by C. M. Owens
Liam starts grinning against my lips again, and I pull back, my eyes locking on his.
“Are you sure you can handle being a Malone?” I muse, smirking a little.
His eyes narrow even as his grin stays in place. “I think you still underestimate me.”
His lips brush against mine, as he prompts me to wrap my legs around his waist and starts carrying me toward the door.
“Where are we going?” I ask against his neck as I start kissing on it.
His grip on my ass tightens as his footsteps hurry, carrying us away from Lilah’s cabin and everyone shouting at us to hurry up and meet them at my Dad’s.
“We’re going to celebrate on our own first before I spend a night with the Wild Ones and alcohol.”
“I can walk. It’ll be faster,” I murmur against his neck, dragging my lips up toward his ear.
He groans. “You’re barefoot,” he grumbles.
But we only make it as far as halfway before his lips are on mine and he’s shoving me against a tree, too impatient to make it all the way back.
Tree sex is totally hot with Liam Harper.
Epilogue
Three weeks later…
Wild Ones Tip #367
Custody disputes are as ugly as a shaved opossum.
LIAM
Wet.
Cold.
Wet.
Cold.
I jerk awake, and curse those stupid fucking Malones when I realize I’m floating on a damn air mattress in front of the town.
On a Saturday.
My head swivels when I hear the roar of a motor coming toward me, and a horn blares from the town hall, reminding me of the weird fog horn I heard in my shitty dream where I was stuck on a boat in a storm.
Kylie is on her father’s hover boat and waving at me, even as I narrow my eyes at her.
“Really?” I snap at her, clinging to the mattress as their wake tries to tip me over.
George fights a grin, trying not to gloat, as Kylie doubles over from laughing so hard.
“Family rules, Liam. First one drunk pays the price!” she shouts.
“I’m not technically family yet!” I remind her, still struggling with the mattress that is now sinking because of all the water they slung up.
George chuckles as he tosses me a rope with a lot more ease than the time I tried to reel in Kylie. I catch it and he starts dragging me in as Kylie ties them off.
Just as I near them, a lot of loud motors roar closer, and I turn in time to see a huge burst of water slinging up from Kai Wilder’s motorized surfboard. The water crashes into me, and I struggle to keep my balance on the wobbling mattress, my feet moving like I’m dancing to keep steady.
George laughs harder, but I dive into his boat before I can fully fall into the water.
“Come on, city boy. We have a meeting today,” he says as I try to catch my breath and glare at Kai Wilder, who doesn’t even glance my way.
Kylie, the little traitor, comes giggling up to my side before pressing a kiss to my cheek.
I glare at her.
“Why do you look so giddy?” I ask her suspiciously.
“Because,” she says around a grin, “today is a big day.”
Before I can ask her what that means, George is shoving me toward the dock like he’s too impatient to let me catch my breath or figure out what the hell is going on. I’m wet, I have morning breath, I’m really fucking hungover, and I spent the night on a mattress.
Now?
Now that damn violin has just started playing on the town speakers, and Kylie turns to me with wide, excited eyes.
“This day just got better,” she says in a squeal, clapping her hands together.
This is the worst day ever.
I groan, even as George starts river dancing like a pro down the dock. In fact, all the Wild Ones are dancing like it’s no big deal.
Wait…
Why are all the Wild Ones in town at the same time?
Killian looks like he grew up knowing this shit as he dances and owns it.
Kylie’s laughter taunts me as I awkwardly fumble through the motions. Benson is apparently just as terrible as I am. But Bill—the reason we’re even having to dance like this—looks like he was born to be Lord of the Dance.
Penny swoons as she watches him, her hands over her heart as she stares dreamily at her husband dancing on top of a picnic table.
Everyone out at this unholy hour is dancing like it’s just a part of life, and most of them are actually good at it.
Fuckers.
When the song cuts off, I flip Kylie off over my shoulder as she continues to laugh at me and mock my terrible dancing. My arm drops around her shoulders when she steps into my side, still fucking laughing.
George looks like he’s on cloud nine, and he winks at Greta Wilder as she casts him a secretive smile.
They’re really not terribly discreet.
“What’s going on?” I ask as Kylie guides me toward the town hall.
“Custody battle gets settled today,” she says as though it should be obvious.
“Custody battle?” I ask, confused.
“Yes. Two custody battles, actually.”
“Sure,” I say with a shrug, trying not to humorlessly laugh at how my Saturday is starting off. “Sounds like fun.”
She pats my chest, and I pull her closer.
“You owe me body heat. I need to warm up,” I tell her as I lean down to her ear, nipping her earlobe.
She shudders a little, but presses closer.
“I’m all yours as soon as Vick gives us sole custody,” she says, kissing my jaw.
I’m so distracted by her lips that I don’t really hear her until someone is breaking us up and pushing us inside the hall.
“Wait. What?” I ask, but George is shoving me toward a seat, and Kylie takes a seat right in my lap, distracting me again.
