All In: ALL IN KNIGHTS OF MAYHEM (21 page)

Piper
turns to me, ‘now is the time you play that little card you are holding in your back pocket Avery.” Her eyes are smoldering with anger.

I turn from Piper to see the girl has started to cover herself
in her scant clothing, ‘you can go, Leo is expecting me.” Her snide comment is what pushes me over the edge.

I lunge for her, ‘
I highly doubt that.” I grab her by the arm and begin to haul her out of the door and down the hall.

She struggles against my grip, ‘let me go
, you bitch.”

“I don’t think so honey,’ I stop half way up the hall and turn her to face me, ‘do you know who I am?” I am having to grit my teeth to hold what little bit of my temper has not exploded.

“No and I don’t give a shit.” The woman is snarky and a little to full of herself.

Piper has come up behind
me pointing a boney finger in the woman’s direction, ‘you better fucking care.”

I level my eyes back on her and glance over her shoulder to see we have garnered and audience, ‘my name is Avery Delany, does
it mean anything to you?”

Her eyes glass over, ‘no
, should it?” Her arrogance is annoying and so is the self righteous smile she has plastered on her face. Before I can get a chance to say a word Piper is at it again, I wish she would let me take care of this.

“She is Leo’s old lady.” I almost laugh at Piper’s smugness.

Our staring match is interrupted by a very annoyed Leo, ‘let her go Avery, I will deal with her.” He is stalking down the hall. He takes my hand free from her arm and steps between us, looking down at the half naked woman, ‘what the fuck are you doing here Joy?”

She takes a finger and trails it down his chest, ‘waiting for you sugar.” He smacks her hand away and glances over at me. I have to resist the urge to reach around him and bitch slap her.

“What gave you the idea I wanted you to wait for me anywhere?” Leo levels his eyes on her.

“Well you looked a little lost at the club the other night
and we had a good time, didn’t we? So I just thought maybe you needed a little cheering up tonight.” I take two steps back from the both of them, I am trying to process what she just said so I go over the words again in my head, they had a good time the other night?

I draw in a deep breath to try and steady myself, I look over at a very sheepish and strangely quiet Piper, leaning over to her, ‘did you know about this?”

Chewing on her very nice manicured nail, her eyes dart wildly around the walls of the hall trying to look anywhere but at me, ‘Avery you need to talk to Leo.” I give her an eat shit look and redirect my attention to Leo.

“Well you thought wrong
Joy, you need to leave now.” Leo points his finger toward the door but she shows no signs of budging from her spot.

“
Are we seriously going to stand here and chat with her?” Piper graciously breaks the stalemate between the two, I silently thank her even though I am pissed as hell at her for not telling me about Leo and the stripper.

I
turn to see the Piper’s face is a fire alarm red and I have to agree with her, redirecting my attention back to Leo, ‘either she goes or I go, Leo.” I go to step around them both as I do Leo holds up his arm blocking my way.

Leo’s deep stern voice makes me jump as he points his big hand at the club door, ‘
Joy I said to leave now and don’t come back if I see you anywhere around here or Avery again it will not be pretty, you got me?”

Her arrogant expression has disappeared and has been replaced by the look or rejection, I don’t help matters by looking around Leo’s shoulder and give her a little wave, ‘bye-bye.”

She jerks around and gathers up the rest of her clothes and stomps down the hall shouldering through the laughing crowd. Leo takes me by the arm and hauls me into his room, leaving Piper alone still needing to pee, ‘Avery that was not what you think.”

“Oh
really cause it looked and sounded exactly like what I am thinking.” I cross my arms over my chest, ‘she is one of your strippers?”

“She works at
my club, yes.” He runs his fingers through his hair, ‘and yes I have spent time with her in the past, but-“

“O
bviously in the recent past,’ I take a step back to put some space between us, ‘is that what you were doing for the past week, spending time with her?” My anger is at epic levels making my whole body quiver.

He takes a deep breath and shoves his hands into his jean pockets, ‘the night I came home and kicked you out,’ he pauses looking up for the first time to gauge me, ‘I was with her.”

“With her, with her like you are
with
me?” The air has grown heavy, almost too thick to breath. I swallow the bile threatening to emerge from the pit in my stomach.

“S
he gave me a few lap dances is all I swear, I think.” He holds his hands up in surrender but seems as casual as if we were talking about tea and crackers.

“
Because a lap dance from a naked woman is not the same as having full blown sex, right?” I close my eyes tight trying to fight back the images of her doing to him what I do to him and the fact he may have enjoyed her doing those things. Pinching the bridge of my nose I go back over his words again, ‘wait a minute, you fucking think, meaning you don’t know what you did with her?” I turn for the door but before I get too far I am hauled around.

“Where are you going?” His fac
e has paled and turned pleading, ‘Avery I am sure nothing really happened, shit, I just can't remember.”

Throwing my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the party, ‘I am just going to go out there and rub all over Roman for a little while,’ placing my hand on his chest, ‘but it means nothing, nothing at all.” The vindictive
bitches’ claws have come out and I am not sparing one ounce of his feelings.

The fire lights his eyes, ‘don’t even fucking play Avery.”

“I’m not, I will just send little miss hot to trot back in here to occupy you while I do my thing,’ smirking at his enraged expression, ‘but Leo I will be thinking of you the whole time.”

The silence is nerve wracking as we stand toe to toe once more,
I watch as he mulls over my seriousness. Easing back another step, ‘see it isn’t so much fun now the shoe is on the other foot is it?” I pause as my anger is now beginning to spill over into a crying pissed, ‘I would never do anything of the sort to you especially with one of your best friends, some people just have a little more integrity.”

