11.

Caitlin

 

The moon shines so bright tonight that even with the curtains drawn, they’re sheer enough to allow the blue hue from the moonlight to filter inside the bedroom. Everything is washed in translucent blue. Even me.

Goosebumps prickle my skin when I feel him come up behind me. Not from cold, although he turned the central air on once he closed up the house. But because Jade is asleep in her new, temporary room, and I’m standing in my satin nighty, the color of mauve, in Duke’s bedroom. My new, temporary bedroom.

He runs his fingers up and down my arms, both calming the goosebumps and creating more from his whisper-soft touches.

Who would have ever thought a badass biker could have whisper-soft touches? His hands travel from my arms to the hem of my nighty where he grips the sides and tugs up, stopping just below my navel to gently push against my pelvis, grinding his hardened cock through his jeans against my bottom. I lose all rational thought, my free will gone at the feel of him, and where he hits. I sit, an empty vessel ready to be filled however he wants to fill me.

And I reach up behind me to run my fingers through his hair while he licks and kisses my neck.

As he continues to grind, he dips a finger inside my panties going right for the golden spot. He hits it dead-on, because he means to, and begins the sensual, torturous rub. I was already wet from his grinding and neck kisses, with the way he uses his finger, my sex weeps for him, and I find it hard to stay standing.

“Come on, Doc,” he whispers in my ear, shoving me forward toward the bed. Before I climb on, he pulls the nighty from my body and drags my panties down, kissing the small of my back, my bottom and each thigh before helping me step out of them completely. “Lay down,” he orders, then.

I do, watching him undress all the while. His cut tossed on a chair, the rest of his clothing dropped to the floor. Tonight is the first I really get to look. All that sinewy mass covered in a lifetime of tattoos. The ridges and valleys of a twenty-year-old on a man more than fifteen years older.

I’ve never seen anything like him in such an intimate setting before. Never have I been with a man his size, with his strength.

Duke climbs on the bed, trapping me underneath his powerful body to kiss me again. I already can’t catch my breath.

“Gonna let me fuck you how I want to?” he asks.

I nod because I can’t find my voice.

“Good,” he says and rolls me to my side, where he fits himself the length of my back. If we were sleeping, we’d be spooning.

“On the pill, Doc?”

Over my shoulder, again, I can only nod. Then I watch, mesmerized, as he grips his rock-hard cock and runs it through my wetness several sweeps, then feel the intrusion of the tip inside me. He pulls back and pushes a little more, the whole head stretching me. I might have had a baby, but it’s been several years since I’ve had a man between my legs.

And so I pinch my eyes shut and try to adjust to the feel of him. That’s when he pulls out again, kisses my jaw, and slides back in, giving me more. But he’s teasing now, even if he doesn’t mean to.

Not nearly enough, I need him to give me enough.

“More,” I beg.

“Sure you ready for that?”

My response is to push back against him and repeat, “More. Please.”

To honor my request, Duke moves my top leg over his to open me up more, spreads my opening with his hands and positions himself, then he slams inside me, not a gentle glide, though not rough. Hard. I gasp, as he begins to thrust.

His hand moves to my breast where he rolls the nipple between his fingers.

“More,” I beg louder.

Switching hands, he moves to my opposite breast and begins to roll that nipple. This, after moving his first hand down to between my legs to stroke my golden spot again. The feeling so primal, as if intrinsically downloaded from every coupling since the beginning of mankind.

We move in time together. I jerk my hips back as he thrusts forward. It’s unbelievable. Sex has never felt this good before, and I become greedy, wanting, no needing more.

“Harder,” I demand.

He thrusts harder.

Oh hell.

Oh hell yes.

I need him to go harder. The fuse is lit. If he’d just give me the, “harder,” I demand again.

“Okay, Doc.” He moves his hand from my clit to fling his arm across my waist and pushes on my back. “Bend over my arm,” he commands.

A command to which I comply immediately.

Then Duke slams into me. Brutal yet beautiful in its power.

Oh hell.

Oh hell yes.

“Yes,” I shout, though it’s whispered. “Yes, yes. Yes.” I keep repeating as he continues to slam into me. Slam after slam after slam. Punishing me with every thrust.

He runs kisses down my back. Then I feel it. I’m like a carbonated beverage he’s shaken up and ready to explode.

I feel his cock grow thicker, harder inside me on his final thrust. And he hollers, “Oh fuck.” Then clamps his teeth into the tender flesh of my back as he releases, and I cry out. No words, just the sounds of pure ecstasy as we come together.

With our breaths heavy, I stay bent over his arm, while he presses his forehead against my back, avoiding the bite mark.

I’ve never been bitten during sex before. Of course I’ve never been with a man who brought on such an intense orgasm that my legs won’t move before either. But here we are.

“Did I hurt you, honey?” he finally chances to ask when he moves us so our heads both rest on pillows, and he’s turned me to face him.

“If by hurt me, you mean make me come harder than I have ever come in my life? Then yes.”

