Rebel Soul: (Rebel Series Book 1) ((Rebel Series)) (17 page)

“Well, aren’t we all dressed up,” Gordon remarked. He was leaning against my bedroom door, his arms folded across his chest. He looked conflicted, as if he had something to say but didn’t exactly know how to word it.

“What do you want, Gordon?” I sighed, rolling my eyes as he invited himself into my room. He crossed over, sitting down on my bed. The entire time, he watched me with a slight frown on his face.

“I know about the bush party,” he said, his tone almost soft and gentle, or at least as soft and gentle as Gordon was capable of.

I froze, turning slowly to face him. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, Tessa.” Gordon frowned, standing up and stepping towards me. He looked upset. “Why didn’t you tell any of us?” 

I took a steadying breath, trying to relax. “Because,” I whispered, my brow furrowing as I looked towards my door, “it’s none of your business.”

“Yet somehow, it’s Brock’s business?” Gordon’s voice was hard, his eyes angry and hurt. “Tessa, you’re our
sister
, you’re our
family
. You know you can count on us; why in the hell would you go to him?”

“I didn’t,” I shot back, my blood boiling with anger that I desperately fought to control. “He was there. His dog must have watched the guy follow me, or maybe it didn’t trust him, or maybe it heard something. But Brock followed his dog and that’s the only reason why it’s his business. He was there, and he, and his dog, prevented anything from happening. It’s not a dig at you guys, I just…” I trailed off, my voice weakening.
I
felt weak.

“You what?” Gordon demanded, expecting a better explanation than what I was giving him.

“I felt ashamed, okay?” I exclaimed. My eyes shot back to my door, to the hallway, but it remained silent. I took a steadying breath, trying to lower my voice and my temper. “I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I knew if you guys found out, you’d berate me for going off on my own, or for being a woman, or something equally as stupid and macho.”

“We wouldn’t have,” he argued.

“You
would
have,” I said levelly. “How did you find out, anyway?”

“The community bonfire,” he answered, looking over my head and swallowing hard. “I guess the asshole had the nerve to come back and Brock reacted. I happened to be there.”

The colour faded from my face. “What did he do?”

“He just threatened him a little; he left the rest up to me.” Gordon shrugged. His eyes dropped down and he caught the horrified look on my face. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hurt him, much.”

I took another calming breath, trying to center myself, and grabbed my phone from my desk, shoving it into the back pocket of my jeans.

“I love that you guys care, I do…but I can fight my own battles. I can take care of myself.”

“Sounds like it,” Gordon grumbled darkly.

“Okay fine,” I shot back, scowling. “I made a mistake that night, but I’m not going to repeat it. I’m not an idiot. I’m not the one that had to touch the electrical fence
three times
to make sure it was really on!”

The dark frown on my brother’s face lessened and he started to smile. “I never claimed to be the smartest one in the family,” he argued. He paused, his smile fading as he became lost in his own thoughts.

“Earth to Gordon, is this conversation over yet? Can I go?” I waved my hands in front of his eyes, rousing him. 

“Just promise me that you’ll come to us next time.”

“There won’t
be
a next time,” I growled, my eyes narrowing.

Gordon grinned, amused by my anger. He ruffled my hair that I’d spent so much time perfecting. “I’d hope not.”

“Ugh, Gordon!” I glared at him, ducking away. My eyes dropped to the ground and I felt my anger rising again. “Seriously? You left your damn boots on in
my
room?”

He glanced down at his feet, a look of surprise crossing his face as if he hadn’t even realized he’d left them on. “Sorry, I’ll vacuum…”

“You’d better,” I threatened, storming out of my room and down the stairs.

My thoughts were still swirling with the odd encounter as I pulled up to Brock’s trailer. I worried my lip, wondering if I should ask Brock about it. I put the truck in park, still undecided, and looked at the new addition to the right of his worn trailer. He’d gotten the foundation laid for the cabin.

I stepped out, hearing Hunter’s deep barks from inside. A moment later, the door opened and he bolted out, running up toward me with his tail wagging in greeting.

“Hello, Hunter,” I said, laughing when he jumped up on me. He put his two large front paws on either one of my shoulders, licking my face while his bottom half wiggled frantically from the movement of his long tail.

“Hunter, down,” Brock instructed. Hunter licked my face once more before he obeyed and sat before my feet, peering up at me with his yellow eyes.

