Damaged Rebel Next DoorA Neighbor Rebel Romance

by Melissa Devenport

  She let out a small sigh of relief when she realized it was only Jason swimming, not a bear at all. That relief quickly turned to something else, something far more dangerous than any bear. A tight heat built in her chest and closed up her throat as she watched, covertly, hidden behind the tree.

  Jason’s strong arms stroked the surface. He cut through the water deftly, beautifully, as though he was some sea creature born to it. If he was cold, he didn’t show it. He swam the length of the creek, almost out of sight, then turned and she watched him make his way back.

  I should leave. This isn’t right.

  She was about to turn and go, she truly was, when Jason stopped. He turned towards the woods. She pressed her back against the tree trunk for a second, but then he glanced away. She watched in utter rapt fascination as his feet found the bottom and he waded towards the shore.

  Water sluiced off his hair and beaded in silvery trails over powerful muscles. His shoulders rippled with power, his pecs and his chest… god, he might have been carved from one of those mountains in the distance. He looked as stately and ancient as any of the old trees in his woods. The sun or the water’s cold turned his bronzed skin a shade of pink. Water clung to the smattering of dark hair that covered his pecs. It trailed off and resumed lower, under his chiseled abs, just below his navel.

  It wasn’t even the defined muscles, the godlike physique or the immediate, intense, hard wave of lust that washed over her that drew and held her stare.

  It was the tattoos. They were everywhere. Scrolling black ink covered both arms, the designs impossible to make out from the distance, but they looked to be skillfully done sleeves. There was something written across his chest, but he turned then, and she couldn’t read it.

  He kept on walking towards the shore and Amanda whipped her head around. She flattened herself against the tree, hoping like hell he wouldn’t see her standing there ogling him. She didn’t want to see anything else either. Okay, that’s a damn lie. She did want to see it all, every single part of his beautiful, masculine strength, but it wasn’t right. She had definitely crossed the line as it was.

  “If you’re going to have a swim, you might as well come do it. I’m finished now.”

  Shit. The hot heat of embarrassment stung Amanda’s cheeks. Had he known she was there the entire time and said nothing? She felt like a creep, worse since he’d caught her.

  She slowly emerged from behind the tree, taking care not to look in his direction in case he was still naked. “I wasn’t planning on swimming.”

  “What’s the towel in your hand for then?”

  Her eyes whipped towards his voice and she sighed with relief when she noted the gray towel wrapped around his waist. It covered only the most vital parts. The rest, his incredible chest, was no less destructive for her to stare at. Destructive in the way her chest imploded, the way tight heat coiled in her stomach and spread lower, so much lower, to gather heavily between her thighs.

  “I… alright, maybe I was going to try it,” Amanda admitted sheepishly. She felt like a four year old caught sneaking treats when her mother had specifically told her no. It was worse because those ice blue eyes were trained on her face and she could literally feel herself grow redder by the second.

  “You got a little more than you bargained for, obviously.”

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I… I really wasn’t trying to stare.”

  He shrugged, like there wasn’t anything to see at all. “If you want to swim, I’d hurry. It’s pretty damn cold. I’ll give you a break this morning, considering it’s your first morning, and start the fire. You’ll be back in an hour to cook breakfast?”

  “Yes,” Amanda stammered, vastly relieved that he was just letting her off the hook like that. This was not at all how she wanted to start out her first day.

  Jason nodded. He grabbed up clothing she hadn’t even noticed and walked off past her, up the path. Barefoot. Through the woods.

  She carefully did not stare after him. Her body burned, heating her from the inside out until she could barely stand it. She stared longingly towards the pristine waters of the creek. No matter how cold it was, it couldn’t be cold enough to wash away the fires of shame and the worse, the hard sting of desire that she had no right at all to feel.

  Chapter 6

  An Unnerving Pain

  A week into the working agreement that never should have happened, Amanda was actually settling in quite well. Unfortunately, Jason was not. He spent more and more time alone in the woods. Went for long swims in the creek in the middle of the night to cool his restless, heated blood.

