Bryn stood there, with her brown hair swept to the side in that sensual wave he loved. She wore another pair of jeans, but this time with a lightweight white blouse that seemed to float around her elbows. Her brown eyes darkened, and her tongue slipped out to wet her lips. His dick hardened, despite the pain his upper body was experiencing. Duke’s breathing became labored as he held himself back from closing the distance between them and taking her the way he wanted. It had become a primal need.
“Be safe, Bryn,” Duke said.
He turned on the soles of his cowboy boots and made the way to his room down the hallway without turning back around to look at her one more time. Duke was proud of himself as he closed the door. He immediately reached behind him and grabbed a handful of material. Bringing the T-shirt over his head, Duke threw it on the ground. Not caring where it landed, he made his way to his bed. Sitting down on the mattress, Duke worked off his cowboy boots and let them hit the floor with a thud.
A small knock sounded through the room, and Duke closed his eyes, knowing it was Bryn. Why couldn’t she just leave like she said she was going to? Why prolong his agony? For a brief second, Duke remained silent in hopes that she would just leave and make this easy on him. Then he heard her soft voice through the thick wooden door.
“Duke, may I please come in?”
If he’d had the strength, Duke would have gotten off of the bed and walked to the door to address her. As it was, he was so exhausted that Duke didn’t think he’d make it that far. He yelled out for her to enter. The door slowly opened, and Bryn stood in the doorway looking uncertain.
“What do you need, Bryn?” Duke asked, hoping that he didn’t look as defeated as he sounded.
“What I need from you is a little understanding,” Bryn snapped, her previous hesitation disappearing like a cloud of smoke. Her brown eyes snapped with anger as she stepped inside the room. Duke was amazed by how quickly her moods could change. “For crying out loud, Duke, give me a break! I was attacked last night, and almost abducted and killed by some psychopath. I then had to watch as you were stabbed and taken to the hospital. If I stay, I know that I will be endangering you and Des. He said that to me, Duke. That isn’t something I take lightly. I have never been attracted to a man the way I am to you and Des, and I’m not just talking physically—although that is certainly a check in the plus category. I want to see where this leads between the three of us, but for God’s sake, I’d like to be alive to experience it!”
The more that Bryn talked, the closer she came to where he sat on the bed. When she went to take a deep breath, Duke used that to his advantage. He had never actually witnessed someone talk as fast as she did when she became nervous or mad, but it was the cutest damn thing he’d ever seen. Reaching for her, Duke snagged her wrist and yanked. She stumbled into him, and he couldn’t suppress the grunt of pain. Before Bryn could say anything, Duke had already tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head down to his.
“Then why waste time?” Duke whispered, right before he pulled her lips down to his.
* * * *
Bryn hadn’t been able to stand the look of defeat that had been in Duke’s eyes as he had turned away from her in the hallway, so she had found herself knocking on his bedroom door. Initially, when he’d yelled out that she could come in, Bryn had almost changed her mind. A part of her knew that if she entered his bedroom, she might not be leaving for Tucson. She couldn’t help herself, though, and opened the door.
At first, Bryn had been uncertain of what to say. When he’d asked her what she needed, as if she were bothering him, something inside of her had snapped. Duke made it seem like he believed this was easy for her. Yes, he was the one who had been stabbed, but didn’t he comprehend the amount of guilt she felt over that? Her anger got the best of her, and she wouldn’t have been able to reiterate anything of what she had just said. Right now, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was finish what Duke started.
Duke’s kiss shattered any preconception she might have had that he and Des were similar in the lovemaking department. He possessed her. Weak or not, the man had the ability to make her do anything he wanted. Bryn wrapped her arms around his shoulders, careful of his injury. His tongue invaded every recess of her mouth, while his lips remained fused with hers.
Duke groaned. Bryn pulled away, out of breath, wondering what had happened as his hands dropped to his lap. His eyes were closed tightly, indicating he was in pain. That was when she realized that her fingers had tightened on his shoulder. So much for avoiding his injury, Bryn thought as she pulled her hands away.
