DUKE: A Alpha Male Bad Boy Millionaire MC Romance (New Adult & Contemporary Romance)

by Jax Hart

  “My old man died. He was up in Oregon in a nothing of a town called Springdale.”

  “Ah, shit. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thanks, listen—I need you. Zach’s gone too far. He kidnapped some girls from Cortez, and I’m not sure what he’s doing with them, but it can’t be good. He also wants me to “upgrade” some hot merchandise he jacked. I’m not willing to do it. I’m not a felon, Christy.”

  “No, you aren’t. You are one of the good ones, Duke.”

  “I’m supposed to meet him at the pit at 10.”

  “Alright, we’ll have the place wired and monitored. Thanks for the tip.”

  “What about the girls?”

  “Get him talking, maybe cut a deal?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

  “Be safe.”

  “Always darlin’.”

  The sound of grunts and panting reminds me of sex. The pit’s crowded with a bunch of meatheads showing off for the tourists today. It’s like watching a damn circus, but instead of animals parading around a tent, the pit is an outside weightlifting gym in the sand full of oiled up dudes lifting way more than they should, hoping to score with a California girl.

  Through the lenses of my aviators, I carefully watch the crowd looking for anything out of place. But there’s nothing unusual so far, just the usual number of joggers, roller-bladers, and bikers getting their work out in along the paved path next to the beach.

  My Glock sits in its holster under my arm, my leather jacket concealing it from view. Even though, I never pledged to Creed, I still grew up in it. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned—it’s never to have a meeting without protection and always watch your back.

  Zach’s bulky frame emerges from the crowd with his VP and Sergeant at arms beside him. I don’t need a wingman. He’s such a pussy.

  “Zach.” I acknowledge casually lighting up my cigarette.

  “Duke? Where have you been, man? You’ve been ignoring my calls. We have important business to discuss.” He motions over to an empty basketball court behind us.

  “I had shit to do.”

  “I heard.”

  My head jerks and I meet his eyes full of triumph. Fuck. Zach knows he’s holding a pair of Aces in his hand and he wants me to know it. My reaction gave me away. He knows I have something to hide now and I need to know what he has on me.

  “You don’t know shit. I was killing in a war, while you sat in you mama’s lap sucking a pacifier and shitting in your pants.”

  His face turns red. He’s insecure about his age. At twenty-one, he’s the youngest Prez the MC has ever had, and it’s his biggest weakness. That’s why he maims, fucks and kills so ruthlessly; he wants to set the tone of how he’s gonna run things. But that shit is not going to fly any longer.

  “Yeah? Well, I’m young enough to show your girl, Shanna Flynn a good time. I won’t need a blue pill to ram up in that sweet pussy, either.”

  I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him, right here in broad daylight.

  “She’s not my girl,” I lie shrugging my shoulders. “She was just someone to fuck. It’s goddamn boring up in the woods. She wasn’t that good of a lay, either.”

  “That’s too bad. But lucky for her, she can learn the ropes real quick at my escort business. I’m the best at breaking in the new girls.”

  “Yeah right,” I snort. “She’s the daughter of an original founding member, not a fucking escort, pencil dick.”

  He takes a swing at me. Of course, I dodge it easily, laying him out with one right-hook. His men do nothing. They apparently have more respect for me, than him.

  “I’m not doing the job,” I tell him as he wipes blood from his nose.

  “You’ve got no choice, Duke.” Will, the VP speaks up, “It was voted on by all the chapters. That deal is the most money the club has ever made, and we need you to make those cars untraceable.”

  “Nothing is untraceable.”

  “True, but if anyone can do it, it’s you sonny-boy.”

  Fuck.

  Will’s right. Will is in his mid-fifties and ran wild when I was a teen. I respect the shit out of him and wonder why he’s the VP instead of on the throne. I pull him aside, “Will. I grew up in your shadow. But I can’t do this. I can’t look the other way anymore. When Zach took those girls… ”

  “I hear you brother. I do. But when the club votes, the outcome is final. If you don’t go along with this—bad shit is gonna come your way.”

