Page 56 of The Small-Town Seduction Plan

“You shouldn’t have interfered,” I insist hotly. “I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it my whole damn life!”

“But what if you didn’t have to?” Duke demands, closing the distance between us. “Would it really be so bad if you just let someone else give you what you need?”

“Oh, and you’re volunteering?” I ask, sarcastic.

“Yes.”

Wait, what?

Our eyes lock in the dim alley light. Duke’s features are tight with tension again, and his eyes…

His eyes are blazing with pure, heart-stopping lust. Wanting me.

I stare back, frozen to the spot. My pulse kicks. And all those good reasons why I should keep my hands to myself?

I can’t remember them anymore.

So I reach for him. Hell, I practically hurl myself into his arms. Up on tiptoe, hands gripping around his neck; I pull him down to meet me and kiss him like my life depends on it.

Because god, the way I want him right now, I might just die without his mouth on mine.

Duke groans, and then his arms are coming tight around me, crushing me against his chest. We stumble back, slamming into the wall, and?—

“Aaiiii—” I let out a shriek, as the wall gives way, and I keep on stumbling.

“Whoa!” Duke catches me at the last second, before I hit the ground.

“What the hell?” I gasp, looking around. It wasn’t a wall, but a door to some kind of dark supply closet, filled with junk. I’m pretty sure that if I look too closely, I won’t want to be pressed up against any of these surfaces, so I just yank Duke closer again. “Close the door,” I manage, already kissing him again. He slams it shut behind us, and then, yes, the noise from the bar muffles, and we’re all alone.

Alone, and hot, and horny.

Duke presses me up against the shelves in the back, his hot mouth roving along my jaw and down the bare curve of my neck. “Out there, you can put on any damn show you like,” he growls, lodging a thigh between my legs. “But in here, between us, you don’t fake a goddamn thing.”

I moan, grinding against him. I can feel his cock, hard against my hip, and it just makes me hotter to know he’s losing his mind here, too.

“Say it,” he demands, as one hand closes around my breast.

I shiver at the touch. “Duke…”

“Say it’s for real.”

“Yes,” I manage, with my last coherent thought. “It’s real. Please.”

Duke sounds a groan, and then it’s like he’s a man unleashed: running his hands over my body, squeezing possessively, touching every inch. Other men have handled me with care, like I’m some priceless toy that they can’t afford to break, but Duke doesn’t hold back for a second, palming me roughly and pinching at my aching nipples until I’m melting in his hands.

“Christ, sweetheart.” He tugs my dress lower, hissing an exhale the sight of my bare breasts. “You’re a work of art.”

“Like Jacee’s paintings?” I tease, and Duke covers my mouth with his hand.

“Quiet princess,” he orders me, eyes glittering hungrily in the dim light. “Keep that smart mouth shut while I’m making you come.”

Oh my god.

I swear my eyes roll all the way back at his filthy command. I sag back against the wall, reeling. I’ve never been so turned on in my life before.

And then Duke sinks to his knees, tugs up the hem of my dress, and yanks my panties aside.

“I came so close that day in the woods,” he groans, breath hot against my core. “I was right here. Inches from heaven…”

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