"Bullshit." I found that impossible to believe.
He shot me a look before he headed toward the bathroom with a black leather toiletry bag. "Keep doubting me, Eva. See what happens."
"What?" I followed him, enjoying the sight of his delectable ass. "You're going to prove that you can take or leave sex by doing me again?"
"It takes two." He opened his bag and pulled out a new toothbrush that he extricated from its packaging and dropped into my toothbrush holder. "You've initiated sex between us as much as I have. You need the connection as much as I do."
"You're right. It's just..."
"Just what?" He pulled open a drawer, frowned at finding it full, and moved on to pull open another.
"Other sink," I said, smiling at his presumption that he would get drawers at my place, too, and his scowl when he couldn't find them. "They're all yours."
Gideon moved over to the second sink and began unpacking his bag into the drawers. "Just what?" he repeated, taking shampoo and body wash over to my shower.
Leaning my hip into the sink and crossing my arms, I watched him stake his claim all over my bathroom. There was no doubt that's what he was doing, just as there was no doubt that anyone walking into the room would know right away there was a man in my life.
It struck me then that I had a similar claim on his private space. His household staff had to know their boss was in a committed relationship now. The thought gave me a little thrill.
"I was thinking about you in college earlier," I went on, "when we were eating dinner, imagining what it would be like to see you around on campus. I would've been obsessed with you. I would have gone out of my way to see you around just to enjoy the view. I would've tried to get in the same classes as you, so I could daydream during lectures about getting into your pants."
"Sex maniac." He kissed the tip of my nose as he passed me and went to brush his teeth. "We both know what would've happened once I saw you."
I brushed my hair and teeth; then washed my face. "So...did you have a sex pad for the rare occasions some lucky bitch got you in bed?"
His gaze caught my soapy reflection in the mirror. "I've always used the hotel."
"That's the only place you've had sex? Before me?"
"The only place I've had consensual sex," he said quietly, "before you."
"Oh." My heart broke.
I walked over to him, hugging him from behind. I rubbed my cheek against his back.
We went to bed and wrapped ourselves around each other. I buried my face in his neck and breathed him in, snuggling. His body was hard, yet it was wonderfully comfortable against mine. He was so warm and strong, so powerfully male. I only had to think of him to want him.
I slid my leg over his h*ps and rose above him, my hands splayed atop the ridges of his abdomen. It was dark, I couldn't see him, but I didn't need to. As much as I loved that face of his - the one he resented at times - it was the way he touched me and murmured to me that really got to me. As if there was no one else in the world for him, nothing he wanted more.
"Gideon." I didn't need to say anything else.
Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. Then he rolled me beneath him and made love to me with a tender possessiveness that rocked me to the soul.
I woke with a jolt of surprise. A heavy weight crushed me and a harsh voice spit ugly, nasty words into my ear. Panic gripped me, cutting off my air.
Not again. No...Please, no...
My stepbrother's hand covered my mouth and he yanked my legs apart. I felt the hard thing between his legs poking blindly, trying to push into my body. My scream was muffled by his palm smashed over my lips and I cringed away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst. Nathan was so heavy. So heavy and strong. I couldn't buck him off. I couldn't shove him away.
Stop it! Get off me. Don't touch me. Oh, God...please don't do that to me...not again...
Where was Mama? Ma-ma!
I screamed, but Nathan's hand covered my mouth. It pressed down on me, squashing my head into the pillow. The more I fought, the more excited he became. Panting like a dog, he rammed against me over and over...trying to shove himself inside me...
"You're going to know what it feels like."
I froze. I knew that voice. I knew it wasn't Nathan's.
Not a dream. Still a nightmare.
God, no. Blinking madly in the darkness, I struggled to see. The blood was roaring through my ears. I couldn't hear.
But I knew the smell of his skin. Knew his touch, even when it was cruel. Knew the feel of his body on mine, even as it tried to invade me.
Gideon's erection battered into the crease of my thigh. Panicked, I heaved upward with all my strength. His hand on my face dislodged.
Sucking air into my lungs, I screamed.
His chest heaved as he growled, "Not so neat and tidy when you're the one getting f**ked."
