Dungeon Master by Golden Angel

Chapter Five

Leah

“What did your father say to you about us?”

“And hello to you, too, Mom.” Mitch’s voice was filled with amusement. “So nice to hear from you. I’m doing well, thank you.”

She suppressed the smile threatening to form on her lips. Mitch got that sassy sense of humor from her, but she was trying to be serious. She probably should have at least said hello when he answered the phone, but she was a bit pressed for time. Instead of waiting to call him during the evening, she’d called during the workday in between meetings because she hadn’t been able to take her curiosity any longer—she needed to know.

It was unlike her to be so demanding, but she only had a few minutes. She really should have waited till the end of the day to call. Somehow her patience had flown right out the window along with her usual reticence for being so rudely direct. Still, she took a deep breath because she knew Mitch was right. She’d not only bypassed gracefulness, she’d completely skipped over her manners.

“Hi, honey. I’m sorry, but I only have a few minutes to talk, and I recently discovered you and your father had a conversation about me and him?”

There was a short silence. Leah jiggled her foot under her desk, tamping down the urge to throttle her only offspring through the phone. It wasn’t as if it was the first time she’d had that urge. She loved her son with every fiber of her being, but sometimes, he was just as frustrating as his father, and that was saying something.

“Yeah, Dad mentioned he was interested in trying to rekindle things with you.” There was a hint of caution in his voice as if he wasn’t sure how she would take that revelation.

“Uh huh, and did he say anything else?”

Another silence.

“I think maybe you should talk to Dad about this.”

“Really?” Leah scowled. “After all the years of butting your nose in and asking why your dad and I can’t stay apart, now you’re choosing to keep silent?”

Her son chuckled, then sighed.

“Let’s just say, while he was down here, I learned some things about you and Dad, I wish I hadn’t. He also said some things that make me think he’s learned a few things he should have a long time ago.”

Well, crap. Gavin had gone down to D.C., where Mitch lived, to visit another kink club and talk with the owner about the way he’d expanded his business. Leah could only imagine what Mitch might think about that. Yup. Did not want to know. Especially since she’d already had a sneaking suspicion about Mitch and his girlfriend, Domi, after their recent visit. Like parents, like son, it appeared. Ugh, she did not want to think too hard about that.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not sure what she was apologizing for, but it felt like there must be something.

“Don’t be sorry, just be careful,” Mitch replied, quoting back to her one of her favorite sayings from his high school years. Leah laughed, relaxing slightly. She loved her baby boy so much, no matter how old he got, and had hated feeling his judgment over the years every time she and Gavin had… hooked up? Spent time together? Briefly reconciled? All of that felt far too casual to describe their on-again, off-again sexual relationship.

“Does this mean I’m not going to have to listen to a lecture from you if your father does convince me to try again?” Only half-joking, she was curious how Mitch felt since he’d always been so vehemently against his parents reconciling in the past—in any way, shape, or form.

Another long moment of silence and Leah’s eyebrows started climbing toward her hairline. She’d expected a sigh or some kind of quip from Mitch, not this thoughtful quiet.

“I know it sounds weird, but I think he might have really changed. Did you know he’s been going to therapy?”

Heat swept through her, followed by cold; not physically, but that’s what it felt like. Anger was quickly frozen out because she couldn’t afford to rage in the middle of her office during a workday when she had a meeting in a few minutes.

Old anger and resentment because she’d asked Gavin to go to couples’ therapy with her. It had been so hard to work up the courage to do so, and he’d shot her down. Hadn’t thought they needed it. Of course, he’d offered it up as a last-ditch option when she told him she was leaving him, but by then, it was too late, and he certainly hadn’t gone on his own.

Until now.

“He is?” Her tone was stilted, full of old pain, old bitterness.

“Yeah.” Mitch was quiet again for a long moment while Leah did her best to sort out her feelings. She had no idea what to say. “If you want to give him another chance, I’ll stay out of it. I want you to be happy, Mom. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

There was a knock on her door, and she looked up as Brandy, the number two on her marketing team, opened it and peeked in. Leah raised a finger to indicate she’d be there in one minute.

