Duke Read online

  She was at the clubhouse for well over a day before I had the chance to really talk to her. I had stepped in between her and Carbon and asked her a few questions, but those pertained to the girl she brought to the clubhouse for help.

  Finally, Dash and I caught Reese and her friend in the common room. Dash made it easy for me to talk to her by making a beeline for their table. I could tell he was interested in Reese’s friend. Deciding to play the role of wingman, I asked the girls if they wanted to play a game of pool with us, directing my attention to Ember instead of Reese. To my surprise, Reese answered in agreement and then, as luck would have it, her and I ended up on the same team.

  When Dash had his attention focused on Ember, I leaned close to Reese and quietly asked, “Have you been avoiding me for the last few weeks?”

  She leaned back and said, “Of course not. Why would you even think that?” She was lying and doing a very poor job of it.

  “So that’s how you’re going to play this? Act like nothing happened between us?” I asked, getting more pissed by the second.

  She scoffed and said in a low voice, “You’re the one who ran out while I was still sleeping. I figured you wanted to act like nothing happened, so that’s what I’ve been doing. Really, Duke, we fucked, it was fun, and that’s it.”

  I didn’t care for the nonchalance in her tone, but there was something else in her statement that needed to be addressed first. “I didn’t run out while you were sleeping. I had to be at work early that morning and I didn’t want to wake you. I left you a note explaining all that and telling you that I would be back when I got off work.”

  Her eyes widened in disbelief, then they flashed with anger. “Bullshit.”

  “Not bullshit. I put it on your nightstand,” I insisted.

  “Say whatever you want. I don’t believe you. I never saw a note. Now, I’m finished discussing this with you,” she snapped. Then, she took her friend by the arm and strolled off down the hall, leaving me sitting there like a fool.

  Five days passed before I got a chance to talk to her again. She was a master at hiding from me. She either stayed in the room with Ember or she was holed up in Carbon’s room, neither of which I could enter freely. This time, I found her in the pool coaxing Ember to get in. When she finally did jump in, she came up with her tit hanging out of her top and ran off. Like a good friend, Reese ran after her.

  Assuming I missed any small chance I had of talking to her, I dove into the pool and started swimming laps. I came to an abrupt stop when I felt a smooth hand glide from the top of my shoulder down to the small of my back. I shook the water from my hair and wiped the water from my eyes. I opened them to find Reese in her skimpy bikini standing in front of me. I didn’t say a word, just stared and waited.

  She looked down and very quietly said, “I found the note under my bed. It must have fallen off the nightstand or something. So, uh, sorry for being bitchy about that.”

  Her apology caught me off guard and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I wanted her, but I didn’t want to put myself out there any more than I already had. I shrugged and held out my hand, “No worries. Friends?”

  She put her hand in mine and smiled, “Friends.”

  We spent the rest of the day hanging out in the pool with Dash and Ember. Well, I should say that I spent the rest of the day in the pool. I couldn’t get my dick to behave and it was easier to hide my ever-present erection in the water.

  When Ember decided she was ready to go back to the room, Dash quickly volunteered to walk her back, leaving Reese and I alone for the first time since the night of her prom. I placed my arms on the side of the pool and locked eyes with Reese. “Get in.”

  She slowly rose from the chair and strutted, yes strutted, her sexy ass the long way around the pool before she entered the water at a snail’s pace. She was killing me. She waded through the water and stopped in front of me with a smirk on her face. “See something you like?”

  I growled and grabbed her around her waist, pulling her body flush with mine, “You know I do.” I couldn't take it any longer. I captured her lips with mine and kissed her softly, tentatively. She didn’t respond immediately, but I didn’t let up. After a few seconds, she slid her arms around my neck and melted into me. “Sugar,” I breathed against her lips. “You’ve had me so hard all damn day.” I pressed my hard-on against her stomach to prove my point, eliciting a groan from her.

  “Is that so?” she panted, pressing herself closer to me.

