Prince Pucking Charming Read online

  After our waitress arrives to take our drink orders, Duke slides his chair closer to mine. He hooks his arm around my back, and I lean into his chest, cradled by his warmth. He smells like spicy aftershave and mint. I love Duke’s natural scent when he’s sweaty and dressed in jeans and a tee. Hell, I like him any way I can get him. There’s something so undeniably sexy about him. He’s like catnip to me. Once I get a taste, I can’t stop myself. So, I’m thankful he’s planning to stick to my rules. I think I need them more than he does at this point.

  “At least a dozen people saw us together,” I say. “I thought you’d pick somewhere more… private. Some of the people had their phones out, taking a picture.”

  “No one cares.” He waves his hand dismissively. “They probably thought you were a puck bunny.”

  I snort. “That’s reassuring. And thanks, by the way.”

  He takes my hand and rests it on his thigh, giving it a quick squeeze. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re the one that pointed out that I’m never seen in public with women. No one knows you’re my therapist.”

  “They might think I’m your girlfriend.”

  “You are my girlfriend.” His tone is serious, possessive. I’m his.

  I glance up at him and smile. “I must’ve missed that conversation. Was I unconscious?”

  He laughs. “You’re my girl, Lila. I don’t give a shit what anyone has to say about it. Therapy or not, nothing will pull me away from you. Unless this isn’t what you want.”

  “It’s most definitely what I want.” I run my thumb along his bottom lip. “I want you, Duke Baldwin.”

  Duke drags his long fingers down my arm, and it sends chills down my spine. The waitress stops by the table to take our orders, interrupting our private moment. We order steak and potatoes. Like me, Duke is a simple eater.

  I lift my wine glass and tap it against Duke’s frosty mug. “To us.”

  The corner of his mouth turns up into a cocky smirk. “That wasn’t much of a toast.”

  I roll my eyes and laugh. “I’m a doctor, not a public speaker. Take what you can get.”

  He bends down to kiss my neck, torturing me as he leaves kisses that burn my skin. A moan escapes my lips. I cover my mouth, hoping no one heard me.

  “Keep that up,” Duke says, his voice husky and low, “and I won’t make it until the second date. You should know by now that I like breaking the rules.”

  I grin like an idiot. “Who said you’re getting any on the second date?”

  “It was implied,” he says against my mouth.

  * * *

  After dinner, I’m shocked we made it into my living room without tearing off our clothes. I’m straddling Duke on the couch, with my dress bunched up around my waist. He groans into my mouth as I grind against his growing erection, and I moan in response.

  When our lips part, Duke pushes my hair out of my eyes. He gives me a crooked grin that goes right to my throbbing core. One look is all it takes with Duke. He’s so damn gorgeous, from his handsome face to his body that’s ripped with muscle. Years ago, I’d thought I lucked out with Ted. But Duke is every woman’s fantasy rolled into one wet dream.

  Long before we met, I fantasized about him throwing me up against the boards. I still haven’t told Duke that he’s starred in plenty of my dirtiest dreams. He’d probably never let me live it down if he did. Or he might want to reenact them.

  So, maybe I should tell him…

  Threading my fingers through his hair, I slip my tongue in his mouth, desperate for more. He palms the back of my head to deepen the kiss. Each kiss is more intense, more impatient, and greedier than the last. My hands travel over every surface of his body. I can’t get enough of the hard ridges of his abs or his thick, muscular arms that feel like they could hold up the universe.

  He pushes down the front of my dress and pinches my nipple between his fingers.

  “Duke,” I whisper against his lips. “Touch me. Please.”

  The intense pressure building inside me feels like a volcano ready to erupt.

  “I am touching you.” He rolls his thumb over my nipple and massages my breast, as he leaves a trail of kisses along my jaw. “Calm down, woman. You’re like a dog in heat.”

  Laughing, I take his other hand and slide it beneath my dress. His big hand covers my panties. Heat spreads from my cheeks, down my arms, and to my thighs. But the aching between my legs is a deep desire only Duke can satisfy.

  Our eyes meet, and he peels the thin fabric to the side. The anticipation is killing me. Adrenaline courses through my body, my heart beating so fast I can hardly catch my breath. When he pushes a finger inside me, my eyes slam shut. He slides it in and out, so painfully slow, I cry out his name. A ripple of pleasure rolls down my arms in waves.

  “You weren’t lying earlier,” he says as he adds another finger. “Damn, Doc. I can’t wait to be inside you.”

  I lean forward and bury my face against his neck, drowning myself in his scent as I moan his name. Moving faster, he rolls his thumb over my clit while he fills me with another finger. He takes me to the point of ecstasy that causes my mind to go blank. My entire body tightens, so close to reaching the finish line. It’s been too long since a man has made me come.

  “Feel good?” Duke says as he fucks me harder with his fingers.

  “Yes,” I choke out.

  I kiss my way from his neck to his mouth, and when our lips collide, he kisses me like he needs the air from my lungs to breathe. With each kiss, I come undone, and just when I think I can’t take the pressure anymore, my orgasm tears through me. I rest my forehead on his shoulder, attempting to catch my breath.

