by Sylvia Day
I shrugged. “How did you know?”
His mouth tilted up on one side and he shot me a look that said, Really? You’re going to ask?
“Are you here for a while?” I queried.
“I have a conference call with the Japanese division in half an hour, then I’m done. We’ll go to dinner afterward.”
“Let’s get something to take home and eat with Cary. He’s having a baby.”
Gideon’s brows shot up. “Come again?”
“Well, he might be having a baby.” I sighed. “He’s messed up over it and I want to be there for him. Plus, he should get used to having you around again.”
He raked me with an assessing glance. “You’re messed up over it, too. Come here.” He rounded the desk and opened his arms. “Let me hold you.”
I dropped my purse on the floor, kicked off my heels, and walked right into him. His arms came around me, and his lips, so firm and warm, pressed against my forehead.
“We’ll figure it out,” he murmured. “Don’t worry.”
“I love you, Gideon.”
His embrace tightened.
Leaning back, I looked up into his gorgeous face. His eyes were so blue, seemingly even more so with the touch of sun he’d gotten during our trip away. “I have something for you.”
“Oh?”
I backed up, catching his left hand before it dropped away from me. Holding it, I slid the ring I’d just bought him onto his finger, twisting it to fit over his last knuckle. He was still the entire time. When I released his hand so he could get a better look, it didn’t move at all from where it’d been when I was holding it, as if he’d frozen in place.
Canting my head, I admired the ring on him, thinking it had just the effect I was looking for. But when a moment passed without a word from him, I looked up and saw him staring at his hand as if he’d never seen it before.
My heart sank. “You don’t like it.”
His nostrils flared on a deep breath and he turned over his hand to look at the backside, which was the same. The design I’d chosen wrapped continuously around.
The platinum wedding band was very much like the ring he wore on his right hand. It had the same beveled grooves cut into the precious metal, which gave it a similar industrial, masculine look. But the wedding band was garnished with rubies, making it impossible to miss. The bloodred hue stood out against his tanned skin and dark suits, a conspicuous sign of my possession.
“It’s too much,” I said quietly.
“It’s always too much,” he said hoarsely. And then he was on me, his hands cupping my head and his lips on mine, kissing me fiercely.
I grabbed his wrists, but he moved too quickly, lifting me up by the waist so my feet left the floor, and then carrying me to the same couch where he’d first laid his body over mine so many weeks ago.
“You don’t have time for this,” I gasped.
He sat me down with my butt on the edge of the sofa. “This won’t take long.”
He wasn’t kidding. Reaching beneath my skirt, he slid my panties down my legs, then spread them wide and lowered his head.
There in his office, where I’d just admired his power and commanding presence, Gideon Cross knelt between my thighs and ate me with ruthless skill. His tongue fluttered over my clit until I writhed with the need to come, but it was the sight of him—in his suit, in his office, servicing me so thoroughly—that brought me to climax with a cry of his name.
I was shivering with pleasure while he licked inside me, the sensitive tissues trembling around the shallow plunges of his wickedly knowledgeable tongue. When he opened his fly and freed his erection, I was desperate for him, my body arching toward him in a shameless silent plea.
Gideon took the heavy length of his cock in hand and stroked the thick crest through my cleft, coating himself in the slickness of my orgasm. The fact that we were both still dressed except for what we needed to get out of the way made it all the hotter.
“I want you to submit,” he said darkly. “Bend over and spread wide. I’m going to fuck you deep.”
A whimper escaped me at the thought and I scrambled to obey. Aware of how tall he was, I moved to the side of the couch and folded over the armrest, reaching behind me to pull up my skirt.
He didn’t hesitate. With a powerful thrust of his hips, he was inside me, stretching me. “Eva.”
Gasping, I clawed at the sofa cushions. He was thick and hard and so, so deep. With my stomach pressed over the curve of the couch arm, I swore I could feel him pressing outward from the inside.
