“Any luck?” Tristan asked, drawing her attention to find him leaning back against the kitchen counter, taking a sip of coffee as his gaze flickered between them.
She watched Shayne place the swords he bought at the faire on the counter before his gaze flickered to her as he began speaking in another language. His brogue thickened with every word only to be taken by surprise when Tristain answered him in the same language, his brogue just as heavy and smooth, like he’d been speaking it since birth.
They continued to talk as Tristan pushed away from the counter and made his way to the table while Ashlyn pulled her phone out of her pocket and discreetly opened a translationapp. She watched as Shayne pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Tristan before he made his way to the kitchen counter and poured a cup of coffee while Ashlyn kept an eye on the app, watching as it began filling with what they were saying only to disappear and try again and-
Language Unknown.
Biting back a sigh, Ashlyn quickly opened a different translation app and watched as it began filling. They continued talking while Shayne scooped sugar into the cup before making his way across the kitchen and handed it to her, taking her by surprise when he leaned down and kissed her forehead before he made his way back to the table.
Tristan tossed the phone back to Shayne and picked up one of the swords as the translator finished and-
Language Not Found.
Damn it!
Biting back a sigh, she watched Tristan pull the sword free from its sheath and examined it, checking its weight before extending the sword in front of him and closed one eye as he looked down the blade the same way she saw the Shayne do it when the blacksmith was showing it to him earlier, making her wonder if it was a guy thing.
“You know my mother found the brochures you left for Winter Falls Tavern on my kitchen counter, right” Tristan said, switching back to English.
“I figured she might,” Shayne said, chuckling as he watched Tristan inspect the sword.
“Thanks to you, we now have reservations in two weeks to celebrate Marty’s graduation and the fact that she was willing to marry me,” Tristan said as he turned the sword over in his hand.
“She did take one for the team, lad,” Shayne pointed out, making his brother’s lips twitch.
“You’re going,” Tristan said with a pointed look at the other sword that had Shayne sighing as he reached for the other sword.
“Let’s see if ye remember anything I taught ye, lad,” Shayne said as he pulled the sword free from its sheath.
With a chuckle, they headed for the back door with their swords in hand while she stood there, telling herself that they weren’t about to do what she thought they were. Curious, Ashlyn followed them into the backyard as they pulled their shirts off and tossed them aside.
She watched as they circled each other, their gazes locked as they casually swung the swords by their sides while she ran her eyes over them, taking in all the similarities. Shayne had dark while Tristan had blonde hair, but they both had green eyes, golden tans, and were devastatingly handsome, and they both loved to glare, Ashlyn thought, her lips twitching as she ran her eyes over Tristan, taking in the muscles flexing in his arms and torso as he moved, the bullet scar just above his right pec and the Celtic tattoos on his chest and arm before she shifted her gaze to Shayne.
He was taller than Tristan, but not by much, had a larger build and his muscles were somehow more defined. He could definitely use a few tattoos, she thought with a wistful sigh as she ran her eyes over his back only to go still when she saw it, a scar on the back of his shoulder right where he’d been hit with an axe in her dream. Frowning, she glanced back up at his face in time to watch his lips twitch seconds before everything took a terrifying turn.
One minute, they were circling each other and the next...
They were moving, swinging their swords only to clash with a terrifying sound that had her stomach dropping and leaving her struggling to remember how to breathe as she watched them fight. They never hesitated, never backed down, and didn’t seemphased by the fact that they were swinging razor-sharp swords at each other.
When she felt her legs threaten to give out on her, Ashlyn blindly reached out and slapped her hand against the side of the house while she watched helplessly as they swung, nearly taking each other’s heads off only to duck out of the way at the last second, swing again, and-
This was nothing like the coordinated fight she saw at the faire.
When Tristan swung his sword and managed to nick Shayne’s bicep, Shayne simply laughed as he shoved his brother away and kept going. She watched as they swung at each other, shoved each other, only to swing their swords seconds before they swung their fists while she stood there, unable to look away as Shayne backhanded Tristan, sending him flying and-
It was at that moment that she realized something important.
They were insane.
CHAPTER 16
“This isn’t what I had in mind when ye said ye’d spend the night with me, lass,” Shayne said as he grabbed the stack of files that fit the criteria Tristan set and placed them down on the coffee table in front of her.
“And yet, this is exactly what I had in mind,” Ashlyn said with a satisfied sigh as she gestured for him to get on with it with a handful of popcorn while he stood there, glaring down at the woman who’d asked him for a drink just so that she could steal his spot on the couch.
“This doesn’t count,” Shayne pointed out as he ran his eyes over her, unable to help but notice how adorable she looked sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on her lap, her legs folded in front of her, giving him a good look at her Chucky socks and letting him know that his soulmate had a soft spot for horror movies.
“We had a deal,” Ashlyn pointed out as he glanced at Tristan to find his brother looking really fucking amused for some reason.