  “I’m not even a member for fuck’s sake.”

  “You are a member by birth, brother,” he claps me on the back and walks away. “The shipments coming by semi to the back gate of your shop tonight, disable your surveillance cams.”

  “No.”

  “Excuse me?” Zach cuts in.

  “Bring the girls. I’ll take a look at the cars. If there’s twenty, that’s a lot of work. I’ll need a bigger cut.”

  “I’ll bring the girls, but your cut stays the same. Don’t fuck this up or the next woman I take will be yours.”

  My jaw clenches. There’s nothing I can do. I’m rooted to the ground as I watch them walk away. My phone rings.

  “Christy?”

  “We didn’t get a damn thing. Our equipment was too far out of range.”

  “It’s okay. The deal is off. I told him I wouldn’t do it.”

  “Were you able to get any information about those girls?”

  “Yeah, he said they are willing, and he’s treating them well.”

  “Do you believe that?”

  “Will’s no rapist. So, yeah I do.”

  She hangs up. I feel bad for lying to her, but he knows about Shanna. There’s no way I can betray Will and the other boys without any blowback. I’ll make things right by getting Cortez’s women back, but I might not have a choice when it comes to tricking out the stolen cars.

  I shouldn’t have stayed in Springdale for so long, Smith was right—everything went to hell in a handbasket in the weeks I was gone. But I don’t regret a second I spent with her. I'm counting down the seconds until I can claim her as my bride. I’m still debating which is gonna happen first: The wedding or the bedding?

  I STEPPED OUT OF the shower with my face pressed to the window, watching him until he disappeared. The dust kicked up from the tires of his truck was the only trace he was even here. That he ever existed. Well, that and the scratches on the inside of my thighs where his short beard chaffed my sensitive skin.

  I’m gonna miss that arrogant beast of a man. I never knew he even existed…but now that I do, I know my life will never be the same.

  I swipe my tears. Crying won’t whittle away the time until he comes back, keeping myself busy and running my life like a boss is the only thing I can do.

  Sighing, I get ready for another day without him.

  This is going to be awkward. I purposefully took my time getting to campus this morning to avoid chatting with Spence before our statistics class. I’m pretty good at math, but I need two coffees and a Red Bull to get through these lectures.

  Silently, slipping into a seat in the back of the hall as our professor starts her lecture, I keep my head tucked down while my laptop boots up.

  “Good morning. Today will be focusing on linear regression.”

  Her words go in and out as my mind fills of him.

  The first time our eyes met.

  “A linear approach is looking at the relationship between a scalar dependent variable, ‘y’ and one or more explanatory variables denoted by an ‘x’…”

  The way his tongue felt between my breasts as he licked his shot off my skin.

  “If you have more than one explanatory variable we call that process multiple linear regression…”

  My eyes are already rolling back in my head.

  The way the air smelled the first time he took me home and left me in the grass.

  I squirm in my seat clenching my thighs together—I’m never going to make it for seven months.

&
nbsp; I need Duke.

  It’s as simple as that.

  I need the feel of his strong arms around me, his silky beard rubbing against my skin and the smell of him filling the air around me.

  Maybe he’s right and what I feel is lust, but I also know that I love him, regardless of the bad blood between our fathers and how we clash. Because when we collide nothing feels more right.

  “Linear regression can be used in lots of ways, one is forecasting… error reduction and are often fitted using the least squares approach…”

  The way he breathed down my neck in the supply closet when I was on all fours and he slide up and down my wet folds…

  There’s no point.

  I’m so lost.

  I might as well let my memories takeover because this morning’s lecture is going way over my head. I need to find a tutor or a study partner because none of what she’s saying is making any sense. Staring numbly at the screen of my laptop, I pretend to tap out notes. Instead, I write a love letter to Duke. I’ll probably never send it, but I need to get out everything I’m feeling.

