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“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. I’ll protect you. You’re safe with me.”
Nicole broke down. Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking the pillow she tried to hide her face in. Duke pulled her into his arms and gently rocked her until she calmed. Those words meant more to her than all the money in the world ever could. Here in Duke’s arms, she was safe for the first time in her life.
“You’re Dad should have kept you safe. It’s the ultimate betrayal from a parent when they don’t. It cuts deeper than any knives ever could and leaves bigger scars.”
She could tell by his voice he was speaking from experience. Looking up into his hard eyes, she knew now wasn’t the time to ask about it but a new sense of finding a kindred spirit smoothed over her past hurts.
Nicole had been asked countless times why she still had anything to do with her Dad and advised that she should cut all ties. It was easier said than done. He was the only family she had and she didn’t want to be alone in the world. She wanted to feel connected to someone, to belong to someone, even if it was her scum bag father. She had no memory of her mother who had left them when Nicole was nearly two. Her Dad never spoke about her and always shouted if Nicole brought her up. He had never let the system take Nicole from him, even though sometimes it had seemed that it was very close to happening. He would always move them some place new and promise things would get better. At times they did, at times they really didn’t. She knew it was up to her to break this cycle, to move away and stay away. She had planned to for years but always stalled when the time came.
She only ever spent the bare minimum of any pay check she earned and the rest was hidden and saved. Nicole tended to come away from times like this with nothing if she didn’t take precautions like that. Her home would have been raided by whoever her dad owed. There was never anything of value to find, most of her things were bought from yard sales. That never stopped them destroying everything in sight though. She has a safe deposit box that she keeps any mementos that mean something to her in along with the few pieces of jewellery that she had been given by friends or boyfriends. They had little value but they meant the world to her. She revealed all this to Duke, laid herself bare. Duke had listened to her ramble on and had sadness and pity in his eyes now. She didn’t want that. Finished, she stared at the bed spread waiting for whatever he was going to say. He kept silent. She was broken. No man wanted a woman like her for keeps. Her baggage needed its own zip code.
It seemed her risk of taking a chance hadn’t paid off. There would be no happy ending for her. Then his hand tipped her chin up. The look in his eyes had changed but she couldn’t label it. She’d never been looked at like that before. It stripped back all her layers and made her utterly vulnerable to what he would do next. Nicole held her breath as Duke slowly leaned towards her. Her heart momentarily stalled and the started to race as he pressed soft kisses on her mouth, keeping eye contact the whole time. He blanketed her with comfort. Their kissing grew more passionate and she let her thoughts escape into the back of her mind as he pleasured her over and over before she fell asleep in his arms. She felt sated, cared for and like she’d finally found her home.
******
Over the next ten weeks, Nicole spent every night with Duke in his bed and every day in the kitchen or behind the bar serving the brothers. She really didn’t mind the tasks she was given. They’d stopped feeling like orders weeks ago and now she did them because she wanted to. She wanted to help out. She enjoyed the company and banter they shared and it was great to cook with proper ingredients. The only channel that was clear on her TV at home had been the Food Network, so she had plenty of ideas that she got to try out on the brothers.
It had taken her a few days to wrap her head around the portion sizes the brothers expected, although she never had any complaints. More and more of the brothers turned up at the compound at lunch and dinner until practically every brother, old lady and prospect turned up for most meals, plus, kids were added at the weekend. Duke liked to joke that her cooking was costing the club a fortune in the kitchen and behind the bar. What could she say? The brothers liked a beer with their meal. His comment secretly thrilled her.
