Dungeon Master by Golden Angel

Chapter Four

Gavin

The beeping oven timer broke the tension in the room at exactly the right moment, allowing everyone to pretend Gavin hadn’t just made things extremely awkward for everyone. Not that he cared. He was uncomfortable, too, but it was worth it. Would be worth it to prove to Leah he’d changed, that he was committed to being a better man, a better partner.

Going to therapy had been uncomfortable, but he’d gotten through it, and Dr. Silverwood had reminded him multiple times being uncomfortable was natural. Normal. Not something to run from. Especially since being vulnerable with his emotions was often uncomfortable but something he would need to do in order to win Leah back. That wasn’t her professional opinion about how to win Leah back. That was the conclusion he’d come to.

So far, it was working. Leah already didn’t know what to make of him being so vocal, neither did their friends, and he’d barely started.

Making sure to get a seat next to Leah, Gavin noticed she stiffened when he sat down, he ignored the suspicious looks everyone else was giving them. Cyana, who sat down across from him, leveled a glare his way. Out of all of their friends, she was the most likely to play guard dog when it came to Leah, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

“How was your date with Simon?” he asked, turning to Leah. Aiden choked on the mouthful of lamb he’d just put in his mouth, Jax groaned, Esther froze, and Cyana glared even harder.

“It was fine. I mean good. It was good.” Leah didn’t meet his eyes, reaching out to grab her wine glass again. “We’re going out again this weekend.”

Thumping his chest, Aiden finally got himself under control.

“You went on a date?” he asked, sputtering only a little and prompting Cyana, who was sitting next to him, to shoot him a dirty look.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Sorry, sunshine,” Aiden said sarcastically but took a long drink of water to help him clear his mouth. Gavin’s lips twitched. The two of them were always sniping at each other. It was too bad they were both dominant because they were probably never going to be able to clear the sexual tension constantly simmering between them. Although it didn’t stop Aiden from teasing Cyana that she should try submitting to him, whereas she tended to pretend there wasn’t any attraction between them.

“Yes, I went on a date. He’s a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Jax signed off on him, and Cyana checked him out.” Leah kept her gaze focused on her dinner. Gavin didn’t mind. He dug in, grinning inwardly when Leah’s elbow accidentally brushed against his when she scooped up some potatoes.

“Right.” Aiden’s eyes darted back and forth between Gavin and Leah as if looking for cues from them. Gavin smiled at him. Yeah, he was bothered Leah was dating, but he wasn’t going to let it slow him down or stop him. Aiden shook his head in confusion and shrugged. “Okay then. So, is the next monster we battle going to be named Simon?”

“Maybe.” Gavin winked, and everyone laughed. Even Leah reluctantly giggled. He cast her a sideways glance, but she determinedly ignored him. Hmmm, was this what Aiden felt like with Cyana all the time? That was an amusing thought. Thankfully, the issue between him and Leah had nothing to do with their compatibility.

Being patient wasn’t one of his strongest virtues, but he was working on it.

* * *

Leah

Studying her character sheet, Leah pursed her lips together.

“If we can stop and rest here, that would be best for me. I can go a little longer, but if we hit any trouble in town…”

“Resting sounds good,” Esther agreed. “We know this place is safe, but who knows what we’re in for once we enter Alderic.”

All they knew was it looked well-guarded and had high walls, and it was on their way to the House of Starrett, which was their final destination.

“I’ll sleep next to Ysolde,” Aiden said, wiggling his eyebrows at Cyana. “In case she gets cold.” Cyana rolled her eyes, though it was impossible to tell if she was doing it in character or as herself. Aiden’s character took every opportunity to flirt with Cyana in a way he could never do as himself. It had become a long-running joke of their campaigns that eventually, Aiden’s characters would fall in love with Cyana’s, and it didn’t matter how grotesque she’d made some of them.

“You wish, Morag.”

“I really do.” He winked at her roguishly.

“I think this would also be a good time to take a real break,” Esther said, her voice altering to her real register from the slightly higher voice she used when she was being Leandrin Longleaf. “I need to refill my drink.”

“I could use a bathroom break,” Leah agreed, stretching. She felt Gavin’s eyes on her and quickly pulled her arms in. Did he think she’d been stretching to get his attention? She totally hadn’t—she didn’t hate how it got his attention, but she shouldn’t want his attention.

Dammit. He had her completely confused.

She hadn’t asked for this—wouldn’t have asked for it—but she couldn’t deny some little part of her was enjoying it. Even though she wasn’t going to give in.

