Page 65 of Loco

“Come on.”

I let him pull me from V’s apartment to mine, my heart pounding with excitement. Something in the husky quality of his voice calmed my fears. I slipped the key out of my pocket and unlocked the door.

“Good girl,” he growled, and I knew that he was referring to the locked door.

He pushed the door in, dragged me inside, and then closed and locked it before releasing my hand.

The way Loco was looking at me, with a hunger that made me burn inside, talking looked like the last thing he wanted to do. As much as I wanted to give in to him, to feel the touch of his mouth and hands on me again, that would have to wait. “We’re going to talk, right?” I cringed at the slight fear in my tone.

His mouth twitched at the corners, and I had the feeling that he was fighting a smile.

“Yeah, darlin’. We’re going to talk. About everything. We’re going to put everything on the table and work shit out. No more misunderstandings. No more insecurities or bringing up the fucking past after tonight. If we can’t trust, there’ll be no us. You get me?”

“Yes.”

“You got something to drink?”

I wet my lips. “Like wine?”

He snorted. “Like whiskey or tequila.” I nodded, thinking about the tequila that I had in the cupboard. “Then pour us a shot and meet me on the couch.”

He turned towards the living room, and I went to the cupboard, dread and anticipation warring for first place in my head.

Chapter 30

Millie

I grabbed two shot glasses, the bottle of tequila, and went to the living room. Loco was sitting at one end of the sofa, his arm resting over the back and his leg folded over his thigh. His expression was closed off, his eyes studying me with an intensity that worried me. I was nervous now that we were alone. My smile was shaky as I handed him a glass, twisted the bottle open, and poured him a generous amount. More than a standard shot. Then I poured myself some and set the bottle on the coffee table.

I sat down on the opposite end of the couch, away from him. I didn’t want anything to turn physical until we’d talked, and I knew if I was close to him, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands to myself. I kicked off my sandals and brought my feet up to rest them on the cushions. Loco threw back his drink and reached for the bottle.

“You made a good call bringing the bottle.” He filled his glass to the rim.

Maybe a little liquid courage would help me too, so I tossed the contents down in one swallow, coughing at the burn. It literally took my breath away. I wasn’t used to drinking tequila straight, and envied anyone who could toss it back like water. Loco grinned as he settled back against the cushions, the warmth in his eyes filled with humor.

I wondered what we were waiting for, and finally I decided to start the conversation. “Let me start,” I began, and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I had a feeling that I’d be taking in a lot of those. “I’m sorry about the incident with the panties. I was looking for a towel and when I found that drawer I, um, kind of overreacted. I guess it hurt when I didn’t see my panties in there. I immediately began to question everything.”

He tilted his head. “Like what?”

“Why you would be with someone like me. If this is just some game to you.” I glanced down, embarrassed. “I wondered if you, um, kept the panties to use them to help you, ah, get off while you masturbated.” God, this was harder than I’d thought. I could see that he was getting angry, but he hadn’t interrupted me again, so I continued. “I began to have second thoughts about whether or not I could trust you.”

He threw back his second shot and reached for the bottle again. A muscle twitched in his tight jaw. I could guess what he was thinking, but I wasn’t about to put anything into words. He splashed some more liquid into his glass and sat back again, inhaling a deep breath. His foot, the one crossed over his thigh, began to shake with what I could only assume was agitation.

“Go on,” he finally said after minutes of awkward silence.

I began to wonder why he hadn’t asked me any questions. He had said we were going to talk, but so far I was the only one talking. There wasn’t much more for me to say. “Once I had time to think about it, I realized how childish I was being. That I wasn’t being fair to you. So I went back to the clubhouse, and that’s when I, ah, walked in on you.”

He nodded. “You done?”

God,wasI done? I felt as though I should say more. Since the day I’d walked out of the clubhouse, devastated at seeing him with another woman, I’d been miserable. I’d missed him so much. Thank goodness I’d had work to keep me busy.

Loco cleared his throat, reminding me that he was waiting for an answer.

“Yes.”

Then he dropped his leg and reached for something in his pocket. “You want to know why your panties weren’t in that drawer?” Suddenly he was holding up said panties in front of me. “Because I carry your panties around with me, baby. When I rub one off, it’s to your fucking scent.”

He brought the scrap of blue lace up to his nose and inhaled deeply. They were torn, and I remembered the night that he’d ripped them off of me. I caught my breath and felt the heat crawl up my neck. I didn’t know what to say, but inside I was jumping for joy.

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