Under Locke by Mariana Zapata
"It sounds longer than it is," Luther agreed to whatever specific aspect they were talking about.
I choked on the piece of apple I'd been in the middle of eating. The joke bit at my tongue. Wrong people to say that in front of.
"I've done it. It's not hard, but it’s long," an older man I'd only seen in passing, agreed.
Yep. I choked again. The that's what she said stuck in my throat right alongside that same damn piece of apple.
"Bunch of pussies. It's doable."
Dex slapped my back as he dipped his face down, his cheek nuzzling my own as I swallowed the fruit with a savage gulp. His breathing sounded strangled, and it took me a second to realize that he was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.
"Knock it off," he snickered, digging a finger into my ribs with a puff of air against my ear.
I snorted loud and clear.
Dex jabbed me in the rib even harder, his chest rumbling loud, loud, loud. I had to face away from him and shove my nose and mouth into his thigh to stifle the laugh that wanted to desperately come out.
"What's so damn funny?" Luther asked.
"Nothin'," Dex answered a little too quickly.
I buried my entire face tighter against the thick muscle of his quadriceps.
Someone made a noise like they didn't entirely believe him but whatever. It took me a lot longer than it should have to get it under control but by the time I did, there were a couple of women sitting on some of the guys' laps.
But I only zeroed in on one. That damn Becky.
If I had hackles I'm sure they'd be up to the stars when I spotted her. I must have stiffened because Dex squeezed my shoulders.
"What's wrong?" he whispered into my ear.
It was immature, I knew it, but I couldn't help but want to pull away from him. It wasn't fair, I know that. But seriously? Seriously?
"Nothing important," I managed to mumble, my fingers suddenly feeling a little less than stable holding the plate.
"I'm askin' for the truth, babe."
Hadn't I just told him the night before that I promised to tell him the truth? I looked over to see her looking at Luther with dreamy eyes. Oh lord. Sonny's words about her lack of intelligence rang through my brain. "You've been with her, right?" I didn't need to be specific about who I was talking about, he'd know.
Dex didn't miss a beat. "Yeah."
Well. Hell. He'd answered that without even thinking about it.
I wanted to puke.
"Why?" he asked in a low voice so that only I could hear.
Why? It was only the urge to punch him in the face that kept me from throwing up. "And the blonde inside?" I was an immature asshole. I knew that and yet, I didn't give a crap in that moment.
"Which one?"
Holy shit. My entire body tensed up.
"Never mind, Dex," I hissed. I didn't want to hiss but it came so naturally, it didn't matter.
"Ritz." The tip of his nose touched my cheek. "Jealous?"
He was out of his mind if I was going to answer that question when he sounded way too pleased.
"Most these girls have been around the Club for a while," he explained like that was a reasonable excuse I'd want to friggin' hear. "It's nothin'."
Nothing. It was nothing.
It probably wasn't. That tiny logical part of me accepted that as the truth, but the other part—the hormonal one—craved castration.
God, I hoped my period wasn't coming sooner than it should.
I didn't need to sit there and stew over the fact that I'd probably be stuck facing women that he'd slept with at these sort of gatherings. I was nauseous. And an idiot. What else would I expect? I needed to get away from the reminder of where Dex's pubic piercing had been, and as I looked down at my lap, where it hadn't been.
Forcing a nod, I came to my feet slowly so that I wouldn't accidentally hit him in the face. It wasn't his fault that he had a history while I practically had a negative one. But wouldn't he at least understand that I wouldn't want to face stuff like that? Even if the girl seemed to hang on to whatever man gave her any attention.
Okay, that was rude. For all I knew she was probably a nice girl that had daddy issues I couldn't hold a flame to. I needed to quit being a jerk.
"I think I'm gonna take a dip for a little bit," I said, averting my gaze to the kids around the oval shaped pool. If I looked at Dex, he'd be able to tell that something was bothering me.
With my luck, he already did.
He grabbed onto my wrist, tugging at it. "Iris." My name came out as a grumble.
I touched the top of his head with my other hand, still unable to look at him. "It's fine. I'll be back."
Dex would make a scene if he wanted, but luckily he didn't. His grip loosened enough until I was able to slip out of it, plate in one hand, my pride wounded and clinging to the other. I threw my trash into the nearest can and went to grab my bag from the pile of stuff on one of the tables closest to the back door.
With my towel in one hand, I made my way to the pool, smiling at some of the women that I recognized with enough enthusiasm that I hopefully didn't look like a raging, jealous bitch in a bad mood.
I needed to calm down.
Chill out.
Relax—
Someone smacked my ass.