  Kissing my way to her earlobe, I pressed my lips to the shell of her ear and answered, “Fuck, yes.”

  I wasn’t interested in talking anymore. Before she could protest, I pulled the strings on her top and had one tit in my mouth while my hand came up to caress the other.

  She moaned and yanked on my hair. “Duke, we can’t do this.” The fuck we couldn’t. “Not out here. Someone will see us.”

  With my mouth still attached to her chest, I moved us to the far corner of the pool and covered her with my body. “No one will see us over here.”

  “Duke,” she pleaded.

  “Yes or no, Reese?” Please don’t say no. Please don’t say no.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  I reached for my beer and plucked a condom from the pocket on the koozie.

  “What the hell, Duke? Were you planning this?” Reese asked, clearly pissed.

  For a split second, I had no idea what she meant. “Oh, shit. You haven’t seen these yet?” I asked, pointing to the koozie. She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “Phoenix ordered these a few months ago. It was some kind of promotion from a new company. Anyway, all the new koozies have a pocket with a condom in it.”

  “Oh, well, I guess that’s good,” she said, stumbling over her words.

  I moved closer to her, hoping like hell the damn koozie hadn’t killed the mood. Running my nose along her jawline, I murmured against her neck, “I didn’t plan on anything happening. Not gonna lie and say I wasn’t hoping something would.”

  Gently nipping her neck with my teeth, I asked against her skin, “You gonna let me fuck you?”

  “Please,” she begged.

  I hoisted my ass out of the pool, shoved my trunks out of the way, rolled the condom on, and was back in front of her in mere seconds.

  “You gonna be able to stay quiet while you’re taking my cock?” I asked as I moved her bathing suit bottoms to the side. I lined myself up at her entrance and waited for her answer. “Well?”

  She swallowed and nodded, “I’ll try.”

  With that, I buried myself to the hilt in one fluid thrust and covered her mouth with mine, to muffle her sounds as much as mine. Damn, her pussy was tight, warm, and the place my dick wanted to call home for the rest of his working life.

  I started out slow, but that only lasted for a few thrusts. I was so worked up from watching her all day and wanting her for weeks, I was having a hard time controlling myself. I wanted to draw it out for as long as I could in case I had to wait another two weeks before I could have her again, but she felt too damn good. As it was, it would be a miracle if I lasted long enough to make sure she got off. “Reese,” I gritted out, “I need you to come.”

  As if she was waiting for my demand, I felt her pussy start to spasm around my cock the moment the words left my mouth. Then, she clamped down on me like a fucking vice, so tight I almost couldn’t move.

  I slapped my hand over her mouth and bit down on her shoulder while her orgasm took over and pulled me right along with her.

  I pulled back and met her eyes while I tried to catch my breath. She was so fucking beautiful, inside and out. Everything about her sucked me in and tried to consume me. It was a feeling that was unfamiliar to me and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

  Before I could give it much thought, the back door swung open. “Duke, you out here?” Shaker called.

  I quickly pulled out of Reese, tucked my condom clad dick back into my trunks, and turned around to hide her body be
hind mine. Propping my arms on the edge of the pool, I answered, “Yeah, man, what’s up?”

  “Heading to Cedar Valley to cunt hunt. You wanna ride?”

  I felt Reese tense behind me. Fucking Shaker. “Nah, brother, not tonight. I’m beat,” I replied honestly.

  “All right, catch ya later.” With that, he was gone.

  As soon as the door closed, Reese was pushing against my back. “Move, Duke,” she growled.

  Turning back to face her, I placed my hands on her waist and frowned at the scowl on her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “Seriously?” she screeched. “He asked you to go on a cunt hunt not even 10 seconds after you had your dick in me!”

  “Keep your voice down unless you want someone else to come out here,” I warned. “He didn’t know I was out here fucking you in the pool.”

  “And that makes it okay?”

