“It is,” she said. “You make me happy. I’m not trying to put pressure on you or anything like that. You made time for us today. I know it was to talk, but you still did it. You heard me out and believed me. You’ve encouraged me from the day you met me and have given me a chance.”

  “I don’t want payback sex,” he said firmly.

  “Really, Duke,” she said, laughing. “You’re cocky enough to know that women want you for your body.”

  He had to laugh at the smirk she had on her face. “Maybe. So that is all it is to you?”

  “No,” she said. “It’s all those things I said and your body. I just want to feel like a woman. Someone that is in a normal new relationship or dating or whatever it is we’ve got. I feel the burn and attraction with you and I’m sick of overthinking everything to death. I just want to feel.”

  “If you gave me any other explanation I would have tried to talk you out of it.”

  She wanted to feel. It was honest and it was more expressive than he’d seen in her eyes before.

  They were light and dilated. There was a depth of emotion in them when they looked at him. Arousal for sure but something more.

  He’d have to tell himself to not get drawn in too deeply.

  It was new yet and early and they were going to try to make it work the way it did.

  It sounded as if she had a lot of baggage but not nearly what his mind had created after talking to Stan.

  He reached for her hand and pulled her out of the kitchen and to the other end of the house where his primary suite was.

  “You’re going to do it?” she asked as if she was shocked.

  He laughed. “You just said you wanted to. Are you changing your mind? Or did you think I’d say no?”

  “I didn’t think you’d say no until you made the last statement. Now I’ve got my doubts. Don’t do it for me.”

  He shook his head. “How about we do it for each other?”

  “I like the sound of that,” she said.

  He didn’t like how unsure she seemed though, so he reached down and picked her up, cradling her in his arms as he walked down the hall.

  They got to his room and he laid her on her bed, him coming down on top of her, his mouth smothering hers.

  The taste of her lips was more intoxicating than anything he’d ever made or eaten in his life. He was drawn into her like a bee to honey.

  Sweetness like never before and it was going to be all his to pollinate and flourish.

  Her hands went under his shirt and up his back, her nails lightly scratching him, her hips lifting and pressing against his rock-hard dick.

  “What else do you like?” he asked. He wanted to go slow with her. Savor her. Let her feel as if she was the only one on his mind...because she was.

  “Anything you do I’m going to love,” she said. “I know it already. My body is on fire so just don’t make me wait too long.”

  He wasn’t so sure he could wait that long either.

  He pulled her shirt over her head, her white cotton bra simple and innocent looking. She was still thin but not as frail looking as the first time he’d met her. Probably because she had no problem putting food away now.

  Whether it was because she had less stress in her life or that she was happy to be with him and what he put in front of her, he didn’t know and really didn’t care.

  He just knew he had to get his mouth on hers.

  He unhooked her bra and pulled it off her shoulders.

  Her breasts were on the small side like the rest of her body, but her nipples were light pink and large.

  They were beckoning him like that bee again that needed some nectar to continue on.

  His tongue came out and swirled around the hardened nipple, she gasped out and then arched up and he did it again.

  He pulled it in and sucked some, and her hand went into his hair, the other on his back, her nails scratching him lightly.

  She seemed extremely sensitive to his touch.

  His large hand went to her other breast and began to flick at her nipple there, pinch it a bit, then he moved his mouth over for a taste.

  “Duke. You’re drawing this out and I don’t need you to.”

  “Maybe I need to do it though,” he said. He’d never been one to rush through sex. He wanted to take his time and get as much pleasure out of what he gave.

  Why do it half assed when they both could be happy afterward?

  “Then do it somewhere else,” she said.

  Her hips were lifting up and down, so he trailed a line of kisses over her ribs and to her belly button, found the button on her shorts and made quick work of pushing them down with her underwear.

  She wasn’t bare but trimmed nice and neat and he was good with that. Not that he’d complain anyway, but this suited her.

  His hands went under her ass and lifted her up, spread her legs a bit, and he put his mouth right to her swollen bud. Why not go right in for the kill and see what she did.

  She squealed and left nail marks on his shoulders this time. “You like that?”

  “If you do it a few more times I’m going to be done too soon. I mean, it’s not like I finish often so maybe that is why it feels so good.”

  He wanted to lay his head down on the bed and just grind his teeth with determination then. Telling him she hardly ever finished meant he had to get her there at least twice. Because he knew the minute he sunk into her he’d be done.

  His mouth went back to work, his finger inside of her, and she wasn’t as tight as he thought she’d be. Though it wasn’t as if it’d been a year since she’d had sex. Just a few months by the sounds of it. Maybe more. Didn’t matter.

  He was here and he was doing what he wanted.

  His middle finger was pumping in and out of her, his lips pulling her bud in and she started to pulse and scream out his name at the same time.