He chuckles. The sound resonates from his broad chest in the quiet room. “Didn’t mean that kind of hurt, but good to know.” He rolls me again so he can tuck me under his arm, my head against his throat. “Need a smoke, but came so hard, don’t think I can get up.”

“Just go later. The cigarettes will still be there.”

“When you first took Elise on as a patient, smart, independent doctor struts her ass into my club and doesn’t even blink at what she sees. Did you ever think you’d end up here?”

“You mean in your bed? No. Because I thought you didn’t like me. But I noticed you that very first day.”

“Every brother in the compound, aside from Boss, Chaos and Sneak wanted to fuck you. But I told ’em you were off limits, because ’a the two doctors in town, you were willing to do house calls here. But honest to god, Doc, I couldn’t stand the thought ’a you hooking up with one ’a the brothers.”

“Well that won’t be an issue.”

“It sure as fuck won’t be.”

We don’t speak again for several long moments. The drowsiness moves in to replace the sex high, and I feel myself begin to drift. Only then do I give him my final commentary. “You better stop being so nice to me because I could really fall for you, Chief.”

The last thing I feel is Duke’s arms tightening his hold on me.

When I wake, it’s to the soft glow of morning sun. Duke’s side of the bed, empty. I’m sore in all the right places, including my back where he bit me. I get up and head for the two-person shower, only to find it also has jets shooting at me from three sides.

The hot water feels wonderful. Massaging all my muscles. The next house I get has to have a shower like this. I wash then condition my hair, rinse, then turn off the water. After I wrap one of Duke’s old bath towels around my body, I find a second to dry my hair. He needs new towels. These work, but the terry is worn and the one I use for my hair has a big rip in it.

I pull my blow dryer from the storage cabinet underneath the sink to blow out my hair, then twist it up into a bun. Next I moisturize, add a layer of foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara and I set it with translucent press powder. The finishing touch, a neutral lip stain.

Then I move back to the closet inside the bedroom to pick a work outfit. I like to mix business and casual when meeting patients. So I pair a nice pair of dark wash jeans and a white button-down with three-quarter length sleeves that have a wide cuff on each. I pair that with a pair of brown loafers, small gold hoops in my ears, and finally my lab coat.

Some days I wear my scrubs, but on days when I’m going to make a lot of house calls, I prefer this style of dress. And since I’ve been off work for a while, and the other doctor doesn’t make house calls, I know I’ll be playing catch-up all day.

I leave the bedroom to get Jade up when I hear her out in the main room talking with Duke. He’s at the stove preparing what looks like oatmeal, while she sits on a bar stool with a glass of milk.

“What’s going on here?” I ask. A big smile on my face because a beautiful, burly biker man who fucked me how he wanted just last night, which equated to the best lay of my life, is cooking breakfast for my daughter. Like a real family.

“Duke’s making me oatmeaw.”

“Got enough for me and your mom, too, Peaches. Wanna give her some grapes, Doc?”

“What’s in the pan?” The pan next to the pot of oatmeal he’s stirring. “It smells like… butter, brown sugar and—”

“Pecans.” Duke finishes for me. “She said she ain’t allergic to pecans and those are the kind ’a nuts Jesse bought.”

“No, she’s not allergic.” I answer, my face in the refrigerator as I pull the crisper drawer to get to the grapes.

Washed yesterday before I put them away, I simply break off a vine and lay them down on a napkin.

“You going to want some, Chief?”

“Sure. Coffee’s done. Get a cup.”

I break off a vine for myself and one for Duke before putting them away and grabbing a mug from the upper cupboard, having to reach on my tiptoes. “This house is made for giants.” I fake whine. Duke and Jade both snicker.

He turns off the burners and reaches inside the lower shelf of the upper cupboard to pull three bowls where he lines them up and spoons in oatmeal. Then he spoons on the butter, brown sugar, pecan mixture on top of each.

Because I stand watching him instead of getting coffee, he grabs my mug from my hand and swats my bottom. “Sit,” he orders.

So I sit. He slides a bowl and spoon in front of Jade, then one in front of me. But before he begins to eat, he pours me a mug of coffee and then reaches inside the fridge to get the flavored coffee cream, a crème brûlée flavor I’d made and stored in an empty water bottle when I put the groceries away yesterday. He pours some in then looks to me. “How blond you like it?”

“Sandy blonde?”

To that, he gets it and pours just a bit more into the mug. A perfect sandy blond. “Never met someone who makes their own coffee creamer before.”

“It doesn’t take much time. Pretty easy, actually. Try it.”

He nods and pours a couple glugs into his mug, then refills the rest of the way up with more coffee. Then he sips. His eyes grow huge. “Holy shit, honey. If you’re as good a doctor as a cook, ain’t nobody gonna die in this town ever again.”

Although I shouldn’t be smiling at the thought of people dying, his comment makes me smile at least for the moment. Leaning against the counter, his feet crossed at the ankles in a relaxed pose, bare feet and everything, he picks up his bowl and shovels a hearty spoonful into his mouth.

