Chapter 23 Duncan
DUNCAN
It’s late when the gates to The Estate part, and I ease past them.
White beams cut through the dark, the lights along the grounds washing over the lawns and the house beyond.
Fog climbs from the Hudson River. Orange, wilted leaves skitter across the drive, caught in the wind before disappearing.
My groundskeeper and his team will be here tomorrow to rake them.
Meanwhile, I’ll be spending the entire day locked in my bedroom.
With the woman I love.
The woman who loves me back.
Fuck.
“I love him.”
My lungs expand as I turn the sentence over in my head.
Once.
Twice.
A dozen times.
Then, like a bucket of ice water thrown at my face, I remember why I cut the meeting in Boston short today.
She was on the phone with Barclay. The man who’d been hurting her for years.
Normally, I stay as long as the client wants. Restoration makes people emotional. They forget the mask. They talk.
Stories turn into information, and information is power. That power is how I got Elowyn back. How I keep her safe.
I don’t walk away from that lightly.
Today, I did.
“Her brother found out. He sounded remorseful. He tricked me, but that’s no excuse. I’m so sorry, Mr. Rourke.” Herbert’s voice still echoes in my head. “I failed you and Miss Montgomery. I should’ve known better.”
While he talked, rage flared through me, locking my jaw. My hand curled around a knife that wasn’t there. I told my client I was leaving and stormed out without waiting for an answer.
The second I got into my SUV, I pulled up the call recording and hit play.
I didn’t doubt Elowyn’s innocence. She would’ve never plotted against me with Barclay. Her eyes, her words, she’d been honest throughout the time we’d spent together.
Barclay was the problem.
I needed to hear every word. Maybe catch something in his voice that would give his plans away. Something that no one but his former best friend would notice.
Thankfully, other than a petulant this isn’t over that sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, there was no hint of future retribution.
Still, goddamn him.
The way he talked to her. How he tried to make her feel small enough to crawl back to him.
Loathing burned hot in my chest, only until Elowyn fought back. My queen stood up to him and me.
Yes, I hated myself for not being there.
At the same time, pride burned through me so fiercely it hurt.
My heart damn near stopped when she said, “I love him.”
As I drive uphill, my hands clench around the wheel until I reach the top and park the car.
“Sir.” Herbert appears in the foyer, his face stony and a touch pale. “I’d like to apologize again for transferring the call.”
I don’t waste time. “Where is she?”
“In your bedroom, but Mr. Rourke…”
His voice fades as I climb the stairs, practically running up to get to Elowyn.
Just outside our room, I finally stop. Breathe. Smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in my navy-blue suit.
Then I step inside, closing the door behind me.
Air finally reaches my lungs at the sight of her, as if I haven’t been breathing properly for hours.
She sits on the edge of the bed, hair draped down the front of her body. The T-shirt and jeans she’s wearing enhance every gorgeous curve.
What truly brings me down to my metaphorical knees, though, are these eyes.
Silvery. Round. Huge.
Staring at me.
“Little moon,” I say.
She worries her bottom lip. “Hi.”
Do you know? she asks without words.
I do. But I’m starving for honesty. For that open communication we agreed on. I want her to tell me how she feels herself.
“How was your day?” I walk over to our bed. On my way there, I shrug off my suit jacket and place it on one of the armchairs. “Anything interesting happen?”
Her gaze lands on my arms when I roll up my sleeves, heating as I reveal my forearms.
Being the center of her attention gets me hard. Turns me into a starving man.
But satisfying my selfish needs will have to wait until I deal with Barclay.
After she talks to me, I’m going to warn him to back the fuck off for good. This is the last time she’ll look terrified, confused, or shaken. He’s done ruining her life.
Finished.
“Talk to me.” The bed dips when I take a seat next to her. I press a finger beneath her chin, tilting her face up, breathing her sweet scent in. “I’m right here.”
“Barclay called,” she whispers, twisting her lips. “He was an asshole.”
Despite the heaviness in my chest, I laugh. I can’t help it.
“What’s so funny?” She seems unable to help herself, too, her mouth relaxing, lips curving into a smile.
“Not funny. Sweet.” I lean in for a kiss. Because she was honest. Because she let me in, knowing this conversation would be hard. “You, saying asshole. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing you talk like that.”
