Chapter 11 Duke #2
This is Rory’s way of easing his own conscience.
He was the one to put my name forward when Ash was looking for a volunteer to act as Katarina’s fiancé.
The visit to Brimstage isn’t going to be a permanent fix, but it could heal some of the damage between me and Grace.
And I’ve been on plenty of business trips since my engagement so it shouldn’t raise suspicions with Katarina or her goons.
“I’m not sure…” Grace says. “Who else would be going? It would make sense to take O–”
“Just us,” I interrupt. If mentioning Olly was her way of testing me, I’ve failed. To reassure her my intentions aren’t completely dishonorable, I add, “We’d only have to be away one night.”
Calder leans into Grace. “I wouldn’t be too eager either.
The house is a sad mausoleum in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t strike me as a small-town kind of girl.
” He nudges that fucking VIP card closer so it’s right under her nose.
“If you’re looking for something livelier, my invitation stands. ”
“Calder,” I say, my voice dropping lethally low. “If you don’t get out now, I’m going to break your goddamn nose.”
Rory’s hand is back on my shoulder. He stands and I’m left seated. “I apologize for my brother’s behavior,” he says to Grace.
“Which one?” she asks.
Rory’s chuckling as he rounds the table.
He practically hauls Calder out of his chair “This one. It’s way past his bedtime,” he replies.
He doesn’t miss a beat as he continues to talk.
“The jet is prepped for Thursday morning at ten. Duke, let the pilot know if you decide to cancel, otherwise enjoy your trip. And treat Grace with the respect she deserves or I’ll be having words with you too. ”
Calder shoves his hands in his pockets and saunters towards the door. There’s a smug expression on his face when he looks over his shoulder. “Nice to meet you again, Grace.”
I wait until my dickwad of a brother is a safe distance away from my fist before I follow them to the door so I can lock it. I catch Ed’s attention and he winces at my glare.
“Sorry, but they’re bigger than me,” he tries. “And they didn’t give me a chance to warn you.” When I simply continue to stare, he shrugs. “I know, I’m fired.”
As I’m closing the door, Grace gets to her feet. She keeps her back to me as she unrolls one of the architect’s drawings. Her shapeless outfit clings to the curves she thinks she can hide. I turn the lock.
Grace’s head snaps in my direction and the drawing she was holding rolls back into itself. “Duke…” she warns. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Angel, it’s all I can think about,” I rasp, my cock thickening. “You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined bending you over that table.”
She tugs at her sweater while I prowl towards her. “As long as those thoughts stay in your head, I don’t care.” Her head tips back as I draw closer. “If you want me on that plane on Thursday, Mr. Moncrief, I need to know I can trust you.”
We’re only inches apart when I heave out a frustrated sigh. “No kissing,” I repeat, resting my hands on her hips. “No fucking.” I tug up her sweater so I can slip a hand beneath it.
Grace scowls, but she doesn’t resist. “No. Touching.”
My fingers trace over her sweat-damp skin. “A little touching.”
Her scowl deepens. “You’re even more infuriating than your brothers,” she says. “Calder recognized me, didn’t he?”
“That was the only reason Rory inflicted him on you.” I flatten my hand on her back, pulling her closer. Our bodies touch. “He wanted confirmation we have history.”
“Calder’s quite a character. I think I might like him best,” she says, a smirk softening her features when she hears a growl rumble in my chest.
My mouth twists as I look over Grace’s shoulder. “Where’s the VIP pass?”
“In my pocket,” she replies. “I knew you’d only burn it if I left it on the table.”
“You’re not going.”
Grace grips my arm, but she doesn’t push me away. “Trust goes both ways, Duke. I’m new to the city and I need to explore. And I’m sure Calder would look after me.”
I snort a laugh. “Yes. Too well.”
She tilts her head to the side and I know what she’s asking. Would my brother hit on a woman I had feelings for? No, he wouldn’t. He was only flirting with Grace to get a reaction from me, but still.
“I want to be the one to look after you. Not my brothers.”
“Tell that to Rory. You didn’t know he was planning our trip to Brimstage, did you?”
“No, I did not.”
“And he’s OK with us spending time together when you’re… you know…?”
“Rory would rather me spend time with you than Katarina,” I reply. “I can’t emphasize this enough, Grace. Katarina might be treated like a piece of merchandize by her uncle, but she was trained to be devious and manipulative. Don’t fall into the same trap as me and waste your sympathy on her.”
I only realize how tense Grace has been holding herself when she relaxes just a fraction. “And is that how you feel? Trapped?”
More than anyone knows, I want to tell her.
“Not for much longer. You have my word.”
Grace pushes against my arms and, reluctantly, I step back. The traces of her sweat on my tingling fingertips make me want to run the flat of my tongue along her spine. I swallow a groan.
“If I go with you to Brimstage, we have separate rooms and we keep separate,” she says as I stare at her with hooded eyes. “I appreciate your engagement isn’t conventional, but it still means something. It means something to me. I don’t want to hate myself. And I don’t want to hate you.”
I nod. “I get it, and I’ll keep my promise,” I say, as much as it kills me.
“Even if it’s me who weakens,” she insists. “I need you to be strong for both of us.”
My jaw tics. It’s so fucking hard being this close and not being able to do the things I know Grace wants as much as I do. My gaze trails down her body, from her pinked cheeks to her opaque tights and boots.
“Fine, but no more hiding under those goddamn layers. There isn’t a part of you I haven’t already mentally undressed and it’s driving me to distraction. It would be easier if you were standing there in your underwear.”
She scoffs at that. “Really?”
I shake my head and step further away from temptation. “No, but if you’re willing, we could put the theory to the test.”
“Nice try, but I have work to do,” she says, turning back to the table. She starts gathering up files. “If we’re meeting Maddie on Thursday, I need to get up to speed and fast. Olly’s drawings are only preliminary and I wouldn’t want her to think I don’t have a clear vision.”
“Maddie isn’t the client,” I remind her. “She has a vested interest, sure, but if anything, she needs to sell her ideas to you so you can be sympathetic to the house and its history.”
Grace worries at her lip. “Everyone’s expecting so much of me, but we both know I didn’t get this job based on my talents. I got it because you strong-armed Noah. What if I’m not up to it?”
“I didn’t strong-arm Noah. I mentioned your name, maybe more than once, but he wouldn’t have hired you if he didn’t think you capable. And I wouldn’t have recommended you if I thought for a minute I was setting you up to fail.”
I come alongside Grace and flip open a folder full of sketches. She watches as I line up a series of artist impressions of the interior of the house. They’re no more than ghostly scribbles to fill empty rooms.
“Do you think you can turn these blank pages into something that makes our guests feel connected to the place? Can you make it so they’re not just visiting a clone of every other spa they’ve visited?”
Grace holds her breath and then… nothing. With an exasperated sigh, she scrutinizes each sketch in turn. Just when I think she’s about to panic, she pulls another drawing from the folder. It’s a copy of a watercolor painting of the house as it was when it was first built.
“They’re not empty rooms,” she says, returning to the sketches. “Even if the layout has to be reconfigured, it’s the same floor space, the same land. There’s history there.”
“Then design something that lets our guests see what you see.”
Whatever thoughts fill Grace’s head make her fingers dance across the sketches. “Yes,” she says after a pause. “I can do that.”