I nearly sobbed when I found him sprawled next to me, his lips barely parted with his deep, even breathing. The lover my heart had broken for, returned to me.
God …
Sinking back against the headboard, I forced myself to relax, to savor the rare pleasure of watching him sleep. His face was transformed when he was unguarded, reminding me of how young he really was. That was easy to forget when he was awake and radiating the powerful force of will that had literally knocked me on my ass when I’d first met him.
With reverent fingers, I brushed the inky strands of hair away from his cheek, noting the new lines around his eyes and mouth. I’d also noted that he’d grown leaner. Our separation had taken a toll on him, but he’d hidden it so well. Or maybe I viewed him as flawless and inviolate.
I hadn’t been able to hide my devastation at all. I’d believed we were over and it showed to everyone who’d looked at me, which Gideon had counted on all along. Plausible deniability, he’d called it. I called it hell, and until we could stop pretending we’d broken up, I’d still be living in it.
Shifting carefully, I propped my head on my hand and studied the decadent man who graced my bed. His arms were wrapped around his pillow, showing off chiseled biceps and a muscular back adorned with scratches and crescent marks from my nails. I’d gripped his ass, too, insanely turned on by the feel of it clenching and releasing as he f**ked me tirelessly, stroking his long, thick c*ck deep inside me.
Again and again …
My legs shifted restlessly, my body stirring with renewed hunger. For all his polished urbanity, Gideon was an untamed animal behind closed doors, a lover who bared me to the soul every time he made love to me. I had no defenses against him when he was touching me, helpless to resist the drugging pleasure of spreading my thighs for such a virile, passionate male—
His eyes opened, stunning me with those vivid blue irises. He gave me a lazily seductive once-over that made my heart skip a beat. “Hmm … You’re wearing the f**k-me look,” he drawled.
“And that would be because you’re so extremely f**kable,” I shot back. “Waking up to you is like … presents on Christmas morning.”
His mouth curved. “For your convenience, I’m already unwrapped. Batteries not required.”
My chest tightened with terrible yearning. I loved him too much. I was constantly worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold on to him. He was lightning in a bottle, a dream I tried to hold in my hands.
I let out a shaky breath. “You’re a delicious extravagance for a woman, you know. A luscious, mouthwatering—”
“Shut up.” He rolled over and dragged me under him before I knew his intent. “I’m filthy rich, but you just want me for my body.”
I looked up at him, admiring the way his dark hair framed that extraordinary face. “I want the heart inside the body.”
“You have it.” His arms tucked against my sides and his legs tangled with mine, the coarse hair on his calves stimulating my hypersensitive skin.
I was restrained. Possessed. His warm, hard body felt so good against mine. I sighed, feeling some of the fearful hesitation easing.
“I shouldn’t have fallen asleep,” he said quietly.
I stroked his hair, knowing he was right, that his nightmares and atypical sexual parasomnia made sleeping with him dangerous. He sometimes lashed out in his sleep, and if I was too close, I took the brunt of the simmering rage inside him. “I’m glad you did, though.”
He caught my wrist and pulled my fingers to his mouth for a kiss. “We need time together when we aren’t looking over our shoulders.”
“Oh, God. I almost forgot. Deanna Johnson was here tonight.” The moment the words left my mouth I regretted the wall they put up between us.
Gideon blinked, and in that split second, the warmth in his eyes was gone. “Stay away from her. She’s a reporter.”
My arms slid around him. “She’s going for blood.”
“She’ll have to get in line.”
“Why is she so interested? She’s a freelancer. No one assigned her to you.”
“Drop it, Eva.”
His dismissal of the subject irked me. “I know you f**ked her.”
“No, you don’t. And what you should be focused on is the fact that I’m about to f**k you.”
Certainty settled in my gut. I released him, pulling away. “You lied.”
He reared back as if I’d slapped him. “I have never lied to you.”