Duke (19 page)

“
Other side of the interstate at a minimum, but the farther away, the better.”

“
Not ideal, but I’ll work with it.” She changed the conversation without a pause, needing to dive in, but not sure she wanted to. “Duke said if I need the services of a hacker… he says if I’m doing something questionably legal, I should keep it in the family. You good with that?”

Brain didn’t hesitate, didn’t think about it. He held her gaze and nodded, like it was a given. Gen blew out a breath and asked, “Is this Duke taking care of me, or his way of tangling me up with ya’ll so if pushed, I’ll have to lie to protect you because you’ll know stuff on me, too?”

“
Sounds like something else you need to talk to Duke about.” His voice was casual, but his eyes narrowed. Gen wasn’t sure exactly what it meant — Brain always seemed so laid back, but she had a feeling she didn’t want to tick him off.

“
Yes, I do, but I don’t know how to bring it up without pissing him off, and he scares me, sometimes.”

“
Duke’s never gonna hurt you, Gen. I mean, sure, he’ll spank you if you get too far out of line or do something dangerous, but it’s just to make sure you hear what he’s saying when he tries to keep you safe. He won’t hurt you. Not really.”

Gen stopped breathing, and her heart stopped beating a few seconds before it went into overdrive. “
Spank
me? Oh, hell no he won’t.”

Brain’s eyes narrowed even more and he shook his head. “This won’t work between ya’ll if Duke changes too much to fit into your world. I know he said he’s going slow, letting you get used to him a little at a time, but you need to let him go faster. You need to get to know the real Duke, Gen. Start by talking to him about what’s going through your head. If he gets pissed, he’ll get over it. You gotta talk, and he needs to be able to let you see who he really is.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Brain just shook his head and said, “He’s gonna be ticked at me for saying as much as I have, but I don’t care. You needed to know, and he needs to stop hiding the real Duke and be more honest with you. Go talk to your man, Gen. You and I are good, you need me for anything, let me know.”

Gen reached for her phone. “You done with this?”

He nodded and she stood. “Thanks for taking care of it. Anything you need to tell me, any heads up you think I need, I’m only a phone call away.”

“
Works both ways, Duchess.”

Gen was prepared to talk to Duke when he arrived. Amy had made lasagna but hadn’t cooked it, and had garlic rolls ready for Gen to put on a tray and stick in the oven as well. She told Duke to be there at seven, and she put the lasagna in the oven at six fifteen.

Duke arrived ten minutes early, and Gen handed him a glass of wine as she invited him to sit in the living room.

He looked at the wine, sat it on a table, and said, “How much time until we eat?”

“
About twenty-five minutes. I need to put the rolls in about ten minutes before the lasagna comes out, but that gives us fifteen minutes to talk.”

He shook his head. “We need to talk, and we will, but I need to fuck you now. Pull your skirt up and bend over the back of the sofa, Beautiful.”

Gen shook her head. “No, Duke. We need to talk.” She didn’t tell him not to say the eff word, because she’d taken Brain’s advice to heart, and needed to talk to Duke about what it meant. Until then, she wasn’t going to tell him what to say, but she wasn’t going to bend over the sofa so he could
do
her, either.

“
Here’s the way it works, Gen,” he told her, his voice soft and gentle, in contrast to his words. “I’ve claimed you as my woman, that means your body is mine. When I want it, I get it. Now, pull up your sexy skirt and bend over the back of the sofa.”

Gen glared at him as she asked, “Are you going to
spank
me if I don’t?”

“
No, Genesis.” His voice was so low, so feral, Gen felt like a child afraid of the bogeyman — an unrealistic fear of monsters, which was ridiculous, because this was
Duke
.

“
If you deny me when I want you,” Duke said, his voice even softer now, as if he were trying not to scare her, “then you’ll get me off without getting orgasms. I’ll take it easy on you now, seeing as how we’re still getting to know each other, so if you don’t bend over and make yourself available, you’ll get me off three times before I give you another orgasm.”

