Duke (Moon Hunter's Inc. Book 8) Read online

  “No, that’s true. I’d still like to kick their butts some more. I missed seeing Clancy at breakfast,” Duke admitted. “We weren’t expecting any trouble from local guys. When they sober up, Razar’s going to give them what for.”

  “I’m glad you’re alright,” Clancy said her face bright red. Sharon was grinning and Duke just kept holding her tight.

  “I’m glad too. That way I get to stay here with you.” Duke dropped a kiss on her lips like he did it all the time.

  “So, I heard you were looking for whoever let the mercenaries in,” Clancy mentioned.

  “Razar has narrowed down the choices. It looks like it’s one of the security guys they recently hired. He’ll question him and send him packing with a bad reference.”

  “That’s all he gets when one of us could have been killed,” Sharon asked.

  “I’m sorry. The only way to get information out of him will be to make a deal. He’ll regret it, Mazlans pay better than anyone around. It was a good job he messed up.”

  “Still doesn’t seem much of a punishment,” Sharon groused. She said her goodbyes and left, Clancy wondered if it was to give her and Duke some time alone.

  Duke immediately kissed her. “I wanted to see you before classes started.” He held her close and everything was right with the world. “You know you mean a lot to me, don’t you?”

  “I hoped I did, but I’ll admit when I couldn’t find you, I wasn’t sure what you thought.”

  “Clancy, I can’t believe you doubted me, Sweetheart. When this assignment is done and you’re settled, I want us to talk about a more permanent relationship.”

  “You do?”

  “I do, but for now, I want you to know you’re my female.”

  “Okay. That means we don’t see anyone else, right?”

  “Did you want to see someone else,” Duke asked.

  “No, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t. So tell me, what happened and where did you get hurt,” Clancy asked.

  “I was in the security room watching the monitors and running through last night’s footage. It was almost time for breakfast and I had planned on taking a break so I could eat with you. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement on one of the monitors so I checked it out. There were two bruisers headed to a side door. They could have passed for mercenaries since they were both at least six foot tall and broad.”

  “Did you call for help,” Clancy asked.

  “If I had been sure it was just them, I wouldn’t have worried, but had it been mercenaries, they would have sent two males to a door as a distraction and more would have hit other doors so I sent a message for back up. Once I got a quick reply, I headed to the door to intercept the pair. Neither was a good fighter, but because of their size I had to be careful. One of them carried a knife and I found that out the hard way.”

  “He stabbed you? Where?”

  “Right here, it would have been a killing hit had it gone deep. I was able to stop it from going in all the way. I pounded on him until Razar pulled me off. Drunk and reckless is one thing, stabbing with the intent to kill is another.”

  “What will happen to them?”

  “Razar will decide.”

  “The male with the knife needs a harder punishment or he’ll not learn.”

  “I couldn’t agree more, my love.”

  “It seems there is a lawlessness on this planet. They need a police force,” Clancy declared.

  “These recent events are unusual and these two males are local, but they came here recently to work for the Mazlans. They were from Earth and you know what that’s like.”

  “They should have gotten a wife first before they came here.”

  “You know how hard it is to get off Earth. Now that they are selling mates to the Mazlans they hate to let females go,” Duke admitted.

  Chapter 6

  Lawless

  Duke had his own suspicions and Razar was testing his theory. He didn’t think it was such a random occurrence that had these males testing the door to the building the refugees were in. These two bums had been in the same group of new employees as the security guys on the list of suspects for letting in the mercenaries’ ship. Duke didn’t believe in coincidences.

  It was that age old question, were you really paranoid when everyone was out to get you? Duke believed others had been drawn into the attempt to get the refugees back by the labs. He didn’t see why that was so farfetched. Someone who had money was willing to pay to get the former lab residents returned and these new hires were greedy.

