Faith

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “I don’t know if I can,” I whisper, lost in his gaze.

  His eyes meet mine for a second, before glancing down to my lips. My breath catches as he walks me closer to the edge, his eyes still on my lips, and I find myself swaying towards him.

  Then it happens. Too fast. His lips press against mine. His tongue runs along the seam of my lips before entering my mouth. My eyes shut as the initial shock passes, and then I melt against him and kiss him back. He tastes like peppermint. A groan rumbles in the back of my throat.

  He kisses me once more before his gaze meets mine, his eyes dilated and filled with lust.

  “You’ve got this,” he whispers.

  Got what?

  Then I’m flying.

  Literally.

  And screaming.

  The kiss becomes forgotten as I panic.

  The trees fly by below me. The wind roars in my ears. But the view… It’s breath-taking, magnificent. My screaming dies in the face of its beauty. I’ve never seen anything like it. Trees as far as the eye can see surround me, birds chirping in the air, and the smell… it’s all too much. The sun shimmers off the lake, make it almost glitter before me.

  I lift my arms out and close my eyes, tipping my head to the sky as I take it all in.

  It’s not long before I begin to slow. In the distance, Madison, Landon, Lily and Maddox await with Charlotte. They’re screaming and waving at me as they smile. I smile and wave back.

  When they frown, I’m confused, until Maddox starts waving his hands, frantically pointing behind them. That’s when I see the pile of straw and remember what our instructor told us.

  My landing isn’t as graceful as they said it would be. In fact, it hurts a little. I groan, rolling off the straw and onto the ground where another guide meets me, unclipping me from the harness and zip line.

  I run over to the others. I’m buzzing with adrenaline, still feeling like I’m flying.

  “Oh, my God, that was incredible. Did you see me?” I squeal, when I meet up with them.

  “Wasn’t it brilliant? That view was amazing,” Madison gushes.

  Landon laughs, walking up beside her. “Maddy, you were screaming the whole way down.”

  “And I’m pretty sure your eyes were closed,” Maddox tells her, smiling.

  She glares at them both. “I so wasn’t. I saw everything. Well, not everything, but I did open my eyes for some of it.”

  I laugh at her honest answer, ready to reply, but movement from above catches my eye and I see Beau flying down, grinning.

  My finger runs smoothly over my lips, still feeling swollen from our kiss. It was so unexpected, and I have no idea what it means. As I watch the men unclip him, thoughts run through my mind a mile a minute, wondering what the hell I should do. Do I ask him about it? Ignore it? Or do I run up and kiss him like I want to?

  I’d rather do the latter, but nerves and fear get the better of me. Instead, I send him a small smile as he walks over.

  “What did you think?” he asks, still grinning, and pulls me into his arms.

  “Dude, personal space,” Landon growls.

  Beau looks over my shoulder at Landon and sees he’s being serious, but he doesn’t step back. “Jealous?”

  “I’m not as easily intimidated as Ash and Aiden.”

  “Come on.” Charlotte pulls on his arm. “Let’s get a picture of the others as they come down.”

  Aiden screaming like a banshee distracts Landon long enough for her to pull him away, and I turn back to Beau, my voice breathless and hoarse. “It was incredible. The most amazing experience I’ve ever had.”

  “Yeah, it was,” he tells me softly, but with the look in his eyes, I wonder if he’s speaking about something else.

  I smile, finding the courage to ask him about the kiss. But then my stupid brother interrupts us, bouncing into us like a caveman.

  “Yo, don’t kiss my sister again, like, ever. I don’t care if you’re mean and can probably put me in jail. I’ll kick your arse.”

  He bounds off, luckily not talking loud enough for the others to listen. “Are they always like this?”

  My face burns with embarrassment. My family will never be normal. “I’m sorry. They’re just really protective. Overprotective if you ask me and every female in my family. I promise you, though, they’re harmless.”

  “If you say so,” he laughs. “What do you think they’d do if I kissed you again?”

  “You want to kiss me again?” I blurt out, my eyes widening.

  Hope.

