I feel my stomach sink because I hate to hear how Ace and his brothers were forced into becoming who they are today by parents who physically hurt them and put them in danger. I’ve heard some of the stories and they’re ugly and unimaginable. It’s one of the reasons I’ve softened toward Ace a bit. Because no one should have to go through what they went through. “I know Ace would never physically hurt me, Kadence. It’s not the physical part that I’m worried about. Everything about him is so damn intense.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be worried about him hurting you in any way. When the Locke brothers find someone they care about, they never stop loving them.” She smiles as if just remembering something. “Oh, and I almost forgot that Sterling and Wynter are having a fire at their house tonight. You’re coming. Ace is coming. The whole crew is coming. It’s going to be great.”
I feel my heart speed up at the thought of seeing Ace again so soon. Truthfully, I haven’t stopped thinking about him since he dropped me back off at my car last night.
The moment he set me down onto the car and pressed his hard body between my legs, I almost forgot how to breathe. Especially when he pulled my bottom lip between his teeth. That scared me even more.
If he could make me feel that way simply by touching me . . . I can’t even begin to imagine how he’d make me feel if he kissed me.
I’ve dreamt about those sexy lips on my body more times than I can even count and I know for a fact that I’d be done for the moment I feel them owning me. Because I know that’s what he’d do.
He’d own me with just a single kiss and I need to make sure I can handle being his before I allow that to happen.
“Do I have a choice?”
She shakes her head and stands up. “Nope. You’re family. If you even think about not showing up, you’ll have one of the Lockes at your door, breaking it down.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I huff.
And I’m sure Ace would look sexy as hell doing it too . . .
ACE
I lean against Bobby’s door and pull out the rest of the joint that’s stuffed inside my jacket pocket and light it up. “Don’t make me bust this door down, Bobster . . .” Placing it between my lips, I light it and take a few quick hits, keeping the smoke in my lungs for a second before blowing it out. I glance down at my watch. “I’ve got somewhere to be. That means you have about twenty fucking seconds to unlock this door before I break it down, come inside, and drag you out by your fucking balls.”
“Ten seconds now . . .”
I hear the clicking of the handle unlock, and then a second later the sound of footsteps running through the house comes through.
“Really?” I flick the rest of the joint across the porch before I speed walk around the house and to the back door. This idiot tried this shit last time. You’d think he’d know it’s pointless for him to run from me.
As soon as I round the corner, I get a clear view of Bobby jumping off the back porch and racing for some shitty little bicycle that’s laying in the yard.
“This is pretty fucking comical, Bobster.” I watch as his overweight ass struggles with the little bike but gets nowhere.
“Shit!” He screams as it falls over.
“Chasing you is like chasing a toddler.” I make my way over and stand above him as he struggles with getting back up. “Why do you insist on running every damn time? Is it simply for my entertainment or is it because you really believe you’ll get away?”
“I don’t have the money,” he spits out, kicking the bike away. “I told Jim I’d have it next week. Can’t you just give me a break, buddy? Come on . . . I promise I’ll have it by next Friday.”
For a second I just stare at Bobby, and although I’m pissed at this little fucker because he owes me money, I can’t help but start to chuckle at the comical routine he always delivers.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had to chase his ass around, but in the grand scheme of things he’s harmless.
He’s a dirty bastard, and I mean that in a literal sense. Overweight from only eating fast food, and reeking of cheap-ass beer, Bobby’s always getting himself in shit.
And I’m the stupid motherfucker who lets him get away with it.
I should just put a stop to it, but because of all the dark shit I’ve gone through—and still go through—this is almost like a little reprieve from all of that.
“Get up, Bobby.” I take a step back as he tries to stand upright. His white shirt is stained with grease, and the hem hits him right above his bulging stomach. He’s even got some fucking lint in his belly button.
I just shake my head at the state he’s in. He’s a sorry sack of shit, that’s for sure.
“I’m sorry, Ace. I swear I’ll have your money next week. I swear it.” He starts crying over and over again, sweat starting to cover his forehead and dripping down his temples. He needs to calm the fuck down or he’ll have a heart attack. “I’m really, really sorry—”
I reach out and slap him across the face. His fat cheek jiggles and he stumbles back a little bit. His face instantly becomes red and I know that he’s going to start crying any second. I don’t have time for him to be apologizing continuously.
He’s panting, breathing like he just ran a fucking marathon. “Calm the hell down, Bobby.” I cross my arms over my chest and eye him up and down. The asshole is out of shape. If he wants to fuck over people then he should at least work out so he can get away. “Because I’m in a good fucking mood, I’ll give you three days to get me my money.” He opens his mouth as if he wants to argue, or maybe tell me again how he needs a week, but I hold my hand up and give him a hard fucking look. “No, you have three motherfucking days to get me my money. If you don’t I’m gonna come back here and I’m going to open you up like a goddamn fish. Do you understand me?”
He starts nodding furiously, and then starts repeating over and over how thankful he is. I turn, leaving him standing there, wondering why the fuck I let him off the hook.
