Gen collapsed over the back of the sofa, sure she’d never walk again, and Duke lifted her and gingerly carried her to bed. He climbed in with her, and kissed her cheek and forehead before he tucked her into his side and let her catch her breath.
She was totally sated, and it would’ve been so easy to drop off, but her mind was spinning with questions.
When she could breathe enough to speak, she asked, “Duke?”
He kissed the top of her head and answered, “Yes, Beautiful?”
“When I found out my brother was dating someone who was probably into BDSM, I did some research, figuring he was probably into it, too, if he was with her.”
He readjusted them so they were both on their side, and pulled her closer as he asked, “Research online, or in person?”
“Oh, online. Just looking stuff up, and I watched some videos. It’s kind of messed up, and I stopped looking because I realized I’d be happier not knowing.”
Duke’s soft kiss to the top of her head had her eyes closing again.
“Nothing wrong with not being into it, Gen. I’m kind of glad you aren’t, because I’m not, either.”
“But, what we just did? Wasn’t that BDSM?”
“If you ever want me to stop doing something, you tell me to stop. We aren’t playing with safewords, we aren’t role playing. I want control in the bedroom, on my bike, or anytime there’s danger close — and I expect you to immediately do as you’re told under those circumstances. There may be some times we’re out of town in another club’s territory and I’ll need you to not backtalk me in public or at their functions, but my guys seem to be okay with you at this point, so I’m not going to try to make you conform in our own clubhouse.”
“Conform?”
His sigh told her she wasn’t going to like what came next. “We’re a male oriented club. Women fall into a couple of categories, and many of the girlfriends and wives had to come up through the ranks before they reached relationship status with a brother. You jumped straight into old lady status with the president of the club, so there’s a lot you don’t understand.”
“What categories do the women fall into?”
“Bottom of the pile are the girls who are pretty much club property. They’re allowed to hang around the clubhouse, but in exchange they’ll open their mouth or spread their legs for any brother or prospect who tells them to.” He stroked her hip. “Once you figure out who these girls are, I hope you’ll treat them with kindness. You aren’t one of them, and won’t be expected to socialize with them, but you aren’t required to be a bitch, either. I don’t know, nor do I care, what their motivation is, but they play a part in the club. As my Duchess, you’ll have to figure out your own part, where you fit in.”
“So, if you told one of them to bend over the table and lift their skirt, they would?”
“I won’t, Gen. You have to trust me. When I say I’m with you, I am.”
“You know I don’t give second chances, right? I ever catch you with someone else, we’re done. I’ll have Isaac help me figure out how to keep you out of my house, and I’ll hire someone from Drake security if I have to, but you won’t come near me again.”
“Just promise me you won’t jump to conclusions, and you’ll give me a chance to explain before you assume the worst.”
“Depends on what I see with my own eyes. I see your cock in someone? You don’t get a chance to explain shit.”
“You won’t, but you may see me with my arm around someone, or kissing them on the forehead. It’s who I am, but it’s all harmless flirting.”
“And if you saw someone with their arm around me, kissing me on the forehead?”
“It isn’t who you are, Gen. I mean, it kind of is with Isaac and Cam, but I’m good with that. I can’t imagine you letting anyone else that close, though.”
“Ethan hugs me sometimes, and he makes me feel tiny when he does. I have a few guy friends I hug, but I don’t think any of them kiss me on the forehead.” Duke didn’t say anything, and Gen finally added, “If something makes me feel uncomfortable, I’ll talk to you.”
“Thank you.” He paused and added, “Also, my duties as president… when someone’s woman gets out of line and disrespects the club, sometimes there’s a vote she has to be spanked in front of the club, as recompense. As president, the spanking falls to me.”
Gen’s eyes boggled and she protested, “You can’t just spank people, Duke!”
“They have to agree to it. Usually, the vote says if they want back on RTMC grounds they have to submit to it. I don’t spank them against their will — they walk in, bare their bottom, and bend over for it.”
“For the record, you give me that kind of ultimatum and I’ll never show up on your precious property again.”
Duke grinned. “I believe you, Beautiful, but I also can’t see you purposefully disrespecting my men, or doing something to intentionally put us in danger.”
“Does everyone get to watch? Or just club members?”
“Everyone. Serves as a deterrent to the other women.”