“You’re such a good boy. I don’t think I properly thanked you for…that night. Thank you, you are my furry little hero,” I told him, my voice dripping with that affectionate tone most people’s voices took with animals. I continued to scratch behind his ears. Hunter’s tongue lolled and he pushed his head against my hand, leaning into the attention he was getting. “He’s so well trained. How did you do it?”

“Magic,” Brock joked, coming to a stop just before me. He watched me petting Hunter with a soft smile on his lips. “It didn’t take much. He’s always been a loyal, easy to please dog. Intelligent too. He was quick to learn.”

“What’s his breed?”

He hesitated for a moment. “German Shepherd Husky and Wolf mix,” he finally answered, looking a little uncomfortable. It seemed by the defensive set of his shoulders that this was information that he didn’t readily supply. It made me feel good to know that he’d told me.

“Wolf mix?” I repeated, glancing back down with interest. I’d never seen a wolf mix dog before. My hand was resting on the side of Hunter’s huge face. He opened one eye lazily, as if wondering why I’d stopped rubbing. His coat was a mixture between cream and grey, with some darker tans through it. Now that Brock mentioned it, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed before. “That’s really cool, Brock,” I added with a smile. My hands started moving again, massaging Hunter’s silky ears. He let out a low, grumble-like moan and his eyes rolled to the back of his skull.

“I think he likes you,” Brock remarked, humor in his voice. I looked back up at him, letting my hands fall away from Hunter’s head.

“I think so.” I smiled; the way that Brock was looking at me suddenly made me feel shy and uncertain. My hands fell away from his dog’s face and I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “So…”

He shook his head as if clearing it and stepped towards me. Suddenly, his hands were on my hips and he was pulling me towards him. He kissed me languidly, making every thought in my head fall away. He left me breathless, almost panting before him when he finally broke the kiss.

“Are you ready?” he asked me, a delicious smirk on his lips, as if he was pleased with himself for my reaction.

“For what?”

He didn’t answer. He just smiled and released me, walking over to the front of his trailer. He had a tackle box and two fishing rods propped up against it. He grabbed everything and walked back over to me. “Mind if we take your truck? That way if anyone drives up…” He arched a brow. He was referring to my brothers; we both knew it. Finding my truck in Brock’s driveway would definitely not be a good thing, but finding Brock’s truck there wouldn’t mean much.

“Yeah, sure…where are we going?” I questioned, biting down on my lip. I wanted to go anywhere with him, but the reality of getting spotted made my stomach twist with anxiety. I couldn’t help but worry. Each time we hung out, each time my truck was parked in Brock’s driveway, we ran the risk of getting caught. I forced those thoughts back, not wanting them to taint whatever time we had together.

“Just a couple minutes away. Don’t worry, we won’t run into anybody,” Brock said, dropping down my tailgate and slapping it once. Hunter jumped up gracefully, settling into a laying position. He closed the tailgate and walked over to the driver’s side. “Do you mind if I drive?”

I could tell that he wanted to surprise me, so I went along with it. “Well, considering I don’t know where we’re going…I guess that’d be okay,” I joked. I walked over and opened the door, climbing in and smiling hesitantly.

Brock grinned, twisting the key in the ignition to start the old girl up. He backed up slowly, conscious of his dog lying in the back, and drove back down his driveway. He turned right onto the road, driving for about five minutes before he turned right onto another road. He drove for another two minutes before he turned onto a tiny access road, barely detectable by the eye unless you knew what to look for. He drove down the access road to a beach and parked the truck, his gaze sliding across the cab to rest on my face as my eyes drank it in.

“It’s beautiful. How did I not know it was here?” I shook my head, astonished.

“There are a lot of small lakes all over Ontario.” Brock shrugged, smiling. “Ours is pretty tiny.”

“Yours?” I parroted, my eyes widening as I stared at him.

“Yeah.” He grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. “My grandpa owned a lot of land here. My siblings and I inherited most of it.”

“How much of this is yours?” I asked, mystified as I looked at the area around me.

“One-hundred and eighty acres. Split three ways,” Brock answered, opening his door and stepping outside. “Are you coming?”

I joined him at the back of my truck. He dropped the tailgate for Hunter to jump out and grabbed the fishing gear, leading the way to a thin dock and a small, beat up tin motor boat. He lowered the tackle box and rods into it, then hopped in. The boat swayed beneath his weight, but he kept his balance, holding his hand out to me and nodding once as if he was urging me forward.

