Dungeon Master by Golden Angel

Chapter Two

Leah

That rat bastard. Fuming, Leah refused to lean down and smell the lilies until after he’d driven away and couldn’t see her do it. Oliver batted at the cellophane again, seeming to like the crinkly sound. Hmmm. She would have to make sure the flowers were out of his reach. Were lilies poisonous to cats?

Something else to look up.

Dammit, Gavin.

She would have fallen over herself if he’d done this twenty years ago. Hell, even five years ago.

But now? He had to choose now? This specific day? Today?

Hmmm.

Maybe he wasn’t the only rat.

Putting the flowers down on her kitchen table, her heart still an unsteady thump from Gavin’s unexpected appearance, Leah grabbed her phone. Oliver squirmed in her arms, so she put him down on the floor, away from the flowers. Of course, he immediately jumped up onto the kitchen table and started batting at the cellophane again. Well, as long as he wasn’t chewing on the flowers.

She kept her eye on him as she called Jax, one of her two friends who knew about her date. There was no way Cyana was the one who had told Gavin—the woman was basically a vault—but Jax… well, he and Gavin were closer, just like she was closer to Jax’s wife, Esther. She still hadn’t expected Jax to tattle on her.

“Hello? Leah? Are you okay?”

The concern in Jax’s voice was enough to soften her, just the tiniest bit. He hadn’t seemed worried about her dating Simon when she’d told him, but he was also protective, big old Daddy Dom that he was.

“I’m fine,” she said automatically before realizing that wasn’t the honest answer. “I mean, Simon hasn’t done anything. He’s not even here yet. Did you tell Gavin I have a date?”

“What? Gavin? No. Hell, no.” Even though she couldn’t see him, Leah was sure Jax was shaking his head. Sincerity rang in his voice. “I’m not going to be the one to do that. You’re on your own there, sweetheart.”

“Okay, sorry, it’s just he showed up here a few minutes ago, and I thought…” Her voice trailed off, guilt niggling because she’d been wrong.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. I would have thought the same thing,” Jax said comfortingly, a touch of amusement entering his voice. “That’s one hell of a coincidence. Gavin’s timing always was spot on.”

“Yeah, for the worst timing ever,” she muttered. Jax didn’t argue with her. The doorbell rang again, and her heart leapt. “Crap, I think Simon is here.” At least, she hoped it was Simon and not Gavin returning for round two.

“Go. Have fun on your date.”

She appreciated Jax being supportive of her dating again. It made it easier to hear his encouragement before she went to open the door. Oliver squalled when she took him away from the flowers but was otherwise calm enough. She quickly shoved the bouquet in the fridge, so she wouldn’t have to worry about Oliver eating the flowers until after she’d looked up whether they were toxic for him, before hurrying to the front door.

Opening the door with a smile on her face, Leah relaxed when it was Simon standing there. Wearing pressed pants and a suit jacket, he was a good-looking man. A silver fox, like Gavin, but a little more salt and pepper than her ex, tall and maybe not quite as well-muscled, but Gavin was in exceptional shape. He also had a little less presence and none of the dominant vibes that hovered around Gavin like a cloak.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be what she needed. A lot of men didn’t have the same kind of bearing Gavin did, but they were damn fine Doms. She and Simon hadn’t explicitly discussed sex, but he was aware she was kinky and hadn’t seemed concerned. Being with the alpha of alphas hadn’t saved her marriage, so maybe what she needed was someone who was less intense. More willing to bend. Someone willing to be vulnerable on occasion.

No matter how she felt about Gavin, that had never been him.

“Hello,” she said, smiling brightly. The cheerfulness might have been a little too forced because Simon blinked in surprise. Leah did her best to reel her overenthusiasm back in. Dammit. Gavin had completely thrown her off.

“Hello. Nice to officially meet you, Leah,” Simon said, holding out his hand. Leah shook it. It seemed a little formal for a first date, but then she didn’t know what she was doing. Maybe Simon felt as awkward as she did. “You are just as beautiful in person as you are in your pictures. Maybe more. And who is this little guy?”

