Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Are you free tonight at 9?” You smiled at the text and typed back quickly, “Of course”. You didn’t expect Duncan to respond because he usually left it at that, but when you unlocked your phone to see a photo of Duncan’s very large hand grabbing his bulge in his slacks you nearly spit out your water.

“Jesus Christ…” you said as you felt your face go red and quickly locked the screen.

“Something up, (Y/N)?” Your friend, who was having lunch with you currently asked with a curious expression on her face.

“J-Just something Duncan sent me.” You put your phone face down on the table and tried to act natural, but you were failing miserably.

“Duncan, is that the one you’re fucking?” You choked on your food, almost coughing it up all over the table as you tried to compose yourself.

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You wiped your mouth with your napkin as you spoke.

“Yes, you do. I heard you on the phone with him last week. I think he said, “Are you wearing any panties?” She lowered her voice to a whisper with a smirk on her face. At this point, it was probably impossible to be more embarrassed.

“Why were you listening? I wasn’t even in the same room as you.” You grumbled as you jabbed a piece of food with your fork.

“Because I never see you look at your phone like you do when you’re texting him. I know you’re not in a relationship so I assumed, but I'm surprised (Y/N) you don’t seem like the hook-up type.”

“Because I’m not.” you chewed your food slowly. “Duncan’s not the relationship type, but I mean… I don’t really want to stop.”

“Not the relationship type huh? He must be hot.”

You nodded your head enthusiastically “He’s literally the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. I would’ve never in a million years think he’d go for me, but damn.”

“What’s he look like? How did you meet?” She pressed, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow at you.

“We met at this work function a few months ago… His family runs a big company but he doesn’t really talk much about work when we’re together.” You shrugged, swiping through my photos to find a decent photo of Duncan and handing her your phone. She took it and a wide smile spread on her face.

“Holy fuck, you’re sleeping with Duncan Shepherd? Like the Duncan Shepherd?”

“Don’t say it so loud!” you yanked your phone back. “It’s not that big of a deal…”

“Well, I guess you weren’t lying when you said he was the hottest guy. That man is a whole meal. I have at least three friends that have said they wanted to fuck him.”

The thought made you smile a little. Duncan was hot, but you didn’t know how many others were into him. For whatever reason, he wanted to you, and you were perfectly content with that.

“How big is his dick?” She leaned over the table and whispered, You rolled your eyes but gave her a nod and a thumbs up. She burst out laughing.

“Wow, I'm proud of you (Y/N). Now when are you going to tell him you like him?”

“I don’t like him like that.” you lied, this time she rolled her eyes. “I’m not blind (Y/N), remember I said I saw the way you looked at your phone? And you definitely are the relationship type.”

“I-I can’t tell him. I don’t want to ruin it. I know he doesn’t want to date me, He made that very clear when we got together the first time.” you bit your lip at the memory. Duncan was a very straightforward man. He didn’t beat around the bush about anything, It made sense to clarify your relationship as what it was.

“I want you to know before we go any further I’m not looking for a girlfriend.” was about as in your face with his intentions as he could get.

You should’ve stopped then, but the way he had you pressed up against the wall was clouding your mind. Now you were ‘stuck’ having amazing sex with a man who didn’t want a relationship. The issue arose on your end, particularly the one where you were madly in love with him.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” She said, you sighed sadly.

“I know, I should tell him shouldn’t I?” She nodded her head in reply.

You sighed, feeling anxiety form a ball in your chest. You should tell him, but part of you didn’t want to. (The part that was getting fucked by him), but your brain was telling your heart that if you wanted to avoid being hurt then you should at least tell him that you liked him.

What if he just moves on and starts fucking someone else?

You dropped your fork at the thought. Suddenly losing your appetite entirely.

“I’ll tell him after tonight…” you mumbled, she reached over and patted you on the arm. “Don’t worry, I think he’ll want to be with you. You’re a catch! Besides, if he didn’t like you at least a little, he would’ve just fucked you once and left it at that.”

You nodded, taking a bite of your food with a sigh.
__

As you rode the elevator up to Duncan’s apartment, you took out my phone and looked at the photo he had sent earlier. Just looking at it turned you on, Did you really want to ruin it by telling him you liked him? But you really did like Duncan. It wasn’t just because of the sex either. He made you feel beautiful. He was funny and charming, his smile made your heart beat faster. Time flew when you were together, even if you were just hanging out and watching Netflix.

You felt safe with him. Safe when he held you in his arms, safe when he pressed a kiss to your forehead every time you left his apartment. You wanted to listen to his laugh every day, See him happy, content. You wanted to be the one who made him happy.

You knocked on the door to his apartment, hoping that your nerves would be calm by the time he opened the door. The smell of food swirled in the air as you stood in front of his door, which was odd. He usually didn’t eat this late. You didn’t have time to question it because a second later the front door swung open and standing there was Duncan. It took your breath away every time that you saw him, but for some reason when he was casually dressed in a t-shirt and black jeans he looked incredibly sexy. He was usually dressed up during the day, and it made you feel special you got to see him like this.

“What smells good?” You asked, he slipped your jacket off your shoulders and hung it up.

“I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner, care to join me?”

“Really? We’ve never eaten dinner together before…” You said, He smiled.

“I know, it’s just dinner. Not a big deal (Y/N).” He walked off toward the kitchen with a wave of his hand and you let your eyes wander.

God this man was beautiful. The way those jeans hugged his long legs, his thick muscular thighs. That perfect ass. Duncan was a god compared to any other man in the looks department.

“I know it’s not…” you said quietly. It was true that you had never eaten dinner together before. DInner felt intimate. It felt like a date, eating together. Something he made special for just the two of you.

A small glimmer of hope bloomed in your chest at the thought that maybe, just maybe, Duncan felt the same way.

“It’s nothing fancy, but I know you’re not really into fancy.” He placed a plate of delicious looking food in front of you that made your stomach rumble at the sight.

“Wow, this looks...amazing,” You said as you took a bite. You couldn’t help but moan at the taste. Of course, he was a fantastic cook too.

“Damn (Y/N), can’t even wait until after we eat for you to start moaning like that?” Duncan teased, giving you a suggestive look as he sat across from you.

“I can’t help myself,” you shrugged, he leaned his elbows on the table and said, “I want to be the only one who makes you moan like that, (Y/N).”

You nearly choked on your food at his words, for some reason today you just weren’t good at eating. He laughed, the sound immediately relaxing you. Duncan’s laugh was your absolute favorite thing.

After you ate, you felt your nerves growing. You normally weren’t this nervous, but in the back of your mind you knew there was a perfectly good reason to be, you had to tell Duncan. You were about to wash the dishes when he walked up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Are you ready for Dessert?” He whispered in your ear, his breath making you shiver.

“I’m still kind of full…” You teased, Duncan laughed and spun you around so you were facing him.

“You’re about to be.”

You wanted to laugh at his joke, but it came out as a moan when he grabbed your hand and placed it on the growing bulge in his pants. Your fingers squeezed his clothed member and he groaned in response.

“Did you like my photo this afternoon?” He nibbled on your earlobe as he spoke, his hands finding your ass and giving it a light squeeze.

“I- I loved it, I wasn’t expecting it at all…” You said, leaning into his kisses on your neck.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you, even while I was working… Your beautiful lips around my cock.” He bit into the sensitive part of your neck, making you moan out loud and arch into him.

Your hand started working at his belt, undoing it easily and slipping it off making a metallic clang as it hit the floor. “Good girl princess, You know exactly what I want,” You smiled at him and pushed him away slightly so you could comfortably get on your knees, eye level with his cock.

You licked your lips as you undid the button on his jeans and pulled them down with his boxers just enough to let his heavy cock spring free. You marveled at the size every time, He was way above average and thick because of course, this gorgeous man would have a gorgeous cock.

You took his warm shaft in your hands and gently squeezed it at first, feeling the hardness as you held it. flattening your tongue and licking the sensitive underside. His fingers made their way into your hair as you licked him, urging you to take it in your mouth. You did, feeling your mouth drip with salvia as you began to suck him. You made sure to keep a hand on him, stroking the length of his cock as you work your mouth on him. Stroking him up and down and sucking. He wasn’t patient with your slow pace, gripping your hair harder he began to force his cock down your throat, a loud moan escaping his lips as he pressed into your airway. You braced your hands on his thighs as he pressed deeper into your throat, thrusting his cock in and out of your mouth as he held your hair tightly. You moaned around him, trying your best to remember how to breathe. Your nose practically pressing into his skin as his fingers knotted in your hair. The wetness between your thighs was growing more and more apparent by the second, and with your hands-free, your throbbing clit was begging for your attention. Your fingers hiked up your skirt, revealing your soaked panties to the cooler air of the room and to Duncan’s attention. He pulled his cock from your lips and yanked you upwards suddenly, a stern expression on his face.

“Did I say you could touch yourself (Y/N)?” His breath was hot against your face as he raised one perfect eyebrow at you, biting your lip you shook your head.

“Hm?” His fingers danced around your throat as he pressed, “No you didn’t, Sir.” You breathed, Duncan smiled in satisfaction and tucked his hand under your chin, keeping your eyes locked with his. “That’s right, Princess. Remember when I said earlier I wanted to be the only one who made you moan?” You nodded at his words, your face already completely flushed.

Duncan captured your lips in his with a searing heat, his hands gripping your hips and prompting you to wrap your legs around him, his exposed cock pressing perfectly against your soaked panties. He supported your legs as he began to carry you, his lips never leaving yours as he took you to his bedroom. His tongue tangled with yours with an intensity that made goosebumps flare over your whole body. He laid you gently on his silky duvet and slipped your panties off with one quick move.

“You’re so wet for me…” His voice was deep and laced with lust, his fingers pressing into your slick folds for only a second as he leaned over you on the bed.

“Please…” You moaned out, Duncan smiled up at you, “Please what Princess?”

“Please touch me, I-I just want to feel you… Any part of you…” You sighed as his thumb pressed directly against your clit in response, his other hand caressing your thigh before he reached up and pulling your skirt off you. You slipped off your shirt as he undressed, but you never took your eyes off him. He pulled off his shirt and you watched, practically drooling as you watch his arms flex. You could watch him undress a million times and never get bored.

