āđāļāđāļēāļŠāļđāđāļĢāļ°āļāļāđāļāļĢāđ
Strategizing
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ:
2022-09-29 08:14:34Rachel barely recognized the hollow-eyed face of her transparent reflection in the glass doors of the hotel as she approached them, dragging her luggage behind her. She wasnât the kind of woman who made a habit of being miserable, but at this point, she was giving it serious consideration.
The life-sustaining nicotine-coffee-chocolate buzz sheâd subsisted on since the truck stop earlier in the day had long since worn off and sheâd been running on fumes for hours. Her skin felt gross and she was sure she must stink after two days without a shower, even if sheâd been blessed to spend most of it in refrigerated air. Sheâd long since passed the point of hunger, and now, she was fairly certain sheâd be too exhausted to eat, regardless of the quality of the meal presented her.
The automated doors slid open as she triggered their sensor and she turned exhausted eyes to the front desk.
âRachel?â
Pausing, she pivoted toward the sound of her name.
Dex.<
āļāļāļāļĩāđāđāļāļĩāđāļĒāļ§āļāđāļāļ
Italy With A Duke   Reversal
Duke wasnât certain whether it was the nighttime view of the city from the Duomoâs lantern. Or the second bottle of wine and tiramisu theyâd shared while listening to tonightâs orchestra concert on the Piazza Santa Croce after dinner. All he knew was that their cozy little table nestled in a sheltered corner of the restaurantâs patio seating was draped in shadows, making it remarkably intimate for a thrillingly public venue. That as the evening wore on and the crowd thinned, Caitlynâs hand had crept over his thigh and opened his fly without a single provocation from him. And since she had her hand inside his slacks, he wasnât about to ask what had gotten into her. Besides the electric thrill that came with the risk of discovery and her initiating something so risquÃĐ, there was an equally rousing rush that came from her tentative explorations. Sheâd captivated him from the start, but the combination of her innocence and her lustful daring was a heady potion, o
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-09-30Italy With A Duke   Seduction
Her heart leapt joyfully at Dukeâs encouraging words. Basking in the warmth radiating off of him, Caitlyn drew nearer, pressing her body lightly against his. What had happened at the door had been frighteningâsheâd never seen him with so little control. Even swept as she was into the storm of passionate sensations he stirred, she still retained at least that much presence of mind to hear what he was saying, to know what he was doing.So much instinctive drive was flattering too, she had to admit. To hold a man like him so enthralled. Even now, he was respondingâhis fingers leaving hers to caress along the bumpy ridge of her spine, his head dipping to nuzzle her neck. To control himâand herselfâshe was going to have to be firm.âDuke,â she pressed at his tattooed forearms insistently, forcing him to release her, and pulled out of reach of his lips. âI love what you do when you touch and kiss me, but I want to learn what you like too.âWith a wry grin, he tucked his hands behind his bac
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-01Italy With A Duke   Red Light, Green Light
Leaning against his chiseled chest, Caitlyn wrapped her arms around the back of his neck in an extended stretch. Then she wiggled and flexed with no particular grace and absolutely no idea what she was doing, rubbing her bottom against the heated steel of Dukeâs erection. With her heart racing in a frenzied thumping, she waited for his reaction. Rapt, he gently enfolded her in his tattooed arms, closing one large hand at her throat and pressing her into his strong, warm body. She was so primed that she gasped as his questing palm brushed over the sensitized tips of her breasts and squeezed lightly before angling downward to skate across her abdomen. He was making a beeline for her pleasure zoneâs command central. Too fast. Already she could feel herself being sucked in to his seduction and overpowered. âWait.â His hand stilled and he nuzzled into her neck, forcing his breathing to steady as he inhaled the florally-female scent off her skin and fought the dema
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-02Italy With A Duke   All On