Gen shook her head, crossed her arms, and looked down. “Okay. You don’t like me having dinner with other men, but I have to as part of my job. This is your job, but I don’t want you spanking them with your hand. Use a paddle or belt or something, so you don’t actually touch them. Also, I don’t want to have to watch.”
* * * *
Gen turned the alarm off before Duke awoke, and stumbled to the shower. She missed morning sex, but had an early meeting over breakfast with a client who’d come to town to view some properties. Duke was sleeping so good, she didn’t want to wake him.
Her day was hectic, with both a business lunch and a business dinner, and it was nearly seven when she texted Duke she was on her way to the clubhouse.
She parked in the lot, not the garage, and wished she’d brought something to change into. Or at least different shoes. Jimmy Choo’s weren’t designed for twelve hour days.
Duke was laughing at a table, a beer in front of him, when she walked in the door. His face grew solemn as he took her in, and he was up and to her in seconds.
Gen let him draw her into his arms, so tired she didn’t care they had an audience. Before Duke, she’d have gone home, drank a glass of wine, and fallen asleep. Now? She’d looked forward to the safe cocoon of his arms the entire drive to the compound.
He stepped back, leaned down, and the next thing she knew, he was carrying her through the clubhouse like a baby.
“Those shoes are sexy as fuck, Beautiful,” he told her as they walked.
She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, saying, “For what they cost, they should be.”
Someone opened the door to let them into the back hallway, and when Duke reached his room he opened the door with one hand and then kicked it shut once they were through.
“I brought your boots and jacket this morning. You still have jeans and some shirts here. If you don’t want me messing up this outfit, I suggest you get out of it as quickly as possible, and figure out how you want me to fuck you. I’m not gonna be particular about your position, but I want the shoes to stay on until I’m done.”
She wouldn’t have believed she could get horny this easily when she pulled into the compound, so tired she only wanted him to hold her, but his words lit a fire between her legs and she held eye contact with him as she slipped out of her suit jacket, hung it on the doorknob, and began unbuttoning her silk blouse.
He wasn’t taking his clothes off, but he didn’t look like he wanted to explain, so she worked the hidden zipper in her flare-legged suit pants, stepped out of them, and draped them over the chair with her blouse.
His patience gone, Duke stepped forward and got rid of her bra as Gen let her panties fall to the floor.
“How do you want it?” he practically growled.
“Pick me up, my legs around you, my back against the wall?” This had to be her favorite position of all, though a padded wall might be nice. She’d have to look at maybe putting up some kind of cork decorative material on a wall of her room. Did they make bleached cork?
Duke unbuckled his belt, unfastened his pants, and had them around his thighs in a handful of seconds. He backed her up to the wall, put both his hands on either side of her head, and his lips met hers in what she expected to be a crushing kiss, but was sweet, slow, and gentle.
She met his tongue with hers and kissed him back. It wasn’t her surviving one of his he-man kisses, she got to participate, was allowed to show him she wanted to be here, wanted to kiss him.
Of course, this didn’t last long, and when he decided to take over, she was suddenly gasping for air, her mouth crushed under his as he took her mouth and controlled her body.
She wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, but at her first moan he lifted her and began getting her into position, and she realized he’d been waiting for her to be ready.
She leaned her shoulders against the wall, wrapped her legs around his waist, and rested her forearms on his shoulders as he positioned her and then pushed up into her as he slowly let her down.
Gen closed her eyes and moaned again, and she heard his deep chuckle. “I love your noises, Beautiful. I can give you slow for a few minutes, but that’s it. You good?”
“Not asking you to go slow, Duke.”
He didn’t need any further encouragement, and Gen wrapped her arms around him and tried not to scream in his ear as his hips pistoned his cock in and out of her, taking her.
No longer tired, no longer sleepy, and glad he had no reason to deny her orgasm, she luxuriated in the feel of the pleasure building, felt it grow, and moved her mouth away from his ear as she screamed her release.
Duke came with a series of growls as she was on her way down from her orgasm, and he walked her to the bed, settled her gently on her back, and made his way to the tiny bathroom to dispose of the condom. Only four of the rooms back here had a bathroom, everyone else had to use the restrooms down the hall. Gen had yet to stay the night, but figured she would eventually, and was happy for the bathroom.