Gavin sat at the head of the table, slightly separated from everyone by both space and the DM screen propped up between him and them. During their breaks, Aiden often tried to get a peek at it when Gavin wasn’t there. He didn’t actually want to know, but he knew it drove Gavin up the wall.

Normally, that meant Gavin spent most of his time hovering near his side of the table, even when they were on a break, to keep Aiden away. Which was why the very last thing Leah expected was to reach the closed bathroom door in his hallway and out of the corner of her eye, see him walking toward her. Her head whipped up, turning to face him, eyes widening with surprise, hand still on the doorknob.

“What are you doing?” She didn’t know why she whispered, it just happened naturally.

“Maybe I need to go to the bathroom.” He stepped closer, getting into her personal space, looming the way he did in the club. The way he had at home when they were still married. Leah’s heartbeat stuttered, her breathing becoming shallow as her pulse began to race. Stupid physical reactions she couldn’t control.

Back away! Move!

That was the smart voice in her brain, the one dedicated to emotional self-preservation. Unfortunately, her body didn’t seem to be listening. Her head tipped back to look up at him, and she was brutally aware of how close they were standing. Was he going to kiss her?

Do I want him to?

“Gavin,” Cyana barked, and Leah jumped, her head snapping toward the sound. Standing at the end of the hallway, Cyana was scowling at Gavin, hands on her hips. “A word?”

Straightening, Gavin winked at Leah, then sauntered down the hallway to Cyana, leaving Leah feeling shaky and… disappointed. A part of her had wanted to kiss him.

I’m in so much trouble.

* * *

Gavin

Dragging him out onto the balcony where Aiden and Jax were waiting, Cyana crossed her arms over her chest as soon as she got him out there. The night was warm, with the slightly chilly breeze that happened in early spring. The looks all three of his friends were giving him were chilly as well.

“What the hell are you doing?” Hands on her hips, Cyana glared at him, her dark eyes sparking with protectiveness and irritation. “You cannot play games with Leah like this!”

“Who says I’m playing a game?” He raised his eyebrows. Might as well come clean now that their dander was up. Gavin had hoped for a little more time to work on Leah before having to admit what was going on to their friends, but he hadn’t expected Simon, so he’d been a bit bolder than he’d initially anticipated. “I realized I wanted Leah back before I knew she was going on a date with Simon.”

Cyana’s eyes narrowed, and she started to open her mouth to say something, but Gavin cut her off.

“You can ask Mitch.” He’d already told his son his plans. Mitch had been wary, but he hadn’t discouraged Gavin once he’d been told everything. “Or my therapist.”

Cyana’s mouth snapped shut. Both Jax and Aiden stared at him.

“You’re seeing a therapist?” Jax asked, his deep voice full of disbelief. Gavin knew Jax didn’t think he was lying, but it was such a surprising statement, he was having trouble believing it—and he clearly wasn’t the only one.

“For the past few months.”

Enjoying their reactions, Gavin leaned against the balcony, shoving his hands in his pockets. They were the precursor to how Leah would react. Seeing what an impact it had on them made him hopeful she would also be moved. Hell, after their little interlude in the hallway, he was feeling buoyant. If Cyana hadn’t come along, he was pretty sure Leah would have let him kiss her.

“You want Leah back? Like back, back? Not the ‘we have sex at the club and pretend it means nothing’ thing you two have been doing for years now?” Aiden’s skepticism didn’t exactly pop Gavin’s balloon of hope, but it did remind him what a hard road he had ahead of him. That was good. He shouldn’t forget it was going to take a lot of work to get Leah and himself to where he wanted to be.

“Aye.” He nodded his head, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What does Leah think about this?” Cyana asked, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a hard look.

Gavin shrugged.

“What did it look like to you?” He raised his eyebrow. A thoughtful expression crossed her face. Ha. He had her there. “I think she wants someone in her life, and I mean for it to be me. Not Simon. Or anyone else. And she needs someone. She’s already adopted one cat.”

“One cat is starting her down the road to crazy cat lady?” Jax asked, his lips twitching with amusement at Gavin’s hyperbole.

“It could be, but I don’t mean to let it get that far.”

“You dumbasses.” Cyana scowled at all three of them, causing Aiden to hold up his hands in immediate surrender. “You think choosing to have a cat instead of a man is somehow a bad thing for her? If Leah wants a cat instead of you, that has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you.”

