Claimed by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders, Book 2): Duke Ryder

by Melissa Foster

  “Says the girl who’s never camped.” Gabriella rolled her eyes with the tease and guzzled her drink, then refilled their glasses.

  “Oh, please. Going against my father’s wishes was a huge risk and you know it.”

  “I do know it, and I’m reaping the benefits of your rebellion. You’re the best assistant, and the best friend, a person could ask for.”

  “Then you should listen to me. Call that beefcake and tell him to get his ass on a plane and come see you.”

  “That’s the problem, Ad. I want to do that so badly. I want to be in his arms every second. But every time I put Duke together with the island, I see big, huge question marks.”

  “That’s the attorney in you. I think it’s time to let the woman in you win a case for once, don’t you?”

  They talked for a while longer, and the conversation moved from Duke and the island to Addy’s father’s newest fashion line, to work and their upcoming cases, bringing her mind back to all the ugliness of her job. They left the bar a few hours later, as the sun dipped behind the buildings and the sidewalks became even more crowded.

  “Call me if you need me later, okay?” Addy said as they hugged goodbye. “No staying up all night worrying. I’m happy to come over and bore you to sleep.”

  “Thanks, Ad.” Gabriella watched Addy flag down a cab.

  She walked home, tugging her suitcase behind her, and mentally slid into her thicker skin. She had to in order to ignore the shoulder bumps of people rushing past, too busy to apologize for the intrusion. When she reached her apartment building she felt a modicum of relief and headed inside.

  The elevator landed in the lobby just as she arrived, and she hurried inside, tugging her suitcase beside her. She dug her keys from her purse and watched the numbered buttons light up as the elevator passed each floor.

  She’d lived in this building for five years, and as far as apartment life went, she liked it. The halls were kept clean, the neighbors were pleasant enough, though she rarely saw them, and she felt safe there. The elevator stopped on her floor, and she dragged her suitcase into the hall, stopping cold when she found Duke sitting on the floor beside her door. He rose to his feet, unfolding all those glorious muscles, and a panty-melting smile appeared—and did its job perfectly. Gabriella dropped her suitcase and leaped into his arms.

  **

  DUKE HADN’T BEEN sure how Gabriella would react to his showing up at her apartment, and as she kissed his lips, his cheeks, his chin, and ran her fingers through his hair—God, how he loved her touch—he was glad he’d taken the chance.

  “You’re here!” She pressed her hands to his cheeks, and Duke couldn’t remember ever seeing her so happy.

  “Have been for a few hours. You’re here, baby. Where else would I be?”

  “Hours? Here? Like at my door?”

  “Just since three.” Every hour had felt like a lifetime.

  “Ohmygod. I’m sorry. I had a drink with Addy.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I would have waited days.”

  Her eyes dampened at that. “But I thought you had to stay on the island for meetings.”

  He kissed her again as she slid from his arms.

  “You were so upset when you left. I wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

  “You came hundreds of miles to make sure I got home safely?”

  “Of course. I rearranged my meetings and called my buddy Jack, who picked me up in one of his planes. You should have seen the kids’ faces when he landed on the water. It was the highlight of Vivi’s and David’s morning.” He set her on her feet and kissed her again. “By the way, David’s spending the afternoon practicing his curveball with the other kids, and he’s excited to show his father when he returns home tomorrow.”

  She pressed her hand to his chest, and he covered it with his hand.

  “Duke, what you did for him was so sweet. And you’re here. That’s just…” She pressed her forehead to his chest. “You suck at giving me space.”

  He heard the tease in her voice but knew that she was probably still wrestling with the looming proposal. He cupped her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. They were full of emotions that he knew were scaring her.

  “Hey, I’m going to give you space. I just wanted to see you. I brought you a little something to cheer you up.” He reached behind them, then handed her a bucketful of sand and shells from the island.

  “Oh my goodness. You brought the island to me?” She ran her fingers through the sand, her eyes damp again. “Duke…”

  “I’d have brought the whole island if I could have.” He pressed his lips to hers again and swept his arms around her as she cradled the bucket between them. He deepened the kiss and smiled against her lips as she went up on her toes.

  “I’ve got your back, baby. I always will if you let me.”

  Chapter Twenty

  AFTER EATING DINNER at a café, Duke and Gabriella took a cab to Carl Schurz Park.

  “I still can’t believe you rearranged your schedule to see me, or that you brought me such a thoughtful gift,” she said. “And now, taking me here. It’s like you knew exactly what I needed. I would have sat inside and worked all night.”

  Duke stopped walking beneath a beautiful flowering tree and gathered her in close. “I had the sense that you were feeling ripped away from the island again, even though it was you who was doing the ripping this time.”

  “I had to come back to prepare for my case.”

  “I know you did, but I also know you were trying to protect your heart.” He pressed his lips to hers, and when their tongues touched, she melted against him. He loved when she surrendered to her feelings, even though she was still so conflicted.

  “I love kissing you,” she whispered.

  He recaptured her lips, his hunger for her taking over as he took the kiss deeper. Her moan vibrated in their mouths, heating the far reaches of his core. Duke forced himself to pull away before he was unable.

