AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, Dad.” She snorts. “Why’re you so worried?”
Like a disobedient brat, she barely listens to my warning and climbs up onto the small outcrop of rocks, her feet slipping while she tries to gain footing. My heart thunders in my chest. Fuck, she’s going to give me high blood pressure with her damn antics. She puts her hand through the rush of the falls. Water cascades over her arm in a fan as she places it through the wall of water.
With a grin, she ducks under the spray and disappears.
“Bel! I swear to god. You need to wait for me.” I growl. There might be a fucking bear or something in there. I don't know.
I scramble up the rocks and chase her. The small chamber beyond the falls is cool, and the hush of the steaming water echoes all around us. It's empty, but there is enough space to lay flat on your back. Puddles pool around the floor, and I crawl over to her and take the spot beside her.
"Do that again, and I’m going to spank your ass.”
She doesn’t appear fazed by my response, and that’s fine. Once we get home, I’ll teach her a lesson about patience and safety.
“Joke’s on you. I like your spankings.” She sticks her tongue out at me, and I'm tempted to bite it.
“No treasure, huh?”
She shakes her head, grinning. "No fairies or witches either. But that's okay. This is cool enough."
I pull her in to rest her head against the crook of my shoulder. "Come here, let me keep you warm."
She settles against my chest with a heavy sigh. "This is magic."
Light flickers beyond the curtain of the falls where Aries is no doubt setting up more lanterns now that everyone has jumped. We brought beer, food, and music as well. Not a soul will hear us this far out. It’s a celebration after all. The recruits are officially members. I lean over and kiss Bel gently, tasting the river water on her lips. I’ll never get over the fact that she is mine. That we’re free, that I’m free.
"No, you're magic, and I love you, my beautiful Wildflower."
BONUS EPILOGUE
-Drew
Things feel different in a post-Lyle world. One of the best things is that the guards don’t even stop me at Sebastian’s security gate. They stopped some time ago. So did Sebastian’s refusal to allow me near Bel. Now that we’ve officially been together for a little while, he’s seemed to mellow out. Save the odd glare if a girl comes too close or tries to talk to me on campus. As if any of those fake Barbies have anything on my Wildflower.
I jog up the driveway, leaving my bike near the gate. Without knocking, I enter, scanning the foyer and the tall staircase, but I don’t see anyone. This house is too big for the few people who live here. The same could be said about my family estate or The Mill house for that matter.
Us rich assholes love our empty echoing spaces.
I stop at the door to Sebastian’s study. He’s behind his desk, his feet propped up on the edge, a glass of whiskey in his hand. The glass bottle sitting on the edge is nearly half gone.
I tip my head toward the bottle. “Do I even want to ask? It’s not even eleven in the morning.”
He drags his gaze from staring off into space and over to me. There are bags under his eyes, which are bloodshot and not just from the alcohol. He looks tired. Worse and worse since the night he killed Lyle. “What do you care? Eleven is when you usually get your second wind.”
I shrug. “No judgment here, just checking if there’s something you want to talk about.”
He rolls his eyes and tugs his glass to his chest. “We both know you’re not here for me, so don’t pretend you are. She’s upstairs.”
I glance behind me and then lower my voice. “Where's the evil stepmother?"
His shoulders drop, and he stares out the window again, ignoring me and dissociating from reality. I know that feeling all too well. I lived in my mind for so long I feared it would swallow me whole. Okay then. Well, one of us is going to have to convince Sebastian to open up before we find him at the bottom of a bottle.
The fight at the estate, and then his aunt showing up really did a number on him. He's been drinking more and is slower to participate. Hell, we haven't seen him at the Mill in over a week now. But I'm not going to push him. Not yet.
I turn and head up the stairs to Bel's room. She's not expecting me, so I can't wait to see the look on her face when I duck in and grab her. Fuck, being away from her and at The Mill house has been the goddamn worst. But someone has to coordinate events and prep for the summer send-off. Lee is usually the party coordinator, but he seems to have shit going on too right now.
I put thoughts of my friends out of my mind the minute I carefully ease the door open and spot her on the bed.
She has a book propped up on her knees, holding it with one hand and the other between her thighs, under her skirt, over her white lace panties.
