Do they think about what they want in their life?
Because the truth is I do think about the future. I think about it all the time and Sterling's in it.
When he doesn't answer right away, I brace myself up on one elbow and look down at him. His eyes are closed, but I can tell he's thinking, concentrating. And then when he opens them and stares at me, his pupils so dilated the black almost eats up all the color, I wonder what is on his mind.
Is my question too deep for him? Is he afraid to tell me that he really doesn't see a future for us despite what he has said this whole time?
He lifts his hand up and cups my cheek, and the feel of his thumb stroking along my skin sends shivers down my body.
“Yeah, I see a future.” He continues to stare at me in the eyes. “I see a future with you, Wynter. I've always wanted that.”
And if my heart weren’t already his, he would've taken it right then. His words would have made me fall in love with him, just given myself over as if nothing else existed.
I lift my hand, cup his face, lean down and place my lips on his. For long seconds, all I do is kiss him, nothing sexual, nothing heated. It is me sealing my love for him, showing him that I am here and not going anywhere.
His lips against mine feel too good to stop, so I don’t. Not until my lips go numb and my arm gets tired. But I finally pull away.
It surprises me when Sterling places one hand on my face and the other one on my hip as he flips us around so that I’m lying on my back in the grass with his body resting between my legs.
The feel of his hard body against me, his arms, his thighs, everything that is Sterling, has me sucking in a breath and breathing in his air.
“I love you,” he says against my lips. My entire body ignites with heat from his confession and the feel of his fingertip brushing over my lip as he continues to look me in the eyes has me fighting to catch my breath. I know without a doubt that he means what he just said. “I’ve loved you for a long fucking time, Wynter.”
“I'm yours, Sterling. I love you, too.” And I say those words so he knows. Even if I only have this one moment, it's already ingrained, memorized in my entire being.
And I'm lucky to have that.
“Good. That’s real fucking good, baby.” As soon as the words leave his lips, they’re pressed against mine again. The intensity of his kiss sucks the air straight from my lungs and I find myself grabbing at his strong back, digging my nails in as I fight for air around his lips.
He must notice me shivering beneath him from the cool night air, ‘cause he stops kissing me long enough to rip his long-sleeved shirt off over his head and help me put it on.
I look up at his hard body, my lips tugging into a smile as I watch his muscles flex as he continues to hold himself above me. “Relax and lay with me, Sterling. I like the way it feels with my head on your chest.”
Without hesitation, he lays back down on his back and pulls me into the same position we were in before we started kissing.
With my head on his chest and his hands wrapped into my hair, I know without a doubt that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
I could lay like this for hours and we do.
16
Sterling
It’s been a few days now since my brother and I left Kevin and his douchebag friend bleeding in the woods behind his house.
Wynter hasn’t heard a peep from that motherfucker and I’m hoping that either means he’s scared shitless to ever contact her again or that his ass is suffering in the hospital, unable to move without screaming out in pain.
My lips curve up into a sickening smile as I imagine him lying there in the hospital with his beat-to-hell face wrapped up in a cloth.
It only makes me want to mess up the motherfucker in front of me even more and shake him up until he’s pissing in his pants.
“…under the sink. It’s under the sink!” He’s shaking below me, while holding onto my boot as if that’s going to stop me from stomping on his face.
This asshole fucked over the mother of his child and emptied out their joint bank account, leaving her and their two-year-old son with no money.
“Oh yeah.” I kick his hand out of the way and rest my boot against his throat. “Under the fucking sink, huh?” I nod to Aston. “Check it out. See if I need to crush little old Bobby’s throat with my favorite boot until he’s no longer breathing.”
Aston pulls the cigarette from between his lips and flicks it at the wall with a grunt. “This is the third place he’s told us it’s hiding. I say if it’s not here that I take that knife over there…” He nods toward the knife on the counter that Bobby attempted to attack us with when we broke down the door. “And carve his motherfucking eyeballs out and feed them to him.”
“No! It’s under there. It’s there, just look! She can have it all. Every last dollar. Fuck!” He swallows, watching Aston open the cabinet under the sink and pull out a little lock box. “Yes, that’s it. Take it. Let that bitch have it.”
“Watch your fucking mouth before I cut it off.” I press my boot down harder, crushing his throat until he begins turning red.
“It’s locked. Damn, this would be a good time for our other fucking brother to be here.” Aston turns behind him and begins looking through the drawers for something. It takes him a few minutes but finally pulls out a small hammer. “Not as big as Ace’s, but this should do the trick.”
I keep my foot on Bobby’s neck, but relieve some of the pressure as I reach into my pocket for one of my joints. I light it with a smirk and watch as Aston takes his anger out in the little box.
He beats it to hell, even after it’s already open and money’s flying out of it. Thousands of dollars that this asshole believed was his for the taking.
A real man cares for his family first and himself second, but apparently this asshole is nothing but a lowlife animal.
Aston finally puts the hammer down and reaches for the money. “Here.” He tosses me a rolled-up five-dollar bill. “At least his ex was nice enough to leave him a little something for dinner.”