Once you were both completely naked Duncan crawled over you, the warmth of his skin against yours as he pressed against you, placing soft kisses to your lips before moving to your neck, sucking hard on your most sensitive spot. “D-Duncan!” You moaned, “You’re going to leave a mark,” Duncan continued his movements on your neck, his teeth latching onto the spot for a second before he whispered, “That’s the point, Princess…”

His stubble tickled your skin as he worked his lips down your body, his large hands caressing your skin as he made his way down to your soaked core. “I’ve been waiting all week to taste you,” He moaned before licking a long stripe up your wetness and ending at your clit, his fingers pressing inside of you at the same moment he sucked, making you moan his name. Your fingers wrapped in his brunette curls, tugging the way you know he liked it. His fingers were relentless as they curled inside of you, his tongue circling your clit at the same making you almost crush his head between your thighs from the sensation alone. He continued his movements until you inevitably fell over that edge, lapping up your wetness with his perfect tongue.

Duncan nudged you farther back on the bed so your head hit the pillows, pressing a heavy kiss to your lips making you taste your sweetness as you felt him run his cock along your sensitive clit and wet entrance making you shutter underneath him. He pressed his thick cock inside of you while his lips were still on you, causing you to moan into the kiss as he finally filled you. The feeling of Duncan’s cock filling you was like nothing else, it was the perfect combination of tightness and pressure that drove you wild. With every thrust, he pressed into your g-spot with perfect precision, your walls clamping down on his cock making his moans fill the room in harmony yours. When he lips finally left yours, he pulled your hips to his and brought your legs over his shoulders, pressing himself into you as deep as he could possibly go, his thrusts becoming almost relentless as he fucked you. His hands kneaded your breasts and pinched at your sensitive nipples, you could barely stay conscious at this point. When his hand pressed into your throat, you felt the white-hot heat inside you begin to build again. “Are you gonna come for me, princess? Come over my cock?” Duncan said huskily, his fingers tightening around your throat making you gasp for air. “Say my name,” a grunt left his lips as he spoke. “Duncan, Please I wanna cum all over your cock, Please!”

Duncan pressed your knees to your chest as he fucked you, taking your bottom lip in his and biting it before kissing you breathless. “I want you to cum at the same time as me, ok Princess?” He whispered huskily as he adjusted himself, his hand finding its way back to your clit and rubbing it in rhythm with each thrust, making the coil in your stomach twist. “Duncan, Please…” You moaned, your hands wrapped around his shoulders as you dug your nails into his back. “I wanna fill you up Princess, will you let me?” His eyes locked onto yours clouded with lust, you nodded feverishly not being able to find your words. Duncan gripped your hips tighter and with one more press and thrust you found yourself unraveling beneath him, Duncan wasn’t far behind as he pressed himself as deep as he could, before releasing strings of hot seed inside of you. You could feel your muscles contract around him as his cock pulsed inside of you, you both sat still and breathless as you rode out the last moments of your orgasms.

When he was softening, Duncan finally pulled out and collapsed on the silk beside you. His naked chest heaving as he relaxed. “Was that ok? I know we don’t usually…” Duncan’s voice whispered, you looked at him and nodded. Duncan never came inside you. You were on the pill, so you weren’t concerned about getting pregnant, but he still never did it. You assumed it was just one of his boundaries that you didn’t speak about.

One of those unwritten “Friends with benefits” rules you didn’t typically break. Coming inside you was on that list, so was kissing outside of sex. Besides the occasional cheek kiss or forehead kiss, he never touched your lips unless you were fucking. You tried not to think about it. You savored every moment his lips were on yours though.

“I should clean up,” You took a shaky breath and started to sit up, Duncan’s hand reached up and grabbed your wrist, pulling you closer to him for a split second and pressing his lips to yours. Your heart hammered in your chest, He simply smiled and flopped back down onto the bed, his eyes closing.

You slipped out of the bed hoping he couldn’t hear your pounding heart as you slipped into the bathroom. Was this a dream? You stared at your naked body in the mirror for a moment and examined the purple bruise forming on your neck from his teeth, another thing he never did.

You pinched your arm, Nope. Not a dream.

You shook your head as you decided to take a shower. Maybe Duncan was just feeling affectionate? The little voice in your head wanted to disagree. You stepped under the warm spray and allowed it to relax you. Washing your hair with a very expensive shampoo that surrounded you in one of Duncan’s signature scents. After 10 minutes of standing under the hot water, you wrapped yourself in a fluffy towel and made your way out of the bathroom.

Duncan was standing at his dresser, a pair of pajama pants hung low on his hips, your clothes you had been wearing sat folded on the top of the dresser. “I forgot my clothes…” You said, Duncan smiled and walked over to you, his hands behind his back as he examined you wrapped in his towel.

“Do you want to stay with me tonight?” He held out a large t-shirt and your underwear.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you looked up at him. “You want me to stay over?” Duncan nodded.

Now it was really weird. “Really?”

He laughed, a cute smile on his face as he ran a hand through his hair. “You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“No! No. I want to.” You flushed at how eager you sounded, and took the shirt he was holding out for you. You smiled at him and went back into the bathroom to put on the clothes. A large white tee, and a pair of panties. Yours, definitely. But not the pair you had been wearing. Your face went beet red. Had you left these here? Managed to leave and go all the way home before realizing you forgot your fucking underwear? You brought the fabric up to your nose hesitantly and smelled. Clean. He’d washed them too.

You slipped them on and shook your head, pulling the shirt on top and taking a glance in the mirror. The thin fabric fell at your upper thighs, leaving your ass exposed and your nipples definitely were making an appearance. You were sleeping over, wearing Duncan's clothes, in his bed. You felt like a giddy teenager.

Stepping out of the bathroom, you noticed Duncan was already in bed. The Duvet and comforter pulled back to reveal soft luxurious looking sheets. He was propped up against the pillows typing something on his phone. A pair of round glasses perched on his nose.

“You wear glasses?” You asked, you had definitely never seen them. He nodded and gestured to the bottle of contact solution and the little white container sitting on the dresser. “Only at night.”

“They look cute,” You said in a small voice. You didn’t think he heard, but the smile on his face said otherwise.

You made your way to the bed and slipped in, making yourself comfortable on your side. Your side. Duncan was still typing away on his phone, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He was so, So beautiful. It made your heart practically skip a beat every time he looked at you. Those gorgeous blue eyes melting into your gaze.

“Enjoying the view?” His voice brought you back to attention and you flushed. “You’re adorable when you blush.” He said, his eyes back on his phone as he spoke, you could feel your heart beating in your ears as you processed his words.

“Did I really leave my underwear here?” You decided to ask, Duncan laughed. “You leave a lot of things here, Princess. I have a few pairs of your panties… some socks, jewelry, a jacket.”

“God really?’ You sighed in embarrassment, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I figured you knew, you never asked about it. I was surprised the first time you left your panties here though.” You raised your brow at him and found yourself laughing.

“I can take my stuff home if you tell me where it all is.”

“You can if you want, I don’t mind you keeping some things here though,” Duncan said nonchalantly. “You don’t mind?”

“You’re here like three times a week, it wouldn’t kill me to have some of your things here in case you need something.”

He was saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, like having a bunch of your stuff wasn't weird at all, for someone who was supposed to be, “Just a friend,”.

“Yeah, I guess…” You nodded, grabbing your phone and unlocking it. A red notification lit up and you opened the app, a message from your friend. “Have you told him yet?”

Your eyes quickly glanced at Duncan, making sure he wasn’t looking at you before you typed back your response.

“No, but he asked me to stay over” She responded almost immediately. “REALLY”

“Really.” You sent.

“What are you smiling at, (Y/N)?” Duncan asked, making you jump and almost drop your phone. “Just texting my friend.”

“Are you talking about me?” He raised a perfect eyebrow at you, but his face said he was genuinely wondering.

“Uh, kind of? I was just telling her I was staying…”

“Do you talk about us often? What we do?” He leaned closer to you as he spoke, tilting his head.
“No! No… I assumed this was private… she just knows you exist…” You bit your lip. Would he be mad you told your friend? He had never said you couldn’t talk about it. You just assumed because of his social standing he probably didn’t want other people to know about his personal affairs.

Instead of responding, Duncan snatched your phone out of your hand and made your heart leap. “Duncan!” you yelled, but he held up a hand, luckily the app you were texting on was Snapchat and all your messages were gone. Duncan held up your phone and smiled, making sure you were visible before taking a photo and sending it to your friend.

“Now she knows exactly where you are,” He tossed the phone back into your lap and you sat there stunned. Your phone vibrated and the “Screenshot!” Notification popped up before a series of messages.

Most of them were “OMG WHAT” but the last one made you laugh, “he looks cute in glasses”.

You put your phone down and snuggled into the covers, deciding to just relax and try to actually get some kind of sleep. All though with how fast your heart was beating you weren’t sure if that was possible or not.

“Do you have work tomorrow?” He asked, sitting his phone down next to the bed and plugging it in.

“Just a meeting at like… Eleven.” You said, he nodded. “You should get some sleep then so you can get home in time.”

“Yeah, you should too. I’m sure you’re busy.” “I’m always busy.” He said with a sigh.

You were making yourself comfortable in the bed when Duncan’s arms found you, pulling you over to him so you were pressed against his front. His arm draping itself across your stomach.

“Since you’re staying the night I’m going to make the most of it.” He whispered in your ear, his hand tracing the soft skin of your stomach that was exposed with your shirt slightly pulled up.

“I didn’t know you where a cuddler, Duncan Shepherd.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, (Y/N).”

______

You had never felt so comfortable before, waking up wrapped in a warm embrace that felt like heaven. Actually, it was better than heaven. Duncan’s arms were still wrapped around you when you woke up, even though your shirt you could feel the warmth of his skin, and another warm thing you could definitely feel pressing against your lower half. You unconsciously pressed your ass closer to him, taking a deep breath as you felt his hardness press against you.

“As much as I want to fuck you right now, we both have things we need to do today.” Duncan’s husky morning voice rang in your ears, making your face flush when you realize he had probably been awake the entire time, still holding you.

You broke his embrace just enough to turn your body toward him, his eyes still closed as he laid next to you. You studied his resting face for a moment, the sunlight peeking through the curtain was hitting his hair and making the soft waves shine. His hair looked so different when it wasn’t pushed back with a product or expertly curled. It was just soft curls spread all over his pillow, in every direction. You never even imagined you’d get to see him like this, unguarded. You found yourself brushing a curl from his eyes, the softness was an unfamiliar yet so familiar sensation. (You didn’t really think so much about how soft his hair was when you were pulling on it). You lazily traced a finger over the small freckles and beauty marks that covered his chest, you had seen them before but you never really got to look at them. Everything about him you realized you loved.

His eyes fluttered open and they met yours, a smile curving onto his lips as he looked at you. His face was so close to yours, you thought maybe, just maybe he’d kiss you. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and your heart picked up in pace, just as he moved the smallest amount closer to you, the sound of an alarm blared.