I arched a brow, ignoring his hand as I fluidly stepped in. “I’ve been in boats before…I’ve even driven a few.” I smirked.

Brock chuckled, giving me half a grin. His eyes sparkled with humor and longing. “Oh, I know you’re capable of doing it yourself. I just wanted another excuse to touch you.”

“You have plenty of excuses to touch me,” I remarked, sitting down on the middle bench facing him. His smile widened, his eyes promising that he’d make good on that later. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled once.

Hunter, who’d been sniffing in the foliage, scampered up the dock. He dove into the boat, his huge paws clumsy on the tin floor. Once he was inside, directly in front of my feet, Brock set to untying the rope that anchored the boat to the dock.

“He comes fishing with you?” I asked, amused.

“He comes almost everywhere with me,” Brock answered. He dropped the motor into the water and pulled the cord, firing it up before he sat down on the bench across from me and started steering the boat away from the dock. Hunter’s body leaned against my legs, tail thumping against the tin of the boat as Brock steered the boat out to the middle of the lake.

He took me on a grand tour, showing off what parts of the lake were his. Then he drove to a small bend, where he assured me that the fish were almost always biting.

He turned the motor off. The calmness of the small lake enveloped us and I sighed contently as Brock handed me one of the rods. He had a container of fresh worms open and I dug my fingers in to grab one.

“Becky always hated that part,” Brock remarked, chuckling at the sight of me shoving the worm through the fishing hook. I stood up, casting the line out and watching as my hook arched and dropped, the lure sinking.

“Well, not many things gross me out,” I responded, looking over my shoulder at him. “It’d be pretty stupid if I got wigged out by worms and guts and stuff, considering I want to be a vet one day. I’ll be dealing with grosser things than that.”

“I guess that’s true.” He laughed, his eyes crinkling when he smiled at me. The expression on his face and the emotion in the depths of his eyes made my stomach drop pleasantly. I sat down and Brock stood to cast his own line out.

It was quiet on the lake, the peaceful silence only interrupted every now and then by a loon call. Neither one of us felt the need to fill the silence; we were content to just fish.

Brock

The fish were biting tonight, and between the two of us we caught enough pike to fry up for dinner.

I’d watched Tessa clean and gut the fish with a stupid grin on my face the whole time. Hell, I’d watched
everything
she’d done tonight with a stupid grin on my face… the whole time. It was
hot
, watching a girl who was fearless of things like fish guts and slime. She cleaned and gutted the fish better than I ever could. I knew that my grandpa would have gotten a hoot out of her.

We ate dinner in my trailer, sitting across from each other at the tiny kitchen table where I’d tended to Tessa’s wounds. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it had barely been a week. My heart pounded at that realization.
It had barely been a week,
and already this girl was all I could think about, all that I craved.

“It’s really good,” she remarked, smiling at me. “Do many people know about your lake?”

“Not many, no,” I replied. “My grandpa was of Ojibway decent. The land had always been extremely important to him and I think he worried that they wouldn’t respect the land or the balance. If everyone found out about our lake, the fish would decline because people just don’t know when to stop.”

He worked hard to instill those values in his kids and grandkids. He hadn’t exactly succeeded with my dad, but I thought he did pretty well with my siblings and me.

It brought me great comfort to know that he would have liked Tessa simply from the way she loved the land around her. She didn’t harm it and she wasn’t afraid of it. She bloomed in it, or maybe it bloomed around her.

Tessa’s eyes lit up as if she was pleased I was sharing bits of myself with her. “I didn’t know you were part native,” she said thoughtfully, tilting her head.

“Didn’t you?” I said dryly, thinking about my dad. I wasn’t blind to the cruel things people had said about him, that his alcoholic tendencies came from his native blood. I couldn’t say if that was true or not. I’d never seen a single drop of liquid pass my grandpa’s lips, but then again…there was so much about the man I hadn’t known.

One memory flooded back to me. It was after my dad died, at his funeral. I caught my grandpa staring at his freshly dug grave with a look of complete remorse and defeat across his strong features. He didn’t know I had approached, and I paused when I heard his deep voice.

“I haven’t got many regrets,
neegoosis
,” Grandpa said, staring down at the dark soil. His eyes were watery. “Except you. You are my regret. I failed you, and for that…I am sorry.”

