Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland 1)

It wasn’t supposed to go down like this though. This was supposed to be my chance to get a bit closer to her. Show her what she was missing. I think Zak’s exact words were, “Woo the shit out of her.”

Brandon’s had been the complete opposite. Something about bending her over the bonnet and fucking her into submission. But that was his M.O., not mine. I knew I had to tread carefully where Emily was concerned. She was no pushover. So, I opted for a happy medium. A bit of wooing maybe, but I wasn’t smooth like Zak. Throw in some charm, but not force myself on her at the first chance I got like Brandon would’ve. I needed this girl to trust me, so I could fuck her over and use that trust to get us what we needed.

Answers.

Answers to all the fucking questions and some goddamn evidence to back us up when the shit really hit the fan.

We had it all planned out. Brandon would drive down to her friend’s house, tamper with her car whilst no one was looking, and make it so she could still drive away, but she’d have literally minutes before the engine cut out. I knew she’d ring the breakdown company. I also knew their waiting times were ridiculously long. I wanted to go to her after ten minutes, but both Brandon and Zak thought twenty was better. We didn’t want to make it look too suspicious with me turning up too early, but twenty minutes was enough time to make her feel desperate and truly grateful to see me. Yeah right. Her face dropped faster than a fat kid falling on his ass when I rocked up. And damn, if her feistiness didn’t do something to me. Wooing I couldn’t do, I was clueless. But banter? Going toe-to-toe with her? Now that was my fucking forte. It was what got me going, and every roll of her eyes and huff from her pretty little mouth spurred me on even more. I knew this wasn’t the result the lads had wanted, but I couldn’t help myself.

Emily Winters was my nemesis. A perfect opponent in this little battle of wits we’d started playing. She was my muse.

Watching her squirm as I got out of the truck made my heart race. The little yellow sundress she had on, with the thin straps over her tanned shoulders made me want to run my fingers under each strap and watch them fall down her arms, so I could see the perfection she had hiding underneath. But her scowl was what turned me on the most. The way she flicked her curly hair back when she got annoyed made me hard. Her hair was thick and long, just right for wrapping around my fist as I yanked her head back and took her from behind. But fuck me, when she spoke, that anger and venom she had for me shot an arrow straight through my heart and my dick.

This girl would be the death of me.

The fact that she’d probably have preferred Freddy Kruger to come out of my truck instead of me made me want to conquer her even more. I loved a challenge. But what I didn’t love, was a fucking pissing contest.

Chase fucking Lockwood.

The guy was an idiot. A loser. And he had the hots for Emily Winters, that much was clear. Dude was probably heading home to rub one out right now after seeing her today. When he pulled up, I wanted to drag him out of his flashy red extension of his dick and show him what I really thought of him. Dude was a puppet for his father, and we all knew what they got up to in their spare time. If he thought he was getting near Emily, he had another thing coming. The thought of her getting into his car made me show my cards sooner than I would’ve liked where he was concerned. I didn’t like being forced into a corner, but he needed to back the fuck off.

There was no way I was gonna let him swoop in and play the hero, even if I was doing a shit job of being one myself. Hell, the joker always was my favourite kind of hero anyway. Sure, I could be a good guy if I needed to be. Not Chase Lockwood’s kind of fake-ass good though. That guy set my teeth on edge.

I got busy hitching her car up to the truck, trying to ignore how pissed off I felt about Lockwood storming in and fucking up my shit.

“What the fuck was that?” she snapped, stomping over to me and making my breath catch in my throat.

Another step, sweetheart, I dare you. Just one more step and I’ll have you up against this truck so fast you won’t know what’s hit you. I’ll enjoy sticking my tongue down your pretty throat to shut you up.

“What did you say to him?”

Enough to save your ass. Jesus, thinking of her ass had me all messed up.

“I told him to mind his own fucking business. Now, get in the truck,” was what came out of my mouth. In my head I was screaming, fight me, baby. I love it when you make me work for it.

She started spouting some bullshit about Lockwood being her friend and I zoned out. Picturing what it’d feel like when I did get her where I wanted her, on her knees sucking my dick. I was more than done with him being the topic of our conversation. And then I heard her say how I loved fucking with her life right now, and that was like a red rag to a bull.

“You’ve got no idea,” I spat back, and those walls that I liked to keep firmly in place were locked, bolted and fortified to the motherfucking hilt. I needed to remember to have my wits about me with this girl; keep my guard up. Sure, she played the role of the good girl really well, but was she really that clueless about how far down the rabbit hole her family went? She was smart. She had to know something.

She argued with me some more, telling me she was getting in the truck, but not because I’d asked her, but that she needed a ride and she was getting good at blocking me out. Again, another challenge. So much for wooing her, I was about to break this girl’s defences with a fucking sledgehammer.

I wasn’t gonna be blocked out.

Nobody ignored me.

Ever.

I threw my head back and laughed, trying to make it look like I didn’t care. I couldn’t let her see that she was capable of pushing every one of my fucking buttons. She held enough power over me as it was, I couldn’t give her anymore.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart. But just know this…” I walked right up to her, forcing her up against the truck, and hoping to God she couldn’t feel how hard she was making me. “You have no idea how bad I can make things for you. Keep trying to block me out, Winters, but you won’t succeed. If I wanna be heard, I will. And you will fucking listen.”

She blinked up at me with those big blue eyes of hers and I willed myself not to react. Not to swallow or flinch. I couldn’t do anything that’d show her that she affected me. Deep breaths were all I was capable of. That and some pretty fucked-up thoughts about where I could take this to next. She put both her hands on my chest, and for a split second I thought she was gonna lean up to kiss me, but her second of faltering was just that; a moment. A moment where she could take a breath and push me back away from her.

She muttered something under her breath and stalked off to the front of the truck. Then she threw me a glare that was probably meant to kill me dead on the spot and pulled herself up into the cab, slamming the door as she got in. This was going to be a ride I was going to enjoy, for every God damn second that it lasted.

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Deep breaths, Em. Deep breaths and focus. Do not let him get to you. Never let him see how he affects you. You can do this. You have the power here. Don’t lose it.