I hear Sterling whistle under his breath, can hear Aston saying something to Kadence about the PDA between Ace and I, but I don’t care. I’m focused on the man I love.
I love him.
He groans but pulls away, and I’m left there panting, wanting more. Needing it.
“If we don’t stop I’ll have you in my room in my bed.”
I smile. “Maybe that’s what I want.”
He groans again and rests his forehead on mine.
“You’re just as fucking insatiable as I am.”
I chuckle.
But I face the fire, knowing that being here with Ace, without us being naked, is just as good as when we are alone in his room. It might be better, if I am being honest.
For long moments he just holds me, and I listen to the brothers bullshit, even hear Killian telling a story or two about all the shit he used to get into when he was their ages. There are laughs, a lot of touching from the guys and their women, and for the first time in a long damn time I feel like I belong someplace.
Like I really belong here.
These guys are family, and I am now part of that circle. But this has me thinking about what and who Ace is, and more specifically, whom he has in the garage. I twist slightly and look at said building, knowing who is behind those double doors, who has crossed a Locke.
“Ace?” I ask softly and face him again, looking into his eyes.
“Yeah, baby.” He lifts his hand and smooths his thumb over my bottom lip.
“Show me him.” I know I don’t have to elaborate on who I’m talking about. I see the way Ace’s expression changes, how he becomes tense beneath me.
“You want to see him?”
I nod and lick my lips. “I need to see him.” And I realize I’ve never spoken truer words. In this moment I realize I am not so different than the man I love.
22
Ace
I pause outside the garage door and stare for a few moments, feeling somewhat anxious that Melissa wants to see this fucker.
She’s heard the damage I do, has heard the breaking of bones and the screams of my victim, but her seeing the damage is something else entirely.
We’re just now beginning to feel like a real couple. Her walls are no longer up when she’s with me and the thought that once she sees with her own two eyes the damage I’ve done to this prick, that she might pull back from us, has me feeling on edge.
“I’m ready, Ace.” She gives my hand a slight squeeze as if to reassure me that she’s ready to witness this mangled prick.
Ever since I mentioned to her what this fucker did, that he almost killed me, I can tell that she’s been wanting to see the person who was almost responsible for taking me away from her.
There’s anger in her eyes and in her voice every time I mention that I’m going out to the garage, but I’ve made it a point to keep her away from him.
“Once you see what I’ve done, you can’t unsee that shit, Melissa.” I turn and grab her chin, pulling it up so our gazes meet. “I need to know for sure that you’re ready for that. I can’t fucking lose you now that you’re mine. I won’t.”
She keeps her gaze locked on mine, a softness in them as if wanting to show me that she’s not going anywhere. “You’ll never lose me, Ace. Nothing you can do can scare me away now that I know the real you.” Her hands move up to grip my shirt as she stands on the tips of her toes and brushes her lips against mine. “I’m not going anywhere. Now show me.”
I swallow nervously before grabbing the back of her head and kissing her. She kisses me back with a roughness that has me growling against her lips with need.
“Fuck, Angel,” I whisper as we break the kiss. “I’m getting really fucking close to taking you upstairs and claiming you instead.”
Her gaze lowers to my dick as I reach down to adjust my erection. A twisted smile crosses her face as she steps in close and runs her hand down my body. “You can claim me after. Like I said… I’m not going anywhere.”
Before I can lose all self-control and throw her over my shoulder, carry her upstairs and fuck her like the twisted fucker that I am, I release my grip on her head and make my way over to the garage door to open it.
I step inside first, Melissa following right behind me, so close that I can feel the warmth from her body against my backside.
Troy is still hanging there all bloodied, cut up and bruised just as I’ve left him every night since he showed up on our property.
He’s lucky I’ve been kind enough to provide him with water and food to keep his ass alive. Honestly, I could care less if he starves to death out here, but not getting the chance to hurt him and make him suffer for what he almost did is what I can and do care about.
He begins thrashing around at the sight of me, and although there’s no way in hell he can get to Melissa to hurt her, I find myself pushing her behind me and growling out in anger.
“Keep fucking moving and I’ll have to break all the fingers on your other hand too.” The tilt of my head as I stare across the garage at him has him obeying me. He’s learned enough over the time since he’s been my prisoner what that look means.
I feel Melissa move around me, finally stepping out from behind me to get a look at Troy.
She stands frozen for a few moments, staring up at him as if to take all the damage in.
All I can do is watch her as she watches him, wanting to see every single one of her facial expressions.
At first she looks a little shocked by all the cuts and broken bones, but then her expression changes into anger and determination as if she wants to make him suffer at her hands too.
“He almost killed you,” she whispers. “He almost took you from me and possibly even Kadence if he had the chance.”
I nod as she turns her attention to me. “Yes.”
I watch closely as she walks over to stand in front of me, before kneeling down to reach into my boot for the knife she knows I keep hidden there. The one she’s used on more than one occasion to let out some frustration.
