Saving Serena (Hawk Security #1)

Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

Duke

I woke with an alarm squawking and hair in my face.

Serena pulled away to silence the damned noise. I’d been spooning her. Since when was I a spooner?

“We have to get up,” she said.

“Go ahead.” I groaned. “I’m catching a few more winks.”

She pulled the covers off. “Up. I set the alarm late so you could sleep in, but we still have to pick up Grace and get down to Anaheim.”

I rolled to the side of the bed and sat up. My foot landed on an empty condom wrapper. Blinking, I found it had buddies nearby—three of them. It had been a busy night, a fantastic night, to finish up a busy day.

I smiled. Telling old man Benson he could stick it if he didn’t like me dating his daughter had been liberating after our encounter years ago. The risk had been worth it. Serena was mine, and I wasn’t letting her go for him or anyone.

Serena moved over and rested a hand on my shoulder. Her other hand traced the scar on my lower back. “How many of these do you have?”

“Three. That was shrapnel. Then a bullet wound on my left leg.”

Her fingers ran a circle around my scar. “Do they hurt?”

“That one does.”

She jerked her hand away.

“When I think of the buddy I lost that day,” I mean. “Freddy and I were close.”

“I’m sorry. Can you tell me anything about it?”

“Fucking cake-eaters sent us into a real clusterfuck. The grenade that nicked me got him.”

When the memory of the aftermath of his death threatened, I stood quickly, turning away. I couldn’t look at Serena and have her see the real pain that day’s events had triggered. “Get in the shower,” I barked.

The bed shifted, and then the shower started in the bathroom.

“If you hurry, I’ll let you wash my boobs.”

Serena isn’t Marilyn. My job here is a safe one. I made the decision to live in the present rather than the past. I grabbed a condom and walked into the bathroom. We might have to skip breakfast. They had food at the park.

As usual, traffic was heavy on the freeway as we drove down to Anaheim. Unusually, Serena was up front next to me. My dick still tingled from last night and this morning. She’d become my addiction.

We had Constance, Terry, and Grace in the back.

I checked the rearview mirror again.

“Don’t you dare laugh, Duke.” Constance jabbed the back of my seat. She’d certainly pulled off different with a frumpy top, huge sunglasses, a long wig, and a longer skirt.

I bit back my laugh but couldn’t avoid the smirk. Serena turned back. “I like the look.”

Normally, I was totally focused on the job, but when I put my hand on the center console and Serena covered it with hers, normal went out the window. My dick swelled, and I desperately wanted to be somewhere private with this very special woman.

“This is exciting, don’t you think?” my very special woman asked. “I haven’t been there in forever.”

I pulled my hand away so I could concentrate on driving. “Worried is more like it.” Serena shouldn’t have agreed to this Disneyland outing. It would be a difficult place to maintain security with all the crowds, and we’d be unarmed.

“Kitty, how about holding hands?” Terry asked in the backseat. He and Grace hadn’t agreed on how their fake-date cover was going to operate. “It would certainly be appropriate for a third date.”

“First,” Grace insisted. “After a few minutes with you, they’ll know nobody would agree to a second date. I’d choose a very public setting like Disneyland where you’d have to behave yourself.”

“Disneyland isn’t a first-date place,” Terry argued. “Because it would be awkward to cut it short—not that you’d want to with someone as charming as me.”

“Or someone as humble,” she added.

“I’d take you to a romantic dinner on our first date. Someplace with dim lighting where nobody would notice your childish nails.”

“I like them,” she said, displaying them in front of her. “All the better to scratch your eyes out if the situation calls for it,” she added with a hiss.

I knew better than to criticize a woman’s choice in nail art, even if it was multicolored and cat-themed.

Serena looked over her shoulder. “He’s right, you know. How many women would choose an all-day first date?”

Grace huffed. “Okay, a second date, which I agreed to when I was too drunk to know better. And some hand-holding is allowed. But if you try to cop a feel, I’ll lay you out flatter than a pancake.”

Terry laughed. “You’d try.”

“Or turn you into a soprano when you least expect it.”

“Ouch.” Terry grimaced.

When my phone rang, I put it on speaker. “What’s up, Jordy?”

“I went to get a cup of coffee, and I’ve lost connection to the house. I’m blind.”

“How’s that possible?”

“I hope nobody cut the—wait… Yeah, here it is. The cable company says the internet is down in like a twenty-block area.”

“Why?”

“Just a second. Keep your britches on… Got it. LAPD reports some idiot driver hit the cable company’s box a few streets over, and like the good citizen he was, the guy decided to flee the scene. Typical.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Do you want to send Terry to check out the house?” Jordy asked.

“Can’t. He’s with us.”

“You could drop him off, and he could Uber back,” Jordy suggested.

I checked the rearview mirror. Constance shook her head. Terry nodded.

I agreed with Constance. A crowded space was too dangerous to give up a pair of eyes. “Send the boss.”

“No can do. He’s got a client meeting in Santa Barbara.”

“I’m keeping Terry. Disneyland is the priority. He and Constance are both needed on this outing.”

