Wilder (The Wild Ones 3)

I personally delivered all the empty dishes to the diner’s lost-and-found box. I keep checking in to see who they all belong to. No one has claimed them yet.

Cowards.

They start the song over, and the rest of the crowd gets into it, as Nila loses the axe-throwing competition to the axe-throwing king once again.

It only gets louder and louder, until the entire crowd has caught on, and people lift their drinks high in the air as if to toast them, as the singing continues.

My lips twist with the beginnings of a grin when I see the bright smile on Piper’s face, while she really gets into belting out the lyrics with a voice that…isn’t even a little bit angelic. It’s the effort that counts with this lot.

Reese is right beside her, the two of them locking arms around each other’s shoulders, as people lift lighters in the air and sway from side to side like this has turned into Woodstock.

I trash the coffees, since they’re rapidly getting cold and will be disgusting by the time this show is allowed to end. Everyone cries out for an encore, and the girls start all over again.

After about three more encores, Hale retrieves Reese, and I go to drag Piper off the stage. She comes willingly, practically leaping into my arms.

Lenny Nickel gets on stage, picking up where they left off, cashing in on the momentum and a chance for attention.

However, instead of cheers and sing-alongs, he gets booed and starts getting trash thrown at him.

I’m in the middle of laughing at him cursing and flipping off the entire town, when Piper surprises me.

It happens so fast that I can’t stop it. Her lips forcefully press to mine, and her fingers tangle in my hair as she winds her legs around my waist.

Catcalls and whistles sound out over the groans, and I hold her to me as I kiss her back, drinking her in, even though I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t go through this torture.

I haven’t kissed her like this since I realized I’m not quite as fucking strong as I thought I was.

With every ounce of nobility I can muster, I break the kiss, and my forehead presses to hers as I pant for air.

“Stay with me tonight,” she whispers, arms circling around my neck.

A tortured sound slips out of me, and my grip tightens as I hold her closer, barely resisting the urge to go back after her lips.

“If I did that, I’d break some important rules. And you’re really fucking drunk,” I point out.

Her arms tighten on me, and so do her legs, as I walk us toward my Jeep, electing to skip the fireworks and get her out of here. She looks like she’s about to pass out.

Damn, I parked pretty far out to avoid the inevitable traffic jam.

“I’m sorry I missed so much of the festival. We lost track of time. Don’t kill them,” she tells me as her lips brush mine again.

Fuck. My. Night.

I really wish I didn’t know right from wrong or my own weaknesses right now.

It’d make fucking up a little easier to do.

“I don’t really murder people, Piper. It’s a figure of speech.”

She snorts. “I know. I mean don’t hurt them. Better?”

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” I tell her instead of answering her drunken babble.

“I like your beard,” she tells me, running her fingers through the right side of it.

Fuck, I really shouldn’t be expected to be this damn good.

I slow my steps, deciding to enjoy her touch at the very least, as I carry her down the street.

She peers up just as the snow starts to slowly drift down on us, and she opens her smiling mouth, trying to eat flakes of it.

Her eyes turn back to me after she catches a few, and she smiles again.

“I missed you,” she tells me too suddenly for me to have a response at the ready.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why does she have to be drunk? We could at least enjoy one more time together…

No. No. No.

I already know that’s a bad idea. Ma’s two seconds away from planning our wedding as it is, and I couldn’t even enjoy a festival because I spent all my time watching for her.

“You’re a problem for me,” I tell her as I finally reach my Jeep, putting her down.

She leans into me, pushing her face against my chest, as her arms go around my waist to hug me.

“You’re a problem for me too,” she murmurs, as I finally manage to get the door open and put her inside.

After strapping her in, she pulls me to her, kissing me again before I can stop her. I give in for a brief moment, tasting her lips and her hunger. Her hands move to my jeans, undoing them on the spot, and…I finally remember she’s drunk.