Page 16 of Rebel

I felt the color leave my face. Frozen in place, I stared at Rebel in horror.

River looked from Rebel to me. “Do you need me to get rid of this prick, Storm?”

Rebel laughed, a sound so dark and demonic it left me quaking. “I fucking dare you to try, motherfucker.”

“No,” I said quickly, afraid of seeing a fight break out between the two of them. “It’s fine. Thank you though.”

River rose, grabbing his text book. He had this look, like he thought about smashing Rebel in the face with it. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

The two of them stared hard at one another, mere inches apart. Then River stalked away, clutching his book like a weapon. I stifled a groan.

Rebel rounded the table, sitting down right next to me. He helped himself to a few of my fries before taking a bite of what was left of my sandwich. I watched him with rising anger. He smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing and loving it.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snatched my plate, pulling it away from him. “Can’t you see that I’m trying to work here? I don’t need the disruption, Rebel.”

He shrugged, reaching over me for another fry. “You seemed fine with River interrupting. Do I need to tell you what will happen if you use him to get a rise out of me again?”

“River wasn’t being a pain in my ass,” I retorted. “And I’ll talk to whomever I damn well please, thank you very much.”

“Sure. Do that. Find out the hard way what happens when you push me to the bad place.” He spoke so casually, like he was chatting about the weather instead of promising punishment.

Instead of encouraging him by continuing this conversation, I turned back to my laptop. Although it wasn’t easy, I kept working. His close proximity messed with my head. Why did he have to smell so damn good? No, no smelling Rebel. Must focus on my classwork.

Rebel reached over and randomly closed the laptop on my fingers. My temper flared, chasing back any trepidation I may have had. Even though I knew he was trying to goad me, it still worked.

“Why are you so desperate for my attention?” I snapped. “Don’t you think it’s getting a little pathetic now?”

“Don’t you think you’re trying too hard to convince me that you don’t like it?” He leaned in so close his lips brushed against my ear. “If you hated it so much, you’d have told River to kick my ass. He was ready and willing, and you said no.”

Inwardly I cringed. I hated that he was right. River had given me the opportunity to have someone else step in and deal with Rebel. But I’d sent him away.

Rebel’s warm breath on my skin made me question everything I knew about myself. I flushed with heat, wanting more and hating myself for it. Reminding myself that I was nothing but a game to him helped me strengthen my resolve.

“You need to leave me alone,” I said, proud of how firm I sounded. I sure didn’t feel that way on the inside. Part of me melted into puddles, aching for more of him.

Luck smiled on me when Athena and Luna came to my rescue. They spotted me and beelined over, plopping down at the table.

Rebel didn’t hang around. “See you soon, pet,” he whispered in my ear before ambling away like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“What was that all about?” Athena raised a brow, watching him go.

“He’s totally into you, huh?” Luna added with a teasing smile.

I sighed. “I’m not sure that’s how I’d put it, but yeah, Rebel loves making me crazy. Let’s not talk about him. How’s your day going?”

I made it through the rest of the day without another run in with Rebel. Until I walked out to my car after my last class. He stood there leaning against my car, arms crossed as he waited.

“What do you want now, Rebel?”

Since he leaned against the driver’s door, I opened the passenger side and tossed my bag onto the seat. I had half a mind to crawl in that side and over to my seat so I could speed away and leave him standing there. He seemed to sense my thought process because he quickly rounded the car.

Pressing me against the vehicle, he trapped me with his body. “I want you to beg, Storm. I want you to scream. And I kind of want you to run like hell so I can chase you. Should I go on?”

Excitement ran through me, stealing my breath and making my pulse race. The devious gleam in his eyes went straight to my core. A throb between my legs brought an embarrassed heat to my face.

“None of those things will ever happen,” I promised, not at all confident in my ability to keep my word. “You need to get over yourself, Rebel. You need to get over this sick obsession you have with me.”

“Every one of those things will most definitely happen. I love that you fight it. That will make it so much more satisfying when I get you on your knees begging for my cock.” His hand went around my throat, holding me in place as he nipped my bottom lip.

---