Chapter 14 Leo #2
I would assume going out alone drinking with her status is dangerous as hell, and that scares the shit out of me.
Anything can happen to her while she’s out.
I’m glad Les came to Skyline; maybe she did it on purpose.
Les knows she shouldn’t be out alone, and if anyone is going to protect her, it will be Evander and Mateo to prove she can trust them, and that’s just who they are.
They are nothing like the Frankie I’ve heard about.
“We need to find out what the hell happened from last night to when she left,” I say.
Gage’s hand tightens on the steering wheel. “I have a pretty good fucking idea.”
He seems to have come to the same conclusion as me.
Ryder. I keep running through my head what Evander said about seeing it from Ryder’s point of view.
What the hell does he even mean by that?
Not that anyone talks in front of me, but I can piece together enough on my own that when I came barreling into Alessa’s life, I shook the foundation of everything they knew.
It also made buried feelings rise to the surface.
Gage was honest about what he wanted, and I didn’t even question him for a second.
But Ryder? Why the hell would he wait until she felt betrayed to show his feelings?
Gage glides into the garage. “You get her, and I’ll handle Ryder.”
I jump out and carefully open her door, so she doesn’t fall out.
I slide one arm around her back and the other under her knees; she doesn’t even stir when I lift her out.
She just snuggles into my chest with a content sigh.
I use my hip to shut the door and carry her into the house through the door Gage is holding open.
“What the fuck happened to her?” Ryder explodes as soon as he sees her.
Gage steps in front of him, blocking him from grabbing her from me. “Back off.” He looks over his shoulder. “Take her upstairs. Last door on the left.”
I nod and carry her up the stairs, following Gage’s direction.
As soon as I open the door, her sweet vanilla scent hits me square in the face.
I love that smell; I probably could have found the room by smell alone.
I lay her gently on the bed, pulling her shoes off and wiggling her ass out of her tight jeans.
I plug her phone in beside the bed and flip the sheet over her.
She snuggles into the pillow, her breathing evening out again, completely passing out.
As much as I want to climb into bed with her, I’m not going to leave Gage to deal with Ryder alone. I know he can, but I didn’t want to.
I follow the voices and find them in a faceoff in the kitchen when I round the corner.
Ryder’s fists are clenched at his sides, and Gage looks seconds away from throwing a punch.
Dex is sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, hopefully, ready to intervene, and I even see Holden standing to the side. All of them worried about Alessa.
“You can’t tell me that motherfucker,” Ryder points at me, “didn’t play a part in all this.”
Gage looks over his shoulder at me, and his emotions are hidden from his face for the first time. Does he think I have a part in this?
Gage looks back at Ryder. “He probably did,” he answers, and my heart sinks, thinking I lost my only ally in the house. “But so did you. We all fucking did.”
“How come this didn’t start until he came along?” Ryder comments, and I want to yell, I’m right here, but I keep my mouth closed and lean against the doorframe leading into the kitchen.
“You aren’t this stupid, Ryder,” Gage says harshly, causing Ryder’s eyes to narrow.
“This has been going on for a while, and we just ignored it. Let her do whatever she needed to do to deal.” Deal with what?
“True. What he did probably set everything off, but it’s been a long time coming.
” He looks back over his shoulder. “Sorry,” he says, apologizing for agreeing with Ryder, but I wasn’t going to argue. He was probably right.
“All good,” I answer.
Ryder turns those dark eyes on me. “You can fucking go.” He points his finger, indicating my room.
“No. He stays,” Gage argues. “Whatever happened between you two today needs to be fucking fixed. His brother is the one that tipped us off to where she was.”
Ryder barks a laugh, but it’s humorless. “You mean the shit Perez brothers that came up with this asinine plan?”
That’s enough. “Talk shit about me all you want, Ryder, but leave them out of it,” I say and stand up from the wall. I don’t have a chance in hell against Ryder, but I’ll fucking die trying. He already pisses me off with how he talks to Alessa, and now he’s talking about my brothers? Not happening.
“They kept her safe while she was there, which they didn’t have to fucking do. Quit throwing blame everywhere and own up to your shit!” Gage yells the last word, making Holden flinch from his position in the corner.
