Bewitched

As a kid, James Patterson always loved Halloween. I mean, what kid

doesn't

love Halloween?

Of course, there is the obvious -- lots of candy. Next, you're going out "trick or treating" with your friends and you get to be noisy and raucous. You get to wear a fun costume and see what your friends are wearing. You sometimes stay out past your bedtime. Did I mention the candy?

As you get older, there are Halloween parties and you start to notice how some of the

girls

look in their costumes. It becomes less about the candy and more about that.

Over time, Halloween can take on different meanings. You start to enjoy it because it's fun to see a new generation of kids and if you're still a big kid at heart, you attend Halloween parties, drink a little too much and have fun with one of those pretty girls in the sexy costumes. James had always hoped to go home with a

Playboy

bunny. It hadn't happened yet, but a man had to have a dream.

James had another reason for enjoying Halloween and naming it as his favorite holiday, even though one of his ex-girlfriends had sneered and told him it wasn't a "real" holiday. It was to James. His parents always made a big fuss on the 31st of October, because Halloween was also James'

birthday

. He always got a lot of Halloween loot and then came home to even more goodies in the form of

presents

given to him by a very large and generous family. Aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, an adoring family with big Irish hearts and a giving nature made his birthday a delight for a sweet and happy little boy.

James' parents never let him forget the other important reason he shouldn't treasure his birth day. Both of them were pagans and his birthday was also the celebration of Samhain. He had been taught the traditions as a lad and he loved the stories of how his ancestors had celebrated the holiday. He was always very proud of his heritage and Brigid often told her son that he was a "sensitive" who was in tune to the spirits around him. Ever since he was a wee lad, James had made some kind of small offering to the saints who he believed protected him.

James was now a successful illustrator of children's books, so he loved the beauty of the season and all of the customs that went with it. He came from a family of 6 children of which he was the youngest. He was also the last to be married and his father, James Senior and his mother knew the loneliness that infested his sensitive soul. Never had he found the person to share his special day. He was a popular young man with curly, strawberry-blonde hair and a merry twinkle in his eyes, emerald as the isles themselves, yet he remained a bachelor. Far from a confirmed bachelor though, the only gift the saints had not blessed him with was a lifelong companion.

One of his oldest friends had sailed in the same boat as James and had made an odd recommendation. "I went to a matchmaker," Sean told him with nary a trace of embarrassment in his tone. "She made me the promise of a wife in six months and I met Colleen. I've never been happier, she's a wonderful companion, a great cook and ..." Sean's voice dropped "... she's a wildcat in the bedroom!"

James believed that there was more to life than the visual. He had always known that some people could do things others could not explain and so, he sought the woman out. Her shop was in a funky little section of town populated by cafes, bistros, trinket shops, bookstores and other curiosities. He opened the door and entered. The look of the business was eclectic, a bit funky and a bit mod. He went to call out when a young woman emerged. She was tall and blonde, with uncannily beautiful eyes and a fair complexion. Before he found the words to speak, she uttered her own. "I know why you're here, hello to you James," she said as she sat down and beckoned for him to do likewise. "My name is Elspeth and yes, I can help you to find your soul mate."

James had lost his voice as he stared. How had she ...?

Elspeth laughed in a merry way. "It's nothing quite so unusual; Sean called to let me know that you would be coming." Her voice then went low, husky and sensual. "However, in the manner of full disclosure, I

am

a witch." James didn't laugh and she cocked her head in a cute little way. "You aren't surprised?" He shook his head and explained his upbringing.

"Wonderful, it's nice to meet someone with a mind open to spirituality," Elspeth smiled. "I'm going to cast a love spell. It will serve to bring women into your life by opening your soul to the possibility of love."

"I'm open to that, will it be expensive?" James questioned.

Elspeth shook her head and her hair, long and blonde, framed her lovely face. "No, not at all. It might cost you a bundle to date all of these women, but the charm itself is inexpensive." She explained her process and then, with his consent, took him through it. Once they were done, James felt assured somehow that he would be with

his

woman by the anointed time. As the day was done for Elspeth, she asked him to join her for coffee and conversation. "The more I know about you, the more I can cast into the universe to help you and your lover find each other," she explained. "Plus, I am simply

dying

for a cup of Indonesian Sumatra."

He laughed and took her to a café with several blends. She was a charming woman of 28 years, single and the eldest of 4. "I understand your predicament," Elspeth sighed. "You aren't the only one with relationship issues. I dated a string of idiots and if I didn't think I'd suffer bad Karma because of it, I'd curse the lot of them."

He and Elspeth shared 3 cups of coffee together before parting, James promising to keep her posted. It was a promise he knew that he would keep because he had enjoyed her company. How any man could mistreat such a charming and ethereal young woman was a total mystery.

