I was about to say, I didn't do it for you. Then an insidious doubt drifted through my mind, making a vulnerable spot inside me fold in on itself.
Was I doing it for her without knowing it?
I twisted the base of my empty champagne flute around and around on the table. "He was going to marry you."
"And it was the biggest mistake of my life walking away." Her hand went to her throat, her slender fingers restlessly stroking, as if toying with a necklace she'd normally find there. "I was young and in some ways he frightened me. He was so possessive. It wasn't until after I married that I realized possessiveness is much better than indifference. At least for me."
I looked away, fighting the nausea that rose in my throat.
"You're awfully quiet," she said.
"What is there to say?" Magdalene tossed out.
We all loved him. We were all available to him. In the end, he would make a choice between us.
"You should know, Eva," Corinne began, looking at me with those clear aquamarine eyes, "he's told me how special you are to him. It took me some time to gather the courage to come back here and face you two together. I even canceled a flight I had booked a couple weekends ago. I interrupted him at some charity event he was giving a speech at, poor guy, to tell him I was on my way and to ask for his help getting settled."
I froze, feeling as brittle as cracked glass. She had to be talking about the advocacy center dinner, the night Gideon and I had sex for the first time. The night we'd christened his limo and he'd immediately withdrawn; then left me abruptly.
"When he called me back," she continued, "he told me he'd met someone. That he wanted you and me to meet when I got into town. I ended up chickening out. He's never asked me to meet a woman in his life before."
Oh my God. I glanced at Magdalene. Gideon had left me in a rush that night for her. For Corinne.
Chapter 21 "Excuse me." I pushed back from the table and searched for Gideon. I saw him at the bar and went to him.
He was just turning away from the bartender with two glasses in his hands when I intercepted him. I took my drink and gulped it down, my teeth aching as the cubes of ice knocked against them.
"Eva - " There was a soft note of chastisement in his voice.
"I'm leaving," I said flatly, stepping around him to set my empty glass on the bar top. "I don't consider that running, because I'm telling you in advance and giving you the option of coming with me."
He exhaled harshly and I could see that he understood my mood. He knew I knew. "I can't leave."
I turned away.
He caught my arm. "You know I can't stay if you go. You're upset over nothing, Eva."
"Nothing?" I stared at where his hand gripped me. "I warned you I get upset and jealous. This time, you've given me good reason."
"Warning me is supposed to excuse you when you get ridiculous about it?" His face was relaxed, his voice low and calm. No one looking from a distance would pick up on the tension between us, but it was there in his eyes. Burning lust and icy fury. He was so good at putting those two together.
"Who's ridiculous? What about Daniel, the personal trainer? Or Martin, a member of my stepfamily?" I leaned closer and whispered, "I've never f**ked either of them, let alone agreed to a marriage! I sure as hell don't talk to them every damn day!"
Abruptly, he caught me by the waist and hauled me up tight against him. "You need to be f**ked now," he hissed in my ear, nipping the lobe with his teeth. "I shouldn't have made us wait."
"Maybe you were planning ahead," I shot back. "Saving it up in case an old flame popped back into your life, one you'd prefer to screw instead."
Gideon tossed back his drink; then he secured me to his side with a steely arm around my waist and led me through the crowd to the door. He pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and ordered the limo brought around. By the time we reached the street, the long, sleek car was there. Gideon pushed me through the door Angus held open and told him, "Drive around the block until I say otherwise."
Then he slid in directly behind me, so closely I could feel his breath against my bare back. I scrambled toward the opposite seat, determined to get away from him....
"Stop," he snapped.
I sank to my knees on the carpeted floor, breathing hard. I could run to the ends of the earth and I still wouldn't be able to escape the fact that Corinne Giroux had to be better for Gideon than I was. She was calm and cool, a soothing presence even to me - the person freaking out over the unwelcome fact of her existence. My worst nightmare.