“Time to get up…” He flopped back onto the pillow and ran a hand through his hair. You sat up and tried to pretend like you hadn’t just been a second away from claiming his lips in yours. It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal right? You kissed all the time.

You regretfully got out of the warm bed and grabbed your clothes the night before, going back in the bathroom to get dressed and try to look halfway decent before you left his apartment. You bit your lip as you moved to change your shirt, wanting to keep the shirt he had given you to wear so badly, but you pulled it off and replaced it with your own. Once you were dressed and your hair was somewhat brushed, you left the bathroom. The smell of coffee filled the room, and lead you to the kitchen. Duncan was standing at the island, a cup of coffee in his hand, still dressed in only the pants he wore to bed.

“You said you prefer tea over coffee right? I bought this a while ago and I thought maybe you’d want some.” Duncan smiled as he pushed a cup that was sitting next to him toward you. “With a little honey.” He remembered you liked tea with honey? Had you ever even mentioned that?

“You told me once that you really liked this tea, I wanted to try it so I got some. It’s pretty good but I still prefer coffee.” He said with a smile like he was reading your thoughts. You smiled and grabbed the mug, it was one of those metal travel mugs. “Shepherd Freedom Foundation” was printed on the side.

“I like that you have your own merch.” You said as you took a sip, Duncan shrugged. “I can get you a shirt too.”

“I can bring this back to you. Next time I see you,” You said, He shook his head. “You know I have thousands of those right?”

“You’re right.” You checked your watch and saw the time, you needed to leave or you wouldn’t make it home in time to get ready for your meeting. You started to the door and Duncan followed you, grabbing your jacket off the hook and helping you put it on. You stood awkwardly at the door with him for a moment, should you thank him? For letting you stay?

“I had a good time last night.” Duncan broke the silence himself. “I’ll text you when I’m free soon, is that ok?” He asked, as he opened the door for you, you nodded.

“I had a good time too…” You said trying not to sound awkward. Duncan’s hand pressed warmly on the back of your neck and pulled your head forward, his lips pressing a kiss into your forehead.

“Have a good day at work, (Y/N).” He ushered you out the door before closing it. A smirk never leaving his perfect lips.

“Fuck,” You whispered to yourself as you walked down the hallway. You didn’t tell Duncan, how could you? He was treating you more like a girlfriend than a “friend with benefits” after last night. So was it even necessary? Your stomach twisted. Of course, it was. You debated knocking on his door again and just saying it, "By the way, I really like you". You laughed at yourself. That probably wasn't the best way to say it, maybe you should ask him on a date? Maybe.

Chapter Text

“Is that what I think it is?” Your friend prompted you as she stood next to you in line for breakfast. She was gesturing to the coffee mug in your hand. You felt your face redden and she laughed. “Are you sporting merchandise now? What’s next, a shirt?”

“How did you know he gave it to me? I could’ve gotten it from one of the fundraisers.”

She raised an eyebrow and tapped the side of the mug with her nail, a small silver inscription on the back of the mug read “Duncan Shepherd”.

“Damn, I didn’t see that. He said he had lots of them…” You stared at the inscription before taking a sip of your drink.

“He might, But he gave you a special one.” She winked. “Now,” She started after you both sat down “You didn’t tell him.”

You shook your head no, she sighed. “Come on! You had such a good chance, he asked you to stay over (Y/N)!”

“What was I supposed to say? H-He’s never treated me like that before. He was treating me like his girlfriend, I didn’t want to ruin it.”

“That’s exactly why you should’ve told him. Clearly, he’s interested! Or he wouldn’t have asked you to stay. Next time you see him,” She paused as she took a sip of her coffee. “Ask him on a date. Don’t forget to stress the word “date”. Men are stupid, they couldn’t take a hint if it slapped them in the face.”

“He might be…” You said softly, “He is.” She placed her hand over yours and smiled.

Nodding, you took a bite of the bagel you had ordered while your friend talked about her plans for work until her eyes went as wide as saucers and she stopped mid-sentence.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” She snickered, the bell in the little coffee shop dinged and in walked none other than Duncan himself. He looked absolutely delectable as usual, wearing his favorite leather jacket that was quite literally made for him. For some reason, even at the ungodly hour of seven AM, he looked like a model. Perfectly trimmed stubble, his hair swept back like it always was hiding most of his cute curls you loved.

“Goddamn (Y/N), he’s even prettier in person.” You heard her say, but only barely because the sound of your heart drumming in your chest was deafening.

It had been two days since you had spent the night with Duncan.
He hadn’t called or texted you, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly the coffee mug in your hand felt burning hot, cause of course when you decide to bring the mug he gave you he would show up.

“Are you going to say hi?” She asked you, you shook your head. “No! We don’t, we don’t ever see each other in public. I don’t think he’d want me to go up to him.”

“That’s stupid…” She took a sip of her coffee. “I guess you don’t need to,” She smiled “He’s coming this way. The smirk on his face is giving me goosebumps (Y/N) I don’t know how you handle it.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat and tried to act as natural as possible, cleaning your hands on your napkin. You kept your eyes forward to pretend like you hadn’t noticed him right away. You felt his hand on your back before you saw him, making you practically jump out of the chair. Your friend was holding back her laughter.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” His hand stayed on your back. “I’m surprised to see you here (Y/N), You don’t usually get up this early do you?” He asked, smiling down at you.

“Emergency meeting. Eight am.” You said, your voice soundly oddly higher pitched with only added to your nervousness. You felt his fingers gently rub the skin of your shoulder as he touched you like he sensed your nervousness and was trying to comfort you. “Are you the one friend I sent that photo too?”

A shit eating grin broke out on her face. “Yep! That was me.” He laughed. “Well, that’s good to know. I guess I don’t need to introduce myself then.”

“Do you ever need to Introduce yourself, Mr. Shepherd?” She propped her chin on her hand and continued smiling at him. If his hand wasn’t rubbing your back you probably would’ve been uncomfortable by her tone. You knew she meant no harm, but you couldn’t help the teeny tiny ounce of jealousy that appeared when she spoke to him in her sweet voice.

“Only when I leave DC. Which is…” His eyes cast down to meet yours. “Far too often lately.”

You felt your foot being kicked under the table.

“Are you free tonight (Y/N)?” Duncan leaned closer to you so his lips were practically pressed against your ear as he whispered to you. He knew that she knew, so he was definitely doing this to put on a show for your friend.

You nodded, “Good. Nine then,” He stood up again, and then he unexpectedly hooked a finger over the edge of the silk scarf you had chosen to wear. “Isn’t it a little warm for a scarf?” He then pulled gently making the scarf unravel into his hand. “That’s better.” His eyes locked on the hickey on your neck he had given you, it was yellowing but still very noticeable. He stuffed the scarf in his jacket pocket and walked off without another word. The loud sipping of an empty drink broke your attention on Duncan walking away.

“I reiterate, God damn. You guys must be really kinky huh? That humongous hickey… And he took that fucking scarf. So he’s possessive and wants to show it off. That’s so fucking hot (Y/N). I have never been more jealous in my life.”

Your face was as red as a tomato as she went on, not to mention your hickey was now exposed for all to see.

“(Y/n)... Are you even listening or are you daydreaming about sucking his dick?”

You gave her a dirty look and she smiled. “Speaking of, so tonight at nine huh? You’re telling him. If you don't, I will.”

“You wouldn't fucking dare.”

“Oh, I would. That man has got it bad for you (Y/N). He looked at you like I look at Chris Evans, and that’s true love.”

“You could get Chris.” You said idly, “I know but that’s beside the point. A guy like that, he’s not gonna stick around forever.”

You were about to agree when your phone rang. It was your boss. “Oh shit, it’s almost eight! I’ll text you!” You practically yelled as you shoved the rest of your food in your mouth and ran out of the coffee shop.

You made it to your office with barely five minutes to spare.

---

Standing in front of the foggy mirror, you rubbed your favorite lotion on your freshly shaved legs. It was only seven, but couldn’t hurt to be prepared right? You’d spent all day anxious at work. This had to be it. You were going to tell Duncan Shepherd you were in love with him. Probably.

Picking out a cute matching lingerie set, you dressed in your favorite red skirt you knew Duncan loved, along with a white button up. Looking at yourself again noticing that lovely bruise that decorated your skin you thought back to the first time you met Duncan.

A fundraising banquet for a charity you couldn’t even remember. You were wearing this exact red skirt, although dressed up a little more with a pair of sheer stockings and a blouse.

Leaning against the bar you sighed and took a sip of your drink. The night was almost over, and you were bored. Work and mingling with a bunch of strangers wasn’t exactly your idea of a fun Friday night. The bartender caught your attention as he slid another drink in your direction.

“I didn’t-” You started to say, but you were cut off when a masculine voice appeared at your side. “I did.” You turned to face the owner of the voice, coming face to face with the most gorgeous person you had ever seen.

“You looked like you could use another drink,” He smiled at you making your heart squeeze. “Thanks… I’m not a huge fan of these types of events so.” You placed your empty glass on the bar as you spoke.

“I would say the same, but my family organized it so…”

“Oh, oh…” Your eyes widened when you realize your mistake. “ Are you Duncan Shepherd?” You cleared your throat. Great, now it was awkward.

“Guilty.” He smiled at you again, Leaning into your ear as he spoke. “May I have your name?” The stubble on his face brushing your cheek ever so slightly.

“(Y/N).”

(Y/N)...” Your name dripped off his tongue like liquid gold. You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or Duncan’s presence, or maybe both, but you could feel your panties dampen at his tone.

“I don’t want to sound forward, but you’re the most interesting thing I’ve seen all evening. I was about to head back to my apartment, care to join me?”

This wasn’t real right? Duncan Shepherd extending his hand toward you in an invitation to go back with him… You shouldn't. You really shouldn't, But as he stood in front of you, dressed in a form-fitting midnight colored suit that made your mouth water, you lost your rational side as you looked in his eyes.

“I’d love to.”

That’s how you ended up with a pair of shredded stockings and soreness that didn’t leave you for a week. “I’m not looking for a girlfriend” rang in your ears as you thought about your first night together. It made you feel sick to your stomach.

You scolded yourself for a week after the incident. Until it happened again, and then again. Eventually, you just decided to live with it.

Now you were here. Struggling to decide if you should or shouldn’t tell him if you loved him. What fun.

Just as you finished getting ready your phone rang. Expecting it to be Duncan you answered it Immediately. “Hello?”