I lean in close to Bobby’s sweaty face. “This is more than you left for your family to eat on, you piece of shit. Hope this shit tastes good.” With an angry growl, I shove the bill in his mouth to the point where he’s choking on it and then I reach for the glass of water next to me and pour it in his mouth, causing him to panic and begin gripping at my arm.
“See if that lasts you for two weeks, you piece of shit.” Aston steps up beside me, lights a cigarette and pulls the bill out of his mouth before shoving the lit cigarette inside and holding his mouth closed. “Here’s a little dessert to go with it, bitch.”
It’s getting late at this point and all I can think about is getting back to Wynter and having a chill night with just my woman and my family. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“I’m ready, brother.”
* * *
The crackling of the fire has us all staring at the pile of wood before us, watching as it slowly burns into ashes.
This is our time to relax and forget about everything for just a few hours as a family. It feels good as shit having Wynter here for this one and not just her showing up at the end with bruises all over her body.
The memory of that night has me squeezing her tighter, pulling her into my lap as close to me as I possibly can. Her body against mine instantly calms me and takes me to a place where my head doesn’t seem so fucked up and my thoughts don’t seem so dark and twisted.
I need Wynter more than she’ll ever know. She’s maybe only been mine for a week now, but it feels like a fucking lifetime.
Maybe that’s because even when she wasn’t mine all those years ago, in my head I always wanted her to be. I spent my nights getting lost in thoughts of her, wondering how it’d feel if she were mine. It helped me escape my hell.
I owe her all of me. Every last bit of me belongs to her for as long as she’ll have me.
We all look over when we he
ar the crunching of footsteps coming down the long driveway.
Ace is the first to stand, but Kadence laughs and grabs Ace’s arm to let him know it’s okay. “It’s only Melissa. She’s bored at home.”
I see the slightest hint of a smile on my big brother’s lips, before he quickly tilts back his beer bottle, keeping his gaze on the dark shadow coming toward us. “I could’ve picked her up.”
“It’s a five-minute walk,” Kadence says with a huge smile. “You boys are crazy protective.”
“Damn straight we are, babe.” Aston stands and moves over to where Kadence is sitting. He crouches down in front of her and cups her face. “Because we protect what we love. And even though Melissa is still unsure about us, she’s your family and that makes her ours too.”
“That’s right,” Ace agrees. But it’s becoming clearer with time that Ace wants to get his hands on Melissa and work his way under her skin. He wants to change her mind about us. Or at least about him.
“Right here, darlin’.” Ace smirks and gives his chair to Melissa, before he leans down into her neck.
“Ouch!” Melissa yelps. “You just bit me.”
A twisted smile tugs at Ace’s lips. “And you liked it too, babe.”
Ignoring my asshole brothers, I press my lips against Wynter’s neck before I push her up to her feet and stand. “I’ll get you another beer.”
I get ready to walk away, but she grabs my arm, stopping me. She smiles and stands up on her tippy toes to wrap her arms around my neck. “I love everything about you, Sterling. I love everything you do for me, but I want you to know that being with me is all I expect from you.”
I run my thumb over her plump bottom lip before I lean in and suck it into my mouth, and then I bite it. “You’re my woman and this is my way of taking care of you. Get used to me doing a lot of shit for you, ‘cause I won’t be stopping anytime soon.” I run my tongue over her lips before moving up to whisper in her ear. “Taking care of you gets me hard. So fucking hard.”
I hear a small rush of air leave her lips before I walk away to grab some more beers from inside.
Just as I go to open the fridge, I hear the crunching of tires in the driveway, causing me to close the fridge and rush toward the door.
An instant smile forms on my lips when I notice Killian’s black, lifted truck come to a stop.
I step out onto the porch and watch my brothers stand around with huge smiles as Killian jumps out of his truck and tosses his cigarette at the gravel.
“What are all you fuckers staring at?” He gives us a crooked smile before walking over to Aston and grabbing his beer from him. “You act as if you haven’t seen me in years, when it’s only been eleven months.”
His dark hair has gotten longer, to the point that it’s falling over his left eye and he’s now grown out a beard.
“Good to see you, uncle.” I walk over and grab his shoulder, looking him over before I give him a one-armed hug, squeezing him harder than usual. “But fuck you for taking off for so long.”
He laughs and moves around to give my brothers hugs. Just as he pulls away from Ace, his eyes go wide once he notices three girls sitting around the fire. “Whoa. This is some new shit for you boys.”
“Yeah, well I guess we needed a little change.” I lift a brow and look over to see Wynter talking and laughing with the other two girls. She turns my way for a quick second and smiles at me. It has my heart jumping like crazy in my chest.
“She’s yours, I’m taking it.” He wraps his arm around my neck and squeezes. “Good for you. I’m proud of you. I know shit hasn’t always been easy in your life. For any of you boys, but every fucking one of you deserves to be happy. Don’t ever question that. Got it?”
Aston nods his head. “I’ve realized that over the last seven months.” He grabs his beer back from Killian and tilts it back, emptying it. “It took me a while, but thanks to Kadence, I believe it now.”
