Duke (38 page)

They didn’t talk about Mike anymore, for a variety of reasons, but one of them was Duke was worried someone might have them under surveillance. Duke touched her mouth to remind her, but then carried her upstairs, undressed her, turned some music on, and got in the shower with her.

“
Mike made some really bad decisions, Gen. He was going to keep coming after you, and even if he’d seen actual jail time, it wasn’t likely to be more than a few years. He knew what he was doing when he kidnapped you and Pebbles, and he had to know how Jiminy would react. What happened to him is his fault, not yours. We did what we had to do to keep you safe.”

She nodded and let him hold her a few minutes before saying, “The cop tonight was just being a jerk, and if I hadn’t been drunk I could’ve handled him better, but I still never want to have to go through that again.”

Duke leaned back, touched her chin, and leveled with her. “It isn’t likely to be the last time, Beautiful. Riding on the back of my bike puts a target on you with law enforcement. I wish it didn’t, and there are some things we can do to negate the impact they can have on you, but I can’t make it stop.”

She looked up, her eyes serious, dark. “I lost a sale a few weeks ago — someone who wasn’t comfortable working with a Realtor with known associations with felons. I told them you aren’t a felon and my private life had no bearing on my business, but they didn’t want to hear it.”

Duke turned the water off and sat on her bench, his wolf even more pissed than him, but he kept his voice soft as he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“
Because I’ve made my decisions, and I love you and I’ll live with the consequences of that, but after tonight, it seemed maybe we should have a talk about it.”

Duke nodded, stood to reach for a towel, and began drying her as he asked, “Is there anything we can do to lessen the impact I have on your business dealings?”

“
Honestly? Some of the people who’ve hired me lately seem to think I have street cred or something, since I’m with you. As far as perception, dating you hurts me with some, and helps me with others, so I’m going to call it a wash. I’d developed a reputation for being a strong negotiator before I started seeing you, but it seems that having it known I’m dating the bad-ass president of a motorcycle club makes me seem a little more formidable, to some.”

Duke’s heart felt as if it grew wings, until the next words came out of her mouth. “The thing is, I don’t like the cops looking at me like I’m a bad guy, and they do, now. Between them all being so familiar with who you are, plus the fact I used to date a cop who’s now missing, I’m instantly recognizable to them and they look at me like I’m
filthy
. I was shopping with Bethany last week and even she noted how one of the mall security guys watched me, and the look of derision on his face.”

When they were dry, Duke pulled one of his t-shirts over her head, stepped into a pair of shorts, and walked her to the sofa in her bedroom.

“
There’s a lot of things I can fix for you, but I’m not sure what to do about this, Beautiful. I can talk to Aaron Drake, see if he has any ideas, but…” He shrugged, insisting his wolf back off and let him talk to her, let him come up with a plan. The wolf had wanted to eat the cop, tear his throat out and watch the blood flow, and Duke soothed him now, told him this needed human finesse and not a full frontal attack.

“
What could Drake Security do?”

“
I don’t know, maybe nothing, but Aaron’s tight with local law enforcement. It might do more harm than good, bringing you up to them, but it’s the only idea I have at the moment.”

Gen shook her head. “No, don’t get him involved. I’ve already put the best criminal attorneys on retainer, so they’re only a phone call away should I have problems with law enforcement. I’m going to have a talk with them about last night, not to make them jump into action, but to get advice on whether there was a better way for me to have handled the situation.”

Duke walked out of his attorney’s office, got on his bike, and drove straight to the best jewelry store in town.

He’d had his lawyer draft a prenuptial agreement saying anything Gen owned was hers, and he had no stake in it, before or after the wedding. All income and properties owned by her would remain hers, in perpetuity. Duke’s holdings in RTMC affairs would be legally separate from her, with her having no stake in them at any time. However, his bikes, cars, and other assets he would hold jointly with her once they were married. He’d had his attorney draft it specifically so nothing he did could blow back on her, but also so there would be no doubt he wasn’t asking her to marry him so he could get at her money.

