Duke (29 page)

He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and started walking to the door, saying, “I’m going for a ride. I’ll be back in an hour and we’ll go get something to eat. Keep your riding clothes on.”

* * * *

 “
So, where did you go while I finished up with my work?” Gen asked as she set her wine glass on the table. Duke had felt like steak, and had taken her to one of the best restaurants in town for it. She felt self-conscious wearing jeans and a motorcycle jacket, but no one batted an eye at seating them and serving them.

“
I wanted to talk to Isaac about your alarm system, as well as the locks.”

Gen nodded. “Yeah, thanks. I was going to talk to him, you saved me the trouble. What’d he say?”

“
Your guy at Drake, Chance is it?” Gen nodded and Duke continued. “Isaac said he can modify it so the law enforcement codes won’t override. He could put a digital locking system in, but for someone who’s determined, they aren’t foolproof, either. He’ll have someone rekey the locks, and he says he’ll let us know when we need to have an alibi, because in the long run it’ll be simpler to take care of the source of the problem.”

Gen realized Duke was watching her carefully, unsure of her reaction, which was fair, as she wasn’t sure of her reaction, either. On the one hand, roughing up a cop and threatening him, so he’d know it was because he harassed her, was probably a bad idea. On the other hand, Gen had the idea Isaac knew what he was doing, and when he set out to do something, he didn’t screw around.

“
Okay, I’ll need to talk to Isaac before I decide whether I approve or not, but I’m assuming he isn’t planning it for tonight, so I have time.”

He settled his beer beside his plate and said, “I watched you in action today, getting the news from Chance, deciding on a plan of action, pulling people together to find a better one.” He shook his head. “Last night, I was sure you were in a full blown meltdown, ranting about how much you liked your boots, but as soon as I pointed out there was still work to be done, you crystallized back into total efficiency.” He took another drink, as if considering his final question, and Gen gave him as much time as he needed. Finally, he asked, “Do you ever fall apart? Need a man to hold you? Take care of you?”

“
When I first got there yesterday? I was so tired, I truly wanted nothing more than to cuddle into you, wrapped in your arms. I love the way you hold me.”

“
Okay, and thanks for sharing, because that means something to me. But, my question was whether you ever fall apart?”

“
You were friends with my brother growing up — have you ever seen my mother fall apart? She raised five kids by herself, ran a business. Do you ever remember her, even once, not stepping up and dealing with whatever needed handling?”

She could see him thinking, and he slowly shook his head. Gen shrugged. “I learned from the best. My emotions are there, but I can push them to the side long enough to take care of whatever problem is before me. If I’m going to fall apart, usually it’s hours later, when I’m alone. When I was growing up I had to do it in the shower, as it was the only time I had privacy.”

She didn’t know if he realized she was giving him another piece of herself, but the look on his face told her he realized. His hand came across the table, covered hers.

“
I wasn’t having a meltdown when I was ranting about my boots, I was terrified you and the rest of the club would think I meant it. I had to say something, to get Mike to believe me, to convince him I’d suddenly seen the light, but I worried about how you’d react.”

His head tilted, his eyes studied her face. “And as soon as I told you I knew you’d just been saying it, you snapped back to the next problem, and fixed it.”

Gen moved her steak around, deciding whether to tell him what was on her mind, and finally just said it, “I managed a brave face this morning with Veronica, but I’m mortified the club knows you had to teach me how to…”

“
Oh, Beautiful. I’m so sorry it came out like that. I can’t make them forget it, but I’ve put the word out no one else is to bring it up to you. Veronica was so far out of line this morning… I have no idea what she was thinking.”

“
She’s thinking she gave herself to you however many times you used her, and she wasn’t good enough, but I am, even though I’m apparently inexperienced, and she hates me for it.”

He looked at her a few seconds, sighed, and said, “I’m sorry.”

“
Why?”

“
Just, sorry for the whole thing. I want to protect you, keep you from anything that might hurt you, but I don’t seem to be doing too good of a job.”

