Page 9 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

“Simone,” I said back, ten kinds of breathy.

Connor growled at me this time.

“You’re being rude,” I admonished him.

He turned his whole body around in order to glare at me. “I’mbeing rude? You sound like you’re seconds away from ripping your clothes off for the guy and you’re doing it right in front of me. How would youexpectme to react?”

“Stop,” Luc ordered. “You know she can’t help it. The ladies all love me. And you know even I can’t go against the universe on this one.”

“I’m standing right here. You’d think she could control it a little better,” Connor replied. Then Luc did the best thing: He moved his eyes between himself and Connor, the look in them saying, “Brother,please.” As if the idea of anyone finding Connor more attractive than Luc was ridiculous. And sorry Connor, but Luc wasn’t wrong. He had this… this… magnetism that pulled my gaze to him and wouldn’t let go. Not that Connor was anything to sneeze at. The man wasfoinewith a capital F, at least when he wasn’t speaking. The wholeopening of his mouth and letting words outthing diminished the aesthetic. Connordefinitely had the dark, broody thing working in his favor, though.

“Okay, what is he talking about? And what does the universe have to do with anything?” I asked.

Rather than answer, Connor reached his massive man paw out to draw me in close to him. “Honey, go home. I said I’ll be there when I get off work.” Then, I kid you not, he bent in andkissed me. Like he kissed me, kissed me. With tongues and everything. I began to soften. As my heart rate sped up, I leaned into his body, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and neck, and Ikissed him back. This was my first kiss since Jeffery and it felt good. No, it felt phenomenal. I opened my mouth wider for him, drinking in everything he had to offer until I came to my senses and kneed him in the boys.

He tore his mouth away and bent over, cupping his junk in one swift move. “What… was… that… for?” he sputtered out.

I felt bad because I probably went in a little harder than necessary. And Luc, Luc stood off to the side laughing his fool head off.

“Go home before I kill you,” Connor growled.

Yeah, that time I took his warning seriously.

Chapter

Four

Leaving Connor in pain last night didn’t sit so well with me. I had a terrible time sleeping. Tossing and turning something fierce. I probably had bags the size of sleeping bags under my eyes. Still, I needed to apologize. He’d caught me off guard by kissing me, but that didn’t give me the right to be violent, especially since I’d liked the kiss. It felt good. It felt right. Like of anybody in the world, somehow, I was supposed to be kissing Connor.

Once I got up, I made the bed then showered. For some reason, I decided to go with a pretty white sundress with bright-pink hibiscus flowers and vibrant, green leaves, which tied at the shoulders instead of relying on straps, and my cute wedge strappy sandals. I messy-braided my hair and applied light makeup. He might not be so mad at me if he saw that I made an effort before showing up to apologize. The last thing I did was clean out the litter box and leave my precious baby some food,thenI headed to the secondhand shop to see if Connor was working. If he wasn’t, I’d have to do some major groveling to get his address from whoever worked there today.

I happened to be a freaking fantastic baker, but as I’d gotten dressed before coming up with the idea to bring Connor a peaceoffering, I opted to stop at Egor’s Bakery. That man had a way with baklava that was so good, it should have been illegal. Of course, I had no way of knowing if Connor actually liked baklava, but if he didn’t before, he would once he tried Egor’s. It wasthatgood. And like always, I left with way more than any one person could eat in a week. The man certainly knew how to upsell.

The secondhand store looked closed. I pulled into the left-hand turn lane and turned into the parking lot. Then, slinging my purse around my shoulders, I picked up the pink box tied closed with red-and-white-striped twine, said a brief prayer that Connor would actually happen to be inside and that he wouldn’t try to kill me, and pulled on the door handle. It opened.

Gorgeous Connor stood behind the register. His face heated when he looked up from his paperwork at the sound of the bell over the door jingling.

“Burning the candle at both ends?” I asked as my icebreaker.

The heat stayed in his eyes, though he sounded bored. “The other job, Ihaveto do. This one, Iwantto do. It’s my store.”

“And a nice store it is. But if I might suggest some customer service training. You weren’t very nice yesterday.” Okay, I came here to say I’m sorry yet here I was insulting him again. Why did that happen whenever I was in his presence?

He let out a long, slow breath. “What are you doing here, Simone?”

I held up the pink box. “Peace offering?”

Healmostcracked a smile. “You’re unsure if it’s a peace offering?”

“No. It is. I’m just unsure if you want it,” I replied, still standing close to the door should I need a hasty escape.

“I want a lot of things.” He looked at me pointedly and yeah, I felt that in my girly parts.

“Will you hurt me if I bring the box to you? It’sbaklava.”

Connor sort of snicker-sneered. “I’m not the one with a lethal knee, now, am I?”

Okay. But what did he expect me to do? “You kissed me.”

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