Page 11 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

Of course, she did. What else would she think when she walked in on us mid-lip lock? I snickered to myself thinking of my answer.“No, ma’am, he’s not my boyfriend. He kidnapped me yesterday and I made out with him before kneeing him in the boys and running away.”

What was more, why wasn’t Connor correcting her?

“Connor, I have to. The family needs closure.”

“Leave it to the police,” he replied to me. “Let me ring you up,” he said to her as he started scanning tags and placing the baby clothes into a plastic store bag. “That’ll be ten dollars and eighty-two cents.”

The woman fished in her purse and pulled out a wallet where she tapped her credit card against the card reader to complete the transaction. Connor handed her the bag.

“Have a great rest of your day,” he said to her, then turned back to me expecting her to leave, as if waiting for me to argue.He acted like he’d known me forever and just knew that was how I’d react. That frustrated me to no end. Still, I decided not to give in to the aggression he so readily brought out in me, deciding to answer calmly rather than knee him in the boys for a second time in less than twenty-four hours.

“It’s a cold case,” I said tightly. “They’ve given up. And truthfully, I don’t trust them. There’s this detective who leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“He shouldn’t be leavinganytaste in your mouth,” Connor grumbled.

“Oh—would you stop? It’s a saying. You’re the only man I’ve kissed since Jeffery died two years ago.”

He smiled then, looking incredibly cocky. “Don’t do anything until I get off work.”

I huffed. “Why?”

“Because I have a vested interest in you staying alive.”

He gave way too many mixed signals for my sanity. First, he cut me down, and now he acted as if he actually liked me. What? And as for me? I actually liked that he seemed to like me now. I returned the sentiment, even though he drove me nuts most of the time we’d been in each other’s company.

“What’s going on here, Connor?”

“If you don’t feel it, I’m not telling you.”

“The truth is, I don’t know what I’m feeling. Last night I felt—it’s embarrassing the thought that went through my head. I won’t bore you with the details. That’s why I stopped you. I had to. But this morning, no magic—I… I still feel something. It’s just not that clear.”

Connor looked over to the woman, who still stood by the counter watching us intently. “Store’s closed for lunch.”

The woman startled, but she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out. He walked from around the register to follow her, locking the door behind her. He stomped back over to me,bent down to grab hold of my hand, pulling me behind him through the rest of the store to a door at the back. Most of the back room consisted of a large receiving center, but off to the left, he dragged me toward a hallway.

One door on the left in the hall. Three on the right. He stopped us in front of the door on the left, opening it and dragging me through.

An apartment. He brought me to an apartment. “You live here?” I asked stupidly because clearly, he did.

“I own the building, so it made the most sense. Now, you’re going to tell me about what you were feeling.”

“Connor—heel,” I ordered him. The smile he flashed me turned positively wicked. The next thing I knew, he had me up over his shoulder marching us toward another location. We entered what turned out to be his bedroom, and then I went flying, landing on a huge bed. He followed me down—using his arms to brace himself, looming above me.

“Now… tell me what you were feeling.”

“Connor,” I protested. “You seriously don’t want to hear that. No man wants to hear that from a woman he just met.”

“Spill,” he grumbled.

“Fine.” I flitted my hands in the air to mimic my “fine.” “Last night, as you were kissing me, it felt like we’d known each other forever. It felt like… like… This is humiliating.”

He dropped his mouth to mine. The corded muscles rippled underneath the skin of his strong arms. “What did it feel like?” he growled low, like a sexy, sultry whisper.

Defeated, I gave in. “Like we were meant to be together.”

“Finally,” he said. “Was that so difficult?”

“Excruciating,” I replied. “When our lips aren’t attached, we’re biting each other’s heads off.”

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