  In his opinion, Razar needed to vet his newbies better. Maybe he should let Cash check people out before he let them on his planet. Recent events seemed to support that position. Enough people wanted to come here to work that Razar could be picky. Duke thought he needed to be in order to ensure the safety of his citizens and guests.

  Right now, Duke held the most important thing on this planet as far as he was concerned, Clancy. Razar needed to make sure these males didn’t get to her or any of the other females. Clancy was right when she said something needed to be done, but it wasn’t more policing, it was more care in who they allowed to come here.

  Background checks would make a world of difference. Even though Razar did have basic checks ran, deeper ones were needed. Right now, he planned to have Cash run checks on both the males that had tried to break in here. There was something off about them and he would bet they weren’t who they pretended to be.

  He set Clancy down. “I have to make a quick call to my boss and catch him up on everything. Let me do that and then we can go get supper. I’m tired of hanging out here.” He flashed her his winning smile.

  “Okay. I’ll just wait,” She agreed. Gods, she was so beautiful.

  He moved into one of the other rooms and pushed the button for Cash. “Cash,” he answered on the first ring.

  “It’s Duke. I know Razar told you what happened, but I have a bad feeling about those two guys. I want you to run a deep check on them.”

  “Okay. I can do that. How are you feeling?”

  “Bored out of my mind and ready to make a jail break.”

  “I know you hate medical, but it’s not like a jail. Did the healer say you could go?”

  “All I’m going to do is take my girl to supper and then go to sleep. I know you have Justice and Envy keeping an eye on things here.”

  “It’s one of the few places I have lots of part time hunters. I suspect I’ll have even more soon.”

  “You never can tell. I’ll neither confirm nor deny your assumptions.”

  “Yeah, just what I thought. I’ll send you the report as soon as I get it. You take care of yourself.”

  “I’ll do that and you do it too.” Cash was never careful and he was up at all times of the night. The man never got enough sleep. Of all of them, his life was the most unsettled. Everyone relied on him because they could.

  Duke walked back into the other room. “Ready to eat, Baby? I’m starving.”

  “Yeah, I’m hungry too. Let’s go,” Clancy agreed.

  They walked into the cafeteria and got their trays. Something smelled really good and they had chicken and dumplings as the soup. It was one of Duke’s favorites. He had a memory of eating it when he was freed from the lab he’d been born in. He couldn’t remember who had fixed it, only that someone had given it to him. That made it the ultimate comfort food for him. He got a big bowl of it.

  Clancy seemed to like the hamburger steak with mashed potatoes and gravy so he got some of that too. They sat down by Sharon and some of the others he didn’t know. Eventually, he would meet them all if they were friends of Clancy’s.

  Everyone ate with a good appetite and he noticed all of those he knew who had been thin before had gained some weight. The food must be good most of the time. He liked everything he’d put on his plate. The Mazlans were trying hard to help these people and Duke thought they were doing a good job, mostly. A few more security issues needed resolved and everything would f
all into place.

  He knew Razar had a lot to handle. He was trying to make decisions for a whole world. They had issues that were environmental, social, political, financial, and military so he could cut him some slack, but he would see it taken care of personally if it dealt with Clancy. Duke would allow no danger near her and that one had almost gotten near was unthinkable.

  Once they finished eating, Duke herded Clancy back to her room. “You don’t mind turning in early, do you? Healer’s orders were that I rest and I can’t rest without you.”

  “That is the sweetest thing. We can get ready for bed then lay down and talk awhile, if that works for you?”

  “There’s no one I’d rather talk to,” Duke said with a grin.

  Clancy took a shower first, dried off, and changed into her nightie. She came out ready for bed. “The bathroom is all yours.”

  Duke had to be careful as he made his way into the bathroom. He undressed but pulled his shirt away from his bandage carefully. The bandage was stuck to the dried blood which was stuck to the wound. Opening the door, he stuck his head out.

  “Clancy, can you help me with my wound?”

