War Wounded (The War Trilogy #2.5) (10 page)

Duke pulls me in close and sighs contently. I wrap my arms around him and hold him close. I don’t ever want to let him go.

As we lie there, almost drifting off, I let my fingers run over one of his arms, down to his hand. As my fingers move over his wrist, I come to a raised section of skin on the inside of his wrist. Frowning, I take his arm and lift it so I can see what it is.

An almost six inch long raised scar is what I come face to face with. It runs vertically from the base of his hand to almost mid-forearm. My heart and mind race at what a scar like that means. Has Duke...?

Duke clears his throat uncomfortably and gently removes his arm from my grasp.

"How did you get that scar?" I ask quietly.

Duke takes a deep breath and sits up. I follow, sitting up and pulling the covers up to cover my nakedness. Somehow, I don't feel as if being naked is suitable for this conversation. Duke pulls the covers over his lap and sets his arms, forearms up, on his thighs. I gasp when I see that the other wrist has the same scar. I press a hand to my throat and try to swallow past the lump that's formed there.

"I...uh...shit," he struggles. "My last tour overseas had been a really rough one. My unit got attacked while we were on a patrol in the town. Tucker, our buddy, Chuck, and I got separated from the rest of our unit. We were making our way back to the Humvee when Chuck got shot in the leg. Tucker went to help him while I provided cover. We almost made it back when an RPG hit the Humvee, blowing it up. Tucker, Chuck, and I got blown back. When I was able to get to my feet, I could see Tucker struggling under Chuck, who was dead on top of him. Chuck had moved in front of Tucker to shield him, and in turn, got impaled by a flying piece of shrapnel from the truck. I got Chuck off Tucker and dragged Tucker to his feet, and then pulled him behind a building. That's when I found out that he couldn't hear."

I sit quietly next to Duke, listening to his heart-wrenching story. There is nothing for me to say. No words of comfort could ever touch what has happened to him, so I wait for him to continue. He traces the scar on his left wrist as he speaks again.

"When I got home, I was in a really bad place. Tucker was also struggling, so it's not like he could have helped me. I was having trouble transitioning back into society. I was mourning the loss of Chuck and the fact that my best friend was injured. I was living with my parents, but they weren't much help either because they had no idea what I had been through. Severe depression kicked in. I...uh...I didn't have a reason to live anymore, so I cut my wrists open."

"Jesus," I breathe.

"My dad found me in the bathroom. I was seriously minutes away from bleeding out completely. Once in the hospital, I finally got the help that I needed. I found a therapist and was on medication for a little while. I still have bouts of depression, but I've learned to go find help before it gets out of control. Dennis has actually been a big help with it. I was falling back into depression after I found out about Aimee cheating on me and he helped pull me out of it."

I reach over and cover his wrist with my hand. Duke looks over at me, his gaze uncertain. As if he's not sure what I'm going to say or think about it.

"I'm so glad you were able to get the help you needed. Thank you for sharing your story with me."

Duke nods. "Thank you for listening and understanding," he replies softly.

I give him a tender smile before leaning over to give him a kiss. "I'm glad you're in a better place now."

He smiles. "Me, too."

~ Chapter Ten ~

~ Arianna ~

We pull up to Duke’s parents’ house at around four o’clock on Christmas Eve. My heart pounds nervously in my chest. I’m about to meet his parents! What if they don’t like me? As Duke gets out of the car, I rub my sweaty palms on my thighs. I wasn’t anywhere near this nervous when I had to meet Kyle’s parents, who ended up being a couple of assholes anyway.

I get out of the car as Duke grabs our bags from the trunk. Oh yeah, we’re staying with them for a few days, too. Fuck me. The trunk slamming closed causes me to jump. Duke chuckles and comes to stand next to me.

“They’re going to love you, I promise,” he murmurs and gives me a peck on the lips.

I don’t have time to respond because the front door opens and a cute little woman is standing there, a giant grin on her face. She’s shorter than I am, and a bit round in the midsection and hips. She has short blonde hair and a pretty face.

“Dukey! You made it!” she cries excitedly.

Duke glances at me. I can see the embarrassment etched on his face.

“Dukey?” I mouth, eyebrow raised.

He narrows his eyes at me. “Shut up,” he hisses.

I bite back a laugh as he starts up the steps to the front porch. I follow closely.

“Hi, mom,” Duke says, dropping our bags to give her a big hug.

“Ooohh, I’ve missed you so much.” She sighs.

“I’ve missed you, too,” he replies.

He lets her go, turns to me, and holds out his hand. I take it and let him pull me up next to him.

“Mom, this is Arianna Bennett, my girlfriend,” he says. “Arianna, this is my mom, Alicia Tavish.”