  “Who else was he going to ask? Dash is following Ember around like a lost puppy, Phoenix and Badger never go, Carbon is MIA most weekends, Byte prefers the club whores, and the rest of the guys are either too old or too young to go.”

  “Move,” she growled. I didn’t.

  “What exactly are you upset about? I told him I didn’t want to go.” I could understand her being upset if I had agreed to go with him, but I didn’t hesitate to tell him no.

  “How often do you say yes?”

  “Aw, sugar, are you jealous?” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

  The hard shove against my chest was unexpected, causing me to take a few steps back. She climbed out of the pool, grabbed her towel, and headed for the door. “Fuck off, Duke,” she said over her shoulder before she disappeared inside.

  By the time I made it back inside, she was nowhere to be found.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Reese

  It had been three days since the evening Duke and I spent by the pool. We had seen each other several times since then, but we hadn’t had any time together alone. I was beginning to get frustrated with the whole situation. I knew Ember had a lot going on and needed me, but I didn’t think 30 minutes or an hour to myself was asking a whole lot.

  I was feeling emotional and I didn’t like it. What made it even worse was that I had no idea why I was feeling so emotional. Regardless, I did what I always did in times like that, I shut down. I started snapping at Ember. I knew I would feel bad about it later, but I couldn’t care less at the time. She kept going on and on about the common room being empty while I did my best to ignore her. Finally, she got up and walked down the hall. I took the opportunity for what it was and went to my brother’s room. I knocked on the door and waited.

  “What?” Carbon grunted.

  “Can I come in?” I hesitantly asked. If he was in there fucking some club whore, I didn’t want to see it, hear it, or even know about it.

  The door flew open and there stood my hulking brother. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I said as I brushed past him and entered his room. A quick sweep of the room revealed it was currently a whore-free zone. “I just felt like hanging out with my big brother. Is that okay?”

  “Cut the bullshit, Reesie. What’s really going on?” Carbon knew me better than anyone and could always tell when something was wrong with me. I had a love/hate relationship with that fact.

  I sighed and let my shoulders slump forward, “I don’t know, Carbon, honestly. I just feel like something is wrong and I feel like crying, but I have no idea why.”

  He closed his door and sat down beside me on the bed. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he pulled so that I was leaning into his chest. Blowing out a heavy breath, he said, “We can’t find Duke.”

  My head shot up so fast the top of it slammed into Carbon’s chin. “Fuck,” he cursed while I shrieked, “What do you mean you can’t find Duke?”

  Carbon studied me briefly before answering, “Just what I said. We can’t find him. He’s not answering his phone and no one’s seen him all day.” He paused and watched me, scrutinizing my every move. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  Crap. Carbon was very good at reading body language, especially people he knew well. I would bet money my reactions had prompted him to suspect something was going on between me and Duke. I forced my muscles to relax and prayed my voice would cooperate when I answered, “Yesterday, in the common room at dinner. Him and Dash ate with me and Ember. I think something is going on between Dash and Ember.” I was hoping to redirect his suspicions to Dash and Ember instead of me and Duke.

  “The boys are out looking for him now. I’m sure it’s…” he trailed off and didn’t finish the lie. Carbon was a wonderful brother. After we lost our family, we became very close. He made a valiant effort to never lie to me, which is why he stopped mid-sentence. He wasn’t sure it was nothing. None of them were. They were worried about him and that’s why they rode out to look for him.

  Suddenly, overcome with worry and dread, I burst into tears. Carbon pulled me into his chest and held me while I cried all over him. He was the one person I felt comfortable showing my emotions to. He rubbed circles on my back and murmured words of comfort to me, but nothing helped to ease my fears. In my mind, I was 11 years old again and he’d just told me that our entire family had been murdered.

  I must have fallen asleep during my crying fit because I woke to Carbon shaking me and calling my name. When I opened my eyes, I could tell by the look on his face that he was about to deliver bad news. “They found him?” I croaked.

