by Marie Harte
“You’re kind of obnoxious, but not so much after a few beers.”
“So I hear.” Sam stroked the puppy into a sound sleep, those big hands so gentle, it was weird. “Look, Lancelot—”
“Landon.”
“—get off your ass and see to your lady. It’s kind of sad, watching you drown yourself in cheap beer.”
“Yeah, you got me there.” Landon stood and slapped down a few bills, more than enough to cover their tab, and then some. “For the beer and the dog. Not for you, Hamilton.”
Sam raised his bottle in salute. “Good luck, man. Does the poor woman know how clueless you really are?”
“Hell no. I’m not that stupid.” At least, I hope she didn’t see through my bravado to what a witless wonder I am at the thought of losing her.
“Cheers, and good luck.”
Landon left without a backward glance, needing to get some closure. Either way, he was tired of Ava avoiding him. Much as Sam irritated him, he had a point. Marines took action. They didn’t sit around with their thumbs up their asses.
He walked with purpose, until his knee gave out on him right before a huge puddle.
Now soaking wet, aggravated, and incensed that Ava Rosenthal could think for two seconds that she didn’t love him, he limped with purpose past the unlocked gate into her complex and down to her condo. Then he banged on the door.
But he had no idea what waited for him on the other side.
* * *
“I just don’t understand. He’s being so mean,” Jason, a handsome redhead currently sobbing onto her shoulder, mumbled. “We were so good together, and then he just wants to turn me away? Why? That’s what I want to know.” Jason lifted his head from her shoulder, his startlingly blue eyes bright and angry. “Why, Elliot?”
Sadie watched from the chair next to the couch, munching on popcorn as if sitting at the theater. “Yeah, why, Elliot?” she asked her brother.
Elliot glared at them all from his spot standing by the mantel. His entire body language screamed confrontation. From his hands on his hips, to his thrust-out chest and tilted chin. “I told you I didn’t want a relationship, Jason. We’re friends, damn it.”
Ava had to admit, they’d make a nice couple. Elliot and his dark hair and charm. Jason with his stylish auburn hair and ice-blue eyes. He was so handsome, so dreamy. Totally Elliot’s type, which made it incredibly interesting that her cousin had put off sleeping with the man. This Jason meant something to Elliot. She could see the torn affection in her cousin’s eyes. Saw the way Elliot watched Jason with concern he tried to mask as indifference and even disdain.
“You know, you brought him here to talk. You want me to help you both communicate? Then sit.” She pointed to her spot on the couch and disentangled herself, needing to stand. Once Elliot sat some distance from Jason, she said, “This is ridiculous. You feel something for Jason or you’d have dumped him long ago. That, and I distinctly remember you saying you were not going to have sex with him.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with me?” Jason cried.
So much drama.
“Yeah, Elliot. What’s wrong with Jason? He’s got an amazing build. He’s hot, and his blue eyes are just smokin’.” Sadie blew him a kiss. “Baby, if you were straight, I’d totally do you.”
Jason gave her a watery smile. “Thanks, Sadie.”
“You see?” Elliot threw his hands in the air, but before he could jerk to his feet, she snapped at him.
“No, you stay.”
Sadie continued to eat her popcorn, staring at the spectacle.
“Now, Jason. Again. From the beginning.”
Jason took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Elliot’s in love with me. I heard him say it after we made love last night.”
She and Sadie gaped at Elliot, who blushed. And Elliot never blushed. “Elliot? Is this true?” Ava asked.
“He was dreaming.”
Sadie exclaimed, “He’s lying!”
“Sadie, stop pointing fingers. You’re not helping.” Ava saw Elliot squirm. “Elliot, why are you lying?”
“What makes you think I am?”
“You’re blushing, for one. And you keep twitching. You have a tell.”
“Hell.” He groaned. “Jason, you’re sweet and you’re cute. But we’re too different. I’m suave, experienced.”
“A whore,” Sadie translated.
“Sadie, hush.” Ava nodded. “Go on.”
