Under Locke(151)

I clung to the side, holding just my head above the water. "Did you eat?"



He nodded solemnly, touching the tip of his finger to my cheek. "Looked like you were havin' fun."



"I was. Dean's funny."



"Saw him slap your ass." His finger trailed down to outline my jaw. "Think we all saw you runnin' around after him, babe." Dex kept the trail going down the column of my throat. "Everybody heard you two laughin' your asses off."



I gulped.



"Is this thing even a bikini?”



I nodded.



He didn’t look like he believed me. “I like it, a lot. But maybe not so much in front of all these damn perverts.” Dex scowled for a moment. “And fuckin’ Amy walkin’ around tellin’ people you should be lookin’ for a sugar daddy. I thought I was gonna have to beat the shit outta Wheels when he overheard her.”



“Leave that poor man alone. Why are you always getting into fights with him?”



“Always been like that between us.” A deep line formed between his brows. “Why are you defendin’ him? If you saw the way he looks at you, you wouldn’t be thinkin’ he deserves it.”



I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and groan. What a drama queen. “Oh please. I didn’t think you were old enough to need to get your eyes checked.”



Dex’s eyebrows shot up in glorified indignation. So sensitive! As always, he chose to pick up on the least important thing. “You have no fuckin’ clue do you?” Dex licked his bottom lip. “You get me hard as a fuckin’ rock, honey. ‘Specially watchin' you with the kids for so long," he whispered. "Couldn't keep my eyes off you, neither could he."



Bloody hell.



I tipped my head into him, feeling his fingers stretch to span the side of my neck in a possessive grip. "You ready to get outta there?"



Uh, heck yeah.



"Let me get out from the stairs," I told him, tipping my head in the direction where I'd come from.



Dex frowned. "Just get out from here."



"I can't really..." I sighed, thinking of the hundreds of times I’d gotten out at the YMCA. "Because of my arm."



The frown that had been on his face was wiped clean off. Dex got into a crouch, slipping his hands under my arm pits. "I've got you, babe."



He had me up and out of the water before I could argue with him about it, both of us on our knees for a moment before he was helping me to my feet. Dex grabbed my hand and led us toward where he'd been sitting before. There were less Widows in the circle by then, a few of them drifting around the yard with their families or eating.



He must have grabbed my bag at some point when I was with Dean because he bent down to pull out my towel. "Gotta get dried off before you get sick," Dex said in a deceptively soft voice.



I looked at the sky. "It's sunny."



He stood up, holding the pale gray towel wide. "Humor me, babe."



It wasn't like I was planning on getting back into the water anyway, so I nodded and let him wrap the towel around my shoulders so tightly it made me feel like a human burrito.



In the blink of an eye, he'd snatched me up before settling onto the chair he'd been sitting in before. Dex nestled me sideways onto his lap, his arms circling me tightly. His lips pressed into my temple. It seemed normal enough to anyone looking at us, but not me. I knew Dex too well. I recognized the possessiveness of his gesture and it'd be a lie if I said that I didn't get a thrill from it.



Luther was sitting in his chair, looking around the yard. Alone.



I let my head rest against Dex's shoulder. "Sorry about earlier."



He hummed, his strong arms tightening. "I get it."



"You do?"



"Oh yeah," he said in what sounded like a growl. Was it a growl? I kind of hoped so. Rawr. “Those boys better pray I never seen ‘em in the flesh.”



“Don’t get your panties in a wad.” I snickered. "I didn't sleep with either one of them, Dex."



His breath hitched at the same time his grip jerked. "The thought of you...you with...holy fuck, I can't...I can't say it."



Dex was jealous? Jealous? Holy crap, I think my ovaries started going into overdrive as he stuttered.



"Thinkin' about you..." he cleared his throat roughly. "You don't gotta worry. I don't like shittin' where I eat."



The blank look I gave him must have been enough for him to understand that I didn't get what exactly he meant.



"Becky was a mistake, Ritz."



I watched him out of the corner of my eye. "Right."