Chapter 6 #2
“Fuck, no,” Duke says in a tone that brokers no argument.
“But you should have a reminder of exactly what you’re capable of, in case you’re ever tempted to fake it again for any man.
” His expression clouds, ice glinting briefly in his eyes.
“On second thoughts, you should avoid men completely so you don’t take that risk. ”
“You don’t want me to have sex ever again?”
With a single thrust that has me choking on a gasp, Duke impales me with his cock. “I’d just rather not think about it while I’m inside you,” he argues, determined not to give me anything but the dwindling time we have left together.
Fine, if that’s the case, I will have my memento.
Duke holds himself still while I open my phone to find the voice recorder app.
I ignore several new messages from Brooke.
I’d told her what happened and where I am, and she’s desperate to see how this plays out.
She’ll be as disappointed as I am that it ends here.
Before I switch to the recorder, I register the time. We only have an hour left.
Duke must see every emotion play out on my face. He pulls the phone from my grasp and drops it behind me. “You don’t need to press record yet,” he says. “Let’s make this one last, Angel.”
Hooking my knee in the crook of his arm, Duke leans back to create some space as his hips start to undulate.
I follow his gaze to where our bodies are joined.
I watch his sheathed cock slide into me, again and again.
I feel every impact against my clit. I feel the stretch as he fills me on each thrust. I commit it all to memory.
Duke rests my leg on his hip so he can reach up to my face and wipe away the ghost of a tear that betrays me. Our eyes lock and what passes between us has my heart swelling. We feel things we don’t dare put into words and I’m shocked when he does speak.
“It was a car accident.”
“The scars?”
He nods. “Two months ago. I was the driver. My best friend died.”
I want to reach out and cup his face, trace those scars again, do something. But I do nothing and I say nothing. I let him speak.
Duke’s movements slow and although we don’t stop, our bodies are working on autopilot.
“I was in an induced coma for a few days until the swelling in my brain went down,” he continues, bringing our bodies closer again so he can rest his forehead against mine.
“When I came around, I couldn’t remember what happened.
I still can’t.” He clears his throat. “There was an investigation of sorts, but no one could find a mechanical failure. I’m a competent driver, not exactly a speed-freak, but there were marks on the road that showed I’d swerved just before I lost control.
We were out in the wilds and it’s possible I’d tried to avoid something on the road, but it could just as easily have been pure recklessness on my part. ”
“Were there no other witnesses?”
“Yeah, but it was late at night and she was asleep. The only thing she knows for sure is that she woke up in our upturned Jeep to find the man she was planning to marry bleeding out right next to her.”
“Was she injured?”
“She’ll carry her own scars. The deepest will be the ones people can’t see,” he whispers because I know he’s talking about himself too. “We haven’t spoken since the crash. She thought I should have been charged with something.”
“But what if it was a random accident? You said you’re a competent driver.”
“I killed a man, Grace. Someone I loved like a brother. I deserve to be punished.”
I tilt my head and press a kiss gently to his lips. I’m beginning to understand him now. If the authorities won’t punish him, he’s going to punish himself. I kiss him harder. I wish there was something I could say to take away his guilt, but I don’t have the answers he needs to even begin healing.
I can’t persuade him to look to the future when his head is turned to the past. All I can do is give him these final moments of our time together. And I have to accept that’s all he can give me.
Keeping my lips hovering over his, I say, “I know you can’t see it, but you’re a good man, Duke.” I feel him shake his head imperceptibly, so I try again. “I walked into this hotel determined to do something reckless and stupid, and dammit, you saved me from myself.”
Duke manages a smile. “You were a woman on a mission.”
“Yeah, I can be stubborn when I want to be,” I admit, taking hold of his hand. “I’d fought hard to bring stability into my life only to discover the man I married thought I’d put up with his misbehavior to keep hold of the illusion of security.”
“I regret not punching him more and more,” Duke mutters.
I thread my fingers through his. “I wanted to create some chaos last night. You’re my chaos, Duke.
And I’ve never felt safer.” I roll my hips and my pussy walls clamp around his cock.
“Thank you.” His body jerks in response and his next thrust is bone crunching.
“For dealing with Cameron.” I hook my leg tight against his ass as his movements build.
“For making sure I kept my house.” Flutters travel through my lower abdomen and I swallow a moan. “And for all the orgasms, obviously.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” he says, his harsh exhales warming my face. “It was my pleasure.” Duke untangles his hand from mine and pushes me onto my back. “Do you think you could give me one more?”
“God, yes.”
He hands me my phone. “Time to make one last memory.”
I concentrate as much as I can on starting the voice recorder while tears threaten again. This is the last time.
Duke sets the phone on the bedside table and as he braces himself over me, we fall silent.
As we begin to move, I hear the wet sound of his glorious shaft being smothered in my arousal, and the rasp of skin against skin as he pulls out and drives back into me in long, determined strokes.
I dig my heels into the mattress and tilt my hips upwards to grind against him.
It doesn’t take long for the flames in my belly to ignite.
I roll my lips together and swallow the hum vibrating up from my very core. Duke watches me and smiles.
“Ready to make some noise, Angel?”
My laugh catches in my throat as he drives into me hard. “Duke,” I croak out.
“Not a bad start, but I think I can make you scream louder than that,” he teases.
I grunt with his next thrust. “I know you can.”
I wrap my hands around his neck, my thumbs stroking the side of his head and the scars that broke this man in ways I can’t mend. Regret and longing, together with insatiable need makes my clit pulse and my body thrum. As my jaw clenches, so do my core muscles.
“Fuck, your pussy was made for me,” Duke grinds out as he rails into me with growing urgency. He trails wet kisses down the column of my neck. “You feel so good. Too. Damn. Good.”
My mouth falls open and I’m panting as the pressure builds. I clamp around him every time he drives his cock home. He’s stretching and filling me in a way that’s going to leave me feeling so empty later.
“This is…” I gasp out. This is what? Utter bliss? I’m not sure that does it justice. “This is everything.” He slams into me with a grunt and a zap of raw pleasure shoots up my spine. “You are everything, Duke!” Another thrust, and another spine-tingling jolt. “Everything!”
He nips at my exposed throat as my head tips back.
His teeth scrape against my skin as if in warning.
He doesn’t want me to feel what I’m feeling.
“Don’t ever settle for anyone who isn’t going to make you the center of his universe,” he orders as his thrusts become punishing.
“Don’t settle for anything less than complete. Fucking. Adoration.”
With each clash of our bodies, I’m pushed closer and closer to the precipice. My pussy throbs and the pressure in my center builds. As my fingers dig into Duke’s back, I cling onto the cliff edge. I don’t want to let go. I don’t want to let go of him.
“Come for me, Angel,” he demands. “And take me with you.”
“I wish…” I reply, but it’s a whisper that gets swept away by the explosion that rocks through my body. “Duke!” I scream, and as I shatter around his cock, a little of my heart shatters too.