Duke (24 page)

She shook her head. “I can’t deal with you right now, Duke. I just can’t.” She turned towards the steps. “Which is probably okay, because you apparently have a bunch of shit to deal with as well, and don’t have time for me.”

“
I have to be sure you’re safe, Genesis. Paco cleans up okay, and I trust him to watch your back. He’s showering now. Give him ten or fifteen minutes to shave and change into dress clothes, and he’ll stick with you today. He’s young enough you can call him an assistant or an apprentice or whatever.”

“
Brain said you were shorthanded last night. You don’t need to be sending people to bodyguard me, Duke.”

“
Let me worry about manpower issues.”

Gen dropped her final clients back off at their house at six thirty that night, and looked to Paco as she drove off.

“
I need to run home, pack a bag. I’ll run you downtown, drop you off at the compound, and then I’m going to my brother’s house.”

He shook his head. “That won’t work. Let’s see if we can’t get someone to pick me up from your brother’s. Duke won’t want you driving away from the compound by yourself.”

Gen shook her head, realizing it would do no good to argue with Paco. He was following orders and she’d have to talk to Duke.

Duke’s motorcycle was in her driveway, and he sat on her front porch. She looked at Paco, “Did you let him know we were headed home?”

“
No. He made it clear I was here as bodyguard, not spy. Wanted you to trust me.”

She grimaced. “The tracker on my car. Of course.”

Duke tossed his keys to Paco as they walked up. “You’re off duty. Thanks for taking care of her. The problem should be resolved, though we’ll need to be on high alert tonight. I need to be here with Gen, Brain will let me know if I need to meet up with you later, otherwise, I’m out of pocket tonight.”

* * * *

They watched Paco drive away, looking odd in a suit on a Harley, and Gen unlocked her front door and went in, assuming Duke would handle the alarm, which he did.

“
If something happens to one of your people tonight because you aren’t there, it’ll be my fault. We do need to talk, but I don’t want to pressure you to be here.”

“
I kind of went off the reserve today, Beautiful. Two groups who’re normally enemies decided to team up and work together against us. All the enforcers of both groups are either in the hospital or being taken care of by loved ones because the hospital isn’t an option for them. Most of their top guys are in a world of hurt, too. They don’t have the people to do anything tonight, but just to be sure none of the other groups joined their side, I called a meeting with the leaders of all of them, and formed an alliance with one while making arrangements to ensure the others know not to side with…other factions.”

“
So we can talk?”

“
That’s the plan.”

“
You’re a pimp?”

Duke closed his eyes a few seconds, opened them, and said, “I won’t lie. If you don’t want the responsibility of the answer, don’t ask the question.”

“
Find a way to answer it, Duke. I’m not making any promises.”

“
We take care of our girls, we don’t just pimp them out. We don’t recruit, we take on the women who are going to do it anyway, and we give them a safe working environment. No one roughs up our girls ‘cause they know they’ll get it back tenfold.”

Gen sat on her living room sofa, stunned he’d admitted it.

“
We haven’t started yet. We’re just getting things lined up. I voted against, but I lost, so I put someone in charge, told him to line up a doctor who’ll do the regular bloodwork and take care of birth control pills or IUD’s or whatever, and insisted we do this high class, not skeezy. We have a dozen women ready to start this weekend, but someone talked because two of them were beat up by their current manager.”

Gen stood and looked out the window as she gathered her thoughts, and kept her back to him as she said, “So, the pimps are fighting over the women, and the women are being treated as objects in every way possible.”

“
Yeah, but we didn’t hurt them. We provided a doctor, and have them in a safe house while they recover. I have my most compassionate people guarding them, so they’ll have water when they’re thirsty, someone to help them when they need it.”

“
Why did you put my car in the garage?”

“
It isn’t immediately obvious if you’re home. The bedroom is in the back of the house, and your car stays in your garage. I wanted it hidden at the compound, too, so no one could verify for sure where you were.” He sighed. “If you ever want out, just call whoever’s in the control room, ask them to open the door so you can leave.”

“
And I have to trust your promise they will? Not easy for me to do after you held me and wouldn’t let me leave the other day. This tells me I can leave as long as you’re okay with my leaving, but I’m trapped if you decide I need to stay.”

“
I’d like to say you’re wrong, but if I feel you’re in danger I can’t promise I won’t use whatever advantage I have in order to keep you safe.”

Gen turned back to him, and he pulled her into his arms. “Go upstairs and get a shower, change into something more comfortable. I’ll look and see what Amy’s left in your refrigerator, look over her notes, and figure out how to turn it into dinner. You want wine or beer?”

“
Rum and Coke.”

He chuckled, but then touched her face, his eyes serious, questioning. “Are we good?”

“
I can’t answer that right now, Duke. I’m still processing everything.”

* * * *

Gen only had one rum and Coke, and she noted several times how easy conversation was for them.

If she was smart, she’d cut him loose, but they worked so darned well together. She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to walk away.

And she knew he’d keep trying to convince her to come back to him, if she tried to break it off.

She thought back to what Abbott had said about the difference in a pack and the motorcycle club, and she asked, “How often do votes not go your way?”

His eyebrows drew together and he asked, “That’s an odd question. Why do you ask?”

“
I know they voted against you about my gun, and then they voted against you for this other thing. It seems to me, being the club president should give you more oomph, so you can get stuff important to you to go your way.”

