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

by Melissa Foster

  Addy knocked as she pushed open the door and peered into Gabriella’s office. It was six o’clock, and Addy could have left half an hour ago, but she never left when Gabriella was talking with a client, just in case she needed her to find a file. Gabriella had told her a million times that she didn’t need to hang around, but telling Addy anything was futile. The girl did what she thought was best. Always.

  “Hey there,” she said sweetly. “I thought I heard you groan, and since Duke is nowhere in sight, I knew it wasn’t a sexually frustrated groan and thought you might need saving.”

  Gabriella shook her head. “You’re a freak. You know that, right?”

  “The best kind of freak.” She winked as she sat on the edge of Gabriella’s desk. “In case I didn’t mention this earlier, if I had a man like Duke and he met me before work to show me he’d been up since dawn trying to come up with a compromise for the island I adored, I’d have stripped naked in the street and taken him right there.”

  “You did mention that, about a dozen times. Isn’t there some rule about scamming on your best friend—and boss’s—boyfriend?”

  Addy laughed. “I don’t know, since your boyfriends never last more than a week, and they’re kinda few and far between. You don’t really give me much to play with.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed at Gabriella. “Very selfish of you, by the way. We should fix that. Stat.”

  “Whatever.” She crossed her arms over her desk and laid her head down on them.

  “Jesus, what is going on with you?” Addy tapped Gabriella’s head.

  She rose to her feet and paced. “My clients are selfish and not very smart when it comes to taking care of themselves, but really selfish when it comes to their children, and I’m falling for Duke.”

  “We’ll get back to the client thing, and define ‘falling for’?”

  “One hundred percent, head over heels, pit of my stomach fluttering falling for him. The kind of falling that makes rational thought impossible.” She gazed out the window at the busy streets below and wondered what Duke was doing. Was he upset over her reaction? She hadn’t even thought about how long he might have been waiting outside her apartment this morning. Guilt washed through her.

  She glanced at Addy and said, “The kind of falling that turns my brain to mush every time I hear his voice. It scares the shit out of me. Why couldn’t I meet him a year from now? After whatever is going to happen to Elpitha happens?”

  “So break up with him.” Addy picked up a Hershey’s Kiss from a glass bowl on Gabriella’s desk, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

  “Seriously? That’s your wonderful advice?” She dropped her chin and shook her head, feeling completely and totally at a loss.

  “Of course not, silly. You’d have to be an idiot to break up with a man whose sole goal in life is to make you happy.” She unwrapped another Hershey’s Kiss and brought it to Gabriella. “He left last night when you know damn well he wanted to stay. He waited outside your apartment for you. Who does that?”

  Gabriella shoved the chocolate into her mouth. “Why can’t men be like chocolate? There when you want them to bring you sweet pleasures, and…Shit. I can’t even think of a smart way to end that sentence because I don’t want him to go away. I just want the island stuff over with.”

  “That will happen, you know. Eventually. And he’s trying, Gab.”

  “I know this is all my issue. He’s…God, Addy. He’s everything I could ever want in a man. He says and does the sweetest things. Did I tell you that he brought me sand and shells from the island?”

  “Yes. Sand. Shells. Dinner. Orgasms. Walked you to work like a schoolboy carrying your books. A man whose greatest fault is that he’s fallen in love with the same island you have. We should shoot the motherfucker.”

  Gabriella grabbed another chocolate. “I want to be all in with him, you know? Like he is with me. But then I think about Mary McGrady and I wonder about the things her husband did for her when they first started dating. I don’t want to end up as a statistic.”

  “I see where we’re coming from now. See? Ply you with chocolate and the truth comes out. Tell me what Mary said that’s got your panties in a bunch.”

  She shrugged. “Same stuff, different client. She’s thinking about going back to him, and he’s promising her the world. You know if they don’t divorce now she’ll be back in three months, like all the other clients before her. Why did I even go into family law? I should have been a day care provider, or a teacher, or…”

  “Our job isn’t very good for promoting romance, is it?” Addy grabbed the bowl of chocolate, then pulled Gabriella down on the couch beside her.

