Page 9 of Charmed

"Except this." He gestured between them. "You're worried you'll be paired with me, just like Brady was with Kaida. That it'll be up to you and me to complete the next set of tasks. They were branded when they came in contact, so you're avoiding my touch."

Stupid, adorable, sexy, observant man.

Okay, he was maybe a little—one hundred percent—correct. So what? They bickered constantly, never saw eye-to-eye, and if the weight of destiny depended on them working together, Fate may as well toss in the towel. They'd be screwed up one side and down the other.

Brady and Kaida's situation was the only guidance any of them had to go by. The first time he’d touched her, a trinity knot had appeared from nowhere and marked their inner wrists within seconds. It had remained there until both had completed their task. It had also been the sole sign the cycle had begun. Since then, the other four were hanging in stasis, awaiting their turns.

Riley had made more than one reference that being paired with Fiona would be disastrous. Though the words had stung, he wasn't mistaken.

She crossed her arms, feigning boredom, and looked away.

Up went his brows. "All right, fine. Prove me wrong." He bent his knees and went into a fighting stance. He crooked the index fingers of both hands, goading her. "Take me down, Fi. Without magick. Let's see how fearless you truly are."

Oh, he was in for a world of pain. Irritation slithered up her spine and settled in the back of her head. Anger beat at her temples and infused her veins.

Quick as a flash, she raised her forearm. He blocked with his own, but she was expecting that and utilized his distraction to cross-kick. While he countered the maneuver, she crouched and swiped her leg behind his, sending him sprawled onto the mat.

She smiled defiantly down at him. "I win."

Heaving air, he shook his head. "Not even close."

Before she knew what hit her, he had her legs out from under her, his arms around her middle, and the room going horizontal as he rolled her beneath him. It took her several stunned beats to realize he was cradled between her thighs, one hand on her ass, the other cupping the back of her head. He'd...taken her down and broken her fall.

He stared at her, their faces close and sharing oxygen. His gaze slowly swept her features, and as the exploration went on, male pride was cast aside until bewildered attraction took its place. "Let's call it a tie, shall we?"

The hoarse tone of his voice and the awed quality to which he wielded it tore a tremble through her. It was a crime how thick his dark lashes were and downright pornographic to have his firm, full lips within inches of hers. And that wasn't even accounting for his hands or their particular placement.

"I..." Pain seared her inner left wrist and she cried out.

Lifting her arm, she watched in horror as black lines formed and merged into a trinity knot on her skin. Riley cursed a wicked streak, mimicking her movement as the same tattoo appeared on the exact spot on his wrist. Silver blue light blasted from the marks, surrounded them, then petered to nothing.

Seconds passed, their breaths soughing, gazes locked in dread.

No. No, no, no. This was a nightmare.

A groan of protest, and he rolled to lay on the mat beside her. "Shit," he said to the ceiling. "That just happened."

Chapter Three

Flat on his back, Riley stared at the ceiling, panting like a lunatic. Which had nothing to do with exertion from his workout and everything to do with the realization Fate had just pointed the finger at him. The middle one, no doubt. Not just him, but the brunette lying prone beside him on the mat, giving off oh-shit, why-me, this-couldn't-be-worse vibes.

Damn, but he knew it. Just knew this was coming.

From a chronological standpoint, he and Fiona should be next. Brady and Kaida were the youngest and had been chosen first. They'd also had a shared connection through dreams all their lives. Tristan and Ceara were the oldest and had some kind of history, though no one had a clue what. They'd kept mum on the subject, except for the vaguest hint that he'd betrayed her in some way for the sake of protecting her, the latter part a fact in which she was unaware. So them going last in this destiny game made a twisted sort of sense.

And that left Fiona and Riley. Screwed didn't cover it.

She barely tolerated him on a good day. Plus, manipulation was her primary language. Giving a manicure to a rabid raccoon was easier than getting a straight answer from her. How the hell were they supposed to work together and figure out the mysterious task ahead of them if she turned his brain to cotton candy and his fantasies x-rated on an hourly basis?

Screwed. Backward, forward, sideways, and upside down.

"Say something," he pleaded. Halos formed around the fluorescent lights in the ceiling tiles as the last residual burn from the trinity knot on his inner wrist faded. He had the craziest urge to weep, scream, and kiss her senseless in the same fractured beat, then repeat the process. "Please, Fi. Say something."

"One cubic foot of air at standard temperature weighs approximately 0.0807 pounds. It takes roughly nineteen thousand pounds to crush the human body. The math doesn't add up."

He rolled that answer around until his skull rattled. But no, still no inkling what she was getting at. Turning his head, he studied her profile.

She was utterly gorgeous, even with tension tightening her features and her complexion pale. Her delicate bone structure belied the steel underneath, hid it behind flawless peaches and cream skin and a mesmerizing face. These rare instances when she was distracted or lost in thought were few and far between. It had been the only time he'd gotten a glimmer of what laid beneath her outer shell, and right this second, she appeared so vulnerable, his heart stuttered.

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