Bethany and Pebbles met him at the jewelry store. He’d sworn them both to secrecy, but Duke knew he needed help getting the ring exactly right. His woman wore thousand dollar designer shoes — just any old ring wasn’t going to be good enough.

The three made an odd pair, Bethany in her scrubs, Pebbles in clothes that probably cost as much as a used Harley, and Duke in jeans and his cut. Pebbles had made an appointment for them, though, and had requested they bring some specific rings in from their Atlanta store, so Duke would have a better selection.

They were ushered into a room in the back, and Duke sat and watched as the woman unlocked a safe in the wall, brought out a lockbox, and then unlocked it to pull out ring after ring, placing them on a piece of black velvet on the table before him.

Of the nine rings the woman placed in an artful display before him, Duke immediately zeroed in on two.

He picked both up, considered them one at a time, and then asked Pebbles, “Tell me about these two.”

“
Both are from a designer she likes. One’s all about flashing the biggest diamond possible, while the other’s about a combination of large diamonds and tasteful design. Both are platinum.”

He looked at Bethany. “Which do you like best?”

“
I’d freak if anyone expected me to wear either of them, but Gen will like them both.”

Pebbles took the one with the largest diamond from him and looked at it through some kind of jeweler’s eyepiece. She swapped rings with him, looked at the second, and said, “Both are flawless. Take a look.”

Duke didn’t know what he was looking at, but once he looked at them close up, he found he was happier with the more complex design. He worked with metal when he built and modified bikes, and he could see true craftsmanship, though on a much smaller scale. He lifted the one he liked, and the woman smiled at him as she said, “We can size it while you wait, do you know your fiancée’s ring size?”

“
Hold up,” Pebbles said. “He’ll need to look at the matching bands, now. He may not buy everything today, but he’s going to make some more decisions, and you’re going to give him a discount on the engagement ring, as incentive for him to come back to you to buy the wedding bands.”

Two hours later, Duke walked out with a ring that cost more than a few of his bikes had cost brand new, even though Pebbles had successfully brought the price down by nearly two thousand dollars.

Gen gave a silent war-whoop as she rounded a corner and took out Bash, as she was pretty sure she and Pebbles only needed to get Brain now, in order to win the competition.

They’d started out as six women against six men, but now it was down to two women and one man. Gen remembered Brain climbing the tree in her back yard, and she looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

She didn’t see anything, so she held her breath, and listened… and then tried to latch onto Duke’s sense of smell.

It worked, and she had to triangulate where Brain was most likely to be, based on where she thought Duke was.

Gen backed around a tree, made her way from hiding place to hiding place for twenty yards, and then stopped to look up again. She heard something on the ground in front of her, looked, and saw Pebbles. Gen’s eyes went up again, and she saw Brain, aiming his paintball gun at Pebbles.

Gen lifted her gun and shot without bothering to take time for a good aim, and then gave an audible war-whoop when she saw bright pink blossom on his leg.

Duke and Jiminy had both opted to watch and not participate, so when Pebbles and Gen came out of the woods with huge smiles and no paint on them, they both got hugs from their men, as well as high fives from most of the women present.

Duke walked them through the clubhouse and into the back so they could change clothes, and by the time they came back out, the kids were once again engaged in paintball battle in the woods. The official tournaments were over, but the kids would have a blast practicing and playing for another couple of hours.

Gen watched with fascination as Aaron and Sophia Drake’s triplets climbed all over Duke and Brain. The three toddlers were the cutest, most adorable babies Gen had ever seen in her life, and she loved watching how gentle the bad-ass bikers were with them.

Aaron’s wife was tiny, and Gen couldn’t imagine how the woman had managed to give birth to three babies and still manage to weigh less than a hundred pounds. She looked like a tiny fairy princess, and the first time Sophia had run and practically jumped into Duke’s arms, Gen had been pissed. However, she’d soon learned the two were just good friends, and that Aaron Drake didn’t have a problem with their friendship, so she probably shouldn’t, either.

