“HE’S REALLY MAKING Derek work for it,” Parker noted, wiping the light sheen of sweat off his shaved head with a hand towel.
I turned to watch, seeing my father wrestling with the instructor who was twice his size, and my dad wasn’t a small guy. Standing over six feet tall and weighing in at two hundred pounds of solid, rippling muscle, Victor Reyes was a formidable opponent. Plus, he’d told me he was going to check out Krav Maga himself after I’d shared my interest in it, and it seemed he had—he had some of the moves down pat. “Thanks for letting him jump in.”
Parker looked at me, his dark eyes steady and calm in that way he had. He’d been teaching me more than just how to defend myself. He had also taught me to focus on the steps to be taken, not the fear.
“Usually I’d say class isn’t the place to bring your anger,” he said, “but Derek needed the challenge.”
Although he didn’t ask it, I could feel the unspoken question in the air. I decided it was best to answer it, since Parker was doing me a favor by letting my dad monopolize his co-instructor. “He just found out that someone hurt me a long time ago. Now it’s too late to do anything about it and he’s having a hard time with that.”
He reached down and grabbed the bottle of water sitting just off the side of the training mat. After a minute, he said, “I have a daughter. I can imagine how that feels.”
When he looked at me before taking a drink, I saw the understanding in his thickly lashed dark eyes and I was reassured that I’d brought my dad to the right place.
Parker was easygoing and had a great smile, and was genuine in a way that I’d rarely come across. But he had an air about him that warned people to tread carefully. One knew right away that it would be stupid to try to pull anything over on him. His street smarts were as obvious as his tribal tattoos.
“So you bring him here,” he said, “let him work it out and let him see you taking care of your own protection. Good idea.”
“I don’t know what else to do,” I confessed. Parker’s studio was located in a revitalizing area of Brooklyn. It was a converted warehouse, and the exposed brick and giant sliding loading-bay doors added to the atmosphere of tough chic. It was a place where I felt confident and take-charge.
“I’ve got some ideas.” He grinned and jerked his chin toward the mat. “Let’s show him what you can do.”
I dropped my towel over my water bottle and nodded. “Let’s.”
* * *
I didn’t see any of the uniformed parking attendants as we pulled into the underground garage of my apartment building. Since I wanted to do the honors myself anyway, that worked for me. I slid the DB9 into an empty slot and cut the engine. “Fabulous. Right by the elevator.”
“So I see,” my dad said. “Is this your car?”
I’d been waiting for that question. “No. A neighbor’s.”
“Friendly neighbor,” he said dryly.
“A cup of sugar. An Aston Martin. It’s all the same, right?” I glanced at him with a smile.
He looked so tired and worn, and not from the workout. The weariness came from the inside, and it was killing me.
Turning the car off, I released my seat belt and turned to look at him. “Dad. I . . . It’s shredding me to see you torn up over this. I can’t stand it.”
Heaving out his breath, he said, “I just need some time.”
“I never wanted you to find out.” I reached out and gripped his hand. “But I’ll be glad you did, if we can put Nathan behind us for good.”
“I read the reports—”
“God. Daddy . . .” I swallowed back a rush of bile. “I don’t want that stuff in your head.”
“I knew there was something wrong.” He stared at me with such sorrow and pain in his eyes it hurt to look into them. “The way Cary went to sit beside you when Detective Graves said Nathan Barker’s name . . . I knew you weren’t telling me something. I kept hoping you would.”
“I’ve tried very hard to put Nathan in my past. You were one of the few things in my life he hadn’t infected. I wanted to keep it that way.”
His grip on my hand tightened. “Tell me the truth. Are you okay?”
“Dad. I’m the same daughter you came to see a couple weeks ago. The same daughter who hung out with you in San Diego. I’m okay.”
“You were pregnant—” His voice broke and a tear slid down his cheek.
I brushed it away, ignoring my own. “And I will be again someday. Maybe more than once. Maybe you’ll be crawling with grandkids.”
“Come here.”
Leaning across the console, he hugged me. We sat in the car for a long time, crying. Getting it out.
Was Gideon watching the security feeds, sending me silent support? It gave me comfort to think he might be.
* * *
DINNER out that night wasn’t quite as boisterous a meal as usual for Cary, my dad, and me, but it wasn’t as grim as I’d feared it might be. The food was great, the wine better, and Cary was snarking out.