  Duke,

  Twenty-three days. In the course of a lifetime, it’s nothing, and yet it was everything.

  I hate you.

  I love you.

  I want you.

  I’m addicted to your smell and the way your beard tickles my thighs.

  You talk dirty, and I melt.

  You try to take over my life, and it drives me crazy.

  I can’t picture my future without you in it.

  I know why you had to leave and why I needed to stay.

  Forever won’t be long enough.

  Love,

  Shanna

  “What are you working on?”

  Jumping in my seat, I slam my laptop closed.

  “Jesus Spence, you scared the crap out of me.”

  “Well, I don’t have a beard to tickle your thighs with… but I’ll grow one out if you want.”

  My face heats, burning my cheeks.

  “I’m writing a poem for my creative writing class.”

  “Uh-huh.” He doesn’t believe my bullshit for a second.

  I turn away grabbing my bag and empty coffee. He’s still here waiting for me.

  Shit.

  “Shanna, I don’t know what happened, I thought our date was awesome. I thought we had chemistry. I know it wasn’t one-sided.”

  I sigh, pushing my hair over one shoulder, “We did… I know what I did was shitty. I never meant to lead you on… I was interested in you.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “Duke—Duke Masters,” I whisper more to myself than him.

  “Who the fuck is that?”

  My head snaps up, “Do you really want to know?”

  “Fuck yeah, I do. I want to know who stole my chance with you.”

  He falls in step with me as we cut across the lawn to the student union. I was planning on spending my break in-between classes catching up on some work, not spilling my heart out to Spencer.

  “It’s too awkward. I can’t.”

  “Look, Shanna; you are the coolest chick I’ve met on campus. We have the same classes—I want to be friends. We can still hang out, right?”

  “Sure?” I look up at him, respecting him more than I did before. Most guys would freak out and act immature. But Spence is handling his rejection admirably.

  “Come on, I’ll buy you another coffee and even share my notes from class.” He puts an arm around me in a friendly manner and opens the door to the union with his other.

  “Deal. I felt a headache coming on three seconds into her lecture.”

  “Yeah, it was a dry one.”

  “Did you understand it? Because, I’m completely lost.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll give you extra ‘tutoring,’ ” he says wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Stop,” I bat his arm playfully.

  “Kidding, I swear it,” he replies with a twinkle in his eyes. When I touched his arm, I felt the hard muscle flex underneath, but Spence wasn’t meant for me.

  “You missed homecoming on Saturday. It was epic.”

  I smile, “I’m sure it was.”

  He frowns down at me stopping, “It’s not right.”

  “What?” I hesitate, hoping he’s not going to bring up Duke.

  “That you're missing out on everything. Frat parties, football games… dorm life. It’s your senior year. Live a little.”

  I shrug, “I never felt like I was missing out. I guess I’ve been too busy taking care of my dad and the business.”

  “Exactly. Come out with me this weekend.”

  I laugh, “Nice try.”

  “You’ll regret it.” He smiles with a raised brow. “Come on, the bar and your dad will survive for one night without you.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  With a smile and a wave, I cut across the lawn towards the library. Finding a quiet spot on the top floor, I pull out my laptop, setting my coffee beside me.

  My love letter to Duke fills the screen and on a whim—I hit print, stuffing it into my coat pocket.

  I live for salted-caramel macchiatos these days. The creamy liquid warms me through the damp chill of the rain.

  Spence’s party is tonight. I half talked myself into going, but I’m punishing myself by putting in extra time at the library before going over.

  Duke’s been silent. Not one text or missed call has come from him. I know he dropped everything when his father died. The hornet’s nest he walked back to in California was hardly a homecoming.

  But he’s my drug and I’m in withdrawal with no plans to check-in to rehab. I’ve called twice, leaving one voicemail. I’ve never hungered for someone until now, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna turn into some clingy, whiney, pathetic girl starving for a crumb from her man.

