Claiming My Duchess

by Jessica Blake

  Ana took in a long, deep breath, clearly trying to muster some sort of calm. She lifted her chin, her cheeks still pink, and met my eyes. “In truth, ‘going out with a bang’ means that you want to close one chapter of your life in a good or exciting way.” Damn, her voice was sexy. “And I’m leaving the country in a couple days.”

  “Two sleeps!” Jennifer stuck two fingers in my face for emphasis, and I found myself smiling. “Squeaks is leaving me in two sleeps.”

  If it were possible, Ana looked even more horrified and shot her friend a dirty look.

  “Squeaks?” I asked. I had to. The name was enough, but Ana’s reaction was unmistakable.

  Lucky for me, Jennifer was far more intoxicated than Ana and filled me in.

  “Squeaks is short for Pipsqueak because my best friend here is so adorable and small,” she said. “And she needs to get laid before she leaves town. And before her sugar house dries up and goes all moldy.”

  I frowned at that. Sugar house?

  “Sorry…” I scratched the stubble on my chin. “I’m obviously not from around here.”

  “Where are you from? Your accent is adorable. Is it Spanish? It almost sounds like you’re from New Zealand, though. I can’t place it.” Jennifer was leaning on the bar, but before I could answer, Ana put her fingers to my mouth.

  “No,” she said, and she was so close now that I could smell the fresh scent of her. Some floral shampoo that made me want to bury my face in her hair. “Don’t.”

  I smiled and playfully bit the tip of her finger before she could pull it away. “You don’t want to know where I’m from?”

  Ana, obviously braver now, shook her head. “No…” She licked that full bottom lip, and I swore my dick swayed with the movement. “If we end up, um…” Her cheeks pinkened again.

  “Going out with a bang,” I supplied.

  She laughed, and I thought I might do almost anything to hear the sound again. “Yes. That. And if we do, I really don’t want to know anything about you. Just a pleasant memory before my new chapter begins. No offense, Seb.”

  No offense was actually taken, though this was a first. Women in Cassia and most of the European continent went to extreme lengths to know as much as they could about me in hopes of a repeat invitation to spend the night in my bed. And here Ana from San Diego didn’t want to know a single detail. Interesting.

  “None taken,” I replied. I looked back at the small dance floor and noticed it was all but empty. “Care to dance?”

  I held my hand out in a silent challenge, knowing just from the way she’d dressed that she hadn’t expected to dance tonight, even if she’d been interested in… I smiled… coitus.

  Ana, with her shiny mahogany hair falling down to the middle of her back and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, studied me a moment with those hypnotically pale eyes. If I had to guess, she was questioning herself as to whether or not she had the nerve.

  “Love to,” she finally said, and I tried not to look too pleased. But damn, I was happy she said yes.

  The song was up-tempo enough that it wasn’t awkward, but it definitely had enough rhythm that we were close and swaying into each other, and it took all my willpower not to pull her closer to me.

  She smelled delicious, the floral mixing with something like vanilla and cotton candy, and it was all I could do not to sniff the top of her adorable head. If I could have reached her head.

  Jennifer was right. Ana was definitely small — maybe five-foot-and-a-little-change. Not much more than that. Squeaks was an adorably appropriate nickname for her.

  I shot Nate a warning look and pointedly glanced over to the other women. He knew what he had to do as a wingman. He didn’t give me much attitude about walking over to keep Ana’s friends company, either, as I suspected he’d noticed both Jennifer and Sela’s pretty faces and curves.

  Ana and I danced. We danced and laughed at how badly we danced at times. I got just enough of a feel of her body against mine to know that I wanted to know her more. Much more. When we were finished dancing, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward the bar. Jennifer noticed and raised an eyebrow at our joined hands.

  Ana gave her a shrug while Nate ordered shots.

  “Should we play a few rounds of Thalosia?” Nate asked, pulling his lucky dice from his pocket. He never went anywhere without them.

