Reflected in You: A Crossfire Novel Read Free

was also so much more. Something so precious and profound that Gideon’s lust for me wasn’t the trigger it would’ve been with another man. If anyone else had attempted to subdue me with the weight of his body, I would’ve freaked out. But it had never been an issue with Gideon. He knew what I needed and how much I could take.
    The sudden flash of his grin stopped my heart.
    Confronted with that breathtaking face framed by that lustrous dark hair, I felt my knees weaken just a little. He was so polished and urbane except for the decadent length of those silky strands.
    He nuzzled his nose against mine. “You can’t smile at me like that, then walk away. Tell me what you were thinking about when I was on the phone.”
    My lips twisted wryly. “How gorgeous you are. It’s sickening how often I think about that. I need to get over it already.”
    He cupped the back of my thigh and urged me tighter against him, teasing me with an expert roll of his hips against mine. He was outrageously gifted in bed. And he knew it. “Damned if I’ll let you.”
    “Oh?” Heat slid sinuously through my veins, my body too greedy for the feel of his. “You can’t tell me you want another starry-eyed woman hanging on you, Mr. Hates-Exaggerated-Expectations.”
    “What I want,” he purred, cupping my jaw and rubbing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, “is you being too busy thinking about me to think about anyone else.”
    I pulled in a slow and shaky breath. I was completely seduced by the smoldering look in his eyes, the provocative tone of his voice, the heat of his body, and the mouthwatering scent of his skin. He was my drug, and I had no desire to kick the habit.
    “Gideon,” I breathed, entranced.
    With a soft groan, he sealed his chiseled mouth over mine, stealing away thoughts of what time it was with a lush, deep kiss . . . a kiss that almost succeeded in distracting me from seeing the insecurity he’d just revealed.
    I pushed my fingers into his hair to hold him still and kissed him back, my tongue sliding along his, stroking. We’d been a couple for such a short period of time. Less than a month. Worse, neither of us knew how to have a relationship like the one we were attempting to build—a relationship in which we refused to pretend we weren’t both seriously broken.
    His arms banded around me and tightened possessively. “I wanted to spend the weekend with you down in the Florida Keys—naked.”
    “Umm, sounds nice.” More than nice. As big of a kick as I got out of Gideon in a three-piece suit, I much preferred him stripped to the skin. I avoided pointing out that I wouldn’t be available this weekend . . .
    “Now I’ve got to spend the weekend taking care of business,” he muttered, his lips moving against mine.
    “Business you put off to be with me?” He’d been leaving work early to spend time with me, and I knew that had to be costing him. My mother was on her third marriage, and all of her spouses were successful, wealthy moguls of one kind or another. I knew the price for ambition was very late hours.
    “I pay other people a generous salary so I can be with you.”
    Nice dodge, but noting the flash of irritation in his gaze, I distracted him. “Thank you. Let’s get some coffee before we run out of time.”
    Gideon stroked his tongue along my bottom lip, then released me. “I’d like to get off the ground by eight tomorrow night. Pack cool and light. Arizona’s got dry heat.”
    “What?” I blinked at his retreating back as it disappeared into his office. “Arizona is where your business is?”
    “Unfortunately.”
    Uh . . . whoa. Instead of risking my shot at coffee, I postponed arguing and continued on to the kitchen. I passed through Gideon’s spacious apartment with its stunning prewar architecture and slender arched windows, my heels alternately clicking over gleaming hardwood and muffled by Aubusson rugs. Decorated in dark woods and neutral fabrics, the luxurious