Folding over me, he wrapped his arms around me and sank his teeth into the side of my neck. The primitive claiming made my sex clench around him, caressing him.
He growled and ran his lips over me, lightly abrading me with the hint of evening stubble on his jaw. “You feel so good,” he said hoarsely. “I love fucking you.”
“Gideon.”
“Give me your hands.”
Unsure of what he wanted, I slid my arms closer to my body and he circled my wrists with his fingers, pulling my hands gently around to the small of my back.
Then he was fucking me. Pounding into my sex with relentless drives, using my arms to pull me back to meet the thrusts of his hips. His heavy sac smacked against my clitoris, the rhythmic slaps spurring me toward another orgasm. He grunted on every plunge, mirroring my cries.
His race to orgasm was wildly exciting, as was his complete control of my body. I could only lie there and take it, take his lust and hunger, servicing him as he had me. The friction of his thrusts was delicious, a steady rubbing and pulling that made me crazed with desire.
I wished I could see him; see his eyes when they lost their focus and pleasure took him, his face a grimace of agonized ecstasy. I loved that I could affect him so fiercely, that my body felt so good to him, that sex with me shattered his defenses.
He shuddered and cursed. His cock lengthened, thickening as his balls tightened and drew up. “Eva … Christ. I love you.”
I felt the lash of his semen inside me, pumping hot and thick. I bit my lip to stem my cry. I was so hot for him, so close.
Releasing my wrists, he wrapped me up, the fingers of one hand sliding into my cleft and rubbing my swollen clit. I came while he was still pumping, my sex milking his spurting cock as he emptied himself inside me. His lips were on my cheek, his breath gusting hot and moist across my skin, low rumbles spilling from his chest as he came hard and long.
We were both panting as our orgasms eased, leaning heavily on each other.
Swallowing hard, I spoke breathlessly. “I guess you like the ring.” His rough laugh filled me with joy.
FIVE minutes later, I lay wilted and sated on the couch, unable to move. Gideon sat at his desk looking pristine and perfect, radiating the health and vitality of a well-fucked male.
He went through the teleconference without a hitch in his stride, speaking mostly English, but opening and closing with conversational Japanese, his voice deep and smooth. His gaze slid over me now and again, his mouth curving in a ghost of a smile laced with undeniable masculine triumph.
I supposed he was entitled to it, considering I had so many postorgasmic endorphins floating through my system I felt almost drunk.
Gideon finished his call and stood, shrugging out of his jacket again. The gleam in his eyes told me why.
Mustering the energy to raise my brows, I asked, “We’re not leaving?”
“Of course we are. But not yet.”
“Maybe you should cut back on those vitamins, ace.”
His lips twitched as he freed the buttons of his vest. “I’ve spent too many days fantasizing about fucking you on that couch. We haven’t covered even half of those fantasies yet.”
I stretched, deliberately enticing him. “Can we still be naughty now that we’re married?”
From the spark that lit his amazing eyes, I could guess his views on that.
By the time we left the Crossfire at nearly nine o’clock, Gideon h
ad answered the question definitively.
21
GIDEON AND I were sitting on the floor of my living room eating pizza in our sweats when Cary came in a little after ten o’clock. Tatiana was with him. I reached across Gideon for a packet of Parmesan cheese and whispered, “Baby mama.”
He winced. “She’s trouble. Poor guy.”
That was my thought exactly as the tall blonde walked in and wrinkled her nose rudely at our pizza. Then she caught sight of Gideon and flashed a come-hither smile.
I took a deep breath and told myself to let it go.
“Hey, Cary,” Gideon greeted my best friend before tossing his arm over my shoulder and burying his face in my neck.
“Hey,” Cary said. “What are you guys watching?”
“End of Watch,” I answered. “It’s really good. You two want to join us?”
“Sure.” Cary caught Tatiana’s hand and led her toward the couch.
She didn’t have the grace to hide her disapproval of the idea.