He picked her panties and bra up as he walked by them, and tossed them onto the bed, saying, “You realize every wolf in the building heard you scream, right?”
“Oh, God.” Gen’s face went hot and she covered it with her open hands. “Is there a back door? So I can leave without seeing any of them? Darn! Why did you let me do that? How mortifying!”
He sat beside her and pulled her hands from her face. “They know we have sex, Beautiful. I’m sure they thought we were going at it long before we actually did.”
She realized he had a point. However, “They don’t have to know I enjoy it quite so much!”
“You’d rather they think you hate it?”
Gen couldn’t remember ever growling at anyone in her life, but she heard a sound close to Duke’s growl come out of her throat, and it surprised her so much, she smiled.
He took her shoes off and spent a few seconds looking them over. “So, just how much do these sexy shoes cost?”
“Oh no. We aren’t going to even start having those conversations. I buy my own clothes, you don’t need to know how much they cost.”
“No, I don’t, but I’m curious. You don’t tell me, all I have to do is Google Jimmy Choo and find out, right?”
Gen sighed. “These shoes retail for around twelve hundred dollars, but I bought them on sale for nine hundred and fifty.”
Duke’s face was completely blank for a count of five, and then he blinked. Twice.
“I was thinking a hundred, maybe two hundred dollars. How can a shoe cost so much?”
“Don’t try to make sense of it, Duke. There is absolutely no logic to it. It’s what I have to wear to be successful in business, so I do.” She walked to the drawer he’d put her jeans and tees in, pulled a pair out, and put them on. “How much did you spend on your motorcycle boots?”
“That’s different. There’s a ton of expensive leather on them, thick rubber soles, and they still cost a little under three hundred dollars. I wear them nearly every day — I don’t have a closet full of them.”
“Do me a favor and don’t get caught up in what I spend on my clothes and shoes, okay? I’m never going to ask you to buy them for me, so it shouldn’t bother you.” She found some socks, slid them on, and changed the conversation as she buckled on the boots. “I was exhausted, now I’m full of energy. How did that happen? Usually after sex I just want to go to sleep.”
“You only had one orgasm. I didn’t wear you out.”
“No one’s going to look at me funny when we walk out, right?”
“I can text someone to tell them to leave you alone, or we can walk out and you can blush and laugh if they tease you.”
Gen looked up from lacing the boots, her voice barely above a whisper as she managed to say, “Tease me?”
“Yes, Beautiful. You’ve won them over, and when they like someone, they cut-up with them and tease them.”
Gen didn’t say anything, just kept looking at him, though in the back of her mind she was trying to figure out how to escape to her car without going through the clubhouse. There was a way, if she could get to the garage and then go out the side door. She wasn’t sure she could find her way through the maze of hallways, though.
Duke shook his head and reached for his phone. “I’ll ask Bash to tell them to leave you alone about it.”
“No, can’t we just go? I have my boots on, we can go through the garage to your bike and go for a ride, right?”
He smiled as he typed on his phone, and then pulled Gen to her feet and into his arms. “No, Beautiful. You have to face them eventually, it may as well be now.”
He walked towards the door but she held onto his arm, and when he stopped and turned to look at her, she asked, “What’s the plan for the evening?”
“I was kind of hoping you’d be okay to hang out here, spend some time with my brothers, and maybe spend the night? I know it isn’t a top of the line mattress with fancy sheets, but I’d like to see you wake up in my bed tomorrow morning, watch you eat breakfast with the rest of us, maybe hang out and just have a lazy morning? You said you don’t have to be anywhere until two tomorrow, right?”
“That’s my first appointment, but I have a few hours of research to do. If Brain can let me borrow a laptop I can log into my computer at the office and still hang out with ya’ll.
He opened the door and walked her through it. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”
Gen followed Duke to one of the sofas and let him pull her down beside him as she nestled into him. He put his feet on a coffee table, but hers wouldn’t reach, so she propped her legs on his thighs. She assumed the kiss to the top of her head meant he approved.
She stayed quiet as she listened to the men talk and cut up, and watched a drinking contest across the room that had something to do with the reality show they were watching.
Brain’s voice came through a speaker in the room, sounding urgent. “McPherson’s pulling in.”
