All In: ALL IN KNIGHTS OF MAYHEM (7 page)

Avery

Thirty minutes later I stroll out of my room wearing a little black dress and
strappy heels. I have thrown my hair up in an elegant ponytail and join Leo in the living room where he has just finished talking on the phone.

He flips his phone closed and closes the distance between us leaning in to give me a gentle kiss on the lips, ‘nice babe.”

“What this old thing?” I act coy at his compliment, knowing good and well I had belly ached over my wardrobe choice for twenty five of the thirty minutes I had been gone.

“Yeah
, that old thing.” His laugh makes me smile and I make a mental note to make him do it more, ‘I drove but we can take yours if you feel more comfortable.” He is actually being a gentleman to my utter shock my mouth falls open.

“What
, didn’t think I could actually be nice?” He takes my hand and leads me to the door. Locking it behind us I turn and am shocked again to see a black Camero sitting in my driveway.

“Is that yours?” I ask and point like and ill mannered child
and immediately want to rub my bare legs over the interior and no I don’t want to drive my SUV.

“
Yes, you ready?” He opens the door for me and I appreciate the leather interior as I slip into the luscious seat.

He rounds the car and enters on the driver’s side, the car purrs to life.
The hum of the engine is deep and dark like the driver’s voice. He backs out and heads us into town. A slow blues songs plays on the radio and the smell of his cologne is filling the car and my nose making my skin tingle.

“
Okay the thing with Roman, tell me about it.” He has his long left arm propped up on the steering wheel and the other resting on the console between the seats. His seat is as far back as it can go to accommodate his long legs.

“What do you want to know?” I prompt him to ask the questions to avoid the possibility of over sharing.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning.” He never takes his eyes off the road as he swerves the car in and out of traffic.

“He is
Piper, my roommate’s, older brother so he is around a lot.” I fidget in my seat and wring my hands together why does he make me so nervous? Not sure if my answer will placate him enough to let the topic go but I try anyway.

“And the thing
he has for you sprung up from him being Piper’s brother?” His face expressionless and his tone flat, indicating he isn’t buying my explanation for our friendship.

I inhale deeply, ‘he would come over and stay with me when I first moved
in with Piper, while she would be out on one of her boy projects. I was new to town and he didn’t want me to be alone.”

“I bet he didn’t.” Leo’s retort is laced with cynicism and doubt, ‘did he ever try anything on you?”
I jerk my head around to face him and shake my head at the sound of his thickly laced tone, being just a bit to jealous for my taste.

‘What? No! And why would
it matter if he did, it was way before I knew you.” I am disgusted and completely confused why this would mean anything to him.

“It matters now
, so answer the question.” His stern tone demands I reassure him of the platonic feelings I have for Roman regardless of how he feels for me. There was maybe a brief moment I might have considered pushing Roman for more. But when I took a beat and weighed the options and consequences of dating my roommates/best friend’s brother and the possibility of it ending badly had swayed me to the friend side of the fence.

Still needing to prove to Leo
what or who I had done before him was none of his concern I argue my point, ‘No it doesn’t matter.” I cross my arms over my chest and lock my ankles.

“Y
ou are the one who brought the whole thing up by having him at your house when you knew I was going to show up.” His gruff tone is accentuated by his clipped words, ‘and if you haven’t already guessed,’ he takes his eyes off the road briefly to look at me, ‘I don’t share.”

“
It wasn’t planned, I just lost track of time and you aren’t sharing anything with anybody.” Looking down at my black dress I smooth it out over my thighs. Why did I agree to dinner with this man he is nothing but infuriating, ‘turn around and take me home Leo, this just isn’t working out.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and press my eyes together tight and will the car to stop and turn back towards my house.

“No, as soon as we get this resolved it will not be up for
discussion again,’ he tilts his head in my direction, ‘and then we can move on.”