They sat on the couch and settled into a comfortable tangle that was obviously familiar for them. Gideon pushed the pizza box their way. “Help yourselves, if you’re hungry.”
Cary snagged a slice, while Tatiana complained about him jostling her. I was bummed that she couldn’t be more comfortable hanging out. If she was going to have Cary’s baby, she was going to be in my life, and I hated the thought of that relationship being awkward.
In the end, they didn’t stay in the living room long. She insisted that the handheld camera shots in the movie made her queasy, and Cary took her back to his room. A short while later, I thought I heard her laughing, making me think her biggest problem was the need to keep Cary all to herself. I could understand that insecurity. I was intimately familiar with it myself.
“Relax,” Gideon murmured, urging me to lean into his chest. “We’ll work it out with them. Give it some time.”
I caught his left hand hanging over my shoulder and toyed with his ring.
He pressed his lips to my temple and we finished watching the movie.
ALTHOUGH Gideon slept in his apartment next door, he came over early enough to zip me into a sheath dress and fix me some coffee. I’d just finished putting on some pearl earrings and was stepping into the hallway when Tatiana appeared heading from the direction of the kitchen with two water bottles in her hands.
She was buck naked.
My temper almost boiled over, but I kept my tone calm. The pregnancy certainly didn’t show, but knowing about it was reason enough to skip the shouting match. “Excuse me. You need to have clothes on if you’re going to walk around my apartment.”
“It’s not just your apartment,” she shot back, tossing her tawny mane over her shoulder as she moved to pass me.
I thrust my arm across the hallway, blocking her way. “You don’t want to play games with me, Tatiana.”
“Or what?”
“You’ll lose.”
She stared at me for a long minute. “He’ll pick me.”
“If it came to that, he’d resent you and you’d lose anyway.” I dropped my arm. “Think about that.”
Cary’s door opened behind me. “What the fuck are you doing, Tat?”
Turning my head, I saw my best friend filling his doorway wearing only his boxers. “Giving you a good excuse to buy her a nice robe, Cary.”
His jaw tightened and he waved me off, opening his door wider in a silent order for Tatiana to get her bare ass back in there.
I resumed my trek to the kitchen, my teeth grinding together. My mood worsened when I found Gideon in the kitchen, leaning back into the counter and leisurely drinking his coffee. He wore a black suit and pale gray tie and looked unbearably handsome.
“Enjoy the show?” I asked tightly. I hated that he’d seen another woman naked. And not just any woman, but a model with the lean, willowy body type he’d been known to prefer.
He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Not especially.”
“You like ’em tall and skinny.” I reached for the cup of coffee waiting for me on the counter beside him.
Gideon set his left hand over mine. The rubies on his wedding band sparkled in the bright kitchen lights. “Last I checked, the wife I can’t resist was petite and voluptuous. Spectacularly so.”
I closed my eyes, trying to push past my jealousy. “Do you know why I chose your ring?”
“Red is our color,” he said quietly. “Red dresses in limos. Red fuck-me heels at garden parties. A red rose in your hair when you married me.”
That he understood soothed me. I turned into him, pressing my body to his.
“Umm,” he purred, hugging me close. “You’re a soft, delicious little handful, angel.”
I shook my head, my anger melting into exasperation.
He nuzzled his nose against my cheek. “I love you.”
“Gideon.” Tilting my head back, I offered my mouth and let him kiss my bad mood away.
The feel of his lips on mine never stopped making my toes curl. I was slightly dazed when he pulled back and murmured, “I have my appointment with Dr. Petersen tonight. I’ll call you when I’m finished and we’ll see what we want to do about dinner.”
“Okay.”
He smiled at my blissfully nonchalant reply. “I can set up an appointment for us to see him Thursday.”
“Make it for next Thursday, please,” I said, sobering. “I hate to miss any more therapy, but Mom wants me and Cary to go to a charity gala this Thursday. She bought me a dress and everything. I’m afraid if I don’t go, she’ll take it the wrong way.”
