Page 101 of Misconducts & Temptation

I left my mother’s grave and made my way over to the other side of the cemetery. The path was slick with rain, puddles forming in dips and hollows. I didn’t mind. It was almost soothing, a distraction from the strange conflict of emotions inside me.

Elodie was kneeling in front of two simple plaques embedded in the ground. Her hair, damp from the rain, clung to her face in blonde strands. She brushed them away absently as she talked, her voice carrying softly through the air. She always had this way of speaking, like every word mattered.

The plaques were modest, barely standing out against the earth and grass. I had this sudden urge to replace them with something more elaborate, something that matched the enormity of her loss. But I knew she wouldn’t let me.

Stubborn thing.

Her back was to me, but even from this angle, I could see her determination. Her shoulders were set straight despite the rain and mud staining her jeans. She had an elegance about her that didn’t come from money or status—it was something deeper, something intrinsic.

I moved closer, trying not to intrude on her moment but unable to stay away. Just watching her made my chest warm, countering the cold ache inside me.

“Elodie,” I called softly.

She turned, her eyes meeting mine. They were bright even in the gray light of the rainy day. “Keaton,” she said with a small smile. “You talk to your mom?”

“Yeah,” I replied, moving to stand beside her. “You?”

“Yeah.” She looked back at the plaques. “Told them about you.”

“Good things?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She laughed softly. “Of course.” She stood next to me. “I think my parents would have liked you.”

"Oh, yeah?"

She shook her head, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Definitely not."

"What?" I chuckled, taking her hand in mine. For whatever reason, I couldn't stop myself from touching her. "Why not? I'm a gentleman, I'll have you know." Leaning forward, I kissed her neck softly. "Unless my dick is in the warm, wet pussy of yours. Then all bets are off."

She blushed, a delightful pink spreading across her cheeks.

I loved that I could make her blush. I never wanted that to end.

"Keaton, please," she said, straightening and glancing back at the plaques. "Not in front of my parents."

"You telling me you wouldn't do it in a cemetery?" I teased, grinning wickedly.

"Keaton!" she exclaimed, playfully hitting my arm.

I threw my arms up in mock surrender. "Whoa," I said. "No need to throw down. I know you have a scrappy reputation, but don't use it on me."

Her blush deepened, and she tried to hide it by looking away. But I saw it, and it made my chest swell with a strange kind of pride.

The rain had finally stopped completely, leaving the cemetery quiet except for the occasional drip from the trees. We stood there together, hand in hand, amidst the graves of those who had come before us. It was peaceful in a way that made everything else seem distant and unimportant.

Elodie squeezed my hand gently and looked up at me with those bright eyes of hers. “Thank you,” she said simply.

“For what?” I asked.

“For being here,” she replied. “For being you.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. So I just held her hand tighter and nodded, feeling the weight of the moment settle between us.

We stayed like that for a while longer until the sky began to clear and the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds. The world seemed brighter somehow as if everything was finally falling into place.

And for once in my life, I felt like maybe—just maybe—I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Elodie tugged my hand, pulling me toward the car. “Come on,” she said, her voice carrying a playful edge. “I think we need to head to Crestwood and get more practice in. And then we have Adrian’s Solstice thing.”

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