  The blank stares from the women prompted me to explain. “We roll a die and have to act accordingly. It’s an army game we learned living in the barracks, named after some general or something.”

  I explained the rules while grabbing a tall glass and dumping one of the shots in it. Rolling a one meant no play and the dice was passed to the next person. A two meant we added another shot to the glass and passed the dice. A three meant the player had to drink the glass. A four meant the players all had to yell “Thalosia” and point to the ground — the last one to do so drank the glass. Rolling a five required another roll. If another five was rolled, the player could make anyone drink. A six was no play, and the die was passed.

  “I think I have it,” Jennifer said with a nod as she set a shot in front of Ana, then the rest of us. “You start, handsome.”

  She was talking to Nate, who I swore blushed. Amateur.

  Nate rolled a two, so he added his shot to the glass and passed the die to Jennifer. She rolled a four, prompting Nate, Sela, and me to yell “Thalosia” and point at the ground. Jennifer recovered the quickest, and while she didn’t quite say the word right, she did point to the ground before Ana even registered what happened.

  “I have to take a double shot, don’t I?”

  We all nodded, and I saw her eye the glass warily.

  “Bottoms up, Squeaks,” Jennifer cheered, and Ana took the shot like a champ, wiping her mouth on the back of her arm when she was finished.

  “Gross,” she said as she shuddered at the taste of whatever Nate had just bought. She smiled then, and it felt like the room lit up from her stool. She was a little shy and nervous, but Little Ana Pipsqueak was coming out of her shell, and I was determined to help her go out with a bang. Maybe several times.

  Before this could go on much further, I pulled Ana aside and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Before you drink too much, I need a sober answer.”

  She pulled back, and pale green eyes blinked up at me. “Answer to what?”

  “Is it your wish to sleep with me tonight?”

  She swallowed but lifted her chin, her hands moving to my forearms. “Yes. I would like that very much.”

  I grinned, happier with her answer than I had any right to be. “Then let’s continue to play.”

  We only did three more rounds, with Jennifer losing two and Nate losing one. Sela had taken off with some guy she clearly already knew. It was starting to get late, and I saw Ana check her phone. Nate was checking his phone too, frowning.

  Shit.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Nate, and instead of answering, he handed me his phone. I relaxed a little when I saw it was nothing urgent, just the Italian army asking us to visit and work through a scheduled training.

  “Confirm it,” I told Nate, handing the phone back. “Let’s see if we can go there before heading home.”

  Nate grinned. “Give yourself another week’s reprieve?”

  I nodded. My friend knew me well.

  “Well,” I said to Ana, who was looking at me curiously. “What do you say? Call it a night or head back to my hotel?”

  I was being blunt, and we both knew it, but I wanted to give her one last chance to say no.

  Jennifer giggled beside her and gave Ana a giant hug before motioning to Nate. “Share a taxi?” she said, and Nate glanced over at me. I nodded, and he took Jennifer’s hand, and within moments, they were gone.

  Soon, Ana and I were standing face to face.

  “Your call,” I said as I paid the tab. Now that she was alone, I wanted to make sure this was what she wanted without the pressure of her friends m
aking the decision for her. “I can put you in a taxi and have you home in ten minutes if that’s what you want. Just say so.”

  Ana was playing with the corner of a paper napkin on the bar in front of her.

  “Not that I owe you any sort of explanation, but I’ve never done something like this,” she said quietly, and I waited. When she looked at me to contribute to the conversation, I gave a guilty shrug.

  “Single guy in the military for fourteen years,” I said. “It’s happened a time or two.”

  Or twenty. I had fun in my twenties, I couldn’t deny it.

  She didn’t seem judgmental, though, and just nodded. She was thinking things through.

  “Is it weird?” she asked. “Just getting naked with a stranger?”

  Her question caught me off guard, and I laughed. “Weird? No.” I rolled a lock of her hair around my finger, watching the light play off the strands. “Not if there’s plenty of chemistry.”