  He didn’t know what was wrong with himself. It was like he had contracted some kind of sickness that ate at him from the inside out. He felt… haunted. It was the only word he could use. Nothing helped the fire in his blood. The white hot heat seared him, day and night.

  He couldn’t get a bead on Amanda. That day at the creek, he knew she was watching him swim. When he came out of the water, she wasn’t just embarrassed. She was turned on. She wanted him. It was written all over her face. And what the hell was he supposed to do about that?

  Since going away didn’t help him, he thought maybe it would be better if she was at the cabin less. Which meant he had to find her something else to do. He came up with berry picking, since they were in season. He broached the idea to her and she was all for it.

  Except the morning that he was supposed to take her out in his truck and show her where the berry patches were, she showed up at the cabin wearing a bright yellow sundress and a pair of flip flops. Her outfit, while cheery and oddly sexy as hell on her, was completely inappropriate for berry picking.

  Jason thought about cluing her in, but he decided she should figure it out for herself. All he cared about at the moment was getting some peace of mind, even if it only lasted for a few minutes.

  “Is there something wrong?” Amanda spun around from the dish tub where she’d been washing up breakfast dishes. She arched one flaxen brow in confusion.

  “Nope.” Jason shoved back his chair. “Time to get going. I’ll show you where the patch is and how to get there. Take a couple pails.” He indicated the shelf where there were a couple tin buckets stacked up. “Fill those and call me and I’ll come for you.”

  “You said you never have your phone on.”

  “I can make an exception.”

  “How long do you think I’ll be? An hour maybe?”

  He very neatly choked back his scoff. More like a couple hours. Five or six? Those pails are huge. “Just call me when you’re ready.” He made a quick exit out of the kitchen. While she was gone, he’d walk around the place and find her some chores to keep her busy, out of his way and out of his sight. Maybe if he didn’t have her lush curves and sensual body providing constant temptation, he’d be able to act like a grown man and deal.

  Amanda followed, close on his heel, buckets swinging happily at her sides. Her face was beautiful and carefree in the morning light.

  He tried to ignore just how gorgeous she looked. How her skin, even without makeup, was absolutely flawless. How her lips were just the perfect shade of pink or how the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips and ass filled out that damn sundress a little too well.

  Flinging open the truck door, Jason nearly groaned in agitation. His skin had never felt so tight or uncomfortable. His cock ached. Having been in a constant state of arousal for days, he needed to do something to find relief. He couldn’t pass any more days like this or he was going to crawl out of his skin.

  “Are we going far?” Amanda climbed into the other side of the truck. She thrust the tin buckets onto the bench seat and Jason was glad for the barrier between them. She shut the door and it echoed through the clearing with a loud metallic thud.

  Not nearly far enough. “A couple miles. There are some good patches down the road.”

  “Patches? I thought I was picking off trees?”

  “Nope. Off the ground.”

  �
��Blueberries don’t grow on trees?”

  How the hell did you grow up on a farm? “No. They grow on small little bushes close to the ground.”

  “Oh.” She considered that for a second. Her eyes drifted down to her flip flops. “Alright.” She said nothing. Jason started the truck and pulled out of the yard.

  He knew she was going to get all scratched up and eaten alive. Good thing there was a can of bug spray in his toolbox at the back of his truck. He’d leave that with her. She was going to need it.

  Amanda lapsed into silence. It wasn’t a comfortable silence though. The air in the truck felt charged, with what, exactly, Jason couldn’t say. If he was honest, and he couldn’t be honest because if he was, he wouldn’t be able to control himself, he would say that it was charged with sexual tension.

  He knew Amanda wanted him. That day at the creek hadn’t been the only time she’d watched him. He sometimes caught her staring at him from lowered lashes when she thought he wasn’t looking. When she was outside dealing with the chickens, she’d pause, stand up and watch him split wood. He’d given her a lantern that used a candle inside for light and there were nights when that dancing flame burned into the early hours of the morning. He could tell because whatever she was doing in that little cabin, the orange glow threw shadows out the window that extended halfway to his own cabin.