“
Sometimes it does, other times it can make things more difficult. I get one vote, just like everyone else.” He contemplated her a few seconds and asked, “What is it you really want to know, Gen?”

She shook her head. “So many questions going through my head, but I don’t think I want the answers.” She motioned towards his plate. “Do you want more?”

He shook his head. “I want you, but I want to be sure we’ve talked about everything before I take you upstairs and ravage you.”

She smiled. “Ravage me?”

“
Beautiful, I’m going to show you more of who I really am, tonight. If it gets to be too much, I need you to tell me, okay? Don’t just tell me no, tell me you can’t handle it, explain what you’re having a problem with.”

Okay, so maybe there was at least one question she had to ask, even if she didn’t want to hear the answer. “I’m assuming you had prostitutes in Atlanta, and that’s why the club wants to do it here, too.”

“
That might be a good assumption.”

“
How often were you with them? Using their, ummm, services?”

“
Never.”

“
Never?” She was surprised, and he must have seen it on her face.

“
I don’t pay for sex, and I wouldn’t take advantage of them to make them give it for free. I had no problems finding someone to warm my bed, Gen, I’ve already told you that.”

“
And here? You won’t do anything with them here, either?”

“
No. They’ll see me as their boss and their protector.”

“
You don’t have someone who has to, ummm, like, give them an interview? Make sure they’re good before you hire them?”

He shook his head. “No. The ones we have now are experienced and come with their own client base. Later, when we take on new people, our coordinator will learn which of our customers enjoy trying out the new girls, and they’ll let us know what they’re good at and what they need help with. A man tells the coordinator what he’s looking for, and she puts him together with the girl who can do what he wants.”

Gen stood and took their plates to the sink. “Okay. Glad I asked, because I was assuming you’d be one of the people in charge of hiring and thinking it meant…”

“
No, Gen. I told you before, if things work out with us I’ll never be with another woman again. It’ll be you for the rest of my life, and I’m really hopin’ things work out.”

* * * *

Duke was going to show her what he liked in the bedroom, but he planned to be smart about it. Get her worked up first, so she
wanted
to do as she was told.

He hadn’t let her come during their quickie yesterday morning, so she only had one more time to go before he got her off.

He took his time undressing her, kissing and loving her as he bared each new piece of skin.

“
I can be demanding in bed, Beautiful, but you need to tell me if it’s too much. I can usually smell if you aren’t feeling well, or if there’s a problem, but if something’s wrong and I miss it, you need to let me know.”

He kissed her stomach, moved up her torso to her breasts, and sucked her nipple into his mouth. Her gasp sent blood pulsing to his cock, and he let her nipple go so he could keep talking as he slowly removed her pants.

“
I’m not a mind reader, so you have to keep talking, let me know what’s going on in your head. I may know you’re sad or upset from your scent, but I won’t know
why
unless you tell me.”

He removed her pants and kissed his way down her torso, aiming for her hipbones and then going down her thighs. She had the sexiest damned hipbones.

When he thought she was finally ready for him, he made her keep her eyes open and hold eye contact as he entered her. He could see her need, smell how aroused she was, and his cock fucking
loved
being buried in her.

He watched her face, her body, and smiled when her scent gave away how close she was. She’d been hiding the fact she was seconds from an orgasm, not letting him see, but he pulled out and jacked himself over her at the last second.

“
No, Gen. Open your eyes and watch me come on you, Beautiful.”

She needed to come so bad, and her anguish as she looked at him was the final bit he needed to push him over the edge. His wolf growled as his orgasm took him, and he knew Gen could see the wolf looking out. He was thankful he no longer had to hide his other half, thankful Gen had accepted all of him.

He came on her stomach, but when his balls had emptied onto her, he didn’t give himself a chance to catch his breath as he scooted down and back and put his mouth on her clit, his fingers in her beautiful cunt, and fifteen seconds later she was writhing and screaming under him as he finally let her come.

A few days ago he’d have cleaned her up, but now he rubbed his cum into her stomach when she’d come down from the orgasm, telling her, “I love it when you smell like me. So fucking
hot
, Babe.”

He moved his hands up, fiddled with her nipples, and leaned in for a kiss. She recoiled as his tongue went in her mouth, but he worked her nipple and dominated the kiss, and within seconds she was kissing him back as if her life depended on it. Brain had been right, she could take more than he’d given her credit for.

When he finally rose enough so she could catch her breath, he told her, “Reach down and spread yourself for me, Beautiful.”

She shook her head, but he sat between her spread legs and pulled her hands down to her thighs. “Hold yourself open, Gen. If you want more orgasms, you’ll do as I tell you.”

His cock throbbed and grew as she slowly moved her fingers in, touched her lips, and pulled them out. “Please don’t make me do this, Duke.” Her voice was so soft, and he could smell a little distress, but her arousal drowned everything else. The air was saturated with it.

He bent down and licked a long stroke from the bottom to the top, and she groaned and pushed her hips up, but didn’t let go of her pussy lips.

“
Such a good girl. Someday I’ll want you to play with yourself for me, Beautiful, but we don’t have to do everything today.”

Over the next hour, he ordered her into doggy style, then had her lie on the bed and grab her ankles, and finally had her stand and lean over the sofa in her bedroom, just to make a point. He lost track of how many orgasms his beautiful Genesis had, but when they finally both came together he saw fireworks, and knew she was in his head enough to know what he could smell once again.

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?”