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I couldn’t wait for Duke to clear this up so we could be together. It was noble of him to want to handle things professionally with his team, but honestly, we were adults and didn’t need anybody’s permission to take things beyond platonic.
Switching on the toy, I settled back and spread my legs. Soon, I was moaning his name.
CHAPTER 21
Serena
Finally,it was Saturday. The rest of the week had gone by quietly, both at work and at home.
Powell had kept me grounded from going out in the field while he decided what to do with me.Car-wrecker, he’d taken to calling me, and he bitched about his budget and the cost of a new vehicle. I sighed. At least so far he hadn’t given my spot to Remy like I knew he wanted to.
Since our little talk Tuesday night, Duke had been discreetly professional around me, sneaking a glance here and there, setting his hand on my hip or lower back but nothing more.
Every night, I went to bed frustrated. Thinking of Duke’s expert hands while using my vibrator had become my only outlet. Having him so close, but so far, was killing me.What is taking him so long?
“Ready?” Constance called from outside my door.
“Almost.” I checked my concealer again. The sunglasses would help hide the evidence of my accident last Monday, but itwasn’t perfect. Still, the day of the family barbecue had arrived, and it was time to face the inevitable.
Constance and Terry would be outside my parents’ property today. “On standby,” Lucas had called it. They’d be ready if Duke needed to call them in.
I applied more eyeshadow. With this little sundress, I planned to make it hard for Duke to look anywhere else. Since staying away from him hadn’t motivated him to clear things up with his team quickly, maybe the temptress look would.
“Wow,” Constance exclaimed when I finally opened the door. “You’re going to kill him.”
My eyes widened. “It’s going to be warm, and this is all I had that was clean.”
She raised a brow, not falling for my high-school-level deception. “I am a trained Secret Service agent. Who do you think you’re fooling? I see the way you two look at each other. Dressed like this, you want him to step up and make his move.”
I thought we’d been extremely discreet around the team. I guess not. “I do think he’s kinda cute,” I admitted.
“And he can’t take his eyes off of you.”
Blushing, I basked in the warmth of her words. I shouldn’t have felt insecure, but it was hard not to when the man who said he wanted me seemed in no hurry to “make his move,” as she’d put it. “Why do you think he’s holding back?”
She shook her head. “Why do men do half the shit they do? Because they’re emotionally stunted creatures and too scared to admit it.”
I giggled. “Yeah.”
Duke’s voice boomed from downstairs. “Terry left to get in position. Aren’t you girls ready yet?”
“Coming,” Constance yelled back.
Duke’s eyes widened when he saw me coming down the stairs. Yup, it was the first time he’d seen me in a dress, and he liked my legs. Hot damn, did he like them.
Then, he averted his gaze. While he locked up the house, Constance and I went ahead to climb into the backseat of his SUV.
“He noticed,” she commented.
“Shush.”
The drive to Dad’s compound went by in silence. Duke ignored us and put on his sour face.
I knew he didn’t want to go to this event, but not why it was such a big deal to him. But it was his tough shit because I didn’t have an alternative.
Nearing the family compound, Duke pulled to the curb behind Terry’s car. Constance got out, and I moved up to the front seat.
When we reached the gate, the guard recognized me and waved us through without ID.