  “Yes, I wanted to see how bad it was anyway.” She stepped in to the bathroom and looked at his naked body. Clancy turned a bright shade of pink and he’d bet it was all over. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I need the bandage off, but it’s stuck in dried blood,” he instructed.

  She reached up and slowly tugged at the corner of the bandage. It began to give and she moved around working on each corner before working on the other sides of the bandage. There was almost no pain and he was sure the scab was intact. His healing was faster than a human, but not as fast as a Mazlan. He’d seen them heal in minutes from a wound like this.

  “Gods, Duke. Your wound is tiny. Was it like this to start with or has it healed this much,” Clancy asked.

  “It was two inches across and at least four inches deep. I don’t heal like a Mazlan, but I do heal better than a pure human.”

  Clancy giggled. “I never heard the term pure human before.”

  “Most hunters, hell, probably all hunters are mixed breeds.”

  “Like my people,” Clancy said. Her mind began to work on that. Did that mean most hunters were her people? “I guess I’ll let you get your shower done. Try not to get your wound wet.”

  Clancy left and he breathed deeply to calm down. It was a shame she hadn’t stayed and taken a shower with him. That would have been a lot more fun than just getting clean. Duke took his shower and watched his wound to be sure it didn’t get wet. Once he was done, dried, and dressed, he went out to find Clancy.

  “Razar called and left a message for you,” Clancy informed.

  Duke called Razar back. “Razar.”

  “This is Duke.”

  “Cash called me. Someone asked him to do a deep background check of the males that tried to enter the refugees building.”

  “Yeah? What was the result?”

  “They are tied to the terrorists that kidnapped Sharon. So are two of the security specialists on the list as potential suspects for letting the mercenaries through our perimeter shield.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Yes, but when we went to arrest them, they were in the wind.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “I’m not sure, but we just hired Cash to run deep background checks on all the people who were hired in the last year. I’m concerned about what we may find.”

  “I believe we should go to a red alert level here. They may try to abduct our females again.”

  “You really believe they’ll try,” Razar asked.

  “They were hired for a purpose. If they don’t get what they came here for, they won’t get paid.”

  “You’re right,” Razar agreed as he let out a deep sigh. “Why can’t these assholes just give up and go home?”

  “Maybe they have a purpose for Sharon and Clancy that we are unaware of? Or maybe it’s personal and they are like a dog with a bone?”

  “Either possibility is frightening.”

  “Yes, because it means they won’t be reasonable. They will keep coming until we find out who is behind it and destroy them.”

  “That may be exactly what we’ll have to do. I thought we took out most of the leaders and removed a lot of their money, but we’re missing something or someone.”

  “Cash needs to dig deeper until we root them all out,” Duke suggested.

  “I’ll call him back and discuss it with him. We can’t allow this to continue. It ends now, no matter what it takes. If they want this to be personal, that’s a challenge we can take.”

  Razar dropped the call, probably to call Cash instead. Duke looked up and saw Clancy looking nervous and upset. “I will protect you,” he said as he moved to her pulling her into his arms.

  “Can you protect all of us,” Clancy asked.

  “If we move up the threat level, Cash will send me help.”

  Clancy looked reassured. She felt wonderful in his arms and he wanted to taste her sweet kisses and chase all thoughts of the mercenaries and all worries from her mind. He also wanted to forget about his responsibilities and lose himself in the pleasure only she could give him even if just for a little while. The kiss he gave his female was red hot and he could feel her melting in his arms.

  She pulled loose from him and he looked at her in surprise. Was she angry? No, she didn’t look mad. “Duke? I want to suck your cock.”

  He almost swallowed his tongue in shock. “What?”

  “You’ve tasted me, I want to taste you.”

  “I think I’ve gone to heaven. Of course, you can if you want to,” he agreed. Clancy began to tear at his clothing. “Here, let me undress.” So he did and he stood in front of her naked and confident, on the outside at least. His cock was hard and weeping with need. That was what his woman brought out in him.

