Page 4 of Claimed By the Rebel

My heart is racing. She hurt herself for the second time in less than a minute. I need to get to her, to help her… but I can't. It would blow my cover, for one, and also, I might terrify the poor woman if I came sprinting out of nowhere to ask if she's okay.

Still… as I watch her bend over and rub her sore toe, a rogue thought crosses my mind. For the first time since joining the MC, I’m actually considering putting my loyalty and everything I’ve worked for at risk. For what? A woman I’ve never officially met or talked to?

As I look over at her, the sun weaving through her hair and making it sparkle, I know she's already changed something deep inside me. She's opened up a longing I didn't think I'd ever have and ignited a fire that I know won't be quenched until I taste her lips.

Fuck me, what the hell is going on?

I can’t look away, especially when she’s giving me a spectacular view of her ass. I shouldn’t be looking, and I sure as shit shouldn’t be imagining all the filthy things I’d like to do to her. Jesus, I can’t remember the last time my cock twitched, let alone became hard. But right now? The blood is rushing to my dick so fast I’m a little lightheaded.

The woman straightens up, her delicate hand reaching out toward the assortment of flowers I don’t know the names of. It’s a little oasis of color and greenery that attracts butterflies and ladybugs. It’s so out of place, surrounded by the dirt and gravel lot. Such rare beauty found in an otherwise desolate place. Much like the mysterious woman herself.

I can't take any more of this. The temptation, the longing, the confusing feelings the curvy goddess brings out in me, plus the fact that she has me questioning my priorities in life… it’s all too much. I’m in too deep.

Taking one last look at the ethereal, confounding woman, I finally put the binoculars away and pull out of my spot. This is getting ridiculous and I need to get my head back in the game. No distractions.

I make it all of three blocks before the image of my blonde beauty bending over fills my mind. I’m so fucked.

4

AURORA

“Wait, what?!” I exclaim over the phone to my good friend, Beatrix. “Like, a mansion mansion? With multiple bathrooms and fifty bedrooms and a library like in Beauty and the Beast?”

My friend laughs over the phone, though her tone is surprisingly sarcastic. “No, it’s definitely not a fairytale. The place has been abandoned for years, though apparently my great-great-aunt who lived across the country or something had been paying property taxes on it, so… it’s just been sitting here, untouched, for over a decade.”

“A great-great-aunt?” I ask. Bea and I went to school together from kindergarten through high school, and during that time, she was in and out of foster care homes. Some better than others.

I narrowly miss hitting a lamp post with my elbow and breathe a sigh of relief when I’m able to steady myself and the three bags of groceries I’m juggling in my hands. My purse strap slides down my shoulder and I try doing a circular motion with my arm to try and get it back into place. No such luck.

“I know. Crazy, right? I had no idea she existed until her attorney tracked me down and told me I inherited a piece of property.”

“You could have been living with her the whole time instead of…” I trail off, not wanting to bring up unpleasant memories. Plus, it’s not helping to rub it in.

“I try not to think about what might have been, you know? Who knows if my life would have been better or worse if I lived with her? Besides, I probably wouldn’t have met you, and that would’ve been a tragedy, don’t you think?”

I smile even though I know she can’t see. Beatrix has been through a lot in her life, but she still finds a way to focus on the positive.

“Definitely,” I reply, adjusting the strap of my purse once again as I stop at a crosswalk.

I finally give in to the fact that I need to juggle some things around and switch arms for my purse. Securing my phone between my ear and my shoulder, I tilt my head at an angle to make sure I don't drop it. I shrug off my purse, then swap hands between the grocery bags and my purse. I'm about to swing the strap of my purse over my other shoulder when my phone slips.

“Oh crap!” I squeak out. The only thought in my mind is that my phone is the single connection I have to the outside world. If I lose or break this one, I have no idea when my brother might get me another one, if ever.

I lunge forward, dropping the bags and my purse on the ground. My phone tumbles off the curb and into the street, while my heart lodges itself in my throat, making it hard to breathe. If it falls into a sewage drain or gets run over by a car…

“Gotcha!” I whisper to myself in victory. My fingers wrap around the little device that holds the key to my freedom and I’m able to take a full breath again.

As soon as I grab my phone from its precarious place on the street, someone grabs me from behind, securing an arm around my waist and pulling me back onto the sidewalk a second before a car speeds past, horn blaring.

I gasp, realizing what just happened. Or what almost happened. My heart stutters and then pounds against my chest hard enough that it might crack a damn rib. I try to scream or cry or show some kind of emotion, but no sound comes out.

The immediate danger of the moment has passed, and as things settle in my mind, I realize someone pulled me out of the way. I turn around, though the arm still wrapped around my waist makes it a bit difficult.

I'm met with espresso-brown eyes, staring at me with so much intensity I have no choice but to fall right into his gaze. It's him. I mean, I don’t know him at all, but somehow… I do. I recognize him, though not his looks. I’d certainly remember someone as striking and rugged as him.

With deep brown eyes framed in even darker lashes, black hair, tan skin, and a strong jawline dotted with stubble, I'm positive I've never seen this man before. Yet I already feel a pull, some sort of connection I've never had before. The longer I stare into those all-consuming eyes, the more I see a pain, a longing, a loneliness that resonates deep within my soul.

He blinks, breaking the trance I was in.

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