Page 16 of A Touch Charmed

Neither of them bothered to follow me.

I flung open the door to the guest house and began stuffing my clothes and toiletries into my suitcase. The sob clogging my throat turned to a laugh when I took in the sweaters and socks lining the bottom of my bag. I’d been back for weeks and hadn’t fully unpacked yet. Like I knew my place within their world would never be more than temporary.

As I wheeled my suitcase up the exit path, the house behind me remained dark and quiet. Shadows loomed in the distance, black as the smoke that formed the snake in the forest earlier today. But a different kind of curse hovered over my parents’ home. One of their own making, where they had traded love and laughter for power and appearances.

What a lonely life. I hoped they found it worth it.

There was only one person I could go to who my father couldn’t retaliate against for taking me in. My feet were numb and blistered by the time I wheeled my suitcase six miles to the other side of the island. The sun had set hours ago. If Finn had a woman with him, I’d probably just turn to ash on the spot and blow off the edge of the cliff.

I knocked on his door and he answered shirtless. His body had been always been gorgeous, even when we were younger, but it didn’t compare to the man Finn had grown into. Every inch of him was rock hard and defined. My mouth watered and I hated myself for it. I’d just quit my job, ended a toxic relationship with my father, and moved out of his place. Now was not the time to perv on my ex.

When I didn’t hear anyone else inside, I exhaled. My eyes zeroed in on Finn’s tattoos. More specifically, my drawing. The rest of his sleeve was a series of intricate swirls and geometric shapes that all appeared to be designed around my broken birdcage.

“How do you feel when you’re with me?”

“Free.”

The memory burned behind my eyes. I dropped my suitcase at my sore and tired feet. “Do you still want me to move in?”

He wrapped his arms around me.

And for the first time since I’d been home, I let my tears go.

Chapter 6

Finn

Thoratrembled,hertearssoaking my chest. My muscles burned from the effort of swallowing my rage. Speed flowed through my veins as my heart raced and my palms glowed with a heavy pearlescent light. Within a blink I could be at the mayor’s house, tearing him apart limb by limb. It would’ve been the least he deserved. That fucking asshole made his daughter walk here at night by herself. Anything could’ve happened. The curse could’ve attacked her again and she wouldn’t have had access to her healing powers.

The only thing that stopped me was having Thora in my arms. Every time I’d wanted to go toe-to-toe with the mayor, I always held back. Because being there for Thora when she needed me was the only thing I’d wanted more.

I tilted her chin and held her face between my hands. As I brushed her tears away with my thumbs, I tried not to feel like a complete piece of shit for how hard touching her made me. That was just the magic. I didnotget off on women crying.

“Tell me what happened.” I rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. If I could physically absorb her pain, I would’ve done it in an instant. No questions asked. “What can I do to fix this for you?”

“My father is the reason I got fired from my job in Boston.” Her tears returned, but she willed them back, replacing her pain with anger that lit her eyes on fire. “He owns the company. I had no idea. I don’t know why he brought me back here, and I don’t care. I’m not playing his games anymore. I quit the events coordinator job.”

Fucking Warren Chase. How that slimy piece of shit managed to get the votes for mayor year after year never ceased to amaze me. He put up a good front, no doubt, but he’d pulled enough bullshit over the years that it should’ve had every resident of Zodiac Cove second-guessing his integrity.

“I’m sorry, bluebird.” I grabbed her suitcase and brought it inside. “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like.”

“Thank you.” She rubbed her nose. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go, but as soon as I get another job, I’ll be out of your way. I’m sure you’ve got a life you’d like to get back to.”

She had no clue that the only life I’d ever wanted was with her in this house. Now wasn’t the time to have that conversation though. “Let’s worry about that later.”

I took her suitcase to the bedroom and set it by the closet. Tomorrow, I’d clear out a few drawers for her, but this would do for now. I’d built this place to make it easy enough to add on extra rooms if they were ever needed, but since it was just me, I’d only put up one bedroom to start.

At the door, she paused with her fingers knotted in front of her. “Um…”

“I’m going to take the couch.”

“You don’t have to do that. This is your house and I’m intruding on your space.”

I gripped her arms, rubbing my hands up and down her soft skin. A pearlescent light gleamed from my palms and I tried not to lose focus with how good it felt to touch her. “You’re not intruding. I asked you to move in with me. The couch will be fine. It’s comfortable.”

Her lips parted and her palms glowed crystal clear as she placed them on my chest. A shudder went through me. I couldn’t stop it. I’d always been drawn to Thora, from that first time I saw her in the art room when she was a sophomore and I was a senior. Goddamn, she’d been stunning, even back when she was still growing into herself. She had not been nearly as impressed with me though. She rolled her eyes, like she knew I’d been putting on an act, and went back to ignoring my existence.

Normally, I would’ve walked away right then. I liked girls who liked me. But she’d been furiously sketching in her notebook before I’d interrupted. I’d had no idea Thora was into art. She came across as snobby. The mayor’s daughter who acted like she was better than everyone. The kind of person who had a lot of sycophants, but not many friends. Curiosity had me moving in for a closer look. She instantly pulled her drawing to her chest.

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