“Nope. I’m good.” I rub my stubbled jaw. I didn’t have a razor in my gym bag. Besides, Ava likes the feel of my whiskers between her thighs.
I wait for Leo to call me on my bullshit.
Instead, he says, “Okay then, let’s talk business.” Masterfully, that sweeps the subject under the forty-thousand-dollar Oriental rug we’re sitting on. “Leticia’s got your living arrangements lined up in every foreign city where we’re opening a studio. I’ve only had to deal with the government offices responsible for pulling our business permits for one day, and I’m already worn out.” Leo angles his head at Oz with a jerk. “Mr. Congeniality here has already made business enemies in at least two European countries. I definitely think you’re going to have your hands full, Dex.”
I nod. “That’s why I need to be there. I need face time with these folks to keep the ball rolling in the right direction. It’s not that they’re difficult to work with. It’s more about earning their trust and keeping it. We’ve already tied up a lot of capital in this venture, and it’s only going to get more expensive before we can finally open the studios and start turning a profit to recoup those costs. The last thing we need is for them to shove us on their back burner. If I’m there in person shaking hands, wining, dining…” My words trail off. It’s going be damn near impossible to be enthusiastic over this business venture that I wanted when all I’ll be able to think about is Ava back in New York.
“If you’re there in person, they’re more likely to keep us on the front burner,” Oz says. “And the ball stays in motion, hopefully with forward momentum that works in our favor.”
“Exactly.” I keep rubbing my chin. My mind keeps wandering back to a certain blonde.
“Starting Checkmate was my dream. This expansion is yours,” Leo says. “We’re with you all the way.”
Except the expansion isn’t my first priority anymore. I can’t say that, though. Not after I’m the one that got my partners to sign off on this financially risky move to begin with.
“We need to get you overseas, like yesterday,” Leo says. “How soon can you leave?”
The million-dollar question. The question I’ve been dreading. The question I don’t want to answer anymore. “Next weekend.” Something shifts in my chest, and a bone-deep ache rockets through me like I’ve just been stabbed. “That’ll give me a few days to tie up some loose ends at the office.”
And spend every extra minute I can with Ava, since I don’t know how often we’ll be able to see each other.
“Good. I’ll have Leticia set up a weekly video conference between the three of us,” Leo says. “I think it would be a good idea to bring Magnus and Gerard in for the calls too. They can lend some insight since they spent so much time working in the industry in Europe.”
“Agreed,” I say, and rub the aching spot right over my heart.
There’s an expectant lull in the conversation.
“So, is there anything else we need to discuss?” Oz lifts a shoulder and stares at me. “Anything at all?”
I’m going to say it. I’m going to tell Leo how much I care for Ava, and that we’re going to try to make a long distance relationship work. I’ll give him my word that this isn’t something I entered into without a lot of thought and assure him that I won’t hurt her. I open my mouth to speak.
“Thanks again for going to Ava’s reunion.” Leo beats me to the punch. “I’ve got to loosen up when it comes to who my sister dates.”
Okaaaay. Maybe this won’t be so hard after all.
“But every time I look at her, I see that broken, sad teenager she was when our parents died, you know?” Leo munches on a chip. “I mean, every time I think of some guy breaking her heart, I want to toss him off of a rooftop.”
Well hell. I glance out Leo’s window again. It’s a long way down. I didn’t plan on dying today. That would make it extraordinarily hard to date Ava, regardless of the distance between us.
“Chloe says I have a double standard, and I guess she’s right. When you showed up on page two of the City Scoop banging some girl out in public for God and everybody to see, all I said to you was ‘bring it inside next time.’” Now he’s smiling at me like a smartass. “But if I caught some guy disrespecting my sister on the hood of his car, I might end up doing hard time.”
A text comes in, and I’m saved by the ding. Until I look at my phone, and a picture of Ava’s gorgeous rack fills the screen. Her text teases me even more than the picture.