“Copy that.”

“Thanks, Jordy. Keep me updated.”

I ended the call and shook my head.

“What are you thinking?” Constance asked.

“I hate coincidences.” My gut told me this was too many things pulling us in opposite directions all at once.

She leaned forward and patted my shoulder. “You made the right call. It’s just an empty house. If you’re worried, we can do an extra-careful sweep when we get back.”

I nodded, but that didn’t help the knot in my gut.

Serena

I was giddy as a schoolgirl to have my hand in Duke’s as we walked onto Main Street in Disneyland. With a few sore muscles from last night’s athletics, I wasn’t looking forward to standing in a ton of lines, but that was the reality of a park like this.

“Where should we start?” Nick asked, looking at his girlfriend, Allison.

“The lady’s choice,” Duke said immediately, pointing at Katelyn, who was on the phone. It was a cute gesture. I’d mentioned Katelyn’s depression over the loss of her fiancé and asked him to be nice to her.

“We’ll be here pretty much all day,” she said into the phone as she finished her call.

“You get first choice,” Grace told her when she’d put the phone away.

“Oh, goodie. Space Mountain was Leo’s favorite, so let’s do that one.”

Nick pointed the way to Tomorrowland, and we followed with Grace and Terry behind.

I didn’t even have to ask. Duke held my hand or had his at the small of my back the entire time as we walked and went through the line, just like a proper date. And that’s what I decided this was.

We’d been naked between the sheets, exploring each other’s bodies in the dark, but somehow, his light touch in the daylight was better—in a way I couldn’t put a finger on. It was more erotic, more sensual, and soothing at the same time. Maybe it was being in public in front of his team. The fact that Duke refused to break contact with me meant he was signaling that I was his to everybody around.

We boarded the ride, and his massive arm went around me, pulling me close. The ride went by in a blur as I couldn’t get past the thought that I’d somehow lucked into a date with the perfect man. It would be a very long day if he kept this much bodily contact with me. Still, I intended to enjoy every single second of it.

When we exited the ride, my hormone-addled brain searched for someplace secluded I could drag him, but Grace’s bickering with Terry reminded me that we couldn’t be alone today.

“Grace, your choice.” Duke’s voice boomed over the noise of the crowd.

“Yeah, Bobcat, show us what you’re made of.”

She pushed Terry away. “Matterhorn.”

Hand in hand, we strode to one of the oldest attractions in the park. I would have chosen it as well. It had been one of my favorites as a kid. But the ride turned out to be a bit of a disappointment because the bobsleds weren’t two across, so I couldn’t sit with Duke next to me.

Nick had reserved a Lightning Lane time for Splash Mountain with time for lunch between now and then. It would be fun, even if it included getting wet. Still, being in line wasn’t half bad. It was a typically warm Southern California morning, with bright sunshine and the gentlest of breezes.

As we ambled toward the ride, Terry pulled Duke aside for something.

Grace and I slowed at the cotton candy machine. “What do you think?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Looks yummy.”

We got in line, and a guy in too-short shorts ahead of us turned around and eyed me. “It looks almost as yummy as you.” Slimeball. He licked his lips and moved closer. “What’s your name?”

Yuck, yuck, yuck. No response was the right response.

Suddenly, Duke was next to me, a protective arm tight around my shoulder. “Her name is none of your business if you want to keep your teeth,” he growled.

Too-Short Shorts Guy melted backward, left the line, and scurried off.

Imagining George defending me like that was impossible, and I leaned into Duke’s strength. Was it wrong to think of his possessiveness as sexy?

“Hey, guys, we need to get moving,” Nick called.

“My waistline doesn’t need that anyway,” Grace said as we left the line.

Duke kept his arm around me as we walked. I clung to him when I noticed how many women gave him a second or third appreciative look as we passed. Sorry, ladies. He’s taken.

We lagged behind Nick and Allison. Katelyn was recounting something about her last time here when I jerked, seeing a man in a black jacket ahead.

“What is it?” Duke demanded.

Katelyn paused her monologue. “What is what?”

Having heard the tone of Duke’s question, Terry was immediately alongside us.

Looking through gaps in the crowd, the man was no longer there. “I thought I saw him.”

“Where?” Duke demanded. “Terry, our six.”

I pointed in the direction I’d seen him. “Black jacket.”

Duke scanned the crowd forward while Terry turned to cover our backs. Duke pointed discreetly when Katelyn turned.

Only then did I notice Constance for the first time this morning.

She hurried to where he pointed.

Katelyn looked left and right. “Saw who?”

Duke gave her the canned explanation. “Her dipshit ex.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “I never liked him.”

I nodded in agreement. George was milquetoast compared to Duke. “It must have been somebody else.”

“You two know each other?” Katelyn asked, pointing between the guys. It was the first time Duke had said anything to Terry.

I swallowed hard. This was bad.

“He trained me for a while,” Terry explained casually, lifting his arm to flex his biceps.

“Wow,” Grace cooed, playing her part as his date. She moved over to feel Terry’s muscles. “He must be a miracle worker if he can get this result with a guy like you.”

