Locked Out of Love

by Mary K. Norris

  Joel groaned. “Niella, please tell me you’re not letting Cali pick ridiculous flowers for us to wear in her wedding party.”

  “I’ve got Niella in the romantic mood,” Cali boasted. “I even caught her watching The Bachelor the other day.”

  He perked up at this revelation. “No way.” The idea was unheard of, but it had to be true because Niella shrank down into her wheelchair like a turtle trying to hide.

  “Not a word, both of you. I just so happen to think the guy is hot. That’s it,” she said.

  Cali tossed her hair over one shoulder. “Well, if you’re into those blond, green-eyed types, you should just hang out at the pizza place a few doors over. Don’t either of you repeat this to Felix, but Tom’s quite the looker.”

  Niella shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Joel was about to comment on her unease when another voice spoke up.

  “So the truth comes out.”

  Cali jumped at the sound of Felix’s voice. She swore under her breath but quickly plastered a smile on her face. “Felix!”

  Felix’s blue green eyes sparkled with humor. “Don’t you ‘Felix’ me, I heard what you said. Tom lover. You and Syd should start a club.”

  “Sydney likes Tom?” Joel asked. She’d never mentioned that before.

  Felix grinned. “Oh yeah, big time. Like the biggest crush I’d ever seen when she was younger.”

  “I never knew that,” Joel said absently. More secrets she kept from me. But a small twinge in his chest was the only reaction he got.

  “I didn’t know either,” a new voice came from the far end of the room where Merrick must have slipped in through the back door.

  So Syd kept things even from her Mirror Mate. Merrick’s confession made Joel feel a little bit better.

  Sydney came up behind him. “Didn’t know what either?”

  Felix and Joel shared a look, hiding their smiles in their hands.

  Merrick caught the look that passed between them and gave them the smallest hint of a smile before his face turned to stone. “That you have feelings for Tom Larkin, the pizza man a few shops down.”

  As if there was any other pizza maker in the Costa Mesa/Newport area with that name.

  Sydney’s smiled faltered. Felix didn’t even try to hide his grin anymore. “That was ages ago. Who said I still had feelings for him?”

  “The blush on your cheeks,” Cali supplied helpfully.

  Sydney’s hands flew to her face. Merrick chuckled. When Sydney turned her heated eyes on him, he tried to turn it into a cough.

  “You don’t even care, do you?” Sydney’s face was completely red now. “You just wanted to give me a hard time.” She pointed a finger at Felix. “This was all your doing.”

  Felix shrugged without a care in the world. “Hey, I’m just as outraged as you.”

  As if, Joel thought, but continued to enjoy the spectacle before him. He watched as the couples bickered and teased, noted the differences in personality and how they each made it work. Could he and Melanie make it work? Could he make more out of the attraction they had, build more out of their chemistry, like a lasting relationship?

  Did he want to?

  Chapter 11

  Joel was in the exact same spot as when Melanie first saw him in yoga class.

  “I thought you weren’t coming back once you found out you can’t talk during the sessions,” Melanie said by way of greeting.

  “I already paid for the class, might as well get my money’s worth, right? Plus, the view isn’t so bad.” He winked at her, but his playful manner didn’t cover the sense of wariness she got off of him.

  “Is everything all right?” She ignored the angry scowls women warming up sent her way.

  He rolled his shoulders as if trying to ease some tension. His chest strained his tee and Melanie found herself entranced by the image of Darth Vader and “I give free throat hugs” written underneath. “Just a rough day yesterday,” he said.

  Melanie made a noise in the back of her throat. “I know the feeling.”

  “What’s wrong?” He reached out and captured her hand in his. The warmth of his skin seeped into her body. The contact made her nipples hard and the ache in her chest ease.

  She wrenched her hand from his.

  The last forty-eight hours hadn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Her short moments with lucid Nathan had ended with her trying to keep him sober. She’d attempted to talk to him, keep him distracted—anything to stay away from the alcohol, but she’d been exhausted. She’d tried to stay up as long as she could, but eventually she’d succumbed to sleep and woke the next day to find Nathan passed out on his bed, an empty bottle of vodka on the nightstand. It tore at her heart when she thought of how vulnerable and weak he’d sounded. She should have tried harder to stay awake all night with him.

  And on top of that haunting memory was the horrifying vision she’d had when she’d taken Nathan’s powers. She couldn’t shake it. Every time she closed her eyes she saw that woman’s face, the vehicle hitting her wheelchair, and a snapshot of The Bachelor—the countdown to how much time the woman had left. Yesterday Melanie had sought out her aunt and asked how the show was going, how many weeks would it get down to the final two. The episode was less than three weeks away, and the thought made Melanie sick to her stomach.

  She’d tried to contact Juliet, wanted to get answers. If this was what Nathan had to deal with, she wanted him fixed immediately. When Juliet’s contact info went to voicemail, Melanie left a very terse response, asking where the hell they were and when were they going to do anything?

  And then because her life just kept getting better, she’d seen Alexander before work yesterday, across the street, standing there watching her. She’d seen him for only a moment before a moving van blocked her view. When the van left, Alexander was gone. She’d spent her whole shift tense and sweating. Was he planning something? Should she file a police report again? She didn’t know what to do and waiting was weighing heavily on her mental well-being.

