Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 26

Back then, he was so effortlessly arrogant, radiating a fierce, untamed energy that made it impossible to look away.

He didn't tell her where they were going, and she didn't ask.

The car finally stopped at the base of a desolate mountain just outside the city.

"Are you cold?" He had taken her freezing hands and tucked them against the warm skin of his neck.

Willa shook her head. As long as she was with him, she felt perfectly warm.

There were no stars out that night; heavy, dark clouds blanketed the sky.

He pitched the tent with practiced ease and ushered her inside.

The space was incredibly cramped, and she dozed off while tucked securely against his chest.

He rarely ever said anything romantic, but that night was an exception.

"Wills, my only dream in this life is for you to be in the stands, watching me win the championship."

The way he said it made it sound like a sacred vow.

Later, right as she was drifting off to sleep, she felt him carefully pull away, only to return a moment later to tuck something wonderfully hot right by her feet.

Back then, Randal had given her his entire, burning heart, holding absolutely nothing back.

But a dream was just a dream.

He never won his championship, and she was no longer the girl cheering for him from the sidelines.

Wrapped in those bittersweet memories, Willa's eyelids finally grew heavy.

She didn't know how much time had passed when the faint hum of a zipper jolted her awake.

The tent flap parted slightly, and a blast of icy wind rushed in.

He suddenly leaned in close, his breath ghosting against her ear as he whispered, "If Zack walked in on us right now... do you think he'd assume we couldn't keep our hands off each other, too?"

His warm breath brushed against the sensitive shell of her ear, sending a violent shiver down her spine.

She tried to shove him away, but she didn't dare make too much noise, terrified of waking Zack in the tent next door.

Randal seized the opportunity to grip the back of her neck, pinning her firmly in place.

His cool lips pressed against the column of her throat. Willa squeezed her eyes shut in despair, bracing herself for another brutal humiliation.

But the familiar pain never came.

Instead, a soft, teasing tickle spread across her skin. Randal's tongue traced lazy, agonizingly slow circles over that patch of flesh, tenderly mapping the outline of the old scar.

The sensation was electric and searing, shooting straight down to her bones.

Willa trembled uncontrollably, her eyes flying wide open in shock.