All Bets Are Off

by Marguerite Labbe

  Right now his instincts said Wayne was twitchy. What kind of man just walked into a person’s house when they weren’t home? He didn’t seem that friendly with Eli because Wayne hadn’t met his eyes once. And there was that look on his face when Ash had mentioned the glove, that flash of panic. If there wasn’t something off about the situation, why the fear? It struck him as dishonest. Only he couldn’t figure out why he’d be in Eli’s house snooping; even if he did need the money, Eli hadn’t noticed anything missing but the glove.

  Those thoughts kept Ash’s mind occupied until he pulled up to his apartment. Ten minutes later he was sitting in front of his computer with a glass of sweet iced tea beside him along with a folded note he’d found on the coffee table. Ash eyeballed it as he slipped on the headset and turned on the webcam.

  Eli had to have left it last night, and he wished he’d seen it this morning when he’d been rushing around. He signed into his account, and as he was waiting for Kurtis’s call he picked up the note.

  Georgia,

  I won the first round, thank you for the hat. You think you’re up for another bet? Call me and next time I promise I won’t knock you out again.

  Eli

  Ash could almost picture the teasing smile on Eli’s face as he wrote the note. Well, damn, Eli hadn’t said one word about whether or not seducing was allowed. Ash was up for another bet. Only this time Eli would be the prize. Now he just needed to figure out a way to get Eli to agree to a bet like that. Maybe it wouldn’t take much, not if Eli really did intend on walking that fine line.

  The call came through and Kurtis appeared on the screen. There were dark shadows under Kurtis’s eyes, and his face was haggard. Ash sat back, careful not to let his shock at his best friend’s appearance show. This last tour had taken its toll, and it worried Ash to see it so plainly.

  “Man, Kurtis, you’re even uglier than usual. Your wife will have a fit if you show up looking like that.”

  Kurtis grinned, breaking the tension in his expression. “Still prettier than you, ass. How are things stateside?”

  Though Ash wanted to know how things were going for Kurtis, he refrained from prying. He remembered how welcome distraction was at times, and Kurtis looked as if he needed to have his mind on other things. If he wanted to talk, he’d bring it up, but those discussions were best on late nights with a couple of beers.

  “Nothing much is new since last time. Melanie’s trying to get knocked up, and you know once she sets her mind on something she usually accomplishes it. So expect her and Jamie to be out baby shopping when you get back.”

  Kurtis groaned and shook his head. “That means Jamie is going to want another one.”

  “I call bullshit on that look, buddy.” Ash snickered. “You dote on your twins. I hear they’re climbing now.”

  “Like a pair of monkeys. Jamie’s about to tear out her hair. Brandon got over the backyard fence for the second time last week while she was hanging the laundry. She swears she only had her back turned for a minute.”

  “I heard about that, in vivid detail. With many colorful words aimed toward me and you both.” Jamie swore Brandon had inherited every single one of Kurtis’s mischievous genes and Ash’s simply because the boy was his namesake. At least they had been merciful and given the boy his middle name instead of his first. It was a kindness he’d make sure Brandon understood when he was older. There was nothing like going through boot camp with the name Ashley. “I also heard about Danielle getting up on top of the fridge and dropping down the doggie treats to a very happy bulldog.”

  “I didn’t hear about that one yet,” Kurtis said, and Ash smiled at the soft look in his eyes. “I think Jamie likes to string out these tales in little doses so I don’t worry about her taking care of it all by herself.”

  “Jamie’s stronger than the both of us. Besides, Melanie and Bruce are twenty minutes away. They make sure she gets breaks and help.”

  “What about you? Classes started yet? You gonna do impressions of Keanu Reeves when you finally become an agent?”

  “Ha ha, no I’m thinking of going more toward the Spooky Mulder route. Gillian Anderson is much better to look at than Gary Busey on a daily basis, even if I don’t swing her way.” Kurtis was Ash’s only friend in the military whom he’d come out to, six months into their first tour, after an attack in the middle of the night. Neither of them had been able to sleep afterward and they had sat up talking for hours.

  “Just don’t start quoting conspiracy theories at me. I will have to bury you alive.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Ash glanced at his watch. He didn’t want to keep Kurtis up too long. He looked worn out enough as it was. “So before I let you go, I wanted to tell you something.”

  Kurtis sat up straighter and lowered his voice. “You met someone.”

  “Oh, Lord, do I have it tattooed on my forehead?”

  “Nah, I’ve seen that look before. When we were in Hawaii and you met that surfer you thought was so hot and—”

  “Don’t remind me,” Ash groaned. The guy was gorgeous and had ended up being an utter ass before the night was over. “That was a mistake I blame on Jägermeister and you egging me on. No, this guy is different.”

  “Then what’s the problem?” Kurtis asked when Ash hesitated. “He’s married, is that it?”

  “That wouldn’t be a problem because once I found that out there wouldn’t be an interest. No, we met in town last night, had a kickass evening together, and then he ends up being one of my professors today.”

