Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland 1)

“And being with me?” He smirked looking at me from out of the corner of his eyes. Damn that was sexy.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Why not?” He licked his lips and focused back on the road ahead. My focus was all over the damn place. “This is a golden opportunity for me. Ch

ance to show you I’m not the dickhead you always thought I was.”

“I never thought you were.” He gave me a cut the bullshit look, and I grinned into my lap. “Fine. But in my defence you’ve done some pretty dickish things to me over the years. And these last few months? You really upped the asshole stakes.”

“I had to do something to protect myself.”

I froze, feeling my heart stop in my chest.

“Protect yourself from what?”

He didn’t answer, just took a deep breath and turned into the drive-through. And I sat there, wondering what exactly he thought he needed protecting from when it came to me.

He ordered us burgers, large fries and drinks, then pulled into the corner of the car park.

“It’s my dad, isn’t it?” I said, suddenly losing my appetite as I watched him dive into his burger like he hadn’t eaten for a month.

“What… Huh?” he spluttered over his mouthful.

“You think you need protecting from my dad.” I turned in my seat to face him. “What exactly is it you think he’s done? I think I deserve to know, seeing as you’ve got me spying for you.”

Ryan finished his mouthful, dropped his burger into his lap and turned to look at me.

“I’m not scared of your dad, Emily.”

“Then why did you need protecting?”

“I’m not… Oh, Jesus, for fuck’s sake.” He ran his hands over his face in exasperation.

“If you’re not gonna tell me then-”

“Fine,” he snapped. “It was you. I meant you. Fuck’s sake. It was a joke. A throwaway comment. I don’t want this to turn into a row. Jesus.”

“Why would you need protecting from me?” I wasn’t gonna let this one go.

“Because I like you, Emily. A lot. More than a lot.” I noticed his cheeks going pink and he was staring straight ahead like he couldn’t quite bring himself to look at me.

“I like you too. A lot.” I smiled. “More than a lot.”

“I’m not used to putting myself out there,” he mumbled, picking his burger back up and taking a bite.

“I can tell.”

“I’m not a pussy.” He looked at me, but the walls he usually put in place weren’t there.

“No one said you were.”

“So, can we eat our burgers now without you thinking I’m some kind of loser?”

Typical guy. Always gotta think about the image.

“You’re not a loser, Ryan.”

“Yeah? I feel like one. If the others were here, I’d probably get kicked to the kerb for talking like a pussy.” He gave me a lop-sided grin and I suddenly became hungry for something more than just a burger.