Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series)

by Mellie George

  I think we’d been making out for almost five minutes before we finally broke apart. He pressed his forehead to mine and whispered, “I really wish you could come to the party.”

  I sighed and said, “Believe me, Beau, so do I.”

  I moved reluctantly to where Everleigh was staring at Ryder, seemingly trying to figure him out and asked her, “Do we really have to head back?”

  “Yes, we do. I have to open in the morning,” she answered.

  Shit, I totally forgot about that.

  “Open?” Ryder asked me.

  “Yeah, Ev and I are waitresses at a diner in town,” I answered him, and Everleigh shot me a look. She seemed embarrassed that the guys knew we were waitresses.

  “You all right, gorgeous?” Ryder asked her, touching her arm.

  She glared at him and snapped, “I’m great. It was nice to meet you guys, you put on a good show. Danni, I’ll wait for you in the hall.”

  Turning on her heels, she walked toward the exit with Ryder following closely behind.

  I looked back at Beau and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I tried. Guess it wasn’t meant to be, huh?”

  His eyes burned with a deep passion and he said cryptically, “Not tonight anyway.”

  Before I could respond he interrupted. “Tag me in these pictures, seriously. I do want to see them. You’re a fan on Facebook, right?”

  I smirked at him and said, “Well, duh.”

  He smiled a sexy smile at me. “Good. Well, I’d better let you go before your friend leaves without you. It was really nice to meet you, Danni Sharpe.” My heart fluttered at the fact that he remembered my last name.

  “It was really nice to meet you too, Beau Cavanaugh.”

  “I will talk to you soon. Count on it,” he exclaimed, and I nodded dumbly as he kissed my lips softly one last time. “Goodbye, beautiful.”

  He backed away from me with a smile on his insanely handsome face. I was somehow able to force my legs to move and meet Everleigh at the door where she was waiting for me. Thankfully she offered to drive us home since I was currently not in any kind of state to be behind the wheel of a car. Beau’s kiss had completely stolen my breath and knocked my world off its axis. I really hoped he was right and that I would talk to him again soon. I didn’t want to think about the fact that he might have just played me. Maybe I was just another nameless, faceless girl. Banishing those thoughts so I wouldn’t lose my love drunk buzz, I followed Everleigh out of the venue and to my car.

  “Hey! Danni, wake up!”

  I heard a sharp rapping on my window that jolted me out of my daydream and back to the present. I sat up quickly and looked out the window to see who was calling my name. When my eyes landed on Everleigh, standing outside my car with her hand shading her eyes from the sunlight, her huge wedding ring caught the light and lit up her face. A lot had happened in everyone’s lives since that first night we all met, but nothing more horrible than what happened to Everleigh and Ryder. They had been through the worst kind of hell imaginable yet thankfully they’d come out happy on the other side.

  Three months after the show in Cincinnati, Ryder had shown up in Muncie looking for Everleigh. After a little reluctance from her, they jumped full force into a relationship shortly before Everleigh’s dad passed away. Ryder was amazing during that time; he knew just how to help her get through it. He lost his own father to cancer not long after Bad Blooded Rebel hit the big time so if anyone knew how to take care of Everleigh when Max died it was him.

  The day of Max’s funeral Everleigh’s crazy ex-boyfriend, Scott Adams, showed up at the wake and caused a scene. My parents raised me to never hate anyone, but there is always an exception to every rule and Scott was definitely that exception.

  Everleigh had dated him for a few months several years earlier and she lost her virginity to him. The next day she confided in me that she felt like she’d made a mistake, him to be patient and give her time before they slept together again. He completely flipped out on her and dumped her right then and there. Besides running into him once in a while, no one heard from him in three years.

  When the media caught wind of Ryder’s visit to Muncie, it was all over the news and Everleigh’s face was constantly on television. People all over wanted to know who she was and why a famous hot rocker like Ryder Matthews would be interested in a small town girl like her. Scott of course texted her to ruffle her feathers but after the incident at Max’s wake we all thought he’d finally back off now that she had four big tattooed rockers and a hulk of a bodyguard protecting her. How wrong we were.