“I have to go. I have a meeting. Give Domi and Ana my love.”

“I will. Say hi to Dad for me.”

Her son’s blithe acceptance she would not only see Gavin sometime soon but giving her a message to pass on to him shook Leah almost as much as the revelation about Gavin going to therapy. Somehow, Gavin had their son quietly rooting for them or at least no longer rooting against them.

She didn’t have time to think about that right now. Shaking her head, she gathered up the files in front of her. She couldn’t wait for ladies’ night with Cyana and Esther. They were as unbiased as she could get, and she needed to talk through everything with them.

Gavin remained on her mind for the rest of the day, and she couldn’t quite shake him loose.

* * *

Gavin

The hard knocking on his door was unexpected, and Gavin frowned as he headed to answer it. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and when he glanced through the peephole, he was even more flummoxed. What was Leah doing here? Shit, if he’d known she was coming by, he would have put on a shirt.

On the other hand… He glanced down at the grey sweatpants hanging low on his hips, his bare upper body, and the sprinkling of hair across his chest. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen his chest before, but they hadn’t scened in a couple of months. Maybe he shouldn’t discount the whole ‘answer the door shirtless after a shower’ thing. Remind her of what she was missing out on while she was dating Professor Simon.

Pulling open the door, he cocked his head as he looked down at his ex-wife.

“Gav—” Her voice cut off as her eyes widened, getting caught on his chest before working their way down.

Gavin grinned.

Flexed.

Unfortunately, the flexing was too much, distracting Leah, so she brought her eyes straight back up to meet his, flustered but already hard at work to gather herself back together.

“We need to talk.” Head held high, she pushed past him, her shoulder brushing against his chest, though she pretended not to notice. Gavin rubbed his skin. The light touch had tickled his chest hairs.

“Well, hello to you, too,” he said, closing the door behind her, only a bit of sarcasm in his voice. “Come on in.”

Leah came to a halt, turning around to look at him, an odd expression on her face. Nothing to do with him being shirtless, he was fairly sure, but he couldn’t quite interpret it.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just… Mitch said something similar to me earlier today. I thought he got that bit of sass from me, but now I think maybe it’s you.” She shook her head, her lips twisting to a sad smile.

“Maybe it’s both of us.” He’d noted a lot of similarities between himself and Mitch of late as well. More than he’d ever realized. He hadn’t told Leah that Mitch was a member of a kink club down in D.C. He wasn’t sure Mitch would want her to know and was fairly certain she wouldn’t want Mitch knowing about them. Too late on the latter, but at least he could keep her in the dark about their son’s sex life.

“What can I do for you, Leah?”

He prowled closer, and her eyes darted down to his chest before coming up to meet his gaze. Putting up a hand in front of herself, as if to ward him off, she didn’t step back. Gavin came close enough, her hand hovered in front of his skin, close enough to brush against his chest hair. Her pupils dilated, and her quick intake of breath proved she wasn’t immune to him, no matter that she’d decided to start dating other people.

“I…” She dropped her hand as if burned, tucking it behind her back. A frown crossed her face, then cleared, and she lifted her chin up defiantly. “I wanted to talk. It seems as if you’ve been talking to a lot of people except me. Our son. Our friends. A therapist.” She raised her eyebrow at him.

Gavin wondered whether it was their son or their friends who had told her about the shrink. He was guessing Mitch since she was confronting him this morning instead of last night after the game. Last night, she’d darted out the door with Cyana rather than allowing Gavin to walk her out to her car.

“Dr. Silverwood.” Gavin leaned in closer, lowering his head a little—just as he had last night before Cyana had interrupted them. “Would you like to come with me to my next appointment?”

Unfortunately, he hadn’t anticipated Leah’s reaction. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, taking her out of reach of his lips, though not his hands. The impulse to reach out and touch her remained, but he let her retreat. If this was going to work, she needed to want to come to him.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him.

“Just like that? I asked you to go years ago, and you said no.”

“And then I said yes.”

“Not until you knew I was leaving, and you only said it to get me to stay.”