  That is what I feel. Hope blossoming in my chest. It doesn’t feel real. He really wanted to kiss me. It wasn’t to distract me long enough to push me over the edge. Literally.

  “I want to do more than kiss you,” he growls, pulling me against him.

  I go willingly, my hands falling on his broad shoulders, and smile. I open my mouth to ask what he means when another body bounds into us, pulling us apart.

  “Seriously, I want a body width between the two of you. No sharing a tent anymore either,” Mark growls.

  I stomp my foot, glaring at my brother. “Mark!”

  He looks down at me, not even apologising. “Nope. Not gonna happen. You’ve got to stay single until you’re forty, maybe older.”

  Beau scoffs, but all I am is embarrassed. “Mark! I’m older than you. Piss off.”

  “Just saying, don’t kiss her again.” Mark gives Beau a warning look, before bouncing off towards the others.

  “I’m so―”

  I’m cut off when his lips slam against mine, his hands framing my face so he can tilt my head for a better angle. I open my mouth, letting him slide his tongue inside. My lower belly coils, tightening, and I grip him harder, my body flush against his.

  This is perfect.

  He slows down, perfecting the kiss, being gentle. He moves his lips against mine like he has all the time in the world. His fingers run through my ponytail, tethering me as he grips the ends, pressing me tighter against him.

  His bulge presses against my stomach, and though I want to tense against him, not having any experience in that department, I don’t. I actually find myself feeling hot, craving more of his touch.

  Too soon, he pulls away, his forehead pressing against mine as we both catch our breath.

  “Damn, you can kiss,” he whispers.

  “You’re dead,” Ashton whispers, right next to us.

  And I mean, right next to us. We part to find his face as close as he can get without joining in. He’s scowling at Beau, who shrugs back.

  “Was worth it.”

  My heart melts. He’s willing to take my family on for a kiss. My smile falls when I turn back to Ashton. “You do anything and I’ll never make you baked goods again.”

  “Like he’ll let you cook for me,” he scoffs, walking away.

  Hayden whistles. “You two are hot.” She runs off and jumps on Ashton’s back.

  I laugh at her brash words. I’m ready to kiss him again, but then Liam walks over, looking smug. “Bro, you’re totally never leaving this place alive.”

  “You do realise I’m a cop, right?”

  Liam looks confused. “What’s that got to do with the price of chips?”

  Beau looks to me before bursting into laughter. “You guys are gonna have to get used to it. I plan on kissing her a lot more.”

  “Your funeral,” Liam sings.

  We watch him catch up with the others. The boys stand with their arms crossed over their chest, their gazes downright scary. The girls, on the other hand, are grinning at us like fools.

  I groan and take Beau’s hand, but then quickly pull away, feeling like a stage-five clinger. When he pulls my hand back and smiles at me, I relax.

  “Let’s get this water rafting done. Maybe we can drown a few of them before bedtime.”

  He laughs and together, holding hands, we walk over to the others.

  CHAPTER NINE

  I wake up early, still feeling pissed off over yesterday’s
water rafting palaver.

  Aiden had ‘accidently’ pushed Beau into the water. Then he’d nearly, accidentally, been knocked out with a paddle, when we’d gone over a bar of sand.

  I’d gotten up to scream at the same time Ashton had to gloat. He’d ended up knocking me over too. The water had been freezing. I’ve never felt pain like I had in that the first second of falling in. It had felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into me. It didn’t help that it started raining ten minutes into the rafting—something that hadn’t been forecasted. But it happened, and it poured, chilling the air around us.

  It was miserable.

  By the time they’d pulled us both to safety in the raft, I just wanted to go home. Home to my bed, where I had heating and thick blankets.

  Thankfully, Charlotte let us have two of the three spare blankets she’d brought along with her once we got back to our campsite.

  We’d showered and dressed, and made the boys bring our food to the tent. At that point, I’d been ready to kill someone. I couldn’t get warm for shit.

  Fortunately, I’d had Beau with me. After their little stunt, they’d been in no position to tell me what do, so their plan to swap places and have me stay with one of them, failed.