  When all decided to hit up a club in town and the next night, Scott ambushed Everleigh in the men’s room and tried to rape her. If Jessie Monroe, Kris Engle’s fiancée, hadn’t seen Scott pull Everleigh into the bathroom no one would have known what was happening. Ryder broke through the door just in time and beat Scott’s ass pretty good before knocking him unconscious. After that, everyone (except me) traveled to New York City where we thought Everleigh was finally safe.

  She of course wasn’t, and shortly after I arrived in the city three weeks later Scott murdered Max’s hospice nurse, Trisha Cramer, during a home invasion at Everleigh’s house. He then showed up in New York City, sending Everleigh a picture of Trish’s dead body. A week later he ambushed Ryder and abducted Everleigh from a nightclub where we were celebrating Beau’s sister Sadie’s twenty-first birthday.

  Those three hours that Everleigh was missing were the most terrifying moments of my entire life. That girl is my sister in every way that counts and to not know where she was, if she was in pain, or even if she was still alive was the worst feeling I have ever felt. When she finally contacted Ryder and told us she’d killed Scott in self-defense, my heart leapt with joy that she was okay, but it was also broken and full of sadness for what she had to do to protect herself. Everleigh is hands down the strongest and bravest woman I have ever known in my life and if anyone deserves to have a happy ending it is my best friend.

  She and Ryder were married the day after her twenty-fifth birthday in Las Vegas, and now a year later, we were all gathering at our favorite restaurant in Cincinnati to celebrate their anniversary and her twenty-sixth birthday together. A lot happened in the year since they were married, mostly between Beau and myself, but I was determined not to let it get me down. Nothing was going to distract me from celebrating my best friend’s birthday with my family.

  I smiled as I grabbed my sunglasses and tossed them into my purse. She stepped back as I got out and locked up my car. “Hey Ev,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “Happy birthday girl! Do you feel older?”

  She smiled brightly and shook her head. “No, not older. Different, but not older.”

  “Different? What does that mean?” I asked her, laughing through the butterflies in my stomach. Beau and I hadn’t seen much of each other except when it was necessary in the first few months after we’d all left New York. Instead of following everyone to back to Cincinnati, I went home to Muncie to try to clear my head after what happened in New York City. I shook my head, determined not to think about all of that bad shit now.

  “It just means that I feel different,” she said, linking her arm through mine as we walked toward the group waiting for us at the entrance to the restaurant.

  I looked at everyone standing there waiting for us, all dressed up, and took a deep breath. Jude was talking to Sadie, Beau’s younger sister, about something obviously dirty because they were snickering together like perverted teenagers. I loved Sadie and I had really hoped that when I met her it wouldn’t be weird between us because of everything that had happened between her brother and me. It wasn’t. She was a bad-ass girl that was as fiery as they came and I loved her instantly.

  Kris and Jessie Engle were standing to the side, holding hands as she leaned her head on his shoulder. They were married last July and other than Ryder and Everleigh, I’d never seen a couple more in love. Everything about them was beautiful; they had both gone through their
own personal hells growing up to get to where they were. Jessie once told me that the day they met was the day she fell head over heels in love with Kris and had never stopped loving him even for one day in the last twenty-three years.

  Ryder was watching his wife walk toward him with an elated and proud look on his face. Oh yeah, now I was positive they’d had hot sex before they came here judging by the shit-eating grin he was wearing on his handsome face.

  My eyes finally landed on Beau, standing in the back looking a little bit tense, and my heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t seen him in a suit very often but every time I did it was a struggle to keep my panties dry. He was the most beautiful man that I had ever encountered and it killed me every day to protect myself from getting hurt again while at the same time wanting to just let it all go. If only I could get the image of him fucking some girl up against a bathroom wall out of my mind…

  “Well, a year older or not, you look so beautiful, Ev. I’ve never seen you so happy. Ryder must have made this a good birthday for you,” I said, nudging her and giving her a knowing look. Ryder Matthews was sex on a stick and any time he was involved in doing something for his wife, he went all out for her.

