Rebel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (8 page)

He knew what he was doing to me because
my body was giving me away. I shifted in my seat, trying to get any kind of
relief from the intense pleasure he was giving me just from a little kiss. His
hand grazed down my arm and I gasped loudly when he moved his thumb past my
nipple which was rock hard from what he was doing to me.

The world dissolved around us. Nothing
mattered in that moment but Ryder and me. I wrapped my arm around his neck and
held his head close to mine, not wanting to put any space between us. The hand
that was touching all over had roamed down to my leg and in one swift movement
he tugged my leg up over his and hooked it around his hips. I was about to lie
back on the seat and pull him on top of me when I felt a tap on my arm.
Startled, I broke away from Ryder’s lips and turned my head, my face flushed.
“Yeah?” I asked.

I looked up and saw Danni smiling at me.
“We’re here.”

I looked out the window. “We’re at the
hotel. I thought we were going to my house,” I said.

“We are, but Beau asked me to drop Danni
off here today. Jude and Kris sent some of the guys out last night to buy a
Playstation 3 and some video games and they’ve been playing on it all day. Beau
got bored and wanted to hang with Danni,” Ryder said.

“Okay, well, have fun, girl. Call me
later, okay?” I said, giving her a quick hug.

“I will. You have fun with Ryder today.
Try and make it back to your house with your clothes on,” she joked, and I
blushed.

“Okay, and you try to make it home tonight
without getting knocked up,” I said, and Ryder smiled.

“Shut up bitch,” she laughed, and she
quickly hopped out of the car and walked into the hotel.

Ryder

As soon as Danni disappeared into the
hotel, John started the SUV and we pulled out of the parking lot and began
making our way to Everleigh’s house. I pulled Everleigh tighter against me.
“So, can we pick up where we left off?” I asked, grinning.

Her cheeks were still pink from
blushing. “Actually, can we stop for a second? Maybe take a breather?”

I took a deep breath and choked down my
groan of displeasure. “Sure,” I said, and I scooted back slightly.

“I don’t want you to be mad at me or
anything, Ryder. It’s just that this is all happening so fast for me.”

For me it wasn’t happening fast enough.
“I know, it’s okay,” I lied, wanting nothing more than to lay her down on the
seats and roam my hands all over her body. “I’m not mad at you.”

“I hope not. I don’t want you to think I
don’t love kissing you because I do. It’s just I’m not the type of girl that
makes out with someone she barely knows and you are making me forget that. You
make me want to leave that girl in the dust and that scares me,” she admitted.

I shifted around to try and make my hard
on go away, but it was no use. Hearing her admit that she wanted me so much
that she would throw caution to the wind had me hard enough to drive nails into
the wall. “You don’t have to be scared with me, Everleigh. The last thing I
want to do is hurt you, but I understand why you are cautious. Only time will
tell, I guess,” I said.

“Thanks for understanding. I just need a
minute to catch my breath. We are going to my house and you are meeting my dad
for the first time. I don’t you to meet him with my lip gloss on your mouth and
my face all scratchy from your chin stubble,” she said, and I smiled at her.

“You’re right. I’ll be a good boy from
here on out,” I said, and I scooted a little further away from her and tried to
think of anything I could to make my dick soft. “Can I at least hold your
hand?” I asked, grinning at her.

She smiled. “Of course you can,” she
said, and I laced my fingers with hers. We rode the rest of the way to her
house in silence and when we finally pulled into her driveway, I felt her tense
up. Luckily, the reporters seemed to either have given up or Kip and Nate ran
them off because they were nowhere in sight.

“Hey, Everleigh, are you all right? You
seem nervous,” I asked. Hopefully she wasn’t embarrassed by her house because
now that I looked at it out the windows it was really a cute little place. It
reminded me of my house when I was a kid.

“I’m fine,” she said quietly.

“No you aren’t. Tell me,” I said,
squeezing her hand.

After a moment, she looked up into my
eyes. “It’s just…I am nervous about you meeting my dad.”

“Why? Do you think he won’t like me or
something?” I asked, and for the first time ever I actually worried about
gaining someone’s approval. I didn’t know Everleigh too well yet, but I already
knew that her dad was the most important person in the world to her. If her dad
hated me, then Everleigh might push me away and I really felt like this was the
start of something good in my life.

She shook her head. “Oh no, my dad is
going to love you. He used to play guitar in high school before he joined the
army.”