  She was emotionally exhausted and felt like a coward when she breathed a sigh of relief as the instructor came in to start their yoga.

  She wouldn’t have to talk to Joel, not yet anyway. She had till the end of class to figure out what she wanted to tell him, because they both knew he’d question her until he got some kind of answer.

  When the hour was up, Melanie took her time getting her things together. It was a stall tactic that backfired when the room emptied, leaving her and Joel alone. He came up behind her, the heat of his body seeping into her back. He smelled like sweat, man, and, funny enough, electronics.

  She sighed. “I don’t feel like talking right now.”

  “That’s fine.” His breath ruffled her hair. “We don’t have to talk.”

  She jumped when his arms came around her waist. She dropped her yoga mat but didn’t dare reach for it. Her body was frozen—not in fear, oh no. Desire held her prisoner. All her soft curves were flush with the hard planes of his body. She wanted to arch further into him, but she didn’t dare react. She wanted him to make the first move, wanted to know that she wasn’t the only one trapped in this crazy sexual tension. And move he did. His hands inched up the sides of her body, tracing her rib cage, up, up, until they brushed the underside of her breasts. She drew in a ragged breath, silently willing his hands to move further up, to push harder. She wanted more friction; she wanted his hands all over her. She was a burning ball of need.

  His breath tickled her neck. “Do you know how much it pains me to see you in these tight outfits but not be able to touch you?” His low voice slid over her, making goose bumps erupt along her arms.

  He dragged his hands down her abdomen and back up again; this time when he reached her breasts he cupped one in each hand.

  Melanie sighed, her head falling back in response to his touch. She was throbbing all over, moisture collecting between her legs. For the first time in forty-eight hours she wasn’t thinking about anything—except Joel. She wan
ted to see him naked. She wanted to taste his salty sweet skin and explore his entire body with her hands, her tongue, until he was nothing but a puddle of desire.

  One of his hands ventured south again, his palm lazily sliding down her stomach, over to her hipbone and then … further.

  She swallowed thickly when he didn’t go back up like she’d expected. Instead, his hand crept slowly toward her center, where she ached fiercely. His fingers danced over her most sensitive flesh, and when he slid his hand in between her legs to cup her, she moaned.

  “Are you wet?”

  She could feel an impressive erection pushing into her backside, and she melted into him, eliciting a growl from deep in his throat. The sound made her wild. Or maybe that was from Joel torturously gliding his fingers back and forth over her sex.

  Her legs wanted to give out and she had a mental image of the two of them getting down and dirty right there on her yoga mat. She entertained the idea more than she should have.

  When she spoke her voice came out shaky. “We can’t do anything, Joel. What if someone comes in?”

  His arms tightened around her like a boa constrictor, bringing her that much closer to all that lean muscle. “I could Lock the door,” he suggested in her ear.

  No one would be able to come into the classroom then. They’d be alone for however long Joel wanted them to be. She shivered. The idea appealed to her way too much.

  But what if they break down the door?

  She couldn’t see the community center being that desperate for a room.

  “Cameras,” she spoke aloud, not sure why she was looking for excuses to get out of this situation.

  Joel’s hot mouth pressed an open kiss below her ear. “I don’t see any in here, do you?”

  She quickly scanned the ceiling and found nothing. Joel sucked her ear lobe between his lips and her eyes slid shut.

  He disappeared from behind her, taking all that glorious body heat with him. She heard a faint clink and Joel was back. Her pulse spiked as she realized he’d actually Locked them in.

  Anticipation made her whole body quiver.

  She didn’t dare turn around when she felt him return. She waited; there was a faint whoosh and then the sound of something soft hitting the floor.

  He’s laying out his yoga mat.

  Her heart tripped over itself. Her nerves were on overdrive.

  “Afraid to turn around?” he whispered huskily.

  She licked her lips. “Yes.” There was no need to lie. But she wasn’t afraid of Joel; she was afraid of what she might do. That feeling of being out of control was back and she didn’t like it—or she liked it too much. Either option frightened her.

  As if he understood her unspoken thoughts, he chuckled. “No need to be afraid, Melanie. I’m right here.”

  I’ll always be here.

  The statement hung in the air unspoken. And for once Melanie let herself believe it.

  She turned to face him. He was breathing just as unsteadily as she. His eyes swirled with desire, roaming over her body, and she felt their touch like a physical caress.

  She reached out to touch his chest. She could feel his heart beneath her palm, and for a moment she let herself marvel in the strength of its beating.

  She stepped into him and his arms went around her like it was second nature. It felt right. It felt good. But not as good as when his lips came down on hers.

  They stole the breath from her lungs and lit her nerve endings on fire. She pushed closer against him and twined her arms around his neck. Her breasts pressed against his chest; one of his hands moved from around her waist to cup her bottom, drawing her hips flush with his.

  They both groaned at the contact.

  His erection pressed hard into her hip and she untwined one arm from around him to stroke him through his shorts.

