๋ก๊ทธ์ธ๊ณต์
Confession
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2022-10-20 15:28:27Caitlyn sucked in a sharp breath through parted lips that ached from the splits in them. She wished she hadnโt said thatโit had come out in the worst possible way and there was no way to reverse it. Her eyes squeezed shut, the swollen one shooting a lancing pain into her head. Pressing against Dukeโs chest, she would have pulled away, but his arms tightened around her, refusing her escape.
He shook his head. โNo. Stay right where you are. Iโve spent three years watching you from a distance. In love with a woman that I wasnโt supposed to have. Iโm tired of the space between us,โ he told her in a harsh whisper, an edge to his voice that sent a shiver racing over her. โWhatever this is, Caitlyn. Whatever youโve done, you need to tell me. Thatโs all I ask. And you need to know, whatever it is, thereโs no way in hell Iโm letting you go.โ
โDuke, Iโ.โ
He silenced her protest with a kiss, tender against her abused lips despite the severity of his words. There was no
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Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Guilty
Duke tucked his mouth up close at her ear. โIf youโre guilty, Caitlyn, then so am I.โ Her pulse quickened and her toes curled, a zinging tingle sweeping over her flesh as his breath stirred her hair, tickled across the whorl of her ear. โI donโt care about the right or wrong of it, darlinโ. I canโt see beyond this minute. Or next week. All I can see is you. And youโre too good, Caitlyn. Too pure of heart and intention to ever maliciously hurt someone else.โ โBut Dukeโ,โ she tried urgently, but he continued, his words spilling over his lips, across her trembling flesh. She turned her head into his shoulder, breathed in the clean, warm, distinctly male scent of him. โI donโt care what you do. I donโt care what youโve done.โ His mouth closed, warm and insistent, over the tip of one breast and she shuddered, her fingers diving into his hair. โBut Iโm afraid to lose you,โ he assured her, moving to the taut tip of the opposite breast to pay its due. โIโm afraid to lose the love of my life
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-21Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Interloper
Standing before the window in her darkened room, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and peered into the nighttime murk beyond it. It all seemed still, quiet, exactly like any other remote forest ought to be. Except that every once in a while, sheโd catch the brief flash of a tiny lampโsometimes green, sometimes blue, most often redโand detect movement, and she knew that there were men out there patrolling. She heaved a deep sigh. Maybe I shouldnโt have agreed to come here. Reaching out, she fisted the heavy drapes at the sides of the tall, narrow window and jerked them sharply, pulling them closed. She pivoted in the dark, using the dim light through the remaining windows to guide her to the bedside. There, she turned and let herself fall backwards onto the mattress. Then again, the accommodations are a vast improvement over the cramped little hotel room. She stared up at the Murano glass chandelier in the center of the ceiling, glinting with multi-colore
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-22Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Hostilities
Dex perched over the arm of a sofa so he could see down the long hallway that led to the bedrooms. Heโd been appalled to watch Jay Ellis invite himself into Rachelโs bedroom, but was even more appalled when the man reemerged five minutes later, and after shutting the door behind him quietly, headed for the bar in the corner of the living area. โGoddamn, that woman is spicy,โ Jay muttered appreciatively as he adjusted himself in his expensive slacks, a feral grin plastered over his face. Gritting his teeth, Dex suppressed his envy and watched as the other man poured himself a generous Scotch and tossed it back without so much as a flinch. Rachel was spicyโon that much they agreedโand it annoyed the hell out of him to think that this was the kind of man sheโd settle for. โYou want something, pretty boy?โ At the bar, the other man refilled his drink. Dex arched a brow as his head swiveled towards Jay. The suit the man wore was Armani, and if he was any guess, probably as expensive as
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-23Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Ghost
Dukeโs brow furrowed at the question, one he doubted sheโd like the answer for. โFor the moment, Iโd like you to rest and heal.โ Beneath him, Caitlyn froze. โYou said we were going home. What arenโt you telling me?โ she asked in a dangerously soft voice. His long exhale of frustration tickled across her flesh, raising the delicate hairs along her neck and arms in alarm. โThereโs nothing to tell, darlinโ. We donโt yet know what weโre up against.โ Caitlyn processed his statement in a soporific haze. She hurt. And her body was so tired that her exhaustion felt like a drug, her limbs heavy and unresponsive. From the little that sheโd gleaned, both from her kidnappers and from Duke and her rescuers after, his statement made no sense. Theyโd taken out the rogue agents. Theyโd incapacitated the terrorist agents and turned them over to Interpol. โI thoughtโ.โ Her voice trailed off as an irrational panic fueled by fatigue washed over her. If this was l
