Page 16 of Bad Duke

“Only for a year.” She stokes up that frustration in me that only she can cause.

I slide my hand around her neck and force her back against the door to gain back some control.

“Don’t get fucking smart with me,” I warn. Trying hard to contain how angry that thought makes me. I’m very aware that I have a time limitation and I’m figuring it out.

“Okay.” She nods her head and although I loosen my grip I keep my hand in place. I like how her skin feels under my fingertips. I like how it feels to have her in my possession. “The staff are going to talk, what am I supposed to say to them?”

“You say nothing, you don’t have to, they work for you too, now.”

“Oh no…No, no. NO.” She shakes her head frantically.

“Olivia we have to make this believable, the only people who know about this arrangement are you and me.” I take her hand and open the door before she can argue, dragging her out into the hall and feeling a little more confident about putting on a show for these people.

“Oh.” I turn back around when I remember what I’ve arranged for later.

“I’m having a few friends over tonight. I need you to stay in your room.”

“Are you kidding me?” She pulls her hand out of mine looking pissed off.

“So, I’m your fiancée but I’m not invited to your party. And who has a party the night of their father's funeral?” she questions me, looking horrified.

“Look at you nailing that nagging girlfriend role already.” I offer her some sarcastic praise. “It’s just a few friends coming over. Friends you wouldn’t like. I just need to be me for a few hours. No ‘duke’ shit.” I shouldn’t be explaining myself, this is my home and she may not know it, but I’m trying to protect her. The parties I throw tend to get wild. If she were down here for one, I wouldn’t relax. I don’t want the people I associate with looking at her, I know how their minds fucking work.

“Fine.” She shakes her head and moves past me, heading back towards the living room with her head held high and a sway in her hips.

She almost carries herself like a duchess.

OLIVIA

“A few friends.” I look at the two dogs that have laid themself out on the end of my bed and shake my head in frustration. The whole house is shaking from how loud the music is downstairs. The sound of women giggling is coming from the patio beneath my balcony and Alex’s butler made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that I was to stay upstairs when he brought up my dinner on a tray. I don’t know what expectations I had from a man who calls himself a duke yet sells drugs and keeps innocent women hostage for twelve months. But I still feel deceived.

I take out my phone and try to call Jamie again, but it goes straight to voicemail. Then, when the music downstairs gets even louder, I growl in frustration and watch both dogs bury their heads under the duvet. They’re sweet things, even if they do look deadly, and since Alex decided to move me in and then ignore me, they’ve been good for company. I was hoping the whole fiancée arrangement would change the way he’s been towards me, but it appears not. And I don’t even want to imagine what he’s doing downstairs with all the glamorous women that I’m sure have been invited.

I try to be understanding, and not judge, everyone deals with grief in their own way, but surely a party on the same day as your father's funeral is in bad taste by anyone's standards.

I listen to the chaos for another long hour, and when the dogs start to scratch at the door to be let out, I roll my eyes and drag myself out of bed. They need to be let out, he may expect me to stay up here all night but he can’t keep them locked away. I pull on some jogging bottoms over my boy shorts and throw on my old dance school sweater on top of my vest.

Opening the door, I disobey the Duke’s order and leave my room. I decide to let them out through the kitchen since it's in the opposite direction to where all the noise is coming from. I grab hold of both dogs by their collars when we get to the bottom of the stairs, I don’t think they’d hurt anyone, but drunk people do stupid things and I’ve learned from the short time that I’ve been here that Pico and Vinci are very protective.

They seem to have warmed to me since I arrived. In fact, they haven’t left my side and I have to admit I’ve found them a comfort. They both tug in the direction of the noise but I fight against them, dragging them the opposite way. I feel a sense of relief when we make it to the kitchen door without being spotted and force the door open with my shoulder. I freeze in shock when I see what I've walked into.

A girl sits up on the kitchen counter with her legs spread wide and a guy's head buried between them. She doesn’t seem shocked or bothered by my interruption, In fact, she smiles at me, and when Vinci starts to pull towards her, I hold him back firmly.

“You looking for something, sweetheart?” A guy comes from my left with a huge blunt hanging from his mouth and eyes that are so bloodshot I’m surprised he can see out of them. He’s dressed in baggy jeans with a baseball cap turned backwards on his head, and seems the complete opposite of what I’d expect a friend of Alex’s to look like. It’s a vast reminder that I know nothing at all about the man I’ve agreed to live with for a year.

“I’m just letting these out to pee,” I explain, dragging both dogs through the kitchen towards the back door, and when I feel his hand touch my shoulder I spin around.

“Don’t touch me,” I warn, hearing Pico snarl, but the guy’s so out of it he looks down at him and smiles.

“Come on, mate.” He reaches his hand out to stroke his head and he barks so loud it even makes me jump.

“Relax.” He proves how wasted he is when he barely flinches and laughs to himself as he hops up on the kitchen counter beside the girl who’s getting her pussy licked. His eyes remain fixed on mine as he places the blunt between her lips, holding it for her as she tokes back while his mouth covers one of her nipples.

“Come on, let's go.” I quickly open the door and let the boys out to relieve themselves. When I hear what sounds like a couple screwing around the corner I quickly hurry them up and march them back inside so I can get back to my room.

I manage to make it through the hall and halfway up the stairs before I hear a male voice call from behind me.

“Is Alex keeping you locked away?” I turn around and see a tall, handsome man staring back at me. He’s dressed more like Alex, in suit trousers and nice shoes, though his shirt is fully open and his soft, brown hair is all ruffled out of place.

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