Are you hungry?
My throat closes, and I shoot both of my partners a hurried look. “Uh, I gotta go. See you guys tomorrow at the office?”
“Sure thing, man.” Leo starts to clear the table like he’s oblivious that anything is amiss.
Oz, on the other hand, covers his mouth with the back of his hand. I freeze, waiting for him to cough “bullshit.” It’s his trademark smartass comeback, and he thinks it’s so damn funny. Truth is, I usually do too, until I’m the target of his smart remark. Like now.
I rub the crease of my nose with my middle finger, and Oz flashes a toothy grin at me.
I send Ava a response.
Starved. On my way.
I’ll wait for a better time to tell Leo about me and Ava. I’ve got all of five days to find another opportunity before I leave the country. A lifetime, right?
Chapter Twenty-Three
As I leave Leo’s place, I text Ava to see what she wants for dinner so I can pick it up on the way.
Her reply:
I’ll order out Chinese. Come straight here.
That’s my bossy girl. She knows exactly what she wants, and she’s not afraid to ask for it. Even though she’s waiting for me at her apartment, no doubt with multiple layers of clothes on so we can play strip chess, I’m not just thinking of shagging her again. I want to spend time with her, laugh with her. Talk, tell her stories, and I’d listen to every word of hers too.
And then, yes, I want to shag her. But more than that, I want to make love to her.
There are no taxis in sight, so I hop the subway to the village. The hustle and flow of the subway is oddly soothing. Weird, I know, but that’s the way it is when you’re a New Yorker. What outsiders deem as annoying chaos, a true New Yorker sees as invigorating energy.
My phone dings again, and it’s Oz.
Dexter and Ava sitting in a tree. S-E-X-T-I-N-G.
I shoot a text back.
Seriously? Did your mother ask you to run away from home when you were little? Because you’re one annoying SOB.
The dots jump.
Tell him, dude. Just get it over with. You’re asking for trouble if you don’t.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and don’t reply.
When I get to Ava’s apartment and she opens the door, I realize how wrong I was. Terribly, terribly wrong. Thank God.
She’s not in multiple layers of clothes. She’s in a silky purple robe that ties at the waist and hits her mid-thigh. It’s loose at the top and parts enough to make me wonder what she’s wearing underneath…if anything at all. Her shoes are the best part, though.
She turns and crooks a finger over her shoulder for me to come in and then walks to the kitchen. Her toned calves disappear into sky-high black stilettos. The robe swishes just under her ass cheeks with the sway of her hips.
“How did your business meeting go?” She starts dishing lo mein and Szechuan wontons onto two plates.
My favorites. I didn’t tell her what to order; she just knew. Same as I know how to order and mix her coffee.
I shove both hands into my jacket pockets. “Uh.” I’m so Goddamn articulate I amaze myself sometimes. “It went fine.”
Her hand, which is dishing up our meals, slows. “What aren’t you telling me?”
The pressure I’m under right now is firing at me from all angles. I feel like I’m about to crack. “Your brother doesn’t know it’s you in the picture.” I lean a hip against the counter. “He went on about throwing a guy off the roof if they
disrespected you that way.”
She finishes filling our plates, grabs two beers from the fridge, and we take our dinner into the living room. Instead of eating at the small dinette table, she grabs two large overstuffed pillows from the corner and tosses them on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table. A chessboard is set and waiting in the middle of the table. We lounge on the floor next to each other and eat.
It’s so natural, like we’ve been a couple forever. I can’t enjoy it, though, because Leo’s going to want to kill me when he finds out the truth.
Ava swishes her lo mein around with chopsticks. “That’s why we should tell Leo together. In fact, it’s probably more my responsibility than yours.”
“If I were just some guy you met and started dating, I’d agree.” I finish chewing a wonton and swallow. “I’m not just some guy, and if we tell him too soon, he’ll know it’s you in the photo.” He’ll go ape shit if he realizes Ava is the woman on the hood of my Porsche. I won’t let Ava face that alone. I’ll break the news to him first. Somehow.
