Page 4 of A Touch Enchanted

“Thanks, small fry.” Finn slung an arm over my shoulders and gave me a side hug.

Donovan cleared his throat. “You said there was something going on at the beach?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah.” Finn’s entire frame became animated. “Now that the cave is destroyed, the curse appears to have gone underwater. It just washed a whole fleet of fish onshore.”

Donovan and I glanced at each other. A worry line creased his brow.

If the curse had set up shop on the beach, that meant Finn had been right. The curse was definitely coming for us next. And Donovan and I had no idea how to handle it because we hadn’t done a damn thing to practice using our magic. Based on the epic disaster that had happened tonight, the only skill we had at our disposal was an insane amount of chemistry. Too bad we couldn’t fuck our way out of the curse.

The timer in my kitchen beeped, startling everyone in my cramped living room. I excused myself to shut off the oven and set my cookie sheet filled with Fimo beads on the stove to cool. Going down to the beach would set me back by another hour or two, but I guessed that was one of the perks of being my own boss. I could take the time where I needed it.

I toed on my sandals next to the door and grabbed my hoodie from the back of my dining room chair, slipping it over my head. “We should go check it out.”

I had no desire to touch Donovan again. The rejection that had been on the tip of his tongue before I shut him down still set my teeth on edge. I didn’t even want him under normal circumstances. It was just the magic. But that didn’t make it sting any less.

Finn and Thora headed down the stairs that would take us to the parking lot behind the credit union. A wasted blacktop in the summer, when cars weren’t allowed. I’d set up the area with a plastic kiddie pool and weighted inflatable palm trees. My private oasis. Rafe thought it was hilarious, but it was the perfect place to relax when I didn’t want to be crowded by the tourists on the beach.

As I moved to follow Finn and Thora out the door, Donovan gripped my elbow. “Hold on a second. We still need to talk.”

I had no doubt he wanted to talk about what happened between us tonight, but I’d already stuffed that into the recess of my mind where I kept the rest of my worst memories, like the time I’d played spin the bottle at Grace Everett’s house in the seventh grade, and it landed on her dog. Or that one summer where I thought I could pull off bangs.

“Not right now, Beanie.” My palms began to glow, and desire wrapped a powerful hand around my lower stomach, sending ripples of pleasure down to my core. I shook off his hold and closed my eyes while I waited for the sensation to pass. Once I had it under control, I blew out a breath. “Let’s deal with what happened down at the beach. Then we’ll see if I have time.”

I didn’t have it in me to tell him no outright, not when he looked at me with that earnest expression that melted my temper before it had a chance to really sink its claws in, but it gave me an out I’d absolutely be taking. Besides, I still had a ton of work to do tonight. He’d had weeks to talk to me. He could wait another day.

Giving me a short nod, he followed me out the door to face the freshest wave of horror that had been doled out by the curse.

Chapter two

Donovan

Ifuckedup.Inso many ways. I’d only meant to bring Violet ice cream, maybe do a little groveling. Lifting her against the wall and taking her perfect tit in my mouth had not been part of the plan. It was too much, too fast, and she’d shut me out just like I knew she would. Goddamn it. This was why I’d been avoiding her for weeks.

I couldn’t tell Wes or Finn what happened tonight. They’d both kick my ass, and rightfully so. I never should’ve taken things as far as I did. That first inhale of her coconut and lime scent, that first taste of her skin against my lips, and I was ravenous. Like a starving man returning from a war, I could’ve feasted on her all night.

That probably made me an asshole, but I couldn’t find it within myself to care. Not when she’d been right there with me. I hadn’t missed the moment when my Cricket rose to the surface. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. My own fruitless hope that one day I’d see that look in her eyes and know it had nothing to do with the magic we created when we touched.

But even if she had felt a genuine attraction between us, she’d fight it with every breath in her body. And my hands were completely tied. If I gave her the slightest push, she’d shut me all the way down. As bad as I wanted Violet in my bed, I flat out could not survive without her friendship. So, I was stuck in this limbo that had become my own personal hell.

These last few weeks had been harder on me than the eight years I spent away from her, and I only came to her tonight because I thought I had my hunger for her under control. Wes warned me that the first touch after weeks without would be stronger, that keeping my magic leashed for that long wasn’t healthy for either of us.

I should’ve listened.

Violet walked next to me, keeping a careful distance, so we didn’t accidentally brush arms. The mental distance was so much wider, though. She didn’t want to talk about what happened, but it wasn’t something we could ignore. Not if the curse was coming for us next. We had to practice, which meant more touching, more desire building between us.

The only question was, which one of us would it break first?

If I were a gambler, I’d bet it would be me. Violet was always stronger than people gave her credit for. It was one of the things I loved most about her.

As we followed Finn and Thora down to the opposite end of the beach, I continued to open and close my mouth, a dozen words rising and dying in my throat. None of them were good enough for what I wanted to say to her. She continued to shoot glances at me from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t say anything either. While she was busy rebuilding her walls, I was plotting how to knock them down again. No wonder we were perfect opposites.

As we got closer to the pier, Violet gasped and reached out a hand, gripping my arm on instinct. The moment her palms began to glow, she released me as if I’d burned her. The unmistakable flush of desire dusted her cheeks. I hardened painfully behind my zipper, like a fucking teenager who couldn’t control his bodily functions.

I had no doubt I’d be conjuring up that look on her face later tonight. When I was alone in my bed with my cock in my hand.

“Beanie, look.” A slight tremor of fear threaded through her voice as she pointed to the scene that waited for us. “Why did it do that? What was the point?”

Along the beach, hundreds of silver-scaled fish had been washed up on shore. All of them dead. As a lifelong lover of animals, my chest constricted at the absolute, needless waste of it all. At the disrespect of the sea that gave our island life.

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