Gen glared at him as she asked, “Are you going to spank me if I don’t?”
“No, Genesis.” His voice was so low, so feral, Gen felt like a child afraid of the bogeyman — an unrealistic fear of monsters, which was ridiculous, because this was Duke.
“If you deny me when I want you,” Duke said, his voice even softer now, as if he were trying not to scare her, “then you’ll get me off without getting orgasms. I’ll take it easy on you now, seeing as how we’re still getting to know each other, so if you don’t bend over and make yourself available, you’ll get me off three times before I give you another orgasm.”
Gen picked up her wine and headed towards the kitchen. “I can’t talk to you about this. I’m not bending over and letting you…” She shook her head. “Never going to happen, Duke. This isn’t the middle ages. Women are no longer property.”
* * * *
Duke had intended to let her watch him jerk off if she denied him, but decided they really did have a lot to talk about, and there was no need in pissing her off that much more.
He went into her downstairs bathroom and envisioned what he was going to put her through, and the pleasure he’d get watching her fight with the reality of orgasm denial. It didn’t take him long to get off, and he washed up and joined her in the kitchen.
* * * *
Gen wondered what was taking him so long in the bathroom, but not enough to check on him. She sat on a bar stool with her wine glass on the island in front of her, and looked out her kitchen window at her magnificent view.
She heard Duke walk to the kitchen, but didn’t turn to look at him.
“I dated someone for a year and a half,” he said. “At some point she started gettin’ off on the fact I’d protect her, and she kept doin’ shit that made me have to come to her rescue.” He shook his head. “So, yeah, I spanked her when she did something dangerous. And once, when she created a situation that got one of my brothers hurt backin’ me up to save her ass, I bared her ass in the clubhouse and turned her over my lap. She isn’t the only woman I’ve spanked, but she’s the only one I spanked in front of my brothers.”
Gen finally turned to look at him. He’d leaned against the doorframe, his large, muscled arms crossed over his large, muscled chest. Gen wasn’t afraid of him, exactly, but didn’t appreciate the stance, as if he were trying to intimidate her.
“You ever walk into a gang infested bar and call me to rescue your ass, I’ll spank it once I’ve saved it. I find out you’ve met a stranger to show them a house and you didn’t have your piece and your pepper spray? I’ll spank your ass. However, one of the many reasons I like you is because you think smart, you think safe. Since you don’t do stupid shit, I don’t see me needing to spank you.”
Gen shook her head, slid from her barstool, pulled the rolls from the fridge, and started placing them on a tray. “I’m not sure you and I are going to work, Duke. I thought it didn’t matter that we come from different worlds, but now I’m not so sure.”
“You’ll get used to me.”
“And you’re having to pretend you’re someone else to get me used to you. If we’re going to work, you shouldn’t have to take the time to let me see who you are a little bit here and there. What if I finally meet the real you in two months, and don’t like whoever the hell you turn out to be?”
His eyes narrowed. “You like my cock well enough.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, speaking quiet while focusing on the rolls instead of him. “And I like parts of the man attached to it, but I’m beginning to think there are huge chunks of you I might not be able to handle.”
“Why have you had so few relationships?”
Gen’s head popped up, surprised at the question. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve had three long term relationships and my longest lasted nearly three years. I’ve had two relationships that only lasted a few months, not long enough for me to have sex with them. I’ve been on a lot of dates that didn’t work out. I’m a successful businesswoman, and it turns out that’s a turn-off for a lot of men.” She shrugged. “And while I was becoming successful, there wasn’t time for a man in my life.”
“You dated two men for a couple of months, and didn’t have sex with them?”
She nodded and he asked, “Did they own dicks?”
“Don’t be crude.” She put the rolls in the oven, double-checked the timer, and poured herself some more wine.
Duke walked to her and Gen backed up. Her back hit the counter and she froze, watching him stalk towards her.
“I really can’t handle you bein’ afraid of me, Beautiful.” He gently stroked her cheek, his fingers curled around her neck, and his mouth angled over hers.
This wasn’t his usual kiss. He was gentle, soft, caring. He rose a few inches, his gaze intense. “I’m not going to hurt you. Ever. Yes, there’s something wild in me, and I’ve seen you recognize it a few times. Someday, I’ll try to explain it, but for now, just know you’re safe with me, but the wildness inside of me wants to chase when you act afraid. I really need you to figure out how to not be scared, Gen.”
She leaned into him, wrapped her arms around his middle, rested her cheek on his chest. When she was in his arms, she felt safe. Maybe she could have the conversation she needed to have sitting with him, in his arms?
The buzzer went off on the oven, and she pushed him away, but he said, “I’ll get it.” He donned an oven mitt, and Gen watched in amusement as he handled the rolls and lasagna as if he belonged in a kitchen.
Duke asked about her day as they both fixed their plates and prepared to begin eating, but Gen picked up with what was on her mind when the conversation lulled.
“If I was to find out one of your people did something truly bad, like raped someone, or was robbing houses, or had a meth lab set up in the back of the compound, I’d personally go to the police and report it.”