It wasn’t. “(Y/N)! Thank goodness you answered. I need a HUGE favor from you.” Your bosses voice came through the line making you groan.

“I’m not really free…” You tried to say before he cut you off. “I’ll double your Christmas bonus. Please (Y/N), I really need your help!” He begged you.

Rubbing your temples with your hand you sighed, “What kind of favor exactly?”

“I need you to go on a date.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“With the son of the CEO of this company we’ve been trying to close a deal with for months! I kind of promised him you would…” your boss said sheepishly.

“What do you mean you promised him? I don’t even know who you’re talking about! And what if I was in the hospital or something? You can't just make plans for me…”

“Oh come on (Y/N), I know you’re not busy. It's at 8:30. He’ll be wearing a purple tie.” He rattled off the name of the restaurant, some luxury new age restaurant in the expensive part of the city.

“It’s for the good of the company (Y/N)!” He said cheerfully into the phone making you cringe.

“Fuck.” You pressed the red button and ended the call. Why did it have to be 8:30? On the one night you had made plans too.

You felt a little anxious, you knew you had to call Duncan and tell him you’d have to take a rain check, but you weren’t sure how he’d react. You’d never canceled on each other before. Especially considering his work schedule meant your little nights together could be few and far between sometimes.

Dialing his number, you anxiously paced around your room until he picked up.

“(Y/N)...” His voice even over the phone made you shiver.

“Hey, I-I’m really sorry but something came up at work and I won't be able to make it…”
He was silent for a few seconds before he responded. “Alright. I’ll let you know when I'm free again?” His voice sounding a little strained but mostly pleasant. “Right. I’m sorry my boss literally just sprung this on me five minutes ago. I would much rather spend the night with you,” You surprised yourself with your own boldness, and Duncan too. Accidentally insinuating you’d spend the entire night together like you did last time.

“You’ll just have to make it up to me next time, won’t you Princess?”

“Mhmmm…” you said feeling your blush creep. “What was that Princess?” He practically purred into the phone. “Yes, Sir… I’ll make it up to you.”

“Good girl. I’ll miss you tonight.” He spoke before hanging up the phone not allowing you to respond to him.

I’ll miss you.

Holy Crap.

---

“Change of plans had to go on a stupid work thing. Had to cancel :(“ You sent your friend as you awkwardly waited outside of the restaurant for your ‘date’. “Why don’t you just go over late?” she sent back, and you thought about it. “Maybe I should ask,” You typed back before you felt a tap on your shoulder.

Turning around you were greeted by “Purple Tie”, and his tie was indeed a gaudy shiny purple color. “You’re (Y/N),” He held out his hand for you to shake. “I’m Scott.”

He wasn’t terrible looking, but he was no Duncan. He was tall and had sharp features, dark eyebrows, and lashes. Blue eyes, dull in comparison. However, he didn’t look like the type of guy who needed to beg his dad for a date.

“You look nice,” He held the door open for you and you offered him a smile as you walked in together. This wasn’t so bad, at least he was being a gentleman.

“Thanks,” You said politely as you looked around the restaurant. It was classy, with a dark accent and lit almost exclusively with chandeliers made of crystal. Not really your type of place, but you hoped their food was at least bigger than the size of your palm.

“Here’s your table, a waiter will be with you shortly.” The host smiled at the two of you as you sat down.

The sound of metal hitting the hard floor drew everyone's attention to another table, you scanned the tables and felt your breath catch in your throat.

“We’re so sorry Mr. Shepherd, We’ll get you some new silverware immediately”

Duncan was here. Sitting only a few tables away from you, staring directly at you.

“Oh fuck.”

“Ex-boyfriend?” Scott drew your attention and you shook your head. “Uh, no… I’m sorry I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” you stood up and offered him an awkward smile before you rushed off to the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror you took a deep breath. Of all the places, of all the nights. You had run into Duncan Shepherd for the second time. While you were on a ‘date’.

The door to the bathroom swung open and hit the wall, making you jump. Turning around you genuinely expected a woman, because well, it was the ladies room. But again you came face to face with a rather stoic looking Duncan.

“Work thing?” He tilted his head as he leaned against the adjacent wall with his arms crossed over his chest. You stood still, still facing the sinks and not him.

“This is the ladies room…” You said in a quiet voice. Not actually sure how you were supposed to respond. Was he upset? Jealous that you had canceled and went out to dinner? You bit your lip.

“I asked you a question, (Y/N).” He walked up to you until he was standing inches behind you looking over your shoulder at you.

“You didn’t really…”

He didn’t like that answer. Duncan's hands gripped your arms and squeezed. Pressing his face in the side of your throat. “Hmm?”

“It is a work thing.” You tried to explain, but the feeling of Duncan's stubble across your skin made you squirm in his hold, in a dangerously good way.

“That’s not what it looked like to me Princess…” He pressed himself against you so you were completely pressed against the counter. You could feel the heat radiating off him through your clothes.

“It was, I-” You wanted to explain further, but you felt a new heat press into you from behind and inevitable wetness between your thighs.

“And this skirt.” One of his hands met the hem of the red fabric before sliding his hand underneath and over your ass. “Did you wear this to impress him?”

“I told you.” You tried to turn around but he held you in place. “It is a work thing. My boss… He called me right before I called you…”

“You canceled instead of just coming later.” He said darkly in your ear, his hand gripping the edge of your lace panties but staying still. “Was sleeping with him part of the job too?”

“No!” You said flushed. “I didn’t think of asking you to come later... I didn’t know if you were going to let me stay or not. I wasn’t going to assume, Duncan.”

“If you weren’t going to sleep with him… Then why,” His hand slid all the way over your ass before gripping your panties and pulling them down making you gasp. “Are you wearing these?” He pulled the lace taught and with a single rip, the delicate fabric was in his hands leaving you bare underneath.

“Duncan! What are you doing?” You said a little too loudly.

“Answer my question.” he pushed up your skirt so your ass was pressed against the front of his crotch. You could feel the outline of his cock through his pants much more now. You felt yourself unconsciously press back into him.

“I was wearing them for you… I was getting ready for you…” you breathed as his fingers brushed your sex.

“Good answer.” Surprising you by pushing a finger inside of you in a quick movement, making you moan out his name.

“Duncan, w-we can’t do this here.” You tried to protest. “Then why haven’t you stopped me, Princess?” His unoccupied hand pressed between your shoulder blades forcing you to bend over the sink.

“Because you like it.” He spoke as watched your face in the mirror, the view of you being bent over the counter with him pressed behind you was a sight to see.

“Don’t you Princess? Like it when my fingers are inside of you… Naughty thing aren’t you. Someone could walk in at any moment.” he pressed a second digit into you as he spoke.

“Yes…” You squeezed your eyes shut. “I- I like it, Sir.”

“Keep your eyes open sweetheart. I want you to watch as I fuck you.”

At the moment you felt him pull out his fingers and press them to your lips. You eagerly tasted them, sucking off your own wetness before feeling Duncan’s cock press into your entrance from behind.

“Be a good girl and be quiet ok Princess? Don’t want the entire restaurant hearing you scream… Unless you do.” He sank himself inside you with a sigh, opting to cover your mouth with one hand as he held your hip with the other.

Gripping the edge of the sink you moaned against his hand as he thrust inside you, Achingly slowly. Glancing up at your reflection in the mirror only made you more turned on. “Duncan Please…” You tried to say, but his hand pressed against your lips muffled it.

“What was that?” He stilled, pressed to the hilt inside of you before taking his hand off.

“P-please, More…”

“More what?” You watched him smile at you in the mirror, a smirk on his perfect lips.

“Fuck me Duncan, Please, Harder.” With your words he pulled out completely, earning a whine of protest from you.

“I’m not finished princess,” he said with a laugh, turning you around so you were facing him. Holding you by the waist he hoisted you up so you were sitting on the edge of the counter. Wrapping your legs around him he pressed himself back into you and pressed his lips to yours at the same moment.

Moaning into his mouth you wrapped your arms around him and pulled him closer, all the while he was moving his cock rhythmically inside you. You’ve had sex with Duncan and done almost everything, but kissing him would always be your favorite thing. The way his soft full lips felt pressed against yours, his tongue in your mouth, his stubble scratching against your face. It was an intoxicating combination. Maybe it was because you only did it during sex. A forbidden touch you craved constantly.

He broke the kiss and continued on your sweet spot, reminding you that you still had that hickey and you hadn’t bothered covering it up before dinner. He licked and sucked making sure it was a rich dark purple once again. If your ‘date’ hadn’t noticed it before he would now. If he was still there.

Once he was satisfied, his fingers found your collar of your shirt and he pulled. Popping the buttons open and exposing your matching bra.
“All for me you say?” He smiled before pulling out again much to your disappointment. “Duncan-”

“Shhh.” he pressed a finger to your lips before he pulled your bra up so your chest was exposed to him before latching his lips to one of your nipples. You wrapped your fingers in his hair for a moment and pulled, much to his satisfaction.

“I want to taste you, all day I was thinking about it…” He pressed wet kisses to your skin before getting on his knees before you with his face between your thighs.

“Ever since I saw you at that coffee shop this morning with your friend…” He pressed kisses on the sensitive skin before licking a long stripe up your soaked wetness.

“And you looked so cute with your little scarf, trying to be discrete.” He hummed as he wrapped his lips around your clit making you throw your head back.

“Duncan! Fuck!” You moaned trying to be as quiet as you can, but you were quickly losing that battle.

“And then you canceled.” He stopped and looked up at you, but it was hard to take him seriously when he was between your legs.

“Duncan please, I told you-” “I know” He pressed his lips against you again, teasing you with his tongue before he stood up to be eye level with you again.

“Do you think he's wondering where you are?” He whispered into your ear, grazing your ear lobe with his teeth. You could feel his hardness drag against your slit.

“Probably…” You said, pulling his face toward yours so you could kiss him. “But I really don't care,” You pressed your lips with a hunger against him and you felt him smile into the kiss, lining himself up before finally pushing his cock back inside of you.

Wrapping your arms around his neck so you could support yourself, Duncan became relentless with his movements as he fucked you. He pulled you closer and your buried your face in his neck and took deep breaths, filling your nose with your absolute favorite scent (definitely not combined with the smell of sex).

“I’m gonna cum inside you, Princess, fill you up so you’re dripping with me all night…” You practically came at his words.

“Please, fuck…” You breathed, feeling yourself start to tip over that edge. Duncan's thumb pressed against your clit in the same moment making you dig your fingers into the fabric of his shirt. You felt yourself come undone, whispering his name into his skin as he continued for a few more moments before finishing inside you, pressing his lips against yours and kissing you deeply. “Duncan,” You whispered against his lips. “I-,” You took a breath, “Can I stay over later?”