Alicia beams at me and claps her hands. “Girlfriend! Awe, Dukey, I was afraid you’d given up on relationships,” she says then pulls me into a big hug, while Duke grumbles under his breath about her calling him Dukey in front of his girlfriend.

“Don’t get too excited. This is brand new and who knows where it’s gonna go,” Duke mutters.

Alicia’s scathing glare in his direction makes him blanch. I’ve never see Duke’s face pale like that before.

“That is no way to talk, especially in front of your girlfriend. Do you want her to leave you for being an asshole?”

I roll my lips in to stop myself from laughing. I like his mom already, she’s fiery.

“No,” he pouts.

“I didn’t think so,” she huffs. “Now, come on in out of the cold.”

She ushers us into the house that smells absolutely delicious.

“Duke, bring your bags up to your old bedroom, I’ve got it all set up for you. Arianna, let me take your coat, dear,” Alicia says.

Duke does as he’s told and races up the stairs two at a time. Alicia then comes to me and helps me out of my coat. I thank her as she goes and hangs it in the hallway closet.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now tell me, how has my son been treating you? Good, I hope?” she asks, concern filtering through the seemingly ordinary question.

“He’s the best,” I tell her. “Like he said, this is brand new, but so far, he’s been great.”

She nods. “I just worry about him.”

“I understand.”

“I’m very surprised he brought you home. He doesn’t even like to come to Baltimore anymore; he says that there are too many bad memories here for him. That’s why he moved to New York.”

I nod. “I know all about it. And I’m surprised he asked, honestly.”

Duke comes flying back down the steps. I have the feeling he didn’t want to leave me alone with his mother for too long.

“Dad around?” he pants and slings his arm over my shoulder.

Alicia rolls her eyes. “He’s in the kitchen,” she answers and hikes a thumb over her shoulder.

“Great! Let’s go meet my dad,” he says quickly and steers me into the kitchen.

We walk into the kitchen and I see his father. I look back and forth between the two of them to find that Duke is just a younger version of his father. They look exactly alike. It’s insane.

“Hey, dad!” Duke smiles and starts for his father.

His dad smiles wide and it’s the same exact smile on Duke face. “Hey, buddy!”

They hug and I find out that they are the same height.

Alicia comes to stand next to me.

“I guess I know what Duke is going to look like when he gets older, don’t I?” I joke.

Alicia smirks. “Absolutely.”

When they separate, Duke turns to look at me. “Dad, this is my girlfriend, Arianna Bennett. Arianna, this is my dad, Duke Sr.”

“Girlfriend, huh?” he says with a surprised glance at Duke before shaking my hand. “Nice to meet you, young lady.”

“You, too, Mr. Tavish,” I reply.

“Call me Duke, sweetheart,” he says with a wink.

I smile and nod. “Okay.”

“So, what time is everyone else coming?” Duke asks.

“Around five, so they’ll be here soon,” his mother replies.

“Duke, why don’t you show Arianna around the house so she knows where everything is,” Alicia suggests.

Duke nods in agreement and takes my hand to lead me out of the kitchen. He shows me the living room, dining room, and small office that are on the first floor. Then we go upstairs. He shows me the bathroom, where his parents’ room is, his brother’s and sister’s old rooms, then finally his room.

The walls are painted a sandy tan color and are mostly covered in posters. There are a couple of military ones, a couple of sports players, and then a couple of sexy
Sports Illustrated
bathing suit models. Really no surprise there, this was a teenaged boy’s room at one time. His sheets and comforter are a green and tan camo.

Duke hangs back while I glance around at everything. I finally reach his desk. There is a corkboard hanging above it covered in pictures of him with some other boys and him with the same dark-haired girl over and over. I’m assuming that’s his first wife. He did say she was his high school sweetheart. They actually look really cute together. Then on the desk, there is a framed picture of very young-looking Duke in his dress blues standing at attention.

I pick up the picture and look over at him. “You were so young,” I say quietly.

He nods solemnly. “That’s after I graduated boot camp. I was 19.”

“Jesus,” I breathe and look down at Duke’s little baby face under the black brim of his hat. “You can’t get deployed again, can you?” I ask. I hadn’t even thought about it until right now. Please let him say no.

“Not unless I re-enlist, which I don’t plan on doing. I did 12 years in the Marines, that’s enough for me,” he replies.

I nod and blow out the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. I don’t think I could handle him being deployed overseas. I’d be worried sick the entire time, just like I was when my brother was over there. I put the picture back and shove back the fear that had crept to the forefront of my mind. He’s not going anywhere, I remind myself.

“Is this your first wife?” I ask, pointing to the pretty brunette that’s in a lot of the pictures.

Duke comes and stands next to me. He sighs heavily. “Yeah, that’s Mallory.”

He starts plucking all of the pictures of them together off the board.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I don’t want to look at her,” he mutters.

