I let out a chuckle when Uncle Lake scowls at him. “You’re ruining my moment here.”
Dad steps inside, and he takes hold of my other hand. I suck in a desperate breath as panic makes my heartbeat speed up. I step into the box, and instantly my lungs stop working.
Forest pulls me to his chest, and I wrap my arms tightly around his waist. Burying my face against him, I squeeze my eyes shut and begin to pray.
Dad comes to wrap his arms around both Forest and me, murmuring, “We’ve got you. You’re not alone. Everything is fine.”
I feel the elevator begin to move, and a shriek escapes me. I cling to Forest, expecting the tremors and falling to start any second.
“Oh, my God,” I gasp, my nerves frail and ready to snap.
When the elevator lurches to a stop, and I hear the doors open, I yank free and dart out. When I’m a safe distance away from the deathtrap, I gasp for air. Wrapping my arms around my waist, I try to stop the intense trembling in my body.
Then I glance back, and seeing my loved ones walk out of the elevator makes intense relief spill into my thundering heart.
“You did it,” Dad says, a proud smile on his face.
“Barely,” I breathe. “It’s going to take a long time before I’m okay with taking the elevator.”
“Baby steps,” Uncle Lake says as he comes to wrap me in a tight hug. “Even if it takes years. We’ll be there every time to help you through it.”
When Uncle Lake pulls back, Forest places his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. “Now, for the fun part.”
“Yeah,” I mumble, “I’m ready to get out of here.”
Dad chuckles, then he gives us a look of warning, “Drive safely and let us know when you get to El Capitan Canyon.”
“Oooh… is that where we’re going?” I ask, my excitement returning.
“Fuck, sorry, Forest,” Dad mutters, having given away my surprise.
Forest chuckles, “It’s only an hour's drive, so you’ll hear from us soon.”
Our loved ones walk us to the car and wave us off. When we drive out of the gates of Trinity, I let out a relieved sigh and admit, “That was way too intense.”
Forest smiles while keeping his eyes on the road. “You did good. I’m proud of you.”
I let out a burst of laughter. “I almost wet myself, where you were all cool with the whole thing.”
“Nope, I had my doubts back there,” he admits. After a couple of seconds, he says, “Do you realize this is the first time the two of us are going away by ourselves?”
“Crap,” I gasp. “You’re right.”
Forest stops at a gas station, and while he fills the tank, I run into the store for snacks and drinks.
When we’re back on the road, and the scenery whizzes by us, a happy smile curves my lips. “This is so awesome.”
Our little road trip goes by way too quickly, but when Forest pulls up to a luxury tent, my bottom lip instantly juts out. “Aww… we’re going camping?”
“Yeah, I thought it’s time we make one of our childhood wishes come true.”
I lean over the console and press a kiss to his mouth. “This is going to be the best weekend ever.”
Chapter 29
FOREST
Waking up with Aria in my arms and the birds chirping in the trees – best feeling ever.
Snuggling my face into her neck, I press a kiss to her warm skin.
Aria stretches against me, and then her eyes flutter open, and she whispers, “Morning.”
“Morning, babe.” I press another quick kiss to her neck, then get up. “Time to get dressed. I want to walk down to the beach.”
I dart out of the tent to the adjoined bathroom and relieve myself before I brush my teeth. Splashing water on my face, I soak in the peaceful ambiance hanging in the air.
When I walk back into the tent, Aria’s sitting on the side of the bed, slipping on her sandals. “My turn,” she says as she gets up and leaves the luxury tent.
After we’re both done with our morning routine, I wrap my arms around her and press a tender kiss to her mouth. Tasting the minty toothpaste, I deepen the kiss until we’re both breathless.
Aria pulls back and says, “Let’s go before I drag you back to bed.”
Leaving the tent, we walk to the restaurant to grab breakfast. Aria wraps her arm around my waist and whispers, “I love it here.”
I give her a sideways hug before we enter the establishment. Finding a table by a set of sweeping windows overlooking the grounds, we sit down.
Aria scrunches her nose, then says, “I’ll just have coffee and a slice of chocolate cake.
“For breakfast?” I don’t know why I’m even asking.
“Of course,” she grins.
A waiter comes to take our order, and I decide to have pancakes.
When we get our beverages and food, I sip on my coffee while watching Aria give an award-worthy blowjob to a damn cake fork.
Fuck, I’m hard as steel in seconds.
Narrowing my eyes on her, I grumble, “You keep doing that, and I’m dragging you back to bed.”
“What?” she frowns at me. “I’m eating.”
“You have me sitting here hard and jealous of a fork,” I inform her.
Her lips curl into a mischievous grin. “Yeah?” Then she twirls her tongue around the utensil the same way she does with the head of my cock.