  Kurtis burst out laughing, his head falling back in his glee, the fucker. “Oh damn, I wish I was there to see you squirm.”

  “Squirm? Me? Please, jackass. I don’t squirm, not ever.”

  “Yes, you do, like a worm on the end of a hook. I can already see it in your eyes,” Kurtis snickered. “Wait till I tell Jamie.”

  “Don’t you fucking dare. Jamie will tell Melanie and she’ll tell Katie and then baby sis will find an excuse to come up to see me. Let me get through this tangle myself.” Ash had no idea what the semester would bring and he didn’t want any more complications. He should just walk away from the budding relationship. It wasn’t like he was going to stay in Amwich past graduation, but Eli was the most interesting man he’d met in a long time, and he kissed like the devil.

  Kurtis yawned, and Ash could see how the exhaustion and stress had added up, giving him new lines on his brow that weren’t there before. He wasn’t sure what was different during this tour for his friend. Maybe it was one too many, too close together, or maybe it was having his family away from him so long and the twins growing up without him, but it seemed like Kurtis had aged years since he left.

  “Another three months and you’ll be home, just in time for the start of the holidays,” Ash said quietly.

  “You’re damn right, buddy. You have to come down for Thanksgiving.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. So before you go, I have another joke for you.”

  Kurtis groaned shaking his head. “Please tell me it’s not another gay Marine joke.”

  “What’s the difference between a straight Marine and a gay Marine?” Ash chuckled as Kurtis dropped his face into his hand. “A six pack.”

  “You’re probably right, ass.” Kurt shook his head again, laughing, just as Ash hoped he would. “God help your professor because he’s going to need it dealing with you.”

  Chapter Seven

  Eli lived for days like this. Early October was his absolute favorite time of year. The air was crisp and the sky an amazing intense blue that provided a perfect backdrop for the changing foliage. The tree Eli sat under had turned a brilliant yellow, and some of the leaves had already fallen to mix with the dark-green grass. His students were sprawled under other trees bedecked in varying shades of orange and scarlet.

  He loved this spot. It was a cardinal sin to be indoors on a day like this, especially knowing the freezing winter was coming soon. The trees provided a screen from th
e weathered brick and stone buildings covered in ivy and blocked out some of the noise from the students going to their classes. He had a view of the chapel’s bell tower in the distance and the footbridge over one of the many brooks bubbling through campus. It was his little slice of heaven. Add in Ash sitting himself down directly across from him, as usual, and the afternoon couldn’t get much better.

  Unless of course there was the promise of stolen kisses later on and hot sex in some out-of-the-way place. A quickie in his office had become a favorite fantasy of his after spending an hour and fifteen minutes every Monday and Wednesday staring at Ash. Only that wasn’t about to happen. And if it did, Eli was pretty damn certain that a quickie wouldn’t do anything to satisfy him.

  “Hey, Doc,” Ash drawled as he leaned forward toward Eli and rested his arms on his knees. “Did you have a good weekend?”

  The man was up to something. Eli had not had Ash in his class for the past four weeks without learning to recognize when his thoughts weren’t quite on the subject at hand during class. Not that his attention wandered. No, those green eyes would look right at him, and Ash’s lips would tug in a secret smile that made Eli want to pull him aside and demand to know what was going through his mind.

  Right now, there was an extra glint of devil in Ash’s gaze that sent a hot shiver of pure anticipation through Eli. The way the man’s gaze flicked over him, as if he was mentally taking off each article of clothing, made Eli’s heart beat harder. At least Ash had given up on the idea of roping him into another bet. Ash’s teasing was hard enough to withstand. Ash trying a full out seduction would’ve been impossible to resist.

  “I did, though it was quiet. How about you?”

  “About as far from quiet as you could get. Drill was this weekend.” Ash tugged out a notebook and pen and sent Eli a sideways glance. “I was pretty sore afterward.”

  That put the image of Ash dressed in cammies right into Eli’s thoughts, followed by the memory of massaging all those aching muscles after Ash’s last drill weekend. And judging from the small smile on the man’s face, that was his intention.

  Eli would dearly love to kiss that smirk right off Ash’s face.

  “I hope you’re not too sore today.” Eli’s lips twitched with laughter as Ash’s gaze heated. “I’ve heard massage therapy works wonders.”

  “I suspect I’ll survive. Those massage therapists can be dangerous.” Ash leaned back against his tree, hands tucked behind his head. Damn, if that wasn’t an invitation to explore. Eli flicked a quick glance at the way Ash’s T-shirt stretched across his chest and shoulders, and his imagination went wild. Today would be a perfect day for sex on a blanket outdoors with the sun warming their skin and a breeze cooling them off. That little field behind his house would be the perfect spot to guarantee their privacy. He’d start by taking off that T-shirt and—

  Eli pulled his thoughts away before he had another night of lying awake, staring up at his ceiling and unable to sleep. Thoughts of Ash and seeing him naked, touching and tasting him, had kept intruding on his mind over the past month.

