Duke: Dark College Bully Romance (Bastards of Bainbridge Hall Book 3)
Duke: Chapter 24

It’s really fucking crazy how the OG Bastards can infiltrate a goddamn police department. Absolutely bonkers. But unless police department detectives are now being given free rein to express their opinions as part of their investigation—to try to make the people being questioned feel like absolute shit—I’m one hundred percent certain that she was sent to mess with me. Instead of talking to me about how the images of Lennon came to be all over campus, she was more focused on how it came to be that I’d used my charcoal on Lennon. I couldn’t get it through her head no matter what I said that I’d done nothing wrong, that Lennon is an adult and had been a willing participant that day. I hadn’t coerced her. I chuckle to myself, in fact, I couldn’t get rid of her.

Had I taken a few photos without her knowledge? Yes. But never fucking ever with the intention of sharing them with anyone. And I already told her why I’d done that in the time we’d spent talking about it in the library. In that moment, standing there all naked and gloriously degraded by my charcoal, she was my art. And I always document my art, for fear that I’ll destroy it later.

My stomach lurches. Somewhere between the library and that interview with the detective, would Lennon have gotten it into her head that this was my way of destroying her? I pinch my eyes shut, giving myself a violent shake, dark thoughts encroaching even though I know there’s no way that’s true.

Yeah, I’m sure Tristan and Derek—and my father by extension—thought it was hysterical to send cops here to question us. It sure is playing with my goddamn head. Fuckers. Well, our fathers and that detective lady can fuck right off because if she doesn’t want to do her goddamn job the right way, then I refuse to speak to her.

I hear the scramble from below as I ascend the stairs and hit the landing—the low rumble of conversation from the officer and detective, then Duke and Bear loudly voicing concerns in my defense. I don’t hear Lennon, and that worries me the entire way down the hall to my bedroom.

I throw open my door, moving directly to the balcony and letting myself outside. I force myself to breathe slowly. In. Out. Repeat. Bracing my hands on the railing, I close my eyes. The muscles in my jaw twitch and pop.

Lennon wouldn’t have said something to the detective to make her question me like she did, would she? My heart is being squeezed on all sides. I rub my hand over my chest while my mind spins back to the day that I’d drawn on her.

She’d wanted so fucking bad to help me, and I thought I’d teach her a lesson about why it was a bad idea to come upstairs into my attic without permission. But Lennon wasn’t necessarily the one who’d learned a lesson that day. She’d taught me about patience and kindness and strength.

Behind me, footsteps pad across the floor, and whoever it is that has the guts to join me slips out the open door. A gentle hand meets my back, the other gripping my bicep. A mouth presses to my shoulder. “Whatever she said to you, put it out of your head.”

“I know better than to let someone who is more than likely being paid by my father get to me. But I did. She made me feel like some sort of fucking pervert,” I bite out, staring into the backyard. “She said, and I quote, ‘What kind of deranged psycho does that to a woman?’”

A moment passes where the only sounds are the tweeting of the birds in the trees. Everyone’s done a good fucking job of making themselves disappear.

Lennon shakes her head, a look of disdain crossing her face. “Nope, Mase. Don’t fucking do that to either of us. I don’t know who stole those photos from your phone, but they’re the pervy asshole, not you. I let you draw on me because I wanted to help you, and I meant it when I said I understood why you’d taken the photos of me afterward.” She squeezes my arm, and when I turn my head, her eyes bore into mine, glittering in the late afternoon light. “Mase. We’ve always had a connection. You and me. Don’t let some cop with a bully stick up her butt tell you what we should feel or how we should be together.”

Her broken pieces have always seen and understood the damage in me. She trusts me. “Fuck, you make me happy.” I grasp the hair at the back of her head and tug, so she looks up at me. “I love how you know how to calm me down. I love how you bring me out of the dark. I just—” My breath hitches and the words get stuck in my throat as I stare into her eyes.

“I know, Mase.”

I see the knowledge in her eyes and slowly lower my mouth to hers, maintaining that eye contact until our lips meet. And once they do, it’s like a raging inferno takes over. A wicked wildfire burns through my veins and licks at my skin as we slam together. One arm goes around her, yanking her flush to my body, and the other pulls the skirt of her sundress out of my way. Sometimes, I just fucking need her. I’ve been with her all day, trying to focus on the problems at hand, but also thinking about this, even as shit was hitting the fan on campus. I palm her ass, so damn greedy for her. My fingers pull the damp swatch of fabric between her legs to the side, and slide through her silky, wet pussy. “Goddamn, Lennon.”

Her hands grasp the back of my neck, and she sucks my bottom lip into her mouth as she hooks her leg around my hip. The increased access to her aroused cunt has me groaning deep in my chest. My cock hardens behind my zipper, and I stroke my tongue into her mouth with one devilish lick after another. She increases the intensity in response, her body straining in my arms. Our mouths nip and bite as we go after each other like animals. Gripping the straps of her dress, I drag them off her shoulders. I make a growling noise in response to the increased pace of her breathing and dip down to sweep my tongue over the exposed swell of tits.

“Suck on them.” She lets go of me to pull the front of her stretchy dress down. Her breasts fall out, glorious mounds of flesh that have me bending her back over the railing. She’s practically panting, grinding her clit against my cock.