  Beau had wrapped me up in arms, making me feel like I was on cloud nine. After an hour of being cuddled against him, I soon warmed up.

  It was the middle of the night when I’d felt him move from the tent, most likely to take a piss. As soon as we’d eaten dinner, we’d stayed in the tent, too cold to step outside and join the others.

  When he’d returned, I had reverted to being a shivering mess. He’d been what felt like three hours outside, so he was chilled to the bone.

  Now, I’m toasty warm under the comfort of Beau’s body. It feels good to be here, in his arms. So much so I’m wondering if we can cancel today’s activities and stay here.

  I take him in while he’s asleep. He looks younger, relaxed. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a mellow person, but he’s also on guard for the unknown all the time.

  Seeing him now, looking vulnerable, pushes me to want him more, to get to know him more. I want to know every little thing there is to know about him. There’s just something about seeing him, really seeing him, that draws me to him.

  My gaze moves down to his strong jaw, following it, and along to his lips. I don’t know what compels me to do what I do next. I just know I can’t fight the urge to feel his lips against mine any longer. My breath catches as I lean forward and press my lips against his. They’re soft and full. Kissing him has never felt so right.

  He stirs, his eyes fluttering open before they land on me. His expression softens, looking at me with a lazy smile. I can’t help but return it, feeling wave of happiness flow through my body.

  “Morning, beautiful. Did you―”

  “What the fuck!” Aiden yells, fear evident in his voice.

  I’m still staring down at Beau, so I see the knowing grin spread across his face. He shoots up, taking me with him.

  He opens the tent as another squeal rumbles outside.

  “It’s hissing at us,” Ashton squeals, almost sounding like Charlotte.

  “Stop fucking moving,” Aiden yells at Ashton.

  My eyes widen when I look over at their tent. It’s unpegged and both their heads are holding the roof up. It’s only a two-man tent, so they’re stretching the material.

  “It’s staring at me.” Ashton screams again.

  Landon walks out of his tent looking pissed off. He storms over to the boys, probably to knock some sense into them. Beau chuckles under his breath at their screeching.

  “What did you do?” I whisper.

  “It’s coming for me,” Ashton wails, sounding close to tears.

  “It’s gonna fucking eat us. Someone, anyone, help!”

  Beau’s laugh rings through the tent. “You’ll see.” He winks at me, smirking.

  My gaze moves back over to the boys’ tent, watching as Landon unzips it. He doesn’t get a chance to look inside because Aston and Aiden both fall out and knock Landon over.

  “What the fuck?” Landon growls.

  The two culprits fall onto their arses and shuffle backwards, looking at the tent with wide, fear-filled eyes. There’s no guessing what’s in there, and with those two, it could be anything from a cat to a money spider. They are just that dramatic.

  When Landon’s eyes also widen, I try to look into the tent. He moves back at a fast pace, looking scared, and I begin to worry. I glance back over to the tent opening for another look and start laughing.

  A grass snake slithers out, clearly in distress and feeling threatened. Its body is inflated and it’s hissing between its teeth as it heads back towards the forest.

  I’m stunned as I glance at Beau. “How?”

  Beau chuckles. “My dad’s friend breeds snakes. He showed me a thing or two, including where to find them.”

  “You are so crafty.” I begin to giggle, gaining everyone’s attention. I hadn’t realised everyone had come out to see what the commotion was about. I was too enthralled by the entertainment Aiden and Ashton were putting on.

  “You?” Ashton growls, getting up from the ground. He points at Beau, breathing heavily.

  “Me?” Beau asks, pointing his own finger at his chest innocently.

  “You did this?” Aiden asks, almost in awe. Well, he would be if he wasn’t so scared.

  Everyone looks at Beau with stunned expressions. At first, I’m worried about their reaction and if it will cause a rift between Beau and my family. But then Maddox, followed by the rest of them, start laughing uproariously, so I relax and join in.

  “I told you payback’s a bitch.”

  “You could have killed us!” Ashton squeals, throwing his arms up.

  Beau scoffs. “It was a grass snake, not a cobra.”