  He knows where I am, and if he wants me as badly as I think he does—there’s no way he’s gonna be able to wait.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if I wake-up to the low hum of his engine pulling into my drive or better yet—his hands and tongue between my thighs.

  “Pops? I’m home!”

  Huh? The house is silent. His coffee mug still on the kitchen table. I drop my backpack to the floor, anxious to find him. What if he fell or had another stroke?

  “POPS?”

  Still no answer.

  My feet race up the stairs, but all the bedrooms are empty. He doesn’t drive much and the old truck is parked out front. I call his cell hearing it ring. It’s plugged into a charger in his room.

  With my heart racing, I fly down the stairs and out the front door.

  “POPS!” I call out with my hands around my mouth.

  “Shanna.” He says my name so softly; I only hear it because the wind picked it up, carrying it to me.

  He’s kneeling in the grass, under an old cherry tree, tracing the bark with a finger while fat tears roll down his cheeks.

  “Pops? What’s going on?”

  He can’t answer. He’s all choked up.

  I kneel in the grass next to him, waiting.

  “She’s gone.”

  “Who?”

  “Your mother.”

  “I know Pops. She left years ago.” His memories been fuzzy lately and I’m scared Alzheimer’s might be setting in.

  “No. Shanna. She’s dead.”

  His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I always thought someday, I’d find her. Get all the answers I needed for myself.

  Give her hell for leaving us and then put it all behind me. But I’ll never have the chance to put the puzzle pieces together; the book ends unfinished on a cliffhanger.

  “You see this here. Shortly after we bought the house, we planted this tree. Your mother loved blooming cherry trees in spring. We came out one day, laid you on a blanket, and I took my knife out, carving a heart with our initials.”

  I watch him trace the marks on the bark, wondering why I never noticed them before. Although faded, the scar on the tree is sti
ll there. The tree’s lucky. Its wound has healed, only the scab remains. While my cut is fresh; bleeding on the ground. “H-how did she die?”

  “Car wreck, drove herself right off the road. She was probably out partying in Hollywood.”

  “How can you know that?”

  “Because baby girl, she called me after she heard about Duke’s father. She said she wanted to come out here.”

  “W-what?” Sobs, tear through me, ringing out in the woods around us.

  “I didn’t tell you, ‘cause there was a good chance she was going to flake out. I didn’t want to give her another chance to hurt you if she was gonna be a no-show.”

  “Well, she did anyway. Everyone’s hurt me,” I whisper tracing the faded, bark with a finger.

  We sit in silence for a while; each of us lost in our pain and regret.

  “She had an affair with him before you were born.”

  “What?” I look up at him through tears in disbelief.

  “Sorry, sugar. I told you to stay away from Duke. His father revenge fucked her after Dee Dee and I started doing each other on the side. She thought she was in love with him, but she was only a side-piece. It was embarrassing how she stepped out with my brother, my best friend… I threatened to kill your Ma—almost did once,” he sighs rubbing his face. “She ran. From me—from all the shit going down. It followed us everywhere. The club was a black cloud that never went away. I-I tried to spare you; keep you safe from that shit. But the past has a way of cropping up like cancer when you least expect it. There are problems in LA. Meat got wind of some shit going down with the chapter there.”

  “What are you saying? We have to go to her funeral.”

  “Why? Let ghosts be. As far as you’re concerned—she died a long time ago.”

  “No. No, Pops, she didn’t. I always kept her alive in my heart. Part of me is still the little girl, sitting up in her room—hoping when I wake-up—Mom will be down in the kitchen fixing pancakes.”

  I get up, brushing the leaves from my legs, I need my man. I need him right now. Clutching my phone to my head so hard I think it might snap, I leave him a message.

  “Duke, it’s me. My mom’s dead. I’m going to LA. I was hoping to stay with you. Please, don’t push me away.” I tell him in a broken whisper,” I need you so much. Please call me.”