Locked (PresLocke Series Book 2) (3 page)

“If you’re leaving now, I’ll have a driver pulled around immediately—”

“Actually, that’s been taken care of.”

The furrows in Charles’s forehead deepened. “But there’s not a car ready at this entrance—”

“Not going that way.” Ace took us left toward the main part of the hotel instead of going right, toward the back entrance.
 

Oh God
, I thought, as the quiet hallway opened up to the bustling, vast casino floor. Ace didn’t hesitate as he walked us past the blackjack and roulette tables, even as I squeezed his hand for dear life.
We’re doing this. We’re actually holding hands…in public…and everyone can see.
But I barely noticed the faces of the people we passed because Ace was not stopping. However, once we passed the slot machines and neared the busy main check-in area, I heard the first murmurs with Ace’s name in the mix. And sure enough, as we passed through the lobby, the surprised shouts began.

“Is that Ace Locke?”

“Oh my God, look, I think that’s Ace.”

“Ace! Can you sign my shirt?”

“I didn’t know Ace was gay—”

“Is that his boyfriend?”

“Ace, can I take a picture with you?”

Ace moved us through as if he hadn’t heard a thing, and as we came to the entrance, Ace’s grip tightened on my hand. And as we took our first steps outside and the crowd descended on us, I realized why he’d said to wear sunglasses.

Flashes came from everywhere, so blinding that if it weren’t for Ace’s hand in mine, I wouldn’t be able to see where we were going. The shouts were deafening, every photographer and member of the press out there vying for Ace’s attention as the hotel’s security cleared the path for us toward the idling Town Car.
 

If I’d thought the crowd looked big from the forty-fifth floor, it was nothing compared to the reality of what awaited us. Bodies pressed in against us from all sides, and combined with the Vegas heat wave, it was a suffocating combination.
 

Don’t pass out in front of all these people
, was all I could think, as the driver opened the door and Ace moved aside to let me in first.
 

“Ace, is this your new boyfriend?”

“Where did you two meet?”

“Is it true you eloped this weekend?”

As Ace slid inside after me, the door slammed shut behind him, and though the roar of the crowd had muffled somewhat, it was still like being in the eye of a tornado. Eerily quiet compared to the maelstrom happening on the outside.
 

“Are you okay?”

Ace’s voice was pitched low as his fingers tightened around mine. I glanced out my tinted window and could see the continued flash of cameras as the paparazzi took photo after photo, all competing for the ultimate money shot.

“Dylan?”

At my name, I turned to face the man seated beside me, and for the first time since we’d met I saw him in a whole new light.
 

Ace Locke was the real deal. He wasn’t just some actor a few people knew here and there. No. The man sitting beside me, with his hand wrapped around mine, was a fucking superstar. And somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten that.

“No one touched you or hurt you, did they?”
 

Ace’s blue eyes were full of concern as he inspected me the best he could. When it became clear that I wasn’t capable of actually speaking, he nodded once, satisfied that I was okay, and then leaned forward to the driver. “Take us to McCarran,” he said, and then settled back beside me.

As the driver slowly began to accelerate, I could see the throngs of people who’d gathered in front of the vehicle, for a shot inside the car, part like the Red Sea as to not get hit. My heart was thudding wildly and I knew my eyes had to be as big as saucers, because never could I have prepared myself for what we’d just walked through. I didn’t think anyone could.
 

When Ace had said I had no idea what I was about to walk into, I’d stupidly believed he was exaggerating.
Ha,
I thought,
if anything, he totally underplayed it.
 

“Hey? Dylan, look at me.”

I took in a gulp of air, trying to calm my racing pulse, and then turned my head to face him. Ace’s brows were pinched together with worry, and his lips were drawn tight. He looked wary, as though he was worried I was about to bolt, and really, if I hadn’t been in as deep as I was with him, I just might have. That was a whole fucking lot to take in.
 

“Are you okay?” he asked again, and this time I nodded.
 

“That was… Wow, Ace. That was insane.”