“I’m sorry, Duke. I didn’t mean to—”
“Hey,” Duke said, cutting off what she’d been about to say. He had reached back up, cupping the back of her head. “I don’t want to stop. Lie down with me while I get some of my strength back.”
“I can do better than that,” Bryn whispered. She reached up and took ahold of his wrist. Bringing it down, she then used her right hand to lightly push him back until he was lying prone on the brown comforter. Making sure his head was on the pillow, Bryn went to work on the button of his jeans. “Let’s make you more comfortable.”
“Bryn, you need to be sure about this,” Duke said, his warning coming across loud and clear. “If we continue, don’t think I’m going to be letting you breeze out of this house as if nothing happened last night. Des is more likely to give you what you want. I’ll give you what I think you need.”
Bryn almost replied that his little speech was one of the most chauvinistic thing she’d ever heard, but when she looked up into his green eyes, the sincerity shining through made her bite her tongue. Bryn would let him think she’d concede to his wishes, but the more she was in their presence, the more convinced she was that she needed to protect them.
“You just lie back and let me take care of you,” Bryn said, pulling his zipper down. Once she’d helped him out of his jeans, she dug inside one of the front pockets for the bottle of pain pills she knew to be inside. Quickly walking to the bathroom that was connected to his bedroom, she grabbed an empty cup that had been sitting on the vanity and filled it with water. Returning to Duke, she handed him both the glass and little white pill. “Take this.”
“I’m not—”
“If you want to continue what we started, you will take this pain pill,” Bryn ordered, still holding the items in the air. Duke finally relented. Throwing the pill into his mouth, Duke took a big gulp of water. When his eyes widened and he started to choke, Bryn panicked. “Oh my, God! Are you chok—humpf!”
Bryn landed on the floor in a heap. Turning over, she found herself staring into the eyes of an enthusiastic yellow Labrador who looked as if he had found a new toy. Before Bryn could put her hands out to stop him, Spur’s front paws landed on her shoulders, pinning her against the floor. His wet tongue landed on her jaw and worked its way up to her temple, leaving a trail of drool.
“Spur, out,” Duke yelled. Spur lifted his head and cocked it to one side. “Out!”
Spur didn’t look the least bit fazed and, with one more slobbery kiss, bounded out of the room. Bryn looked up to see Duke leaning over the bed with amusement in his eyes. They both burst out laughing.
“Sorry about that. Spur gets excited when he meets new people.”
“I can see that,” Bryn said as she got to her knees. This position put her face inches from Duke’s. “I look forward to getting to know him, but right now, I’d rather concentrate on his owner.”
“His owner would like that very much,” Duke murmured, reaching for her.
“Uh-uh,” Bryn said, shaking her head. She got to her feet and slowly climbed on the bed, in between his legs. “Look at me as if I were a nurse taking care of you.”
“Bryn, I’m not one to lie back and let you have your way with me,” Duke said, trying to reach for her but coming up unsuccessful. His shoulder prevented him from extending his left arm. Bryn giggled. “I’m not joking around, Bryn. I’m in charge in the bedroom.
”
“Looks like for just this once, that isn’t so,” Bryn said. She could see that he was getting agitated, and that wasn’t how she wanted this afternoon to go. Decided to take another route, because Bryn knew it was only a matter of time before the painkillers kicked in, she placed her hand on his ankle and slowly brought her fingers up on the inside of his leg. “I want to taste you, Duke, and then you can have your wicked way with me. Will you please let me do this for you?”
Bryn tried to look as innocent as a virgin, hoping that he wouldn’t catch on to what she had planned. She wanted—no, needed—to touch him in a way that would show him she wasn’t just leaving to never come back. Bryn would be back once this killer was caught, and they would be able to resume what they started. But she also didn’t want their first time to take place when he was hurting. Sometimes, concessions needed to be made.
