The Last Witch Hunter (Witch Hunters) (10 page)

He couldn’t be right. She could not be this man’s soul mate. Nature would not be that cruel.

“What are you hunting for?” he asked after she’d frozen in place in front of a box of rice cereal.

She took a deep breath and ignored the panicked drumbeat of her heart. “I can’t recall the name. Listen, I met your cousin.”

“Brian?” He did a full circle. “Where?”

“He’s probably gone. Told me I wasn’t your type.”

Ronan grunted. “So you’re different. We already know that every girl before you was a practice run. You’re my little ray of sunshine,” he said with a grin that was only slightly sarcastic.

“Ha, ha.” She left the aisle without picking up any cereal and headed for the meat section.
Ronan began browsing the steaks. “So what’s the cause of the friction with you and Brian?”

He arched a brow and tossed a package of steaks in the cart. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

“Well, of course, he’s an ass, but with family, one tends to overlook that.”

Ronan pivoted away from the assortment of meats to look at her. He growled, “Did he say something to offend you?”

“Down boy. If anything I was more offensive to him than he was to me, but I do love to put up a good offense.” She grinned and patted him on the ass. “Good boy.” She liked how he’d immediately wanted to jump to her defense. And that was a nice firm ass. Ronan filled out his jeans to a drool-worthy effect.

He grunted.
“What do you want for dinner?”

“Who says I’m having dinner with you?”

“I’m cooking.”

She was getting tired of her own specialty—canned soup. “Fine, but don’t expect any favors after.” Ronan’s grin was distinctively w
icked as he strode away from her toward the seafood. “I mean it,” she called after him. “I mean it,” she said again for herself, but she still had difficulty tearing her eyes off his thick muscled thighs and legs. And what that man did for plaid and red hair was just sinful.

On the way home, Ronan received a business call, but he assured her he would be back in time to prepare dinner. Mama Skye called soon after she arrived and said that Mrs. Williams would be home by the first of the next week. Nikita spent the afternoon cleaning. She wasn’t a slob but still thought the bathroom and kitchen areas could use some freshening. She dusted the guestroom she had been using. When she finished, Minx was meowing at the door. Minx was an indoor and outdoor cat. While she retired indoors at night, she made several sojourns out during the day.

Nikita opened the door and followed the cat outside. It was only five but the sky was already growing dark.
Minx bounded down the steps and circled the porch. She was out of sight in seconds. Nikita leaned against the railing to await her return.

All was quiet over at Ronan’s house. The lights were out and she hadn’t heard the roar of his truck
’s engine. In a matter of days, he would no longer be a problem. No more trying to convince him that she wasn’t his mate. He wouldn’t be pestering her with excuses to get into her house to see her. She wouldn’t have to be awakened by his mowing his lawn and Mrs. Williams’ lawn shirtless despite the fact that she knew it had to burn his skin. Or maybe he had some witch spell to protect himself? That would explain it.

She took a deep breath. Yeah, she could do without that.
And she could stand a few days of not staring up into his beautiful blue-green eyes and his ridiculously handsome face. Yep, she would take a mini-vacation and then go back to life as usual.
Working at the family bakery occasionally, but mostly anticipating the next call of suspicious activity. Spending her nights and weekends alone with the exception of an occasional short-lived relationship.

Nikita swallowed. The thought of being with another man sickened her.
She pressed her fingers to her brow. What had Ronan done to her?

A sudden loud yowl drew her attention to the front lawn.
Minx was a dark silhouette sitting in the middle of the yard. Nikita frowned at Minx. “Here, kitty,” she said, moving to the stairs. Instead of coming, Minx lifted a paw and cleaned it casually. Nikita sighed. She couldn’t leave Minx outside at night. There were a few feral cats and some loose dogs in town.

As she was approaching, she caught sight of movement at the corner of the porch. She turned and saw it was Minx. By this point, she was only a few steps away from the Minx look-a-like. Now that she was closer, she could see that the other cat was slightly larger with longer fur. Also, its eyes were green instead of gold. Minx bared her fangs and hissed at the interloper. With one last lick of its paw, the trespasser loped off at a leisurely pace.

Nikita shook her head. “Cats.” It was odd that the stray didn’t run off when she approached. Scooping up Minx, she returned indoors. No sooner had the screen door closed behind her than she heard a truck pull up in Ronan’s driveway. She peeped out the window. It was a small truck. The color was dark but indistinguishable in the evening light.

“Good grief,” Nikita muttered to herself, “I’m turning into my grandmother. Sitting around on porches, peeping out of windows to see what’s going on in my neighbor’s yard.”
Minx wriggled in her arms and she allowed her to go free. When she straightened she realized that her black turtleneck was covered in white cat hair from Minx’s belly. “Ugh.”

She tugged the furry shirt over her head on the way up the stairs. She’d already packed many of her clothes when she was cleaning earlier, but she found an eggplant fuzzy sweater near the top of her suitcase. The sweater had a cowl neck and short sleeves. She pulled it over her head and then grabbed up her hair brush. For tonight, she’d left her hair loose and it fell in waves well below her shoulders. She
usually kept it braided because it could become a nuisance and a liability when she was kicking ass.

She was running her brush through her mane for the last time when she heard the doorbell ring. She still hadn’t heard the distinctive roar of Ronan’s truck turning into his driveway. Minx sat in front of the d
oor. Nikita was sure that Minx must have been a dog in a previous life.

Ronan’s cousin Brian stood on the other side of the screen door, his face and hands pressed up against the glass. He grinned when he spotted her.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want?”

“Is my cousin in there? He’s not over at his place.”

“No. He’s working.”