All humor drains from her eyes. “No other way to describe him.”
Oh, but there are. Abuser. Motherfucker. Bully. Narcissist.
She places a soft hand on my cheek. “Duncan?”
The gentle touch makes me realize I’m clenching my jaw. Grinding my teeth. Audibly.
“He had no right to say those things to you,” I snap, nostrils flaring. “No right. He never will again.”
“You…” She slams a hand over her mouth. I peel it off. “Mary and Herbert eavesdropped on my phone call?”
The distance between us offends me. Though she squirms and huffs, I yank her onto my lap.
That’s better, with her turned sideways, tucked against me. Her head fits under my chin, the length of her body pressed to mine. Locked in my embrace.
“Tell me,” she insists.
The scent of her vanilla shampoo—the one I ordered the day she moved into my room—invades my senses.
“No,” I growl, cursing myself inwardly for the slip-up.
“You promised no more lies.”
I’m about to agree with her. But her wiggling gets me harder. Needier.
At the feel of my erection, Elowyn stares at me beneath her lashes, breathing heavily. “This is serious.”
“Yes, it is, and no, they didn’t violate your privacy.
” I stroke her waist when what I really want is to lay her down, spread her legs, and lose myself in her.
“See, what happened with your brother ten years ago taught me to keep receipts. That’s why I have cameras everywhere. My phone calls are recorded too.”
“You could’ve waited until you got home to ask me.” Her shoulders slump, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “I mean, you did ask, just after the fact. Don’t you trust me?”
“More than anything, but I needed to hear every word from him.” My muscles tense, bracing for the impact, for anger she’d have every right to unleash.
It doesn’t come, so I go on. “I couldn’t afford to miss a single detail.
Every hint of what else he might have on us.
Or what he’s planning. It wasn’t about trust. But I’m sorry I made you feel that way.
” My gaze holds hers. “From now on, I’ll talk to you first, investigate second. ”
“Thank you.” A bright red flush rushes up her cheeks. Relief surges through my body because, yeah, she definitely forgives me. Then her mouth gapes and—“Oh. Oh. That means you also heard…”
A pause. A long one.
Since she’s too shy to say it, I start.
“I love you, little moon.” I thread a hand through her hair before kissing her slack, parted lips. Biting them. Sucking on—God, she tastes good—them. “So much.”
“I love you too.” The way she explores my mouth, tasting me, moaning for me, I’ll never get enough of it. “You’re a stalker”—kiss—“but I love you.”
“And you get off on being stalked.” My dick throbs when Elowyn twists to straddle my legs. “On being mine.”
“Yes.” She rocks her hips, finding my neck with delicate fingers that make me buck beneath her. “I do.”
“I’ll tell you a little secret.” I wind my fist in her hair, yanking it so I can suck and kiss the elegant slope of her neck. “This—you, grinding on my cock—makes me want to fuck you. On this bed. Up against the wall. In the bath, where I’ll lick your clit first and rail you second. But…”
Elowyn doesn’t ask what. She hums, seeking more pleasure by rubbing herself up against me.
I’ll give her what she needs. After I’m done dealing with her brother.
“But.” One last taste because, fuck, she’s good enough to eat. “I have to take care of business.”
I hitch Elowyn over my shoulder. She yelps when I stand up and head over to my second, smaller studio. The one I hardly use.
“Duncan.” She laughs, all cute and nervous. The reminder that I was this close to never hearing this again hurts. “What are you doing?”
“I told you, I have business to take care of.” My voice turns serious the closer I am to the studio. “I need you to stay here, where I want you.”
“You’re going to see Barclay.” She’s silent for a beat. “You’re going to kill him. Let me be there for you. I don’t think I could kill him, but you shouldn’t be there by yourself.”
“I’m not going to kill him.” Sadly. Stupid fucking conscience. “He saved you, and that counts for something. I’m just going to tell him you’re off-limits. No one messes with you. No one.”
“I need to be there for that too.” She pokes my back. “Duncan, are you listening to me?”
“I am. I also promised not to lie to you anymore.” Stepping into the second studio, I close the door behind us and turn on the light.
