Ties That Bind: The Bellum Sisters 3 (paranormal erotic romance) by T. A. Grey

That was fine with him, he preferred it this way. He could watch her. Creep .
    “So what do you call yourself, a witch?”
    She spoke as she started pulling different items out of jars and cabinets. “I practice witchcraft. My powers come from my blood. We loosely use the term 'witch'. After the Salem witch trials in America we started using the term 'practitioner' because it sounded much more innocent to those who didn’t understand.”
    Kearnyn sat back in his seat to watch her work, but that only scooted his ass further off the chair, forcing him to sit damn near erect. He stifled a sigh; he'd lived through worse things than an uncomfortable chair.
    He kept quiet as he watched her work. She moved methodically: opening a thick leather tome to a certain page, grabbing oils and magnets. Today she wore another of those hooded robe-like dresses, only this one was yellow. He liked the look, the color looked amazing on her. Her darker skin and black hair only made the yellow glow around her in perfect contrast.
    “Why do you watch me?” she said in a soft voice.
    Kearnyn hid his surprise by looking down at his feet. “Why are you scared of me?” he countered.
    She dropped the dagger in her hand; it landed on the table with a loud clang. “I...I am not afraid of you.” She grabbed the dagger in a fist and set her jaw as she got back to work. Her dark eyebrows pulled down into a furrow.
    “Your actions show otherwise.” Why was he pursuing this? She looked like a Mayan goddess and he looked like a steroid-junkie meat head. Yet, even as he thought that he knew he wanted to know. Really wanted to know. Hell, maybe under her fear there was the slimmest chance she'd let him take her out. He almost laughed. Yeah, right.
    “I am not afraid of you,” she said again, her voice a bit stronger.
    For some reason he felt the need to push her. He wanted to hear the words from her soft pretty lips. Maybe because he was a glutton for punishment, or maybe actually hearing the words would make his mind shut her off from his thoughts like it should. He stood, and just as he expected, she took a step back, her eyes jumping to his, wide and alert.
    “See, that's fear.”
    Her eyes narrowed on his, then whether realizing it or not, her fingers curled around one of the daggers. That didn't worry him any, the blades hadn't been sharpened yet if she decided to use it.
    “If I tell you will you sit back down?” His eyebrow flew up but he planted his ass back in the tiny seat. She let out an unsteady breath. “Let's just say that once upon a time I was with someone almost as large as you and he hurt me.”
    Kearnyn gripped his thighs to steady himself. He knew he shouldn't, but he had to ask, had to know. “Broke your heart?”
    She laughed, the sound hollow. “Broke more than that.”
    Kearnyn's entire body froze, muscles pulled tight, limbs stilled, even his heart slowed to a steady crashing thud. “When?”
    “Long enough ago,” she said after a minute. She resumed working, but now her hands moved slower like she had trouble concentrating.
    “Is he still alive?” He already had plans in the making. They involved ropes, serrated blades, and a hammer. Good old-fashioned weapons made the best torture devices.
    She shrugged. “No clue. Haven't seen him in years.” She hung her head and sighed. Then she looked right at him with her dark brown eyes. “I guess I need to apologize. See, he was a big man. Not as big as you are but big. I can't help but think of him when I see you. That isn't fair.”
    “I understand.”
    Her eyes widened in surprise, or disbelief. “You do?”
    He nodded once. “I'd like for you to be comfortable around me, Ms. Medina. Is there anything I can do?” He probably sounded desperate, but something in him didn't want to let any chances with her to slip by.
    She thought about it for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Yes, there is! I could touch you!” The thought of her touching him combined with her