“This is Oliver. I just got him last week.” She scratched the kitty under his chin, her smile from the compliment widening further when Simon leaned in and gently rubbed the top of Oliver’s head, and the kitten purred. That seemed like a good sign, right? Gavin hadn’t done more than stare at Oliver. Not that she should be comparing Gavin and Simon. She needed to get Gavin out of her head—in more ways than one. She gave Simon a brilliant smile.

“Well, shall we?”

* * *

Gavin

Leah was dating someone who wasn’t him. Of all the outcomes he’d gone through in his head for this evening, that hadn’t been one of them.

He hadn’t held much hope for her immediately jumping into his arms, but he’d considered the possibility. She hadn’t safe worded, which was how the end of their marriage had begun. If she’d done that, he would have turned and walked away, despite what he wanted.

She hadn’t.

Though she had been flustered. Next time, he’d make it clear if she really wanted him to skedaddle, all she had to do was say “Red” and hope it wasn’t the first word out of her mouth.

Should he be worried about the date tonight? Pulling into the parking lot of his condo building, he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. As soon as the car was parked, he pulled out his phone to call Cyana. He would do his own search, but he wanted to see what he could get out of her first.

Tonight had been his opening gambit to see how receptive Leah was. Not particularly. That was expected. His goal for the evening had been to get her thinking about the possibility. Let her know he was interested. To show her he had evolved a little.

He had never been very good about bringing her flowers. Perhaps he should get a toy for the cat. That would surprise her.

The ringing stopped, and the phone clicked as Cyana picked up.

“Hello?” As always, her tone was brisk and businesslike, even though she knew who was calling.

“Hello, lass. Tell me everything you have on this Simon.” He didn’t bother with unnecessary pleasantries because they tended to make Cyana impatient and annoyed. Even so, she sighed.

“How did you even find out?”

“Leah told me.” He decided to neglect to tell Cyana the circumstances under which Leah had told him. If Cyana thought it had come up in conversation, she was much more likely to tell him what he wanted to know. “I just want to make sure she’s safe. Did you know he’s picking her up from her house?”

The frustrated, derogatory noise Cyana made clearly expressed her feelings on the matter.

“Yes. So, I went extra deep. He’s had a couple of parking and speeding tickets, none of them within the last three years. Other than that, he’s clean as a whistle. No complaints, officially or unofficially, with the police or at the university.”

Which meant Cyana had gone digging deeper than the regular reports. That was good. Wasn’t it? He didn’t want Leah out on a date with a predator. I don’t want her out on a date at all. Right, but if she was going to be out on a date with someone other than him, better it was a stand-up gentleman. Right?

“Okay, good.” He kept his tone as mild as he could.

“You’re going to stay out of it, right?” Cyana asked, with only the tiniest bit of threat in her tone. There weren’t too many people who were willing to go toe to toe with Gavin, but Cyana topped the list of those who were.

“Out of her and Simon’s date? Absolutely.” He would absolutely stay out of her date tonight. In fact, he’d been a very good boy and left them to it instead of hanging out on Leah’s street, waiting for Simon to show up, then following them to the restaurant. He wasn’t that creepy stalker guy, even if he’d considered it for half a second—for her safety, of course.

“Out of her and Simon dating, period,” Cyana stressed.

“Sure, lass. I won’t bother her and Simon at all.” Nope. He was going to be one hundred percent focused on his relationship with Leah. If her dates with Simon suffered for it… ah, well, too bad. So sad.

“Be sure you do. Bye, Gavin.”

“Thank you, Cy.”

Grinning, he turned off his car and headed into the condo building. He’d a setback tonight, but he wasn’t out of the game. Not yet. Now he needed to plan his next move, that was all. Maybe he’d pick up another one of those romance books Leah liked so much. They really weren’t half bad and gave him plenty of ideas.

* * *

Leah

This wasn’t the worst first date in the world, but she doubted it was the best, even though she didn’t have much to compare it to. Simon was a nice guy. He clearly loved his job and was interesting to talk to, but there wasn’t that massive spark of attraction she got with Gavin.

Argh.

