Duke (The Henchmen MC Book 5)

by Jessica Gadziala

  "I'm... clean?" I asked, brows drawing together.

  "Seen a lot of blood and filth in my life to recognize clean when I see it."

  "Clean?" I repeated, not quite understanding. What, just because I wasn't some badass criminal, I was something pure and white and shiny?

  "Worst thing I could do to put my filthy hands on you."

  "You're afraid you might rub off on me?" I asked, unable to stop myself from smiling. "Duke, in case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have the disposition to set bombs or command men or even just throw guys around on a mat in self-defense class."

  "You handled that knife pretty effortlessly. Tell me," he said, leaning in a bit, eyes intense, "what are the chances you could have done that before you got pulled into our mess here?"

  Okay.

  Well, on that, he wasn't wrong.

  "Do you somehow think I'm any worse of a person because I used that knife?" I asked, wanting to understand.

  "No, babe. You do what you have to do."

  "So then, what's the problem?" I blurted out, I think surprising myself more than him.

  "The problem?"

  "Yeah."

  "The problem with... putting my hands on you?" he asked bluntly making me have to swallow hard to get out my answer.

  "Yeah, that one."

  "Penny, you want my hands on you, I don't think I will be able to stop myself from giving that to you."

  I closed my eyes for a second, my brain shooting off in a million different directions at once. Half of those directions were coming up with reasons why it was a bad idea. The other half were trying to convince me to let it happen. Then, somewhere along the way, most of the ones looking for the reasons why it was a bad idea got sidetracked and jumped on the other trail.

  So when I opened my eyes, my lips parted and said something I was pretty sure I had never said before. "I want your hands on me."

  His hand tightened on my neck for a short second in response before his hand moved slowly backward, landing behind my head and holding me still as his mouth closed the short distance between us.

  My breath caught in my chest at the soft, sweet first contact. But it wasn't long before it became more than that, before it became harder and hungrier. Before I started to feel the need pulsing through every inch of my body, culminating in an almost painful tightening between my thighs, a heavy, oppressive weight on my lower stomach.

  His fingers left my head, sifting through my hair as they moved down my clavicle, over my shoulder, then inward. His palm brushed over my breast, my nipple hardening with the contact, dragging a surprised whimper out of my lips. His chest rumbled in response as his hand moved to squeeze the soft flesh for a long moment before his thumb and forefinger took hold of my nipple and rolled it, making my hand fly out to grab his arm, digging in hard.

  I lost his hand then for a second as his tongue claimed mine. When I felt it next, it was under my shirt, closing over my breast again but without a barrier, making my sex clench hard and a rush of wet to soak my panties.

  I was no virgin. I had been turned on before. But this was another level. This was less of a want, a desire, and more of a need. Like I would combust if I didn't get more, get everything. His hand moved across my chest to tease my other breast, the awkward position making the task more difficult.

  Duke made a growling noise in his chest as his hand left my breast, going down to grab my leg and push it over his hip. Then he slid us toward the edge of the bed, carefully turning me so he was seated and I was straddling him.

  My hips sank down, aware of the edge of the bed above me, making me intimately aware with how turned on he was too.

  Duke seemed beyond teasing, hands going to the hem of the tee and dragging it upward and off me in one smooth motion. The cold underground air made my skin prickle and my nipples harden further. But that was a fleeting thought for all of a second or two before Duke's head dipped and I felt his warm mouth close around my nipple, sucking it in hard and then lavishing over it with his tongue until I couldn't think anymore, until all I was was a pile of pleasure and need.

  My hips rocked against his, his hard cock rubbing me right where I needed it, easing some of the tension. He moved across my chest, working over my other nipple as his hands moved up and down the bandages covering my sides, then down to move across my thighs.

  His head lifted, making me let out a small grumble at losing the contact. He looked up at me, eyelids heavy, breathing uneven. Then one hand sank into my hip, pushing it slightly back. The other hand pressed hard between my thighs over my pants, stroking side to side over my clit and I let out an almost embarrassingly loud moan, sinking my hands into his back for support as he kept working me.

