AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hawk ran a hand through his hair. “Howdo we tell her?”
“I think that’s a problem for a different day,” I said. “Because I need to think about it.”
Joel nodded. “I agree.”
Looking at me, Vaughn raised his eyebrows. “You said you had an idea about how to get Isolde to the beach?”
“Yeah. And the first step is making sure she can’t find any of us when she gets back.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
________
ISOLDE
My horrifying, sparkly shoes hung from the tips of my fingers as I walked back to the suite. The few hours we’d spent bowling were fun, but I was ready to take off this shining monstrosity and curl up with the guys.
My guys.
For however long I had them. I wanted them to peel me out of this dress, because they made me feel beautiful in anything, even when I wore nothing.
The house was quiet the way it used to be when I lived here because there were so few people here in the evening.
Trinity disappeared back into her vortex of work and no sleep, and Ocean went home, still unwilling to tell us what waswrong. But something was. I knew her well enough to know she was trying not to bother us, but I would figure it out eventually.
As I walked in, the suite was quiet too. No signs of life, or even the low hum of conversation. Where were they?
A piece of paper on the bed snagged my attention, handwriting scrawled on it.
Isolde—
When you get back, come down to the beach. Let’s look at that dress in the moonlight and see if it gets better.
A little smiley face ended the note, with no name. So I wasn’t sure which of them had left it.
I supposed it wouldn’t hurt me to keep the dress on a little while longer. Soaking it in the ocean and ruining it with salt would be a fitting end for it. Rin had been right. It wasn’tthatbad. I felt like I’d stepped out of a prom photo from nearly forty years ago, but it wasn’t terrible, even with the hair.
Take this dress, change the style a bit, and maybe I’d even risk wearing it for real.
I tossed my shoes aside and left the suite, savoring the grass, and then the sand, under my toes. The sun had set in a blaze of glory while we drove back, so dusk was darkening the beach with the last traces of light slipping from the sky and the moon already rising.
Tide was low, so much more beach was visible than usual, and it the water was slowly beginning to come in again. Near the cliffs, the rocks that jutted up like towers were completely exposed at the bottom. When I was young, you would find the best shells hidden in the pockets of those rocks. I tried to climbthem a few times, but given they were nearly as tall as the cliff itself, I never got far.
Even my favorite part was visible. A hollowed out arch in one of the rocks, worn smooth from years of water washing in and out. You could swim down beneath it during high tide. Or at least that’s what Ellie and Dad told me. I’d never done it myself.
But they weren’t here either. From what I could tell, the beach was entirely empty. The moon peeked over the darkening horizon, pale light making the dress shimmer in a very different way. The purples in the iridescent overlay were bright over the orange. Like fire wrapped in ice. This, I liked. Give me a dressthiscolor, and I’d wear it in a heartbeat.
I decided to walk down the beach anyway. Maybe they’d gotten tired and gone back inside or something, but since I was already here, I might as well stay. The soft sound of the rising water soothed something deep in me. I hadn’t had a chance to be alone on the beach yet, just me and the water.
The shadows of the towering rocks painted me in darkness as I stepped behind them, heading to the other side. I’d walk down to the border of the private beach and then turn around.
I sensed movement though I didn’t see it. An arm snaked around my waist, another over my mouth, pulling me against a hard chest and dragging me across the sand and against the stone face. The hand swallowed my scream. “I think it’s time I unwrapped my present,” a dark voice growled.
Orange and sweetness surrounded me, soothing the panic of being grabbed.Vaughn.
Our conversation echoed in my head.Do you want me to chase you, Isolde?
A low sound vibrated through me, somewhere between a growl and a purr. “You’re too fucking tempting in a dress I can ruin with no consequences.”
