I WAS STILL thinking about my mom when I left the Crossfire at five o’clock. The Bentley waited at the curb and as I walked up to it, Angus climbed out and smiled at me.
“Good evening, Eva.”
“Hi.” I smiled back. “How are you, Angus?”
“Excellent.” He rounded the rear of the car and opened the back door for me.
I searched his face. How much did he know about Nathan and Gideon? Did he know as much as Clancy? Or even more than that?
Slipping into the cool backseat, I pulled out my smartphone and called Cary. It went to voice mail, so I left a message. “Hey, just reminding you that I’ll be gone this weekend. Would you do me a favor and think about moving into a place we share with Gideon, and we can talk about it when I get back? Someplace new, that we can all afford. Not that he has to worry about that,” I added, imagining Cary’s expression. “Okay. If you need me and you can’t reach me on my cell, send me an e-mail. Love you.”
I’d just hit the end button when the door opened and Gideon joined me. “Hi, ace.”
He caught me by the back of the neck and kissed me, his mouth sealing over mine. His tongue licked into my mouth, tasting me, making my thoughts grind to a halt. I was breathless when he let me go.
“Hi, angel,” he said roughly.
“Wow.”
His mouth curved. “How was lunch with your mom?”
I groaned.
“That good, huh?” He caught my hand. “Tell me about it.”
“I don’t know. It was weird.”
Angus got in the driver’s seat and pulled into traffic.
“Weird?” Gideon prompted. “Or uncomfortable?”
“Both.” I looked out the tinted window as we slowed due to traffic. The sidewalks were clogged with people, but they were moving briskly. It was the cars that were stuck. “She’s so focused on money. That’s nothing new, but I’m used to her acting like it’s just common sense to want financial security. Today, she seemed . . . sad. Resigned.”
His thumb stroked soothingly over my knuckles. “Maybe she’s feeling guilty for cheating.”
“She should! But I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s something else, but I don’t have a clue.”
“Do you want me to look into it?”
I turned my head to meet his gaze. I didn’t answer right away, thinking it over. “I do, yes. But I feel icky about it, too. I researched you, Dr. Lucas, Corinne . . . I keep digging for people’s secrets instead of just asking about them outright.”
“So ask her,” he said, in that matter-of-fact male way.
“I did. She said she’d talk about it when I wasn’t upset.”
“Women,” he scoffed, with warm amusement in his eyes.
“What did Giroux want? Did you know he was coming by?”
He shook his head. “He wants someone to blame for his marriage troubles. I’m convenient.”
“Why doesn’t he stop blaming and start fixing? They need to go into counseling.”
“Or get a divorce.”
I stiffened. “Is that what you want?”
“What I want is you,” he purred, releasing my hand to grab me instead and pull me onto his lap.
“Fiend.”
“You have no idea. I have diabolical plans for you this weekend.”
The heated look he raked me with had my thoughts shifting in a much naughtier direction. I was pulling his head down for a kiss when the Bentley turned, and it was suddenly dark. Looking around, I realized we’d pulled into a parking garage. We drove around two levels, pulled into a spot, then immediately pulled out again.
Along with four other black Bentley SUVs.
“What’s going on?” I asked, as we headed back toward the exit with two Bentleys in front of us and two behind us.
“Shell game,” he said, nuzzling my throat.
We pulled back out into traffic, heading in different directions.
“Are we being followed?” I asked.
“Just being cautious.” His teeth sank gently into my flesh, making my nipples hard. Supporting my back with one arm, he brushed the side of my breast with his thumb. “This weekend is ours.”
He’d taken my mouth in a lush, deep kiss when we pulled into another parking garage. We slid into a spot and the door was yanked open. I was trying to figure out what was going on, when Gideon swung his legs to the side and slipped out of the Bentley with me held firmly in his arms, only to immediately step into the back of another car.
We were on the road again in less than a minute, with the Bentley pulling out into traffic in front of us and heading in the opposite direction.