“She was worse than Tatiana,” he said, talking about the model he’d shared the shoot with that day. “She kept going on about her ‘good side,’ which I personally thought was her ass as it walked out the door.”
“You’ve done shoots with Tatiana?” I asked, then explained to my dad, “She’s a girl Cary’s seeing.”
“Oh, yeah.” Cary licked red wine off his lower lip. “We work together a lot, actually. I’m the Tatiana Tamer. She starts one of her fits and I calm her down.”
“How do— Never mind,” I said quickly. “I don’t want to know how.”
“You already know.” He winked.
I looked at my dad and rolled my eyes.
“How about you, Victor?” Cary asked around a bite of sautéed mushroom. “You seeing anyone?”
My dad shrugged. “Nothing serious.”
That was by his choice. I’d seen how women acted around him—they fell all over themselves trying to get his attention. My dad was hot, with an amazing body, gorgeous face, and Latin sensuality. He had his pick of women and I knew he wasn’t a saint, but he never seemed to meet anyone who really got to him. I’d recently realized that was because my mother had gotten there first.
“You think you’ll ever have more kids?” Cary asked him, surprising me with the question.
I’d long ago become resigned to being an only child.
My dad shook his head. “Not that I’m opposed to the idea, but Eva is more than I ever thought I’d have in my life.” He looked at me with so much love it made my throat tight. “And she’s perfect. Everything I could ever hope for. I’m not sure there’s room in my heart for anyone else.”
“Aw, Daddy.” I leaned my head into his shoulder, so glad he was with me, even if it was for the worst possible reason.
When we got back to the apartment, we decided to watch a movie before calling it a night. I went to my room to change and was stoked to find a gorgeous bouquet of white roses on my dresser. The card, written in Gideon’s distinctive bold penmanship, made me almost giddy.
I’M THINKING OF YOU, AS ALWAYS.
AND I’M HERE.
YOURS, G.
I sat on the bed, hugging the card, certain he was thinking of me that very moment. It was also starting to sink in that he’d been thinking of me every moment of the weeks we’d been apart, too.
That night, I fell asleep on the couch after watching Dredd. I woke briefly to the feeling of being lifted and carried to my room, smiling sleepily as my dad tucked me into bed like a child and kissed my forehead.
“Love you, Daddy,” I murmured.
“Love you, too, sweetheart.”
* * *
I woke up before my alarm the next morning and felt better than I had in a long while. I left a note on the breakfast bar telling my dad to call me if he wanted to get together for lunch. I wasn’t sure if he had anything planned for the day. I knew Cary had a shoot in the afternoon.
During the cab ride to work, I answered a text from Shawna squeeing over her brother’s engagement to Mark. So happy for all of u, I texted back.
I’m drafting u! she shot back.
I smiled down at my phone. What’s that? Signal’s breaking up . . . Can’t read u . . .
As the cab stopped in front of the Crossfire, the sight of the Bentley at the curb gave me the usual thrill. When I hopped out, I peeked into the front seat and waved when I saw Angus sitting inside.
He stepped out, setting his chauffeur hat on his head. Like Clancy, you couldn’t tell he was carrying a sidearm by looking at him; he wore it so comfortably.
“Good morning, Miss Tramell,” he greeted me. Although he wasn’t a young man and his red hair was liberally threaded with silver, I’d never had any doubts about Angus’s ability to protect Gideon.
“Hi, Angus. It’s good to see you.”
“You’re looking lovely today.”
I glanced down at my pale yellow dress. I’d chosen it because it was bright and cheery, which was the impression I wanted my dad to have of me. “Thank you. I hope your day rocks.” I backed up toward the revolving door. “See you later!”
His pale blue eyes were kind as he tipped his hat to me.
When I got upstairs, I found Megumi looking more like her usual self. Her smile was wide and real, and her eyes had the sparkle I enjoyed seeing every morning.
I stopped by her desk. “How are you?”
“Good. Michael’s meeting me for lunch and I’m ending it. Nice and civilized.”
“That’s a killer outfit you’ve got on,” I told her, admiring the emerald green dress she wore. It was fitted and had leather piping that gave it just the right amount of edge.
She stood and showed off her knee-high boots.