  “That wasn’t just some grass snake. It had fucking fangs and was hissing at us. It came at me.”

  “It touched me whilst I was sleeping,” Aiden adds, looking pissed now.

  “Where?” I blurt out.

  He turns bright red, the veins in his neck pulsing. “It doesn’t matter,” he shouts louder.

  I giggle, earning a glare. “It was harmless. I promise.” My assurance falls on deaf ears.

  “What would you know?”

  My giggle turns into full laughter. “I’m a vet, remember.”

  He snarls, before grabbing his bag out of the tent. “I’m going to get ready. See you lot at breakfast.”

  “And I want an apology ready by the time we get back,” Ashton barks. He glowers at Beau one last time before storming off after Aiden.

  We’re all silent for a few seconds before laughter fills our campsite.

  “I cannot believe you did that,” I say, turning to Beau.

  He shrugs, playing it off. “It’s actually fun to let my hair down. I didn’t realise how uptight I was until this weekend with your family.”

  Uh-oh.

  “Please don’t let them rub off on you.”

  “Why?” He gives me his charming, boyish grin.

  So not going to help right now.

  “Because I already have a bunch of hooligans in my family. I don’t need my… my….” I pause, wondering what Beau actually is to me.

  Still grinning, he takes my shoulders and shakes me. “Don’t worry, they aren’t rubbing off on me. They just brought the old me out to play.”

  “Seriously, that really doesn’t help.”

  He laughs at my expression. “Come on, let’s go get ready. I want to kick your cousins’ arses at archery.”

  “You’ve done it before?” I ask, shocked.

  He winks at me. “No. But it will be fun to make them squirm thinking I have.”

  *** *** ***

  Turns out, archery wasn’t for everyone—okay, it wasn’t for any of us. We all figured that out five minutes in to trying to aim and shoot.

  Personally, I think I sucked because I couldn’t keep my eyes
off Beau’s arse, or his bulging biceps. It was distracting. The instructor found it hard to take his eyes off him too, so I wasn’t the only one affected.

  Katniss Everdeen had made it look effortless in The Hunger Games.

  As for rock climbing… Well, for us girls, it was a blast. For the boys, however, it was a competition, one that ended with us breaking up four fights.

  The next activity is something none of us expected. Lily booked the wrong course. Instead of the jungle challenge, we are now doing the jungle mud course, which is going to get freaking messy.

  We’re all put into teams of two, and thankfully, I got paired with Beau.

  “At each flag point, collect your team’s colour and proceed to the next obstacle. The winners are whoever finishes the course first and manages to get all their flags.”

  “We got his,” Imogen hoots, high-fiving Hayden.

  Yeah, those two are the ones to worry about. Landon and Charlotte too, and maybe Maddox and Lily. The others have no hope against me and Beau. We’re both active in our lives.

  Mark scoffs, turning towards her. “You wish. See you at the finish line.”

  “Yeah, you’ll see us waving to you from our winner’s throne,” Hayden sasses.

  “Um, there isn’t actually a throne.” The instructor bites her lip.

  “Right. More like waving at us to slow down,” Liam laughs, goading his sister.

  “All right, get into position.”

  I pull my coveralls over my clothes. When the instructor had offered them to us, I’d jumped at the chance. There is no way I’m going to ruin my Juicy Couture tracksuit. Not a chance in hell.

  I pull my goggles over my eyes and high-five Beau, before stepping into place at the start of our first course.

  Which happens to be a net of rope with thick, wet mud underneath.

  “Ready, steady…” The horn blasts and we move.

  I’m under the net first, laughing and squealing at the feel of the mud already seeping through my clothes.

  So much for protecting my Juicy Couture.

  Beau is behind me, shouting at me to hurry, to move as fast as I can. But I’m sinking into the mud, which is making it hard to move anywhere.

  The instructor never gave us rules like the other guides did, so I turn on my back, grabbing the rope above me, and use it to pull me across the mud. I slide easily and look down at Beau, a few feet behind me. He’s grinning, already covered in mud, and does the same.