Page 11 of A Touch Charmed

Thora grew up with the legend like everyone else on this island, but she hadn’t seen firsthand what battling the curse had taken out of Wes and Audrey. And that’s back when it was just playing with their minds. None of us knew what would happen with a corporeal attack.

The thought of that liquid smoke touching her made my blood run cold. Wes and Audrey were keeping an eye on her, since they were the only ones who could actually use their powers. They’d been staying next door with Wes’s parents, but they couldn’t watch her all day. They both had jobs and I had this whole week off.

I should’ve sucked it up.

Shame coated the back of my throat as I made my way around the endless sea of bodies clogging up the sidewalks and street. It was early in the day, so it would only get worse from here, thanks to the summer solstice festival, which started tomorrow. The island would be jam-packed with tourists for the next week. The whole summer, really, but this week bordered on insanity. This was why I typically got the hell out of town and on the water.

My shoulder knocked against a pretty brunette with top-heavy lips. The scent of her fruity body spray tickled my nose. I turned to apologize and she grabbed my arm in the worst display of fake-stumbling I’d ever witnessed. I gave her a tight smile and her hand gripped me harder. That was annoying.

“Whoops. Hi there.” Her finger skimmed the inside of my forearm. “It’s so crowded here, it’s a wonder we don’t all knock each other over like bowling pins.”

Zodiac Cove had no shortage of women who came over from the mainland to have a good time. If I’d had this run-in even three weeks ago, I might’ve been game. But ever since Thora came home, fucking her out of my system had lost all its appeal. Not that it ever had that much appeal to begin with. It just made me numb. But numb was preferable to what I’d been left with after she broke it off with me.

The day Wes told me she was back, I finished the cabinets at Dale Samson’s, then went and picked up the first woman I saw. A tourist who’d come over from Boston for a weekend trip. We went back to her hotel room and I couldn’t even get hard.

I hadn’t been that humiliated since the night Thora touched my dick for the first time and I came all over her hand before she got past a single pump. Thank fuck I hadn’t been with a local. I did not need that shit to spread around the island.

I got the tourist off, because I wasn’t a complete asshole, then left. I hadn’t attempted to pick up another woman since. In all the years Thora had been gone, the fire she lit within me hadn’t dimmed one bit. I knew it, and my dick sure as hell knew it too.

The woman I’d nearly knocked over still clung to me, and I pried her fingers off my arm as gently as possible. “It gets a little wild out here this week. Hope you stay on your feet.”

Disappointment marred her features at my brush-off. Her gaze darted to my hand in search of a ring, but I closed my fist and kept walking. I didn’t have to be married to say no, damn. I fully understood that I gave off a certain down-to-fuck vibe, and the fact that I’d done a whole lot of just that over the years didn’t help, but too many people assumed things about me that weren’t anything close to the truth.

After an hour of darting between tourists and being stopped by various residents who had me booked for jobs after the festival, I popped into Constellations to grab a bottle of water and some flowers to take to Thora as a “sorry for kissing you when I knew full well you’d rather gut me and roll my lifeless body into the ocean” gesture. Maybe they’d also have a card to go with that.

As soon as I stepped into the air-conditioned building, I let out a genuine moan of ecstasy. The seventy-year-old cashier blushed. I flashed her a quick grin and made my way to the floral section. Bad timing on my part.

The mayor stood next to a row of potted succulents, his face turning a light shade of purple the moment he caught sight of me. His linen suit remained as crisp and wrinkle-free as ever. He’d probably traded his soul for the power to be limitlessly presentable. I thought about giving him a little finger wave, just to be a cheeky bastard, but the squeaky wheels from people walking their carts by in slow motion set my teeth on edge. Like they hadn’t gotten enough drama at the town hall meeting.

I scooted around him and stopped in front of the daisies. Thora liked simple and hated roses. At least, she had when we’d dated. I didn’t really know what she liked anymore.

The mayor gave me a strained smile and clapped a hand on my shoulder, which no doubt had been intended to send me careening forward, but he miscalculated the amount of muscle working construction gave me. I stood solid as a rock. He peered behind him as he let out a weak “nothing to see here, folks” chuckle for the audience we’d attracted.

“Come on my property again, and I’ll have you dragged out and fed to the dogs at the local shelter.” He kept his stance casual and his voice low enough for only me to hear.

“Good luck with that. Dogs fucking love me.” I picked up a bouquet of daisies and examined them for any wilters. “Anything else?”

“You’re trash. You’ve always been trash and you’re only fooling yourself if you think my daughter will ever give you a second chance.”

Debating between two bouquets, I settled on the one with purple tips. “Up until now, I might’ve agreed with you. But knowing you’re worried enough to try to scare me off just makes me think I might have a shot after all.”

I gave the mayor my best toothpaste ad smile and left him fuming as I took the flowers up to the blushing cashier with an extra spring in my step.

I made it half a block before someone stopped me to ask why I’d punched the mayor in the garden section of the grocery store. Honestly, I was surprised it took that long. The more exaggerated the stories, the faster they seemed to move.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text from Audrey:The star has fallen from the sky

Certain I’d read that wrong, I pulled my phone back and squinted at it. What the hell was she talking about?Are you high? Tsk, tsk. It’s a workday, kitty

That’s supposed to be code for Thora’s in my shop

Okay. That got my attention. Thora must’ve approached Audrey because she had questions. Which meant she’d, at least in part, accepted that she had magic. It didn’t necessarily mean she wanted anything to do with me, but this was a good first step.

I slipped my phone into my back pocket and picked up my pace, practically plowing down anyone who attempted to ask if I’d really put the mayor in a chokehold.

As I passed by the park, I nodded to Donovan, who was caught up in an intense game of checkers with Miles Anthony. Canes shook furiously from both sides as a group of ten old men gathered around them yelling out which moves they should make.

Paige sat with Olivia Beaumont on a nearby bench. They both gave me enthusiastic waves. I really didn’t want to stop and chat, but I didn’t want to come off as rude either. Especially because I’d slept with Paige pretty regularly for a few weeks. A huge fucking mistake. I’d been free and clear of her for almost two months now and didnotwant to give her any encouragement.

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