Hollywood Rebel by Misti Murphy

Chapter Sixteen

 

Summer

Rebel squeezes my hand as we enter the backstage area where Riot and the rest of the band are waiting to play. On stage another local band is opening and getting the crowd amped up for the main event.

People are scattered around the room. I recognize a couple of them. The guitarist with his arms around two women, both in sparkly dresses that are tied together with bits of string. The burly drummer is sitting with his boyfriend perched on his lap on one of the sofas.

Riot waves when he spots us. He has a beer in one hand and is talking to a woman in dark jeans and a band T-shirt. Her hair is clipped up on one side and the band name is shaved into her undercut. Rogue is with them, his arm around a blonde with inflatable air bags for tits. His eyes crinkle when he smiles.

“I’ll catch up with you.” Linc peels off to get a beer and chat with Bianca Del Ray who is doing shots out of a bottle of Patron while some skinny guy with dark jeans hanging off his hips and a spike through his ear licks her neck.

“Little bro.” Rebel claps Riot on the shoulder and brings him into a one-armed hug. “It’s packed out there.”

“Yeah.” He steps back beside the brunette and smiles down at her. “Kelsey is organizing our first tour.”

“You’ve worked your asses off,” she says. “It was only a matter of time.”

“Being a Maddox probably doesn’t hurt.” He makes a face that’s both self-depreciating and proud.

“You worked for this, Riot.” Rebel squeezes his brother’s shoulder. The pride literally pours from him. It shines in his gaze. “You’re a movie star in your own right. A rockstar too.”

“Summer Heart, I did not know you were coming tonight.” Rogue covers his heart with his hand as he swoops in to catch my attention. “If I’d known, I would have kept my dance card empty.”

“Fuck up, Rogue.” Rebel pulls me in front of him and wraps his arms around my waist. “Who’s your date?”

“Cameron.” The girl clings to him.

“Oh shit.” Rogue’s eyes widen. He grabs Riot’s shoulder and shakes him out of his conversation with Kelsey. “Are you seeing this? Or have the drugs kicked in?”

“You better not be doing drugs,” Rebel says.

“I think the drugs must have kicked in.” Riot collapses against Rogue as he takes in the protective way Rebel is holding onto me. “There’s no way our brother has finally made a move.”

Rebel’s lips find my ear. “Best not tell them that I made my move days ago.”

“Why?” I ask sweetly. “Because they think you have no game?”

“Damn, they’re cute, aren’t they?” Rogue leers at us.

“Because, kitten, you’re forgetting one thing.” His lips draw down my neck. Nip at my skin.

“What’s that?” I find myself exposing more of my delicate flesh to his teeth.

His palm cups the base of my throat, causing those butterflies in my stomach to go berserk. “I’m not the nice guy. I’m the one everyone warned you about.”

Oh boy, that much is true. If my brothers ever found out about this, they’d descend like the plague to carry me back to the safety of the ranch. It’s a risk I’m willing to take to keep my promise to my mother and experience life the way she wanted me to. The way I want to when I’m with Rebel. He makes me want to see the world in vivid detail. And if that’s not safe, well, at least it’s my choice.

Kelsey claps her hands to gather everyone’s attention. “It’s time.”

“Go out there and kill it,” Rebel tells Riot before he joins the rest of his band at the side of the stage where they start pumping themselves up to go out in front of the crowd.

The rest of us follow into the area reserved for us. The view is amazing. We’re so close to the band as Riot belts out the opening line of their first song for the night.

“This is amazing,” I scream at Rebel. I’ve never been to a concert like this. It was always something I’d get to. When I was done with school. When my career was on track. When I was ready.

He wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls my back against his chest. “Yeah, it is.”

We stay like that for a little while, enjoying the performance. Watching Riot in his element. When he finishes up the first song the crowd goes wild.

They go completely nuts for the dirty joke that he tells them while he opens a bottle of water to have a sip. “I know you all love this one.”

The first words of the next song vibrate in the air. All the hair on my arms stand on end at the emotion in it before I get swept away in the thumping beat and dirty electric guitar. My brother Jett would love this. He’s always sending me new bands to listen to.