Gen picked up her wine and headed towards the kitchen. “I can’t talk to you about this. I’m not bending over and letting you…” She shook her head. “Never going to happen, Duke. This isn’t the middle ages. Women are no longer property.”

* * * *

Duke had intended to let her watch him jerk off if she denied him, but decided they really did have a lot to talk about, and there was no need in pissing her off that much more.

He went into her downstairs bathroom and envisioned what he was going to put her through, and the pleasure he’d get watching her fight with the reality of orgasm denial. It didn’t take him long to get off, and he washed up and joined her in the kitchen.

* * * *

Gen wondered what was taking him so long in the bathroom, but not enough to check on him. She sat on a bar stool with her wine glass on the island in front of her, and looked out her kitchen window at her magnificent view.

She heard Duke walk to the kitchen, but didn’t turn to look at him.

“
I dated someone for a year and a half,” he said. “At some point she started gettin’ off on the fact I’d protect her, and she kept doin’ shit that made me have to come to her rescue.” He shook his head. “So, yeah, I spanked her when she did something dangerous. And once, when she created a situation that got one of my brothers hurt backin’ me up to save her ass, I bared her ass in the clubhouse and turned her over my lap. She isn’t the only woman I’ve spanked, but she’s the only one I spanked in front of my brothers.”

Gen finally turned to look at him. He’d leaned against the doorframe, his large, muscled arms crossed over his large, muscled chest. Gen wasn’t afraid of him, exactly, but didn’t appreciate the stance, as if he were trying to intimidate her.

“
You ever walk into a gang infested bar and call me to rescue your ass, I’ll spank it once I’ve saved it. I find out you’ve met a stranger to show them a house and you didn’t have your piece and your pepper spray? I’ll spank your ass. However, one of the many reasons I like you is because you think smart, you think safe. Since you don’t do stupid shit, I don’t see me needing to spank you.”

Gen shook her head, slid from her barstool, pulled the rolls from the fridge, and started placing them on a tray. “I’m not sure you and I are going to work, Duke. I thought it didn’t matter that we come from different worlds, but now I’m not so sure.”

“
You’ll get used to me.”

“
And you’re having to pretend you’re someone else to get me used to you. If we’re going to work, you shouldn’t have to take the time to let me see who you are a little bit here and there. What if I finally meet the real you in two months, and don’t like whoever the hell you turn out to be?”

His eyes narrowed. “You like my cock well enough.”

“
Yeah,” she agreed, speaking quiet while focusing on the rolls instead of him. “And I like parts of the man attached to it, but I’m beginning to think there are huge chunks of you I might not be able to handle.”

“
Why have you had so few relationships?”

Gen’s head popped up, surprised at the question. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve had three long term relationships and my longest lasted nearly three years. I’ve had two relationships that only lasted a few months, not long enough for me to have sex with them. I’ve been on a lot of dates that didn’t work out. I’m a successful businesswoman, and it turns out that’s a turn-off for a lot of men.” She shrugged. “And while I was becoming successful, there wasn’t time for a man in my life.”

“
You dated two men for a couple of
months
, and didn’t have sex with them?”

She nodded and he asked, “Did they own dicks?”

“
Don’t be crude.” She put the rolls in the oven, double-checked the timer, and poured herself some more wine.

Duke walked to her and Gen backed up. Her back hit the counter and she froze, watching him stalk towards her.

“
I really can’t handle you bein’ afraid of me, Beautiful.” He gently stroked her cheek, his fingers curled around her neck, and his mouth angled over hers.

This wasn’t his usual kiss. He was gentle, soft, caring. He rose a few inches, his gaze intense. “I’m not going to hurt you.
Ever
. Yes, there’s something wild in me, and I’ve seen you recognize it a few times. Someday, I’ll try to explain it, but for now, just know you’re safe with me, but the wildness inside of me wants to chase when you act afraid. I
really
need you to figure out how to not be scared, Gen.”

