Page 9 of A Touch Enchanted

Donovan reached for my hand and kissed it. “You were amazing tonight. I would’ve died without you, without your magic. I’ve been an idiot.”

I waved him off. “We both would’ve died without your magic, too, so consider us even.”

He leaned up on his elbow. “We’re not close to even. The way I’ve been acting …” He dropped his head. “Like I said, I’ve been an idiot.”

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but that’s what I usually said when I didn’t know what else to say. The truth was, I couldn’t stay mad at Donovan. Not for long anyway. Maybe that made me the idiot, but I could forgive him for shutting me out. That didn’t mean I had to let him back in.

“I’m here now. I swear to God, Cricket, I won’t flake out on you again.”

I turned my head and gave him a smile that didn’t fully reach my eyes. “I believe you.”

And I did believe him. Tonight had been a wake-up call for both of us. We couldn’t keep screwing around while the curse took shots at Wes and Audrey or Finn and Thora. It was our time to do what we could to prevent getting trapped here. But that didn’t mean I owed Donovan anything other than my friendship. Kissing him, letting his hands roam over my body until I ached, was a distraction. If I wanted to keep the remaining pieces of my heart intact, I needed to learn how to resist what touching him did to me.

Which meant we’d have to practice until we got the side effects under control.

“I have work to catch up on tomorrow, but we should meet back here the day after that,” I said. “Early. Before the tourists get here.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You want a repeat of what we just went through?”

“No.” A shudder went through me at the thought of facing another shark. The way Donovan had ordered it off was … hot. So fucking hot. My thighs clenched as arousal made my core flutter with heat. Thinking of him like that wasn’t helping. “We need to practice using our powers. We got lucky tonight. I’d rather not keep running on luck, though.”

“And the side effects?” he asked quietly.

“We’ll figure it out. We don’t have a choice.”

I turned my gaze back to the night sky, to the expanse of stars that went on forever. While the gods and goddesses had given us tools in this war, it was still up to us to determine our fate. There was more at stake than my complicated feelings for Donovan. The quicker I could untangle my mess of emotions, the better chance we had of staying focused on our task. I wouldn’t be the weak link in this partnership. I refused.

Donovan stood and dusted off the sand caked to his wet backside. He offered me his hand to help me up. As soon as I slid my palm into his, the light between them began to glow strong and sure. A fierce hunger rose up in me and threatened to sweep me away.

“Don’t let go of me,” I said. If we were going to get these side effects under control, we needed to be able to touch without giving in to our most animalistic urges.

My neck split open, exposing the gills that lay dormant beneath my skin without Donovan’s touch. My fingers and toes webbed together, a now familiar sensation that wasn’t wholly unpleasant. I’d only experienced this shift a few times, and it already felt as natural to me as breathing. As if I was always been meant to be underwater.

My gaze strayed to his hardening length. I couldn’t stop myself from staring. He wasn’t even inside me, and I already knew no one else would be able to fill me like him. No one else could reach that spot deep within me and drive me out of my mind with need. I licked my lips, imaging what the tip of his cock would feel like against my tongue.

“Vi.” His voice sounded thick and raw. “You’re killing me.”

I raised my eyes to his, my lips parting slightly at the dark intensity that tightened his features. “What am I doing?”

“The way you’re looking at me …” He let out a shuddering breath. “I know it’s the magic, but fuck me. My morals are the only thing keeping me from bending you over and driving my cock into that sweet pussy. And they’re growing thinner by the second.”

I dropped his hand. “You have to get ahold of yourself, Beanie.”

“You first.” There was a clear challenge in his expression, and he wasn’t wrong. I was just as guilty for feeding this attraction between us.

“It’s just the magic.” I took a step back from him. Even when he wasn’t touching me, the heat radiating from his body did unspeakable things to my senses. It wouldn’t be long before I convinced myself it wasn’t just the magic between us after all. “Audrey said she got the side effects under control as soon as she formed an emotional connection with Wes, but we don’t have that problem. We’re friends.”

“Friends.” He said the word as if it tasted like sawdust. “Right.”

I gave him a funny look, but whatever was running through his mind, he’d need to work out on his own. We knew each other better than we knew ourselves, and we’d learned a long time ago just how much we could push each other before one of us broke.

He walked me back to my apartment, both of us silent and contemplating. A lot had happened tonight. A lot I hadn’t been prepared for. Tomorrow would be different. I just needed a good night’s sleep and some time alone to think.

Once I got back inside my apartment, instead of finishing the jewelry I desperately needed to get done, I fell face-first into bed. The adrenaline rush of facing down the curse on top of my confusing desire for Donovan had drained me. But I could play catch-up tomorrow. Working and creating would center me and help me sort through my feelings.

So the next time I met Donovan on the beach, I’d be better prepared to handle him.

Chapter four

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