On any other day I wouldn’t have given him a second chance. But the truth is I am in a good mood, the thought of Melissa still running through my head. Although I will never change who I am, or how I do things, even knowing that Melissa can soon be mine has me feeling . . . different. I don’t know if I like it, but I sure as hell don’t want it to disappear.
I head back to the truck and climb in, and for a second I just sit there, staring out in the distance and thinking about Melissa. She’s all I’ve been thinking about lately, but hell, I like that. I want her on my mind always. I want her by my fucking side. It is hard as hell not to just make her see that she’s mine. But I don’t want to rush this, don’t want her to see me as some arrogant fucking bastard who can’t keep his dick in his pants.
But the truth is I want her so damn badly. I want her under me, naked. I want her arms above her head, her breasts thrust out as she parts her thighs. I want her begging me for more. And I want to bury my face between her legs and lick her pussy until she comes in my mouth.
I reach down and adjust my massive erection, groaning at the very image of me thrusting in and out of Melissa. Fuck, I’m so damn aroused, so ready to claim her and make her mine. And I know that time will come, sooner rather than later. I’m a patient man, but when it comes to Melissa I want her like a fucking fiend jonesing for his next fix.
Shit, I need to get control of myself. I can’t be going off the handle. This isn’t like me, isn’t how I operate.
I want Melissa like I want to fucking breathe. I want her as mine, forever, with nothing stopping me, no one telling me that she isn’t mine. I want her to see we belong together, that we’ve always belonged together. She’s afraid, I see that, but I’ll show her that if she were mine she’d be treated like a fucking queen.
I am coming to realize that when it comes to Melissa, all bets are off on how things play out. I am so not in my element with her, but I like it.
I fucking love it.
MELISSA
I got off work
hours ago, but took the time to decide if I should make an appearance at Sterling and Wynter’s or not, knowing that I’d be seeing Ace there.
Yet, when I arrived thirty minutes ago, and everyone was here but him, I couldn’t help but to be filled with disappointment.
I’ve been sitting beside Kadence and Aston, and although Kadence has been making attempts to talk to me every few minutes, my mind has been too distracted to pay attention to anything she’s been saying. The way Kadence is with Aston makes me long for that with Ace, and a part of me hates myself for wanting that, knowing the type of man he is. He’s dangerous, but not to me. Never to me. He helps people, even if that is violent, destructive. But that’s the way he is, who he is. I wouldn’t want to change him ever.
I keep finding myself staring out into the darkened street waiting for Ace to show up. Hoping he’ll show up.
“Why is your leg bouncing?”
“Huh?” I pull my gaze away from the road and take a sip of the beer in my hand. “It’s not. What are you talking about?”
She just laughs and places her hand on my knee, stopping it from moving. “Why are you acting all weird?”
“I’m not. What do you mean?”
“Okay . . . if you’re not acting weird then why have you ignored everything everyone has said to you since you got here?” She looks out toward the street at the same time I find myself doing it again. “Ah . . . I see.”
I shake my head and let out a small laugh. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, never mind.” She’s silent for a moment. “But Ace isn’t coming.”
My heart sinks in unwanted disappointment. “I thought you said he was?”
She shakes her head and reaches for her beer. “He got held up with a job and said not to expect him tonight.” I feel like this weight settles on me, holding me down. He’s not coming tonight, and that makes me feel like shit. I realize, even if I want to hide it, try to pretend to myself that it’s not true, that I am well and deeply into Ace and there’s no going back.
She smiles as she takes in my disappointment. “You wanted to see him, didn’t you?” Her voice rises and I have to shush her before everyone else hears.
“I don’t know what would make you think that. I never once said that.”
“Really?” She pauses for a second before speaking again. “Look up.”
“What for . . .” I look up and my breath gets sucked right from my lungs at the sight of Ace walking through the yard right toward us with King at his side.
He’s here. I feel like that weight is gone, that I can breathe easier now. I don’t know if that feeling should scare the fuck out of me or not.
He’s wearing that damn baseball cap again, and the way his intense gaze is trained on me as if he wants to devour me right where I sit, has me squeezing the beer bottle tighter.
I find myself looking away.
Ace keeps walking straight toward me, and before I know it, he’s kneeling in front of me and grabbing the beer from my hand.
He doesn’t say anything as his gaze meets mine and he tilts the beer back, drinking half of it in one go. When he pulls the bottle away, a little bit spills on his lips and I can’t help but notice how sexy it is when he wipes it away with his tongue.
“Vanilla,” he whispers with a twisted little grin, leaning in close to smell my lips. “You probably shouldn’t wear that on your lips unless you want me to lick it off.”
He stands and winks before walking into the house and leaving me sitting here with my damn heart practically beating out of my chest with excitement at the idea of his tongue on my lips again.
Ace Locke is so sexy that I can hardly handle it.
I’m so caught up in what he just said that it takes me a few seconds to realize that he never gave me my beer back.
He’s good at getting what he wants, so I don’t doubt that he did it on purpose to lure me away from everyone, but still I find myself doing what I do next, feeling like I need to.
