Rebel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) Read online

  Rebel

  Bad Blooded Rebel Series #1

  By Mellie George

  Text copyright ©2013 Mellie George

  All Rights Reserved

  Edited by Dawn Bourgeois

  Cover Photo Courtesy of CanStockPhoto.com

  Cover Design ©2013 Mellie George

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

  Support your favorite authors by saying no to piracy! It is not a victimless crime. Do your part to end the theft of many author’s hard work!

  The Author acknowledges referencing the following people, places, music, bands, sports teams, movies, and all that noise: Luke Bryan, Guns ‘N Roses, Holiday Inn, Pizza King, The Gremlins, The Karate Kid, The Cincinnati Bengals, and The Indianapolis Colts.

  This book is dedicated to all of my readers…YOU are the real rock stars! I love you all so much and thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your continuous support! Also, I’d like to give a special shout out to Terri Anne Browning and Sophie Monroe for giving me such hot book boyfriends like Nik, Jesse, Drake, Shane, Jake, Blake, Derek, and Kevin to inspire me to create Ryder and the boys…

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  Ryder

  “Good night, Cincinnati, it’s good to be home! You guys are fucking amazing, and we love you! We’ll see you next time around!” I shouted to the screaming crowd. Right before I walked off stage, I threw a handful of guitar picks into the crowd and fist pumped in the air. The rest of the guys came up next to me and we joined hands. Taking one last bow, the crowd went wild and we waved once more before we walked off the stage together. Some random backstage crew member handed me a clean white towel and a bottle of water. While I was wiping the sweat off my face, I felt a hard clap on my back.

  “Dude, we fucking killed it tonight!” Jude said, giving me a little shake. He then reached out a hand and fist bumped both Beau and Kris.

  I nodded and tried to catch my breath. “It was a good show, guys. Seriously,” I said, and I took a long drink of water as the crowd was still chanting the band’s name. We’d been on tour all over the world for the past seven months, and tonight’s show in our hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio was our last stop. As much as I loved my boys and touring around with them, I couldn’t wait to get home and finally sleep in my own bed. I was worn out, exhausted both physically and mentally, and just fucking dead tired. “I’m just glad this is finally over. I’m fucking beat.”

  As we descended down the steps to the side of the stage, Jude nodded toward the room set up for meeting fans and grinned. There was already a long line of fans waiting and, as always, most of them were female. “Well, since this our last stop on the tour, I plan on ending tonight with a bang,” he said, eyeing the girls in the line with wicked intent.

  “Literally,” I said, and he shoved me playfully.

  “You know it bro,” he said.

  Beau looked at him and smiled. “I call dibs on the blonde, third from the front.”

  “That’s fine by me. I have my eye on the two red heads in the middle,” Jude replied.

  Kris scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You guys are whores, I swear,” he laughed as we headed past the group of fans waiting to meet us near our dressing room. Eleven years ago my best friends Jude Miller, Beau Cavanaugh, Kris Engle and I formed our band Bad Blooded Rebel when we were sophomores at Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati. We played locally for two years until we caught a lucky break when the lead singer of a huge band was in town. He happened to be at one of our shows and offered us an opening spot on their summer tour.

  We jumped at the chance, and we were signed to a label not long after. We literally exploded overnight, and everything just came fast to us after that. We had fame, money, alcohol, and women…especially women. We all had our pick of pretty much any girl in the venue night after night, and with the exception of Kris, who had recently gotten engaged, we rarely went to our hotel alone. Tonight would be the exception for me, because at that point I wanted nothing more than to just crash into my bed and not see the world again for twelve hours. Just one last meet and greet and then I would finally go home to the house I haven’t seen in seven months.

  As we walked down the hall and past the group of screaming fans, I was starting to fantasize about finally getting a good night’s rest when I saw her. She wasn’t like any girl I had ever seen before. Just like the old cliché, she took my breath away. She had long dark hair that was black as midnight and she had a streak of bright teal blue color on one side. In her black leather cowboy boots, tight jeans, and tight Guns ‘N Roses tee shirt, she definitely looked like a perfect mix between country and rock and roll.

  My eyes quickly scanned down her body. She had perfect breasts that looked natural, a tiny waist, and was definitely rocking a nice full ass. What struck me the most about her was that she looked…bored. This girl looked like she would rather be any other place in the world rather than be standing in line to meet us. I was amused, smiling slightly at her expression when she looked up and made eye contact with me. She looked shocked at first, but when she realized who I was, she rolled her big brown eyes at me. It was at that moment, everything south of my belt began to stand at attention. Well, I definitely wasn’t tired now…at least my dick wasn’t anyway.

  As I walked into the dressing room one thing became crystal clear. I loved a challenge, and she was definitely going to be a fun one. I had to know that girl, even if it was just for one night.

