Locked (PresLocke Series Book 2) (16 page)

“Be nice…” he warned, his frown finally beginning to relax.
 

“I was going to be,” I said, and kissed my way up his jaw line to his ear. “You just about gave me a heart attack because I thought you were here to end things, you big, sappy bastard.” His chest rumbled against me and I nipped at his earlobe, happy that I’d gotten him to relax into me. “So where do you want to go?”

“Koh Samui? Hawaii? Vanuatu?”

“Where the fuck is Vanuatu?”

“It’s a little island off the coast of Australia, about as far away from here as I can think to go.”

I smoothed a hand down his chest and rested it over his heart. I could feel it pounding out a steady rhythm as he stood there waiting for my answer, and I twisted my lips.

“Actually…I have somewhere better in mind.”

“You do, huh?”

I nodded, then patted his chest as I stepped away to grab my cell phone. “Now, how quickly can we leave?”

14

BETTER THAN THE MOVIE

“YOU’RE KINDA CUTE when you’re nervous,” Dylan said, his lips quirking up as he looked over at me.
 

“I’m not nervous.”

“You’re fidgeting.”

“I’m not—” Glancing down at where I’d been twisting the watch on my wrist, I quickly let go, and Dylan reached over to grab my hand.

“Mhmm. Hard to believe Ace Locke gets nervous about anything, but here you are, nervous about—”

“Meeting your friends. Your family. Yeah, no pressure.”

“Exactly.
No pressure
. That’s why we’re here. To relax and fucking breathe, and I promise you that no one here will be on your ass.”

“Except for you, I hope.” I grinned at him, and his answering dimples made me wish we’d gone off to somewhere a little more private. The world at our fingertips, and my guy wanted to be here, in sunny, humid Florida. But Dylan hadn’t seen his friends and family in months, and as apprehensive as I was about meeting the people he cared about most, I was also a little excited—not that I’d tell him. I’d never met the family of anyone I’d dated before, because they’d all been such insignificant relationships that it hadn’t much mattered. But I knew my future lay with the man beside me, and that meant this was an important first visit.
 

“It’s just going to be Derek, and trust me, he’s going to be more nervous than you when you step through the door.”

I narrowed my eyes on the wicked gleam of mischief on Dylan’s face. “He doesn’t know we’re coming?”

Dylan grinned. “Now where would the fun be in that?”

“Why do I get the feeling you are up to no good?”

“Because you’re a smart man.”

“Dylan…maybe you should call him. He might not want-—” When Dylan busted up laughing, cutting my words short, I frowned.
 

“I’m sorry,” he said, trying to compose himself. “You just don’t know how wrong you are. He’s going to die when he sees you. Plus, this is my house too. I can bring whoever I want over.”

I knew that was supposed to reassure me, but I still wasn’t convinced that anyone would enjoy being surprised with a guest in their house. Especially one that could potentially come with a trail of photographers. The one saving grace so far for having left on the spur of the moment was that no one knew where we were…yet.
 

I took in a deep breath and looked out the window as the car drew to a stop at the curb of a modest one-story home. There was a black Jeep parked in the drive, but beyond that no activity outside. It was a welcome relief. The quiet and stillness of it all.

“You good?” Dylan asked, and I turned to face him knowing it was my turn to reassure him. I squeezed his fingers and nodded, and when he rewarded me with a blinding smile, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning in, cupping his cheek in my hand, and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. When I pulled away, I skimmed the pad of my thumb over his cheek and his gorgeous green eyes opened.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” I said, and Dylan gently bit his lower lip in a way that made me want to kiss him forever.
 

God, how was it that I was sitting here with him? How was it possible that I was this damn lucky?
 

“Thank you for being here,” he said when he pulled away and then reached for the door handle just as the driver opened it wide. “Ready?”

I let out a feigned groan, and then followed him to the trunk to grab our suitcases. Directly across the street from their house was a long stretch of white, sandy beach, interspersed with fewer people than I’d expected during this time of year. The clear aquamarine water beckoned, and I knew it would be a warmer welcome than the frigid Pacific waves I was used to. As I took a deep lungful of the salty air, my body began to relax for the first time in weeks. Dylan was right. This was exactly what I needed—what
we
needed.
 

