Page 67 of Locke 2

“Then you’re welcome.”

Now he was the one that didn’t know what to say. He glanced between the dog and me. Then he buried his hands into his pockets and moved around the room. My heart jumped, thinking he might leave me yet again, but he drifted to the window and at the light spatter of rain sliding down the glass.

“I forgot to tell you something,” he said quietly, his gaze trapped on something distant.

“What?” I asked, stilling. Panic hit me like a bullet. Was it about Lenny? Or about what he let slip between him and Conor.

I wasn’t prepared for either.

“When I found you asleep in your bed the first night, just before I’d put that gun to your head, I couldn’t believe how beautiful you looked.” He paused and cleared his throat. I saw the grimace in his face, his lips pressing hard on each other before he parted them again, adding, “I’d nearly forgotten how breathtaking you are. I almost wanted to leave you like that.”

My heart sped fast. My skin warmed impossibly. That had to be one of the most amazing compliments someone had ever said, and it was delivered by a serial killer. “What changed your mind?”

“My want for you…and this vicious urge to see the look in your eyes when you opened them to find me there, hovering over you like a monster in the night. Except…maybe monster isn’t the word I’m hoping for anymore.”

He didn’t want me to view him as a monster.

That admission astonished me.

I quickly collected myself and kept my voice casual. “Monster is not the word I’d use for you, Locke.”

“No?” he wondered, tilting his head almost in my direction, but he still didn’t look at me. “What word would you use now?”

“I think you’re a wolf.”

Now he really did look at me, and he didn’t appear pleased. “A wolf.”

“Wolves have strong instincts. They’re dangerous and wild.”

He frowned. “That is true.”

“They’re also fiercely loyal and protective of their pack.”

His dark eyes lit up and a soft curve pulled at his lips. “That is also true.”

“So, imagine how they fuck.”

He gaped at me, his chest stilling.

I laughed and leaned back comfortably, my back relaxing against the headboard. “Not that I’d have to imagine it. You’ve shown me exactly what that’s like.”

His sensually curious voice made my chest tighten. “Is that a good thing, Kali?”

I grinned, a bit sheepishly. “Sometimes, a woman likes to feel owned.”

I quickly added, “Sometimes, Locke.”

His eyes heated as they trekked over me, his sudden desire palpable. Even I couldn’t resist a look like that. The passion emanated from him, clashing with ferocity and softness. I wouldn’t be able to resist him if he stepped toward me, if he uttered a single demand. I’d be goo in his hands.

“Wolf,” he said again, testing the word on his tongue.

“Do you like it?”

“I do.” He hummed in thought. “The wolf and his prey.”

I bit my bottom lip. “When I give in. When I don’t…”

His heavy eyes searched mine. “When you don’t, you’re a lion.” He paused. “Right?”

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