  Everleigh

  “Oh my God, I feel like I’m going to faint!” Danni squealed, squeezing my arm. “I can’t believe I’m about to meet Bad Blooded Rebel, especially Ryder Matthews. God, he’s so talented! Aren’t you stoked?”

  I sighed. “No, Danni, I’m not. You know I am not a fan of this stuff, all the yelling, screaming, and growling. Why did you drag me to this? Surely you could have found someone else that actually likes these guys.”

  Danni gave me a pointed look. “Ev, I brought you because you’re my best friend and best friends do things like this together. I didn’t complain once when you dragged me along to see Luke Bryan,” she said, as I pointed my finger at her.

  “Watch it, girl. That’s my future husband you just almost insulted,” I joked.

  She rolled her eyes. “Ev, come on. I’m really excited about this, so please, for the love of God, don’t embarrass me in there. You don’t even have to meet them, you can just stand in the corner while I try and get a picture, okay?”

  Groaning, I said, “All right, fine. I’ll be good.” I rolled my head back, annoyed. “I can’t believe I came all the way from another freaking state for this.” Danni and I were from Muncie, Indiana and Cincinnati was the closest city that Bad Blooded Rebel was playing. When the tickets for this stupid concert went on sale, Danni quickly snatched up two VIP tickets complete with meet and greet passes and made me tag along. I really shouldn’t complain since I dragged her to the last one. We went back stage and I actually met one of my favorite country singers and Danni came with me without complaint. I needed to snap out of this mood
because she really was excited to meet these guys.

  Just as I was getting myself into a better mood for my best friend, I heard screaming coming from our line. The band was walking down the hall to their dressing room and everyone began freaking out, Danni included. I sighed and looked at the group and tried to see what the fuss was about. The only thing I had ever heard about these guys were negative stories in the press. They all were tall and one was a little stockier than the others. One of them had blonde spiky hair and he reminded me of a young (but much cuter) Billy Idol. Another had wavy brown hair that would have hit him just at his jaw line if it wasn’t pulled back into low pony tail. One of them, the stocky one, had his hair buzzed into a short mohawk and had a tattoo of some wicked looking devil on the side of his head.

  The last one, obviously the lead singer, had short dark brown hair that was spiked up into a faux hawk. He had tiny silver hoops in his lobes and there was an industrial through one ear. He had a silver hoop through his lip, a bar in his eyebrow, and full sleeves of tattoos on both arms. For the lead singer of a hard rock band, he was actually pretty good looking if you’re into all that body art. I was about to look away and check to see if Danni had fainted but before I could, I looked at him for a moment and noticed he was staring at me. Even from here I could see that his eyes were the clearest, bluest eyes I’d ever seen. My breath hitched a little bit and he smiled a sexy, crooked smile at me. His smile made my skin tighten and tingle…it totally pissed me off. The fact that I had acted that way made me a little mad at myself, and I rolled my eyes.

  I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was still smiling at me when the dressing room door closed. Shaking my head, I decided that I was definitely going to hide in a corner when Danni met these guys. His smile unnerved me, and I planned on staying as far away as possible.

  Chapter 1

  Ryder

  September

  “Did you check out that group of chicks out there? We got some hot ass girls here tonight,” said Jude. Except for Kris, we all usually slept with a groupie, but Jude was the one out all of us who liked to double up on them. If we were whores like Kris said, then Jude was the biggest whore of us all. We all worked out but Jude was the one that looked more built. He also looked more dangerous out of all of us because he kept his head shaved in a short mohawk to show off the devil tattoo he had on the side of his head.

  Beau could give him a run for his money in the looks department. When we were in high school, the girls usually gravitated to Beau because he had the nice eyes that turned girls to goo with just one look. He grew his hair out and kept it back in a low pony tail. He definitely had the “I just got laid” look and it drove women wild.

  Kris was the one that had the most potential to get girls with his spiky blonde hair and killer green eyes. He had recently gotten engaged to his high school sweetheart Jessie and definitely wasn’t interested.

  We all got our fair share attention, but out of the four of us I received the most by far. Women threw themselves at me in spades. I don’t know if it’s because of how I look or because I’m the lead singer of a famous rock band. I just knew how to charm the pants off any woman because most of them were looking for a good time and to say they slept with a rock star. “You see any you liked, Ryder?” Jude said to me.

  “I don’t know. That stacked brunette with the teal in her hair out there was pretty hot.”

  “Oh yeah, I saw her. She’s pretty cute. That girl next to her with the long blonde hair was hot as hell too,” Beau said. He tapped me on the arm. “I bet they’re friends, dude. We should bro up on them,” he said.

  I chuckled. I had been planning on skipping on the groupies for the night and just going home but once I saw the girl in the hall that plan went right out the window. “I’m all for that but to tell you the truth she looked pissed to be here. She even rolled her eyes at me when we walked past,” I said, and the guys laughed.

  “I think there is finally a woman out there that isn’t into you. Stop the presses,” Kris said.