“Very Kalinda Sharma,” I said. “He’s going to be scrambling to hold on to you.”
“As if,” she scoffed. “These boots were made for walking. He didn’t call me back until last night, which made it nearly four days without contact. Not totally unreasonable, but I’m ready to find a guy who’s crazy about me. A guy who thinks about me as much as I’m thinking about him and hates it when we can’t be together.”
I nodded, thinking about Gideon. “It’s worth it to hold out for one. Do you want me to give you a bailout phone call during your lunch?”
She grinned. “Nah. But thank you.”
“All right. Let me know if you change your mind.”
I headed back to my desk and dug right in to work, determined to get ahead to make up for leaving early the day before. Mark was fired up, too, segueing from work only long enough to tell me that Steven had a binder full of wedding ideas he’d been collecting for years.
“Why am I not surprised?” I said.
“I shouldn’t be.” Mark’s mouth curved with affection. “He’s kept it in his office all this time so I wouldn’t know about it.”
“Did you get a look at it?”
“He went through the whole thing with me. It took hours.”
“You’re going to have the wedding of the century,” I teased.
“Yeah.” The word held more than a little exasperation, but his expression remained so happy I couldn’t stop smiling.
My dad called just before eleven.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, in reply to my usual work greeting. “How’s your day going?”
“Great.” I leaned back in my chair and looked at the picture of him. “How’d you sleep?”
“Hard. I’m still trying to wake up.”
“Why? Go back to bed and be lazy.”
“I wanted to let you know that I’m going to take a rain check on lunch. We’ll get together tomorrow. Today, I need to talk to your mom.”
“Oh.” I knew that tone. It was the same one he used when he pulled people over, that perfect mixture of authority and disapproval. “Listen. I’m not going to step in the middle of this with you two. You’re both adults and I’m not picking sides. But I have to say that Mom wanted to tell you.”
“She should have.”
“She was alone,” I pressed on, my feet tapping restlessly on the carpet, “going through a divorce and the trial against Nathan, and dealing with my recovery. I’m sure she desperately wanted a shoulder to lean on—you know how she is. But she was drowning in guilt. I could’ve gotten her to agree to anything then, and I did.”
He was quiet on the other end of the line.
“I just want you to keep that in mind when you talk to her,” I finished.
“All right. When will you be home?”
“A little after five. Want to go to the gym? Or back to Parker’s studio?”
“Let me see how I’m feeling when you get in,” he said.
“Okay.” I forced myself to ignore how anxious I was over the upcoming conversation between my parents. “Call me if you need anything.”
We hung up and I got back to work, grateful for the distraction.
When lunch rolled around, I decided to grab something quick and bring it back to my desk to work through the hour. I braved the midday sauna outside to hit the local Duane Reade for a bag of beef jerky and a bottled health drink. I’d skipped my workouts pretty frequently since Gideon and I had gotten back together, and I figured it was time to pay a penalty for that.
I was debating the wisdom of sending Gideon an “I’m thinking of you” note when I twirled through the revolving front door of the Crossfire. Just a little something to say thanks for the flowers, which had made a tough day more bearable.
Then I saw the woman I’d prefer never to see again—Corinne Giroux. And she was talking to my man, with her palm resting intimately against his chest.
They stood off to the side, sheltered by a column outside the stream of traffic heading in and out of the security turnstiles. Corinne’s long black hair fell nearly to her waist, a glossy curtain that stood out even against her classic black dress. Both she and Gideon were in profile so I couldn’t see her eyes, but I knew they were a gorgeous aquamarine hue. She was a beautiful woman and together, they made a stunning couple. Especially right then, with both of them dressed in black, the only spot of color being Gideon’s blue tie. My favorite one.
Abruptly, Gideon’s head turned and found me, as if he’d felt me watching him. The instant our gazes met, I felt that soul-deep recognition pierce through me, that primitive awareness I’d only ever felt with him. Elementally, something inside me knew he was mine. Had known it from the moment I first laid eyes on him.
And some other woman had her hands on him.
My brows rose in a silent WTF? At that moment, Corinne followed his gaze. She didn’t look happy to see me paused in the middle of the massive lobby, staring at them.
She was lucky I didn’t go up to her and yank her away from him by her hair.