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-24Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Inadvertent Spy
As soon as Caitlyn woke, immediately she reached behind her, seeking Dukeโs reassuring presence and warmth. Instead, her fingertips found only empty space, and she frowned, rolling to her back to look at his side of the bed. Her fingertips hadnโt lied. He was gone, and by the cool feel of the sheets, he had been for some time. She squeezed her eyes shut against the brightness of the sun against the curtained windows, then gave a soft grunt as acknowledgment of her bodyโs lingering pain. She continued to lay as she was, contemplating all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. All that sheโd learned from Richards and Jantzi. All that sheโd learned from Duke and his remarkably resourceful and strangely unnerving friend, Jay Ellis and his sister. Her thoughts strayed to what Duke had said about envying Alex. The vulnerability sheโd heard in his voice when heโd admitted it made her tense and agitated, and left her feeling guilty and defenseless in an unhappy marriage of roiling
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-25Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Called Out
When he opened the bedroom door, Caitlyn was seated on the foot of the bed. Her hands rested, relaxed, in her lap, and her eyes fixed without seeing on a random spot on the floor. Sheโd showered, and looked the better for it without the smudges of wiped off blood from the day before, but she was still dressed in her filthy clothes. Now that she was clean, every mark and bruise on her body conveyed the full impact of what sheโd been through in aching detail. The fine hairs on the back of Dukeโs neck lifted and stood on end suddenly and he cursed himself in his head. She was waiting. Something was very wrong. โDarlinโ?โ Her eyes lifted and focused as he drew her replacement luggage into the room, then shut the door behind him. When she eyed the new suitcase, he explained. โItโsโthey destroyed yours. Had Allie pick you up a replacement that she thought you might like. Your clothes are still here.โ โSomething from her bag of tricks?โ she said softly, but t
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-26Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Brooding
Duke lay along Caitlynโs side, his bicep pillowing her neck. It had taken a boring wander through the villaโs library, then a long walk through the guarded forest around them, and finally a sedative before sheโd relaxed enough to drowse. His fingers twisted into her hair and he pressed a kiss against her unbruised temple, solely so he could inhale the scent off her. His entire life, heโd lived essentially without fear, trained to protect, prepared to die. Which suited him just as well. Fear pissed him off. The paralyzing characteristics of it pissed him off, and he had no use for that kind of emotion. Not in his line of work. But now, he knew what it meant, how it felt to be vulnerable. Heโd become all too familiar with being afraid in a way he didnโt like. He slid his hand across her flat belly, gripping her hip gently to pull her closer against him, feeding his warmth into her. Under the effect of the sedative, she never stirred. What the hell am I going to do? Heโd wracked his br
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-28Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Blatant and Subtle
The kitchen was busy, with small packs of Jayโs men coming and going. Distracted by all the activity, Caitlyn retreated with a plate to a far corner, watching the goings-on with a keen eye. There were a lot of men here. Big men. With a lot of weapons. An army to protect one woman with only one thing of value. As Rachel entered the kitchen, she saw heads turn to follow the pretty blonde. One of them was Jayโs. Immediately, his chair slid back and he was on his feet following her, despite the plunging mercury surrounding her. โHey, princess.โ Even in the noisy room, Caitlyn could hear him clearly. โLet me fix you a plate. Or something else if you donโt like whatโs here already.โ Pivoting sharply, Rachel heaved a barely tolerant sigh when he crashed into her, then threw his hands off her hips where heโd caught and steadied her. When she glared up at him, his lazy smirk widened. Beside Caitlyn, Duke leaned in and whispered, โHeโs got a thing for her.โ She snorted at the understateme
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-11-11
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Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Afterwards
