Moonlight Menage by Stephanie Julian Read Free Book Online Page B

talk. Something Duke didn’t do. He didn’t spill his guts. His mother had taught him that nothing good ever came of spilling your guts. Talking about your problems only meant laying them at someone else’s feet and that only created more problems.
    Hell, he didn’t even talk to Nic. Mostly because Nic knew him better than anyone and could practically read his mind so he didn’t have to talk.
    Kyle was his commanding officer but that didn’t mean he had to tell the guy his personal shit. And Tira was as personal as it got.
    “I’m feeling fine so I should head back to the house, see if I can dig anything out of the rubble. Anything I missed the first time through.”
    Behind him, Tira shifted on the couch. Before he could stop himself, he’d turned to find her stretching her arms above her head. The blanket fell to the floor as she stood, completely naked and so fucking beautiful, his chest ached with it.
    And when she bent to pick up the blanket, her perfect ass nearly made him groan.
    She turned as she wrapped the blanket around her, though he knew she wasn’t covering her nudity so much as she was chilly. Nudity wasn’t shameful in their community.
    But holy hell, he didn’t want her wandering around naked all morning or he’d never be able to get up from the chair because of his hard-on.
    She looked him straight in the eyes and her sweet half-smile nearly made him fall at her feet in abject worship. But by the time she’d crossed the room to stand next to him, he saw the shadows in her eyes and the effort it took for her to keep that smile in place.
    He wanted to wrap his arms around her shoulders and press his lips to hers but he had no clue what her expression meant.
    Did she regret having sex with him? Was she embarrassed? What the hell should he do?
    Uni’s ass, this was fucked up.
    Nic would know exactly what to do to wipe that look off her face. But Nic was still unconscious in the other room.
    And Duke had fucked the woman his best friend loved more than anything in the world. The one woman Nic couldn’t touch.
    “Tira, you want some coffee, hon?”
    Kyle broke the silence and Duke sucked in a deep breath, his lungs starving for fresh air.
    Tira blinked and forced a smile for Kyle. “Thanks, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to take a quick shower and see Nic before I go home to check on my mom. I’m sure she’s wondering what happened to me.”
    Shit, he’d forgotten all about her mom. He’d heard Suvera hadn’t been doing well the past few months. Which probably meant Tira had been hiding just how bad her mom truly was.
    “I’ll run you home as soon as you’re ready,” Duke said before looking at Kyle. “Then I’ll do that other thing.”
    “By that I guess you mean go back to the house you were at yesterday?” Tira lifted her eyebrows at him. “Where you all almost died. Do you think that’s smart? To go back by yourself?”
    He opened his mouth and closed it again before he said something stupid. “It’s reconnaissance. And it’s my job.”
    Her eyes widened even more. “And what exactly is it you do?”
    Yeah, that was not a conversation they were going to have now. He didn’t give a shit about lucani law when it came to Tira, about the oath he took not to reveal his status as sicari to anyone. He trusted Tira with his life.
    But with Nic still unconscious, he didn’t want her worrying more than she already was.
    “You know what I do. I work with Kyle.”
    “But—”
    “Go take a shower, Tira.” Duke shook his head. “I promise we’ll talk about it later. When Nic’s awake.”
    She took a deep breath and opened her mouth like she was going to say something else. Then her lips closed into a flat line and she nodded. “Fine. For now.”
    He watched her walk away, shutting the bathroom door firmly behind her.
    Before Kyle could open his mouth, Duke said, “I need to check on Nic,” and walked away.
    He opened the door to the bedroom and slipped inside, making no