What escaped him was something between an agonized howl of pain and a bitter growl of frustration. But he yielded. Setting her on her feet gently, Duke separated them. Then he took an unsteady step back, pivoted so his back was to her and took a seat on the side of the bed. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, then fell back to stare blankly at the ceiling, his chest heaving and ropey veins standing out along his neck and shoulders, down into his tattooed forearms. His eyes slammed closed and he exhaled a sharp breath. He could have overpowered her like he had at the door. But heâd given her his word, and heâd kept it. Now heâd given her infinitely more. Heâd set her free. Liberated her from her own insecurities. Unshackled the bonds of the past that had kept her prisoner. Elated, Caitlynn pushed herself off the wall and stumbled to the side of the bed. Dukeâs breath left him with a soft âoophfâ as she fell upon him, but there was no tim
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-03Italy With A Duke   Pre-emptive Strike
âRachel, youâd probably feel better if you ate something,â Dex said quietly, reaching for his cup of espresso. Ignoring him, she glanced at her watch and scowled, then sat up straighter and craned her neck, skimming the people at the other tables in the hotelâs restaurant. âWhere are they? You said theyâre usually down here for breakfast by seven. Itâs seven fifty-five.â Sighing heavily, Dex used the time it took him to set his cup down to rattle off a mental ten-count. âThe operative word was âusuallyâ, Rachel. If I knew where they were, I wouldnât be here having my meal ruined by your frenzied tapping and annoyed huffing. Maybe they came earlier.â âWe were down here at quarter after six!â Not willingly, he thought, but remained silent. He lowered his head and rubbed his eyes slowly, his jaw clenched. âFine. Maybe theyâre late. Maybe theyâre having breakfast somewhere else or getting room service. Thereâs not a way for me to answer your question or I
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-04Italy With A Duke   Shocks
By the time Rachel heard the click of the deadbolt lock on the door at room three-twenty-two, sheâd already worked herself up into a fit of rage. Sheâd long-since formulated her verbal pre-emptive strike and it was perched to roll off the tip of her tongue the instant that she laid eyes on the fake Duke. She was bound and determined to make him pay for forcing her to chase her client halfway around the world on what in her mind amounted to an unnecessarily drawn-out, miserable, un-air-conditioned, sleepless scavenger hunt. Then the door opened. Only wide enough for a naked chiseled chest to block her view inside. But that singular piece of visible artistry in his sculpted arms and shoulders, and the rippling pectorals that tapered to his narrow waist and divine abdominals was all it took to erase everythingâeven her own nameâfrom her head. She fought the urge to groan aloud and try to touch him. With her mouth gaping open, she stared at the sporadic dappling
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-05Italy With A Duke   Aftershocks
As Rachel sputtered and Dex gaped, Caitlyn stumbled a few more steps backwards into the room, her soft doe eyes locked on Duke in astonishment and accusation, flickering with distrust. He knew the look all too wellâheâd made her nervous. That he didnât like. He took a slow step closer, taking in the damp cling of her dark hair to her delicate neck, the slenderness of her shoulders. She was shaking like a leaf in a gale, her mind obviously an unfathomable swamp of questions and misunderstandingsâthings with some significant negative potential. That made him nervous. âCaitlyn,â he whispered, taking another step towards her. In his periphery, he saw her hired companion, Dex, lunge forward and capture the destructive little meddler, Rachel by the shoulders. âWe need to stay out of this,â Dex hissed. âLike hell weâ.â Her words cut off as he covered her mouth with a hand. For the first time since Duke had laid eyes on him, he was gra
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-06Italy With A Duke   Deceived
âCaitlyn, are you certain you want to do this?â Rachel asked for the hundredth time, watching as the other woman packed the last of her belongings into her luggage. Settling into the familiar comfort of numbness, Caitlyn lifted her head as she zipped the bag closed. âItâs what I want.â Home. The stillness of familiarity. Work that she could immerse herself in, her sorrows imprisoned safely behind it. She felt so tired. So overwhelmed by the magnitude of everything sheâd learned. She needed someplace quiet, where she could slowly reconcile herself while everything that she thought she knew gradually fell apart. Dex shoved himself off the wall. âIâll get that.â He reached for her luggage, easily setting it on its wheels and extending the handle. âWeâll get a car downstairs. Rachel and I will ride with you to the airport and weâll be on the next flight out after yours. Is there someone picking you up when you get home?â She shouldered her
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2022-10-07
āļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ
