Duke

by Candace Blevins

  As soon as they were all in their vehicles, Duke looked to Brain. “Get Martinson on the phone, I want him on this tonight. When the police conduct the warrant and get copies of the audio and video, I want them to listen to the first five or ten minutes, just enough to prove his guilt, and see he did, indeed, get audio and video of the inside of her home. Then I want all copies destroyed in order to protect Gen’s privacy. No one gets to see her naked, no one gets to hear her talking to me during sex.”

  He looked at Gen. “If I’d known why McPherson was after us, why it seemed so personal, I could’ve handled this different. Any other ex-boyfriend cops I need to know about?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know he’d targeted you. I’d have told you if I’d known.”

  “Understood. Any others we need to know about?”

  She shook her head. “I went out with the Fort Oglethorpe Police Chief once, found out he was just starting to date again after his fourth divorce, and told him I didn’t think it was going to work out between us.”

  “When was this?”

  “A few weeks before I ended up drunk at your bar?”

  A muscle in his jaw jerked. “You make it a habit? Dating cops?”

  “No. I thought I was having dinner with friends, turns out it was a triple date, they brought guys and arranged for me to have one, too. They thought it was past time I started dating again after Mike, and didn’t believe me when I told them I was done with men.”

  At that, he smiled. “Still done with men?”

  “Only the play-pretend men, obviously.”

  Several of the men laughed, a few gave small war-whoops, and Duke walked her back to the sofa. Sheila came to her, gave her a hug. “What’s the use of having a bad-ass boyfriend if you keep taking down the bad guys, hon? He’s gonna need to come to your rescue at some point. Maybe give him a shot, next time?”

  Gen laughed. “Oh, I don’t think he’d have gotten away with pummeling a police officer, and it’s looking like I may have.” She turned and looked at him to add, “Besides, I’m thinking this was my mess to clean up, since it was my ex making life difficult for them.”

  Duke didn’t confirm or deny her statement, but touched her cheek and said, “We need to have a meeting, you can stay here and talk to the women, or wait for me in the back.” He pulled her to him, put his mouth to her ear. “He touched you. You smell like him. My wolf would like for you to take a shower and put on the shirt I was wearing earlier, so you’ll smell like me when I join you in bed.”

  Gen knew all the wolves could hear him, that their conversation hadn’t been private, and her face burned hot again in embarrassment. However, she just smiled and nodded, and turned towards the back hallway.

  “Duchess!” Brain yelled as she neared the door. She turned to look at him and he said, “You’ve just disgraced the detective who compiled most of the proof they had against us. My guess is their case is shit now, and our attorney will make it clear any proof gained before or after today’s date will be called into question because they had an officer taking illegal surveillance of the club’s president talking to his girlfriend in bed. You have nothing to clean up. You did good, Babe.”

  “Yeah she did,” said Bash, and then another half dozen of the men agreed, too.

  Gen looked at Duke, who didn’t say anything, and she closed her eyes to turn back towards the hallway.

  “Gen?” Duke finally said.

  She turned and met his gaze, refusing to look down or flinch, and he said, “We’re good, Beautiful. I just need to get the sight of his hands on you out of my head. Okay?”

  She smiled, grateful he explained, and went to get Mike’s smell off of her in Duke’s tiny little stand-up shower.

  She was soaped up when he came in, and she jumped as he reached a hand in and grabbed the soap. “Hands on the wall, Gen.”

  Her eyes met his a brief second, she saw the wolf peeking out, and turned and did as he said. She wasn’t afraid of him, but didn’t have the nerve to tell him no right now, either.

  He washed her back, then her bottom, and she yelped as his fingers went into her crack. His other hand pushed her chest into the wall as soapy fingers touched her bottom hole, as if he were making sure it was clean, and she squealed as she tried to get away.

  His hands left her and he said, “Okay, now you’re clean. Make sure you rinse well, Beautiful.”

  Gen came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, but when she went to the drawer with his shirts, he said, “No. Come here.”

