by Marie Harte
Unintelligent Bald Guy smirked. “She was a hot piece, I’ll give you that.”
The giant bouncer returned just as Gavin launched a fist at stupid and bald, who went down and didn’t get up, moaning and clutching his nose.
Greg tried to punch Landon. A mistake.
The bouncer sighed. “Shit. I knew you two were going to be trouble.”
Before he could intervene, in seconds, Landon had Greg in a chokehold. “Next time you mark up my sister, asshole, I won’t just choke you out. I’ll break your goddamn neck. Got it?”
Greg tried to plead—for his life, mercy, something. Then Landon squeezed, and the bastard passed out.
Landon dropped him like the sack of shit he was. Then he turned a mean look on the bouncer.
So not smart.
Before the bouncer could turn Landon’s head into a punching bag, Gavin stepped between them. “We’re leaving. We just wanted to let Greg know it’s not cool to mess with our sister.”
The bouncer studied them. “I think he got the message. No problem with what you’re saying, guys. But maybe you ought to leave now.”
Landon hadn’t moved, so Gavin turned to see his brother assessing the bouncer. And shit, but Landon looked seriously dangerous, if not a bit psychotic. Badass with a capital B. Even had Gavin not known what his brother was capable of, he’d have steered way clear of the guy.
“Yeah, okay, we’re going.” Landon cracked his knuckles, then glanced down at Greg. “Fucking pussy.”
Others around them laughed and went back to the business of drinking and talking. They made room for Gavin and Landon to pass by. He caught the glance of the sexy Rena and paused. Maybe he could get her number and—
“No. Just no.” Landon grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out. “This place is nothing but trouble. Trust me.”
Gavin sighed. It might have been worth it for another look at that cute waitress. But oh well. He followed Landon out to the SUV and got inside after his big brother unlocked it. “We were there maybe five minutes, and you destroyed the guy.” He sat in a huff, now bored once more and needing something to take his mind off his coming nightmares.
“I noticed you put down your own jerk with one punch. Not bad.” Landon grinned. “We did what we came to do—accomplished the mission.”
Gavin shook his head. If he let him, Landon would start mouthing five-paragraph orders and mission statements.
“We let Greg know,” Major Landon continued, “in no uncertain terms, that you mess with one Donnigan, you mess with us all.”
“Hmm. All of us? Maybe we should have let Theo come with us.”
“Yeah, that’s funny. No.”
They laughed together at the thought. Theo would have been shitting his pants but putting on the attitude like being in that place didn’t bother him. Gavin had pride in his brothers. They might annoy him, but damn, none of them liked to back down.
He mulled over a thought he’d been having. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Damn. You okay?”
Gavin flipped him off. “Theo and Dad aren’t getting along. Maybe he should come live with us for a while.”
Landon groaned. “I’m only letting you live with me out of pity.” He paused. “For Mom and Dad.”
“That’s not nice.”
“Hell, you know if you lived with them you’d go nuts. I love ’em, but Mom is worse than I am about keeping the house clean.”
“And you’re a major pain in the ass to begin with.” He ignored Landon’s scowl. “I get it, but Theo’s in a hard spot right now. I feel like I let him down.” Not a lie. He had. “I don’t want him to hate the thought of joining the Marine Corps because of me. Despite the shit I went through, I miss it. Not the fighting.” Or the killing. “I miss my friends.”
“Yeah, me too.” Landon sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe joining up isn’t for him, Gavin. What if he lost more than his knee over there? Got more than a punctured lung?” He referred to Gavin’s own run-in with an enemy projectile.
“I know. But it’s got to be his choice. I don’t want it colored because he thinks I’m a big fuckup.”
“But you are.” Landon smirked. “With women, I mean.”
“Please. I’m not the one currently striking out with the sexy Ava Rosenthal.” Gavin saw his brother’s surprise. Oh yeah, I pay attention when it counts. Gavin knows and sees all. Plus I listen when Elliot speaks. “What’s the deal with you and the hot shrink?”