Once all of the pictures are down, he opens the top drawer of the desk and tosses them in before slamming the drawer shut.

“Hey, you okay?” I ask, touching his arm.

“I just…I hate being here. There are too many memories that I’d rather forget, but I can’t because everything here reminds me of them.” He sighs.

“Like what?” I ask. Maybe if he gets it out, it won’t bother him so much.

“Like this room. I lost my virginity to Mallory in this room, on that bed. That’s not something that a guy ever forgets.”

I smirk and walk over to the bed. I climb up onto it and lie down in the middle of it. “This bed, here?” I ask suggestively.

Duke’s lips twitch as he tries not to smile.

I slowly run my hands down over my breasts and stomach. Duke growls low as he stalks over to the bed. I let my hands slip between my legs and let out a soft moan. Duke climbs onto the bed and knees my legs apart so that he can fit between them. He covers me with his body. He pulls my hands up over my head and holds them there with one hand. The other hand dips under my shirt to cup my breast through my bra.

“I see what you’re trying to do,” he whispers, his lips brushing mine.

“Maybe making new memories with help you deal with the old ones,” I murmur.

“I like that idea,” he breathes before capturing my lips.

Duke takes his time kissing me while he uses his fingers to torture my nipple. He’s got my hands pinned above my head, so I can’t even tease him back. The only thing I can do is surrender to him and what he’s doing to me.

~ Duke ~

The noises coming from Arianna are killing me. I’m so turned on right now. I move down to kiss her neck while I grind my aching cock against her core. That’s when I hear it: the door squeaks as it opens and my mother’s surprised gasp.

“Duke!” she cries in horror.

Arianna and I both scramble to disengage ourselves from each other like we’re a couple of teenagers getting caught. And sadly, Arianna’s knee finds my balls in the midst of the chaos. I drop to the floor like a bag of bricks, both hands cupping my precious nuts. It’s Arianna’s turn to gasp in horror when she realizes what happened. Her hands fly up to cover her mouth while I curl into the fetal position on the floor and fight back the urge to throw the fuck up.

“Duke, oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Arianna cries from behind her hands.

“No,” I croak.

“Maybe if you weren’t groping your girlfriend in my house, that wouldn’t have happened,” my mom scolds.

“I’m 35! I can grope my girlfriend whenever and wherever I want!” I bark at her then groan as my stomach rolls in protest.

“Well maybe next time you should lock the door,” my mom says.

“Maybe next time you should knock, dammit!” I snap and glare at her.

I can see that she’s trying not to laugh. Bitch. I take a couple of deep breaths in through my nose and blow them out through my mouth. The pain is finally ebbing away and the nausea is subsiding. Shit, that hurt.

“Did you need something?” I ask my mother harshly.

“I just wanted to tell you that Brett and Caitlyn are here. Are you going to come down, or should I send them up?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“We’ll be down in a minute,” I sneer at her, making her chuckle as she walks out, leaving the door wide open.

I push up into a sitting position but lean back on my hands. I glance at Arianna, who looks completely mortified.

“That was so embarrassing,” she mumbles.

“That was nothing. She caught me once in the midst of sex with Mallory. Both of us were buck-naked doing reverse cowgirl, so not only did she get a full shot of Mallory, but she could also see all of me. Now
that
was embarrassing,” I scoff.

Arianna’s eyes widen. “I think maybe you need to just stop having sex in this room.”

I bark out a laugh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Are you okay? I’m really sorry,” she says with a wince.

“I’ll survive,” I assure her.

She stands and straightens out her shirt then holds out her hands for me. I take them and let her help me up. Once on my feet, I adjust my boys with a grimace. I’m still a little tender, she got me good.

“Note: quickest way to get rid of a boner - get kneed in the balls,” I mutter.

Arianna frowns. “I feel horrible.”

“It’s okay, really. It’s not like you did it on purpose,” I say and give her a quick kiss on the lips.

I move to leave the room but she grabs my hand. I turn back to look at her with a questioning glance.

“I would never purposely hurt you in
any
way, you know that right?” she says sincerely, her eyes locked on mine.

Do I know that? I want to trust her, and I believe that she believes what she’s saying, but there’s always that nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I can’t seem to get rid of. I glance down at where our fingers are laced together before looking back at her beautiful face.

“I want to believe that you’d never hurt me on purpose,” I say softly. “I’m not going to lie to you and say that my past isn’t affecting my ability to trust you completely, because it is.”

The hurt in her eyes is too much for me to bear, so I look away.

“Is there anything that I can do or say to change that?” she asks brokenly.

I shake my head. “No, but I’m trying to get past it. I want to believe you, I really do. I’m just hesitant because I really care a lot about you and I’d be crushed if you ever…” I can’t even finish the sentence because it hurts too much to even say the words.