Christina and the Rebel Affair (Scandalous Series Book 6)

by R. Linda

  Christina

  and the

  Rebel Affair

  Novel #6

  R. Linda

  Christina and the Rebel Affair

  Copyright © 2018 by R. Linda.

  All rights reserved.

  First Print Edition: October 2018

  Limitless Publishing, LLC

  Kailua, HI 96734

  www.limitlesspublishing.com

  Formatting: Limitless Publishing

  ISBN-13: 978-1-64034-442-6

  ISBN-10: 1-64034-442-X

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To Trent

  For your constant support and interest in my writing, even if you’ll probably never read a book because they sound like me.

  I love you x

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  I should have kicked him out last night, told him he couldn’t stay and to go home. But who was I kidding? I could never say no to that man. I leaned against the doorframe and watched him as he stepped out of my shower, water dripping down that firm chest my fingers ached to touch.

  “You could have joined me, you know?” he said, wrapping the towel around his waist and coming to stand in front of me.

  “And you know we’d never get out, and then I’d be late for work.” I leaned into him, standing on the tips of my toes to kiss him. I couldn’t understand how he still gave me butterflies, made my heart stutter in my chest and my palms sweat. I didn’t know I could feel like that with another person.

  My last boyfriend was boring, safe, and predictable. He was an accountant and enjoyed watching documentaries way too much. I’d stayed with him for over a year because he didn’t manipulate me or cause me any pain, like my previous boyfriend—the man I believed was the love of my life. But this man in front of me was different than any other. He was fun and outgoing and made me feel things I didn’t know were possible. Granted, we didn’t talk a lot, and spent most of our time in my bed, yet he still made me giddy.

  “I’d be okay with that.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me hard, making me want to drag him back to bed and make use of the silk scarf I’d bought the day I met him.

  I sighed into his mouth as his fingers danced along my spine, and I gave in, dragging him back to my rumpled bed.

  He grinned. “Knew you’d see sense.”

  ***

  I really was going to be late now, but it was totally worth it. Once my house was empty and I was alone, I hurried to get ready. It was my first day at my new job, and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I was heading back to my hometown after not stepping foot in the place for years. But it was time to face my fears—and the people I’d hurt during my time there.

  I walked into the office with trepidation and was greeted by John Sawyer. He was an old friend of my father’s and offered me the job when he’d heard I was looking for work. It couldn’t have come at a better time. We chatted for a few minutes about what he expected of me before he showed me around the school. It wasn’t like I didn’t know my way around. I’d spent five years in the place, but I humoured him and let him give me the tour. We finally arrived at the class I was taking over in a week’s time.

  “Now, Ms. Mitchell is one of our best teachers, and we’re sad to see her leave so soon,” he said. My ears pricked up at the name of the teacher. I wondered whether it could be her. How many other Mitchells were around? But I figured she’d have been married and would be a Jones by now. “She’s very thorough and well organised and will have you up to speed in no time.” He opened the door and politely interrupted the class to introduce me.

  I walked in behind him, my stomach churning from nerves, and my heart stopped. It was her. Principal Sawyer introduced me then left me to face Bailey alone.

  She looked great. Pregnancy suited her, but the look she gave me made me realise she’d still not forgiven me for the way I treated her years ago. I’d grown up a lot since then, changed, and it was all because of Chace. Schooling my expression into something neutral, I turned and smiled at the class, noticing the cosy couple in the back corner.

  “Can I see you outside?” Bailey asked quietly, smoothing her hands over her protruding stomach and indicating the door with her head.

  I turned and walked back out into the hall. Bailey spoke to the class and gave them some work to do for a few minutes while I waited. I watched through the door as the students got themselves organised, except for the young couple in the back corner. They were huddled together, his head pressed into her shoulder as they whispered. The girl’s eyes met mine and widened briefly. I thought I saw a flash of recognition in them but didn’t know why. I’d never seen her before. She spoke urgently to her boyfriend. He groaned in frustration and straightened, pulling the ball cap off his head and running his fingers through his long golden hair, and then he looked over his shoulder at me and smirked.

  Oh, my god.

  Bennett.

  I stared at him, shock holding me still as he refused to break eye contact until Bailey walked out the door.

  “Bennett, Audrey, get moving,” she said, closing the door behind her.

  She faced me, her arms crossed over the top of her belly, and raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here, Christina?”

  “I’m your replacement,” I said, unable to help the sarcasm in my voice, my eyes still on Bennett’s through the window. “Thought Principal Sawyer made that obvious.”

  Bailey frowned. “How long have you been back?”