To his astonishment, Elspeth's magic seemed to kick into action the very next day. He ran into Kim Morgan, a girl who had been a few years behind him in high school. She seemed to be very excited to see him. "I had the

biggest

crush on you in high school," she gushed. "I was always hoping that you would ask me out, but you didn't take notice of me -- too young, I guess."

It was hard for James to ignore her now. She was a thirty-something beauty wearing a skimpy top and short-shorts, with a busty 36DD figure and a winning smile. Kim's nature was to flirt and James flirted right back. Before he even realized it, they had a dinner date and for the life of him, James did not remember asking her out.

She showed up for their date in a slinky red dress that left little to the imagination. Standing on her heels to kiss the 6'4" James, the 5'5" blonde purred "I didn't want to leave any doubts as to how the evening would end."

They went to a restaurant of her choosing, because Kim was an apprentice chef and knew all the staff. Kim was lively and bubbly and the food was as superb as she had said it would be. James felt hopeful that things were improving. It was only July so he had lots of time to turn this into a relationship before his favorite time of the year. Perhaps he and the lovely Kim could indulge in a naughty little bacchanal this October? From her aggressive manner, he doubted very much if she would object to a wild sexual frolic with a willing male partner.

After dinner, Kim offered desert of a special kind. "We can have cake and ice cream and coffee or, if you're interested, we can skip all of that and go straight to the bedroom," she offered as they entered her apartment. The slinky red dress slid to the floor with a

shoosh

and she kicked it to one side. Under the dress was a naked Kim -- only spiky red heels remained.

"I assume you know how to treat a lady in bed?" Kym purred seductively. "I like to be a lady in public and a total

slut

in bed, so get your ass over here and fuck me like a whore! Screw me until I pass out after cumming all night!"

James didn't wait for another moment; he got out of his shirt and pants in no time flat. Kim was as aggressive a woman as he had ever been with and willing to do most of the work. She made love like a whore, taking his cock balls-deep, fellating him with gusto and slobbering all over him, being noisy, laughing and playing. When he went down on her lightly-fleeced pussy, she moaned like all the Banshees of Ireland were in the room. The tiny, busty blonde got on top and rode him like he was a stallion, screwing him with vigor. James found her to be a wild little thing and she sure looked good while fucking, blonde hair askew, big tits bouncing and ass rolling as she took his cock. She also seemed to know how to slow down their orgasms. When they did cum, they came loud and proud! She wasn't the kind of lady to take just one fuck, Kim demanded -- and got -- several. She took it doggy style, she fucked him in the shower and she indicated when he returned next time, she would gladly surrender her ass to his plundering cock.

The two new lovers dated for a few weeks and Kim lived up to her sexual promises. The sex continued to be wild and frenetic. She was up for anything, she suggested a threesome, as she was extremely bi-curious. The relationship came to a screeching halt when James identified her annoying habit. In every restaurant or café they went to, Kim picked the meal apart, identifying each and every flaw. It made it so that James could not enjoy dining with her. He liked her, but knew it would only aggravate him more over time. Reluctantly, he said goodbye and wished her well, returning to Elspeth. "One down, more to go," she said over a huge mug of French Mocha coffee. "You're funny and talented, you'll have no problem," she reassured him.

She was right, the spell was still working. A few days later, in that same café, he ran into Holly, an exotic dancer he recognized from a club he'd visited a few times with friends. She was sexy and petite and he remembered how well she had moved, owning the stage. He had tipped her well and wondered if she remembered.

Oh yes, she remembered -- for hours in a nearby hotel room. For hours more at her apartment a few days later. For hours more after that backstage at the club, with him balls-deep in her cunt and her eating out Marguerite, another dancer. The sex was great and endless.

Which was the problem, in a nutshell. Holly was obsessed with sex, they rarely did anything else. She was like a twenty-something guy; it was all about rushing into bed. Holly had issues and even though James liked her, there was no future. Elspeth agreed and as they shared two Chai Lattes, she told him she was putting out positive energy in the universe to bring him happiness and harmony.

Pamela was there almost from the moment that Holly vanished. He had noticed her in the café and found out she was the daughter of the owner. A tall, willowy blonde, she had a perpetual smile and a year-round tan. She seemed fun and lively, although a bit young. However, their several years age difference didn't bother Pam, so James decided it shouldn't bother him.

They shared several nice dinners before the young college student invited him to her tiny apartment. She was a very willing and accommodating lover, with beautiful full breasts and coral-pink nipples. She loved oral, both ways and her lovemaking was slow and tender at first, wild and unrestrained at the end. She liked to tease and please, Pam did, and wore her high pink heels all throughout. James liked the fact that she kept up with everything he did.

