Like the rest of the apartment, his bedroom was lonely and cold. The warmest thing in the entire room was the painting on the wall, which portrayed a young woman sitting by a stream. She sat up, wondering what she was supposed to do. She longed to sleep, but being in a foreign room was unnerving after everything that had happened.
"You're not a baby," she said to herself. "You shouldn't be too scared to sleep."
Yeah, right. She was too scared to sleep and she knew it.
As she groaned and clutched a pillow to her chest, somebody knocked on the door.
"Gideon?" she said.
"No, it's Aunt Tess," Gideon said.
That smart aleck…
"I don't have an Aunt Tess," she said.
Gideon opened the door. She sucked in air when she saw him. Normally the man wore the same clothes—a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. This was the first time she'd ever seen him in anything else. He wore plaid pajama bottoms and a light grey sleep shirt that clung to every inch of perfect muscle. Despite the fact a long time had passed since their embrace, his hair was wet from his shower. There was something sensual about seeing him in his sleepwear with his hair still damp.
"I'm surprised you're still awake," Gideon said, ignorant of the desire that once again erupted within her. "You were so exhausted in the truck that I thought you'd fall asleep right away."
"I couldn't sleep." Well, that was obvious, but what else could she say?
Gideon sat down on the bed next to her.
"Why?" he asked.
"Well, I'm still nervous after the fire." She looked down at the bed, embarrassed. "I want to sleep, but I can't. It's not even dark outside yet. I don't know what I'm going to do once it's night."
"Do you want me to stay in here with you?" he asked.
Sleeping together in the same bed would be dangerous. After all, she wasn't sure she could keep her hands to herself. Something about being with Gideon made her lose all sense of self-control.
"Are you sure we can handle that?" She couldn't believe she was even having this problem.
"I'll be on my best behavior, but we do need some ground rules," he said.
"Ground rules or bed rules?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Bed rules might suit the situation better." He looked like he was fighting back a smile. "I think no kissing in bed should be a given. I can't make a rule about not touching you. It just so happens that I'm a cuddly sleeper."
He gave a roguish grin that made a chill run down her spine.
"I'm not even going to ask who told you you're a cuddly sleeper." She rolled her eyes.
After shrugging, the man studied her.
"Is it alright?" he asked. "Should I stay?"
For a moment she considered telling him no, but she knew she would only be making herself miserable. The truth was she wanted him at her side tonight.
"Yeah." She nodded. "You should stay."
And if she made a mistake, then she would have nobody to blame but herself.
"Okay." Gideon touched her shoulder, making warmth spread through her limb.
After he pulled back the blanket and lay down, she remained sitting, trying to get her bearings straight. It felt like there was an angry snake twisting in her stomach. The truth was she now had a whole new reason to be nervous. She'd never slept beside somebody before, so she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Should she slide to the edge of the bed and put as much distance between her and Gideon as possible? Should she curl up next to him and lay her head on his shoulder? There were too many options and she wasn't sure which one was most appropriate. As her palms became slick with sweat, she barely fought the urge to cry out, "What am I supposed to do?"
Her dismay must have been obvious because Gideon watched her with an amused smile and said, "Don't think too hard. You might have an aneurism."
"Having an aneurism is the last thing I have to worry about." Being bludgeoned to death by Amon was the first.
"I don't know. I've never seen somebody's face so sweaty." He grabbed her arm. "Are you going to lie down or what?"
"Um…" She bit her bottom lip.
Gideon sighed and yanked her down on top of him. Her lips brushed his collar bone and her hips pressed against his pelvis. The sudden closeness made her blood rush through her veins. He really needed to warn her before he pulled her down on top of him like that. If her body was burning up before, it was nothing compared to now.
"Nice and cozy." Gideon grinned, his caramel eyes sparkling.
"I don't know if cozy is the word I'd used to describe this." Hot was more like it.
"The only reason you aren't cozy is because you're stiff as a board," he said. "If you're too scared to let me sleep in bed with you, I can leave."
Gideon slid out from underneath her and climbed out of bed, but she grabbed his arm before he could take a step. Her heart thundered and her thoughts whirled. I can't believe I'm about to beg him to stay with me. The truth was having him in bed beside her was nerve-racking, but the alternative, having him leave, was even more so.
"Please stay." Good grief, she hated the way she sounded so desperate. "I was tense because I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I've never slept next to anyone before, so it made me nervous."
To her relief, Gideon placed his hand on hers.
"Here I was thinking you were scared I was going to make a move on you," he said.
"No, that's not it." She was more worried about her own self-control than his.
Gideon slid back into bed beside her. Once again, she found herself staring at him, wondering what she was supposed to do. The man met her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.
"Oh, come here." He pulled her into his arms.
She gasped in shock. One second she'd been watching him, the next she was in his arms. Though she didn't have any complaints about being held, she was alarmed that Gideon had managed to surprise her yet again. It was no wonder that she was having trouble keeping herself in check when he kept pulling her against him. Everything from how he smelled to the way his large hand pressed against her back made her yearning fiercer. It was also hard to ignore his warm breath dancing on the nape of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her fingers in his shirt, secretly longing to remove his clothes but knowing that she wouldn't.