“She’s not hot.” Before Gavin could contradict him, Landon added, “Not to you. And what I want with her is none of your business, numbnuts. So stay out of it.”
“That a threat?”
“No. It’s a condition of letting Theo live with us for a while. Oh, and he’s sharing your room and bathroom, so clean up.”
“Fine.” Like hell he’d keep out of Landon’s love life. “So if I can’t ask about Ava, can I at least ask if you and Claudia are back together?”
Landon’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Why the hell would you ask that?”
“Um, remember last week? When she told me to tell you hi?”
Landon groaned. “I’d forgotten about that. I haven’t seen or talked to her since. Have you?”
“No. But it might be awkward if you’re sniffing around Ava and Claudia steps in, don’t you think?”
“Good point. Guess I’d better talk to her.” He shook his head. “I don’t get it. We were just fuck buddies for a while. Nothing serious. She didn’t want anything more, and neither did I.”
“What happened?” Poor Landon. He had no idea how the women talked about him in the gym, every chick wanting to be bossed around by the dominant Marine who had a habit of looking through, not at, people. Landon didn’t help matters by choosing seemingly flighty bed partners.
The guy had no clue what he wanted in a woman. So this Ava Rosenthal had been a pleasant surprise, at least to Gavin’s way of thinking. She had her own mind and didn’t seem the type to let his big brother run all over her.
“I honestly don’t know what happened with her. Claudia, out of the blue, announced she wanted us to get closer. She wanted me to be ‘emotionally vulnerable.’” He snorted. “A load of bullshit and boyfriend/girlfriend crap I don’t have time for.”
“But you have time for it with Ava.”
Landon turned to scowl at him before focusing again on the road, and Gavin fought a grin. “I’m just seeing where this thing with Ava might go. I’m not trying to put a ring on her finger, for God’s sake.” A slow smile worked over his mouth. “But I’m trying out for the position of baby-daddy.”
“What?” Gavin straightened.
“That’s what she’s angling for. I’m all wrong for her. We both know it. But I can damn sure show her what great sex is all about.” He smiled kindly at Gavin. “Need pointers? Or is Michelle all the woman you can handle?”
Gavin blushed, still embarrassed he’d succumbed to that barracuda. “Hey, I was desperate.”
“And drunk.”
Gavin glared. “And horny. Friends don’t let friends beer-goggle.”
“But brothers let brothers learn for themselves. See how destructive booze can be?”
Gavin wanted to be angrier, but Landon was right. As usual. “Yeah, yeah. Now stop busting my balls and figure out how to handle Claudia—before Ava has to.”
Landon’s sour expression restored his good mood.
“And I’m bored. How about we hit that arcade downtown, and maybe grab something for dessert? That stir-fry left me hungry not twenty minutes later.”
Chapter 6
Landon had wanted to put off this conversation with Claudia forever. Because he shouldn’t have had to have it, not again. His simple “We’re over because we want different things” should have sufficed. Succinct, straightforward. Impossible to misu
nderstand.
Right?
He stood inside her condo downtown and did his best not to fidget. He wanted to pace. He did his best thinking pacing, putting together strategy and mission and delivering the best possible outcome.
Instead, he waited while Claudia fetched him a friggin’ glass of water, because he wanted to be social and let her down easily for the second time. He could be a total hard-ass and had no problem being honest. To a point. He really hated hurting women’s feelings. And he blamed that shit on his mother.
Linda Donnigan had raised him to protect his younger siblings, but Hope especially. Never hit girls. Hold the door for them. Be a gentleman. He’d once tried to argue that Linda sounded anti-feminist, because shouldn’t he be treating women equally?
She’d forced him to listen to his father’s long-winded lecture about the male agenda in America and about the spiritual balance of the masculine and feminine essences within oneself, then had to watch a Gloria Steinem interview. Scarred at the age of twelve. Never again had he questioned his mother when it came to dealing with women.