The room is as clean and as warm as the rest of the house. In the center of it, a tall, gilded frame hangs from the ceiling. Its freshly varnished molding glows under the lamplight.
Silk ropes fall from each corner, long and loose.
When I hung them up here, last night after she’d fallen asleep, I had Elowyn’s safety in mind. I wasn’t interested in wrenching her shoulders or hauling her arms overhead. I wanted her elbows bent, her body comfortable for when we put the frame to good use.
“Locking me up kind of falls under hiding things from me,” she grumbles, her thighs clenching as she shifts on my chest.
“I’m not shutting you out. I’m going to keep you here. Then, when I get back, I’ll reward you for being such a good girl. After that, I’ll tell you everything that happened between us. No hiding, no lies. Okay?”
“Okay.” Almost instantly, she sags against me. It’s the weight I could’ve had on top of me, in bed right now, if not for her fucking brother. “But… Please, you don’t have to face him on your own.”
“I do, and I will.” I lower Elowyn onto her feet, then capture her face in my palms. “He’s done messing with you. You’re staying home, away from that fucker.”
“I’m strong now.” She leans into one of my hands. “You’ve helped me become that person. He can’t hurt me.”
“You’ve always been strong.” My eyes flick to the frame. Back to Elowyn’s narrowed gaze. “That’s why you’ll let me handle this one. It’s my turn to take care of you. While I do just that, you’re going to wait for me inside the frame.”
Her hands are hot on my chest. “The frame?”
As soon as she starts to twist her head, I glide my hands down her neck to let her have a look.
When she turns to me again, her pupils are blown.
I’ll work hard to make sure she looks at me like that every day for the rest of our lives.
“Go on, little moon.” I take a step forward, forcing her back. “Stand inside the frame.”
“Take me with you,” she whispers.
I shake my head and keep walking her slowly backward. When her calves touch the base of the frame, she inhales sharply.
“I hate this.” She lifts her chin. “I hate that I’m so hot for this. That I’m willing to do anything you tell me to.”
Such a sweet liar.
“I hate…” I start, but can’t stop because fuck me, she’s stunning. Trembling, waiting. My own personal masterpiece. “That I have to leave you. Now, up you go.”
With my guidance, she steps up, the platform behind the frame wide enough to hold her while taking the strain from standing on a thin surface. Exactly how I intended.
Next are the ropes. The first touch of the silk at her wrist has her shivering.
It slides around her skin when I tie it up. Elowyn lets out the sweetest whimper. My cock pulses.
“I hate that I’ll be away from this beautiful artwork of mine.”
Another rope. She tests both binds, not to get away, because it turns her on.
Elowyn can’t hide anything from me. The fluttering pulse around her throat. The addictive scent of her arousal.
How she whispers, “Please, let me go with you,” without really meaning it anymore.
“I hate that I’ll know your pussy is dripping. Soaking your panties. Your jeans.”
Her ankles follow. I kneel to bind one, then the other, lingering longer than necessary on each of them. I never knew I had an ankle fetish until today.
“What else?” A tortured moan escapes her when I kiss the top of one foot.
“Hate that it’ll take me forever to get back to you.”
I stand up, admiring my handiwork. Struggling to breathe.
Elowyn is right there, framed in gold. She’s spread out comfortably, the ropes holding her in place, without stretching any part of her body.
And she’s vibrating with lust. With need.
Perfect.
“What I don’t hate…” I brush my thumb over one nipple. Pinch her through her shirt. Stroke. Move to the other and repeat until they’re both hard and she’s panting. “Is that I get to do my job, and that’s protecting you.”
“Okay. Just so you know, I support whatever decision you make.” She’s grinding on air, and my dick begs to be inside her. Hard. Deep. Over and over. Fuck. “Even if you end up killing him, I’m on your side. I choose you.”
My eyes cut to hers. To the honesty and determination bleeding from them.
Fire burns in my chest. My fingers curl at her throat, guiding her into a kiss that means a lot of things, none of them a goodbye.
“You have no idea, no goddamn clue, just in love I am,” I groan when I eventually take a step back. Feels like a million of them. “I fucking love you.”
“I fucking love you too.” She jerks her chin toward the door. “Now go. I’ll be here. Waiting for you. Always.”