Chapter 3
Grace
Itry and fail to slow my breathing as I count down every second of the allocated two minutes. When I leave this room, I’m putting my fate in Duke’s hands. He’s a complete stranger and I have every right to be terrified. And oh, my fucking god, it makes me feel alive.
One of the security guards I now recognize simply nods as I slip past him and through the exit doors Duke told me to use. He might trust the people he works with, but he doesn’t want anyone else seeing us leave together. I imagine he doesn’t want his bosses knowing what he’s up to.
I follow Duke’s directions, expecting to find myself in a staff-only area, but the corridors I hurry along are as plush as the rest of the hotel. I reach an elevator with black gloss doors and stare at the high-tech console that screams VIPs only. I check over my shoulder. Did I take a wrong turn?
My pulse flutters in my neck as I swipe the keycard across the console. The elevator doors open and the mirrored walls reflect back my growing anxiety as I step inside. My finger hovers over the button for the seventh floor. I could still leave.
I press the button and when the doors close and the elevator sweeps me upwards, an unexpected calm descends.
There are no more decisions. Duke takes over from here.
A chime sounds and I stand in front of the doors as they open onto darkness.
My brain takes too long to work out I’m staring at a black button-down shirt.
Duke’s hands go to my hips and he corals me back into the elevator.
In all our interactions so far, I’d been sitting on a bar stool.
I knew he was big, but as I tip back my head, he must be at least a foot taller.
His gaze holds mine for a second or two, like he’s waiting for me to resist. Or submit.
I rest my palms against his chest and feel the breath he releases.
He twists away to tap the console and as the doors close, he’s back on me, pressing me into a corner.
My bare back hits the mirror at the same time the elevator rises and my stomach flips. I let out a gasp.
Duke leans in, his mouth tantalizing close to mine. “Second thoughts?” he asks, his eyes sparking because he already knows the answer.
“Hell, no,” I say, surprised by my own confidence. “It’s just… I’ve never done this before. Had a one-night stand, I mean. Shouldn’t we get to know each other first? I know nothing about you.”
“That’s the whole point of a one-night stand, Grace,” he says, leaning over me so he only needs to whisper. “We know all we need to know about each other.”
Do we? I shake my head. “I don’t want your family history, but I do need some basic facts. Like your full name. Your age. If you have a family.”
That last question is the one I really need to ask, but Duke answers an easier question. “I’m thirty. You’re twenty-six.”
I glower at him. “You did a background check on me?”
He shrugs. “You got in here on someone else’s invite. Of course I did.”
“Then this flow of information between us feels very one-sided.” I scowl at him. “I’ll let that slide, but there is one question I need you to answer. Are you married?”
Duke contemplates his reply before speaking. “I could make some smart remark about me being less married than you,” he offers. “But you deserve a definitive answer. So, no, I’m not married. Never have been. Not sure I ever will be.”
His words cut through the last thread of doubt holding me back. “Fine. I guess that’ll have to satisfy me.”
Duke wraps a hand around my throat and his thumb strokes my pulse point. My heart rate is fast but steady. One side of his mouth pulls into a smile. “Angel, I haven’t begun to satisfy you yet.”
I have no more time to prepare as he brings his mouth crashing down onto mine.
I hold on tight to his shirt as his tongue parts my lips.
He’s surprisingly gentle. He doesn’t force his way deeper, but waits for me to open to him fully.
My tongue strokes his and that sets off an explosion of heat and with it, a desperate yearning.
As I tug him closer, Duke threads his fingers through my short hair, grabbing a handful and pulling my head back to expose my neck.
“You’re too goddamn perfect,” he breathes against my skin. “Your lips. Your neck.” He trails his tongue along my jawline. “Your taste.”
I try to huff a dismissal but Duke’s free hand has moved lower and when he squeezes my ass cheek, my huff turns into a grunt. I press my lips together and moan again as he scoops his arm around my thighs and lifts me off my feet.
My dress stops me from wrapping my legs around his waist, but I don’t mind so much when Duke pins me to the elevator wall with his hips because it’s not just his hips.
His hard shaft digs into my belly and I grind against him as much as I’m able while his mouth moves to my bare shoulder.
As he nips my skin, I glance at our reflections in the mirror on the wall opposite.
I can see my feet dangling off the floor between Duke’s legs.
My gaze travels upward to the face staring back at me in wonder.
That’s me. And I’m being possessed by a man I didn’t know existed a few hours ago.
Every single one of Duke’s kisses send a shiver down my spine, and it’s not just the sensation of his lips on my skin, but the sight of him. Despite his brutal buzz cut and those scars, his profile is god-like. He’s beautiful. This can’t be happening. I don’t hold back the next moan.
Duke raises his head. “You like watching yourself,” he whispers.
