by Sylvia Day
“I love you.”
“I know.” He tossed back his drink and set the empty tumbler in a cup holder.
We didn’t say anything else on the long drive from the airport to the resort. It was dark by the time we arrived, but the open-air lobby was brightly lit. Framed by lush potted plants and decorated in dark woods and colorful ceramic tiles, the front desk welcomed guests with a carefree yet elegant style.
The hotel manager was waiting on the circular front drive as we rolled to a stop. His appearance was immaculate, his smile wide. He was clearly excited to have Gideon in residence and doubly so that Gideon knew his name—Claude.
Claude spoke animatedly, as we followed along behind him with our hands linked firmly together. No one could tell from looking at Gideon how intimate and exposed to each other we’d been only an hour or so before. While my hair had dried in a messy mop, his looked as gorgeous and sexy as ever. His suit was perfectly pressed and beautifully worn, while my dress looked a little limp after the long day. My makeup had washed off in the shower, leaving me pale with the remnants of raccoon eyes.
Yet Gideon’s possessiveness toward me was clear in the way he gripped me, and how he steered me into our suite in front of him with his hand at the small of my back. He made me feel safe and accepted, even though he was in his work persona and I wasn’t at my best, which reflected on him.
I loved him for that.
I just wished he weren’t so quiet. It made me worry. And it totally made me doubt my decision to push him after he’d told me to stop more than once. What the hell did I know about what he needed to get better?
As the manager continued to talk to Gideon, I moved slowly through the massive living area, with its wide-open terrace and white couches spread across bamboo floors. The master bedroom was equally impressive, with a large bed framed by mosquito netting and another open terrace that led directly to a private swimming pool with an infinity edge that made it look like part of the shimmering ocean just beyond it.
A warm breeze blew in, kissing my face and sifting through my hair. The rising moon cast a trail over the ocean, and the distant sounds of laughter and reggae made me feel isolated in a way that wasn’t quite pleasant.
Nothing was right when Gideon was off.
“Do you like it?” he asked quietly.
I turned to face him and heard the front door shut in the other room. “It’s fantastic.”
He gave a curt nod. “I ordered dinner in. Tilapia and rice, some fresh fruit and cheese.”
“Awesome. I’m starving.”
“There are clothes for you in the closet and drawers. You’ll find bikinis, too, but the pool and beach are private, so you don’t need them unless you want them. If there’s anything missing, just let me know and we’ll get it brought in.”
I stared at him, noting the several feet between us. His eyes glittered in the soft light cast by the dimmed cam lighting and bedside table lamps. He was edgy and distant, and I felt tears building in the back of my throat.
“Gideon …” I held my hand out to him. “Did I make a mistake? Did I break something between us?”
“Angel.” He sighed. He came close enough to catch my hand and lift it to his lips. Up close I could see how his gaze darted away, as if he had a hard time looking at me. A sick feeling settled in my gut. “Crossfire.”
The one word came out so low, I almost thought I’d imagined it. Then he pulled me into his arms and kissed me sweetly.
“Ace.” Pushing onto my tiptoes, I cupped the back of his neck and kissed him back with everything I had.
He pulled away too quickly. “Let’s change for dinner before it gets here. I could stand being in less clothes.”
I stepped back reluctantly, acknowledging that he had to be hot in his suit, but still sensing that something wasn’t right. That feeling worsened when Gideon left the room to change and I realized we wouldn’t be sharing the same bedroom.
I kicked off my shoes in the walk-in closet that was filled with way too many clothes for a weekend trip. Most were white. Gideon liked me in white. I suspected it was because he thought of me as his angel.
Did he still think of me that way now? Or was I the devil? A selfish bitch who made him face demons he’d rather forget?
I changed into a simple cotton slip dress in black, which matched my funereal mood. I felt like something had died between us.
Gideon and I had stumbled many times before, but I’d never felt this level of withdrawal from him. This discomfort and unease.
