The Last Witch Hunter (Witch Hunters) (9 page)

Her pussy clenched.
Before the temptation to touch him could overtake her, she slid out of bed. Ronan grumbled and rolled over but did not wake. Nikita undid her hair and went into the bathroom. She squeezed oil into her hand and coated her hair with it. Brushing it through, she considered her options of how to get rid of Ronan. She smiled at herself when she realized how vain she was being. Last night might have been explosive for her but it may have been just what Ronan needed to convince him that she wasn’t his soul mate.

She stuffed her hair into a shower cap and turned on the water.
Stepping under the warm spray, she grabbed her pouf. She added soap and lathered up. The sweet smell of her body wash filled the heated air.

When she reentered the bedroom, Ronan was still sleeping. If she hadn’t had a full night’s sleep, she would have wanted to slap him for resting so easily. She
was putting on her panties when he woke.

“Good morning,” he rumbled, his voice rough and deep from sleep. Nikita suppressed a lust induced shiver.

She pulled out a shirt and jeans. “Good. You’re finally awake. You can go home.”

He chuckled
as he hoisted himself up onto his elbows. “Don’t I at least get breakfast before you throw me out?”

“My breakfast repertoire includes toast and instant coffee,” she informed him to discourage hopes that she was some sort of domestic goddess.

“Then I’ll make you breakfast. How does an omelet sound?”

“It sounds like you’d better go home. I don’t have eggs.”

“Who doesn’t buy eggs? What do you eat?”

“Vegans,” she replied in answer to his first question and then
shrugged. “Whatever’s available.” She wiggled into her jeans. His eyes followed the motion of her breasts. She pulled on her shirt without a bra. They were instruments of torture that she did without whenever she could. “I’m sure you have a busy day ahead of you. Don’t feel obligated to hang around here.”

He stood and stretched
, not in the least self-conscious about his nudity. “I’m between jobs so I’ve got nothing but free time.”

She grunted
, averting her gaze from his naked form. “Perhaps you should seek another occupation.”

He grinned. Approaching until he towered over her, he placed his hands on her hips. His thumbs slid beneath her top. He drew circles on the sensitive skin of her belly. “Nikita, are you a commitmentphobe?”

Her lips curled up in a wicked grin. “Nope. I’ve been committed to hunting witches since I reached eighteen.”

“Say I wasn’t a witch? Then what?”

She tilted her head back and studied him. She was beginning to find his mammoth size incredibly sexy. Like the feel of his big mitts on her. They could probably encircle her entire waist. Must be some throw back to cavewoman days because she certainly did not need a protector. “I would date you, but it wouldn’t last.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have the best track record with relationships. I tend to forget that I’m in them.”

“The men that forgettable?”

“They probably didn’t think so. But yes. My work doesn’t leave a lot of room for cuddle time.”

“It wouldn’t be that way for us. The bond-”

“Why can’t you accept that I’m not witch bonding material?”

“Because you’re my one.”

Nikita rolled her eyes. So much for thinking last night would put an end to the soul mate talk. “You seem like a sweet guy. One of these days, you’re going to find the witch who’ll make sparks fly from your wand.” She winked at him as she stepped out of his embrace. Bending down, she picked up his clothes and handed them to him.

He growled. “You
seem to have an endless supply of anti-witch comments.”

When he just stood there holding his clothes, she snapped. “Why don’t you shower and get dressed? I’ll make that toast for you. If you’re lucky, I might even butter it.”

He held his arms out. “Something wrong with my current attire?”

Her eyes swept over his naked form. He was
all hard muscle and well-proportioned for a man of his size. Quite simply, he was gorgeous. And still aroused. Tearing her gaze away from his erect penis, she held up her hand, pointer finger up. “Remember what I said? You’re tempting but last night was it.”

Ronan dropped his head but not before she saw his smile. “If you say so.”

She glared at him. “What? You think you’re addictive? Let me clue you into something, I may still want you, but unlike a man, I’m not led by my libido. It may take some time, but a few weeks from now, I won’t remember your name.”

“Are you really so cold?”

“My last boyfriend dumped me over the phone when I forgot his birthday. He accused me of being an emotional eunuch.”

Ronan winced. “That must have hurt. What did you say to that?”

She smiled. “I thanked him.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to shower. I want jelly on my toast.”

***

Ronan joined Nikita at the breakfast table. She gave him a cup of coffee, pointed to the sugar, told him the creamer was in the fridge, and plunked down a jar of jelly with a butter knife on top. He topped his toast with a generous gob of strawberry jelly.

The connection between them hummed pleasantly, giving him a happy buzz that made it hard to keep the smile off his face. He knew they would have to reassert it several more times before she became aware of it or before they could communicate telepathically.

He sipped his coffee, analyzing what he knew of her already. Until last night, she’d suffered from insomnia. It was a boost to his ego to know that his lovemaking had given her such a good night’s rest. He could see the difference in her already. Her face glowed with vitality. Her dark eyes were brighter. Even her hair looked shinier.

“What?” she snapped, her signature glare in place.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You have that insipid smile on your face.”

“It’s called afterglow. You have it, too.”

“Do you see me grinning like a Cheshire cat?”

“Deep inside, yes.” He bit into his toast.
She enjoyed making love with him. And though he’d been physically satisfied, he wanted the opportunity to explore her body more, make it last. He suspected that he would have to let Nikita take the lead for it to happen. While she’d also enjoyed their second round of lovemaking, he’d sensed her hesitancy to let him take the dominate position. Damn it, it might be domineering of him, but he wanted to be the one in charge. He’d enjoyed being on top, claiming her as his in the most elemental way possible.