  Did she have as many restless nights as he did? Did she ache the same way? Was her body on the verge of implosion? Had she imagined fucking him…

  Damn it. Jason cut that train of thought off before it even started. His hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white from the death grip.

  “How will I find the berries?”

  His head snapped in Amanda’s direction. She wasn’t looking at him. She stared out the window, eagerly watching the passing scenery. “Oh you’ll see them. They’re all over the ground. You can’t miss them.”

  “What do they look like?”

  “You’ve seen a blueberry before, surely.” Jason sighed in agitation.

  Amanda turned slowly. “Well yes, but do they look different than the ones in the store?”

  “I guess so. Smaller maybe.”

  “How do I know if they’re ripe?”

  “They’re blue. Dark blue.” Obviously. It took him a long minute to realize Amanda was just prattling off questions. She was as agitated as he was. He caught sight of her face and he realized the gleam in her eyes, that same hard, raw need that he felt in the very depths of his being.

  He turned off one dirt road, onto another. He followed that a long ways, his knuckles still white on the wheel. Any minute now. Any minute and he would find that damn patch and he could be rid of Amanda and the torture that never ceased, at least for a few hours.

  It was nothing short of utter relief when he spotted a good patch and pulled the truck over. “There,” he pointed. “You can see them from the truck.”

  Amanda unrolled her window and leaned out. She let out a little cry of surprise. “Oh! You can see them!”

  One would think, from the excited sparkle in her eye, that he’d just pointed out a field of gold. She scrambled out of the truck and leaned back in for her buckets. The top of her dress dipped low, giving Jason a full on view of the creamy swell of her breasts.

  He managed to close his throat so that his sudden groan didn’t escape. “You need repellent,” he choked out. “Or the mosquitoes and flies are going to eat you alive.”

  She paused, her hand still on the bucket which was pulled over to the passenger side of the truck. Her brow creased and a delicate line appeared between her eyes just above her nose. “Oh. I guess I should have worn jeans and a jacket or something.”

  “It might have been wiser.”

  “You could have told me that earlier while we were still at the cabin.”

  A rush of heat surged to his face at her cross accusation. Jason actually found himself blushing. Blushing, damn it. He fumbled around with the door handle and turned, releasing himself out of the truck. He carefully didn’t meet Amanda’s eyes as he leaned over the side of the truck and popped the latch on the tool box. Luckily the spray was right at the edge.

  He grabbed it, stalked around the truck and all but thrust it into Amanda’s arms, since her hands were full with the tin pails.

  “Here. I trust that you know how to use it.”

  She glanced down and made a face. “Yuck. That stuff is completely toxic. I guess I don’t have a choice. Will you spray me down? I know I won’t be able to reach my back.”

  Oh lord, help me. He grunted a sound that he hoped passed for a yes. Amanda slowly set down her pails. She stood, arms outstretched at her sides. What breeze there was came up and ruffled the skirt of her dress. It swirled around her creamy, perfect, shapely legs before it flattened, providing full definition of that ass that was so round and hips that were utterly sensual.

  The can of bug spray fell from Jason’s hand. It hit the dirt road, a muffled metallic clang and rolled a few feet before it stopped in the long grass of the ditch.

  “What are you- oh…” Amanda let out a little shocked gasp as Jason’s hands closed over her hips. He couldn’t stop himself. He had no control left. None at all.

  He spun her around violently. He stared into her eyes for a second, eyes that were suddenly filled with understanding and as hot and needy as his own. Her plump pink lips parted in shock right before he bent his head and claimed with all the pent up emotion he’d struggled with for so many days and even longer nights.

  Chapter 7

  A Burst Of Feeling

  Out in the middle of a back road, the breeze whispering over her skin, the birds singing and rustling in the trees that lined the roadway, out under the caress of the sun that burned bright in the cloudless blue sky, it was hard to feel that a kiss, especially one such as Jason’s, was wrong.