I didn’t know what he meant; I didn’t know why he believed he’d failed my father, but seeing my grandfather that broken up over my dad’s death stung. I knew they hadn’t gotten along when he was alive, but then again…my dad hadn’t gotten along with anyone. He wasn’t a very likeable man. 

Tessa stood, rousing me from my impromptu trip down memory lane. She’d finished her dinner, and was walking around the table, her eyes focused on me. I turned my body so she could straddle my legs. “Thank you for today, for sharing this with me,” she whispered, her lips inches away from mine.

“You’re welcome,” I told her, my voice sounding deeper even to my ears. I had told Tessa more about myself and my family than I’d told anyone else, ever. That alone should have terrified me, but instead…it was comforting.

My hands roamed along her back, exploring her body over her clothes. She exhaled softly before she lowered her mouth to mine, kissing me as she moved her hips against me. My dick hardened instantly, stirred to life by her lips and her tongue and the feeling of her body grinding against mine.

Her hands dropped from around my neck to the waistband of my jeans. She ran them beneath my shirt, against the hard muscles of my stomach. I drew in air sharply, my abdomen tightening against the subtle brush of her fingers.

There was no taking it slow with Tessa, not when she touched me like she was now, not when she kissed me like she was now.

I lost myself in the sensation of her. Her fragrance, her taste, the feel of her. I had no regrets about it either.

I stood up, bringing her with me, carrying her over to where my bed was on the other side of the trailer. I undressed her slowly, my lips only leaving hers so I could pull her top off and let my gaze linger on her beautiful curves. My hand snaked around to her back, unclipping her bra in a fluid motion. I pulled it away, letting it fall on the floor without a second glance. My eyes were too busy taking in the sight before me.

“You’re beautiful,” I told her, my voice husky with wanton desire as I cupped her breast. She arched, offering herself to me, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks and her chest rising and falling with bated breath. I brought my lips to her neck, kissing her soft flesh as I gently kneaded her breasts with my hands. I teased her until her nipples were hard against my palms.

Tessa whimpered in protest when my mouth finally found her nipple. I teased her with my tongue and lips, making her writhe against me. She fought back, stroking my length through my jeans. Her fingers made short work of my zipper, then she tugged my jeans down my hips before I could draw my mouth away and tell her to slow down. My eyes fluttered closed when her hands started to slowly pump.

She took advantage of the moment, leaning forward and drawing my hardness into her mouth. I let out a hiss as she bobbed against me, taking my length in as far as it would go. “Jesus, Tessa. I won’t be able to last at that rate.”

She pulled her mouth away from my cock and I ached at the absence of her warm mouth. “We’ve got all night,” she said sinfully, giving me a sinister smile.

* * *

Afterwards, we lay in my bed together. The gentle rise and fall of Tessa’s chest against me had me believing she’d fallen asleep in my arms.

I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, about how good it felt to hold her like this in my arms…in my bed or about how it was all I never knew I wanted and needed.

I was in deep shit.

What did you expect
? I thought, frowning.
You knew there was something different about this girl. You knew there was a very real possibility you’d develop feelings for her
.

But I hadn’t counted on it happening so quickly or to this degree. I hadn’t counted on her brother wanting to pick up where our friendship had left off. I also hadn’t counted on him trying to hold me to some stupid promise we’d made to each other years ago.

I’d always known that Tessa’s family would pose a challenge, but I still thought we could have had what we had without letting anyone know. Now, I realized how wrong I was. I wanted
everyone
to know she was mine. I wanted to take her out around town without worrying about the shit-storm that would ensue. I wanted everyone who came anywhere near her to know she was with
me
. I wanted her to know I’d defend her and protect her.

“Does it intimidate you?” Tessa’s quiet voice startled me from my thoughts. For a fraction of a second, I worried that I’d spoken aloud. 

“Does what intimidate me?” I asked, not catching her meaning.

She lifted her head and looked at me, drawing her bottom lip in and trapping it with her teeth. “Us. This…thing.” She gestured to the two of us. “Do you think things between us are moving too quickly?”

I moved my fingers against the small of her back, tracing a small pattern as I thought. “Yes and no.”

“That’s not really an answer.” She arched a brow, vulnerability crossing her features. The smile I gave her made that vulnerability vanish.

