Duke

by Candace Blevins

  “How about asking me, ‘If you don’t have anything planned, I’m going to see if Bethany wants to hang out with me tonight,’ before you set something up with her?”

  “So, you’re saying I should assume we’ll be together every night, and I need to check in with you before making any plans on my own?”

  Duke nodded as he chewed a bite of steak. Gen watched his jaw muscles work, remembered how it’d flexed when he was pissed the other day, and took a breath to try to bring herself back to the conversation. “Are you going to give me the same courtesy?”

  He swallowed, took a drink. “The club handles patrols on a rotation. I patrolled nearly every night for six months, and told them I was banking time so I could have some evenings with you once I finally claimed you. I’ll need to patrol some over the next two or three months, but for the most part I’m off the schedule a while. Once I go back on it, you’ll be alone the better part of two or maybe three nights a week, and I’ll ask you to use those evenings to spend time with your friends. I’m more than happy to have Bethany hang with the two of us, got no problem at all with you inviting her over when I’m around.”

  “I’ll try.” There was so much she wanted to say, but she had a feeling he was being more patient with her than he’d been with anyone in a long time… or perhaps ever, so she didn’t argue the point, and didn’t tell him they were moving too fast.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “You don’t know how many orgasms you had last night? Seriously? You lost count?”

  Four empty bottles of wine sat on the coffee table, and Gen watched as Bethany opened a fifth. She’d stopped and bought all their favorite specialty cheeses on the way home, and most of it was gone.

  Gen leaned forward and used her fancy cheese slicer to cut another piece of moody blue. “That’s not the point, Bethany.”

  “Yeah, your point is you’re wondering why you’re letting him play with your ass when you don’t think you like it. But my point is that you freaking lost count of how many orgasms he gave you!”

  Gen shook her head. “I’d have had those orgasms even without the anal stuff. And, bottom line — every time I want to tell him not to, I see Mike doing the tramp up her ass on my bed, and I’m worried if I say no, he’ll someday find someone who’ll say yes.”

  “You have to talk to him about it,” Bethany said as she poured them both another glass of deep red wine. “Sex is supposed to be fun. If it isn’t, or if you’re doing something just to keep him from cheating on you, it’s time to back up and regroup.”

  The doorbell rang and the women looked at each other, then the clock. It was nearly midnight. Gen leaned sideways, saw Mike’s car in the driveway, and reached for her phone. She dialed nine-one-one, and when the operator asked her emergency she did her best to keep from slurring her words as she gave her name and address, and then said, “I pressed charges against Detective Mike McPherson the other day, and he’s at my door right now. I’m not going to respond because he scares me, but he’s probably already looked in the window and seen me, so he isn’t likely to leave. I’d like you to send a car out to ask him to leave, please.”

  Mike started beating on the door and yelling that if she didn’t let him in he’d let himself in. The nine-one-one operator heard him and asked, “Can he see you through the door, ma’am?”

  “No, it’s solid wood, though he may have looked in the windows before he went to the door. My boyfriend is usually here, and he isn’t now. I have a feeling Mike knows it’s just me and Bethany. How long until a car gets here?”

  “Just another couple of minutes, ma’am. Can you go into another room and hide, just in case he tries to come in?”

  “No. I’m hanging up now. I hope an officer gets here soon, but if one doesn’t then I’ll be forced to handle the situation myself, should he come inside. I really don’t want to have to defend myself, please tell them to hurry.”

  Gen stood and walked the half-dozen steps to her downstairs safe, opened it, and took her Ruger out. Tennessee’s castle doctrine allowed her to shoot him if he entered her house without an invitation, whether she’d been drinking or not. She’d just covered herself legally with that phone call, and while she didn’t want to shoot Mike, she could, if he came in.

  “Do you really think he’ll hurt us?” Bethany asked, her eyes going back and forth from the gun to the front door.

  “He’s been suspended from the police department and will likely be fired. He’ll never get another job in law enforcement again. I think he’s royally pissed at me, and I’m not going to bother asking him why he’s forcing entry into my house, should he decide to let himself in.”