As we headed up the sidewalk, Dylan reached for the keys he’d tucked away in his pocket, and it struck me as strange that
this
was his home. Not the cramped studio in L.A., but this house I’d never seen before, almost three thousand miles away from where I lived, and not only that, but he shared this place with another man. I didn’t know anything firsthand about his life here, and that realization had the nerves dissolving and a burning curiosity roaring to life instead.
 

Dylan unlocked the front door and pushed it open, giving it a few loud raps before walking on through.
 

“Honey, I’m home,” he called out, rolling his suitcase into a small, but nicely furnished living room and dropping the keys on a side table.
 

“What the shit,” I heard a guy—presumably Derek—say from somewhere in the back of the house, and then his heavy footsteps were heading toward us. I’d never actually seen a picture of Dylan’s friend and roommate before, but when a tattooed man in a black tank, camo shorts, and black combat boots stepped into view, toweling off a head full of wet brown hair, I knew who he was immediately. Dylan’s description of the guy had nailed him to a T—including the brash greeting he gave as he caught sight of his friend.
 

“Dude, how the hell are you just gonna slide into town the day after you told me you weren’t coming anytime soon? I could’ve picked your ass up from the airport.” Dylan met Derek halfway across the room, and clapped hands with the guy before giving him a hug.
 

“No need. I actually brought—”

“Holy fucking shit.” Derek’s eyes landed on me from over Dylan’s shoulder, and Dylan turned around and gestured in my direction.

“Ace,” he finished.
 

* * *

AS I STOOD there beside Derek staring at the man lingering in our foyer, I had to agree with Derek’s assessment, because if someone had told me before I left for L.A. that the next time I came home Ace Locke would be with me, I would’ve called them a big fucking liar.

But…there he was. A suitcase by his side, his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts, and a half-smile on his face. And though he looked a little anxious, to me he’d never looked handsomer.

“Derek—” I started, but Derek waved me off and took a step forward.
 

“You’re…” he said, and then stopped and looked at me over his shoulder, and I couldn’t help the smirk on my face as he then looked back to Ace, whose lips tugged into a smug line of their own.
Oh yeah, this is sweet.
It wasn’t often Derek Pearson was rendered mute, but hell if this wasn’t a satisfying moment. It was an awesome sight to see two of the cockiest men I knew tiptoeing around the other.
 

“You’re Ace Locke,” Derek informed Ace, just in case he’d forgotten. Then he whipped his head back to look at me, and his eyes were massive. “You brought Ace fucking Locke to our house without telling me?”

I couldn’t help the
yes I did
smile that was now spread across my entire face. Then I caught Ace move, and my eyes flicked up to see him step forward to stop just in front of Derek, who’d now turned back to face him. Ace held his hand out, and when Derek raised his to take it like a robot, Ace flashed his thirty-million-dollar smile and shook it.

“You would be right. I am Ace Locke. And you must be Derek, the guy I have to thank for not being able to get it up.”

Oh no he didn’t.
 

Derek’s eyes bugged out of his head as he continued to shake Ace’s hand, and his mouth opened and shut several times, like he was trying to work out a response and physically couldn’t.
 

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me then. “Okay, I need to record this moment, because a speechless Derek is not one we’ll ever see again.”

“What… I can’t believe… Shit,” Derek said, and Ace pulled him forward to clap him on the back.
 

“Sorry, man, I couldn’t resist,” Ace said with a chuckle. “But seriously, I’ve heard a lot of great things about you.”

“Unless it was about my ten-inch dick, don’t believe a word that asshole says.” When we laughed harder, Derek turned back to me and pointed. “I can’t believe you did that, man. You better keep one eye open when you sleep.”

“You forget I’ll have Ace Locke sleeping with me. I’m pretty sure he could take you.”

Derek scoffed, but when he eyed the size of Ace’s biceps in person, he twisted his lips. “The fuck do you bench-press? A cow?”

“About three eighty-five on a good day.”