  Especially after the ass had sneaked that picture of him in his full dress uniform into Eli’s notes. Ash knew what that picture would do to him, and the smirk on his face during the next class proved it. And Eli had retaliated by wearing his hair loose most Mondays and Wednesdays and smiling when he saw Ash’s hands twitch, as if he was thinking of burying his hands in Eli’s hair. It took two to play the game right.

  Still, the weeks had given Eli an opportunity to get to know Ash better. He liked the insights that Ash brought to their discussions in class. He enjoyed watching the serious expression that would cross Ash’s face when he thought something over before speaking. How he would get that tiny line between his brows or he would unconsciously rub his scarred arm. So the past four weeks had been just as much about learning and anticipation as they had been about sexual frustration.

  Ash glanced down at the papers in his lap and grinned. “You have a lot to look forward to today, with the presentation, I mean. I think you’ll like it.”

  Eli was sure that whatever wickedness Ash had in mind was tied in somehow to his presentation today. It was his and Nori’s turn to bring in copies of historical letters they’d found and discuss their relevance to the culture and time period. From what he’d learned of Ash, he would take this opportunity to get Eli worked up. He would say things he wouldn’t normally be able to get away with in class. So Eli expected a message within a message. Very appropriate, considering the class content, even if Ash would use it to be downright wicked.

  Maybe he dug up something from Casanova. God have mercy on him. The last thing Eli needed was Ash reading erotic letters in that sexy Georgia drawl.

  Eli glanced at his watch and cleared his throat to get the other students’ attention. “Since it looks like Whitney will not be joining us today, let’s get started.”

  “Again,” Bron muttered under his breath with a sour glance at Isaac, who thought that Whitney could do nothing wrong. Isaac looked as if he were about to retort, but then changed his mind after one glance in Eli’s direction.

  “Ash, Nori, which one of you would like to go first?” Eli looked at Nori, who paled and bit her lip, and then at Ash, who grinned.

  “I don’t mind going first, Doc,” Ash said, gathering his papers together as Nori shot him a grateful look. That poor girl had to be the shyest person Eli had ever met, and he worked hard to draw her into their conversations.

  “You have my complete attention.” It was on the tip of Eli’s tongue to call him Georgia, but he managed to catch it in time. One of these days he was going to slip up and call him that in class, especially with as much as he did it in his head.

  The look Ash cast him said, “I bet I do.” Eli stretched out his legs, set his notebook on his lap, and hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself. Though every single one of the girls in the class had their attention on Ash and weren’t likely to notice. Not that Eli could blame them. Not with as good as Ash looked, and there was that smile on Ash’s lips again as he glanced at his papers.

  “Okay, I found several letters from Oscar Wilde to Lord Alfred Douglas. A few of them were used against Wilde in his trial for gross indecency and the last one was sent to Douglas after Wilde was released from prison.”

  Gross indecency? What the hell was in those letters? Eli bit back a groan as Ash glanced at him through his lashes.

  “Gross indecency? What he’d do?” Bron asked, sprawled out on his stomach on the blanket he’d brought, doodling on the notebook in front of him. “Expose himself to small kids and married women?”

  “Ew.” Hannah wrinkled her nose and tossed her head. “You would say that.”

  “Here, let me tell you in his own words. This is the letter he sent to Douglas after he was released.” Ash pulled one paper to the front and cast Eli a quick, laughing glance before reading the short letter, his accent seeming to thicken. Eli resisted the urge to close his eyes and just listen to the sound of his voice.

  My own Darling Boy,

  I got your telegram half an hour ago, and just send a line to say that I feel that my only hope of again doing beautiful work in art is being with you. It was not so in the old days, but now it is different, and you can really recreate in me that energy and sense of joyous power on which art depends.

  Everyone is furious with me for going back to you, but they don’t understand us. I feel that it is only with you that I can do anything at all. Do remake my ruined life for me, and then our friendship and love will have a different meaning to the world.

  I wish that when we met at Rouen we had not parted at all. There are such wide abysses now of space and land between us. But we love each other.

  Goodnight, dear. Ever yours,

  Oscar

  Eli bit the inside of his cheek and for the eleventh time since class had started, wished they were alone together so he could speak openly. Wicked man. He went for seduction and sentiment over eroticism.
He had not been expecting that from Ash. And damned if it wasn’t effective too.

  “I don’t get it,” Elsa said. “What’s so indecent about that? Are you censoring the good stuff, Ash?”

  “They were gay. That was, like, illegal back then or something,” Isaac said, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Bet there didn’t have to be much in those letters at all to get them in trouble.”

  “I think it’s sweet,” Nori said softly. “What happened after that? Did they meet up again?”

  “Actually,” Eli replied, drawing everyone’s attention to him, “Oscar Wilde died a few years after he was released from prison. Complications stemming from the hard physical labor he had been sentenced to, I believe.”

  “That bites. I bet he died from a broken heart.” Kerry had a slightly dreamy look in her eyes as her nimble fingers wove colorful leaves and bits of sticks she’d gathered together into a rough wreath. “It sounds like he really loved that guy.”