"Crossfire," I gasped.
A flash of light from the hallway blinded me, followed by the blessed removal of Gideon's smothering weight. Rolling to my side, I sobbed, my eyes streaming tears that blurred my view of Cary shoving Gideon across the room and into the wall, denting the drywall.
"Eva! Are you okay?" Cary turned on the bedside light, cursing when he saw me curled in a fetal position, rocking violently.
When Gideon straightened, Cary rounded on him. "Move one f**king muscle before the cops get here and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!"
Swallowing past my burning throat, I pushed up to a seated position. My gaze locked with Gideon's and I watched the haze of sleep leave his eyes, replaced by a dawning horror.
"Dream," I choked out, catching Cary's arm as he reached for the phone. "He's d-dreaming."
Cary glanced at where Gideon crouched na**d on the floor like a wild animal. Cary's arm dropped back to his side. "Jesus Christ," he breathed. "And I thought I was f**ked up."
Sliding off the bed, I stood on shaky legs, sick with lingering fear. My knees gave out and Cary caught me, lowering to the floor with me and holding me as I cried.
"I'm gonna crash on the couch." Cary ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair and leaned into the hallway wall. The door to my bedroom was open behind me and Gideon was inside, looking pale and haunted. "I'll set out some blankets and pillows for him, too. I don't think he should go home alone. He's shredded."
"Thanks, Cary." The arms I had wrapped around my middle tightened. "Is Tatiana still here?"
"Hell, no. It's not like that. We just f**k."
"What about Trey?" I asked quietly, my mind already drifting back to Gideon.
"I love Trey. I think he's the best person I've ever met aside from you." He bent forward and kissed my forehead. "And what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Stop worrying about me and take care of you."
I looked up at him, my eyes swimming in tears. "I don't know what to do."
Cary sighed, his green eyes dark and serious. "I think you need to decide if you're in over your head, baby girl. Some people can't be fixed. Look at me. I've got a great guy and I'm giving it to a girl I can't stand."
"Cary..." Reaching out, I touched his shoulder.
He shot me a look before he headed toward the bathroom with a black leather toiletry bag. "Keep doubting me, Eva. See what happens."
"What?" I followed him, enjoying the sight of his delectable ass. "You're going to prove that you can take or leave sex by doing me again?"
"It takes two." He opened his bag and pulled out a new toothbrush that he extricated from its packaging and dropped into my toothbrush holder. "You've initiated sex between us as much as I have. You need the connection as much as I do."
"You're right. It's just..."
"Just what?" He pulled open a drawer, frowned at finding it full, and moved on to pull open another.
"Other sink," I said, smiling at his presumption that he would get drawers at my place, too, and his scowl when he couldn't find them. "They're all yours."
Gideon moved over to the second sink and began unpacking his bag into the drawers. "Just what?" he repeated, taking shampoo and body wash over to my shower.
Leaning my hip into the sink and crossing my arms, I watched him stake his claim all over my bathroom. There was no doubt that's what he was doing, just as there was no doubt that anyone walking into the room would know right away there was a man in my life.
It struck me then that I had a similar claim on his private space. His household staff had to know their boss was in a committed relationship now. The thought gave me a little thrill.
"I was thinking about you in college earlier," I went on, "when we were eating dinner, imagining what it would be like to see you around on campus. I would've been obsessed with you. I would have gone out of my way to see you around just to enjoy the view. I would've tried to get in the same classes as you, so I could daydream during lectures about getting into your pants."
"Sex maniac." He kissed the tip of my nose as he passed me and went to brush his teeth. "We both know what would've happened once I saw you."
I brushed my hair and teeth; then washed my face. "So...did you have a sex pad for the rare occasions some lucky bitch got you in bed?"
His gaze caught my soapy reflection in the mirror. "I've always used the hotel."
"That's the only place you've had sex? Before me?"
"The only place I've had consensual sex," he said quietly, "before you."
"Oh." My heart broke.
I walked over to him, hugging him from behind. I rubbed my cheek against his back.