Brian opened the door. “Oh. I really need to talk to him. Do you mind if I wait here for him?” He started to cross the threshold then stopped.
His face paled and then reddened as he doubled over coughing. “What the hell?”

Nikita made no move to help him. She knew he wasn’t a witch because he hadn’t asked permission before attempting to enter. But that he’d planned to come in uninvited kept her rooted to the spot.
There was something off about Brian. He made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention.

Brian was making deep, chest rattling coughs that made Nikita fear he was going to cough up a lung. Finally, he stepped back and the coughing eased before ceasing altogether.
“Could you-could you bring me a glass of water?”

“Sure.” She raced off to the kitchen and filled a glass from the sink. He still held the door open and she held the glass out to him. But when he tried to cross the threshold, his features twisted in pain.

Brian released the door and moved to the railing. He inhaled loudly. “Could you bring the glass out to me?”

Nikita touched the handle, prepared to push the door open. Pausing, she studied the frame.
“No, I don’t think so.”

He coughed a few times but it lacked the intensity of his previous hacking.
“Please.”

“Mm. Nope. Not buying it.
”

“That’s cold-hearted. I’m your man’s cousin
.”

She drained the entire glass in a gulp and sat it on a table next to the door. Expelling
an exaggerated sigh, she said, “That really hit the spot.”

Brian scowled. “You can’t stay in there forever.”

She arched a brow. “Are you threatening be, Brian?”

Growling he rushed forward and slammed his palms on the glass separating them.
It rattled the frame and Minx jerked, emitting a sound between a bark and a meow. His eyes were hard and filled with rage. For a change, he wasn’t hiding behind a polite façade. “You’re an uppity little piece. You need to learn to respect your betters.”

“You’re lucky I don’t want to get your blood on my sweater. You should leave before I change my mind.”

He scoffed. “My cousin isn’t doing his duty. That shouldn’t surprise me. But I’ll teach you to how to treat a man. Might even let my cousin watch.” He moved his hips in a lewd thrusting gesture then laughed. “Though I’ve got to say, I’m curious to see the two of you together. Must be like fucking porn.”

Nikita was on to his game. He was hoping to make her so angry that she stormed out to confront him. But she hadn’t been lying. She didn’t want to get
his blood on her sweater. It was one of her favorites and it was expensive.

“Do me a favor, huh? Film it. Does he spank you? I bet that little brown ass of yours-”

“Hold that thought. I’m going to go change into a t-shirt.” She was halfway up the stairs when she heard the roar of Ronan’s engine.

“Shit,” Brian gritted out.
“This isn’t over bitch.” Nikita turned in time enough to see him fleeing the porch and racing across the yard to his vehicle. The weasel managed to get in his truck and disappear down the street while Ronan parked his truck in the garage.

Nikita closed and locked the door behind her. Though from what she’d just seen with Brian, she suspected locking up was
redundant. She joined Ronan in his driveway. He greeted her with a kiss to her forehead. “Who was here?”

“Your charming cousin.”

“Why would he come to see me?”

“He claimed that he needed to talk to you, but he when he suddenly grew ill when he tried to come into the house.” She arched a brow. “You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”

He didn’t appear the slightest bit abashed at being caught. “I placed protective wards on the house. No person who means you harm can enter. But I didn’t do it just for you. I did it for Mrs. Williams, too. And it’s a good thing, too.” He pulled her into a hug before she could protect. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why Brian would want to hurt you. Unless he was going to attempt to seduce you away from me. I told him that you were my one.”

“Gah!” Angry, she fought her way out of his arms. “When are you going to accept that that is impossible?”

“Why are you so mad?” he asked, his tone mild.

“Because!” She shoved at him. “It can’t
happen. No matter how much you or I want it, won’t make it so!”

He smiled slowly. “Are you saying you want it to be so, Nikita?”

She glared at him. He would focus on that. “Go to hell.”

“You’re so sweet.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to have this conversation with him again. “What are you going to do about your cousin? After I’m gone, he’s sure to find another target. He may decide to come after you directly.”

Ronan took her hand and led her into his house. “I doubt it. Brian has proven himself to be a coward by going after you in the first place. You’re an easier target for him. I’m larger and a witch. He wouldn’t stand a chance. I’ll talk to Uncle Hugh and get Brian’s address. I’ll track him down tomorrow morning, but you should probably spend the night with me.”

“Nice try. I don’t need your protection.”

He shrugged. “You may not, but that’s not going to stop me. You’re mine and I protect what’s mine.”

It was a caveman attitude and one she should not encourage. Yet she couldn’t control the blossoming of warmth deep in her heart at the depth of his caring. She couldn’t deny that it felt good to know someone was looking out for her. And then she was remembered. She would be leaving on Monday.

“Well, you won’
t have to worry about me much longer. I received a call from my grandmother. I’m out of here on Monday.” She expected a volatile reaction of some sort. What she received instead was a nod. Nikita stared at him through narrowed eyes. “That’s it?”

“What?” A smug grin curling his lips, he backed into the kitchen. He ducked his head into the refrigerator and emerged with a package of steaks.
The man lived on red meat. “Can I offer you a glass of wine?”

“
Shove it. I tell you I’m leaving and you don’t seem to care. Despite telling all and sundry that I’m your soul mate!”

He ripped the plastic off the Styrofoam tray and dumped the steaks onto a plate. “You are.”

Taking a deep breath and counting to ten to stop herself from yelling at him, Nikita glared at him. “Listen, you-you—“

“Red-headed, warty nosed broom rider?” he supplied
, glancing up as he seasoned the meat with sea salt. “It took you long enough to run out of witch slurs.”

“You’re in a disgustingly happy mood. Stop it. It’s revolting.”

“Want to know why I’m so happy?”