REBEL, a New Adult Romance Novel (The Rebel Series) (41 page)
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Authors: Elle Casey
Rebel stands still, allowing his brothers to gather around me as I rest in his arms.
“I’m fine.”
I look at each of their faces, taking in the concern there and their protective stances.
I feel like I have a wall of muscle and care surrounding me.
“Geez, you guys.
Let a girl breathe.”
I giggle a little awkwardly, not knowing how to handle all the attention.
Mick backs up a little and so does Colin, but neither of them stops staring.
Rebel lowers my legs but keeps his arm on my back.
“Come on.
Lie down on the couch.”
“I’ll get you some water,” says Mick, skipping out of the room.
“How about a wash cloth?” asks Colin, disappearing into the bathroom.
Rebel places me gently on the couch and sits down opposite me on the coffee table.
He brushes my hair off my face as he stares into my eyes.
“What is wrong with you guys?” I ask, partially laughing, but also mystified with their reactions to my homecoming.
He gives me a kind of sad half-smile.
“I think we’re all traveling down memory lane together right now.”
“What happened?”
I swallow with difficulty, a lump appearing in my throat out of nowhere.
I have a very strong feeling this isn’t going to be good.
“We had a sister.
It was a long time ago, when we were all teenagers.”
“What happened to her?” I ask.
I haven’t seen any pictures of her in the apartment that I can remember.
Rebel lifts his gaze to the windows behind the couch.
A tortured expression crosses his face.
“She got beat up once.”
“Once?
Was it bad?”
He nods absently.
Then he drops his gaze to me again.
“She didn’t make it.”
I reach my hand out and touch his arm.
“I’m so sorry.”
I cry because I can’t help it.
He looks miserable, and even though I have no idea who this girl was or what she looked like, I can just picture the three of them crying over a young girl’s grave, feeling powerless.
For guys like them, it can’t have been easy.
It explains a lot, actually - the anger, the silence, the getting into trouble for no reason.
They’re all hurting, and it makes me want to be stronger for them.
I think it’s in that moment that my mother-instinct wakes up and becomes a permanent part of me.
He grits his teeth and his jaw muscle tenses over and over as he stares out the window.
When Mick comes out with a glass of water, Rebel finally speaks.
“It was a long time ago, but none of us will ever get over it.”
“Never,” says Mick, holding the glass out for me.
I sit up and take it from him because there’s no way in hell I’m not going to respond to the pain I sense coming from all of them. To reject Mick’s water would be like ignoring what happened to them, acting like it doesn’t matter anymore.
I gulp the liquid down, knowing that somehow I’ve tripped into a whole other world, a whole other life.
It scares me, but at the same time I feel like I belong here.
I’m not their sister or the girl who they lost a long time ago, but I matter.
I’m not just a nobody anymore, and maybe they actually need me here.
Maybe I can make their lives a tiny bit better.
As I lie back down, Colin comes over and places a folded-up wet washcloth on my head.
“Thanks, guys,” I say, giving them a watery smile.
“I feel much better already.”
“What else can we do?” Mick asks.
“Yeah, say the word,” Colin adds.
“Anything.”
“You can clean the hallway up,” says Rebel, staring at me for a second and then at Mick.
“Aw, man.
I knew I was going to get stuck with that shit.”
“You want her to do it?” Rebel asks, his tone strong.
Mick throws his hands up.
“No.
Geez, lighten up, man.
Try decaf.”
He leaves the room, but not before flashing me a devious grin.
He knows exactly what he’s doing with his older brother.
I’m so going to love baiting Rebel with him later when I don’t have a headache anymore.
“I told Dickson I’d go over to the station and give them a statement,” says Colin.
“Good, you do that,” Rebel says, bumping knuckles with Colin as he walks towards the door.
When we’re finally alone, Rebel shifts over to sit on the couch at my side.
After re-adjusting the washcloth on my forehead he leans down and kisses me softly on the lips.
I reach up to hold him around the neck but he resists me, sitting up.
“Rejection,” I say softly.
“Ouch.”
He takes my hand in his and kisses my fingers.
“Never.”
My mind is racing with possibilities.
We could talk about the weather, about the men who dirtied up his hallway with their blood, or about the girl the three of them buried after she got beat up.
We have probably more than fifty halfway decent topics to discuss besides those, but none of them holds my interest like the topic of
us
does.
I really, really want to know what my future holds and whether Rebel is going to be in it.
“So, what’s the plan, then?” I ask, holding my breath as I wait for his answer.
“What do you want the plan to be?” he says, staring into my eyes.
There’s vulnerability in his expression, and it gives me hope.
His stern look is gone and all that’s left is a young man waiting to find out what I’m thinking.
“I’m not saying anything.
It’s all up to you.
I’m at your mercy.” It’s his turn to speak up.
I have a headache and I’m on the injured list, besides.
For once, I want him to be the one to say what needs to be said without me blabbing my head off first.
“The plan, huh?” he asks.
