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body swayed as she sauntered over to me, laced her arm through mine, and pulled me toward the door we’d come in. “Bye, guys. It’s been fun.”
    I rolled my eyes and waved. “Yes, thank you for not killing us.”
    They all let out boisterously loud laughs before saying goodbye in unison. Duke followed Megan and me to the car. He opened her door first.
    “Why, thank you, G.I. Joe,” she remarked, chuckling at his gesture.
    He nodded and closed the door once she was seated inside. Then he approached my side of the car and placed both hands on my hips. “Call next time before showing up. We all know who is scheduled to come in and out of this building, and when someone pulls in who isn’t expected… well, you saw firsthand what can happen.”
    I nodded and reached for the door. His hand stopped mine from lifting the handle. “I’ll call you later on tonight,” he said before leaning in and kissing my cheek quickly and allowing me to settle inside of the car.
    Megan put the shifter in drive, took off, and delivered me back to my house in record time.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    I woke out of a deep sleep to a ringing cell phone, checking the clock before answering. Half-past midnight. “Hello.”
    Duke’s voice came through the speaker. “Did I wake you?”
    Not wanting him to know I’d already fallen asleep, I did my best to sound wide awake. “No, I was just watching TV.”
    Instantly, I heard laughter in his response. “You’re a terrible liar. Feel like company?”
    I smiled into the phone. “Yes, please.” And just as quickly as I’d answered, the phone call ended, only to be followed by the sound of the doorbell. I climbed out of bed and pulled my silk robe around my shoulders as I scurried down the stairs. I made a quick stop to check myself in the hallway mirror before opening the door.
    Duke stood there, eyes glistening in the moonlight, in a pair of cargo shorts, flips flops, and a dark grey Under Armour sweater.
    I quickly reached for his hand and pulled him into the house. “It’s freezing. Get inside.”
    He followed me up the stairs and into my bedroom, then pulled the door closed behind him and locked it like he’d done the night before.
    “Paranoid?” I asked teasingly.
    He shook his head. “It’s just a habit.”
    As I approached my bed, I quickly remembered my sleeping attire was a bit different than what I’d worn to bed the previous night as I’d had no plans for company.
    Suddenly nervous, I began to fidget with my robe before I glanced up at Duke and then back to my bed.
    I suppose he could tell where my mind was by his response. “Want me to close my eyes?”
    I laughed nervously at his remark and nodded. “No peeking.”
    His hands went to his eyes, allowing me to slip my robe off and climb into bed.
    I pulled the covers up to my chin so my barely-there silk nighty wasn’t exposed. “Okay, all clear.”
    He grinned and then dropped his hands down to the bottom of his sweater. In one quick swoop, he was standing before me, chest fully exposed.
    I drew in a breath before speaking. “Peeking permitted tonight?”
    His fingers undid the button of his cargo shorts, and he let them slip to the ground. Now standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers, his V muscles fully exposed for my enjoyment, “Looks like it” he replied before climbing into my huge bed. His warmth instantly radiating toward me as he slipped under the covers.
    Goosebumps took over my skin at the touch of his frigid hands, “Your hands are like ice.”
    Duke hooked his arm around me and tugged my body toward his as I snuggled up in the crook of his arm. His fingers trailed my back over the silk nighty. “These seem a little more fancy than last night’s pajamas. You have company before me?” he asked jokingly.
    I couldn’t help but get excited at the possibility of him being jealous when I formed my response. “Yeah, six or seven different guys. In fact, you just missed the last one. He slipped out of the