“What do you think, kitten? Wanna be bad with me?” Rebel tickles my ear with his lips.

My heart pounds. The last time he uttered those words I ended up naked in a swimming pool with him. We almost got caught by security. I accidentally got acquainted with his cock.

That last memory comes with a flood of warmth between my thighs. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want you.” His lips travel the shell of my ear. His hand slides from my side to my hip to my thigh. His fingertips just barely stroke my skin below the hem of my dress. “I want to touch you.”

I inhale sharply. No doubt my panties are damp. His words are hot, and coupled with the way he touches me I’m on fire. “But there are thousands of people here.”

“So?” His lips cover the point of my pulse, which must be positively racing. His fingers inch up higher on my thigh, dragging my dress with them. “Be a little adventurous, kitten. You know you want to.”

“Someone will see.” I reach for his hand to stop it from moving any higher, except when he reaches up to brush his fingers along my panty-covered slit I don’t do a single thing to stop him. I’m losing my mind. I must be. What else could possibly make me consider letting him continue?

Except, we’ve already screwed up tonight. I’m kidding myself if I pretend for one second that I won’t have to deal with what happened at dinner tomorrow. It’s quite possible I will no longer have a job as it is. So why stop when it feels so good?

“We’ll be discreet,” he murmurs against my neck. “No one will know. The music is loud and the crowd is obsessed with my brother. They won’t have a clue that I have my fingers inside you.”

My knees melt. With a whimper I sink onto his hand before I can catch myself. Tonight, I’m not taking the safe road. I’m choosing to be with Rebel. I’ll deal with the consequences when they come. “Okay.”

He leads me away from the crowd and back to the offstage area where we first came in. He spins me around as soon as we’re alone, pins my hands to the wall above my head and crushes his body against mine.

Any moment one of the crew or another VIP could come back here and catch us, but it’s secluded enough that most of my apprehension abates. I want him to touch me. I need him to.

Our tongues tangle. Our lips clash. I get lost in the minty taste of his mouth.

I moan as his hand finds the hem of my dress and pushes underneath it to squeeze my ass. I’m turned on and breathless as I rise up on tip toe to get closer. He lifts me off my feet to kiss me harder. Puts me back down on the ground.

I’m wet and needy and my pulse is thrumming along with the rock music in the background. So loud and fast. “Touch me, Rebel.”

“I’m going to,” he breathes in my ear, and I turn into a puddle.

His fingers hook into my panties and rip them down my legs. I draw in a sharp, squeaky breath and raise my gaze to the ceiling and the universe beyond that which has put me in Rebel’s path. Tomorrow will probably be a clusterfuck, but for tonight all I can think about is how much I want this. Him. Now.

He crouches to retrieve my panties from around my ankles. Straightening up, he wraps them around his wrist like a cuff. Fingers tangled in my hair, he pulls me into another drugging kiss that makes me forget my own name. His hand disappears under my skirt again, his thumb catches on my clit and spins a lazy circle that makes my knees weak.

“Oh my God,” I breathe.

“There’s my good girl,” he growls in my ear as he slips a finger inside me.

Holy fuck. A wave of lust takes me under at those four simple words. And the way he strokes me with first one finger and then two. I can’t cope. It feels so good. His thumb flicks across my clit again and I moan. Again, and I thrash against the wall. Again, and my orgasm starts to come over me like pins and needles. “Rebel.”

“You’re going to come for me,” he says. “And then you’re going to climb on my lap and show me how you want me to fuck you.”

“Oh God.” My vision blurs. Is this what it’s supposed to feel like? Because holy hell his fingers are making me feel so good.

“Call me God again,” he orders thrusting harder against that one spot that makes me orgasm hard. Follows it by rubbing my clit until I topple into that orgasm too.

“Oh God.” I cry out, but luckily no one but Rebel could possibly hear me over the band.

My legs are rubber as he leads me to one of the sofas. He takes a seat and pulls me down until I straddle his lap. There’s too much clothing between us, but I can feel the steel length of him between my legs anyway.

