18. Avery
I wakethe next morning with tangled salt-water hair, a gorgeous ache in my limbs…
And him.
Duke is stone-cold dead to the world beside me, snoring softly with his broad limbs thrown wide across the bed like he owns it.
I’d say he does, after the spectacular performance he gave last night.
I watch him sleep with satisfaction. God, did I really tell Brooke that burly, muscular guys didn’t do it for me? Consider my mind well and truly changed– and blown, many times over. Now I’ve felt Duke’s strong arms pinning me down, and the delicious weight of him fucking me into the mattress until I’m half out of my mind with pleasure; not to mention the benefits of all that athletic stamina as he effortlessly tossed me around the bed, stretching and angling my body for his pleasure…
There’s no going back, that’s for sure.
To any other man.
The thought ripples through me, thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. Then Duke rumbles awake, yawning and stretching in the morning sun.
I relax. “You sleep like a wild bear,” I tease him, dropping a kiss on his cheek. “I thought you were an early riser.”
Duke huffs a laugh, his blue eyes crinkling at the edges. “Says the woman who wore me out all night.”
He suddenly scoops me in his arms and rolls us, trapping me beneath him. “Good morning, princess,” he murmurs, kissing me deeply, his body hard against me.
Very hard.
I sigh happily, flooded with sense memory as my legs move automatically around his waist, and his hands tangle in my hair, and our bodies arch hot together in a slow, filthy morning kiss.
Hello.
The kiss deepens. I know I need to brush my teeth, and my hair must be a disaster zone after that late-night swim, but Duke doesn’t seem to mind, and so neither do I. I just revel in the heat of his body, and the slow, delicious grind of his cock against me, sending shivers of friction against my clit even through the fabric of my pajama shorts.
I pull away, beaming. Never mind coffee, all I need is Duke in the morning, and I can snap awake just fine.
I slide out of bed. “Where are you going?” Duke protests lazily. “I wasn’t done with you yet.”
“That’s right,” I smirk, shooting a look over my shoulder as I duck into the tiny bathroom, and turn the shower on. “You promised me six orgasms, and we only got to… five.”
“Nonsense.” Duke’s voice carries. “There were definitely six.”
“Liar!” I call cheerfully. When I poke my head back in the bedroom, Duke is out of bed, stretching. I’m distracted by his naked body all over again.
“I’ll have you know, I take my commitments seriously,” he scolds me playfully.
He reaches for me, but I dance back, flirty. “So, maybe a couple of them ran together…”
Duke grins. “If you can’t remember, then clearly I need to make things more memorable.”
He kisses me again, stripping off my cotton PJ set until I’m just as naked as him, and steering me back into brightly-patterned tile shower. It’s delicious, reveling in the flow of hot water and slide of bare skin as we lather each other up, hands roaming everywhere to touch and tease.
“Whoever listed this as a two-person shower never met you,” I laugh, crowded up against the wall by all of Duke’s muscle, with barely any space to move.
“Sure it is,” Duke smirks. “You just need to get creative.”
He spins me to face the tile, my palms flat and my body arched as he palms my breasts into stiff, aching peaks. “See?” His breath is hot against my ear, and my head falls back against his chest. “Plenty of room.”
His hands slide lower, lazily dipping between my thighs to stroke and circle my clit. His cock digs into the crease of my ass, and I wriggle back against him, loving the huff of breath he snatches as I move.
“Wait, are those… peaches?” Duke pauses to squint at the tile on the shower wall, just a few inches from his face.
“And eggplant,” I grin, twisting back to face him. “Cherries, too. We’re right on theme.”
I close my fist around his straining cock. Duke huffs a strangled laugh, as I slowly start to pump. “That woman sure has a sense of humor.”
“It’s like they say,” I laugh, “Art is supposed to be inspiring.”
And then I slide to my knees, and show him just how inspired I’m feeling.
We stayin the shower until the water runs cold, and there’s absolutely no doubt how many orgasms Duke has delivered. Then we dry off, and head into town, stopping by Duke’s place first for a quick change of his clothes.
“Don’t you need to get to work?” I ask, as we arrive at the diner.
“A late start won’t be the end of the world,” he replies, holding the door open for me. “Believe me, the guys are happy to take a break.”
“Why? Are you a tyrant of a boss?” I tease.
He gives me a smoldering grin. “I thought you liked it when I give orders.”
Oh, I do.
I blush, then check around to see if anyone’s noticed. But nobody turns their heads to look our way, not even as Duke calls out our order to the waitress and slings an arm around my shoulder to steer me a booth in the back.
I don’t understand it. I’m flushed and giddy with all these bright endorphins flooding my system, it feels like there’s a neon sign above my head screaming, ”We finally had sex, and it was spectacular!”