  “God, baby…” He touched his forehead to hers, trying to regain control. Her fingers clutched his shirt so tight, he knew she was fighting the same flames.

  “I can barely breathe. How do you do this to me?” She wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed her cheek to his chest. “The closer we get, the more it’s going to hurt if it all goes to hell.”

  “That’s why you left the island.” He gazed down into her eyes. “Because there, every kiss we shared, every touch, every blessed, glorious moment that brought us closer together haunted you the next day.” He saw the confirmation in her eyes. “I’m hoping that here, miles away from the island, we can see if that feeling goes away.”

  “Don’t you get it, Duke? I’m scared to death that if you turn the island into a concrete playground I’ll never be able to look at you or feel the same way about you again.”

  “Baby, you’re full of threats. It’s your job. You threaten, and I’m sure it gets you what you want. I get that. But you never need to threaten me. I’m on your side. Always.”

  “I’m not threatening,” she said softly.

  He kissed her again, slow and loving, driving his point home. “I made you a promise. I wish you’d trust that.” He pulled her closer despite the way she tensed against him. “I haven’t let you down yet, have I?”

  “No, but—”

  “Let’s set aside the worries and just enjoy our time together.” Duke kissed her hard, hoping to silence her worries. The kiss was messy and hot, and he felt her letting go again, her body succumbing to their connection.

  “I’ll never hurt you,” he said as he gazed into her eyes.

  “Okay,” she said with a confident nod, but Duke had a feeling she was trying hard to fake that confidence. “No more worries.”

  They continued on their walk, marveling at the beauty of the gardens and how it felt a world away from the city, when it was, in fact, in it. Gabriella told him about how much she missed the island on her way home and how hard it had been to leave him. With every min
ute that passed, he felt her confidence in him growing, and he hoped it was truly sinking in that she could count on him.

  They made their way to the statue of Peter Pan in the center of the plaza. It stood in the center of a beautiful garden, surrounded by flowering bushes and lush greenery. A couple sat on the steps by the stone wall that circled the plaza, holding hands and talking.

  “I think Peter Pan had it right,” Gabriella said as they admired the statue. “Growing up is highly overrated. It would be so much easier to be young and carefree forever.”

  Duke draped an arm over her shoulder and thought about what she’d said. “I had a great childhood, but I don’t think I’d want to be a kid forever. I remember being anxious to grow up and get on with my life.”

  She was so beautiful, with the moonlight reflecting in her serious eyes.

  “I wouldn’t want to change a thing,” Duke said as he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Everything that happened before now brought me to this exact moment, and it’s the best moment ever.”

  “That’s quite possibly the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.” Her eyes were warm, but there was a spark of fierceness in them that he recognized from when they’d first met, and that made Duke wonder what was coming next.

  “It’s embarrassing for me to admit this,” she said as she pressed her hands to his stomach and dug the tips of her fingers into his muscles. “But I’ve been so jaded by my job that the first thing that popped into my head when you said that was ‘How many of my clients probably said that to their significant others when they were first dating?’”

  Duke wanted to take her in his arms and shield her from the destruction that those thoughts could cause.

  “You are not very good at setting worries aside.” He softened the tease with a chaste kiss. “How about if I’d said it to you on the island? What do you think you would have thought of it then?”

  Gabriella stepped in closer, her arms circling his waist. “Probably just that it was the sweetest and most romantic thing I’d ever heard. My mind isn’t on work when I’m there.”

  “Baby, that beautiful, brilliant mind of yours sounds like a pretty serious battleground of thoughts.” He pressed his hand to her lower back, bringing her body flush with his, not because he wanted the sexual contact—although just being near Gabriella made him hot all over. But because he wanted her to feel safe, to know she wasn’t alone and that he wasn’t going to walk away, no matter how much she pushed.

  “First and foremost,” he said with a serious tone, “I’m not one of your clients, so please don’t compare me to them. As I’ve told you, I’ve never felt this way before, and my feelings for you are so consuming, so much a part of who I am now, that I have to believe they won’t change. And lastly, baby, you’ve just given me another reason to make the island someplace that you will love as much as you love it now. I’d never take that joy away from you.”

  He kissed her again, slow and sweet, letting his love pour into her.

  “One day you’ll trust me. You’ve got too big of a heart to have it iced over with worries that will never come true as long as you’re with me.”

  **

  DUKE SMELLED SO good, felt so strong and safe, and the things he said, the sincerity in his voice, the honesty in his eyes, stole Gabriella’s worries away once again. She felt like she’d been home from the island for a month and that Duke had been by her side the whole time, which made being home feel better. How could he possibly, continually, know exactly what she needed? They’d kissed throughout the evening, quick, shivery kisses and long, passionate kisses. Kisses that made her knees weak and her pulse sprint. And now, as they neared her apartment building, their lips barely parted long enough to make it inside the door.

  Waiting for the elevator, he pulled her around the corner, into a hallway that was out of sight of the lobby, and lowered his mouth to hers. He traced the swell of her lips with his tongue, rocking his hips against hers and driving her out of her mind. His arousal pressed against her belly, and his big hands—God, she loved his hands—blazed down her hips to the curve of her ass, reminding her of what he’d done the last time his hand had been there. Heat pooled between her legs.