  “I just don’t think people know anything about commitment anymore. Maybe it’s a generation thing. You have to admit, we rarely have clients who are in their sixties.”

  Addy’s eyes turned serious. “Duke knows about commitment.”

  “Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “He’s proven that time and time again, hasn’t he?” How many times could she push him away and expect him to come back? She wasn’t just hurting him. She was hurting herself with five simple letters. S-P-A-C-E. The hell with space. She didn’t want space. She wanted D-U-K-E.

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working here, it’s that there are no safety nets in marriage. If couples aren’t all in, all the time, they’re going to end up on different sides of the playing field.” Addy unwrapped another chocolate. “But then there are the couples who figure out how to make it work, like your parents, right?”

  “Yeah, but my parents aren’t dealing with the real world. The island isn’t the real world—you know that.” Gabriella grabbed a chocolate and unwrapped it, then offered it to Addy.

  “The island is their real world, Gab. They might not deal with as many people flirting with them, trying to get them to cheat. I swear single people think anyone is fair game these days. The harder the challenge, the more fun, or something like that. But I’m on a tangent. Where were we? Oh, right, your parents. They don’t deal with crowds and city stress, but they deal with their own stresses. Like life on an island where they’re not sure if they’ll make enough money to live from year to year.”

  “That’s the truth.” Gabriella thought about Duke, and she felt guilty for negating his ideas so quickly that morning. He was trying to compromise, and she’d acted like a spoiled child. It was time for her to get her shit together before she ruined the best relationship she’d ever had—and the only one she wanted. Yes, she was definitely going to pull her shit together. Starting this very second. She handed Addy another chocolate as she tried to will herself into a calmer place.

  “And then there are parents like yours, Ad. The couples that maintain a fake persona for the public, when they really have no love left. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to end up like that.”

  “You won’t. We won’t. Why do you think I got out from under their thumb?”

  “Because you thought working for a girl who wanted to help children but ended up lost in a sea of unhappy marriages would be more fun?”

  “Yeah, something like that.” Addy rested her head on Gabriella’s shoulder. “We could turn lesbian, give each other orgasms, go live on your parents’ island, and eat fried chicken and souvlaki and get fat. I promise to always hit your G-spot and never, ever to make you swallow.”

  Gabriella laughed, although just thinking about tasting Duke made her skin hot. “And I’ll never pull your legs so far over your head that you get that fat bulge in your stomach.”

  “That is never pretty. Why do guys do that?”

  “I don’t know. Why do they do anything?”

  “Because we get lost in lust,” Duke said as he walked into Gabriella’s office.

  “Ohmygod.” Gabriella covered her face.

  “Holy crap.” Addy grabbed more chocolate.

  “I knocked, but you were lost in chocolate and sex talk.” His eyes roved over Gabriella’s face, hovered around her lips, then dropped t
o her chest.

  Her nipples pebbled beneath his heated gaze.

  He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Missed you, baby,” he whispered, then louder, “Guys are pretty simple. That fat bulge you spoke of? Guys don’t notice it or care. If they’re in that deep, they’re too far gone to notice anything.”

  He reached for a chocolate and casually leaned against the desk as he unwrapped it. “Don’t worry, baby. I’d never do anything you didn’t want to do.”

  Gabriella’s heart was beating a mile a minute, and Addy’s eyes had gone wide. And Duke—holy fricking moly, Duke—had already set her heart on fire.

  “I’m sorry for interrupting. I probably should have called, but I couldn’t wait to see you.” He set the chocolate on his tongue, and Gabriella swore she melted right along with the sweet treat. The man was seduction personified, but more than that, he was full of so much goodness in so many ways that Gabriella could no longer fight her feelings for him.