  Gen’s phone rang and she saw it was Duke, but couldn’t deal with him right now, so she ignored it. Bethany growled, grabbed the phone, and answered it. She listened a few seconds and said, “We’ve already called the police, and Gen’s sitting with her gun in her lap. He stopped beating on the door. Sounds like he’s messing with the doorknob.”

  Gen remembered the front porch camera, knew the control room was now monitoring her driveway and front porch, and realized Duke must be watching this from somewhere else, probably going crazy with worry.

  “Did you know he has a camera on your front porch? That’s a little creepy, Gen. I mean, sure, it’s kinda handy now, but…” She stopped talking to listen, and then told Gen, “Duke has Isaac on the way, since he’s closest.”

  The doorknob clicked and rattled, and Mike started working on the deadbolt. Gen’s heart was racing a million miles a minute and she could feel her adrenaline levels going up. She clicked the safety off and lifted the gun, ready to shoot if he got the door open and stepped inside, but prayed to God, Jesus, Mother Mary, and anyone else who might be listening to please not make her have to shoot him. Her finger wasn’t on the trigger yet, but was straight along the side, her last little bit of safety. She’d only need a split second to take the first shot, but she’d still have to consciously put her finger on the trigger.

  Headlights reflected on her windows and she saw a patrol car in the driveway. Her arms dropped to her lap, but she didn’t put the safety back on yet.

  She heard the officer talking to Mike, but couldn’t hear what was being said. Another set of headlights appeared, but she didn’t know if it was Isaac or another patrol car.

  “Yeah, the gun’s back in her lap now, she isn’t pointing it at the door anymore. There are two patrol cars here, and Isaac’s Shelby, so I think we’ll be okay.” Bethany listened a few seconds and said, “Gen, Duke says you should probably put the gun out of sight so you don’t freak out the officers.”

  Gen nodded, put it on the side table, reached for the kitchen towel that’d somehow made it to the coffee table, and draped it over the gun.

  “Yeah, we will, but before I let you go,” Bethany said into the phone, “Gen has something to talk to you about tomorrow, something she’s doing for the wrong reasons. Make sure you have a conversation with her about it, okay? Preferably before the two of you have sex again.”

  When they hung up, Gen said, “I can’t believe you just freaking told him that.”

  Bethany shook her head and smiled. “Oh my, you pulled out a minced oath. You must be really pissed.”

  Gen felt tears forming. The combination of the alcohol, Mike at her door, almost having to shoot him, and now this…she wanted to curl up in a ball and just cry.

  “Why would you tell him that?” she asked, her voice shaky. She hated crying, and took a breath to fortify herself. Sometimes life sucks, but crying doesn’t fix anything and never makes it better.

  “Because you like him,” Bethany answered, “and he’s finally given you good sex, and I’m still not sure he’s good for you, but if you’re going to try to make it work then he has to know what’s going through your head. Letting him take your ass when you’ve convinced yourself it’s only so he won’t cheat on you is probably one of those signs the relationship is already doomed. You have to talk to him.”

>   The doorbell rang and they heard, “This is Officer Pierson, ma’am. Can you open the door, please?”

  Gen made it to the door, impressed she didn’t weave too bad, and opened it. Isaac was standing behind the officer, and he took one look at her and stepped into the house, stood at her side, and put his arm around her for support. She leaned into him and spoke to the officer. “What are my options? I don’t have a restraining order, which I’m thinking I should get, but without one there’s probably no charges I can press against him, right?”

  “He was attempting to enter your residence when I pulled up, and he resisted me when I tried to stop him. We’ll take him in, but he’ll likely be out again by tomorrow afternoon.”

  Gen nodded. “He leaves me alone when my boyfriend’s here, but we had girl’s night in, tonight. It’s kind of spooky Mike knew Duke wasn’t here, though.” She glanced at Isaac, back to the officer. “I’ll get an attorney started on papers for a restraining order tomorrow morning. Can I get your card, so she can get whatever official stuff she needs from you?”

  When the officer left, Isaac closed the door behind him and said, “Glad I had the locks rekeyed for you this morning.”

