Chapter 15
Idaho
Iwatched as Eva chose different items and put them into the shopping basket.
She'd changed back into the sweater she'd been wearing, thank fuck.
Her pajamas from last night had given me a good look at her body, so I knew what she was packing under those clothes, but fuck if I was ready for her to wear something skin tight out in public.
I hadn't been lying when I said she'd draw attention, but mostly I knew I couldn't handle the way the men would be looking at her.
I'd end up fighting every bastard in this place.
That would just piss Lock off, so the best course of action was to have her change her clothes.
She was going to be the death of me. You don't expect an innocent woman to be such a fucking knock out.
My dick was hard, and my balls ached, just from being close to her for the hour it took to pack up her shit. Who had that many clothes?
As it was, men were still staring at her.
I leveled my gaze on a younger guy who was standing there gawking.
He must have caught the movement when I shifted because he glanced at me and froze, eyes widening.
He scrambled to grab whatever he'd been reaching for on the shelves and beat a hasty retreat. Eva didn't even notice.
"Do we really need all this stuff?" she asked, frowning as she looked down at the basket.
"We do if you want to eat."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, but this seems like too much for two people."
She wasn't taking into account the size of my appetite. I ate enough for two men most days. That's what it took to fuel my body from sunup well past sundown. "Have you ever been grocery shopping, Duchess?"
Her head snapped up, and she looked around.
"Maybe you shouldn't be calling me that," she suggested.
Her hair was up in a bun, but strands were beginning to fall out and were drawing my attention to her neck.
Everything about her was graceful. Even when her friends had dressed her up in trashy clothing, she'd managed to class it up.
"No one is paying attention," I told her. "Besides, no one's going to take me seriously and think you're a duchess. In fact, this being Tucson, most won't know what a duchess is."
"Only my enemies," she pointed out.
"True, but that would mean they already know who, and what, you are. So, there's no harm in it."
She muttered something under her breath, but turned away when I raised a brow at her.
She wasn't ready to take me on, but she was getting brattier.
As much as it irritated me, I had to admit a part of me fucking loved it, too.
She needed to stand up for herself and not let people walk all over her.
It was clear from the way she spoke about her father that he did just that.
"If you want to be more careful, we can go somewhere else," I offered.
"Where?" she asked.
I ground my teeth together. I was being sarcastic, but now I wanted to not only tell her I could bring her to a hotel, but actually do it. This was going to be harder than I originally thought. Keeping my hands off all those curves was putting me in a foul mood. "Never mind. Let's finish up here."
"I don't even know how to make most of this," she admitted, flashing me a guilty look as I pushed the cart into another aisle.
"Don't worry, Duchess. I don't expect you to do the cooking.
" This was also relaxing for me in a way.
I hadn't had to shop or cook for myself in years.
When I said 'I have a guy for that', I meant it.
This time away, it was a rewind back to the early days.
The good days. Something as simple as grocery shopping and cooking for a woman… I missed this.
"I'd like to be helpful in some way while I stay with you."
I looked down at her and shot her a smirk. "You want to help?" She nodded, eager to be useful. "Stay out of trouble and do what I tell you to do. That's how you can help."
"Jerk," she muttered.
My laughter echoed around us as she stomped farther up the aisle to get away from me.
There was just something fun about pushing her buttons.
I knew, deep down, it was because teasing her was all I could do.
It would help if she was pissed off at me.
Maybe then I could force myself to fucking behave.
She was quiet for the rest of the shopping trip, but that was fine by me.
The more she opened her mouth, the more I wanted to shut her up.
The urge to stuff my hand into those jeans and rip her panties off her and stuff them into her mouth before I fucked her was hard to resist. Maybe riling her up wasn't such a good idea.
Not when it had the same effect on me. Sighing, I opened the door to the cage ride I'd taken, and waited for her to climb in.
She didn't say another word for the drive, or when we brought in her bags, and the groceries.
It wasn't until we were back in our apartment that she spoke.
Somewhere along the drive, she'd taken her hair down from the bun and left it flowing loose in waves.
She whirled around, her hair fanning out around her before settling again, and pinned me with an angry stare.
"Look. We have to live together. I know you're only doing this so that my father is in your debt, but maybe you can be a little less of an asshole?
It would make it more pleasant for both of us. "
I was letting her believe that I was only helping her because of her father.
Even still, it was fucking hard not to set her straight.
I didn't give a shit about the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
I didn't need him. Didn't need his favors.
But she didn't know that, and it was better that she never found out the truth.
I just fucking wanted her. Her damn father actually made it so I couldn't have her. Fuck her father.
"You want me to be nice?" I asked.
She missed the danger in my tone. The stiffness in my body as I watched her like a cat would a mouse. She nodded, relief relaxing her features. "Yes, I do."
"Okay, Duchess," I told her, stalking closer. "I can be nice."
Her eyes widened as she realized the danger she was in. She backed up, but I kept advancing until her back hit the wall. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
One hand came up to cup her face, the other pinned her hip to the wall, making sure she couldn't escape. "Doing what you asked," I told her, voice low and husky as desire coursed through me. "I'm being fucking nice."