I reach for the buckle on his belt. Tug it undone. Work on the zipper on his pants.

“Hang on,” he says.

I pause to watch him. His irises are dark with heat, his pupils dilated under heavy hoods. His plump bottom lip begs me to suck it between my teeth. “What is it?”

He cups the back of my head and leans in to kiss me. “I need to know how much you want this. Me.”

“You’re asking me that after you’ve already made me come?” I press him back into the cushions. “While I’m sitting on your lap with no panties on?”

“It’s important.” He brushes his thumb over my cheek.

“I want you, Rebel.” I wiggle on his lap, pressing down on his length until he hisses. “Inside me. Fucking me.”

“Show me,” he demands.

I reach for the band on his boxer briefs.

“No.” He traps my hands in one of his. Unwinds my panties from his wrist and uses them to tie mine together and tug me forward onto his chest. “Trust me when I say that I am going to pound that pussy so fucking hard when I finally get you naked. But it’s not going to be a quickie at my brother’s concert. I want to take my time with you. Now, show me how you’d ride me, country girl.”

I rotate my hips and drag my slit along his erection. The urge to get closer makes the sensation more intense. I whimper with each undulation. Toss my head back and paw at his chest through the cotton of his shirt.

“That’s it.” He spanks my ass. “Yee haw, kitten.”

“Oh my God.” The ridiculousness of the words along with the shock of his hand makes me laugh at the same time it creates sparks.

I pant as pleasure becomes my focus. His hands dig into my hips and drag me down harder on his cock, while he watches me with a dark satisfaction. Groans. “There we go.”

I come hard. Out of nowhere. Like I’ve been banking orgasms in preparation for this moment and this man to release them. Maybe it’s because all my orgasms to this date have been sponsored by my vibrator. The one and only time I tried the real deal it certainly didn’t feel anything like this.

He captures my high-pitched cries with his kiss. Clasps my face between his hands. “When I get you home tonight, you are in so much trouble.”

“God, I hope so.” I greedily kiss him again.

“But for now.” He helps me to my feet before zipping his fly and latching his belt. He unwinds my panties from my wrists and crouches down to put them back on me. Straightening, he picks strands of my hair back into place with a secretive smile. “Let’s go enjoy the rest of the concert.”

We watch Riot and his band put on an epic show. The crowd loves them. They go wild and beg for more. I take so many fun photos and videos for Rebel’s social media. Images that show a different side to the brooding bad boy.

He steals my phone and pulls me into his arms to snap several selfies. One where we’re both smiling. Another where he kisses my cheek. More where we make a million different expressions. None of which will make it onto his socials.

He sends himself several of them before giving me my phone back. He doesn’t relinquish me though. The rest of the night he touches me constantly. Insistent touches that scream of want but have a gentleness to them that I didn’t know the man possessed. He sings along to a few of the songs. I sing to the ones I know too.

By the time the concert is over we’re both husky.

We wait around while the band signs autographs and greets special fans. The guys are practically bouncing off the walls, amped up from the crowd’s energy.

Rebel pulls me into a corner and presses the full length of his body into mine. He tips my chin up and probes my mouth with his tongue. “I can’t wait to get you alone.”

“Rebel?” Rogue sidles up to us. “You want to share? Make it weird?”

“Fuck no,” Rebel growls at his twin and covers the guy’s face with his hand to push him away. “What happened to the girl that you came with?”

“Cameron? She didn’t like the band, so I put her in a cab and sent her home. I can’t date a girl who doesn’t get down with my fam. And on that note… what’s wrong with a little sharing is caring?”

I laugh. “Sorry, Rogue, you’re not my type.”

“B-but…” He gives me a wounded look and shakes it off. “I look exactly like him. Identical even.”

“Yeah.” I nod. “And if it helps, you’re good looking, but I don’t find you attractive.”

“I don’t think she’s good for you, brother. She talks in riddles and makes no sense.” Rogue shakes his head. “None.”