Well, that was definitely not what you wanted to say.

Duncan licked his lips and beamed at you before kissing you again. “Yes.”

Chapter Text

“Can I stay over later?”

Well, that was definitely not what you wanted to say. Duncan licked his lips and beamed at you before kissing you again. “Yes.”

____

You kept your legs loosely wrapped around Duncan as he fixed your shirt and the rest of your clothes, minus the pair of panties he had torn.

A satisfied smile on his face the entire time.

When you were both mostly presentable, Duncan’s fingers found your chin as he tilted your face up, inspecting the purple skin on your pulse point. “You didn’t even bother to cover it…” He mused, pressing into the hot tender skin with his fingertips.

“I wasn’t thinking about it,” you covered his hand with yours on your neck. You knew he could probably feel your heart beating under your skin. Maybe from the sex, or something else.

Duncan dropped his hand to your chest and down to your partially exposed thigh. With your legs wrapped around him, your skirt was pushed up revealing plenty of skin to him.

He looked like he was about to say something when the sound of the door opening startled you. You tried to push him away enough to close your legs, but he held your hips with both hands, making it more than obvious to whoever was coming in what you had been doing. You looked up at Duncan with alarm but he simply smiled at you, the way he was standing at least blocked their view between your legs.

A girl appeared in the door, frozen as she stared awkwardly at the two of you. It must’ve been quite a sight to see. She glanced back at the ladies' sign on the door as if to check to see if she was in the right place before walking in.

“I’d leave you guys be, but I really have to pee and I only get a five-minute break so…” She offered you an awkward smile and rushed into one of the stalls, leaving you absolutely mortified.

Of all people, an employee had to walk in.

The look on Duncan’s face showed that he was clearly enjoying your mortification over the whole situation.

“Fuck you, Shepherd.” You whispered loud enough for him to hear, pushing him away so you could hop off the edge of the counter and straighten your skirt.

“Again?”

“Are you trying to get us in trouble?” You pulled on his sleeve until you were out of the bathroom and in the hallway.

“You know you would do it again in a heartbeat if I pushed you against this wall right now, (Y/N).” He breathed into your ear, making a shiver run up your spine.

You kept silent, knowing he was right. You didn’t want to admit it though.

“I’m sure your date is missing you…” Duncan reminded you why you were even there in the first place, before taking your hand in his. “But one thing first.”

He reached his hand in his back pocket, pulling out his slim leather wallet.

“Are you my sugar daddy now?” You smirked, Duncan raised an eyebrow at you. “Do you want me to be?”

“I-” You didn’t know what to say. He laughed. “Here,” he placed something cold in the palm of your hand.

A key.

“So you can let yourself in…” He gave you a genuine smile, before leaning into your lips with a surprising kiss.

“I’ll see you after your date.” He pressed his lips to yours once more before pulling away, leaving you impossibly more breathless than before, watching him walk away.

Fuck. Fuck did that really just happen? You had to pinch yourself to make sure. The ache between your legs was also making itself known. Definitely not a dream. You stared at the silver key he gave you. A key to his apartment. ‘Just Friends’ don’t just give keys away, right? You smiled and tucked the key away as you made your way back to your table, half expecting Scott to be long gone by now.

How long had you been in the bathroom? 15, 20 minutes? More? You bit the inside of your cheek as you glanced toward Duncan’s table, who was nowhere to be found.

Surprisingly, Scott hadn’t left. Instead, he was sitting patiently, eating and looking at his phone like his date hadn’t just slipped off to the bathroom with another man.

“I am SO sorry,” You said as you sat down, racking your brain for some kind of explanation, Scott waved his hand to stop you. “So not an ex? The current boyfriend then?”

You shook your head no.

“I saw him follow you into the bathroom,” He took a sip of his drink. “And considering that hickey on your neck is three shades darker, I just assumed. Good job either way… He certainly was delicious looking.”

Scott smiled at your dumbfounded look. “Im gay, if you didn’t know. So I don't really mind. I would probably stop for a quickie too if my boyfriend was here. Weird but that guy kind of looked like him, straighter though.”

“So you didn’t ask to go out with me?”

“No. My dad doesn’t approve of my “lifestyle” choices, so he tries to set me up on dates with women all the time. I gave in to shut him up, sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“It’s actually a relief,” You relaxed in your seat. “I was worried you’d say something about what a horrible date I am.”

“I imagine,” He laughed “I won't tell anyone what happened, but you might want to cover that up next time.” He gestured to your neck, making your face heat up.

You covered the bruise with your hand again, but Scott just shrugged his shoulders with a smile still on his face.

“I didn’t order for you, I wasn’t sure if you were a vegetarian or something…”

“No, that’s ok! Thanks, I'm glad you ordered first. I really didn’t expect tonight to go this way.”

“Me either, it’s fun really. So what’s your deal with him if he’s not your boyfriend and he’s jealous fucking you in the bathroom?”

“Uh, he’s my friend…”

“Friend. Right… With benefits?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“But you like him?” You nodded.

“Well if it makes you feel better hun, I’m about 99% sure he likes you too. You should’ve seen his face after you got up. I know what a jealous man looks like. If it was just a casual fuck I don’t think he would’ve cared.”

The thought made you smile, giving you confidence that you hadn’t felt much of before.

“I’m going to tell him soon, I just haven’t found the right time.”

“You should if he doesn’t first. Is he scared or something?”

“I don’t know, we started out casual. It wasn’t supposed to be more than a one-night thing, I think. We got along so well… and the sex,” you shook your head.

Scott laughed as he ate, asking more questions about your relationship with Duncan. The more you talk the more you felt better.

“He gave me a key to his apartment tonight.” You smiled to yourself, a feeling of pride as you held up the key for him to see.

“He gave you a fucking key? Why doesn't he just propose already?”

-

You spent a lot longer talking to Scott than you had originally anticipated. By the time you got out of the restaurant it was past eleven, and you rushed to Duncan’s apartment as quickly as you could.

Following the familiar path up to his apartment, you felt your heartbeat in your chest, but there was a smile on your face. You felt comfortable for once. Certain. You would tell Duncan, and you were certain he felt the same way. The key felt heavy in your hand as you walked, but you liked the feeling.

You hoped you weren’t getting ahead of yourself.

Sliding the key into the lock, you opened the door and let yourself. It was weird not having Duncan open the door for you, it was also pretty quiet. The lights were off in most of the apartment, except you could see a light shining underneath his bedroom door.

Taking off your heels you carefully pushed open the door. “Duncan?” You expected him to be sitting on his laptop or something lounging on his bed, but instead, you realized he must’ve fallen asleep waiting for you.

Duncan was sitting halfway propped up against his pillows, the light beside him was on and his phone rested in his hand. His glasses perched on his nose as he slept. He looked so cute you couldn’t help the smile that wouldn’t leave your lips.

It felt so domestic. Coming to his apartment late, letting yourself in and finding him asleep waiting for you. You dropped the rest of your stuff on his dresser and tried to open it as quietly as you could. Taking out one of his T-shirts from where you remembered he kept them. And also a new pair of panties, since he had ripped the pair you started your night in.

You took off your makeup and changed in the bathroom before making your way to the bed. Duncan was still sleeping soundly, so you crept quietly over to his side, taking his phone and plugging it in for him. Then you slid off his glasses, which made him stir but he didn’t wake up. You carefully set them on the side table before turning off the lamp.

You pulled back the covers on the opposite side of the bed and slipped in. The only light in the room was coming from the window, the dim light from outside lit up Duncan just enough for you to see him.

“Goodnight,” You whispered quietly as you got comfortable, laying on your side so you were facing him.

He finally stirred, waking up because of your movement in the bed. “You took your time…” He stretched before reaching out to you, you slid over and joined him.

“I had to eat too,”

“Mhmm…” Duncan wrapped his arms around you so you were tucked into his chest. You could feel his steady heartbeat in time with yours. His familiar scent filling your nose as you took a deep relaxing breath as he held you.

“Had fun on your date then?” he whispered into your ear, his tone was joking but you could detect a hint of seriousness.

“I had a pretty good time. Although I don’t think he was a very good match for me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He told me you reminded him of his boyfriend.” He scoffed.

“I told you it was a work thing, I wasn’t lying.”

“Mhmm, go to sleep Princess.” Duncan breathed, you felt his lips ghost the top of your head as he spoke.

“Yes sir,” you would’ve winked if he could see your face.

He held you tighter.

---

Stirring awake you felt a hand journey up your thigh, resting on your hip. “You are wearing too much,” Duncan said softly in your ear. You shifted during the night so your back was facing him

“I believe you are also wearing too much,” you turned to face him, the morning sun just starting to peek through the window so you knew it had to be early.

Duncan’s hand stayed on your hip, tracing the skin and hem of your panties. The shirt you wore to sleep was bunched up above your stomach, leaving your skin exposed to him.

“My shirt?”

You nodded, “I didn't want to sleep in my skirt and blouse…” you suddenly felt a little self-conscious about just taking his shirt and wearing it without permission.

He seemed to notice this, running his hand up your arm gently. “I like seeing you in my clothes, but I’d like it better if you weren’t wearing anything.”

“Take it off me then, Shepherd.”

Gripping your legs, he flipped you over so you were straddling his hips. You moaned at the contact of your warm core against his already hardening erection. The thin fabric of your panties and his pants the only barrier between you. He slid his hands up your arms before lifting the hem of the shirt, pulling it off you and tossing it to the side of the bed.

Your nipples puckered as the cold air hit them, and Duncan ran his hands down your chest, his fingers grazing the hardened nubs before sitting up so he could press his lips to yours.

Wrapping your arms around him you leaned into the kiss, feeling the scruff of his beard tickle your cheek as he kissed you.

You started to move your hips slowly against his, your lips never leaving his as you slowly ground yourself against him.

Duncan’s eyes fluttered shut as you sat up, his warm hands resting on your hips as you moved your hips slowly, relishing in the feeling of the fabric pressing against your core.

“Still wearing too much,” Duncan tugged at the hem of your panties. “I could say the same for you.” You ran your hands underneath his shirt, before helping him lift it off him so he was laying shirtless beneath you.

Leaning down you pressed a kiss to his lips, then made your way down his throat as your nose skimmed the spiky ends of his beard making you laugh at how it tickled. You pressed a kiss on the spot that mirrored yours on his throat, dragging your teeth against this skin. Not enough to form a bruise, but enough to tease him. It seemed to be working as his fingers dug deeper into your hips urging you on.