His hand twisted into my loose hair, restraining me. His spread legs surrounded mine, his grip tightening so that my head was pulled back gently to touch his shoulder. "I'm going to give you what we both need, Eva. We're going to f**k as long as it takes to dull the edge enough to get through dinner. And you're not going to worry about Corinne, because while she's inside the ballroom, I'll be deep inside you."
"Yes," I whispered, licking dry lips.
"You forget who submits, Eva," he said gruffly. "I've given up control for you. I've bent and adjusted for you. I'll do anything to keep you and make you happy. But I can't be tamed or topped. Don't mistake indulgence for weakness."
I swallowed hard, my blood on fire for him. "Gideon..."
"Reach up with both hands and hold on to the grab handle above the window. Don't let go until I tell you, understand?"
I did as he ordered, pushing my hands through the leather loop. As my grip secured, my body sparked to life, making me aware of how right he was about what I needed. He knew me so well, this lover of mine.
Shoving his hands into my bodice, Gideon squeezed my full, aching br**sts. When he rolled and tugged my ni**les, my head lolled against him, the tension leaving my body in a rush.
"God." He nuzzled his mouth against my temple. "It's so perfect when you give yourself over to me like that...all at once, as if it's a huge relief."
"Fuck me," I begged, needing the connection. "Please."
Releasing my hair, he reached under my dress and pulled my panties down my thighs. His jacket flew past me to land on the seat; then his hand pushed between my legs from the front. He growled at finding me wet and swollen. "You were made for me, Eva. You can't go long without me inside you."
Still he primed me, running his skilled fingers through my cleft, spreading the moisture over my cl*t and the lips of my sex. He pushed two fingers into me, scissoring them, preparing me for the thrust of his long, thick cock.
"Do you want me, Gideon?" I asked hoarsely, needing to ride his thrusting fingers, but hampered by how far I had to reach to grab the strap.
"More than my next breath." His lips moved over my throat and the top of my shoulder, the warm velvet of his tongue sliding seductively across my skin. "I can't go long without you either, Eva. You're an addiction...my obsession..."
His teeth bit gently into my flesh, conveying his animal need with a rough sound of desire. All the while he f**ked me with his fingers, his other hand massaging my clit, making me come again and again from the simultaneous stimulation.
Was I doing it for her without knowing it?
I twisted the base of my empty champagne flute around and around on the table. "He was going to marry you."
"And it was the biggest mistake of my life walking away." Her hand went to her throat, her slender fingers restlessly stroking, as if toying with a necklace she'd normally find there. "I was young and in some ways he frightened me. He was so possessive. It wasn't until after I married that I realized possessiveness is much better than indifference. At least for me."
I looked away, fighting the nausea that rose in my throat.
"You're awfully quiet," she said.
"What is there to say?" Magdalene tossed out.
We all loved him. We were all available to him. In the end, he would make a choice between us.
"You should know, Eva," Corinne began, looking at me with those clear aquamarine eyes, "he's told me how special you are to him. It took me some time to gather the courage to come back here and face you two together. I even canceled a flight I had booked a couple weekends ago. I interrupted him at some charity event he was giving a speech at, poor guy, to tell him I was on my way and to ask for his help getting settled."
I froze, feeling as brittle as cracked glass. She had to be talking about the advocacy center dinner, the night Gideon and I had sex for the first time. The night we'd christened his limo and he'd immediately withdrawn; then left me abruptly.
"When he called me back," she continued, "he told me he'd met someone. That he wanted you and me to meet when I got into town. I ended up chickening out. He's never asked me to meet a woman in his life before."
Oh my God. I glanced at Magdalene. Gideon had left me in a rush that night for her. For Corinne.
Chapter 21 "Excuse me." I pushed back from the table and searched for Gideon. I saw him at the bar and went to him.
He was just turning away from the bartender with two glasses in his hands when I intercepted him. I took my drink and gulped it down, my teeth aching as the cubes of ice knocked against them.
"Eva - " There was a soft note of chastisement in his voice.
"I'm leaving," I said flatly, stepping around him to set my empty glass on the bar top. "I don't consider that running, because I'm telling you in advance and giving you the option of coming with me."
He exhaled harshly and I could see that he understood my mood. He knew I knew. "I can't leave."