“I happen to think she makes perfect sense.” Rebel smiles at me and then runs his tongue up my neck. “Besides, I licked her first. She’s mine.”

“Oh my God.” A shiver runs down my spine. “That’s gross.”

“Is it?” Rebel teases me. “Because that little gasp tells me what you really mean is, Rebel, please do it again.”

He’s right.

“Fine. I get it. You two are weirdly in sexual sync.” Rogue gives an exaggerated exhale and taps Rebel on the shoulder to reclaim his attention. “But I actually need to talk to you for a minute.”

“What is it?” Rebel turns his attention on his brother.

“Did you tell him?” Linc asks.

“Tell me what?” Rebel turns away from me.

His shoulders grow rigid. His head bows. I don’t have to see his face; I feel the palpable change in him. Any happiness we had in our cozy little corner disappears as he says, “Ro.”

“Rebel,” a feminine voice responds.

I’m not an idiot. Rebel has a reputation. History. Some of it involves women. I did my research, after all. I came into this job with a somewhat biased view based on how much of his life is available via a good internet search.

It’s the way she says his name that doesn’t sit well with me. Timidly. Trembling. Full of emotion. Like there’s something unfinished between them.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I came to see my brother.” He shifts his weight from foot to foot as though readying himself for a fight. Or an argument. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I was trying to warn you,” Rogue mutters out of the side of his mouth.

“If I’d known you were going to be here I would have stayed away,” Rebel says and I can’t tell whether he’s angry or sad. There’s a double edge to his tone that I don’t understand.

“Maybe we should set up a schedule for events like this?” she says. “So we don’t have to see each other.”

My lips part on an intake of breath. Hearing her tell him he shouldn’t be here when it’s his own brother’s band we’ve been watching tonight is not something I can let go.

Neither Riot nor Rogue stand up for him. What the hell?

I shove between both Rebel and Rogue to get to her. “Hang on a minute.”

It’s her turn to blink. First at me and then at Rebel.

“Don’t get involved.” Rogue grips my elbow to tug me back into the wall of their side-by-side bodies.

Rebel ignores me.

“Who is she?” the girl he called Ro asks. I recognize her from pictures of them together. Her name is Rochelle Kitt. The granddaughter of a 1950s glamour queen. Daughter of one of the spunkiest actors of the last century. She’s Hollywood royalty and a household name. A year ago she was everywhere. In movies and magazines and reality TV and then she disappeared from our screens practically overnight.

At the time the three Maddox brothers and the starlet were inseparable. Right up until Rebel assaulted Alec Hawthorne. Were they together? It was never public knowledge if she dated any of the boys, but I can’t shake the feeling that she and Rebel wouldn’t be having this weird fight about a schedule of when he can see his brother’s band if they hadn’t dated.

“I’m Sum—”

“She’s my PR manager,” Rebel says. “She’s trying to fix my reputation.”

Okay, wow. That’s an awful lot of distance he creates between us with those two little sentences. It’s the first time I’ve been introduced as his publicist to anyone, and I should be grateful; after all it is my job title. Enhancing his reputation is my goal.

Until now, though, I’ve been introduced to everyone in almost friendly terms. This intro kind of stings.

“Do you always stick your tongue down your publicist’s throat?” Rochelle Kitt barely bothers to give me a second cursory glance, focusing her sad eyes on Rebel instead.

He shrugs. “Let’s not do this.”

That’s his response? Five minutes ago, he was kissing me. Now, it’s like I don’t exist. I’ve been on this rollercoaster of highs and lows all night, and I want to get off this ride. It’s only Rogue’s grip on my arm that keeps me in place.

“Ro, let’s go, okay?” Riot puts an arm around her shoulder and turns her away before shooting Rebel an empathetic look over his shoulder. “Let me take you home.”

“You should go with them,” Rebel says without looking at Rogue.

“You good?” Rogue asks.

His usually expressive face is made of taut plains that don’t move. “Fantastic.”

Rogue releases my arm to follow Riot out. The moment I’m free I take off out of there. Tonight was a mistake. I have feelings about the jackass and none of them are positive right now.