I’d felt it with other guys, when they were getting ready to tell me they didn’t want to see me anymore.
Dinner arrived and was neatly laid out on the terrace table overlooking the secluded beach. I saw a white tent cabana on the sand and remembered Gideon’s dream of us rolling around on a chaise for two by the water, making love.
My heart hurt.
I gulped two glasses of crisp, fruity white wine and went through the motions of eating, even though I’d lost my appetite. Gideon sat across from me in loose white linen drawstring pants and nothing else, which just made everything worse. He was so handsome, so goddamned sexy it was impossible not to stare at him. But he was miles away from me. A silent, forceful presence that made me want with every fiber of my soul.
The emotional gulf between us was growing. I couldn’t reach across it.
I pushed my plate away once I’d cleared it and realized Gideon had hardly eaten at all. He’d just forked his food around and helped me drain the bottle of wine.
Taking a deep breath, I told him, “I’m sorry. I should’ve … I didn’t …” I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered.
Shoving back from the table with a loud screech of the chair legs across the tile, I hurried away from the patio.
“Eva! Wait.”
My feet hit the warm sand and I ran toward the ocean, pulling my dress off and colliding with water that felt as hot as a bath. It was shallow for several feet, then dropped off suddenly, plunging me in below my head. I bent my knees and sank, grateful to be submerged and hidden as I cried.
The weightlessness soothed my heavy heart. My hair billowed around me and I felt the soft brush of fish as they darted past the invader in their silent, peaceful world.
Being yanked back into reality had me sputtering and flailing.
“Angel.” Gideon growled and took my mouth, kissing me hard and furious as he stalked out of the water and up the beach. He took me to the cabana and dropped me onto the chaise, covering me with his body before I fully caught my breath.
I was still dizzy when he groaned and said, “Marry me.”
But that wasn’t why I said, “Yes.”
GIDEON had gone into the water after me with his pants on. The soaked linen clung to my bare legs as he sprawled over me and kissed me as if he were dying of a thirst only I could quench. His hands were in my hair, holding me still. His mouth was frantic, his lips swollen like mine, his tongue greedy and possessive.
I lay beneath him unmoving. Shocked. My startled brain quickly caught up.
He’d been agonizing over popping the question, not because he was leaving me.
“Tomorrow,” he bit out, rubbing his cheek against mine. The first tingle of stubble roughened his jaw, the sensation jolting me into a deeper awareness of where we were and what he wanted.
“I—” My mind stuttered to a halt again.
“The word is yes, Eva.” He pushed up and stared down at me fiercely. “Real simple—yes.”
I swallowed hard. “We can’t get married tomorrow.”
“We can,” he said emphatically, “and we will. I need it, Eva. I need the vows, the legality … I’m going crazy without them.”
I felt the world spinning, like I was on one of those fun-house barrel rides that revolve so fast you’re stuck to the wall with centrifugal force when the floor drops away from your feet. “It’s too soon,” I protested.
“You can say that to me after the flight over?” he
snapped. “You fucking own me, Eva. I’ll be damned if I don’t own you back.”
“I can’t breathe,” I gasped, inexplicably panicked.
Gideon rolled, pulling me on top of him, his arms banding around me. Possessing me. “You want this,” he insisted. “You love me.”
“I do, yes.” I dropped my forehead to his chest. “But you’re rushing into—”
“You think I’d ask you this on the fly? For God’s sake, Eva, you know me better than that. I’ve been planning this for weeks. It’s all I’ve thought about.”
“Gideon … we can’t just run off and elope.”
“The hell we can’t.”
“What about our families? Or friends?”
“We’ll get married again for them. I want that, too.” He brushed the wet hair off my cheek. “I want pictures of us in the newspapers, magazines … everywhere. But that will take months. I can’t wait that long. This is for us. We don’t have to tell anyone, if you don’t want. We can call it an engagement. It can be our secret.”
I stared at him, not knowing what to say. His urgency was both romantic and terrifying.