You could feel his steady heartbeat underneath his skin as you pressed your lips against it again, looking up for a second to lock eyes with him you wordlessly asked for permission, to which he smiled.

You rocked your hips against him as you sucked on his skin, craving the friction and the warmth of him against your naked skin.

You heard Duncan groan loudly in your ear, his hands holding your hips tightly. You pressed one last kiss to his neck, admiring the small but still noticeable hickey forming. It was below his shirt collar line so no one else would see it, but just knowing it was there and that he let you mark him made you indescribably happy.

You worked your way down his chest, pressing feather-light kisses to all your favorite freckles (especially the one right above his gorgeous dick). You slid down his legs just enough to be able to pull the hem of his pants down, finally letting his hardness out of its confines. The tip was already dripping with precum, making you lick your lips in anticipation.

“Fuck…” He moaned as your tongue gently licked the sensitive underside, He practically squirmed beneath you.

Tasting the slick precum on your tongue wasn’t such a bad thing first thing in the morning.

You worked your mouth over him, taking your time as you gently sucked. One hand gripping the base of his cock, the other giving attention to his balls.

“Do you want me to cum in your mouth Princess or do you want me to fuck you? Cause at the rate you're going-“

You stopped, licking your lips as you sat upon him, “well, if you’re offering…”.

Duncan laughed, sitting up and pulling you up so he could press his lips to yours before shifting your body underneath his. He slipped off your panties off in one pull, “you should just sleep naked,” He pressed more kisses to your skin as he spoke.

“Will this be a common occurrence then?” You asked playfully, but part of you definitely hoped it would be.

“I never want you to leave my bed, (Y/N).”

“I think I would be okay with that,” You whispered on his lips as he worked the rest of his pants off.

His hand adjusted your hips to his as he finally slid into your warm heat, a collective sigh coming from both of you. You had to try with every ounce of your being not to say “I love you,” right then and there. I never want you to leave my bed was as close to a confession you had gotten. For the moment, you were over the moon about it.

His movements were languid and soft. No urgency, no rush. Everything felt perfect. This wasn’t fucking, or just sex. It was what making love felt like. You never wanted it to end. Your fingers threaded through his hair, gripping it and letting out a moan into his mouth as he picked up his pace.

“You’re so good, so good…”

“Duncan, God, Duncan…” You bit your lip as you tried to keep your mouth under control. He didn’t seem to be having any of it.

His hand found it way to your clit, his fingers pressing against it as he fucked you, deep and slow. “Don’t hold it in, (Y/N)... I want to hear you.”

His fingers and his lips worked magic on you while he was inside. Soft moans got louder as he continued. You could feel yourself rapidly reaching your peak.

“Are you going to cum for me, Princess?” He whispered in your ear, his teeth grazing your earlobe. You nodded, barely being able to form thoughts. “Use your words…”

“Yes, Yes!” You practically screamed, “That’s perfect Princess,” He sped up one last time before stilling inside of you, taking long deep breaths before collapsing beside you.

You were about to say something when you heard an unfamiliar voice from the living room.

“DUNCAN! WHY ARE YOU STILL IN BED, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

You stared wide-eyed at Duncan as you scrambled with the sheets to cover yourself. “It's my mother. I don’t know who let her in, Stay here.”

He practically fell off the bed as he grabbed his pants off the floor before pulling them on. “Get dressed, but don’t come out unless I call you, ok?” He looked at me as he ran his hands through his hair, trying to make the mess look intentional.

“Okay,” you nodded, “Are you going to put on a shirt?” You asked as he was about to open the door, he looked down, noticing the much smaller hickey (In comparison to yours) on his skin. “I don’t care, it’s my mother.” You felt your cheeks heat up as you nodded before he left the room, shutting the door loudly.

This was not how you planned on meeting his mother.

Well. Not that you had planned on meeting her. At least, any time soon. You have heard a lot about her, Annette Shepherd. Not from him though.

Duncan didn’t talk much about his family. Or anything too personal. You felt like that was crossing that invisible barrier into relationship territory. He was crossing that barrier a lot lately.

You made quick time getting dressed and fixing your hair so it was at least somewhat presentable while you waited to see if he would call you out or not. Maybe he wouldn’t, and you could put off meeting his mother for another day. When you were hickey-less, and not in wrinkled clothes from the night before.

You quietly stood near the door, straining your ears to see if you could hear them, just in case they happened to be talking about you.

“No, I haven’t finished yet, I’ve been busy.” You heard Duncan’s voice clearly through the door.

“What have you been doing? Are you wasting your time with girls again?” You heard her sharp reply, settling a pit in your stomach as you quietly tried to listen.

“We have work to do Duncan. You can’t be wasting your time, playing with women.”

“I’m not-” She cut him off, “You’re always playing. You haven’t had a serious girlfriend in years… We both know how whatever you’re doing is going to end.”

It was silent. You Swallowed thickly. The lump in your stomach had traveled to your throat as she talked, you could feel the tears beginning to prick the corners of your eyes. She was right, Of course she was. Duncan wasn’t the settle down type. He would just get bored. The long drawn out silence only seemed to confirm that fact to you.

“Is she here?” She asked. you imagined her raising her eyebrows at him. It wasn’t possible to miss the signs that were here, or at least had been last night.

The sound of heels on the wooden floor approaching the bedroom door made you jump back, with your heart racing in your chest. It felt like you were watching in slow motion as the handle to the door clicked open.

Standing at the door was his mother. She was a little shorter than you had expected based off how tall Duncan was, but that didn't make her any less… intimidating.

She wore an expensive-looking white top and black skirt with perfectly polished heels that probably cost over a thousand dollars. Her hair was long and cascading like she had just left the salon, a shade brown darker than Duncans.

Her eyes were sharp and unsettling. Or maybe it was just the atmosphere of the room.

Duncan walked up behind her with a tense look on his face, his arms crossed over his chest as she inspected me. Her head tilted to the side slightly.

“Im Annette,” She held out her hand with a smile. The mood in the room changed like the snap of someone's fingers.

“I-I’m (Y/N)...” you shook her hand with confusion. What was she getting at?

“I never get to meet any of my son's girlfriends… It’s a shame really. It’s so lovely to finally meet one though,”

I stared at Duncan with my mouth shut, gauging to see his reaction. “His girlfriend,” She said, possibly to annoy him. You weren’t his girlfriend after all. She knew it too.

He made no move to correct her.

“It’s nice to meet you too… Ms. Shepherd.”

“Oh please, call me Annette.” She pulled your arm as she leads you out into the kitchen, a smile on her face the entire time. Duncan silently followed, but his face was completely unreadable.

“Annette,” You addressed her politely. “I should really be going, I don’t want to bother you…”

“Oh please, it’s no bother! Why Don’t we have coffee together? I know Duncan can make a good cup.” Her smile was beginning to make you feel uneasy.

“I shouldn’t impose, I have work soon anyway.” You lied.

“Duncan, shouldn’t she stay for coffee?” His mother turned to him, “She has to work.” He nodded toward you, and even though you said it yourself, your heart sank a little.

“It was nice to meet you, Annette.” You shook her hand one more time before you started collecting your stuff as quickly as you could.

Duncan met you at the door, opening it for you. As you were about to walk out, he pulled you close and pressed a kiss to your cheek. It made your face burn that he was willing to show any form of affection to you in front of his mother of all people.

“I’ll text you soon,” you pressed another kiss to the shell of your ear subtly before letting you go.

You left his apartment feeling a high you had never felt before. You didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing. On one hand, you had had some of the most amazing sex with Duncan you’d ever had. It wasn’t a quickie or a casual fuck, it was as close as you had gotten to making love and you wanted to relish in it.

On the other hand, his mother had shown up. She called him out for being a player and he didn’t deny it. The thought alone made a nervous pit settle in your stomach.

“I need to talk to you,” You sent a text to your friend as you left Duncan’s apartment building, ready to fill her in on all the details of your ‘date’ and you eventful morning.

-

It had been almost an entire week before you started to get worried that Duncan hadn’t texted you, about anything. He was a busy man after all, but after the morning you had with him, your nervousness only got worse with every passing day. The little devil on your shoulder repeated daily that maybe he was done with you, just like his mother had said. He always gets bored. Maybe he finally got bored with you.

“You're just overreacting. He gave you a key to his apartment, remember?” Scott nudged you as he took a bite of the ice cream you were currently sharing.

After your ‘date’ with Scott, you actually became pretty fast friends with him. He was fun to be around and an overall sweet guy, and he liked to hear the tea on whatever was going on between you and Duncan. Which is what leads to you to today, sitting in the park with a cup of ice cream between the two of you as you sit on a bench together.

“I hope so… I just don’t know what to think. Sometimes he acts like were together, and then other days he completely ignores me.”

“Like I said,” he took the cup of ice cream out of your hand and started scraping the sides. “He gave you a key. Men don’t do that for flings, or causal relationships. He likes you. You said he's not used to being in a relationship right?”

“As far as I know, he’s more of a...friends with benefits type only,” saying it made you feel that uncomfortable pit in your stomach again.

“Well, then I think he's scared,”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re the first person he’s ever really liked I guess, men are like that. Scared of change. Scared of commitment. He doesn’t know how to act when it's not just physical. I was the same way before I met Jim”.

“You? No…” you said sarcastically, he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, believe it or not. Men can resist good looks and a good personality.”

“I’d say give it a few more days. If you don’t hear from him, maybe go see him?”

-

You followed Scott’s advice and waited a few more days. When one week turned into two, you decided you would go see him at his apartment. Something you had never done without him inviting you first.

Half of you were worried he would be mad, and that you would come off as clingy and annoying for checking up on him. The other half was worried. What if something had happened? You couldn’t shake the negative feeling in your gut since it first made its home inside you.

You knew he didn’t work Saturday.

When you didn’t get a text or a phone call from him after sending two messages along the lines of, “Hope everything to hear from you soon. :) ” (which you could barely even find the courage to send) you decided to go visit him at his apartment.

Holding a white paper bag with his favorite pastries, you made your way up to his apartment with your heart practically racing the entire time.

“It’ll be ok, (Y/N), he’ll be happy to see you,” you repeat to yourself in your head as you walked.

You knocked on his door before you could talk yourself out of it.

A few seconds passed, and you contemplated knocking again, but the door swung open.

Duncan looked like a truck had hit him. His eyes were rimmed with red and his hair was an absolute mess. His clothes wrinkled and he had a scowl painted on his face that looked like it had been there for days. He looked confused when he opened the door to see you standing there.