He’s looking into the mirror I’m pressed against, and our reflected gazes meet. “No, Duke. I like watching you.”
He growls into my neck. “Fuck, I like the sound of my name on your lips.”
The elevator shudders to a stop and my feet hit the floor. Duke twists away from me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out while the doors are still opening.
I barely have time to register the wide corridor that splits in three directions, or the plush carpet and fresh bouquets planted at intervals on mahogany side tables that match the opulent double doors we pass. I’ve seen the brochures. These are the penthouse suites.
Duke walks so fast that I’m almost at a run to keep up. He stops and quickly scans his keycard to open one of the suites. He pulls me in front of him and as I step over the threshold, a deep voice reverberates from further down the corridor.
“Duke! Are you bailing already?”
I’m pushed deeper into the room, hidden from view. “I’ve performed all my duties,” Duke shouts back. “Now fuck off, Calder. I’m signing off for the night.”
“You do know we’re not leaving until eight.” From the sound of the man’s voice, he’s moving closer.
“Yes. And I’ll see you then,” replies Duke through gritted teeth.
He’s followed me into the suite, but as he turns to close the door, a man appears in front of us.
His dark russet hair is long and unruly, and his white button-down shirt stretches over his broad chest as he laughs.
“Sorry,” he says to me before flicking his gaze back to Duke, eyes sparking with mischief. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Duke slams the door in his face.
My jaw drops. “Was that…?” Duke called him Calder. “Oh, my god. Was that one of the Moncriefs you just told to fuck off?”
Duke heaves out a sigh as he steps deeper into the living space. He shrugs out of his jacket and drops it onto a leather armchair. “If you knew him, you’d tell him to fuck off too,” he grumbles as he removes his cufflinks and rolls up his sleeves.
His forearms are muscular and I’m already imagining what the rest of his body must look like as he stalks towards a fully equipped kitchen area and pulls a bottle of water from the fridge.
I take a few hesitant steps away from the door. This man looks indestructible, but Cameron was right about one thing. He is just an employee. “Should you be up here? Won’t you get in trouble?”
Duke returns to me. He takes my purse and drops it onto a nearby table, then breaks the seal on the bottle and hands it to me.
“The only trouble I’ll be getting into is with you.
” I get a full smile this time. “Now drink some fluids. I don’t want you getting dehydrated on me. This could be a long night.”
When he doesn’t move, I realize he’s waiting for me to drink. I remove the cap and take a sip.
“More,” he says, his eyes hooded as he watches me lick my lips.
As I tip my head back and swallow, Duke is on me, kissing my exposed throat. I splutter at his touch and his tongue laps up the water dribbling down my chin and onto my dress. His hands go to my back and he pulls at the tie holding up my halter neck.
He groans when the satin fabric folds to my waist, exposing my strapless bra and the curve of my breasts.
I manage to recap the bottle and let it drop to the floor.
My hand goes to the back of his neck as he pulls down my bra to expose pebbled nipples that immediately become hypersensitive to the touch of his fingers and then, oh god, the feel of his mouth.
His lips seal around one hardened peak and he flicks it with his tongue. He sucks hard and I lift up onto my toes as my back arches.
It’s all happening so fast. Maybe we should take it more slowly, but I want everything Duke has to offer and I want it now. My thrumming body wants it now.
And then there’s a knock on the door.
My already weak knees threaten to go from under me, but Duke isn’t deterred. He palms my other breast, and rolls my nipple between his finger and thumb.
The knocking grows louder. “I could use the master key!” Calder shouts.
Duke breaks the seal of his lips around my nipple. “That’s why I tell him to fuck off,” he mutters as he straightens.
I fix my bra and hold the top of my dress to my chest as Duke opens the door only wide enough to poke his head through. I strain my ears, but I can’t follow the exchange of whispers. I do hear a chuckle that gets cut off as Duke slams and locks the door.
He shoves something in his pocket then grabs my hand.
As I’m pulled towards a second set of double doors, I take another look around the palatial living space.
There’s a gym bag on the floor and a laptop on a nearby desk.
This has to be Duke’s suite, Calder Moncrief would have said something if it wasn’t, but why would he be given one of the best rooms the Exemplar has to offer?
“Are you their personal bodyguard, or something?”
“Or something,” Duke says as we step into the bedroom and he releases my hand.
I turn in a circle. The style and finish complements the living area, but this room’s color palette uses softer, earthier tones designed to make guests feel cocooned. I hate that I’m impressed.
There are doors leading off to what I presume is a walk-in closet and a bathroom, and the floor to ceiling windows covering almost one entire wall show-off the city lights.
Lights that disappear with the touch of a remote as Duke closes the blinds and lowers the lighting to provide a warmer and more relaxing hue.
Not that I can relax as I stare at the huge bed.
Duke rests against a wall and folds his arms. “Take your dress off, Grace.”