  He nodded and quickly said, “He’s alive. He’s hurt, but he’s alive.”

  Feeling a little better after hearing that, I pushed myself to a sitting position and asked, “What happened?”

  He shook his head and looked down at his lap, “I don’t know, Reesie. His sister called Phoenix just a little while ago. She said the hospital called to tell her Duke was there and going into emergency surgery. She wanted Phoenix and Dash to take her to the hospital. She asked that everyone else hang back until they know more. As of right now, that’s all I can tell you.”

  I flopped back onto the bed and covered my eyes. I tried my best to hold in my sobs, but my efforts were futile. Carbon stayed by my side, running his hand over my hair, while I once again cried myself to sleep.

  The next time I woke, it was to a feeling I was very familiar with. I threw the covers off of me and bolted for the bathroom. I came to a sliding stop and dropped to my knees right as the vomit broke through the tight seal of my lips.

  Carbon was there seconds later, holding my hair. “Are you okay, Reesie?”

  I wiped my mouth with some toilet paper and held up one finger. I wasn’t sure if I was finished and I had learned the hard way that talking too soon after puking could result in more puking, at least for me anyway. When I was sure I was done, I answered, “Yeah, I think so. You know how my stomach gets when I’m upset.” That was very true. I had a “nervous stomach,” which I knew wasn’t technically a real thing, but for me, every time my anxiety got out of control, I would find myself hugging a toilet bowl until the anxiety had passed.

  “Do you want me to ask Patch to come see you? Maybe get you something for your stomach?” he asked, his big green eyes filled with worry.

  I shook my head, “No, I don’t want to take anything if I don’t have to. Would you bring me a piece of toast and maybe a ginger ale? I think that will help.”

  “Of course.”

  My stomach did feel better after the toast and ginger ale, but my emotional state was much the same, if not worse. I stayed in Carbon’s room and spent most of my time staring at the wall. I’m not sure how much time had passed, but finally, Carbon came in with news about Duke.

  “Reesie, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s bad. He was stabbed eight times and suffered a severe head injury. I don’t know the details of how that happened, so don’t ask. What I can tell you is that he is currently in a medically induced coma and being monitored closely in the ICU. Only immediate family can visit wi
th him right now, but we can go see him when he is moved to a room.”

  I nodded and turned back to face the wall, “Okay, Carbon. Thank you for the update.” He patted me on the shoulder and left the room. I was past the crying stage. I had retreated into myself and erected my walls. If I kept everyone out, no one could hurt me.

  I couldn’t tell you when, but at some point over the next few days, I returned to the room I had been sharing with Ember. She came and went, off and on, but I didn’t talk to her. I maintained my silence and kept my eyes on the wall when anyone entered the room. Carbon came by to check on me from time to time. I knew he wasn’t worried about me, not yet anyway. He had seen me do this exact same thing before, for a much longer period of time.

  Again, I couldn’t tell you how long it had been, but Carbon came to tell me that Duke had been moved out of the ICU and could have visitors. He asked if I wanted him to take me to the hospital to see Duke. Did I? A few days ago I would have said yes, but that was a few days ago, before I had rebuilt the walls around my heart. In my fucked up mind, I decided that I should go visit him to keep up appearances. It would seem strange if I was so upset about his injuries and then suddenly had no desire to see him.

  Reluctantly, I showered and dressed. Carbon drove us to the hospital. He talked off and on during the ride, but I remained silent. Honestly, I just wanted to go back to the clubhouse, crawl into bed, and sleep for days.

  When we arrived at the hospital, Carbon pulled up to the entrance and put the car in park. He turned in his seat to face me, “I’m not coming up with you because I have to take Duke’s sister back to the clubhouse, but I want to warn you before you go in there. He’s not awake and he looks like shit. His face is bruised and swollen and part of his head is shaved where they had to operate on his brain. His entire torso is bandaged. You won’t see that, but don’t touch him there. Okay?”