Tucking the thin parcel under his arm to hold it, Duke pressed his thumb against the biometric security lock at the lab door, then entered his security code. When the door released, he pulled it open, then closed behind him. He stopped in the entry room, juggling Caitlynโs package between hands to don his long, white lab coat and a pair of safety glasses. โHey Paula.โ He gave his wifeโs lab worker a polite smile and nod as he passed through the wet lab between the aquarium racks teeming with zebra fish. โHi Duke. Sheโs in at the microscope.โ โThanks.โ On the opposite side of the room, he passed through another door into the main laboratory space, a generous work area with water-resistant flooring, provisions for tissue cultures, microscopy, cell cultures and chemical prep rooms outfitted with biological safety cabinets. Immediately, he spotted his wife. As heโd been advised, Caitlyn was seated at one of the sturdy laboratory tables before a microscope
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Rock and a Hard Place
Turning the knob slowly, Duke eased the latch free and peered around the door into the bedroom of his suite with Caitlyn. Piercing green eyes landed instinctively on the bed, where she lay with her back to him. Her knees were curled up towards her chest, her shoulders rolled forward almost protectively. Closing the door as silently as heโd opened it, he covered the few paces to the bedside without a sound. Sheโd slept a lot in the last few daysโhealing, sheโd told him. It was a sentiment reiterated by the medic with Jayโs team. But even though something about that sat wrong with him, he wasnโt going to wake her. If she was able to sleep, then her body needed the rest. All he needed was to be close to her, even if that didnโt involve touching or holding her. Heโd have preferred if it involved touching and holding her. He wanted to saturate himself in her beauty, in the yielding sweetness of her warm body, to let his own stress and fear dissipate. Even if only for a little while. Al
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Debriefing
โMr. Ellis,โ the low voice droned, filling the small sitting. It belonged to a man clearly used to issuing orders that were obeyed. For a call of this magnitude, Allie had gathered their ragtag bandโ Jay, Duke, Caitlyn and herselfโin her suite on the Italian Riviera. When it was all said and done, it had been easier getting to the awaiting boat than Caitlyn had anticipated. Of course, gravity tended to work that way. As soon as Dex had placed a portion of his weight upon it, as Duke had anticipated, the damaged and rusted grate over the collapsing drainage shaft had groaned loudly then given way, unceremoniously dumping the three of them into the open air. Immediately, Duke had deployed the parachute to slow their fall. The fire-heated sea drafts had carried them in a descending spiral, out over the frigid water of the Adriatic where theyโd landed safely. Dex slipped the makeshift harness before theyโd resurfaced and struck hard for the boat, bringing it along
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Risky
Caitlyn heaved forcefully as the choking fumes were piped down her throat and into her lungs, singing the sensitive passageways. She collapsed into the muck in a spasming heap. โDuke!โ Squeezing onto his side, Dex dragged himself alongside the hacking, weakly thrashing woman as she clawed at her throat. Glancing back, Duke cursed. โCan you pull her?โ Another rumbling explosion rocked the tunnel. This time, bits of dust and pebbles tumbled from between the stones above them. โOh hell.โ โUh-huh. Got it.โ Dex wrapped an arm around the floundering womanโs hips and braced his feet on opposite sides of the tunnel. With one arm and using the slime on the bottom to reduce the friction from their weight, he inched them both toward the exit. In the lead, Duke watched the struggling pair, debating whether he should go ahead and prepare for the jump to their escape or wait until they caught up so he could take Caitlyn from the other man. Both thoughts were immedi
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Cut and Run
โAlex!โ she breathed, starting forward when he raised a violently shaking hand towards her. His thin mouth opened in silent accusation and supplication. Then both Dex and Duke were turning her, one on each upper arm with a firm grip. They propelled her swiftly through the hidden door. โDuke, the latch,โ Dex ordered as they rushed into the narrow passageway. He pointed at the door, then reached for the switch to reconnect his communication equipment. โKnight 2 and 3. Asset acquired. Allie, we could use an exit plan.โ As Duke released her, Caitlyn jerked herself free of Dexโs grasp. She flung herself at the door. โNo! He needs my help!โ Ramming the bolt home, he pivoted and grasped her by the upper arms. โCaitlyn!โ he snapped harshly, shaking her once to get her attention as the light dimmed to nothingness. โNo matter what he did to stay alive before, you canโt save him now.โ โYou donโt know that!โ she cried to the darkness.
