Page 110 of Renewal After Dark

And then she kissed him and made it even better.

Chapter23

McKenzie loved kissing him. She loved the way his beard rubbed against her face and how he held her so close. She loved the tenderness, the barely contained desire and the sense of wonder that came over her every single time her lips connected with his. In her former life, she would’ve looked right past the long-haired, bearded man wearing a leather vest that put full-sleeve tattoos on display.

A lot of women went wild for ink on a man. She’d never been one of them, until now. Until him.

Until Duke.

“What’s your real name?” she asked between tongue-twisting kisses.

“Duke.”

“No way.”

“Way.”

“That’s not a nickname?”

“Nope.”

“Who named you that?”

“No idea.”

“You’ve never asked your mother where the name came from?”

“Nope. More kissing, less questions.”

“Not until I finish asking my questions.”

He groaned and dropped his forehead to her shoulder. “What else you want to know?”

“Why haven’t you asked her that?”

“I’ve seen her five times in my whole life. It’s never come up.”

“Duke…”

“Don’t do that pity thing. I’m totally fine with it. She is who she is, and I’m not trying to make her into the mother of my dreams. Already had that with Rosemary.”

“Oh, I love that.”

“Don’t do that eye thing again. Once in a day is all I can take.”

“What eye thing?”

“When you use them as the most powerful weapon in your considerable arsenal.”

“I do that?”

“Yeah, you do, and it works, so cut it out.”

“What does it do to you?”

“I’m not telling you out of self-preservation.”

“Come on! I want to know.”

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