  Her hand went to his length and stroked him making him even harder. He tried to stifle a groan, but it came out anyway. “Do you want to sit,” Clancy asked. His knees did feel weak so he nodded and sat on the bed. She pushed on his chest causing him to fall back. By the gods, where had his timid Clancy gone?

  She continued to stroke him with one hand as her other hand kneaded his balls. Clancy sucked one into her mouth and tugged on it gently while her tongue slid it around. Duke whimpered in need. His ball popped out of her mouth and she gave the other one the same treatment. His cock ached for its turn.

  His other ball popped out of her mouth and her tongue traced a path up the underside of his shaft and licked the drop of precum off. She moaned in delight and it made him want her more. He almost came when her mouth covered the head of his cock and sucked hard. “Gods, Clancy. So good.”

  How did his Clancy know how to please him when she was so innocent? The answer occurred to him right away, she read about it. His woman was studious and not afraid to research anything she wanted to know about. It was an impressive talent.

  She began to move her mouth down his shaft and she started to choke. He felt her throat relax and she took him deeper. “Oh, yes.” He’d not intended to say that out loud, but it seemed to encourage her.

  Her speed increased and each time she moved down his cock, she moved further. That was no easy task since he was long and thick. He fought the need to pump into her willing mouth fearing he would cause her discomfort. “So good, Baby,” he encouraged and she moaned in reply. The vibrations added another level of pleasure.

  Clancy’s mouth moved harder and faster, her cheeks hollowed as her mouth gripped his shaft tight. He would swear he felt her tonsils as she took him all the way. It felt so amazing he growled. Never had any woman made him feel this much pleasure. His Clancy was amazing.

  “I’m close,” he warned her. Her only response was to speed up. A tingle ran down his back to his tail bone and his balls pulled up tight. “Claaaancyyyy!” The scream echoed off the walls as his body arched up from the bed and he felt h
is seed leave his body in hot spurts. She continued to suck hungrily taking every drop he had to give until he collapsed back onto the bed and she let his cock go with a pop. “Dear gods,” he whispered.

  “Are you okay,” She asked softly.

  “I think I died and went to heaven. That was incredible,” he admitted. It was a feeling so amazing he’d never felt that good before. His body felt warm and relaxed, but he needed to pull himself together to give his woman her pleasure.

  “I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right,” She admitted.

  “It was perfect.” He rose up on his elbows and looked at her. “You are perfect. Now It’s my turn. I need you naked.”

  Clancy stood up and began to slowly undress. His eyes watched her greedily. She’d put on some weight since she’d been here and she looked much healthier now. Her hair looked shiny and silky, her skin was clear and her coloring was starting to pick up a healthy glow. He looked at her eyes and they were bright and clear.

  “You are incredibly sexy,” he observed. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure at the compliment. It made him want to compliment her more, and he would a little every day.

  Duke moved around on the bed and crooked his finger at her. Clancy moved to him and laid down on the bed next to him. “I could stay in bed with you all day long and love every minute of it.” He rolled over so he was on top of her, but kept his weight on his forearms. It would be easy to crush his little female.

  He began with a sweet kiss that built in intensity until the heat rushed over both of them. Pulling back from her mouth, he nibbled on her neck all the way down to her should and across her collar bone. “Mm, fresh berries,” he declared, as he latched onto one nipple sucking it into his mouth. It was pink and delicate, tasty and decadent. Letting it go with a pop, he secured the other one with his mouth doing the same thing again.

  Once he let the second one go, he blazed a trail down her body to the crux of her thighs. Once he reached her sweet honey hole, he breathed in deeply loving the sweet, musky scent. His tongue itched to taste her so he did.

  “Yum. You taste so sweet,” he informed.

  Clancy moaned and arched toward him. His female was so responsive it gave him even more pleasure. His tongue returned tasting her thoroughly as his tongue plunged into her over and over. His finger replaced his tongue when his tongue moved to her sensitive clit.