“So fucking beautiful.” I bury my face between her breasts and breathe deep, inhaling her sweet scent, then capture one nipple in my mouth while I play with the other, tweaking the taut bud. She gasps at my ministrations but arches her back and holds me tight to her breast. I lick and suck and swirl my tongue until she’s writhing against me. “I have to have you. Right now. Right fucking here.”

Her brows go up as she unwraps her leg from my waist. Wetting her lips, she glances down at my obvious erection, and my gaze follows. Fuck. She’s so wet, her arousal has left a dark spot on the front of my jeans. I let out a sharp exhale through my nose, my chest rising and falling fast. I tear out of my shirt, while she goes after my belt buckle. She has it undone in record time along with the button and zipper, and in a blink, she shoves my jeans over my ass and has my cock in her hand. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes wanton as they drift over the backyard, then back to me. “Right here? Right now?”

I nod, then spin her the fuck around without another thought in my head beyond getting my dick into her tight, wet pussy. “Hold on to the railing,” I demand, my voice husky as I pull her dress up and out of the way again and hook her thong with one finger, exposing her pretty pink cunt to the daylight. I can’t help myself, I drop to my knees and lick her slowly from front to back, eliciting a sensual cry of bliss that has my cock dripping for her.

Fuck me. I stroke my hard-as-steel length, eyes pinned to her, then give her another thorough lick before standing. I notch my dick at her entrance, then grab hold of her hips as I push inside her. The heat of her body surrounds me, and she’s so wet and tight, it damn near makes my head pop right off my neck. This girl. She’s everything. My eyes ping to the railing she’s bent over as I steadily pump my dick into her. Thudding and throbbing in my chest, my tormented heart makes its presence known. I blow out a harsh breath. “You’re okay with this, right?” Fuck. Can I handle it? Am I going to fucking wig out on her? I close my eyes, my jaw twitching before I suck in a breath and open them again.

Her head turns, and she gives me a quizzical look.

“The balcony, I mean.” I look away. I wet my lips and stare at it, battling back my demons. I fucking want this with her. I need to prove to myself that I can handle this and not hurt her. My mind starts to slip, a vision of that awful day racing through my head. No! Just fucking no! I push the dark thoughts away, focusing on Lennon again.

“Mase, I’m fine. I trust you. You never have to worry about that. I told you that earlier, and I’ll keep telling you until you can believe me. You’re okay? Because we can stop.”

“No,” I whisper raggedly. With my heart jackhammering away inside my aching chest, I pull her up flush against my body, and as if she knew what I needed from her, she twists herself to an angle where I can kiss her. Completely upright, I ravage her mouth, carefully easing in and out of her while one hand slips down to replace her clit and the other plays with her breasts. I’ve never felt so connected to her. Like I could share every dark demon in my head, and she wouldn’t run. On a downstroke, I pull out, spin her around to face me, and back her up to the wall next to the open door. I lift her, letting her legs wrap around my waist before I align my cock with her drenched pussy and slide back inside her body. We both let out muffled groans of satisfaction.

If anyone looks up from the pool area, they’ll get quite a fucking eyeful, but I don’t care. I really don’t. I needed this, and I think she did, too.

She’s panting and clutching at my shoulders while my face is buried at her neck. I’m sucking hard enough to leave a mark, which is exactly what I fucking intend, when it becomes obvious from the throat that clears nearby that someone else has joined us. I pause and look up to replace Duke watching with interest. We must have been really into it because one glance at Lennon tells me she’s as surprised as I am to replace him there.

When Lennon and I burst into the office earlier, both the way he’d grabbed us and the worry in his muttered “Thank fuck” hadn’t left any question as to his true feelings. But I do know he and Lennon haven’t really had a chance to figure things out after the Stella Bella debacle, so … yeah. I don’t know how to handle this.

Duke scrapes his teeth over his lip, staring, like he so badly wants to say something, but doesn’t know how to start. And Lennon, her eyes have cast down, and a rough swallow works down her throat.

I roll my eyes, unsure if I need to be in the middle of this, but I sort of literally am. “Where’s Bear?”

Duke scrubs a hand down his face. “Be up in a few. Was seeing the officers out.” His focus moves back to Lennon, and I try in my head to see what he’s seeing. The wild cascade of hair around her shoulders and breasts. Her sundress both pulled up and down. The pink stain on her cheeks and her fucking gorgeous swollen lips. “Stella Bella,” he whispers, but then his features fall, realizing what he said.

Lennon’s eyes flick up to meet his. She holds out a hand to him. “You can call me that now that I know what it means to you.”

He takes her hand, coming in close to us then pressing his lips to the backs of her fingers. “I know we need to talk, but right now, if I don’t have my hands on both of you, I’m afraid I’m either going to fall apart or go out and do some really terrible things.” He draws in a ragged breath. “I need to be with you right now. Those cops showing up did a fucking number on me.”

It’s true. I’d seen the naked fear in his eyes when we’d walked in the door.

Lennon stares steadily at Duke before she lets go of his hand and tugs him closer by the neck, offering her mouth up for him.

He takes full advantage, eyes crashing shut and lips connecting with hers. My dick twitches inside her because, hot damn, the only thing better than Lennon or Duke kissing me is the two of them kissing each other while connected to me.

When they finally come up for air, I gesture with my head that we should go inside.

Duke doesn’t question it, but Lennon looks up at me, confusion in her eyes, but there’s something else there, too. Curiosity. And lust.

As I come back inside with Lennon in my arms and still riding my dick, I meet Duke’s gaze. “Get the lube outta my drawer.”