My lips immediately go to her neck, and I’m thankful her father and cousins don’t have an issue with me touching her all the time. Or her touching me.
It’s not until a loud banging disrupts us that I look up, seeing the town hall is full, and Vick is the one making the banging noise as he slams a gavel down over and over.
“Let’s hurry this along. You know how I feel about all of you in one place,” he says loudly, then points a threatening gavel toward George. “And you broke the rules. Don’t think that went unnoticed. I know about your unsanctioned party three weeks ago that had all the Wild Ones in attendance.”
I don’t even remember the party.
Like at all.
I remember Kai Wilder getting there early, and saying, drink this, before handing me a mason jar with clear liquid. It was lights out for me after that, and I woke up floating in front of my house with Kylie on top of me.
She hit the mason jar too.
George holds his hands up innocently. “My daughter has only ever fallen in love once. Seemed sanctioned enough to me to have a party,” he says, not really using the word correctly.
Vick rolls his eyes.
“That’s all?” Chester Perkins demands from the back as he leaps to his feet. “That’s all you’re going to say to him about the one cardinal rule this town has?!”
“Chester, sit down,” Vick says on a groan. “We can’t delay. We need to move on to the two custody disputes at hand that involve Liam Harper.”
I sit up straighter, casting a questioning glance toward the Malones, who say nothing.
“First of all, his family’s lawyer has been sniffing around town. At George’s request, the town has been held in silence, but someone slipped and said Liam was here,” Vick goes on, casting a pointed look toward Chester.
“My family’s lawyer?” I hiss.
Kylie nods absently and pats my arm.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because we have it under control,” George tells me absently.
“I just said I heard some city boy lives here. I wasn’t going to lie. Goes
against my religion,” Chester says haughtily.
Vick rolls his eyes. “Anyway, we’re here to hear what Liam has to say on the matter concerning his family. Are you considering going back to the Harpers and your city life, or do you intend on letting the Wild Ones handle it?”
His eyes train on me expectantly, and a small grin curves my lips.
“The Wild Ones are welcome to handle it,” I say evenly.
Vick nods like he completely expected that answer. “Now onto the more complicated custody dispute. Hale Vincent, you have the floor.”
Hale stands up across the room, clears his throat dramatically as he unfolds a speech he seems to have prepared, and “scratches” his eyebrow with his middle finger that is turned toward the Malones and me.
“We took in Liam Harper, and he started out on our side of the lake,” Hale says, confusing me. “We groomed him, prepped him, helped him ease into his transition. We even fought alongside him when the Malones came to attack him en masse. Bottom line, he’s a Vincent.”
“He’s a Malone,” Kylie states dryly, giving him an exasperated look. “He moved here for me, he’s now on my side of the lake—living in a cabin he built for us—and something major, such as the fight, had to happen for him to be considered for induction.”
“What’s going on?” I whisper to George.
George just pats my shoulder before he stands.
But Hale keeps arguing first. “We have steak night. We also steal his desserts.”
“He’s not getting desserts anymore,” George says dismissively. “He might have fought with the Vincents, but it’s clear he’s a Malone.”
“They just want him because we finally beat them!” Hale shouts, pointing an accusatory finger at George.
George grins. “Our fight didn’t finish.”
“Want to finish it now?” Killian drawls.
Vick starts banging that gavel, and I stifle a laugh. It’s the most ridiculous town meeting in the history of town meetings. And I sort of love it.
“Two Wild Ones cannot date if they’re from different corners,” Vick says dismissively. “Sorry, but it’s the rules,” he adds, not sounding sorry at all.
Hale groans as he drops to his seat, and Killian fights not to smile. He finds this entertaining, apparently.
“And since he’s here for Kylie Malone, it’s clear he’ll take the Malone name when they marry—”
“Now, slow down a little, we’re not that far along,” Kylie is quick to point out.
“You’ll marry,” Vick says dismissively, causing me to hold back my laughter.
“Aunt Penny has volunteered to plan the wedding,” Lilah says as she stands, casting a devious look toward Kylie, who scowls in return. “We’ll get them down the aisle.”
Benson tugs her back down to her seat, and tosses an arm around her, as Kylie says something else about the litter-producers that earns her a scowl from Lilah.
Sometimes, if you didn’t know how much they all really cared about each other, you’d think they hated one another.
“So it’s settled then,” Vick says, looking around. “The Harper family will be dealt with if they come looking for their lost son, and Liam will be a Malone and the newest addition to the Beaver corner.”
A few snorts of laughter follow that, and the Malones all groan.
“A beaver is much more vicious than a dead chipmunk,” Jared drawls.
“Or a squirrel,” Eric says, looking pointedly at the Nickels.
One of the guys makes a squirrel sound, but it seems to have a rabid edge.
“The matter is settled,” Vick says loudly before anyone else can start volleying insults. “Everyone has two minutes to clear out.”
The gavel slams down, and everyone starts standing. My smile actually hurts as Kylie wraps herself around me and starts kissing her way down my throat again.
