by Bella Andre
Chapter Twenty
Gideon was good. He was honorable. He was tough. He would protect Jorge with his very life.
There was nothing more Rosie could ever need in a man. And she needed Gideon more than she’d ever needed anyone in her life.
She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and put on a long T-shirt with a kitty on the front, a birthday present from Jorge. All the while, her heart was beating like a hummingbird’s wings.
That kiss.
There had never been another like it.
Rosie hadn’t kissed or been intimate with anyone in seven years. But Gideon’s kiss hadn’t brought her back to life. How could it, when it turned out she’d never really lived? Never really known true passion until Gideon held her in his arms and kissed her?
As Gideon got ready for bed in the bathroom, she turned off the overhead light, leaving only the soft glow of one bedside lamp. She climbed under the covers on the side opposite the clock, where he obviously slept, and was plumping the pillow behind her head when Gideon came out of the bathroom wearing sweats and a T-shirt.
In her fantasies about the moment when they finally made love, they had torn each other’s clothes off. But as he climbed into bed beside her, she knew real life was going to be so much sweeter and hotter than her secret middle-of-the-night fantasies—even if they weren’t ripping off their clothes.
Her son’s life depended on her decisions. So she had to make the right ones. And being with Gideon, she thought with a smile, was the best decision she could possibly make.
Yes, he had his demons. But who didn’t? She wasn’t afraid to help him vanquish those demons—just as he’d already proved he wasn’t afraid to help her vanquish hers.
They turned to face each other at the same moment, and he laid his hand gently on her cheek. So tender. So warm. So sweet and yet sexy all at the same time. “I don’t want to screw this up.”
“You’re not going to screw up anything with me.” She pressed her hand over his. “But even if you did, I would forgive you. Just like I know you would forgive me.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “I want tonight to be unforgettable. As unforgettable—and perfect—for you as it will be for me.”
“You’re already perfect to me.” She matched his hushed voice, aware of the boys just down the hall. “There is nothing you could do to make me think differently.”
Even as she said it, she knew Gideon would need proof. His past experiences meant he would never think he was good enough. Unless she could help him believe—unless she could show him—that he was better than anyone.
“Touch me,” she whispered. “I’ve longed for you, Gideon. I’ve longed for your kiss. I’ve dreamed of touching you, tasting you, feeling you inside me.”
His eyes went smoky blue as he stroked his fingers through her hair, pushing it behind her ear. “For so long, I’ve wanted to bury my face in your hair. To smell you. To drink you in.” He trailed his fingers around the delicate, sensitive shell of her ear, then down her neck to the hollow at her throat. “I’ve dreamed about licking you right here.” His voice was deep and husky with need. Need for her.
Rosie’s only other lover had been a shadow, only there to give her Jorge. In her heart, Rosie knew Gideon was the one she’d been waiting for.
He kissed the tip of her nose, then her cheek, her neck, his breath fanning across her face, his warmth following the length of her body. And as he pressed the lightest of kisses over her skin, she drank in his every feature. His long, golden-tipped eyelashes. The tiny flecks of green in the blue of his eyes. The scent and maleness of him. The rough pads of his fingers on her skin. She wanted to feel everything, remember everything, every moment, every detail.
And when he kissed her—finally—it was fire dancing on her lips. It was need growing in her belly. It was desire heating her sex.
She coiled her fingers around the nape of his neck and pulled up her leg to curl her foot around his calf. She opened to him, her lips, her body, her heart.
Gideon devoured her, sliding his tongue against hers, going deep, overwhelming her senses, from zero to one hundred in a millisecond. She was breathing hard, her breasts begging for his touch. But instead of answering her unspoken plea, he simply held her tight against him, ravaged her mouth, stoked the flames building ever higher inside her.
She pulled back slightly, his name on her lips. “Gideon.”