One thing for sure, she didn't think she could ever sleep when she felt like this. She was too excited after having Gideon embrace her so suddenly. As she groaned, Gideon chuckled, causing a hot burst of air to tickle her sensitive neck yet again. Her skin covered with goosebumps as she tried hard not to focus on how much she would love his lips on her body.
"You're still stiff." Gideon sounded amused. "Are you that nervous?"
Nervous wasn't the right word, but she wasn't going to let Gideon know that she was drowning in her own desire. Doing so would be willingly giving her body to him for the taking.
"Uh-huh," she said, trying her best to nod while in his arms.
"Don't be nervous," he said.
"I'll try." She shrugged.
"Just focus on me."
Gideon pulled back enough to look at her face. As he cupped her cheek, he watched her. There wasn't a lustful glint in his eye. No, right now he gazed at her with burning affection as if there was nowhere he would rather be than at her side. Being observed should have made her uncomfortable, but it didn't. She'd always loathed being stared at, certain that people would see the blemish on her forehead or the fact that her teeth weren't as white as they should be. That wasn't the case with Gideon. She felt no judgment, only love. Though her pining for him grew stronger, she didn't want this moment to end. She felt as though this time was special.
As she searched Gideon's eyes, some of the nerves that she'd felt dissipated, leaving only yearning. As she let out a sigh and allowed herself to relax, Gideon gave a slow, easy smile that was different than the roguish grins that he normally produced. She realized Gideon had more expressions than she ever thought possible. He was a
person of such depth it was breathtaking. She was certain it would take her a lifetime to figure him out.
At that moment, she realized a lifetime of trying to figure out Gideon sounded glorious.
Finally, she found her eyes closing. A lifetime with Gideon. A week ago, she would have hated having such thoughts. Now, as he caressed her back, she decided wanting him wasn't such a bad thing. She thought of the moment back in her apartment when she believed she was going to die. At the time, she'd thought about how much she wanted a husband and kids, but the people she'd imagined in her life had been faceless. Not anymore. Now her spouse had a face. Gideon's face, to be exact. She wondered if it was foolish, wanting him to be the person who made her family complete. Right now the idea of him remaining by her side forever sounded pretty darn great.
"Gideon," she said, noting how sleepy she sounded.
"Yes." His voice was affectionate.
"Don't leave me." She nuzzled his shoulder.
"I won't." He threaded his fingers in her thick hair. "I promised I would sleep here with you and I will."
"No, I don't just mean tonight." She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. "I mean don't ever leave me."
He held her close, so close that her breath was chased from her lungs. The feeling of his arms pinning her to his chest made her heart pound. He clung to her as if he didn't have any intention of letting her go, as if he wanted to cleave onto her for all eternity just like she wanted to do to him. She didn't mind that her body ached from his desperate embrace. Being closer to him was all that mattered.
"I won't leave you." He nuzzled her ear, his breath warm. "I promise."
Because of those words, she found herself melting as if her body was made of hot butter. Gideon was not like her mom who'd abandoned her in front of an orphanage. He was not like her dad either who'd run for the hills the moment he found out that her mom was pregnant. Gideon was different from her parents. She was sure of it.
Comforted by her contemplation, she found herself struggling to remain awake as she let out a heartfelt sigh. Her final thought before sinking into total darkness was, I'll never be alone again…
For the first time, she realized that was exactly what she wanted.
****
Nora looked around, uncertain of where she was. There were nothing but red rock formations and blackened trees in sight. Ominous dark clouds overcast the sky. Despite the lack of sunlight, she was agonizingly hot. Where the heck am I? she wondered, distraught.
"Is anybody there?" she yelled, praying for a response.
No one answered.
At that moment, she was hit with the most crippling feeling of loneliness she'd ever experienced before. The loneliness attacked her heart, making her long to curl up on the ground and weep. She'd only been in this secluded world for a few moments and yet the loneliness hit her so hard it was crippling. One thing for certain, she had to get out of here.
She broke into a run, which was a sign of how scared she was. Normally the only thing that could have forced her to move fast was an approaching enemy or the prospect of cake. Despite how little she exercised, she didn't grow breathless from her sudden sprint. Instead when she rushed around a boulder, she felt the same as she always did—fine.
Unfortunately, that was when she saw a man chained to a rock formation some distance away.
At first she didn't believe what she was seeing. Why was there a man chained to a rock in such a place? Even though she wanted to escape more than anything else in the world, she rushed forward to help him. After all, there was no way she was leaving somebody behind in this horrible pit, especially somebody who'd been shackled. It was only when she drew closer to the man that she realized that it wasn't just some stranger who'd been chained to stone. It was Gideon.
"Gideon." Nora gasped in horror.