Italy With A Duke   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 Caitlynâs package between hands to don his long, white lab coat and a pair of safety glasses. âHey Paula.â He gave his wifeâs lab worker a polite smile and nod as he passed through the wet lab between the aquarium racks teeming with zebra fish. âHi Duke. Sheâs in at the microscope.â âThanks.â 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 heâd been advised, Caitlyn was seated at one of the sturdy laboratory tables before a microscope
Italy With A Duke   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 heâd opened it, he covered the few paces to the bedside without a sound. Sheâd slept a lot in the last few daysâhealing, sheâd told him. It was a sentiment reiterated by the medic with Jayâs team. But even though something about that sat wrong with him, he wasnât 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 didnât involve touching or holding her. Heâd 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 Duke   Debriefing
âMr. Ellis,â 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 bandâ Jay, Duke, Caitlyn and herselfâin 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 theyâd landed safely. Dex slipped the makeshift harness before theyâd resurfaced and struck hard for the boat, bringing it along
Italy With A Duke   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. âDuke!â Squeezing onto his side, Dex dragged himself alongside the hacking, weakly thrashing woman as she clawed at her throat. Glancing back, Duke cursed. âCan you pull her?â Another rumbling explosion rocked the tunnel. This time, bits of dust and pebbles tumbled from between the stones above them. âOh hell.â âUh-huh. Got it.â Dex wrapped an arm around the floundering womanâs 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 Duke   Cut and Run
âAlex!â 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. âDuke, the latch,â Dex ordered as they rushed into the narrow passageway. He pointed at the door, then reached for the switch to reconnect his communication equipment. âKnight 2 and 3. Asset acquired. Allie, we could use an exit plan.â As Duke released her, Caitlyn jerked herself free of Dexâs grasp. She flung herself at the door. âNo! He needs my help!â Ramming the bolt home, he pivoted and grasped her by the upper arms. âCaitlyn!â he snapped harshly, shaking her once to get her attention as the light dimmed to nothingness. âNo matter what he did to stay alive before, you canât save him now.â âYou donât know that!â she cried to the darkness.
Italy With A Duke   Verdict of the Fates
âCaitlyn!â The lump of stone that had become his heart leapt into Dukeâs throat with ringing alarm. âShut your mouth, you worthless whore!â Alex jerked the pistol at her furiously. âHow dare you even speak to me like that!?â 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. âYou have no idea! No fucking idea how I felt having to squat just to stand in your shadow!â His vicious words spat at her through clenched teeth. His bourgeoning rage scorched over her, filling the tiny antechamber with its malevolent presence. âYou donât know what itâs like to have your lifeâs workâthe epitome of your creativity and intelligenceâ 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 Duke   Senza UmanitÃ
Except in photographs, Duke had only ever seen Alex Maddox onceâthe day the manâs body had been moved from the hospital morgue to the funeral home where Caitlyn had made final arrangements. Frankly, he didnât 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 Caitlynâs recognition. Whatever Alex had put himself through to create the illusion that he was dying, it clearly hadnât been without lasting effect. Not that heâd ever been particularly robust anyway. True, he hadnât 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 appearanceâgetting a haircut every 28 days without fail and only w
Italy With A Duke   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 manâs 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 manâs final second had involved and she gagged, stumbling backwards a few steps knowing that sheâd 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 easyâfar too easy to kill.She gave a weak sob, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Even with Dukeâs words in her head, she knew that until she reached her foul captorâs ch
Italy With A Duke   Best Laid Plans
âKnight 1. In position,â Jay drawled lazily through the comms, and Duke couldnât suppress his grin. Both he and Jay were uncomfortable, but there hadnât 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. Theyâd already lost seven and half hours just getting to her location. They couldnât afford to wait. A few seconds after, Dexâs acknowledgement hissed through his earpiece. âKnight 2. In position.â 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