She really wished her ex hadn’t shown up right before her date. It would have been so much easier not to compare the two men if she wasn’t seeing them one right after the other. Not her fault or Simon’s, but there it was.

“How’s your dinner?” Simon asked, smiling at her.

Leah looked down at her plate. She’d been so engrossed in her own thoughts, she’d barely noticed how the steak tasted.

“Good! It’s good. Everything’s wonderful. How is yours?” Ugh. Could she be any more ridiculous? Simon probably thought she was a total nitwit.

“Also good.” His smile seemed kind. “Is everything alright? You seem a bit distracted.”

“Yes… I…” Crud. She owed him some kind of explanation. “I’m sorry. I had an awkward conversation with my ex-husband before you arrived, and it threw me a bit.”

“I know how that can be, though I admit, I don’t think I’ve talked to my ex in years.”

“Well, we have a son together and have always tried to keep things friendly for his sake, and we have a lot of mutual friends.” She pushed her mashed potatoes around on her plate. How much to admit? “We’re part of the same gaming group. There are six of us, and we meet up once a week to play games together. We’ve all been doing it for years... When we split up, we didn’t want to wreck that for everyone else, and it seems to have worked out.”

This didn’t seem like the time for admitting she and Gavin got together several times a year, sometimes more, for kinky hot sex at her ex-husband’s BDSM club—if there ever was a time for that. She was allowed to keep some secrets, right? As long as she wasn’t still doing it with Gavin. And she wasn’t and didn’t plan to. It had been three months since the last time, and once she made the decision to start dating, she’d told herself no more, not even ‘one last time.’ Nope, that had been her last time, and she was going to have to live with that. It was better she hadn’t tried to make a production out of it.

“What kind of games?”

“Uh, one game.” She smiled a little weakly. Even though she knew it was ‘cooler’ now than it had been when she was younger—some people had actually believed it would lead to devil worship, murders, and crazy things like that—she still felt weird talking about it so openly. It was odd that something she’d once been bullied for playing was now considered ‘cool’ in some circles. “Castles and Creatures. C&C.”

Thankfully Simon didn’t seem fazed by her admission about playing one of the ‘nerdiest’ games out there.

“It’s pretty intense. Do you play any games?”

“On occasion. They’re not really my forte.” He smiled. “When I have free time, I usually prefer to read or be outdoors if I can.”

Yes, he’d talked about how much he enjoyed hiking and camping. Leah wasn’t against that, although she didn’t have a ton of experience with it.

“Oh, yes. I do a lot of reading, too. The game is only once a week, so it doesn’t really interfere with the rest of my life. It’s just as much an excuse to catch up with my friends.” Except it was so much more than that, but if Simon wasn’t a gamer, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to explain it to him.

“Read anything good lately?”

“Oh, uh…” She wracked her brain. She already knew from talking to Simon, he was a much more intellectual reader than she was. Somehow, she didn’t think revealing she was binge-reading her way through the Black Light BDSM romance series was going to impress him.

“Is that a bad question for an English professor to ask?” He smiled ruefully. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

“No, it’s just that I’ve been on a romance reading kick lately.” Lately, meaning the last thirty years. Which she shouldn’t be ashamed of, darn it.

“Ah.” He blinked and paused, clearly searching for a suitable response. “Well, I’m sure those are good, too.”

“Have you ever read one?” she asked hopefully.

“Ah, well, no. I don’t really think I’m their target audience.”

“No, probably not.” She smiled at him, sighing inwardly. Gavin had never wanted to read them either. She would have loved to read and talk about them with him. He’d read plenty of books with romance in them, but he’d balked at reading actual romances. So, she was used to this.

Argh.

There she went, thinking about Gavin again.

Rallying, she managed to get her act together to get through dinner, and by the time they were eating dessert and swapping funny stories about work, she’d relaxed. And when Simon took her home, walking her to the door, and said he’d like to kiss her, she said yes.

It was a very nice first kiss, perfectly serviceable. Nothing at all like the heated kisses Gavin often claimed her mouth with, but it was a first kiss. Surely, she and Simon would work up to the passionate kisses.

Surely.