different. This Monday, he’d be working with Kristina. “I know. But I’ll be right back. You get some rest.”
* * *
The coolness of the sheets as he reached for Macy’s soft and tender frame woke Duke from his slumber. The realization of what they’d done up until the wee hours of the morning began to register in his brain. He was more in love with Macy now than ever before. She was everything he’d imagined. And he couldn’t wait to tell her.
Duke sat up in bed and looked around for any sign of her. He found her discarded robe neatly hung up against the back of the bedroom door. His jeans were folded on the edge of the bed. Reaching for them, Duke slipped them on and looked around for his shoes. The sun was already spilling into the room from the open curtains. The clock on her nightstand said it was eight. He’d slept in. But that was okay; he didn’t have to go in to the station today.
He sniffed the air, expecting the faint hint of coffee or bacon or eggs, something. Not that he expected Macy to make breakfast or anything, but after a night like last night, he was sure if she wasn’t in the bed with him when they woke up, she would be down in the kitchen. She always had food ready to serve whenever he got off work and came directly over.
“Macy?” Duke called out, opening the bedroom door. He looked around the room before leaving. His sweater from last night had fallen on the floor by the bed. It was too warm to put it back on, so he buttoned up the top button on his pants and trotted down the stairs, anxious to see Macy again.
Walking down the steps, his heart raced as he remembered the details of what had happened there. He was smiling to himself when he reached the bottom step and walked down the hallway. He heard shuffling in the kitchen and decided he would surprise her. The surprise was on him.
“Am I interrupting?” Duke asked. His smile faded at the sight of Macy and her friend Lawrence huddled together against her counter. Macy was dressed casually in a pair of pink velour jogging pants and a plain white T-shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail at the top of her head. She smiled, but it wasn’t a full smile. Something was wrong, he realized as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Her cheeks were flushed. Duke’s eyes darted back to Lawrence, who shared the same embarrassed look. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.
Moving from Macy’s side, Lawrence crossed the kitchen and extended his hand toward Duke. “Hey, man, I was just leaving.”
“Don’t leave on my account,” Duke said casually as he firmly shook the man’s hand.
“Oh, it’s not that. I’ve just got, um...some errands to run.” Lawrence stepped backward, reached for some papers on the counter and then fumbled with them, rolling and putting them in the back pocket of his jeans. Duke thought the man’s skintight white T-shirt was a bit much for eight in the morning, but chose to ignore it. He had to remind himself that even though the two of them worked closely together once, Macy was with him. Last night had confirmed that. “Congratulations on winning.”
“Winning?”
“The—uh.” Lawrence shifted his glance to Macy. It was a guilty look. Macy said they’d gone out a few times, but that there were no sparks. There certainly seemed to be sparks right now. Both their faces were flushed. “The ugly sweater contest.”
Duke looked down at himself, knowing his chest was bare. The child in him flexed his pec muscles. “Oh. Yeah. Thanks.”
“Well. Macy, I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, sure,” Macy said, folding her arms across her chest. Duke could see the swelling of her breasts, and now that he’d had a taste of them, he didn’t want to share with anyone, ever. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Lawrence said nervously. “I can show myself out.”
In his years as a reporter, Duke had come across some shady people. Grown men stuttering and stumbling over themselves was a telltale sign that something wasn’t right. Lawrence was in too much of a rush to get out of there. It was just like the time he’d walked into Oscar’s office and Oscar and Kristina had flown to opposite sides of the room like the Red Sea parting. He knew it was wrong to compare the two situations. Macy was nothing like Kristina. But there was still that nagging feeling in the back of his head. If Kristina could fool him, especially with the paparazzi always following her around, surely Macy could...
“Are you hungry?” Macy asked, breaking him from his morbid thoughts.
In an instant, Duke’s thoughts went from morbid to desirous. He wanted nothing more than to place Macy on top of that counter. Every inch of his body went hard. His hand went to his growling stomach, but he wasn’t hungry for food.
Macy’s eyes followed his hand and then went back up to his face. Her dark eyes sparkled as they crinkled when she smiled. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m very serious.” Duke moved across the kitchen floor, enjoying the way Macy’s throat moved up and down as she gulped. She braced herself against the counter, which was fine with him. He gently picked her up and sat her on the countertop. Their hips met. He stiffened instantly.
Wedging her hand against his chest, Macy created some space between them. “Wait, as much as I’d love to do this...”
Duke listened as he planted a trail of kisses against her neck.
“We can’t. I’ve got some things to take care of.”
“Like what?” Duke placed another kiss against the side of her mouth, purposely not brushing her succulent lips. If she wanted a kiss, she was going to have to turn her face for it.
“You’re not making this easy.”
“It’s not supposed to be easy.” Duke took hold of her hands and pulled them down to his waistband. “It’s hard.”
She blushed. He wasn’t looking, but he could feel the heat from her cheeks as he nibbled on her ear.
“No, seriously. I have work to do.”