“I need another beer.” I stand up and wipe my sweaty palms down the front of my jeans, my nervousness claiming me, taking hold, refusing to get control. “I’ll be right back.”
I swallow down my nerves and make my way into the house, fully aware that Ace could be hiding somewhere in the darkness, waiting for the moment I step into his trap.
With my heart racing, I walk through the kitchen and, just as I’m about to turn down the hallway, Ace backs me against the wall, closing me in with his strong body.
My breathing picks up when his rough hands grab my wrists and pin them against the wall above me.
Silently, he watches me, as if he’s trying to figure me out.
He slowly moves in closer, teasing me with his lips close to mine, but stops before there’s any contact. His mouth twists into a satisfied grin when he notices my chest quickly rising and falling. The anticipation of what he’s going to do next moves through my veins.
Closing his eyes, he squeezes my wrists tighter and gently runs the tip of his tongue over my lips, tasting me.
“You didn’t take it off . . .”
I find myself breathless as I attempt to speak. “Didn’t have any reason to . . .”
“Fucking good, Angel.”
Slowly, he lowers one of his hands down my arm until he moves it around to grip my throat and lightly squeeze.
It’s then that I feel his massive erection pressing against my belly.
I should attempt to get away, leave before I no longer have that option, but I don’t.
Instead, I close my eyes and moan out as he thrusts his hips further against me, completely unashamed that my taste has aroused him.
“That’s all I needed to hear . . .”
He releases my throat long enough to yank his cap off and toss it aside. Then he squeezes my throat a little harder than before. His actions have me breathing so heavily that he lets out a small laugh before he speaks against my lips. “Don’t go passing out on me, Angel. We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.”
As soon as he speaks the last word, he sucks my bottom lip into his sexy mouth, causing me to moan out and grip at his muscled arm, digging my nails in.
His teasing has my body on edge, about ready to explode just from the anticipation alone.
But I have a feeling he already knows this, because he seems to be enjoying it a hell of a lot. This is even more torturous than last night.
With his mouth still on mine, he moves down to grip my thighs, pulling me up so that my legs are wrapped around his waist.
The feel of his erection has me so turned on that I accidently moan out his name.
This has his lips twisting into a smirk. “My name sounds damn good coming from your mouth, Angel. I can’t wait to make you scream it.”
My heart thunders, beating hard, like a war drum in my chest. I need to get myself under control.
“Are you two coming back . . . whoa . . . whoa . . . am I interrupting something here?”
I push my way out of Ace’s arms at the sound of my best friend’s voice. Once I have my thoughts clear, I look over to see Kadence smiling at me over the top of her beer bottle. I purse my lips. I know I won’t live this down. “No,” I say pathetically. “We were just grabbing some beers. You need another one? I’ll grab it.” I can hear myself rambling and I know my face is probably so damn red.
Clearing my throat, I squeeze by Ace’s hard body, which hasn’t moved an inch since I wiggled my way out of his arms, and move over to the fridge, opening it. My heart is pounding relentlessly as I reach for two beers, grab Kadence’s arm and quickly pull her outside, away from Ace.
“Looks like you two have been having a little more fun than you mentioned to me earlier.”
“Shut it,” I whisper. “We haven’t done anything.”
“Yet,” she says with a small laugh as we take our seats by the fire again. “Ace is going to erase the worries from your mind completely and soon you won’t even care about his dangerous side. Y
ou’ll crave it. Just wait.”
I know she’s not wrong about that and it terrifies me that he has the power to do that.
Ace Locke has the power to own me completely and he’s barely even touched me yet . . .
ACE
I can’t help but grin as I watch Melissa leave the house. She’s embarrassed that Kadence saw what we were doing. Hell, I don’t care if anybody watches, if anybody sees what I was doing with the woman I care about, with the woman I want as mine.
I’ll show every fucking asshole on this planet who has doubts that Melissa is mine. And she is, all of her.
She’s mine. There’s no doubt about that, no going around it.
Never in my life have I gone slowly, refrained from going after what I want. But with Melissa I’m taking my time. I want her to be right there with me, primed and ready for what I have to give her.
I walk over to the door and lean against the frame, staring out the screen and watching Melissa. She sits down in front of the fire, her body tense, the taste of her still on my lips. I reach out and adjust my cock, the bastard thick and long, painful.
My body knows she’s mine, and it reacts accordingly. My heart races, my muscles tense, and my cock gets harder than fucking steel. Just one look at her and I’m ready to go.
Damn, I want her so fucking badly. I want her on my bed, want to spread her thighs and devour her pussy. I know she’ll taste so sweet.
As slow as I am going, it is damn torture. But I can tell she is right here with me, wanting the same things I do. But I want her to know that she has control. I want her to see that I will never push her.
I feel myself smile as I watch her tip her head back and laugh. This isn’t just about sex where Melissa is concerned. I want her by my side. I want to defend her because she is mine, want to tell everyone that if they mess with her they’ll deal with me.
She looks back and our gazes clash. I smile and she returns the gesture. I want to go out there, pick her up, throw her over my shoulder and take her upstairs to a spare room.
Twisted Locke Page 4
