by Sorcha Black
She sat on the bed next to Tess and took the girl’s face between her hands. “I’m helping you because I love you, Souris. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.” She kissed Tess’s trembling lips. She tasted like minty gum and the salt of her tears. “If you don’t like staying with us, we’ll just work harder to find you an apartment. For now, there’s no rush.”
“You can take one of the bedrooms, so you have your own space. Who you have sex with and where you sleep is up to you...for now.” Lock winked, then shoved the duffle over and sat on Tess’s other side. He kissed the side of Tess’s face, and Elodie kissed her lips again. They kissed for a while, making Tess the center of attention.
Elodie pulled Tess back on the bed, and to her surprise, Tess crawled on top of her.
“Did you say you love me? It was hard to understand with your accent.” There was mischief in the girl’s eyes.
Elodie laughed and pulled her down for another kiss. “I do. Don’t say it back right now, though, just to be polite. I know my emotions move fast. You need to get things sorted out before you start loving me back.”
“Is that an order?”
She responded by pulling the girl’s dress off over her head. Elodie pulled Lock down to join them, and half-nude wrestling ensued on the twin-sized bed. Between them, they managed to pin Lock down, not that he was trying to get away.
Abruptly, Lock got to his feet, as though he’d never been stuck at all, and hauled them up, squealing and giggling, one under each arm.
“Hold that thought. There’s more room to play at our place.” He set them down and grabbed Tess’s duffle, then ordered them to dress before leading the way from the room.
Tess stalled on the threshold and gazed back around the main room. Lock went up behind her and hugged the tiny girl. The affection between them made Elodie want to jump up and down and clap her hands. Her plan was falling into place easier than she would have suspected it could.
“Was it that good here?” he asked sympathetically. She wanted to hug him for how he thought of others – so unlike her ex-boyfriend. Seeing him love her Tess made her love him all the more.
“No,” Tess said, blinking. “But it was mine.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Hm. This one is pretty, but I think it’s better for a lunch date. If he’s taking you dancing, you need to dress in something sexier.” Making her feel like a child, Lock turned Tess back toward the master bedroom’s three-way mirror and unzipped the dress, then slid it off her shoulders and down to the floor. When she stepped out of it, he picked it up and laid it on the bed.
She waited patiently in the white bra and panty set he’d chosen and dressed her in, as he looked through the closet again. The next dress he chose was sexy and black, and she watched him return to her, his gaze lingering on her body, even though he hadn’t touched her anywhere interesting tonight.
“But Sir, I don’t want to go dancing with Tristan. I don’t understand why you’re making me go.” She pouted at him and his gaze darkened. Without warning, he smacked her ass, leaving a stinging warmth that spread to other areas of her body. Like he hadn’t made her horny enough already with his impersonal dolly dress-up game. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to date other people.”
“You’re going.” Lock helped her step into the dress, and she was hyper-aware of how close his face was to her ass. Would he bite her? “I’m not going to make you go again after tonight, Tess, but I want to give you one last chance.” He stood, drawing the snug dress up her body, then zipped up the back. How could having a hot guy dress her be so arousing? Wasn’t undressing supposed to be the goal?
“You keep saying that, but I don’t understand, Sir. A last chance for what?”
“To have sex with a vanilla man for your first time, if that’s what you want. Elodie and I are convenient, and we...” He paused awkwardly and his gaze met hers in the mirror, then slid away. “We have strong, possessive feelings about you, but we don’t want your first time with a man to be about convenience.”
He checked her reflection and nodded once, then went rummaging through the closet again.
“I wish Elodie was here.” Tess sighed. Maybe Elodie would have listened to her. Why was Lock so unwilling to believe that she wasn’t that into Tristan anymore? What had seemed so hot, sweet and unattainable about him now seemed boring and self-centered.
“I know. I’m good with makeup, though, and your hair looks awesome, so we should be able to handle this. If she hadn’t been called in for that meeting with the purchaser, she’d be all over this.” He led her to the bed and sat her on the edge. The fabric softener scent from the duvet reminded her of playing, cuddling and being insanely horny.
She looked down at Lock, kneeling on the floor in front of her. He slid a shoe on her foot and buckled the sexy ankle strap. Instead of feeling as though he was playing servant, it felt like he was claiming her by putting a collar on her ankle. She shifted her stance without meaning to, and he smoldered at her alarmingly.
Couldn’t she stay home and play with Mr. Dangerous, instead of going out dancing with Mr. Tedious?
If Elodie was here, she’d talk Lock out of this crazy idea. She didn’t even know Tess was going. When the text from Tristan came after she left, Lock had insisted she say yes.
Tess held Lock’s gaze and bit her lip, then edged toward him slightly and spread her legs farther apart just a little. This won her a rumbling growl that made her pulse race.
Oh my. What was he going to do?
He pinched the inside of her thigh, making her squeak.
“I’m not going to send you there sore and reeking of sex,” he grumbled, getting to his feet. “I won’t. I’m going to be a gentleman and whore you up and send you out to get laid like a lady.” He was talking to himself, but he hauled her up by the wrist and grabbed her ass, then yanked her up against his big, hard body. “Elodie is making you into a bad girl, Tess. If you want me to fuck you right here, right now, just ask.”
