Page 13 of Fragile

As the lift pinged to say we had arrived, the doors opened and Asher and I walked out right into the middle of something.

That something appeared to be a boy's night in and as the lift doors slid shut behind us, my eyes clashed with the stormy gaze of Gabriel Knight. My pulse twitched.

There were six of them, including him. All large burly-looking guys, drinking beer, slouched in leather chairs. They were facing the large TV screen, watching a football match, all in the process of shouting at the screen. Their loud voices booming over the chants coming from the fans in the stadium. And what was I saying earlier about my life being free from boys?

I was faced with a jungle of men and as they noticed me one by one; that hungry look I experienced daily from members of the opposite sex; crawled its way across the room toward me.

All five pairs of eyes roamed over me; it was like they’d never seen a woman; talk about testosterone city.

There was just that one pair of eyes that stood out from the rest. The message in them, pissed off. Gabriel was looking at me like he hadn’t been expecting my arrival. The opposite of welcoming.

My spirits sank as I plastered a smile on my face and gave the boys a finger-tipped wave.

“Come on Leonie, I’ll introduce you to Gabriel’s pack,” Asher said, taking my bags from my numb fingers and dropping them on the floor.

My goodness, they were a good-looking bunch, it felt like I was standing before the cast of Magic Mike. All tall and broad with that aura that oozed intelligence. I felt slightly intimidated. I wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many manly men. They were all dressed casually, in jeans and T-shirts but still looked sharp and alert.

We both moved forward as the boys (strike that, men) pushed to their feet, looking like all their Christmases had come at once and I was their biggest present.

Here we go again…

Gabe

For fucks sake. Asher hadn’t explained that Leonie would be moving in so soon and on games night of all nights. I’d forgotten that she’d said she had to be out of her current place within the week.

I had the lads over to watch the match and they were already quite lairy. In passing I’d already explained that we had a new house guest but had purposefully left out the fact that she was a smoking hot female. I couldn’t be arsed with the ribbing. They would be all over her like a rash and I already knew that would piss me off.

I found it hard to stamp down the annoyance I felt at her sudden appearance and I knew she’d noticed; as her cheeks flushed at the force of my glare.

My eyes roamed over her figure; fuck me, she was sweet. Her jeans were tight with rips in the knees and she wore a pale pink strappy top that made her look extra girly. Leonie’s pale hair fell around her slight shoulders in soft waves. She was so delicately put together; reminding me of one of my mother’s porcelain dolls.

I noticed she had expressive eyes and at that moment they were full of optimism and hope. It made me want to shake her and teach her how cruel life could be.

My eyes narrowed and I couldn’t keep the scowl off my face.

I saw her swallow as she stood her ground. She was gracefully poised but I could see she was nervous, like a beautiful butterfly that would take flight at the first sign of trouble.

I combined a head shake with an eye-roll at Dale. He was the first on his feet which I’d expected, the proverbial pussy hunter; he was one of London’s biggest players. His father owned several nightclubs in the city and he was a Promotor; whatever the fuck that meant. We’d all had debates about what it was that he actually did for a living and we were still none the wiser.

A surge of jealousy forced my spine rigid as I watched them sniffing around her like panting dogs; my brother making the necessary introductions.

I fisted my hands by my sides as even Miles buzzed towards her; he was an accountant. The guy got a hard-on for tax returns and was as dull as shit, even on a good day. But no, now he was all ruthless charm, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so fired up.

Grinding my teeth, I restrained myself as Miles conjured up one of his shit pick-up lines. “Are you a bank loan? Because you have my interest,” he crooned with a toothy grin. Did that fucker ever work? It appeared so as Leonie laughed girlishly behind her hand. My teeth were now clenched so tightly that I would probably grind my molars away.

Adam, Sam, and Luca, also swarmed around her like flies. Was it wrong that I wanted to break Adam’s fingers when he nudged her playfully on the arm? The way her gaze roamed over him appreciatively did my head in.

The TV was loud and they were standing in a huddle a couple of feet away. It was hard to make out what they were saying as they were all talking over each other, but that soft melodic voice of Leonie’s glided across my skin. I still did not register one word. The blood was rushing in my ears and it was almost deafening. I needed to get my shit together and fast. I had to keep the animals in line.

“Alright guys, give her some fucking space. She literally just got here,” I began, moving towards them and motioning them to back the hell away. “Ash, why don’t you take Leonie to her room? Help her unpack.” I needed her to disappear so I could get my rampant libido under control, I hadn’t been prepared for her appearance and yet again, it had knocked me for six.

There was a collective grunt of disappointment from the lads and a weird crackle of tension in the air.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Leonie said, her smile lighting up the entire space surrounding her. “I don’t know that many people in London yet and so it’s great to see a few new faces.”

“Well, we’ll soon make that right,” Sam piped up, walking the entire way around her and blatantly checking her arse out; circling like a fucking shark. “We usually go out for drinks on a Friday night, you’re welcome to join us anytime.”

Nice try dipshit. Like I would ever let that happen. At that point, I knew I needed to keep the girl as far away from my friends as possible. For my own sanity, until I’d buried this stupid crush I appeared to be having.

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