“It’s all because of the work I put in, darlin’,” Terry shot back.

Grace turned away. “Whatever you say, darlin’.”

“It is,” Terry insisted.

Katelyn rolled her eyes, and the question of Terry and Duke’s connection seemed forgotten.

We logged another ride before lunch. Then Nick suggested the Blue Bayou restaurant and got no complaints. I hadn’t had a Monte Cristo before, so Duke ordered that with fries for each of us. It was delicious, something between French toast and a grilled ham and cheese.

The others seemed oblivious that we were playing footsie under the table. Duke leaned across to wipe some ketchup off my lip. Once again, the light touch from someone so big and powerful undid me. How did I deserve a man so dreamy?

Nick and his girlfriend went to the bathroom, which I thought might be an excuse to be alone for a minute to make out.

Then Katelyn’s phone rang, and she excused herself to take it.

“Do you really think you saw him?” Terry asked, now that we didn’t have Katelyn listening in.

I shrugged. “It looked sort of like him, but with the distance, I could easily be mistaken. It might have been the jacket.”

Duke put his food down. “We should leave to err on the safe side.”

“No,” I insisted. “We’re not cutting this short. I’m not certain enough it was him for that.”

Katelyn returned before Nick and Allison did. “What’s next?”

“I think Serena and I might call it a day,” Duke blurted.

Katelyn looked as mortified as I felt. “We haven’t had a chance to talk.”

I gave Duke my signature punch in the shoulder. “No way. You can go home alone if you feel that way.”

“I drove,” he pointed out.

“If you stay, I’ll drive you back,” Katelyn offered.

“No need,” Duke said, tugging on my earlobe. “I’m not leaving my Snuggles alone.”

After lunch, we hit Splash Mountain, followed by the Jungle Cruise, and my favorite of the day, Pirates of the Caribbean. Or it would have been my favorite if it hadn’t been closed when we arrived.

Duke made up for it with the most romantic gesture I could have asked for. He put two quarters through the coin press, turning them into special elongated silver Disneyland coins with the Disneyland Haunted Mansion embossed on them. “Keep this with you, so you remember today.”

I put the coin in my pocket.

He kept the other.

Allison was over the moon when Nick followed suit, pressing two coins for them.

Terry went next. “Here, Kitten.”

Grace accepted the sliver of silver from him and tried to hide her smile, but I caught it.

Each of the rides today evoked a childlike happiness in me and an unexpected playfulness in Duke. This had resulted in too much tickling, enough hugging, and almost enough playful kissing. By the end of the day, I felt oddly naked when we weren’t pressed together.

Katelyn checked her phone toward the end of the afternoon.

“What are you guys up for next?” Allison asked as she pulled close to Nick.

“I’m beat,” I admitted. It was the truth. Duke had worn me out last night.

“It’s too early,” Katelyn complained. “We don’t get here often enough to quit now.”

“Riverboat,” Terry suggested. “That’s easy.”

Nick and Allison led the say.

Terry slid an arm around Grace to follow.

Duke pulled me along after them. “That’s easy enough.”

Grace pulled away from Terry. He took her hand and whispered into her ear. She laughed and didn’t yank free. Progress .

Katelyn came close a few strides later and whispered, “Leo and I started like that.”

“Like what?”

“Sniping at each other as a defense mechanism.”

“You think?”

“Check out the way she watches him when he’s not looking.”

I merely nodded. But it only took a minute for me to see an example of it.

Terry slung his arm around Grace’s waist, and this time, she didn’t object.

After a short walk, we strolled aboard and chose the top level near the stern of the Mark Twain riverboat. The steam puffed methodically out of the twin chimneys as the large paddle wheeler began its journey around Tom Sawyer’s Island.

I leaned against the railing, snuggling up to Duke’s warmth. The magic of this place was how it could transport you out of Los Angeles and into another world. Logically, I knew there were millions of people in hundreds of thousands of houses just outside the park boundaries, but I couldn’t hear or see any of that now. Our existence currently included only water, trees, and the sound of the paddlewheel churning.

Nick corralled a passing couple, and they nicely took pictures of our group on all our phones. Grace changed sides, choosing not to stand next to Terry.

“If you want to go, we can call it a day,” Duke mumbled into my hair after the group photo broke up.

“Thank you for coming with me.”

He turned me to face him. “It’s been fun for me, too.”

With my breasts pressed against his chest, I became lost in the depths of his eyes and the fullness of his smile.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Nick called. “We gotta get off unless you want to go around again.”

Duke didn’t turn us toward the stairs to exit as I expected. “You deserve days like today. That’s half the reason I came.”

I blinked back tears and pressed my face into his chest to hide them. When I had them under control, I turned to look out at the water again.

“And the other half?” I asked without meeting his eyes.

“I think you can guess.”

“Oh, you know, us Bensons are sort of slow.”

He took a deep, pained breath. “I really wanted to have a full day with you.”

“We’re leaving,” Katelyn called from the stairs.

As we hurried to catch up, I added, “The day’s not over yet.”

He laughed. “Or the night.”