Duke’s fork stopped midway to his mouth, and he set it down and looked at her. She saw his face close off, saw a wall form between them, but she kept going.
“If you beat the hell out of someone for raping someone, I won’t approve, but I won’t say anything to law enforcement. If they come to me asking, I won’t lie, but I won’t answer their questions.”
He didn’t move, didn’t say anything, and Gen added, “You told me up front you were an outlaw. I appreciate your honesty, and from what I’ve seen so far, I can live with the kinds of rules you don’t pay attention to, but I’m trying to explain that even if I can understand where you’re coming from, I don’t want to be an outlaw.”
“We’re in agreement, then, because I don’t want to make you one. I’ll keep club business away from you, Gen.”
“Okay. I’m not sure how we’re going to make it work, but I’m willing to give it some time and see. I’m not willing to wait months to get to know the real you, though. Tell me something you’re waiting to reveal. Something you don’t think I can handle.”
“You asked me once how many sexual partners I’ve had, and I told you I had no idea. I thought about it later, and I figure it’s probably at least a thousand people.”
Gen couldn’t even fathom that many, and could only stare at him.
“I’ve been sexually active for seventeen years,” he said, his voice cautious. “When I was twenty-two and twenty-three, sometimes I was with more than three people a week. Frequently a lot more. I was often with two at the same time, occasionally three.”
Gen made a mental note to be sure he always wore a condom, and asked, “How can you possibly be happy with me?”
“Beautiful, all but a handful of that number, it was just sex. I fucked ‘em, that’s it. I’m not even sure I knew all of their names, groupies who showed up at a biker bar, got drunk, and fucked a biker. I’m sure for some of them I was nothing more than a check mark on their bucket list. I know for a fact I was for one chick, because she told me ‘fuck a biker while he’s wearing his cut’ was on her list, and she thanked me for letting her ch
eck it off.”
He reached across the table, stroked her cheek. “It’s been a long time since I’ve made love to someone, years since it’s been more than a physical act. I hope eventually you and I reach a point we can occasionally just fuck, but I love what we have, and never want to lose it.”
“Even though you’re having to teach me? Show me what to do?”
“Especially because I’m getting to teach you, Beautiful.” He rubbed her hand, sat back up. “You’ve already figured out I like to be in control when it comes to sex. I’ve never let anyone take the kind of control I gave you. Never thought I would, but I don’t mind it, with you. Not every time, but I’m good with it occasionally. Just let me know when you want to, Genesis.”
She’d never liked it when anyone else called her by her first name, but she loved the way it rolled out of Duke’s mouth, as if she mattered. As if she was important to him.
“But, by being in control, it means I call the shots. We’ll start working on vocabulary sooner than I’d originally planned, see how you do with it. Brain might be a little right about my making too many changes and not being myself, he thinks you can handle more of me than I’m giving you, so I’m going to give you a little more and see how you do.”
Gen had wanted him to show her who he really is, but the prospect of him actually doing it was a little intimidating. She changed the subject by asking, “Do you know if any of them… you know… gave you anything?”
His smile was patient, and she was relieved he wasn’t mad at her for asking.
“I didn’t use condoms as much as I should when I was younger, but I somehow lucked up and never caught anything. Somewhere around twenty or twenty-one, I started using them religiously after a pregnancy scare.”
“I went off birth control when I broke up with Mike.”
Gen didn’t have the nerve to ask him to get tested before they went without condoms, and thought maybe she’d just stay off the pill so he’d have to keep using them.
He opened his mouth to speak but she didn’t want to continue this conversation, so she interrupted with, “Brain told you I set up appointments for us to view a couple of properties tomorrow?”
He looked at her a few seconds, and apparently decided to let her get away with changing the subject. “Yeah, anything I need to know ahead of time?”
“I found the perfect spot, but Brain says it’s too close to The Billiard Club. I have permission to show it tomorrow, just in case, but we have several places farther away to look at as well.”
“Doesn’t matter how perfect it is. If he says it’s too close, it is.”
“Why can’t you be close?”
“Because Abbott and Isaac asked us not to be, and we have enough respect for them to…” He leaned forward, rubbed his forehead as he looked at the table. “Give me forty-eight hours to make some arrangements to explain it to you, and I will.”
Gen stood, carried her plate to the sink, and said, “I don’t know what’s happening between us, I don’t know how we’re going to figure all of this out, but I’d miss you if you weren’t in my life.”
“I’d miss you, too. I have a lot of answers, but I don’t have them all. However, I’m confident we’ll figure it out.”
“Okay, then. I’d like to take a quick shower — alone — and then I’d like to cuddle with you. I’ve decided I feel safe in your arms, it’s only when you’re standing across the room glaring at me I get scared, so I need more time just being in your arms.”
The next thing she knew, his arms were wrapped around her and he was holding her. “With that in mind, the next time I scare you, can you ask me to hold you?”
“No promises, but I’ll try.”
Gen put her hair in a bun on top of her head and took a fast shower, keeping her hair dry. She dried off and donned yoga pants and a tee, and forced herself not to wear a bra. It was a thicker tee, and navy, but… still. She felt almost naked in front of him without a bra.
