Page 45 of Charmed, I'm Sure
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I switched on the flashlight and headed toward my office, exhaling a heavy sigh as I slipped through the door. There had to be a flashlightsomewhere. But after drawer after drawer yielded nothing, I sank into my chair with a groan.
“Find one?” Taylor called from down the hall.
“No. You?”
“No. It looks like there are emergency lights, but they should’ve turned on when the power went out.”
Fucking hell. I’d completely forgotten about those stupid things. I hadn’t needed them in the past, having magic on my side, but hindsight was twenty-twenty, I guess.
Taking a deep breath, I muttered an illumination incantation, releasing a tendril of magic to kick-start the emergency lights—crossing my fingers that it worked since I’d never bothered to see if they even functioned. A faint glow filtered down the hall and into my office, followed by a yelp and a crash that had me leaping from my chair.
“Taylor? What happened—” I slapped a hand over my mouth,desperatelytrying to stifle the laughter bubbling in my throat.
Taylor—who was now sitting on the floor surrounded by bowls and cake tins—pointed an accusatory finger at me, his brows knitted together as a smile threatened to break free. “Don’t. You. Dare.”
The tiniest chuckle escaped my lips, and his eyes widened.
“Magnolia,” he growled, attempting to push himself up from the floor. But every move he made sent metal clattering against metal, creating a symphony ofclangsthat filled the space.
I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t hold back any longer. My laughter erupted from my chest, intensifying when he nearly slipped on a bowl behind him.
My stomach cramped, my cheeks ached, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I leaned against the counter for support.
When he finally found his footing, his eyes locked onto mine, retribution gleaming in their sapphire depths as a cocky smirk played at the corner of his lips. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“What?” I gasped through my hysteria.
Carefully navigating the scattered baking supplies, Taylor began to stalk toward me. My laughter faded as I swallowed hard, my heart pounding as his eyes burned into mine. I felt like a deer caught in headlights, rooted to the spot by the flames in his gaze.
“Taylor,” I breathed, finally finding my voice and willing my feet to move.
“You want to laugh, sunshine? I’ll give you something to laugh about.”
“Taylor… what… what are you doing?” I asked as he slowly advanced.
“Are you ticklish, Magnolia?” he asked, tilting his head slightly as that smirk deepened.
“What? No.” My eyes widened like a full moon on a clear night. When my brain finally caught up, my feet finally started moving. “Nononononono.Taylor,” I admonished, holding my hands out as if warding off a wild animal.
“Magnolia,” he said my name in a tone heavy with the promise of torture.
No one in their right mind liked to be tickled, but the butterflies in my stomach hadn’t received the memo because they were currently taking flight, performing acrobatics.
With each step I took back, Taylor advanced. I hadn’t realized we’d rounded the entire island until my heel struck a bowl, the sound ringing through the quiet and pulling my focus for the briefest moment.
But that second was all he needed, and he pounced.
Strong and determined, yet still gentle, his fingers danced along my sides, sending me into a fit of giggles. When a snort—unbidden and without my permission—escaped, I clamped my hands over my mouth and shut my eyes tight.
Taylor’s hands stilled on my waist, and I felt him lean closer, his breath warm against my ear as he whispered, “Did you justsnort, sunshine?”
Oh, ruler of the underworld. Open your depths and swallow me whole, because there is no way in hell I can face him after that absurd sound came from my face holes.
Taylor
Magnolia’s face could make a red rose envious, and it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. Her hands shifted from covering her mouth to completely shielding her face as she thudded her head against my chest.
“Mags, baby. Look at me,” I said with a soft chuckle. When she simply shook her head, I gently grabbed her wrists and nudged her head away from my chest. “Why are you hiding?”