Ace let out a bark of laughter, as if he hadn’t been expecting that. “Uhh, yeah. I told you it would be.”

“But…” I paused, trying to think of my next words. “It’s different seeing it. Jesus, I’ve never seen so many people in my life. And they all wanted your attention…I just…I guess I forgot who you were for a minute or two there.”

As my words lingered between us, I thought for a second I might have offended him, but then he brought my hand up to his lips and smiled before pressing a kiss to my palm. “That’s the best compliment I’ve had in a long time.”

I released his hand to draw my fingers under his chin. “You’ve obviously been hanging around the wrong people.”

“Obviously,” he agreed, and leaned across to brush his lips over mine. When he pulled back he asked me again, this time leaving no room for misdirection, “I totally understand if you’re freaking out right now. If you want to change your—”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean, yes, that was crazy. And yes, I’m okay, but not once did it ever cross my mind that I wanted out…” I paused and then had a horrible thought. “Did it cross yours?”

Ace’s eyes held mine, and the sincerity there blew me away as he said, “Not even once.”

As the car pulled away from Syn’s elaborate entrance and the crowd faded in the distance, it occurred to me for the first time that I was dating Ace Locke. Really dating him. And if the way my stomach was somersaulting at the affectionate expression he was aiming my way was any indication, I had no doubt that I was precariously close to falling in love with Ace Locke.

3

FEAST FOR A KING

“NO, YOU DON’T need to come over… No, I don’t want to make a statement. Roger, look…”
 

Ace sounded weary as he paced his vast kitchen, and when he caught my eye from across the room, his lips turned up for a moment before he went back to his conversation.
 

He’d been fielding calls for the last couple of hours since we’d gotten back to his place, showered, and come downstairs for food, and it didn’t look like things would let up any time soon. My own phone had been going off nonstop, and as another message dinged, I looked down to see it was from Derek.

Can I say I told you so yet?

“Fuck off,” I muttered, as I texted back the same message. I’d barely hit send before another ding went off, this time from Russ.

Hey… I just saw pictures of you and Ace on the news. Call me.
 

Nope, wasn’t even gonna respond to that one.
 

Derek: Nice towel, btw. Good to see you’re still working out.

Oh, for God’s sake.

As my phone began to ring from an unlisted number, I looked over to where Ace was rubbing the back of his neck and I made a snap decision. Powering off the cell, I tossed it on the couch and went over to take a seat on one of the barstools at the kitchen island that Ace was currently wearing a hole in the floor in front of. He was getting more frustrated the longer he stayed on the phone.
 

“No, I’m not planning to deny anything either. Walking out of Syn was enough of a statement, don’t you think?”
 

Leaning my elbows back on the island, I spread my legs and waited for Ace’s attention. Ever since we’d gotten back, it’d been one call after another, and the more it went on, the redder Ace’s face got. It was time to unplug and unwind after the never-ending day we’d had, and as Ace turned and headed back in my direction, I bit down on my lip—but he just walked right on by, too engrossed in conversation to notice my open invitation.
 

Hmm. Maybe he needs something a bit more obvious.

I’d changed into a pair of Ace’s workout shorts and a t-shirt after we’d showered, since I’d only packed an overnight bag for our trip, and when I pulled the shirt up and over my head, Ace’s eyes flicked up to the movement. Tossing the shirt on the tiled floor, I gave him a suggestive smile and then resumed my position, leaning back on my elbows with my legs wide.
That
had Ace pausing momentarily, his eyes raking over my body, but then the person on the other end said something that had his focus returning to the conversation.
 

“Fine,” he said, with an exasperated sigh. “We can have a meeting but not tonight… It’ll have to be after filming if it’s tomorrow… Yes, over here’s fine.”

Okay, maybe it was time to take things up a notch. There was no way I was letting the outside world invade our private space any more today, so I needed to get Ace’s mind
off
the chaos swirling and back on…me.