Horny, terrified, she gazed up at him, not sure what to do. She couldn’t just ask out loud. She’d die of frustration before she did that.
The intenseness of his gaze was turning her innards to jelly. She wanted to fall at his feet and rub against his legs like a cat. She wanted to suck his cock and have him grab her hair, and maybe have him throw her down and treat her like he paid for her. Which he sort of was, since they still weren’t letting her pay rent.
Tess stood on her toes and brushed her lips along his jaw, loving how he made her feel so tiny and helpless. What would it be like to have him put her beneath him? He’d dressed her up, like a toy – what if he used her like one?
“I...uh...Sir...”
He kissed her gently on the lips and set her away from him.
“You’re not ready. That’s okay.” He brushed his thumb over her lips and she whined in frustration. “Let’s do your makeup. He’ll be here in five minutes.”
No, no, no! Stupid, dumb, silly man! She had the urge to smack him, but didn’t think that would turn out well. He led her into the bathroom and fussed over her makeup, then left the room, ordering her to go pee.
Bossy, interfering, frustrating!
Who told a grown woman when to use the bathroom?
And what man sent a girl out on a date with another guy, when he apparently wanted her himself?
Was he lying?
When she came out, he was standing by the front door.
“He’s here.” Instead of letting her get her coat on, he put it on her.
Lock put his hand on the doorknob and she flattened her palm against the back of the door, to keep him from opening it. His brows rose.
“You treat me like I’m yours, then you hand me over to someone else. It’s confusing.”
Lock crowded into her, backing her against the door. He kissed her hard, possessively, stealing her breath.
The doorbell rang.
He pulled back. For a surreal moment, Lock stared down at her, a wild,
possessive sexuality rolling off of him. He leaned down, putting his lips next to her ear.
“Oh, I know you’re mine. This date is just to prove it to you.” He smiled ferociously and her body quivered. She was far too aware that it was true.
He chuckled as he opened the door and handed her out.
“Have a good time.”
Tristan smiled politely at Lock. As for Lock, he was watching Tess with a neutral expression that made her want to punch his lights out.
The car ride seemed to take forever, although they only went a few blocks. By the time they got in line at the club, Tristan was deep into a one-sided conversation about a magazine ad he’d modeled for the day before, for cologne.
“That’s when you know you’ve got their attention. No more cold medication ads for me.” He chuckled contentedly. “Those were never really my thing, but a man’s got to eat.”
She thought of how many times she’d actually had no food and tried not to roll her eyes. Tristan had mentioned an older benefactor who paid for a lot of his things. Idly, she wondered if he was sleeping with the woman. She didn’t actually care.
At the club, Tristan cut to the front of the line, and the bouncer admitted them immediately. The heavy bass line in the music was too loud to have much of a conversation, and made the songs almost impossible to make out. She’d never really been to a club. He pulled her onto the dance floor without offering to get her a drink.
Tristan started to dance. He was a good dancer, and nice to watch, but he acted as though he was alone, rarely bothering to look her way. She moved self-consciously at first, but the throbbing beat was sexy and made her think of the way Lock and Elodie danced together when they put music on in the house. It was almost as arousing as watching them have sex.
She loosened up, letting the music move her and not worrying about whether she knew how to dance. Everyone was watching Tristan anyway, and she was stuck here until he took her home.
When she got there, maybe Elodie would be back. If she was, Tess was going to have sex with them. She wasn’t going to be shy, she was just going to say what she wanted, and maybe get her needs met. The music flowed around her and she let it strengthen her resolve.
One song flowed seamlessly into the next, and Tristan grabbed her and danced with her as though she was a prop. It was uncomfortable at first, but she got the hang of it.
Hours passed. When her feet were sore and she was dying of thirst, Tristan led her back out into the cool night air.
“Come on, let’s go.” He led her back to his car. Tess’s ears rang the way they did after a Kink Monsters concert, and she resented that she was going through the discomfort even though the music had been nowhere near as good. She buckled her seatbelt, anticipation about what could happen when she got home knotting in her belly.
Tristan pulled out of the parking lot, but turned in the opposite direction.
“I thought you were bringing me home. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He smiled at her, then took her hand and held it like she’d been his girlfriend for ages. Could she pull it away without being rude?
He started another one-sided conversation about a shopping expedition he’d gone on the other day and she waited impatiently for them to get to where he was taking them. Ten minutes later, he turned off onto a dirt road.
Where on earth was he taking her? Plots of TV crime dramas crept through her mind. He didn’t seem like the serial killer type, but how well did she really know him?
He stopped the car as they got to the top of a rise, then rolled down the car windows and set the radio to an easy listening station. A blanket appeared from the back seat and he got out then spread it on a grassy spot. Reluctantly, Tess got out too.
The view from the spot was incredible – Felix stretched out below them, the city lights creating a haze of illumination that made it seem as though it was never fully night. Here on the hill, crickets sang their night song, even though there was a slight chill in the air. She was glad Lock had made her take a jacket.
