When he first asked me to go somewhere with him I was nervous. I was scared, not sure of what to expect from a guy like him. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be able to have a normal moment with him and enjoy the night as if nothing else mattered.
I’m so damn confused right now, because even though I know he’s twisted and dangerous, I also know that there’s more to him. There’s a side to him that I could easily fall for and get hurt.
Kadence is sure to get a kick out of this and that’s why I need to keep my feelings from her until I know exactly what they mean.
“Why did you leave in such a hurry the other night?” Kadence questions from across the diner booth.
“I told you,” I say over my glass. “I had a headache and I was tired. Why do you keep questioning my motives?”
She smiles and takes a bite of her cheesecake. It’s the whole reason we’re here. “It had nothing to do with a shirtless Ace that came inside a few minutes after you left?”
“Why would it? We didn’t even talk. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She laughs and stands up. “So it had nothing to do with the fact that he looks pretty damn good in red.”
“That’s messed up.” I shake my head and try to fight back the smile. “It was someone else’s blood, Kadence. Of course not. I wasn’t attracted to him no matter how good he looked.”
“So . . . you admit that he looked good?”
“Don’t you have to get to work or something? I knew I shouldn’t have met you here. I should’ve known it would lead to me watching you scarf down your cake while you try to get something out of me that will never happen. Ace is . . .”
“The guy you can’t stop thinking about.” She grins when I give her a dirty look. “Okay. Okay. I’m going. You should get some lunch or something while you’re here.”
I shake my head. “I’ll just finish my drink and eat at home. The cheesecake is on me so leave before I change my mind.”
“Thanks, babe.” She smiles that annoying smile at me again before finally turning away and walking outside.
I take a moment to finish my drink and pull myself together before I walk out of the diner and to my car.
It’s not until I reach for the door handle that I notice Ace’s truck parked behind me in the lot.
My stupid heart betrays me at the sight of him and about flies from my chest again. It only gets more intense the more I see him.
I swallow and walk over to his truck at the same time that he hops out and shuts the door behind him.
The way his amber gaze roams over my body makes me hot, and when his gaze stops on my lips, I find myself wondering what it would feel like for Ace to kiss me.
Surely, he’d be rough and demanding.
“What are you doing here, Ace?” I lift a brow and watch as he tosses his keys up and catches them. “Is a Locke brother stalking me?”
His lips pull up into a half smirk that causes my breath to catch in my throat. “You haven’t eaten yet. I’m here to buy you lunch.”
My heart stops mid-beat as Ace grabs my hand and begins walking us back toward the door of the diner.
A few glances land on us as he opens the door and guides me right back to the table that Kadence and I were just sitting at.
I have to admit that being seen with Ace in public is sort of a rush. I know without a doubt by the surprised looks on everyone’s faces that there’s not one person in this place that doesn’t know that I’m here with a Locke.
Ace pushes one of the menus in front of me but doesn’t say a word as he grabs for the other menu and begins looking it over.
I find it to be crazy that he can make me feel excited and nervous just by sitting across from me in a diner. He doesn’t even have to speak to evoke these emotions inside me.
We both place our order when the waitress comes by a few minutes later. I can tell by the slight shakiness in her voice that Ace makes her nervous, yet she can’t stop checking him out and it’s driving me crazy.
Just the thought of Ace touching her or kissing her has jealousy rushing through me.
I look across the table to see Ace’s attention on me, instead of the waitress who has barely finished taking our order. It’s as if he’s trying to figure me out.
“Have you ever been in love, Melissa?”
I nod and thank the waitress as she drops off two glasses of water. “Once. What about you, Ace?” He watches me as I take a drink of my water. “Have you ever been in a long-term relationship?”
“No,” he says, his gaze locked on mine. “I’ve been waiting for the right girl to claim as mine. Once I find her . . .” He runs a hand through his messy brown hair before licking his bottom lip to wet it. “She’ll be mine for good. That’s how us Lockes work.”
My heart hammers around in my chest at the idea of belonging to Ace. He wants a girl to possess.
Why do I find that to be so hot?
The food comes a few minutes later and we eat in silence, both of us glancing up to look at the other every few minutes and every time that he does, excitement courses through me.
I can’t help but to feel this way and it’s driving me insane.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready for Ace Locke, yet I can’t help but want him . . .
ACE
Call me twistlked. Call me a fucking stalker and I won’t deny that shit. I’ll do anything when it comes to getting Melissa.
Melissa looks up when the waitress sets the bill down in front of us, but I decide to keep my attention on her, wanting to show her that I could care less about the hot girl that is checking me out for the tenth damn time since we’ve walked through the door together.
I’m here for her and her only.
“What are you doing when you leave here?” I ask, tossing down a fifty-dollar bill.
She stands up and reaches into her pocket to pull out some cash. I grab it from her hand and shove it back into her pocket, getting up in her personal space.
Just like before, my closeness has her breathing picking up. This has me lifting her chin up and leaning in close as if to kiss her, but I stop right before our lips can meet. “Are you going to answer me, Angel? Or make me guess.”