  He wasn’t letting up though. He was going to keep doing it to get her close to a second one so he could sink in and feel all this sweet goodness around him.

  “What are you doing, Duke?” she asked. “I finished.”

  “You’re going to finish again,” he said. “The next time as I’m fucking you.”

  “If you talk to me like that it might happen now. But it won’t when we are doing...you know. It never does.”

  “It’s going to today,” he said. He didn’t care if it was the last thing he did, he was going to give Hadley another orgasm.

  He moved his mouth down and started to lick the length of her, his fingers changing their movements and angles and she was gasping and moaning more and faster.

  She was getting there, he knew.

  “I’m so close,” she said. “Oh my God.”

  He got off her and all but tore his clothes off like the Hulk when he was angry. He found a condom, opened it fast and covered up. Then he gathered her in his arms, slid in deep and started to kiss her the same time he was pumping in and out of her.

  “Geez,” she said. “The pressure is so much now. Why is it so much?”

  “Relax,” he said. He was all but grinding his teeth. “Just let your body relax and feel what I’m doing. Don’t try to reach for it.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out, then did it again, her body actually relaxing and not so tense around his cock. It gave him a bit more time to adjust and a breather to go longer.

  Just not that much longer.

  He lifted her legs up and had her wrap them around his hips. “Grind against me,” he said.

  She did as he said. It was like she needed that extra bit because, though her body was more relaxed, he could feel her muscles around him start to tighten back up.

  “I’m going to come,” she said. “Don’t stop. Please don’t.”

  He didn’t. He couldn’t. He didn’t even move faster though he wanted to. He just kept the pace of his hips going in and out and let her do all the work.

  The minute her head went back though, and she was chanting out his name, he slammed into her harder and faster and emptied out everything that had been building up for weeks.

  He finally collapsed down on top of her and turned so she was on his chest.

  He held her while his heart calmed down.

  What he didn’t care for was the laughter though.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “Is that what you mean about taking a stand?”

  He kissed her on the forehead. “Something like that.”

  19

  Little Extra Glow

  Hadley all but whistled while she worked that afternoon. She’d only had a six-hour shift that she’d picked up from someone else. She hadn’t even been scheduled to make the desserts, but when she had taken the extra hours and told Duke she could still do them fresh he’d told her no. That she was already working a lot of hours this week.

  She’d found it nice and sweet that he cared about his employees so much. She’d never experienced it before. Not even at her last job when she was caring for her hurt boyfriend.

  Nope. She’d gotten snide comments and remarks about being out when she was or making sure her work still got done. Heaven forbid she used the time allowed to her. It’s not like she was taking extra time and she was sometimes going unpaid. Her work had always been done early and never late, but it didn’t seem to matter.

  “Why are you so happy today?”

  She looked at one of the other servers, Heather, who asked that question. “It’s just a lovely day out,” she said.

  “I bet,” Heather said. “Are you getting some good tips or something?”

  “What?” she asked. The two of them were waiting on their food to come out. Or she was and Heather was waiting for drinks at the bar to be finished.

  “You’re like a walking ray of sunshine today. I mean, you always are. But you’ve got a little extra glow to you.”

  She smiled at Heather. No way she was saying it was a sex afterglow. Never. She didn’t share that information at her place of employment.

  More so since it was with the boss that many thought was hot to begin with.

  Well, the women did. The men, some were still leery of him.

  And you know what? That was okay to her.

  She realized that when everyone loved another person it didn’t seem right. Like they were putting on a front. Duke was just…real to her.

  Real enough to give her her first orgasm during intercourse. Eddie sure the heck never took the time to get her there, always saying no other women he’d been with complained. It only made her feel bad about herself so she kept quiet and faked it going forward.

  “It’s a beautiful June day out. The customers are awesome. They are tipping well too,” she said, grinning.

  “I found that,” Heather said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but they didn’t tip as well before Duke came.”

  Her smile stayed in place. Heather had been employed for about a year and had worked for her parents. She only worked nights and weekends part time for extra money. “I understand. My parents tried their best, but it’s not like this was their calling or their first career. I’m not sure why they wanted to do this.”

  “I don’t mean any disrespect,” Heather said. “Your father and mother are great people. It’s just Duke has such a good reputation. I was thrilled when I heard he was buying the place.”

  She didn’t say that Duke hadn’t bought it yet. Nothing at all. She didn’t know what the staff were privy to or not. All they knew now was Duke was running it and calling the shots. Heck, she didn’t even know all the legal details because it wasn’t her business either.

  “Some weren’t so happy,” she said.

  “That’s on them and they are gone now.”

  “Good luck to them. But I’d heard that servers all but beg to get into Duke’s.”

  “They do,” Heather said. “Which is why it was nice he is here. I didn’t want to drive to the other end of the island when I live and work here. I get the best of both worlds. I mean I’d make more there, but this is more than I did before.”

