Entwined with You(19)

A ghost of a smile curved his lips. “I don’t have a drop to waste if I’m going to keep up with you.”


I set the wineglass down and pushed at his shoulder. “You’re always making me sound like a nymphomaniac!”


“You like sex, angel,” he purred. “Nothing wrong with that. You’re greedy and insatiable, and I love it. I love knowing that once I get inside you, you’re going to suck me dry. Then you’ll want to do it again.”


I felt my face heat. “For your information, I didn’t get off even once while we were apart. Never even got the urge because we weren’t together.”


He leaned into the counter, resting one elbow on the cool black granite. “Hmm.”


“I like f*cking you because you’re you, not because I’m a cock-hungry slut. If you don’t like it, grow a gut or stop showering or something.” I slid off the stool. “Or just say no, Gideon.”


I marched into the living room, trying to get away from the unsettled feeling I’d had all day.


Gideon’s arms came around me from behind, halting me midstep. “Stop,” he said, with the familiar authoritative bite that always turned me on.


I tried to squirm free.


“Now, Eva.”


I gave up, my hands falling to my sides to clench my dress.


“Explain what the f*ck just happened,” he said calmly.


My head bowed and I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t know what to say. A moment of silence later, he moved, swinging me up into the cradle of his arms and carrying me to the couch. He sat and arranged me on his lap. I snuggled into him.


His chin came to rest on the crown of my head. “You want to pick a fight, angel?”


“No,” I mumbled.


“Good. Me neither.” His hands stroked up and down my back. “So let’s talk instead.”


I pressed my nose into his throat. “I love you.”


“I know.” He tilted his head back, giving me room to nestle.


“I’m not a sex addict.”


“I don’t see why it’d be a problem if you were. God knows making love with you is my favorite thing to do. In fact, if you ever wanted me to take care of you more often, I’d go so far as to schedule sex with you into my day.”


“Oh my God!” I nipped him with my teeth, and he laughed softly.


Gideon wrapped my hair around his fist and tugged my head back. His gaze on my face was soft and serious. “You’re not upset about our incredible sex life. It’s something else.”


Sighing, I admitted, “I don’t know what it is. I’m just … off.”


Adjusting me in his lap, Gideon snuggled me closer, pulling me into his warmth. We fit so perfectly together, my curves aligning with his sculpted lines. “Do you like the apartment?”


“I love it.”


“Good.” His voice was laced with satisfaction. “Obviously, it’s an example—taken to the extreme.”


My heart rate jumped a little. “Of what our place could look like?”


“We’ll start fresh, of course. Everything new.”


I was moved by his pronouncement. Still, I had to say, “It was so risky doing this. Moving in here, getting in and out of the building. It makes me nervous just thinking about it.”


“On paper, someone lives here. So of course, he’d move furniture in, and come and go. He enters through the garage, just like all the other tenants with cars. When I’m being him, I dress a little differently, take the stairs, and check the security feeds so I know if I’m going to run into anyone before it happens.”


The amount of planning involved was mindboggling to me, but then he’d had practice getting to Nathan without a trace. “All this trouble and expense. For me. I can’t— I don’t know what to say.”


“Say you’ll plan on moving in with me.”


I savored the surge of pleasure his words brought me. “Do you have a time frame in mind for this fresh start?”


“As soon as we can get away with it.” His hand on my thigh squeezed gently.


I set my hand over his. There was so much standing in the way of us living together: the lingering trauma of our pasts; my dad, who disliked rich guys and thought Gideon was a cheater; and me, because I liked my apartment and believed that striking out in a new city meant doing as much as I could on my own.


I jumped to the biggest issue for me, though. “What about Cary?”


“The penthouse has an attached guest apartment.”


Pulling back quickly, I stared at him. “You’d do that for Cary?”


“No, I’d do it for you.”


“Gideon, I …” My words trailed off because there were no words. I was awed. Something inside me shifted a little.


“So you’re not upset about the apartment,” he said. “Something else is on your mind.”


I decided to save Brett for last. “I’ve got a girls’ night out on Saturday.”