Jason looked captivated, hanging on Elliot’s every word. Oh boy. The poor guy was a lost cause, one more heart broken by her man-eater of a cousin.
“I couldn’t help it.” Elliot didn’t look away from his redhead. “Jason’s hot. I had to have him.”
Jason left the couch to stand by Ava and hugged her once more. “I need comfort.”
She rolled her eyes but gave him a hug. “Continue, Elliot.”
Someone knocked at the door.
“I’ll get it.” Sadie bounced from her chair to the door, while Jason continued to sniffle and Elliot tried not to appear as if mesmerized by his new lover. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. Her cousin was smitten.
Ha! Got yourself snagged, didn’t you, Elliot?
“What the hell is this?”
Ava whipped her head to the door and saw Landon, soaked through to the skin, glaring at her and Jason hugging.
“Oh boy. This just got gooooood,” Sadie said with glee.
Chapter 20
Ava felt simultaneously flustered, excited, and annoyed. He was here. Landon. Her boyfriend. The man she loved. And he was scowling at her and soaking wet.
“I’ll get him a towel.” Sadie shot down the stairs and returned moments later to hand Landon a bath towel. She hovered around him while everyone watched.
“What’s going on?” he asked again and peeled off his sodden jacket. Then his sweater, leaving him in a soaked white T-shirt.
She could have heard a pin drop in the room.
“Don’t you think you should take that off too?” Elliot suggested as Landon rubbed his cropped hair dry.
“Wouldn’t want to catch cold,” Jason added.
Then he and Elliot shared a grin, which quickly turned into another look entirely.
“Ava’s helping Elliot and Jason communicate,” Sadie answered since no one else seemed capable. “See, Elliot’s confused about his feelings for Jason. And Jason’s obviously in love with the guy.” Sadie munched more popcorn, talking around a mouthful. “And now you’re here to completely round out the day’s entertainment. I love my life.”
“Sadie, shut up,” Elliot and Ava said at the same time.
She shrugged and reclaimed her seat on the chair.
Landon walked into the room, but he seemed to be limping.
“Are you okay?” Ava asked.
She looked into his eyes and saw a smoldering anger. Terrific. Just what she didn’t need.
“Okay?” He glared at Jason and Jason’s hands around her waist. “Who the fuck is this Jason?”
Jason, like Ava, had a tough time looking away from Landon. Not that she could blame him. Talk about a set of wet-down, washboard abs.
Oh, my pretty, pretty man.
She cleared her throat. “This is Jason, as Sadie already said.”
“Hi.” Jason sounded shy.
“Jason, this is Landon.”
“Her boyfriend,” Landon growled.
“Ava likes ’em rough,” Sadie commented. “And muscular, and handsome.” Sadie nodded. “And a little dense apparently. Jason’s gay, Landon. No need to beat him to a pulp in a fit of jealousy.”
Elliot spoke up. “He’s not going to hurt you, Jason.”
“Not now that I know you’re gay, though you could take your hands off Ava.”
“Seriously, though,” Elliot said, �
�you should really lose the shirt and get warm. It’s flu season, you know.”
Landon shivered, then must have agreed because he took off his shirt and tossed it to the tiled floor by the door, where his other wet clothes sat. Then he held both ends of the towel around his neck, wrapping it around him like a blanket.
“Oh. Wow.” Jason gaped.
“I know,” Elliot agreed. Then he shook himself free of Landon’s spell and turned back to Ava. “So. Heal us.”
Jason nodded, reluctantly turning from Landon as well. “Yes. I don’t understand why Elliot’s acting so standoffish.”
Landon limped to the couch and sat on the towel, rubbing his knee. But that left his chest bare. Unable to concentrate with so much of him staring her smack in the face, Ava fetched a blanket and tossed it to him.
He must have been cold because he wrapped himself in it. “Well, Dr. Rosenthal? Work your magic. Why is Elliot being such a twit?”
“Hey.”
“Well,” she answered, “he could be pulling away because he doesn’t want to lead Jason on. Perhaps his feelings aren’t serious for Jason.”
