Rebel Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

snickered and made googly-eyes at her friend.
    “And hot. Don’t forget hot.”
    Suddenly, a rustling noise sounded from behind Mel’s front door. Mel lifted a hand to shush Stella. The door handle jiggled and Maddox stepped inside the apartment, momentarily taken aback by the girls’ presence.
    “Hey,” he said with a whistle, nodding at Mel.
    “I thought you had to work. I uh, forgot my wallet. Was just coming back to grab it.”
    A blush spread across Mel’s cheeks. She stood up and entered her bedroom in search of the wallet. Maddox lingered in the doorway, darting his eyes from Stella to Mel.
    “So how was your night?” he questioned.
    Stella turned to face him, unsure as to who he was talking to. He was staring right at her with an amused look in his expression.
    “Fine,” Stella answered, standing up to grab her purse off of Mel’s kitchen table. Then, she made her way towards the front door, waving goodbye to Maddox.
    “I’ll see you later Mel,” she called over her shoulder.
    “I have class soon.”
    “Alright,” Mel called from her bedroom.
    Stella smiled, listening to her friend squeal as Maddox pulled her in for a kiss. She shut the front door and stepped out onto the front porch, closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath. There was an energy in the air; one that highlighted just how much things had changed.

    Chapter Three
    O ne week in, Stella told Kade that it wouldn’t last between them and he agreed. Regardless, they decided to enjoy it while it did. They fooled around from time to time but never took things further. Kade wasn’t good with relationships and Stella was naive and idealistic.
    Their feelings for each other were as clear as day but both of them were too afraid to make the jump. Every time Kade would close his eyes the first thing he would see was her face. Her smile. The glimmer in her eyes. The way she wore her hair pulled up away from her face when it was too hot out. Her thrift store wardrobe and her fascination with anything old.
    Anything with a story.
    All these things made Stella who she was. The way she interacted with strangers. The way she bit down on her bottom lip when she was anxious or sad or distracted. Her abstract thoughts and the way she expressed them. Her eclectic tastes and her bluntness.
    Kade loved it all. And that scared the shit out of him. He told himself that he was falling too hard too fast. That he was in love with an illusion. That he wasn’t going to fall for a girl made of glass.
    There were times when they first started dating, if it could even really be called dating, that Stella would reflect on the falseness of their bond. She wanted Kade to be something more than what he was. They were different. Too different. But all it took was the lubricant of a good drink to make them both forget the artificialness of it all.
    But Stella smart, too smart for her own good. Smart enough to know she was being taken advantage of.
    Sometimes late at night, she would lie in Kade’s lap while he texted one of his many women on the side, telling them not to come by that night. That he was occupied. He never told them with what. Or rather...who.
    And sometimes when he would kiss Stella, she would taste another woman’s lipstick on his mouth. And when he would remove his shirt to climb into bed with her, she would notice the scratch marks on his flesh and she would picture slender hands roaming his back the way her own had done so many times.
    Kade was manipulative. Dishonest. Borderline cruel. But it was the idea that she could one day change him that kept her coming back.
    Mel didn’t bite her tongue when it came to informing Stella of what a huge mistake she thought she was making. She vocalized everything Stella was feeling inside but was too afraid to admit out loud. Kade was quick tempered. Bipolar even. And yes, he was bitter over the fact that he was unable to become a Marine alongside his brothers, a reality he never seemed to stop talking about