by C. M. Owens
KYLIE
Damn Benson for making Lilah’s damn boat so freaking slow!
Just hearing the fight song blaring has my stomach twisting, but I stumble to a halt and hiss out a breath when I see my dad and cousins charging the Vincents and Liam. Why is Jason on him?! Liam is so not ready to fight Jason!
Jason misses, and Liam counters with a gut punch that sends Jason staggering.
Whew. Maybe he can handle him.
My breath comes out shakily as I stare around at the chaos.
“Get them, baby! Show them no double team is a match for your spinning kick thingy!” Lilah shouts from beside me as Benson does his spinning kick thingy, catching Jared in the face and sending him spiraling backwards.
He turns and repeats the action on Eric, and Eric dodges, but doesn’t miss the very quick punch that Benson delivers right behind that.
Benson winks at Lilah, and she sways as she swoons. Gag.
Killian is obliterating Heath, one quick punch after another, while dodging all of Heath’s slower ones, until one finally catches him in the side. Killian hits the ground, but rolls back up to his feet in a blink, ready for more.
Hale and my dad are circling each other a lot, until Hale finally flies at him like a spider monkey and lands on his back, putting him in a chokehold, while keeping his legs locked around Dad’s waist.
Dad wobbles around, carrying Hale on his back and trying to shake him off.
Liam dives between Jason’s legs, and kicks his foot out, catching him in the ass hard enough to send Jason toppling like a hacked-down beanstalk.
“I have no idea who to root for,” I groan. “I can’t go against the Malones for the Vincents.”
“But the Vincents are backing your man! And we might finally win this time,” Lilah points out, then pumps her fist in the air. “Go, baby! Kick his ass!”
“But why are they even fighting?!” I snap, getting a little queasy when Liam takes what looks to be a painful hit to the stomach.
He recovers quickly, knocking Jason backwards with a battle yell and a football tackle.
“Because you bought blue paint,” comes Krysta’s voice from above me.
Lilah and I both dart a glance above us to see Krysta hanging upside down in a tree from a limb above where Nila is sitting, putting their heads close together as they both eat popcorn.
“I only bought it because I was out!” I argue. “Not because I was miserable!”
“Tell that to them,” Nila says with a grin as she gestures to the madness. Then she shouts, “Aim for his right, Killian! He’s weakest there!”
Killian nails five hits on Heath’s right so fast that Heath almost topples over, looking breathless and exhausted.
“He’s just one guy! You two can take him!” Krysta shouts from her upside-down position toward Jared and Eric as they struggle to get close enough to Benson to even hit him.
“He’s one awesome guy,” Lilah counters with her eyes narrowed.
Krysta grins around another mouthful of popcorn, riling Lilah up.
“Uh-oh. They’ve got the song on repeat,” Nila says more seriously when the battle song starts back over.
Shit.
“You know what that means,” Krysta says in a singsong voice as she swings her body up then drops to the same thick branch where Nila is sitting and sits down beside her.
Her eyes are sparkling with amusement as Lilah and I both curse.
Krysta makes a clawed hand then does a very realistic cat-fight cry. Her family and their animal sounds are super creepy good.
Hale is getting slammed against a tree as he fights to stay on Dad’s back, unable to really bring him down or do anything else. Dad can’t get the leech off him.
Killian is wrenching Heath’s arm behind his back and demanding he say uncle. Benson finally takes a hit, and Lilah grimaces while looking away.
Liam is shoving Jason’s face in a patch of mud, bringing his head up long enough to let him breathe, then shoving it in again as he sits on his back. Jason finally manages to toss him off, and Liam darts to his feet, grinning as he charges the beast again.
“Fine. Let’s do this before they start enjoying themselves too much,” I groan as I pull my boots off and put them to the side.
Lilah smirks at me. “It’s been a while, Kylie Malone, and I’ve wanted to do this since you helped kidnap me for Aunt Penny’s evil plan.”
“You’re happily married,” I remind her warily.