He drags a ragged breath through his gritted teeth, ‘I am sorry, I am fucking sorry.” He runs his fingers through his hair again, in what I now know is a signature move for him, and I think it is sexy as hell.

I cross my arms over my chest, ‘but what does it matter any way, this isn’t one of those apple pie relationships is it Leo?” I am not sure where the strength is coming from but it is taking every ounce I can muster to act like whatever is going on between us is casual at best.

“I am trying, believe me, I am trying Avery.”
His grip has loosened on my arm, I pull it free and rub where he had had a death grip on me. Looking around the room my eyes settle on the disheveled bed.

“Yeah you keep saying that, but for some strange reason I am finding it hard to believe you
,’ I pause and give him a full head to toe look, ‘who was with you, at the club Saturday night?”

His voice conveying his utter defeat
, he sighs, ‘Cowboy and Dalton.”

Shaking my head, ‘I can't fucking believe you Leo, while I was at your house,
in your bed waiting for you to come home you were,’ I throw my arm up in the direction of the very open door, ‘partying it up with that hussy!”

“You aren’t going
to let this one go are you?” He has found his inner demon letting him take the reins now, his eyes shift and voice gets deep, ‘I asked you once about you and Roman, I let you explain and then I dropped it.”

Pointing my finger in his face, ‘there is a difference.”

Standing stock still, he props his hands on his hips, ‘oh there is, is there?”

“Yes, I never touched him, or gave him a naked anything!”

Noticing the door is open he walks over and pushes it shut, ‘I said I was sorry, what more do you want me to do?”

“Stop jerking me around, for starters.” I followed him over and when he turns I am standing ri
ght in his face, well his chest. If he wasn’t so damn big it would be face to face.

“I am not jerking you around,’ I allow a small laugh to escape my mouth, ‘at least not anymore. Look Avery, I can't go back and undo what I have done to us but from here on out I promise no more let downs
, believe that.” His sincerity is melting the ice around my heart. Knowing I want to be with him more than be without all this drama, I let my features soften.

“I am going to give you one more Leo, one more.
If you fuck up again, I am done. Believe
that
.” I throw my hands up in the air to accentuate my point.

I turn and cross the room over to the bed and start to take the bedding of the mattress, ‘what are you doing Avery?” Leo’s confused expression if humorous.

“I am going to burn them,’ I hold up my arm load of linins, ‘no way in hell I am getting anywhere near something that skank's nasty ass has been on,’ pausing I turn to look at him seeing another chance to rub salt into the wound, ‘I don’t need to have you flee dipped or anything do I?”

“Avery.” He sighs.

“Just asking.” I shrug as I take the rest of the linens from the bed.

I stop at the thought, ‘did you know she was back here?” I feel the flames of fury burn my cheeks red.

“What, no, fuck no I didn’t.” He seems shocked enough at my accusation.

Walking towards him I bury my finger in his chest, ‘you never let me go
to the bathroom here by myself. Why all of a sudden did you tonight?” My voice is as a shrill with rage.

“Because I wanted you to see I trusted you and wanted you to think you don’t have to
be under my thumb all the time Avery, shit.” He turns and kicks his dresser making all the stuff fall off and scatter over the floor. Turning back to me, ‘she showed up and I don’t know who let her in but I am going to find out.” He takes my hand, ‘Avery please baby, I fucked up again and I am sorry again.”

He pulls the sheets from my hand tossing them over to
the door, he wraps his free arm around my waist hauling me into him, ‘and I promise it is just you Avery.” He leans in and takes my lips with his in a gentle example of his devotion.

Leaning back
he gauges my reaction, ‘what am I going to do with you Leo Tucker?” I smile and this makes his eyes light up. We are interrupted, as usual, by a knock on the door.

He flashes me with a devilish grin, ‘I can think of a whole lot of things,’ he steps back holding my arms out to either side of me, ‘and the first thing is getting you out of this sexy as hell dress.” Sweeping me back up into his arms, he lifts me so I can wrap my legs around his waist. He walks me over to the now empty dresser setting my ass down onto the cold wood. His lips move over mine gently at first then the heat is ratcheted up to inferno levels as his tongue invades my mouth. Using my heels I dig them into his
ass pushing him between my legs. My hands have long since entangled into his long hair as his hips are grinding into me. A knock at his door pulls us apart, I lay my hand on his heaving chest, as I struggle to get a hold of my own breathing.

Another knock more urgent this time booms through the room, ‘
What?” His stern tone rattles my core. Dalton opens the door at his own peril and he knows it but the look of panic on his face has Leo rushing over to him pulling me behind him.

“Leo man
you need to get out there now, Joy is outside kicking over the bikes.” Roman yells as he runs down the hall followed by a Leo and Piper and me.

Throwing open the club door we are greeted to the sight of a high healed clad Joy kicking the shit out of Leo’s
bike. Before Leo has a chance to react I am running at her full speed letting all the rage from our argument earlier take hold of me. I take her down with a shoulder tackle. Straddling her I begin to punch her in the face in rapid succession. She retaliates by taking two hand full's of my hair only accomplishing to piss me off more. I ram my thumbs into both of her eyes, ‘punch me but let my hair go bitch.” Unable to tolerate the pain in her eyes she releases my hair and lands a punch square on my nose.

Jumping back Joy dives on top of me and we tussle for a little while longer before Dalton and Roman separates us. Leo runs over taking me from Roman, ‘get her the hell out of here man.” He nods his head over in Joy’s direction.
He begins to dust me off, looking down my eyes fly wide in horror, I had forgotten I was wearing a dress.

“Shit!” I exhale and hope I had not given away farm in my display of insane anger.

“What, are you hurting somewhere or bleeding?” His hands and eyes are all over me looking for the reason for my sudden outburst.