“No fucking in those two minutes!” Vick shouts, possibly at us.
Grinning, I stand with Kylie attached to me, and we follow out everyone else.
“Liam Harper is officially a Wild One,” Eric Malone says as he claps my shoulder.
Still holding Kylie against me, I stare out at the town who all pause as the violin music starts to play again. The river dancing begins immediately, and I’m forced to put down Kylie so I can join in, though this time I do it a little more willingly.
The Vincents start having a dance-off with the Malones, and my smile spreads as I take the Malone side against them.
“I regret not giving him to the Vincents now,” George says when he gawks at my…not so skillful moves.
Kylie stumbles into me, laughing so hard at the standoff that she can’t keep her balance. I keep moving even as my lips find hers, kissing her so hard that she starts moaning into my mouth.
This is my life.
This is my home.
This is my family.
This is my Tomahawk.
Kylie draws back, mouthing three little words that have me ready to steal her father’s boat so I can take her home.
“What’s that look for?” she asks, peering up at me, still not realizing just how much she means to me.
“I have a present for you.”
Her eyes brighten as she steps closer.
“What?”
My lips brush over hers. “A lot of boots,” I tell her as the violin music stops.
“Boots?” she asks, clearing her throat like she didn’t just swoon a little.
“So many boots you circled in those catalogues,” I tell her, grinning.
“Where?” she asks, trying not to sound overly excited, even as I see the weakening resolve in her eyes. After all, boots are her biggest weakness.
“Lilah hid them,” I tell her with a shrug.
“What?” she asks with a very serious, and not-so-happy expression.
I shrug, playing coy. “I didn’t want it to look like I was trying to buy you, so I sent Lilah to collect the boots until the perfect time to return them.”
“You let Lilah Vincent touch boots that you bought for me?” she asks like I’ve committed treason.
“Yes,” I say, my smile mocking her.
She whirls around, spotting Lilah dragging Benson toward the boats like she’s about to break town rules about sex-in-public.
“Lilah Vincent!” Kylie shouts.
Lilah spins around, cocking her head to the right in question.
“What did you do with my boots?”
Lilah’s grin slowly spreads, and she turns to start sprinting toward the docks.
Kylie takes off running after her, and Benson groans as his head falls back.
I just watch as Lilah dodges her, and they chase each other like children playing tag. George Malone nudges me as he comes to stand close.
“You’re already figuring out how the family works,” he says in approval as Lilah squeals and leaps over a log to start racing down the road.
“I hate running!” Lilah says after a string of curses from the distance.
“Then give me my boots!”
They disappear down the road, and I’m the only one watching like it’s anything out of the ordinary.
This…is my Saturday.
THE END.
Note from the author…
Thank you for reading Going Wild!
Liam and Kylie’s book was something completely different to work on, because all the drama comes in at the front of the book, and you’ve already read Becoming a Vincent, which basically happens between Kylie and Liam’s story.
It’s the first time I’ve ever put the true climax so close to the beginning of a story. It makes it unique in that way, even if it steals some of the angst you might have been hoping for from a normal romance.
Beneath all the fun and silliness, Liam really did grow as a person after the accident that led to him getting close to Kylie. He was shallow, vain, arrogant, and completely self-absorbed.
Kylie grew a lot too. For such a risk taker, she never really took risks.
After all, Liam was her first relationship, and it was an accident that she ever even got close enough to him to care about him. Her guard was down, and it was too late to stop it by the time she realized what had happened. She didn’t even acknowledge how judgmental she was in the beginning, because she genuinely didn’t see herself as the judgmental type.
It was what made her real to me. She noted her flaws on the outside, but never made much effort to point out her actual personality flaws. That’s the way we are. We rarely notice our character flaws, but we stare in a mirror and point out every physical flaw we have.
Now I’m getting too deep, but you get the point. Kylie was just an average girl with a lot of hidden insecurities she masked with confidence and sarcasm, and Liam was a typical rich douche. Until they made each other better.
Yes, I know this series lacks a lot of that angst from all my other books that also have comedy. That was the purpose of this series. Something lighter, something more fun, something…easy to read that just makes you laugh or feel good.
This series is to break up the ordinary, and it’s meant to be silly (and sexy) fun.
For all your angsty needs, I’ve got plenty of other series that might interest you. ;)
In case you read the last note from Becoming a Vincent, I’ll try not to repeat myself too much, but it might happen a little.
I draw from a lot of real life experience when I’m writing, but for this series, I’m drawing from my childhood mostly. Obviously things will be exaggerated from time to time, but the fight scene? Yeah…totally something the “men” in my family would have done.
I told you I would share the true stories that inspired certain scenes, so…
The men in my family weren’t violent, but I reckon if you had dangly bits, you had to prove you were a man by wrestling or joining a “tough man” competition. If you don’t know what a tough man competition is, well, it’s a bunch of average Joes who think they can fight, and a bunch of MMA professionals who’ve been fighting competitions for years. Then a big ole slice of humble pie is served up by the end.
