Page 19 of Garnish with a Candy Cane
Desire flames in his mesmerizing brown eyes, and he growls at me this time. “I’m two seconds from fucking that pussy until you can’t walk which won’t be helpful before you go to work.”
Dirty but deliberate he brings me back to my right mind and where my focus should be. He really does want to do what I ask, even if he doesn’t like or agree with my reasoning. “I better get going.”
I try to slide out from underneath him. Until his powerful hand clutches my hipbone so close to the place I desperately wish he would touch regardless of how wrong it is or how late I am.
“Pants and long sleeves.”
“Fine.” I only agree because pants are allowed. He doesn’t need to know that I like him being a little jealous. My ego likes him being a little possessive. “I don’t have any other choice since you destroyed my other outfit.”
“I’ll destroy any clothes you wear that I don’t approve of.”
Okay, he’s back to bossy and unreasonable again. I open my mouth to complain about his heavy-handed ways, but he outsmarts me. Finally, moving his thumb to where I’ve wanted him to. Utter bliss I’ve only read about in my favorite books and now grasp from the slight pressure on the bundle of nerves already throbbing under my panties. Worth all the fuss for sure. A billion times better than I could’ve ever imagined.
“Fucking shit. You’re going to make me lose control Duchess if you keep making that sound.”
His voice croaks as hoarse as mine from the sheer ecstasy. I want that. I want him to lose control. I want to be the one to make him lose control. But if we give in now I’ll never forgive myself. I keep my word. With more reluctance than a child losing his newfound favorite toy, I entwine my fingers with his, slowing if not stopping the pleasure. “I have to go.”
“Fuck.”
“Yes later please.”
His heavy lids pop open from my suggestive teasing that he didn’t expect and after a second of staring, I assume to double check that it’s really still me squirming beneath him, he laughs. A genuine, low, and slightly dangerous chuckle reverberates in my small room.
“God, I love you.”
Did he just…? Was that…? Are we…? Holy shit. He can’t mean it. I don’t say it back because I wouldn’t mean it either. Would I? Oh god! Feeling totally crazy and confused, I smile up at him. Uncertain what to say or do, I fidget the way I hate when I’m nervous and pat his chest after smoothing his crisp white dress shirt while he continues to grin down at me
“You should go.”
He’s right. “I should go.”
Neither of us moves. I don’t want to leave and end the magic. No man has ever loved me before. I’ve never met a man who I’ve wanted to love me until now. I’ve never met a man I thought I could love until Duke. If I climb off the bed and walk out the door, I’ll be back in the real world. This dream Duke’s created is just too good to let go of yet.
“Don’t forget. I’ll pick you up and make sure you get some solid sleep until breakfast. Tom’s already promised Merry he’ll make her Christmas-themed pancakes. I think he’s trying to figure out how to make reindeer shapes.”
The reminder of Nana yanks me from my fantasy to hers. In the past, her confusion was bittersweet. Now, with Duke and his staff supporting her idiosyncrasies, I can genuinely enjoy celebrating the faux holiday with her. “Please tell him thank you for indulging her.”
“I think he likes playing along too. Not as boring as the meals for one he cooks for me.”
The vulnerability in his admission catches me off guard. A man like Duke doesn’t seem like he would ever be alone. Or more surprisingly lonely. Yet he probably keeps everyone from getting too close to protect himself. Now, with me, he’s taking a chance. Kind of like I am for him. “Well now with Nana and me, he’s going to have holiday overload.”
“Worse problems to have.”
I agree. Of all the challenges we’ve faced, living in perpetual Christmas hasn’t been one. Feeling more optimistic than I have since she moved to Serenity Terrace, I kiss his cheek and slide out. Surprisingly, he allows me to climb off the bed. Until he’s right behind me with his hand wrapped around mine as I head to the closet to find clothes he and my boss approve of for the club. With our agreement solidified, I feel as jolly as Nana.
How the hell could she not have told me she’s a waitress atThe Liquid Lounge? When I had my assistant call in Noelle’s resignation to the company depositing money into her checking account, I thought she worked at one of their diners or movie theaters. Of all fucking places, my Duchess doesn’t belong at a gentleman’s club, especially one that’s turned into such a dive.
The tile’s sticky under my feet as I escort her inside. At least a third of the neon lights flashing above the dance floor are out, and the girls dancing in cages are rough instead of refined. I see more thugs than bouncers, which is an unacceptable ratio. Unsure how I missed the decline over the years but the place obviously has changed its clientele and not in a good way.
She seems oblivious to the deterioration as well as my irritation while she snuggles in, tucked into my side since I helped her from my SUV. Striking yet naïve, she doesn’t realize the danger lurking in an atmosphere like this. At the bar, she twists in my embrace and beams up at me with a dazzling smile that makes me want to annihilate every man in a hundred foot radius who catches yet doesn’t deserve a glimpse of her honest beauty.
“I know this isn’t the right time to get into this, but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything you’re doing for us. You’ve made my life better and so much easier in just one day and I don’t know how else to say it so you know I really mean it, but thank you.”
My pulse and my cock shoot up from her heartfelt admission, and I force down the rant I was about to unleash. I’d rather celebrate her acceptance than ruin our night with an argument neither of us will come out of unscathed since I think she’s almost as stubborn as I am. “I know you mean it Duchess. And, you’re welcome. Very, very welcome.”
The glow of her smile will warm me until death – the fire only distinguishing when I’m gone and unable to see her exquisite face.
“I need to clock in and get ready. I’ll see you later, okay?”