I turned away.
He caught my arm. "You know I can't stay if you go. You're upset over nothing, Eva."
"Nothing?" I stared at where his hand gripped me. "I warned you I get upset and jealous. This time, you've given me good reason."
"Warning me is supposed to excuse you when you get ridiculous about it?" His face was relaxed, his voice low and calm. No one looking from a distance would pick up on the tension between us, but it was there in his eyes. Burning lust and icy fury. He was so good at putting those two together.
"Who's ridiculous? What about Daniel, the personal trainer? Or Martin, a member of my stepfamily?" I leaned closer and whispered, "I've never f**ked either of them, let alone agreed to a marriage! I sure as hell don't talk to them every damn day!"
Abruptly, he caught me by the waist and hauled me up tight against him. "You need to be f**ked now," he hissed in my ear, nipping the lobe with his teeth. "I shouldn't have made us wait."
"Maybe you were planning ahead," I shot back. "Saving it up in case an old flame popped back into your life, one you'd prefer to screw instead."
Gideon tossed back his drink; then he secured me to his side with a steely arm around my waist and led me through the crowd to the door. He pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and ordered the limo brought around. By the time we reached the street, the long, sleek car was there. Gideon pushed me through the door Angus held open and told him, "Drive around the block until I say otherwise."
Then he slid in directly behind me, so closely I could feel his breath against my bare back. I scrambled toward the opposite seat, determined to get away from him....
"Stop," he snapped.
I sank to my knees on the carpeted floor, breathing hard. I could run to the ends of the earth and I still wouldn't be able to escape the fact that Corinne Giroux had to be better for Gideon than I was. She was calm and cool, a soothing presence even to me - the person freaking out over the unwelcome fact of her existence. My worst nightmare.
His hand twisted into my loose hair, restraining me. His spread legs surrounded mine, his grip tightening so that my head was pulled back gently to touch his shoulder. "I'm going to give you what we both need, Eva. We're going to f**k as long as it takes to dull the edge enough to get through dinner. And you're not going to worry about Corinne, because while she's inside the ballroom, I'll be deep inside you."
"Yes," I whispered, licking dry lips.
"You forget who submits, Eva," he said gruffly. "I've given up control for you. I've bent and adjusted for you. I'll do anything to keep you and make you happy. But I can't be tamed or topped. Don't mistake indulgence for weakness."
I swallowed hard, my blood on fire for him. "Gideon..."
"Reach up with both hands and hold on to the grab handle above the window. Don't let go until I tell you, understand?"
I did as he ordered, pushing my hands through the leather loop. As my grip secured, my body sparked to life, making me aware of how right he was about what I needed. He knew me so well, this lover of mine.
Shoving his hands into my bodice, Gideon squeezed my full, aching br**sts. When he rolled and tugged my ni**les, my head lolled against him, the tension leaving my body in a rush.
"God." He nuzzled his mouth against my temple. "It's so perfect when you give yourself over to me like that...all at once, as if it's a huge relief."
"Fuck me," I begged, needing the connection. "Please."
Releasing my hair, he reached under my dress and pulled my panties down my thighs. His jacket flew past me to land on the seat; then his hand pushed between my legs from the front. He growled at finding me wet and swollen. "You were made for me, Eva. You can't go long without me inside you."
Still he primed me, running his skilled fingers through my cleft, spreading the moisture over my cl*t and the lips of my sex. He pushed two fingers into me, scissoring them, preparing me for the thrust of his long, thick cock.
"Do you want me, Gideon?" I asked hoarsely, needing to ride his thrusting fingers, but hampered by how far I had to reach to grab the strap.
"More than my next breath." His lips moved over my throat and the top of my shoulder, the warm velvet of his tongue sliding seductively across my skin. "I can't go long without you either, Eva. You're an addiction...my obsession..."
His teeth bit gently into my flesh, conveying his animal need with a rough sound of desire. All the while he f**ked me with his fingers, his other hand massaging my clit, making me come again and again from the simultaneous stimulation.