But of course, Duke and me are old news. Everyone already knows we’re a couple. We’ve been faking it for a couple of weeks now, even if the real thing to us is still shiny and brand new.
“Uh oh, that smile looks dangerous,” Duke comments, as our spread of food and coffee arrives.
I laugh. “I was just thinking how they always say, ‘fake it ‘til you make it’.”
“Who’s faking anything?” he demands, and I smile.
“We were. The whole arrangement for the tabloids?”
Duke gives me a heated look. “Maybe that was all just part of my devious plan to have you in my bed.”
“Technically, you still haven’t had me there just yet,” I point out sweetly.
Duke gulps his coffee and smolders. “Give me a half hour to get my strength back and refuel, and we’ll see about that.”
I laugh, sitting back to nibble at some toast. “Anyway, you can’t tell me you expected any of this to happen when you agreed to play along,” I continue happily. Maybe all those orgasms have loosened my tongue, but I feel like I can say anything to him now. “Admit it, you hated me when I first arrived in town.”
Duke winces. “C’mon now, hate’s a strong word,” he protests. “I just…”
“Loathed and despised me?” I smirk.
“You’re forgetting, the feeling was mutual,” he points out, grinning.
“True.” I beam back. “You were insufferable. Arrogant, and grumpy…”
“Stubborn, high-maintenance,” Duke adds, ticking off my own flaws. “Too damn beautiful for your own good.”
I feel a glow. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
“Bad for my concentration, that’s for sure,” His eyes lock on mine, hotly. “You drove me to distraction, just walking in the room. Why do you think I couldn’t stay away?”
“I figured it was just the universe, trying to torment us by throwing us together,” I admit, my stomach turning over in a slow, delicious flip.
He couldn’t stay away. He’s wanted me all along.
“Well, look at you lovebirds!”
We’re interrupted by Suze, elbowing Duke to move over as she slides into the booth. “Is that coffee fresh?” she asks, already gulping from his mug. “I swear, I need a cold brew IV hooked up if I’m going to make it to Sunday with my sanity intact.”
“What’s Sunday?” I ask.
“The Shakespeare Festival!” she wails. “Don’t tell me you’re bailing on me now? I need those sets finished, and you to help with the dress rehearsal, and to talk down my Juliet when she has a temperamental actress breakdown right before the curtain rises. Metaphorically,” she adds. “We’re performing outside, there’s no curtains to hide behind, or send down if it’s a complete disaster of a show.”
“It won’t be a disaster,” I reassure her. Duke snorts a laugh. “Be supportive!” I nudge him. “This isn’t the time for your glowering cynicism.”
“I glower?” he grins at me.
“Constantly,” I tease. “It’s very brooding and hot, but not what we need right now.”
“But later…?” he shoots me a suggestive look, and I flush.
“Wait,” Suze looks back and forth between us. “What’s going on here?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, acting innocent.
She narrows her eyes. “You two. You’re acting all… coupley.”
“That’s the gig, isn’t it?” Duke casually rests his arm on the back of the booth, fingertips softly stroking my shoulder. “The one you volunteered me for, if I remember right.”
“But this is different. You’re smiling, and happy. He’s never happy,” she adds to me.
“You make me sound like some depressed hermit!” Duke protests.
“You are.” Me and Suze reply in unison.
Then Suze’s eyes zoom in on his touch, and my flushed cheeks, and then she gasps with realization.
“You didn’t?!”
“Shh!” I hush her, giggling. “Keep it down.”
Her excitement gets even louder. “You did!”
Duke shoves her out of the booth, and takes his coffee mug back. “Didn’t you say you had a million things to do?”
“I can take a moment to gloat,” she beams. “I told you so!”
“You did no such thing,” he grumbles. “Now scram.”
“I’ll see you at the festival,” she calls, before exiting the diner.
Duke sighs. “She’ll never let me hear the end of this,” he complains, looking exasperated and too damn cute for words.
I giggle. “Poor grump.” I lean over and kiss him, slow and sweet. “How can I make it up to you?”
“After work,” he says immediately. “My place. I’ll cook.”
“Now there’s an invitation I can’t refuse.”
After breakfast,Duke heads to work at his construction project, and I try not to check my phone every five minutes, waiting for a call about the Amelia Earhart project.
I know it’s unlikely, if not impossible to get news so soon. It’s only been twenty-four hours, and Madeline said it might be weeks, or even months, until she makes up her mind about casting. But still, without Duke around to distract me, I can’t focus on anything else.
She could decide on a whim, and declare I’m perfect actress for the role! She could insist to the studio that she can’t make the movie without me! She could…
…decide to quit the business, and pursue her childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut. Why not? I ask myself with a sigh. The odds are just as slim.
Clearly, I need to get out of the cottage before I drive myself crazy, so I impulsively text Tessa.
Taking a beach day. Want to join?