  Gen nodded in agreement. “The safe’s still open, and my gun’s under the towel by the sofa. Can you put it away for me, please? I know handling a gun while drunk goes against everything you taught me, but I didn’t have a choice.”

  Isaac did as she asked, and when the picture swung back over the front of the safe, he turned and said, “You’re right, he didn’t give you a choice, and I’m glad you had it handy in case he got in. He’s lost his career and he blames you. He’s dangerous.”

  “Thanks for coming, Isaac. Do you want some wine? Or do you need to get back to work?”

  Isaac looked at his watch and said, “Cam’s at the billiard club with some of his dance friends, I brought him in so he could drink with them and not have to worry about driving. If you aren’t comfortable being alone, I can go get him, bring him back here, and we’ll crash in your guest room. If not, I’ll get him and take him home. I’m good either way.”

  Bethany said, “I know she’ll be Miss Bad-Ass and say we’re fine, but I’d rather have you here, if it’s all the same.”

  Gen rolled her eyes and looked to Isaac. “If Cam doesn’t want to drink wine with us, bring more of whatever he’s been drinking.”

  Isaac pulled out of the driveway and Bethany said, “Please tell me you still have that Twister game! I so want to play Twister with Cam right now.”

  “Umm, you know he’s in a very committed relationship, right? With Isaac, and my brother, and Cassie? I can’t play Twister with my brother’s boyfriend!”

  Bethany smiled. “Doesn’t mean I can’t. Besides, I’m not gonna fuck him, just see how flexible he is.”

  “I’ve seen him dance,” Gen said. “He’s so flexible it boggles the mind.”

  * * * *

  Gen awakened the next morning to the smell of bacon. She had a little bit of a headache but wasn’t terribly hung over. Bethany was still sleeping soundly, so Gen went to the bathroom and then made her way downstairs without waking her friend.

  Much to her surprise, Frisco was at her stove, Cassie at the island with a cup of coffee, and Isaac was stretched out in the breakfast nook with his tablet.

  “To what do I owe this invasion?” she asked her brother, accepting a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Not that I’m complaining, since it appears you brought food and you’re cooking it.”

  “Had to make sure you were okay, hear the story from you and not just Isaac.”

  More of the night started coming back to her, and she looked at Isaac. “I need to apologize on behalf of Bethany. I can’t believe she —”

  Isaac interrupted her. “No apologies necessary. I told Cam the parameters he could play within and he managed to keep her within his rules. This means she was following his lead for how far she could go, so it’s all good.”

  Gen started to argue, but Cassie said, “Cam lives to make people happy, Gen. Isaac told us all about it, and I’m thinking we need to get a game of Twister and see what we can get up to at home. Frisco and I are both pretty flexible from martial arts, it could be fun.”

  Gen shook her head, certain Isaac hadn’t told them everything. “But, they kept getting into, like, sex positions. It was funny when I was drunk, but this morning I’m pretty horrified about it.”

  Cassie laughed. “Yeah, Isaac told us, and apparently Bethany’s pretty flexible, too. Cam’s rules were that they had to keep their clothes on, no hand to genital contact even over clothes, no kissing, and no one had an orgasm. He was encouraged to have fun, flirt, touch, and be naughty, but only within Isaac’s parameters. Seriously, it’s all good.”

  Gen fixed her own coffee and sat across the island from Cassie. “I need to talk to Sam, see if she can handle a restraining order for me, or get a recommendation for someone who can. The attorneys I deal with handle corporate stuff, taxes, land acquisitions… besides, my work colleagues don’t need to know about my personal life.”

  “I texted her this morning already, and she called me back,” Frisco told her as he flipped bacon pieces. “She knows the story, and Isaac had the officer’s card. It’ll be Monday before anything can happen, but she’s put in a request for the police report from the club the other night, and your house last night. She’ll get her assistant started on it first thing Monday morning. With the police reports documenting everything, she feels confident she can get you a temporary restraining order by Monday evening, and a court date to make it permanent probably three or four weeks out. You’ll have to show up Monday to talk to the judge, tell him you’re afraid of Mike, point out he’s stalking you, he knew your boyfriend wouldn’t be here last night which means he’s probably been watching your house since Duke parks in your garage, that kind of thing.”