Duke gritted his teeth, but after a moment of silence, nodded. Taking that as consent, Bryn continued to stroke his legs, loving the feel of his coarse hair that abraded her fingertips. Upon taking his jeans off, Bryn had opted to leave his white briefs on and was pleased that she’d made that decision. It was like opening up a present on Christmas morning.
In normal circumstances, Bryn would have been nervous about taking the lead. And in that situation, she would have made it worse by rambling on and on to try and cover that apprehension. But as it was, Bryn felt nothing but arousal and the need to please. She knew it had everything to do with who was underneath her.
“Bryn, I’m not sure how much of this I can take,” Duke murmured. He was looking at her through hooded eyes, although the green was still very noticeable. “If you don’t do something quick, I’m going to have you naked in three point one seconds.”
“I haven’t even touched you yet,” Bryn exclaimed, wondering how she could have made him reach arousal so quickly.
“You’ve been running your fingers up and down my legs for what seems like forever. That is touching, in my book,” Duke declared.
Did she truly have that kind of effect on him? A heady feeling washed over her, making Bryn want to see how far she could push him. Her creative mind immediately popped up a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The angel was reminding Bryn of what her mission was, while the little devil was rubbing her hands together and encouraging Bryn to see how long it would take to break him.
The angel won out. Bryn had a feeling that Duke wasn’t one to mess around and could turn the tables on her in the blink of an eye, injury and all. Her fingers ran underneath the elastic band and lifted the stretchy material up and over her present. Bryn’s mouth watered at what she revealed. At least ten inches of cock lay swollen against his stomach, looking angry that it wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.
Bryn was happy to be situated on her knees in between his legs. Her muscles went weak at the sight of his cock. Her pussy quaked, letting Bryn know that she wanted to be filled by such a massive dick. Seeking relief, Bryn rubbed her clit on her heels through her jeans. It didn’t even come close to scratching the itch.
Pulling Duke’s briefs down until they were right underneath his balls, Bryn left them there to concentrate on bigger things. She was lucky if the size of his sac fit into the palm of her hand. Bryn couldn’t help herself and tried it out, letting his two balls find a home in the center of her palm. His skin was hot, so much so that Bryn thought her hand would catch fire.
“Bryn, I’m giving you one more warning,” Duke said gruffly.
Not wanting Duke to stop her exploration, Bryn leaned down to where her breasts lay against her knees. She brought her mouth down to where her hand cupped his sac and licked the large globe. Bryn felt his testicles move against each other. Separating them with her tongue, Bryn drew one of his balls into her mouth and suckled. Tingles shot through her body as Duke moaned. It was an intoxicating feeling to know that she aroused him.
“Your mouth feels like paradise, Bryn,” Duke uttered, causing her to look up at him. He was staring at her with his green eyes and making her feel sensual in the act she was undertaking. “Take me in your mouth.”
Bryn released his ball and slowly licked her tongue upward, over his shaft and his tip, eventually reaching his slit. His flavor burst over her taste buds. The order he gave caused desire to travel over every inch of her skin. She’d only been with two men previously, and neither one of them really spoke during sex. It was either his voice or Duke’s demand she take him in her mouth that got her juices flowing, but as long as the police caught this killer, she’d have plenty of time to find out which. Her panties were wet, her nipples were hard, and her breathing was labored.
Not wanting to disappoint him, Bryn widened her mouth and slowly sucked his cock in her mouth. With each inch, her mouth became fuller. She flattened her tongue to fit more. Bryn wanted as much of him as she could get. His tip hit the back of her throat, causing her to pull back a bit. She’d never been good at deep throating, but by the sounds emanating from his throat, Bryn would be willing to learn.
“More.” Duke seemed to choke his words out.
Knowing she’d made his shaft wet, Bryn wrapped her hand around the middle of his cock and started pumping. With her hand sliding over his skin, Bryn timed it so that when her hand was lower, her mouth closed over his tip. When she brought her hand higher, she released him but dragged her thumb across the sensitive underside. Bryn had only repeated the action twice when she felt Duke’s fingers grab ahold of her hair.
