Bared to You (Crossfire, #1)(59)

"Anything. Just tell me what it is."

"Every day, I need you to tell me something I don't know about you. Something insightful, no matter how small. I need you to promise me that you will."

Gideon eyed me warily. "Whatever I want?"

I nodded, unsure of myself and what I hoped to get out of him.

He exhaled harshly. "Okay."

I kissed him softly, a silent show of thanks.

Nuzzling his nose against mine, he asked, "Let's go out to dinner. Or do you want to order in?"

"Are you sure we should go out?"

"I want to go on a date with you."

There was no way I could say no to that, not when I knew what a big step it was for him. A big step for both of us, really, since the last time we'd gone on a date it'd ended in disaster. "Sounds romantic. And irresistible."

His joyful smile was my reward, as was the shower we took to clean up. I loved the intimacy of washing his body as much as I loved the feel of his palms gliding over me. When I took his hand and put it between my legs, urging two of his fingers inside me, I saw the familiar and very welcome heat in his eyes as he felt the slick essence he'd left behind.

He kissed me and murmured, "Mine."

Which prompted me to slide both hands over his cock and whisper the same claim back to him.

In the bedroom, I lifted my new blue dress off the bed and hugged it to me. "You picked this out, Gideon?"

"I did, yes. Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful." I smiled. "My mother said you had excellent taste...except for your preference for brunettes."

He glanced at me just before his very fine, very firm naked ass disappeared into his massive walk-in closet. "What brunettes?"

"Ooh, nicely done."

"Look in the top drawer on the right," he called out.

Was he trying to distract me from thinking about all the brunettes he'd been photographed with - including Magdalene?

I left the dress on the bed and opened the drawer. Inside were a dozen Carine Gilson lingerie sets, all in my size, in a wide range of colors. There were also garters and silk stockings still in their packages.

I looked up at Gideon as he reappeared with his clothes in hand. "I have a drawer?"

"You have three in the dresser and two in the bathroom."

"Gideon." I smiled. "Working up to a drawer usually takes a few months."

"How would you know?" He laid his clothes on the bed. "You've lived with a man other than Cary?"

I shot him a look. "Having a drawer isn't living with someone."

"That's not an answer." He walked over and brushed me gently aside to grab a pair of boxer briefs.

Sensing his withdrawal and darkening mood, I replied before he moved away. "I haven't lived with any other men, no."

Leaning over, Gideon pressed a brusque kiss to my forehead before returning to the bed. He paused at the footboard with his back to me. "I want this relationship to mean more to you than any others you've had."

"It does. By far." I tightened the knot of the towel between my breasts. "I'm struggling with that a little. It's become important so quickly. Maybe too quickly. I keep thinking it's too good to be true."

Turning, he faced me. "Maybe it is. If so, we deserve it."

I went to him and let him pull me into his arms. It was where I wanted to be more than anywhere else.

He pressed a kiss to the crown of my head. "I can't stand the thought that you're waiting for this to end. That's what you're doing, isn't it? That's what you sound like."

"I'm sorry."

"We just have to make you feel secure." He ran his fingers through my hair. "How do we do that?"

I hesitated a moment, then went for it. "Would you go to couples therapy with me?"

The stroking of his fingers paused. He stood silently for a moment, breathing deeply.

"Just think about it," I suggested. "Maybe look into it, see what it's about."

"Am I doing this wrong? You and me? Am I f*cking it up that much?"

I pulled back to look at him. "No, Gideon. You're perfect. Perfect for me, anyway. I'm crazy about you. I think you're - "

He kissed me. "I'll do it. I'll go."

I loved him in that moment. Wildly. And the moment after that. And all through the ride to what turned out to be a dazzling, intimate dinner at Masa. We were one of only three parties in the restaurant and Gideon was greeted by name on sight. The food we were served was otherworldly good and the wine too expensive to think about or I wouldn't have been able to swallow it. Gideon was darkly charismatic; his charm was relaxed and seductive.

I felt beautiful in the dress he'd chosen and my mood was light. He knew the worst of what there was to know about me, but he was still with me.

His fingertips caressed my shoulder...drew circles on my nape...slid down my back. He kissed my temple and nuzzled beneath my ear, his tongue lightly touching the sensitive skin. Beneath the table, his hand squeezed my thigh and cupped the back of my knee. My entire body vibrated with awareness of him. I wanted him so badly I ached.


"How did you meet Cary?" he asked, eyeing me over the lip of his wineglass.