Her reply comes a moment later. Dealing with nightmare guests, but I’ll try to get away later!
Good luck!I text back. Then I pack a beach bag and stroll down to the shore. It’s a gorgeous day out, and the curve of the bay is full of families and tourists, soaking in the sun and sea breeze.
I find a quiet spot on the sand, and set up my blanket and beach umbrella, letting the warm rays and sound of the crashing waves finally lull me into relaxation.
Now, this is more like it…
I stretch out with a book, but soon, the words blur in front of my eyes, replacing all the heated, steamy scenes on the page with my own memories. Pinned beneath Duke in bed… going down on him in the shower… guiding his hand between my legs…
“Timmy! Come back here!”
I jolt out of my fantasies to find a little kid trampling past, leaving sand and destruction in his wake.
“Sorry!” his frazzled-looking mom calls, racing to scoop him up.
“It’s fine!” I call brightly, even as I flush bright red behind my shades.
OK, maybe I should save the X-rated fantasies for somewhere a little more private, but I’m just about ready to take a swim to cool off when I see Tessa scanning the crowds.
I wave her over. “You made it!”
“I had to get away,” she exclaims, collapsing with a cooler and massive sunhat. “I was this close to losing it, and telling Mrs Higenbottom where she can stick her customer complaint cards.”
“Mrs. who, with her what?” I laugh.
“Don’t ask.” Tessa rummages in the cooler, produces two icy sodas, and turns to me with a knowing grin. “So, I hear your fake relationship lasted just about as long as mine.”
“How do you know that already?” I wail, and then stop. “Wait, don’t tell me: Suze.”
“Yup.” Tessa laughs. “Well, she told Lori, who ran into Jackson, who told it to me. I’m so happy for you guys!” she adds. “You know, I figured there was something going on that night at the Last Buoy.”
“Then you were one step ahead of me!” I protest. “I don’t know how it happened. One minute, I’m screaming mad at the guy, and the next, we’re in the supply closet…” I trail off, blushing.
She laughs. “Don’t worry, we all know about that supply closet. It’s a Blackberry Cove rite of passage.”
“No!”
“Oh yes.” Tessa gives a nostalgic sigh. “Ten years ago, Jackson and me– the first time around. Well, let’s just say they stopped storing the overflow liquor in there, because the bottles kept winding up smashed.”
“I think we managed to avoid any major destruction,” I laugh. “Unless you count all my past ideas about sex.”
“That good, huh?”
I bite my lip, and Tessa laughs. “Enough said,” she beams, and taps her soda can to mine in a toast.
We settle in, and catch up on gossip about Jackson’s latest movie project, and their director buddy, Reeve, who’s off traveling the world treasure-hunting with the new love of his life, Ivy. “They were at my wedding,” I tell her. “He’s completely smitten.”
“You love to see it,” Tessa agrees. “Everyone’s paired off now. JJ and Fraser, Hazel and Josh, you and Duke…”
“Not so fast,” I stop her. “It’s still early days. Very early! I don’t even know what we’re doing, or what he wants, or how he feels…. and the fact we started out faking for the cameras makes everything even more complicated,” I add, my giddy buzz dampening a little.
Duke said he couldn’t resist me, but does that translate to wanting a real relationship to work?
“Don’t panic,” Tessa tells me, since clearly my thoughts are written all over my face. “It doesn’t have to be complicated, not if you make it simple. Just have a conversation with him about how you feel, and what you want.”
“Gee, that is simple… if you’ve had about ten years of therapy, and dealt with all your secret fears and insecurities!” I groan, only half-kidding.
Tessa giggles. “I believe in you. Trust me, you don’t want to leave the important things unspoken. You’ll just be flailing around, trying to read each other’s mind, and jumping to all the worst conclusions. That’s how me and Jackson almost made a mess of things.”
“Oh, I remember.” I smirk at her from behind my shades. “Who do you think is the one who gave him a talking to, and made him realize he had to step up and win your heart? You can thank me anytime,” I add airily.
Tessa laughs. “I thought I already did: keeping the paparazzi away from that supply closet.”
“Whoops, good point!”
I spendthe rest of the afternoon relaxing on the sand with Tessa, before strolling home to shower and change. I’m meeting Duke at his place for dinner, but as I towel off and pick my outfit, I think about Tessa’s advice.
She knows all about complicated– and the perils of this kind of fake-date arrangement. She and Jackson almost came close to losing each other because they couldn’t get on the same page about their relationship, and what the future meant to them. Now, I’m torn between letting things unfold at their own pace with Duke, and biting the bullet to find out exactly what he thinks is happening here.
Besides all the mind-blowing sex and occasional bouts of food poisoning, that is.
I drive over to his place, already nervous how this simple, honest conversation is going to turn out. Is this how it feels when you actually give a damn about the other person?