She leaned into him, wrapped her arms around his middle, rested her cheek on his chest. When she was in his arms, she felt safe. Maybe she could have the conversation she needed to have sitting with him, in his arms?

The buzzer went off on the oven, and she pushed him away, but he said, “I’ll get it.” He donned an oven mitt, and Gen watched in amusement as he handled the rolls and lasagna as if he belonged in a kitchen.

Duke asked about her day as they both fixed their plates and prepared to begin eating, but Gen picked up with what was on her mind when the conversation lulled.

“
If I was to find out one of your people did something truly bad, like raped someone, or was robbing houses, or had a meth lab set up in the back of the compound, I’d personally go to the police and report it.”

Duke’s fork stopped midway to his mouth, and he set it down and looked at her. She saw his face close off, saw a wall form between them, but she kept going.

“
If you beat the hell out of someone for raping someone, I won’t approve, but I won’t say anything to law enforcement. If they come to me asking, I won’t lie, but I won’t answer their questions.”

He didn’t move, didn’t say anything, and Gen added, “You told me up front you were an outlaw. I appreciate your honesty, and from what I’ve seen so far, I can live with the kinds of rules you don’t pay attention to, but I’m trying to explain that even if I can understand where you’re coming from, I don’t want to be an outlaw.”

“
We’re in agreement, then, because I don’t want to make you one. I’ll keep club business away from you, Gen.”

“
Okay. I’m not sure how we’re going to make it work, but I’m willing to give it some time and see. I’m not willing to wait months to get to know the real you, though. Tell me something you’re waiting to reveal. Something you don’t think I can handle.”

“
You asked me once how many sexual partners I’ve had, and I told you I had no idea. I thought about it later, and I figure it’s probably at least a thousand people.”

Gen couldn’t even fathom that many, and could only stare at him.

“
I’ve been sexually active for seventeen years,” he said, his voice cautious. “When I was twenty-two and twenty-three, sometimes I was with more than three people a week. Frequently a
lot
more. I was often with two at the same time, occasionally three.”

Gen made a mental note to be sure he always wore a condom, and asked, “How can you possibly be happy with me?”

“
Beautiful, all but a handful of that number, it was just sex. I fucked ‘em, that’s it. I’m not even sure I knew all of their names, groupies who showed up at a biker bar, got drunk, and fucked a biker. I’m sure for some of them I was nothing more than a check mark on their bucket list. I know for a fact I was for one chick, because she told me ‘fuck a biker while he’s wearing his cut’ was on her list, and she thanked me for letting her check it off.”

He reached across the table, stroked her cheek. “It’s been a long time since I’ve made love to someone, years since it’s been more than a physical act. I hope eventually you and I reach a point we can occasionally just fuck, but I love what we have, and never want to lose it.”

“
Even though you’re having to teach me? Show me what to do?”

“
Especially
because I’m getting to teach you, Beautiful.” He rubbed her hand, sat back up. “You’ve already figured out I like to be in control when it comes to sex. I’ve never let anyone take the kind of control I gave you. Never thought I would, but I don’t mind it, with you. Not every time, but I’m good with it occasionally. Just let me know when you want to, Genesis.”

She’d never liked it when anyone else called her by her first name, but she loved the way it rolled out of Duke’s mouth, as if she mattered. As if she was important to him.

“
But, by being in control, it means I call the shots. We’ll start working on vocabulary sooner than I’d originally planned, see how you do with it. Brain might be a little right about my making too many changes and not being myself, he thinks you can handle more of me than I’m giving you, so I’m going to give you a little more and see how you do.”

Gen had wanted him to show her who he really is, but the prospect of him actually doing it was a little intimidating. She changed the subject by asking, “Do you know if any of them… you know… gave you anything?”

His smile was patient, and she was relieved he wasn’t mad at her for asking.

“
I didn’t use condoms as much as I should when I was younger, but I somehow lucked up and never caught anything. Somewhere around twenty or twenty-one, I started using them religiously after a pregnancy scare.”

“
I went off birth control when I broke up with Mike.”