He trailed fingers of fire across her neck, down to the swell of her breasts, taking her lips again, even as he tugged up her T-shirt. Then his hand was on the bare skin of her belly, the rough texture of his fingers jangling her nerve endings and turning the switch on her body to hot-hot-hot.
“I want our first time to last forever,” he said. His mouth was on her neck, his lips tasting, his tongue licking.
“I’m not sure I can go slow.” She wanted it all, now, just as much as she wanted to savor every second.
“We’ve got all the time in the world, sweetheart.”
Oh, how she loved hearing the endearment on his lips. Sweetheart. She moaned as his fingers found the tip of her breast, gently squeezed. And her body ignited.
“I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.” She needed him to know how much he meant to her, so much more than that other man ever had.
As if he got the message, he swept her shirt over her head, baring every inch of her skin to him, except what lay beneath the triangle of silk bikini panty. His gaze was reverent as he took in her nearly naked curves. “You are so beautiful.” She was glad for the soft glow of the bedside lamp revealing the smoky blue of his eyes, the desire written there, the need etched in the lines of his face. “I couldn’t have imagined you more beautiful than this.”
“You’ve imagined me?”
“Hell yes.” His voice was so rough, so masculine, so sensuous as he danced one fingertip around her breast. “I imagined putting my mouth on you, right here.” He bent down and licked over her skin. “Feeling you go all hot and wet. For me. All for me.”
As he touched her, as he kissed her, as he drove her completely wild, she could barely think, barely do more than gasp out a needy moan.
“You captivate me, Rosie. Everything about you. You have from the moment I first saw you.” Then he dipped his head and did all the things he’d only imagined—and so much more—tasting her, loving her.
She bit her lip, trapping the cry of pleasure. The boys were close by, so they had to be quiet. But while keeping quiet was hard, in so many ways, it was delicious too.
“What else have you imagined?” she asked when she could find her voice.
“Trailing my fingers down your belly like this.” He slid his hand toward silk. And then lower still. Her belly quivered as he moved just inside the fabric. “And making you so hot you tear the clothes right off my body.”
This was a Gideon she’d hoped would emerge. Fun and open, full of burning need and aching desire. “I can do that.”
Seconds later, his clothes were flying, and then he was breathtakingly naked before her.
“Gideon.” He was all bronzed skin and hard muscle. Dazzling. “You’re like a Roman statue.”
His mouth cracked in a smile. “One with a fig leaf covering the important parts? Or one without?”
She laughed with him, loving that he felt at ease enough with her to joke. “Without the fig leaf, preferably. And preferably with all your appendages attached too.” Once more, his fingers trailed her belly. “What else have you imagined?” she asked him, her voice shaky with need.
He looked along the length of her nearly naked body, then reached down between her legs and covered her with his big, hot hand, stroking her through the silk. “I can imagine making you beg, making you whimper, making you come apart for me over and over again.”
Before she could tell him she was nearly there already, he dipped deep inside the minuscule bikini panties, his hand covered by silk and lace…and found the heat of her. And as he played her, she clutched hi
s shoulders in her hands and rode the sweet wave of sensation, building, burning, blazing in his arms.
* * *
For so long, Gideon had been convinced he wasn’t good enough for Rosie, or for her son. But even that was no longer enough to keep him away. Whatever it took to be even half as good as she was, whatever he had to do or work on or change to deserve her, any sacrifice, any challenge, it was all worth the chance to be with her.
There had never been anyone like Rosie. Nothing near as sweet as the feel of her skin and the sound of her voice. He could be happy with just this, giving her endless pleasure with his hands and mouth, and never ask for anything more.
But he wanted to give her more, wanted to fulfill all her fantasies, wanted to make every dream she’d ever had come true.
Her eyes fluttered open, dark and dazed. “Wow. That was even better than I imagined. And I have an amazing imagination.”
“It only gets better from here.” He knew he sounded cocky. But he didn’t care. Because he damned well intended this to be the best lovemaking she’d ever experienced.