“Nah.” Sadie nixed that idea and held out the popcorn for Landon, who took a handful. “If he didn’t care, he’d have nailed Jason that first night. I mean, come on. Look at that ass.”
“Sadie.” Jason preened. “She’s right though. My ass is fabulous.”
Elliot turned even redder.
“But it seems, in this case, knowing my cousin, that Elliot is acting cool because he’s scared.”
“Oh?” Landon said, sounding interested. “Why? Because Jason seems like a stand-up guy to me.”
“I am.” Jason nodded. “And I love him.”
“Is that right?” Landon cocked his head. “So you told Elliot how you feel, putting yourself out there on the line like that, and he smacked you down?”
“Yes.” Jason blinked, and Ava knew more tears would follow. She handed him a tissue box.
Landon continued to stare at her. “Not cool, Elliot.”
Elliot sighed. “I wasn’t expecting this—him. Jason’s been a friend for a long time. Hell. He decorated my place.”
“Nice job,” Sadie said.
“Yeah. I liked it too.” Landon nodded.
“I’m an interior designer by trade,” Jason said. “That’s how Elliot and I first met. I helped with the redesign of Sofa’s.”
“The coffee shop. Right.” Landon kept looking at Ava. “So fear kept Elliot from admitting how he feels?”
“And confusion, I’m sure.” Ava frowned. “It’s not easy to have your future mapped out in your head, then turned around on you. I’m sure Elliot had specific requirements in what he thought would be a good mate.”
Elliot shrugged. “Not really.”
“Like someone he can talk with,” Ava continued. “Someone he shares common interests with. Someone who respects his work and knows what boundaries he can’t cross.”
She saw Elliot look at Jason, really look at him.
“I get bored easily,” Elliot admitted. “And that boredom is usually because I pick my dates by their looks, not their personalities. But fucking can get old after a while. Then I found you.” He blew out a breath. “Jason, you scare the crap out of me. You see the real me, and I’m afraid if you look too hard, you might not like what you see.”
“Is that right?” Landon said in a low voice.
Sadie’s head whipped back and forth as if watching a Ping-Pong tournament.
“No.” Ava wasn’t scared of what he might see.
“Yes,” Elliot said. “I’m sorry, Jason. Baby, I do have feelings for you. But I’m not used to this. Getting serious.” He paused. “But I want to see where this goes with you. I’m sorry for being such a dick. But honey, you need to get a thicker skin or this will never work.”
Jason nodded. “I will, I promise.” He hugged Elliot, then gave him a kiss that had everyone staring and Elliot panting like a dog. “Thanks, Ava.” Jason sounded smug, and suddenly more in control of himself. “I hope to see you soon.” He dragged an unprotesting Elliot out of her condo.
Only Sadie’s crunching could be heard in the sudden silence.
“You.” Landon pointed to her. “Out.” He nodded to the door.
“Man. I never get to have any fun.” Sadie winked at him and handed him her popcorn. Then she crossed to Ava and whispered close, “Don’t make it too easy on him. Make him work to earn you. You deserve it.” She turned to Landon. “You know, you look really cold. You should take off your pants too.”
“Sadie.”
“I’m just sayin’…” Sadie sauntered to the door, grabbed her coat and umbrella, then left.
“And then there were two.” Landon stood and shrugged off the blanket.
“What are you doing?”
“She was right. I’m fucking freezing in these things.” He stripped down to nothing. Bare skin and goosepebbled flesh. And a body that didn’t quit. No shrinkage on Major Hottie. Then he sat back in the blanket on the couch and wrapped himself up in it. “Continue.”
“What?”
“I’m curious to know why Elliot was such a scared idiot when all he had to do was admit how he felt to Jason in the first place.”
Ava didn’t like his perception of her cousin—of her. “Elliot isn’t a scared idiot. He’s protecting himself. Elliot’s a smart man. And he’s had a long time to be used to men not seeming to get him. They’re intimidated. Or they just want him for his body. None of them seem to want him for who he is inside.”
