Hellion, a New Adult Romance Novel (The Rebel Series) (35 page)

“Oh my god, how did you get out?”
 
She doesn’t sound very concerned.
 
More like amused.

“I had to crawl under the door, if you must know.”
 
I can’t help but brush at my clothes again for about the tenth time.
 
I swear I smell ass on me somewhere.

Alissa doesn’t say anything.
 
I look over and find her laughing.

“You’re a dick,” I say, taking a step towards Mick.

She grabs my arm and pulls me back.
 
“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to get Mick.
 
It’s time to go.”

“No, you’re not.
 
Get back here.”
 
She’s pretty strong for a pregnant girl.
 
“He’s doing just fine.
 
Leave him alone.”

I yank my arm away when I’m next to her again.
 
“How would you know?”

“Because, Colin told me what they were talking about before they were dancing.
 
He’s getting all kinds of info.
 
Those girls are getting drunker with every minute that goes by and they like to talk.”

“It’s not worth it,” I say, watching a girl grind her lady-parts up against Mick’s leg.
 
“He’s sacrificing too much.”

She snorts.
 
“Oh.
 
Yeah.
 
He’s really sacrificing, all right.”

My mood sinks down into darkness.
 
Mick is totally into it; I can tell by his expression.
 
And besides, hips don’t lie.
 
He’s moving his like he’s in an Usher video.
 
And he’s Usher.
 
Double triple shit basket.
 
“Yeah.
 
I guess it’s not much of a sacrifice to dirty dance with six girls named Holly Hooter, is it?”

“Seven.
 
There are seven Holly Hooters whatever.
 
Come on.
 
Let’s go have a drink.
 
I have an orange juice with your name on it over here.”

I follow her back to the bar, refusing to watch Mick over my shoulder.
 
He’s only doing what I asked him to do and I can’t blame him for doing it well.
 
Besides, what did I expect from a guy nicknamed Hellion?
 
It’s pretty sad that I was picturing him being my boyfriend not an hour before. He’s not boyfriend material.
 
He’s a party boy and I’m just a family girl.
 
It would never work between us.
 
I take a long pull of orange juice from the straw.
 
I’m going to drown my sorrows in Vitamin C.

“What’s wrong?” Colin asks, moving up on my right.

“Nothing.
 
Just a mood.
 
I’m tired.
 
I want to go home.”
 
I get my pout on hot and heavy.
 
It feels a little bit better to wallow in self-pity.
 
Woe is me.
 
My life sucks a bag of dicks.

“We’re staying in a hotel, I hope,” he says.

“Can’t we just go?” I whine.
 
“You can drive, right?
 
You slept for half the trip.”

“Want to know a secret?” he asks, his voice lower and closer to my ear.

“Yeah.” I’m suddenly intrigued.
 
I love secrets, especially when they come from secretive people.

“I was faking.”
 
He looks over at Alissa.

“Why?” I keep my voice low too.
 
We’re both staring at her as she sways to the beat and stares at the stage.

“Because.
 
She freaks me out.”

I bark out a laugh.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“She’s friggin’ pregnant.
 
She has, like, zero powers over anyone.”

“Like hell she doesn’t. She’s like Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, and Kick Ass all rolled into one badass chick.
 
I completely fear her.”

I can’t stop chuckling.
 
He’s twice her size and an accomplished felon.
 
She’s a valedictorian cheese stick.

“Thanks for that, Colin.”

“Thanks for what?”
 
He’s mystified.

“For cheering me up.
 
Come on.
 
Let’s go wait for Mick out in the car.”

Colin joins me without a word of complaint. I nudge Alissa on the way by.
 
“Come on.
 
Party’s over, round girl.”

“But that girl was just about to take her top off.”
 
She’s pointing at the stage with her glass.

I take the juice from her hand and put it on the bar.
 
“You can buy a boobie magazine if you need to see some of those or I’ll flash you mine if you really want.
 
Come on.”

She frowns on her way out, walking next to me.
 
“I don’t generally like boobs, but they were good dancers.
 
I’m going to try some of that pole dancing stuff when we get back. I’ll bet it’s good exercise.”

Colin’s jaw drops and his face goes white.
 
If I’m not mistaken, he’s also broken out in a cold sweat.
 
As we go out into the parking lot, I have to hold my stomach to keep from vomiting I’m laughing so hard.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

BY THE TIME MICK STUMBLES out of the club, I’m the only one still awake.
 
Or I’m the only one not fake-sleeping, anyway.
 
Alissa is snoring so loud I find it hard to believe Colin is really as dead to the world as he appears.

Mick comes up to my window as I pretend to not notice he’s there.

“Hey,” he says against the glass, fogging it up a little.
 
“Can I come in?”

“What’s the password?” I say. I’m annoyed that he’s so happy.
 
Shouldn’t he feel dirty selling his body for secrets like he has?

He looks up nervously at the door to the club.
 
“Uh, hurry up and let me in before those chicks come looking for me.”

I have two ways I can go here.
 
I can leave him out there to sweat all those boobies, or I can let him in and take him away.
 
He looks at me with those darkly shaded green eyes of his and then his body kind of leans forward a little and his tattoo flashes at me from under his sleeve.

I grab the handle of the door.
 
Screw making him feel bad for doing what I asked him to do.
 
He needs to be in here with me, not out there with the boobies.

“Fine.
 
Get in.”
 
I peek up through the crack I made in the door at him.
 
“But on the other side.
 
You’re not driving.”

He frowns at me. “It’s my car.”