“Then what is it?” I asked, tracing my
thumb across the back of her delicate hand.

She bit her lip and sighed. “I am afraid
of how you’ll feel when you meet him. I’m worried that you seeing him sick and
helpless will drudge up all the pain of losing your own father to cancer,” she
said, and my heart skipped a beat. “I just don’t want you to be sad.”

In that moment, I’m pretty sure I fell
completely head over heels in love with her. This girl is going through losing
her dad and she’s worried about me being upset by old memories? Wow. “I’m fine.
Don’t even worry about me. This is your dad, Everleigh, not mine. I lost my dad
a long time ago, and even though it still hurts that he’s not here, you are my
concern right now. I’m just glad that I get to meet him while there’s still
time,” I said, and I reached up and wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek.
“So, are you ready to do this?” I asked her.

She nodded her head and forced a smile.
“Okay, let’s do it.” I opened the door and climbed out. I turned and then
helped her out of the SUV and she took my hand and with a deep breath she led
me into her house. As soon as we walked in the front door, I immediately felt
at ease. The house was so quaint and cozy and I instantly missed home. “Trish?
Are you here?”

A short lady who looked to be about in
her forties with bright red hair came walking out from the back of the house.
“Right here, Everleigh,” she said and when her eyes landed on me, she smiled.
“Oh, well, I didn’t know you were bringing home company,” she said, grinning.

“Trish, this is my friend Ryder
Matthews,” she said, squeezing my hand. “Ryder, this Trisha Cramer, my dad’s
nurse.”

I placed my free hand in hers and shook
it gently. “It’s nice to meet you, Trish.”

Trisha smiled and looked at Everleigh
before her eyes darted back to me. “Pleasure’s all mine, Ryder.”

“So, how is he doing?” Everleigh asked
Trish.

“He’s doing good so far today. I just
got him to eat a whole bowl of soup.”

Everleigh’s face lit up. “Really? Oh,
that’s great!” she said happily. “Is he awake right now?”

She nodded. “He’s watching television in
the den,” Trish said. “I’m going to start on dinner in here so you and your
friend can visit with Max. It was nice meeting you, Ryder,” she said, walking
off toward the kitchen.

She turned to me and smiled. “So, are
you ready to meet my first love?” she asked me, a twinkle in her eye.

I smiled and leaned in and kissed her
nose. “Absolutely.” She winked at me and led me down the hall all the way to a
room in the back of the house.

As soon as we walked in, I heard the
sounds of the channels on the TV being changed quickly and a grumpy voice say,
“Three hundred channels and not a God damned thing on.” I instantly smiled.

“Hey Daddy, what are you in here
complaining about?” Everleigh asked, leading me over to a recliner. As soon as
my eyes landed on Everleigh’s father, my heart sank. He was so thin and pale…he
looked just like my dad had about a week before he passed away.

“Just the fact that we pay out the ass
for cable and there is always shit on the TV,” he said, smiling at her. His
eyes flickered over to me and he smiled a smile so bright his face lit up.
“Well, now who do we have here?”

Everleigh squeezed my hand and led me
closer to his chair. “Daddy, this is my friend Ryder. I told you about him last
night,” she said.

“Oh right, the rocker boy. Max Stone,
nice to meet you son,” he said, weakly extending his hand to me.

I gently placed my hand in his and gave
it a quick shake. “Nice to meet you too, sir.”

Max looked at me and then at Everleigh.
“Sir, huh? I like it. Why don’t you call me that, Evie girl?”

Everleigh smiled at him. “Because I
don’t have to kiss your ass, old man. You already like me,” she said, and he
laughed.

“Hell yes I do. So, tell me about
yourself, young man. What has you chasing my Everleigh to town?” he asked,
smiling at me.

“Honestly? How can I not? I mean look at
her, she’s gorgeous,” I said, and he laughed.

“That she is,” he said, and Everleigh
blushed.

“It’s not just that though. When we met
she saw through all my charm and fame and didn’t give a damn who I was at all,”
I said. “No one’s ever done that.”

Max looked at Everleigh and smiled.
“That’s because my Evie’s a good girl and I taught her right,” he said. “I’m
glad she has a boyfriend that seems to appreciate what a special woman she is.”

Before I could answer, Everleigh
interrupted. “Dad, Ryder isn’t my boyfriend.”