  “A few months. I live in Storm Cove, not here,” I said, still distracted by Bennett. He was talking to the girl, his hand squeezing hers. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

  I’d moved back a few months ago, but decided Blackhill wasn’t for me anymore. I wanted to stay away from the drama and the small-minded town I grew up in. Unfortunately, the plans I had after university fell through, and I had no choice but to come back.

  “What do you want?”

  “To work. Same as everyone else.” I inspected my nails, already bored with the conversation and wanting to look at anything but the girl who was leaning against Bennett like her life depended on it.

  I understood Bailey’s hesitance toward me. I had treated her like crap in our last year of school, and even worse throughout university, but if I was being honest, I had been blinded by Chace. Once I realised the type of person he was, the way he manipulated people int
o thinking and believing whatever he wanted them to, I tried to distance myself from him and everyone in his path as much as possible. I’d transferred out of uni to a different school about a year after I started, and worked hard to be a better person. I hadn’t seen Bailey or spoken to her for a couple of years, if not more.

  “I don’t want any trouble, Christina. I’m finally happy and settled with Ryder. Life is great. I don’t want you walking back into my life and destroying it again.”

  “I’m not here for that. I just want to teach.” I held my hands up defensively and thought about apologising but knew she wouldn’t accept it. It was far too late. There was too much water under the bridge.

  “Right.”

  “I’m not here for you, Bailey. My life doesn’t revolve around making you miserable.”

  Bailey let out a disbelieving laugh.

  “Not anymore. I’m here because there was work.”

  “I hope you’re right.” She looked back over her shoulder into the classroom. Bennett and the girl, Audrey—was she his girlfriend?—were still staring at us. “These are good kids, Christina. They deserve the best. I don’t want you coming in and tainting their lives.”

  It might have been too late, but I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell her I’d had a fling with someone, and if anyone found out, it would end my career and destroy both our lives. She already thought I was the worst person alive, and maybe she was right.

  “Look, a lot has happened. We’ve grown up, moved on, and made our own lives. I have no interest in yours, or the students’. I’m here to teach, and that’s it,” I said.

  “Well, I guess you better come in, then, and I’ll get you all caught up.” She pushed open the door and gestured for me to head back into the classroom full of students, including the one I’d had a fling with.

  Chapter Two

  Bennett

  Audrey tensed beside me the moment Ms. M. asked the replacement teacher outside, though it could have been the fact I buried my head in her chest to hide from the very same teacher.

  Gut reaction.

  What was I supposed to do?

  “Bro?” I asked, reaching for her hand under the table and rubbing soothing circles on her skin to calm her rapid breathing before she had a panic attack.

  “Do you know who that is?” she whispered in my ear and glanced over my shoulder at the door.

  “Oh, yeah. I know who that is,” I said into her shoulder with a groan.

  “That’s Christina.”

  Yep. Knew that. Quite well.

  “The same Christina who slept with Bailey’s high school boyfriend,” she said.

  I lifted my eyebrows. I didn’t know that.

  “Interesting.” I adjusted the hat on my head and tried to covertly sneak a peek at the chick I knew so well in so many different ways. Positions.

  I stared through the small window in the classroom door, my eyes trained on Christina as she tried to focus on what Ms. M. was saying and not on me. She was just as shocked to see me sitting in this class as I was to watch her walk in there with my father. She stood tall, spoke to Bailey, and flicked her eyes back to me every so often. Her long blonde hair that I had tangled in my fist not two hours earlier was pulled back in a sleek bun. Her clothes, a cross between a preppy country club member and a librarian—hot as hell—were a stark contrast to the simple jeans and t-shirts I was used to seeing her in.

  She was dressed for her first day at her new job.

  And the kicker…

  She was a fucking teacher.

  I smirked.

  Shit.

  I was fucking my teacher.

  I threw my head back and laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Audrey hissed beside me.

  “Everything.” I bit my lip to stop laughing after one look from her. She wasn’t impressed.

  “Bennett?”

  I leaned in close. “That chick I’ve been seeing?”

  Audrey nodded and pinched her eyebrows together, something she did when she was concentrating or trying to focus.

  “Ms. Brown.” I couldn’t help it; I smiled and laughed again. The whole situation was hilarious. What were the chances I’d hook up with my teacher?

  “What?” Audrey screeched.

  I covered her mouth with my hand. “Shhh.”

  “Tell me you’re joking.” She gripped my hand tight under the table, her fingernails digging into my palm.

  I didn’t say anything.

  “Bennett. You’re joking, right?” Her voice was higher than usual. “Please tell me you’re joking?”

  Still, I didn’t say anything.

  “Why aren’t you answering me?”