  “Your rules are getting harder to follow by the second,” he says.

  I lift my head, and our eyes meet. Duke slides his fingers out of me and brings them to his mouth to suck on them. He pins me down with those intense blue eyes that weaken me with one look.

  “I’m not done with you,” he says as he moves me to the cushion next to him.

  Duke drops to his knees in front of me and slides my panties down my thighs. He throws both of my legs over his shoulders like they weigh nothing.

  “Push up your dress,” he growls.

  I do as he requests, and he stares at my bare pussy. His eyes lift to meet mine, and then he moves closer, his breath on my skin hitting every pleasure spot at once. He hasn’t even touched me, and yet I feel like I’m about to break in half. Duke opens his mouth, still holding my gaze as his breath warms my skin. Why is he torturing me? I can tell by the sadistic look in his eyes that he’s enjoying this.

  “Duke,” I groan. “Are you going to make me beg?”

  He smirks. “I was thinking about it.”

  I tilt my head back against the cushion, taking his hair in my hands.

  “You’ve been a good girl,” he says and then kisses my inner thigh. “So, I won’t make you beg… this time.”

  But he will next time?

  He presses another kiss between my legs, and eventually, he makes his way to my aching core. I’m ready to beg for his tongue by the time he rolls it over my clit. With each flick of his tongue, my mind goes blank.

  Duke grabs my thighs and holds them tight, sucking on my clit as he looks up at me. He devours me with a carnal look in his eyes. I’m clawing at my dress. It’s so damn hot in here I can hardly breathe. I massage my breast, and Duke’s eyes light up. He knocks my hand aside and does it for me, as if he was jealous he wasn’t the one touching me.

  My body tenses once more, and my entire body tingles from the orgasm taking over. After I come, Duke licks his lips with a seductive look in his eyes. He gives me his usual intense and haunting look, which makes my body tremble.

  “Hot damn, woman,” he says with one of his usual smirks that tugs at the right corner of his mouth. “It’s a good thing I’ve mastered the art of self-control.”

  I laugh. “I beg to differ. You’re in anger management treatment because you lack self-control.”


  He climbs on top of me and takes my bottom lip in his mouth and sucks on it. “I have control when I need it. And believe me, you’ll be happy about it when the time comes.”

  Duke’s about to kiss me when my cell phone rings. The obnoxious sound Max chose beats through the silence in the room.

  “I have to get that. It’s Max.”

  He looks for my purse on the floor and hands over my cell phone.

  “Hey, baby,” I say, cradling the phone against my shoulder.

  “Mommy, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Then, why are you out of breath?”

  “I was just working out,” I say, biting back a fit of laughter.

  “I thought you went out with Duke.” She sounds confused, as she should be. Because why would Mommy be exercising this late at night? She’s too smart to buy that.

  “I did. We were working out together.”

  Duke shakes his head and turns his head away from me, doing his best not to laugh.

  “Did you do the kickboxing video I like?”

  “Yeah, baby. We tried that one out.”

  “Is Duke still there?”

  “He’s sitting next to me.”

  “Can I talk to him?”

  I hand Duke the phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

  He takes it from my hand with a curious look. “Hey, kiddo. How come you’re up this late?”

  I can’t hear what Max says on the other line.

  “Uh-huh,” Duke says. “I can pick you up on Tuesday. Okay. Yeah, talk to your mom, okay? Alright. Night, Max.” He holds out the phone for me to take.

  “Mommy, Duke’s picking me up from school on Tuesday so we can go to hockey practice.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there, too. Get some sleep. It’s late.”

  “Night-night, Mommy.”

  “Night, baby. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

  She giggles and then hangs up.

  I drop the phone onto the table next to the couch and sigh. “I hate lying to Max.”

  “It was a necessary lie,” he says as he sits next to me, dipping the cushion as he hooks his arm around my back. “You couldn’t tell her what we were doing.”

  “I think we should call it a night. That was kind of a mood killer.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “Ya think? Now, I know the cure for an erection.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Duke

  Our session starts with me pinning Lila against her office door. I hold her arms above her head and kiss her, loving the way she squirms beneath me. She’s driving me crazy. I’ve never thought about a woman as much I do her. When we’re apart, she’s on my mind. And when we’re together, I can’t keep my hands off her.

  “Duke,” Lila says between kisses. “My assistant is on the other side of this door.”

  I smile against her lips. “So, let her listen.”

  Not amused, she pushes her hands against my chest. A severe expression crosses her face when our eyes meet. “We can’t. Not in my office.”

  Her chest is pressed against mine, her top low enough for me to see her black lacy bra. She dresses less like a nun on the days I come into her office. Most of the time, my girl is all business. Today, she looks like a hot teacher. Her blonde hair is piled on top of her head, with a few loose curls spilling down her back. A touch of pink makeup dusts her eyelids and freckled cheeks. Her skirt stops below her knees, but now that I know what’s underneath, my mind wanders to dirty places.

  I lift Lila, and she doesn’t argue when I set her on top of the desk, pushing papers out of the way. Our lips meet once more, and our tongues tangle together. With Lila, I feel like I’m becoming a different person. Like I want to be a different person for her. She hooks her arms around my neck and pulls me closer. Holding the back of her head, I lower her to the desk and kiss her softly. I trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck until I reach her breasts.