Then she reached down between his legs, wrapped her hand around his erection, and oh yeah, there was so much more he wanted and so much more he wanted to give her.
“I want to taste you,” she whispered. “I want to touch you. I want you inside me. And I want it all now.”
He would never survive her mouth on him. But Rosie was taking no prisoners as she pushed him flat on the mattress and crawled down his body. As she wrapped her fingers around him and squeezed, then took him in her mouth, he gave himself up to her. Of all the women in all the world, Rosie was the only one who filled his heart, the only woman to whom he could ever imagine feeling this connected.
He wound his fingers through the silk of her hair as she whisked him away to a world of sensation. There was just her mouth on him, her skin so soft, his heart beating crazily. When he couldn’t take a moment more, fearing he’d go up in flames, he pulled her over him.
But before he made love to her, he needed her to know everything in his heart.
“You are the smartest, most beautiful, amazing, independent, sexy, strong, desirable, funny woman I have ever known. You make me feel alive again in ways I never thought I would.”
For a long moment, she didn’t speak. She simply stared into his eyes as if in wonder. Until, finally, she said, “You captivate me too, Gideon. Every single thing about you. The light, the dark, the gentle, the rough. I want every inch of you—heart and soul—to be mine.”
His heart full, near to bursting like never before, he rolled over her, took her lips, going deep, long and lingering.
They were both breathless when he surfaced. “I want to worship your perfect body forever,” he murmured against her lips. “I want to make you feel so much pleasure you can hardly stand it.” He slid down to take her breast in his mouth, to pleasure her with sweet licks and tiny bites. “I want to watch you try to keep all those delicious moans inside…and finally realize you can’t. Because it feels too damned good.” He trailed kisses down her belly, licked around her belly button, then spread her legs. As he drew a finger down her center, he felt her shudder and squirm. “I want to make you come apart into so many beautiful pieces that you forget your name.” He buried his face in her, drank in her scent, her taste, her tremors, then pushed her higher with his lips, his tongue, his fingers. Her muscles tightened, squeezed, contracted.
Then, without a sound, bliss took her over, head to toe, inside and out. He drew every ounce of pleasure out of her climax, kissed and caressed her until she was trembling all over from the aftershocks. Only then did he move slightly away from her to open the bedside drawer and grab protection. Sheathing himself, he went up on his haunches, pulled her to him, spread her legs over his, grabbed her sweet, gorgeous hips, and plunged deep.
“Yes.” The one word on her lips was grace. Need. And most of all, joy.
Everything about her was soft, and everything about him was hard as he stroked her slowly on the inside, making her crazy but keeping his own control. He wanted her completely wild before he let go.
But God, she felt so good wrapped around him. And there was such beauty in her rapture, her expression so open, her pleasure so complete.
The moment she started to let go again, coming apart on a gasp and a shudder, he plunged right over the edge with her.
And nothing would ever be the same.
He would never be the same.
Because he could never go on without her.
* * *
“You did it,” Rosie said against the silky hair on his chest. “You actually made me forget my name. I knew it started with an R, but that was as far as I could get for a while there.”
He had bundled her close with the covers pulled over them. She felt tired, but so good. So needed. So desired. So special.
“I don’t want you to think I have women over here all the time.”
What on earth? She tipped back her head to look at him. “Where did that come from?”
“The condoms in my bedside table. I haven’t needed them in a long time. I had them from before and I didn’t throw them away. But I don’t want you to think that I—”
She reached up to put her fingers to his lips. “I didn’t even think about it, Gideon. Besides, you don’t have to explain anything about your past to me.”
“I do,” he insisted. “I want to.” He stroked her cheek. “You’re the only one. You need to know that.”
She curled herself around him, getting closer, if that were even possible. “I do know that. And you’re the only one for me too.”
He nuzzled the top of her head as he said, “I’ve never felt like this.” His deep voice sent thrill bumps across her skin.