Duke stood and went to the door, pointing at Gen and saying, “Stay put. Don’t get up unless a police officer tells you to, and if they talk to you, follow their instructions. Got it?”
Gen nodded, and Duke was at the door and out of it. The large television showed a close up of him walking towards Mike McPherson — Gen’s ex-boyfriend — and four uniformed officers.
“What can I do for you Detective, Officers?”
“We need to ask you some questions. Either we can come into your clubhouse and ask them, or we’ll be more than happy to escort all of the Rolling Thunder members downtown for questioning.
Duke seemed totally relaxed, but Gen thought she might throw up just watching it play out. “You’re welcome into the front room. Your invitation goes no farther.”
Several members inside had taken their weapons to a safe in a wall, put them in, and returned to their seats. She turned to Bash and quietly said, “I have mine, is that okay?”
He nodded. “You’re legal, they aren’t. No need to sweat anything, Duchess. They won’t even notice you’re here.”
She wanted to argue with him, but didn’t.
The television went back to the reality program, though muted, a few seconds before Duke walked in the door with the officers. As soon as they were in, the officers walked to the men who’d put their guns away, stood them up, leaned them over something, and frisked them.
Gen wanted to be pissed off on their behalf, but tried to fade into the sofa, hoping Mike wouldn’t notice her.
“Most of the members of two of your rivals are out of commission today. A few are in the hospital, refusing to talk about how they got their faces beat in, kidney’s beat to hell and back, ribs cracked, and a variety of assorted broken bones.”
“Yeah,” Duke said. “I heard something about that. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys.”
Mike nodded. “Mind letting us take a look at your hands?”
Duke put his hands in his pocket. “You got a warrant?”
“I was hoping we could do this the easy way.”
“You know how this works, Detective. You play nice with us, we play nice with you. You come in with an invitation and choose to frisk my men? I’m not in a mood to be all sociable and shit.”
“I get a warrant, it’s probably going to be for more than just checking your hands.”
“We don’t have anything to hide, Detective. I keep hoping you’ll figure it out, leave us the hell alone, but I’m beginning to wonder if this isn’t personal. Did one of my men do something to piss you off? Because, if so, let’s work that out, make appropriate apologies and put it behind us.”
The door opened and another man in dress pants, dress shirt, and tie walked in. Gen wasn’t sure, but thought he might be a cop, too. Duke’s smile at first made her think she was mistaken, but he held his hand out and said, “Detective Johnson, nice to see you.”
The new detective looked around, as if taking in the mood of the room, and then looked at Mike.
“Something I need to know about?”
“Not touching your case. Got seven men in the hospital with the shit beaten out of them, and another dozen out of commission nearly as bad off. I know the RTMC is responsible, wanted to get a look at their hands but they’re insisting on a warrant.”
Duke flashed the back of his hands to the new detective a few seconds and said, “No problem showing them to someone who’ll work with us, treat us with respect. McPherson’s given us reason not to trust him in the past, and I’d rather make sure all the paperwork is in place before we deal with him.”
The other men held their hands up at this, and Mike turned in a circle, his face growing more and more agitated as he saw no signs of a recent fight on anyone’s hands.
His gaze met Gen’s and he said, “Can’t believe you went from me to a fucking felon. He may not have been convicted, but you know he’s done bad shit.” He stepped closer to her, lowered his voice so the other officers likely couldn’t hear. “If you were as wild in bed with me as you are with Bevering, I might still be in your bed, might not have been forced to find someone who wasn’t a stiff-assed board when I fucked ‘em. You’re a little whore for your biker though, aren’t you?” His voice went even nastier as it rose. “Your loss though, you fucking cunt.”
Gen stood so she didn’t have to look up to him as much, and she threw Duke a look that told him she wanted to handle this. There was no way Mike could know how much more she enjoyed sex with Duke than she had with Mike, unless he’d been listening, and she was willing to bet he didn’t have a warrant. “What can I say, Mike? You just didn’t do it for me, and he does. Maybe if you’d had a little more skill, I’d have been a little more energetic in my appreciation?”
“Don’t give me that shit, he had to fucking teach you how to give him a blow job, which I have to say explains a helluva lot about you, but don’t tell me he didn’t take advantage of your inexperience. I never made you beg for an orgasm and then not let you have it on purpose. What kind of a bastard does that?”