“This is insane,” I said. “I thought we were leaving the country.”
“We are. Trust me.”
“I do.”
His eyes were soft on my face. “I know you do.”
We didn’t have any more stops on the way to the airport. We pulled right onto the tarmac after a brief security check, and I preceded Gideon up the short flight of steps into one of his private jets. The cabin was luxurious yet understated in its elegance, with sofa seating on the right and table and chairs on the left. The flight attendant was a handsome young guy with black dress slacks and vest embroidered with the Cross Industries logo and his name, Eric.
“Good evening, Mr. Cross. Miss Tramell,” Eric greeted us with a smile. “Would you like something to drink as we prepare for takeoff?”
“Cranberry and Kingsman for me,” I said.
“The same,” Gideon replied, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it over to Eric, who waited while Gideon stripped off his vest and tie, too.
I watched appreciatively, throwing in a whistle for good measure. “I’m liking this trip already.”
“Angel.” He shook his head, his eyes laughing.
A gentleman in a navy suit entered the plane. He greeted Gideon warmly, shook my hand when introduced, then requested our passports. He was gone as quickly as he’d come, and the cabin door was closed. Gideon and I were buckled in at the table with our drinks when the plane started taxiing down the runway.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re headed?” I asked, lifting my drink in a toast.
He clinked his crystal tumbler against mine. “Don’t you want it to be a surprise?”
“Depends on how long it takes to get there. I might go crazy with curiosity before we land.”
“I expect you’ll be too busy to think about it.” His mouth curved. “This is a mode of transportation, after all.”
“Oh.” I glanced back, seeing the little hallway of doors at the back of the plane. One would be a lavatory, one an office, and the other a bedroom. Expectation coursed through me. “How much time have we got to kill?”
“Hours,” he purred.
My toes curled. “Oh, ace. The things I’m going to do to you.”
He shook his head. “You’re forgetting this is my weekend to have you any way I want. That was the deal.”
“On our trip? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“You said that before.”
“It was true then, too.”
His smile widened and he took a drink. “As soon as the captain gives the go-ahead to get up, I want you to head into the bedroom and get naked. Then lie on the bed and wait for me.”
One of my brows arched. “You love the idea of having me rolling around naked waiting for you to fuck me.”
“I do, yes. I recall the reverse being a fantasy of yours.”
“Hmm.” I took a drink, relishing the way the vodka went down icy and smooth, then heated in my stomach.
The plane leveled out and the captain made a brief announcement freeing us to move about the cabin.
Gideon shot me a look that said, Well? Run along now.
Narrowing my gaze at him, I got up, taking my drink with me. I took my time, provoking him. And making myself more excited. I loved being at his mercy. As much as I loved making him lose his mind over me, I couldn’t deny that his control was a major turn-on. I knew how absolute that control could be, which made it possible for me to trust him completely. I didn’t think there was anything I wouldn’t allow him to do to me.
Which was a conviction that would be tested sooner rather than later, I realized when I entered the sleeping cabin and saw the red silk-and-suede restraints lying so prettily on the white comforter.
Turning my head, I looked at Gideon only to find him gone. His empty glass sat on the table, the square cubes of ice glittering like diamonds.
My heart thudded. I stepped into the room, tossing back the rest of my drink. I couldn’t bear to be restrained during sex, unless it was by Gideon. By his hands or the weight of his muscled body. We’d never gone beyond that. I wasn’t sure I could.
I set my empty tumbler on the nightstand, my hand shaking slightly. I didn’t know if that was due to fear or excitement.
I knew Gideon would never hurt me. He worked so hard to make sure I was never afraid. But what if I disappointed him? What if I couldn’t give him what he needed? He’d mentioned bondage before and I knew one of his fantasies was to have me completely restrained and open to him, my body spread and helpless for him to use. I understood that desire, the need to feel total and utter possession. I felt that way toward him.
