Chapter Thirty-One

He needed to fuck. And he needed to get home to see to Jana. She was leaving tomorrow and he wanted to spend the night fucking her.

However, he needed to see Rebel more.

As soon as he could break away, Diesel left CJ, Rory, and Grant in the basement. Basement was too simple a word considering all the themed rooms down there but it encompassed the whole area, including the theater where they’d watched a skin flick, discussing the attributes of the actresses as well as her oral skills. CJ was still reluctant to disrespect women, even sluts, but he hadn’t sputtered in embarrassment either, so Diesel considered that a win.

On the second floor, he looked at the hall clock. It was late. Uncle Chris and Aunt Meggie would be home soon.

Halting, Diesel glanced over his shoulder, guilt pressing in on him. He felt like a dickhead and a predator. He was the former, but not the latter.

Yet, Rebel…

Fuck her and her games. As much as he tried, he couldn’t get the memory of her naked body out of his head. It was seared into his brain. He wouldn’t ever touch her. Even after she turned eighteen, she was off-limits to him. But he’d promised he’d take her on her first date.

He hadn’t signed her ridiculous agreement. That didn’t matter, though. He expected her to be happy about it and not try to go on a date with another motherfucker.

He stared at Rebel’s door. Put his ear to it. Heard nothing. Not her giggles or music. She didn’t have a TV on.

Fuck.

Frustrated, Diesel thrust his fingers through his hair. He could always call her, though texts were out of the question. That formed a paper trail.

He needed to fuck. His balls were heavy and tight. After the flick ended, his hard-on had eased up but desire still pulsed through him. He was going to the club and fuck Nyx all night. He’d already texted her and told her to expect him.

The longer it went between now and confronting Rebel, the more chance there was she’d make her fucking date with Kaia.

He had no choice but to talk to Rebel now.

Raising his hand, he knocked.

She didn’t answer. He should leave. She might be asleep. Or walking around her room with earbuds in her ears and no clothes on her body.

His nostrils flared.

He knocked again, needing to see her. Feeling as if he couldn’t breathe until he saw her. She was fire and ice. Innocent and hellcat.

“Reb? Let me in, baby. I need to talk to you.”

No response.

He leaned his forehead against the door and closed his eyes. He rested his palm against the cool surface.

She might be ignoring him. He hadn’t texted her. Not even last night after all that bullshit went down at Ridge Moore and at the boutique.

Rebel was so fucking hard to handle.

Digging in his cut, he grabbed a comb pick from one of the special slots he’d made inside his cut. He had them in his suit coats, too. He never knew when he had to settle a score.

A moment later, he had Rebel’s door open. After shutting the door, he walked into her room and glanced around, swallowing at the luxury and beauty.

Rebel walked out of her bathroom, holding a towel in front of her, her hair streaming down her back in damp golden waves.

He moved away from the door, and she screamed. He didn’t want attention drawn to them, so he was on her in a minute and clapping his hand over her mouth.

“Shut it,” he ordered.

Her eyes widened and her shoulders heaved. When the panic fled her eyes, it dawned on him she hadn’t realized his identity. She nodded.

The moment he dropped his hand to his side, she slapped the shit out of his cheek.

“Motherfucking asshole! How’d you get into my room?”

Anger pulsed through him. He held his stinging cheek. “I picked your lock,” he said without apology.

She gasped, then shoved him. “Get out. I didn’t invite you in. You cannot invade my fucking privacy at will, dickhead.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Not tonight. I promised Kaia I’d text him as soon as I finished with my shower. We’re working out where we’ll go for our date.”

“That’s what I want to discuss.”

“Not tonight,” she insisted, adjusting her towel, and drawing Diesel’s attention to her soft, creamy skin. The towel still hid her private parts. “Call me or text me tomorrow. Now, get out.”

Incredulous, he stared at her. Her blue eyes were clear and unafraid. Her mouth was pink and…

No, no, no!

“It has to be tonight, Rebel.”

“Says you. I fucking disagree. Since I will be the other half of the conversation, I can respectfully say fuck off.”

“For months, you’ve been riding my fucking dick. Swearing your undying love to me. I’ve finally fucking caved and you’re spurning me.”

She stared at him and smirked. “You’ve caved?”

He glared at her.

Unafraid, she stepped back and lifted the towel away, though she kept a grip on it. It didn’t matter. The thing no longer covered her gorgeous body.

“Prove it, Diesel.” She lifted her chin and released the towel. “Take me in your arms right now. You’ve picked my fucking lock, so obviously you’re a fucking criminal.”

“But not a degenerate!”

“You fuck degenerates, so you must be one. You know what they say about the company you keep, motherfucker.”

“Shut the fuck up. You sound like a grown woman.” She acted like one, too.

The little bitch yawned. Her nipples begged to be sucked. “Heard it all before. Come up with something new. I act grown. I’m not grown. Blah, blah, blah. If you don’t like it, get the fuck out of my room.”

“I will. Expeditiously.”

“Not the same as now. Since you’re showing neither promptness nor efficiency. You’re still standing there like a fucking jackass.”

“Because I don’t want you to go on the fucking date. I’ve already promised I’d take you on your first one.”

“You’re a liar,” she spat without flinching. “You haven’t talked to me about the agreement. You didn’t check on me yesterday.”

“Rebel—”

“Next year’s date will become the next year and then the next. You’re a lying motherfucker.”

Staring into her eyes, he raised his right hand. “I swear I’ll take you, sweetheart.”

His double entendre penetrated his brain, and he jerked his hand down, hoping his words went over Rebel’s head. They didn’t.