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Verdict of the Fates
โCaitlyn!โ The lump of stone that had become his heart leapt into Dukeโs throat with ringing alarm. โShut your mouth, you worthless whore!โ Alex jerked the pistol at her furiously. โHow dare you even speak to me like that!?โ A soft gasp escaped her and she took a step backwards, closer to Duke and the meager amount of safety he presented as Alex advanced on her. She'd intended to provoke him. This was a much bigger reaction than she'd anticipated. โYou have no idea! No fucking idea how I felt having to squat just to stand in your shadow!โ His vicious words spat at her through clenched teeth. His bourgeoning rage scorched over her, filling the tiny antechamber with its malevolent presence. โYou donโt know what itโs like to have your lifeโs workโthe epitome of your creativity and intelligenceโ shown up and disproven by some pathetic little girl who refuses to see potential! To watch as you dusted your hands of it, like everything I did wa
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Senza Umanitร
Except in photographs, Duke had only ever seen Alex Maddox onceโthe day the manโs body had been moved from the hospital morgue to the funeral home where Caitlyn had made final arrangements. Frankly, he didnโt look much better now than he had in the body bag, even if he did technically have a pulse. But he had no doubt in Caitlynโs recognition. Whatever Alex had put himself through to create the illusion that he was dying, it clearly hadnโt been without lasting effect. Not that heโd ever been particularly robust anyway. True, he hadnโt been the stereotypical scrawny, bespectacled and pocket-protected scientist obsessing over his collection of tribble plushies. Like his med school performance, Alex Maddox had been average. Average height and weight, average build, average looks. Though Duke never would have guessed it studying the skeletal creature leveling a pistol at his weeping wife. He had been fastidious about his appearanceโgetting a haircut every 28 days without fail and only w
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Vengeance Denied
Frozen in place and unable to turn away, Caitlyn watched the violence of the wild seizures as Tommaso thrashed on the hard stone floor. Each second that ticked away was a new horror as her potent chemical cocktail took effect. Within seconds, the manโs uncontrolled muscle spasms had pulled bones from joints or outright snapped them. His respirations turned into hiccupping gasps, shallow and forced and his skin flushed dark red from the fierce pounding of his heart.And then it was over.As a physician, she knew what the manโs final second had involved and she gagged, stumbling backwards a few steps knowing that sheโd caused it. Catching herself with one slim hand on the edge of a lab table, she crashed to her knees and vomited. Like pulling the trigger of the gun aimed at Agent Richards, it had been too easyโfar too easy to kill.She gave a weak sob, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Even with Dukeโs words in her head, she knew that until she reached her foul captorโs ch
Italy With A Dukeย ย ย Best Laid Plans
โKnight 1. In position,โ Jay drawled lazily through the comms, and Duke couldnโt suppress his grin. Both he and Jay were uncomfortable, but there hadnโt been time to develop a full-scale assault plan. At most, they might get twenty-four hours before Caitlyn was either killed or sold to another terrorist group. Theyโd already lost seven and half hours just getting to her location. They couldnโt afford to wait. A few seconds after, Dexโs acknowledgement hissed through his earpiece. โKnight 2. In position.โ Ignoring the brief bursts of chatter through his comms, Duke reached for another handhold, and pulled himself up the sheer face of the cliff on the ocean-facing side of the stone fortress. A hot twinge of pain shot along his nerves from his shoulder, as the numbing medication wore off. He gritted his teeth against it, continuing his climb. Of course, they had the benefit of some of the most advanced surveillance equipment in the world, and arguably the most brilliant mind to opera