Nikita’s adamance that it would never happen again didn’t perplex him. The bond would ensure that she returned to him.
And the link would also make it possible for him to find her anywhere in the world. Already, he wanted her as much as he’d wanted her last night. Possibly more.

Some of what he was thinking must have shown in his eyes as Nikita watched him warily as she settled into the seat next to him.
But even better, her nipples became hard little points as they pressed against her shirt. The white cotton was thin and he could practically make out the chocolate circles of her areolas. She had beautiful breasts, full and high. He could imagine pouring pancake syrup over them and feasting on her nipples.

Nikita glared at him as s
he added sugar to her coffee and buttered her toast. “My eyes are up here,” she said, tapping her temple.

Ronan grinned. “Do you have any plans today? I was thinking we could go
to Walmart and fill your fridge.”

“There’s a Walmart in this small town? Where are you hiding it?”

He laughed. “No. It’s in the next county, about a twenty minute drive. What do you say?”

“No matter what’s in the fridge, I’m not making you breakfast.”

“That’s fine. I’ll make you breakfast next time.” He wished he’d asked her over to his place for breakfast this morning. He thought fondly of his syrup fantasy.

“Ronan, you have to be the most tenacious man I’ve ever met. Last night was it.”

“I’d be heartbroken if I believed that.” He held her gaze until she looked away. He needed her to know that he was serious about her, about their relationship. But he didn’t want to push her too hard so he decided to let the topic drop. “So, shopping? I need a few things myself.”

“
Yes. I think I’m overfeeding Minx. She’s almost out of food.”

He finished his toast and drained his coffee cup. “I’m going home for a shower and a change of clothes.
” And to have a second breakfast, he added silently. He had a big appetite and toast wasn’t going to cut it. “I’ll be back in about an hour.”
 

Chapter Eight

Nikita opened a carton of eggs. Two were cracked around the middle and another was crushed at the top. It was a bad day for eggs. This was the third carton she’d checked and each one contained damaged eggs. Scowling, she reached for a fourth container. A fifth imperfect dozen had her on the verge of swearing. In the end, she swapped broken eggs for whole ones to make a perfect dozen.

“Hey, aren’t you the young lady I saw with my cousin last night?”

She looked up at a rather handsome guy with thinning dirty blonde hair. His blue eyes were blood shot and watery. “I don’t know. Who’s your cousin?”

“Ronan
McKinley.” He stuck out his hand and smiled. “I’m Brian McKinley.”

She shook his hand.
An elderly lady was trying to get to the eggs so she moved along and Brian followed.

“I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself last night.
Frankly, I was rather surprised to see you with my cousin. He usually likes his ladies taller. More like that blonde I saw him dancing with.”

“And from this, I should infer that your cousin’s dalliance with me is only temporary?”

He stopped in his tracks, his mouth agape. With a few long legged strides, he caught up to her. “Um. I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant at all… Hey, I didn’t catch your name.”

“I didn’t give it. Let me guess, you and Ronan don’t get along?”

“You could say that. You’re a sassy little thing.” He chuckled.

Nikita halted s
o swiftly that he would have barreled right into her if she hadn’t flung out a hand. “What? Just because I’m from the south, I’m supposed to be full of manners and charm.”

“Whoa. I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

All right, so she was being a bitch. But Ronan didn’t like this guy. Despite being a witch, Ronan was a decent man. If she were completely honest with herself, she could admit that he was the nicest man she’d ever met. And she respected his opinion. She got the feeling that Brian had approached her with the intent to stir up trouble for his cousin. She didn’t appreciate someone trying to use her as a pawn for their own personal agenda. And she wasn’t going to stand here and exchange pleasantries with him. Even under the best circumstances, she had no patience for social niceties.

She steered her cart down an aisle that was relatively empty.
A mother with a crying baby was at the other end. Nikita turned to Brian. “Listen, I don’t know what your problem with Ronan is, but I’m not going to be in town much longer, so there’s no need to drag me into the middle of it.”

Brian held up his hands. “I don’t have any problem with him. You’re a beautiful girl.” His eyes flashed over her from head to toe
while he ran his tongue over his dry, cracked bottom lip. Nikita barely managed to suppress a shudder at his lascivious expression. “I just thought I’d warn you so you wouldn’t waste your time.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But, hey, if you want to bury your head in the sand…. Nice meeting you.”

Nikita watched him saunter off through narrowed eyes. The man had a dissolute appearance about him.
It was hard to imagine that that creature was related to Ronan. Other than the love of plaid, they didn’t seem to have anything in common.

Ronan caught up with her as she was surfing the cereal aisle. He dropped a kiss on her forehead as he placed a box of brass hinges and a can of varnish in her cart. She wanted to scowl but the kiss made her insides feel like warm melted chocolate. She hadn’t really had a chance to sort through her emotions about what had happened between them.

It was inconceivable, but since sleeping with him, she felt closer to him. Not in the usual closeness after sex way. She’d never really gotten that. Detaching emotions from sex had never been an issue for her. Not that she slept around. Many of the men that she attracted wanted to coddle and protect her because of her small stature. When they figured out that not only did she not need their protection, she could probably whoop their asses, they viewed her as a threat to their masculinity. But then, she’d never dated anyone as large as Ronan. Ronan would never feel emasculated by her. The man had to duck to get through doorways. He drew looks wherever he went. Spotting him in a crowded room was a breeze.

No, this wasn’t the usual mush she’d heard women say they felt after sex. It was a low key hum. Before he’d kissed her, it was almost as though she’d sensed him approaching her, as though their bodies were in tune.
Damn.