I undressed. My movements were slow and careful, because my pulse was already thrumming too quickly. I was practically panting, the anticipation painfully acute. I hung my clothes on a hanger in the small closet, then climbed gingerly onto the raised bed. I was holding the restraints in my hands, doubting and second-guessing myself, when Gideon walked in.
“You’re not lying down,” he said gently, closing and locking the door behind him.
I held up the restraints.
“Custom made, just for you.” He approached, his nimble fingers already freeing the buttons of his shirt. “Crimson is your color.”
Gideon undressed as slowly as I had, affording me the opportunity to appreciate every inch of skin he exposed. He knew the rippling of his muscles beneath the rough silk of his tanned flesh would be an aphrodisiac to me.
“Am I ready for this?” I asked softly.
His gaze stayed on my face as he removed his pants. When he stood in just his black boxer briefs, his cock a thick bulge in the front, he answered, “Never more than you can take, angel. I promise you that.”
Taking a deep breath, I lay back, setting the cuffs on my belly. He came to me, his face tight with lust. He settled on the bed beside me and lifted my hand to his mouth, kissing my wrist. “Your pulse is racing.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
He picked up the cuffs, deftly unhooking the strip of crimson silk that held the two suede wrist pieces together. “Being bound helps you surrender, but it doesn’t have to be literal. It just has to be enough to get you in the right headspace.”
My stomach quivered as he laid the strap across it. He set one cuff on his thigh and held up the other.
“Give me your wrist, angel.”
I extended my hand to him, my breathing quickening as he fastened the suede snugly. The feel of the primitive material against my fluttering pulse was surprisingly arousing.
“That’s not too tight, is it?” he asked.
“No.”
“You should feel the constriction enough to be constantly aware of it, but it shouldn’t hurt you.”
I swallowed. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“Good.” He bound my other wrist similarly, then straightened to admire his handwork. “Beautiful,” he murmured. “Reminds me of the red dress you wore the first time I had you. That was it for me, you know. You devastated me. There was no coming back from that.”
“Gideon.” My apprehension left me, chased away by the warmth of his love and desire. I was precious to him. He would never push me further than I could go.
“Reach up and grip the sides of the pillow,” he ordered.
I did, and the tightening of my wrists made me even more aware of the cuffs. I felt bound. Captured.
“Feel it?” he asked, and I understood.
I loved him so much in that moment it hurt. “Yes.”
“I’m going to tell you to close your eyes,” he went on, standing and taking off the final bit of clothing he wore. He was heavily aroused, his thick cock bobbing under its own weight, the wide crown shiny with pre-cum. My mouth flooded, hunger pulsing through me. He was so hot for me, so hungry, and yet you’d never know it from his voice or the calm he radiated.
His perfect restraint made me wet. Gideon was the best of everything for me, a man who wanted me ferociously—which I so urgently needed to feel secure—but with enough self-possession to keep from overwhelming me.
“I want you to keep your eyes closed if you can,” he continued, his voice low and soothing, “but if it gets to be too much, open them. But say your safeword first.”
“Okay.”
He picked up the satin strap and ran it lightly over my skin. The cool metal of the fastener at one end caught on my nipple, making it pucker. “Let’s be very clear about this, Eva. Your safeword isn’t for me. It’s for you. All you have to say to me is no or stop, but just like wearing the cuffs makes you feel bound, saying your safeword will put your mind in the right place. Do you understand?”
I nodded, growing more comfortable and eager by the moment.
“Close your eyes.”
I followed the command. Almost instantly, I became sharply aware of the pressure at my wrists. The vibration and dull hum of the plane’s engines became more pronounced. My lips parted. My breathing sped up.
The strap glided over my cleavage to my other breast. “You’re so beautiful, angel. Perfect. You have no idea what it does to me seeing you like this.”
“Gideon,” I whispered, desperately in love with him. “Tell me.”