“We’re adults, Tessa. Adults have consensual sex. The fact that I’m deeply attracted to you and want to have lots of consensual sex with you doesn’t mean things are moving too quickly,” I told her, shrugging. “This does intimidate me, yes, because I’ve never had it this bad before. I’ve never wanted to give someone the ‘girlfriend’ label; I’ve never wanted them to spend the night just so I could hold them in my arms…” I let my voice fall into silence. I couldn’t tell her the rest of it; that I wasn’t sure if I could keep us a secret, or for how long. The kind of chemistry between us was intense and obvious. I’d have to be very careful around her. Hell, even the mention of her had me in a tailspin.

“Same.” She exhaled and was silent for a few more seconds, her warm breath fluttering across the skin across my rib cage. “So…what happens when I go to college?”

“You go to college.” I smiled, kissing her head. “I’ll visit you whenever. Hell, it might be easier to keep it a secret then. We could actually go out in public and not worry about running into any of your family members with loaded shotguns.”

Tessa laughed, her shoulders shaking as the rest of her unease disappeared. “That’s true,” she said, yawning.

“Get some sleep,” I said, holding her closer. I fell asleep shortly after her, escaping into dreams that were just as sweet as the reality I’d made with her.

* * *

The next morning came before I wanted it to. I knew the arrival of a new day would mean Tessa would have to leave. That didn’t stop me from taking her again, with her hair still a tangled mess from the night before. It didn’t stop me from kissing her hard against her truck before I finally let her climb in and go, either.

I couldn’t get enough of this girl. She could be my downfall and I’d be perfectly okay with that.

I had a lot of things on my to-do list and none of them were at the cabin. I was in limbo now; I had a meeting with Gordon tonight to discuss me possibly hiring him. In the meantime, there wasn’t anything else I could do.

But there was plenty of stuff for me to do at the family house.

I loaded up Hunter and made a quick stop at the local hardware store for supplies. I bought outdoor wood paint and ordered a bunch of shingles to be delivered and installed next week.

When I got to the house, I set to work immediately. I found the lawn mower and weed whacker in the shed where they’d always been. Despite the lack of use, they worked just fine. I started on the yard, moving all of Aiden’s toys before cutting the grass.

Then I set up a work bench in front of the garage and took off the shutters so I could put on a fresh coat of paint. Once the first coat was drying, I went to pull weeds from the front gardens. I wasn’t a gardener, but the weeds had overtaken everything. I pulled them all, shoving them into the brown bags I’d picked up.

I’d long since abandoned my shirt, and sweat was dripping down my spine. I was hot and day dreaming of diving into the lake.

“BROCK!” I looked up, seeing Becky standing on the front porch with her hands on her hips. “Did you not hear me calling you?”

“No, obviously, or I would have responded,” I answered, my eyes narrowed. “What’s up?”

The annoyance faded from Becky’s face. “I’ve made lunch. Come in for a minute, eat something. Hydrate. You’ve been at it for six hours now.”

“Six hours?” My brow furrowed and I swallowed hard. I hadn’t even realized time had passed that quickly.

“Yeah, six hours. Aiden’s been watching, waiting for you to come in and say hi.” Becky tilted her head, concerned. I ignored her worry and walked over to the lawn mower. I’d draped my sweaty shirt over the handles to dry it out a little.

“Are you sure he’s waiting for me?” I joked, looking back at Hunter. He was sleeping beneath the shade of the old oak tree. As if he knew we were talking about him, he opened his eyes and lazily raised his head. I clicked my tongue at him and he slowly got up, stretching his limbs before he pranced over to us.

“Okay, so he wanted to see Hunter. Don’t be jealous.” Becky smiled, leading the way into the cool house. The air conditioning was welcome against my hot skin. “We set a bowl of water out for Hunter,” she added, gesturing towards the kitchen. But Hunter had already found it and was greedily lapping it up. 

“Uncle Brock!” Aiden’s little voice hit my ears just as his arms wrapped around my legs. “We made sandwiches! My favourite kind, ham and cheese!”

“That’s my favourite kind too,” I told him, ruffling his hair.

“Can I go pet Hunter now?” he asked eagerly, his blue eyes lighting up.

“Just wait until after lunch, okay? You don’t want to have to wash your hands again,” Becky interjected before I could reply. “Come on, let’s eat.”