  “I want you so badly.” His gravelly voice sent a thrum of excitement rippling through her.

  Before she could say a word, the elevator dinged, and he practically carried her around the corner and into the dimly lit, confined space. He pressed the button for her floor, and as the doors closed, his mouth captured hers again. Their tongues crashed and tangled as he cupped her breast and squeezed her sensitive, taut nipple between his fingers. Her leg climbed his hip, hitching at his waist as their cores ground together.

  “I wish I could take you right here. Just fuck you right against this wall.”

  She groaned—groaned!—with need. His naughty words, the roughness of his touch, made her wish he would take her right there.

  The elevator stopped on her floor, and he lifted her into his arms and kissed her as he carried her down the hall. She loved that he could carry her so easily. One hand splayed beneath her ass, the other fisted in her hair. His fingers teased between her legs, tearing another needy moan from her lungs.

  “Keys,” he panted out between kisses.

  “Purse.”

  He pressed her back up against the door, nibbling and kissing her neck as she dug in her purse for the keys. She gripped them in her fist and rested her head back against the door. She felt him chuckle against her neck.

  “You going to unlock the door, or do you want me to strip you bare and have my way with you right here and now?”

  “I’m debating.” She giggled, and he squeezed her ass.

  “Bullshit. I am not letting your neighbors get an eyeful of my girl.”

  My girl. She loved that! She dangled the keys in her hand, and when he reached for them, she pulled them away with a smirk. “What do I get in return?”

  “My face buried between your luscious thighs.”

  She couldn’t unlock the door fast enough.

  Duke kicked the door closed and her back met it with a thump as he lifted her higher—how the hell did he do that?—positioning her thighs over his shoulders. He tore her panties to the side and, Lord have mercy, he buried his talented mouth there. His tongue stroked and teased with tantalizing perfection, then plunged deep inside her as he brought his hand to her clit, and—fuuuuuuuck. He knew just how to touch her, how to lick and suck until all she could feel was him. His hands, his mouth, his breath filling her. Her head lolled back and she fisted her hands in his hair, needing to hold on to something as she lost all control and cried out as pleasure radiated out from her core.

  Before she could catch her breath she was in his arms again, and his mouth was on hers. He tasted of sex and lust and him. He carried her through the small living room directly into her bedroom and lowered her to the bed. He stripped his clothes off quicker than she could register a single thought. Her brain was still foggy from the intensity of her orgasm, but she registered the condom landing beside her. He crawled up the bed, powerful and graceful at once, like a panther on the prowl. Come get me, baby. His hands slid up her thighs, and he dragged her panties off and tossed them to the floor. He lifted her to a sitting position, and without a word, his hungry stare holding hers, he pulled her dress over her head and tossed that away, then made swift work of stripping her of her bra.

  “You’re so damn pretty.” He lowered her back down to the bed and kissed her again, making her emotions whirl and her brain short-circuit.

  “Baby, how did I get lucky enough to meet you?”

  “After what you just did to me, I think I’m the lucky one.” She reached up and brought his mouth to hers again, taking what she so desperately wanted.

  She couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted that hot, sexy mouth of his on every inch of her skin. His hands roved over her waist, her hips, her thighs. He lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. Yes, yes. S
he needed him inside her. Now. Their mouths came together again in a painfully tender kiss.

  “More,” she pleaded.

  His tongue slid over her teeth, then thrust inside. She clawed at his skin, tugged his hair, couldn’t get close enough to him.

  “Duke, please,” she begged.

  His hands masterfully groped, squeezed, one on her breast, the other on her ass, sending tides of need rushing through her. The base of his erection crushed against her, creating the perfect amount of friction and taking her up, up, up.

  “Let go, baby,” he urged.

  He lowered his mouth to her breast, sucking her sensitive nipple. Heat shot south, coiling, burning, churning low in her belly. Her thighs tightened around his waist, and in the next breath his teeth grazed her nipple and the world spun away.

  “Gotta have you, baby,” he said between gritted teeth as he reached for the condom.

  She grabbed his wrist. “Just you.”

  His eyes narrowed, restraint written in the tightening of his jaw. “Baby.”

  “Just us. I want to feel you, Duke. I’m ready. I’m so, so ready.”

  “Baby, you’re physically ready, but you still don’t fully trust me. You’re my careful, smart girl. You’ll overthink us in the morning, and I don’t ever want you to regret our closeness.”

  He grabbed the condom and ripped it open with his teeth, and her heart cracked just a little. She did trust him, so much more than she’d ever trusted anyone in her life. But she knew he was right. Even though the worry wasn’t front and center in her mind, it lingered. Sheathed and positioned at her entrance, Duke must have read her thoughts, because he kissed her tenderly, lovingly stroking her cheek.

  “We’ll get there, baby. We’re moving so fast, and I feel it, too. God, how I feel it.” His eyes went serious. “I’m falling so hard for you. I want to be the first and only man to make love to you without anything between us, and I want to be the only man you ever wake up with in the morning.”