She stands and grips the knife, her head tilting to the side as she looks down at it. In this moment, she reminds me a lot of myself. I can almost feel her need to hurt him, to cause damage because of the damage he could’ve and would’ve caused had he had the chance.
“He hasn’t suffered enough yet,” she says softly, looking up at me. “I want him to know that if he ever hurts anyone that I love that I will hurt him far worse. He needs to know never to come back here again.”
I steel my jaw and watch as she turns around and throws the knife at Troy, the blade sticking right into his thigh.
She’s breathing heavily, standing still as she watches him.
I feel joy as he screams out in pain and begins thrashing around again. But joy isn’t the only thing I feel at the fact that my girl is the one hurting this piece of shit. I feel relief and peacefulness, knowing that Melissa isn’t going anywhere.
This moment right here is the confirmation I needed to know Melissa is truly mine for good.
She’s not going anywhere.
I don’t only want her in this moment, but I need her.
It looks like she’s about to walk over to grab the knife out of Troy, possibly to hurt him again, but I grab her by the hips and flip her around so that she’s facing me.
We’re both breathing heavily as I look down at her. My need to have her, to claim her in this very moment, has me gripping onto her body so hard that my fingers hurt. I’ve never needed to take Melissa as rough and wild as I do right this fucking second.
She doesn’t need gentle.
She doesn’t want gentle.
She fucking needs me.
With a growl, I pick her up and carry her outside and to the side of the garage where I know no one will bother looking for us. Shit, even if they did, I’m not sure I’d give a fuck at the moment.
The craving to be inside my woman is too strong.
I can see the need in her eyes too… can feel her desire
from the rapid beating of her chest against mine as she looks up at me. It has me feeling like a fucking animal ready to strike. With a groan, I set her down just long enough to rip her jeans and panties down her legs and free my cock from my pants. Then I pick her back up, align my erection with her pussy and slam into her so hard that she screams out and digs into my skin, drawing blood.
With each hard thrust of my hips, I push her body up the side of the garage, causing her to scream louder and tear at my flesh as if she’s feeling just as wild and animalistic as I am.
“God… Ace…” she pants against my lips, her nails digging in further. The feel of her leaving marks has me going even harder. “Keep going… keep going…”
I thrust into her again and stop, leaning my head back as she pulls on my hair.
“Fuck…” I growl into the night sky, loving the way she’s being rough with me. Her roughness is fueling me to fuck her harder… and harder… taking her with every bit of strength that I have without breaking her in two.
I can barely fucking breathe. Both of our bodies are dripping with sweat, but I keep going, giving us both what we want.
Wild, untamed sex.
With the way she’s handling me, I’ll be covered with bruises and scratches by the time I come inside of her, and of course that shit only turns me on more. I want my woman to hurt me. I want her to do with me as she fucking pleases, because it shows me that she’s claiming me as I’ve claimed her.
My beautiful, twisted angel.
We were meant for each other, in every fucking way.
Being inside of her has me so fucking heated that I end up biting into her lip and drawing blood. When she moans out in pleasure from it, I feel a tug at my balls, fucking ready to bust inside her. “Come for me, Angel,” I growl against her mouth. “Right. Now.”
Within seconds, her pussy squeezes my dick, drawing the cum straight from my cock. I push in as far as I can and fill her with my seed again, loving that Melissa is the first one to have all of me.
Every twisted part of me belongs to her.
I love her, and I’d kill and die for her without a second thought.
This woman, right here in my arms, is mine and I’ll do everything in my power to keep it that way.
She sags against me and for long seconds we stand here, panting, breathing each other’s air, being in the same headset as the other. I knew the moment I’d seen her that she was mine, that I’d do whatever in my power I could to ensure that. It took a long time, too damn long for Melissa to be claimed by me, but I have her now. That’s all that matters. They’ll have to cut out my beating heart for me to let her go.
They can try, but they won’t succeed. Because when you’ve got something so good nothing else matters, you’ll lay bodies at your feet to ensure you never let it go.
That’s what I have with Melissa.
The ground I walk on will be littered with the fallen who try to take her from me.
Epilogue
Melissa
Six months later
I stare at the boxes that litter my living room. Anything that means something to me is packed away, ready to be housed in a new location, a new home. Hell, I’m about to go to a new place without Kadence.
I’m about to live with Ace.
I can’t say that I’m not scared, that the anxiety of something new doesn’t terrify me. But I’m going to be with Ace, and that’s all that matters. I decided that it’s the right time to move in together, and although he asked me a month ago, and at first I said I didn’t know, it hasn’t taken me long to realize this is exactly what I want.
He’s exactly what I want in my life.
Forever.
The thought of not being with him… of not touching, kissing or holding him kills me. My feelings for him have only grown stronger with each day.
