Page 61 of Duke
On a desperate sigh, I give in, pressing my lips to his. He moans into the kiss, and I breathe him in, licking into his mouth and touching his tongue with mine. The resulting grunt from deep in his chest is everything. “Fuuuck, baby.” He shifts his hands from my face to my hips, pulling me tight against his hardening cock as we continue to seek solace in each other. Heat floods my body, little explosions going off everywhere as our tongues twist and curl and stroke.
A cough from across the room is followed by a chuckle. “Stella Bella, I thought it was the winning fighter that earned the right to be taken care of.”
My eyes widen as I stare at Bear. Is Duke mad? He doesn’t sound mad… My brow pinches together. Bear shakes his head, noticing my concern, then throws it back laughing. “He’s teasing you. But maybe he’s got a point. I’ll go get the SUV from the parking garage.” He brushes one last kiss over my lips, then urges me up.
I catch my lip between my teeth as I climb off Bear’s lap. Turning around, I smile sheepishly at Duke, then close the distance between us. I fall into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I think we all won tonight. But apparently our fighter has needs that I should be taking care of?”
“Mm-hmm,” he mumbles, sweeping his lips over my jaw before kissing me soundly, all hot and aggressive. A residual effect from the fight, maybe? Leftover adrenaline fueling an angsty, possessive claiming. Whatever the cause, I like the way his tongue wars with mine. It makes me feel secure. Wanted.
“Well shit, if a stint in the cage is what it takes to get some of that, I guess it’s my turn next weekend.”
I break Duke’s kiss only long enough to grab the front of Mason’s shirt and yank him close. I bite down on my lip, tilting my head to the side. “Or maybe join in, instead?”
“Go on, Mase. Kiss them,” comes Bear’s gruff command. My brows shoot up and I find his hot gaze watching us as he backs toward the door. He winks at me and nods, my reply an appreciative grin. I dive back in, nipping first at Duke’s lips, then finding Mason’s. Bear groans audibly at my antics before heading out to get the SUV.
For the next few moments, the three of us go at it, and it’s almost effortless in the way we explore each other. I can’t get enough. We’re a wild tangle of lips and tongues and teeth. The room fills with groans and pants and moans.
Duke pulls away first to say, “Bear’s waiting,” then leans back in, swiping his tongue over my lip before pulling Mason’s mouth to his. Their kiss makes warmth race through my veins. I join in, getting lost in the fray. Another few moments pass before Mase pulls away to nod, groaning his agreement with Duke, but immediately after, turns his head to steal my breath again, stroking his tongue with mine.
“We’ve really gotta go,” I pant, coming up for air and catching Mason’s gaze, then Duke’s. “You two are trouble.”
“The best kind, Kintsukuroi. Only the very best kind.”
Duke shakes his head, laughing, then rubs a hand over his face. “Who the hell in their right mind would have seen any of this coming?” It’s almost as if he’s talking to himself. He pushes the door open and exits. Mason puts an arm around me and guides me out of the dressing room and down the hall to the exit.
Outside, Mason kisses my cheek and lets me go. My gaze bounces from him to Duke. Maybe I missed some cue or something, but with the way Duke is looking at me, I figure he must have a reason for wanting Mase to get into the SUV first.
Duke loosely collars my neck and turns me to him. “I’m gonna sit in back with you.”
“Okay.” I pause. “Did I miss something?”
“I wanted to ask you a question.” Duke skims his lips over my cheek. His exhale is slow and steady, almost like he’s attempting to calm himself, in a way. He clears his throat, then whispers, “What you said earlier before the fight started … about not leaving me? Did you mean…? I mean—” He huffs out a frustrated breath.
I search his gaze, not understanding, then reach up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “Duke. Talk to me.”
He takes a couple of deep breaths. “It just— It felt good to know I have someone else in my corner. Literally, this time. It’s something I don’t have a lot of.”
The intensity in his blue eyes has something inside me cracking wide open. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to fully see it, but Duke, despite the controlled exterior, issensitive.And the more layers of Duke Valentine I peel back, the more I realize I’ve fallen so damn easily for him. “I’ll always be here if you want me.” I clutch him to me, incapable of more words. We stand there for a moment, holding onto each other. I’m just about to suggest we get in the SUV so we can head home when the crunch of gravel behind me gets my attention.
“Well, Lennon. I’m glad you’re here tonight, it’ll save me the trouble of coming to pick you up. Now, if you can pry yourself off your brother, we need to go.”
I startle away from Duke, the deep voice making my stomach pitch and go sour. I whirl around, blinking hard as I take in my stepfather’s presence. His blue eyes—so similar to his son’s but lacking his warmth—pierce mine.
“She’s not going fucking anywhere with you.” Duke smacks the SUV twice with his hand, and in response, the doors burst open. I hear the shuffle as Bear and Mason exit the vehicle and come to stand behind us.
Before either gets a chance to speak, Tristan growls, “Your mother has had enough of this.” He holds up one of the photocopies of the pictures from campus. “The cops brought this to the house. I wasn’t there. She saw it first. You can imagine what that did to her.”
My mouth opens and closes a few times, as I’m completely taken aback. I never considered that they’d take this to Tristan, much less give a copy to my mother.
“She wants to know—and so do I—what thefuckis going on in that house!” I jerk back as his voice raises with his rant. Tristan’s gaze tears from mine to meet his son’s. He steps forward and jabs a finger toward him. “I left her in your care. And you let this happen!”
Eyes blazing, I step forward and bat Tristan’s hand forcefully out of Duke’s face. “They’ve done nothing to me.Nothing.”I sense the tension rolling off the guys, but I know better than to tip our hand. We fucking know that Tristan and Derek and maybe even Murdock have been giving orders, but I’m not saying a damn word. I wonder if they know their little minions got caught. I may have felt like shit while in the back of that SUV with my puke bucket, but I’d been watching. I don’t know what the odds are that those two idiots made it out of there, but even if they did, I highly doubt they’d have the balls to show up on the OG’s doorstep. I swallow, staring at him. “Tell my mother I’m fine. She can call me herself if she wants… Not that she’s bothered since I came to KU.” I fold my arms over my chest, straightening my back and glaring.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time. I said, you’re coming with me, instead of parading yourself around like a little slut,” Tristan grits out as he grabs my left wrist, wrenching it toward him. It happens so fucking fast, I don’t get a chance to breathe, don’t get a chance to think, I just act. Yanking down sharply, I free myself, step back to give myself room and strike. I smash the back of my fisted hand into Tristan’s nose, just like Bear taught me.
Tristan howls, blood dripping from his nose and down into his mustache, over his lips, and into his beard.
It hardly registers what I’ve done, but no sooner have I lashed out than I hear the guys roaring behind me.