Turning to him, ‘okay listen to me
, I don’t have anything going with Roman, if he feels something for me it is regrettably misdirected. I am here, going to dinner with you, which by the way I am seriously questioning my decision. Since Piper drove into the lot of your fuckin’ mechanic shop my life has been turned upside down.” I turn and fling my back into the seat and sigh heavily.

“Mouth Avery,’ he chastises me for cursing, ‘
a woman should act like a lady in public, meaning no cussing. Okay all I wanted to know we are done now.” And he is back to his, if you can call it this, jolly self.

My mind is spinning along with my
body and I feel like I am barreling down a road out of control, and the only thing offering to stop me is to slam head first into Leo Tucker. Not wanting to go any further with this man but knowing he will not turn around or leave me alone I decide to play along because in some twisted way I want to be with him, it's exciting and I can use some excitement in my life.

“Avery I am really not that bad of a guy.”
His smile is warm and reaches his eyes making my heart flutter once more.

“Huh, you know who says stuff like that, really bad guys.” My arms are still crossed over my chest in a sign of
slight resistance, I know, I am not buying it either.

His laugh is ric
h and deep, the slight lines showing at the corners of his eyes gives him a little more character than his bossy persona, ‘is that so?”

“Yep.”
I nod in his direction, ‘matter fact I think you are trying to dazzle me with your shinny bobbles.” Oh god there it is again, his laugh and it is doing some serious work on my libido.

“My shinny bobbles?” He in
quires, ‘exactly what are those?” Tilting his head slightly in my direction to judge my demeanor, and then continues, ‘I am just wondering so if they work I can use them on you later for sure.” His self confidence at what he expects to happen later is maddening, but I find I kind of like being thought of in a sexual way by Leo. My whole life I have settled for the safe and descent, now sitting beside of me is the wild and I am actually considering diving head first into this pool of crazy.

I snort loudly only making him laugh hard
er, ‘oh let me see,‘ I raise my hand and begin to tick off the list I had been compiling in my head from the first time I saw him, ‘Your handsome face, gorgeous eyes, deep ravishing voice for starters but I would hate to inflate your ego any more than it already is, so I will stop there.”

“My inflated ego, is that a shiny bobble?”
He chances a sideways glance at me flashing his signature gorgeous smile.

“God no,
’ I wrinkle my face up like I have lemon on my tongue, ‘but you better be lucky you have so many others which are nice, they kinda of knock the tarnish off of certain other ones.” I smile pleased with myself immensely for giving his ego a reality gut check.

He reaches and takes my hand and brings it to his lips, which by the way I think is my favorite shiny bobble I will have to point
this fact out later, but right now I think I will just enjoy them silently.

“
So Ms. Delany, which one is your favorite shiny bobble?” He kisses each of my fingers as he speaks blowing a hot breath on my skin as he speaks as if he knows already which one is my most favorite.

My eyes flutter closed as he trai
ls his lips up my wrist, ‘oh um, I will have to study on it and get back to you later.” I feel breathless and stutter over my words as he continues his assault on my senses. I don’t feel the car moving under me anymore and realize we have come to a complete stop in a parking space outside the restaurant. We must have arrived while he was using my favorite bobble to distract me.

“
Sounds like a plan, I can help you with.” He has taken my arm and wrapped it around his neck pulling me into him. His lips lightly brush mine, as his one hand is traveling up my exposed thigh while the other is caressing the skin at the nape of my neck. His lips make another pass over mine; the taste of his tongue on my lips is ravishing.

“We have dinner plans Avery and if I keep this up we will not make them.” He mumbles into my mouth I have let fall open hoping this was going to go farther. Nodding
reluctant acceptance I move away and take the door handle, ‘wait I will help you out.” He is out of his door and around taking my hand and helping me stand on my wobbly legs. My head is awash with the taste of him, I lick my lips one more time hoping some of him is left on them.

He holds out his elbow for me, ‘shall we, Ms. Delany?”