“I asked your dad,” he went on, shocking me all over again. “He didn’t have any—”
“What? When?”
“When he was in town. I had an opportunity and I took it.”
For some reason, that hurt. “He didn’t tell me.”
“I told him not to. Told him it wasn’t going to happen right away. That I was still working on getting you back. I recorded it, so you can listen to the conversation if you don’t believe me.”
I blinked down at him. “You recorded it?” I repeated.
“I wasn’t leaving anything to chance,” he said unapologetically.
“You told him it wouldn’t be right away. You lied to him.”
His smile was razor sharp. “I didn’t lie. It’s been a few days.”
“Oh my God. You’re crazy.”
“Possibly. If so, you’ve made me this way.” He pressed a hard kiss to my cheek. “I can’t live without you, Eva. I can’t even imagine trying. Just the thought makes me insane.”
“This is insane.”
“Why?” He frowned. “You know there’s no one else for either of us. What are you waiting for?”
Arguments rushed through my mind. Every reason we should wait, every possible pitfall seemed crystal clear. But nothing came out of my mouth.
“I’m not giving you any options here,” he said decisively, twisting up and standing with me cradled in his arms. “We’re doing this, Eva. Enjoy your last remaining hours as a single woman.”
“GIDEON,” I gasped, my head thrashing as the orgasm poured through me.
His sweat dripped onto my chest, his hips tireless as he stroked his magnificent penis into me over and over, rolling and thrusting, shallow then deep.
“That’s it,” he praised hoarsely, “squeeze my dick just like that. You feel so good, angel. You’re going to make me come again.”
I panted for breath, boneless and tired from his unrelenting demands. He’d woken me twice before, taking me with skilled precision, imprinting onto my brain and my body that I belonged to him. That I was his and he could do whatever he wanted to me.
It made me so hot.
“Umm …” He purred, sliding his cock deep. “You’re so creamy with my cum. I love the way you feel when I’ve been at you all night. A lifetime of this, Eva. I’ll never stop.”
I draped my leg over his hip, holding him in me. “Kiss me.”
His wickedly curved mouth brushed over mine.
“Love me,” I demanded, my nails digging into his hips as he flexed inside me.
“I do, angel,” he whispered, his smile widening. “I do.”
WHEN I woke, he was gone.
I stretched in a tangle of sheets that smelled of sex and Gideon and breathed in the salt-tinged breeze drifting through the open patio doors.
I lay there for a while, thinking over the night and the day before. Then the weeks before, and the few months since I’d met Gideon. Then beyond that. Back to Brett and others I had dated. Back to a time when I’d been so certain I would never find a man who loved me for who I was, with all my emotional scars and baggage and neediness.
What else could I say besides yes, now that by some miracle I’d found him?
Rolling out of bed, I felt a flutter of excitement at the thought of finding Gideon and agreeing to marry him without reservation. I loved the idea of eloping with him, of our first vows spoken in private, with no one watching who harbored doubts or dislike or bad wishes. After all we’d both been through, it made perfect sense for our new beginning to be filled with nothing but love and hope and happiness.
I should’ve known he’d plan it all perfectly, from the privacy to the exclusive locale. Of course we’d get married on a beach. Beaches held fond memories for both of us, not the least of which was our last time away at the Outer Banks.
When I saw the breakfast tray on the coffee table in the bedroom’s seating area, I smiled. There was a white silk robe draped over the back of the chair, too.
Gideon never missed a trick.
I pulled the robe on and reached to pour myself a cup of coffee, wanting a caffeine boost before I searched for him in the suite and gave him my answer. That was when I saw the prenuptial agreement tucked beneath the covered breakfast plate.
My hand froze halfway to the carafe. The agreement was tastefully arranged beneath the single red rose in a slender white vase, with the silverware gleaming from an artfully folded cloth napkin.
I don’t know why I was so surprised and … crushed. Of course, Gideon would’ve planned everything down to the last detail—starting with the prenup. After all, hadn’t he tried to start our relationship with an agreement?