“What are you doing here, (Y/N)?” He leaned against the doorframe, clearly not intending on letting you inside.

That wasn’t a good sign. You swallowed thickly and cleared your throat.

“I was in the area and I thought maybe I'd stop by…” You lied. He didn’t seem to buy the lie either. He just stood there in silence as you watched him, your grip on the bag of pastries tightened.

“Are you ok?” deciding to just come out and ask, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Does it matter?”

“What? Of course it matters…”

Duncan took a deep breath and rubbed his jaw, an exasperated look on his face. He opened his mouth at first and then closed it without saying anything. It looked like he was arguing with himself on what to say next.

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about me.”

“Don’t worry about you? But-”

“Nothing. You’re not my girlfriend.”

You felt your heart stop when those words left his mouth.

You’re not my girlfriend.

“I-,” you could feel your knuckles turning white with how hard you were gripping the bag.

“I’m your friend, friends can be worried about each other.” you could barely hear the words you were saying with how loud your heart was beating in your ears.

“We’re not friends. We just fuck.” He said like it was obvious.

“Really?” you were starting to get angry.

“We’re not even friends? After everything?” you raised your voice at him, and he looked a little surprised.

“After what? Staying the night a few times?”

“After…” you were at a loss for words. What the fuck was going on?

“I think you should just go.” He said, his voice was quieter now, but his cold expression stayed.

You bit your lip, trying not to cry. Not in front of him, not now. If he was going to act like nothing mattered then you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry.

“You’re right. This is over then, right?”

“If you think we’re more than just two people fucking then yes.”

You cleared your throat and dug into your pocket, producing the little silver key he had given to you.

“You can have this back then.” you held the key out to him, and he hesitated before taking it from your palm. His warm fingers brushed your hand and sent a chill down your spin. You felt like you were going to be sick if you had to stand here any longer.

“Take this too, I don’t need them.” You shoved the white bag at him before turning around and walking away as fast as you could.

You didn’t want to wait for the elevator and see him still standing at his doorway, so you took the stairs. The metal door slamming behind you.

When you were finally out of his sight you felt the tears begin to fall.

“So fucking stupid…” You whispered to yourself.

How could you even imagine that he’d ever think of you as anything other than a place to stick his dick when he was bored? His mother was right. He’d get bored of playing with you, and he had finally gotten bored.

Not even friends. He didn’t even consider you a friend. You had spent all your free time with him, not just having sex. You cared about him so much. You loved him, and he just hung you out to dry.

When you reached the entrance of the building and stepped outside, you promised yourself that you’d give him what he wanted, to let him go.

-

-

-

-

-

-

ONE YEAR LATER

-

-

-

-

“Are you coming to my engagement party? It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I'm pretty sure Jim knows.” Scott said as we sat at dinner together, My friend on my left stuffing her face with food. After everything, you had become a lot closer with the two of them. You met Scott’s long-time boyfriend (now fiance) who did look unsettlingly like Duncan, (Which made you a little sick to your stomach every time you saw him) but it didn’t stop you from becoming friends.

“Of course I’m going to come, Saturday right?”

“Yeah, it’s at his place. I’ll text you the address. He thinks we’re just having a few friends over for wine and a movie hopefully.”

“Even if he’s not surprised I know he’ll love it,” Your friend said, you smiled and nodded.

You smiled at him genuinely. You were happy for him of course, very happy. There was a part inside you that was jealous, but it wasn’t your turn for your fairy tale ending.

You steered clear from any kind of relationship since things ended. Stayed off the apps, turned down your friends offers at finding you a “Decent” guy. When they had found out, you practically had to hold them down to keep them from confronting him. It didn’t help that since then, he’d appeared on your local TV multiple times. For one thing or another.

You were getting tired of hearing Duncan Shepherd’s name everywhere you went.

Instead of focusing on relationships you threw yourself into your work. You were even being considered for a big promotion, that would take you out of DC. You would have never considered it before, leaving your friends and family and him for a job, but now it is looking like a better option to get you out of here and away from everything.

“Can I confess something?” You said, and both their heads snapped toward you.

“What did you do?” Scott raised an accusatory brow.

“Nothing, I didn’t do anything… I just wanted to tell you guys,” You took a deep breath before continuing. “I'm thinking of leaving DC.”

“Your joking right? What about your job?”

“It would be for my job… They’re willing to promote me If I can move to New York. I didn’t really think I’d want to leave, but I need to start fresh.”

“Really? You want to leave?” They both looked at you sadly, and you tugged your bottom lip between your teeth.

“Is it really that bad? Being here… Is it because of him?” Your friend asked, and you shrugged.

“I just feel like I need to start new. I can’t move on here… I know it sounds stupid, and maybe it is stupid.

Scott reached across the table and took your hand in his. “I think if that’s what will make you happiest, you should go for it (Y/N).”

“I agree. We can come to visit too. It won’t be that bad, and New York is fun!” She took your hand too, making you smile.

“Thanks, guys, I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

“We can throw you a bomb going away party!” Scott cheered, “You just want an excuse to throw another party.”

“Guilty, but either way. You can tell everyone else at the engagement party. Then we can start planning something else. When are you planning on leaving?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t even told my boss yet. The sooner the better though…”

-

You stood in your apartment in your bra looking for something to wear. Shuffling through your closet, you hand touched a piece of familiar fabric that had sat in the back of the closet for the better part of the year.

It was the skirt Duncan loved. The one you had worn that night you met Scott, and then later Duncan in the bathroom. You took it out of your closet and sighed, throwing it across the room toward the trash.

“No more memories.” You told yourself.

While you found something with less baggage attached to wear, you sent Scott a text.

“What’s the address?”

He texted back in a few seconds, “Can’t wait to see you there gorgeous :)” With the address and apartment number and door code listed. When you saw the name of the building you felt your heart leap into your throat.

“Are you sure that’s the right building?” You typed back, sitting back on your bed.

“Of course, why?”

You wanted to throw your phone across the room. It just had to be that apartment building. The same one Duncan lived in. What are the chances?

“Fuck me.” You groaned, flopping onto your back. “He probably won’t remember me anyway, if he does happen to see me…” You tried to convince yourself, but you couldn’t shake the nervous feeling in your gut.

-

“You’re messing with me, right? This is his building?” Your friend said as she picked you up outside, you had asked her to take you so you wouldn’t have to face it alone.

“At least you look hot…Gotta show him what he gave up. Stupid fucker.”

You smiled, you had put in a little extra effort than necessary after you found out where you’d be going for the night. You didn’t want to see him, but if you did, you would look good.

You spent the entire uber ride to the apartment trying to make small talk with your friend, you held the small present you had gotten for Scott and Jim between sweaty palms.

“(Y/N), relax. You probably won’t even see him. That man is a workaholic, he barely had time to see you when you were together-”

‘We weren’t together,” you said, looking out the window. “I Know, that’s not what I meant…” She said, putting her arm on your shoulder.

“It’s fine. It was a year ago, and it was stupid anyway. I’m over it.” You said, but you weren’t sure if you were trying to convince her, or yourself.

Walking into the apartment building made a wave of Deja Vu pass over you, the familiar layout and smell.

You square your shoulders and walked with confidence to the elevator, pressing the up button. Your friend beside you, you felt nervous but you pushed the feeling away. “Which floor is it?”

As she was about to press the button and close the door, a voice rang out, “Wait!” a painfully familiar voice. You barely caught a glimpse of him, before your hand reached the CLOSE button on the door before he could make it in.

“Fuck,” You felt your heart pounding in your chest as the door slid shut and it started moving, your friend, burst out laughing. “Do you think he recognized you?”

“I-,” you started to laugh at the irony of the situation. “He must have.”

“He looked pissed.”

“Maybe he just thought we were two rude girls who wouldn’t hold it for him.” You said, she shrugged. “Doesn’t matter now I guess,”

When the elevator opened, you eyes the stairwell to see if he had figured out which floor you where on, and when the door didn’t open right away you walked as fast as you could in your shoes to Jim’s apartment, knocking on the door and practically pushing Scott out of the way when he opened the door to let you both in.

“Woah Woah, what’s the rush?” he asked, and you took a deep breath.

“This is Duncan’s building.” Your friend supplied for you, and you nodded, Scott tilted his head in surprise and mouthed “oh…”

“Yeah, and she just shut the elevator doors on him on the way up here so,”

“Oh my god, you did?” Scott laughed, pulling you into a hug.

---

The party was in full swing an hour later. Jim had shown up and was so surprised about everyone wanted to celebrate their engagement up he cried, which you considered a successful party.

After a few glasses of champagne, you were finally feeling relaxed. You met all of their other friends and even their parents, which was really nice. A knock at the door caught your attention, and figuring it was just someone who showed up to the party late, you didn’t think twice when Jim went over to open it.

“Oh hey, are we making too much noise?” You heard Jim asked, blocking the person on the other side of the door.

“No, I’m just looking for someone… Is (Y/N) here?”

You heard your name and you froze, recognizing the voice immediately.

“Yeah, she is actually, let me get her!”

You realized Scott didn’t tell him about the little incident earlier, and you felt like locking yourself in the bathroom.

Instead, you downed the rest of your drink and walked up to Jim, “Mine as well get it over with.” you thought to yourself. Handing your glass to Jim, you followed him to the front door where Duncan was waiting.

He looked disheveled in a way you hadn’t seen him before. His tie was undone and his shirt was open the first few buttons, his hair was out of place like he had been running his hands through it.

When you finally made eye contact you felt like the world slowed down. Your throat was dry and you can't bring yourself to say anything as you just simply looked at him, the man who broke your heart a year ago and hadn’t spoken to since.

“(Y/N), What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice was low.

“I’m at an engagement party.” You answered simply, “What are you doing here?”

“You shut the door on me,” He said, You nodded.

“I did…”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to do this here Duncan.” You said, “Fine, we won’t.” he grabbed your wrist and pulled you out into the hallway, part of you wanted to argue with him and go back inside Jim’s apartment, leave him and everything behind, but you didn’t. Duncan kept his hand on your wrist as he walked you to the door of his apartment, The feeling of his hand on you making your skin burn but you’d be lying if you said you hated that feeling.

He unlocked the door and brought you in, the atmosphere was so thick you could probably cut it like butter.

“What do you need to say to me?” You asked, pulling your arm from his.

“I just-” he put his hands on your shoulders and looked into your eyes, you could see the red rims around his that you remembered from that last day, Had he been crying?

