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Rebel interrupts our flirty banter with a harrumph. He crosses his arms and tells Thorn that he got off too lightly; that one of his hot chocolates is worth way more than one crummy kiss.
I don’t even have time to get mad at him before Thorn replies, “Ah, spoken like a guy who truly hasn’t had one of her proper kisses before. They’re fucking priceless, mate. You’re missing out.” He throws a wink at Rebel which causes the granite mountain to turn around and stomp out of the room. We haven’t kissed like that, but Rebel apparently doesn’t know this.
The rest of us laugh and follow him out to the car, only to find he’s planted himself firmly in the front seat and locked the door. Child. Jax takes the wheel, and I happily clamber into the middle seat in the back with Thorn and Ace on either side of me. Rebel turns around to grin at me like he’s won some big victory, but I stare him in the eye and drop my hands to the laps of the two guys sitting next to me. I run my fingers lightly down the inside of their thighs and watch in enjoyment as Rebel’s face turns puce. He quickly turns back around and sits back in his seat, his body rigid. I can tell he’s fuming and I barely suppress my giggle of glee.
After an enormous brunch at Josie’s - where she came out of the kitchen to fawn all over my guys and to scold me again for leaving it so long between visits - we walk around the park. It’s bitter cold today, but I’m wrapped up warm in my woollen coat, and feeling quite cute in my hat, scarf and gloves. If summer’s all about tans, bikinis and looking sexy, give me winter any day: snuggly jumpers, fluffy socks, matching winter sets and being a cute little snow bunny. I’ll take that over the effort involved in being ‘beach ready’ every single time.
On our return to the car, I notice Rebel fall back with Thorn and can sense that the two of them are having a heated discussion. I don’t know what it’s about, but I can see that Rebel’s trying to get Thorn to do something, but Thorn isn’t backing down. I hear Rebel’s trademark frustrated growl and his deep voice calls, “Shotgun.” Thorn punches him in the arm.
“You can’t call shotgun for the back seat, you moron!”
“Seriously guys?” I turn to them. “Are you fighting over who gets to sit in the back? Because if you both want it that much, I can just sit in the front again, you only have to ask.”
“No!” they both exclaim.
“You could always ‘eenie, meanie, miney, mo’ for the back seat,” I joke. I’m horrified when they actually do. I’m even more horrified when Thorn loses, and Rebel triumphantly punches the air.
Great. I sigh, climbing into the back of the Jeep and taking my middle seat. At least I have Ace for company back here. But when Rebel clambers into the back, I immediately feel like all the air’s been sucked from the car. Jax starts the engine, and we’re away before I can process what’s happening. Rebel’s so vast that I’m trapped up against him and Ace - who isn’t exactly small either. I squirm to try and get free to make myself more comfortable, but Rebel must think I’m playing around trying to take up his space because he plants his elbow in my shoulder and pins me back in place.
Being sandwiched between two insanely hot guys might be most girls’ idea of a fantasy, but it’s not mine, not like this. I really can’t move, and as a sticky unwelcome heat rushes my body, my breathing gets shallow, and I start to pant.
“What’s wrong?” Ace is the first to notice that I’m not okay.
“Can’t...breathe...” I pant out.
“Shit! Stop the car!” he cries, but Jax tells him we can’t stop safely on this narrow windy country road.
It’s Rebel who thinks fast, undoing my seatbelt and pulling me into his lap. He hits the button to release the window and Baltic winter air floods the car. I gulp in the air like a fish out of water, trying to calm my racing heart. I’m shaking all over, trembling, and it’s not from the cold air that’s making my teeth chatter.
“Better?” Rebel’s voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it before, genuine concern lacing his voice. I nod but make no move to get up off his lap. He closes the window, wraps his massive arms around me and draws me closer, not letting go. I snuggle in to his enormous chest and allow the steady beat of his heart against my ear to be the metronome that guides my racing pulse back to normal.
“Are you okay?” Rebel whispers in my ear and kisses my temple tenderly.
“Yeah,” my voice shaky.
“What happened Princess?”
“I don’t know. I just couldn’t breathe. I felt trapped and like there wasn’t enough air in here for all of us.”
He kisses me again and holds me closer. This time it feels comforting rather than restricting. “You can have my air if there’s ever not enough to go around.”
He can be seriously sweet sometimes, and I feel kinda bad for giving him such a hard time today. I missed him. And he deserves to know that too. I turn my head to face him and tell him, but we’re so close together that our lips brush. A jolt of electricity sparks between us and I swear I hear it crackle as it races through my body. His fingers lace through my hair, and he pulls me closer, deepening our electric kiss. The charge between us is dangerous, and I want nothing more than to lose myself in his energetic embrace, but Rebel’s touch has me wanting to tear his clothes off, even in a car full of people.
Common sense filters into my mind, a frail wisp of smoke and I clutch at it like it’s my lifeline. I bite down hard on Rebel’s lip, and he flinches and pulls away, shoving me into Ace’s lap.
“Fuck, Raven, what the hell?” he cries. His fingers go to his lip to check for blood. “Why can’t you just be nice?”
I can’t answer that, but Thorn comes to my rescue for me.
“Maybe asshole, because she just had a panic attack and she doesn’t need you stealing what little oxygen she’s just managed to recover into her lungs.”
It sounds like a good excuse, and Rebel says nothing, but he gives me a dark look. We both know that I was kissing him right back and didn’t give a damn about my oxygen levels, but he kindly doesn’t call me out.
Instead, I lay back into Ace’s arms to think about Rebel’s question: why can’t I just be nice to him?
The answer makes my stomach churn, and I have to turn away so that I‘m no longer facing him. I feel sick.
Instead, I snuggle further into Ace’s chest, and this time, I let his steady heartbeat guide me to a dreamless sleep.