Then she cupped his jaw, urged his attention back to her, and lifted onto her tiptoes to press a kiss against his hard mouth, and I really considered doing it. Even took a step toward them.
Gideon’s head jerked back just before she accomplished her goal, his hands catching her by the arms and thrusting her away.
Reining in my temper, I exhaled my irritation and left him to it. I can’t say I didn’t feel jealous, because of course I did—Corinne could be with him publicly and I couldn’t. But I didn’t have the sick fear in my gut I’d felt before, the horrible insecurity that told me I was going to lose the man I loved more than anything.
It was weird not to feel that panic. There was still a little voice in my head cautioning me against being too confident, telling me it’d be better to be afraid, to guard myself from getting hurt. But for once, I was able to ignore it. After all Gideon and I had been through, all that we were still going through, all he’d done for me . . . it was harder to disbelieve than to believe.
Despite everything, we were stronger than we’d ever been.
I hopped on an elevator and headed up to work, my thoughts drifting to my parents. I was choosing to take it as a good sign that neither my mother nor Stanton had called to bitch about my dad. I crossed my fingers and hoped that when I got home we could all put Nathan behind us for good. I was so ready for that. Beyond ready to move on to the next phase of my life, whatever that might be.
The elevator car slowed to a stop on the tenth floor and the doors opened to the high-pitched whirring sound of power tools and the rhythmic banging of hammers. Directly ahead of the elevator, plastic sheeting hung from the ceiling. I hadn’t realized any part of the Crossfire was under construction, and I peered around the people in front of me, trying to get a look.
“Anyone getting out?” the guy nearest the door asked, looking over his shoulder.
I straightened and shook my head, even though he hadn’t been talking to me personally. No one else moved. We waited for the doors to close and shut out the construction noise.
But they didn’t move, either.
When the guy began hitting the elevator buttons to no avail, I realized what was going on.
Gideon.
Smiling to myself, I said, “Excuse me, please.”
The occupants of the car shifted to let me out and another guy stepped out with me. The doors closed behind us and the car continued on.
“What the hell?” the guy said, scowling as he turned and surveyed the other three elevators. He was a little taller than me, but not much, and wore dress slacks with a short-sleeved shirt and tie.
The ding announcing the arrival of another car was nearly drowned out by the construction noise. When the doors to that elevator opened, Gideon stepped out, looking suave and dashing and irritated.
I wanted to jump him, he looked so hot. Plus, I’ll admit it totally turned me on when he went all alpha male on me.
I’d stop the world from spinning for you. Sometimes, it felt like he did.
Grumbling under his breath, the short-sleeved guy walked into Gideon’s vacated elevator and left us.
Gideon’s hand went to his hips, his jacket parting to reveal the sleekness of his suit. All three pieces were black with a subtle sheen that was unmistakably costly. His dress shirt was black and his cuff links were a familiar gold and onyx.
He was dressed as he’d been that very first day I’d met him. At the time, I’d wanted to climb up his scrumptious body and screw him senseless.
All these weeks later, that hadn’t changed.
“Eva,” he began in that toe-curlingly sexy voice of his. “It’s not what you think. Corinne came by because I’m not taking her calls—”
I held up my hand to cut him off and glanced at his gift, my beautiful watch, on my other wrist. “I’ve got thirty minutes. I’d rather fuck you than talk about your ex, if you don’t mind.”
He stood silent and unmoving for a long minute, staring at me, trying to gauge my mood. I watched his brain and body switch gears, adjusting from aggravation to awareness. His gaze narrowed, his eyes darkened. A flush came to his cheekbones and his lips parted on a sharp breath. His weight shifted as his blood heated and his cock thickened, his sexuality stirring like a panther stretching after a lazy nap.
I could almost feel the sexual current crackle between us, sparking to life. I responded to it as I’d been trained to do, softening and quickening, my core clenching gently. Begging for him. The commotion around us only made me hornier, adding urgency to the beat of my heart.
Gideon reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and withdrew his phone. He speed-dialed, then lifted the phone to his ear, his eyes locked with mine. “I’m running thirty minutes late. If that won’t work for Anderson, reschedule.”
He hung up, casually dropping his phone back in his pocket.
“I’m so hot for you right now,” I told him, my voice husky with want.
Reaching down, he adjusted himself, then approached me, his eyes smoldering. “Come on.”
