Duke: Fallen MC #1 (8 page)

“Hey Duke. What can I get you?” Her voice made his body relax, tension from the day seeped from his muscles, but her tone seemed off. Was she pissed at him?

“Beer for now. I’ll have something sweeter later.” He winked.

He licked his lips remembering her taste. Her cheeks flushed, she looked away and she bit her bottom lip. He wanted to do that for her. Forcing himself to leave her, he joined Prez and Hollywood in the booth and reported back about their meetings.

Just after midnight he dragged Nicole from the bar again. She wasn’t pleased and protested the entire way, he steadfastly ignored her. In the hallway he pinned her to the wall and slanted his mouth over hers. He need to feel those pillowed lips and if it stopped her ranting, all the better. The club sluts knew he avoided kissing and never initiated it, with Nicole he couldn’t help himself. The drag of her lips against his felt too good, he felt it all the way down to his cock. He lifted her and ground his shaft onto her hot pussy, putting pressure on her sweet spot. He didn’t think he could wait to get to the apartment to sink into her depths. Nicole started pushing on his chest. She wasn’t melting against him like last night. Something was definitely up. God, he hated bitch drama.

“Wait, wait, wait.”

“What the hell baby? I need inside you.” He was frustrated as fuck.

“Me too but we didn’t use a condom last night.” She looked worried. Relief flooded his system. She still wanted him, not that he’d give her much choice in the matter. He was sure he could bring her round.

“I know you’re on the pill, baby.” He felt smug as surprise registered on her face.

He sure as fuck wasn’t looking to be her baby daddy, still, he’d needed her raw. Nothing in the way. It wasn’t the first time he’d gone bareback but he didn’t do it often. With Nicole it wasn’t an option, he needed to feel her silk wrapped around him.

“So? I’ve seen the club pussy round here, I don’t know if you’re clean and…. how did you know I’m on the pill?”

“I took them out of your purse and stuck them into your shower bag before I bought your stuff to your room. Have to say, I liked what else was in there, baby. You can throw them out, you won’t be needing them any more….well, maybe the lube.” He moved her hands that were restraining him around his shoulders and went back to grinding against her.

“Stop distracting me, Duke! Are you clean?” Her face was bright red. She was embarrassed that he knew about her fuck toys? After the stuff they did last night that surprised him. She was still a bit shy with him and her innocence shone through.

“Yep. Had checks two months ago and always used a rubber since. You?”

He didn’t really feel the need to ask her. He could tell she wasn’t the kind of girl to fuck anyone and everyone. Nicole was like a shy, classy, sex kitten. The fact that he bedded her so quickly gave his ego a nice boost.

“I’m clean. Got tested after my last boyfriend. That was nine months ago and you’re the only one I’ve been with since.” His dick was swelling along with his ego. He wanted to beat the shit out of anyone that had ever touched her or seen her the way he had. He knew better than to bring it up though.

“Shit, baby, I need to give your neglected pussy some special attention now then.”

He threw her over his shoulder and charged to his apartment. He couldn’t move fast enough for his liking and her quiet giggles tore through the last of his restraint. He felt fifteen again; he was close to blowing his load and he hadn’t even got her naked yet. He dropped her on the bed and started tearing at her clothes. Both stripped, they clashed together with sexual heat and anticipation. Sharp, frantic movements had them both quickly groaning their releases.

Nicole couldn’t believe she was in bed again with Duke. She’d been pissed at him all day after the way he left this morning, leaving her after only being awake for thirty seconds. Yet, as soon as he walked in she felt the air in the bar come alive and the unsettled feeling in her stomach disappeared. She couldn’t resist him. So much for her plan to make him beg next time. She’d had to listen to the club sluts talking loudly, for her benefit, that Duke liked to put it about, never slept with the same girl for more than two days and that his apartment was the equivalent of Hugh Hefner’s grotto. Jealousy had risen it’s ugly head and she’d wanted to punch each one in the face. Luckily, she was savvy enough to know when she was being baited and so pretended to not hear them. It didn’t have the same level of satisfaction that a swift kick in the shin would have had, but she enjoyed imagining it anyway.