  “He has, Danni. He really has,” she said, and the tone in her voice made me stop and look at her. Everleigh was happier than I’d ever seen her before.

  “I’m glad, girl. You deserve it,” I told her honestly right before we closed the distance across the parking lot and met up with our little family. I ignored the rolling of my stomach as I said my hellos to everyone. When I made my way to Beau, his eyes lit up slightly but they were still sad.

  “Hey Danni,” he said to me, bending to kiss my cheek. His five o’clock shadow felt like heaven against my soft cheek. “You look beautiful.”

  “So do you,” I said softly, fighting the urge to moan at the smell of his cologne. It always drove me crazy with need and caused a fog to cloud my head. I cleared my throat and said, “I mean, you clean up nice. How have you been feeling?”

  He smiled as best he could and said, “Taking it one day at a time. That’s all I can do, right?”

  I nodded and forced a smile. It was no secret that Beau wanted me back in his arms (and in his bed) but the truth was that I was scared. I was living in Cincinnati now, having left my hometown and everything I knew in order to help him overcome his demons after he’d started drinking heavily. I hadn’t wanted to, but when Everleigh called me six months ago and told me what a bad place he was in, the worry in her voice caused me to take notice. Despite my own fears, I gave up my apartment, my job, and my whole life to move there and help him get back on track. Even when I tried to get away, Beau Cavanaugh completely immersed himself in my life and pulled me back into his. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to go on and have a life without him. What scared me the most is that despite the walls I built, I knew then that I didn’t want to.

  Chapter 2

  Beau

  My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and I forgot how to swallow as I watched the most beautiful girl I’d ever known, inside and out, walk toward me looking like an angel. Every time I saw Danni Sharpe, my heart ached with all kinds of different emotions and my head hurt from how badly I had fucked all of this up.

  Danni came into my life and blew me away the first time we met. I thought she was hot as fuck when I saw her standing in line at the concert with Everleigh. She was wearing skin tight jeans (which had me convinced there was no way she had panties on), a tight shirt that showed off her awesome tits, and high heels that were made for sin. The moment my eyes met hers I imagined her on top of me, riding me and tossing that awesome blonde wavy hair back as I made her scream.

  When we were finally introduced, I went into full attack mode, throwing game at her left and right in an effort to get her into some kind of trouble with me that night. She was putty in my hands as I flirted with her and made her blush. When we took our picture together I pulled her sexy body against mine, not giving a fuck if she could feel the semi I was sporting thanks to her. If she was game to take me up on it, I’d show her the time of her life.

  After the photos were taken, I asked her to come back to my house with Everleigh for a party I was throwing. The guys and I had been on the road for a long time at that point and we wanted to end the night with a huge party that we all wouldn’t remember.

  When I found out Danni couldn’t come to the party, I was bummed. She was one of the hottest girls I’d ever seen and I wasn’t about to let her go without getting at least a taste of her. So after I asked her to tag the band in the photos she got, I pulled her in and planted a hot kiss right on those sexy as hell lips.

  When our mouths met, I felt like I’d been electrocuted. My toes curled in my boots and I had to grip her shirt in my fists to keep from losing myself. I had never in my life had a kiss from any girl that felt like that. I thought she was going to be shy and back away with a dazed look on her face like all the women I made out with usually did, but instead, she kicked the kiss into full overdrive and wrapped her arms around my neck. She raked her slender fingers through my long hair and met my tongue dance for dance. I went from semi flaccid to rock hard in two seconds and my eyes rolled back in my head as she took from me what she wanted. Looking back on it, I think that when she kissed me back she took a piece of my soul with her.