He set his hand at the small of my back in that way I loved so much, the pressure and warmth hitting a spot that sent tingles of anticipation through me. I looked up at him over my shoulder and saw the slight smile on his mouth, proof that he knew what that innocent touch was doing to me.
We pushed through plastic sheeting, leaving the bank of elevators behind us. In front of us was sunlight and cement and hanging sheeting everywhere I looked. Through the plastic I could see the watery, foggy shadows of workers. I heard music that was nearly drowned out by the din, and men shouting to each other.
Gideon led me through the plastic, knowing his way. His silence was spurring me on, the weight of expectation growing with every step we took. We reached a door and he opened it, urging me into a room that would be someone’s corner office.
The city was spread out before me, the view of the modern urban jungle dotted with buildings that wore their history proudly. Steam billowed into the cloudless blue sky at irregular intervals, and the cars seemed to flow along the streets like tributaries.
I heard the door lock behind me and I turned to face Gideon, catching him shrugging out of his jacket. There was furniture in the room. A desk and chairs, and a seating area positioned in the corner. All of it was draped in tarps, the space still unfinished.
With methodical deliberation, he removed his vest, tie, and shirt. I watched him, obsessed with the masculine perfection of him. “We could be interrupted,” he said. “Or overheard.”
“Would that bother you?”
“Only if it bothers you.” He approached me with his fly open and the waistband of his boxer briefs clearly visible in the gap.
“You’re provoking me. You’d never risk us being interrupted.”
“Not that I’d stop. I can’t think of anything capable of stopping me once I’m inside you.” He took my purse from my hand and dropped it into one of the chairs. “You’ve got too many clothes on.”
Wrapping his arms around me, Gideon lowered the zipper at my back with practiced ease, his lips whispering across mine. “I’ll try not to get you too messy.”
“I like messy.” I stepped out of my dress and was about to unhook my bra when he tossed me over his shoulder.
I squealed in surprise, smacking his taut ass with both of my hands. He spanked me hard enough to sting, then threw my dress aside so perfectly it landed directly across his jacket. He was walking across the room when his hand reached up and tugged my panties down below the curve of my butt.
He caught the edge of the tarp draped over the couch and threw it back, then sat me down, crouching in front of me. As he pulled my underwear past my strappy heels, he asked, “Everything okay, angel?”
“Yeah.” I smiled and touched his cheek, knowing that question encompassed everything from my parents to my job. He always checked to see where my head was at before he took over my body. “Everything’s good.”
Gideon pulled my hips to the very edge of the sofa with my legs on either side of him, exposing my cleft to his gaze. “So tell me what’s got this pretty cunt so greedy today.”
“You.”
“Excellent answer.”
I pushed at his shoulder. “You’re wearing the suit you wore when I met you. I wanted to fuck you so bad then, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Now I can.”
He pressed my thighs wide with gentle hands, his thumb stroking over my clit. My sex quivered as pleasure pulsed through me.
“And now I can,” he murmured, his dark head lowering.
I grasped desperately at the cushion beneath me, my stomach tightening as his tongue licked leisurely through my slit. He rimmed the trembling opening to my sex, teasing me before his tongue sank into me. I arched violently, my back bowing while he tormented the tender flesh.
“Let me tell you how I imagined you that day,” he purred, circling my clit with the tip of his tongue, his hands holding me down when I would’ve bucked into the caress. “Spread beneath me on black satin sheets, your hair fanned all around you, your eyes wild and hot from the feel of my cock pounding into your tight, silky cunt.”
“God. Gideon,” I moaned, seduced by the sight of him savoring me so intimately. It was a fantasy come true—the dark and dangerous sex god in the breathtaking suit, servicing me with that sculpted mouth made for driving women wild.
“I imagined your wrists pinned down by my hands,” he went on roughly, “me forcing you to take it over and over. Your hard little nipples swollen from my mouth. Your lips red and wet from sucking my cock. The room filled with those sexy sounds you make . . . those helpless whimpers when you can’t stop coming.”
I whimpered then, biting my lip as he fluttered over my clit with the wicked lash of his tongue. I hooked one leg over his bare shoulder, the heat of his skin scorching the sensitive flesh at the back of my knee. “I want what you want.”
His grin flashed. “I know.”