Who would do this to him? Had Amon done it? With every step she drew closer, the more horrified she became. She could see that his face was covered with sweat and that the stone he was propped up against was smeared with his blood. Strange, writhing bugs that looked like maggots were feeding on his flesh, leaving oozing, pussy sores. When she reached his side, Gideon gazed at her, his once loving eyes bursting with agony.
"What are you doing?" Gideon groaned. "You shouldn't be down here."
"Neither should you." Tears streamed down her face before she could stop them.
"I deserve this," he said.
"Nobody deserves this." She hated seeing the man she loved in such pain. It broke her heart and then incinerated the pieces that were left.
"Believe me, I do." Gideon shook his head, resting fully on the chains. Already bloody rashes marred his wrists where the metal met skin.
"No, you don't." She seized a chain and started to pull. "I'm going to free you."
"You won't be able to," he said. "You can't save me from this place."
"Just watch me." No way was she giving up now.
She didn't care that the chains were metal and that no normal person could hope to break them without tools. The desperation within her was too strong to make her give up, even in the face of such hardship. She seized a chain and started to pull, using her body weight to try to rip it from the stone. It didn't work. She tried hard not to panic as Gideon watched her with sad, knowing eyes.
"I told you," he said.
"I'll get you out of here," she repeated, this time trying to convince herself as much as him.
As Gideon hung in silence, she seized a rock on the ground. It burned her palm, making her scream in pain before she dropped it at her feet. While staring at her injured flesh, she gnashed her teeth. Gideon was strapped to a stone that was as hot as the one she'd just seized. Her palm could stand the pain if his back could. Gritting her teeth, she bent down and seized the rock again. She bit her tongue to keep herself from crying out, even though she tasted blood. She turned back toward Gideon and stared at the chains, shaking because of the agony.
"Stop trying to free me," he said. "Leave this place while you still can."
Ignoring him, she slammed the rock against the chain. She might as well have been trying to break through the metal with her fists with how little it helped. Still she didn't give up, even as her joints ached from the pressure of trying to free him. I don't even see a dent, she thought, unable to keep herself from panicking any longer. These were chains like she'd never seen before. At that moment, she knew she couldn't break through them, even if she approached the task like a charging bull.
"Who did this to you?" Maybe if she knew who'd shackled him to the rock, she could force the person to free him. "Was it Amon?"
"No." Gideon shook his head, causing one of the writhing maggots to fall from his face. "It was me. I did this to myself."
"That's impossible." His words made her quake. "How could you shackle yourself to a rock? You aren't making any sense."
"It was me," he said. "This is the consequence of my actions."
"I don't believe you," she yelled, her voice echoing throughout the barren wasteland.
Gideon gazed at her with his caramel eyes dark with melancholy. She found it hard to believe that he was the same man who'd one made her heart thunder due to his mirthful grin. It was as though somebody had sucked the happiness from his eyes, leaving nothing but an empty shell of a man.
"Tell me what really happened." She sunk to her knees in front of him, clutching his arm. "Tell me who did this to you."
"I already did," he said.
When she studied his face, she realized he believed he was telling the truth. The thought made her sick. She forced the nausea away.
"You should leave," Gideon said once again.
"I'm not going anywhere unless you're with me." She rested her head on his arm. "I'll stay here with you instead."
"No, you can't do that." He writhed, straining against the chains that imprisoned him. "I made the choices that brought me here. You don't belong in this place."
"I don't care." She was surprised by how
much she meant the words, despite the searing pain in her soul. "I'm not leaving."
A groan escaped his lips. She met his gaze once more and struggled to her feet.
"I don't want you to stay here with me," he said. "I was the one who did this to myself. You shouldn't be forced to suffer because of my mistakes."
"I don't understand what you mean, but I…" Her fists balled. "I'm going to help you. I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do, I will."
Before he could say anything else, she embraced him. For the first time, she noticed lash marks on his back. The deep, bleeding crevices were covered with the same squirming maggots that attacked his face. She also noticed the way he smelled. He stank like a sack of rotting meat that had been left in the hot sun for several days. The urge to vomit struck again, but she didn't release him. Instead she searched his face and saw regret and depression. She never wanted to see the man she loved look like that ever again.
At that moment she knew she was the one who had to save Gideon.
Nora awoke with a start as pain seared through her entire body. The dream had seemed so real that she was sick to her stomach. She leapt out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. After she fell to her knees in front of the toilet, she emptied her stomach into the basin. When she vomited, all that came up was stomach acid that tasted like hot, unsweetened lemon juice. After she heaved until she was sure she was about to puke up her diaphragm, she reached for toilet paper to wipe her face.
It was only when her fingers curled around the piece of paper that she squeaked in both pain and surprise. She stared down at her hand, not believing what she was seeing. Her palm was enflamed and covered in large, oozing blisters. She could hardly move her fingers because the pain was so fierce. The blood drained from her face. Yesterday she hadn't burned her hand in the fire. Of that, she was one hundred percent certain. Heck, she'd even been examined by the doctor and he'd seen nothing.
Tempting Nora Page 22
