Chapter 248
Rowan's Point of View
Dinner was quiet. Too quiet. Once we all sat down to eat, all that could be heard was forks against plates. Abel and Rae were playing in the sandbox off to the side of the patio, giggling breaking up the deafening silence against my ears. I knew when Avery told Deacon the truth it was going to be awkward. I mean how could it not be? Hey, you have great grilling skills, by the way I'm your long lost son... Undeniably awkward. A recipe for disaster in fact. I don't know how I thought this night would go, but I didn't think it would go like this.
I was really wishing I wasn't pregnant just for the simple fact that a bottle of beer or a glass of wine would be so nice right about now.
My knee bounced under the table as I speared Avery with a look. My eyes went wide as I silently said, Say something. Keep the conversation going. Don't give up. Avery looked down at his plate and sawed his knife through his steak so hard I thought the table was going to break in half. Deacon, bless his heart was oblvious to the tension floating around the table.
Jax slid his hand onto my bare knee under the table. I glanced at him, smiling, instantly feeling some tension leave my body. I felt a tiny minuscule twinge of guilt for jumping to conclusions in my brain earlier when I came across the business card that hoe Collette had given Jax for Diosa. In my heart I knew Jax would never go to a place like that, but the illogical part of my brain screamed, react. Okay, she wasn't a hoe, she was just promoting her business, but whatever.
Jax slid his hand higher up my thigh, his palm warm against my cool skin. The callouses on his hand scratched the soft skin on my inner thigh as it rose higher edging under the bottom of my dress. My heart caught in my chest as I looked over at him again. He was completely cool calm and collected, spearing a bite of steak with his fork and raising it to his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye he looked at me and I swear to god he smirked.
God, even the way he chewed was sexy. The muscles in his jaw clenching and flexing. His hand around the bottle of beer he picked up weren't bad either. Especially knowing what those hands we're capable of. Heat pooled in my lower stomach, my thighs involuntarily clenching.
He wanted to play. Oh, we were gonna play. Our chairs were close together so it didn't look like anything was amiss when I reached over and rested my hand on Jax's thigh. I let it rest there, taunting him, slowly moving my fingers in a small circle.
I cleared my throat unable to withstand the silence anymore. "Dad, you know, Avery was actually in the Army."
Deacon looked up from his plate, wiping his mouth, interested and always ready to talk about the Army, the government, politics. "Is that so? When was your last tour?"
"Been a bit."" Avery answered, an earnest look etched on his face. It was obvious he was proud of having served his country. I hardy knew him and I was proud of him. It couldn't have been an easy thing to go through. He leaned his elbows on the table and watched every movement Deacon made. He studied his face, wondering most likely which features they shared. They had the same eyes. The same nose. Hell, the same damn ears. "I did one tour and at the end of that tour I was hit with an IED. Medically discharged. But I was ready for a change towards the end. Needed something more, I guess."
Deacon nodded, knowing all too well. I'm sure it changed Avery too.
"You leave a war and come home and start a fucking motorcycle club." Jax smirked, "Just couldn't retire like a normal bastard could you?"
"Ain't nothing normal about me." Deacon chuckled.
This was good, progress. I glanced at Jax, smiling brightly, thankful he was sitting beside me tonight. I let my teeth sink into my bottom lip as my eyes grazed down Jax's body. He looked incredibly sexy in the white button up he was wearing. He even sat in his chair sexily, all leaned back and relaxed, legs manspread apart. Casually, I slid my hand up his thigh, moving closer towards the danger zone. His hand was still on my thigh resting in the same place. We were both treading that fine line, keeping each other on our toes. I knew Jax wouldn't pull anything too unexpected with Deacon and Avery across from us, but did he really expect me to play by those rules too?
