Page 33 of Duke
The longing in my center coils tighter.
Despite his obvious strength—or maybe because of it—he deposits me gently on one of the massive sofas in front of the fireplace. The heat of the fire feels nice after being outside.
Duke quickly locates the remotes on the mantel above the fireplace and tosses them onto the sofa beside me. “What’re you into these days?”
I’m into lusting after cowboys who morph into hot professors.
Licking my lips, I force myself to look away from said cowboy-slash-professor.
“Something funny, maybe?”
“Sounds great.”
I pick up the remotes and start to fiddle with them.
“Wheeler?”
I glance at Duke. “Yeah?”
“We really are going to be okay. I need you to know that.”
My heart squeezes. I don’t know what to say. “Thanks.”
I want to believe him. And part of me does. He’s confident. As a cowboy, he knows about nature and weather and…stuff. Clearly he’s seen worse conditions than the ones currently hammering Aspen Mountain.
But another part is scared to trust a man. Any man. Dad had such a temper growing up that I still, to this day, jump when I hear a loud noise. My anxiety is sky-high during stressful situations because that’s when Dad would typically lash out.
Instead of making me anxious, though, Duke’s presence today has actually been a comfort. He got us up here no problem, didn’t he? He didn’t lose his mind or spit obscenities or pout about having to drive. He just got it done, and he made me laugh along the way, clearly hoping to ease my fears.
He kept me safe then. I can probably trust him to keep me safe now.
He’s cool as a cucumber as he pads into the kitchen and turns on the faucet. The clank and clatter of dishes is weirdly comforting as I turn on the TV and hunt for something good to watch.
“How aboutVeep?” I ask after several minutes of searching. “OrThe Righteous Gemstones? To be honest, I haven’t been watching a ton of TV lately, so I have no clue what’s new or good.”
“Why no TV?” Duke turns off the faucet. “You just been building a cowboy boot empire or somethin’?”
“Hardly an empire.” But I still smile.
“It’s not an empireyet.” I hear him pad across the hardwood. “All right, Blue. Get over here and get on your knees.”
I bite back a laugh. “Excuse me?”
“Ladies slap first.” He holds up the silver bag of wine. “Unless you want me to start?”
“You’re rude.” I unfold my legs from underneath me and stand up.
He smirks. “You can stand if you want. But I always find it more pleasurable if you do it on your knees. Grab that blanket, would you?”
Rolling my eyes, I reach for the fur blanket on the sofa beside me.
Duke catches me fighting a smile, though, because he says, “Aw, yeah, Blue. You agree, don’t you?”
“Only in the context of this game.”
“Put the blanket on the floor. Then do as I told you.”
I drop the blanket, then I fall to my knees one leg at a time. “Try not to spill, yeah?”
