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I shifted my body so I could stare into his eyes before dramatically closing them, and said softly, “Being a hardworking man…” I paused to take a sneak peek at the man’s rigid jawline.
The first man I had touched crossed his arms against his chest and took two steps toward me, closing any distance we had between us. The uncomfortable closeness had me dropping the other man’s hand and taking a step back
“Lady, how much of a fool do you take me and my brothers for?” He looked at the others—who were all smirking—and then looked around the store with a laugh. “Your readings and crystal balls are nothing but crap.”
Ahh, so the three were brothers. That made sense. I didn’t even need to pretend to be a psychic to see the resemblance in the men’s faces… or their expressions. They all had that arrogant asshole look down pat. And demeaning Granny G’s beautiful store? I wasn’t having any of that shit.
“What?” I gasped, attempting to throw daggers with my eyes to communicate my disgust.
I’d worked my ass off to build on to what Granny G had started and left me, and hearing him call it crap made my fists clench at my sides.
Taking another long look at the men, refusing to concede I had guessed wrong, I said, “Sir, I’m sensing there is a… bar or something down the street that you and your brothers might find more appealing.” Sure I’d scored a direct hit, I smirked.
“Sweetheart, I’msensingyou are full of shit. If you have any magical powers, then I’m Merlin himself,” one of his brothers cut in.
They followed me as I tried to escape their hostility. I’d had enough of them, and I realized there was no way I could fight all three of them. My only hope now was trying to ignore them and act like I didn’t give a fuck… as hard as that was.
“What youareis a liar. You manipulate your way into their wallets and cheat good people out of their money,” one of the men said. His voice was stern, but never once was he yelling.
A wave of fury coursed through my body as I spun on my heels and stared into the most unyielding pair of blue eyes I’d ever seen. Then I paused and noticed they all had the same color eyes. Deep, rich, captivating. They weren’t supposed to challenge me. They weren’t supposed to make me feel like I was a charlatan. They weren’t supposed to be winning.
And they damn well weren’t supposed to make me wonder how those lips would feel against mine. Every single one of them. Three mouths and… fuck! What the fuck was wrong with me? They were complete strangers and assholes. I should be kicking them out of my shop and threatening to call the police, and yet…
I reached for the ruby pendant around my neck. The jewel that was supposed to shield me from negative energy, strengthen me, and give me outstanding leadership qualities didn’t appear to be working. I knew I should dismiss them all and offer my assistance to my other clients, but even after whirling away, something had me turning back. My hand shook as I tried to regain some composure.
“If you don’t believe in witches, spells, and magic, why are you even here? Don’t you boys have someplace else you would rather be?”
“Because we’re here to give you a warning,” the taller of the brothers said. His voice lowered as all the men stared at me with intensity I found intoxicating. “You picked the wrong person to try to con, and we won’t let you fool an innocent girl.”
“What? Who is this girl I supposedly tried to con?” I asked, having no idea who or what he was talking about.
“Kit Barrett. She’s… naïve and easy prey for people like you. You stay away from her.”
So, he was one of ‘those’ men. Men who thought they knew everything. Men who liked to keep the ‘little woman’ in her place. To be honest, I was a bit surprised the Kit I knew had chosen such a Neanderthal to be with. And he brought his brothers along to threaten me?
Stepping closer to him, I stood within inches of this sexy yet infuriating man. Masculinity overpowered my senses, and a crisp smell of pure testosterone had my pulse quickening. Okay, maybe I could understand her choice of boyfriend, but that didn’t keep me from standing up for women everywhere. I also tried not to focus on the fact there were two other men just as sexy in appearance, but also just as infuriating.
“If I remember correctly, Kit is a grown woman who has the right to make her own decisions even though I find her choice of you for a boyfriend questionable. Regardless, I will do and say whatever I choose.” I couldn’t help but give a contemptuous sneer at each of the three in turn.
If looks could kill, I’d be nothing but a crumpled ball on the floor. It was amazing how ice could survive the fire in his eyes, but it did as the glare he gave was so cold it sent shivers down my spine. He leaned closer, pinning me to the floor with nothing more than his gaze.
“Kit is our kid sister. She’s easily taken advantage of, and we’ll not allow someone like you to hurt her.”
Sister.I hate to admit I felt a teensy bit of guilt about the relief of hearing Kit was his sister and not his lover, but then felt a wave of pity for the girl I’d come to know. She had three brothers like these?
I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin, hoping to God I wasn’t revealing how uneasy these men were making me feel. “Like I said, Kit is an adult and, I might add, you all could stand to learn common courtesy from her.”
One of the other brothers grabbed my arm and forced me to look at him. His jaw clenched. “I don’t give a shit about manners. What I care about is my sister. This is the only time we are going to tell you. Leave Kit alone, orwe’llmake damn sure you do. The Barrett Brothers are not people to fuck with. Kit is our family, and the one thing we pride ourselves on is protecting that. Don’t mess with her if you know what’s good for you.”
Had he just threatened me? The Barrett Brothers? Who did he think they were? Did he think saying their name like it was some famous outlaw gang would have me shaking in my boots? Was he kidding me with his action movie warnings? I no longer noticed or cared about the patrons who were staring in awkward silence. Any hope of rebounding from this day was futile. Good looking or not, the ability to make my blood race and my nipples harden notwithstanding, I was not going to let these men disparage my granny’s shop, and I sure as shit was not going to let them bully me.
Iwas not someone to fuck with.
“And how do you plan on doing that? Do you think I’m afraid? I’m done with all of you. It’s a waste of my time trying to talk to you. You aren’t interested in having a conversation; you only want to give ultimatums. So, if you don’t mind, I would like all of you to leave my store. Now,” I demanded.
For the first time since meeting, one of the brothers’ face softened. There was a twinkle in his eye as he took a step closer. He reached out and slowly ran his hand down the length of my arm. As much as I knew I should jerk away, I couldn’t. Neither could I deny that his touch caused my long-denied body to shudder.
What was it about these men?