“My, my all chivalry tonight aren’t we Mr. Tucker?” I point out as I slide my arm in his and begin to walk together to the door which he even opens for me to walk through first.

He shrugs his shoulders, ‘what can I say,’ he turns he dark eyes to me and raises his eyebrows, ‘I am kind of a good guy.” I laugh escapes my mouth and I cover it with my free hand, ‘what?”

“Nothing, nothing at all Leo, you are just full of surprises.” Had I known what this statement had meant I would have rethought letting it leave my lips.

****

We are lead to a small round table that has a small candle flickering in the middle. The red and white table cloth reflects the glimmer of the orange light. It is nestled in the corner with no visible chairs, meaning that we will have to sit side by side in the booth seat. Leo holds his hand out for me to enter the seat ahead of him, the difference in this man is making my head turn.

Is it bad to admit I am kinda missing the badass biker boy, but I am sure the minute he steps one foot back into the clubhouse he will regress
, I am sure of it.

The waitress hurries over and gives Leo the expected once over making me giggle, he elbows me and glances out of the corner of his eye at me, ‘Shhh.”

Looking away, ‘sorry.” Trying to stifle another giggle, boy if she only knew what a bear this man could be she would rethink her eager flirtiness. He would tear through that school girl charm and send her home crying to her Daddy with one fell swoop of his attitude.

He dutifully orders us drinks
, which I had already planned on letting him do because it was also expected. He clears his throat and does the manly thing by watching her walk away under his lashes, I in turn elbow him for this.

Clearing
his throat he straightens his shirt, ‘now will you tell me why you felt the need to laugh at the poor girl?”

“Because that,’ I point in her direction, ‘poor girl has no clue.” I shift the napkin lying under my silverware.

Never taking his eyes off of me, ‘she has no clue about what?” His finger is tracing the hem of my dress pushing it up slightly to reveal more skin to him.

Becoming slightly breathless, I swallow deep and try to regain my composure, but it is hard with him touching me and breathing into my ear, ‘she has no clue about you.”

His lips graze my ear lobe, ‘about me how?” His continuous attention to the skin on my thigh has me pressing my knees together to control the sudden throbbing taken place in another area.

Leaning my forehead against his shoulder to steady myself and to keep from melting into the floor, a slow groan leaves his throat as his eyes watch his hand trailing
my leg. Pushing my dress further up my thigh.

“Avery, about me how?” He prompts me to answer his question from before.

“Oh um,’ I am finding coherent thought difficult, ‘how you would chew her up and send her running home to her daddy crying about how mean you can be.”

“Me, mean?’ He suddenly leans back from me withdrawing his hand and lips from my body with a slightly shocked expression covering his face.

His sudden absence jolts me from the erotic euphoria I had been publically experiencing. I take a deep breath to calm myself and reluctantly open my eyes to see Leo looking at me with an inquiring look on his face, ‘me, mean?’ Shaking his head as he turns to take up his drink, sliding his fingers through the condensation trickling down the sides making a pool of water on the coaster it had been sitting on.

Immediately I feel a pang of guilt for calling me him mean so I try to rectify the comment, ‘not so much mean,’ I reach and touch his forearm he has propped up on the table, ‘more oh I don’t know, straight forward.” Smiling I look at him and watch as his
demeanor changes back to a version of what it had been before.

We
sit in silence, my eyes dart around the small rustic Italian restaurant. From its candle lit sconces adorning the brick walls, to the red and white checkered table clothes covering the small round tables. The several tables dotting the limited floor space are occupied by couples just like Leo and me but they are having hushed private conversations, as we sit silent unable to meet each other’s eyes. I readjust my position and wonder if the men are having their way with their partners under the tables just as Leo had done with me. The thought brings my skin to a light simmer, to push the thought out of my head I tuck a stray hair behind my ear and clear my throat. None of the couples are any more aware of the others, lost in their own little worlds just as Leo and I had been moments before.