  She seemed unsure, so to satisfy both of our curiosities, I leaned forward and grasped her chin between my thumb and forefinger before placing my lips on hers. And while I’d planned to give her a slow kiss, the damn thing almost immediately took on a life of its own.

  Tongue and teeth and lips collided, and I was soon drowning in her taste, the feel of her pressed against me. My hands found her hair, pulling her head back to give me better access while her fingers fisted in my shirt.

  The music changed, a reminder that we weren’t alone.

  Very slowly I lifted my head and looked down into her lovely face. Her full lips were glistening and puffy now from mine.

  “Chemistry.” I would have said more, but it was like my erection consumed all of my blood flow and my head couldn’t put more words out there.

  “Wow. Yes, chemistry.” The words were barely a breath. Then she grinned. “How far away is your hotel?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Iliana

  If I had any reservations whatsoever about what I was thinking about doing, that kiss in the dive bar with Seb and his fantastic butt wiped them clean from my mind. That, and the rousing game of whatever-the-hell it was called helped too.

  And his incessant need to gain my verbal consent. He might be a stranger, but that one thing made me realize he was at least an honorable guy.

  We were in a cab before I knew it, and shortly after that, we were walking with linked fingers through a glittery hotel lobby toward an elevator. I took a moment to take in the swank hotel Seb was staying in and wondered just who the hell he was to afford accommodations like this yet had chosen to hang out at a place like the Jolly Green Dragon, as Jenn had called it.

  Speaking of, Jenn sent me a text as soon as she arrived safely at her place. Bummer. Nate got a call and had to leave me all by my lonesome. Have extra sex in my honor!

  I snickered at the message, and Seb gave me a questioning look as the elevator carried us up.

  “Jenn made it home safe,” I told him, then had a thought that made me almost groan. “Um… will Nate be coming back here? To your room later?”

  I was already nervous, and the last thing I needed was something like that happening. It wouldn’t only kill the mood, I wondered if I’d be able to relax and really be in the moment if I was worrying about the door opening at any moment.

  Seb gave me a funny look but shook his head. “He has his own suite,” he explained, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “He snores too much for us to share.”

  I relaxed a little. “Oh, good.”

  The elevator stopped, and we stepped out as the doors slid open, Seb leading me by the hand to a door at the end of the hallway. With a swipe of his key card, the door to his hotel room opened, and I walked through before I could change my mind.

  It was a suite, just as he said. Having never spent much time in a suite, I couldn’t help but gawk just a little at how spacious and apartment-like it was. There was a living room with a couch, loveseat, and entertainment center along with a small kitchenette off to the side, and a separate bedroom, where my gaze lingered just a little longer than it should have.

  “Earth to Ana,” Seb said, bringing my attention away from the huge king-sized bed I could see through the half ajar door. The place was immaculate, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that I left tornadoes of clothing and personal items everywhere I went. Seb had mentioned the military a couple times, and it was pretty obvious that his time there had instilled a neatness that I certainly lacked.

  “Sorry,” I said, smiling.

  Seb stepped forward and put his large hands on my shoulders, making me lean back a little to look up at him. His skin was warm against the fabric of my shirt, and this close, I could smell the sandalwood and spice on him. I closed my eyes and inhaled a bit, not worrying at all how creepy I was being. I was absorbing as much of this moment and the ones that would follow as I could. This was my one chance to be wild and reckless and free, and I was going to do everything I could to remember it, even if I was a little tipsy.

  “You don’t have to do this if you have doubts,” he said, leaning down and making the decision even easier for me by kissing me. “No hard feelings if you decide not to.”

  Dear lord, this man was a gentleman. But I wasn’t having it.

  “I want this,” I said, pulling him to me and kissing him with all I had. It worked. His hands went around me to cup my butt, and as he lifted me, I went with it and wrapped my legs around his muscular torso.

  “So do I,” he whispered between kisses as he carried me toward his bedroom. “I apologize in advance if my technique is less than stellar. I’ve had more to drink tonight that I’ve had in a long time.”

