The Last Witch Hunter (Witch Hunters) by Thayer King

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