We went to bed and wrapped ourselves around each other. I buried my face in his neck and breathed him in, snuggling. His body was hard, yet it was wonderfully comfortable against mine. He was so warm and strong, so powerfully male. I only had to think of him to want him.
I slid my leg over his h*ps and rose above him, my hands splayed atop the ridges of his abdomen. It was dark, I couldn't see him, but I didn't need to. As much as I loved that face of his - the one he resented at times - it was the way he touched me and murmured to me that really got to me. As if there was no one else in the world for him, nothing he wanted more.
"Gideon." I didn't need to say anything else.
Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. Then he rolled me beneath him and made love to me with a tender possessiveness that rocked me to the soul.
I woke with a jolt of surprise. A heavy weight crushed me and a harsh voice spit ugly, nasty words into my ear. Panic gripped me, cutting off my air.
Not again. No...Please, no...
My stepbrother's hand covered my mouth and he yanked my legs apart. I felt the hard thing between his legs poking blindly, trying to push into my body. My scream was muffled by his palm smashed over my lips and I cringed away, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst. Nathan was so heavy. So heavy and strong. I couldn't buck him off. I couldn't shove him away.
Stop it! Get off me. Don't touch me. Oh, God...please don't do that to me...not again...
Where was Mama? Ma-ma!
I screamed, but Nathan's hand covered my mouth. It pressed down on me, squashing my head into the pillow. The more I fought, the more excited he became. Panting like a dog, he rammed against me over and over...trying to shove himself inside me...
"You're going to know what it feels like."
I froze. I knew that voice. I knew it wasn't Nathan's.
Not a dream. Still a nightmare.
God, no. Blinking madly in the darkness, I struggled to see. The blood was roaring through my ears. I couldn't hear.
But I knew the smell of his skin. Knew his touch, even when it was cruel. Knew the feel of his body on mine, even as it tried to invade me.
Gideon's erection battered into the crease of my thigh. Panicked, I heaved upward with all my strength. His hand on my face dislodged.
Sucking air into my lungs, I screamed.
His chest heaved as he growled, "Not so neat and tidy when you're the one getting f**ked."
"Crossfire," I gasped.
A flash of light from the hallway blinded me, followed by the blessed removal of Gideon's smothering weight. Rolling to my side, I sobbed, my eyes streaming tears that blurred my view of Cary shoving Gideon across the room and into the wall, denting the drywall.
"Eva! Are you okay?" Cary turned on the bedside light, cursing when he saw me curled in a fetal position, rocking violently.
When Gideon straightened, Cary rounded on him. "Move one f**king muscle before the cops get here and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!"
Swallowing past my burning throat, I pushed up to a seated position. My gaze locked with Gideon's and I watched the haze of sleep leave his eyes, replaced by a dawning horror.
"Dream," I choked out, catching Cary's arm as he reached for the phone. "He's d-dreaming."
Cary glanced at where Gideon crouched na**d on the floor like a wild animal. Cary's arm dropped back to his side. "Jesus Christ," he breathed. "And I thought I was f**ked up."
Sliding off the bed, I stood on shaky legs, sick with lingering fear. My knees gave out and Cary caught me, lowering to the floor with me and holding me as I cried.
"I'm gonna crash on the couch." Cary ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair and leaned into the hallway wall. The door to my bedroom was open behind me and Gideon was inside, looking pale and haunted. "I'll set out some blankets and pillows for him, too. I don't think he should go home alone. He's shredded."
"Thanks, Cary." The arms I had wrapped around my middle tightened. "Is Tatiana still here?"
"Hell, no. It's not like that. We just f**k."
"What about Trey?" I asked quietly, my mind already drifting back to Gideon.
"I love Trey. I think he's the best person I've ever met aside from you." He bent forward and kissed my forehead. "And what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Stop worrying about me and take care of you."
I looked up at him, my eyes swimming in tears. "I don't know what to do."
Cary sighed, his green eyes dark and serious. "I think you need to decide if you're in over your head, baby girl. Some people can't be fixed. Look at me. I've got a great guy and I'm giving it to a girl I can't stand."
"Cary..." Reaching out, I touched his shoulder.