  She walked to him, but said, “Would it hurt to say please, every once in a while?”

  He smiled and reached for her, tugging her onto the bed as he said, “Come here, please.”

  His face grew serious and he said, “One more comment on tonight, and then I’m done.”

  She nodded and he told her, “I never bothered to look into your ex because he was gone before I arrived on the scene. In the future, Beautiful, anyone in your life who’s a cop? Would be good for you to bring to my attention.” He shook his head. “Asshole’s been a thorn in our side and I didn’t have a clue why.”

  “I’m sorry, Duke. If I’d known…” She sighed. “All I can say is I’m sorry, and I did my best to fix it.”

  His smile told her everything was going to be okay. “You did awesome tonight, Gen. I’m always gonna put someone on you if I think my life is spilling onto yours, but I like knowing you can take care of yourself, if push comes to shove. You’re such a little thing, but once you set your mind to something, nothing stops you.”

  He reached to the side table and picked up a glass… something. “This is called a butt plug, and it’s one of the smaller sizes available. I bought it brand new, just for you.”

  Gen shook her head as her eyes went from the depraved glass object to his eyes. “You suck at gift giving. I have a BFF, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to assist you if you need help in the future.”

  Duke put it in her hand and wrapped her fingers around it. “As much as I adore Bethany, something tells me you don’t really want her helping me buy our sex toys.”

  “Duke!”

  He flipped her over on the bed, his lips angling to hers as he chuckled, but the sparkle in his eyes turned dark as the kiss intensified, and Gen’s eyes closed as Duke once again overwhelmed every one of her senses.

  He’d scared her a little with the plug, and yet she wanted him, wanted whatever was going to happen. He hadn’t hurt her yet, and she’d enjoyed everything he’d done… even his not letting her orgasm had been a little hot, if she were honest.

  He pulled her towel away as his mouth drove her crazy. When she thought she’d go mad, he lifted up, put a glove on his right hand, dipped it in a jar, and rubbed his fingers together. His mouth was on her again, and a gloved finger on her bottom hole.

  “No, Duke!”

  He lifted his head and his gaze nearly took her breath away. “I’ll stop if you really want me to, Beautiful, but I can smell your arousal and it’s beating your fear hands down. Let me do what I want, tell me if something hurts or truly doesn’t feel good, but trust me, okay?”

  Her head nodded acquiescence before she could refuse him, and she gasped as his tongue stroked her clit before moving down.

  Once again, his slick, gloved finger touched near her bottom hole, but he didn’t try to push in, just rubbed around it, almost massaged the area. Eventually, she relaxed and accepted it.

  Until he pushed a finger inside, and she wasn’t relaxed anymore, but he didn’t say anything as he gently pushed in while his mouth drove her crazy.

  It felt good, and yet wrong, but it was Duke and she trusted him, and if she didn’t get to orgasm soon she might lose her mind.

  By the time he pushed the beautiful swirled glass into her, she was used to his finger. The toy was ultra smooth, and with the oil it slid in, but it opened her a little more than his finger and she gasped just before it went narrow again.

  “So proud of you, Beau
tiful. This one’s small so it won’t stay in without help. Need you up on all fours so I can hold it in while I fuck you.” His voice was rougher than usual, his eyes practically wolf, and Gen rolled over and went to her hands and knees without arguing.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Gen awakened the next morning and went straight to the bathroom, embarrassed at what they’d done the night before.

  And yet, deliciously sore.

  Duke was sitting on the edge of the bed when she returned, and she slowed as she saw the look in his eyes.

  “New game this morning, Babe.” He pulled her to him, tipped her sideways and caught her as if she were an infant, then situated her on the bed, facing up.

  “Hold onto the bars of the headboard.”

  She lifted her arms, grasped the cool iron bars, her gaze locked with his. There was no wolf this morning, it was all Duke.

  “Hold on the entire time and you’ll get unlimited orgasms until we leave the room for breakfast. Let go and you’ll have to do something to earn every orgasm I give you.”

