Rebel Heart (2 page)

Unbeknownst to Kade, Stella had silently crushed on him all throughout high school. When Kade would pass her in the halls, the mingled scent of cologne and Marlboro cigarettes would never fail to catapult her into temptation.

Not that it mattered.

The type of girls Kade courted were blonde’s with long legs, large breasts, and no moral compasses—the kind who currently surrounded him. They strutted back and forth in front of the fire in their high heels, tube tops, and leather miniskirts, attracting the attention of the men they yearned for without much effort.

Part of Stella pitied them. It couldn’t have been a good feeling, existing solely to keep men happy and at bay. They sold themselves short in exchange for the promise of being courted and transformed into old ladies—the women who got the highest level of respect and honor in the club.

Not that it ever happened.

Even so, these were the kind of women who garnered the attention of men like Kade. High confidence bimbos Stella had always wished she could be more like. She had bloomed out of her awkward stage a long time ago but the insecurities associated with that awkwardness never seemed to go away; at least not fully.

It bothered Stella that most of the girls in her graduating class had been with Kade at least once. She wasn’t even entirely sure why everyone was so infatuated with him. I mean, sure. He was gorgeous, with angular features, a strong jaw, full lips, dark blue eyes, and a flowing head of hair that tapered off near his temples. But there didn’t seem to be much substance behind all of that.

Kade very rarely, if ever, dated any girl for longer than a week. He broke every rule worth breaking, and when it came to academics, he was mediocre at best. As far as Stella could tell, fighting was the only thing he seemed to be good at aside from being pretty.

Of course, it wasn’t always that way. Stella could remember hanging out with Kade and the boys when they were kids. Kade’s father, Kade Sr., was another one of the founders of the SOW, although he held a lesser rank in the club than Trig and Dice.

Even so, what that meant was that Stella saw a lot of Kade growing up, at least, enough of him to know that his brutal tendencies were just a cleverly crafted façade to cover up the fact that he was hurting.

At the age of thirteen, the summer before their freshman year of high school, Kade’s mother died from stage-four breast cancer. The most invasive kind.

It was a blow that hit the Colton family hard and catapulted Kade headfirst into rebellion. That event, paired with the natural ebb and flow that came with growing up and entering a new stage of life, ended Stella and Kade’s friendship long before it ever really began.

The fact of the matter was, they were on different parts of the social ladder and try as she might, Stella just couldn’t seem to catch up.

Mel spoke up with a frown.

“Who are you looking at?”

Stella looked over at the statuesque blonde and sighed. A hefty man she recognized from an outside club tried to hand her a shot of something, most likely whiskey, but Stella shook her head. She looked back at Kade and shot him an inviting smile, turning her attention back to Mel.

“No one.”

At just shy of twenty-four, Stella was every bit as independent and opinionated as she had been in her formative teen years. She also had a pension for anything and
everything
old. Antique hunting was her passion and she could spot something vintage from a mile away. Hell, even her car, a bright red 1976 Firebird, was old. She was beautiful and unique, with clothing from decades passed, a large collection of vinyl records and an ear for classic rock.

If Stella had a problem with you, chances were, you would know it. The once-shy but recently free-spirited brunette had never been one to bite her tongue, even in her dorky high school days. Her snark was no secret to anyone who knew her, but they stuck around anyway. It was just the way she was, take it or leave it. Her entire life, she had hid behind a thinly coated exterior of wittiness and musical know-how, but deep down she had always been an old soul. It was a trait she had inherited from her father.

Stella finished the last of her beer and tossed the glass bottle into a pile of similar ones on the ground. She swayed her hips from side to side and walked towards her Firebird, which had been given to her as a reward for her admittance into medical school.

“I’ll be right back,” Stella called out to Mel.

A lump of nervousness formed in her throat. She could still feel Kade staring at her and part of her hoped he would follow her. She reached into an open ice chest beside her car and grabbed another beer, popping the seal and taking a long drink in an attempt to fight off the anxiousness she felt brewing inside of her.

Never in her life had Stella been so brash with a man, especially not one like Kade

A voice caught her off guard and an awful, fluttery feeling surfaced in the pit of her stomach.

Kade.

She turned to face him and there he was. Glassy eyed with a beer in hand, shirtless but for a leather cut that hung effortlessly from his body, and snickering. He was perfect in a way that made women jealous.

“Well damn,” he said with a laugh.

“You sure know how to drink.”

When he spoke, he looked at Stella as though she was the only person at the bonfire—the only person in the world. Her cheeks flushed of color as his large frame towered over her much smaller one. She pulled herself onto the hood of her car and willed herself to say something.
Anything
. But flirtation had never been her strong point.

“Maybe,” Stella finally answered.

“What’s it to you?”

Shit.

That just sounded rude.

Kade snickered and raised his eyebrows.

“Mind if I...”

He waved a hand to where Stella was sitting on the hood of her car.

“Yeah. Sure.”

Stella answered a little too quickly and shifted to make room for Kade. He sat down beside her and their legs touched. Stella could feel her heart thumping heavy in her chest. If it wasn’t for the music, she might have worried that he could hear it too.

Kade nodded at Mel, who was pressed against a man Stella didn’t recognize.

At least she seemed to be loosening up...

“She your sister?”

Stella shook her head, running a sweaty hand through her hair, which was starting to frizz from the humidity.

