Locke. Chapter Seventeen: In a Corner

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Chapter Seventeen: In a Corner

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Only two days passed after I spoke to Jasper on the phone before I got a message from him. “I’m going to be in town for just the evening. Would you be able to join me?”

It was already three in the afternoon, but I didn’t have anything planned. Most of my day had been dedicated to writing and editing alone in my bedroom. I smiled wildly, biting my lip as I read it three times in a row. I couldn’t believe how excited I was. I missed him terribly. The days we had spent together had spoiled me. 

“Yes, sir.”

“Is it too short notice to say six?” He asked instantly. 

"No, sir," I grinned. It didn't matter if I did have other plans or if it was short notice. I would find a way to spend time with him. "Should I bring my red pajamas?" I inquired hopefully.  

“I would like you to, but I have to wake up at five and be at the airport by eight.”

I couldn’t care less about that if I tried. “That’s fine. I don’t mind waking up early,” I replied with a big smile on my face. I just wanted to fall asleep beside him again. But if I got lucky, we wouldn’t get any at all.  

My phone flashed in my hand, bringing me out of my fantasy world. “Good. Bring them. I forgot to take a picture last time,” he answered. “See you then, Isabella.”

“Yes, sir,” I repeated. 

I didn't have time to cook. I barely had time to get ready. Even though I wasn't expecting him this quickly, I was so happy about it. I was practically dancing as I got dressed. My shopping earlier in the week had been for him, and I got a new, very tight, light gray pencil skirt that went to my knees. My cream blouse was purposefully almost see-through, and you could easily make out the black lace flowers of my bra through it. Braiding my hair down my shoulder, I wore my lips bright red again. To go with my new outfit, I also got some sheer black stockings with the seam in the back with patent leather red heels. I felt sexy and ready for anything that he had planned for me.   

Sticking my riding crop in my big purse along with a change of clothes, I put on an extra spray of my expensive perfume before leaving my room. When I came out, Edward was standing in the living room in his forest green scrubs. He was hanging up his coat on one of the hooks beside the door before stretching to pop his back. He slowly turned and lazily smiled at me as he appraised my appearance. 

"You look incredible, Bella," he purred, turning to fully appraise me. Edward had never looked at me like that before. He was a predator, and I felt like prey.  

"Um, thank you," I said, quickly walking to the sofa to pick up my coat that I left there when I went out earlier in the day. I immediately put it on to cover myself. "Where's Tanya?" 

He took a step around the couch. “I beat her here by a few minutes. We decided to meet here first so she can change and get her things. She shouldn’t be too much longer,” he replied as his eyes moved over my chest. I tugged the coat in tighter with one of my hands. He slowly ran his tongue over his teeth. “I would have you dress like this for me all the time. Are you meeting Jasper?”

“Yes,” I murmured as I pulled my hair out the back of my collar. 

He smirked a little, biting his bottom lip. “Have you spoken to him?”

“No,” I answered simply. 

Edward cocked his head to the side, still looking me over with his hands in his pockets. “Why not?”

I laughed, shaking my head a little. “Um… He’s been a little busy. You know, with his work solving the murders of children.”

“Well, he’s not going to be busy with serial killers tonight,” he countered, taking a step towards me. I felt like I had nowhere to go. Edward pushed my coat away before sliding his hand across my stomach to my side. “You could talk to him when you get there.”

My mouth opened a little, my eyes focusing on his lips that were so close to mine. It felt as if at any moment that he would kiss me. "Um, I'm not supposed to speak when I get there, actually," I automatically responded.  

He clicked his tongue in false disappointment, his hand moved up my ribs before stopping just under my breast. “And you would be a good little sub, wouldn’t you? Well. Why don’t we just call him? You can speak now.”

And then he brought his phone out of his pocket and quickly found Jasper’s number. My eyes went wide with shock, a gasp falling from my mouth. Edward put it on speaker, and the phone rang only once before he answered. It all happened so fast. 

“Hale,” Jasper stated almost in annoyed boredom. 

“Hey, man. It’s Edward. Do you have a second?” He started very casually. 

“Uh, yeah. I have a few minutes. What do you need?”

Edward smiled at me again, his hand sliding down my waist and to my back as he pulled me a little bit closer. “So, I was hoping to talk to you again about Bella. I was wondering what your opinion would be if she did decide to play with me?”

There were several beats of silence. “Well, as I said before, my opinion doesn’t really matter. She’s a grown woman with a mind of her own. If she wanted to play with you, it would be her choice and not mine.”

He licked his bottom lip, his fingers curling against my back. “Well, she keeps saying that she’d have to talk to you first. And I don’t think she would do it unless it was made completely clear by you that you don’t care. But I think she wants to.” Edward winked at me. 

Clearing his throat, Jasper drew a deep breath. "If she asks, I will, but she should know that I'm not her owner and she does not have to ask my permission for anything that she does when she's not with me," he explained very seriously. His tone was almost angry. He had never spoken to me in that voice before, not even when he was mad. "As I've said before, she is not my property, nor will I treat her as such. As much as I care about her, I will not dictate her life. I respect her too much for that."   

He brought his hand to my ass, pulling me towards him. I had never been so close to Edward, my chest to his. I had to bend my head back to look at him. He seemed so pleased with himself. "See, Bella? You don't have to talk to him now," he concluded with a smirking sort of grin, half crooked and downright cocky. It was like he had just won a little victory.  

“Bella’s there?” Jasper's voice changed. He was shocked, his tone going higher. I had been too stunned to say anything. My eyes felt as if they were going to pop out of my head the entire time. Blood whooshed past my ears as my blood pressure began to rise.  

