Striker: A Dark Bully Romance (Redwood Rebels Book 1) by Rachel Leigh (ebook reader for comics TXT) 📕

Zed’s eyes shoot to Talon who nods. He then directs his attention to Tommy who’s shaking a can of spray paint. “Tommy, gimme your gloves.”

“Take his gloves,” he points to Talon, “he’s not doing anything.”

Zed’s body straightens, his shoulders drawn and his back stiff. He shouts, “Someone give her some fucking gloves!”

Sticking the cigarette between his teeth, Talon bites down on the butt and reaches into his pockets. He pulls out a pair of the same gloves that Zed is wearing, then tosses them right in front of him, which is at least three feet away from me. I watch as they hit the ground. “Really? This shit again?” I huff as I walk over and pick them up. “You're lucky I have clothes on this time.”

Zed’s eyes drill into Talon. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not a damn thing. Do this shit.” Talon is quickly at my side; he grabs the gloves from my hands and begins putting them on me like I’m a child. One finger at a time while he stares me down with unsaid words. He doesn’t want Zed to know that he made me change in front of him. But why? Zed hates my guts. He’d probably encourage Talon to shred my comfort zone to pieces. “Tommy, get your ass over here and help them.”

“They’ve got it covered,” Tommy says, as he continues to shake a can of paint and begins spraying leaves—weirdo.

“Now!” Talon demands.

Once the gloves are on, I walk over to Zed’s side. Lars has one foot in the car and one on the ground, as he stands there waiting to take his foot off the brake. Dozens of questions are shooting through my mind, but I don’t bother asking them—not yet.

Closing my eyes, I press my hands to the back of the trunk. “Ok, let’s just get this over with,” I say, as my eyes open. Lars shifts the car into neutral and then jogs behind the car where Zed, Tommy, and I are and we all press against the back. My hands, entrapped in black leather, push as my feet dig into the dirt beneath me. To my surprise, the car rolls effortlessly. I can feel the weight of the car drop forward as the front tires go over. I follow the car as it moves right to the edge. Step by step, until it drops.

Strong arms wrap around me and pull me back. Only it’s not Talon, it’s Zed this time. Standing there, held securely, we all watch as the car disappears. Three seconds later, there’s a swoosh, and I swear I feel it ripple through my body like an earthquake.

Zed squeezes me tightly. “Yeah, baby.” He laughs. Something I wasn’t sure he was capable of. I can feel my hair part as he draws in a deep breath. One hand smooths over my breast and his thumb begins making circles around my nipple. Apprehension sweeps through me, but before I can react, he releases his hold on me. Scanning my shoes, I realize why Zed said I should have worn different ones. My white Air Force Ones are covered in sandy black dirt.

When I look over at Talon, he doesn't hold the same enthusiasm. Instead, his jaw is locked and his eyes are zeroed in on me like I did something wrong. I’d swear my heart has stopped beating just to prepare itself for my death, because if his looks could kill, I’d already be dead. My shoulders shoot up and I raise a brow. “Did I do something wrong?” I pull the gloves off and tuck them into my back pockets.

In two seconds flat, he’s at my side, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me away. I look back at the guys who are just standing there, watching him take me back down the trail we came up. I attempt to jerk my arm away once they fade into the distance. “What the hell?”

“Yeah. What the hell is right!” He snaps at me like I did something wrong. “You just let him touch you like that.” It comes out as more of a statement than a question.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I give my arm a swift jerk once more, and this time, it frees. Zed was excited. For the first time ever, I did something good in his eyes, and for some unknown reason, even if it was criminal, I felt proud to be acknowledged by him. “Why are you so mad right now?”

The next thing I know, Talon’s hands wrap around my waist as he pushes me up against a boulder. My head hits the rock and my legs instinctively wrap around him. My mind enters a state of fog from the blow to the back of my head. I’m sure it was unintentional, but Talon is forceful, nonetheless. With my entire body stiff, one of the ridges digs deep into my back as he holds me in place. Something awakens inside of me and I’m not sure if it's a desire to grind myself into him as he’s pressed between my legs or the urge to spit in his face.

“Quit playing dumb with me. And when someone touches you and you don’t want them to, you make them stop. You got it? You fight back. If Zed lays a finger on you, you tell me or you handle it. Do you understand me?” All I can do is nod. Releasing his grip, he lets go, but raises his voice. “You’re lying to me.”

My own hands grip the side of my head, feeling the throbbing as I blink my eyes a few times. I choke out, “I’m not lying. I got it. Ok?” Sliding down the rock, it scrapes against my skin through the fabric of my t-shirt. I keep going until my ass hits the ground. It’s apparent now that my hormones are confused because all I want to do at this moment is slam his head into the rock.

“You’re still lying to me,” he