“No I mean, not by blood.”

She took another drink of her beer.

“We’re close though.”

Kade was silent for a few moments before speaking. He looked over at Stella and made eye contact with her for one brief, electrifying moment.

“I think I remember you two from high school.”

“We were in classes together weren’t we?”

Stella nodded. She didn’t comment on the fact that they had known each other long before that. Before she could craft a response, Kade closed the distance between them and reached for Stella’s hand, intertwining her small fingers with his much larger ones. Stella stared at him with wide eyes, completely taken off guard and unsure of how to react. A redness flooded over her cheeks and neck that evoked a smirk from Kade.

It wasn’t the first time he had this kind of effect on a woman, but it was certainly the first time Stella had experienced it firsthand.

Was this some kind of joke?

Stella’s breath caught in her throat and her body tensed, both involuntary reactions to being touched.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

Kade smiled and looked at her sideways.

“Come hang out with me.”

There was a sense of urgency in his tone. Stella swallowed hard and started to object but Kade brought a calloused finger to her mouth. He nodded once more at Mel, who had her slender arms wrapped around the neck of a man twice her size.

That was a first...

“See that guy?” Kade questioned.

“That’s my brother Maddox. He’ll see to it that your friend makes it home just fine.”

Stella didn’t look entirely convinced.

“I don’t know...”

Her voice faltered. She could tell Kade was past the point of objections. He stood up and lifted Stella off the hood of her car and onto the ground. She stumbled and fell against his chest, which caused her cheeks to redden even further.

“Hey.”

Stella looked at Kade as a sense of nervousness flooded through her. She knew what he was trying to do but she wasn’t sure if she was prepared to be just another notch on his bedpost. He lifted her chin so that they were staring into each other’s eyes.

The idea of being with Kade in that way made Stella squirm with anxiousness. They were standing so close together that she could practically feel Kade’s breath on her face. She leaned in closer to him, feeling his body tense as he whispered into her ear.

“I promise you won’t regret it.”

Stella shivered.

The scent of honey and lavender filled Kade’s nostrils as he caught a whiff of her hair.

“I don’t know if you could handle me,” she said with a smile.

Kade snickered. Hearing her say those words nearly sent him over the edge, and the closer Stella got to him, the more intrigued he was. She pressed a tiny hand against his chest to regain her footing in the grass and looked up at him, daring him to make the next move. Her touch made everything around him melt away.

He had never met a woman who could to that to him so effortlessly.

Flirtation was heavy in Kade’s tone. Not waiting for a response, he reached for Stella’s hand and led her towards his Bonneville, starting up the engine with a loud clunk. He slid onto the leather seat, waving for her to climb on behind him.

Stella hesitated, looking briefly over at Mel, who was still distracted (even giggling!) in Maddox’s presence. Still, there was something about Kade that had never ceased to give her butterflies. She couldn’t imagine passing up the opportunity to be with him...even just once.

“I don’t know...”

Kade sighed, exaggerating. He flashed Stella a mischievous smile.

“Come on.”

“I don’t bite.”

Stella relented, clumsily climbing onto the seat behind him. She wrapped her arms around his center, feeling the bikes engine shake beneath her as he turned onto the dirt road behind them.

Stella’s hair blew in the wind as Kade picked up speed. There was something freeing about the way the breeze felt against her neck. Usually, the sensation bothered her, but riding with Kade was different from the aggressive experience that was riding with her father.

Kade found a way to own the road. He made it his.

For what felt like an eternity, they drove, pulling onto one dirt road after another. They passed signs that warned them not to trespass before they pushed through a gap in the trees and approached a sign welcoming them into the town of Falls Creek.

Population, approximately 5205. Give or take.

Kade rolled to a stop in front of a desolate looking building and cut the bikes engine, pushing the kickstand out. Stella placed her hands on his back to steady herself as she climbed off. They stood for a while and admired the scenery. It was a nice night. Stars illuminated the sky and lightning bugs blinked around them.

Stella sighed. She had a love/hate relationship with Falls Creek. One moment, leaving would seem like the most practical option and the only thing she could think to do was pack her bags and craft a new identity elsewhere. The next, she was head over heels for the place, incapable of imagining her life outside of it. Right now, standing beside Kade in the moonlight, she was experiencing the latter.

Kade lit a smoke and shifted on his feet.

“This place is beautiful.”

Stella nodded.

“Yeah. Objectively.”

Kade stared at her sideways, cocking an eyebrow.

“Objectively?”

Stella shrugged, waving a hand over a hill that framed a perfect view of Falls Creek in its entirety.

“Yeah. I mean, from here, you can hardly see the drama.”

Kade laughed.

“So,” Stella spoke up, changing the subject.

“Is this your spot?”

“The place you bring all your girls?”

Kade shook his head and cracked his neck.

“No ma’am. You would be the first.”

It wasn’t even a lie.

Most of the women Kade courted ended up right in his bed. They never grabbed a drink or went to dinner or talked about existential shit. This, already, was new to him.

Stella chuckled.

“That’s hard to believe.”

Kade shrugged and ashed his smoke.

“Well it’s true. You should feel special.”

Special.

It was a concept Stella had never felt familiar with. Without another word, Kade reached for her hand, sending an electric shock throughout her body.

“So tell me something,” Kade spoke up, breaking the silence.