My mouth crashed down on hers before she could argue. Her lips parted in shock, and I didn't hesitate to take advantage of it. My tongue slipped inside to tangle with hers. She moaned into my mouth and I pressed closer, nearly lifting her off the ground as I kissed her.
She tasted like heaven. Like pure fucking sin and everything I'd never known I wanted until now. Her hands were on my shoulders, but she wasn't trying to push me away. She was pulling me closer.
I growled when she sucked on my tongue. It was enough to make me lose control.
I pulled back, breaking the kiss and staring down into her eyes.
They were hazy with lust and desire. Her pupils were blown, making the green of her eyes look darker than normal.
"You like that, Duchess?" I asked her, voice rough and raspy with need. "Want me to keep being nice?"
"Yes," she breathed out in a whisper.
I groaned, not expecting that answer from her.
In a way, I was trying to scare her off, but she was clinging to me, even as her body trembled.
I knew she wanted this as much as I did, but she didn't realize the danger she was in.
I wasn't a good man. I'd never been good for any woman, and I sure as fuck wasn't going to be able to be good for this one.
I wasn't the kind of man her father would approve of her dating.
Or fucking. He'd probably have me executed.
"Look at you," I said, my voice low and husky with desire. "All flushed and needy."
Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes widened as if she hadn't realized what she was doing. I needed one of us to have a level head about this. It clearly wasn't going to be me.
Bringing my face down near hers, I growled into her ear, "You like having strange men kiss you? You want to get fucked?"
She gasped, her temper snapping like I hoped it would, and her palm slammed into my chest as she tried to shove me away.
"Get off me," she snarled. This was the angriest I'd seen her.
I couldn't blame her. I was asking for this.
My need for her was too great for even my level of control.
I needed her to hate me. To want to hit me rather than have to look at me.
It would make our time together tense, but not as much as if I took her into my bed and later had to break her damn heart.
Stepping back, I smirked at her. "Maybe you shouldn't ask me to be nice to you in the future, Duchess."
"You're a bastard," she snapped. "The fact that you can't be nice to a woman without assuming she wants to sleep with you tells me far too much about you, Idaho." She spun on her heel and stormed off to her room.
My shoulders dropped as soon as she left the room.
I was so fucking spun up they'd damn near been up to my ears with how tense I was.
Holding myself back from taking what she'd been offering only moments ago snapped the last of my restraint.
I wasn't sure how long I could let her stay here and keep my hands off her.
I went into my room and started up the shower.
Turning the knob until it was icy cold, I shucked my clothes.
Being pelted with the cold water wasn't cooling me off.
Sighing, I gripped my cock in my hand. The fucking thing was going to get chafed raw by my palm if this was the only way I could blow off steam while the sexy duchess lived in the same apartment as me.
I closed my eyes and pictured her face as I stroked myself. Her lips were swollen from my kiss. She looked so fucking sexy like that. I imagined her on her knees, looking up at me with those innocent eyes of hers as she opened her mouth for my cock.
"Fuck," I groaned as I came all over the wall of the shower. My dick didn't even soften after I'd come. "This is going to fucking kill me." I tightened my grip, blowing out a breath as I started stroking again. My head snapped up when the door to my room slammed open.
"You know what? I think you and I need to establish some rules. Common courtesies-" She froze in the middle of my room, her chest heaving, eyes searching for me.
I hadn't bothered to close the door to my bathroom, and the shower was an open concept that didn't have any doors.
It was all tile and completely open to the bathroom, allowing huge men, like myself, to shower without fear of banging our elbows on walls that were too narrow, or our heads on the metal railing that most tub and shower combos had where the door hung.
That pretty mouth I'd been fantasizing about dropped open at the sight of me, dick in hand, as I masturbated. Her eyes widened as she watched me stroke myself. I should have stopped, but I didn't. My hand tightened around my cock as I studied her while she watched me.
She licked her lips and I groaned. "Like what you see, Duchess?"
Her eyes snapped up to mine. They were still wide with shock, but there was something else there, too. Something dark and needy that had me stroking faster. She looked back down at my dick, then back up again. She swallowed hard, but didn't speak.
"Want to come in here and join me?" I asked her. "Or maybe I should come out there?" I grinned at her. "I'm sure we could find a way to work this tension out together."
She shook her head and backed away, but not before I saw the desire on her face.
It matched my own. Fuck. She was struggling with this as much as I was.
Testing her control was the last thing I should be doing, but every fucking part of me wanted her.
It was a painful realization, and I wasn't sure what to fucking do about it.
She backed up, eyes still glued to where my hand was moving even as she retreated. The indecision played over her features as she watched me stroke myself.
My groan grew deep in my chest and I knew I was about to come again. "Either come wrap your lips around my cock, Eva, or get the fuck out."
That snapped her out of her daze, she spun around and dashed back through the open door, slamming it on her way out.
My laughter was strained as I let go of my dick and slammed my fist against the tile.
My chest was rising and falling like I'd run a mile for record speed.
My balls were aching from the lack of release, but I was using the pain of cutting off my orgasm as a punishment.
I couldn't keep fucking doing this. To her.
To myself. Only, I knew it was inevitable.
She was like a damn drug that I was craving. And I'd never even had a hit.