  “I’m glad you’re here. I missed you, too.” The dreamy sound of her voice gave away her most intimate emotions, but she didn’t care. She loved this man. She felt it to her very core, and she didn’t want to try to deny it or let her worries over the island or her stressful job come between them anymore. He had so much faith in their relationship, in her. Wasn’t it time that she did, too?

  **

  AFTER ADDY LEFT, Duke gathered Gabriella in close. He’d had a hell of a day, and having Gabriella in his arms was exactly what he needed. He gazed into her trusting eyes, felt her lush curves conforming to his solid frame, and he knew he’d made the right decision with Pierce. He’d do whatever it took to make sure Gabriella’s dreams not only remained alive but came true.

  “You look incredibly sexy at the end of the workday.” He kissed her, and her bewitching taste drew him in deeper. His hands moved over the dip at her waist and the delicious roundness of her hips. He loved the way they filled his large palms. He felt her body shudder against him, and it took every ounce of restraint not to lift her onto her desk and love her right there. But they had a dinner engagement to get to, and once he got started with Gabriella, he’d never want their intimacy to end.

  When their lips parted, she reached up and stroked his cheek. “Duke, I’m sorry about earlier. I acted childishly. I do appreciate you wanting my thoughts on the island.”

  He pressed his lips to her forehead, then to her mouth again. “Baby, you were right. You can’t be expected to be in the middle. It causes too much stress. I’m sorry I put you in that position and I took care of things today, so that won’t happen again.”

  “Took care of things? What…?”

  “Let’s not go into details. Do you trust me to have your back? To make sure you aren’t in the middle of this and to make sure your beloved island isn’t overrun with all the things you hate?”

  He searched her eyes, and in them he saw about a hundred questions. She swallowed hard, but she didn’t move away. She didn’t bristle against him as she had that morning, or gasp in horror at the idea of letting him do his job.

  She pressed her body against his and said, “I do trust you, Duke. And I want this. I want everything that’s happening between us. I’m all in, and I want you to stay with me tonight, and I promise not to overthink us tomorrow. Or at least I’ll try not to.”

  The surprise of her words brought a rush of emotion that burned behind his eyes. “Baby—”

  Their mouths crashed together in a fast, hard kiss.

  “I’ll never let you down, Gabriella.”

  She had tears in her eyes, and he brushed one away with the pad of his thumb.

  “What is it?”

  “I just…” She trapped her lower lip between her teeth, and then her lip sprang free in the most heartwarming smile Duke had ever witnessed. “I just feel so much for you. It’s a little overwhelming.”

  “For me, too.” He hugged her close, soaking up her confession. “Do you want to skip dinner with my family?”

  “No. I want to meet them. All of them.” She went up on her toes and kissed his chin. “And then I want to go back home and spend the entire night wrapped in your arms.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  THERE WAS A nest of bees swarming in Gabriella’s stomach as she and Duke followed the hostess toward a corner table in the restaurant. They were meeting Duke’s family, and she’d never been so nervous to meet anyone in her life. As they approached a table where three pretty women and three handsome men were chatting, the men rose to their feet.

  “Bro,” the darker-haired man said as he pulled Duke into a warm embrace and whispered something Gabriella couldn’t hear.

  “Behave, Jake. Man, I’ve missed you.” Duke pulled back to arm’s length as he looked him over. “You look great.” He turned to Gabriella. “This is my girlfriend, Gabriella. Gabriella, this is my younger brother Jake.”

  Girlfriend! Gabriella’s heart skipped a beat.

  Jake’s gaze turned sinful, and Duke punched him in the arm.

  “Sorry,” Jake said with a chuckle that told Gabriella he was having fun teasing his brother.

  She immediately liked his playful nature and thought about how much Addy would have loved meeting him. He and the other man were Duke’s height, which made Gabriella feel small and feminine. “Hi, Jake. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Duke moved to embrace the other man as Jake embraced Gabriella and whispered, “He’s a great guy, but don’t tell him I said that.”