  There was no hesitance, no fumbling.

  He knew exactly what he was doing and, as such, drove me upward faster than I knew was even possible.

  Just when I was sure it was going to happen, I lost his hand.

  "Duke," I whimpered, opening my eyes and pushing back to look at him.

  The second my eyes found his, his hand slid under my pants and under my panties and stroked up my slick cleft, his thumb finding my clit easily as his middle finger slowly slid inside, making me instinctively tighten around him.

  "Fuck," he growled, closing his eyes for a second and taking a long, deep breath. "So fucking wet for me," he added, opening his eyes again, watching me as his finger slowly started to thrust in and out of me. It wasn't long, spurred on by my quiet moans, that his middle finger was joined by another and they started thrusting harder and faster until I curled forward toward him and buried my face in his chest.

  "Duke, the fuck you been doing down there all..." a voice called and I heard the feet hit the top step.

  I had never moved so fast in my whole life.

  Sore ribs, sore back be damned.

  No way was I getting caught top-off with someone's hand inside my panties, his fingers inside me by some random biker.

  I flew backward, eyes wide, one hand grabbing for my shirt that was discarded to Duke's side. I already had it over my head and was struggling to get my arms in the holes as Duke just sat there. I wide-eyed him and he actually took a long second to give me a lazy smile before he slowly slid his fingers out of me then out of my panties.

  I watched, finally getting my arms in, a little bit horrified and a lot a bit turned on, as he slowly slid his fingers into his mouth and licked my taste off of them.

  I shook my head, dropping down beside him just as the footsteps landed on the last step and Cash came into view.

  "Oh, hey honey," Cash said, looking surprised like he hadn't told me where to find Duke less than an hour before. If the way his dark green eyes danced and the way he tried to contain his lip-twitching was any indication, he knew exactly what had been going on before he came down. "You found him," he said, voice light.

  "Ah, yeah. I did," I said, nodding, pulling my legs in toward my body like I could hide from the embarrassment.

  "Need me for something?" Duke asked, dragging Cash's attention to him, for which I was eternally grateful.

  "Nah, man. Just checking in. Penny said she was worried. It got me worrying too."

  "Well, no need. I'm good."

  "Yeah," Cash said, having to bite into his cheek to keep the smile from spreading. "I guess you are. Alright. Well, I am going to go order some pizza," he declared, and took off toward the stairs.

  I listened until his footsteps moved across the floor above us before whispering, "Do you think he heard anything?"

  "Nah," Duke said, shaking his head, looking over at me. But then his lips twitched until the smile broke free. "But the fact that your shirt is not only inside out, but backward where it hadn't been when you came down here might have given him a clue."

  I looked down, eyes huge, and sure enough... there was the tag right under my neck.

  Great.

  That was just fantastic.

  Duke's chuckle drew my attention.

  "This is
so not funny," I grumbled, shaking my head at him.

  "Babe, all the guys just assume we're fucking already anyway."

  "But... why would..."

  "Dirty by association, remember?" he asked, reaching out and snagging my chin. "Come back over here. Don't like leaving the job unfinished."

  "What? No!" I shrieked. "Someone could..."

  "Penny," he said, dragging it out, eyes devilish.

  "Turn around," I demanded, dragging my arms back into my shirt.

  "Why?"

  "Because I need to fix this shirt."

  "Seriously?" he asked, making no attempt to hide his amusement. "Baby, I just had your tits in my mouth and now you're being shy?"

  "Shh!" I demanded, slapping a hand into his arm, which only made him chuckle. Then he reached out, grabbed the shirt, and yanked it over my head. "Duke!" I whisper-yelled, hands flying to my chest to try to cover up. He made no reaction to my objection, turning the shirt inside out and then putting it on over my head the right way.

