Duke (13 page)

Isaac started Gen out with rum and Coke, and she collapsed onto a sofa and leaned into Duke with her glass. “I’m glad you came today. About time someone gave Tyler and Kirsten a run for their money.”

Duke looked at Kirsten and said, “You’re a therapist? You could probably consider a career change with the way you handled the course.”

Kirsten looked at Tyler, back to Duke, and said, “I handle Drake Security’s mental health needs, and Aaron gives me access to his training facilities.”

Duke could smell she wasn’t telling the whole truth, and wasn’t sure why she’d need to say anything at all. He glanced at Isaac, who was aware Duke had smelled the lie. Isaac gave a very short shake of his head, telling him to be quiet and not mention it.

Changing the subject, Duke asked, “So, Frisco, what do you have in that great big garage?”

Cassie and Sam groaned at the same time, and the rest of the room laughed. Sam stood and said, “If ya’ll are going to start talking classic cars, I think the women should all convene in Cassie’s room for girl talk.”

Gen kissed Duke’s cheek before she left, and Frisco led the men out to the garage.

“
So,” Duke asked Gen as they climbed the steps to her bedroom. “What did you girls talk about while we went to the garage?”

“
They wanted the scoop on what you’re like in bed, and were pretty surprised I didn’t know yet. I told them you’d been the perfect gentleman, but you were an awesome kisser.”

Gen noted he brought a bag in this time, and figured it was a change of clothes for tomorrow. She’d given him a toothbrush the first morning, and now had to look at it in her toothbrush drawer, sitting alongside her travel toothbrush. Her electric toothbrush stayed on her vanity, and she wondered if he’d eventually have one up there, too.

“
You kicked ass on the course today,” she told him. “No one’s ever beat Tyler before.”

“
Not even Isaac?”

“
Isaac never participates, since he creates the courses.”

“
If I set up a paintball battle tomorrow night, you and I against Brain and Dawg, would you be interested?”

Gen sat on the sofa in her bedroom and looked out at her view. The sun would set soon and she didn’t want to miss it. “Maybe another night, I have a full day tomorrow.”

“
Is there a way you can share your calendar with me, so I can try to plan our time better?”

She glanced at him, back to the wall of windows. “Yeah, I’ll get Thomas to open it up for you tomorrow, give you a login so you can see it.”

“
Any reason why you have a male assistant?”

“
I don’t deal well with petty jealousy, Duke. Come sit with me and watch the sunset.”

“
Once the sun’s gone down, you have a problem with me taking a shower?”

She shook her head. “Make yourself at home. I should probably take one, too. I worked up a sweat on Isaac’s course.”

“
I’m not sure if you know how big of a compliment I’m giving you, but after watching you today, I’d feel comfortable knowing you had my back in any situation, Beautiful.”

The sky blossomed into pinks and yellows, and Gen pointed to it to keep from having to respond. He sat with her tucked into his side as they silently watched the sky light up with brilliant colors, and then slowly go dark.

Duke stood, kissed her cheek, and said, “I’ll just take a quick shower.”

Gen got in when Duke got out, and this time chose to wear a pajama short set, with a cute little top that showed a little cleavage.

Duke was in her bed watching a TV show about a motorcycle club when she got out, and she asked, “Ya’ll don’t do any of that stuff, right? It’s just the bar and bike shop, you don’t have other, ummm, sources of income?”

“
I once told you I’d never lie to you, and you asked me not to tell you anything incriminating. The best I can tell you is at the present time it’s just the bar and bike shop, but once we get our numbers built up it may be something else. We come from a chapter that did more, and we’re debating on whether to go the same route, but nothing’s set in stone.”

“
The kind of thing that involves shootouts and people dying?”

Duke shook his head. “No, nothing like the body count here. Plus, these guys can’t shoot for shit.” He pulled her into bed, saying, “I like this outfit. So sexy.”

“
Is it too much?”

Duke laughed and said, “No such thing as too sexy, Beautiful. Especially not when you’re climbing into bed with me. Now, tell me about your day tomorrow.”

