Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,199

excitedly and I nodded keenly. "Have you ever done it before?"

"Yeah, my dad used to love it. We'd rent paragliders and climb to the top of Horse Canyon in San Diego then sail down it at sunset. I always did it tandem with him though, I haven’t done it alone before."

"No worries, sweetheart, you can ride with me. I wouldn't have it any other way anyway."

He caught my hand again, tugging me over to all the gear and started pulling a dark green jumpsuit on me which had the Everlake crest on the back of it. He admired me in the fitted suit before pulling on his own and my heart raced at the paragliders folded up in colourful bags hanging from hooks on the wall. He took one down, carrying it outside and setting it up while readying the harnesses, the paraglider matching the colour of our suits. I followed him outside, my excitement turning to a knot of anxiety too as he beckoned me over.

"Ready, Cinders?" he asked and I nodded, biting my lip as I approached him and he got into the harness before securing me against him in my own. The cliff stood before us, ready for us to run and jump off of it and my heart hammered as I waited for his signal.

"You really trust me, huh?" he murmured in my ear before nibbling on it. I shivered against him, nodding and reaching back to clutch his hair and draw him closer for a second.

"It's not the worst way to die if I have to go out today," I breathed and he growled in my ear, offering me another little bottle of rum. I let him tip it down my throat and the scent of it washed over me as he drank his own and turned my head to kiss me. His tongue stroked mine and I could almost taste his adrenaline meeting my own. I was laughing by the time we broke apart, excited butterflies sweeping through my belly.

"Let’s go!" he cried then we started running for the cliff.

My heart beat wildly out of rhythm and fear and excitement tangled inside me like a living creature as we reached the edge and the air pushed against our paraglider. A scream escaped me as we stepped off of the cliff and the glider lifted us higher as we sailed over the lake far, far below. I laughed and cried out as the wind took us and Blake used the lines on the glider to steer us on the drafts, circling us around the whole of campus. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The water gleamed like it was made of pure crystal, so blindingly blue that it rivalled the sky.

The endless rain recently had made the forest lush and so green. I could make out the students walking around the paths far below, the whole thing looking like some sort of painting. I reached into my jumpsuit and took my phone from my blazer pocket, knowing I was risking dropping it, but I just had to capture this moment. Once I'd taken a bunch of pictures of the incredible view, I flipped the camera and took some selfies of us. Blake kissed my cheek and poked out his tongue and we pulled stupid faces as we snapped a few more until we were both laughing.

It was even more exhilarating as we soared towards the earth and the wind whipped past me fiercely. We tore over the water, getting frighteningly close to it until I thought we were going to splash right into it.

"Blake!" I cried and he answered with a laugh as we sailed lower and lower and made it to Sycamore Beach just in time. We hit the sand and ran several steps as we slowed to a halt. Blake pulled our harnesses off, grabbing my waist and throwing me down beneath him in the sand, making my stomach whoosh.

He dropped down over me and his mouth landed on mine, our hearts pounding furiously against one another’s as he kissed me. His tongue moved against mine in passionate strokes and I moaned against his lips as I bathed in the happy glow of this moment, adrenaline still pouring through my veins like a dam had broken inside me and all that was held behind it had been purest sunlight. This was one helluva way to forget the darkness living in us and I found myself giddy as I stared up at my beautiful golden boy.

"I