“True. But that’s not the point,” she says, backing up as her eyes light up with mischief.
“If you pull my hair, I will pull yours back,” I warn her.
“Touch my nipples, and I’ll pull your eyebrows,” she threatens as she continues walking backwards, her eyes not leaving mine.
“And this is why most of us will die single,” I hear Nila sighing.
Lilah and I stare at each other for a minute, her smile growing like mine. Without waiting any longer, I charge her.
Krysta’s wildcat battle cry announces our arrival before I even crash into my best friend.
Chapter 28
Wild Ones Tip #345
We assume there’s really more than one rule to Fight Club, but no one is ever allowed to talk about the rest. So we just simply made up our own rules from there.
LIAM
Jason and I are both fighting a laugh for no other reason than the fact this is weirdly fun. Their crazy really is contagious, and I’ve been infected.
I barely glimpse Kylie on the sidelines, but it distracts me enough for Jason to get a cheap shot in. I retaliate, taking him down once more, and we roll around like two idiots.
“Ever seen a cow eat grass?” Jason snaps as we do a shit job at wrestling.
“That really makes no—” My words end on an embarrassing yelp when the freak does something to my knee, squeezing it in a way that feels painful and ticklish and so wrong all at once.
My elbow catches him in the face, and he grunts before falling to the side. Leaping to my feet, I grab one of his feet and try to start dragging him. Making very little progress with the beast squirming, I start running in a circle in hopes of making him dizzy, using his leg like a handle on a merry-go-round.
“What the hell are you doing?” he snaps, as George and Hale waddle by us, Hale still strapped to his back like a relentless clinger.
Some weird cat cry echoes through the makeshift war-zone, and we all stop as if startled into stillness. My eyes widen, and I drop Jason’s foot as Kylie crashes into Lilah, taking her down like a meek little football player.
Benson curses when he crashes to the ground at my feet, rubbing his jaw. I’m momentarily distracted when he kicks a foot up, catching Jared in the ribs and sending him toppling backwards as Kylie starts running through with bare feet and a shrill scream.
“Lilah Vincent, don’t you dare!” she shouts, just before Lilah launches herself, taking Kylie back to the ground.
Our fight gets put on pause as we watch the…ridiculous girl fight.
“Cheater!” Kylie snaps, cupping each of her breasts as she stares at Lilah in horror.
Lilah just grins, wiping her long hair out of her face.
“Just for that, I hope that litter of kids does stretch your vagina so much that Benson has to spin circles just to feel you!” Kylie shouts, then grabs Lilah’s…eyebrows?
Lilah screeches and bats her hands away.
I take a seat, because this is far more entertaining than fighting with Jason. Speaking of Jason, he returns with a beer and hands it to me, like he’s been anticipating his show.
George is sprawled on the ground, eyes on the sky as he pants for air.
Hale is flopped down next to Killian, sharing beers with the other Malones, as Kylie and Lilah continue to grapple…weirdly. Kylie is latched onto Lilah’s leg, as Lilah tickles Kylie’s armpits.
“Take it back, Kylie Malone! You know how sacred my vagina is to me!” Lilah shouts seriously.
“They always r
uin our fun,” Jason states around a yawn. “Nice right jab, by the way.”
“Nice left hook,” I state on autopilot, as though this is as natural to me as it is to them.
“I had to start working with my left because Killian is so good on his right side. I was surprised they put you on me at first, since I usually tag Killian with Jared. Then they went and got Black Belt Benson,” he says with a bitter snarl, even as he continues to watch Lilah and Kylie wrestle around on the ground.
Well, they’re just rolling around on the ground, really.
“Kick her ass, Lilah!” Hale shouts from the sidelines.
“Show that Vincent how a Malone really fights, Kylie!” Eric chimes in.
“Why are they fighting?” I ask, about the same time, Jason says, “Lilah looks some kind of hot when she’s getting pissed off about her vagina.”
Benson, not missing a beat, slaps Jason on the back of the head, as he answers me.