“
Mike was my fault.
My
ex. Not your fault. Veronica is a bitch, but I get why she is. I’d be helpful if I knew how to tell who’s stronger and faster, though.”

Duke put his fork on the plate, leaned back, and said, “Speaking of which, I want to try an experiment.”

“
Okay,” she said, caution in her voice.

He closed his eyes, opened them, and suddenly Gen smelled everything. The perfume from the woman a few tables over, the sweat of the man on the other side of Duke, the fresh beer in the hand of the approaching waiter, and millions of food smells.

Suddenly, it was gone, and she said, “No, do it again.”

His face registered surprise, but he gave it to her again, and she looked around and matched what she was smelling with the visuals — the people, foods, plants, and airflows.

“
Is it hard, to share it with me?”

He shook his head and it went away again. “Might take a bit for me to be able to carry on a conversation and do it, but just sitting here, it isn’t hard.”

“
So, they said we may be able to talk to each other like that, I’m guessing you can send me smells instead?”

“
Yeah. I smelled what you were smelling once last night, and then again this morning when you were in the kitchen. I guess you were thinking about me, wishing I knew what was happening in your head, and it sent me what you were smelling.”

“
Do you get all the information I get from you? Or is it the bland, nothingness I apparently smell on a daily basis.”

He smiled. “The latter. However, we can use this to our advantage. Metaphysical gifts fall under different rules, so while I can’t tell you who is and who isn’t one of us, I can share my sense of smell with you, so you can see for yourself.”

“
Wow, that’s pretty cool. It’s like a whole new world. It’s kind of cheating, isn’t it? I mean, you said you can smell fear and arousal. I can see how knowing those things could come in handy.”

“
I can also smell a lie, assuming the person hasn’t convinced themselves they’re telling the truth, but in that case sometimes I can usually smell the crazy.”

Her mind immediately went to her telling him she wanted ginger tea when she intended to go into her safe room, so she asked, “Then why did you go downstairs and make the ginger tea?”

He chuckled. “Good to know you’re owning up to it, but at the time you weren’t feeling well, and apparently you really did want the tea, so it didn’t come off as a total lie. I knew something was off, but couldn’t figure out what it was and figured it couldn’t hurt to get you some ginger tea if it would help.”

She looked at him a few seconds and said, “I’m not sorry I did it. You’re kind of a bully when you don’t get your way, and I’m not sure I’ll always tolerate you just doing whatever the hell you want.”

He considered his words before answering, “I don’t follow orders very well, and I pretty much do whatever the hell I want. I also go after what I want, and I don’t often take no for an answer. You don’t want me sexually? Fine, I’ll leave you alone, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stay close, make sure you’re taken care of, hold you in your sleep.”

Gen wondered what he’d have said had he not taken a moment, but decided not to ask. “I’m not going to borrow trouble, just letting you know, when you’ve pissed me off those tactics won’t work. And, should you ever cheat on me, or lie to me big, I’ll take steps to keep you away.”

He leaned forward. “Don’t take well to threats, either, Beautiful. You’ve made your point, you can stop making it. Not gonna cheat on you, and will try my best to keep from lying while not telling you the stuff you really don’t want to know. Not making promises I can’t keep here, so that’s the best I can offer.”

Gen’s phone chimed, and it was set to only allow calls and texts through from a handful of people. She hoped it was Bethany, as Gen had texted her earlier asking if she wanted to come over later for drinks. Gen smiled when she saw it was, indeed, from her friend, and then smiled bigger as she read:

Be there at 7 with bells on. I feel like wine tonight.

“
Bethany’s coming over tonight. I need a night with my girl.” Gen wasn’t sure how he’d take the news, but he’d been spending so much time with her, surely he had things he needed to do at night with the club.

Duke took a drink, set his beer down. Thinking. Finally, he said, “I’m attracted to the strength in you, to the fact you decide what you want to do and you do it.”

