Page 4 of Something Reckless

ALBA

“ O h my freaking… Ouch !”

I wince, practically hanging upside down for several moments before I hit the ground. My wrist hurts from trying to catch my fall, and I’m caught in a tangle of itchy bushes. On top of everything else, judging by the breeze I’m feeling, it’s clear that my ass is completely exposed.

I scramble to right myself, getting scratched by thorns and tiny branches. Before I can free myself, I feel a presence looming over me.

I freeze, panicking as I realize I’m kind of, sort of trespassing.

I can’t go to jail. Who’d pay for groceries for my mom and Jagger?

“It’s not what it looks like. I was just…well…window-shopping and I fell,” I mumble out in a rushed string of words. “I just…It’s all a misunderstanding. I promise.”

As I fumble through a nervous apology, I manage to adjust my skirt, pulling the material down enough to cover my pale, naked cheeks .

But I still haven’t dared to look up at the stranger who’s going to send me to prison. Partially because I’m terrified. Partially because I can’t even see.

I lost my glasses when I flopped over the wall, and now I’m frantically searching for them in the bushes. Which is really freaking hard to do, because I can’t see shit without them.

Then—while I’m still down on my cut-up hands and knees, covered in dirt—a blurry hand appears in front of my face. My glasses! The stranger is handing me my glasses. I put them on in a rush, not bothering to wipe the new smudges.

I’m ready to thank my savior before they haul me off to the police department. But my breath catches in my throat when I glance up into a face I never thought I’d see again.

Easton Raines…

I blink up at him, wondering if I happened to hit my head during my little tumble. But he’s really here, looking as handsome as ever, even with the tall, gray crutches tucked under his arms.

Easton’s face—one that’s changed over time, with a stronger jaw and more stubble than I remember—is twisted with shock. I imagine my expression probably mirrors the same surprise.

Of all the ways I thought I might run into Easton again someday, I can guarantee, this was not one of them.

Like, did he just see my whole ass?

Of course he did.

He extends a hand to help me up to my feet. Despite my apprehension, I take it. It beats hanging out down here in the prickly bushes.

As soon as I’m steady on my feet, I get busy, tugging down my skirt and making sure my boobs aren’t hanging out of my outfit. Tucking and adjusting and rearranging like a crazy lady.

Easton stands there observing me with the palest blue eyes, his handsome face morphing slowly, until those dimples I remember so well pop into place. His eyes crinkle at the corners as he begins to…laugh!

It’s tentative and unsure at first. Then it grows steadier, the deep, jovial sound provoking tingles in my belly.

He’s laughing. He’s laughing at me.

What the fuck ?!

As much as I’m captivated by the handsome view, I don’t see how this is a laughing matter.

“What’s so funny?” I demand with a stomp of my foot.

“This is a prank, right? Some extreme Welcome Home joke?” He stops and looks around the yard like he’s expecting more people to jump out of the bushes.

“Who put you up to this? The guys from our old school? They’re such fucking jokers.

Or wait—was it my brothers? I’m not falling for their tricks.

But the fairy outfit is a nice touch, though,” he comments with a wink.

I grunt, feeling highly offended and all but forgetting that I’m the intruder here. “A prank?! This is not a prank. I fell over your wall. And it hurt!”

Easton’s eyebrows pull together. “But…I don’t get it. If this isn’t a—” Before he can finish his sentence, he glances down toward my knees and his eyes go wide with alarm. “Shit. You’re bleeding.”

“What?” I glance down the length of my legs, too. “Oh. Shit.”

For crying out loud.

The first time in nine years that I lay eyes on Easton Raines—in person—and it happens this way? Clearly, the universe isn’t done picking on me .

And what is Easton doing here anyway?

I dig through my brain, and remember all the news headlines about him lately. He got injured in a recent hockey match. From the way the Sports Broadcast Network described it, the injury sounded pretty bad. It put him out of the game for the rest of the season.

And now, he’s here.

The hottest bachelor in professional hockey. The old high school friend I was forced to let go of. The last person I want discovering the secret I’ve been hiding.

He’s standing in front of me, staring at the blood dripping down my leg, while I pull twigs out of my hair.

Life doesn’t get much better than this .