Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) Read Online Free PDF

be
back.”
    My father’s stern voice
came immediately. “You be back here by nightfall,
Artemis.”
    That was always the rule.
“Naturally.” I let the door slam behind me.
    Gideon’s hands were stuffed
in his pockets as we walked in silence. The sweet scent of early
spring was everywhere as we reached the crest where our properties
met and then we veered off into the woods. He paused to pick a
handful of dandelions. When he handed them to me our fingers
touched briefly. The electric thrill which ran through my body was
becoming familiar. For months I’d been feeling strangely around
Gideon. I even caught myself staring at his lips a few times,
marveling at the pouty shape of them, wondering how they would feel
against mine.
    I looked up at my best
friend and realized he was breathing very quickly. He stared at me
for a moment, then shook himself briefly. “Come on,” he
urged.
    It took us a good twenty
minutes to reach our secret favorite place. Deep in the woods was
an enormous white birch with a natural stone bench at its base.
Gideon and I would sit for hours back to back on that bench,
staring up at the mottled sky through thick branches.
    I fussed with my
dandelions, knotting them into a chain. Gideon took them from me
and joined the ends together. “Here,” he said, placing the golden
crown in my dark hair. I watched his face as he carefully adjusted
the crown. A flicker of a smile touched the corners of his
mouth.
    “ What?” I asked.
    His fingers lingered in the
strands of my hair. “I was just thinking. Someday, when you’re
mine, I want you to wear dandelion crowns every day.”
    I stared up at him,
scarcely breathing. “I’m yours now.”
    Gideon leaned forward and
kissed me.
    I had never been kissed
before and I knew Gideon hadn’t either. Our mouths melted together
as we lost our hesitation. His arms wrapped around me firmly and
lifted me slightly as my own arms went around his
shoulders.
    We sank down to the damp
mossy ground, a good thing since my legs seemed to have forgotten
how to support me. Gideon’s kiss became harder, more urgent as he
settled his weight on top of me. When I felt his hand moving
underneath my cotton t-shirt I flinched instinctively.
    “ Acie,” he whispered, his
eyes wide. “Is this okay?”
    I touched his lips with my
finger and then kissed him again. “Yes,” I answered and it
was.
    Time lost all meaning as we
kissed. Neither of us noticed the fall of darkness until the growl
of a nearby animal caused me to break away with a gasp. Gideon
looked around wildly, having leapt into a tense crouching position.
I heard a strange noise come from his throat and I felt suddenly
cold. Even a little sick. My hands, still sore from hours of
morning archery practice, itched for a weapon. I stared at Gideon
Casteel in the fading light and suddenly he became unrecognizable.
Not Gideon…something else. I closed my eyes tightly, forcing the
image away.
    Then Gideon’s hand was on
my elbow as he pulled me to my feet. His voice was uneasy. “Come
on,” he said. “We need to get home.”
    He waited for me as I
tripped through the wilderness, scratched at by unseen branches. My
angry parents awaited us in the clearing and my father glared
fiercely at Gideon. Oddly, he wore his quiver and had a bow slung
on his back. There was no time for goodbyes as I was hustled into
the house. I was only able to glance back once to see Gideon’s
quick wink and grin. I didn’t know that would be the last time
Gideon Casteel would ever smile at me.
    I squeezed the dirty mop
between my hands, breathing thickly, trying to banish the
recollection of what came next. Gideon’s sudden and devastatingly
cold behavior. A lonely walk in the woods one night to our special
place only to stumble across a party I hadn’t been invited to which
included all of Luna Junction teens. Gideon’s cutting words. We’re not friends. And
then the sound of laughter as he shoved me lightly. I was nothing
to him. To