“Neither have I.”
For the first time in her life, Rosie was in love.
Chapter Twenty-One
A phone wouldn’t stop ringing. It was Archie. He was after her; he was after Jorge. And she was running, trying to lose him, Jorge in her arms. Then suddenly Jorge was gone, and she was screaming his name, but no one could hear.
Her mind foggy with sleep, Rosie realized the phone on the side table was ringing. Remnants of the dream still tormenting her, she grabbed her cell, half afraid Archie was calling to say he’d stolen Jorge right out of his bed. Afraid that if she didn’t answer, she would never see Jorge again.
The last thing she expected was to see Ari smiling at her.
“Who’s that?” Gideon went up on one elbow beside her to peer over her shoulder at the screen.
In the moments between her nightmare and waking, Rosie had forgotten where she was. In Gideon’s bed. With the kids just down the hall. She’d answered the FaceTime call without even thinking.
“Gideon? Rosie?” Ari’s shock was plain to see.
Rosie slapped the phone face down on the mattress.
Ari’s voice might be muffled, but it was still audible. “You can’t hide. I already saw you with my brother.”
Rosie raised the phone again. “Hi, Ari.”
She was full-body blushing, even before Gideon slid his arm around her waist and tucked her back into his big, hard body. They were naked, for God’s sake, even if she had the sheet pulled up to her neck. And her hair must look like a rat’s nest.
At the same time, however, her heart swelled at what his gesture meant: He wasn’t going to hide his relationship with her. There was no one else whose opinion mattered more to Gideon than Ari. So if he wanted his sister to know, he would want everyone to know.
“You have no idea how happy I am right now!” Ari exclaimed, her face bright and smiling. “Do you know how badly I’ve wanted you two to get together?”
Matt’s face popped onto the screen beside Ari’s. “It’s true. She’s talked endlessly about ways she could make you two see how perfect you are for each other.”
“We… I…” Rosie wasn’t normally lost for words.
Fortunately, Gideon picked up the slack. “Rosie
has totally captivated me since the first day I saw her. I just needed some time to convince her that I was worthy to be with her and Jorge.”
Rosie turned to him, the phone momentarily forgotten. “I always knew that. You never had to convince me.” Himself, maybe. But never her.
The bedroom door burst open, and the boys came bounding in. And did they freak out that she and Gideon were in bed together? On the contrary, they seemed to think it was the natural order of things.
“Is that Mommy and Daddy on the phone?” Noah squeezed in to get his face into the picture, with Jorge nudging close too.
“Hey, sweetie,” Ari said. “Hi, Jorge. Blow me a kiss.”
As the boys puckered up and blew kisses over and over again, Ari and Matt caught the kisses and blew their own right back.
“Your daddy and I miss you so much,” Ari said. “We’ve got so many pictures to show you.”
“And presents too,” Matt added with a smile.
“Yay!” the kids cried. Then Jorge said, “We’ve got bunches of stuff to show you too, like how Mom and Gid are totally in love now.” Jorge hooked a thumb over his shoulder at them.
A week ago, Gideon would have tensed up if Jorge had said something along those lines. Especially since they hadn’t actually said the four-letter word to each other. But not only was he undaunted, he actually chuckled while keeping his arm clamped firmly around her waist and the covers battened down against the two squirming boys on the bed.
“It didn’t take as long to make them fall in love as I thought it would,” Noah said to his parents.
“Yeah,” Jorge agreed. “Noah was pretty sure they’d take the whole two weeks. But it was way faster.”
Noah turned to Jorge. “Now you’re going to be my brother.”
Jorge nodded with total reverence and solemnity. “Best friend brothers.”
It obviously didn’t matter that Gideon was Noah’s uncle—the boys had decided on the relationship they wanted and that was that.
On the phone, Matt’s eyes were sparkling. “Sounds like Noah and Jorge had it all mapped out for you two.”