  “Okay, this is too much,” she groans. “We have to stop.”

  “When does Max sleep at Ted’s house?”

  She sits up and fixes her top. “Not until this weekend.”

  I rest my forehead against hers, attempting to regain my breath. “I told Max we could watch Aquaman together.”

  “Come over tonight,” she offers. “I’ll make us dinner. I hope you like mac and cheese because that’s what Max requested when I dropped her off at school.”

  “Are you kidding? Who doesn’t love mac and cheese? That was my go-to dinner when I had to cook for Kat and the twins.”

  She chuckles. “I bet. Max will eat it every night if I let her. She also asked for sundaes, so I have to stop at the market on my way home.”

  “With chocolate syrup?” I ask her, dragging my finger down between her cleavage. She nods, and I continue my slow exploration, “And whipped cream?”

  Lila smiles so wide it reaches up to her eyes. “I think I know where your dirty mind is going with this.”

  “You have no idea how dirty my mind can get,” I say against her lips.

  Her eyes close for a second, and a soft moan escapes her lips. “And you’re going to show me?”

  “This weekend,” I promise.

  She stares into my eyes and blows out a deep breath. “We should finish our session before the timer goes off.” I slide my hand up her thigh, and she makes a hissing sound. “Duke, I’m serious. I have to document something, anything.”

  “You can write about how much you want me to bend you over your desk,” I say, taking her bottom lip into my mouth. “And how hard I’ll make you come.”

  Lila gasps. I pull down her bottom lip with my finger, and she licks it. My willpower is disappearing by the second. She makes it impossible to keep my hands off her.

  “Now, why did you have to go and do that?”

  I grip her thighs and pull her to me. She leans back, resting her palms against the desk, and peeks up at me with a defiant look on her face. I want to be inside her so bad I’m in physical pain. Her office isn’t the right place. My first time with Lila will mean something because she means everything to me. What we’re doing is more than sex. Our relationship is built on an actual connection.

  Lila expects me to keep teasing her. I think she secretly likes it when I do. Instead of kissing her again, I do the right thing and help her down from the desk. I owe her more answers. We made promises to each other, and opening up to her is the one I plan to keep.

  After we settle into our usual places, Lila drops her notepad on her lap and cradles a pen between her fingers. A silence passes between us. Something sparks in her eyes, something I can’t quite place. She tells me that she’s proud of my progress every day. Honestly, she’s the only reason I’m still here. If my GM had assigned me another doctor, our sessions would have been over a long time ago.

  “I want to pick up where we left off,” Lila says, locking eyes with me. “We were talking about your parents.” She glances down at her pad. “You said you avoid relationships because you don’t want to fall in love.”

  “I didn’t say that,” I challenge.

  “Let me rephrase,” she says in her doctor tone. “Your dad fell apart when your mom died because she was the love of his life.”

  “Okay, I did say that.”

  “And you said that you don’t want to experience that kind of love because you’re afraid of going through the same pain as your dad.”

  “I don’t want to lose a part of myself,” I admit. “Not like my dad did.”

  “Do you think that’s how he feels?”

  I nod, sure of the answer. “The dad I grew up with is not the same one who left us to deal with everything.”

  “What was your dad like before your mom got sick?”

  “He taught us how to play hockey. We did everything together. When he wasn’t with his team, he was home with us. He took us to the movies, arcades, carnivals, sporting events, you know, normal dad things.”

  “Duke,” sh
e says, leaning forward, her eyes fixed on me. “I want you to understand something. Not everyone falls apart when they lose love. Some people pick themselves back up and continue living the way their spouse would want them to. You don’t have to live your life in fear of losing something. In fact, you shouldn’t live your life that way, because it’s not a life at all.”

  “I’ve been waiting for the right person,” I counter. “And she’s sitting across from me.”

  Lila blushes, unable to hold my gaze. “Duke, you don’t mean that.”

  “Yes, I do. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

  She wipes the corner of her eye. “Are you afraid to lose me?”

  “Every damn day.”

  She clears her throat. “And you still want to fight for me?”

  “I’ll never stop.”

  * * *

  Max takes a spoonful of macaroni and cheese from the bowl on the table and starts arranging the letters. She moves the noodles around with her fork and sighs. Then, she takes another spoonful, sliding them across the plate until she spells each of our names.

  “Max, Mommy, and Duke,” she says, pointing at the plate with her fork. She moves the noodles around until they look like a pile of cheese. “You can start this time,” she says to me.

  I shove some noodles into my mouth and look to Lila for further instructions.

  “You have to think of a word,” Lila says, “then give clues, and we take turns trying to guess the word by spelling it out on our plates.”

  I laugh. “Really?”

  She nods. “Yeah, and if you don’t come up with a word and some clues pretty soon, we’ll be eating freezing cold food.”

  “This is my favorite dinner game,” Max tells me.

  “What’s it called?”

  “Mac and Clues.”

  I laugh once, and then stop when I see Max scowling at me. “Okay, I’ll start then. What’s round and black and glides across the ice?”