She grabbed her tablet and went to the sofa, where Duke was already sitting.
His arm went around her, he tucked her into his side, and her heart slowed, her body calmed. No place safer on the planet than in Duke’s arms.
She swiped her tablet on and went to her picture albums. “I’m not sure you understand Cam, and that’s okay, but he’s pretty cool and you should know he isn’t just a gay bottom.” She went to the pictures she’d collected of him in performances, and went straight to the time he’d spent in Atlanta in a production of Giselle.
Duke took the tablet from her and spread his fingers to zoom in on the image. Cam was standing on his toes, looking up, a ballerina in his hands balanced over his head. You could see every muscle in his body, and you could see the grace in his movements even in a still picture.
“He’s magic on stage, and there’s nothing feminine about the way he dances. It’s all masculine beauty and grace.”
“I didn’t like the way you were dancing with him in the club.”
“Yeah, you made that pretty clear, but Cam’s safe to dance with because I know nothing will come of it. I can turn loose with him in a way I can’t with anyone else.”
Duke swiped through her pictures, slowing to look at some, speeding past others. “What’s the story with him and Sam?”
“The night Cassie met Frisco was also the night Sam met Cameron. It was Sam’s bachelorette party, and Ethan had told Sam she could flirt and dirty dance, and be felt up over the top of her clothes, but couldn’t, ummmm, have any happy endings.”
“Orgasm, Beautiful. Or ‘get off’. We need to work on your vocabulary.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know those words, just don’t always feel comfortable saying them.”
Duke chuckled. “I find it hard to believe Ethan would give the okay for that, but I take this to mean Sam played around with Cam?”
“They danced a lot, and I think Sam helped Frisco torment Cameron on the dance floor. Sam ended up kissing a transsexual during the drag show, and now they’re great friends. You’ll probably end up meeting her at some point.”
This time, Duke gave a full laugh, and finally stopped to say, “Beautiful, you have some very interesting friends.”
They looked at pictures and talked for an hour, until Duke kissed her senseless and carried her to bed.
* * * *
Duke took his time working her up with his hands, and just as she was about to come, he backed off and paid attention to her breasts a little while. When he was sure she’d cooled off, he mounted her from above, groaning in bliss as his cock slid into her tight, warm heat.
As she got close he backed off, slowed, and denied her release yet again. She made noises of protest, but didn’t say anything. The fourth time he backed off, she reached down to play with her clit and he lifted her hands, threaded his fingers through hers, and held them near her head as he continued to fuck her slow enough she couldn’t get off.
Her eyes begged him, and he knew it was time to remind her why he was doing this. She’d figured it out, he could tell by the glare, but he needed to be sure she understood.
“I won’t give you another orgasm until I’ve come — either on you or in you — three times. There are consequences for denying me, Beautiful. This is it.”
* * * *
Gen was horrified he could read her so easily. He knew exactly when she was seconds from coming, and stopped every freakin’ time.
She needed to come so bad, she ached for it — the pulse in her clit an insistent drumbeat, her desire a palpable thing.
As her release grew closer, this time she clamped her mouth shut, closed her eyes, and tried to keep her body from betraying her. She neared the apex, was just ready to explode through and finally find release when Duke pulled out, stripped the condom off, masturbated himself for a handful of seconds, and came all over her stomach and breasts.
She should’ve been humiliated, pissed, but he leaned forward and kissed her, held her, once more not caring he got his ejaculate al
l over himself. She grinned to herself, thinking if he heard her call it ejaculate he’d be amused with her.
“That’s one, Beautiful. Two more and you get to come.”
“I can get myself off, Duke. Been doing it for years.”
“Not tonight, and not in the morning. You’ll have the day at work free tomorrow, but I’m willing to bet whatever small release you manage to find will only make you hornier.”
Gen wasn’t sure he was right, but was afraid he might be.
He went to the bathroom, brought back a warm washcloth, and wiped her down as if she were a precious treasure.
This man was so rough around the edges, could be so crude at times, and yet so gentle, so caring.
He rolled to his side, pulled her back to his front, and said, “Sleep now, Beautiful.”
She closed her eyes, wiggled her hips against him. “I can’t. Duke. No way.”
His chuckle vibrated against her back. “Breathe in, breathe out. Feel the air coming in, going out. Change your focus, Gen.”
She didn’t want to change her focus. She knew he could get hard again, they could get the second time out of the way tonight, then maybe she’d get an orgasm after he got off tomorrow morning. No way could she focus at work tomorrow if he was right, and her vibrator induced orgasm made her even hornier.
She reached back with her hand, found him soft, but didn’t have a clue how to go about getting him hard.
“Let’s discuss strategy,” he said, his voice a gentle caress. “You know it takes me a lot longer to get off the second time, which means you’ll have to endure a helluva lot more torment than you just experienced. Then, tomorrow morning, it’ll go quick, but there won’t be time for a second go-round because you have a ten o’clock meeting, which means you’ll have to wait until tomorrow night for your orgasm.”
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