Under Locke

by Mariana Zapata

“You know damn well you don’t come into my shop demandin' shit, callin' my girl a bitch.”

“Babe, I’m sorry.” Those pretty blue eyes opened, focusing on mine. “I just… say shit." "You just say shit?" I repeated. Oh boy.

“Maybe you should go to the library then,” I told him. “They have all kinds of stuff you can check out.” Something nudged at me right then. It was the indulgent smile he gave me when I first told him about where I'd gotten the novel. Smart-ass. I smiled slowly, feeling that familiar verbal geyser of crap ready to sprout out of my mouth and unable to control it. “Like picture books if the ones with words don’t work for you.”

“No. I like to eat, and that’ll make guys think I like to give hugs with my mouth, you know what I mean?” I stated, matter-of-factly. “What the fuck?” someone asked from behind me. That someone specifically being Dex.

"Babe, I've handpicked everythin' and everyone in here. I know what I want, and I get what I want," he breathed. "And I keep what's mine."

He didn't finish his rant because he was suddenly in my face, breathing out of his nose hard, his body taut. Two big hands cupped my jaw the instant before his mouth, with its deep pink, full lips and day-old scruff, descended on me in a hard kiss—all ownership and demand. Ohmigod.

“Baby, there’s nothing wrong with my judgment. I know exactly what I’m doin’, and I know damn well that if I ever see you smile at somebody like you did at Trey today, I’ll kill the poor bastard.”

He bit down again before nuzzling the line of my jaw. "You're mine." His lower body pressed into my stomach. Hard, he was so hard. "Your mouth, your face, your ass, your pussy, Ritz. You're all mine."

But as we lay down, with all the anxious nerves in the universe pooling in my belly, he touched my forehead with his fingertips in the dark and murmured, “You gotta get it straight, babe. This ain’t just friendship to me.”

If I was a good man, I'd tell you to find somebody better, somebody that won't lose their shit over an asshole eye fuckin' you." His tongue traced the oval shape of my chin. "But I'm not a good man, and I'm gonna take everythin' you want to give me and everythin' you don't."

"Christ, baby, you're the hottest thing I've ever seen," he murmured, glancing up at me through those long lashes as he finally dropped his hand away from my chest. He smiled almost shyly, threading his clean hand through my hair before slanting his mouth over mine. He kissed me, his tongue stroking mine, over my teeth, everywhere.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked him carefully with my bowl covering the lower half of my face. Dex’s gaze didn’t loosen in the slightest. “Because I’m wonderin’ what you taste like.”

Dex smiled, both of his eyes widening as he nodded. "Sometimes it takes people a long time to figure out what's in front of ’em, babe."

Dex plucked the bowl from my hands and set it alongside his. He loomed over me, his gaze and face intent, taking my hand and placing it on his chest. "You gotta open those pretty eyes, baby. You're the only one here." He slipped his hand down the center of my chest, straight down to cup the zipper of my jeans. "And I’m sure your romance books will tell you exactly how I feel about me bein’ here.”

His nostrils flared. “First time in my life, I think I hate the fact a woman knew how to suck my dick.” He let out a rough breath. “Got this urge to kill whatever guy taught you how to give a blowjob. The fuckin’ idea of you kissin’ somebody else makes me wanna dig a knife into my eye. Let me tell you, babe, never in my life have I given a single fuck about any of that. You get it?” His palm pressed into my jeans harder. Then he laid the atomic bomb on my very existence. "You are not a waste of time to me."

"Please don't give up on me. I won't do it again." Two large hands cupped my cheeks. "Iris," he purred in that silky voice that made me lose my breath all over again. "I already told you I don't give up what's mine." Dex kissed my bottom lip like I'd done his. "Ever."

"You've gotta be the best thing I never knew I wanted." Oh man. I was suddenly way too glad that he couldn't see the huge smile that overwhelmed my face. Telling him that he was sweet didn't seem like something he'd like to hear, so I kept my mouth shut and kissed the line of his jaw instead. I wanted to tell him that he was the best thing I never thought I'd have, but I kept that to myself. It felt like too much right then.

I curled my lips behind my teeth and took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the good things that nipped at my nervous system. "And even though it really scares the living crap out of me, I love you, and I want you to know that. Everything you've done for me…." Oh hell. I had to let out a long gust of breath. "Thank you. You're the best thing that ever yelled at me."

He murmured my name, low and smooth. The pads of his thumbs dug a little deeper into the soft tissue on the underside of my jaw. "If all the shit I do for you and all the shit I'd be willin' to do for you doesn't tell you how deep you've snuck into me, honey, then I'll tell you." He lowered his mouth right next to my ear, his teeth nipping at my lobe before he whispered, "Love you."

He nipped my ear again. "I love you, Ritz." The scruff of his jaw scraped my own before he bit it gently. "Love your fuckin' face, your that's what she said jokes, your dorky-ass high fives, and your arm, but I really fuckin' love how much of a little shit you are. You got nuts bigger than your brother, baby."

"And those are gonna be my nuts, you little badass." Fire shot straight through my chest. "Yeah?" I panted. "Yeah." He nodded, biting my chin even harder. "I already told you I keep what's mine."

"Fuckin' love you," he breathed against my ear, an arm slinking around my lower back to press us together. "More than anything."