Rebel (Renegades 2)

Rubi gasped and glanced up. “Engagement?”

“We were going to get married after we graduated. But I wasn’t willing to fulfill her image of who I should be. And without that position with her father’s firm, I didn’t amount to someone she believed could support her financially. At least not the way she’d been supported all her life. ”

Rubi read the darkness of his gaze, the hurt pulling his mouth. And their argument at Dolph’s office echoed in her head.

“I’m talking millions. Many millions. I’m talking about you being able to buy houses like Jax’s any time you wanted. I’m talking about never worrying about money for the rest of your life. ”

“Oh my God,” she murmured.

“It was a long time ago. ” But his voice still held some element of darkness. “I’m only telling you all this so you can understand—”

“I didn’t mean—” She lifted her gaze to his again, reached up, and covered his hand. “Wes, what I said about the rig, about selling it, that wasn’t because I wanted you to be someone different. It was because I want you to always be able to do just what you’re doing. To be able to be just as happy and complete as you are now. I’m worried about you being able to do what you love if something unfortunate happened and you couldn’t physically do the stunts. Selling the rig only gives you the money to ensure you’ll have that opportunity. ”

He fingered back a piece of hair on her forehead, his gaze a little distant but soft. “You really don’t care if I can buy houses like Jax’s?”

“No. ” She laughed the word, but it was filled with pain and regret. “It makes absolutely no difference to me. I’ve always had money, Wes, but I’ve never had the more important things that money took from me. I’d give up everything I had then, everything I have now for a childhood—and a family—like yours. ”

His lids closed, and he leaned his forehead against hers. “I know it kinda freaks you out, but…fuck…I love you so much. ”

Rubi winced at the sting of fear. But at the same time, her heart was doing somersaults. The clash felt excruciating. “Wes…”

He exhaled loudly. “I know. Dammit, I’m sorry. I just…you just… Fuck it. ” He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled a pillow underneath his head. “I’d better go to sleep before I get myself in any more trouble. ”

Rubi slid her hand up his arm and over his shoulder. “Sleep isn’t what I had in mind. Trouble was. ”

A smile curved his mouth, but he covered her hand with his and pulled it between them, then threaded her fingers. He laid his chin on the top of her head and pulled her close, until their chests and bellies pressed, until his thick, muscled legs were tangled with hers. “Close your eyes, precious. I want to fall asleep with you. ”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

He tilted his head down for a quick kiss. “Try it and see. And if you’re a really good girl, I might wake you up sometime tonight in a very creative way. ”

Twenty-Four

Rubi stretched awake without opening her eyes. She rolled under the covers and pulled a pillow to her chest, sighing with comfort. She felt cocooned. Warm and safe and happy. Her mind drifted toward her day ahead. She needed to check e-mail. Contact a couple of different clients to help her decide which project to start on next. She wanted to go for a run. Maybe she’d do that first thing. The beach was always beautiful and quiet in the morning—

Muffled laughter sounded somewhere nearby. A split second of alarm flashed through her before she opened her eyes—and recognized nothing. Which then pumped a much longer, much stronger flash of panic through her. She pushed up in bed at the same instant her location and situation registered.

Wes. Missouri.

Panic seeped through her chest.

Rolling toward the nightstand, she picked up her phone. Checking her messages, she found two pictures of Rodie from the sitter and one text from Wes.

WES: Good morning, beautiful.

Rubi smiled. A sliver of her sudden panic ebbed. After all, she did have the hottest Renegade of them all under the same roof. And he had followed through on his promise of waking her in the middle of the night in a creative way. She warmed at the thought, and aches she hadn’t been aware of upon waking snuck in.

She clicked into the other messages and looked at pictures of Rodie—passed out in his dog bed, his favorite toy nearby. Playing tug-of-war with his buddy, Titan, a Golden Retriever.

Her heart tugged.

The door inched open, followed by Wes, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and what looked like a yogurt parfait in the other. “Hey. ”

He was barefoot, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. It was really a sin how good he looked in the simple clothes. And how amazing it was to have his handsome face greet her first thing in the morning. “I was hoping you were awake. ”

Rubi sat up, set her phone aside, and ran both hands through her hair, pulling it off her face. She smiled and took the coffee he held out with a gratitude-filled “Thank you. ”

She took a sip, closed her eyes and settled. It was just the way she liked it—hazelnut creamer and plenty of sugar. She hummed in pleasure. And she was touched he would remember how she liked her coffee from the few times she’d gone to the set early to watch crash stunts. “You’re a god.