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s a little late to say I’m sorry, Duncan…”

“I know, I know and I’m so fucking stupid for not following you that day, for even saying what I said-”

“Yeah, you are. I was just trying to help you. I just wanted to be your friend, and you wouldn’t even let me do that.” You stepped away from him and his arms fell to his side.

“I know… I know… I was just, dealing with a lot, and I was scared.”

“Scared of what? Of me?”

“No,” He smiled for a half-second before he continued. “I was scared that I was in love with you.”

“Why would that scare you?” you managed to say, your voice barely above a whisper. Those words you had wished he would say for months, finally coming out.

“I don’t know.”

“No reason lying now Duncan.” You said, crossing your arms over your chest.

“You’re right,” He leads you over to the couch and you both sat down, you were far enough from him that you could turn to face him, but you didn’t sit directly beside him.

“My mother…

“She didn’t like me?” You asked, stating the obvious, “No, that’s not it. She’s not really my mother.”

“What do you mean?”

“She didn’t tell me, until after… I was adopted, by her, when I was a baby. She never told me anything. My real mother was just…” He groaned, his hand in a tight fist. “A maid, a no one.”

You stayed quiet as he explained.

“I didn’t know what to do. How to feel. My whole life felt like a lie. Like some sick joke. Not even my own mother wanted me…”

“Annette was your mother… She raised you, didn’t she? She loved you. She wanted you. Just because she didn’t give birth to you doesn’t change anything.”

“I know that now. I didn’t then, I was struggling. I was confused, and then you showed up at my door. All I wanted to do was pull you into my arms and never let you go.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I knew you loved me.”

You nodded, not trusting your voice.

“I was scared you didn’t love the real me, that you loved the idea of me, the money, the popularity…”

“You know I’m not like that.” You felt a little offended he would think that about you.

“I know, and I’m a fucking idiot for thinking it at all, but I’ve never been with anyone who felt genuine about me. No one ever loved me the way you loved me… that’s what scared me. I had never felt that way about anyone either. It was always one night stands or just sex. I never let any real feelings get involved. I didn't want to, until you.”

“I found myself falling in love with you without even realizing. I missed you when you weren’t with me, I was jealous of seeing you out with another guy. I wanted to wake up to you by my side every morning…”

“I know I can't apologize for acting like I did, I know it won’t be enough, but when I saw you in that elevator, all the feelings I pushed away came back and I knew I had to tell you, at least tell you once, how I feel.” He reached out and took one of your hands in his, and you didn’t pull away this time.

“I love you,” He said softly, “I still love you.”

You felt like you wanted to cry. From anger or happiness, you couldn’t tell. You felt completely sober at the moment, all the courage the champagne had given you washed away when he pulled you into his apartment.

He stood up and let go of your hand, “it’s ok if you don’t want anything to do with me now… I just needed to tell you, I’m sorry…”

“Duncan,” You grabbed his hand as he started to walk away, “I am mad. I’m fucking pissed. I spent an entire year angry at you. Angry at myself for even thinking you would love me the way I loved you, and I’m mad now.”

Duncan looked taken aback by your outburst, but he stood silently.

“I’m mad, and I probably always will be… but it doesn’t change how I feel… How I’ve always felt about you Duncan.”

“Are you sure?”

You stood up, feeling a sense of calm wash over you for the first time in a long time.

“As long as you are…”

“I have never been more sure about anything in my life (Y/N). I love you, I love you…”

“I love you too Duncan Shepherd.”

He pulled you into a kiss and you felt yourself melt at his touch. His hands cupped your cheeks as he kissed you, your arms wrapped around his neck. The kiss was long and filled with a million emotions, it was everything you had been craving.

“I fucking love you so much,” He said as he broke the kiss, looking into your eyes.

“I love you,”

“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.” he pressed his lips to yours, again and again, each kiss making you feel like you were floating on cloud nine.

You could’ve been standing there for hours, you didn’t care. All you cared about was Duncan's lips on yours, His arms wrapped around you, his heartbeat in time with your own.

The kissed picked up in intensity when they started to trail down your neck, the familiar feeling of his stubble sending goosebumps down your skin. He whispered against your skin as he pressed kisses on your most sensitive part. “You look so gorgeous in that dress, Did you wear it to impress someone?”

You found yourself laughing. “Kind of.”

“Who?” He pulled back for a moment, looking a little concerned.

“I wore it because I knew where I was going...I wanted you to see what you missed on in case I ran into you…”

“It worked.” He slid his hands down your back, finding the zipper before tugging it down slightly, “Is this ok?” he whispered, sounding unsure for once in his life.

“Yes.” You gave him permission, and he connected his lips with yours again before pulling the zipper all the way down. His hands against your skin felt like fire in the best way, pulling the fabric off your shoulders and letting it pool by your feet.

“God, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. I missed this so much.” He pressed his lips along your neck again, trailing down past your collarbone before he was basically sitting on his knees in front of you.

“Are you going to fuck me right or do you want to take me to bed, Shepherd?”

“Someone’s eager. Don’t worry, I’m not rushing this.” He pressed another hard kiss to your lips before leading back to his bedroom, pulling you back into his arms as soon as you crossed the threshold.

You reached to undo his belt, but his hand caught yours. “I want to taste you first,” He breathed in your ear, backing you against the edge of the bed.

You fell back against the familiar feeling silk sheets, watching Duncan stand between your legs. His eyes were blown with lust as he stood above you, running his warm hands down your curves before ending at your panties, slipping them off.

“So wet already for me my love,” He purred as he ran a finger down your wetness making you squirm.

“Don’t tease,” You sucked your lip between your teeth at his ‘my love’ comment.

“I’m going to spend all night between your legs if you say something like that Princess.”

You wanted to say something back, but the feeling of his soft lips and rough scruff caressing your thigh render you speechless. He kissed your thighs slowly, working his way up while sliding his hands underneath you so he could pull you closer to the edge of the bed.

He teased the skin with his teeth, making you bite back a moan.

“Don’t stop yourself, you know I want to hear you.” as he spoke he slid a finger into your wet heat unexpectedly, making you moan loudly. “That’s it,” you could hear the smirk in his voice. “I’m gonna make you scream so loud all your friends at that little party down the hall will know exactly what you’re up to.” He curled his fingers as he spoke, leaning down to press his tongue against your clit for the first time.

“Duncan, Mmph…” You wrapped your fingers in his hair, urging him on.

He slipped another finger, working you closer and closer to your first climax and he teased your clit with his mouth. It had been so long since you had done this you could feel yourself tipping over the edge in record time.

“Did you come already? Good to know I haven’t lost my touch…” He pulled back and sucked his fingers into his mouth, licking off your wetness with a satisfied look.

“Have you not…” You didn’t want to finish your sentence. It seemed outrageous to assume he hadn’t been with anyone else since you.

He shook his head as he stood up, grabbing your hands and pulling you up to meet him at the edge of the bed.

“No…”

“Really?” you didn’t believe him. How could he have not? He slept with tons of women before you. It wouldn’t have been a stretch to think he had slept with other women during your arrangement either, although you had never talked about it.

“I tried,” He ran his hands along your bare sides, his hands undoing your bra as he spoke. “I got close with a few girls… but I couldn’t get you out of my head. Your face,” he brushed your cheek with his thumb “Your body… your voice. I said your name once, a girl threw her shoe at me and walked out.”

You laughed, imagining the look on Duncan’s face with a high heel coming at him.

“I wasn’t with anyone else either…” You said softly, he smiled and pressed his lips to your forehead.

“There isn’t anyone else in the world for me (Y/N). I don’t want to be with anyone else, I never did. Even if I didn’t believe it myself.”

You pressed your lips to him, pulling off his shirt as you kissed, he undid his belt and pulled off the rest of his clothes quickly joining you in being completely naked.

Pressing your lips to his neck you could feel his heart beating in time with yours. You kissed along his jaw, feather-light touches to every little freckle you loved so much.

Duncan pulled back and beckoned you to the bed, where you laid down against the pillows and he joined you. You both tangled together, kissing and caressing. Trying to memorize every curve and savor the warmth of his skin connected with yours.

When he was finally inside of you it felt like hours had passed, but you never wanted it to end. His movements were slow and loving. There was no urgency or uncertainty, just two people making love.

Making love.

You smiled at the thought, Duncan slowed to a stop and looked at you, “Are you crying?”

“I-” Your eyes widened when you realized, feeling a single tear slip down your cheek.

“Do I need to stop, are you ok?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

“No, I was just thinking about how happy I am, I’ve wanted this for so long and I just,” He pressed his lips to yours as you spoke. “I love you, I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”

“I love you too.”

---

After a few hours of the softest sweetest sex you’d ever had, you finally laid in bed with Duncan, your face against his chest as you cuddled to his side. His arm was around you as he drew invisible circles on your skin with his thumb.

“Do you think the party is over?” He asked you glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

1:45 am

“Probably… Do you think they missed me?” You asked, “I’m sure they all know by now exactly what happened.”

You nodded, imagining the look on your friend's faces when you tell them what happened when Duncan pulled you out of the party.

“I would get out of bed to get my phone, But I’m too comfortable.”

“You can text them in the morning.” He reached over to his side table and opened the drawer, pulling something out.

“Open your hand,” He asked, “What is it?”

“Just open your hand.”

You did, and he pressed something cold and metal into your palm. It was a key. The key to his apartment, the same one you handed him back a year prior.

“I want you to stay with me. Move in with me.”

“What?”

“Im serious, I want you to move in with me. You won't have to pay rent, I have plenty of space for your things. I want you here, with me.”

You suddenly remembered what you told your friends. You were supposed to move out of DC.

“I got an offer for a promotion…” You said sitting up, a sheet wrapped around you.

“I’m supposed to move. Out of DC, to Newyork… I wanted to get away before all this happened…”

You didn’t know how to feel. Should you still take the job? Did Duncan want you to stay? Did you really want to even leave in the first place?

You turned to look at Duncan, he looked completely unsettled.

“I want to be with you. I want to stay with you.” You said you knew you couldn’t make any other choice. You didn’t want to leave him, or your friends. Not really. The job was just a job. Your reason to escape was now a reason to stay.

“I don’t want to hold you back from anything. If you want to go you should go.”

“What I want is to stay with you.” You said, holding the key tightly in your hand.

In less than 24 hours your life was being turned upside down by Duncan Shepherd. At least this time it was for the better.

“So you’ll stay? You want to stay here with me?” He asked.

“Yes.”

Duncan beamed, wrapping his arms around you and pressing a long kiss to your lips.

“I love you (Y/N).”

“And I love you, Duncan.”