Max doesn’t give Cameron the chance to reply. He grabs him by the shirt collar and hauls him away. When my husband’s coughing and spluttering slowly recedes, Duke narrows his eyes at me. We’ve reached the ‘what next?’ part of the evening and I know without a doubt it isn’t going to be me who backs out. I’ve never been so turned on in my entire life.
“I want you so badly right now,” I admit, then bite my lip. “But I’ll understand if–”
Duke slams down a black and gold keycard on the black quartz hard enough to stop me talking. “Make another suggestion about me not wanting you,” he growls, “and Imight just show all these nice people exactly how wrong you are.” He taps a finger on the key card. “When I leave, I need you to wait for two minutes and then go through the opposite exit behind you. Take a right turn and go to the end of the corridor. On your left, you’ll find an elevator that’s marked as authorized personnel only. This keycard gives you access. Take the elevator to the seventh floor.”
It's suddenly painful to swallow. “And then?”
I’m expecting him to give me a room number, but all I get is a devilish smile. “Then I take charge, Angel.”
Chapter 3
Grace
Itry and fail to slow my breathing as I count down every second of the allocated two minutes. When I leave this room, I’m putting my fate in Duke’s hands. He’s a complete stranger and I have every right to be terrified. And oh, my fucking god, it makes me feel alive.
One of the security guards I now recognize simply nods as I slip past him and through the exit doors Duke told me to use. He might trust the people he works with, but he doesn’t want anyone else seeing us leave together. I imagine he doesn’t want his bosses knowing what he’s up to.
I follow Duke’s directions, expecting to find myself in a staff-only area, but the corridors I hurry along are as plush as the rest of the hotel. I reach an elevator with black gloss doors and stare at the high-tech console that screams VIPs only. I check over my shoulder. Did I take a wrong turn?
My pulse flutters in my neck as I swipe the keycard across the console. The elevator doors open and the mirrored walls reflect back my growing anxiety as I step inside. My finger hovers over the button for the seventh floor. I couldstill leave.
I press the button and when the doors close and the elevator sweeps me upwards, an unexpected calm descends. There are no more decisions. Duke takes over from here. A chime sounds and I stand in front of the doors as they open onto darkness. My brain takes too long to work out I’m staring at a black button-down shirt. Duke’s hands go to my hips and he corals me back into the elevator.
In all our interactions so far, I’d been sitting on a bar stool. I knew he was big, but as I tip back my head, he must be at least a foot taller. His gaze holds mine for a second or two, like he’s waiting for me to resist. Or submit. I rest my palms against his chest and feel the breath he releases. He twists away to tap the console and as the doors close, he’s back on me, pressing me into a corner. My bare back hits the mirror at the same time the elevator rises and my stomach flips. I let out a gasp.
Duke leans in, his mouth tantalizing close to mine. “Second thoughts?” he asks, his eyes sparking because he already knows the answer.
“Hell, no,” I say, surprised by my own confidence. “It’s just… I’ve never done this before. Had a one-night stand, I mean. Shouldn’t we get to know each other first? I know nothing about you.”
“That’s the whole point of a one-night stand, Grace,” he says, leaning over me so he only needs to whisper. “We know all we need to know about each other.”
Do we? I shake my head. “I don’t want your family history, but I do need some basic facts. Like your full name. Your age. If you have a family.”
That last question is the one I really need to ask, but Duke answers an easier question. “I’m thirty. You’re twenty-six.”
I glower at him. “You did a background check on me?”
He shrugs. “You got in here on someone else’s invite. Of course I did.”
“Then this flow of information between us feels very one-sided.” I scowl at him. “I’ll let that slide, but there is one question I need you to answer. Are you married?”
Duke contemplates his reply before speaking. “I could make some smart remark about me being less married than you,” he offers. “But you deserve a definitive answer. So, no, I’m not married. Never have been. Not sure I ever will be.”
His words cut through the last thread of doubt holding me back. “Fine. I guess that’ll have to satisfy me.”
Duke wraps a hand around my throat and his thumb strokes my pulse point. My heart rate is fast but steady. One side of his mouth pulls into a smile. “Angel, I haven’t begun to satisfy you yet.”
I have no more time to prepare as he brings his mouth crashing down onto mine. I hold on tight to his shirt as his tongue parts my lips. He’s surprisingly gentle. He doesn’t force his way deeper, but waits for me to open to him fully. My tongue strokes his and that sets off an explosion of heat and with it, a desperate yearning.
As I tug him closer, Duke threads his fingers through my short hair, grabbing a handful and pulling my head back to expose my neck.
“You’re too goddamn perfect,” he breathes against my skin. “Your lips. Your neck.” He trails his tongue along my jawline. “Your taste.”
I try to huff a dismissal but Duke’s free hand has moved lower and when he squeezes my ass cheek, my huff turns into a grunt. I press my lips together and moan again as he scoops his arm around my thighs and lifts me off my feet.
My dress stops me from wrapping my legs around his waist, but I don’t mind so much when Duke pins me to theelevator wall with his hips because it’s not just his hips. His hard shaft digs into my belly and I grind against him as much as I’m able while his mouth moves to my bare shoulder. As he nips my skin, I glance at our reflections in the mirror on the wall opposite. I can see my feet dangling off the floor between Duke’s legs. My gaze travels upward to the face staring back at me in wonder. That’s me. And I’m being possessed by a man I didn’t know existed a few hours ago.
Every single one of Duke’s kisses send a shiver down my spine, and it’s not just the sensation of his lips on my skin, but the sight of him. Despite his brutal buzz cut and those scars, his profile is god-like. He’s beautiful. This can’t be happening. I don’t hold back the next moan.
