Rebel Soul: (Rebel Series Book 1) ((Rebel Series)) Read Online Free Page B

butterflies I’d felt earlier come back full force. There it was, that complete chemical reaction I’d been so desperate to find an hour ago. Now, I wish it would disappear back to wherever it came from.
    He tilted his head, studying me as closely as I studied him. “Are you the Armstrong girl? Gordon’s little sister?”
    “I am,” I retorted, straightening my spine so I’d stand taller. Even with my posture as straight as I could get it, Brock still towered over me by at least a head and a half. It bothered me more than I cared to admit that Brock didn’t immediately remember who I was.
    His eyes traveled down the length of my body slowly. I clung tighter to the sweater in my hands, thrown off by how greatly that simple gaze affected me. “Well, ain’t that something.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him, disliking the fact that I liked the covert way he was looking at me.
    That Miller boy, he’s trouble, Tessa . My dad’s words came back, the ominous forewarning washing over me like a wave.
    “Why are you chaperoning anyway?” I asked, the question spilling from my lips before I could prevent it.
    “This is my property,” Brock explained, nodding to the clearing. “My brother has a tendency to do stupid things and let stuff get out of hand. I’m just here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
    “Oh,” I exhaled, unaware that I’d been holding my breath. “I guess that explains the lurking and bummer attitude.”
    “Guess so,” Brock replied, taking another swig of his beer and glancing towards the fire. I almost felt like Brock was trying to dismiss me, and I liked that even less than I liked the fact that he hadn’t remembered me.
    “Why didn’t you just tell him he couldn’t throw a party here?” I asked.
    Brock looked at me again, and my breath caught somewhere in my esophagus. “Because I’m putting him to work tomorrow as payment.”
    “Putting him to work for what?”
    “You ask a lot of questions.” Brock’s sensual lips twitched, and I licked mine in response.
    “So? Asking questions isn’t a bad thing.”
    “No, it’s not,” Brock agreed. He considered me for a moment. “I’m building a cabin. I have a friend coming over with the wood miller tomorrow, and Braden is going to help.”
    “Oh,” I said, surprised by his answer.
    Brock picked up on my surprise, and the corner of his lip lifted in a taunting smirk. “Did you think I was going to put him to work doing something illegal?”
    “No,” I said quickly, my eyes narrowing at him. “I just didn’t expect you to say you were going to build a cabin. You just got back into town.”
    “I’ve had this land for years. It’s time I did something with it,” Brock muttered. He was still looking at me, and that gaze was doing all kinds of things to my body. My blood felt hot and thick in my veins, and breathing was becoming increasingly harder to do.
    “Oh, well, congrats I guess. I, um…I’d better get back,” I said, taking a step backwards, away from that molten gaze. “Have fun lurking in the shadows,” I added. His lips curved up in the tiniest hint of a smile and I thought I heard the faint sound of him chuckling.
     
    * * *
     
    After my third beer, I stopped caring that Brock was there…watching, and I started to have fun. My discomfort at my body’s unexpected reaction to Brock Miller disappeared as the party grew from a cluster of six people to a whopping twenty or more. Each time someone else joined the fun, the fire grew and so did the noise level.
    The cordless speakers were now pumping country music. Music, laughter and conversations flowed while the fire flickered. I sat beside Elle on a log in front of the fire, watching the antics around me while I started my fourth beer.
    I kept catching the guy standing across the fire beside Ezra staring at me. Each time I’d catch him looking he’d look away and slowly sip from his beer, half a smile curving the corner of his thin lips upward. I didn’t