“And the third one over there?”
“She’ll be mine… soon enough.”
We all look over at Ace, not expecting those words to come from his mouth.
Ace keeps shit inside more than the rest of us.
“It’s going to take some work, brother.” I laugh and slap his back. “Good fucking luck. You’re the most twisted of us all.”
“Deep down inside she’s craving for me to twist her up. Trust me, brother.”
“Well, assholes. It was a long fucking drive. Got some more beers before I thank you guys for taking care of that fucker Paul?” He grinds his teeth, no doubt still wanting to kill that asshole for messing with Camille’s son, even though we took care of him already.
Ace nods. “Yeah. I’ll bring some more out.” With that he takes off inside, while the three of us make our way back over to the fire.
Kadence smiles the moment her eyes land on Killian walking beside Aston. “Uncle Killian, I’m guessing.”
This has Killian grinning, showing off his perfect teeth. “You’ve heard about their badass uncle. I knew I loved these boys.”
Wynter laughs and joins in. “I’ve heard a lot about you from my father. I have to admit that I’m sort of excited to meet you.”
“Oh yeah?” Killian grabs a beer from Ace as he holds one out for him. “Who’s your father?”
“Officer Lowe.”
“Oh fuck.” He tilts his beer back, taking a huge swig. “That’s your father, huh? And you’re here with a Locke?”
Wynter nods and takes a seat in my lap as I pull her down to me. “My father doesn’t control me anymore. I do what I want and what I want is Sterling.”
“Good shit. I like that.”
We spend the next few hours drinking and sitting around the fire, everyone enjoying having Killian back.
Even Melissa seems to somewhat like Killian.
Having Wynter here and Killian back is truly beginning to feel like our family is whole.
I could really get used to these kinds of nights.
This feels too good to ever let Wynter not be a part of.
Wynter is distracted, talking with Ace and Aston, but I can tell she’s tired and needs to rest. So I grab the beer from her hand and toss it down beside us before I straddle her lap and capture her mouth with mine.
Everyone around us begins whistling and throwing things at me as I grind myself against her and move around to whisper in her ear. “Let’s go inside, baby. We can do whatever you want. Even fucking sleep, but don’t let these nut sacks keep you up.”
“Oh fuck you!” Ace says with a laugh. “I’ll keep her up all night.” He grabs his dick and smirks just to piss me off.
I stand up and kick his chair over. “Good night, fuck face.” Then I grab Wynter’s hand and pull her up to her feet. “My brother’s dick will never get close to you. I’ll cut that shit off and then smash it with his precious hammer.”
Wynter smiles and wraps her arms around my neck. “That sort of amuses me. Is that bad?”
“Not at all, babe.” Killian leans forward and tosses his empty beer into the fire with a grin. “Only means you’re a part of the family now.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too, baby. Me fucking too. Now let’s go upstairs.”
If it wasn’t for Wynter needing to rest, I’d fuck her nice and loud with every damn window open so my asshole brothers could hear her screaming my name from all the way out there.
A little reminder of how she’s mine.
17
Wynter
Spending the other night with Sterling and his family around the bonfire felt really amazing, and the way he wasn’t afraid to show everyone that I was his girl felt even better.
Their uncle Killian seemed pretty shocked at first to see two of his nephews settled down, but you could see in his eyes just how happy he was for them.
I know he took them all in every chance he got even though he’s probably not more than ten years older than Ace.
I like their uncle, but I
can definitely see why my father has hated him for as long as I can remember. He seems like the type of guy that doesn’t take shit from anyone and doesn’t allow anyone to tell him what to do. Not even the law.
Sterling decided he wanted to go for a ride after dinner so, after riding around for a couple of hours, he asks what I want to do before we go back to the Locke house.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Benny’s ice cream so I suggest we stop for some.
Even with everyone’s gazes following us around as if we don’t belong here, being here with Sterling feels good. Feels normal. Like something a normal couple would do.
It makes me happy because truthfully, I want everyone to know we’re together. All my old friends, old teachers and anyone I’ve ever met in this shitty little town.
I want them to see that Sterling is loved. I want them to see that he’s just like the rest of us when it really comes down to it.
He eats, sleeps and breathes just like everyone else.
They may fear him, may think he’s a savage beast, but he’s capable of love too.
“Come here, baby.”
He’s straddling his motorcycle, but grabs my arm and scoots back, pulling me in front of him so that I’m straddling his bike, facing him.
He smiles at me and then leans in and runs his tongue along my chocolate/vanilla swirl cone. “Mmm… it’s been such a long time since I’ve tasted their homemade ice cream. Probably since I was ten and my uncle brought me here.”
I take my free hand and wipe the chocolate from his mouth with a smile. “Sure you don’t want me to walk over and grab you a cone?”
He shakes his head and leans forward to run his tongue around my ice cream again. “This is the last lick. I promise.”
“You sure about that?” A twisted smile takes over my face as I shove the cone against his lips, leaving a huge smudge of chocolate and vanilla. “You have a little…”
Locke Brothers Series Page 17