A flush spread over her body, drawing Diesel’s attention to all the places he shouldn’t look.

“How will you take me?” she whispered.

He ignored his aching cock. “Don’t you mean where will I take you?” he pushed out.

She met his gaze. “For now.”

He’d give her the win and move away from this dangerous topic. “I can’t take you on a first date if you’ve already been on one.”

She studied him, her eyes roaming over his body. His mouth. His nose. His hands. Turning, she disappeared into her bathroom and returned a moment later, wearing her robe.

“I touch myself and pretending it’s your fingers rubbing me.”

He choked. Need and want converged and pulsed along his nerve endings.

Glancing up at the ceiling, she folded her arms, unaware she revealed her delicate throat to Diesel’s gaze. “If you were honest with me, Diesel, I’d wait until my sixteenth birthday.” She looked at him and gave him a sad smile. “But I know you just want to have your way. You might be in collusion with my father.”

“There’s no fucking way Uncle Christopher would countenance a date between you and me under any circumstances,” he snapped.

“That’s what I keep telling myself. Yet, he had Grant ask me out.”

“That was a collective effort.”

“Am I supposed to feel better about that?”

“Look, I know Grant isn’t your type.”

The motherfucker laughed all the fucking time. He was just sooooo fucking happy.

“You know my type, Diesel? Because I sure the fuck don’t.”

“You must have a type,” he told her sharply. “Look at me and then look at Kaia.”

Was he truly comparing himself to that nineteen-year-old emo motherfucker?

“Kaia wears hoop earrings, Diesel. It’s so sexy.”

“Kaia would faint at the sight of blood. He hasn’t killed anyone.”

She didn’t react to his implication. Maybe she didn’t understand?

“Not like me.”

Unfolding her arms and lowering them, she rolled her eyes. “I know what you meant.”

“I can wear fucking hoops.”

Amusement danced in her eyes. “I wouldn’t care what you wore in your ears if I believed you were being honest about taking me on a date.”

“I’ll draw up the fucking document,” he said, giving in. “If that’s what it takes.”

Glancing away, she thought for a moment. Licked her lips, plumping them and inviting decadence. “Suppose I added another stipulation?”

Relief poured through him. “Tell me.”

“First, you tell me why the fuck this is so important to you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Did I fucking stutter? You heard me, Diesel.”

“I don’t owe you fucking explanations. My reasons are my own. Either you accept them, or you don’t.”

“Well, I fucking don’t, dickhead. So, get out.”

Anger roared through him and he gave her a cold look. “If I walk out that fucking door without this being settled, fuck you. You’ll lose your fucking chance to ever go out with me.”

Uncertainty crossed her face, then it hardened and her look matched his. “Then you’ll lose your chance to be the first one to fuck me. Because don’t think I don’t fucking see your hard dick or your fucking lust.”

“I fucking hate you.”

She quieted and hurt washed over her face.

“Get out, Diesel,” she said in a trembling voice. “You hate me, so don’t fucking come back or ever talk to me again.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes. “It sounded as if you did.”

“I didn’t.”

“Then, you’re a cruel fuckface. You can’t fling that around and don’t expect pushback.”

“I rarely get it.”

“Either they’re afraid of you, don’t give a fuck, or overlook your bullshit to be in your company.”

“It’s all three, depending on who it is.”

“Good for them. That isn’t me. I know my own fucking worth.”

He nodded, remembering the question that brought them to this point. “I don’t know why it’s so important to me that I be the first one to take you out. It just is.”

“Because you’re a fucking control freak.”

He barked a laugh.

“Will you just be with Tabitha until we go on our date?”

Diesel considered her question. Nyx and her hot pussy were waiting for him at the club that very minute. No way in hell could Rebel control his cock. Never. Ever. Under the circumstances, though, he couldn’t say that to Rebel.

Tabitha would bitch, scream, or cry. Jana would fuck him. Nyx or one of the other club girls would fight each other and fuck him. Rebel, though?

She’d shut him out and go on her fucking date with Emo Boy.

“This motherfucker is in high school,” he said, purposely fucking up the details. He couldn’t remember if Rebel had mentioned that fact.

“Kaia graduated last year.”

“He can’t afford the type of first date you deserve. The one I promise to give you.”

“Anything can happen between now and my birthday, Diesel. You and Tabitha could have a baby. Or break up and you end up with another woman. Or decide you love each other. Any of those scenarios would burst all the hopes and dreams I’ve pinned on you.”

Until she met Kaia, she’d never thought about this bullshit. “You have to trust me.”

“I don’t. Let’s forget what you’ve done to me the past few days. Last year, you moved out, married Tabitha, and forgot I existed.”

“I’ve already apologized.”

She didn’t answer.

He’d slept with more women than Rebel would ever know about. Including Torie. If that ever came to light, Rebel would hate him.

Diesel should kill Torie on that basis alone.

On the other hand, he could tell Rebel whatever she wanted to hear and still do as he pleased. As long as she didn’t find out, he was home free.

“Get out, Diesel. I’m going out with Kaia. I’ll tell you why. Taurianne sent me a screenshot of what you sent to Nyx. CJ is friends with the bikers. I’ve befriended a couple of the club girls. So, go. Unless you cancel your hook-up with that bitch, I’m going on my date.”

Glowering at her, he remained silent.

She drew in a deep breath. “Goodnight, Diesel.

With the dignity of a queen, she turned on her heel, hurried to her bathroom, and slammed the door shut.

The lock clicked into place.