“Yes, because I didn’t want you to go.”

“If you didn’t want me to leave, you should have said yes when I asked you to go!” Her voice was getting higher, louder, her cheeks turning pinker with frustration and anger.

Taking a deep breath, Gavin made himself relax. His fingers tingled, partly from wanting to clench his fists and partly from wanting to turn her over his knee. Leah stared at him with wounded, frustrated eyes. He’d seen that expression on her face all too often at the end of their marriage, felt this way all too often, but that was then, and this was now.

He wanted to break the cycle, which meant he had to be calmer. Think about what he wanted long-term, not short-term. Yes, he was still frustrated over what he’d seen as Leah’s lack of communication, but he could see it from her perspective. She had asked, even if she hadn’t told him how important it was to her. If he’d known she was thinking about leaving him, he would have gone. Probably. He liked to think he would have. But she hadn’t told him why she wanted to go, and he’d thought she was following a trend or something. He hadn’t known how important it was to her until it was too late.

He didn’t remind her of that. Instead, he took a second deep breath and nodded his head.

“You’re right. I should have.” There was a certain amount of pain connected to saying the words, yet also relief from acknowledging his own wrongdoing. “I should have known you wouldn’t have asked to go on a whim. And while I wish you had been more forthcoming about your reasons for asking, I also wish I’d probed deeper instead of assuming everything was fine because I was fine.”

That knocked the wind right out of her sails. Leah stared at him, her mouth slightly agape, not knowing what to make of his response. It sure as hell wasn’t something he’d have said in the past. Dr. Silverwood would be proud of him.

“I’d like it if you came with me to an appointment. I told her I hoped you would sometime soon. She specializes in couples, but she also sees individuals who want to work on relationships. She’s been seeing me for the past few months.”

* * *

Leah

The slightly crooked grin on Gavin’s face was almost boyish. It was rueful, hopeful, and disarming, all in one. And she didn’t know how to handle it.

Coming here had been a mistake.

She should have realized it the moment Gavin opened the door, and the sight of his naked, tattooed, and completely sexy chest overwhelmed her field of vision. Unfortunately, her hormones had kicked into overdrive, and her brain had stuck with her original plan rather than aborting the mission until a better time. It wasn’t that she was that horny all the time, but it had been a couple months since they’d scened, and her fickle libido had decided it was on today.

So, she’d tried to start a fight, even though she’d come here to talk to him, calmly and rationally, about his recent declaration and interest in therapy. Instead, she’d lashed out. Picked at an old wound. For a second, it had been working. Then he’d turned the tables on her.

Apologized.

Took responsibility.

And made her an offer.

It’s a trap.

Yes, thank you, Admiral Akbar.

What if it’s a good trap with candy at the end?

“It’s okay if you’re not ready yet.” Gavin rocked back on his heels. The expression on his face was placid, but his eyes were intensely focused on her. He wasn’t nearly as blasé as he was pretending. “I go every week, so whenever you want to come, you’ll be welcome.”

“You’ve been going to see a therapist every week for how long?”

“About six months now.”

The answer flummoxed her. Cocking his head to the side, Gavin took a step closer again, not looming but closing the distance, invading her space to test if she’d back away again.

She didn’t.

She should.

But she didn’t

This is a bad idea.

Her breath caught in her throat as a little light in Gavin’s eyes flickered when she stayed where she was. The space between them closed even farther.

“Leah?” Gavin’s voice deepened, saying her name like a caress. His head dipped until their faces were only a few inches apart. It felt like every part of her body came alive, sensitive and aware of how closely they were standing. They weren’t quite touching, but they might as well have been. Blue eyes bore into hers, studying her intently.

They had scened at the club after their divorce, but even there, they’d avoided certain things, anything that felt too intimate. Like this. In moments like this, the rest of the world might as well not exist.

“Yes?” Her voice was high. Breathy. She barely recognized it.

I’m old enough to be wiser than this.

That voice was feeble in comparison to the pulse pounding in her ears and the arousal spreading along her limbs to her core.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

Leah tilted her head back, closing her eyes as she waited for his lips to descend to hers.