“Work,” she says on a breath. “I have to be at work soon.”
I can hear her swallow as I raise my thumb up to brush over her lips. “What about after work?”
“I don’t know.” She backs away from my touch, but I take a step further, backing her up against the side of the booth. “Probably going home. To bed.”
“What if I don’t want you to?” I run my hand up the side of her neck, before reaching around to cup the back of it as I lean in close to her mouth again. This has her fighting to catch her breath. “Come for a ride with me tonight. What time do you get off?”
“Ten. Or a little after. It depends.”
I release her neck and smile as her gaze lowers to my lips. “I’ll be out in the parking lot then.”
She nods as I back away, giving her room to walk around me.
I know I’m not exactly easy to fall for, but I can promise that after she does, she’s not going to want to go a day without me inside her.
I’ve just got to move slow with Melissa and let her see how much her body craves me first. That’s exactly why I haven’t kissed her yet.
I have to prepare her for me first.
ACE
It’s half past ten and Melissa is just walking out of the coffee shop. She looks around for a few seconds as if she thinks that I’ve left her, but smiles once she finds me parked toward the back of the lot.
I shift my truck into drive and pull up beside her. I lean over and push her door open before reaching out my hand for her to grab. She’s hesitant at first, but grabs it and allows me to pull her up.
There’s a part of her that’s still not sure if she should be alone with me yet. That’s exactly why I need to take her where I have planned tonight . . . to soften her up toward me.
She’s quiet as s
he shuts the door and fastens her seatbelt.
“How was work?”
I can feel her watching me as I pull out of the parking lot. “Boring as usual, but it pays the bills.”
“How long have you worked there?” I pull my eyes away from the road just long enough to catch her checking out my thighs in these ripped up jeans I threw on before leaving the house. They’re snug and easily show the imprint of my dick, which her gaze now seems to be focused on.
I laugh and look back up at the road. “Glad my body can be entertaining for you after a boring day at work.”
“I was just thinking.” She quickly turns away as if that’ll make up for being caught staring at my package. “For four years now. I’ve had other jobs on the side, but this has been my main job for a while now. Do you have a job other than . . . you know . . .”
I let out a little chuckle and head toward the garage. “Yeah, we’re actually headed there now. A mechanic. I have a little project I need to finish and thought maybe we could talk while I work.”
I want Melissa to see the side of me that many don’t get to see. The me outside of what I do with my brothers.
“You’re a mechanic?” she asks, her smile widening.
“Why are you smiling so big?” I glance over at her again to see her watching the muscles in my arms flex as I grip the steering wheel.
“I don’t know . . .” Her face reddens. “I guess I can just picture you all greased up, working on vehicles. “It’s–”
“Hot.” The word leaving my mouth has her swallowing and fidgeting with her hair, as if she’s turned on by what she’s picturing now.
“I work on motorcycles mostly.” I pull up in front of the garage and park. “I have a hard time sleeping some nights so I like to come here and work myself into exhaustion. That is, of course, when I’m not working with my brothers.”
She follows me into the garage, looking around as I flip a few of the lights on. “So if my vehicle ever breaks down?”
I lean in close to her ear, causing her to slightly jump when I speak. “I’ll fix it. Naked if you want.”
She sucks in a breath and I walk past her, making my way to my old Harley. I reach for the stool, pulling it up for her to take a seat.
I can feel her heated gaze on me as I yank my shirt over my head and stuff into the top of my back pocket and I can tell that I have her picturing me naked now.
She sits there quietly for a long while, just watching me work, and I love just knowing that she’s here with me. It has this weird warmth spreading throughout my body, making me feel at peace.
An hour passes, maybe longer, before she finally speaks.
“How long have you been a mechanic?”
I look up from my bike and wipe my hands on a towel. “Since I was fifteen. My uncle taught me to work on vehicles back when we used to stay with him off and on. It helps to clear my head sometimes and keep the demons at bay.”
“It’s nice having a distraction, something that you enjoy doing.”
“It does.” I stand up and walk over to stand in between Melissa’s legs. She lets out a small moan as I cup the back of her neck and press my body against hers. “You’re a distraction for me, Melissa. In a good fucking way. Feel that?”
She sucks in a small breath when I grind my erection between her legs and growl.
“Yes. Oh God, yes.” Her gaze roams over my shirtless body before moving up to land on my lips. “It’s kind of hard not to feel you, Ace. Or not to notice you. You’re a distraction for me too, no matter how much I try and fight it.”
“Good,” I whisper.
I grip her thighs and pick her up, carrying her over to the closest car. She lets out a little surprised gasp as I set her down onto the hood and roughly pull her toward me so that her legs are wrapped around my waist.
I watch her watching me with curious eyes and I can tell by her heavy breathing that she desperately wants me to make the next move. So I lean in and pull her bottom lip between my teeth.
She moans and wraps her arm around my neck, pulling me in closer as I give it a soft nibble before running my tongue over it.
