashes of red broke the monochrome scheme. Deep red Calla Lilies in a crystal vase, a blood red decanter set on a bar and a red dragon incense burner that wispy strands of patchouli escaped.

 “Interesting room.”

“Glad you like it. Want a drink?” She strolled to the bar.

Dr. Stevens wandered around the room as if deciding where to sit. He would discover no angle existed where an illicit picture couldn’t be viewed. Finally, he settled into a single chair.

“Uh, no, thank you, Joy. I don’t drink when I’m working.”

She gave a blasé shrug and poured herself a healthy drink. Taking the opposite seat, she crossed her legs giving a Basic Instinct flash. Soft lighting glittered off the patent leather, stiletto decorating a dainty foot.

Dr. Stevens cleared his throat.

“I must say your call came as a surprise. Of course, I recognized the voice. I think you know that.” The gaze leveled at Joy dared her to challenge the statement.

She didn’t even try. “Of course.”

“This address isn’t in my case file. It’s an upscale side of town. I was curious what I would find. I take it this is your place? The others are not aware of it?”

Joy took a swallow and chuckled. “Hell no, doctor. I know about them. They don’t know about me.”

“Why not? What purpose do you have?”

“Look around you.” She indicated the expensive and suggestive nature of her home. “I’m the money maker, the manager, the one who keeps everything together. Do you think they could manage without me? Balance a check book? Pay bills? Hold a real job?”

She shook her head dismissively. “Erika and Nancy only work part time for obvious reasons. They can’t shop. They buy the same things and end up with double and don’t know why. Faith is complete recluse. She won’t leave the house. Cable and Taryn are just children. The others, worse.”

“So, you know them all?” Dr. Stevens’ features scrunched in curiosity.

“Yes.”

She could hear the wheels turning in his mind, pondering the implications. “You do seem to know… more than the rest. Where are you when they visit my office?”

Now they were getting into it.

“I’m there, sort of. I hear most of it. Like voices in another room, talking low, enough to get the gist of what you want to do for them.”

“Them, not you?”

“Not me.”

She leveled him a hard stare. Grey eyes reflected back at her in the mirror behind him as ice chips of determination. “I don’t want to be integrated.”

Thanks everyone for your support. Comments are always welcome. As always, Happy Reading!