I didn't even have to turn around to see the little boy, probably around five, zipping passed me like there was no tomorrow. "Booty!" he shrieked.
I must have stood there for at least a couple minutes digesting the fact that I'd just gotten fondled by a kid who more than likely still peed in his bed at night.
And the laugh that burst out of me kind of hurt.
It was only natural that I took off running after the little turd.
~ * ~ *
"Uncle! Uncle! UNCLE!" Dean wailed at the top of his lungs, thrashing carefully enough not to kick me. Well, kick me again. He'd already got me in the stomach at least three other times but that was the risk you took when you were tickling the crap out of a little kid. Getting smacked and peed on. I'd take a smack over pee any day.
I dug my fingers into his sides even harder. "What'd you say?"
"RIS! Ris is the master!" he gasped.
"Who's the master?" I laughed, tickling him even more.
Dean thrust his head back, his blonde hair going everywhere. "You! You!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" he shrieked.
"All right," I laughed, loosening my grip on his sides.
The poor little guy's face was all red but when he managed to get his breathing somewhat under control, he shot me a big, goofy smile. After chasing him around for a couple of minutes, I'd finally grabbed him and spent the next hour playing with him in the pool. I learned after dunking him in once that apparently, he had an obsession with booties in general.
What the hell do you say to that?
Nothing, that's what.
We'd gone diving for pennies in the shallow end, played Marco Polo with two other girls around his age, and then started the tickling game.
"Again?" he asked, panting.
"Boy, your mom already told you that you needed to get out." I had no clue who his dad was. I didn't even recognize his mom either but the woman kept mouthing out her thanks to me each time she'd walked by to check on Dean.
He blew out a fart. "Okay."
I squeezed his sides before leading him over to the steps. Dean stopped on the lowest one and took a quick look around. There were still about ten other people scattered throughout the pool but he didn't find whatever he was looking for because a second later, he'd thrown his arms around my neck in a hug.
"Can we play again another day?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Oh hell, he was going to make me cry. "Any time you want, buddy."
Dean squeezed me for a split second before dropping his arms. "Okay." He looked around again and took a step back, whispering, "Bye, booty girl." And then he was out of the pool and heading toward his mom while I stood there
I needed to find out who was his daddy. I'm sure that would explain a lot.
Finding myself alone for the first time in an hour, I dog-paddled toward the deeper end where there were less people. But there was someone there, sitting at the edge of the pool, cross-legged and with a look on his face that was the child of amusement and affection.
Oh hell.
How could I stay mad at him for things that had been before me? Okay, well, I could if I were a complete jerk but I wasn't. My heart and brain knew that things between us were different and scary. Yet there he was, waiting for me. Brave and sure like always when I happened to run away from him.
"Hi."
"Hi, baby," he greeted me, planting both hands on the edge of the pool.
I clung to the side, holding just my head above the water. "Did you eat?"
He nodded solemnly, touching the tip of his finger to my cheek. "Looked like you were havin' fun."
"I was. Dean's funny."
"Saw him slap your ass." His finger trailed down to outline my jaw. "Think we all saw you runnin' around after him, babe." Dex kept the trail going down the column of my throat. "Everybody heard you two laughin' your asses off."
I gulped.
"Is this thing even a bikini?”
I nodded.
He didn’t look like he believed me. “I like it, a lot. But maybe not so much in front of all these damn perverts.” Dex scowled for a moment. “And fuckin’ Amy walkin’ around tellin’ people you should be lookin’ for a sugar daddy. I thought I was gonna have to beat the shit outta Wheels when he overheard her.”
“Leave that poor man alone. Why are you always getting into fights with him?”
“Always been like that between us.” A deep line formed between his brows. “Why are you defendin’ him? If you saw the way he looks at you, you wouldn’t be thinkin’ he deserves it.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and groan. What a drama queen. “Oh please. I didn’t think you were old enough to need to get your eyes checked.”
Dex’s eyebrows shot up in glorified indignation. So sensitive! As always, he chose to pick up on the least important thing. “You have no fuckin’ clue do you?” Dex licked his bottom lip. “You get me hard as a fuckin’ rock, honey. ‘Specially watchin' you with the kids for so long," he whispered. "Couldn't keep my eyes off you, neither could he."
Bloody hell.
I tipped my head into him, feeling his fingers stretch to span the side of my neck in a possessive grip. "You ready to get outta there?"
Uh, heck yeah.
"Let me get out from the stairs," I told him, tipping my head in the direction where I'd come from.
Dex frowned. "Just get out from here."
"I can't really..." I sighed, thinking of the hundreds of times I’d gotten out at the YMCA. "Because of my arm."