She flashed another look to Duke and realized he was making a concerted effort to hold onto his control. She could see the wolf looking out his eyes and she hoped he knew what she was up to, but had no way to signal him.
She met Mike’s gaze again and said, “Yeah, when you put it that way, maybe you’re right. Can we not talk about this in a room full of people?” She looked to Duke. “Sorry, but I need to talk to him alone a minute, can we use the kids’ room?”
She nodded towards the room the older kids were in during lockdown, but didn’t wait for permission. The light was off in there now, so it wasn’t obvious the glass allowed you to see into the room. Once they were in, the glass would look black from the inside, so they couldn’t see the main room, but everyone would be able to see them. Also, she knew this room was monitored and hoped Brain knew what she was up to. She pointed Mike into the door and turned to look at the other detective. She mouthed, “One has to know, I know,” and hoped everyone would realize she wanted them to listen to the conversation. In Tennessee, only one party needs to know a conversation is being recorded in order for it to be legal. She’d just told them she knew.
Mike had already turned the light on, and she closed the door as she stepped in. The room was soundproof, to keep the kids from hearing what was going on outside, and the quiet squeezed in on her like a vice.
“I guess we never got closure, but I just couldn’t bear to face you after I walked in on you banging the new rookie. It hurt too bad.”
“I don’t know why your friend Isaac has a squad of goons, but they kicked me out of your house, and Isaac’s partner had a talk with one of the police chiefs. They told me if I came near you they’d knock me back down to a uniform.”
Gen’s brow wrinkled. “Frisco? Or Cam? I didn’t know either of them knew any of the police chiefs?”
Mike shook his head, impatient. “No, Abbott. Not his fucking butt-buddies, his partner at The Billiard Club.”
Gen needed to get them back on target, so she could get him to admit bugging her house. She stepped forward, reached up, let her hand drop.
“I don’t know where to start, Mike. I couldn’t face you back then, and Isaac knew it. Now, with so much time going by? It doesn’t hurt so bad, and I wonder if we might work, now that you know it’s possible for me to go a little wild?”
He looked at her hand, studied her face. “You’d give us another chance?”
“I don’t know. You and I both know I don’t belong here.” She looked down, back up. “I’m in motorcycle boots, for goodness sake!”
“I’ve heard the things you’ve told him, things about your past, your childhood. Stuff you never told me. Why would you tell him all that shit?”
“How did you hear what I told him, Mike? You know that’s a little creepy, right? That the police can just listen into my intimate conversations, listen to me having sex?”
He shook his head. “Wasn’t a police thing. I put audio sensors on your windows, piggybacked your alarm system. I did it Gen, no one else heard anything. It only went to me.”
“How did you do it? Especially my alarm?”
“Isaac changed the alarm code, but I have a friend at the FBI who gave me the override sequence for your system, so I didn’t need to know the new code.”
“He changed the locks. How did you get a key?”
He shrugged. “Camera designed to get a picture of your key when you used it. Simple enough to make a key with a 3-D printer, once you have the image.”
“Just audio? No video?”
He looked down, back up, and even though he denied it, she could see he had video, too. Rage shot through every nerve ending in her body, and as his hand came towards her cheek to caress it, she grabbed his wrist, twisted his arm, swept his foot, and followed him to the ground. She grabbed the hair at the back of his head and bashed his forehead into the floor as he hit, and then pulled it up and did it again.
The door flew open behind her, and she heard Duke saying, “It’s me, Gen,” as he pulled her off.
Gen turned and pressed her face to his chest, her arms around his neck. “God, Duke. You have to know I didn’t mean what I told him, I just needed to get him to talk.”
“I know, Beautiful.”
“I love my boots! I belong here. It doesn’t make sense, but I do!”
His arm caressed her back and he spoke into her ear. “Shhh, Beautiful. I know. It was an act, you don’t have to convince me, and I’m a little surprised he fell for it, but then I guess I know you better than he does. However, you just attacked a cop on camera, and if we’re going to use the confession you got out of him without facing your own charges, we need to deal with this. Brain’s coming out, I need the two of you to work together to make this work so we can use the video, okay?”
Gen took a deep breath, pushed all emotion to the side, and put her hand on Duke’s chest to push him away. She met his gaze and could tell he was a little alarmed she’d pulled herself together in a split second, but she couldn’t deal with his feelings right now.