His splayed fingertips touched my throat, and then began a slow slide down my torso. “My heart’s beating as fast as yours.”
I arched and shivered beneath his slightly ticklish touch. “Good.”
“I’m so hard it hurts.”
“I’m wet.”
“Show me,” he said roughly. “Spread your legs.” His fingers slid through my cleft. “Yes. You’re slick and hot, angel.”
My sex clenched hungrily, my entire body responding to his touch.
“Ah, Eva. You’ve got the greediest cunt. I’m going to spend the rest of my life keeping it satisfied.”
“You should start now.”
He laughed softly. “Actually, we’re starting with your mouth. I need you to suck me off so I can fuck you straight through until we land.”
“Oh my God,” I moaned. “Please tell me it’s not a ten-hour flight.”
“I might have to spank you for that,” he purred.
“But I’m a good girl!”
The mattress dipped as he climbed onto it. I felt him work his way toward me until he knelt beside my shoulder. “Be a good girl now, Eva. Turn toward me and open your mouth.”
Eager, I obeyed. The silky soft crest of his cock brushed over my lips and I opened wider, absorbing the shock of pleasure I felt at the sound of his tormented groan. His fingers pushed into my hair, his palm cupping the back of my neck. Holding me where he wanted me.
“God,” he gasped. “Your mouth is just as greedy.”
The position I was in, on my back with my hands gripping the pillow, prevented me from taking more than the thick head. I mouthed him, my tongue flickering over the sensitive hole at the tip, thrilled by the joy of focusing on Gideon. Going down on him wasn’t selfless for me. In fact, it was mostly for me that I loved it so much.
“That’s it,” he encouraged, rocking his hips to fuck my mouth. “Suck my cock just like that . . . so good, angel. You make me come so hard.”
I breathed him in, feeling my body respond to his scent, instinctively reacting to its mate. With all of my senses saturated with Gideon, I gave myself over to our mutual pleasure.
* * *
I dreamed I was falling, and it jerked me awake.
My heart raced from the surprise, and then I realized the plane had dropped suddenly. Turbulence. I was fine. And so was Gideon, who’d fallen asleep beside me. That made me smile. I’d almost passed out when he’d finally given me an orgasm after fucking me so thoroughly I was nearly incoherent with the need to come. It was only fair that he’d be a little wiped out, too.
A quick glance at my watch told me we’d been in the air almost three hours. I guessed we’d napped about twenty minutes, maybe even less than that. I was pretty sure he’d been at me for close to two hours. I could still feel the echo of his thick cock sliding in and out of me, stroking and rubbing all of my sensitive spots.
I slid carefully out of bed, not wanting to wake him, and was super quiet when closing the pocket door that concealed the en suite lavatory.
Outfitted with dark wood and chrome fixtures, the lavatory was both masculine and elegant. The toilet had armrests, which made it look like a throne, and a frosted window allowed sunlight into the space. A walk-in shower had a hand wand showerhead that looked very tempting, but I was still wearing the crimson cuffs. So I took care of business, washed my hands, then spotted hand lotion in one of the drawers.
The fragrance was subtle but wonderful. As I rubbed it on, a wicked idea entered my mind. Grabbing the tube, I took it back to the bedroom with me.
The sight that greeted me when I reentered made my breath catch.
Gideon sprawled across the queen-size bed, dwarfing it with his beautiful golden body. One arm was tossed over his head, the other draped across his pecs. He had one leg bent and fallen off to the side, while the other stretched out until his foot hung off the end of the mattress. His cock lay heavily across his lower abs, the crown nearly reaching his navel.
God, he was so virile. Stunningly so. And powerful, his entire body a study in physical strength and grace.
And yet I could bring him to his knees. That humbled me.
He woke when I climbed onto the bed, blinking up at me.
“Hey,” he said gruffly. “Come here.”
“I love you,” I told him, lowering into his outstretched arms. His skin felt like warm silk and I snuggled into him.