  Jude’s eyes widened. “Ooh, maybe she’s a lesbian. That’s fucking hot!” he exclaimed.

  I laughed and shook my head. I normally wasn’t into the chase, but I had a feeling that this girl would have me running a marathon. I jumped into a quick shower to wash all the sweat off of me. I dressed in a tight black shirt that had a wicked looking skull on it, dark jeans, my favorite boots, and threw some gel in my hair to restyle it. If I was going to try and impress this girl tonight, I had to go out there looking my best.

  When I emerged from the bathroom, the guys were all redressed and ready to head to meet our fans. Beau clapped me on the back as we headed out the door and into the meet and greet lounge.

  As soon as we walked in, the fans started screaming. It was like this everywhere we went, so I just smiled and played the part of adored rock god. As I took my seat at the table next to Beau, my eyes scanned the room for any sign of this girl and I finally found her.

  She wasn’t in line with the others waiting for autographs or pictures. She was standing alone in the corner of the room, playing with her phone and still looked bored. Just watching her stand there mindlessly swiping the screen on her phone was a total turn on to me. It figures that I’d be attracted to the one woman in the world that apparently didn’t give a shit who I was. That made me instantly want her all the more.

  It had been about an hour since we came in the room and we finally made it down to the end of the line. The blonde girl that was standing next to the hot brunette had finally made it to the table. She quickly looked back at her friend who was still playing around on her phone and waved excitedly. Beau already had his radar on the blonde and went into full flirt mode when she turned back around. Poor girl didn’t stand a chance. “Hi,” she said shyly when she reached our table. “It’s so awesome to meet you guys. I’m seriously your biggest fan!”

  Beau extended his hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you too, sweetie. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Danni. Danni Sharpe.”

  “I’m Beau, and this is Kris, Jude, and Ryder,” he said, nodding in our direction and taking her hand in his. We all waved at her and she blushed a scarlet red.

  “I know,” she muttered.

  “So, did you like the show?” I asked her.

  “Oh, totally. You guys rocked so hard out there.”

  “Thanks, sweetie. So, you here all alone?” Beau asked, still holding her hand. He was rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. Beau went right for it, I’ll give him that.

  “No, my best friend came with me,” she said, thumbing over her shoulder in the hot brunette’s direction. I looked at her again and still she had her phone out and not paying a bit of attention to us. All the blood rushed below my belt in a surge.

  “Why didn’t she come up with you? Is she not a fan?” I asked Danni.

  “No, not really. She’s more of a classic rock and country girl,” she answered. “I bought these tickets a while ago and she agreed to come with me.”

  “Well, that was nice of her, I guess,” I said, amusement in my voice.

  Danni smiled at me and sighed. “I know, right?”

  “Well, I’m glad you came. It’s always nice to meet such pretty fans like you,” Beau said, laying it on thick. I didn’t know what I wanted to do more…laugh or choke on his bullshit.

  “Thanks,” she said, still smiling. “Okay, so I know this is lame and you’ve done a million of these already, but is there any way I can get a picture with you guys?”

  “Anything for a beautiful girl,” Beau said, but I stopped him.

  “Hold on. I’ll do it if she’s in the picture too,” I said, nodding at her friend who was still paying no attention to me. All eyes traveled to her, and then Danni looked back to me.

  “Um, okay. I’ll be right back,” she said, and after letting go of Beau’s hand she took off walking toward her friend.

  “Oh shit, you have your predator face on. This should
be entertaining,” Jude said, and I flipped him off.

  “Shut the hell up, dude,” I said to him. I watched the two girls having some kind of disagreement, and after a few seconds they hugged and Danni came walking back over to us with her hot friend in tow.

  “Hey guys, we’re back,” Danni said brightly.

  “Yes you are,” Beau said, winking at her. Danni giggled and I had to suppress my laughter.

  “Who’s your friend?” I asked, my eyes staring straight at the dark haired beauty.

  “This is Everleigh Stone, my best friend in the world. Ev, these are the guys in Bad Blooded Rebel,” she said, practically bursting with excitement. Most girls try to put the moves on us and let us know they are easy as hell. Danni seemed like a genuine fan even if she was a little over enthusiastic. It was nice to see once in a while.

  All the guys took turns introducing themselves to her and I went last, holding my hand out to hers. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ryder Matthews.”

  She reluctantly placed her hand in mine, and when she did, I almost felt like it burned when she touched me. “Nice to meet you, Ryder,” she said breathlessly. She let go of my hand and tucked her hair behind one ear.

  “Everleigh…that’s a beautiful name. It’s unique,” I said.

  “Thank you,” she said curtly.

  “You’re welcome,” I said, staring into her eyes. They were the color of whiskey…I could get drunk on them easily.

  At that moment, Jude stood up and stretched his arms. “Okay, so are we taking this picture or what?”

  Everleigh took a few steps back and waited as we all stood and lined up. Beau nodded at John, the head of our security team. “Hey man, can you take this picture for us?”