Because it’s news to me.
I’ve spent so long being careful and strategic about every part of my life – including all my romantic relationships. Now, nothing about these feelings is careful, and when I think about what it means to be falling for a guy way out here, outside of Hollywood… well, it’s the opposite of strategic, too.
But that’s what I wanted, wasn’t it? When I called of my wedding, and started this whole damn mess. I wanted something more than those skin-deep relationships where I always kept the upper hand, and liked the other guy less, and didn’t skip a beat when it all fell apart.
I wanted something real.
“Hello?” I call, when I arrive at Duke’s old converted barn, and try the door. It swings open.
“Back here!”
Duke’s voice comes, so I venture inside. Music is playing down the hallway, and I follow it, looking curiously around. I was, uh, occupied the last time I was in his house; now, I take in the light, airy space, full of original details and warm, masculine décor. There’s an open main room, with vaulted ceilings, cozy living room furniture, and a big kitchen– that looks like a disaster zone.
“Dinner… might be a while,” Duke says cheerfully in the middle of the chaos. He’s wearing a chef-style apron and has a streak of something white on his cheek. “There was a minor disaster with the chicken. I thought I was dredging it in flour, but it turned out to be powdered sugar.”
“That explains your makeup,” I tease, coming to greet him. There are at least three different pans bubbling on the stove, and every concrete countertop is covered with produce and jars and equipment.
“My what?” Duke frowns, as I lean up on my tiptoes and wipe it off. “Oh, that.” He chuckles, catching me to him in a slow, sizzling kiss that makes my head spin. “Hi there,” he rumbles, finally coming up for air.
“Hi,” I echo breathlessly.
How does he do that? One kiss and my heart is already pounding, desire clawing in my veins. I want to drag him down on the kitchen floor and do unspeakable things, dinner be damned.
I pull away, flustered. “So did you get the permits, for the house?” I chirp, putting the kitchen island between us before I make a fool of myself. Here he is making all this effort for a date, and I want to skip straight to the part where he’s inside me, pounding me into oblivion?—
Duke produces a Diet Coke for me, and slides it across the counter to me. “Yup, after I slipped a little something to Linette at the planning office.”
My eyes bug out. “You did what?”
Duke snorts with laughter. “I meant, I brought a box of her favorite cinnamon buns. What did you think I meant?” he smirks.
“Nothing,” I say airily, but he grins.
“Dirty girl.”
But I can’t help it. Not with him around.
I perch there, watching as Duke chops vegetables: his capable hands moving smoothly, the way the tendons in his tanned forearms flex. The man even looks sexy julienning carrots.
Yup, I’ve got it bad.
I swallow hard. If I’m going to rip the bandaid of emotional maturity off, I may as well do it now.
“Listen…” I start, feeling anxious. “I think we need to talk. About, you know, whatever it is we’re doing here.”
“You mean, having dinner, and then a night of wild, head-banging sex?” Duke asks with a smirk. “I think it’s pretty straight-forward. Unless there’s anything special you want to try… I’m game, baby,” he says, giving me a look so smoldering that I almost give up and take all my clothes off right here.
I fight the urge.
“I don’t want to fake it anymore,” I blurt. “This, I mean. Us. Whatever we were doing for the cameras, for the press, that’s over now, and I don’t want to have to wonder if you’re pretending when we’re out in public, or if the only reason you’re holding my hand is because of our deal, and not?—”
Duke rounds the island, and has me in his arms in an instant. “I already told you, what happens between us is for real,” he says, looking down at me intently. “No faking.”
“In the bedroom, I know. But I mean everything. All of it.” I bite my lip, not wanting even a kernel of doubt. “The deal’s off.”
“So, you’re firing me as your fake boyfriend?” Duke’s smile spreads, and I have to laugh too.
“Yup. You did a terrible job,” I lie, even as his hands skim over my body, making me shiver.
“And what about your real boyfriend?” Duke asks, leaning in to kiss a blazing path down the curve of my throat. “Is that position open?”
My heart sings.
“I am accepting applications,” I tease. “But I have to warn you, it’s a pretty rigorous interview process.”
“Oh yeah?”
Duke grips my waist, and suddenly lifts me up to sit on the island. My pulse kicks as he shoves the mess of vegetables and pans aside, laying me back right there among the mess. “You’re already familiar with my… skills,” he growls, pushing up my skirt and spreading my knees wider.
I shiver with anticipation. “I don’t know… you might have to remind me.”
Duke runs his hands up this inside of my thighs, easily tugging my panties aside. His thumb brushes lightly over my bare clit, and I can’t help but gasp. He strokes again, dipping into my wetness, looking down at me with a hungry, possessive stare. “That’s right, baby. I’ll show you, I’m more than qualified for the job.”
And then he buries his head between my legs and proves it.
Twice.