Ace, Sterling, and Aston all come in through the front door to grab some more boxes. They brought their vehicles, packing them full of my stuff. This has been my home for over a year now, one I shared with Kadence. But she and Aston are going to live together now, Wynter is with Sterling, and I’m finally with the man that I love.
I look over at him and can’t help the way my heart starts beating faster. It’s an instant reaction when I’m near him.
Sterling and Aston grab a few more boxes and head out just as Kadence and Wynter walk in. The whole family has been helping, and I can’t help but feel like that’s truly what they are … my family.
Ace pulls me in for an embrace before I even know he’s right in front of me. I rest my head on his chest, inhaling deeply, taking in the woodsy, purely masculine scent of him.
“You sure about this?” he asks in his gruff voice.
“More than I’ve ever been about anything else.” I pull back and look at him, smiling as I stare into his face. This is exactly what I’m supposed to do, where I’m supposed to be. After all the shit I’ve been through with Ace, all the things I’ve seen, participated in, I know that I was always meant to be with him.
The rumors, the fear I felt when I heard about the Locke Brothers, before I even knew Ace, knew any of them, are distant memories now. These men protect what they hold dear, and to Ace I am his world.
He cups my cheek and leans down to kiss me soundly on the lips. “I love you, baby. So fucking much.”
Hearing Ace say those words, knowing that for as hardcore and rough he is, that to him I am everything, takes the breath straight from my lungs. “I love you, too.”
He grins and kisses me again. “You ready to live with the most twisted Locke of all? I’ll promise no more prisoners in the garage… for a while at least.”
“I can work with that.” I grin against his mouth when he growls, most likely wanting an answer from me. “And yes. I’ve been ready for a while now. It just took some time to realize that. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, Ace.”
There’s no other man or person for that matter that could ever make me feel the way that Ace does.
The excitement.
The feeling of being alive… living on the edge.
The overwhelming feeling of need whenever he’s present.
And most of all… the safety and security I feel whenever I’m wrapped up in his strong arms, feeling his heartbeat, is perfection.
Ace is it for me.
He’s the one and there’s nothing in this world that could ever make me give him up.
I am his world and he is mine.
* * *
Ace
The fact that my brothers and I moved Melissa’s things into the Locke house has me feeling like the happiest man on earth.
It took a month for me to convince her to say yes, but I knew she’d eventually want the same as me. That she’d want to fall asleep next to me and wake up beside me every day of the fucking week.
That’s what I want.
It’s not as if she hasn’t been doing that, but it wasn’t her waking up in our bed or in our house and the idea of that has been eating at me deep.
Ever since Melissa and I made things official, Aston and Kadence have been spending most of their time at Kadence’s, so it just made sense that Aston and Kadence would live there, and Melissa would move into the Locke house with me.
We’re all close and able to have each other’s backs and that’s what’s most important.
All except for Uncle Killian.
Last I heard, he was in a different town busting faces and being the most brutal Locke of us all.
He’ll be back eventually. He always is.
He never was one to stay in this town for too long.
I look over and smile at the sight of Melissa pulling the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapping it around her, getting comfortable.
She’s been living here for less than twenty minutes and she’s already treating my home as hers.
Our home.
Good. That fucking makes me happy.
“Come here, baby.” I pull her into my lap and wrap us both
up with the blanket. She smiles against my lips, showing me she’s just as happy about living here as I am that she is.
“I can’t believe that I’m living in the Locke house.” She grabs my hand and moves it over her belly. “That this will be our home.”
My eyes widen as I look down at her stomach. “Fuck, baby. Please tell me that–”
“I’m pregnant,” she says, cutting me off with excitement. “We’re having a baby.”
Hearing her say that she’s carrying my child has my heart filling with a happiness I’ve never felt before. Hell, I never thought this would happen to me, that I’d even find a woman to have by my side, let alone be a father. But if I’m going to do it I sure as hell want to do it with Melissa.
Yes, Melissa makes me happy. She makes me more than happy, but this feels different.
She’s having my baby.
“Hell yeah!” I roar out with excitement before I set her on her feet and drop down to my knees in front of her. My entire body is shaking as I grab her hips and move in to kiss her belly. “I fucking love you and I promise you with everything I am that I will love our baby and protect it always.”
She grabs my face and pulls it up until I’m looking at her as she looks down at me. “I believe it with my whole heart. No one loves or protects fiercer than you do.”
I grin up at her. She’s my world, and the child she carries brings this whole situation full circle. I may be one twisted as fuck Locke, but hell, when it comes to Melissa, to our baby, I’m not very tough at all.
There’s nothing better than knowing you’ve got it good, even if maybe you don’t deserve it.
“What’s all the fucking excitement in here?” Sterling sticks his head through the doorway and checks me out on my knees, while holding a burger in his hand. “Why are you on… oh fuck.”
Locke Brothers Series Page 28