“Eva.” He took my mouth in a sweet, hungry kiss. “I’m not nearly done with you.”
Taking a deep breath of courage, I set the tube of lotion on his stomach. “I want to be inside you, ace.”
He glanced down, frowning, then stilled. I was close enough to feel his breathing change. “That isn’t our deal,” he said carefully.
“I think we need to revisit and revise. Besides, it’s still Friday, so it’s not quite the weekend yet.”
“Eva—”
“It turns me on just thinking about it,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around his thigh and rubbing against him, letting him feel that I was wet. The coarse hair sliding against my sensitive sex made me moan, as did the sense of being shameless and naughty. “You say stop and I will. Just let me try.”
His teeth ground audibly.
I kissed him. Pressed my body against him. When Gideon was walking me through something new, he talked me through it. But with him, sometimes talking wasn’t the answer. Sometimes it was best to help him turn his mind off.
“Angel—”
I slid over him, straddling him, setting the lotion aside so he wasn’t thinking about it so much. If I took him someplace new, I didn’t want either of us to overthink it. And if it didn’t feel natural, I wouldn’t do it. What we had together was too precious to spoil.
Running my hands down his chest, I gentled him, let him feel my love for him. How I worshipped him. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, except give up.
His arms came around me, one hand pushing into my hair, the other settling at the small of my back, urging me closer. His mouth was open to me, his tongue licking and tasting. I sank into the kiss, angling my head to get at him.
His cock hardened between us, thickening against my belly. He arched his hips upward, increasing the pressure between us, and moaned into my mouth.
I moved across his cheek to his throat, licking the salt from his skin before latching on. I sucked rhythmically, scoring him with my teeth, marking him. With his hand at my nape, he held me close, rough sounds of pleasure vibrating against my lips.
Pulling back, I looked at the bright red hickey I’d left him with. “Mine,” I whispered.
“Yours,” he vowed roughly, his eyes hooded and hot.
“Every inch of you.” I moved lower, finding and teasing the flat disks of his nipples. I licked over the tiny points, then around them, my touch feather light until I suckled him.
Gideon hissed as my cheeks hollowed on a drawing pull, his hands falling away to grip the comforter on either side of his hips.
“Inside and out,” I said softly, as I turned to his other nipple and lavished similar attention on it.
As I made my way down his straining body, I felt his tension grow. When my tongue rimmed his navel, he jerked violently.
“Shh,” I soothed him, rubbing my cheek against his throbbing cock.
He’d washed up after our earlier round, leaving him smelling clean and delectable. His sac hung heavily between his legs, the satiny flesh bared by his meticulous grooming. I loved that he was as smooth as I was. When he was inside me, the connection was complete in every way, the sensations emphasized by touching skin to skin.
With my hands on his inner thighs, I urged him to spread open wider, giving me room to settle comfortably. Then I licked along the seam of his taut sac.
Gideon growled. The untamed, animalistic sound sent a ripple of apprehension through me. Still, I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I wanted him too much.
Using only my mouth, I worshipped him, sucking softly and caressing him with my tongue. Then I suspended his testicles on the pads of my thumbs, lifting them to access the sensitive skin beneath. His balls drew up, the skin tightening and pulling close to his body. My tongue reached a little lower, an exploratory foray toward my ultimate goal.
“Eva. Stop.” He panted. “I can’t. Don’t.”
My mind raced as I continued to touch him, my hand gripping his cock and stroking it. He was still too much inside his own head, too focused on what was to come instead of what was happening now.
But I knew how to get him to focus on something else.
“Why don’t we do this together, ace?” Shifting, I turned around, straddling him backward.
His hands grabbed my hips before I was fully balanced, yanking my sex down to his waiting mouth. I cried out in surprise as he latched onto my clit, sucking hungrily. Swollen and sensitive from earlier, I could hardly bear the sudden rush of pleasure. He was wild and ravenous, his passion driven by his frustration and fear.