He was quiet, as if expecting her to respond, but it hadn’t been a question. After several long moments, Gen finally said, “Okay.”

He shook his head. “No, not really. I’m used to people asking me things, not telling me. I wanted to bring you back to the clubhouse again tonight. I had plans for us.”

“
Then you should’ve told me your plans, Duke. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and I need an evening with Bethany.”

He shook his head. “Yeah, okay, tonight’s done. We eat, you go home, I get you tomorrow night. My point is that we need to find a different way to communicate in the future.”

“
What do you propose?”

“
How about asking me, ‘If you don’t have anything planned, I’m going to see if Bethany wants to hang out with me tonight,’ before you set something up with her?”

“
So, you’re saying I should assume we’ll be together every night, and I need to check in with you before making any plans on my own?”

Duke nodded as he chewed a bite of steak. Gen watched his jaw muscles work, remembered how it’d flexed when he was pissed the other day, and took a breath to try to bring herself back to the conversation. “Are you going to give me the same courtesy?”

He swallowed, took a drink. “The club handles patrols on a rotation. I patrolled nearly every night for six months, and told them I was banking time so I could have some evenings with you once I finally claimed you. I’ll need to patrol some over the next two or three months, but for the most part I’m off the schedule a while. Once I go back on it, you’ll be alone the better part of two or maybe three nights a week, and I’ll ask you to use those evenings to spend time with your friends. I’m more than happy to have Bethany hang with the two of us, got no problem at all with you inviting her over when I’m around.”

“
I’ll try.” There was so much she wanted to say, but she had a feeling he was being more patient with her than he’d been with anyone in a long time… or perhaps
ever
, so she didn’t argue the point, and didn’t tell him they were moving too fast.

“
You don’t know how many orgasms you had last night? Seriously? You lost count?”

Four empty bottles of wine sat on the coffee table, and Gen watched as Bethany opened a fifth. She’d stopped and bought all their favorite specialty cheeses on the way home, and most of it was gone.

Gen leaned forward and used her fancy cheese slicer to cut another piece of moody blue. “That’s not the point, Bethany.”

“
Yeah,
your
point is you’re wondering why you’re letting him play with your ass when you don’t think you like it. But
my
point is that you freaking
lost count
of how many orgasms he gave you!”

Gen shook her head. “I’d have had those orgasms even without the anal stuff. And, bottom line — every time I want to tell him not to, I see Mike doing the tramp up her
ass
on my bed, and I’m worried if I say no, he’ll someday find someone who’ll say yes.”

“
You have to talk to him about it,” Bethany said as she poured them both another glass of deep red wine. “Sex is supposed to be
fun
. If it isn’t, or if you’re doing something just to keep him from cheating on you, it’s time to back up and regroup.”

The doorbell rang and the women looked at each other, then the clock. It was nearly midnight. Gen leaned sideways, saw Mike’s car in the driveway, and reached for her phone. She dialed nine-one-one, and when the operator asked her emergency she did her best to keep from slurring her words as she gave her name and address, and then said, “I pressed charges against Detective Mike McPherson the other day, and he’s at my door right now. I’m not going to respond because he scares me, but he’s probably already looked in the window and seen me, so he isn’t likely to leave. I’d like you to send a car out to ask him to leave, please.”

Mike started beating on the door and yelling that if she didn’t let him in he’d let himself in. The nine-one-one operator heard him and asked, “Can he see you through the door, ma’am?”

“
No, it’s solid wood, though he may have looked in the windows before he went to the door. My boyfriend is usually here, and he isn’t now. I have a feeling Mike knows it’s just me and Bethany. How long until a car gets here?”

“
Just another couple of minutes, ma’am. Can you go into another room and hide, just in case he tries to come in?”

“
No. I’m hanging up now. I hope an officer gets here soon, but if one doesn’t then I’ll be forced to handle the situation myself, should he come inside. I really don’t want to have to defend myself, please tell them to hurry.”