  That made me laugh. “Trying to lower the bar already?”

  He growled and lowered me to the mattress, landing on his elbows to keep from crushing me.

  “Watch it,” he teased as he lightly gripped me by the hair on the back of my head and forced my chin up. Slow, biting kisses trailed a path along my jaw and down my neck, and I was squirming from the bliss of what I’d already labeled as a stellar technique.

  My llama shirt was the first thing to go, and he tossed it to the side before unclasping and tossing my purple bra in the opposite direction.

  Maybe he wasn’t as neat and tidy as I first thought, some part of my mind noticed.

  Seb skipped over the teasing part and quickly got rid of my shorts, leaving me in just a pair of black bikinis that he took a moment to admire before kissing my stomach. He made my stomach flutter with his attention, and before he could get too far, I started yanking on his shirt.

  The button-down and the white v-neck underneath were gone in a flash, and I stopped just to admire the man’s tanned, sculpted chest. It was smooth and hard at the same time, making my dirty mind jump ahead to other things that were probably smooth and hard at the same time too.

  Biting back a nervous laugh, I worked him free of his belt and zipper, and his jeans slid down his legs with the help of my feet, which accidentally snagged a pair of black boxer briefs too. Within a few wild and hot moments, it was Seb who was completely naked, and it was me enjoying the view as the proof of his excitement sprang free and gave me just a moment of pause.

  Holy hell, how was this going to work? From how tall he was, I knew his penis would have to be larger than I was used to, but… holy shit. If I wasn’t too embarrassed to measure, I would bet it was bigger than my entire forearm.

  “Don’t worry, Ana,” he said, moving back down beside me, his cock pressing against my thigh. “We’ll fit, I promise.”

  The words felt delicious against my ear, and I shuddered at how well he already seemed to know me.

  Seb moved his body across mine and reached into the drawer of the nightstand by my left ear and fumbled around inside it for a moment or two before cursing. “Shit.” He moved to the opposite nightstand and then smiled, pulling out a sample looking box that appeared to hold two condoms. “These places usually keep things like this handy,” he said, his forehead re
sting on my shoulder.

  I smiled, curling my leg over his. “As sexy as you are, I thought you’d probably have a suitcase full of them.” I could feel myself blush. “And for the record, I have two in my purse. Jenn stuck them in there before we headed to the bar.”

  He laughed and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I actually have pretty discriminating tastes. And my, um, job doesn’t allow for a great deal of free time.” He nuzzled his nose in my hair. “And I like that we have four now. I think we’ll put them all to good use.”

  That surprised me and delighted me. I, little Iliana Costas, was a chosen one for this beautiful man, and if his prowess lived up to his words, I might not be walking very straight tomorrow. If he wasn’t totally bullshitting me, that was.

  As inexperienced as I was, I just didn’t know. Before my long-term relationship with Dustin, I’d been with my long-term high school boyfriend, so my bedpost only contained two notches so far.

  Until now.

  Three. And I had a feeling this would be a good one.

  “Are you on birth control?”

  I was surprised by the question since he had the condoms still in his hand. “No, actually. They gave me migraines, and after I broke up with my boyfriend eight months ago, I haven’t been with anyone.” I wrinkled my nose at the memory. “He cheated, so I had a full checkup after I found out. I’m healthy, if that makes you feel better.”

  He lifted my chin until our gazes met, and this whole conversation felt so surreal. He was still hard as a rock between us, and I was still wet from need. But he was an adult. A real adult, from all I could see, and while I wanted to get down to the coitus business posthaste, I also appreciated the care he was offering me by making so absolutely certain I was okay.

  Being cared for, even by a total stranger was incredibly sexy.

  “I retired from the military last month and was tested as part of my exit physical. All clear and I haven’t had sex since then, either.”

  I took a second to search his face for any sign of deceit. Not that I was some sort of face-reading expert, but I looked just the same. He seemed to be sincere.