“So Chief, if you give me the address here and your driver’s license number then I can sign you up as a pickup person for Jade.”

“Will do.” He sips on his coffee.

“Do you think you could pick her up today by six?” My stomach does a little clench. I hate not being the one to pick her up. I’ve always been the one, always. But this is what I’ve wanted for us, isn’t it? Instead of freaking out, I take a napkin and lean over to wipe oatmeal from Jade’s chin.

“Not a problem. Where you gonna be?”

That’s funny. Where am I going to be? Only leaving my daughter alone for the first time since she’d been injured a week ago. Since my home had been broken into where only a picture of my girl was stolen. Maybe I spoke too soon about not freaking out.

“Working, unfortunately,” I say, and try to sound chipper about the whole crappy situation. “Since the other guy doesn’t do house calls and I’ve been off since Jade went to the hospital. I’m going to be playing catch up.”

“Time you think you’ll be home?” Home. He didn’t say here. He didn’t say his house. But home. “Do I gotta get Peaches dinner without you?” The man has accepted our intrusion in his life surprisingly well.

“Yes. You and Jade should eat. I’ll try to be here by eight, okay? There will be some late days for the next couple of days. Jesse and I can grab some dinner.”

Well that might have been the wrong thing to say by the way his body jolts and straightens, and he sets his bowl down on the cupboard harder than the situation requires. Or the way he walks around the island to where I’m sitting next to my girl, pulls the spoon of oatmeal I’d been about to shovel into my mouth away and drops it back into the bowl then wraps his arms around my shoulders.

“You do not grab dinner with Jesse. He’s a prospect. Your guard. Need to eat, you eat with me, Doc. I’m your man.”

Wow.

I swallow the lust lump formed in my throat from him giving me that, and nod. “Okay. Feed Jade. We’ll eat when I get back here.”

“Home.” he corrects me. “When you get home.

“What?” Still caught up in the whole eating dinner with him thing, it doesn’t register.

“You said here. I said home. ’Til further notice, this is your home, honey.”

Oh man, I like that too.

“Sure Chief, when I get home. Because for the foreseeable future, this is my home. With you. And you don’t mind us invading your life?” There. I put it out there.

Duke pulls me even closer, which I didn’t think possible, in order to whisper into my ear, a whisper Jade can’t hear. “You ask something that stupid again, I’m gonna drag your fine ass into that bedroom and fuck you ’til you know for a fact I don’t mind, making you really late for work. Understand?”

Oh, I understand. Understand in a way I have to fight the urge to let him make me late for work. Well one thing’s for certain, he knows how to distract me from an impending freak out.

“I understand, Duke,” I whisper back. He leans his head down to kiss me, clean enough for a four-year-old to see, but dirty enough for me to know he means business.

Saved by the escort, Jesse raps his hand against the back door leading into the utility room to announce his intrusion.

“Don’t mind me,” he mutters and heads to the cabinet to grab a bowl, then spoons in oatmeal and butter, brown sugar and pecans on top.

We all return to eating with minimal, light conversation until we’ve finished.

Clearing our dishes to the sink, that’s the first I notice men in the back yard building something. “What’s going on out there?” I point to the men.

“Jungle gym.” Duke shrugs his shoulders like it’s nothing.

“A jungle gym?” I ask. Stunned. Because those are expensive.

“Yeah, well, you said Peaches needed a swing set. If a swing set is good, a jungle gym is better. She’ll have stuff to do, and with the families moving onto the compound for a while, she’ll have kids to play with, too.”

“Oh-kay.” And because I don’t know what else to do to say thank you or express how much him doing this for her means to me, I launch myself at him. The bear-est bear hug probably ever given by a woman to a man.

He holds me right back. Then Jade, feeling left out, hops off her stool to wrap her little arms around our legs until Duke bends to pick her up.

Yes, he has to stop being this nice or I will fall for him. I fear I’m already falling. One more quick kiss for Jade, and one not so quick kiss for me, then he leads us out the back through the utility room to the carport where he flings open the backdoor of the new truck to hook my girl into her booster.

“Be there by six, Peaches.”

After a tweak to her nose, he turns to me. “Alright woman, don’t wear yourself out.”

“I’ll try not to, Chief.”

Leaning his forehead against mine, he doesn’t really hug me but grabs my bottom with both hands, eyes closed, he breathes in deep, as if he’s breathing me in. He lets me go and lifts me into the passenger seat.

“Ah Chief, wrong side.”

“No it ain’t.” He tosses the keys to Jesse. Freaking Jesse?

“I can drive, you know?”

“Yeah, but I don’t ride bitch,” Jesse answers. “No real man gets carted around by a chick, hot or not.”

Did Jesse call me hot?

I look to Duke. “Is this one of those biker things Elise told me I’d have to get used to?”

His reply is to laugh, one of his rich ones from deep in his belly, which I take as his yes. Jesse laughs too, but as his voice isn’t as deep as Duke’s, it’s not as rich as Duke’s.

I lean in to Duke. “Keep my girl safe,” I whisper.

He sobers. And nods.