“That was not quiet or shy.”
“You asked me to be rough, so I was. I told you I’d give you what you want.” His finger lightly tugs my chin, bringing my mouth to his for a kiss. He mumbles against my lips, “It’s different in bed, too. When it comes to sex, I don’t necessarily want to besoft.”
I groan and twist my eyes shut. “Fuck. It really is always the quiet ones, huh?”
Locke’s laugh is back to sounding sweet and calm. Not laced with lust, but comfort. My stomach tugs at the sound anyways.
“I guess it is, Princess.”
Princess.
That name had been soured for so long, I’d resigned to never hearing it again. Locke remolds reality for me. He makes that word feel like mine.Hefeels like mine.
And in every sense of the word, I’m his.
twenty-two
LOCKE
Growing up,people rarely took Halloween seriously. My parents had better things to do, nannies got off early, and when we got older, Billie would spend the night celebrating her best friend’s birthday instead.
A night in with Rosie, queuing up a movie, and staying wrapped under our thick cashmere throw blanket is the most exciting Halloween I’ve planned in my life.
From the way she’s pacing back and forth on a call with Liliana, though, I think it’s about to get ten times more interesting.
“Please tell me you’re not fucking with me right now. It’d be so cruel.”
“I’m serious.” Liliana’s voice carries from Rosalie’s phone. When I emerged from the bathroom and took a seat on the couch, she was already in an excited back-and-forth with her best friend. “I told Grant I wouldn’t go without you.”
“Uh, yeah. You better not. I’ve been begging for years!”
She stops pacing to throw a hand on her hip. Her pajama-clad knee peeks out from the hem of my maroon t-shirt she’s wearing, and her foot taps the carpet dramatically.
“Well, you can thank Derek. It was his idea to go clubbing tonight and I don’t want them to be drinking without someone sober, so I’m asking you to come with me.”
Clubbing.
The hair on the back of my neck stands up. Rosie working her way around the room, dancing excitedly with people she just met and getting free drinks handed to her from the bar is inevitable. It’s so clear in my head. Her bright personality is one that would shine in the heated, pounding environment of a club.
The only times I’ve been surrounded by that many people consisted of my father’s business connections, or paparazzi chasing him down with cameras. Nothing like showering the room with energy and letting yourself get lost in the fun of a night.
Rosalie would absolutely shine there.
Liliana’s voice edges through some static right as she asks, “Does Locke want to come?”
She turns my way, and is horrible at hiding the hopeful glint in her eyes. Her plush lips pressed together give her away even more.
Rosalie wants to go, and I want whatever she wants.
“I’ll go.” I let my voice project loud enough for the other side of the call to hear.
She extends the device from her face for a second and turns fully towards me. The small steps she takes to the couch closes the distance between us. Her body finds its rightful place in my arms, and she places her hands on my shoulders.
“We don’t have to go, love.”
Love.
She brandished me with that nickname while we were half-asleep in my bed, barely awake after spending our first night together. Rosie said she liked that it started with an L.
