The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 4

Grace's POV.

The days fly by as we get ready for the weekend away. Axel and I both get permission to have time off of work.

We pack our bags for a three—night stay and load everything in the back of our car. I get in the passenger seat, letting Axe drive. We drive to Rory and Lydia's house first.

We all live about ten minutes away from each other, it's a pretty perfect setup.

The two mates lock up their house and then get into the back of the car. Once they're buckled up, we set off for the lake house, following the directions that Noelle sent us.

Noelle and Xaden are meeting us there. They had their 12—week scan this morning and went to the house as soon as they were done.

It takes a couple of hours for us to drive to the lake. It's in the center of Elijah's territory. His territory is known to have great beaches, we might visit them on one of the days.

The car ride is a lot of fun. We sing along to the radio and chat about random things.

I love that, even years after we've finished school, we're all still so close.

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I gasp as we pull up to the lake house. Even though I've seen photos of it, it looks even better in person.

Axel parks up next to Xaden's car and the couple step out of the house as we get out.

'Welcome!' Xaden shouts, drawing our attention. 'Isn't this awesome'

We unload our things from the car and haul them up the steps to the house. After we've put them in our rooms, Noelle and Xaden give us a tour.

It's a beautiful house, decorated in light colors with wooden furniture. It's situated right on the edge of the lake. Floor—to—ceiling glass doors lead out onto a balcony that sits over the water.

I can just picture us having breakfast out here in the mornings.

The lake is vast. The water doesn't look particularly warm, but it's clean and I might be tempted to go in if the weather is hot enough.

'We thought we could go for a run this afternoon and then have a barbecue out back' Noelle suggests. 'I've brought all the stuff for making s'mores.'

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The six of us go for a run in the woods. We act like kids again, chasing and playing with one another.

We're sweaty and out of breath when we finally get back to the house. There are two bathrooms, so we take turns showering, but we shower in pairs, with our mates.

In the afternoon, I lay on the sofa, reading. Lydia sits on the opposite sofa, sketching.

Noelle and Axel are in the kitchen, prepping the food. We offered our help, but those are the best when it comes to BBQ's.

Xaden and Rory are out at the front of the house, getting the fire pit going for the barbecue.

As evening settles and the Sun gets lower in the sky, we all go outside and sit in a circle around the fire pit on camping chairs.

The barbecue is a success. We have kebabs and skewers filled with meat and vegetables. We grill halloumi and eat it straight from the skewer.

Afterward, Noelle hands out toasting forks and we pass around a bag of marshmallows. Using chocolate biscuits, we melt the marshmallows and make s'mores.

We stay up late around the fire, talking about everything; funny stories from school, wondering what the future holds for us.

Noelle and Xaden take each other's hands and look at us.

'We have some news,' Xaden says, grinning from ear to ear. 'At the scan today…'

He looks at Noelle, who grins back at him before turning to face us.

'We found that we're having twins.'

We rush to congratulate them, overjoyed for our friends.

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In the morning, we have breakfast out on the balcony. It's as perfect as I imagined it would be.

I take some pictures of us all. I hope that one day, we bring our children out here.

'What's the plan for today' Axel asks as we demolish the fry—up buffet spread across the table.

'We were thinking of going to the beach for the day,' Xaden suggests, and we all agree that it's a good idea.

We pack everything we'll need into Xaden's car. His car can fit all six of us. Axel and I opt to squeeze in the back.

It takes less than an hour to drive through the woods to the beach. As it is on Alpha Elijah's territory and private land, there are no humans.

There are other people on the beach, but mostly we have space to ourselves.

We set up a little camp with our towels and bags. I strip down to my bikini and lay on my towel, soaking up the sun.

I smile as I feel Axel's lips kissing up my arm.

'I really wish I could take this bikini off you,' he murmurs against my skin.

I chuckle, my eyes are still close as I sunbathe.

'I don't think the other families on this beach would appreciate that,' I reply amusedly.

'Or they would appreciate it far too much,' Axel mutters and I snort at his jealousy.

'Don't be jealous, baby,' I mumble. 'No one is looking but you.'

He kisses up my stomach to my breasts. 'Good.'

'We're going in the water,' Rory announces. 'Want to come'

I peek open one eye and look at my friends, who stood above me in their bikinis.

'Sure.'

The six of us wade into the water. It's cool, but the baking sun above us makes it bearable.

Axel grabs my waist and lifts me above the waves.

'Stop! Put me down!' I squeal with laughter as he carries me deeper into the water.

Once he is at shoulder height, he lowers me into the water. I cling onto him, wrapping my arms around legs around his body.

'Meanie,' I pout, shivering from the sudden change in temperature.

He grins at me. 'I'll warm you up if you like, Strawberries.'

He kisses me, pushing his tongue into my mouth even though we are not exactly alone in the water. I kiss him back, unable to resist him.

'Oi, lovebirds!' Xaden's voice pulls us apart.

He grins at us and holds up an inflatable ball. 'Wanna play'

'I thought we were supposed to be adults now' Axel asks.

I laugh and push off his chest, swimming away from him.

'Adults can still play, Axe. Come on!'

We mess around in the water, hitting the ball to one another and getting drenched by incoming waves.

When we get tired, we come back onto land and dry off in the sun. There is a café next to the car park and we buy fish and chips for lunch.

We stay on the beach until late afternoon, when the sun starts to lower in the sky. We climb back into the car and Xaden takes us back to the house.

'Ror and I will cook tonight,' Lydia says when we get home.

I decide to take a shower to get the sand out of my hair, and my lovely mate chooses to join me.

I don't realize he's behind me until his chest presses against my back. I scream in surprise and spin around to see Axel grinning.

'Sorry, did I scare you' He says insincerely. I know he's not sorry at all, he's grinning far too much.

'You idiot! You terrified me!' I complain, making him chuckle.

'You're the idiot that left the door unlocked.'

I huff and turn my back to him.

'Don't be mad, Strawberries,' he mumbles and starts peppering kisses up my shoulder. 'I can't resist you.'

I hum in response, my anger slowly fading. He grabs my breasts from behind and massages the shower gel into them. My head falls back to rest on his chest.

'That feels nice,' I whisper.

Axel smiles against my skin and kisses up my neck, to my mark.

'I can make it feel even nicer,' he replies huskily.

He washes one hand free of the suds under the water and then moves it between my legs. I spread my feet a little wider, giving him more access.

He sucks and nibbles at his mark whilst rubbing my clit. The pleasure is indescribable. My eyes fall closed and my toes curl against the shower tiles.

Axel rubs me in fast little circles that have me gasping. As my orgasm is building, he scrapes his teeth along my neck and then bites down, re—marking me.

He likes to do this a lot because it intensifies my climax. I tremble in his arms, moaning his name as the pleasure overwhelms me.

He holds me until I stop shaking and finally open my eyes. My mate smirks at me.

'You still mad, Strawberries'

Nope.

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