Derek’s eyes popped wide, and he nodded slowly. “Right…uh…well, come on in.” He motioned toward the leather couch and chairs, and then plopped himself in one as Ace took a spot on the couch. I grabbed a couple of bottled waters out of the fridge and then took the empty place next to Ace. When I settled in beside him and rested a hand on his thigh, I caught a brief tensing in Ace’s body, and then, as if he realized this was a safe place, he relaxed into himself.

“So is it okay for me to ask how in the world you ended up with Prescott here? Tell me to butt out if I’m being too nosy—”

“Butt out,” I joked, and Derek flipped me off, making Ace chuckle.

“Nah, you’re fine,” Ace said, and then shifted on the couch to lay his arm across the back of it.
Look at him getting all cozy,
I thought, as I snuggled into his side, knowing Derek wouldn’t bat an eye at the move.
“I actually nearly hit him with my car.”
 

“Get the fuck out of here.”

“It’s true,” I said, then uncapped my water and took a swig. “Then he proceeded to be a jerk about it.”

“I guess that’s about right. I was ready to give the new guy a piece of my mind once I found out we were working together but then I realized…” When Ace trailed off, Derek looked to me then back to Ace.

“You realized…?”

“He realized I was the guy on the billboard he’d been drooling all over for weeks,” I said.
 

As Derek let out a rumbling laugh, I angled my head back so my eyes found Ace’s, and I waggled my eyebrows.
 

“You’re a troublemaker,” he said with a grin. “How did I not know this?”

“Because you were too busy trying to get in my pants.”

Ace’s cheeks flushed bright red, and when his eyes darted over to Derek, I leaned up and kissed him just by his ear. “Relax, he’s cool.”

“Plus,” Derek said, “you forget I know this guy. He’s been watching you on his private DVD collection for years.”

“Derek, shut the fuck up,” I said.

“What? It’s true.”

“You were right there watching them with me,” I pointed out.

Derek’s eyes shifted between the two of us and then landed on Ace’s. “For very different reasons, I would like to note.”

“Yeah, whatever, Pearson. You were just as—”

“Right, Ace,” Derek interrupted, glaring at me like he was going to throw his water in my face. “Want a tour? I believe Dylan has a nice little setup you would be very interested in just down the hall.”

“He already knows I’m a fan—”

“An
obsessive
fan?”

“Not the word I’d use.”

“Dude, if you were in high school, you’d have posters of his ass all over your room, don’t lie.”

“Jesus,” I said, and chanced a look at Ace’s face to see how freaked out this conversation had him. But he was grinning, clearly enjoying hearing Derek’s take on my…err, fandom.

“Well, if it’s any consolation,” Ace said, his eyes locking on mine, “I’d still put up a poster of this guy. That’s a great idea, actually… Let me see if I can call in a favor to Calvin Klein for a copy of that hot shot.”

I groaned and shook my head. “Absofuckinglutely not. No way.”

“Hey, speaking of, pretty boy,” Derek said, “don’t you have some Gucci shit to shoot or something? I thought we wouldn’t see you for a few more months.”

“You complaining about me being here?” I teased.
“Hell no. You know better. But you didn’t give me time to plan that killer party.”

Ace’s forehead lifted. “Killer party?”

“Derek wanted to get the crew together to give you a welcome party when I brought you down here. But that’s too mu—”

“Awesome,” Ace said.

“Awesome?” I asked. “I thought you wanted some downtime and peace and quiet.”

“I wouldn’t mind meeting your friends while we’re here
.
”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Derek slapped a hand on his knee and got to his feet. “Looks like I’d better get started, then. How long you in town for?”

“I’ve got to be back for a shoot in a couple weeks.”

“Perfect.” Derek grabbed his wallet and keys from the coffee table, shoved them in his pocket, and then held out a hand to Ace. “I’ve gotta get to work and make some phone calls for the party, but it was great to meet you, man.”

“Yeah, likewise,” Ace said, and then Derek pointed at me.

“Don’t think I’m gonna forget. One eye open, fucker.”

Laughing, I nodded, and watched Derek head out. As the sound of his boots on the pavement faded, I shifted and then climbed onto the couch to straddle Ace’s lap. I looped my arms around his neck, and when his hands moved down to my hips and pulled me in closer, he grinned, and I smacked a quick kiss to his lips and said, “So, wanna see my bedroom?”