Max laughed. “Okay, honey, whatever you
say. So, Ryder, tell me, what’s it like touring all over with your band?” he
asked, motioning to the couch next to his chair. I sat down and Everleigh sat
on my other side and we spent most of the afternoon talking about touring
around, celebrities I know, and different kinds of music. Max was a cool guy
and I could see why Everleigh loved him so much. He reminded me so much of my
dad. The thought made me hurt deep inside because just even though I had just met
him, I knew I would be reliving my dad’s death all over again soon.

After chatting for a few hours and
watching a couple of movies with Max and Everleigh, Max was finally asleep and
I had Everleigh tucked under my arm on her couch. She had left Max and me to
chat and watch “The Karate Kid” while she went to take a shower and ever since
she came back the smell of her vanilla shampoo was going right to both of my
heads.

As the credits rolled on “The Gremlins”,
she sat up and stretched. “Looks like Daddy’s down for the count,” she said,
grinning. “I should probably get him to bed.”

“Let me help you, Everleigh,” I said,
taking my arm from around her and standing up.

“Oh, no, I can have Trish help me,
Ryder. It’s okay, really.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. I want to help,
please?” I asked, putting my bottom lip out.

She sighed. “I guess if you want to. I
can take one side and you can take the other and we can help him into his bed.”

I shook my head and walked over to Max’s
chair. I gently wrapped his frail arm around my neck and I lifted him off the
chair with ease into my arms. Everleigh gasped and I turned around to her.
“Which room is his?”

“First door on the right,” she said,
almost a whisper. I nodded at her and carried him down the hall to his room. Once
I was inside, I placed him onto his bed and pulled the covers around him. I
didn’t realize Everleigh had followed me until I felt her pass me and go around
to the other side of the bed. She leaned in and kissed his cheek saying, “Good
night Daddy,” she whispered, and she motioned for me to follow her out of the
room. She took my hand and led me down the hall and for a moment I thought she
was taking me back to the den, but she didn’t. She stopped outside a door at
the end of the hall and turned the knob. She pulled me inside and as soon as I
was in, she leaned against me, causing my body to close the door.

“What is this room, Everleigh?” I
whispered, my voice cracking from her body being so close.

“It’s my room,” she said, and she
brushed her hand past my wrist and she locked the door.

I swallowed hard and before I could
think her mouth was on mine. Her tongue licked my bottom lip and my eyes
crossed. As good as she tasted, for some reason I stopped her. “Hey, whoa, what
are you doing?”

“Taking a chance,” she said, and her
lips found mine again. I knew I should stop because I knew she didn’t really
want to take things this far, but I think I blacked out for a moment when I
felt her fingers graze my stomach and dip into my pants. I groaned and pulled
her close to me, kissing her like I had wanted to all day. Hands were roaming
and tugging and pulling at clothes and hair as she pulled me toward her bed.
She turned around and with a hard shove I fell back on her bed.

“Everleigh, wait…” I said. I knew if
that we took this step now and I let this happen it would be the worst mistake
I could make. I didn’t want the first time we slept together to be because we’d
had a good day with her ailing father and she wanted to show her appreciation.
I was about to sit up but before I could, she had stripped her shirt off and
was standing before me in only a pair of jeans and a hot pink bra that barely
contained her full breasts. She climbed on top of me and straddled my lap, my
erection pressing right into her heat. She leaned into me and pressed her lips
to mine again. I wrapped my arms around her small waist and roamed my hands up
her bare back. My fingers instinctively found the clasp on her bra and she
nodded her head against my lips, telling me to take it off. In that moment, I
knew I had to put the brakes on this whole thing. Once I saw her bare breasts I
knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. “Wait, stop,” I said, forcefully
sitting up.

“What’s the matter, Ryder?” she panted.

“Everleigh, this has to stop. Now,” I
said, breathing heavy.

“Why? Don’t you want me?” she asked, a
quiver in her voice.

“Oh shit, babe, that’s not it. I want
you. I want you
bad
,” I said. “But this isn’t right. We can’t do this
tonight. Not like this.”

“Not like what?” she asked.

“The first time we do this, I want it to
be because you are actually ready for something real with me, not because I
carried your dad to his room and put him to bed.”

“
That’s
why you think I want to
do this?” she asked, her lip quivering. “Ryder, what you did was wonderful, but
that’s not why I want you.”

I stared pointedly into her whiskey
colored eyes. “Yes it is, and you know it. You can’t lie to me, Everleigh.” She
blinked a few times and the tears started rolling down her cheeks. “Sweetie,
please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”