“
Ten o’clock appointment with a mortgage company who wants to work a deal with me. I doubt we’ll find common ground, but I’m willing to hear them out. Eleven o’clock closing down the street, a one o’clock lunch with a construction company looking for someone to manage their rental properties, and then I pick up a gentleman at the airport somewhere around three so I can show him a few condos downtown. I’m having dinner with him and then I drop him off at The Chattanoogan, and if you like I can drop by the compound when I finish with him.”

“
Not liking the fact you’re gonna have two meals with men tomorrow, but I get that this is my problem and I’m gonna have to deal with it.”

“
It’s my job, Duke. I wine and dine them as part of the service. I have to judge the best restaurant for each person, decide what they’ll like. I did okay taking ya’ll to Sticky Fingers, right? Of course, you’re hardheaded and decided you had to pay, but I still think I did a good job of taking the group where you’d be most comfortable.”

Duke nodded. “Yeah, dressed as we were, and with Tiny and Dozer with us, you were absolutely right. You’ll be armed tomorrow, right?”

“
I have to take it off to go into the closing, but I’ll be armed the rest of the day.”

“
Why will you have to take it off?”

“
Because there’s a
no weapons
sign on the door.”

Duke shook his head, but changed the subject. “I liked your kiss this morning. Can I ask what brought it on?”

Gen shrugged. “Just what I explained. You overwhelm me, and I wanted to see how it would be if it was a little more laid back.”

Duke sat up, with his back against the headboard, and said, “Let’s experiment around with that a little, okay? Swing your leg over mine and sit in my lap, facing me.”

She looked at his legs a few second, but finally sat up and did as he said. Instead of sitting where he probably wanted her, she stayed on his thighs, though. She couldn’t bring herself to get close enough to be on his boy parts.

“
Here’s the thing, Beautiful. I’ve never gone passive like that before — let someone else take control. I’d do just about anything for you, but until this morning I wouldn’t have thought I’d do
that
. You were so sweet with it, though, it wasn’t about you taking charge, but about you asking for…” He shook his head. “I’m not sayin’ this right. Usually, I demand total control, I give orders and I expect them to be obeyed. You call me bossy sometimes, but Beautiful, you haven’t seen just how bossy I can be, yet.”

“
Did you not like my kiss this morning?”

Duke smiled. “Baby, I loved your kiss this morning, and I have you on my lap because I’m hoping you’ll want to do it again. But I’m tryin’ to warn you, once I take control, I’m probably gonna take it in a big way. I’m no longer giving you promises about how far I will or won’t go, other than to say I won’t take you farther than your body wants me to.”

Gen shook her head and backed up a few inches. “That’s not right, Duke. My body is going to want to go farther than my head, and I need to listen to my head.”

“
There is nothing you can do to make me think you’re a slut, or that you’re easy, Gen. I know how shy you are, I know how uncomfortable you are with sex, and I know I’m falling hard for you and it wouldn’t matter even if I thought you were the biggest slut on the face of the earth. I’m going to be easy with you, careful. I want you to trust me with
you
, Genesis. Trust me to take care of you, trust me to make it good for you, and trust me to not make you regret giving yourself to me.”

Her knees pushed into the bed around him, and she went backwards on his thighs a few more inches. Duke’s hands landed on her hips, gently holding her in place. “Kiss me again, Beautiful. I’ll sit here a while and let you play. You have permission to touch any part of my body you want. If you want to take my shorts off to get to something, feel free. Nothing on me is off limits tonight.”

“
So, I can give you a foot massage, if I want?”

“
Not what I had in mind, but yeah, if that’s what you want, we’ll start with a foot massage.”

She slid off his lap, off the bed, and headed downstairs, saying, “Be right back.”