A man at a nearby table chokes on his food, and Aria’s face goes up in flames. “Crap.” She rests her elbow on the table and covers the side of her face with her hand.
“See?” I lift an eyebrow at her while trying my best not to laugh. “It’s not just me. You have half the men here all worked up now.”
“I’m sorry,” she winces, looking like she’s about to die of embarrassment.
“Eat so we can get out of here,” I say, as I cut through my stack of pancakes. “I don’t like other men drooling over you.”
Aria lets out a chuckle before she shoves a huge bite of cake into her mouth.
When we’re done, I grab Aria’s hand and feeling like a damn caveman, I pull my girl away from the interested eyes of the other men.
Linking my fingers with hers, we follow the path which leads to the beach. My eyes drink in the sight of the waves rolling to shore, and I go sit on a rock while Aria inspects every tide pool.
When she’s satisfied her curiosity, she comes to sit between my legs and leans back against my chest, and then she murmurs, “I love the ocean.”
We sit in silence for a while, and glancing around us, I check to make sure there’s no one else close to us. I lean down until my mouth brushes against her ear. “Did you have fun in the restaurant?”
She shakes her head, “There was nothing fun about making a man, old enough to be my father, choke.”
Placing my hand on her leg, I caress her skin as I move my hand down to her pussy, then I whisper, “Open your legs.”
“Here? Now?” she tries to glance up at me, but I take hold of her chin and turn her head so I can latch onto her neck. I suck hard at her skin, hoping to leave a mark, and it draws a moan from her. “Okay, here is fine.”
I begin to rub her through her shorts, and her hands grip hold of my thighs.
I lower my hand to her shirt and slipping my fingers under the fabric and her bra, I cup her breast.
With the sound of the ocean and Aria’s breaths speeding up, I’m pulled into a world where it’s just the two of us.
Aria gasps and her head falls back against me as her pelvis begins to grind against my hand, and then I watch as she comes apart from my touch.
When she comes down from her orgasm, I press a kiss to her neck and then say, “Don’t ever lick your fork like that in public again. Okay?”
“Mhh…” She turns sideways and presses a kiss to my mouth. “I love this jealous side of you.”
“Yeah?” I kiss her. “You bring out that side of me.”
ARIA
Sitting by a
fire, I place marshmallows on our sticks. Handing one to Forest, we roast them over the open flames.
“This is exactly how I always pictured camping with you would be,” I say as I smile at Forest.
“Yeah, we’ll just skip the horror stories,” he replies, then he wags his eyebrows at me, “We can tell sexy stories, instead.”
“Like, our fantasies?” I ask.
Forest nods, and he inspects his marshmallow before asking, “Is there anything you’d like to experiment with?”
Picking up two graham crackers, I squish my marshmallow between them while I think. “I’d like to try shower sex.”
Forest glances back at the adjoining bathroom, then he says, “We’ll have to wait until we’re back home for that one.”
“And you?” I ask before I take a bite of my s’more.
“Everything,” he answers while making his s’more. Then his eyes lock on mine. “I want to try every position with you at least once.”
I set down my stick and climbing over his lap, I rest my arms on his shoulders. “Which one are we starting with?” I lean forward and pressing my lips to his jaw, I trail kisses down to his throat.
Forest’s right arm pins me to his body, and as he stands up, I wrap my legs around his waist, clinging to him. He carries me into the tent and drops me on the bed. I watch as he goes to close the entrance, and when he turns back to me, he says, “Clothes off.”
Damn, this dominating side of him is going to make my ovaries combust.
I strip out of my clothes, and when we’re both naked, Forest grabs hold of my hips. He turns me to face the bed and says, “Crawl onto the mattress and keep yourself raised.”
I do as he says, and the second I’m on my hands and knees, he positions himself at my entrance. His hands grip my hips, and then he enters me with a hard thrust.
“Holy… Forest,” I gasp.
His strokes are hard and fast, making my thighs quiver.
He moves a hand down the front of me, and then he pinches my clit, and it has me grabbing a pillow so I can smother my cries as my orgasm hits hard.
I hear his breaths and our skin slapping, and it makes my orgasm more intense.
When he lets out a grunt as he buries himself deep inside me, my arms give way, and we both slump down on the bed.
Forest enters me again and continues to thrust inside me, sending me on a wild spiral of pleasure until he finds his own release.
As we pant, our residual pleasure fading, he presses kisses to my shoulder.
When I’ve finally caught my breath, I say, “Definitely one of my favorite positions.”
We’re up early Sunday morning and follow a trail that leads to a creek. It’s quiet out with most of the guests still asleep, and I love that it’s just Forest and me out here.
“What are you going to do with the quake series when you’re done painting them?” Forest asks.