He waited politely for Claudia to speak.
“I gather Gavin told you I said hello?”
He accepted the glass she gave him and nodded.
“I’ve missed you, Landon.”
Hell, her eyes looked misty. A pretty redhead with curves and bright blue eyes, she’d been just the diversion he’d needed after returning to the States. After a few months seeing other women, he’d found her at the gym. Their on-again, off-again sexual play had energized him while giving him the emotional distance he’d wanted from anything resembling a relationship. And she’d been down with the same. Until she hadn’t been.
“You’re looking good, Claudia.” He smiled. “Nice to see you’re going to the gym again.” Not really. “I was hoping our past wouldn’t affect your workouts.”
Claudia avoiding the gym because of him? He’d had no problem with that. Had Ava taken one more day to show up, he’d have sought her out and demanded she return. Claudia desired a closer relationship. Ava was on the hunt for a husband and kids. Yet he hadn’t wanted Claudia anywhere near him when it came to true intimacy. With Ava, he kind of seemed to crave it.
Strange, and something to worry about later. When he no longer had Claudia to deal with.
“I’ve seen you at the gym,” she said softly. “I hear you’re not seeing anyone.”
“You’re asking about me?” Shit. “Claudia, we’re over.”
“But we don’t have to be.” She drew close and put her hand on his arm. Then she looked up at him from under her lashes and bit her lower lip, giving him The Look. All innocence, demure but slutty underneath—how she’d once described herself.
Before, her actions would have been the prelude to sex. Mind-blowing for her, boring for him at the end. She was a nice woman but way too needy.
Not at all like Ava.
He blew out a breath, determined to put Ava out of his thoughts, at least until later tonight. He had another hour before the self-defense class, then magic time with a stubborn psychologist.
“Claudia, it’s not going to happen. We had fun together. I like you.” He tried to pull away.
She gripped him tight. “I like you too. A lot.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I think I might lo—”
“It’s over, Claudia,” he said forcefully, not wanting to hear what she desperately wanted to say. He felt itchy just thinking about it. “You’re sweet and beautiful and smart. Any guy would be fortunate to be with you.” She refused to let go, so though he wasn’t proud of himself for it, he did the cowardly thing. He lied. “But I’m with someone else now. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She released her hold on him, and he stepped back and set down that stupid glass of water he hadn’t even wanted.
Her tears stopped and her eyes narrowed. “Someone else?”
“Yeah. We met and clicked right away.”
“Emotionally, you mean?” Part of what had driven him away was her inability to shut up about them talking and oversharing every damn thing in his life. Hell, they’d hooked up because they both wanted sex. Then she’d started changing the rules.
Problem was, Landon didn’t like giving over control to anyone. Not when he wasn’t ordered to. And now as a civilian, he sure as shit didn’t have to. “Yeah, emotionally.” Wouldn’t Ava get a kick out of that?
“How did you meet her? Or is this a lie to keep me away? I hope it isn’t, for your sake. You need softness in your life, Landon. You’re such a great guy, but you’re too hard.”
Never seemed to have been a complaint before. He shrugged the crude thought away and concentrated on getting the hell out of her place. “Look, Claudia. We were friends. I wanted to give you the courtesy of a face-to-face after talking to Gavin. But I don’t owe you an explanation. About anything. We had a good thing, and it ran its course. We’re over.” Then, because even he knew he sounded dickish and her eyes looked shiny, he added, “But we can still be friends.”
“Friends, huh?” Did he detect a note of bitterness? “Okay. I’m sorry if you felt like I was trying to force something that’s obviously over. I still plan on going to the gym, though. I can’t wait to take that self-defense class you and Gavin are offering. I hope that won’t be awkward.”
Fuck me. “Great.” Maybe she could stand next to Ava and they could become best friends. I’m in dating hell, wanting in one woman’s pants while desperate to stay out of another’s. “Look, Claudia. It was nice seeing you, but I have to go.”