Being hooked on a guy this quick was so unlike her. She had entrusted Duke with her body and was constantly overwhelmed by his presence. She wasn’t irresponsible like her Dad and letting Duke take her last night, especially without a condom had her questioning her sanity. She made her last boyfriend wait nearly two months before they’d slept together, yet here she was in bed with Duke after knowing him for only two days.

She was looking for something permanent not throw-away. That was why she’d made her last boyfriend wait. She thought if he valued her and got to know her, he’d appreciate her all the more in the end. How wrong one person can be. It turned out he was getting it elsewhere, that was why he hadn’t pressured her. Not quite the good guy she had him pegged to be.

She really didn’t know anything about Duke at all. She’d watched him interact with his brothers. The friendship and loyalty he showed towards them was great to see. She also saw how he was with the club sluts and he acted the complete opposite. He ignored them and brushed them off him like an unwanted fly when they tried to touch him. She knew he’d slept with almost all of them at some point. The sluts had made sure she knew that. She couldn’t help but feel like she was destined to become one of them, clamouring for a scrap of his attention while he moved on to a new slut. Is that what she was now? A slut? She knew she could walk away from Duke, move on and not look back. However, there was a big part of her that looked forward to a happy ending, it kept her hopeful, not jaded and made her want to give Duke a chance – if he wanted it. It was time for her to be brave, take a risk and stop planning for disaster. Only time would give her an answer.

They’d started to chat about general stuff in the short breaks between fucking, things that would be found out on a first date. She chuckled to herself that most first dates take place in a restaurant, not a bed yet she wouldn’t change a thing. She would have never guessed that his name was Aaron Banks and that his brother, Razor was called Nate Banks.

“What did you think my name was?” He laughed at her shocked face when he told her. Nicole didn’t really see Aaron Banks as his name at all, he was simply, Duke.

“I don’t know. I guess something like Studly von Studlyson!” They both cracked up at her insane suggestion.

Now here she was, lying in his bed for the second night in a row. Duke was lazily running his hand up and down her arm, listening to her telling him about where she grew up when he abruptly paused. Keeping hold of her wrist, he rolled and switched on his bedside light. Glancing at his face, Nicole saw that he looked furious.

“What the fuck are these?” His thumb was rubbing over her wrist and then he reached for her other and did the same.

“My scars?” She was puzzled at his reaction. Why was he so angry? They weren’t a big deal.

“My scars? Yes, your fucking scars!” He’d managed to yell through gritted teeth.

“I thought you’d recognise them….” That had been the wrong thing to say. He was going nuclear. She could see his temple was throbbing on the side of his head and his eyes turned deadly. She quickly clarified. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant they’re from handcuffs and wires. I didn’t do it to myself.”

She lowered her head at what he must think of her. Growing up in poor areas she was no stranger to suicides. They weren’t common but they weren’t rare either. People got desperate and searched for a way out and finding none they grew desperate. She understood that even though he would never contemplate it herself. Duke must of thought she’d self harmed. She hated her scars. Like everything else in her life that she didn’t want, she had learned to live with them.

“There’s more than one or two here and a couple are fucking thick. Who did this to you? Tell me now, Nicole.” He lifted her chin and she knew he wasn’t playing around. His brown eyes stared into hers, unwavering in their intensity.

“I don’t know all their names. They’re from where I was bound when my Dad put me in messes like the one I’m in now. When I was young I got really frightened and used to fight against the restraints, that’s what caused these. I’ve got some on my ankles too. It’s not a big deal, Duke, I don’t notice them anymore.”

She could feel her eyes starting to well up as he forced her to recall every instance she remembered. She detested bringing up these memories but he’d been unwavering in his stance to find out. When she finished he had calmed down but there was a cold fury inside him that she’d seen grow with each recollection. His gentle caresses and small kisses he placed on her wrists and ankles as she talked drew the truth out of her. His long assessing looks made her think he could see into her soul, to the deep scars left behind by her Dad every time he offered her up as some sort of bargaining chip.

