Duke (The Henchmen MC 5)

"It's crazy how normal everyone is."

Duke shrugged. "We're all just people, Pen. From the outside, it's easy to just see lawless bikers who aren't exactly unfamiliar with violence. But, in these walls, we're just guys. Some are husbands and fathers. All are boyfriends or lovers or in the pursuit of skirts. We all have average, real-life shit going on that is a more prominent part of our lives than club shit. Well... usually," he said, gesturing around. "But I swear to fuck, this isn't normal for us."

"Well, I have to say I'm glad to hear that. Seeing as I plan on sticking around for a while." I slid my hands up his stomach and chest, then his shoulders, folding them behind his neck and pressing us firmly together.

"A while?" he repeated.

"Well, as long as you'll have me, I guess."

"So, forever?" he asked, eyes twinkling as he leaned down and kissed me, slow and deep. Until we were both breathless. Until I felt desire wet my panties. Until I felt his cock press up against me.

"Damn, they stole our makeout spot, doll," Renny's voice said suddenly, making me lurch backward away from Duke, embarrassed for getting so carried away in some DARPA-created glass room where anyone could happen upon us.

Sure enough, when I looked, Renny was already up in the room with us, crouching down and offering his hand to the knockout, exotic, hazel-eyed woman who was climbing in. She released one hand to slap his away.

"And stop calling me 'doll'," she demanded.

"Well, you've already nixed 'baby', 'babe', 'honey', 'sweetheart', 'sweet cheeks', 'darling', and 'sugar'. What's left?" he asked, smiling, completely not phased by the woman's obvious disinterest in him.

"How about my name?" she suggested, inflection and face bland.

"But Mina doesn't denote my deep, heartfelt affection for you," he went on, all charm.

I liked laid-back Renny.

I liked flirtatious Renny.

I wasn't sure I would learn to like the dark, determined, freaky side of him that came out every once in a while.

But, as my grandmother would tell me, you can't love by half. You couldn't just love the good in someone. You had to love their bad as well.

I wasn't there yet.

Neither was Duke.

And maybe Duke would never be.

But I had hopes that I could get there one day.

"In case it wasn't clear from my obvious lack of attraction to him," Mina said, her voice having a smooth, sexy sound to it. Sultry might be the right word. "We did not come up here to makeout." She looked over at Renny, brow raised, tone firm. "And we never will."

Renny turned to me, big smile in place. "I think the lady doth protest too much, don't you?"

"Oh, you pain in the ass, egotistical..." Mina started.

"Oh, yeah, talk dirty to me..." Renny teased, making Mina blow out a huff of a breath.

"Will you just give up already?" she demanded.

"Gee, if you're not careful, I might really start to feel like you're not dying for me to drag you back to my room and show you why having superhuman observational skills really comes in handy between the sheets."

I saw it then.

And if I saw it, with my very average observational skills, then Renny definitely saw it too.

Her eyes flashed.

And her lips parted.

Despite her very cool outward appearance, she totally was harboring, at the very least, a little sexual attraction toward him.

"Superhuman," she scoffed, trying to cover her reaction. "Please. I think we have proved time and again that I have one up on you in the skills department."

"Oh, but I would be all too happy to put that to a test in this particular instance. Between the sheets, that is. To see who has better skills. You know," he said, grinning, tucking his hands into his pockets, making him look boyish, "for science."

"I have to get the hell out of here," Mina said, shaking her head, going back down into the hole and we could hear her going down the ladder.

"I'm wearing her down," Renny told us confidently and I felt myself smile at him. "It's good to see you back, blondie. Look at those muscles too," he said, nodding. "Watch out Rosie the Riveter, there's a new badass in town."

"Wow, those superhuman observation skills are really impressive," I teased and he laughed.

"They gave you some sass up there at Hailstorm, huh? Must be why Mina is so irresistable. Okay, get back to fornicating for all in town to see. I need a smoke."

With that, he was gone, and I let out an embarrassed little laugh.

"Privacy will be hard to come by for a while," Duke informed me. "Might have to start fucking you with your head in a pillow. You scream loud enough to wake the whole compound."

"I do not!" I objected, slapping his chest.

"Babe, fucking all of Hailstorm knew it when I was fucking you," he informed me.