  He cursed under his breath and took hold of her wrist to bring her arm back around his neck. “I’m not going to last if you keep touching me like that.”

  She nipped his bottom lip. “Maybe I don’t want you to last.”

  Joel closed his eyes as if trying to draw strength from within. “Jesus, Melanie,” was all he said. “You slay me.”

  His words made her feel powerful and sexy, and she loved every minute of it. “You make me feel more alive than I’ve felt in a very long time,” she confessed.

  Those midnight eyes opened and fixed on her. He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb across her skin. “I know the feeling.”

  This time his kiss was painfully slow, creating a gentle warmth in the pit of her stomach that radiated out. Joel was a man who could make a woman melt. She was halfway gone when the handle on the door jiggled.

  They both looked up.

  The door shook, but Joel’s Lock stayed intact. Muttered cursing came from the other side and Melanie grinned. Joel mirrored her grin. His eyes glittered with mischief, like a little kid getting away with a prank, and she wanted to kiss him all the more.

  “What do you say? Want to stick around and see how far they go to get the door open or blow this Popsicle stand?”

  Melanie arched a brow as a wicked idea came to her. “Want to see how far they’d go if we pretended to be locked inside and freaking out?”

  Joel laughed. “You’re a little rebel, aren’t you?”

  She looked meaningfully at his Darth Vader shirt. “Just call me Princess Leia.”

  She grabbed his ass.

  Chapter 12

  Joel couldn’t get the image of Melanie in a Princess Leia slave costume out of his head. All that creamy skin exposed, her silver-blonde hair shining, those crystal-blue eyes flaring with heat.

  They’d driven down to the beach after making a break from the community center. Melanie had cracked. She didn’t want the community center staff to break anything unnecessarily and she didn’t want to get banned from the establishment for any reason, so they’d Unlocked the door and made a run for it.

  They stood on the boardwalk, Melanie slipping her shoes off to walk in the sand. They’d just missed the sunset, but the lingering light still hung in the air. The wind carried the salty scent of the ocean, and Joel breathed it in deeply. He’d never tire of that smell.

  He followed Melanie as she made her way to the water.

  They passed an empty, boarded lifeguard tower and Joel nudged her. “Hey, want to sit up there?”

  “Sure.”

  They situated themselves on the tower, legs dangling over the edge. Joel glanced at Melanie out of the corner of his eye. She seemed better than when he’d first seen her walk into yoga that evening. There had been something in the air around her, a sadness that had pulled at Joel, but the class had started before he could get any information out of her.

  He could make out the lingering sadness coming back. It was in every step she took, the slight hunch to her shoulders, and lack of bounce in her step.

  He bumped his shoulder against hers. “Want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

  She tightened her jacket as the wind kicked up.

  He wrapped his arm around her, expecting her to stiffen. Instead, she snuggled into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

  He was finally doing something right.

  “Can I ask you something?” she said.

  “Sure.” He didn’t point out that she was avoiding his question.

  “How does your friend, the Dreamer, keep herself … ?” She sighed and started over. “How does she deal with all her visions?”

  So that’s what’s bothering her.

  She was worried about her brother.

  Joel tried not to dwell on Niella’s dwindling mental health. That was not the comforting information Melanie sought.

  He stared out at the waves. “She writes stuff down. I think it helps her keep her Dreams and the real world separate. Acts like a barrier, I guess. If she writes them down right away, she can put them out of her mind and try to forget about them. They’re out of her head, you know?”

  She moved
off his shoulder. “It’s that simple for her?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know about simple, but I think it eases the burden. She has this notebook she carries around all the time.” Melanie’s body stiffened at the mention of a notebook, but he hesitantly continued. “I don’t know what she writes in it, I’ve never looked, but maybe it’s therapeutic and can help your brother.”

  She was quiet for a moment. “Maybe. So there’s no … cure?”

  It was the perfect opening for Joel to mention Mirror Mates. Did he dare?

  He didn’t want to scare her off. Hell, he didn’t want to have to answer her if she asked him outright if they were Mirror Mates.

  As they sat together watching the vast ocean, the waves crashing rhythmically into the sand, he came to a decision. He wouldn’t keep her in the dark any longer. She needed to learn about Mirror Mates eventually, and he wanted her to hear it from him first. If she met the guild then it would only be a matter of time until Cali or Sydney mentioned Melanie’s possible connection to Joel.

  “There is one way,” he said.

  Her head snapped around so fast he could all but feel the whiplash. “There is?”

  Was that fear in her eyes?

  “Niella will able to control her Dreams if and when she becomes full-forced.” He’d keep the conversation all about Niella. He’d let Melanie come to her own conclusions about them.

  “Full-forced?”

  He puffed out his chest. “It’s a term I came up with.” Felix would have his neck if he knew Joel was cutting him out of the credit. “It signifies when an individual with powers experiences an added boost to their ability and gains complete control over them.”

  He waited for the next question.

  “How does someone become ‘full-forced’?”

  He kept his expression as neutral as possible, channeling his inner Jedi, while holding his breath at the same time. “They find and bond with their soul mate.”

  He dropped his arm from around her as she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Soul mate?”