“I’ll see you at the gym in an hour. And Landon, no hard feelings. Okay?”
He decided to take her words at face value. Relieved, he smiled. “Great, thanks.” Then he left, heading to Jameson’s with one thought in mind, getting through the damn class so he could figure out why Ava figured so prominently in his mind lately.
* * *
Ava stood with Sadie, both of them dressed in shorts and T-shirts as opposed to the many women in the class wearing flashy tights and sports bras. She’d never seen so much makeup in the gym before. Eager women chatted amongst themselves, and the name Donnigan continued to buzz around the room.
“This is too funny,” Sadie murmured, standing close. “Apparently our instructors are single and super handsome. Maybe my unlucky streak is about to end.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.” She’d been reluctant to share her history with Landon to Sadie, who still thought men the devil in disguise.
“Oh? Is that because you have a date with our blond instructor after it’s over?”
Ava groaned. “Elliot told you.”
“Of course he told me. It constantly amuses me that you think you can hide anything. What he won’t get from you, I will.”
Ava had wiggled her way out of dinner last night, legitimately busy catching up on paperwork at the office. “How was dinner with the playboy? You do know he’s now dating Mitchell and Tony, at the same time.”
“Gotta love that dedication to amour, huh? We didn’t have dinner together, because, what a coincidence, he was out with Mitchell. We just gossiped about you over the phone.” Sadie’s wide grin did nothing but alarm her. “So I hear your guy has a big banana?”
“Shut up.” Ava blushed and whispered, “I have no idea about that. We’re going out to dinner tonight. And that’s it. I’m sure it’ll be over when he realizes I don’t intend to have sex with him on the first date.”
“Second date, actually, the way I hear it.”
Ava frowned. “Where are you hearing all this, anyway? I never told Elliot I had a date tonight.”
“Must have been something in the wind. Now shush. Our instructors are here.”
Landon and Gavin had walked in, and a new energy filled the room. Everyone centered their attention on the double dose of testosterone bundled up in tight T-shirts and short
s showing off some fine, manly legs.
“Oh wow. I just blinked and had an orgasm.” Sadie laughed. “Elliot wasn’t kidding. Nice, Cousin. At least you have good taste under all those repressive degrees.”
“Shut up, Sadie.”
Sadie laughed. The noise in the room returned to the volume it had been before the overwhelming Donnigans entered. Then Mac walked in, joining them, and Ava heard the collective sighs. Talk about a lot of male candy to look at. Not the most professional thing to come to mind, but Ava had ovaries, after all. She could think it, she just couldn’t say it.
Landon glanced around, saw her, and smiled. Then he said something to Gavin that had him grinning as well. An annoyed blond woman joined them. The only woman in the room who appeared unhappy to be there.
“Don’t look now, but there’s a lady eyeballing you.” Sadie nodded to their left.
Ava turned a subtle glance that way and saw that Sadie hadn’t been lying. As soon as she made eye contact, the redhead glanced past her and smiled and waved.
“She was eyeballing someone else, I guess,” she said to Sadie.
Mac called the class to order. “Ladies, thanks so much for coming. It was pointed out to me that we’ve done you a disservice by not offering this class sooner. With the amount of singles in the dating world, and the growing number of scumbags to choose from, guys that look like Prince Charming can turn out to be anything but.”
“Truth,” a woman called out.
“Sadly, yes,” another agreed, and several in the audience laughed.
Sadie gave Ava a big grin, made even bigger when her cousin nodded toward Landon, who was staring at them. When she frowned back at him, he winked, then turned to the blond girl by his side and whispered something, to which she elbowed him in the stomach.
Ava stared at the girl, then realized she looked like Landon, just feminized. His sister maybe? She ignored the relief that came, surely not the least bit jealous Landon might have an ex-girlfriend in the room. Because she had no claim on him other than an hour of his time for dinner. That was it.
