at the trains between here and my new uni, and there are loads every day. Not only that, just think of the weekends we can spend together in London.”
A gleam came into his eye. “Yeah, maybe I could get season tickets for Chelsea.” I groaned, and he laughed. “Just kidding. Maybe just one or two games.”
“I can deal with that. I can even deal with the season tickets, if it means I get to spend time with you.”
As he kissed me again, I didn’t even care that people might be watching us. The person I loved, loved me back, and I no longer had to face the prospect of being apart from him.
Standing on the pier with Raine, I watched her as she stared down the beach, her gaze distant. “You look like you’re thinking very hard, there.” I pressed a kiss to her head.
“I was just remembering.” Her voice was soft. “The fortune teller. Aunt Marie. I-I met her down there, on the beach.”
“You did? You never told me.”
Turning, she tilted her head up and met my eyes, her hair glinting with golden threads, highlighted by the last of the sun’s rays. She was so beautiful, and all mine.
“I actually forgot about it. It was that day that Xavier soaked me with his car, remember? Anyway, I was just thinking about the riddle she said. It went, ‘both light and darkness lie ahead. Your path is shrouded with hidden dread. The question that you need to ask… What is hidden beneath his mask?’ Then she added this whispered bit that was a little creepy—she said ‘Find out…before it is too late.’ At the time, I wondered if she was talking about you, but now I’m thinking it was about Dylan.”
She huffed out a laugh, trailing her finger across the railing as the sun finally sank below the horizon. “Silly, though. Right? She can’t really know what’s going to happen.”
I paused for a moment before answering. “No. How could she? She’s just good at reading people.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She sighed, before laughing again. “Oh, I forgot the weirdest part. She had a talking bird with her. Did you know birds can talk?”
“Yes, I know,” I said dryly. “That’s Picasso. Aunt Marie’s raven. He’s…kind of annoying, for a bird. He has his uses, though.” I thought back to the night when she’d disappeared with Dylan. As much as I disliked that bird, I couldn’t forget how he’d appeared from seemingly nowhere and spurred me into action.
“I thought he was cute.” A grin appeared on her face. “Although he did appear to be kind of judgemental.”
“Yep, that’s Picasso. Anyway, enough talk about the raven.” I slanted my lips over hers, kissing her until she was breathless. “Fuck, I love you.”
Her eyes shining up at me, she smiled. “I love you, too.”
“How about you show me just how much?”
She raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
A slow smile crossed my face. “Do you remember where we parked my truck?”
At her nod, I licked my lips, letting my gaze rake over her body. I watched with satisfaction as she flushed, her pupils dilating, before I lowered my voice. “I’m in the mood to catch myself a little trickster.”
Her eyes widened, and an answering smile curved over her lips. “You are, are you?”
Bending my head, I took her lobe between my teeth, feeling her shudder beneath me. Releasing her, I let the anticipation build, her body thrumming against mine, ready to fly. Then, pressing my mouth to her ear, I rasped the word she’d been waiting for.
“Run.”
As I took off after her, a wide, satisfied grin formed on my lips as I closed the distance between us. I fucking loved this. Loved her. She was made for me.
Life was good.
We had our whole future to look forward to together, and I couldn’t wait.
THE END
Thank You
Thank you so much for reading Carter and Raine’s story!
Feel free to send me any and all abuse/love/comments, and spoiler-free reviews are always very appreciated ❤️
Want more from Alstone High? Get Kian and Preston’s standalone story now at http://mybook.to/ctl
Interested in more from Cassius and Lena? Start The Four series at http://mybook.to/tlwt
A note on Picasso, the talking raven…
Ravens can talk! Check out this video on YouTube for an example.
Becca
xoxo
Acknowledgments
The first person I thank has to be my husband, because you not only put up with me locking myself away to write, but you let me use you for the character of Chris, who is arguably a colossal dick.
Claudia and Jenny, darkside for life. Chair legs and all.
My betas, you are awesome and I love you! Ashley, Claudia, Jenny, Megan and Sue. And my street team and ARC team, we didn’t have long to promo this but you worked magic!
Thank you to Cassie for the most epic cover ever, I love it so much! Thanks to Sandra for editing despite my lateness, and to Sid for your proofreading skills! And thank you to Ivy for pretty much ensuring this book was finished.
To Enticing, and the bloggers, bookstagrammers and readers who took a chance on Trick Me Twice - I really appreciate you all.
And I have to mention my friends that put up with me basically disappearing from existence, to the point where they essentially forgot what I looked like. I owe you all drinks. Lots of drinks.
Thanks again for reading!
Becca xoxo
P.S. Thank you insomnia, for tipping me over the edge of craziness and allowing Aunt Marie and Picasso in.
Also by Becca Steele
London Suits Series
The Deal
The Truce
The Wish (a free short festive story)
The Four Series
The Lies We Tell
The Secrets We Hide
The Havoc We Wreak
Standalones
Trick Me Twice
Cross the Line (M/M)
About the Author
Becca Steele is a contemporary romance author from the south of England, where she lives with her husband, two kids, and a whole horde of characters that reside inside her head.
When she's not writing, you can find her reading or watching Netflix, usually with a glass of wine in hand. Failing that, she'll be online hunting for memes, or wasting time making her 500th Spotify playlist.
Join Becca’s Facebook reader group Becca’s Book Bar or find her via the following links: