We hit the cellular store first. The associate who
helped us seemed highly susceptible to Gideon’s
magnetic pull. She practically fell all over herself
the minute he showed the slightest interest in
anything, quickly launching into detailed
explanations and leaning into his personal space
to demonstrate.
I tried separating from them and finding
someone who’d actually help me, but Gideon’s
grip on my hand wouldn’t let me move more than
touching distance away. Then we argued over
who was going to pay, which he seemed to think
should be him even though the phone and account
were mine.
“You got your way with picking the service
provider,” I pointed out, pushing his credit card
aside and shoving mine at the girl.
“Because it’s practical. We’ll be on the same
network, so calls to me are free.” He swapped the
cards deftly.
“I won’t be calling you at all, if you don’t put your
damn credit card away!”
That did the trick, although I could tell he was
unhappy about it. He’d just have to get over it.
Once we got back in the Bentley, his mood
seemed restored.
“You can head to the gym now, Angus,” he told
his driver, settling back in the seat. Then he pulled
his smartphone out of his pocket. He saved my
new number into his contact list; then he took my
new phone out of my hand and programmed my
list with his home, office, and cell numbers.
He’d barely finished when we arrived at
CrossTrainer. Not surprisingly, the three-story
fitness center was a health enthusiast’s dream. I
was impressed with every sleek, modern, top-ofthe-
line inch of it. Even the women’s locker room
was like something out of a science fiction movie.
But my awe was totally eclipsed by Gideon
himself when I finished changing into my workout
clothes and found him waiting for me out in the
hallway. He’d changed into long shorts and a tank,
which gave me my first look at his bare arms and
legs.
I came to an abrupt halt and someone coming
out behind me bumped into me. I could barely
manage an apology; I was too busy visually
devouring Gideon’s smokin’ hot body. His legs
were toned and powerful, flawlessly proportional
to his trim hips and waist. His arms made my
mouth water. His biceps were precisely cut and
his forearms were coursing with thick veins that
were both brutal looking and sexy as hell. He’d
tied his hair back, which showed off the definition
of his neck and traps, and the sculpted angles of
his face.
Christ. I knew this man intimately. My brain
couldn’t wrap itself around that fact, not while
faced with the irrefutable evidence of how uniquely
beautiful he was.
And he was scowling at me.
Straightening away from the wall where he’d
been leaning, he came toward me, and then
circled me. His fingertips ran along my bare
midriff and back as he made the revolution,
sending goose bumps racing over my skin. When
he stopped in front of me, I threw my arms around
his neck and pulled his mouth down for a quick,
playfully smacking kiss.
“What the hell are you wearing?” he asked,
looking marginally appeased by my enthusiastic
greeting.
“Clothes.”
“You look naked in that top.”
“I thought you liked me naked.” I was secretly
pleased with my choice, which I’d made that
morning before I’d known he’d be with me. The
top was a triangle with long straps at the
shoulders and ribs that secured with Velcro and
could be worn in a variety of ways to allow the
wearer to determine where her breasts needed
the most support. It was specially designed for
curvy women and was the first top I’d ever had that
kept me from bouncing all over the place. What
Gideon objected to was the nude color, which
coordinated with the racing stripes on the
matching black yoga pants.
“I like you naked in private,” he muttered. “I’ll
need to be with you whenever you go to the gym.”
“I won’t complain, since I’m very much enjoying
the view at the moment.” Plus, I was perversely
excited by his possessiveness after the hurt he’d
inflicted with his withdrawal Saturday night. Two
very different extremes—the first of many, I was
sure.
“Let’s get this over with.” He grabbed my hand
and led me away from the locker rooms,
snatching two logo’d towels off a stack as we
passed them. “I need to fuck you.”
“I need to be fucked.”
“Jesus, Eva.” His grip on my hand tightened to
the point that it hurt. “Where to? Free weights?
Machines? Treadmills?”
“Treadmills. I want to run a bit.”
He led me in that direction. I watched the way
women followed him with their gazes, then their
feet. They wanted to be in whatever section of the
gym he was, and I couldn’t blame them. I was
dying to see him in action, too.
When we reached the seemingly endless rows
of treadmills and bikes, we found that there
weren’t two treadmills free adjacent to each other.
Gideon walked up to a man who had two open
on either side of him. “I’d be in your debt if you’d
move over one.”
The guy looked at me and grinned. “Yeah,
sure.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Gideon took over the man’s treadmill and
motioned me to the one beside it. Before he
programmed his workout, I leaned over to him.
“Don’t burn off too much energy,” I whispered. “I
want you missionary-style the first time. I’ve been
having this fantasy of you on top, banging the hell
out of me.”
His gaze burned into me. “Eva, you have no
idea.”
Nearly giddy with anticipation and a lovely
surge of feminine power, I got on my treadmill and
started at a brisk walk. While I warmed up, I set
my iPod shuffle to random and when “Sexy Back”
by Justin Timberlake came on I hit my stride and
went full-out. Running was both a mental and
physical exercise for me. Sometimes I wished just
running fast could get me away from whatever
was troubling me.
After twenty minutes I slowed, then stopped,
finally risking a glance at Gideon who was running
with the fluidity of a well-oiled machine. He was
watching CNN on the overhead screens, but he
flashed a grin at me as I wiped the sweat off my
face. I swigged from my water bottle as I moved to
the machines, picking one that give me a clear
view of him.
He went a full thirty on the treadmill; then he
moved to free weights, always keeping me in his
line of sight. As he worked out, quickly and
efficiently, I couldn’t help thinking how virile he
was. It helped that I knew exactly what was in his
shorts, but regardless, he was a man who worked
behind a desk, yet kept his body in combat
shape.
When I grabbed a fitness ball to do some
crunches, one of the trainers came up to me. As
one would expect in a top-of-the-line gym, he was
handsome and very nicely built.
“Hi,” he greeted me, with a movie star smile that
showcased perfect white teeth. He had dark
brown hair and eyes of nearly the same color.
“First-timer, right? I haven’t seen you in here
before.”
“Yes, first time.”
“I’m Daniel.” He extended his hand, and I gave
him my name. “Are you finding everything you
need, Eva?”
“So far so good, thanks.”
“What flavor smoothie did you go for?”
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Your free orientation smoothie.” He crossed
his arms and his thick biceps strained the narrow
cuffs of his uniform polo shirt. “You didn’t get one
from the bar downstairs when you signed up?
You’re supposed to.”
“Ah, well.” I shrugged sheepishly, thinking it was
a nice touch all the same. “I didn’t have the usual
orientation.”
“Did you get the tour? If not, let me take you
around.” He touched my elbow lightly and
gestured toward the stairs. “You also get a free
hour of personal training. We could do that tonight
or make an appointment for later in the week. And
I’d be happy to take you down to the health bar
and scratch that off the list, too.”
“Oh, I can’t really.” My nose wrinkled. “I’m not a
member.”
“Ah.” He winked. “You’re here on a temp pass?
That’s fine. You can’t be expected to make up
your mind if you don’t get the full experience. I can
assure you, though, that CrossTrainer is the best
gym in Manhattan.”
Gideon appeared at Daniel’s shoulder. “The full
experience is included,” he said, coming around
and behind me to slide his arms around my waist,
“when you’re the owner’s girlfriend.”
The word “girlfriend” reverberated through me,
sending a crazy rush of adrenaline through my
system. It was still sinking in that we had that level
of commitment, but that didn’t stop me from
thinking the designation had a nice ring to it.
“Mr. Cross.” Daniel straightened and took a
step back; then extended his hand. “It’s an honor
to meet you.”
“Daniel has me sold on the place,” I said to
Gideon, as they shook hands.
“I thought I’d done that.” His hair was wet with
sweat and he smelled divine. I’d never known a
sweaty man could smell so damn good.
His hands stroked down my arms and I felt his
lips on the crown of my head. “Let’s go. See you
later, Daniel.”
I waved good-bye as we walked away. “Thanks,
Daniel.”
“Anytime.”
“I bet,” Gideon muttered. “He couldn’t keep his
eyes off your tits.”
“They’re very nice tits.”
He made a low growling noise. I hid my
amusement.
He smacked my butt hard enough to send me
forward a step and leave behind a hot sting even
through my pants. “That damned Band-Aid you
call a shirt doesn’t leave much to the imagination.
Don’t take long in the shower. You’re just going to
get sweaty again.”
“Wait.” I caught his arm before he passed the
women’s locker room on the way toward the
men’s. “Would it gross you out if I told you I didn’t
want you to shower? If I said I want to find
someplace really close by where I could jump you
while you’re still dripping sweat?”
Gideon’s jaw tightened and his gaze darkened
dangerously. “I’m beginning to fear for your safety,
Eva. Grab your stuff. There’s a hotel around the
corner.”
Neither of us changed and we were outside in
five minutes. Gideon walked briskly and I hurried
to keep up. When he stopped abruptly, turned,
and dipped me back in a lavish heated kiss on
the crowded sidewalk, I was too stunned to do
more than hold on. It was a soul-wrenching
melding of our mouths, full of passion and sweet
spontaneity that made my heart ache. Applause
broke out around us.
When he straightened me again, I was
breathless and dizzy. “What was that?” I gasped.
“A prelude.” He resumed our dash to the
nearest hotel, one I didn’t catch the name of as he
pulled me past the doorman and crossed straight
to the elevator. It was clear to me that the property
was one of Gideon’s even before a manager
greeted him by name just before the elevator
doors closed.
Gideon dropped his duffel on the car floor and
busied himself with figuring out how to extricate
me from my sports top. I was slapping his hands
away when the doors opened and he scooped up
his bag. There was no one waiting on our floor
and no one in the hallway. He pulled a master key
out of somewhere and a moment later we were in
a room.
I pounced, pushing my hands up beneath his
shirt to feel his damp skin and the hardness of the
muscles beneath it. “Get naked. Like now.”
He laughed as he toed off his sneakers and
yanked his tank over his head.
Oh my God…seeing him in the flesh—all of him,
as his shorts hit the floor—was synapse frying.
There wasn’t an ounce of excess flesh on him
anywhere, just hard slabs of honed muscle. He
had washboard abs and that super sexy V of
muscle on his pelvis that Cary called the Loin of
Apollo. Gideon didn’t wax his chest like Cary did,
but he groomed with the same care he showed to
the rest of his body. He was pure primal male, the
embodiment of everything I coveted, fantasized
about, and wished for.
“I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I said, staring
unabashedly.
“You’re still dressed.” He attacked my clothes,
whipping my loosened top off before I took a full
breath. My pants were wrestled down and I kicked
my shoes off in such a hurry that I lost my balance
and fell on the bed. I barely caught my breath
before he was on me.
We rolled across the mattress in a tangle.
Everywhere he touched me left trails of fire
behind. The clean, hardworking scent of his skin
was an aphrodisiac and intoxicant at once,
spurring my desire for him until I felt like I was
about to lose my mind.
“You’re so beautiful, Eva.” He plumped one
breast in his hand before taking my nipple into his
mouth.
I cried out at the scorching heat and the lash of
his tongue, my core tightening with every soft
suck. My hands were greedy as they slid over his
sweat-damp skin, stroking and kneading,
searching for the spots that made him growl and
moan. I scissored my legs with his and tried to roll
him, but he was too heavy and too strong.
He lifted his head and smiled down at me. “It’s
my turn this time.”
What I felt for him in that moment, seeing that
smile and the heat in his eyes, was so intense it
was painful. Too fast, I thought. I was falling too
fast. “Gideon—”
He kissed me deeply, licking into my mouth in
that way of his. I thought he could really make me
come with just a kiss, if we stayed at it long
enough. Everything about him turned me on, from
the way he looked and felt beneath my hands to
the way he watched me and touched me. His
greed and the silent demands he made on my
body, the forcefulness with which he pleasured me
and took his pleasure in return, drove me wild.
I ran my hands through the wet silk of his hair.
The crisp hairs on his chest teased my tightened
nipples and the feel of his rock-hard body against
mine was enough to make me wet and needy.
“I love your body,” he whispered, his lips moving
across my cheek to my throat. His hand caressed
the length of my torso from breasts to hip. “I can’t
get enough of it.”
“You haven’t had very much of it yet,” I teased.
“I don’t think I’ll ever have enough.” Nibbling and
licking across my shoulder, he slid down and
caught my other nipple between his teeth. He
tugged and the tiny dart of pain had my back
arching on a soft cry. He soothed the sting with a
soft suck; then kissed his way downward. “I’ve
never wanted anything this badly.”
“Then do me!”
“Not yet,” he murmured, moving lower, rimming
my navel with the tip of his tongue. “You’re not
ready yet.”
“What? Ah, God…I can’t get any readier.” I
tugged on his hair, trying to pull him up.
Gideon caught my wrists and pinned them to
the mattress. “You have a tight little cunt, Eva. I’ll
bruise you if I don’t get you soft and relaxed.”
A violent shiver of arousal moved through me. It
turned me on when he talked so bluntly about sex.
Then he slid lower and I tensed. “No, Gideon. I
need to shower for that.”
He buried his face in my cleft and I struggled
against his hold, flushed with sudden shame. He
nipped at my inner thigh with his teeth. “Stop it.”
“Don’t. Please. You don’t have to do that.”
His glare stilled my frantic movements. “Do you
think I feel differently about your body than you do
mine?” he asked harshly. “I want you, Eva.”
I licked my dry lips, so crazily turned on by his
animal need that I couldn’t form a single word. He
growled softly and dove for the slick flesh between
my legs. His tongue pushed into me, licking and
parting the sensitive tissues. My hips churned
restlessly, my body silently begging for more. It felt
so good I could’ve wept.
“God, Eva. I’ve wanted my mouth on your cunt
every day since I met you.”
As the velvet softness of his tongue flickered
over my swollen clit, my head pressed hard into
the pillow. “Yes. Like that. Make me come.”
He did, with the gentlest of suction and a hard
lick. I writhed as the orgasm jolted through me, my
core tensing violently, my limbs shaking. His
tongue thrust into my sex as it convulsed, rippling
along the shallow penetration, trying to pull him
deeper. His groans vibrated against my swollen
flesh, goading the climax to roll on and on. Tears
stung my eyes and coursed down my temples, the
physical pleasure destroying the wall that kept my
emotions at bay.
And Gideon didn’t stop. He circled the
trembling entrance to my body with the tip of his
tongue and lapped at my throbbing clit until I
quickened again. Two fingers pushed inside me,
curving and stroking. I was so sensitive I thrashed
against the onslaught. When he drew on my clit
with steady, rhythmic suction, I came again, crying
out hoarsely. Then he had three fingers in me,
twisting and opening me.
“No.” My head tossed from side to side, every
inch of my skin tingling and burning. “No more.”
“Once more,” he coaxed hoarsely. “Once more,
then I’ll fuck you.”
“I can’t…”
“You will.” He blew a slow stream of air over my
wet flesh, the coolness over fevered skin
reawakening raw nerve endings. “I love watching
you come, Eva. Love hearing the sounds you
make, the way your body quivers…”
He massaged a tender spot inside me and an
orgasm pulsed through me in a slow, heated roll
of delight, no less devastating for being gentler
than the two before it.
His weight and heat left me. In a distant corner
of my dazed mind, I heard a drawer opening,
followed swiftly by the sound of foil tearing. The
mattress dipped as he returned, his hands rough
now as he yanked me down to the center of the
bed. He stretched himself on top of me, pinning
me, tucking his forearms on the outside of my
biceps and pressing them to my sides, capturing
me. My gaze was riveted to his austerely beautiful
face. His features were harsh with lust, his skin
stretched tight over his cheekbones and jaw. His
eyes were so dark and dilated they were black,
and I knew I was staring into the face of a man
who’d passed the limits of his control. It was
important to me that he’d made it that far for my
benefit and that he’d done so to pleasure and
prepare me for what I knew would be a hard ride.
My hands fisted in the bedspread, anticipation
building. He’d made sure I got mine, over and
over again. This would be for him.
“Fuck me,” I ordered, daring him with my eyes.
“Eva.” He snapped out my name as he rammed
into me, sinking balls-deep in one fierce drive.
I gasped. He was big, hard as stone, and so
damn deep. The connection was startlingly
intense. Emotionally. Mentally. I’d never felt so
completely…taken. Possessed.
I wouldn’t have thought I could bear to be
restrained during sex, not with my past being what
it was, but Gideon’s total domination of my body
ratcheted my desire to an outrageous level. I’d
never been so hot for it in my life, which seemed
insane after what I’d experienced with him so far.
I clenched around him, relishing the feel of him
inside me, filling me.
His hips ground against mine, prodding as if to
say, Feel me? I’m in you. I own you.
His entire body hardened, the muscles of his
chest and arms straining as he pulled out to the
tip. The rigid tightening of his abs was the only
warning I got before he slammed forward. Hard.
I cried out and his chest rumbled with a low,
primitive sound. “Christ…You feel so good.”
Tightening his hold, he starting fucking me,
nailing my hips to the mattress with wildly fierce
drives. Pleasure rippled through me again,
pushing through me with every hot shove of his
body into mine. Like this, I thought. I want you just
like this.
He buried his face in my neck and held me
tightly in place, plunging hard and fast, gasping
raw, heated sex words that made me crazed with
desire. “I’ve never been so hard and thick. I’m so
deep in you…I can feel it against my stomach…
feel my dick pounding into you.”
I’d thought of this round as his, and yet he was
still with me, still focused on me, swiveling his hips
to stroke pleasure through my melting core. I
made a small, helpless sound of need and his
mouth slanted over mine. I was desperate for him,
my nails digging into his pumping hips, struggling
with the grinding urge to rock into the ferocious
thrusts of his big cock.