His fingers squeezed again. "Yes, she's right here, and I must say, I am very jealous of you tonight. Her ass looks fucking unbelievable in this tight little skirt she has on. I have half a mind to carry her off like an animal into the woods. I think I'd like to tie her to a tree and fuck her senseless." His hand tightened around my cheek, pushing me to him so that I could feel his erection against my stomach. "So, what do you think, Bella? Should I? Would you like that?" 

“No.” I pulled out of his grip finally, nearly tripping into the chair behind me, but I managed to scoot around it. Straightening my shoulders, I looked at him dead in the eyes. “I think I was telling you that I needed to talk to Jasper to buy myself some time to find a way to politely say no.” I saw him instantly deflate, my anger swelling. “No. I don’t want to play with you. You don’t have permission to touch me and how dare you corner me like this and-” I stopped, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. I realized the man I was meeting was still on the other side of the phone, listening to us. “Jasper, honey, I’m probably going to be a little late. I need to tell this fool off.”

"Do I need to hurt him?" He seriously asked. Edward looked down at his phone in shock, almost as if he had forgotten that he had called his friend in the first place. His stunt was not paying off as he expected it to.    

“No. He’s just an arrogant asshat who needs to learn that just because he wants something doesn’t mean he gets it.” I directed my anger towards the idiot standing in front of me, pointing a sharp finger at his chest. “You have to earn the right to touch me because I am fucking worth it. You do not get to feel me up because you’re bored and your girlfriend isn’t here to entertain you. I am not an easy itch scratcher. You only want me because it would be convenient for you, not because you’re actually attracted to me or even care about me in the slightest. So, you sir, can kindly fuck right off.”

He looked offended, taking a step back. “Bella, give me a little more credit than that.” He reached for me. “Look, I sincerely-”

I swatted his outstretched hand and took a step back. “No.”

Edward wrinkled his nose. “You know, for an eager slut-”

"Hey, motherfucker! You don't get to call her that. I can because I have her permission. You do not. You will speak to her respectfully, or I will render you fucking speechless. Do I make myself clear?" Jasper roared over the phone. He was menacing while not even there. It wasn't a threat, but a promise. Not only could he rip this pretty boy to shreds, but he would do so with great pleasure.   

“Yes,” Edward breathed, looking away from me in embarrassment as his cheeks filled with blood. “I apologize. I’m sorry. I obviously misread the situation.” 

I suddenly realized that I had nothing else to say to him. “I’ll be there as soon as possible, sir,” I said firmly, turning towards the door and not looking at Edward again. I probably slammed it in his face. I could hear Jasper begin to yell over the phone. Leaning against it, I took a deep breath to try to slow my wildly beating heart.  

Tanya was just coming down the hallway. She smiled when she first saw me but then realized that I was fuming mad. She began to pick up her pace. 

“What’s wrong?” She put her hands on my shoulders, immediately worried. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

I looked back towards the door then again to her. I wasn't going to lie. "Edward grabbed my ass, and if he does it again, I'm going to fucking hurt him," I told Tanya seriously.  

“What?” She looked at the apartment doorway, confused. “Why the fuck did he touch you?”

“Because he’s fucking entitled.”

She made a little face. “He grabbed your ass? Really?”

I nodded, looking away from her. "He keeps trying to talk to me about doing a scene... And I just flat out had to tell him no. I thought about it, and it would make me uncomfortable. He needs to just... stop," I informed her frankly. "It would have been fine if he asked and gave me time and space, but-"  

Edward popped his head out of the apartment, finally. Either Jasper was done with him, or he hung up the phone on him. "Look, I'm really sorry. I got carried away. I figured you liked more aggressive men. I mean, from what I understand-"  

"Hey! Consent is fucking sexy!" I snarled, turning to look at him with my hands on my hips. "Do you know what's not? Being pressured into a sexual situation that you're not ready for. You know what? It's a shame. It really is. It's what I've wanted for years," I snapped, unable to keep it inside anymore. "Literally years! But not like this. Why did you have to force yourself on me?" I demanded. "I've literally fantasized about every possible thing you could do to me, but not once was it while being a fucking creep!" 

“Edward!” Tanya said his name angrily, matching my posture with her hands on her hips as she came to stand beside me. “We’ve talked about this! You can’t get in people’s personal space like that. It makes them uncomfortable!” She spoke to him like she was scolding a child in preschool. 

"You're one to talk!" He exclaimed, starting to feel defensive. "I'm sorry!" He said to me again, putting his hand on his heart."Really! I am! Jesus! I didn't mean-" He stopped and looked back at my roommate. "And you know what? You have been touching and talking about her for fucking weeks, and I'm sorry, I got over-excited and overconfident. I thought she was just shy and nervous. I thought she needed the opening. And I was kind of hoping you'd walk in on something," he over-admitted his goals for the evening. His eyes got wide when he realized.  

Both of us gasped at the same time and then shouted his name. He didn't like it, his face getting redder at being reprimanded by not one but two women. "Oh, come on! If it had worked, it would have turned you both on! I thought it was worth the risk!" 

“I’m so sorry,” Tanya mumbled to me before stomping towards the apartment. “And it would have been super hot if we had maybe talked about it before and everyone was cool with it. But you fucking didn’t. I realize that it’s one of your weird-ass little fetishes to make people uncomfortable and-” The door slammed behind her as she backed him up into our shared home. She was going to let him have it in a way that I never could. 

I ordered the car, stumbling my way towards the front of my building. It was ten minutes to six, and I wasn't going to be on time. "I'm probably going to be fifteen minutes late. I'm sorry. I'll be there as soon as possible," I texted Jasper, my hands trembling.  

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” I promised. “I’ll see you soon.” 

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