The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 1

Book 1 Chapter 40 We stroll along the promenade, towards the pier, my eyes light up as I see the Ferris wheel and roller coasters.

It reminds me of Santa Monica Pier.

‘Want to go on a few rides?’ He offers and I’m glad he’s not one of those people who is scared to go on rides

‘Yes!’ I reply eagerly and we step onto the wooden boards of the pier. The salty sea breeze hits me square in the face and I couldn’t be happier about it. The smell instantly takes me back to being a kid again and excitement bubbles up in my stomach.

Stopping at the first stand, Eli buys us some cotton candy, which we eat whilst we make our way down the pier. After we have eaten our fill, I lead him towards the waltzers.

A million rotations later and both of us are laughing hysterically, especially when Eli sees my hair after I’ve stepped off. I frantically try to pat it down so I look a little less like a lion who’s just had his mane permed

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‘Want a go? Eli asks, gesturing towards the stall where you have to throw a ball and knock down all the bottles.

‘My aim is pretty bad to be honest,’ I reply honestly and give him a sheepish smile.

‘Well, that’s good because my aim is awesome, he smirks down at me, and I raise an eyebrow in disbe lief.

Prove it, I tell him, and he smiles at me. We go over to the stall, and I step back and watch as Eli pays the stallholder, grabs a ball and lines up his shot. My mouth drops open as he swings his arm and pelts the ball forwards, it hits the bottles with such force that it knocks over every single one.

Bloody supernatural strength.

‘Oh my God, that’s amazing. I gush, and I’m awarded with one of my favorite boyish grins.

‘Here you go, the stallholder hands Eli a giant wolf, funnily enough. We share a knowing glance.

How ironic

‘You have it, I won it for you, he says and as I thank him, he puts his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his wonderful body as we stroll down to the next stall,

The next ride we choose is the rollercoaster, we wait patiently in the queue and manage to get on in twenty minutes. I grip the bar as it’s pulled down in front of us and turn to see Eli is already looking at me with an indiscernible look on his face.

‘Hold my hand if you get scared, he teases, and I roll my eyes at him.

‘Shut up,’ I reply, and the rollercoaster begins clacking up the incline before he can respond.

I hold my breath as we reach the top of the drop and teeter over the edge, in a split second, we fly down, the wind whipping past so quickly I have to shut my eyes. I grip the bar so tightly that I can feel my pulse in my fingers, my stomach feels like it’s dropped to the bottom of my body, and I get a mad sense of

Book 1 Chapter 40

relief and adrenaline when we reach the bottom and begin coasting at a normal speed.

The inclines and drops continue like that, when Eli and I get off we‘re both buzzing off adrenaline and we decide we fancy some fish and chips. We buy our food off one of the vendors and walk to the very end of the pier, where it is deepest in the water with the waves crashing into the pillars below the boards. We sit down on a bench and dig into our food.

It is windy on the end of the pier and goose-bumps rise on my arms, like something about a film, Eli takes off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. The intoxicating scent of Elijah Hunt fills my nose and I almost die of happiness; I’m at the beach, eating chips, sat with and wearing the jacket off, probably the fittest guy in the world.

What a great day. 

We leave the pier and walk back to the car park, Eli reaches over to hold my hand again and despite having conflicting feelings towards him, holding his hand feels right.

He drives us back to his beach house and we decide to change and go for a swim in the sea. I put on my bikini which contrasts beautifully with my chocolate-colored skin. Slightly nervous, I come downstairs with my towel wrapped around me and see Eli is already in the water. I kick off my flip-flops, momentarily regretting the action when I step onto the burning hot sand. I quickly lay out my towel and hurry to the wa ter’s edge, needing the cold water to soothe my feet.

I step in up to my ankles and sigh happily as the cool water surrounds me, when I look up, I see Eli standing a few meters away. The sea is at his waist, he’s wearing blue shorts and rivulets of water are run ning down his tanned, muscular chest. His usually light blonde hair is darker with the water, and he’s pushed it back off his face, he looks amazing.

‘Come here,’ he says, stepping towards me. I do as he asks and takes a couple of steps further into the water. This obviously isn’t deep enough for him, because he closes the distance between us and grabs me by the waist. I automatically lift my legs and wrap them around his waist as holds me against his body.

‘Eli! Put me down!’ | squeal as he wades deeper into the sea, my feet disappear into the water and soon it rises to my waist.

‘It’s cold! Put me down!’ I tell him, rolling my eyes when I hear him laughing.

“Okay, I’ll put you down, he replies and suddenly lets me go, dropping me into the water so it comes up over my shoulders. I flail about until my feet touch the sand and I can stand up, the water is just under my chest now and I wrap my arms around myself to keep warm.