“You’re drunk.
 
Go around.”

He rolls his eyes and makes like he’s about to argue with me, but then the door to the club opens and a few of his girlfriends spill out and start scanning the parking lot.

He disappears from view.

“Mick?” I whisper loudly.
 
“Where are you?”

I get no answer until the passenger door opens and he crawls in from the ground.

I smile.
 
“You look like I did about two hours ago.”

“What?”
 
He folds his legs in and goes into a ball on the front seat so he can reach over and pull the door shut without sitting up.

“Never mind.”
 
I turn the keys in the ignition and shift the car into reverse.
 
I try to keep my face completely passive when Mick puts his head in my lap.

“Get over on your side,” I say, cool as can be.
 
Inside my heart is racing way faster than it should be.
 
It’s going to blow my cool cover, making me have to breathe all hot and heavy.
 
Relax.
 
He’s just playing around.

“No I can’t go over there yet, wait until we’re out.
 
I have to lie low.”
 
He’s grinning up at me.
 
Next thing I know, his left hand is sliding under my calf and his right hand is going behind my back.

“Mick!”
 
I slap at him as I try to turn out onto the road.
 
“Hands off.”
 
I kind of mean it because I don’t want to wreck the car, but I really don’t mean it.
 
I love his hands on me.
 
It’s for sure a really bad idea, but so what? I’m a happy girl when Mick touches me, and that’s just a fact.
 
I’ll hate myself later.
 
Right now I’m just going to play the game.

“I can’t,” he says, oozing charm.
 
“You’re too cute.”

“Cute?
 
Boy, you must wanna die.”
 
I brush his hand off my leg.
 
I try, anyway.
 
It goes right back to where it was two seconds later.
 
It’s driving me wild to feel his rough, callused hands on my shaved leg.
 
Thank God I did two passes with my razor in the shower.
 
There will be no stubble between me and his touch, no sir.
 
Yay, three cheers for Gillette!

“Sexy.
 
You’re not cute, you’re sexy.
 
Is that better?”

I nod.
 
“Yeah.
 
I like that better.”

“Beautiful,” he says.

“Now you’re laying it on a little thick,” I say wryly.
 
I’m scanning the road for hotel signs.

“Where are we going, gorgeous?”

I’m starting to get suspicious.
 
Why is he suddenly all happy-handsy on me after dancing with fifty girls?
 
I wiggle my legs and push him off at the same time.
 
“Stop.
 
I’m trying to drive.
 
I need to find a hotel.”

“A hotel?” He sits up and slides over closer to me.
 
“What a great idea.” A wave of beer breath flows in front of my face.
 
I don’t hate it.

He’s pushing into me, trying to kiss my neck, making me lean towards the door too much.
 
I jab him with my right elbow.
 
“Do you mind?
 
Get in your seat and put on your seatbelt.”
 
My brain is warring with my heart.
 
I don’t know if I’m happy or mad all of a sudden.
 
I want to believe he’s all turned on because he saw
me
and not because he was getting lady parts rubbed all over his body and spelunking into boogie cleavage caverns five minutes ago.

“Are you mad about something?”
 
His voice has lost some of its sexy purr.

“No.
 
I’m just tired.
 
And annoyed.”
 
Shit
.
 
That last part slipped out.

“At me?”

I sigh heavily.
 
“No.
 
At myself.
 
Would you help me find a hotel, please?”

He points off to the right.
 
“How about that one?”

I shake my head as we pull into the parking lot.
 
I’m blind obviously.
 
I almost drove past a glowing yellow sign that can be seen a half-mile down the road.
 
Mick has my brain in a spin-cycle.

“Want me to go in?” he asks.

“No, I’ll do it.
 
You’re drunk.
 
They’ll probably turn you down once they smell your breath.”

“I’m not drunk.
 
I’m just buzzing.
 
Come on, I’ll go in with you.”
 
He’s out the door before I can protest.

I grab my purse off the seat and join him at the front of the car.
 
“So, what’s our story, then?” I ask.

He drapes his arm over my shoulder as we walk towards the front doors of the reception area.
 
“How about … we’re a young couple looking for a place to make sweet, sweet love …”

I jab him in the ribs again.
 
“Seriously. Stop.”
 
I can’t help but giggle at him, though.
 
He’s making me nervous.
 
I can totally picture his naked chest right now, and it’s making me want to leave a pregnant girl out in the car while I get busy.

We get to the doors.
 
“Just let me do all the talking,” I say.

He nods.
 
“Sure.
 
Absolutely.”

I narrow my eyes at him.
 
“Mick, I’m dead serious.
 
Do not say anything.”

He gets all businesslike.
 
“I’m dead serious too.”
 
He frowns and only sways a little on his feet.

I roll my eyes.
 
“This should be interesting.”

We go inside and a sleepy clerk welcomes us to the Super 8.
 
“And how many are in your party?” he asks.

“Four.
 
We need two double beds.”
 
I nod.

“Actually, we need two separate rooms,” Mick says.
 
“Double beds in each.”

My head jerks to the side.
 
“Mick.
 
I told you …”
 
I give the clerk a fake smile before going back to Mick with a lower tone.
 
“I don’t have the money for two rooms.”

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a wallet, dropping a credit card on the counter with a flick of his wrist.
 
“My treat.”
 
His smile has way too much going on.
 
Seconds ago he was joking around and silly.
 
Right now he’s anything but silly.
 
He’s sexy.
 
He’s mostly sober.
 
And he’s very, very determined.
 
Oh boy.