  Bethany came stumbling in wearing nothing but a man’s oversize t-shirt. She poured coffee without looking at anyone, put an ice cube in it and nothing else, watched the ice melt, and then downed the entire cup. She shook like a wet dog, said, “Damn,” and then poured another half-cup of coffee before filling it the rest of the way with cream.

  She sat beside Gen, looked at Isaac, and asked, “Is Cam still alive? I know you moved from the squeaky bed to somewhere else, but I could still hear you, for like, forever.” She looked at Cassie. “Does he always last that long? Shit! I had three orgasms after Gen went to sleep, just listening to them.”

  “You did not!” Gen said, horrified at the thought of Bethany having orgasms while in bed with her.

  “Oh, I most certainly did.”

  Gen slid off her stool and went to sit by Cassie. “You’re never sleeping in my bed when you spend the night again,” she told Bethany. “That’s just…wrong.” Gen turned to Cassie. “And do not answer her. I adore all of you, but you’re my brother’s girlfriend and boyfriends and I don’t want to know any details about your sex life. None!”

  Bethany laughed. “Oh, I want to know all the details, but I’m not going to be rude and ask unless I have a good excuse, like overhearing how long it sounded like Isaac fucked Cam last night.” She took another sip of coffee. “I’ve decided for sure one boyfriend isn’t’ going to do it for me. If I ever settle down, I need a harem of men.” She looked at Cassie and added, “Not sure I want them doing each other, though. I’m thinking maybe I want them all focused on me, but then after hearing Isaac last night, if one of them lasts that long, maybe having a few players on the bench ready to relieve the first string might not be a bad idea.”

  Frisco began rolling out the biscuit dough, and Gen walked to his side, picked up the cutter, and made circles in the dough. “Help me ignore them, please!”

  Her big brother laughed. “Isaac texted Duke earlier, he’s on the way. You might want to change out of your robe and into some clothes.”

  “I have yoga pants and a t-shirt on under it, not pajamas. I’m okay.”

  �
�So, what’s up with you and Duke? How serious is it?”

  “Seems to be pretty serious but I don’t know where it’s heading. I like him, but my logical brain tells me he’s a huge complication in my life.” She shrugged. “I was miserable when we were kinda-sorta broken up, though.”

  “Fuck me, you’re falling for him.” He pulled up the leftover dough and reworked it while Gen moved the circles to the cookie sheet.

  “Yeah, I think I might be.”

  “Just be careful, okay? I mean, obviously dating a cop doesn’t guarantee he won’t be an ass, but Duke’s the president of a motorcycle gang, Gen. Mom never taught you, and I didn’t think I needed to, so I’ll tell you now. You’re supposed to have fun with the bad boys and settle down with the good guys.”

  “Is that what you did?” He’d rolled the dough back out again, and Gen started back with her biscuit cutter. Working side by side with her brother was comfortable, even if the conversation wasn’t.

  “We aren’t talking about me.”

  Bethany moaned behind her, and Gen turned around to see Cam walking into the kitchen, jeans slung so low they looked obscene without actually showing anything, and no shirt. Even Gen was a little turned on by it. And the way he walked… so casual, yet fluid and graceful. Like he was sex personified.

  “Damn, boy,” Isaac said. “Sex on a stick, and you know it.” He looked at Frisco. “How long until we eat?”

  Frisco shook his head, but said, “About twenty minutes, but try to keep it under five. I’d like you to be downstairs when Duke gets here.”

  “Not a problem, I’ll hear his bike coming up the ridge.”

  Isaac left the room and Cam followed without being told.

  “Yeah,” Bethany said. “I definitely need a harem.”

  “And I need a mental eraser,” Gen said as she turned back to the biscuits.

  Ten minutes later, Isaac stepped into the kitchen as Duke’s Harley roared into the driveway. Frisco looked at Isaac and asked, “What kind of shape’s our boy in?”