“C’mon, Ava. Just give us another chance. I know you miss me,” Ron begged, moving closer to Ava. He reached out his hand, trying to grab her.
“Hell no, I don’t, now stop!” Ava spat, placing her hands on his shoulders, trying to push him away. He was too strong, obviously still pumping iron on the regular at the gym. He’d always been a gym rat. Still, she needed to try. The last thing she needed was Ron to think she wanted him back.
“She said, stop! Now, I suggest you back away and leave… unless you’d like to be escorted out in handcuffs,” another voice sounded, one Ava recognized all too well.
“Leo…” Ava whispered, stepping back. She’d been wondering where he was. Now, here he stood, right before her, coming to her rescue. Still, it didn’t change anything. She was still irate with him. How could he come down to this club with Astrid? She knew the type of woman Astrid was. She could tell, no matter how much any of them denied it, Astrid wanted to sleep with Leo. Ava saw the way she looked at him, practically already on her knees before him. And yet, when other people were around, Astrid played it off as if she was just being friendly. Whatever. Ava wasn’t going to fall for her facade. There was no convincing her otherwise.
Where was the bitch, anyway? She let Leo investigate on his own? They were supposed to be undercover. Maybe that had been part of the plan. Still, it didn’t mean they’d already been in one of the back rooms together and… Nope, just no. Ava couldn’t go there. Honestly, she knew Leo well enough… this wasn’t one of his fetishes. Vampires? He wasn’t into that. Was he? He had never mentioned a thing like this before, but what if it was new? Or worse yet, what if Astrid had convinced him? Ava could definitely see Astrid being the type to want to try something like this. She looked like a freak. Ava could picture Leo pushing Astrid up against a wall, kissing her into oblivion…
She needed to stop. Her mind was playing games on her. Leo had never cheated on her, had never given her any reason to suspect otherwise. Why would he now? Sure, they hadn’t been together all that long, but they had something good... really good. Would he just throw away what they had for this bitch? But what if Astrid had forced herself onto Leo? Would he push her away, or would he give in and kiss her back?
Shaking her head, Ava’s eyes finally darted to Ron, who was now looking as though he’d just been cut off in line. If she was honest with herself, Leo couldn’t have arrived at a better moment. Still, this didn’t excuse his actions or the way he portrayed himself around the pale-looking cunt. They were friends from back in the day when his wife was still alive… So what? That was then, this was now. Okay, so she was Lila’s best friend, not Leo’s. A simple “hello” and “how’ve you been” would have sufficed. Instead, he’d taken it past that and… ugh! She couldn’t think about this anymore, couldn’t continue being a detective, analyzing every little detail.
“You? You’re that guy, that cop, from the station…” Ron began, but Ava darted toward him, just in time to place a hand over his mouth.
“Shhh. Ron, I suggest you lower your voice.” Ava gave him a cold stare she hoped would let him know she was serious. Thankfully, the music had been loud enough, it hadn’t brought any unnecessary attention their way.
“Now, I’m going to remove my hand, and you’re going to keep quiet, right?”
Ron nodded his head, and Ava released her hand from his mouth. She watched him closely as he took a few steps back.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Ron asked in a lower voice. Good, at least he was sort of cooperating.
Ava rolled her eyes. “Ron, you know my line of work… Leo and I are here, working. You know I can’t go into specifics. Just get out of here and go home. Once we’re sure there’s nothing funny going on here, I’ll text you it’s fine to come back.”
“So, you just expect me to leave? Until you say so?” he scoffed. “My girl’s waiting for me to please her…. I’m not one to disappoint…”
Yeah, don’t I know it… always ready to please the next one.
Ava chuckled. “Take her home, Ron.”
“She’s gonna be pissed. She lives for this type of shit.”
“Better off pissed than dead,” Leo interrupted, glaring at Ron.
Oooh, he was pissed. Ava couldn’t deny the fact she was secretly enjoying this. It was about time he felt how she’d been feeling all evening long about Astrid.
“Hey, Leonardo DiCaprio, your ship has sailed and sunk. I’m talking to my woman here,” Ron spat, throwing dagger’s Leo’s way.
“Leonardo, Leonardo DiCaprio? Seriously?” Leo let out a soft chuckle.
Good, at least he was able to find humor in this situation. It was a good thing he knew Ava wouldn’t even begin to entertain going back to Ron.
“She’s not your woman anymore, Ron. She’s mine,” Leo said, stepping closer to Ron.