“Deeper. Tighter.”
Looking up at him through her lashes, Bryn saw that Duke was using his right hand. It made her remember what she was doing and why. She redoubled her efforts and tightened her fingers, obtaining the response she wanted. Duke let out a groan, and her eyes watered a bit as his fingers tightened on her hair. Taking her left hand, Bryn manipulated his balls in between her fingers to add to the stimulation.
“So close, Bryn.”
Lifting her index finger, Bryn made more room for her mouth on his cock. Using her tongue, she stroked it back and forth over the area she knew was most responsive. Pumping at the same time, she maintained a rhythm and didn’t stop, even when she felt his sac draw up into his body.
Bryn heard him scream her name right before his seed spilled into her mouth. He tasted like the salt of the ocean, and it brought to mind the relaxation she experienced visiting the beach one summer. The breeze coming in off of the waves while the sun shined down, warming her skin. She drank down every drop he gave her, not stopping until his body sagged beneath hers.
Bryn finally released his cock and readjusted his briefs before crawling up his chest and snuggling in against his heat. She made sure to lie against his right side, not wanting to cause him any pain. The square white bandage taped over the front of his left shoulder stood out like costume jewelry at Tiffany’s. Bryn knew he was going to try to please her as well, but pushed her neck against his right arm.
“Rest, Duke,” Bryn whispered, knowing it was only a matter of minutes before the pain pill he took earlier would kick in.
“But—”
“Duke, I wanted to taste you. I wanted to please you,” Bryn said, placing a kiss on his chest. “We have all the time in the world, but I’d rather know that you weren’t in pain while we made love. Now close your eyes and rest.”
“Stay,” Duke murmured, slowly fading into that place where his body would start to heal.
Bryn used her fingertips to trickle circles around his nipple, loving how sprinkles of blond hair circled around it. She kept up the motion, even after his breathing evened out, indicating that his body had sought the rest it needed. She figured he maintained his muscular form from working on the ranch. His frame was larger than Des’s, but she had no doubt that Des had a marvelous body. Bryn wondered where he was. Did he know that she was in here with Duke?
As if Des had heard her ask the question, Bryn picked up a creak near the door. Lifting her head, Des stood in the doorframe with slightly damp hair.
He was dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. Between the sight of him and the feeling of Duke against her body, would she really be able to bring herself to leave?
Des indicated that he would be downstairs and that she should join him. Bryn nodded her acknowledgement. She raised herself up on her elbow and looked down at Duke. His features were relaxed, unlike earlier when they were tightened in pain. She stroked his cheek. She loved the whiskers that had grown in overnight. They made him look like he’d spent the day loving on his woman and not worrying about the mundane things of life. Bryn wanted to be that woman.
“Don’t give up on me,” Bryn whispered. She leaned down and gently kissed his cheek. “I can’t have someone take this from me before I even have a chance to experience it. Once he’s caught, I’ll come back.”
Chapter Seven
“Is that everything?” Des asked.
Bryn nodded as she took her keys out of his hand, unsure of what to say now that he’d taken her luggage out to the car. Once she’d left Duke’s room, Bryn had gone back into the bathroom to finish packing. She’d only brought in her small suitcase with her essentials. It took less than a minute to gather her shampoo and conditioner, along with her toothbrush. She’d only made it halfway down the stairs when Des made an appearance and took the luggage from her. Now, they stood in the kitchen staring at one another. Bryn could see the disappointment in his green eyes.
“Des, this guy not only promised to come back for me, but he threatened to kill you and Duke if you two got in his way. I won’t be responsible for—”
Spur came out of nowhere, breaking the tension in the air. Like a speeding bullet, he flew into the kitchen and snatched her keys from her hands. Bryn yelped in surprise, trying to get them back, but Spur was way too quick. She would swear there was a smile on his face as he barreled through the screen door of the kitchen, which obviously hadn’t really latched itself when Des had come in from outside.
Potential Match [Ménage.com 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