“We’ll go together.”
“Yeah?” Gideon in a tuxedo was an aphrodisiac to me. Of course, Gideon in anything or nothing turned me on, too. But in a tux … Dear God, he was sizzling.
“Yes. It’s as good a time as any to be seen out together again. And to announce our engagement.”
I licked my lips. “Can I take advantage of you in the limo?”
His eyes laughed at me. “By all means, angel mine.”
WHEN I got to work, Megumi wasn’t at her desk so I didn’t get to see how she was faring. It kind of gave me an excuse to call Martin, though, and see if things with him and Lacey had panned out after our wild night at Primal.
I pulled out my smartphone to program a reminder and saw that my mom had left a voice mail the night before. I listened to it on the way to my desk. She wanted to see if I wanted hair and makeup done before the dinner on Thursday, suggesting that she come over with a beauty crew and we could get dolled up together.
When I reached my desk, I texted her back, letting her know I loved the idea, but time would be tight, since I wouldn’t be getting off work until five.
I was settling in for the day when Will stopped by.
“Got plans for lunch?” he asked, looking cute in a plaid shirt only he could pull off so well and a solid navy tie.
“Not another carb feast, please. My butt can’t take it.”
“No.” He grinned. “Natalie’s past the brutal phase of her diet, so it’s getting better. I was thinking a soup and salad bar.”
I smiled. “I’m game for that. Want to see if Megumi wants to come?”
“She’s not here today.”
“Oh? Is she sick?”
“Don’t know. I only heard about it because I was the one who had to call the temp agency for someone to cover for her.”
I sat back with a frown. “I’ll give her a call on my break and see how she’s feeling.”
“Tell her I said hi.” He drummed a beat on the top of my cubicle wall and headed off.
THE rest of the day passed in a blur. I left a message for Megumi on my break, then tried to reach her again after work as Clancy drove me to Brooklyn for my Krav Maga class. “Have Lacey call me back if you’re feeling too sick,” I said in my voice mail message. “I just want to know you’re okay.”
I killed the call, then sat back and appreciated the grandeur of the Brooklyn Bridge. Going thr
ough the massive stone arches soaring over the East River always felt like traveling to a different world. Below, the waterway was dotted with commuter ferries and a lone sailboat heading out into the busy New York harbor.
We reached the long off-ramp in less than a minute and I turned my attention back to my phone.
I called Martin.
“Eva,” he answered cheerfully, clearly recognizing my number from his contact list. “I’m glad to hear from you.”
“How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
“Hanging in there. We should get together sometime.” I smiled at a cop who was artfully directing traffic at the hugely complicated intersection on the Brooklyn side. She kept things moving with a whistle between her teeth and fluid hand gestures that had serious sass to them. “We could grab a drink after work or double-date for dinner.”
“I’d like that. Are you seeing someone in particular?”
“Gideon and I are working things out.”
“Gideon Cross? Well, if anyone can hook him, it’d be you.”
I laughed and wished I had my ring on. I didn’t wear it around during the day the way Gideon wore his. He didn’t care who knew he was taken or by whom, but I still had everyone in my life to tell. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. What about you? You seeing anyone?”
“Lacey and I are dabbling. I like her. She’s a lot of fun.”
“That’s great. I’m glad to hear it. Listen, if you talk to her today, can you ask her to let me know how Megumi’s doing? She’s out sick and I just want to make sure she’s all right and doesn’t need anything.”
“Sure thing.” The receiver filled with a sudden rush of noise, the unmistakable sound of him stepping outside. “Lacey’s out of town, but she’s supposed to give me a call tonight.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. You’re on the move, so I’ll let you go. Let’s plan on getting together next week and we’ll work out the details in the next couple of days.”
“Sounds good. I’m glad you called.”
I smiled. “Me, too.”
We hung up and because I felt like reaching out, I sent a text to Shawna and another to Brett. Just quick hellos with smiley faces.
