Dungeon Master by Golden Angel

Chapter Thirteen

Leah

Cyana and Esther were waiting for her outside her house, even though she’d texted Cyana and told her she didn’t actually need a ride anymore. To be honest, she’d kinda figured Cyana would either call or show up, but Esther was a surprise. Not a bad one.

Seeing them, a sense of relief swept over her. Esther probably would be more encouraging about getting back together with Gavin than Cyana, she valued both of their opinions. Besides, now that she thought about it, if Esther wasn’t supportive, that would be extremely telling.

“I should have known you’d show up here,” Leah called out, getting out of the car shaking her head.

“Nice morning after look,” Cyana responded, cracking a smile. “Rock that walk of shame, baby!” As always, she managed to look put-together, even wearing yoga pants and a slouchy shirt, with her silvery hair straightened and brushing against the tops of her shoulders. She was even wearing makeup.

Next to her, Esther was also wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt, but she appeared frazzled next to Cyana. Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and her shirt wasn’t that different from Cyana’s—though it did have writing on it and Cyana’s was plain—and she was wearing similar pants, but somehow, she looked messier. Leah sighed inwardly. She had a feeling, in Gavin’s oversized clothes, she made both of them look good by comparison.

“Heels and sweatpants. I like it.” Esther grinned. She was holding two cups of takeout coffee and held one out to Leah as she approached.

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver,” Leah said, moaning when the smell hit her olfactory system. Good. Want. Need. They must have been waiting for a bit because it had thankfully cooled down enough for her to take an immediate sip.

“We brought breakfast, too.” Cyana held up a bag from the local bagel place. “Figured you’d need some fuel before your interrogation.”

“Do you have to call it that?” Leah complained, but she couldn’t help smiling. She hadn’t known that was coming, with both of them standing here. She opened the front door, letting them in. Oliver came running straight to her, his loud meows a clear demand for breakfast. Leah picked him up and nuzzled the top of his head. “Sorry, baby.”

“You were supposed to be on a date with Simon last night. Instead, you clearly ended up making the beast with two backs with Gavin… so, yes.” Esther walked by her, giving her a Significant Look.

“Just call it sex, Pollyanna.” Shaking her head, Cyana followed Esther into the kitchen, so they could sit down at the little table and started pulling out the breakfasts while Leah fed Oliver. It turned out he was far more interested in the food than her and immediately dug in.

They’d been friends for long enough, Cyana had known to get Leah an ‘everything’ bagel with cream cheese, lox, onions, and capers. It was comfort food as far as she was concerned and exactly what she needed after last night.

Both of her friends noted her wince when she sat down a little too fast on the hard wood chair. Ouch. Yeah, she’d forgotten about the state of her butt. The lingering burn wasn’t enough to be noticeable until she sat down, especially when there wasn’t a cushion.

“So…” Cyana unwrapped her own breakfast, identical to Leah’s. Esther was the odd woman out with a breakfast bagel sandwich that smelled amazing. “Anyone do anything interesting last night?”

They both looked at Leah. Sighing inwardly, Leah gave them the rundown. At least she had her delicious, salty lox bagel to make her feel better.

“Wait, in the club? He had sex with you in the club, not in his office?” Esther looked almost starry-eyed. She knew what a big deal that was. They all did. Of course, she locked onto it.

“Yes. I feel like he’s caging me in. Telling all of you. Telling our son. Making things public at the club.” Irritation rose. Even having to admit to her friends everything that had happened last night played into his hand. He was making it very, very difficult for her to turn him away.

“Or setting himself up for a massively public rejection,” Cyana pointed out, raising one perfectly arched brow. “You don’t have to take him back. No one would blame you if you didn’t.”

“Won’t they?” Her voice came out a little plaintive, and she realized that might be her big problem. She was worried they would blame her. Gavin was giving her everything she’d said she wanted in the past—therapy, open communication, showing himself to be vulnerable—so if she turned that down…

“No, they won’t, but if anyone does, they’re a jackass whose opinion doesn’t matter, anyway. Just because someone says all the right things does all the right things doesn’t mean they’re the right one for you. You’re not a machine where if you put in all the right data, the desired result appears. You’re a human being, and you get a say in what you want out of your future. Anyone who says differently isn’t worth listening to.” Cyana’s point, delivered in her usual firm tone, was everything Leah needed to hear.