  Duke started at her breasts, his mouth worked the sides, and finally landed on her nipples. She yelped as he pulled one into his mouth, the suction strong enough she wondered if it were possible to get a hickey on your nipple.

  When he finally entered her, she was holding onto the bars for dear life, and as she came for the fourth or fifth time, she begged, “Please let me hold you?”

  “Mmmm. Not yet, Beautiful. Let me love you.” His finger swiped over her nipple, and she braced her feet on the bed and lifted her hips to meet him, since she couldn’t reciprocate any other way.

  “That’s it, Gen. Fuck me back, let me see how bad you want it, how bad you want me.”

  He made her orgasm three more times before he told her she could wrap her arms around him, and when she came the next time he pounded her even harder through the orgasm, and then growled and grunted as he finally let loose and came, looking into her eyes as he did.

  He tucked her into his side, kissed her forehead and the top of her head as he said, “Love you so much, Gen. My wolf has claimed you, Babe. He sees you as my Duchess, too.”

  * * * *

  An hour later, Gen found herself in the kitchen with the other women. As they made bacon and eggs, Gen went to the sink and washed as the women finished with an item.

  Sheila entered the kitchen, saw her, and joined her, reaching for a towel and offering to dry. Gen knew the kitchen likely wasn’t usually completely silent as the women worked, but didn’t know what to do or say.

  Finally, Sheila said, “All right ladies, let’s get it out in the open. Gen’s new and she likely has no clue how you all feel.”

  No one said anything, so Gen said, “How do ya’ll feel? Have I done something to make you upset with me?”

  Sheila sighed and explained, “Before yesterday, only the two women who were present when you throat punched Duke knew you had weapons privileges, but there were too many here last night to keep it quiet, so now everyone knows.”

  “What does that mean?” Gen asked.

  “Don’t know,” one of the many skinny blonde bitches said. “No woman’s ever been given privilege before, other than the occasional woman police officer here on official business, and that ain’t privilege so much as a warrant they cain’t argue with.”

  Another woman gave a horrid, bitter, laugh. “One of us throat punched our old man, we’d be in a world a hurt. You do it and they vote to allow you a gun on RTMC grounds. What the fuck?”

  Gen turned to her, kept her voice light. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Veronica, but I ain’t your sweetheart.”

  “Well, Veronica, it’s my understanding the vote went my way the second time because I earned their respect. I could’ve hurt Duke, bad, but they recognized I didn’t. I measured my response to put him down long enough to get away without seriously injuring him. That, along with the fact I’m well trained and a darned good shot, showed them I’m not a kindergartner masquerading as a grown woman, and can be trusted with a weapon. Not to use against them, but to have their backs if needed. And last night? No one had to come to my rescue. I took care of every problem — legal, physical, and emotional — without a single club member having to lift a finger to do anything more than make sure it was recorded. Perhaps you might want to do something that earns respect, if you want it, instead of just sniveling and wishing you had it.”

  “It true you didn’t know how to give a blow job?”

  “Yeah, and my guess is he enjoyed the one he had to teach me to give him a whole helluva lot more than any of the hundreds you’ve probably given him.”

  Gen was operating on a guess, but the look in Veronica’s eyes told her she’d hit bullseye.

  Veronica’s hand flew out to slap her, but Gen caught her wrist. The other woman was much stronger than Gen had prepared for, though, so she had to go to her knees to avoid the slap even with her hand around the other woman’s wrist. Someone else came forward, grabbed Veronica around the waist, and dragged her back as Duke came storming into the kitchen.

  “You raised a hand towards my woman, Vee?”

  “She disrespected me, Duke.” Gen noted Veronica looked at Duke’s feet when she talked, and now that she knew what to look for, was certain Veronica must be a werewolf, too.

  “You disrespected her first and you know it. Leave the grounds. Brain will let you know if the club votes that you can come back, and how long it’ll be, if you’re allowed.”

