Free Duke: Fallen MC #1 by C.J. Washington Page B

unwanted fly when they tried to touch him. She knew he’d slept with almost all of them at some point. The sluts had made sure she knew that. She couldn’t help but feel like she was destined to become one of them, clamouring for a scrap of his attention while he moved on to a new slut. Is that what she was now? A slut? She knew she could walk away from Duke, move on and not look back. However, there was a big part of her that looked forward to a happy ending, it kept her hopeful, not jaded and made her want to give Duke a chance – if he wanted it. It was time for her to be brave, take a risk and stop planning for disaster. Only time would give her an answer.
    They’d started to chat about general stuff in the short breaks between fucking, things that would be found out on a first date. She chuckled to herself that most first dates take place in a restaurant, not a bed yet she wouldn’t change a thing. She would have never guessed that his name was Aaron Banks and that his brother, Razor was called Nate Banks.
    “What did you think my name was?” He laughed at her shocked face when he told her. Nicole didn’t really see Aaron Banks as his name at all, he was simply, Duke.
    “I don’t know. I guess something like Studly von Studlyson!” They both cracked up at her insane suggestion.
    Now here she was, lying in his bed for the second night in a row. Duke was lazily running his hand up and down her arm, listening to her telling him about where she grew up when he abruptly paused. Keeping hold of her wrist, he rolled and switched on his bedside light. Glancing at his face, Nicole saw that he looked furious.
    “What the fuck are these?” His thumb was rubbing over her wrist and then he reached for her other and did the same.
    “My scars?” She was puzzled at his reaction. Why was he so angry? They weren’t a big deal.
    “My scars? Yes, your fucking scars!” He’d managed to yell through gritted teeth.
    “I thought you’d recognise them….” That had been the wrong thing to say. He was going nuclear. She could see his temple was throbbing on the side of his head and his eyes turned deadly. She quickly clarified. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant they’re from handcuffs and wires. I didn’t do it to myself.”
    She lowered her head at what he must think of her. Growing up in poor areas she was no stranger to suicides. They weren’t common but they weren’t rare either. People got desperate and searched for a way out and finding none they grew desperate. She understood that even though he would never contemplate it herself. Duke must of thought she’d self harmed. She hated her scars. Like everything else in her life that she didn’t want, she had learned to live with them.
    “There’s more than one or two here and a couple are fucking thick. Who did this to you? Tell me now, Nicole.” He lifted her chin and she knew he wasn’t playing around. His brown eyes stared into hers, unwavering in their intensity.
    “I don’t know all their names. They’re from where I was bound when my Dad put me in messes like the one I’m in now. When I was young I got really frightened and used to fight against the restraints, that’s what caused these. I’ve got some on my ankles too. It’s not a big deal, Duke, I don’t notice them anymore.”
    She could feel her eyes starting to well up as he forced her to recall every instance she remembered. She detested bringing up these memories but he’d been unwavering in his stance to find out. When she finished he had calmed down but there was a cold fury inside him that she’d seen grow with each recollection. His gentle caresses and small kisses he placed on her wrists and ankles as she talked drew the truth out of her. His long assessing looks made her think he could see into her soul, to the deep scars left behind by her Dad every time he offered her up as some sort of bargaining chip.
    “Baby, I promise these will never be added to, not while I’m alive.