We were dripping in sweat, our skin hot and
slicked together, our chests heaving for air. As an
orgasm brewed like a storm inside me, everything
tightened and clenched, squeezing. He cursed
and shoved one hand beneath my hip, cupping my
rear and lifting me into his thrusts so that his cock
head stroked over and over the spot that ached
for him.
“Come, Eva,” he ordered harshly. “Come now.”
I climaxed in a rush that had me sobbing his
name, the sensation enhanced and magnified by
the way he’d confined my body. He threw his head
back, shuddering.
back, shuddering.
“Ah, Eva!” He clasped me so tightly I couldn’t
breathe, his hips pumping as he came long and
hard.
I’ve no idea how long we lay like that, leveled,
mouths sliding over shoulders and throats to
soothe and calm. My entire body tingled and
pulsed.
“Wow,” I managed finally.
“You’ll kill me,” he muttered with his lips at my
jaw. “We’re going to end up fucking each other to
death.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything.” He’d controlled me
completely and how freakin’ sexy was that?
“You’re breathing. That’s enough.”
I laughed, hugging him.
Lifting his head, he nuzzled my nose. “We’re
going to eat, and then we’ll do that again.”
My brows lifted. “You can do that again?”
“All night.” He rolled his hips and I could feel that
he was still semi-hard.
“You’re a machine,” I told him. “Or a god.”
“It’s you.” With a soft sweet kiss, he left me. He
removed the condom, wrapped it in a tissue from
the nightstand, and tossed the whole in the
wastebasket by the bed. “We’ll shower, then order
from the restaurant downstairs. Unless you want to
go down?”
“I don’t think I can walk.”
The flash of his grin stopped my heart for a
minute. “Glad I’m not the only one.”
“You look fine.”
“I feel phenomenal.” He sat back on the side of
the bed and brushed my hair back from my
forehead. His face was soft, his smile warmly
affectionate.
I thought I saw something else in his eyes and
the possibility closed my throat. It scared me.
“Shower with me,” he said, running his hand
down my arm.
“Gimme me a minute to find my brain, then I’ll
join you.”
“Okay.” He went into the bathroom, giving me a
prime view of his sculpted back and perfect ass. I
sighed with pure female appreciation of a prime
male specimen.
The water came on in the shower. I managed to
sit up and slide my legs over the side of the bed,
feeling exquisitely shaky. My gaze caught on the
slightly open bedside drawer and I saw condoms
through the gap.
My stomach twisted. The hotel was too upscale
to be the kind that provided condoms along with
the requisite Bible.
With a slightly trembling hand, I pulled the
drawer out further and found a sizable quantity of
prophylactics, including a bottle of feminine
lubrication and spermicidal gel. My heart started
pounding all over again. In my mind, I backtracked
through our lust-fueled trip to the hotel. Gideon
hadn’t asked which rooms were available.
Whether he had a master key or not, he’d need to
know which rooms were occupied before he took
one…unless he’d known beforehand that this
particular room would be empty.
Clearly it was his room—a fuck pad outfitted
with everything he’d need to have a good time
with the women who served that purpose in his
life.As I pushed to my feet and walked over to the
closet, I heard the glass shower door open in the
bathroom, then close. I caught the two knobs of
the louvered walnut closet doors and pushed them
apart. There was a small selection of men’s
clothes hanging on the metal rod, some business
shirts and slacks, as well as khakis and jeans. My
temperature dropped and a sick misery spread
through my orgasmic high.
The right side dresser drawers held neatly
folded T-shirts, boxer briefs, and socks. The top
one on the left side held sex toys still in their
packages. I didn’t look at the drawers below that
one. I’d seen enough.
I pulled on my pants and stole one of Gideon’s
shirts. As I dressed, my mind went through the
steps I’d learned in therapy: Talk it out. Explain
what triggered the negative feelings to your
partner. Face the trigger and work through it.
Maybe if I’d been less shaken by the depth of
my feelings for Gideon, I could have done all that.
Maybe if we hadn’t just had mind-blowing sex, I
would have felt less raw and vulnerable. I’d never
know. What I felt was slightly dirty, a little bit used,
and a whole lot hurt. This particular revelation had
hit me with excruciating force, and like a child, I
wanted to hurt him back.
I scooped up the condoms, lube, and toys, and
tossed them on the bed. Then, just as he called
out my name in an amused and teasing voice, I
picked up my bag and left him.
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