  “Jake’s all talk, Gabriella,” one of the women said as she rose from the table. “I’m Siena, Cash’s wife.” She was tall and lanky, with auburn hair and the bluest eyes Gabriella had ever seen.

  “And I’m Cash.” The other man, whose hair was the same sandy blond as Duke’s, wrapped Gabriella in a tight embrace.

  “Pop, so good to see you.” Duke hugged his father, then leaned down and hugged his mother. “Pop, Mom, this is Gabriella. Baby, these are my parents, Ned and Andrea.”

  She warmed at his use of baby in front of his family. Each of the men were tall like their father. Both of their parents wore glasses. His father’s salt-and-pepper hair was thick, and though she was surprised to see a silver soul patch beneath his lower lip, it somehow fit him.

  “Nice to meet you, Gabriella.” Ned embraced her, holding her as long as her relatives would, and it slayed that nest of bees instantly.

  Their mother rose to her feet. Duke shared her warm brown eyes and sandy blond hair. “Hi, honey. So glad you could make it.”

  Gabriella was pleased his family was as huggy as hers was. She already felt at ease.

  “I’m glad, too. I can’t wait to get to know everyone.”

  Duke placed his hand on her lower back as Siena hugged her, and the others sat down. Cash draped an arm over the back of Siena’s seat, and the third woman rose to her feet.

  “Baby, this is my sister, Trish.” Duke’s hand slid from her back as Trish reached for her.

  “I figured I’d let everyone else maul you first,” Trish said as they parted. Her hazel eyes danced with delight as they moved between Gabriella and Duke. “We Ryders can be a little overwhelming, even without Blue and Gage. I’m sure you’ll meet them at some point, so this is a good way to ease into our craziness. I’m so happy you guys made it out with us tonight.”

  “So am I. Thanks for letting me tag along.”

  Duke pulled out a chair for Gabriella, then sat beside her and covered her hand with his while it rested on her lap.

  “Tag along?” Trish said, sharing a knowing, sisterly look with Siena, even though Gabriella knew they were sisters-in-law. “Duke hasn’t introduced us to a woman, like, ever.”

  “Christ, Trish,” Duke said. “You have to tell her all my secrets?”

  “Dude. You’re not fooling anyone.” Jake’s lips quirked up. “You’re here, Gabriella. That means Duke has already told you all his secrets. Hell, he couldn’t keep you a secret, could he? That says everything right there.”

  Duke
squeezed her hand, and a thrill rushed through her. His family was as fun as hers.

  “Let’s give poor Gabby room to breathe,” Siena said. “Is it okay if I call you Gabby?”

  “Sure. No one ever does, but I like it.”

  “No one?” Trish asked. “I was just about to call you Gabby, too.”

  Gabriella shrugged. “In my family everyone has a bunch of nicknames. They call me Ella or Lala, and about half a dozen Greek endearments, but Gabby was never one of them. I guess I always introduce myself as Gabriella, so people just call me that.” She thought of Duke calling her kardio mou, my heart, but that was such an intimate thing that she didn’t share it with them.

  “My family just calls me nosy,” Trish said with a laugh.

  “I want to know everything there is to know about your family,” Andrea said.

  “Let’s see,” Gabriella said. “Duke and I are going back to the island next weekend for my parents’ thirty-third wedding anniversary.”

  His parents exchanged a loving glance, and Andrea said, “Our forty-first is next year.”

  They fell into an easy conversation about Gabriella’s family and the blending of Southern and Greek traditions she’d grown up with. Andrea, Siena, and Trish were easy to talk to, and the guys didn’t seem to mind, as they were on to deep conversations about a rescue Jake had just completed and a new fireman at Cash’s firehouse. Duke talked very little about his investing in the island, and Gabriella was thankful for that. She didn’t want to get pulled into a conversation about what she did or didn’t want to happen.

  “Do you like being a divorce attorney?” Siena asked.