“But then he meets Jason, and it’s different,” Landon said quietly. “Jason sees him. Jason respects him. Hell. Jason even confesses to having feelings and shit.”
“But do you?” She was tired of pretending. “You have scars, both inside and out, from your time in the Marine Corps. You lived a life before me. You had girlfriends, relationships. Sex.”
“Sex. Seems like so long ago, I can barely remember.” He sighed. “So what, Ava? I had a life before you. And…?”
“And you keep that bottled up inside you.”
“Yeah, just like you do. You dated guys before me. You went to school, have parents I never met. You have a life I don’t know much about. But I’m cool with it, because when you’re with me, you’re with me. Unless you’ve been calling out my name while we’re in bed, but you’re really thinking about some other Landon making you come.”
Her cheeks felt hot, especially because she knew exactly what lay beneath that blanket. And she missed him. Missed teasing, arguing, discussing. Kissing.
“You’re the only Landon I know, smart-ass. But Landon, this—us—it’s scary for me, okay? I’m a contained person. I like to be in control of myself. Around you, I’m not in control at all. I feel happy and sad, aroused, angry. Landon, I fought a woman for you. I don’t do things like that.”
“Have you ever been in love before?”
She stared at him, getting lost in his amber eyes. “No.” She saw him stiffen and had to add, “Not before you.”
He relaxed, his firm lips curling into a smile. “Say it, Doc.”
“You’re such an annoying, aggravating, irritating man.”
“You know that all means the same thing, right?”
“Smart too.” She chuckled and let go of her fear. “I love you. I’m sorry about before. But I’m not sure how this is supposed to work.”
“Come here.” He patted his lap, and she went into his arms. “Ava, no one has a blueprint for love. It unfolds or it crumbles. And since I can’t see into the future, I have no idea how it will pan out. But I can tell you a few things.”
“Go ahead. You seem to be on a roll.”
He kissed her forehead. “Now shut up and hold all questions to the end.”
“Questions?”
“’Til the end, I s
aid. Ava, before you, I had one great love. The United States Marine Corps. I was going to go all the way. Colonel, general, retirement, then life in Florida on a golf course. Something like that. I’d have the standard Marine Corps wife and two point five kids. Except none of that shit happened.
“I got hit by enemy fire. It tore up my knee pretty good, and I now have compromised range of motion in my left tibio-femoral joint. And let’s not talk about my meniscus.”
He extended his left knee and sighed. “I’ve been doing physical therapy, but sometimes my leg just goes out. I would have done anything to stay in the Marines, but they gave me a medical retirement. After only thirteen goddamn years, I was done. I transitioned to civilian life. And it’s not what I thought I’d have at this point in my life, but it does make it easier to meet chicks.” He grinned to take the sting out of his words.
“Lovely.” She pushed aside a hank of wet hair from his forehead, empathizing with such a strong man shoved brutally away from his dream.
“Anyway. I met some women. But I wasn’t ready for anything serious. Not until I met you. Hell, I wasn’t planning on doing more than fucking you until I went blind, but then you stuck to me. Made me nutty for more of you. We have chemistry, baby. But when I’m with you, I also have all these feelings. I want to be with you in bed and out. I want to see you laugh, watch you smile, wipe your tears.
“You want feelings? You about ripped my heart out when you tried to end us the first time on this very couch.”
“I wasn’t ending us.”
“Lucky for you.” He kissed her, a tender touch that made her love him so much more. “And then in your office, it was all I could do to look cocky, when inside I was shaking.”
“Oh, Landon. I’m sorry.”
“And one more thing—I told you so.” He seemed obscenely smug. “You feel that love, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. And I love you right back.”
“‘I do.’ Every time you say that, I get an image of you in a white dress. What’s wrong, Doc? Why so pale?” He snickered. “Don’t worry. We can take our time getting there. But Ava, it’s you. You’re it for me. I know it.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. But you’re it for me too. I love so much about you. How you want to take care of me. How you want to make me happy. I actually crave you taking charge in bed.”