“To break up the fight between the guys. Might want to get her before this gets out of hand. They sure as shit never stop it. I’ll grab Lilah.”
I’m on my feet without hesitation, handing my beer off to Jason. Benson lunges, grabbing Lilah at the waist before she and Kylie can charge each other, and I grab Kylie at the same time.
“I win!” Kylie shouts.
“Like hell you do!” Lilah argues. “The fight was interrupted!”
“But you were pulled back first,” Kylie points out in a reasonable tone that doesn’t match the unreasonable circumstances.
I spin her in my arms, ignoring Lilah as she continues to argue while Benson tosses her over his shoulder.
“Why the hell did you buy blue paint?” I snap at Kylie, not realizing until this very moment that I’m actually angry about that now. After all, she only paints in blue when she’s depressed, according to her unstable family.
She gives me an incredulous look as I gently hold her by her shoulders.
“Seriously?” she asks me.
My jaw grinds as I glare at her, and she continues to stare up at me like I’m the one who needs my head examined instead of all the ones watching us. Someone has even turned off the music, likely to make it easier for everyone to listen in.
But my eyes are locked only on hers.
“I tell you I love you, and you go buy blue paint,” I growl, not giving her time to respond or react before continuing. “What the hell, Kylie? Is it that fucking bad to hear that?” I ask quieter.
Wide-eyed and seeming surprised, she opens her mouth to speak, then closes it, then opens it again. When no words come out, I release her shoulders and take a step back.
“Got it,” I tell her curtly before turning around and walking off, ignoring the fact everyone is currently staring at us.
Trying to get away from this so I can properly throw shit and try not to curse myself for moving way too fast, I head back toward my cabin.
“Damn it, stop walking away from me, Liam Harper!” Kylie gripes just before she darts in front of me.
It happens too fast for me to stop abruptly, and I crash into her, knocking her down as I go down with her.
My arms go around her as I spin us at the last minute during our fall, and it feels like she’s turned into a dead-weight bowling ball when her knee collides with my stomach and knocks all the air out of me.
A grunt passes through my lips as she straddles me, apparently not concerned the fact I’m suffocating. I want to strangle her and kiss her at the same time.
Just as soon as I can breathe again.
Chapter 29
Wild Ones Tip # 442
We’re easy like Sunday morning…as long as you wear a helmet.
KYLIE
His mouth opens and closes like he’s trying to take a breath, but I know it’s temporary. And while I have him restrained, I grab both sides of his face with my hands, forcing his eyes to meet mine.
I can’t tell if he’s angry, panicked, or pained. Possibly all three, given these insane circumstances.
“For fuck’s sake, take a breath,” Killian shouts.
As if prompted by his command, air finds Liam’s lungs, and some half-donkey sound accompanies it as his color returns to normal. Ohhh… I didn’t realize he couldn’t breathe.
That makes way more sense.
A few chuckles follow that, because…my family and the Vincents are assholes, obviously.
“I can buy blue paint without being miserable,” I bite out. “You’re supposed to be saner than the rest of these idiots.”
With one hand, I absently gesture toward the amused men watching us, but my eyes never leave his.
“I wasn’t really sure what you said,” I confess, swallowing a little insecurely as my other hand falls from his face and I just continue to awkwardly straddle him as he lies on the ground.
The look he gives me definitely doesn’t make me feel like he believes me. “How could you have possibly have misunderstood that?” he asks dubiously.
This is the absolute least romantic place in the world for private confessions. We’ve had many far more romantic moments where this confession could have been made, and we wouldn’t cringe when we looked back on it.
The weight of several nosy gazes on us doesn’t seem to bother him though, and I don’t have the option of taking it to a private location, because apparently I’ve already screwed up once today. I’d rather not delay.
“I thought there was no way I heard you right,” I say barely above a whisper, causing his look to soften a little as confusion creases his features.
He opens his mouth to speak, when we hear Krysta yell, “We can’t hear you! Speak up!”
