Page 66 of Cursed Love
“Holy shit!” Brandy jumped up from the couch. Her wide eyes studied him as if it were her first time seeing him. “You too?”
“I felt it too,” Ethan said, rubbing his cheek as he considered the new information.
“Do you think the others might have magic as well?” Peter asked Ryan.
Ryan shook his head. “No idea. We’d have to test each of them.”
“I never noticed anything before,” Ethan told Brandy.
She shook her head slowly as her eyes met Junior’s again. “Me either.”
“You didn’t know what to look for before,” Ryan told them.
Junior stood and turned around, looking at everyone. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Brandy stepped forward and grabbed his hand. “You also have magic!”
“What the hell are you talking about? No, I don’t. I’ve never done any of the stuff Brandy can do.”
“Yeah, the thing about magic is we can sense it. You do security stuff, so you understand forensics. When magic is used, a fingerprint of sorts is left or emitted. The more you wanted Brandy to come stay with you, the more magic you pushed out. Let me ask you this: In your line of work, when you try to ask or persuade someone to do something, do they do it?”
“Um…”
Ethan stood and asked, “Better yet, can you think of a time where theydidn’tdo something you asked?”
Ryan nodded, liking the way Ethan was going. They gave Junior a minute as he stared into space.
Grabbing the back of his neck, he studied the ceiling as he released a frustrated groan. “No.”
“My guess? You have the power of suggestion,” Ryan said. “I haven’t actually met a person with it, but I’ve heard of people who’ve harnessed it. It’s a tricky power though.”
Brandy wrapped her arms around Junior’s waist and consoled him the best she could. The simple action made him think of the baby growing inside her. He had screwed the pooch by getting her pregnant, especially before figuring out how to remove the curse. He would get his fill of her body while he could because when the baby came, he would do everything possible to not get her pregnant again.
The idea of becoming a father had changed drastically for him since meeting Brandy. Ryan had not lied when he told her he didn’t want to force their magical life and ties onto a child. Now, he considered how Brandy’s parents had gifted her with normalcy by binding her powers. Unlike her parents, he would make sure the child knew it would happen. Brandy’s parents left her as a sitting duck, especially with what a remarkable witch she turned out to be. He doubted she had tapped into the extent of her power yet.
“Excuse me?” Junior asked.
Ryan must have missed something important.
Peter sighed. “I said… we understand you want to protect her, but she needs to stay with us. You can’t protect her like we can.”
Junior was in Peter’s face before anyone blinked. “What makes you think you can do a better job than the people who love her and would give up their lives for her?”
Ryan did not take offense to Junior’s words. His loyalty and love came from a good place. The only problem was he continued running his mouth.
“What makes a gym owner and her boyfriend better at protecting her? Especially one whose clientele straddles the law? A bunch of criminals—”
Peter’s growl reverberated through the room. His need to protect his pack and stand up to anyone who dared challenge them trumped anything else. Peter’s glowing eyes were the icing on the cake.
Ryan pulled Brandy toward him, away from the danger. Junior stared, slack-jawed at what was obviously something outside his comfort zone.
“You only getonewarning, and you can thank your sister for it. My business andclientelehavenothingto do with you. As far as Brandy?” Peter released a deadly growl, never losing sight of Junior’s eyes. “I will protect her and her baby with mylife…”
Brandy squeaked and tore her attention from the two men. Her fingers dug into Ryan.
Junior snapped out of Peter’s terror-inducing haze and faced them. “Baby?”
Chapter 27
