AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cayden shrugged. “I can move in with Beckett if it’s a problem. Us dating and living together, I mean. I don’t want to hide it from anyone, including your parents.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “Seriously. I’ve never had very good parental figures in my life. I don’t want to start out on the wrong foot with my future in-laws,” he said with perfect seriousness.
I smacked his chest, shocked and thrilled at the same time. “You’re crazy.”
“Absolutely certifiable.”
He hauled me against him again, his hands sinking into my ass, and I squirmed in his grip. Jesus, he was rock-hard, right there in the middle of the parking lot with people drifting past, staring at us.
“Have I told you how good my jersey looks on you? I can’t wait until it’s the only thing you have on. Wear it to bed tonight without panties, Freckles.”
I pushed at his chest, heat making my face turn pink. “Okay, time to go to the party before you get us in trouble.”
He grinned in a lighthearted, truly happy way I’d never quite seen from him before.
He handed me the spare helmet, and I pulled it on. In the few weeks I’d known Cayden, my entire world had changed. I’d felt more and done more in that short time than in all the years before it. Sometimes life was like that. People came into your world who forced change. Cayden would always be a force of nature who had blown my life apart at the seams, and yet the new one I’d built in the aftermath of his destruction was a life I wanted. One I was proud of.
I hopped on the back of the bike, and he guided my arms around him. Life had lost its predictable safety and sometimes felt like riding along a dark highway with only the moon overhead, my arms trailing in the air.
Terrifyingly free.
But I wasn’t scared anymore.
“Can you take the long way?” I asked him.
His hand slid over mine. “With you, Freckles? Anytime.”
Lily
EPILOGUE
6 months later
When the Hellions of Hade Harbor Highwon Nationals, the party at Beckett’s house was like nothing I’d ever seen before. If I’d thought that Beckett had been over the top before, it was nothing compared to now. A circus theme had descended over the house, and I could barely recognize the people from school in their elaborate costumes.
There were trapeze artists hanging from the upper stair levels, fire-eaters, and contortionists wandering through the party. The noise in the main house was deafening, and I was pretty sure the entire town knew about the party and didn’t care one bit. The Hellions were finally champions again. I was pretty sure that the rest of Hade Harbor was celebrating just as hard.
“Hey, Lily, truth or dare,” Marcus called to me. Although the entire senior class of HHH was in the main house, or maybe because of it, the Ice Gods were in their usual spot in the pool house, which was also Cayden’s place these days. After a long talk with my dad, Cayden had suggested living with Beckett, so our relationship didn’t make my parents uncomfortable.
I shook my head at the Ice God playboy. “Nope, I’m not playing.”
Cayden’s arms tightened around me. I was sitting on his lap. Sitting might be a generous term for the sprawl of my body on top of his, but I was past caring.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Come on. I wouldn’t give you a hard dare.”
I shook my head firmly, and he turned back to the rest of the students, most of whom were puck bunnies who were hanging on his every word.
In the corner, Beckett sat in his usual spot, smoking moodily and staring out at the pool. Asher and Eve were nowhere to be seen, but she’d promised she’d stop by at some point.
“Truth or dare, Freckles,” Cayden’s deep voice murmured in my ear.
“Hmm, dare,” I replied recklessly. The game was over, Cayden was a star player, officially, and had a full ride to HHU lined up. And he wasn’t the only one. My offer from HHU had been more than generous, and I couldn’t wait to hit the famous campus in the fall, dive into my classes, and immerse myself in college life as the leaves changed all around us. There was nowhere like Hade Harbor, and I’d never regretted staying, not even for a second.
I was right where I was meant to be.
“Dare? I’m so happy to hear you say that,” Cayden muttered. There was a wicked note to his voice that sent heat rushing through me. “I dare you not to make a sound.”