Rolling my eyes and ignoring Liam’s twitching lips, I go on, keeping my voice quiet just to spite them all.
“I blame the two orgasms,” I explain very seriously, causing Liam’s smile to spread.
“More than I needed to know,” Jared groans from somewhere a little too close.
“Go. Away,” Liam tells them, but his eyes never leave mine as his smile starts to slip.
“Now that you know I said it, does that mean more blue paint? Did I move too fast?” he asks just as quietly, meaning the assholes haven’t left and we’re awkwardly having this conversation in public. Not that I’m surprised.
“Can we talk about this in private?” I ask.
“No,” comes a very unanimous reply from all the unimportant eavesdroppers.
Liam stands, holding me to him like it’s no big deal, and starts carrying me toward Lilah’s old cabin, even as everyone groans in protest.
My legs are wrapped around his waist, my arms are wrapped around his neck, and I’m looking over his shoulder as I flip off everyone who is watching us.
Which is everyone.
Dicks.
Krysta and Nila hop down from the tree, tossing down the empty plastic bowl that held their damn popcorn.
The second we’re inside Lilah’s empty cabin, Liam kicks the door shut and drops me to my feet so he can stare down at me with the most serious expression I’ve ever seen on his face.
“So, now that they’ve killed the most climactic part of a relationship, explain why you went and bought paint.”
I cross my arms over my chest a little defensively. “Why’d you run off to the Vincents instead of sticking around?”
He rolls his eyes. “I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that so soon,” he says as he holds my gaze.
“So you didn’t mean it?” I ask, swallowing a little harder than necessary.
“For fuck’s sake, Kylie,” he groans, exasperated. “You’ve dragged it out enough. Just tell me if it’s too soon or not and if you’re going to run.”
“Why would I run?” I ask him.
He just stares at me, and a slow grin spreads over my lips when I see the hint of insecurity in his eyes.
“You really think I’ll run scared because you love me? I’ve only avoided those three little words because I thought it was too soon,” I tell him, watching a
s an array of emotions cross through his eyes, even as hesitance keeps him still. “I knew if I said them, something terrible would happen.”
His grin forms before he can stop it.
“What’s that?” he asks quietly, moving closer as his hand comes up to cup my chin, a gentle hold that keeps my face turned upward toward his.
“Well, for starters, a huge fight between the Vincents and the Malones,” I state with a very serious tone.
His grin grows.
“That’s all?” he asks.
“That’s not enough?” I ask incredulously.
He shrugs one shoulder, that insecurity fleeing his features to make way for that heady confidence I love so much about him.
“I really expected more fireworks or something,” he tells me flatly.
Stepping into him, I crane my head back more to keep his gaze as our bodies press together. His hand falls away from my chin and slowly slithers into my hair, toying with the curls the way only he is allowed to do.
“I’ve loved you since the first time we locked ourselves in a house together,” I say on a shaky breath, watching as his eyes heat and his smile starts to slip. “I just didn’t realize it until you came back and I finally stopped hurting.”
His lips are suddenly crashing against mine, and my arms fly up to loop around his neck as he lifts me and presses me to a wall, kissing me stupid.
Someone starts clapping really slowly. Then someone joins them. And another.
“Are they seriously starting a slow-clap?” Liam asks against my lips, even though he’s grinning too big to continue kissing me.
The slow clap builds momentum until it’s finally a true applause, and we both look toward the windows to see Vincents and Malones pressed against the glass. Nila and Krysta are on a set of shoulders—Nila on Killian’s and Krysta on my father’s as they smirk and clap for us too.
“I’m going to ruin a set of boots kicking so many asses,” I say on a weary sigh.
But Liam starts kissing me again, drawing my attention back to the important part as he kisses me harder.
“I think I’ve seen enough. I don’t want to get sick,” I hear my dad grumble. “Beer at my place!” he adds jovially. “Tonight we celebrate with all the Wild Ones. To hell with the rules.”