“Yep.
The plan.”
The sounds of Mick cleaning the hallway and bumping into the door come into the room.
Rebel and I ignore all of it.
“I want you to stay here,” he finally says.
“Here at your business?
As the queen of files?”
“Yes.”
My heart sinks.
“And here in my apartment,” he adds.
“As what … ?
Your ….?”
I can’t say the words.
I don’t know what the right ones are.
“As my girl.
Be my girl, living here with me in my apartment.”
I try to smile, but it comes out more like a grimace as tears battle to come out at the same time.
“Or I could get a house if you’d rather,” he shrugs.
“I know this place isn’t much.”
I put my free hand over our entwined fingers.
“No, it’s fine.
It’s really nice, actually.
I don’t need fancy.”
“So you’re good?” he asks.
“With staying here?
With me?”
He looks so hopeful, I can’t mess with him.
The teasing tone and the sassy words that were about to jump out fade away, and the girl I almost never let the world see comes out to share this moment with Rebel.
“Yeah, I’m good.
I want to be with you and not just as your employee.
I want to be your girl.”
He smiles, and it’s not one of those half-smiles either.
“Damn. You have a lot of teeth,” I say, giggling when he smiles even harder.
“You make me happy,” he says simply.
And I know exactly how big a deal that is.
I reach up and run my fingers through the hair at the side of his head.
“You make me happy too.”
“So we’re going to do this,” he says, breathing out a big sigh.
“Yeah. Is that terrible?”
I’m worried about his reaction.
My eyebrows come together as I try to read his mind and figure out why he suddenly looks so serious.
“Nah.
It’s good.
It’s real good.”
His smile comes back, but this time it has a hint of the devil in it.
He leans down to kiss me, and when I lift my hand to bring him closer, he doesn’t pull away.
“Come on,” he says, getting halfway up as he slips his hands under my back and legs.
His lips press against mine as he walks.
“Where are we going?”
I ask as I’m lifted up into the air.
I giggle into his mouth as his tongue comes out and licks my lips.
“To bed.”
He puts his face into my neck and sucks a spot on my skin hard, making me squeal.
“What are we going to do there?” I ask, still smiling like a fool and praying he won’t say
sleep
.
“We’re going to sexty-nine, of course,” he says, taking long strides through the room.
I laugh all the way to the bed, my heart as light as a feather and totally belonging to Rebel.
EPILOGUE NOTES
Want to know what happens with Teagan’s father’s business?
The evil stepmother and her CFO brother?
Wondering who Olga is?
Curious about whether true love waits for Rebel’s brothers or Quin or maybe even Rat?
I sure hope so!
Look for resolutions to all of these issues in the two remaining novels of the REBEL series.
Book 2,
HELLION
will be published November 30, 2013 and Book 3
TROUBLE
will be published December 31, 2013.
Want to get an email when my next book is released?
Sign up here:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elle Casey
is a prolific,
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling American author who lives in Southern France with her husband (who sometimes wears a kilt), three kids (who never stop moving), Hercules the wonder poodle (who sleeps next to her side for every word typed), Monie the bouvier (who also never stops moving), and a few other furry creatures (don’t ask).
Her favorite things are red wine, pretty much anything with sugar in it, and sexy books.
If she has all three around her at the same time, please do not disturb … the writer is busy creating.
In her spare time she writes new adult and young adult novels (you can find her Women’s Fiction work under the pen name
Kat Lee
.)
She publishes about one novel per month and has been accused of being a cyborg for her ability to consistently turn out captivating stories with characters that stay in readers’ heads long after the book is closed.
She neither confirms nor denies this accusation.
A personal note from Elle …
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving positive feedback on Amazon, Goodreads, or any book blogs you participate in.
More positive feedback means I can spend more time writing!
Oh, and I love interacting with my readers, so if you feel like shooting the breeze or talking about books or your pets, please visit me.
You can find me at …
www.Facebook.com/ellecaseytheauthor
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OTHER BOOKS BY ELLE CASEY
*= Coming Soon
NEW ADULT ROMANCE
Shine Not Burn
By Degrees
Don’t Make Me Beautiful
Rebel
Hellion*
Trouble*
Trainwreck*
Hold Me Down*
YA PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Duality, Volume I (Melancholia)
Duality, Volume II (Euphoria)
YA URBAN FANTASY
War of the Fae: Book 1, The Changelings - FREE!
War of the Fae: Book 2, Call to Arms
War of the Fae: Book 3, Darkness & Light
War of the Fae: Book 4, New World Order
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1, After the Fall
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2, Between the Realms
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3, Portal Guardians
My Vampire Summer
My Vampire Fall*
Aces High (co-written with Jason Brant)
YA DYSTOPIAN
Apocalypsis: Book 1, Kahayatle
Apocalypsis: Book 2, Warpaint
Apocalypsis: Book 3, Exodus
Apocalypsis: Book 4, Haven
YA ACTION ADVENTURE
Wrecked
Reckless