After glancing behind me to make sure the island was clear, I hopped off the stool, and when Ace’s pacing had him facing in my direction again, I turned around and slowly pulled my shorts down. Since there was nothing underneath, Ace was getting a prime view of my ass as I bent over and took my time lowering the shorts to my ankles and then stepping out of them. When I stood back up and faced him, I kicked the shorts away, and my cock was mighty pleased at the look of lust Ace was aiming my way. I could hear the person on the other end of the phone repeating his name, but Ace was too busy looking over my naked body to notice.

Licking my lips, I backed up, and when my lower back hit the counter, I pushed myself up and onto it. Ace’s eyebrows shot up, and he swallowed as I laid myself out for him like a feast for a king.

Your move
.

“Uh…yeah, Roger. I’m here,” Ace said, but his voice was distant and he didn’t take his eyes off me, especially when my hand trailed down my stomach to my hips and then took a hold of my cock.

“Fuck,” Ace said under his breath. “What? Nothing. Listen I need to go—”

The man on the other end of the line wasn’t having that, though, but then again, neither was I. Ace was mine tonight, and I didn’t mind doing whatever it took to get his attention, eyes, and hands, back on me.

* * *

I WAS TRYING my hardest to concentrate on what Roger was yammering on about in my ear, but really, if I hadn’t lost interest twenty minutes earlier, the sight of Dylan naked and lounging across my kitchen island had made Roger the
last
thing I was focused on.

“I’m hanging up now… No, I said—”

As Roger cut me off for the umpteenth time, I held the phone to my ear and walked over to the edge of the counter. I let my eyes rove from the hand Dylan had curled around his erection, up and over his flawless body to the face that was angled my way, and when he slicked the tip of his tongue along his top lip, I cursed.

“No, Roger. Do
not
come over here now.”

The smirk Dylan gave me then was pure sex as he jacked his hips up and shoved his cock through his fist.

Christ,
the guy was trying to kill me. It was clear Dylan was after my attention, and there was no way I wasn’t about to give it to him. The day had been long and drawn out, and with the sun now set on a day full of pandemonium, I got the impression that Dylan was ready to unwind, ready to tune the rest of the world out. And so the fuck was I.

Unable to resist touching him any longer, I trailed my fingertips down the arm closest to me as I made my way down the kitchen counter. When I rounded the end of it, I aimed my eyes up at the brazen man who was working his length as though he were flat on his back in my bed as opposed to the middle of my kitchen, and that was it…Roger had to go.

“I’m hanging up now… I don’t care, Roger. I’m done talking about this. Don’t call me again tonight or you will be having a discussion with my voicemail.” And before he could respond, I ended the call.

As I lowered the phone to the other counter in the kitchen, I took the moment to readjust my hard-as-hell dick and saw Dylan turn his head on the counter to watch me. His lids were heavy as his entire expression turned carnal.

“Are you quite comfortable, Mr. Prescott?”

Dylan stroked up his length as he bent his far leg and planted it on the island. “Well, you did tell me I could use your kitchen whenever I liked. But—” His words came to an abrupt halt when I flicked the light switch on the wall, plunging the room into darkness. But that wasn’t what I had in mind at all, as I hit the switch beside it that illuminated the strip of four halogen bulbs that hung in a direct line above the counter.
 

Oh yeah, that’s better.
If Dylan wanted to be the center of attention, I was more than happy to give him a spotlight.

“You were saying?” I asked, as I strolled back to where he now lay, lit up spectacularly for my perusal. Dylan’s eyes tracked me, and as they did I dropped my gaze to the fingers he was swiping over the head of his cock before massaging his slick palm down his shaft.

“I was saying,” Dylan continued, as I stopped at the end of the counter and looked down at him. “That while it’s kind of you to allow me
the use of your kitchen, I really think it’s past time that
you
used it.”

I reached for the hem of my shirt, and as I tossed it down on the shorts he’d kicked out of earlier, Dylan raised his other leg and bent it at the knee to give me a prime view of everything I wanted to suck, kiss, and touch.

“Damn,” Dylan said, and pumped his hips up. “I love that sound.”

I moved my hands to the button of my shorts and unsnapped it, and as I went to shove them off my hips, I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for further explanation.