Duke raises his head. “You like watching yourself,” he whispers.
He’s looking into the mirror I’m pressed against, and our reflected gazes meet. “No, Duke. I like watching you.”
He growls into my neck. “Fuck, I like the sound of my name on your lips.”
The elevator shudders to a stop and my feet hit the floor. Duke twists away from me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out while the doors are still opening.
I barely have time to register the wide corridor that splits in three directions, or the plush carpet and fresh bouquets planted at intervals on mahogany side tables that match the opulent double doors we pass. I’ve seen the brochures. These are the penthouse suites.
Duke walks so fast that I’m almost at a run to keep up. He stops and quickly scans his keycard to open one of the suites. He pulls me in front of him and as I step over the threshold, a deep voice reverberates from further down the corridor.
“Duke! Are you bailing already?”
I’m pushed deeper into the room, hidden from view. “I’ve performed all my duties,” Duke shouts back. “Now fuck off, Calder. I’m signing off for the night.”
“You do know we’re not leaving until eight.” From the sound of the man’s voice, he’s moving closer.
“Yes. And I’ll see you then,” replies Duke through gritted teeth.
He’s followed me into the suite, but as he turns to close the door, a man appears in front of us. His dark russet hair is long and unruly, and his white button-down shirt stretches over his broad chest as he laughs. “Sorry,” he says to me before flicking his gaze back to Duke, eyes sparking with mischief. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Duke slams the door in his face.
My jaw drops. “Was that…?” Duke called him Calder. “Oh, my god. Was that one of the Moncriefs you just told to fuck off?”
Duke heaves out a sigh as he steps deeper into the living space. He shrugs out of his jacket and drops it onto a leather armchair. “If you knew him, you’d tell him to fuck off too,” he grumbles as he removes his cufflinks and rolls up his sleeves.
His forearms are muscular and I’m already imagining what the rest of his body must look like as he stalks towards a fully equipped kitchen area and pulls a bottle of water from the fridge.
I take a few hesitant steps away from the door. This man looks indestructible, but Cameron was right about one thing. He is just an employee. “Should you be up here? Won’t you get in trouble?”
Duke returns to me. He takes my purse and drops it onto a nearby table, then breaks the seal on the bottle andhands it to me. “The only trouble I’ll be getting into is with you.” I get a full smile this time. “Now drink some fluids. I don’t want you getting dehydrated on me. This could be a long night.”
When he doesn’t move, I realize he’s waiting for me to drink. I remove the cap and take a sip.
“More,” he says, his eyes hooded as he watches me lick my lips.
As I tip my head back and swallow, Duke is on me, kissing my exposed throat. I splutter at his touch and his tongue laps up the water dribbling down my chin and onto my dress. His hands go to my back and he pulls at the tie holding up my halter neck.
He groans when the satin fabric folds to my waist, exposing my strapless bra and the curve of my breasts. I manage to recap the bottle and let it drop to the floor. My hand goes to the back of his neck as he pulls down my bra to expose pebbled nipples that immediately become hypersensitive to the touch of his fingers and then, oh god, the feel of his mouth.
His lips seal around one hardened peak and he flicks it with his tongue. He sucks hard and I lift up onto my toes as my back arches.
It’s all happening so fast. Maybe we should take it more slowly, but I want everything Duke has to offer and I want it now. My thrumming body wants it now.
And then there’s a knock on the door.
My already weak knees threaten to go from under me, but Duke isn’t deterred. He palms my other breast, and rolls my nipple between his finger and thumb.
The knocking grows louder. “I could use the master key!” Calder shouts.
Duke breaks the seal of his lips around my nipple. “That’s why I tell him to fuck off,” he mutters as he straightens.
I fix my bra and hold the top of my dress to my chest as Duke opens the door only wide enough to poke his head through. I strain my ears, but I can’t follow the exchange of whispers. I do hear a chuckle that gets cut off as Duke slams and locks the door.
He shoves something in his pocket then grabs my hand. As I’m pulled towards a second set of double doors, I take another look around the palatial living space. There’s a gym bag on the floor and a laptop on a nearby desk. This has to be Duke’s suite, Calder Moncrief would have said something if it wasn’t, but why would he be given one of the best rooms the Exemplar has to offer?
“Are you their personal bodyguard, or something?”