  "Arms in," he said, brow raised, eyes wicked.

  Yeah, well, I had experience finding all the ways to change for gym class without showing any delicate skin. I wrapped one arm across my chest to cover my breasts and slid one in. The shirt fell down and I dropped my other hand, sliding it into the other hole.

  "You're ridiculous," he said, shaking his head as he watched me. "But it's cute as fuck so I'll let it slide."

  With that, he ducked and slid out from under the bed, offering me a hand which I took, and helped me out too.

  "He's not going to tell everyone, is he?"

  "Depends on your definition of 'everyone'," Duke said, still smiling, as he slung an arm around my hips and led me to the stairs.

  "That's just..."

  "Look," Duke said, both hands going to my hips, turning me to face him. He hunched his shoulders and ducked lower toward me. "You gave me permission for something here that I'd like to finish. And, so long as that permission is given, I plan to take advantage of it. The guys will know we're fucking. Either by sheer guesses or because I will make you scream loud enough to wake up the whole compound. Either way, they'll know. You're just going to have to find a way to be okay with that. And the guys will be dicks. They'll whistle or make innuendos. That's what they do. That being said, if any of them makes you directly uncomfortable, you tell me and I put an end to it."

  "Really?" I asked, brows drawing together. "But aren't bike clubs sort of a... brothers above everything thing?"

  "There's some exceptions made for some girls."

  "What kind of girls?" I pressed, a little disappointed when his hands fell from my hips.

  "The kind guys want to do more than fuck with," he said, then turned and jogged up the stairs.

  The kind guys want to do more than fuck with.

  He wanted more than to just sleep with me?

  I wasn't quite sure if I was supposed to be delighted or absolutely terrified by that development.

  So I went ahead and let myself be both.

  TEN

  Duke

  For someone who had been through a trauma and was living in a compound with a bunch of strangers, she slept like the dead. I had been standing beside the bed calling her for two minutes with increasing volume.

  The night before, yeah.

  So shit happened.

  I swore I wouldn't let it. I knew it was a mistake. I didn't want to drag her into my lifestyle. She deserved to settle down with some banker or IT guy. Boring? Sure. But safe. Good.

  I wasn't a bad man per say. But I wasn't good. And I damn sure wasn't safe.

  But all that being said, there was no turning back.

  I, both literally and figuratively, got a taste. And I wanted more.

  We had headed back upstairs and Penny had run off to my room only to emerge half an hour later when the pizza showed up, obviously trying to hide away. Literally. She had gone back in my room and put on a pair of sweatpants that were at least two sizes too big, one of her hoodies whose pink hood was hanging out of one of my black hoodies that was a good four sizes too big for her body and was not only baggy, but almost hung down to her knees.

  Again, ridiculous.

  And again, too fucking cute to do anything but smile at.

  Cash fought back a smile, being a former epic ladies man, he had her card. "Cold, sweetheart?" he asked, handing her a plate.

  "Yeah," she said, ducking her gaze and reaching for a slice of pizza, moving to lower herself down on the floor beside the table because all the seats were taken. Bikers, as a general rule, didn't have the most chivalrous manners.

  "I think not," I said, tagging her at the waist and pulling her backward, balancing my beer on the arm of the chair so I could lower her down without jostling her ribs too much. She wasn't favoring them too much, leaving me to hope that maybe they were just bruised to the bone and not broken like we had thought. Her back I hadn't seen. I figured she would finally be able to take a shower the next morning and I would make her let me take a look then.

  "Duke," she hissed as I settled her on my leg to the chorus of some of the guys laughing.

  "You're not sitting on the floor like a fucking dog, Penny."

  She turned her head to me, giving me a saucy smile. "Well, you could give me the chair."

  "Then I'd have to sit on the floor," I said grabbing my beer and bringing it up. "This way, everybody wins."

  Conscious of the fact that we had an audience, she swallowed any further arguments and settled in, picking at her pizza.