  When we broke apart, I asked one last time if she could come to my place because after that kiss I was dying to get a peek at what was hiding under those skin tight clothes. Unfortunately she had to leave so I reminded her again to tag us in the picture, wanting to have a way to friend request her. She agreed and I kissed her petal soft lips one more time before telling her I would talk to her again.

  I went to the party and drank my weight in tequila that night, trying to drown out how turned on I was by that girl. I made a promise to myself then and there that although I definitely didn’t want a girlfriend, I would keep my cock in my pants until it could be unleashed on Danni.

  And now, as she made her way across the parking lot to me, I was reminded of the day after that concert. when I checked out the band’s fan page and saw her photo…

  I came down the stairs, holding my head which was pounding from my huge hangover. I looked around my house; there were red cups, beer bottles, and discarded panties and bras everywhere. As I got a beer and a bottle of aspirin from the cabinet, I called the maid service and told them I would definitely need help with the house today. Fuck, with all the panties and condom wrappers I saw on my way downstairs I should’ve had them call in a hazmat team. I was feeling like shit so I told the service where the hidden key was in case I went back to bed.

  I was about to put my phone back in my pocket when I heard my notification ringtone. I opened my Facebook app and saw that Bad Blooded Rebel’s fan page had several notifications but only one immediately caught my interest. We’d been tagged in two new photos by Danni Sharpe. I grinned to myself as I sat down on a stool and looked at the photos of the six of us. Danni’s hot little body was pressed up against mine and I shifted in my seat remembering her kiss from the night before. I tapped on her name and it took me to her profile. Everleigh was in the picture with her, both of them making that ridiculous “duck face” that girls found amusing and it was really cute.

  I scrolled through the photos on her page for a few minutes, my dick getting harder and harder as I saw her in some tight dresses and a few bikinis. I couldn’t resist the urge any longer so I hit the “Add Friend” button with my finger. I figured I would have to wait a while for a response but lucky for me, within five seconds she’d accepted my request. I sat on a stool next to my kitchen island and typed a message to her.

  B: well, that was fast, haha. How are you doing, beautiful?

  D: sorry, I got excited. Never been friend requested by a celeb before, lol. I’m doing great now, ;)

  B: glad to hear it. So you and your friend made it back to your hometown in one piece, I take it?

  D: luckily, lol.
>
  B: why do you say that?

  D: well, I might have fan girl screamed at one point causing Ev to jerk the wheel and almost go off the road.

  B: oh yeah? Any reason for that scream, Danni?

  D: not really, I only made out with the lead guitarist of Bad Blooded Rebel earlier. No big deal, lol

  B: so…I made you scream, huh?

  D: among other things…

  I shifted in my seat. I was hard as fuck now knowing that I’d affected her beyond being red-faced and excited. I continued…

  B: what other things?

  D: I can’t, it’s embarrassing, *blush*

  B: oh come on now, Danni, you can’t leave me hanging. Tell me

  D: On the way home I was wishing I’d brought an extra pair of panties with me…your kiss ruined the pair I had on, haha

  I sat straight up and grabbed my cock. Holy fuck…

  B: you just made my dick twitch in my pants. You’re a bad girl, you know that?

  D: I’m sorry, haha

  B: like hell you are, lol. Why the fuck don’t you live closer to me?

  D: why would you want me to live closer?

  B: really, Danni? Did you just ask me that? ha

  D: why, is it just because you want to fuck me and add me to your long list of sluts?

  Talk about brutal honesty. Well, at least she wasn’t like most girls who just fucked around instead of asking what they really wanted to know.

  B: whoa…

  D: Beau, we should probably just clear the air here. Kissing you last night was seriously the biggest thrill of my life so far, but I’m not the kind of girl that will just give it up to a guy because of who he is or how much money he has. I like you and I’m a fan because you are incredibly talented. I have loved your band ever since you started. If that’s not what you want from this or you want something less than friendship then tell me now