All In: ALL IN KNIGHTS OF MAYHEM (9 page)

****

I am tugged in close to a warm body smelling of bourbon and sex, I snuggle deep and breathe him in, ‘um.” I roll my hips in and feel a strong hand hitch up my thigh. He begins to smooth a small circle with his thumb on the skin at the side of my knee.

I open my eyes and find Leo looking down at me, he has his free arm throw up over his head, ‘morning beautiful.” His smile melts me.

I run my hand over his bare chest, ‘morning mansome.”

A smile curves his lips, ‘mansome?” His gruff morning voice is sexy and makes my girly parts twitch.

“Yeah mansome,’ I smile and
lean in to lightly bite his nipple.

“Aw babe,’ he throws his hand over his nipple
messaging away the pain inflicted by my teeth. “Now explain mansome.”

“You are all man and then some, mansome.” I explain as I climb up on top of him, and my comment garners a throaty laugh.

He slaps my bared ass, ‘damn babe,
’ after the slap he palms both of my bare ass cheeks and squeezes he then goes to slide me off, ‘need coffee.” He rolls me on over to my back, ‘then I’s gots to go.”

Feeling a little dejected about how he can jump up and leave after the night we had just shared
, ‘um hum.”

“Okay wait a minute before you go all doughy eyes on me,’
he kisses my forehead.

At the sake of sounding whiny, ‘it's Sunday what could you possibly have to do?” I try and give him my “doughy eyes”.

“Babe I have a shop to run,’ he sighs, ‘in more ways than one so cut me some slack.” He leans his forehead down onto mine.

Trac
ing circles on his chest, ‘okay,” I relent, for now. This is where I suck it up and realize he is here for what I gave him last night and nothing more. I have always had problems with separation anxiety after I do the deed but it seems to really be tugging on me having to let Leo go.

He jumps fro
m the bed and pulls on his slacks without his underwear, I watch as the material covers his nice ass and feel a little sad it is gone from sight. I can now see what the wing belongs to, it is an angel of death, holding a long sword in one hand with blood running down the arm dripping from a bent elbow. In the other hand the sinister snarling figure is holding a skull standing on a pile of bones from what can only be its victims. The scales of justice being the back drop to the scene of carnage stretching from one shoulder to the other.

He turns and I peruse his
chest and the tattoos covering it, amazing. The scene on his front is more toned down but just as disturbing as his back, a smaller figure looking like a Knights Templar holding court with several of his subjects. His arms are various crests and shields, carry on with the Knights of Mayhem theme, I never thought I would like a guy with ink but Leo rocks it. He runs his hand through his hair trying to tame the midnight locks I had mussed during the night.

He goes to the door and turns
back to me, ‘coming?”

I flop back and giggle covering my face with the sheet,
he laughs and corrects his misspoken words, ‘yeah babe I know loaded question, let me rephrase, coffee?”

“Yes.” I utter through my joy. I hear the door click open and the lump in my throat begins to grow, I am in deep and only after four days with him, I am in trouble. The thought of waking up with him like this every morning is becoming more appealing to me
by every raw moment I spend with him.

I hear him rummaging around in the kitchen and decide to go and help
, I find his button up shirt throwing it on I head for him and his bare chested wonder. I stop in the hall and drinking in the sweet soreness present only after a night like I had with a man like Leo. Leaning back on the wall and crossing my ankles I close my eyes as I press my legs together and comment the wonderful pinch to memory.

I am so lost in the thought of our amazing night I don’t hear Leo round the corner, but I feel his eyes on me
. My eyes are still closed but an involuntary smile spreads my lips, ‘see something you like?” I ask of him feeling his eyes perusing my half naked body.

“That’s a good look for you.” He
closes the distance between us wrapping an arm around my waist and hauling me into another panty dropping kiss, well it would be if I had any panties on.

“Well we will have to try it more often then, if you like.” I wiggle my hips into him trying to coax him
back to the bedroom so we can have another round of amazing sex.

“I see what you are trying to do here.” His eyes are devilish and his body is sinful
as he separates it from mine.

I tiptoe and kiss his nose, ‘and what would that be?” I act all innocent.

He shakes his head, ‘shit baby,‘ he drops his arms from me and turns going back to the kitchen and the coffeepot.

It hits me like a brick upside the head, he can't leave until he divest
s me of his shirt, the only shirt he has at my house, which is currently the only item of clothing I am wearing, oh I am a sneaky little minx. I inwardly giggle at my genius. I will have to remember this one.

I stroll on my tiptoes over to the counter next to him and push myself up on to it crossing my legs at the ankles, ‘so exactly what is it you have to do today?”

He brings his head out of my fridge long enough to give me a look letting me know he is never going to tell me, ‘top secret uh?” I shrug off the complete dis he has just given me.

“Club business
and I bought an old pan head needing a severe tune up.” He goes back to the inside of the fridge pulling out some eggs, ‘hungry too.” He holds up the eggs to me, ‘pan.”

I point to the stove, ‘under there.”

I hop off the counter and realize I am not as enticing as I thought, ‘so how do we do this?” I walk my index and middle fingers across the counter of the island as I head for one of the stools, sliding up I cross my hands together in front of me and wait for the bomb to drop.

I watch his back muscles roll as he is doing the simplest of tasks, like scrambling eg
gs in a bowl, ‘do what.” He doesn’t turn to address me eye to eye, but I watch as his muscles stiffen.

I chew my lip right along with the words I am getting ready to speak and then think better of them because I don’t want to ruin the morning, ‘aw nothing never mind, no
biggy.” I go over and steal a cup of the fresh brew, going to the fridge to doctor it up my way.