“Baby, I promise these will never be added to, not while I’m alive. I’ll protect you. You’re safe with me.”

Nicole broke down. Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking the pillow she tried to hide her face in. Duke pulled her into his arms and gently rocked her until she calmed. Those words meant more to her than all the money in the world ever could. Here in Duke’s arms, she was safe for the first time in her life.

“You’re Dad should have kept you safe. It’s the ultimate betrayal from a parent when they don’t. It cuts deeper than any knives ever could and leaves bigger scars.”

She could tell by his voice he was speaking from experience. Looking up into his hard eyes, she knew now wasn’t the time to ask about it but a new sense of finding a kindred spirit smoothed over her past hurts.

Nicole had been asked countless times why she still had anything to do with her Dad and advised that she should cut all ties. It was easier said than done. He was the only family she had and she didn’t want to be alone in the world. She wanted to feel connected to someone, to belong to someone, even if it was her scum bag father. She had no memory of her mother who had left them when Nicole was nearly two. Her Dad never spoke about her and always shouted if Nicole brought her up. He had never let the system take Nicole from him, even though sometimes it had seemed that it was very close to happening. He would always move them some place new and promise things would get better. At times they did, at times they really didn’t. She knew it was up to her to break this cycle, to move away and stay away. She had planned to for years but always stalled when the time came.

She only ever spent the bare minimum of any pay check she earned and the rest was hidden and saved. Nicole tended to come away from times like this with nothing if she didn’t take precautions like that. Her home would have been raided by whoever her dad owed. There was never anything of value to find, most of her things were bought from yard sales. That never stopped them destroying everything in sight though. She has a safe deposit box that she keeps any mementos that mean something to her in along with the few pieces of jewellery that she had been given by friends or boyfriends. They had little value but they meant the world to her. She revealed all this to Duke, laid herself bare. Duke had listened to her ramble on and had sadness and pity in his eyes now. She didn’t want that. Finished, she stared at the bed spread waiting for whatever he was going to say. He kept silent. She was broken. No man wanted a woman like her for keeps. Her baggage needed its own zip code.

It seemed her risk of taking a chance hadn’t paid off. There would be no happy ending for her. Then his hand tipped her chin up. The look in his eyes had changed but she couldn’t label it. She’d never been looked at like that before. It stripped back all her layers and made her utterly vulnerable to what he would do next. Nicole held her breath as Duke slowly leaned towards her. Her heart momentarily stalled and the started to race as he pressed soft kisses on her mouth, keeping eye contact the whole time. He blanketed her with comfort. Their kissing grew more passionate and she let her thoughts escape into the back of her mind as he pleasured her over and over before she fell asleep in his arms. She felt sated, cared for and like she’d finally found her home.

Over the next ten weeks, Nicole spent every night with Duke in his bed and every day in the kitchen or behind the bar serving the brothers. She really didn’t mind the tasks she was given. They’d stopped feeling like orders weeks ago and now she did them because she wanted to. She wanted to help out. She enjoyed the company and banter they shared and it was great to cook with proper ingredients. The only channel that was clear on her TV at home had been the Food Network, so she had plenty of ideas that she got to try out on the brothers.

It had taken her a few days to wrap her head around the portion sizes the brothers expected, although she never had any complaints. More and more of the brothers turned up at the compound at lunch and dinner until practically every brother, old lady and prospect turned up for most meals, plus, kids were added at the weekend. Duke liked to joke that her cooking was costing the club a fortune in the kitchen and behind the bar. What could she say? The brothers liked a beer with their meal. His comment secretly thrilled her.

It felt great to be taking care of others instead of only herself for a change and filled a need inside her that she didn’t even know she had. The brothers had become her family. They teased her, bantered with her and generally kept her upbeat with there outrageous stories of drunken escapades. She’d even become something of an Agony Aunt to some of the prospects who liked to vent to her about their families or girlfriends.