  "Are you guys really watching Friends?" she asked a couple minutes later, her face scrunched up like that made no sense.

  "What'd you expect, horror or things blowing up?" Cash asked.

  "Ah, well... duh," she said with a laugh. "What's next? Some Scandal? Perhaps a little Sex and the City?"

  "I'm such a Samantha," Cash quipped, making Penny choke on the beer I had offered her.

  Sometime later, pizza gone, a fair bit more beer consumed, I learned that Penny was two things: a lightweight and a sleepy drunk. Everyone was their own kind of drunk: slutty, silly, mean, philosophical, stupid. But as we sat there and watched reruns, waiting for the rounds to change, Penny let out a long sigh and leaned into me, her head under my chin. It was maybe a total of three minutes later that I felt her body go lax.

  "So is this something?" Cash asked, nodding his head toward Penny. "I know there's something. She looks at you like you're the fucking last piece of candy on Halloween, both awestruck and hungry. But is it gonna be more than that?"

  "Dunno," I said honestly, catching the fact that I was tracing my fingers up and down her thigh. "She's not like us. She's clean."

  Cash snorted, shaking his head. "Clean, huh? She's sweet, I'll give you that."

  "Not what I meant," I said, shaking my head.

  "Look, Duke. I get it. You come from a shit situation and you got guilt about it, but come on, man. That's the past. You've been out of that for a long time now. And you never believed in it in the first place. You're not as filthy as you seem to think you are."

  "Think any decent woman would see the shit I came from and still want to be with me?" I asked, shaking my head.

  I wasn't stupid. It would come out eventually. And that would be the end.

  "I think any decent woman who got to know you would know that fucked up past isn't who you are. It's what you came from. There's a difference."

  "That's a little optimistic, I think," I said, scooting forward on the chair, putting my arms under Penny's knees and shoulders and holding her to my chest as I walked her back to the bedroom so I could go take my turn on the roof.

  She was still passed out when I got back and I went to sleep.

  Which brought us to the fact that I might have been able to detonate a bomb in the room without her waking up.

  She was curled up on her good side, face buried in her obnoxiously girly body pillow, her arm wrapped over it and her leg cocked up on it too. Like it was a love
r. Her hair was a knotted blonde mess but at some point during the night, she had stripped out of two layers of clothes, leaving her in a tee and leggings again.

  "Penny, come on," I said, half-laughing, as I reached out to touch her arm.

  Apparently noise didn't wake her, but touch did. She flew up on a slight shriek, eyes huge.

  "Hey, it's alright. Just me. Been trying to wake you up for a couple minutes already."

  She slow-blinked at me twice then ran a hand through her crazy hair to settle it. "Um. Why? What's the matter?"

  "Nothing is the matter. I figured we would check out your back. Then you can finally take a shower."

  "You're waking me up for that?" she grumbled, scrubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

  "Well, I figured you'd want to clean up before going to go see your grandmother."

  "What?" she said, coming immediately alert. "Really?"

  The hope in her voice was all the proof I needed that it was worth the extra shuffling of men around to give me a couple hours to take her. And the call I had to make to have a tube of the tattoo cover-up dropped off.

  "Yeah, really. Figured you would feel better if you saw her."

  "How's my..." she started, bringing a hand up to touch her face.

  "Beautiful," I cut her off. She flushed and gave me a weak smile, shaking her head. "I got some of this for you," I said, reaching for the tube and handing it to her. "It covers tattoos so I'm sure it will cover what's left of the bruises. So, up," I said, whipping the blanket down the bed. "Visiting hours start in twenty and go to four."

  "You called the care center?" she asked, like it was a completely foreign concept to her.

  "Yeah, babe. Called them, told them to expect us so your grandmother isn't taken by surprise." She sat there silently, her lips parted, her brows furrowed. "What's with the look?"

  She shook her head and the expression fell. "Nothing. It's just... weird to not have to do everything myself, I guess."