  “My purse is in the back,” she sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

  “Duke,” Gen said. “It sounds like she’s sorry, maybe she should get another —”

  “No, Gen,” Duke interrupted. “This is club business. Remember what I said about club business and dangerous situations?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed, started to argue, but closed her mouth and went back to washing the dishes someone had used to make the homemade biscuits. Gen paid someone to do this at her house and wasn’t a fan of doing it here.

  When Veronica was gone and Duke was back in the clubhouse, one of the other skinny blondes said, “You ain’t just an old lady. You’re more. Not just the gun, but takin’ Duke down? Handlin’ Veronica? You’re right, they have respect for you, and they don’t for us.”

  Gen looked at Sheila. Duke had used the term once, too, but they’d gone onto another topic before she’d asked about it. “Old lady? I’m only twenty-nine, not even close to old yet.”

  Sheila smiled. “No, it’s a title, a position.”

  The skinny blonde looked sad. “Position, yeah. Means you matter. Ain’t just a piece a meat no more.”

  Gen turned to the way too thin girl and said, “No woman should ever let themselves be turned into a piece of meat. We all matter. We all have worth, and if we don’t see the value in ourselves, no one else will, either.”

  “Easy for you to say, with all your money and everything handed to you. Not everyone drives fancy cars and wears fancy clothes, gets an education that lets them buy whatever they want.”

  Gen took a breath and tried to keep her voice kind and gentle. “I have three sisters and one brother. I never met my father. My grandmother lived with us, to help my mom out. We lived in a tiny three bedroom apartment. My mom and grandmother shared a room, my room had two sets of bunk beds so there was room for all four girls to sleep, and my jerk of a brother had a room all to himself. I remember my mother buying me new clothes exactly four times my entire life, everything else was a hand-me-down from my sisters. From the time I can remember, the school bus dropped me off at my mom’s restaurant after school, and I did my homework, got something to eat, and then washed and dried silverware and rolled it into napkins until it was time for the kids to go home and go to bed. As I got older, I had better jobs — cook for a while, and eventually waitress, but my mom had to wait to put me out in the public so she wouldn’t get in trouble with the child labor people.”

  Sheila opened her
mouth to speak, but Gen kept going before she had a chance. “I went to a public school, and there was no money for me to go to college. I waitressed to put myself through the Realtor courses, and I took some legal and accounting classes at Chatt State, though not enough for any kind of degree. I also took some photography classes so I could learn to take the best pictures of the land and houses possible, and some negotiating and mediation classes. I spent several years learning what I needed to know to make the jump from residential to commercial, so I’d be ready to take on the big boys when I did. No one handed me anything. I worked my ass off to get where I am.”

  Diana seemed to be the woman in charge of the kitchen, and at this she declared, “Breakfast is ready. Enough drama for one morning. Let’s eat!”

  * * * *

  Two hours later Gen was stretched out in a very comfortable — if incredibly ugly — recliner, with a laptop on her thighs, engrossed in research. She followed the corporations back a ways, realized she’d taken it as far as she could, and called Chance, her guy at Drake. Without thinking about her audience, she told him she’d followed the corporations through a well-constructed labyrinth and come up against a brick wall in Switzerland. “Can I send you what I’ve found, see if you can figure out who actually owns this land? I really need to know who I’m negotiating with before I walk into the room, and I’m willing to pay extra if you can do it now? Pretty please?”

  She hit send on her email, knowing he’d be looking for it before he even told her he would. “Yeah, I got it,” he said. “I’ll let you know when I have something.”

  “Well,” Gonzo said as she disconnected, “why didn’t I ever think of that when dealing with a private detective?”

  Gen looked up and asked, “What?”

  Bash answered for him. “Pretty please? Does that really work for you?”

  Rolling her eyes, she grinned and told them, “Just offering extra money can come off high-handed. It’s about respect, right? I’m asking nicely, not ordering him to. If he can run it down in fifteen or twenty minutes he’ll charge me one-fifty, and I’ll pay him two-hundred or maybe even two-fifty. But we all know it isn’t just about the money. Everyone responds better to being asked than to being ordered around.”