She puts her sticks down and takes a drink of beer. “Maybe we could invite them to your apartment for dinner. If Chloe’s there, it might help. She seems to keep him anchored when he gets…” She lifts a shoulder. “…weird.”
I hadn’t thought of Chloe being present when I deliver the news. Leo listens to her more than anyone else. I stab another wonton. “It would have to be this week.” I put my sticks down and brush a lock of Ava’s hair behind her ear. “Tonight, Oz, Leo, and I agreed that I should move next weekend.”
She stops chewing, her eyes darkening with sadness…and maybe fear. At that moment, I know how unfair it is to ask her to carry on a long distance relationship for two years—maybe longer—at the same time that our relationship could drive a wedge between her and the one person in the world she counts on the most.
Her lips curve into a rigid smile. “Then eat up. We’ve got a game of chess to play.”
“Oh, I plan to eat up, Rookie.” I can’t help but tease her with that nickname. She thinks she’s getting rid of it tonight, but she’s so not. It’s going to be a helluva lot of fun watching her try, though.
We both stuff our mouths with a few more bites of food.
“So, if you win, your prize is to get rid of the nickname?”
“I thought this would be a fun way to ditch the card.”
“And if I win, what do I get?” I polish off my dinner, wipe my mouth with a napkin, and toss it onto the coffee table. I don’t want to think about an angry business partner, getting thrown off of a rooftop, or moving away.
She sets her plate on top of mine. “Name it.”
I lift both brows because the most dirty and delicious things are running through my mind.
“Anything you want,” her voice is a breathy whisper, and I know her mind is going to dirty places too.
I move to the other side of the table so I can play the black pieces. Call me crazy, but I feel more confident when I’m playing black. “Since my prize is anything I want, then I’ll think about it during the match. I’m sure I can come up with something interesting.” I wave to her side of the board. “Ladies first.”
We take turns moving our pieces until I capture one of her knights. The piece our company logo is modeled after. The piece that’s inked onto my ribcage and reminds me of Ava every time I look at it. I hold the white piece in my hand and rub it with my thumb as she slowly stands.
Her eyes never leave mine as she toys with the sash. The purple strip of silk falls through her fingers, and she slides her hand to the end to tug. The bow lets go and the robe falls open, revealing a strip of her flesh all the way down her front. I can’t see her full breasts, but the valley in-between is begging to be kissed. She’s got on a matching purple lace bra and panties.
Please God, let it be a thong.
With the swish of her shoulders, the silky robe floats to the floor. My throat closes. She’s so fucking gorgeous standing there in sexy lace and bedroom shoes.
“While you were at your business meeting, I made a quick trip to Fifth Avenue to pick this up. Do you like it?” Her fingertip traces the top edge of her bra. With every breath she takes, her tits plump over the edge just enough to make a chess champion want to throw the match.
“Do you really have to ask?”
She blushes a little.
“Turn around and let me see the back of your panties.” I’m dying to see if it’s a thong.
She shakes her head. “Not until I have to take them off.”
“Do I have to wait until after the match is over to fuck you?”
She puts both hands on her hips. “Unless you want to forfeit, which would make me the winner.”
“Trust me, if this weren’t so much damn fun, I’d consider it.” But uh-uh. I’ve never forfeited a match. Not even in high school when I had strep. I kicked ass and went home with a purple grand champion’s ribbon and slept for two straight days. That was one of the few times my parents let me miss school. And not because of strep, but because of the purple ribbon. “Make your move, Rookie.”
She sits down on her pillow again and studies the board.
I am not eye-fucking her gorgeous tits. I am not picturing her bent over one of her dinette chairs while I fuck her from behind. I am all concentration and nerves of steel.
“Your turn, Dex.” Her sultry voice snaps me out of my trance. “Take off your shirt.”