Wrapping my lips around his cock, I gave him back what he was giving to me.
As I sucked hard on the head of his erection, his groan vibrated against my clit and nearly made me come. He held me to him, his fingers digging into my hips with bruising force.
I loved it. He was unraveling, and while he was afraid of what that meant, it thrilled me. He didn’t trust himself with me, but I trusted him. It was a level of trust we’d worked hard for, shed tears and blood for, and I valued it more than anything else in my life.
Fisting his cock, I pumped him, lapping up the surges of pre-cum that spilled from him. I’d just realized he was trembling when he wrenched us to our sides, placing us side by side instead of one on top of the other.
He ate me hard and fast, his tongue pushing into my sex and driving me mad with furious thrusts. I touched the pucker of his anus with the tip of my finger, my mouth sliding feverishly up and down his thickness. He shuddered and the low sound that escaped him sent goose bumps racing across my sweat-misted skin.
My hips were working without volition, grinding my slick sex against his working mouth. I was moaning uncontrollably, my core trembling with tiny shivers of delight. He was fucking me so good with his tongue . . . driving me insane.
And then his fingertip was mimicking mine, rubbing against my rear entrance. My free hand searched blindly for the lotion.
Gideon pushed the tube into my grip, a much-needed sign of consent.
I’d barely flipped the cap open when his finger pushed inside me. As I arched my back, his cock slipped out of my mouth and I gasped his name, my body absorbing the shock of his unexpected entry. He’d lubed his fingers before passing the tube.
For a moment, I was overwhelmed by him. He was everywhere—around me, inside me, plastered against me. And he wasn’t gentle. His finger in my rear plunged and retreated, fucking me, his forcefulness still tinged with that hint of anger. I was pushing him where he didn’t want to go and he was punishing me with pleasure that came too quick to manage.
I was gentler with him. Opening my mouth, I sucked his cock. I let the lotion warm on my fingers before I rubbed it against him. And I waited for him to push out for me, to flower open, before I pushed inside with a single finger.
The sound that rattled from him then was like nothing I’d ever heard. It was the cry of a wounded animal, but filled with soul-deep pain. He froze against me, breathing hard against my sex, his finger buried deep, his hard body quivering.
I pulled my mouth off him and crooned, “I’m in you now, baby. You’re doing so good. I’m going to make you feel so good.”
He gasped when I slid a little deeper, my fingertip gliding over his prostate. “Eva!”
His cock swelled even further, turning red, the thick veins standing out along its length, pre-ejaculate spurting onto his lower belly. He was hard as stone, curving up to a point just past his navel. I’d never seen him so aroused and it made me so hot.
“I’ve got you.” I stroked gently inside him, my tongue licking along his raging hard-on. “I love you so much, Gideon. I love touching you like this . . . seeing you this way.”
“Ah, Christ.” He shook violently. “Fuck me, angel. Now,” he bit out, as I rubbed him again. “Hard.”
I swallowed his erection and gave him what he demanded, massaging the spot inside him that made him curse and writhe, his body fighting the bombardment of sensation. His hands left me, his big frame arching away, but I held on with my lips and hands, driving him onward.
“Ah, God,” he sobbed, ripping the comforter in his fists, the tearing sound reverberating through the enclosed space. “Stop. Eva. No more. Damn it!”
I pressed inside the same moment I sucked hard outside and he came with such force, I choked on the heated flood. He spurted across my lips as I pulled away, over his stomach and my breasts, releasing in a gushing torrent that made it hard to believe he’d already come twice in as many hours. I could feel the contractions against my fingertip, the wrenching pulses that propelled the semen from his cock.
It wasn’t until his body stilled that I pulled away, turning around shakily to pull him into my arms. We were a sweaty, sticky mess and I loved that it didn’t matter.
Gideon buried his damp face between my breasts and cried.