He sucked me, drawing on the tight bundle of nerves. I climaxed with a breathless cry, my legs shaking with the rush of release.
I was still quivering with pleasure when he urged me back lengthwise on the couch, his big body looming over me, his cock thrusting upward from where he’d shoved his briefs down just enough to free it. I reached for him, wanting to feel him in my hands, but he caught my wrists and pinned my arms.
“I like you like this,” he said darkly. “Held prisoner for my lust.”
Gideon’s eyes were intent on my face, his lips glistening from my climax, his chest heaving. I was mesmerized by the difference between the virile male about to take me like an animal and the civilized businessman who’d inspired my searing lust to begin with.
“I love you,” I told him, panting as the broad head of his cock slid heavily through my swollen cleft. He pushed against me, parting the slick opening.
“Angel.” With a groan, he buried his face in my throat and surged inside me, the thick length of his rigid penis tunneling deep. Gasping my name, he ground his hips against me, trying to get deeper, shoving and circling, screwing. “Christ, I need you.”
The desperation in his voice took me by surprise. I wanted to touch him, but he held me down, his hips working restlessly. The feel of him inside me, so hot, the wide crest rubbing and massaging, was driving me out of my mind. I screwed him back, unable to stop, the two of us straining together.
His lips brushed against my temple. “When I saw you standing in the lobby just now, in your pretty yellow dress, you looked so bright and beautiful. So perfect.”
My throat tightened. “Gideon.”
“The sun was shining behind you, and I thought you couldn’t possibly be real.”
I struggled to get my hands free. “Let me touch you.”
“I came after you because I couldn’t stay away and when I found you, you wanted me.” He held both my wrists in one hand and cupped my butt in the other, lifting me as he pulled out, then thrust deep.
I moaned, rippling around him, my sex sucking ravenously at his thickness. “Oh God, it’s so good. You feel so good . . .”
“I want to come all over you, come inside you. I want you on your knees and on your back. And you want me this way.”
“I need you this way.”
“I push inside you and I can’t take it.” His mouth lowered to mine, sucking erotically. “I need you so much.”
“Gideon. Let me touch you.”
“I’ve captured an angel.” His kiss was wild and wet, passionate. His lips slanted over mine, his tongue fucking deep and fast. “And I put my greedy hands all over you. I defile you. And you love it.”
“I love you.”
He stroked into me and I writhed, my thighs grasping his pumping hips. “Fuck me. Oh, Gideon. Fuck me hard.”
Digging his knees in, he gave me what I begged for, powering into me. His cock plunged into me over and over, his groans and fevered words of lust gusting against my ear.
My core tightened, my clit throbbing with every impact of his pelvis against mine. His heavy sac smacked against the curve of my buttocks and the couch thumped against the bare concrete, inching forward as Gideon pounded into me, every muscle in his body flexing on his downstrokes.
The obscene sounds of furious sex drowned out the awareness of the workers only yards away. The race to climax drove us both, our bodies the outlet for the violence of our emotions.
“I’m going to come in your mouth,” he growled, sweat sliding down his temple.
Just the thought of him finishing that way set me off. My sex spasmed in climax, clutching and grabbing at his driving cock, the endless pulses of orgasm radiating outward to my fingers and toes. And still he didn’t stop, his hips circling and lunging, expertly pleasuring me until I sagged limp beneath him.
“Eva. Now.” He reared back and I followed, scrambling to my knees and sliding my mouth down his glistening erection.
At the first hint of suction, he was coming, spilling over my tongue in powerful bursts. I swallowed repeatedly, drinking him down, relishing the gruff sounds of satisfaction that rumbled from his chest.
His hands were in my hair, his head bowed over me, sweat glistening on his abs. My mouth slid up and down his cock, my cheeks hollowing on drawing pulls.
“Stop,” he gasped, pulling me off. “You’ll make me hard again.”
He was still hard, but I didn’t point that out.
Gideon cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, our flavors mingling. “Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for? You did all the work.”
“There’s no work involved in fucking you, angel.” His slow smile was pure satiated male. “I’m grateful for the privilege.”
I sank back onto my heels. “You’re killing me. You can’t be that gorgeous and sexy and say stuff like that. It’s overload. It fries my brain. Sends me into a meltdown.”
His smile widened and he kissed me again. “I know the feeling.”