She wants me to kiss her, but I hold back, wanting her to wait a little longer.
I want her to fucking want me as much as I want her.
I want her to fucking crave me.
But I know, and my body sure as hell knows, that I can’t hold back for much longer.
Fuck, I need to get her home.
“I should get you home.” I back away and run my hands through my hair in frustration.
The twisted side of me wants to fuck her on top of every vehicle in this garage and make her scream my name until her voice goes out. I want her nails in my back, making me bleed as I fill her with my long, thick cock.
I want to fucking possess every part of her body and soul until she can’t even breathe without thinking about me.
My fucked-up, twisted side won’t even be a concern for her once she really feels me.
I’m going to make sure of that . . .
MELISSA
I feel Kadence staring at me and finally glance at her. I am on my break with a latte in front of me, a half-eaten scone beside that, and my mind consumed with Ace.
“What?” I know she has something on her mind, and I know she’ll voice it.
I lean back in the chair and cross my arms over my chest, waiting for it to come.
She stares at me for a prolonged second, maybe trying to guess what I'm thinking about, or what's really going on. Kadence is pretty perceptive, and I know that she'll figure it out without me having to say a word.
“Are you going to tell me what's going on or do you really want me to start naming off things?”
I really don't want to talk about this on my break, but I do want to discuss it with her. With Kadence now being with Aston, she spends a lot of her time with him. And with me working more, our time together is limited.
I hate that, hate that the majority of when we see each other is at the Lockes’ house. We used to do so much together, and I want that back.
“This is about Ace, isn't it?” She phrases it like a question but I can hear in her voice that she already knows the answer.
I exhale and glance around me. Even though we are semi-secluded, it still feels like a million people can hear me. Not that I care if anyone knows I have strong feelings for Ace, but I’ve never been one to open up about how I feel.
“You know you can trust me, right? You can tell me whatever you want.”
I look into Kadence's eyes and nod. Of course I know I can trust her, but it isn't about that. It is about me finally admitting out loud how I feel and what I want, when I’m not even sure what it all means yet.
I've never done that, never been the person to open up like this. But I know I need to talk about it.
“I trust you, Kadence. It's myself I don't trust, especially where it concerns Ace.” There, I said it, all but admitted that I have no self-control when it comes to a Locke brother.
This sympathetic look crosses her face and she leans forward. When she smiles I can see that she understands what I mean, how I feel. Hell, she went through the same thing.
“I’m here. I’m listening.”
“I have some pretty strong feelings for Ace, and they scare me because of the type of man he is, the violence that I know he houses.” I glance away, the words spilling from my mouth for the first time ever. I've thought them plenty of times, but actually saying them out loud is another thing.
“I know.” Kadence says and gives me a genuine smile. “The violence and danger that the Locke brothers have within them is not something that just anyone can accept. It was hard for me at first too.” She gives me another sympathetic look. “It takes a really strong woman to be with one of those boys, and we are those women, Melissa.”
I nod, knowing she speaks the truth. “I guess I'm just afraid to fully give myself over. I don’t know what to do.”
“Is that what you want,
though? I mean, do you want to give yourself over to Ace completely? Because once you do there's no going back. He won't let you go. You'll be his irrevocably.”
”Maybe.” This is not something I haven’t thought about before and now, after I’ve gotten to spend some one on one time with him, the feeling has only grown stronger. The need is becoming overwhelming, even though I’m trying to fight it. “I don’t know, Kadence. I think at the end of the day that's what scares me the most when I think about it. I’m afraid that if I give myself to Ace in every way imaginable, I will be his and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.” I can already see the possessiveness in his eyes when he looks at me, when he touches me. It ignites something deep in my body, makes me yearn for more than I’ve ever wanted before. I’m confused by it, not sure if I should accept it or run the other direction. A part of me is afraid, terrified of what it means to want him, what it will mean if I give myself over.
A part of me fears that, but another part, a bigger one, anticipates and wants it so damn badly. It’s that part that’s dominating me, controlling me . . . consuming me.
“Look. I’m going to be honest with you about something, Melissa. And listen carefully.”
I sit up straight, nervous to hear what she’s going say. Especially since it will undoubtedly involve Ace. “Okay,” I say a little hesitantly. Kadence can be a little abrasive when she wants her point made. But I love her because of it. Hell, right now maybe that’s what I need. “Give it to me.”
“All right . . .” She sits up straight too now. “Ace is twisted in ways that his brothers aren’t. It’s simply because he went through hell the longest and had to stand up and become the Locke that his younger brothers could look up to for protection. But I know without a doubt that Ace or any of the other brothers would never hurt someone they care about, especially a woman. They protect those who need it. It may be scary giving your heart and body over to a Locke, but I can tell you with everything in me that it’s the best feeling in the world once the initial fear wears off. It’s even exciting in ways that you’ve never experienced before. At least it was with Aston for me. I can’t even imagine what it’d be like with Ace.”
Twisted Locke Page 3