Still not directing his eye at me he continues the brush off, ‘h
ey leave it out for me, I really don’t like the taste of coffee so I have to add all that shit too.” He has poured the egg mixture into a pan laced with melted butter. He is avoiding eye contact and the subject I had stupidly brought up when I know all he wants is a physical relationship with me, which by the way is perfect.

After several moments of unc
omfortable silence, only for me. He works the eggs and then dumps them out on two plates handing me one and taking the seat beside me to eat his, ‘you cookin’ tonight?”

“
What?” I mumble with a mouth full of the best cheesy eggs I have ever eaten.

“I will hopefully be done around five.” He has not diverted his attention from his plate as he continues to heap fork full’s of eggs into his mouth washing them down with gulps of coffee.

I have stopped eating and I am just staring at him, he wants to see me again tonight? I narrow my gaze on him, ‘Leo am I the only one?” There it is, I said it, got it out into the open. Flooding the air between us with tension and my insecurities.

Chocking on his eggs, ‘the only one what Avery?” He has laid his fork down propping his elbows up onto the counter
laying his heavy gaze on me.

I take a deep breath in preparation for the spewing of words getting ready to be released from my dumb ass mouth, ‘the only one who you do this with.” I gesture with my fork between us.

“What eat?” His tone is clipped with a hint of aggravation.

Shaking my head, ‘no this,’ I stand and throw my arms into the air and do a twirl, ‘spend
ing the night, going to dinner, cooking eggs. Snuggling with, and making me feel-“ I stop before I go too far over the line, gushing stuff about the undeniable feelings beginning to grow at a rapid pace for Leo.

He rubs his hands down his face in exasperation and stays silent. This is sending me into a panic, I have gone
too far and have just ruined the best thing that has happened to me in like ever, and I mean ever. The few flings I have had were casual at the most and nowhere even close to the amazing sex Leo had given me last night.

He clears his throat standing he crosses over to the coffee pot, pouring himself another cup
. He sets his cup down on the counter resting his hands on either side of the cup, lowering his head, ‘Avery I thought we had agreed not to read too much into this?”

Chewing my lip almost to the point of bleeding, ‘we had, I know but this feels real Leo.”
His sudden movement to stand stops me.

“Avery baby,’ he turns, ‘please
can we just keep it simple. You said you were okay with no expectations, no planning, just spending time together enjoying each other’s company.”

Nodding at the thought we had agreed, ‘I just have to know for my own sanity because
Leo, I am a very jealous person, I don’t handle sharing well. Very much like you I suppose.”

He cocks his eyebrow, ‘bad experience?”

Groaning, ‘oh, you have no idea.”

He circles the island taking my hand studying it, ‘tell me about it.”
He gazes up and his eyes are sincerely interested in my story.

Trying to tug my hand away in a moment of self
conscienceless, ‘no just tell me Avery,’ he smiles up at me, ‘tell me how jealous you are.” He seems a little turned on by my admission.

Slumping down hoping to hide for the complete
embarrassment I am getting ready to put myself through, ‘I was in college and met this guy, that’s how it always starts right, oh I meet this guy.” Waving my hand in the air, Leo smiles at me making me feel important and what I have to say means the world.

“
He seemed real great in the beginning, sweet, caring and very attentive. We dated for our freshman year and then half way through our sophomore year he started making excuses and skipping out on dates-“I us my fork to push around the remnants of the eggs I had left in my plate looking for the next words to explain my stupid insecurities.

“
Did you sleep with him?” Leo angrily interrupts me.

Looking e
verywhere but in his eyes, ‘yes, anyway he started ignoring me finding other things to do, flirting with girl’s right in front of me. One day I had my fill and stormed up to his dorm room and found him in bed with my roommate, the one before Piper.” I jerk my hand free from his vice grip. Rubbing the soreness from where he had been holding it a little too tight.

He doesn’t comment so I fill the space, ‘she had been the one who continued to rally behind him and encourage me to keep giving him chance after chance after chance, bitch.”

Leo laughs, ‘yes, my thoughts exactly. Have you dated since?” he reaches for my hand again.

“
No, not seriously.” I hope he sees why I have to know who, what, when and where and basically anything else I can get out of him or nail down with certainty.

He stills turning my hand over in his and kissing my palm, ‘Avery
, you are the only one.”

I gasp and squeezing his hand in return, ‘really
, you are serious?” My heart flips in my chest and begins to beat double time backwards. I try to tamp down my excitement by chewing on my bottom lip. I am acting ridiculous, I have known this man for what, three days and I am already acting like a love sick teenager around him.

“Yes Avery, am
I?” I look at him confused, ‘I have to ask.”

“Of c
ourse Leo no question, you’re the only one.” My answer is a little too fast and a bit too eager but it is too late to take it back. I winch waiting for Leo’s response to my over enthusiasm.

He kisses the back of my hand lingering a little longer than necessary.
His smile is a little bit on the arrogant side but I like it, I feel possessed, owned by him, ‘good ‘cause I don’t share,’ tilting his head in my direction, ‘you will do good to remember that.” And now he has confirmed I am giddy and owned, which the thought should give me pause but it doesn’t, it makes me feel warm inside and out.

Releasing my hand he smacks the counter
making me jump even though I watched him do it, ‘so are you still cooking?”

Smiling warmly
, ‘okay anything specific?” We have set the foundation of a relationship, it error on the side of it being physical but I am completely okay with it now.

“Something warm and not mooing.” He takes up his empty plate to the sink. Damn he is good in bed and he cleans up after himself.

“I can do that.” I go back to eating as he comes behind me. His arms snake around me, pulling me away from the counter. I drop my fork in the plate as he begins to unbutton his shirt from my body. I lay my head back on his chest and close my eyes, as his hands roam over the newly exposed skin conjuring up the heat only his magical hands can. He takes my exposed breast in his hand budding the nipple between his fingers.