The frown that had been on his face was wiped clean off. Dex got into a crouch, slipping his hands under my arm pits. "I've got you, babe."
He had me up and out of the water before I could argue with him about it, both of us on our knees for a moment before he was helping me to my feet. Dex grabbed my hand and led us toward where he'd been sitting before. There were less Widows in the circle by then, a few of them drifting around the yard with their families or eating.
He must have grabbed my bag at some point when I was with Dean because he bent down to pull out my towel. "Gotta get dried off before you get sick," Dex said in a deceptively soft voice.
I looked at the sky. "It's sunny."
He stood up, holding the pale gray towel wide. "Humor me, babe."
It wasn't like I was planning on getting back into the water anyway, so I nodded and let him wrap the towel around my shoulders so tightly it made me feel like a human burrito.
In the blink of an eye, he'd snatched me up before settling onto the chair he'd been sitting in before. Dex nestled me sideways onto his lap, his arms circling me tightly. His lips pressed into my temple. It seemed normal enough to anyone looking at us, but not me. I knew Dex too well. I recognized the possessiveness of his gesture and it'd be a lie if I said that I didn't get a thrill from it.
Luther was sitting in his chair, looking around the yard. Alone.
I let my head rest against Dex's shoulder. "Sorry about earlier."
He hummed, his strong arms tightening. "I get it."
"You do?"
"Oh yeah," he said in what sounded like a growl. Was it a growl? I kind of hoped so. Rawr. “Those boys better pray I never seen ‘em in the flesh.”
“Don’t get your panties in a wad.” I snickered. "I didn't sleep with either one of them, Dex."
His breath hitched at the same time his grip jerked. "The thought of you...you with...holy fuck, I can't...I can't say it."
Dex was jealous? Jealous? Holy crap, I think my ovaries started going into overdrive as he stuttered.
"Thinkin' about you..." he cleared his throat roughly. "You don't gotta worry. I don't like shittin' where I eat."
The blank look I gave him must have been enough for him to understand that I didn't get what exactly he meant.
"Becky was a mistake, Ritz."
I watched him out of the corner of my eye. "Right."
He sighed, his hold becoming more possessive. "You were there that mornin', babe. I had too much to drink the night before."
I had been there the day afterward. The words just kind of flowed out before I could catch them. "Yeah, and you slapped her ass like it wasn't that big of a mistake."
Dex had the decency to wince. "Can't say I don't wish I could take it back. What's done is done, Ritz. I don't get shit-faced often for that reason, babe. Learned my lesson with my pa."
Uh huh. I knew he had a point though. In all the time that I'd known him, and all the nights we'd spent together, he rarely drank more than a few beers. It was definitely never enough that I thought for a second he wasn't completely in total control. The guy was usually more sober than me.
And he was right about his dad. From what I figured, the older Locke was an alcoholic and if Dex knew that... well, he wouldn't want to go down that same road. At all. For a man that seemed to value his control, falling for that stuff must have been hard to swallow.
"And that redhead? Sky?"
He groaned, bouncing his legs beneath me. Dex nipped at my earlobe. “Nothin’ happened with her that night you’re thinkin’ about, babe. Or any other night since you walked into my shop with your sorority girl clothes.”
The question that came out of my mouth wasn’t intentional. I swear, but all these fears that lurked in the recesses of my brain hadn’t gone off to die overnight. A part of me still needed their protection, I guess. “So why did she bring your cut to the shop and say you left it with her?”
“Who the hell knows. My best guess, she was just tryin’ to be a bitch and wanted an excuse to check you out since you were stayin’ with me.”
This sneaky, creepy sensation flooded my stomach with some form of dread…
“You’re the only girl I’ve ever taken home, Ritz. Guess she was jealous I shot her down the times she brought it up.”
I was going to throw up and Dex’s face was my target.
That's it? That's what I was going to get? A stinking confirmation of the times in his past that she’d wanted him to take her to his place but he hadn’t?
I guess that's all I genuinely needed and wanted. Did I want details? Hell no.
Hell. No.
Okay, maybe a tiny, sadistic part of me wanted something but that was stupid. Whatever I learned could not be unlearned. No thanks.
I was strong enough to accept the role Dex had carved out for me. He'd told me more than enough times his feelings in a vague but powerful way. I needed to quit being a baby and embrace that. Accept that I knew him better than any other person. Could that be enough for me?
It had to be.
He squeezed me to him, tight. ?
Swallow, Iris. Breathe, Iris.
I was swallowed whole by emotion. By this terrifying thing that had to be love because it hurt as much as it soothed.