I race out of the stadium and onto the road to hail a cab.

“Red,” I hear him yell as a yellow cab pulls up next to me.

Yeah, I am not sticking around to go home with him after whatever that was in there. Self-preservation is the aim of the game. I yank open the door and slip onto the backseat. Toss out my address to the driver as I slap the lock on the door to shut at the same time Rebel tries to open the door. “Just go. Go. Go.”

I sink into the seat as we leave him standing in the middle of the road. After a few blocks I scroll through my notifications until I find one from Jett asking me to call him the moment I get in.

I text him back instead.

 

Me: Heading home. Everything is fine. I’ll call tomorrow.

 

My phone starts to ring a minute later. Jett’s name lights up my screen. I breathe a little easier because at least it’s not Rebel. Except, is that disappointment I feel? I slide my finger across the screen to answer. “Brother number three, I thought you would be asleep.”

“Are you okay?” he asks. “Your message sounded… off.”

Jett’s more intuitive than Owen and Burke. That doesn’t make him less of a pain. If anything it makes it harder to answer him sometimes because he has this way of picking up on how I’m feeling anyway. Even when my texts literally say that I’m fine.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I’m great.”

“Hmmm, still not convinced.”

“I’m just tired.” I rest my head in my hand. Now that the emotional high of the night is gone, it isn’t a stretch to sound tired. “It’s late.”

“Damn straight it is,” he grumbles. “Do you know what time it is, Little?”

I glance at the time on my screen. It’s one-thirty in the morning in Devil’s Bend. “It’s only eleven-thirty here. And I’m young and supposed to be having fun.”

“Well, I’m not so young.” He yawns. “We need to change your curfew by an hour.”

“You know I don’t have a curfew, right? I haven’t since I left Devil’s Bend. I don’t even need these daily check ins. I’m grown. When are you guys going to accept that?”

“Never.” He makes an affectionate sound in the back of his throat. “You’ll always be the baby. You’ll always be our only sister. And we will never stop worrying about you after...”

“I know,” I say. “And I love you for it.”

“But—”

But sometimes I wish they’d let the past go. What happened when I was sixteen. It’s so long ago, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with that night hanging over my head. I should be able to move on from my mistakes. I should be able to make other mistakes without worrying about my brothers swooping in to save me from them. “Nothing.”

“So where are you?”

“In a cab, heading home.” I stare out the window as we drive toward Santa Monica. I have no idea how I’m going to work with Rebel after this. Or even look him in the eye. I’m going to have to go and see Bernadette first thing on Monday and tell her I can’t work with him. Beg her to give me a chance to find another client. I still have a month before my trial period comes to an end. Surely, she’ll be rational. After all, she tried to tame the rebel herself. 

“At this time of night?”

“It’s only eleven-thirty, remember?” I sass him. “I went to a concert. For work.”

“Seriously?” Jett sounds impressed. “Who was the band?”

“L.A. Riot.” They were so good. I bite my thumb nail. “You would have liked them.”

“I’ll check them out,” he says. “Tomorrow. When I’ve had some sleep.”

“Hey, Jett?”

“Yeah, Little.”

How do I even begin to have a conversation with one of my brothers about my feelings regarding Rebel? As soon as they find out I’m into someone they’ll want to know who he is. And when they realize I’m the kind of idiot who gets involved with a guy like Rebel Maddox they’ll want to protect me from myself. Besides, I’m pretty sure from how pathetic I feel right now that I like Rebel Maddox more than he likes me, so there is no need to make it more than one crazy night. “Never mind.”

“Are you sure?” he asks.

“Whose turn is it to call me tomorrow?” I ask, fully aware they get together once a month to draw up a roster that they keep on the fridge.

“Storm,” Jett answers.

“Tell him that I’m going to stay in for the rest of the weekend and catch up on some sleep. He doesn’t need to worry about me.”

“Yeah, you know it doesn’t work like that,” Jett says.

“A girl can dream,” I say.

“Love you, Little. ’Night.”

“’Night, Jett.”