Ava took a step closer, coming between them. The last thing she needed was a high school scene where two guys fought over a girl. She wanted to chuckle at Ron’s comment though. He was so petty, so immature. And Leo, was that jealousy in his tone? Good, it was his turn to be the jealous one.
“Ron, I’m not your woman. I’m with Leo,” Ava said, confirming Leo’s statement. That was one thing she could do. No way in hell would she ever go down the route of being with Ron again. “You said so yourself, your girl is waiting for you, over there.” Ava pointed to Ron’s date, still waiting for him on the other side of the room. The woman stared up at the ceiling, obviously bored.
Ron frowned. “She’s just a girl I met a few weeks ago… she’s not like you, Ava baby. Come home with me, please,” Ron insisted, forcing his hand out, trying to reach for Ava.
Ava flashed a glance at Leo, who was now red in the face, looking ready to kill Ron. She had to send Ron away before this got out of hand.
“Ron, I’m not going anywhere with you. I already told you, I’m with Leo, and we’re very happy together.”
At least, we used to be… I have no clue what’s going on between us now. Okay, sure, they were going through a rough time right now. All couples had their shares of ups and downs. They’d get through this, right? They’d find their way back to each other. Ava still loved Leo, and she knew he still loved her. If anything, his facial expression right now was proof of it. This was just a bump in the road they’d surely overcome.
“You and him?” Ron said, waving a finger at both of them as if he were finally hearing her for the first time.
“Yes, me and her. Now, keep it moving before I put my fist through your jaw and make you spend the night in the hospital,” Leo spewed, his anger flaring.
“Fine, you deal with the bitch, I’m out of here,” Ron stated, turning the other way.
Quickly, Ava jumped in front of Leo before he had a chance to hit Ron. “Let it go, Leo. Just let it go,” Ava whispered loud enough for Leo to hear as she grabbed the front of his shirt. She took slow, careful steps backward, pulling him closer to her, stopping once her back hit the wall.
Leo searched her eyes, and as he did so, Ava saw his anger melt away. She slowly nodded her head, letting him know it was okay. She didn’t care what Ron said. He was angry she wasn’t giving in to his demands and leaving with him. She knew the way Ron was, and she didn’t care. He could no longer say or do anything to upset her. All she knew was she wanted Leo more than ever. They’d been bickering and annoyed with one another for far too long for her liking. All she wanted to do was forget this whole ordeal ever happened and get back to living her happy life with the man she adored.
“He’s not worth it, babe. He’ll say or do anything right now. He’s mad I didn’t go with him, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you.” Ava looked deeply into Leo’s eyes, letting him know she was serious.
“Ava…” Leo whispered, pushing himself even closer to her. She felt his desire for her as his body touched hers.
“I’m right here, love, and I’m all yours,” she affirmed.
His gaze turned serious. “Listen, babe. Astrid and I, we…”
“Shhh, now’s not the time. I know in my heart nothing happened, but we can talk about it later. Right now, I just want you, Xander. You and me. Always.”
“Mmm, I love the sound of that,” Leo growled, smacking his lips onto hers.
Ava’s lips curled into a smile as she welcomed his taste. Meeting his intense kiss with her own, she relished his desire for her. She’d missed this, missed him more than she could have ever imagined. Sure, they would still need to discuss Astrid, but as she had told him moments ago, it would have to wait. Now was the time to kiss and make up, and she loved every second of it. Of course, she couldn’t make up with him the proper way like she would be if they were home. Once they were out of here, they’d go back to their place and finish off the night right where they were supposed to in the first place—wrapped up in one another in their bed.
As Leo slowly pulled away, she saw him smiling down at her. “I missed you, Ayv. I missed this, missed us. I don’t ever want to go through something like this again. I love you too much.”
“I love you, too.” It was the exact way she was feeling. “And you have no idea how much I missed you and your lips,” she giggled.
“Is that all you missed?” His smug grin made her bite down on her lip.
“No. When we get home tonight, I’ll show you every single part of you I missed,” she winked.
“I can’t wait,” he replied, giving her another one of his gorgeous smiles.
“Me neither. Now, let’s get on with this investigation so we can go home.”
“Sounds good.” Leo grabbed Ava’s hand and led her in the opposite direction.
As they spun around, they were welcomed by a tall man, built like an NFL linebacker. He was dressed in all black, with long, brown hair reaching just above his broad shoulders, in his arms was Astrid.
Ava and Leo exchanged a glance. What the hell was going on?