Page 29 of Falling for the Beast

She could imagine writing about this place. A large rock sat near the edge, and he helped her climb up on it to sit. “I thought you might like the view here.”

“It’s amazing.”

He sat next to her. “When I’d come here with the guys, we’d just throw stuff down there.”

“Sounds like teenaged boys.”

He chuckled. “Yeah.”

“My father would have loved this.”

They sat in silence, enjoying the splashing of the waterfall and the occasional bird that chirped. She could feel his body close to hers. Could feel the power in his muscles. He had such a sweet side to him, to bring her here. She’d seen glimpses of it before. She put her hand on his. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

A noise sounded from behind them and she turned to see Gavin step out of the forest. Her heart leaped into her throat. “Gavin? What are you doing here?”

“I followed you.” He sneered. “I wanted to see what that thing was up to.”

Thaddeus tensed, and Aribelle whispered, “It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.”

She stood and hopped down from the rock. “We don’t want any trouble.”

Gavin ignored her and squinted at Thaddeus. “What are you, anyway? I saw what you can do, and it’s not right.”

“That’s enough,” she said, taking a step toward Gavin. “You need to leave.”

Three of Gavin’s friends stepped out into the clearing, joining him. One of them held a baseball bat and he slapped it against the palm of his hand. Gavin grinned, and fear slithered down her spine.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

Thaddeus jumped down from the rock in one fluid motion, stepping in front of her, shielding her. “That’s fine. You stay. We’ll go.” He threaded his fingers through hers and moved to go around them.

Gavin took a step to intercept them. “I asked you a question. What are you? A witch? Or some kind of government experiment?”

“He’s none of your concern,” Aribelle said, wishing her voice hadn’t squeaked to betray her fear.

Ignoring her once again, Gavin looked Thaddeus up and down. “Something must have gone wrong with the experiment.” One of his goons laughed.

Thaddeus squeezed her hand and whispered. “I’ll distract them. You run into the woods.”

She wanted to tell him no. Wanted to scream that one of them had a baseball bat and he hadn’t brought it to play sports. But she didn’t know what sticking around would do to help him. Her heart beat fast and her palms grew sweaty. She nodded.

Thaddeus let go of her hand and closed the distance between him and Gavin. “Leave us alone.”

Gavin scoffed and looked at his buddies. “He wants us to leave him alone.” He turned back to Thaddeus. “Not a chance.” He swung a fist, connecting with Thaddeus’s jaw. A sickening snap rang out and Aribelle screamed.

A low growl sounded and Thaddeus grabbed Gavin by the jacket. He tossed him aside like he weighed nothing. Gavin flew, landing on the tree-line yards away. The man with the baseball bat swung it at Thaddeus, but he caught it mid-air, then snapped it in half, a loud crack echoing.

Aribelle was too stunned at first to move, but while the other men came at Thaddeus, she knew he could take care of himself and started her sprint toward the trail.

Sounds of the scuffle faded as she ran, trying not to trip over any tree roots. Her breath came in short bursts, the cool autumn air stinging her throat. Her boots crunched on pine needles as she ran. She turned to glance behind her. Was he okay? She slowed her steps, wondering how long he would be.

She stopped to listen, but couldn’t hear anything except her rapid breathing and her racing heart. This was the only path to the motorcycle. He had to come this way, so she sat down on a log and waited to hear something.

After a few minutes, her anxiety grew too much, and she stood. She couldn’t sit there while the idiots fought with Thaddeus. She needed to make sure he was okay. If they were able to overpower him…she didn’t finish the thought. It wouldn’t have a good outcome.

She began walking back toward them, slowly making her way along the trail. Thaddeus was much stronger than those men. He could handle himself, couldn’t he? She didn’t want to think about the alternative.

A shadow materialized up ahead and she breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thaddeus.” She ran toward him.

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