She felt a little less trapped. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel any more certain about what she should do. Knowing her friends wouldn’t judge her if she didn’t give in to Gavin took off some of the pressure.

“Do you think he’s doing all this to trap you?” Esther asked, her brow furrowed. Leah could tell she was doing her best to keep her disbelief out of her tone, but some of it still trickled through. Cyana snorted and shook her head, making her own opinion very clear.

There was a paranoid part of Leah that thought she might not put it past him, but considering Cyana’s point about how many people would know he’d been rejected if things didn’t work out…. Yeah, she couldn’t see Gavin risking his pride to manipulate her. There were a million other ways that didn’t have such a high risk of embarrassment for him and were a lot subtler.

Instead, he’d come on strong and publicly.

“No.” She sighed. “But I feel a little trapped. Knowing you two aren’t judging me for being wary helps.”

“It took a long time for your marriage to fall apart,” Cyana said. “It’ll take a while to put it back together, if it can be. If it’s not right, don’t get back into it.”

“You are so cynical,” Esther scolded, then turned to Leah. “I am absolutely not going to judge you if you don’t want to get back together with him in the end, but I won’t lie, I hope you give him a chance. I don’t think you’d be this conflicted about things if you didn’t really want to see what happens.”

Well, that hit the point right on the nose.

“Ugh. I hate it when you’re right. Both of you.” Leah took an aggressive bite out of her bagel. “I wish I knew more of what was going on in his head, but I guess I’ll find out in therapy.” Cyana and Esther exchanged a glance. “What?”

“Maybe before that.” Cyana shrugged, her face lighting up with a grin. “Esther and I sent over spies this morning.”

* * *

Gavin

The authoritative knocking on Gavin’s door was immediately followed by Aiden’s deep voice.

“Breakfast delivery! Open up!”

Another deep voice murmured something to Aiden, but not loudly enough for Gavin to hear through the door. Shaking his head, he strode over and opened it. Jax and Aiden were standing on the other side, holding big plastic bags, and something smelled delicious.

“A wee bit early for the gym today,” he said dryly. They usually went together in the Sunday afternoons, although Jax had missed a few workouts recently. Since he had Esther and the kids, his schedule was a little harder to pin down. Aiden was in sweatpants and a t-shirt, but Jax was wearing jeans, making Gavin wonder if this was going to be another missed workout.

“I’m not going to make it to the gym today,” Jax said, shouldering his way through the door as if in answer to Gavin’s thoughts. “We’ve been sent over here on a reconnoitering mission, but I have to leave in an hour.”

Gavin raised his eyebrows. Wow. Esther moved fast. He hadn’t expected to be bearded in his own den today, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if Jax questioned him during gym time.

“What’s your excuse?” he asked Aiden.

“Cyana called me and told me to get my ass over here with Jax.” The big man put down the bag he was carrying on Gavin’s counter and pulled out the plastic containers inside. They’d gone protein-heavy on the food, lots of sausage, bacon, and eggs to get them started, though Jax pulled out a container of pancakes as well. Gavin’s mouth watered.

“And you listened?” That didn’t sound like Aiden.

“I was too curious not to.”

Thatdid sound like Aiden. Ordering him to do anything was always a risk. There was every likelihood he would do the opposite just to be ornery.

Sitting at the table to eat, it wasn’t the company Gavin had hoped to have this morning, but it was a relief not to be on his own. He likely would have spent all morning moping about Leah’s swift exit if his friends hadn’t shown up.

“I’ve caught Jax up on last night until you and Leah left the club,” Aiden said, getting the ball rolling. “What happened after?”

“She was flying high in subspace, so I brought her back here. We slept—actually slept. This morning, she bolted as fast as she could.” He gave the rundown as matter-of-factly as he could, automatically doing his best to hide the hurt her quick exit had stirred. He’d understood it but hadn’t liked it. “On Wednesday, she’ll be going to see my therapist with me.”