“I’m sorry, Detective?” she said to the other plainclothes officer. “I didn’t get your name.”
He’d been talking to Mike, quietly, and he turned to her with a tight smile. “Johnson, ma’am. It’s Detective Johnson.”
“I’m assuming you heard as well as saw everything? I’m also assuming the RTMC can make a copy of the video available. I’d like to press charges and have Mike McPherson arrested for taking illegal audio and video inside my home without my knowledge. He admitted to the audio, but once you go in with a warrant I feel sure you’ll find video as well. Should any of this audio or video ever be shown to anyone outside of the immediate investigation, I’ll sue the CPD for millions. I may anyway, since his access to law enforcement knowledge is what made his activities possible.”
Mike looked at her and said, “Yeah, and I want her arrested for assaulting an officer.”
“No, Mike, sorry,” Gen told him. “That won’t fly. You may have walked into the clubhouse on official business, but your invitation as a police officer only allowed you into the first room. You came into this room as my ex-boyfriend, and you were very clear you hadn’t put surveillance on me as an officer, but as my ex. So, if you want to have me arrested for taking you to the ground and bashing you into it as your ex-girlfriend, that’s fine, but you weren’t in this room on official police business, and I wasn’t speaking to you as an officer, but as an asshole who’s been stalking me. I didn’t assault Detective McPherson, I gave Mike McPherson an idea of just how much he pissed me off.”
She’d been edging closer and closer to him as she talked, and Detective Johnson stepped between them. He smiled at Gen, then turned to Mike and said, “She has a point, McPherson, and I’m not gonna make that call. My bet is you’ll be strongly encouraged by the brass to leave her the fuck alone because our lawyers are gonna have a hard time getting the CPD out of this one without you making it worse. I need you to come with me, we’re going to take our leave, now.”
Mike tried to yank his arm out of Detective Johnson’s hand, but didn’t manage. He glared at the other detective, who lowered his voice to say, “Don’t make me cuff you and perp walk you out of here. I’m trying to let you keep a little dignity, but make no mistake about it, I’m taking you in and reporting every bit of this.”
“Check her over, I’ll bet money she has a nine mil on her hip. Possession of a weapon while assaulting a police officer? You know it’s all about perception. Help me out here, Johnson.”
Detective Johnson looked at Gen in question, and she gave him a direct look and confidently said, “I’m legally armed, Detective, but I never pulled my weapon. Would you like to see my concealed carry permit?” It was in Duke’s room, so she hoped he didn’t, but it wouldn’t take long to get it.
The detective just shook his head and said, “No, ma’am, but I have a feeling he didn’t do you any favors by announcing to the club you’re carrying. You’re welcome to come with me, we can walk you to your car and see you safely off the compound on our way out.”
“She has privileges,” Duke told him. “Every man here is aware she’s carrying, and good with it, but even if we weren’t, she wouldn’t be harmed. I’d pay the fine and she’d be banned for however long we voted, but she’d come to no physical harm.”
At this, Mike spoke up. “You’d pay her fine?” He sounded doubtful.
Before Duke could answer, Brain stepped forward with a jump drive and offered it to Detective Johnson. “Here’s the video up until a micro-second before Gen took him down. I have the rest if you want it, but I’m hoping this’ll be all you need.”
The detective nodded. “Let’s start with this. Don’t erase the rest, in case my bosses want to see it, but I’m betting they’ll prefer to go the plausible deniability route and never see the rest.”
Duke stepped away from Gen and shook the detective’s hand, as well as each of the four uniformed officers, and thanked them for their time and professionalism.
When the door closed behind them, Brain said, “Okay, give us the parking lot on the main TV in here, please.”
Gen assumed he was talking to whoever he left in the control room, and looked towards the TV to see the feed come on.
“Well,” Detective Johnson was saying to Mike, “at least now we know why you’ve had such a hard-on to take down Bevering. You’ve really stepped in it this time. We’ll leave your car here, you’re riding back with me.”
“I have him on tape admitting to being a pimp! Talking about how it worked in Atlanta, how they were going about it a little different here, more high class but basically the same. It isn’t just speculation anymore! I have proof!”
“Yeah, proof we can’t use, you stupid fuck.”
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, Beautiful. 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.