Page 4 of Sins of a Rebel

He looks different, like the young boy I remember him being the first time we met. I’m not sure if he’s angry, hurt, or embarrassed. Maybe a little of all three.

“Tysin,” I say, breaking through the stillness around us.

“Please don’t,” he grits out.

I press my lips together, hating how quickly things shifted from hot to cold.

“I need to take off.” He runs his hand through his hair, turning toward the door. “When Garret gets back, can you tell him I dropped by and to give me a call?”

“You bet.”

He stops when he reaches the door, turning back to look at me. Our eyes stay locked for a moment, long enough to notice the spark of an indefinable emotion before he nods, disappearing out the door.

For the next hour, I replay every second of our time together.

You, Kyla. Always you.

Chapter Two

Tysin

I know the risk of what I’m about to do, but I don’t give a shit anymore.

I’ve held myself back from Kyla out of fear of ruining my friendship with Madden. When I walked into Breaking Waves and saw her standing there—her smooth skin and soft smile, her eyes glittering with happiness merely at the sight of me—I couldn’t stop myself.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about anything else since.

Madden doesn’t have to know.

Kyla’s different than all the women who hang around after our shows. Shit, I knew that years ago. She’s never cared about what anyone else thought of her. She marches to the beat of her own drum, which has always drawn me to her.

She’s loyal as hell to the people in her life. If you were someone close to her, you knew it too. She didn’t give up or turn her back on the people she loved.

She’s the real deal. The ride or die type.

I glance up when she steps out the door. Her long lavender hair is down, and she’s wearing a pair of bright red retro-styled sunglasses. She has a style uniquely Kyla. Her colorful tattoos span the length of her arms like an edgy pin-up model, and goddamn does she always have my eyes burning on her. I want to soak up every inch of her body and those curves she barely keeps covered.

She doesn’t notice me at first. Her eyes are trained on her phone when she reaches for her keys out of her pocket, looking up to hit the unlock when her gaze finally meets mine.

Her steps falter, coming to a complete stop.

I wish I could see the look in her eyes or know what she was thinking when she saw me leaning against the tailgate of my pickup parked next to her.

If the slow breathtaking grin across her face is any indication, though, I’d say it’s a good sign she’s happy to see me.

“Back to see Garrett?”

I shake my head. “Not this time.”

“Is that right?” She snickers.

The parking lot is full of people, and we are interrupted when a car pulls in, passing between us. When the coast is clear, she jogs over and stops a few feet from me.

“What brought you here this time?”

She rakes her teeth over her lip, attempting to cover the smile playing at the edge of her mouth. No matter how much she tries to fight it, she gives in.

I’ve always loved seeing how her body reacts whenever she’s around me.

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