Larriane Wills a.k.a. Larion Wills
Author of romance, sci-fi, and fantasy.
Excerpt:
They were in a
circle around her, hooting and laughing as they slowly undressed her. She stood
as still as a wooden carving as they took turns jumping out of the circle to
pull a button loose. Her jacket lay in the dust a few feet from her, and only
one button still held her blouse in place. Before he could stop them, one
jumped forward, flipped the last button free and tore the blouse off.
In Spanish
William roared at them as he leaped from a still-running horse. "Fools! Have you no respect?"
"It is as we always do," one exclaimed
in surprise.
"Not to ladies." He leaned down
and retrieved the woman's blouse. He gave it a violent snap to shake the dust
from it before he held it out to her, but he did not forget the part he played
no matter how angry he was. He switched to English with a heavy accent. "My
pardon this has happened."
Her hand did not
move to accept the blouse. Even though he stood directly in front of her, her
gray, blazing eyes, in a face that challenged the angels in beauty, did not
look at him. Estimating her age to be no more than eighteen at first glance, he
realized she was at least a few years older as he moved, putting himself in
line with her gaze. She very deliberately shifted her eyes away.
"You are
right," he told her quietly. "I am not fit to look upon." He
raised her arm, draped the blouse over it, and with a short bow added, "We
go now."
As he turned,
words from her, cold and hard, stopped him with a jerk. "I will have my
locket back," she said, her contempt cutting like a sword.
"You have stolen from her?" he demanded of
his men.
Never had any of
them seen El Primero angry. The guilty man stepped forward, digging into his
pocket. He kept his eyes to the ground, afraid to face the cold fury, and held
the locket out with a trembling hand. "The
chain is broken."
William turned
the locket in his hand, gold, very old, and beautifully crafted with a filigree
design covering the front. He could understand why the man had taken it and why
she wanted it back.
"Tie it,"
she ordered as William held it out to her.