“I’m thinking of holding an auction and donating the funds to disaster relief.”
Forest pulls me tighter against his side and presses a kiss to my hair. “That’s a great idea. Our dads and Uncle Lake will probably buy them, though.”
I let out a burst of laughter. “Yeah.” After a couple of seconds, I murmur, “We’re lucky to have them.”
“We are.”
When we reach the creek, we sit down on a boulder and stare at the water flowing over the polished rocks.
“Seeing as San Francisco is off the table, I’ll probably open a gallery in LA once we graduate,” I mention.
“You’ll be closer to NextGen’s offices,” Forest says as he takes my hand and links our fingers.
“We can get an apartment somewhere between my gallery and your office.” I rest my head on Forest’s shoulder as I start to weave dreams about our future together.
“At least we both want two kids.” I let out a happy chuckle. “Come to think of it, we’ve always had the same dreams for our futures. It’s like we knew deep down we’d end up together.”
Forest pulls his hand free from mine and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “It has always been you and me.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. I glance up at Forest, and my eyes caress his features. “I never thought it was possible to love someone as much as I love you.”
Forest leans down, and when he kisses me, I can feel how much he loves me.
All my doubts about relationships are gone. Forest has shown me that tingles and toe-curling kisses can turn into a happily ever after with the right person.
Since the earthquake, I thank God every day for Forest, my best friend, my soul mate, my everything.
The End.
Want to read where it all started?
Go 1 Click HEARTLESS.
And when you’re done with the Enemies To Lovers Series, follow it up with Trinity Academy.
All the sale links are listed in the back matter of the book.
The Heirs
Reading order of future releases:
Coldhearted Heir
Novel #1
Hunter Chargill (Mason and Kingsley’s son)
&
Jade Daniels (Rhett & Evie’s daughter)
Arrogant Heir
Novel #2
Jase Reyes – (Julian & Jamie’s son)
&
Mila West – (Logan & Mia’s Daughter)
Defiant Heir
Novel #3
Kao Reed (Marcus and Willow’s son)
&
Fallon Reyes (Falcon & Layla’s daughter)
Loyal Heir
Novel #4
Forest Reyes (Falcon & Layla’s son)
&
Aria Chargill (Mason & Kingsley’s daughter)
Callous Heir
Novel #5
Noah West (Jaxson & Leigh’s son)
&
Carla Reyes (Julian & Jamie’s daughter)
Sinful Heir
Novel #6
Tristan Hayes (Carter & Della’s son)
&
Hana Cutler (Lake & Lee’s daughter)
Tempted Heir
Novel #7
Christopher Hayes (Carter & Della’s son)
&
Dash West (Jaxson & Leigh’s daughter)
Forbidden Heir
Novel #8
Ryker West (Logan & Mia’s son)
&
Danny Hayes (Carter & Della’s daughter)
A spin-off Stand-Alone
(from Coldhearted Heir and
The Trinity Academy series)
Not My Hero
Colton Lawson
(Brady’s brother)
&
Brie Weinstock
(Serena Weinstock’s daughter)
Trinity Academy
FALCON
Novel #1
Falcon Reyes & Layla Shepard
MASON
Novel #2
Mason Chargill & Kingsley Hunt
LAKE
Novel #3
Lake Cutler & Lee-ann Park
JULIAN
Novel #4
A Stand Alone Novel
Julian Reyes (Falcon’s Brother)
&
Jamie Truman (Della’s Sister – Heartless, TETLS)
THE EPILOGUE
A Trinity Academy Novella
Enemies To Lovers
Heartless
Novel #1
Carter Hayes & Della Truman
Reckless
Novel #2
Logan West & Mia Daniels
Careless
Novel #3
Jaxson West & Leigh Baxter
Ruthless
Novel #4
Marcus Reed & Willow Brooks
Shameless
Novel #5
Rhett Daniels & Evie Cole
False Perceptions
Novel #6
A Stand Alone Novel
Hayden Cole (Evie’s Dad)
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About the author
Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.
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Acknowledgments
It’s been a crazy period, and with this being my last book for 2020, I let out a relieved sigh that we made it. Thank you for reading my words and getting lost in my books. You’re the reason I write.
To my alpha and beta readers, Donita, Taylor, Sherrie, Sheena, Allyson. Kelly, Elaine, Sarah, and Leeann – Thank you for being the godparents of my paper-baby.
Candi Kane PR - Thank you for being patient with me and my bad habit of missing deadlines.
Sybil – Thank you for giving my paper-babies the perfect look.
My street team – thank you for promoting my babies. I appreciate each and every one of you.
A special thank you to every blogger and reader who took the time to take part in the cover reveal and release day.
Love ya all tons ;)
Loyal Heir Page 18