  He pulled away and Amanda took an unsteady step backwards. His gaze burned into her, crystalline blue and liquid, dark, feral.

  Oh god, this should be wrong, but it feels so right. That kiss, a kiss like she’d never experienced in her life, rocked her to her very foundation. It was so much more than just lips meeting lips, flesh tasting flesh, tongues tangling and breaths exchanged. It was so much… deeper and more intimate than it should have been. It was shocking for the fact that it was the first time in Amanda’s life she could say she was good and truly aroused.

  Of course she thought she’d felt that way with her high school boyfriend and then with Phil, but it wasn’t anything compared to this. No, this, this was going to be different.

  “Do you want me to stop?” Jason’s voice, low and husky, cut straight through to the center of her.

  Amanda hesitated, just for a second. “No,” she whispered. “No, I don’t want you to.”

  He closed the distance between them, put a hand on her shoulder and hauled her roughly against him. Her hand hit the wall of his chest, so very firm and unyielding beneath her fingertips. The heat of his chest burned right through his shirt, into her hand, up her arm and flooded her chest, her stomach, her limbs with awareness.

  Her heart beat so hard she thought it might explode. He lowered his mouth to hers again, claiming her lips in a bruising, forceful kiss that shook her entire universe. Her hand moved, searching for something, anything to hold onto in case her legs, which had started to shake, suddenly gave way. Her hand landed on the spot right over his heart. It beat wildly, as hard as her own.

  Jason broke away, his breath as hard and raspy as her own, drawn from lungs that were far too small and inadequate for the moment.

  “I have to taste you,” he said huskily.

  It wasn’t what she expected. They were out there on the middle of the road, deserted as it might seem. Anyone could come along and find them.

  “Here?” She forced out the word.

  “Yes. Here.” His hands gripped her around the waist and lifted her easily. He carried her the couple steps back to the truck and mounted her on the tailgate
. One strong, rough hand spread open her legs. She didn’t fight him. She wanted him too badly to resist or protest.

  One palm, rough, callouses, traveled up the bare skin of her thigh. Amanda shuddered violently. His index finger traced a pattern, made a trail over her flesh that detonated a bomb of hard, hot passion.

  “I want to find out if you taste as good as I’ve imagined.”

  “You… you thought about this?”

  His eyes met hers, all dark and searing and wild with need. “Haven’t you?”

  Her face flushed hot. She didn’t answer because right then his hand traced a hot pattern up her thigh, right to her pussy.

  “So wet.” His husky words did something to her, or perhaps it was his hand, which was starting to explore her through the thin cotton fabric of her underwear.

  She couldn’t help it. She fell back against the cold, hard, dirty, rusty metal of the truck bed. She gave herself up to Jason’s incredible hands. He moved her panties aside and brushed over her slick, wet folds. She knew he was right. She was soaking with the force of her own desire. God, she’d been like that for a week. There hadn’t been a single moment of the day when his face hadn’t been with her, haunting her.

  He shifted and then his breath was warm on her thigh. His hand pulled her panties away, down her legs and then off. She didn’t care where they went or what he’d done with them. The rasp of his beard touched her sensitive, overheated skin first. The rasp was delicious, a hard friction both numbing and firing the ache deep inside of her. An ache that only he could sate.

  One hand guided her legs up and she bent her knee. He placed her foot on the tailgate and she followed suit with her other leg.

  “That’s it,” Jason coached her, every word tickling her erotically. “Lay back. Lay back and just let me…”

  I can do that. Oh god, I can do that for him.

  The rasp of his beard was more forceful this time, followed by the tender warmth of his tongue. His mouth slid over her, loving her from top to bottom. He explored her folds for a few long moments before he parted her, opening her with his finger. His tongue flicked over her entrance before circling back, lapping up her juices and flicking her clit with one hard, erotic movement.