  Heather’s drinks were put on the bar and she gathered them up and left. A minute later Hadley’s food order was ready and she got that to bring out too.

  A few hours later she was done with work and heading home.

  Though she’d had a smile on her face for the day, it was gone knowing she was going to have words with her father.

  She didn’t appreciate him saying what he had to Duke. She had to decide how much to say to her parents. The truth was probably the best, but they’d be upset too.

  She didn’t feel as if she had a choice either. Lies tripped people up, and in this case, her father did something he shouldn’t have.

  She parked her car and got out, showered and changed again, just like she had when she got back from Duke’s earlier before her shift.

  After she grabbed a bottle of water, she went to her parents' house, up the deck and knocked on the glass door before she walked in.

  “Hi, Hadley,” her mother said. “I’ve got leftover steak and potato salad that we had for dinner if you’re hungry.”

  She actually was but wanted to talk to them first. “I’ll have some in a minute if you don’t mind. First I need to talk to Dad. You too.”

  Her father looked over from where he was sitting in the living room. “Duke told you?”

  “Yes,” she said. “He did. I went to have brunch with him this morning. You should have told me what you’d done so I had a heads up.”

  “What did you do, Stan?” her mother asked with her hands on her hips.

  “I just told Duke what Hadley had been through with Eddie. I wanted him to know that maybe she wasn’t ready for what he could be looking for.”

  She felt her face flush. “You don’t know him well enough to know what he is looking for. You don’t know what I am either. You don’t even know anything other than we went on one date and I like him. And you sure the heck don’t know what happened with Eddie and me.”

  She realized her voice was getting loud and it never had before. “What does that mean?” her mother asked.

  “What part?” she asked.

  “All of it,” her father said. “But start with Duke and end with Eddie.”

  She told them that she and Duke were dating. She was looking at it like any other new relationship. No one was taking advantage of the other. They seemed somewhat relieved.

  “I didn’t tell you everything with Eddie,” she said. “I never do when in a relationship. Just like I don’t know everything about your marriage.”

  “She has a point,” her mother said.

  “What is it you didn’t tell us?” her father said.

  “Eddie and I split before he died. He cheated on me and he was a completely different person when I asked him for some of the money back after he returned to work.”

  She wasn’t going to say anymore. Or the horrible things he’d said to her when she broke up with him.

  That she’d never get any better than him. She was boring and dull and he was trying to show her how to experience life more than what she’d had and she’d never be anything more than a wannabe person that couldn’t find fulfillment on their own.

  She almost giggled over that thought. She found a lot of fulfillment with Duke. Never with Eddie. Looking back, she always thought it was her, but maybe it was more Eddie was a selfish lover like the other men she’d been with.

  Duke, he took the time to make sure she got as much out of it if not more.

  He cared enough to do that when so many others didn’t have the time or the patience with her.

  “Oh, sweetie,” her mother said, moving over to hug her. She felt like she needed the hug. Not because of Eddie but because it was upsetting to have to tell them what a fool she’d been once again.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I ended things with him when I found out. It hurt, but I should have realized that he was too good to be true for me.”

  “Don’t think that about yourself,” her father said, frowning. “You do that. You knock yourself down for shortcomings without thinking they were the ones that were shortsighted.”

  “I know I do that.”

  She went on to tell them some more of when Eddie was hurt and she was caring for him. He made her feel like he couldn’t live without her. She didn’t tell them that for most of the time, Eddie didn’t do much more than kiss her. She thought it had to do with his injury but later realized he was getting it from someone else. She was just his maid.

  “And when you confronted him on the cheating he turned on you?” her father asked.

  “No, he started to act differently when I asked for the money. He didn’t have the time for me. He said he didn’t have the money and it was selfish of me to even think of asking him that when he’d just returned to work. He wasn’t as nice or appreciative. It was like I couldn’t do anything right when before I could have served him dog poop and he’d say he loved it and thank me. Maybe he was just stressed or afraid he was going to be alone during that time since his family wasn’t doing much.”

  “Don’t make excuses for his behavior,” her mother said. “That has always been your problem. You give people too many chances.”

  “I can’t seem to help it,” she said. “It’s in the past though. I did find out he was cheating and I’m sure that is another part of why he wasn’t paying me back. But I was stuck with debt that I cleared up for him and he went on to live his life as if I were never in it.”

  That might have been one of the things that hurt the most. He’d wiped her from his life. It did help her move on though because any love she’d felt for him, he’d killed sharp and quick.

  “That is just horrible,” her mother said. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us any of this.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We were apart for over a solid month when he passed. Yes, it was upsetting, but it’s not like you think it was. I’m not sure I loved him like I thought. His treatment of me slowly drained me, then when I found out he cheated, I was numb.”

  “You should have stood up for yourself,” her mother said.

  “You know I don’t like conflict. He needed help. I believed him. I was the fool.”