A slow song came on, and Tristan grabbed her hand and pulled her close, swaying to the music.
Months ago, this would have been her biggest fantasy. Tristan, of all people, romancing her in the quiet night, stars laid out above them, their own twinkling canopy. It was like something from a fairy tale. Prince Charming even showed her he had a bottle of wine, when he settled them on the blanket.
Wine, starlight, soft music, handsome guy – a fantasy first-time scenario for most girls.
But this wasn’t good enough for her anymore. She didn’t want soft and sensual. She wanted crazy and uncivilized and rough.
More than that, she wanted Lock. She wanted Elodie.
He brushed the hair back from her neck, leaned in. His lips came at her like twin cocktail weenies, flapping in the night. Coming back to reality, she dodged.
No, no, no. Wrong! Bad!
Why had she ever liked him? This wasn’t the man she wanted at all.
“Tristan, I know I agreed to go on this date, but I’d like to go home now.”
Recoiling like she’d slapped him, Tristan frowned. “But I thought things were going well. Was I reading things wrong? I know we’re a bit of a mismatch, but I don’t care if people say I’m slumming. You’re so nice that I don’t care what other people think.”
What? A laugh escaped her, which just made him look more confused.
“What I’m saying, Tess, is that your personality makes up for everything else. Isn’t that what women want? For a man to be attracted to her personality?”
She nodded pleasantly. “Yes, of course. I think it would be better if we just stayed friends and co-workers, though. You know, if things between us went bad, I wouldn’t want it to affect our work together. I need that paycheck.”
Ugh. Maybe she should go back on tour with the Kink Monsters. At least with them things had been less confusing. Tristan wanted her because she was ugly and therefore different, while Lock had dolled her up for another man and pushed her out the door.
“Oh.” He nodded. “Okay, well, if you ever change your mind, just let me know. If I’m not dating anyone, I’d consider taking you back.”
Very magnanimous of you, your majesty.
She helped him fold the blanket while he chatted about this person who’d called him about a photoshoot for athletic clothes. “I’m not sure I could pull that off. I mean, I don’t think most athletes look like models. It might not be a very convincing ad, you know?”
The more time she spent with him, the more ridiculous he seemed to get – like when he got to know you, he let the real, self-involved man show through. Tristan drove slowly back through the city, probably stalling so he could finish telling her his story. By the time he finally pulled into the driveway, she was all nervous agitation. Would they grill her to find out what happened?
To her disappointment, all of the lights were off except for the one over the front door. It was almost midnight, although it was the weekend. Maybe they’d gone to bed early, or...oh...this might be uncomfortable.
They needed to develop a secret code to let her know if they wanted alone time.
Tristan walked her to the door and gave her a peck on the cheek, then kept her there talking about himself for another few minutes.
When he paused to breathe, she excused herself, saying she needed to use the bathroom, even though she hadn’t had so much as a sip of water for the past few hours.
She took off her shoes and opened the front door, then tiptoed over the threshold and locked the door behind her.
The light flipped on unexpectedly. Lock stood there, in jeans and no shirt, glowering at her. Behind him, on the floor, knelt a very naked Elodie, welts crisscrossing her body.
“Hi?” She looked between them, bewildered. They didn’t look surprised to see her. “Should I go for a walk? I don’t mean to interrupt.”
“Did you sleep with him?” Elodie asked, her eyes red.
“No, I th
ink he wanted to, but I asked him to bring me home.” A nervous flutter started in her stomach. Lock buried a fist in her hair and she gasped. If it had been any other man she might have been scared, but with Lock, it was just hot.
“Why didn’t you fuck him?” he growled, and the sound sent a shiver of dread and arousal through her. “I dressed you up and sent you out there to fuck a vanilla guy.”
She blinked at him. “But vanilla is boring. I-I didn’t know it was an order, Sir.”
“It wasn’t.” He let her go and stalked to the window, looked out, then came back. “If you didn’t sleep with him, why are you getting home so late?”
“We went dancing, then he drove me up to a lookout to see the city. He brought wine but we didn’t even open it.”
Behind Lock, Elodie was making ‘stop and shut up’ gestures at her. What the hell? He’d sent her out on the date. It was a little late for him to be jealous now. Well, it seemed like jealousy.
He crowded her against the wall and she turned her head to get away from his furious gaze.
“Ugh. You stink like him.” He started to unzip her dress, then stopped. “I’m sorry. I have no business being an ass about this.” One of his hands raked through his bed-head blond hair.
“Be an ass about this, Sir. Don’t stop. I know my safeword.” The words came out, spurred by lust, and she hoped she didn’t regret them.
A tortured noise escaped him. After a moment’s hesitation he was on her, yanking her clothes off. “You’re mine, you little fucking bitch. I must have lost my mind sending you out there with that jackass. If you slept with him...fuck. I don’t know if I ever would have forgiven myself.” Her clothes were gone and he buried a rough hand in her hair again and marched her up the stairs, snapping his fingers at Elodie to follow.
Instead of throwing her on the bed, he forced her into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.
“What are you...”