All of my giddy happiness left me in a rush. Deflated, I turned away from the tray and headed into the shower instead. I took my time washing up, moving in slow motion. I decided I’d rather say no than read a legal document that put a price on my love. A love that was precious and priceless to me.
Still, I feared it was too late, that the damage was already done. Just knowing he’d had a prenup drafted changed everything and I couldn’t blame him for that. For God’s sake, he was Gideon Cross. One of the twenty-five richest men in the world. It was inconceivable that he wouldn’t demand a prenuptial agreement. And I wasn’t naïve. I knew better than to dream of Prince Charming and castles in the sky.
Showered and clothed in a light sundress, I pulled my hair back in a wet ponytail and went for the coffee. I poured a cup, added cream and sweetener, then slid the prenup free and stepped out to the patio.
Down on the beach, preparations were under way for the wedding. A flower-covered arch had been placed by the shoreline and braided white ribbon had been draped across the sand to mark an impromptu aisle.
I chose to sit with my back to the view, because it hurt to look at it.
I took a sip of coffee, let it soak into me, then took another. I was halfway done with my cup when I gathered enough courage to read the damn legalese. The opening few pages detailed the assets we owned separately prior to marriage. Gideon’s holdings were staggering. When did he find time to sleep? I thought the dollar amount attributed to me was wrong, until I considered how long the principal had been sitting in investments.
Stanton had taken my five million and doubled it.
It struck me then how stupid I was for just sitting on it, instead of investing it where it could help those who needed it. I’d been acting like that blood money didn’t exist when I should’ve been putting it to work. I made a mental note to tackle that project as soon as I got back to New York.
After that, the reading got interesting.
Gideon’s first stipulation was that I take the Cross name as my own. I could keep Tramell as an additional middle name, but with no hyphenation as a surname. Eva Cross—it was nonnegotiable. And so very like him. My domineering lover made no apologies for his cav
eman tendencies.
His second stipulation was that I accept ten million from him upon the wedding, doubling my personal estate just for saying I do. Every year thereafter, he gave me more. I would receive bonuses for each child we had together, be paid for going to couples therapy with him. I agreed to counseling and mediation in the event of a divorce. I agreed to share a residence with him, bimonthly vacations, date nights …
The more I read, the more I understood. The prenup didn’t protect Gideon’s assets at all. He gave them freely, going so far as to stipulate up front that fifty percent of everything he acquired from our marriage onward was irrefutably mine. Unless he cheated. If that happened, it cost him severely.
The prenup was designed to protect his heart, to bind me and bribe me to stay with him no matter what. He was giving everything he had.
He joined me on the terrace when I flipped to the last page, strolling out in a pair of partially buttoned jeans and nothing else. I knew his perfectly timed arrival wasn’t coincidental. He’d been watching me from somewhere, gauging my reaction.
I brushed the tears from my cheeks with studied nonchalance. “Good morning, ace.”
“Morning, angel.” He bent and pressed a kiss to my cheek before taking the chair at the end of the table to my left.
A member of the staff came out with breakfast and coffee, arranging the place settings quickly and efficiently before disappearing as swiftly as he’d appeared.
I looked at Gideon, at the way the tropical breeze adored him and played with that sexy mane of hair. Sitting there as he was, so virile and casual, he wasn’t at all the cut-and-dried presentation of dollar signs I’d seen in the prenup.
Allowing the pages to flip back to the first page, I set my hand on top of it and said, “Nothing in this document can keep me married to you.”
He took a quick, deep breath. “Then we’ll revisit and revise. Name your terms.”
“I don’t want your money. I want this,” I gestured at him. “Especially this.” I leaned forward and placed my hand over his heart. “You’re the only thing that can hold me, Gideon.”
“I don’t know how to do this, Eva.” He caught my hand and held it pressed flat to his chest. “I’m going to fuck up. And you’ll want to run.”