She was a little surprised when her brother Frisco showed up with all of his lovers as well as Randall, but she was happy Duke’s brother accepted the invitation. It took a lot for the Pack Alpha to come to an RTMC gathering with only one Pack wolf with him, and that wolf happened to be Isaac’s adopted father, which meant it was still all family.

Somehow, Duke’s pants got ripped while he was roughhousing with the kids, but he didn’t seem to even notice. He might prefer jeans and tees, but he was always neat and tidy in them, his shirts tucked in and his jeans worn but clean. Gen thought it a good look for him tonight, surrounded by friends and family. He seemed more carefree, happier, and definitely sexy, with his bare, muscled arms contrasting with his black leather vest, a black sleeveless tee tucked into his pants.

She didn’t think anything of it when he jumped up on a concrete picnic table with a microphone to talk to the crowd. As club president, he frequently aimed their parties in whatever direction he thought they should go.

However, when he asked Brain to bring her to him, she protested as she was lifted up and settled beside him.

“
If you’re here,” he said to the assembled crowd, “then you know Gen, and you know I’m crazy about her. The club nicknamed her Duchess, and the title fits. I never quite understood why people in long-term relationships referred to their partner as their other half, but with Gen, I get it. She completes me, she makes me want to be a better man.”

Gen didn’t know what to say, she could only look at him, embarrassed to be standing on a table, but so caught up in his words, she could only stare.

He’d been looking at her when he talked before, but he’d been talking to the crowd. Now, he was speaking to her, and the crowd no longer mattered.

“
Genesis, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you’re mine and I’m yours, but I want to make it official.” He held his hand out, and Gen saw the most beautiful ring she’d ever laid eyes on.

“
Beautiful, will you marry me?”

Speechless, Gen just stood and stared at him. She didn’t breathe, didn’t blink, and it’s possible her heart didn’t beat.

“
You’re killing me, Beautiful. Please say something.”

She still couldn’t speak, but she managed to nod her head and push her left ring finger towards the ring. Duke’s smile could’ve lit a football field as he put it on her finger and swept her off her feet as he wrapped her in his arms.

Gen’s arms went around his neck as she finally managed to say, “Yes. God, yes, I’ll marry you.”

“
Heck no, I’m not signing that!”

“
Gen, listen to your attorney. This isn’t about making plans for us to divorce, because that isn’t going to happen. This is about making sure my shit doesn’t run downhill to you. It keeps your business interests legally separate from me, and mine legally separate from you.”

“
I don’t care. I’m not signing a prenup!”

“
And I’m not saying ‘
I do
’ until I know we can do it and keep you protected from my business practices.”

“
God, you’re stubborn!”

“
Perhaps,” said Gen’s attorney, “we should step outside and let the two of you work this out?”

“
No,” Duke told him. “It’s your job to explain to her why she needs something legal to protect her.”

“
If Duke should get arrested for certain activities,” Gen’s attorney told her, his voice professional and succinct, “the government could freeze all of his assets, and in many cases confiscate them,
permanently
. If we’ve legally separated your assets from his, so it’s clear he has no claim and no control of anything belonging to you, then no government agency will be able to touch your assets. Marriage protects you in some ways, because you can’t be obligated to testify against him. However, it leaves you open in other ways, so we need to create documents to protect you and your assets.”

* * * *

“
Are you sure?” Duke asked, his eyes incredulous. “I assumed you’d want a huge fairy tale wedding, with flowers and candles and live music and god knows what else.”

“
No. I want to get married on my brother’s property, by the water. Bethany’ll stand with me, and I’m assuming Brain with you, and that’s it. I know we’ll have a lot of guests, but I want the ceremony to be simple. I mean, I’ll probably go extravagant with the dress, but otherwise,
simple
.”