Kiss Me Deadly: Tales of a Paranormal Romance

“And you don’t want them to get the bracelet.”

“Nope. They got wind of me having it, and they’ve been tracking me for days. I was fine inside the magic store since everything inside was protected with a magical ward.”

“You were hiding out in there?”

He nodded. “The owner had no idea. I just sneaked in and made myself at home. Not bad. Lousy food, but not bad. That woman who gave me to you? She seems like a bitch on the surface, but she’s actually really nice when there’s nobody there but the animals.” He sighed. “Thought I was okay for a while, but then you had to single me out.”

“‘Half-dead runt,’” I repeated what Mrs. Timmons had said about him.

“It’s a look I was trying to perfect. Who knew that was your type?”

My type. I suppose you could say that.

He didn’t look like a runt at the moment. In fact, he was almost a whole foot taller than me, so that put him at a few inches over six feet. He wasn’t hugely muscular, but he was solid and lean. My brother’s clothes didn’t fit him perfectly, but they looked pretty good, all things considered.

“Yes?” he asked, making me realize that I was openly checking him out.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing.”

Owen swore under his breath, his eyes now on the sidewalk ahead of us. I looked with alarm at what had caused this reaction. Someone stood there, leaning against the fence next to the sidewalk as if waiting for our approach.

He was tall, lean, with tawny-colored hair a lot like Owen’s. Only this guy was easily a few years older.

“Brother,” he said, and a wide grin spread over his face. “Long time no see.”

I jumped when I felt Owen’s hand on the small of my back, and he leaned toward me to whisper, “Play along, please, or this is going to go badly.”

He then pulled me fully against him until I was pressed against his hip, his hand sliding around to my side. “Jeremy.”

“Is that any greeting for me?”

“Sorry, I guess after our last brotherly chat I’m not really feeling the love.” Jeremy spread his hands. “It had to be done, you know that.”

“Right.” There was a tightness in Owen’s voice.

“Who’s she?” Jeremy nodded at me.

“This is Brenda,” Owen said. “She’s ... my girlfriend.”

I raised my eyebrows with surprise. Girlfriend?

“She’s a witch,” Jeremy said. “I can sense it.”

“Your point?”

“No point.” Jeremy drew closer, his gaze assessing me from feet to face. “So you’re dating my little brother, are you?”

Play along. Owen had nearly begged me a moment ago.

“I ... am. Yes, that’s right.”

“Pretty little thing.” He grinned. “Owen has good taste. Who knew?”

“Listen, Brenda, I’ll catch up with you in a sec, okay?” Owen said, leaning closer. “Just go on ahead. I need to talk to my brother alone for a minute.”

“Okay, I’ll just—” But I couldn’t finish my sentence because Owen kissed me, taking my breath completely away. His lips felt soft, but a bit demanding, as if he wanted some sort of response from me. I kissed him back, confused by what was going on, confused by how good this felt.

Owen pulled back from me after a moment, and there was confusion on his face as well, his brows drawn together. I touched my mouth with my fingertips.

Good kiss. Very, very good kiss. By the look on his face, I think he might have agreed with me.

“Get a room,” Jeremy said dryly.

Owen gave me a gentle shove to propel me a little down the sidewalk. I “played along” and started walking away.

One thing I did learn when it came to using my so-called natural witchcraft was how to eavesdrop at a distance. And, yes, I had paid attention to that lesson since it helped me to listen in to my parent’s hushed arguments just before they separated. It eased my mind a little that they weren’t divorcing because of me. Although, it didn’t ease my mind that much. Divorce sucked, but at least my parents seemed much happier now. Good friends, but lousy spouses. That was how they put it.

I walked without looking backward, but I focused on tapping into that eavesdropping ability.

“I hear you’ve acquired a little something shiny,” Jeremy said. I was at least fifty feet away by now, but I could hear him as clearly as if I was still standing beside Owen.

“Who told you that?”

“A little bird.” There was a smile in Jeremy’s voice. “You think that will appeal to Stan’s sensibilities, do you?”

“Come on.” There was a catch of emotion in Owen’s words now. “You know how badly I want back in the pack. I don’t understand why you’re not helping me.”

“Because I don’t want you there. Mom was the only one who thought you had a home there. And now that she’s gone—”

“Yeah, I know. You never wanted me around in the first place. Do you honestly think I’d be competition to you? I’m not interested in being alpha—”

“When Stan dies, I’m alpha,” Jeremy said, and there was a growl to his voice. “And after me, you’re next in line and that would cause problems.”

“I wouldn’t fight you for it.”

“That’s just a chance I don’t want to take. Because you know what? You’d lose. And I’d rather not have to kill my own brother if I can help it.” He was quiet for a moment. “But I will if I have to.”

Owen exhaled shakily. “I don’t have anyone I can depend on out here. Without the pack, I have no family. I have nothing.”

“Yeah, well, I guess that’s fitting.” Jeremy’s voice was cold. “You are nothing. Mom told me you were a mistake she wished she hadn’t made when she cheated on Stan. It’s time you accepted that and stopped trying to buy your way back in with stolen jewelry. You’re almost eighteen. Time to find your own life and get the hell away from mine.”

I wondered if it had something to do with the bonding spell, but I could actually feel Owen’s emotions then. His brother’s words were like a physical blow to him.

I couldn’t help but hurt for him. I didn’t know much about him at all, but I didn’t need to. He was in trouble. He’d been kicked out of his shifter pack—his “family”—after his mother’s death. Maybe she was the only one who protected him from the brother who just flat-out didn’t want him around. Some brother. My own brother was a thousand miles away at college right now, but I knew—despite our many differences and disagreements—that he’d do anything for me.

“I’m still going to Stan, and you can’t stop me,” Owen said after a moment. His voice had grown stronger. He wasn’t backing down. “He’ll listen to me. The bracelet is only to buy enough time to explain things to him. He won’t refuse. The thing’s worth a lot of money, and I know he likes money. He’ll see that it’s what Mom would have wanted.”

“Stan’s my dad, not yours. All you are is an unwanted little bastard. Now why don’t you go back to your pretty little witch girlfriend, consider yourself lucky that somebody wants to be around you, and stay the hell out of my life and out of my pack.”

Again, there was that sharp twist of pain I felt coming from Owen. His brother’s words hurt him deeply and made him feel completely and utterly alone. I kept walking, but I realized I was now crying. I wiped the tears off my cheeks.

I stopped eavesdropping, cutting it off as if mentally hanging up a phone. I walked and walked before I looked over my shoulder. Owen wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

I didn’t stop till I got to school. I didn’t see Owen again, although for the rest of the day it was as if I could