Something uncomfortable shifted inside Gavin’s chest. Yeah, he knew the cat lady thing was a stereotype, but there were often truths backing up some stereotypes. Right? Yet the way Cyana phrased it felt like she was insulting him.

“You can’t tell me you’d rather have a cat than a man,” Aiden said, looking at her incredulously and—thankfully—taking the heat for Gavin.

“Welcome to the twenty-first century, fellas.” Cyana rolled her eyes, enough sarcasm lacing her voice to bite. “Women are now allowed to own property, apply for our own credit, and have careers, which means we have the money to buy our own houses and cars. We have the internet, online shopping, and a whole great big world of sex toys to fulfill our needs. ‘Crazy cat ladies’ are just women who have done the math and realized a vibrator and a furry animal who shits in a box can fulfill their needs just as well, if not better, than a man. If you can’t appeal more to her than a cat, that’s a personal problem on your end—not hers.”

Giving Aiden a pointed look, she spun on her heel and went back into the condo. Through the glass, Gavin could see Leah had returned from the bathroom and joined Esther on the couch.

“Well, shit,” Aiden said, watching Cyana stalk back into the room and sit with the other two. “Do you think she’s telling on you right now? Should we intervene?”

Giving the matter some consideration, Gavin shook his head after a moment.

“She might be annoyed over the cat thing, but I don’t think she’ll say anything about that to Leah. She won’t want to hurt Leah’s feelings. And I don’t care if she tells Leah I’m seeing a therapist.” Leah was going to find out eventually since Gavin planned on asking her to go with him. Turn the tables on the requests she’d made of him in the past. Right now, Leah could probably use some time with her two best friends. He turned back to his. “Let’s give them a minute.”

* * *

Leah

Shutting the sliding door behind her, Cyana stalked inside and sat in one of the armchairs across from where Leah and Esther were on the couch. She moved with almost lethal grace, even when she was dressed in her regular clothes outside of the club.

“What are they talking about out there?” Leah asked, pretending she wasn’t a bundle of nerves. Esther knew something was going on, but she hadn’t probed—yet—probably been waiting for Cyana, hoping she would take the lead. It was harder to deflect with Cyana.

“What do you think?” Cyana asked, raising her eyebrows at Leah. “Were you going to let him kiss you?”

Esther gasped as heat filled Leah’s cheeks. Yeah, this was why she and Esther waited for Cyana when they wanted to interrogate each other. She got the job done a lot faster than either of them would.

“Gavin was going to kiss you?” Esther whispered, leaning in, her eyes darting to the glass partition between them and the men. “Like kiss kiss you? Outside of the club?”

Sighing, Leah scrubbed her hand over her face, then winced when she remembered she was wearing makeup because she wanted to look nice. Hopefully, she hadn’t just smeared mascara everywhere.

“He says he wants to get back together. To win me back.” Two different things, one with infinitely more meaning to her than the other. Had he realized that? Or did they mean the same thing to him? She rubbed the spot on her forehead right between her eyebrows, avoiding her eye makeup. “I think he might even mean it.”

“Oh, I definitely think he does. Apparently, he already told your son his intentions,” Cyana said. Esther let out a soft gasp at the same time as Leah.

Gavin told Mitch? Why hadn’t Mitch warned her? Her poor son. He’d hated it every time she and Gavin went through their usual cycle, had never understood it, and Leah had never had quite the right words to explain it.

What had Gavin said to him to make it okay? Dammit. Now she wanted to call Mitch and interrogate him. Cyana was watching her carefully, gauging Leah’s reactions, reading who knows what into her body language. Considering Leah didn’t even know how she felt about all of this, she couldn’t help but wonder what conclusions Cyana was coming to.

“We need a ladies’ night,” Esther muttered, eyeing the men outside. They were all straightening up as if they were getting ready to come back in. “This weekend?”

“I have my second date with Simon on Saturday,” Leah said. Her stomach did an unhappy little flip. She wasn’t dreading it, but she just wasn’t looking forward to it the way she thought she should. Relationships took time to grow, so she shouldn’t read too much into that. Right?

“Friday night?”

“I’m free,” Cyana said.

Leah nodded just as the men came back inside. She avoided Gavin’s gaze, feeling a blush start to fill her cheeks again. He’d told all their best friends he wanted her back and talked to their son. She didn’t know how to react to that. The Gavin she remembered would have never done that because he wouldn’t have wanted everyone to know if she rejected him.

Who was this man who was putting his pride on the line for her, and what the hell was she supposed to do with him?