  “You know I can’t lie to you.” I shrugged. If I couldn’t lie to her, it was better to not say anything.

  Audrey whimpered. Sounded like a puppy. Her eyes widened, and she looked over my shoulder. I turned my head. Bailey and Christina were coming back in. Bailey looked annoyed, and Christina appeared amused, until her eyes drifted over me. Then her lips puckered and her eyebrow creased.

  “This discussion isn’t over,” Audrey said softly and faced the front of the class, keeping her head low and her face covered by her hair.

  “Sorry about that, everyone,” Bailey announced once she was behind her desk again. “Just had to have a chat with Ms. Brown about where you’re all up to in the coursework and the preparations that need to be made to ensure your exams go as smoothly as possible.”

  Ms. Brown. I liked the sound of that. I muffled another laugh as I wondered—

  “Something funny, Bennett? Would you like to share?” Bailey called across the classroom with an eyebrow raised.

  I shook my head and bit my lip as I reached for the pen on my desk. Anything to distract me from the woman sitting in the corner of the room watching me.

  “What is wrong with you?” Audrey elbowed me in the ribs when Bailey turned around. “Get it together.”

  “I’m trying, bro. But—”

  “No. No buts.”

  “Just wondering whether she’d let me call her Ms. Brown in bed.”

  “Oh, my god, Bennett. Focus.” Audrey pushed some papers in front of me. Revision notes and suggested reading materials for the exam.

  I stared at the sheets for a few minutes, not taking anything in. My eyes kept drifting to Christina. Ms. Brown. Wondering what would happen next.

  Would she hate me for not telling her I was a student?

  Or…

  Would she like it, like some forbidden fetish or something?

  I was hoping for the latter.

  “Put that phone away,” Audrey scolded me and reached under the table to snatch my phone from my hand. I hadn’t realised I had dug it out of my pocket.

  “Give it back.”

  As if knowing I was planning on sending a text to the sexy new English teacher, Audrey scoffed and slid the phone inside her top. Ha, like that would stop me from trying to get it back. As long as her boyfriend Brody didn’t find out I “accidentally” felt her up at the same time. I was still afraid that dude would kill me and cover it up one of these days. I figured working in the medical field had its advantages, and he could probably murder me and make it appear as though I died of natural causes.

  She raised an eyebrow. “No.”

  I lifted my hand, preparing to dive under her shirt and get my phone back, when she tilted her head and looked at Christina. I sighed and followed her gaze. I was met with an icy cold stare that pierced my chest and made my skin erupt in goose bumps.

  So, I did what any man would do in my situation.

  I winked.

  At Christina.

  I made a show of dragging my eyes over her body, just so she’d know where I stood.

  And then I turned back to my papers and began to study.

  ***

  “Okay, spill,” Audrey said the moment I met her outside under the tree in the corner of the courtyard, where we ate lunch away from the watchful eyes of the res
t of the student body. Really, though, it wasn’t as bad as she believed it to be. Most of the students barely even looked at her these days. They all knew her story, and they all moved on. But she was still convinced everyone looked at her and judged her.

  I sat beside her and snatched her chocolate milk, taking a big sip as she frowned at me. “There’s not much to tell.”

  “You’re sleeping with a teacher, Bennett. How could you be so stupid?” She slapped my chest with the back of her hand.

  “I didn’t know she was a teacher, and she didn’t know I was a student.” I took a bite of my burger before handing it to Audrey.

  She still didn’t eat a lot, a symptom of her anxiety. But it didn’t take me too long to realise she’d eat my food if I told her I couldn’t finish it. And that was precisely what I did. Every day. I’d buy two lunches, quickly eat one, then take the other to her and claim I wasn’t hungry.

  “How could you not know?” She stared at me, her mouth hanging open.

  “Didn’t come up in conversation.” I shrugged and leaned forward to close her mouth before that bite of burger she’d taken fell out.

  “Dude, asking someone what they do for a living is like Getting to Know a Person 101. It always comes up in conversation.”

  “Not if you skip the getting to know you part and get straight to the best part…”

  She lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, dropping the burger into its wrapper on the grass where it stayed, forgotten.

  “Getting naked.”

  “Seriously?” She groaned and wiggled, shaking her chest from side to side, a small frown pinching her eyebrows. I was not ashamed to admit I openly stared. I mean, what guy would look away when a chick with a killer rack shook them in his face? What was she doing?

  She pulled her shirt out and looked down her top before reaching inside and taking my phone out. Huh, I forgot she had that. She threw it at me. “You don’t talk to each other?” she continued as though she hadn’t just given me an image to dream about tonight.