Ryder steps into Gage’s space, and Gage stands his ground. There isn’t much height difference, but Ryder has a good thirty pounds on Gage. Something tells me Gage can hold his own, though.
“All right, that’s enough,” Dex says, sliding his massive bulk off the stool and walking over, separating them with hands on their chests before dropping his hands just as quickly.
“This isn’t fixing anything.” He looks at Ryder.
“Gage is right. We’ve let it go for too long, and we’ve all added to it. ”
Holden’s eyes widen. “If I did, I didn’t mean to.”
Gage smiles, but it’s forced. “You didn’t, and you’re probably the only one.”
From what I’ve seen, they all treat Holden with kid gloves, speaking softly around him, and I can’t help but wonder why. He seems scared of his own shadow.
“What the hell happened earlier?” Gage demands, swinging his eyes between Ryder and Dex. “Because Leo and I left her sated and fucking happy.”
“You motherfucker,” Ryder growls, stepping back up and pushing Dex’s hand away.
“Please do it, Ryder,” Gage begs between clenched teeth. “I’ve been dying to fucking deck you for how you talked to her.”
“What goes on between her and me is between her and me,” Ryder argues back.
“Not when it ends with us having to pick her up drunk from a bar,” Dex says quietly. “I fucked up too. Now we fix it.” What the hell did Dex do? He gestures to me. “Him too, whether you like it or not. She wants him here. Get over it.”
“I don’t have to get over shit.” Ryder takes a step back and swings his eyes around the room. “I’m out,” he says, storming toward the garage, slamming the door behind him, and making Holden jump out of his skin. We listen to his bike fire up and scream down the driveway.
“Fucking hell,” Dex mutters, scrubbing a tattooed hand down his face.
Gage’s eyes narrow. “What did you do?”
Dex shakes his head. “Later,” he offers and strides out of the room.
Gage watches him leave before turning to me with a sigh. “I’m going to bed,” he says, walking around me. I nod and head toward my room downstairs. “Leo,” he calls out, and I turn around. “Come on,” he jerks his head towards the stairs.
“Where are we going?” I ask, following behind him.
“To cuddle our girl,” he replies. Our girl? Is that what she is? I search for the jealousy of Gage calling her his girl, but it never comes. Not with him, anyway.
We let ourselves into her room, and she’s exactly like I left her.
We both strip down to boxer briefs and slide into bed with her.
She snuggles into Gage’s chest, immediately searching for me with her other arm.
I slide in closer behind her, molding my body against hers.
It doesn’t take long for sleep to come full of dreams of her.
And Gage.
When I wake up the following day, Alessa is gone, but Gage is still fast asleep. He’s sprawled on his stomach with both arms tucked under the pillow. I take a minute while he’s sleeping to examine something I’ve been running from.
His long black eyelashes are fanned across his cheeks, and he looks so much younger with his wavy hair sleep tousled.
I let my eyes roam down his muscled back to his muscled ass.
Gage is attractive. I have no problem admitting that about any man.
What makes me question it about Gage is the fact that I feel…
things I’ve never felt before. Curiosity is the top one.
I know Gage is bisexual just by the comments he’s made; he doesn’t hide it.
Being pressed against him on his motorcycle was one thing; feeling his cock slide against mine inside Alessa was another.
I let my eyes slide back up his body and look into Gage’s very blue and amused eyes.
“See something you like?” he asks in a sleepy voice.
My first instinct is to deny it, but something is telling me to tell him the truth. “I think so.”
He raises the brow over his visible eye. “Really now?”
“I don’t know,” I say defensively before sitting up. I’m so fucking confused about my feelings for him, and I don’t know him at all. But something keeps pulling me toward him.
He rolls to his side facing me, and the sheet slides down, revealing his toned abs. I saw them while we were with Alessa, but my eyes find them anyway. Gage clears his throat, and I jerk my eyes back to his. I thought I would find a smug look or even amusement, but what I find is understanding.
“There is nothing wrong with being curious, Leo.” He sits up, leaning on one elbow.
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I ask the one thing I’ve been dying to know. “Why have you been so accepting of me?”
He shrugs lazily. “Because Les was. I don’t feel like you’re a bad person. I would know if you were.”
“I lied to her,” I argue. I don’t know why I am arguing against myself. Maybe I’m trying to get the subject off my attraction to Gage.