Gen scooped about a half a cup of coconut oil into a bowl, put it in the microwave, and got her vanilla extract while it was melting. She dumped enough in to make it smell good, but not so much he’d complain he smelled funny later, mixed it around, and dashed back upstairs. She stopped at her door, reached behind the armoire, and pulled out the small folding table she kept stored back there, settled it beside the bed near his feet, and plopped the glass bowl with the melted coconut oil on the table. She got a bath towel to go under his feet, and then climbed on the bed and wrapped both hands around his right foot, cradling it, getting it used to her warmth. She reached to the side with her left hand, got it slick, and returned to rub it on her other hand, and then slicked his entire foot up, getting it ready for her to massage.

Bethany, her best friend, was a massage therapist. She’d long ago taught Gen how to give the perfect foot massage, and Gen used every trick her friend had taught her. She was barely into it when she got her first groan out of Duke, and she smiled, happy she could make him feel good. He’d known what he was doing last night when he massaged her hips and bottom after their ride, and she wanted to return the favor.

Gen spent twenty minutes on each foot, and Duke didn’t hurry her or rush her. When she finished, she wiped her hands on the towel under his feet, leaving it in place, and climbed up him, sitting back on his lap. His eyes were simultaneously lazy, and ultra-focused on her, but he kept his hands at his sides as she ran her hands from his shoulders down his arms, feeling the cords of his muscles as she went. Her hands lifted to his hair, and she ran her fingers through it, surprised at how silky and sensual it was. He’d been long past due for a haircut, but she noted he’d had it cut before he took her to a nice restaurant the night before. She wished she’d been able to run her fingers through it when it was longer.

Gen let her fingers explore his neck, and marveled he even had well defined muscles there. She followed those muscles to his shoulders, his huge chest, and she pushed back to explore his well defined abs.

“
Beautiful, you’re killin’ me.”

Gen looked up into his magnificent blue eyes. They were always blue, but tonight they seemed an electric cerulean, so blue it almost hurt to look into them. She saw the control he was exerting, to let her play while he just sat there, and suddenly she wanted to give him more. Maybe not everything, but…
more
. After days of being close to him, getting used to his touch, and the kind of intimacy that usually only came after sex, she wasn’t as shy about kissing him or touching him. It didn’t feel wrong.

She slid up his legs, her hands going from his chest, to neck, to hair, and brought her lips to his. His kiss was a little more aggressive than the first time, but he still let her lead. She felt his hands rise, but they went back to his sides before he touched her. She reached for his arm and lifted it so his hand was on her back — she didn’t want to deny his touch, didn’t want quite that much control. He was gifting this to her, she didn’t want to demand too much.

His arms enveloped her, but loose enough she could still move as she wanted. Gen’s lips traveled from his mouth to his ear, and she pulled his earlobe between her lips a brief moment before making her way down his throat. She wasn’t sure where to go from there, so she went back to his lips. She was just thinking she’d given him her entire repertoire and had no clue what to do next, when he growled, sat up, and took control.

She leaned back as he sat up, but his arms held her in place so she didn’t go far. She relaxed into his iron strength, knowing he had her, and lifted her head to meet his mouth as it came down. One of his hands went to the back of her head, the other pulled her hips even closer, but she didn’t fight him or freeze this time when she felt his hard length under her.

Gen didn’t know what came over her, but she moved over him, rubbing herself on his length, and he made a sound that was half moan and half growl as he lifted her and gently settled her back on the bed as he rose above her.

“
Need you to let me explore you now, Beautiful. Can you give me that?”

“
I don’t know, Duke. I’m not sure I can be as patient as you.”

His fingers stroked her cheek as his thumb curved under her jaw and up to the other side, and he once again positioned her face where he wanted it before he kissed her. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer, and he lifted up, saying, “Gotta taste you, Gen.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant by that until he moved down the bed and pulled her shorts and panties off in one smooth motion. Surprised, Gen snapped her legs together as her heart beat against her rib cage, but Duke’s voice came to her soft, deep, and sweet.

“
Open for me, Beautiful.”

Gen didn’t even think about whether to do it or not, her knees spread for him and he said, “So beautiful. Every inch of you.”

His face descended and Gen’s world narrowed to just the two of them, in her bed. The rest of the universe ceased to exist as Duke’s tongue swiped exactly the right place, and all she could do was moan.