“Impressive.” Jax looked a little surprised. “I thought it would take her a lot longer to agree to do that.”

“Well, apparently, I ruined her date last night.” Gavin shrugged. That part he wasn’t at all unhappy about. Jax and Aiden frowned at him.

“You didn’t show up right before it again, did you?” Aiden squinted at him, almost suspiciously.

“Hell, no!” He cleared his throat. “I may have shown up in the morning with some stuff for her hangover.”

“Nice.” Aiden held out his hand to be fist-bumped. Rolling his eyes, Gavin bumped his knuckles against Aiden’s. The gesture itself made him feel weird and old, but he appreciated the support. Jax’s mouth twitched in amusement, and he shook his head.

“It would have been nicer if she hadn’t run out this morning like a banshee with her hair on fire.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t more ticked off about that,” Jax said. He was studying Gavin intently, which wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in. As a Daddy Dom, Jax had a protective streak a mile wide, and it could rear its head at unpredictable times.

When they were younger, he and Jax had butted heads on occasion when Gavin felt the other man was overstepping his bounds, insulted Jax had thought it necessary. Looking back, Gavin wondered how differently his life would have gone if he’d heeded some of Jax’s advice and warnings.

“I was, but I decided her need to run was actually a good thing.”

“It is?” Aiden wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “Usually, when a woman runs away from me, that’s a sign I need to let her keep on running.” His expression changed, eyes refocusing, and he grinned. “Unless we’re doing capture games. Then I’m supposed to run after her.”

Ha. Gavin wouldn’t mind doing some capture games with Leah. They’d make a mighty metaphor for their current situation. Chase after her, and when he caught up to her, toss her over his shoulder and… and hope he didn’t throw his back out. Still, it could be fun if not quite the same as it had been before.

“If I hadn’t gotten under her skin, she wouldn’t have run. Running means she needs some time to think, and she doesn’t think she can do it when she’s next to me. So, she’s not indifferent to me, and I’m making progress. She never felt the need to run after any of our scenes, but last night was different, which meant this morning was different.”

“Do you think it was wise to let her go?” Aiden looked a bit skeptical. Both Jax and Gavin snorted. As difficult as Gavin and Leah’s relationship had been over the years, when he compared himself to Aiden, he usually felt a little better about himself.

“What else was I supposed to do? Tie her to my bed and keep her there until it was time to go to therapy?” Truthfully, if he thought it would work… Leah would have eviscerated him when she got free.

Aiden shrugged.

“Or fuck her until she didn’t feel like leaving.”

As if it would be that easy. If Leah had stayed around for more sex, Gavin would have been more concerned, she didn’t care.

“You have a lot to learn about women, my friend,” Jax said, chuckling. He glanced at his watch and started putting things away. “And on that note, I need to get going.”

“I know plenty about women.” Aiden mock-scowled as Jax got to his feet, picking up the empty containers his food had been in. He winked. “I’ve been married twice.”

Snorting with laughter, Jax shook his head and threw his containers away before saying his goodbyes, leaving Gavin to Aiden’s tender mercies. It wasn’t all that uncommon lately, to be truthful. Other than game night, Jax hadn’t been around much.

“Have you seen much of Jax lately?” he asked Aiden as they decamped to the living room to let their stomachs settle before heading to the gym.

Aiden shook his head, settling on the couch.

“He’s been busy with Esther and the kids. Something about softball season?”

“Ah, right.” Gavin nodded. He remembered those days. When Mitch had been doing sports, his games were usually on Saturdays, not Sundays. That’s why they’d set their gym date for Sundays in the first place. Maybe they should ask Jax if there was a better day for him. “Well, his loss.”

“His gain, if we’re talking weight,” Aiden murmured, and Gavin chuckled, settling down on the couch beside him. It might not be the way he wished he was spending his Sunday morning, but it sure as hell beat sitting around on his own. He hoped Leah was having a better time of it.