“Huh?” I look at the board and at Ava’s hand, which is holding my queen.
How did she… Wait. Oh.
She’s smiling at me because she knows her strategy is working.
My eyes narrow at her as I take off my shirt. I refocus on the game.
Mostly.
I study, think, strategize. Then I make a move and capture another white piece.
Ava gets up on her knees, reaches behind her back, and unhooks her bra. Slowly, she slides the straps down each arm until her perky breasts greet me.
“It’s my turn, right?” she asks, all coy and innocent.
Then she props her elbows on the edge of the table and leans forward to study the board. Her breasts hang at the most beautiful angle.
I growl.
“What was that?” She looks up at me with owlish eyes.
“You’re playing dirty,” I say in a gritty tone.
“Have I broken any of the rules of chess, oh, Grand Master?” she teases.
“None except indecent exposure, which is a fine rule to break from where I’m sitting.” Although it’s playing hell with my concentration.
She makes another move, leaning waaaay over the board this time. I grind my teeth into dust.
I take my time, clear my throat, then make a move. “Lose ‘em.” I snatch another white piece off the board.
She stands and slowly spins so that her back is to me. And good God in heaven, it is a thong. “I’m not sure if I want you to take those off. They’re so damn sexy to look at.”
“It’s part of the game,” she says over a shoulder as she dips her fingers into the strings around her waist and slowly lowers her panties to the ground.
Fuck, I can hardly wait to get my hands on her. And my mouth.
This time, instead of sitting back down on the floor pillow, she sits on the sofa directly in front of me. She crosses her legs and kicks up her foot, still wearing those fuck-me shoes.
“Let’s see.” She taps her bottom lip with an index finger. “How about this?” She uncrosses her legs, spreads them, and leans over to make her next move.
All rational thought of chess, and strategy, and winning flies out of my brain, crashes through the window, and splatters on the sidewalk below.
“Dex?” Ava slides her hands from her knees to the top of her thighs. “It’s your turn.”
I move a piece, but for the life of me, I have no idea which one.
“Checkmate.” Ava leans over and moves her queen into place. “I win.” When she tries to pick up my black king, I encircle
her wrist.
“You’re a very dirty girl, you know that?” I say with a growl of lust.
She shivers. “I planned to play dirty to win. And now I want you to play dirty too.”
Ava just became my new favorite chess partner.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ava and I stare at each other across the coffee table, and my fingers still encircle her wrist. We’re both as still as stone statues, yet the air around us stirs with heated energy. Her eyes are mirroring what I’m certain is showing in mine. Not just lust, although it’s definitely there, but a pure yearning for more than just sex.
A yearning for something deeper, like the kind of relationship her parents had. Their bond was so apparent it even showed in the pictures of them on the mantle in Weatherton.
I won’t lie, though. The electrifying lust and unbelievable sex is definitely a bonus.
“You won the match, Ava,” I finally say. “So you name the prize, besides loosing another rookie card.”
She crooks a finger, and I come around to her side of the coffee table. She doesn’t stand. Instead, she goes for my zipper.
There’s no teasing, no taunting. She dives right in and takes me all the way in.
I moan, and my hips pump into her hot, wet mouth. It’s an involuntary reflex because her mouth encasing my dick is like a shock of electricity to my body. She sucks me like my cock is a popsicle, the suction so fucking sweet that it’s almost unbearable. Her tongue is rough, yet tender. Her lips are firm, yet soft.
She moves her mouth along my shaft, fucking me with her mouth, and I watch as my dick slides in and out. I can’t take it anymore. I sink both hands into her hair and hold her head still as I move my hips instead. She cups my balls as I fuck her lovely mouth. It’s the biggest fucking turn on of my life. My muscles start to tighten with the first hint of orgasm, so I pull out and grab a condom from my back pocket.
Rookie Moves (A Checkmate Inc. Novel Book 2) Page 14
