Entwined with You(85)

Grabbing my keys, I left my apartment and hurried to his, but it was dark and lifeless. I knew the moment I entered that he wasn’t there without having to check the artfully colored glass bowl he emptied his pockets into.


Feeling like something was very off, I headed back to my place. I dropped my keys on the counter and went to my room, heading straight for the bathroom and a shower.


The unsettled feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away, even as I washed the stickiness and grime of the hot afternoon down the drain. I scrubbed shampoo into my scalp and thought over the day, growing angrier by the moment because Gideon was off somewhere doing whatever, instead of being home with me working things out.


And then I sensed him.


Rinsing soap out of my eyes, I turned and found him yanking off his tie as he stepped into the room. He looked tired and worn, which troubled me more than anger would have.


“Hey,” I greeted him.


He watched me as he stripped with quick, methodical movements. Magnificently naked, he joined me in the shower, walking right into me and pulling me into a tight embrace.


“Hey,” I said again, hugging him back. “What’s the matter? Are you upset about the video?”


“I hate the video,” he said bluntly. “I should’ve screened the damn thing when I realized the song was about you.”


“I’m sorry.”


He pulled back and looked down at me. The mist from the shower was slowly dampening his hair. He was infinitely sexier than Brett. And the way he felt about me—and I felt about him in return—was infinitely deeper. “Corinne called right before the video finished. She was … hysterical. Out of control. It concerned me and I went to see her.”


I took a deep breath, fighting off a flare of jealousy. I had no right to feel that way, especially after the time I’d spent with Brett. “How did that go?”


He urged my head back with gentle fingers. “Close your eyes.”


“Talk to me, Gideon.”


“I will.” As he rinsed the suds from my hair, he said, “I think I figured out what the problem is. She’s been taking antidepressants and they’re not the right prescription for her.”


“Oh, wow.”


“She was supposed to let the doctor know how they were working out, but she didn’t even realize she’s been acting so bizarre. It took hours of talking to her to get her to see it, and then pinpoint why.”


I straightened and wiped my eyes, trying to stem my growing irritation over another woman monopolizing my man’s attention. I couldn’t discount her making up a problem just to keep Gideon spending time with her.


He swapped places with me, sidestepping under the shower spray. Water coursed down his amazing body, running lovingly over the hard ridges and slabs of muscle.


“So what now?” I asked.


He shrugged grimly. “She’ll see her doctor tomorrow to discuss getting off the pills or switching to something else.”


“Are you supposed to walk her through that?” I complained.


“She’s not my responsibility.” His gaze held mine, telling me without words that he understood my fear and worry and anger. Just as he’d always understood me. “I told her as much. Then I called Giroux and told him, too. He needs to come take care of his wife.”


He reached for his shampoo, which rested on a glass shelf with the rest of his personal shower items. He’d moved his stuff into my place pretty much the minute I agreed to date him, just as he had stocked his place with duplicates of my everyday items.


“She was provoked, though, Eva. Deanna visited her earlier tonight with pictures she took of you and me at the video launch.”


“Fabulous,” I muttered. “That explains why Deanna was here waiting to ambush me.”


“Was she really?” he purred dangerously, making me pity Deanna—for about half a second. She was digging herself a nice grave.


“She probably got shots of you showing up at Corinne’s place and wanted to rile me.” I crossed my arms. “She’s stalking you.”


Gideon tipped his head back into the water to rinse, his biceps flexing as he ran his fingers through his hair.


He was so flagrantly, sexually, beautifully male.


I licked my lips, aroused by the sight of him despite my irritation with his exes. I closed the distance between us and squeezed some of his body wash into my palm. Then I ran my hands over his chest.


Groaning, he looked down at me. “I love your hands on me.”


“That’s good, since I can’t keep my hands off you.”


He touched my cheek, his eyes soft. He searched my face, maybe gauging whether I was wearing the f*ck-me look or not. I didn’t think I was. I wanted him, that never stopped, but I also wanted to enjoy just being with him. That was hard when he was blowing my mind.


“I needed this,” he said. “Being with you.”


“It seems like so much is coming at us, doesn’t it? We can’t catch a break. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” My fingertips traced the hard ridges of his abdomen. Desire hummed between us, and that wonderful sense of being near someone who was precious and necessary. “But we’re doing okay, aren’t we?”