They spent almost all of August together, hiking, running, swimming, riding horses and all sorts of activities, ending all of their dates with exhaustive, wonderful sex. Once again, James discovered her fatal flaw -- Pam could outdo him. She was in far better shape than he and she loved being active -- all of the time. There were days when he just wanted to have dinner and go to a movie or talk. Pam was

gogogo

all of the time. He broke it off with her honesty and she understood. He saw her a week later with an attractive black girl and smiled to himself. The young were both resilient and willing to experiment. Elspeth teased him about being old. "I still like an occasional adventure," she said as she sipped on a cup of Earl Grey. "Don't be an old fogey."

Debbie and Christine consumed his September. Busty, petite Debbie was a wonderful companion, a great lover and nasty in bed. She loved sex in all of its permutations. What ended it with them was her apartment. Debbie was, quite possibly, the worst housekeeper James had ever encountered. Being raised by two neat-freak parents, he knew that he could never live with a slob. That one tore him up a bit because he truly liked Debbie and thought had she been able to fix that trait, they might have had a chance. In the end, he fixed her up with his cousin Ian and the two of them clicked immediately.

Christine was a great looking, tall busty redhead with a fiery personality and a sexual

oomph

that a person could not miss. James met her at the mall and it turned out she owned a lingerie store there. She invited him to have coffee with him there and he accepted. She smiled as he looked around and looked at her. "You're picturing me in all of these things, aren't you?" She asked. He admitted that he was. She told him if he waited until closing, the picture would be much more vivid.

It was. They didn't even make dinner; she closed the shop and fucked him in the store, wearing about 6 different outfits. She was lusty, busty and fiery and seemingly insatiable. Her body was made for sex and when he left, James was worn out. This lady had potential ...

... which vanished in a puff of smoke when he went back two days later and found her tearing an employee apart. The vitriol spewing from her mouth ended any hope he had right there and then. When she saw him, she ran to explain, but he wasn't hearing it. To publically humiliate someone like that was beyond James' comprehension.

"Some people are like that," Elspeth sighed as they shared Jamaican Blue Mountain. "I don't get it."

"You aren't," James sighed with her as he added more cream to the wonderful blend. "Every time we've met for coffee, you're cheery and warm, you are upbeat and optimistic and you ..." He looked at the slender blonde and put down his coffee. "You," was the next word out of his mouth.

"Finally, he gets it," Elspeth grinned as she put down her own mug. "I've worn some of my most provocative outfits when I knew you were coming and zip-zero-zilch, not a word from you," she continued. "I was beginning to think I'd have to find a shillelagh and club you with it, you idiot."

"You could have said something," James countered.

Elspeth shook her head. "That's not how this works. I cast a tiny spell to be sure and all the signs agreed -- it should be the two of us. You had to come to the same realization or nothing would ever happen."

James looked at the younger woman with renewed vision. She was wearing a sexy black miniskirt, thigh-high boots and a gauzy black Cami. Her hair was perfectly styled and framed her lovely face. Her eyes were a combination of blue-grey-green and stunning. He hadn't noticed it before, but her figure was spectacular and her skin shone with vitality. She put all of the previous women to shame.

"When should we go on our first date?" He chuckled as she reached across the table and squeezed his hands.

"We've had several," Elspeth laughed. "I live above my store in a two bedroom apartment. I had hoped today would be the day; I intuited it might be and I've prepared. I'm dressed for fun and I promise you a play time you won't soon forget. Shall we?"

James nodded, paid the bill and felt his pulse race as they returned to her home. He sensed his life was about to change forever and it absolutely

terrified

him. He didn't want to make any mistakes with Elspeth; he liked her too much to act the fool. Fortunately, Elspeth wasn't afraid to take control when needed. It was she who stripped him and then did a merry dance to entice him. She was a match for Holly and had an added grace and allure he was thrilled to see. His erection told the story for him. Elspeth wasn't afraid to tease and to let James see her act vulnerable. The two new lovers danced around each other before getting down to business. Nothing was rushed and they kissed, tasted, touched and enjoyed their exploration.

Elspeth wowed her new paramour with her vigor, matching Pamela and several others. The quiet little blonde got quite vocal as she rode him and even more so when he fucked her from behind. She gave as good as she got and her entire body was thrown into the sexual stew. As they began their third lovemaking session of the day, the sun was barely setting. As insane as it might seem to anyone, James knew that he had found his soul mate. The spell his sexy little witch had cast was working and ensorcelled him happily. They got dressed and prepared to go out to dinner. "Italian, a lot of Irish cooking is fattening," Elspeth laughed. He loved Italian; she would get no argument from him.

"What would you like for your birthday?" She asked, knowing it was barely a month away. Elspeth knew whatever it would be; the gift would contain both something from the heart and from the body as well.

"Does my sexy witch happen to own a sexy witch's

costume?

" He asked, envisioning a slinky black dress, high heels and a jaunty witch's cap.

"She might," she teased as they kissed before leaving for their meal. The love magic still surrounded the pair of them and would for all the years to come.

Dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York.