My Bloody Valentine (Unlocked Desire)

We’re in the car only five minutes before Stone parks and turns to me. “We’re here.”

I’m shocked that Stone has been living this close to me, and I had no idea. The building is one of the nicer ones in the neighborhood. It’s gray brick with stairs leading up that are still in place, not destroyed by years of neglect like the rest of the neighborhood. When I moved here, I had other options. My best friend Clarrisa’s husband offered me a job in one of the many high-end nightclubs he owned, but I wanted to do things on my terms. It was important I stand on my own and not owe anyone anything. My whole life was this game of debt, and I was tired of paying it.

“How long have you lived here?”

Stone is silent, his eyes focused out the windshield. When he finally speaks, he refuses to make eye contact with me. “Two weeks and six days.”

“That’s how long I’ve been working at the bar.”

“Yes.”

“Wait. Did you move here because it’s close to the bar?”

Stone unbuckles me before he lifts me and pulls me onto him. His arms tighten as he buries his face in my hair and inhales deeply. He draws me closer as if I’m his lifeline, and if he lets go, he might drown. “I moved here because it’s close to you.”

A shiver wracks through me as his fingers roam my body. My entire life, all I’ve ever wanted was to be in his arms, have him see me as his, and at that moment, as his hands lift the hem of my shirt and I feel his touch against my bare skin, I feel like the two of us could be a possibility. I forget the past and the bullshit and only see us—two people with a lot of history and an ocean of love between them. His frigid touch against my skin simultaneously warms me and turns me into ice. Fire and ice. That’s what Stone has always been. His fingers grab onto my flesh, and he squeezes ruthlessly.

I can’t help but wince, not at the pain but at the fact that I’m not the skinny sixteen-year-old he remembers. To be honest, I wasn’t even that skinny then. “I’m not really comfortable.”

“I don’t really care.”

“Stone, please. I don’t like my body being touched. I’ve got some weight I could lose.”

Stone pulls me back. His fingers tread in my hair before he yanks my head back so I can’t see anything but those magnetic blue eyes of his. “Who the fuck said that to you?”

“No one.”

Stone stares at me with such force and determination that if I weren’t sure of his obsession with me, I’d be very scared. His Jaw ticks as he pulls my hair back with more force. “Don’t fuckin’ lie to me, Butterfly. Who the fuck said that? Who made you think you aren’t the most fuckin’ beautiful thing on this godforsaken planet?”

I tug at my shirt, trying to pull it down. Stone grabs my chin, forcing my gaze to his. My eyes flutter closed, and I take a harsh breath. “I can afford to lose a few pounds, okay?”

“No,” Stone says vehemently.

His eyes are full of rage and lust. He fists one of my breasts in his hand and squeezes hard, his thumb flicking back and forth on my rock-hard nipple. I can’t help getting lost in his touch. There is something about how he takes what he wants from my body. That’s a complete turn-on because with Stone, even with all his violence, I’m valuable to him. I matter.

“You can’t afford to lose shit because every single pound on you is mine, and I refuse to let the woman I love most in the world change to blend into some bullshit societal norm. I used to fuckin’ whack off to these tits. All I could think about was how I wanted to fuck them while your perfect lips were wrapped around the tip of my cock.”

The icy touch of metal presses against my flesh as he cuts my shirt with the same knife that he used not too long ago to mark my flesh.

“Hey, that’s one of my favorite shirts.”

He smirks as he glides the blade down my body. “I wanted to see you, and it was in my way. I have no problems cutting open anyone or anything that dares keep you away from me.”

Stone glides his hand up my body and, with one move, un-hooks my bra, giving himself complete access to my breasts.

“You’re not going to even ask permission, huh?”

“You don’t want me to, Butterfly. You like that I’m taking control. This way, you don’t have to admit how much it all turns you on. You like being the damsel to my predator.” He pinches my nipple between his fingers and heat floods to my centre.